General news

• Girl Who Fled London To Join Islamic State In Syria Feared Dead

  11-08-2016 23:49
  A schoolgirl who left the UK to join Islamic State in Syria is feared to have been killed in an airstrike in the country. The 17-year-old was living in the terror group's stronghold city of Raqqa and is feared to have been killed a few weeks ago, her family's solicitor has told Sky News. Shamima Begum and Amira Base were both 15 when they left Bethnal Green with Kadiza during their Easter holidays.
  
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• No, your eyes do not deceive you - that really is a Deliveroo driver riding a penny farthing

  11-08-2016 21:58
  
  But how did he get up there?!
  
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• These are the Brits you'll want to watch on Day 7 of the Rio Olympics

  11-08-2016 21:36
  
  Here’s who to look out for on another day of action.
  
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• Tributes After Woman And Three Children Die In A34 Crash

  11-08-2016 21:28
  Tributes have been paid to a "much-admired" woman killed along with three children in a rush-hour pile-up. Council employee Tracy Houghton, 45, from Dunstable, Bedfordshire, was described by shocked colleagues as "hugely likeable and bubbly". Police said the three children who died were two 11-year-olds, a boy and a girl, and a 13-year-old boy - all from Bedfordshire.
  
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• Shark Found In British Waters Can Live To Grand Age Of 400

  11-08-2016 20:35
  Some Greenland sharks, slow-moving giants which can be more than five metres long, have been found to be 400 years old, according to new research. The new research, led by Julius Nielsen from the University of Copenhagen and Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, has been published in the journal Science. The massive shark has a heavy cylindrical body and a short rounded snout, according to the Shark Trust.
  
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• Team GB Wins Olympic Silver In Canoeing

  11-08-2016 20:20
  British canoeists David Florence and Richard Hounslow have claimed their second successive Olympic silver medal in the men's C2 category. The display capped an impressive recovery for Florence, who finished a disappointing 10th place in the men's C1 final on Tuesday. It is the second medal for the canoe slalom team after kayaker Joe Clarke's gold in the men's K1 category on Wednesday.
  
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• Woman Arrested Over Alleged Heathrow Airport Security Pass Plot

  11-08-2016 20:18
  
  Police have arrested a woman over an alleged plot involving airside security passes at Heathrow airport. The 28-year-old suspect is being held on suspicion of fraud in connection with the vetting process for passes. As a precaution, 300 staff at a company which supplies airline lounge services have had their airside security passes suspended.
  
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• LGBT charity condemns media coverage of Chris Mears and Jack Laugher's hug after winning gold

  11-08-2016 20:00
  
  ‘We’re frustrated to see gender stereotypes perpetuated instead of celebrating Jack Laugher and Chris Mears’ gold’.
  
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• Oil rig grounded off Scotland may have leaked diesel - maritime agency

  11-08-2016 19:58
  An oil rig that ran aground off a Scottish island on Sunday may have leaked around 53 tonnes of diesel but has not caused any serious pollution, Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said. "Aircraft yesterday flew over the location and surrounding area to make careful observations for pollution around the rig and the nearby coast and sea and no sheen or sign of pollution has been found," the MCA said on Thursday. Two of four diesel fuel tanks on the rig were believed to have been damage
  
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• Boy Gets Life-Saving Kidney From Stranger After Eight Years

  11-08-2016 19:18
  An 11-year-old boy who has received a kidney transplant from a stranger after waiting  nearly his whole life has told Sky News his donor is "a real-life superman". Matthew Pietrzyk had neither of his kidneys and had been on a transplant waiting list for eight years. Matthew was then put on constant dialysis and had to take 18 tablets a day just to stay alive.
  
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• Jury Shown CCTV Of Businessman's Killing

  11-08-2016 18:11
  Video of the moment a father-of-four was shot dead by a hooded gunman during a robbery has been shown to a jury at Birmingham Crown Court. CCTV showing Akhtar Javeed being shot four times at the fast-food supply warehouse he runs in Digbeth was described to the court as "deeply distressing". Members of the 56-year-old's family chose to leave the public gallery as the video was played on the third day of the murder trial of 26-year-old Suraj Mistry and 19-year-old Lemar Wali.
  
