General news

• Three men arrested after Jewish shoppers 'pelted with gas canisters'

  08-01-2016 23:45
  
  Three men have been arrested after Jewish shoppers were reportedly pelted with gas canisters and had "Hitler is on the way" shouted at them.
  
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• BBC denies orchestrating Stephen Doughty resignation after Labour complaint

  08-01-2016 23:11
  
  The BBC has rejected an official complaint from Labour that it "orchestrated" the resignation of frontbencher Stephen Doughty on live television.
  
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• Failed Iraqi asylum seeker accused of being part of people smuggling gang

  08-01-2016 21:54
  A failed Iraqi asylum seeker who has been in the UK for 15 years is accused of being part of a gang that helped smuggle as many as 3,000 migrants into the country.
  
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• Junior doctors' strike to go ahead next week as talks fail to resolve dispute

  08-01-2016 21:07
  
  A strike of junior doctors will go ahead next week as planned, after ongoing talks did not manage to resolve the dispute over contracts.
  
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• Labour files official complaint about BBC 'orchestrating' Doughty resignation

  08-01-2016 21:01
  Labour has filed an official complaint about the BBC "orchestrating" the resignation of frontbencher Stephen Doughty on live television.
  
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• Man arrested after Jewish shoppers 'pelted with gas canisters'

  08-01-2016 20:35
  A man has been arrested after Jewish shoppers were reportedly pelted with gas canisters by men in a pick-up truck shouting "Hitler is on the way".
  
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• David Cameron 'should consider RAF food drops for starving Syrians'

  08-01-2016 20:02
  David Cameron has been urged to consider sending the RAF to carry out emergency food drops to help starving Syrians.
  
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• Britain braced for more bad weather as snow and rain wreak havoc

  08-01-2016 19:52
  Britain is bracing itself for more severe weather after snow and heavy rain brought disruption to parts of the country.
  
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• Coroner criticises Army over 'beasting' death of young recruit

  08-01-2016 19:04
  
  The Army has been heavily criticised by a coroner over the death of a young recruit who died from heatstroke after being subjected to a beasting.
  
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• Teenager Denies Murder Of Police Officer

  08-01-2016 17:56
  
  An 18-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to the murder of police officer Dave Phillips.
  
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• A&E patients turned away as 'dangerously full' hospitals issue black alerts

  08-01-2016 17:47
  
  Hospitals have been forced to turn patients away due to immense pressure, with some issuing "black alerts" and cancelling operations and clinics.
  
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• 'Black Alerts' As A&E Waiting Targets Missed

  08-01-2016 17:40
  
  Hospitals in England are still missing targets for waiting times in A&E units, latest figures show. A new report revealed a steady decline in performance against the four-hour goal in the 13-week period to 25 December. While there was a slight improvement in the week running up to Christmas Day, this was put down to reduced demand because of the festive season.
  
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• Britons held in Hungary in breach of anti-terrorism laws, jailed

  08-01-2016 17:39
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Two Britons were jailed on Friday after being arrested in Hungary where they were suspected of heading to Syria, in breach of strict travel constraints because they had convictions for terrorism offences.
  
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• Mother who wanted her children to live under Islamic State control jailed

  08-01-2016 16:49
  A British-born mother of two who tried to take her children to Syria to live under Islamic State control has been jailed for more than five years.
  
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• BNP Struck Off Political Parties Register

  08-01-2016 16:44
  
  The British National Party has been removed from the UK's register of political parties, the Electoral Commission has confirmed. The commission said the party - which won two seats in the European Parliament in 2009 - had failed to meet the annual requirement to submit its registration details on time. The party - which has faced allegations of racism among its members - went into decline after its leader Nick Griffin lost his seat as an MEP in 2014.
  
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• Islamic extremists jailed for breaching counter-terrorism restrictions

  08-01-2016 16:38
  Two Islamic extremists who admitted to a "serious and deliberate" breach of counter-terrorism restrictions by travelling abroad have been sentenced to two years in prison.
  
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• Cambridges to meet Bhutan's 'William and Kate'

  08-01-2016 16:34
  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to meet Bhutan's glamorous King and Queen when they travel to the mountainous kingdom this spring.
  
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• BNP stripped of candidates right after failing to register with watchdog

  08-01-2016 16:34
  The far-right British National Party has been stripped of the right to put up candidates in elections after failing to register its existence with a watchdog.
  
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• Army criticised at inquest into 'beasting' soldier's heatstroke death

  08-01-2016 16:27
  
  The Army chain of command "failed to identify" the use of unofficial punishments known as "beastings", a coroner has found as he concluded the inquest into the death of a young recruit.
  
