General news

• Corbyn Launches Anti-Semitism Action Plan

  29-04-2016 23:32
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has announced plans to tackle anti-Semitism and other forms of racism within the Labour Party. It follows the suspension of former London Mayor Ken Livingstone  over his comments about Adolf Hitler being a "Zionist". Mr Corbyn says he will be proposing a new code of conduct on anti-Semitism to Labour's national executive committee next month.
  
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• Tim Peake Controls UK-Based Rover From Space

  29-04-2016 23:26
  
  British astronaut Tim Peake has successfully taken control of a robot on Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). Major Peake, 44, piloted the rover - named Bridget - through a simulated Martian landscape at Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage. But it was not all plain driving - at one point Bridget got stuck on a large rock and its signal was lost for around 10 minutes.
  
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• Double-barrelled shotgun stolen after being left on London street

  29-04-2016 23:04
  
  A powerful double-barrelled shotgun was stolen after its owner left it "unattended" on a London street, police said.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn launches independent review into racism after Livingstone row

  29-04-2016 21:37
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has proposed a tightening of Labour rules and launched an independent review into racism as he seeks to calm tensions in the party over alleged anti-Semitism in the ranks.
  
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• British support for EU membership split 50-50 - ORB poll

  29-04-2016 21:07
  British support for staying in the European Union is split 50-50 according to an opinion poll published by research firm ORB which also suggested U.S. President Obama has not won over many voters with his call for the country not to leave the bloc. The online poll of 2,082 people, carried out between Wednesday and Friday for the Independent, showed the balance shifting slightly towards the "Leave" campaign when accounting for the likelihood of respondents to actually vote in the referendum in Ju
  
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• Beyonce dethrones Prince at top of album charts

  29-04-2016 20:47
  Beyonce has knocked Prince off the top of the album chart with Lemonade, preventing the late singer from earning his sixth UK album number one.
  
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• Queen amused by Obamas' Invictus Games challenge

  29-04-2016 20:06
  The Queen has dismissed an Invictus Games challenge from President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle - telling the world's most powerful man "Oh really, please".
  
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• Rowing chief to lead investigation into British cycling

  29-04-2016 19:58
  (Reuters) - Annamarie Phelps, Britain's rowing chief, will head the independent review into the "extremely disturbing" claims of discrimination and bullying that have rocked British cycling, it was announced on Friday. Phelps, chairman of British Rowing, will now appoint a review panel that will be asked to examine whether there are "fundamental behavioural issues" at the heart of British cycling's once-unrivalled sports programme. The news of the 1996 Olympic oarswoman's key role in the review,
  
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• Pop went the weasel and down went the Large Hadron Collider

  29-04-2016 19:58
  
  One of the world's most complex machines has been temporarily immobilised - by a weasel.
  
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• UK Super Puma flights grounded following Norway helicopter tragedy

  29-04-2016 19:54
  
  All UK commercial passenger flights using the Airbus EC225LP helicopter have been grounded by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) following a fatal crash in Norway.
  
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• One dead, one missing after fishing boat sinks off west Wales

  29-04-2016 19:27
  A fisherman has died and another is still missing after a boat sank off the coast of west Wales.
  
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• UK first quarter motor insurance premiums slip - AA

  29-04-2016 19:06
  British car insurance premiums fell marginally in the first quarter compared with the previous three months, dropping back after sharp rises over most of last year, recovery service AA said on Friday. New business premiums often stall during the first quarter of the year and the AA said in a quarterly statement it expected the upward trend to resume. FTSE 100 firms such as Aviva, Direct Line and RSA are among those operating in the highly competitive car insurance market.
  
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• Snow Warnings As Bank Holiday Gets Under Way

  29-04-2016 18:51
  
  A mixture of snow and sleet has caused problems for road and air travellers hoping to take advantage of the May Day bank holiday weekend. Flights were cancelled and delayed at Leeds Bradford Airport after 6ins (15cm) of snow fell overnight, forcing the runway to be closed for part of the day. Commuters in northeast England and southern Scotland woke on Friday to yellow Met Office warnings of snow and sleety showers, with 2ins (6cm) recorded in Carlton-in-Cleveland in North Yorkshire.
  
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• Ratings agency S&P sees UK staying in EU by small majority

  29-04-2016 18:39
  Ratings agency Standard & Poor's said on Friday it expected Britons to vote to remain in the European Union by a small majority in a June 23 referendum, but that the risk of leaving was a negative for the country's creditworthiness. S&P is the only major ratings agency to maintain a triple-A rating for Britain, but it has a negative outlook, implying a one-in-three chance of a downgrade in the next two years. "The negative outlook continues to reflect our view that the forthcoming refere
  
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• Rocky road for Tim Peake as UK astronaut pilots robot rover

  29-04-2016 18:38
  
  Tim Peake has become the first person to manoeuvre a rover robot through a darkened, simulated Martian landscape while orbiting the Earth from space.
  
