General news

• Ant And Dec Win Presenter Award For 15th Time

  20-01-2016 23:34
  
  Ant and Dec, Downton Abbey, Strictly Come Dancing and This Morning were among the winners at the National Television Awards.
  
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• Goldman pledges six-figure sum to British pro-EU group - source

  20-01-2016 23:29
  Goldman Sachs has agreed to donate a "substantial six-figure sum" to Britain Stronger in Europe, a campaign to keep Britain in the European Union, according to a source familiar with the matter. Britain Stronger in Europe is chaired by former Marks and Spencer CEO Stuart Rose. Britain is due to hold a referendum this year or next on whether to remain in the EU, and prospects of it leaving the union have raised concerns among sections of the country's business community and weighed on sterling Go
  
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• Strictly Come Dancing waltzes off with talent show accolade at television awards

  20-01-2016 23:26
  
  Strictly Come Dancing has reclaimed its crown as the leading talent show as it beat The X Factor at the National Television Awards.
  
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• Litvinenko Killers 'Protected By Russian State'

  20-01-2016 22:44
  
  The son of murdered spy Alexander Litvinenko has told Sky News he believes his father's killers are being protected by the Russian state. Anatoly Litvinenko spoke as the findings of a public inquiry into the murder nine years ago are set to be published. Mr Litvinenko's fatal poisoning sparked one of Britain's most extraordinary murder investigations.
  
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• Bin Lorry Crash Driver Facing New Legal Action

  20-01-2016 21:43
  
  Relatives of Erin McQuade, who died along with her grandparents Jack and Lorraine Sweeney, have lodged a criminal bill of letters with Scotland's Lord Advocate. It is the first legal step in their efforts to secure a conviction against the bin lorry driver, Harry Clarke. The Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland has consistently said there is insufficient evidence to prosecute Mr Clarke and it is thought he will maintain that stance.
  
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• Family of Glasgow bin lorry crash victims seeks to prosecute driver Harry Clarke

  20-01-2016 21:40
  
  The family of three victims of the Glasgow bin lorry crash have launched a bid for a private prosecution of driver Harry Clarke.
  
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• Jurassic Dinosaur Remains Found In South Wales

  20-01-2016 21:34
  
  A new species of dinosaur has been uncovered in South Wales, dating back 201 million years. It is possibly the oldest-known Jurassic dinosaur ever found in the UK, perhaps even the world. The dinosaur's remains were discovered by fossil hunting brothers, Nick and Rob Hanigan, who have since named the animal "Dracoraptor Hanigani", a reference to the Welsh dragon and their own surname.
  
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• Drivers to suspend strike after 'progress' in night Tube talks

  20-01-2016 20:48
  
  Planned strikes by train drivers on London Underground are set to be suspended after progress in talks over a night Tube.
  
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• Woman Who Killed Herself 'Let Down By Agencies'

  20-01-2016 20:40
  
  The inquest into Faisa Ahmed's death also warned that others could also be at risk. Ms Ahmed, 31, from Tower Hamlets, east London was known to have a history of depression and mental health problems. Now a panel of 11 jurors at St Pancras Coroner’s Court has found that all three agencies missed chances to help Ms Ahmed, contributing to her death.
  
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• Suicide bomb in Kabul targets journalists - Sky News Australia

  20-01-2016 20:32 via
  Sky News Australia
  Suicide bomb in Kabul targets journalists
  Sky News Australia
  A suicide car bomber has targeted a van carrying journalists working for a private Afghan television channel, killing seven people during evening rush hour in Kabul, officials say. The bombing close to the national parliament was the latest in a series ...
  Taliban Suicide Bomber Strikes Packed Bus in KabulNew York Times
  Car Bomb in Kabul Kills SevenWall Street Journal
  Suicide bomber kills seven employees of Afghan T
  

• Evidence suggests huge ninth planet exists past Pluto at solar system's edge - The Guardian

  20-01-2016 20:18 via
  The Guardian
  Evidence suggests huge ninth planet exists past Pluto at solar system's edge
  The Guardian
  Caltech scientists discuss their research, which provides evidence of a giant planet tracing a highly elongated orbit in the outer solar system. Ian Sample Science editor. @iansample. Wednesday 20 January 2016 14.17 EST Last modified on Wednesday 20 ...
  Planet 9: Secret, dark world could be hiding in our solar systemThe Independent
  Case made for 'ninth planet'BBC News
  Planet X? 9th planet
  

• Sturgeon urges Labour to make decision on Trident amid rumours of early vote on its renewal - Herald Scotland