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• Theresa May seeks progress on Falklands in letter to Argentine leader

  11-08-2016 17:56
  British Prime Minister Theresa May has written to Argentina's President Mauricio Macri calling for restrictions on oil exploration in the Falklands Islands to be lifted and for more flights to the British-run islands, her office said on Thursday. Argentina claims sovereignty over the South Atlantic islands it calls Las Malvinas, and relations between Buenos Aires and London have been strained for decades over the issue, culminating in a war in 1982 which Britain won. May, who became prime minist
  
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• Katherine Grainger Is Britain's Most Successful Female Olympian

  11-08-2016 17:56
  Rower Katherine Grainger has become Team GB's most decorated female Olympian, after claiming a silver medal in the women's double sculls. Grainger and teammate Victoria Thornley came close to winning but were narrowly beaten by Poland's Magdalena Fularczyk and Natalia Madaj in Rio. Grainger, 40, won silver in Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, and gold in front of her home crowd in London 2012.
  
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• Britain says it needs constructive dialogue with Russia despite differences

  11-08-2016 17:45
  British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Thursday that the two countries needed to build a constructive relationship despite their significant differences. "The Foreign Secretary made clear that while we have some significant differences with Russia, we need to continue to build a constructive dialogue on issues of mutual concern as well as on points of disagreement," a Foreign Office statement said after the two men spoke by telephone. Earlier, the R
  
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• Britain appoints its fourth new head of child sex abuse inquiry

  11-08-2016 17:08
  Britain appointed a new head to lead a national inquiry into decades of child sex abuse on Thursday, naming social care expert Alexis Jay to lead an investigation that has been dogged by leadership problems. The inquiry was set up in July 2014 after a series of child sex abuse scandals dating back to the 1970s, some involving celebrities and politicians. Jay, who led a separate 2014 investigation into child sexual abuse in the northern English town of Rotherham, becomes the fourth person to lead
  
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• Tennis star who was forced to pull out of Wimbledon was 'most likely infected by water'

  11-08-2016 16:43
  
  While police investigate an allegation Gabriella Taylor was poisoned, an environmental microbiologist thinks otherwise.
  
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• Chris Mears: Near-Fatal Spleen Rupture Helped Me Win Olympic Gold

  11-08-2016 16:40
  
  Team GB's Chris Mears has said that his recovery from a near-fatal disease spurred him on to claim an Olympic gold medal. Mears, 23, and Jack Laugher, 21, won Britain's first-ever Olympic diving gold when they triumphed in the men's synchronised 3m springboard final. Three years later Mears got his career back on track with a fifth place finish at London 2012, before going on to win gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
  
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• Professor Alexis Jay To Chair Abuse Inquiry

  11-08-2016 16:38
  Professor Alexis Jay will take over as chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Home Secretary has announced. Prof Jay becomes the fourth chair, succeeding Dame Lowell Goddard, who quit the role earlier this month, citing the inquiry's "legacy of failure". A child protection expert with over 30 years' experience, Professor Jay led the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham which found that at least 1,400 children were subjected to appalling sexu
  
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• Grainger Becomes GB's Top Female Olympian

  11-08-2016 16:38
  Katherine Grainger has become Team GB's most decorated female Olympian, after winning a silver medal in the double sculls.
  
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• Labour union to fight Royal Mail's plan to end pension scheme

  11-08-2016 16:32
  (Reuters) - Britain's labour union of the communications industry said it would fight any move by Royal Mail to end its pension scheme as reported by the media. Royal Mail sent a letter to its staff in June, saying it might not be able to keep the pension scheme running beyond 2018, according to media reports. Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents the majority of Royal Mail's workforce, said its members had in March overwhelmingly rejected Royal Mail's plans to end the scheme.
  
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• Bobby Kennedy assassination photographer Harry Benson issues a warning against Trump

  11-08-2016 16:04
  
  A retrospective of his work is being showcased at the Scottish Parliament.
  