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• Here are the results of the United Kingdom jury: Eurovision panel chosen

  29-04-2016 18:14
  
  Vocal coach CeCe Sammy has been announced as the chair of the UK judging panel for Eurovision 2016.
  
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• Briton Killed In Norway Helicopter Crash

  29-04-2016 18:14
  
  A Briton is among 13 people killed in a helicopter crash near the city of Bergen in Norway, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed. Police spokesman Morten Kronen said the Eurocopter EC225LP was "totally smashed" in the crash in the North Sea. "While I looked up, the rotor loosened and disappeared towards the north," John Atle Sekkingstad told local newspaper Bergens Tidende.
  
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• Britain and Brexit - what the rest of the world says

  29-04-2016 18:09
  It will be up to British voters on June 23 to decide whether the country stays in the European Union, but international bodies and foreign leaders have joined the debate, mostly to urge the country not to the leave the bloc. Below is a summary of comments ranging from institutions such as the International Monetary Fund to China's premier. U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA Obama told Britain on April 22 that it would go to "the back of the queue" for trade talks with Washington if it left the EU.
  
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• More Than 100 City Bosses Back EU 'Leave' Vote

  29-04-2016 17:29
  
  More than 100 City finance chiefs, including hedge fund managers Crispin Odey and Paul Marshall, have signed a letter backing Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. In a letter released by the official Vote Leave group ahead the referendum on 23 June, the financial services bosses said getting out of the EU would help strengthen London's position as the only financial capital to rival New York. The investors said that while membership had been good for Britain and London since 1973, it no
  
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• Labour MP Marie Rimmer accused of kicking Scottish independence supporter

  29-04-2016 17:00
  A Labour MP has gone on trial accused of assaulting a Yes campaigner at a polling station on the day of the Scottish independence referendum.
  
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• Brits 'Met Brussels Suspect In Birmingham Park'

  29-04-2016 17:00
  
  Two people from Birmingham have appeared in court accused of giving money to Brussels and Paris attacks suspect Mohamed Abrini. Mohammed Ali Ahmed, 26, and Zakaria Boufassil, 26, are charged with giving £3,000 to Abrini when he was in Britain. It is alleged they met Abrini - "the man in the hat" - in a park in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, in July last year, and handed over the cash.
  
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• Farage Warns Over Sex Attackers And Terrorists

  29-04-2016 16:57
  Nigel Farage has claimed that foreign terrorists and sex attackers will come to Britain on EU passports if voters choose to stay in the European Union. In an outspoken intervention, the UKIP leader argued quitting the EU was vital for national security, in an attempt to put immigration front and centre of the Leave campaign. Speaking across the road from the Home Office, Mr Farage claimed the only way to protect the UK's borders from foreign terrorists and criminals exploiting the migrants
  
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• Tim Peake takes command of Mars-bound robot from space

  29-04-2016 16:54
  
  Tim Peake has successfully taken control of a UK-based robot while orbiting the Earth from space in a pioneering experiment.
  
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• Stars turn out for funeral of 'unforgettable' music producer David Gest

  29-04-2016 16:48
  
  Flowers in the shape of a musical note and the words Unforgettable, That's What You Are adorned the coffin of David Gest as stars including Kerry Katona, Kym Marsh and Darren Day gathered for his funeral.
  
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• Snowfall and sleet cause disruption ahead of bank holiday weekend

  29-04-2016 16:40
  
  An unseasonal mix of snowfall and sleet has caused disruption to those making an early start to the May Day bank holiday weekend.
  
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• Hedge fund managers Crispin Odey and Paul Marshall say Brexit would help London

  29-04-2016 16:21
  By William Schomberg and Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - More than 100 executives from Britain's financial services industry, including hedge fund managers Crispin Odey and Paul Marshall, have signed a letter backing Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, the main Brexit campaign group said on Friday. In a letter released by the Vote Leave group ahead of a June 23 referendum, the City bosses said getting out of the EU would help strengthen London's position as the only financial capi
  
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• 'Ripper' Admirer Gets 27 Years For Stabbings

  29-04-2016 15:57
  James Fairweather has been detained for at least 27 years for the murders of James Attfield and Nahid Almanea in Colchester.
  
