General news

• Chinese new year lanterns in London – in pictures

  29-01-2016 23:59
  
  The Magical Lantern Festival is a spectacular artistic installation of sculpted lanterns taking various forms from animals to buildings and abstract designsContinue reading...
  
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• Project Skybender: Google's secretive 5G internet drone tests revealed

  29-01-2016 23:16
  
  Trials at New Mexico’s Spaceport Authority are using new millimetre wave technology to deliver data from drones – potentially 40 times faster than 4GGoogle is testing solar-powered drones at Spaceport America in New Mexico to explore ways to deliver high-speed internet from the air, the Guardian has learned.In a secretive project codenamed SkyBender, the technology giant built several prototype transceivers at the isolated spaceport last summer, and is testing them with multiple dron
  
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• Anna Wintour confident Hillary Clinton will be next US president

  29-01-2016 23:04
  
  In rare public interview, head of American Vogue tells the Guardian’s editor-in-chief that Clinton is the best choice and not ‘unviable’ TrumpAnna Wintour has said she is confident that Hillary Clinton will be the next president of the United States, branding Donald Trump as “unviable”.The editor-in-chief of American Vogue, who has hosted several high-profile fundraisers for the former US secretary of state who announced her candidacy in April, said she felt Clinton
  
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• Manchester United ease pressure on Louis van Gaal with FA Cup win at Derby

  29-01-2016 23:01
  
  For the moment Louis van Gaal and Manchester United can kick back and enjoy life. They are through to the FA Cup fifth round, this victory the perfect riposte to last Saturday’s dire 1-0 home defeat by Southampton . Related: Juan Mata makes the most of his chance to shine and boost Louis van Gaal | Peter LansleyContinue reading...
  
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• Graf provides inspiration for Kerber and a target for Williams in Australian Open final

  29-01-2016 23:00
  
  Serena Williams can equal Steffi Graf’s total of 22 grand slam titles with victory over Angelique Kerber, who received a text of congratulations from her countrywomanIt was while she was discussing the achievement of reaching her first grand slam final that Angelique Kerber pulled out her phone to check her messages. Among them was a text from Steffi Graf, congratulating her on her effort and wishing her luck for Saturday’s Australian Open final against Serena Williams. On all availa
  
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• Andy Murray confident of beating Novak Djokovic to win Australian Open

  29-01-2016 22:59
  
  • ‘I have a very good shot if I play my best tennis,’ says Murray
  • Murray has lost to Djokovic in three Australian Open finalsAndy Murray has said he has “a very good shot” of beating Novak Djokovic at the fourth attempt in the Australian Open final on Sunday, “if I play my best tennis”.After spending nearly four hours overcoming the 25-year-old Canadian power server Milos Raonic in five sets in the second semi-final here on Friday, the world No2 wa
  
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• Derby County v Manchester United: FA Cup fourth round – as it happened

  29-01-2016 22:48
  
  United reduce the pressure on their manager with a fine performance and win 9.48pm GMTUnited outclassed the Championship side and crowned a good performance with three excellent goals. There were some notable individual performances - from Martial, Rooney, Varela, Borthwick-Jackson and Blind - and the collective worked pretty well, even if the central defence wobbled momentarily towards the end of the first half. All in all, a good result and a good performance make this a good night for Van Gaa
  
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• President Bachelet's daughter-in-law barred from leaving Chile over tax case

  29-01-2016 22:39
  
  Natalia Compagnon accused of false declarations and fraudulent invoicesMichelle Bachelet: ‘Without doubt this has affected me deeply’A Chilean court has told President Michelle Bachelet’s daughter-in-law not to leave the country during an investigation into her tax affairs, as the president said on television the case has “affected me deeply”. Related: Chile’s reforms stall as Michelle Bachelet goes on the defensiveContinue reading...
  
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• Mexico City officially changes its name to – Mexico City

  29-01-2016 22:34
  
  The capital’s rebranding, part of reform to decentralise power and move toward statehood, confused residents who refer to city as Federal District or ‘DF’Mexico has rechristened its capital city, embracing the name by which it is known worldwide, but causing a conundrum for residents who for decades have referred to the sprawling megalopolis as the Federal District – or “DF”President Enrique Peña Nieto officially changed the capital’s name to &ldq
  
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• Liberal Democrat Lord Roper dies

  29-01-2016 22:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Liberal Democrat peer and former chief whip Lord Roper dies aged 80 after a long battle with illness.
  
