General news

• Princess Charlotte Joins Queen In New Portrait

  20-04-2016 23:54
  
  A historic portrait of the Queen surrounded by her five great-grandchildren and two youngest grandchildren has been released to celebrate Her Majesty's 90th birthday. The official picture was taken by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz in the Green Drawing Room of Windsor Castle. In the tradition of royal portraiture, the Queen holds the youngest addition to the Royal Family, 11-month-old Princess Charlotte, in her arms.
  
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• Brexit Would Leave UK 'Powerless', Clegg Claims

  20-04-2016 23:30
  
  An exit from the European Union would leave the UK "alone" and "powerless", putting the "special relationship" with the United States at risk, Nick Clegg has warned. In an address at Princeton University in New Jersey, Mr Clegg said the only prominent American who did not support the UK staying in the EU was Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump.
  
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• Prince George 'walks like Prince of Wales'

  20-04-2016 22:50
  Prince George has inherited more than just a family resemblance from the Prince of Wales - he also has the same toddler walk.
  
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• Man bailed in Rikki Neave murder probe

  20-04-2016 22:50
  A man arrested on suspicion of murdering a six-year-old boy more than 20 years ago has been released on bail.
  
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• Labour blames admin error for seeking Jeremy Corbyn spokesman in short-term role

  20-04-2016 22:49
  Labour has claimed an "administrative error" was to blame for suggesting Jeremy Corbyn may not make it to the end of the year as leader.
  
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• Committees refuse to back David Isaac's appointment at EHRC

  20-04-2016 22:49
  MPs and peers have refused to back the Government's preferred candidate to be the new chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
  
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• Brexit would isolate UK and threaten relationship with US, Nick Clegg warns

  20-04-2016 22:30
  
  The UK would be left "alone" and "powerless" if it votes to leave the European Union, putting the "special relationship" with the United States in jeopardy, Nick Clegg has warned.
  
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• Woman, 79, Run Over In 'Horrible' Carjacking

  20-04-2016 22:16
  
  The victim suffered serious injuries during the carjacking when the man drove over her as she lay in the vehicle's path at a car park. He then reversed the vehicle, knocking the woman over, before driving over her at the car park off Sandy Lane in Royton. Detective Inspector Ian Harratt, from Greater Manchester Police's Oldham division, said it was "one of the worst incidents" he has had to investigate.
  
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• Victoria Wood's loss incalculable, says 'heart-sore' friend Julie Walters

  20-04-2016 21:29
  
  Victoria Wood's close friend and long-term writing partner Julie Walters has led tributes to the comedian, who has died aged 62, describing her loss as "incalculable".
  
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• Smoking breaks banned by Nottinghamshire County Council

  20-04-2016 20:42
  Smoking breaks are to be banned for thousands of council employees under new rules.
  
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• Jeremy Hunt urged to accept BMA's offer to avert junior doctors' strike

  20-04-2016 20:09
  
  The Government should accept the British Medical Association's offer to call off the junior doctors' strike, leading medics have said.
  
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• Humans could be at risk of liver damage on deep space missions, study finds

  20-04-2016 20:00
  
  Early signs of liver damage in orbiting "astromice" have raised concerns about sending humans on deep space missions to Mars and beyond.
  
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• Aspirin can boost cancer survival rate by a fifth, researchers say

  20-04-2016 20:00
  An aspirin pill a day can increase the survival chances of people with common cancers by a fifth, research has shown.
  
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• Iain Duncan Smith warns Conservative Party without compassion faces defeat

  20-04-2016 19:56
  
  The Conservative Party faces defeat unless it can persuade voters it is compassionate, former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith has warned.
  
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• Not in Lee Rigby's name: Family protest about right-wing advert for London mayor

  20-04-2016 19:04
  
  The family of Fusilier Lee Rigby have distanced themselves from an election broadcast by the right-wing Britain First party which is expected to refer to his murder.
  
