General news

• Christopher Biggins out of Big Brother over comments 'capable of offence'

  05-08-2016 23:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Actor Christopher Biggins has been removed from Celebrity Big Brother for making comments "capable of causing great offence", the TV show says.
  
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• PM tells Team GB: Let's bring on the great this Summer

  05-08-2016 23:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  UK Prime Minster Theresa May has wished British athletes luck at the Olympics in Rio, via a video on social media.
  
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• Strengthen rules on premium rate texts, says regulator

  05-08-2016 23:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rules should be strengthened to avoid mobile users being hit by unexpected charges on premium rate texts, a regulator says.
  
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• Golden opportunity

  05-08-2016 22:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  For the 2016 Rio Olympics, in addition to changes in the sporting arena - with sports like rugby sevens and golf added - there are also important sponsor changes.
  
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• London Stabbing Suspect Charged With Murder

  05-08-2016 22:42
  A teenager has been charged with the murder of an American tourist following a mass stabbing in central London.
  
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• Southern Railway Strike To Go Ahead Next Week

  05-08-2016 22:13
  Southern Railway passengers face strike chaos next week after talks between union chiefs and management broke down. Southern Railway warned that tens of thousands of passengers would face five days of "misery" from next Monday. During the talks, Southern said it would plan to run 60% of its trains next week if the strike went ahead.
  
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• So it turns out that US vice president Joe Biden is the best boss ever

  05-08-2016 21:42
  
  We all want to work for Joe Biden now.
  
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• Actress Redgrave urges British government to take in Calais child refugees

  05-08-2016 20:43
  Actress and activist Vanessa Redgrave delivered a letter to Britain's prime minister on Friday calling for unaccompanied child refugees in Calais to be brought to Britain if they have families in Britain. The letter, signed by the 79-year-old screen and stage veteran and politician Alf Dubs, called for an immediate amnesty for the minors identified by Citizens UK, which since last year has been working in the northern French city with child refugees who have family in Britain. Earlier this year,
  
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• Terrorist Arms Dump Found In Northern Ireland

  05-08-2016 20:36
  A "significant" arms and munitions dump has been discovered by police investigating dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland. Detective Inspector Karen Baxter said the items, discovered close to a derelict house, were "in the advanced stages of readiness" and that the find had saved lives. Upper Bann MP David Simpson said: "This is a huge and significant blow against dissident republicans who want to draw Northern Ireland back into the dark days of terrorism.
  
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• A five-day Southern Railway strike is looming as negotiations break down with union

  05-08-2016 20:31
  
  Maybe we should all just sleep at work for the week.
  
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• Selfie-Takers Risk Death Over Cliff Edge Photos

  05-08-2016 20:30
  The National Trust has issued a warning after the Sky News helicopter captured it on camera on Friday. The National Trust told Sky News: "The chalk cliffs can be unstable in places, as shown by the recent cliff falls, and there are sections which have some undercuts.
  
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• The last word

  05-08-2016 20:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The last two journalists based in London's Fleet Street leave what was once seen as the centre of British journalism.
  
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• The most exciting British athletes to watch out for on day one of the Olympics

  05-08-2016 20:01
  
  Keep your eyes peeled for this lot.
  
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• Ofsted's David Hoare Isle of Wight 'inbreeding' comment reaction

  05-08-2016 19:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ofsted's David Hoare called the Isle of Wight a "ghetto" where "there has been inbreeding"
  
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• Man Stabbed In Front Of Shoppers At Westfield

  05-08-2016 19:13
  A man is in hospital after being stabbed in front of horrified shoppers at the Westfield shopping centre in West London. The victim, who is in his twenties, was injured at the popular centre in Shepherd's Bush. "Westfield can confirm there has been an incident and is assisting the police," she said.
  
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• Ofsted Chair Sorry Over Isle Of Wight Comments

  05-08-2016 19:05
  The chairman of Ofsted, the country's education watchdog, has apologised for saying that the Isle of Wight was a ghetto suffering from inbreeding. David Hoare, a former City banker, made the comments last month while speaking at a teaching conference in Leeds, during a discussion about improving education for the disadvantaged. The Times Educational Supplement reported him as saying: "Most people go (to the Isle of Wight) for sailing for two weeks a year.
  