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• Swansea City complete £8m signing of striker Alberto Paloschi from Chievo

  29-01-2016 22:28
  
  • 26-year-old striker’s deal subject to international clearance
  • Italian links up again with new coach Francesco GuidolinSwansea have completed the signing of the Italian striker Alberto Paloschi from Chievo. The 26-year-old has been signed for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance, on a three-and-a-half-year deal. It is thought the fee is around £8m.Swansea announced Paloschi’s arrival on their official website and he becomes the club’s first
  
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• US government finds 'top secret' information in Clinton emails

  29-01-2016 22:21
  
  State Department censors 22 emails after confirming for the first time that the Democratic frontrunner’s home server contained closely guarded secrets The Obama administration confirmed for the first time on Friday that Hillary Clinton’s unsecured home server contained some of the US government’s most closely guarded secrets, censoring 22 emails with material demanding one of the highest levels of classification. The revelation comes just three days before the Iowa presidential
  
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• Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid have their transfer bans suspended

  29-01-2016 21:57
  
  • Fifa suspends sanctions to hear appeals from both clubs
  • Fifa ruling meant both clubs could not register players until summer of 2017Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid have had their Fifa-imposed transfer bans suspended pending their appeals, both Primera División clubs have announced.Real and Atlético were banned by the world governing body earlier this month from registering new signings for the next two transfer windows for breaching rules on the international t
  
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• British quartet become fastest and youngest all-female crew to row Atlantic

  29-01-2016 21:54
  
  Row Like a Girl team travelled 2,700 nautical miles in 40 days and came second in Atlantic Challenge raceA quartet of British women have become both the youngest and fastest all-female team to row across the Atlantic after completing the 2,700 nautical mile journey in 40 days.The rowers, Gee Purdy and Bella Collins, both 23, Lauren Morton, 26, and Olivia Bolesworth, 27, arrived at Antigua on Friday, having left La Gomera in the Canary Islands on 20 December. Continue reading...
  
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• Gertrude Brings 144mph Winds And Power Cuts

  29-01-2016 21:41
  
  Thousands of homes and businesses were left without power after being battered by Storm Gertrude, with savage winds of up to 144mph recorded in mountainous areas. Around 8,500 properties in Scotland lost electricity, as well as thousands more across Ireland. By early Friday evening power had been restored to 11,000 properties in Scotland, with fewer than 3,000 still down, said Scottish Hydro power company.
  
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• VIDEO: How would a migrant tax credit delay work?

  29-01-2016 20:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The BBC's Christian Fraser explains how the UK is trying to delay paying new migrants in-work benefits
  
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• Storm Gertrude's 100mph winds cause chaos across UK

  29-01-2016 20:04
  
  Winds of more than 100mph disrupted transport, brought down power lines and damaged buildings as Storm Gertrude swept the country.
  
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• Tim Peake issues space seed-growing challenge to schools

  29-01-2016 19:30
  Astronaut Tim Peake has beamed a video message to thousands of schools asking them to grow seeds that have journeyed through space.
  
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• Family pay tribute to woman murdered by police officer husband

  29-01-2016 18:19
  The family of a woman murdered by her police officer husband have paid tribute to a "caring, fun-loving person".
  
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• UK Maoist cult leader jailed for 23 years for raping followers

  29-01-2016 18:05
  A Maoist cult leader, convicted of raping and beating his brainwashed British female followers and keeping his own daughter a fearful prisoner for more than three decades, was jailed for 23 years on Friday. Aravindan Balakrishnan, 75, known as Comrade Bala, used sexual degradation and physical and mental violence to keep the women under his control. Prosecutors said he turned his south London Communist commune into his own personal cult with members who believed him to be a god.
  
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• HSBC cyber attack causes disruption for online banking customers

  29-01-2016 18:03
  A cyber attack against HSBC has caused disruption for customers trying to log in on a key day for managing their money.
  