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• Brexit would prompt banker exit, hurt currency trading, City of London says

  20-04-2016 19:04
  By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - A British exit from the European Union would hurt London's status as a global financial centre because international banks could move away and euro trading would be hit, the City of London Corporation said on Wednesday. Many financiers say a British exit would sap London of its wealth, hammer sterling, undermine the world's fifth-largest economy and prompt some traders to move their business to other financial centres such as New York and Singapore. The Ci
  
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• Comedian Victoria Wood Dies Aged 62

  20-04-2016 18:09
  
  Comedian Victoria Wood has died aged 62 from cancer.
  
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• Former Soldiers Cleared Of Raping Corporal

  20-04-2016 18:08
  
  Two former soldiers have been acquitted of raping Corporal Anne-Marie Ellement, who was later found hanged in her barracks. Cpl Ellement died at Bulford Barracks in Wiltshire on 9 October 2011, almost two years after alleging she was raped by two soldiers while stationed in Germany. Thomas Fulton and Jeremy Jones, both 28, insisted she had engaged in a consensual threesome after drinking with them in the corporals' mess at the camp in Sennelager on 19 November 2009.
  
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• Victoria Wood hailed as 'brightest talent of generation' after death at 62

  20-04-2016 17:51
  
  The older brother of comedian Victoria Wood has said her death "has robbed us of one of the brightest talents of our generation".
  
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• Tributes To 'Comedy Icon' Victoria Wood

  20-04-2016 17:49
  
  "No no no no no no no no no. Not Victoria Wood. Comic relief hero and friend. No," wrote Emma Freud on Twitter after hearing the news that the comedian and actor had died.
  
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• Britain's 'In' campaign gains steam ahead of EU referendum, polls show

  20-04-2016 17:45
  By Andy Bruce and Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - British support for staying in the European Union has risen slightly, according to two opinion polls on Wednesday that add to signs the "Remain" campaign has gained momentum ahead of a referendum in June. An Ipsos MORI telephone poll of 1,026 people showed the "In" camp, supported by Prime Minister David Cameron, holding a 10-point lead over those wanting to leave the 28-nation bloc. While backing for the remain campaign was unchanged from l
  
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• 'Life's Not Fair': Victoria Wood's Famous Gags

  20-04-2016 17:41
  
  Victoria Wood was an award-winning actress, writer, comedian and singer whose honest and natural style of comedy led to many memorable moments.
  
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• Tata to consider all expressions of interest amid management buyout possibility

  20-04-2016 17:37
  
  Steel giant Tata said it will consider all expressions of interest in buying its loss-making UK business as a management buyout emerged as a potential saviour of thousands of jobs.
  
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• Press ban in tatters as UK celebrity threesome story spreads online

  20-04-2016 17:31
  In England, the answer is to obtain an injunction -- a court order banning media from publishing private information against your will. Britain's Supreme Court will hold a hearing on Thursday at the end of which it will decide whether the ban should remain in place. The person obtained an injunction in January covering England and Wales and kept a lid on the news story for 11 weeks, but on April 6 a widely read U.S. magazine ran it and within minutes it was all over the Internet.
  
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• French rightist Le Pen to head to UK to campaign for Brexit

  20-04-2016 17:24
  France's far-right party leader Marine Le Pen is planning to travel to Britain to campaign for the country to leave the European Union, a party official said on Wednesday. Le Pen has said she would organise a referendum on leaving the EU in France if she were to come to power. "Marine Le Pen is bound to go.
  
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• Aston Martin once owned by Duke of Edinburgh sold for £350,000

  20-04-2016 17:20
  An Aston Martin once owned by the Duke of Edinburgh has been sold for a record-breaking £350,000.
  
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• What gives home sides an advantage over visiting teams?