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• Sky Data: Brits Think Rate Cut Good For Economy

  05-08-2016 18:39
  Almost half of Britons think yesterday's interest rate cut from the Bank of England will be a good thing for the economy, according to a Sky Data Snap Poll. Some 47% think the cut, which has seen interest rates hit their lowest level since the 17th century, will be good for the UK economy.
  
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• Dissident Arms Dump Found In Northern Ireland

  05-08-2016 18:32
  A significant dissident arms dump has been discovered in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. Sky News' Ireland correspondent David Blevins says officers are still dealing with a fully constructed bomb found at the dump. Police Service of Northern Ireland Detective Superintendent Karen Baxter said that one of the items found was a "fully-constructed explosive device".
  
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• Catch 22?

  05-08-2016 18:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Jeremy Corbyn says that the Labour Party has defeated the government in Parliament 22 times in the last 10 months. Is he right?
  
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• Risking explosions to make super-strength cannabis

  05-08-2016 18:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  People are risking life and limb trying to make a super-strength form of cannabis.
  
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• Man arrested in Northern Ireland over 1976 minibus killings

  05-08-2016 18:05
  Northern Ireland police on Friday arrested a man over the shooting dead of 10 Protestant textile workers in 1976 in one of the deadliest of three decades of sectarian attacks in Northern Ireland. No one has ever been convicted for the crime, which an inquiry said was carried out by the Provisional IRA who targeted the men because of their religion. The incident was one of a series of tit-for-tat attacks by Protestant loyalist paramilitaries who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the Unite
  
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• Matter of opinion

  05-08-2016 17:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Natasha Nkonde from Black Lives Matter responds to questions from social media
  
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• Man Arrested Over 1976 Kingsmill Murders

  05-08-2016 17:12
  A 59-year-old man has been arrested over the sectarian murder of 10 Protestant workers at Kingsmill in Northern Ireland 40 years ago. At the end of May, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said a potential match had been found to a palm print left on a getaway vehicle used by the republican paramilitaries.
  
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• Third Severed Human Foot Found In Somerset

  05-08-2016 16:57
  Avon and Somerset police say it was discovered in the garden of a house in Cranwells Park, and has been sent for forensic analysis. "At this stage we are keeping an open mind as to whether or not this is linked to the previous two similar incidents in the city," said a police statement. The first foot was found in Weston Park East in February, while the second was discovered in a garden of a house in Weston Park in July.
  
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• Top BoE officials flag lower rates as surveys show trouble ahead

  05-08-2016 16:16
  By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England's top two monetary policymakers said interest rates may need to fall further, as surveys on Friday sustained their view that even a "sledgehammer" stimulus will not be enough to fully counter a post-Brexit vote slowdown. Ben Broadbent, the BoE's deputy governor for monetary policy, told Reuters he would support reducing interest rates again, while his boss Mark Carney repeated that rates could fall further if needed.
  
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• Paris court confirms EDF board Hinkley Point vote

  05-08-2016 15:42
  A Paris court on Friday confirmed the EDF board's investment decision on the Hinkley Point nuclear newbuild project in Britain, an EDF Works Council official told Reuters. The French state-controlled utility's Works Council had asked the Paris court to annul the board's vote, arguing that it had not received the necessary documents from management to give a non-binding preliminary advice to the company. "The Works Council takes note of the court's unfavourable decision," the official said.
  
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• Abuse Inquiry Judge Asked To Appear Before MPs

  05-08-2016 15:28
  
  Dame Lowell Goddard has been asked to appear before MPs following her resignation as Chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Justice Goddard announced she was quitting on Thursday amid reports she spent three months on holiday or abroad in her first year in the £500,000 job. The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, reassured victims of abuse that "the work of the inquiry will continue without delay and a new chair will be appointed".
  
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• End Of Free Charging For Electric Car Drivers

  05-08-2016 15:06
  
  Today marks the end of free charging for thousands of electric car drivers. The last few motorway service charging points on Ecotricity's 300-strong network will today be switched to a pay as you go system after five years of being free. The chief executive of the renewable energy firm told Sky News that customers were given advanced warning of the move but admitted that the rise of electric car users has taken the company by surprise.
  
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• Be like Pip

  05-08-2016 14:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A mother writes a gushing tribute to a London Underground worker only known as Pip, who helps pregnant woman get a seat on the Tube during the morning rush hour.
  