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• Former TV Dragon Cleared Of Child Sex Offences

  29-01-2016 17:53
  
  Former Dragons' Den star Doug Richard, who engaged in 50 Shades of Grey role play with an under-age girl, has been found not guilty of child sex offences. The 57-year-old exchanged "sexy chat" with a 13-year-old girl after meeting her on a "sugar daddy" website and went on to act out his fantasies when she travelled from her home in Norwich to meet him. But the American millionaire, who once advised Prime Minister David Cameron, told jurors that at the time he believed she was an experience
  
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• 'Robust' domestic probes would pre-empt ICC charges against UK soldiers - minister

  29-01-2016 17:43
  
  THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Britain's legal system is robust enough to avoid the risk of British soldiers being prosecuted by the International Criminal Court over alleged human rights abuses in Iraq, a senior British government official said.
  
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• Cameron plays hard to get as EU pushes reform offer

  29-01-2016 17:36
  By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - David Cameron told Brussels on Friday that a proposed "emergency brake" to curb European immigration to Britain was "not good enough" but he saw progress on a deal to persuade British voters to back continued EU membership. After lunch with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, whose staff described the meeting as "difficult but constructive", Cameron was at pains to play down talk that a draft package EU officials say could be ready this w
  
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• British Mum Tareena Shakil Guilty Of Joining IS

  29-01-2016 17:25
  
  British mum Tareena Shakil has been found guilty of joining Islamic State and encouraging terrorism on social media. She is believed to be the first British woman to stand trial accused of joining IS in Syria. Shakil had said she "had made a mistake" travelling to Syria but had done so simply to find a better life in the caliphate for her and her son.
  
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• Tareena Shakil guilty of taking son to Syria to join IS

  29-01-2016 17:16
  A mother has been found guilty of taking her toddler son to Syria to join Islamic State (IS), becoming the first British woman convicted of the offence after returning from the self-declared caliphate.
  
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• EU offer of benefits 'brake' is 'not good enough', says David Cameron

  29-01-2016 17:11
  A proposed "emergency brake" on European Union citizens claiming benefits in the UK has been rejected as "not good enough" by the Prime Minister after talks with senior figures in Brussels.
  
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• Former Dragons' Den star Doug Richard cleared of child sex charges

  29-01-2016 17:01
  A former Dragons' Den star who engaged in 50 Shades of Grey role play with an under-age girl has been cleared of child sex charges.
  
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• No deal yet on EU welfare - Cameron

  29-01-2016 16:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  David Cameron says a proposed "emergency brake" on benefits for EU migrants "needs more work," after talks with officials in Brussels.
  
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• Stepfather of murdered schoolboy Daniel Pelka dies in jail

  29-01-2016 16:38
  The stepfather of murdered schoolboy Daniel Pelka has died in prison - six months after the victim's mother was found hanging in her cell.
  
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• People in Calais Jungle 'not refugees in general sense'

  29-01-2016 16:38
  Many of the people living in The Jungle in Calais are probably not refugees "in any general sense", Britain's most senior immigration judge has said.
  
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• No 10 rejects Labour MP's claims over mass sexual harassment in UK

  29-01-2016 16:38
  Downing Street has rejected a Labour MP's claim that women on the streets of British cities are subjected to mass sexual harassment of the kind seen in Germany on New Year's Eve.
  
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• Maoist cult leader Aravindan Balakrishnan jailed for 23 years

  29-01-2016 16:38
  
  A Maoist cult leader who raped two of his followers and kept his daughter a "slave" for 30 years has been jailed for 23 years.
  
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• Maoist Cult Leader Jailed For 23 Years

  29-01-2016 16:28
  
  A Maoist cult leader who raped followers and held his daughter captive for three decades has been jailed for 23 years. Judge Deborah Taylor told the 75-year-old he had "shown no remorse" for his "grave and serious crimes". When the Maoist commune called the Workers Institute, based in Brixton, south London, was raided in 1978, Balakrishnan dominated and imposed his will on a small group of women for the next 35 years.
  
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• Killer Of Daniel Pelka Found Dead In Prison

  29-01-2016 16:26
  
  The killer of schoolboy Daniel Pelka has been found dead in prison, months after his partner was found hanging in her cell. Mariusz Krezolek and Daniel's mother Magdelena Luczak were convicted of the boy's murder in 2013. Krezolek was discovered unresponsive in his cell at HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire on Wednesday morning.
  