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• Chris Mears: Near Fatal Spleen Rupture Helped Me Claim Gold

  11-08-2016 15:33
  
  Team GB's Chris Mears has said that his recovery from a near-fatal disease spurred him on to claim an Olympic gold medal. Three years later Mears got his career back on track with a fifth place finish at London 2012, before going on to win gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Earlier on Wednesday, kayaker Joe Clarke won the final of the K1 slalom event - a day after the heartache of his GB teammate David Florence's last-placed finish.
  
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• Complaints After Judge Uses C-Word In Sentencing Of Racist Convict

  11-08-2016 15:28
  Judge Patricia Lynch QC was sentencing John Hennigan to 18 months in jail for his ninth breach of an antisocial behaviour order in 11 years when the exchange took place. Now, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO), which handles complaints made about judges both inside and outside court, has revealed it has received complaints about the language.
  
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• Nike is Dow's worst performing stock of 2016

  11-08-2016 15:21
  
  It all gives the Olympics extra significance for the company.
  
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• Unsolved: A new petition appeals for funding to help police find a missing boy's body

  11-08-2016 14:53
  
  Hot on the heels of a BBC Three series looking into the case of Damien Nettles, a petition wants to find his body.
  
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• Drug sales on the dark web 'have tripled' since 2013

  11-08-2016 14:36
  
  The rise comes despite increased enforcement from authorities.
  
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• Q&A: Why Would Someone Poison A Tennis Prodigy?

  11-08-2016 14:10
  The Metropolitan Police are investigating the suspected poisoning of rising British tennis star Gabriella Taylor. :: Who is Gabriella Taylor? Gabi Taylor is a raising British tennis star of the future and is ranked inside the World Tennis Association top 10 for her age bracket, according to her agent Cindy Morphy.
  
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• Police Investigate Wimbledon Player Poisoning Claim

  11-08-2016 13:51
  
  Scotland Yard is investigating whether the 18-year-old - named in reports as Gabriella Taylor - was targeted in early July. Police launched a criminal investigation amid fears that she had been deliberately poisoned in an attempt to wreck her tournament chances. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Merton police are investigating an allegation of poisoning with intent to endanger life.
  
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• Top Law Firm To Scrutinise Ex-BHS Directors

  11-08-2016 13:31
  Sky News has learnt that Jones Day was appointed this week by FRP Advisory, which was itself recently handed the role of joint administrator to BHS at the request of the retailer's biggest creditor. City sources said on Thursday that Jones Day would play a key role in helping FRP probe transactions involving BHS both before Sir Philip Green sold the company in an ill-fated deal worth just £1 last year. The news of Jones Day's appointment comes just over a week before the final BHS stores a
  
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• Corbyn And Smith Await Labour Voting Rights Decision

  11-08-2016 12:56
  
  JUDGES are hearing an appeal about who can vote for the next Labour leader, as the party's internal tensions deepen. It is the third time in a fortnight that Labour's factions have ended up in court, amid an increasingly acrimonious battle between supporters of Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith. The party's National Executive Committee (NEC) is hoping to overturn a ruling made at the High Court on Monday - which would allow another 130,000 members to vote.
  
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• Ex-Corrie star Chris Fountain reveals he was 'out of work for three years' after rap video scandal

  11-08-2016 12:39
  
  The actor revealed he was depressed and couldn’t leave his house after he was axed for rapping about rape and violence.
  
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• UK plane in 'incredibly concerning' near miss with drone - police

  11-08-2016 11:59
  A passenger plane has narrowly avoided being hit by a drone in what police on Thursday called an "incredibly concerning" near miss as it approached an airport in southwest England. The aircraft, carrying 62 people, was travelling at about 900 feet (274 metres) as it prepared to land at Newquay Airport in Cornwall on Wednesday afternoon when it reported a near miss with the drone which was flying alongside. Officers searched the nearby area but found neither the drone nor its operator.
  
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• Woman And Three Children Killed In A34 Crash

  11-08-2016 11:49
  Three children aged 11, 11 and 13 and a 45-year-old woman were among four people who died in a car crash on the A34 in Berkshire.
  