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• Campaigners Stage Protest On Corbyn's Roof

  05-08-2016 14:35
  Campaigners from a fathers' rights group are staging a protest on the roof of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's house. Bobby Smith and Martin Matthews climbed onto the roof this morning as part of their effort to draw attention to their campaign for fathers to be given greater rights to see their children. Mr Smith shared videos on social media showing police closing off the street in north London and the pair talking to "negotiators in Corbyn's house" through a skylight.
  
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• Ten held as Black Lives Matter protest blocks Heathrow road

  05-08-2016 13:41
  Ten people were arrested on Friday after protesters from the British arm of the "Black Lives Matter" movement blocked the main road to London's Heathrow Airport, police said. Four people were in custody while the other six were being disentangled having locked themselves together across the five-lane slip road leading to the airport, causing traffic congestion at the Europe's busiest hub. One lane of the road, a spur off a motorway which connects London to western England, remained closed at mid
  
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• Roads Blocked In UK Black Lives Matter Protests

  05-08-2016 13:04
  
  Supporters claiming to be part of the Black Lives Matter movement brought traffic to a standstill in parts of the UK. Activists had called for a "nationwide #shutdown" in a post on social media on Thursday, with events being held in London, Birmingham, Nottingham, and Manchester. Sky News understands six protesters locked themselves to boxes on the road, while others were lying on the tarmac obstructing holidaymakers heading to Heathrow Airport.
  
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• Cameron accused of cronyism over honours for allies

  05-08-2016 12:22
  By Giles Elgood LONDON (Reuters) - David Cameron was accused on Friday of cronyism that would "embarrass a medieval court" after he rewarded a long list of his political aides and allies with some of Britain's highest honours to mark his resignation as prime minister. Cameron stepped down last month after he failed to persuade voters to back staying in the European Union in a referendum, and many of those on his "Resignation Honours" list were prominent in the campaign to remain in the bloc. Amo
  
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• Black Lives Matter campaign begins co-ordinated protests across the UK

  05-08-2016 12:20
  
  Demonstrations are taking place in Nottingham, Birmingham and London Heathrow, where there is traffic chaos.
  
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• A 'shame counter' tracking deaths of refugees has been installed on a Barcelona beach

  05-08-2016 12:17
  
  An inscription below reads: “This isn’t just a number, these are people.”
  
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• UK House Price Growth Slows In July - Halifax

  05-08-2016 12:07
  House prices in the UK fell by 1% between June and July, according to the Halifax, the third such decline recorded by the bank this year. House prices in the three months to July were 1.6% higher than the previous quarter, up from 1.1% in June, but comfortably lower than earlier in the year. The average price of a house in the UK is now £214,678 according to the lender, which is still 8.4% higher than a year ago.
  
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• Roads Blocked In Black Lives Matter Protests

  05-08-2016 11:55
  
  Supporters claiming to be part of the Black Lives Matter movement are bringing traffic to a standstill in parts of the UK. Activists called for a "nationwide #shutdown" in a post on social media on Thursday, with events being held in London, Birmingham, and Nottingham. Sky News understands six protesters have locked themselves to boxes on the road, while others are lying on the tarmac obstructing holidaymakers heading to Heathrow Airport.
  
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• See the plane that skidded off an Italian runway and ended up on the road with drivers

  05-08-2016 11:53
  
  Thankfully, no-one was injured.
  
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• Cameron Honours List Branded 'A Sorry Legacy'

  05-08-2016 11:44
  David Cameron has been accused of cronyism for producing a resignation honours list branded "a sorry legacy" by critics. George Osborne becomes a Companion of Honour, while former Number 10 spin doctor Craig Oliver and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon are among those knighted. Other senior Tories honoured include Patrick McLoughlin, the party's chairman, who becomes a knight; former Northern Ireland minister Hugo Swire, and former Cabinet member Oliver Let
  
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• Surveys show jobs trouble ahead, but BoE's Carney sees no financial crisis repeat

  05-08-2016 11:42
  By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's current economic problems are not a repeat of the financial crisis, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday, even though surveys bolstered his view that the economy will slow sharply even with billions of pounds of new stimulus. Carney was speaking after the BoE cut rates to a new record low 0.25 percent on Thursday and unveiled measures that could amount to 170 billion pounds, a huge stimulus package designed to counter the shock from June'
  
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• Who's Who In Cameron's Resignation List?