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• Families 'Horrified' And 'Devastated' By Floods

  08-01-2016 16:18
  
  Scores of homes were evacuated in Aberdeenshire after the river swelled in a number of places in Port Elphinstone following further heavy downpours. Two severe flood warnings are still in force across Inverurie and Kintore - indicating a "danger to life" - and the extreme weather has also caused major travel disruption.
  
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• Japan, Britain call for swift response to North Korea

  08-01-2016 16:14
  Japan and Britain said on Friday the international community should respond firmly and swiftly after North Korea's announcement that it had successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device. "We've agreed that North Korea's nuclear test poses grave threats to peace and the safety of international society and that the international community needs to take resolute steps quickly," Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said. British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "We will be deepening our bil
  
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• Warning Over Pink Bottles Washed Up On Beach

  08-01-2016 16:13
  People clearing thousands of bright pink bottles from a Cornish beach could face fines of thousands of pounds. It is estimated over 4,500 of the neon containers of Vanish stain remover have washed up on Poldhu Beach on Lizard Peninsula since Monday. The National Trust, which owns the beach, has organised clean-ups but there are reports people have been putting the bottles in their cars and driving away with them.
  
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• Full Steam Ahead For Flying Scotsman's Return

  08-01-2016 16:03
  Standing on the footplate of Flying Scotsman, it's impossible not to feel like a schoolboy again. The Scotsman looks slightly unfamiliar in wartime black, rather than the apple green livery so familiar to thousands of train set owners. Arguably the world's most famous locomotive, the engine was bought by the National Railway Museum in 2004.
  
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• Abuse Allegations At Young Offenders Centre

  08-01-2016 15:56
  Seven members of staff at a centre for underage offenders have been suspended over allegations of abuse. Kent Police said in a statement they were investigating reports from G4S of "abusive behaviour (physical and verbal)" at the Medway Secure Training Centre. Allegations include that one teenager was punched in the ribs, another slapped several times, and that inappropriate restraint techniques were used, according to the Times.
  
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• Sports Direct Shares Plunge On Profit Warning

  08-01-2016 15:43
  
  Sports Direct has become the latest big name retailer to fall victim to tough festive trading conditions as it issued a profit warning that sent shared tumbling by 15%. The firm, controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said it had seen a "deterioration of trading conditions on the high street and a continuation of the unseasonal weather over the key Christmas period" and expected the gloom to continue. The group said that in the light of those factors "and in anticipation of similar tr
  
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• Philip Hammond 'can't envisage' backing Brexit if EU renegotiation is secured

  08-01-2016 15:19
  Philip Hammond said he "can't envisage" breaking ranks to campaign against European Union membership if David Cameron secures a renegotiation deal.
  
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• Farage: I never claimed car wheel incident was assassination bid

  08-01-2016 15:19
  Nigel Farage has insisted he never claimed to have been the target of an assassination attempt when a wheel fell off his car while driving on a French motorway.
  
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• Grandmother Beaten To Death With Rolling Pin

  08-01-2016 15:11
  The murder of Mary Logie, a popular churchgoer, has left the small community of Leven in Fife, where she had lived all her life, reeling. Mrs Logie was found dead in the living room of her flat by a concerned neighbour who had gone to check on her on Tuesday evening, after she failed to visit a friend in hospital as planned. There were no signs of forced entry to the house and officers are said to be keeping an open mind as to whether Mrs Logie knew her killer.
  
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• Housing Estate Looks Like Millennium Falcon

  08-01-2016 15:04
  
  From the ground, it looks like any other housing estate. But from above this estate in Oakdale, Caerphilly, bears a striking resemblance to the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. The Star Wars official Twitter account, with two million followers, liked the tweet.
  
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• Hospitals issue 'black alerts' as emergency departments face high winter demand

  08-01-2016 14:03
  Hospitals across the UK have issued "black alerts" due to immense pressure , with some turning people away from A&E and others cancelling operations.
  
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• Eddie Redmayne aims for Bafta double with Danish Girl nomination

  08-01-2016 14:03
  
  On-screen couple Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander have both been nominated for Baftas for their roles in transgender movie The Danish Girl.
  
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• Hatton Garden accused 'did not fit script for the crime'

  08-01-2016 13:49
  One of the men accused of the Hatton Garden burglary could not have been involved in the raid because there must have been an "inside man" involved, a court heard.
  