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• Drone Involved In 'Near-Miss' With Passenger Plane

  11-08-2016 11:47
  Police are investigating reports that a passenger plane was involved in a "near-miss" with a drone near Newquay airport. Devon and Cornwall Police said the incident happened as aircraft, which had 62 people on board, was coming into land. The drone apparently flew alongside the plane for a period while it was at about 900ft and two miles from its destination on Tuesday afternoon.
  
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• Georgia Fairthorne: Mum's Brain Injury Plea Goes Viral

  11-08-2016 11:32
  Emma Fairthorne, from Bournemouth, Dorset, recorded a video appeal after her daughter Georgia suffered serious head injuries when she fell from a skateboard while visiting family in Pembrokeshire. In the video, Emma Fairthorne urged parents to "just take care" and ensure their children wore helmets.
  
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• Watch: How Hustlers Steal Passports From British Tourists Abroad

  11-08-2016 11:10
  
  The Foreign Office has warned holidaymakers about the techniques used by hustlers to steal passports after more than 21,000 British tourists lost or had theirs stolen abroad last year. Consulates around the world had to issue more than 30,000 emergency travel documents to globe-trotting Britons stuck overseas. A new passport costs £72.50, while an emergency document is £100.
  
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• Rio Olympics: Another Golden Day For Team GB

  11-08-2016 11:07
  
  Team GB has won two more gold medals at the Rio Games, taking the total to three. Chris Mears, 23, and Jack Laugher, 21, claimed Britain's first-ever Olympic diving gold when they triumphed in the men's synchronised 3m springboard final. Earlier, kayaker Joe Clarke won the final of the K1 slalom event - a day after the heartache of his GB teammate David Florence's last-placed finish.
  
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• Driver arrested after four killed in A34 crash

  11-08-2016 10:17
  
  Twelve other people were injured.
  
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• Trotsky's ghost haunts Britain's Labour Party in post-Brexit vote turmoil

  11-08-2016 10:16
  By Guy Faulconbridge and Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly 76 years to the day since Leon Trotsky was murdered in Mexico with an ice-pick on Josef Stalin's orders, the Russian revolutionary has returned to haunt Britain's opposition Labour Party in the turmoil sparked by the Brexit vote. Labour was thrust into one of the biggest crises in its 116-year history after Britain's June 23 vote to leave the European Union, when most of the party's lawmakers responded by voting to withdraw suppo
  
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• 1,000 cannabis plants are seized each day, study shows

  11-08-2016 10:13
  
  The West Midlands area saw the highest tally of cannabis plants seized – nearly 70,000.
  
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• Muslim Women Need Help Tackling Work Inequality Report Finds

  11-08-2016 09:52
  Muslim women face the most discrimination at work and need more help to tackle employment inequalities, a report has said. The Women and Equalities Committee, chaired by Maria Miller, said Muslims as a whole faced the highest level of unemployment of all religious and ethnic groups hitting 12.8% compared with 5.4% for the general population. The report calls on the Government to address directly discrimination in the workplace and do more to support people into work, particularly when Musli
  
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• Slowing Housing Market Could Take Off Again

  11-08-2016 09:11
  House price growth across the UK has faltered for July to its weakest level in three years, reflecting uncertainty in the market after the Brexit vote. A survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) showed house sales continued to fall in the three months to the end of July, whilst the number of new instructions and buyer enquiries also dropped. Just 5% of those surveyed reported a rise in house prices for last month, the lowest reading since 2013.
  
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• Mother 'treated like flotsam' by Sunsail after daughter's death

  11-08-2016 08:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A mother who lost her daughter in a boating accident in 2003 says the holiday firm treated her "like flotsam" during a 13-year battle for justice.
  
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• Suicide bomb suspect dies in Canadian terror operation

  11-08-2016 08:26
  
  Aaron Driver was under a court order made earlier this year to not associate with any terrorist organisation, including IS.
  
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• Suspect held after four die in crash on A34 in Berkshire

  11-08-2016 08:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Police continue to hold a suspect after four people are killed in a crash on the A34.
  
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• Two golds lead GB Rio medals rush

  11-08-2016 08:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Jack Laugher and Chris Mears win diving gold after Joe Clarke's kayak triumph, leading a haul of six medals for GB on day five.
  
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