  20-04-2016 17:00
  
  Readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific conceptsStatistics show that there is such a thing as home advantage in team sports. Presuming that the (away) athletes’ skill levels don’t alter, their effort remains the same, and are professional enough not to be traumatised by the home fans’ noise, what could be the reason for this?
  Dave Sidney, London• Post your answers – and new questions &ndas
  
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• Tim Peake ready to leap into London Marathon space challenge

  20-04-2016 16:58
  It will be more than a few small steps for British astronaut Tim Peake, and a giant leap for the London Marathon.
  
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• UK unemployment rises for first time since mid-2015 as EU vote nears

  20-04-2016 16:55
  By Ana Nicolaci da Costa and William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) - The number of people out of work in Britain rose for the first time since mid-2015 in the three months to February, the latest sign the economy is slowing as Britain gears up for a divisive referendum on its membership of the European Union. Economists link a recent slowing in Britain's economy to uncertainty surrounding the June referendum as well as a slowdown in global growth. Britain created more than 200,000 jobs as recently
  
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• Pathologist Casts Doubts Over Deepcut Suicide

  20-04-2016 16:43
  
  A top forensic pathologist has cast doubt on claims that an 18-year-old Army recruit found dead at Deepcut Barracks had killed herself. Private Cheryl James was found with a fatal head wound on 27 November, 1995. Ballistics experts earlier told the inquest into her death at Woking Coroner's Court that "soot deposits" seen on her face and thumb were "indicative" of a close or hard contact gunshot wound.
  
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• Ex-soldiers cleared of raping female colleague

  20-04-2016 16:42
  Two former soldiers have been acquitted of raping Corporal Anne-Marie Ellement, who was found hanged in her barracks two years later.
  
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• UK financial regulator yet to get its hands on Panama Papers

  20-04-2016 16:33
  By Kirstin Ridley LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator has not begun to examine the leaked Panama Papers, which have been combed through by media organisations for news stories, because it has yet to gain full access to the contents. Prime Minister David Cameron has unveiled a new task force of Revenue and Customers officials, the National Crime Agency, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to probe documents that allegedly show how the world's elite ex
  
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• Giving Brexit vote to expats will put referendum date in doubt, says Government

  20-04-2016 16:26
  
  The date of the European Union referendum will be put in doubt if British citizens living in Europe win a legal battle for the right to join the vote, Government lawyers have told the High Court.
  
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• PM Branded 'Racist' For Attack On Labour's Khan

  20-04-2016 16:24
  
  David Cameron was branded "racist" in shouts from Labour MPs after he launched an attack on the party's London mayoral candidate at Prime Minister's Questions. The Prime Minister savaged Sadiq Khan for sharing a platform with extremists saying it called into question the candidate's judgement. Mr Cameron was referring to Mr Khan appearing at the same events as the radical preacher Suliman Gani.
  
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• UK accepts more resettlement scheme refugees than any other EU nation

  20-04-2016 16:13
  The UK accepted more refugees under resettlement schemes than any other country in the EU last year, new figures reveal.
  
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• Rare 'white blackbird' spotted in Devon garden

  20-04-2016 16:13
  A rare albino blackbird has been spotted in a garden in north Devon.
  
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• Tata's Port Talbot management working on buyout plan

  20-04-2016 16:12
  Senior staff at Port Talbot, Britain's biggest steel works, are seeking to launch a management buyout plan with the support of staff, investors and the government to save the loss-making plant put up for sale by Tata Steel. The Indian conglomerate put its entire British steel operation up for sale last month, leaving the government battling to save a once mighty industry that has been hammered by a surge in cheap Chinese imports, soaring costs and weak demand. Only one buyer has publicly come fo
  
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• Centrica's British Gas to cut nearly 700 jobs

  20-04-2016 16:10
  Utility group Centrica's British Gas, the country's largest energy supplier, said on Wednesday it was proposing to cut 684 jobs at its British Gas Services by closing its Oldbury office near Birmingham. Centrica, which has been hit hard by weak energy prices and fiercer competition, announced last year it would cut 6,000 jobs as part of a cost-saving drive. Of these job cuts, 3,000 are expected this year and 800 took place in the first quarter, Centrica said earlier this week.
  