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• Captain America: Civil War – discuss the film with spoilers

  29-04-2016 15:56
  
  It’s been hailed for its slick universe-building, searing badinage and subtle villain. But what did you make of Marvel’s latest superhero megaflick?Captain America: Civil War is officially the best-reviewed superhero movie of all time, with a staggering 98% “fresh” rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. That’s ahead of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (94%), and even better than Pixar’s The Incredibles (97%). But is the Russo brothers’
  
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• British financiers Odey, Hargreaves and Marshall say Brexit would help London

  29-04-2016 15:21
  LONDON (Reuters) - The main campaign group seeking to get Britain out of the European Union at a referendum in June said more than 100 executives from Britain's financial services industry had signed a public letter backing the so-called Brexit campaign. ...
  
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• Merkel says EU membership gives Britain economic strength

  29-04-2016 14:31
  Remaining in the European Union will ensure that Britain remains a prosperous and economically successful country, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday, adding that a U.S.-EU free trade deal would also bring economic benefits. "One must realistically say which advantages membership of the European Union has and what advantages the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership has, and what is being negotiated now is also clear," Merkel said. Kucinskis said he hoped that a referendum i
  
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• EU Referendum Scorecard - Did Obama move the polls?

  29-04-2016 14:30
  After Barack Obama warned British voters against voting to leave the European Union, opinion polls so far suggest the U.S. president has failed to swing support behind continued membership. The "In" campaign immediately used Obama on their campaign literature, next to a picture of Donald Trump and the question: "Whose side are you on?" An online YouGov survey taken after Obama's remarks indicate his intervention was not a turning point. British politicians will be preoccupied by the May 5 local
  
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• 'How can truth be offensive?' asks unrepentant Livingstone in anti-Semitism row

  29-04-2016 14:29
  
  Ken Livingstone suggested Labour will have to lift his suspension over controversial remarks linking Adolf Hitler to Zionism as the row over the party's handling of anti-Semitism allegations continued.
  
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• Hillsborough Families Want Force Troubleshooters

  29-04-2016 14:13
  
  Families of 20 fans who died at Hillsborough have asked the Home Secretary to apply "remedial measures" to South Yorkshire Police. They say the force is in "shambles" and want Theresa May to intervene and initiate a "rigorous examination" of its failings, values and ethics. Elkan Abrahamson, a solicitor with legal firm Broudie Jackson Canter, told Sky News: "We are appalled to see the shambles in South Yorkshire Police following the Hillsborough inquest verdict.
  
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• Britons 'Gave Money' To Brussels Suspect

  29-04-2016 14:12
  
  Two people from Birmingham have appeared in court accused of giving money to Brussels and Paris attacks suspect Mohamed Abrini. Mohammed Ali Ahmed, 26, and Zakaria Boufassil, 26, are charged with giving £3,000 to Abrini when he was in Britain last summer. It is alleged they met Abrini - "the man in the hat" - in a park in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, in July last year, and handed over the cash.
  
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• Livingstone Says Labour Should Reinstate Him

  29-04-2016 14:09
  Ken Livingstone has said a Labour inquiry should reinstate him because he first made his inflammatory Hitler claims 30 years ago. The former London Mayor, who was suspended yesterday for bringing the party into disrepute, claimed this history was unknown to MPs because "they don’t teach it in Israeli schools". Mr Livingstone, who caused a storm of protest after claiming in a radio interview that Hitler had been a "Zionist" and wanted to send Jews to live in Israel, also cited a controversi
  
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• BoE says big banks must change structure to meet bail-in rules

  29-04-2016 14:05
  By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - Some banks will have to make internal changes to show regulators they can be closed smoothly in a crisis and without taxpayer bailouts, Bank of England (BoE) Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said on Friday. Policymakers don't want taxpayers to shore up troubled lenders again after public anger over government rescues of banks during the 2007-09 financial crisis. Moving to an effective "resolution" regime to wind down banks in trouble without disrupting the wider finan
  
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• Two men in court charged with funding Brussels 'man in the hat' Mohamed Abrini

  29-04-2016 14:04
  
  Two men have appeared in court charged with giving money to Brussels bomb suspect Mohamed Abrini.
  
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• Fears of households over-stretching on borrowing as consumer credit grows

  29-04-2016 14:04
  
  Fresh fears have been raised over debts such as credit cards and personal loans being taken on by households as Bank of England figures showed consumer credit is growing at its fastest rate since 2005.
  
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• Double murderer Colin Pitchfork recommended for move to open prison

  29-04-2016 14:04
  
  A killer who became the first man convicted of murder on the basis of DNA evidence should be moved to an open prison - but not released, the Parole Board has concluded.
  