  20-01-2016 20:12 via
  Herald Scotland
  Sturgeon urges Labour to make decision on Trident amid rumours of early vote on its renewal
  Herald Scotland
  Nicola Sturgeon has urged Labour to make a decision on Trident amid rumours that the UK Government could call for an early vote on its renewal. The issue of Trident has led to deep divisions within Labour which were fuelled last week by leader Jeremy ...
  Labour's new members mostly wealthy city dwellers – leaked reportThe Guardian
  Jeremy Corbyn is getting crushe
  

• 'Keep it simple' - business appeals to 'in' campaign on Brexit

  20-01-2016 20:07
  By Elizabeth Piper DAVOS, Switzerland - "Keep it simple, visual and factual" - that is the advice of the most powerful man in advertising to Britain's campaign to stay in the European Union, saying it must focus on the benefits to trade, investment and jobs to win the debate. A second-generation immigrant, Martin Sorrell, who has built the world's biggest advertising group WPP (WPP.L) over 30 years, is passionate about staying in the EU and does not rule out personally contributing to the 'in' c
  
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• Davos 2016: Iran warns Saudi Arabia to 'come to their senses' - Telegraph.co.uk

  20-01-2016 20:07 via
  Telegraph.co.uk
  Davos 2016: Iran warns Saudi Arabia to 'come to their senses'
  Telegraph.co.uk
  •AEP: fears of global liquidity crunch haunt Davos elites • Nine people everyone will be talking about at Davos 2016 • What is the World Economic Forum in Davos and when is it? 17.15. Brits bear Brexit burden at Davos. It's the question on everyone's ...
  David Cameron accused of silently taking Britain into Saudi Arabia's brutal war in YemenBelfast Telegraph
  Saudi Arabia intervenes to pr
  

• Dragons really did roam Wales: 'Dracoraptor' dinosaur unveiled - Telegraph.co.uk

  20-01-2016 20:02 via
  Telegraph.co.uk
  Dragons really did roam Wales: 'Dracoraptor' dinosaur unveiled
  Telegraph.co.uk
  The oldest Jurassic dinosaur in the world has been named after the Welsh dragon after being found in the Vale of Glamorgan. The 'dracoraptor' skeleton was found by fossil-hunting brothers Rob and Nick Hanigan following a cliff fall at a beach in in ...
  Welsh dinosaur named 'dragon thief'BBC News
  Oldest Jurassic dinosaur ever found named the 'Hanigan dragon robber'Daily Mail
  Welsh dinosaur bones confir
  

• Quick blood test to help medics identify lung infections

  20-01-2016 20:00
  A genetic blood test is being developed that can rapidly show if someone has a viral or bacterial lung infection.
  
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• Jurassic 'dragon' discovered on Welsh beach

  20-01-2016 20:00
  
  Once upon a time, long ago, dragons really did exist in Wales.
  
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• FCA branded a 'road accident' by MP

  20-01-2016 20:00
  By Huw Jones and David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - The Financial Conduct Authority, the body meant to police standards at banks, looks like a "road accident" after a botched decision to scrap a review into banking culture, a senior lawmaker said on Wednesday. News of the watchdog's decision leaked out last month, raising concerns among members of parliament that the FCA was being leaned on by a government wanting softer treatment of British lenders. In testy exchanges lasting nearly three hours,
  
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• UK Experts To Test Russian Athletes For Doping

  20-01-2016 19:54
  
  British anti-doping officials are to carry out drug testing on Russian athletes in the build-up to the Rio Olympics. UK Anti-Doping chief executive Nicole Sapstead has announced that, following an approach from the World Anti-Doping Agency, she is in contractual negotiations about a deal to assist with the Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA. It follows a WADA investigation that revealed state-sponsored doping in Russian track-and-field, leading to its athletes being suspended from international c
  
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• Jack And The Beanstalk Could Be 5,000 Years Old

  20-01-2016 19:36
  
  Popular fairy tales such as Jack And The Beanstalk and Rumpelstiltskin could date back thousands of years to prehistoric times, according to academics. Researchers used a tree of Indo-European languages and phylogenetic analysis, traditionally employed to study evolutionary relationships between species, to trace the stories' origins back in time. They found that folk tales are not only passed on 'vertically' from ancestral populations to their descendants, but also spread 'horizontally' between
  
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• FTSE Enters 'Bear Market' As £52bn Is Lost - Sky News

  20-01-2016 19:33 via
  Telegraph.co.uk
  FTSE Enters 'Bear Market' As £52bn Is Lost
  Sky News
  Global shares feel more pain, with the mining-heavy FTSE 100 falling by 3.5% as Brent crude prices hit fresh 13-year lows. 19:49, UK, Wednesday 20 January 2016. The resort of Davos is seen by night prior to the World Economic Forum. Play video "FTSE ...
  Global index slides into bear marketFinancial Times
  Stock markets plunge as investors fear global economic slowdownThe Guardian
  Oil rout sends shock-waves through Lon
  

• Crispin Blunt admits using poppers as MPs back powers to ban substance

  20-01-2016 19:31
  A Conservative former minister has "outed" himself as a poppers user, as sweeping new powers banning the substance cleared the Commons.
  