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• 'Remain' ahead by 10 points in Britain's EU referendum campaign - Ipsos MORI poll

  20-04-2016 16:01
  Support for Britain to remain in the European Union stands at 49 percent, 10 points ahead of the "Out" campaign, according to an Ipsos MORI poll published in the Evening Standard newspaper on Wednesday. The telephone poll of 1,026 people, conducted between April 16 and 18, also suggested that a reduced turnout would favour the pro-Brexit campaign, closing the gap to six points. "It is very close but the advantage usually lies with the status quo in any referendum," Gideon Skinner, Ipsos MORI's h
  
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• Cameron called 'racist' after accusing Sadiq Khan over links to IS supporter

  20-04-2016 15:44
  David Cameron has sparked a furious row over the contest for the London mayoralty after he accused Labour candidate Sadiq Khan of sharing a platform with an Islamic "extremist".
  
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• Germany to host European leaders' meeting with Obama on Monday

  20-04-2016 15:18
  BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - German Chancellor Merkel will host a meeting of the leaders of Britain, France and Italy with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday to discuss global issues, a government spokeswoman said. Obama is due to visit Merkel in Hanover for what German government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said would likely be their last meeting while he is president, and they decided to use the opportunity to meet other European leaders too. "There are plenty of issues, if you look at the si
  
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• Will Snow Hit London Marathon On Sunday?

  20-04-2016 15:17
  
  Runners and spectators at this weekend's London Marathon could have to deal with a fresh challenge for the first time in the event's 35-year history – snow. Weather forecasters say it is possible that showers sweeping the country on Sunday could include sleet or even wet snow over London. Celebrities including former Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes, Top Gear host Chris Evans and ex-England footballer Danny Mills will be among those hoping predictions of snow are off the mark.
  
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• PM called 'racist' after he accuses Khan of sharing platform with IS supporter

  20-04-2016 15:01
  The Prime Minister has been called a "racist" by opposition MPs after wading into the extremism row embroiling Labour's mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan.
  
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• Mitsubishi manipulated data to show better fuel consumption on 625,000 vehicles

  20-04-2016 15:01
  Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi has admitted manipulating test data to show better fuel consumption on more than 600,000 vehicles.
  
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• Migrant dispersal system aims for councils to share child asylum seekers

  20-04-2016 15:01
  
  Lone children who claim asylum in Britain will be shared around the country under plans to ease the strain on councils caring for large numbers.
  
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• Ellie's injuries could not have been an accident, father's murder trial told

  20-04-2016 15:01
  
  A six-year-old girl's devastating head injuries could not have been caused by an accidental fall, as claimed by her father, a court has heard.
  
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• Idris Elba Cast In New Original Sky Drama

  20-04-2016 14:32
  
  Idris Elba, Tim Roth and Dawn French are just some of the famous names who will star in Sky's new original productions. Academy Award winning writers John Ridley (12 Years A Slave) and Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) will create two of the programmes for Sky 1 and Sky Atlantic. Elba will star in Ridley's Guerrilla which is a love story set in the politically explosive 1970s.
  
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• WWF 'still waiting' for David Cameron's cleaner, greener government

  20-04-2016 14:25
  
  A decade after David Cameron posed with huskies in the Arctic to show his green credentials, environmentalists say they are still waiting for "cleaner, greener" government.
  
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• Vodafone breached PAYG obligations for more than four years, regulator believes

  20-04-2016 14:25
  
  Ofcom has announced it has "reasonable grounds" to believe that Vodafone breached its obligations to pay-as-you-go customers.
  
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• Thousands of firms 'could go bust due to cost of living wage'

  20-04-2016 14:25
  
  Thousands of businesses are at risk of going bust as a result of having to pay the national living wage to employees, according to insolvency experts.
  
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