  05-08-2016 11:27
  Here is the full list of names of those given honours and peerages by former PM David Cameron.
  
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• Prison Governor Hurt In Inmate Canteen Attack

  05-08-2016 11:07
  Police are investigating an incident at HMP Wayland in Norfolk in which the governor was attacked and seriously hurt. Governor Paul Cawkwell was talking to an inmate in the canteen of the category C Norfolk prison when he attacked him in an "unprovoked" beating on Wednesday last week. A police spokesman said: "Norfolk Police are investigating an assault on a member of staff by a prisoner at HMP Wayland on Wednesday July 27 2016.
  
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• Black Lives Matter protesters block road to London's Heathrow Airport

  05-08-2016 11:06
  Protesters from the British arm of the Black Lives Matter movement blocked the main road to London's Heathrow Airport on Friday, causing traffic congestion at the busiest airport in Europe. Police made several arrests and one lane was now open, they said in a statement, after earlier media reports of protesters lying down across the five-lane slip road leading to the airport from a major motorway connecting London to western England. One news photograph showed a Black Lives Matter banner spread
  
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• Burglars Target Rooney's Home During Match

  05-08-2016 10:56
  Wayne Rooney's Cheshire mansion was targeted by thieves as he played in his testimonial at Old Trafford. The Manchester United striker's family home in Prestbury was hit by raiders as the forward, his wife Coleen and their three sons Kai, Klay and Kit were at the match against his former club Everton on Wednesday, police said. A Cheshire Police spokesman said they were investigating and appealed for any witnesses to come forward.
  
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• Dozens of hot air balloons flew over Bristol and it was beautiful

  05-08-2016 10:33
  
  The weather was perfect for watching the spectacle.
  
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• Carney: UK not in a repeat of financial crisis

  05-08-2016 10:27
  Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday Britain's economic problems today are not a repeat of the financial crisis and that Britons should not worry about the supply of credit. Carney was speaking after the BoE cut rates to a new record low 0.25 percent and expanded its quantitative easing programme by 60 billion pounds. "People should not worry about the supply of credit, this is not after the financial crisis, this isn't during the euro crisis - this is a modern financial sector th
  
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• Murder Charges After Man Hit By Metal Object

  05-08-2016 10:25
  Three people have been charged with murder after a man died following an attack in Essex. Police said Michael Beckwith suffered head injuries after being assaulted with a metal object in Barrack Lane, Harwich, just before 10pm on 31 July. Twenty seven year-old Scott Swift, from Dovercourt, Rebecca Ryan, 21, from Weeley, and a 17-year-old boy, from Harwich, will all appear at Colchester Magistrates' Court today.
  
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• Bank of England's Carney: UK not in a repeat of financial crisis

  05-08-2016 10:05
  Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday Britain's economic problems today are not a repeat of the financial crisis and that Britons should not worry about the supply of credit. Carney was speaking after the BoE cut rates to a new record low 0.25 percent and expanded its quantitative easing programme by 60 billion pounds. "People should not worry about the supply of credit, this is not after the financial crisis, this isn't during the euro crisis - this is a modern financial sector th
  
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• Britain says concerned about prisoners in Iran including aid worker

  05-08-2016 10:01
  Britain said it was concerned about its nationals imprisoned in Iran including a British-Iranian aid worker who has been detained since early April and accused by Revolutionary Guards of trying to overthrow Iran's government. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested as she tried to leave Iran after a visit with her two-year-old daughter, appeared in the Revolutionary Court on Monday. "We continue to raise our strong concerns about British prisoners in Iran, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, at
  
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• UK house prices fall more sharply than expected in July - Halifax

  05-08-2016 09:49
  British house prices fell in July, reversing gains seen the month before, but it is too soon to tell if Britain's vote to leave the European Union will have a major impact, mortgage lender Halifax said on Friday. House prices in July dropped 1.0 percent - a sharper drop than the 0.2 percent fall expected in a Reuters poll of economists - after rising by 1.2 percent in June. Overall, it remains too early to determine if there has been any impact on the housing market as a result of June's EU refe
  
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