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• At least 19 killed in attack on Bacha Khan University in Pakistan - CNN

  20-01-2016 19:18 via
  CNN
  At least 19 killed in attack on Bacha Khan University in Pakistan
  CNN
  Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) Militants raided a university in northwest Pakistan Wednesday, timing their attack to a ceremony at the school to ensure maximum casualties. They slaughtered at least 19 people, authorities said. The scent of burning metal ...
  In Pakistan, at Least 22 Dead in Attack at Bacha Khan UniversityNew York Times
  Militants storm Pakistan university, kill at least 20Reuters
  The Guardian view on the Bacha K
  

• Police Refuse To Apologise To Ex-Army Chief

  20-01-2016 19:13
  
  Police have refused to apologise to a former Army chief over a dropped nine-month investigation into historical claims of child sex abuse made against him. Field Marshal Lord Bramall saw his home raided by officers from Scotland Yard after the claims were made by one man, before police admitted there was insufficient evidence and announced they were dropping the case. However he did say he would accept an offer from a senior officer to meet him and explain what happened.
  
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• 27 people massacred in 'earliest evidence of warfare' dating back 10,000 years

  20-01-2016 19:00
  
  Showing no mercy, the killers clubbed and stabbed to death men, women and children alike, leaving their bodies strewn along the shore of a lagoon.
  
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• Four Syrian refugees should be brought from Calais camp to UK, court rules

  20-01-2016 18:48
  A British court has ordered that four Syrian refugees living in "The Jungle" should immediately be brought to the UK to live with relatives in a "groundbreaking judgment", the Refugee Council has said.
  
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• Albarn And Westwood To Mark WWI Centenary

  20-01-2016 18:44
  
  Damon Albarn and Dame Vivienne Westwood are among a number of artists creating new works as Britain commemorates the centenary of the First World War. A programme encompassing theatre, film, literature and music has been announced, largely funded by the National Lottery. Blur frontman Albarn will play a concert at the Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank in June as part of his Africa Express project, which brings African and western musicians together.
  
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• MP Crispin Blunt admits using poppers while attacking proposed ban - St Albans & Harpenden Review

  20-01-2016 18:43 via
  St Albans & Harpenden Review
  MP Crispin Blunt admits using poppers while attacking proposed ban
  St Albans & Harpenden Review
  A Conservative former minister has "outed" himself as a poppers user, amid warnings that a Government ban on the substance will harm the gay community and others. Crispin Blunt warned he and many gay men are "astonished" by the Government's ...
  Former Tory prisons minister stuns MPs in the Commons by declaring 'I use poppers' and blasting new laws due to ...D
  

• 'Planet Nine' evidence uncovered using computer simulations

  20-01-2016 18:35
  Astounding evidence of a hidden giant planet on the fringes of the solar system has been uncovered by scientists using computer simulations.
  
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• Stephen Lawrence case: Police urged to shelve retirement of senior officer

  20-01-2016 18:11
  
  Lawyers for the father of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence have made a last ditch attempt to stop the retirement of a senior police officer who is facing a misconduct claim.
  
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• FTSE takes a £52bn beating as markets feel the pain over oil price slump

  20-01-2016 18:10
  The London market saw £52 billion wiped off top flight shares today, as oil prices tumbled sending the market close to four-year lows.
  
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• Sadie Hartley: Murder Charge As Tribute Paid

  20-01-2016 17:51
  
  Sarah Williams, 34, of Blacon, Chester, is accused of killing Sadie Hartley, who was found stabbed to death at her home in Helmshore, Lancashire, on Friday. She was remanded in custody ahead of a preliminary hearing at Preston Crown Court on Friday. Ian Johnston, Ms Hartley's partner, said her death was an "utter tragedy".
  
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• MP Crispin Blunt admits using poppers while attacking proposed ban

  20-01-2016 17:47
  A Conservative former minister has "outed" himself as a poppers user, amid warnings that a Government ban on the substance will harm the gay community and others.
  
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• FTSE Enters 'Bear Market' As £52bn Is Lost

  20-01-2016 17:44
  
  The FTSE 100 has fallen sharply after the world oil price slump and fears over China prompted a renewed share sell-off. The FTSE 100 has had a grim start to 2016, its worst ever, having lost more than 9% in just the first few weeks of the year. The latest fall took the FTSE 100 more than 20% off that intraday peak last year, meaning that for a time it was in what is known as a "bear market".
  
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• Man fined for fly-tipping after dumping items for ex-wife in front garden

  20-01-2016 17:43
  A man who claimed he was "returning" items to his ex-wife when he dumped them in her front garden has been fined for fly-tipping.
  