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• Watchdog Fear Over Sainsbury's Pharmacy Deal

  29-04-2016 14:02
  The owner of Lloyds Pharmacy may have to sell branches in 13 areas after the competition watchdog raised concerns about its £125m deal to buy Sainsbury's network of in-store chemists. Germany's Celesio, which operates 1,540 pharmacies across the UK through the Lloyds brand, is planning to buy 277 stores that are mainly within or next to the supermarket's stores. It has prompted an inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
  
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• BoE likely to keep rates unchanged until early 2017 - Reuters Poll

  29-04-2016 13:52
  By Jonathan Cable LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's key interest rate is likely to stay at a record low of 0.5 percent until at least January as the Bank of England waits for growth and inflation to pick up, a Reuters poll forecast on Friday. Britons vote in a referendum on June 23 to decide whether to remain a member of the European Union, which has clouded an already uncertain economic outlook. Opinion polls on the outcome have been close, but most have shown the country will probably remain in the
  
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• Brexit could cost each Briton 45,000 pounds in lost wealth - JPMorgan

  29-04-2016 13:46
  A vote to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum could cost each Briton around 45,000 pounds, or around half the value of the United Kingdom's housing stock, JPMorgan Chase & Co said in a research report. Some financiers say a British exit would sap London's wealth, hammer sterling, undermine the world's fifth-largest economy and prompt some traders to move their business to other centres such as New York and Singapore. Using the British finance ministry's central estimate that UK
  
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• Readers' travel photography competition: May

  29-04-2016 13:22
  
  Our monthly photo competitions have no theme this year: we just want your best travel shots. Enter via GuardianWitness and you could win a seven-night ‘Secret Fjords’ self-drive holiday to Iceland for two with Discover the WorldHave you taken a particularly stunning snap on your recent travels? A glimmering river at dawn? A pungent street-scene? A rare bird bursting from the undergrowth? Whatever it is and wherever it was taken, we want to see your best travel photograph.We’ll
  
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• Has mindfulness helped improve your mental health? Share your story

  29-04-2016 13:17
  
  As a study suggests that mindfulness can control depression as effectively as drugs, we want to hear how it’s changed your life – for better or worseThese days most people know someone who in an effort to destress has tried some form of meditation, a popular form being mindfulness. But does it actually work?So far, it seems, the jury is still out. But a new study, looking specifically at mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), has raised hope for how this therapy might be used to
  
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• 43 years in solitary: 'There are moments I wish I was back there'

  29-04-2016 13:00
  
  Albert Woodfox, who was America’s longest-standing solitary confinement prisoner up until his release in February, describes what it feels like to be free Before walking out of jail a free man in February, Albert Woodfox spent 43 years almost without pause in an isolation cell, becoming the longest standing solitary confinement prisoner in America. He had no view of the sky from inside his 6ft by 9ft concrete box, no human contact, and taking a walk meant pacing from one end of the cell to
  
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• Minister 'on Mars' to see British astronaut Tim Peake steer robot rover

  29-04-2016 12:45
  
  Science Minister Jo Johnson has arrived on "Mars" as British astronaut Tim Peake prepares to steer a robot rover while orbiting the Earth.
  
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• Sports quiz of the week: Tyson Fury, Leicester City and county cricket drama

  29-04-2016 12:24
  
  This week’s quiz is cheering for Spurs, just to be different Continue reading...
  
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• Sian Blake Partner Admits Killing Her And Sons

  29-04-2016 12:19
  
  The partner of EastEnders actress Sian Blake has admitted killing her and their two children, his lawyer has said. Arthur Simpson-Kent is charged with murdering his 43-year-old girlfriend and their sons Zachary, eight, and four-year-old Amon between 12 and 16 December last year. The victims vanished on 13 December and their bodies were found buried in the garden of the family home in Erith, Kent, on 5 January.
  
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• Man Found In Search For Missing Fishing Crew

  29-04-2016 12:16
  
  The coastguard has resumed the search for a missing fisherman, after another man was pulled from the water off the Pembrokeshire coast overnight. Three lifeboats and a rescue helicopter with thermal cameras are involved in the search for the second crew member believed to have been on board a fishing vessel that sank off St David's Head. The UK Coastguard received an emergency call from a member of the public to report a fishing boat in difficulty at around 2pm on Thursday.
  
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• Snow Warnings Kick Off Bank Holiday Getaway

  29-04-2016 12:15
  Families hitting the road for their May Day Bank Holiday break have been warned to expect hail, sleet and snow. Commuters in northeast England and southern Scotland woke on Friday to yellow Met Office warnings of snow and sleety showers, with 6cm recorded in Carlton-in-Cleveland in North Yorkshire. However, the wintry weather is expected to subside for the Bank Holiday weekend as temperatures reach up to 14C in the South East, and between 10C and 12C across the rest of the country on Saturd
  
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