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• Legendary steam locomotive 'Flying Scotsman' set to return

  08-01-2016 13:43
  One of the world's most famous steam engines, "Flying Scotsman," is set to return after a decade of restoration and over 80 years since it became the first locomotive to reach 100 miles an hour (160 kph). The venerable engine, which has toured both the United States and Australia since it was retired from service, made a series of short test runs on Friday, ahead of a programme of heritage journeys this year on Britain's main lines. It emerged dramatically from huge clouds of steam at Bury stati
  
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• Lottery Players Urged To Buy Tickets Early

  08-01-2016 13:37
  
  People have been warned to buy their online lottery tickets as soon as possible as a last-minute rush is expected by players hoping to become the game's biggest ever winner. Such is the demand to be in the running to scoop the "life-changing sum" that the National Lottery has emailed online players to warn of the "high volumes of visitors" expected to its website. The inflated jackpot comes after lottery operator Camelot made controversial changes which experts said would make it three times har
  
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• Flying Scotsman welcomed by nostalgic crowds after £4.2m refit

  08-01-2016 13:34
  
  Train enthusiasts have described the "thrilling" moment the Flying Scotsman returned to the tracks after a decade-long £4.2 million restoration.
  
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• In binge Britain, health chiefs say any alcohol is risky

  08-01-2016 13:33
  By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Britons should drink less because any alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer and other diseases, government health chiefs said in new guidelines that were immediately denounced by critics as "nanny state" scaremongering. With alcohol rated as one of Britain's biggest health problems and binge-drinking revellers causing mayhem in city centres every weekend, health chiefs said no level of drinking could be considered safe. "Drinking any level of alcoh
  
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• Sports Direct issues profits warning

  08-01-2016 13:16
  
  Retailer Sports Direct has warned on profits, blaming poor trading on unseasonal weather over the Christmas period.
  
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• Sian Blake case: Watchdog probes police decision-making

  08-01-2016 12:23
  
  An investigation has been launched into Scotland Yard's handling of the Sian Blake case.
  
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• GPs 'still being paid to cut cancer test referrals'

  08-01-2016 12:00
  Doctors are still being paid cash for not referring people for urgent cancer tests, an investigation has found.
  
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• River Don bursts banks as rains deluge north-east Scotland

  08-01-2016 11:59
  
  Villages in Aberdeenshire are assessing the damage after the River Don rose to record levels and burst its banks amid continued heavy rain.
  
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• SFO needs 'urgent' fresh cash as top cases mount

  08-01-2016 11:38
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - The Serious Fraud Office has asked the government for an extra 21.14 million pounds to meet urgent cash needs as it pursues some of its most complex investigations, such as an inquiry into alleged financial benchmark rigging.
  
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• 'Love bird' dinosaurs devised their own Jurassic sparks

  08-01-2016 11:34
  Despite their reptilian traits, mating behaviour in dinosaurs may have also made them more similar to modern birds, scientists have found.
  
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• St Albans we have a problem: spaceman Tim Peake's school chat curtailed

  08-01-2016 10:36
  Astronaut Tim Peake endured yet more problems contacting home after a link-up with a school had to be aborted part-way through.
  
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• G4S suspends workers at UK youth centre over allegations of unnecessary force

  08-01-2016 10:32
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - G4S , the world's largest security company, said on Friday it had suspended seven members of staff over allegations of unnecessary force and improper language at a British training centre for young offenders.
  
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• Alcohol advice needed updating, says health chief

  08-01-2016 09:58
  
  The idea that drinking a glass of red wine a day is good for you is an "old wives' tale", England's Chief Medical Officer has said.
  
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• Eddie Redmayne Gets Second BAFTA Nod In A Row

  08-01-2016 09:28
  
  Eddie Redmayne has been nominated for a BAFTA award for the second year in a row after winning plaudits for his role in The Danish Girl. Stephen Fry and actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw announced the shortlist for the prizes at BAFTA's headquarters in London. The British star, who won a BAFTA and Oscar last year for The Theory Of Everything, will face Leonardo DiCaprio in the best actor category.
  
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• Top medical officer tells Britons drinking any alcohol is risky

  08-01-2016 09:06
  By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Britons need to drink less as any alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer and other diseases, the government's health chiefs said in the first new guidelines issued for 20 years which were denounced by critics as "nanny state" scaremongering. The UK Chief Medical Officers (CMO) said people should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, the equivalent of six pints of beer or 7 glasses of wine, to reduce the risk of illnesses, in a bid to lower
  
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• Eddie Redmayne gets second Bafta nod in a row for his role in The Danish Girl

  08-01-2016 08:48
  
  On-screen couple Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander have both been nominated for Baftas for their roles in transgender movie The Danish Girl.
  
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• Homes evacuated by rescue teams as river bursts banks

  08-01-2016 08:28
  
  Dozens of homes have been evacuated in Aberdeenshire after the River Don burst its banks amid continued heavy rain.
  
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• Two Iraqis face court after migrant smuggling probe

  08-01-2016 07:59
  Two Iraqis suspected of being part of a network which smuggled up to 20 migrants a night into the UK are due in court.
  
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