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• Four Syrian refugees in Calais camp 'should live with relatives in UK'

  20-01-2016 17:42
  
  A British court has ordered that four Syrian refugees living in "The Jungle" should immediately be brought to the UK to live with relatives in a "groundbreaking judgement", the Refugee Council has said.
  
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• Red Doors Make Asylum Seekers A Target

  20-01-2016 17:22
  
  Asylum seekers' homes are being targeted because their doors have been painted red in a practice an MP says is reminiscent of Nazi Germany. The properties, in a deprived area of Middlesbrough, characterised by boarded up and abandoned terraced homes, are owned by Stuart Monk, who is paid millions by the Government to help house refugees. Mr Monk owns the "urban regeneration" firm Jomast, which is subcontracted to provide housing by security firm G4S, which lost its contract for prisoner tagging
  
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• Lord Bramall to meet police after Met refuses apology over dropped inquiry

  20-01-2016 17:15
  Scotland Yard has refused to apologise to Field Marshal Lord Bramall over a dropped nine-month investigation into historical claims of sex abuse.
  
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• Poppi Death: 'We Need To Learn Lessons'

  20-01-2016 17:07
  
  Responding to an urgent question in the Commons over Poppi Worthington's death, Home Office minister Karen Bradley declined to comment further on the case. Barrow MP John Woodcock had called on the Government to issue a statement about case. Poppi was found with serious injuries at her home in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, in December 2012, and later pronounced dead in hospital.
  
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• Star Wars: The Force Awakens is UK's biggest film of all time

  20-01-2016 17:06
  Star Wars: The Force Awakens has officially become the UK's most successful film of all time.
  
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• Met explains why it investigated Lord Bramall over child abuse allegations - The Guardian

  20-01-2016 17:03 via
  The Guardian
  Met explains why it investigated Lord Bramall over child abuse allegations
  The Guardian
  Lord Bramall was investigated as part of Operation Midland, an inquiry into historical child abuse allegations. Photograph: Neil Munns/PA. Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent. Wednesday 20 January 2016 11.03 EST Last modified on Wednesday ...
  Police Refuse To Apologise To Ex-Army ChiefSky News
  Lord Bramall to meet police after Met refuses apology over dropped inquirySouth Wales Argus
  

• How Parties Spent Election Cash: Chicken Suits

  20-01-2016 16:51
  
  The Tory spend accounts for 88.3% of all the party spending for election advertising on the social media site. Labour spent just £16,455, less than UKIP, the Lib Dems and even the Green Party, the figures released by the Electoral Commission showed. But it did spend £578 on chicken suits - to drive home the claim that David Cameron was "chicken" for refusing to go head to head with Ed Miliband in the television debates.
  
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• Airdropping aid to Syrian towns 'a last resort', says Justine Greening

  20-01-2016 16:50
  International Development Secretary Justine Greening has insisted airdropping aid to besieged Syrian towns would be a "last resort" after the United Nations urged Britain and allies to consider the idea.
  
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• New self-cleaning smart windows 'could cut heating bills by up to 40%'

  20-01-2016 16:48
  
  Smart windows that clean themselves and cut heating bills by up to 40% have been developed by British scientists.
  
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• MPs urge independent inquiry into Poppi Worthington death

  20-01-2016 16:35
  MPs have called for an independent investigation into the death of toddler Poppi Worthington along the lines of the inquiries into Victoria Climbie and Peter Connelly - known as Baby P.
  
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• Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo to hit London red carpet for Spotlight premiere

  20-01-2016 16:35
  Actors Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo will be on the red carpet in London facing reporters to promote their latest film, which sees them playing journalists themselves.
  
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• Bed factory owner found guilty of people trafficking

  20-01-2016 16:35
  A factory owner who employed large numbers of Hungarians as a "slave workforce" in a bed-making firm which supplied retailers like John Lewis, Next and Dunelm Mill has been found guilty of people trafficking.
  
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• A&E units may be understaffed almost half of the time, leaked documents show

  20-01-2016 16:35
  A&E departments may be understaffed as much as half of the time, according to leaked documents.
  
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• 2015 was hottest year on record, Met Office confirms

  20-01-2016 16:30
  2015 was globally the hottest year on record, with temperatures 1C above pre-industrial levels, the Met Office has confirmed.
  
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• PM Faces Fresh EU Immigration Battle

  20-01-2016 16:28
  
  David Cameron faces a fresh battle with the EU on immigration after it emerged Brussels is preparing to tear up rules that allow Britain to deport thousands of asylum seekers. It comes as a Sky Data snap poll suggests people think that forcing countries like the UK to take more refugees would be unfair. And that result went for both countries near war zones, like Greece, and also Great Britain.
  
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