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• Cult Leader's Daughter: 'He Was A Psychopath'

  29-01-2016 16:25
  
  Waiving her anonymity for the first time to speak to Sky News, Katy Morgan-Davies explained how Aravindan Balakrishnan cruelly deprived her of any contact with the outside world for three decades, and of even knowing which of the cult's members was her own mother. Balakrishnan, who has now been sentenced to 23 years in prison for two counts of cruelty and false imprisonment for his treatment of Ms Morgan-Davies, and for the indecent assault, rape and assault of other women in the cult, kept her
  
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• EU reform offer from Brussels 'not good enough': Cameron

  29-01-2016 16:18
  David Cameron has rejected the latest proposals from Brussels on his reform agenda as "not good enough" after talks with senior European Union figures over the offer of an "emergency brake" on migrant benefits.
  
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• Warships to be cut open for new engines as they keep breaking down

  29-01-2016 16:06
  
  The Royal Navy's most modern warships will need to have holes cut in their sides to fit them with new engines because they keep breaking down.
  
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• The downside of being a property guardian

  29-01-2016 16:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The dark side of being a property guardian
  
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• Giant Australian animals may have been driven to extinction by humans

  29-01-2016 15:58
  Giant animals from down under, including a 1,000-pound kangaroo and a two-ton wombat, may have been driven to extinction by early Australians, new research suggests.
  
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• Zika Warning: UK Men Told To Use Condoms

  29-01-2016 15:57
  
  Men in the UK are being urged to wear condoms for a month after returning from any of the 23 countries affected by the Zika virus. Public Health England (PHE) said the risk of transmission of the virus through sex was very low but condoms should be used as a precaution. It said: "Sexual transmission of Zika virus has been recorded in a limited number of cases, and the risk of sexual transmission of Zika virus is thought to be very low.
  
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• Power and travel disrupted as Storm Gertrude winds top 100mph

  29-01-2016 15:49
  
  Winds of more than 100mph have left thousands of homes without power, buildings damaged and transport disrupted as Storm Gertrude sweeps the country.
  
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• UK men urged to wear condoms after travel to Zika-hit countries

  29-01-2016 15:40
  Men in the UK are being urged to wear condoms for a month after returning from any of the 23 countries affected by Zika.
  
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• 'End of an era' as Great Train Robber Gordon Goody dies in Spain aged 86

  29-01-2016 15:36
  The death of Gordon Goody, one of the last surviving members of the Great Train Robbery gang, marks "the end of an era", the son of one of his fellow robbers said.
  
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• HSBC online banking service disrupted as firm thwarts cyber attack

  29-01-2016 15:21
  A cyber attack against HSBC has caused disruption for customers trying to log in on a key day for managing their money.
  
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• Game Of Thrones Backdrop Wrecked By Storm

  29-01-2016 15:16
  
  Storm Gertrude has wrecked a spectacular tree-lined avenue which was a backdrop for the hit fantasy drama Game Of Thrones. Several trees making up the famous Dark Hedges in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland, came down in the high winds. Thousands of homes and businesses have been left without power across the UK after being ravaged by Storm Gertrude.
  
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• Andy McNab celebrates Land Rover as final Defender rolls off production line

  29-01-2016 15:15
  Former SAS sergeant Andy McNab has hailed the role of Land Rover Defenders in the British military after the last one rolled off the production line.
  
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• Christians 'must stand up for faith', says chief schools inspector

  29-01-2016 15:14
  It has never been more important for Christians to stand up for their faith, Sir Michael Wilshaw has said, warning that society is becoming increasingly "secular and materialistic".
  
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• BBC valuable, vulnerable and taken for granted, warns Sir David Attenborough

  29-01-2016 15:14
  Sir David Attenborough has said he is "always fearful" for the future of the BBC.
  
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• Almost 80% of top NHS managers earn more than £100,000, pay poll finds

  29-01-2016 15:14
  Almost eight out of 10 of the most senior NHS managers earn over £100,000, with almost a quarter on more than £142,500, figures show.
  
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