General news

• Labour's Owen Smith: I'll invest in housing and science - and fight for second EU referendum - Cambridge News

  12-08-2016 23:42 via cambridge-news.co.uk
  Cambridge News
  Labour's Owen Smith: I'll invest in housing and science - and fight for second EU referendum
  Cambridge News
  Major new investment in housing and science alongside a second EU referendum are the flagship policies a Labour leadership hopeful believes will win over voters in Cambridge. A crowd of hundreds turned out in Cambridge tonight to hear from Owen Smith ...
  Theresa May must stand up to the militant LeftTelegraph.co.uk
  Readers' Opinion: Democratic socialism does not chime
  
  Read more

• Treasury Pledges £4bn To Replace EU Funding

  12-08-2016 23:02
  The government has pledged to replace more than £4bn of lost European funding after Britain leaves the EU.
  
  Read more

• Tobacco has been 'linked' to the most fatal form of smoke

  12-08-2016 22:32
  
  A British charity said the findings were a “wake-up call” to smokers.
  
  Read more

• Duke of Westminster: A stress test for the £9bn family business - Financial Times

  12-08-2016 19:52 via ft.com
  Financial Times
  Duke of Westminster: A stress test for the £9bn family business
  Financial Times
  Over more than three centuries, the Duke of Westminster's family holdings have survived some of the most severe stress tests imaginable: 50 large wars, a score of wrenching recessions and a couple of dozen market collapses. Yet as countless far smaller ...
  Duke of Westminster gave the Tebbits a home after Brighton bombingTelegraph.co.uk
  Family bids farewell to billionaire landowner the Duk
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Court of Appeal rules that Labour DID have the power to block new members from voting for leadership

  12-08-2016 19:12
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has branded the decision “wrong – both legally and democratically”.
  
  Read more

• Man's body found near Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park

  12-08-2016 18:54
  
  A post mortem is expected to take place on Saturday.
  
  Read more

• Great Britain wins a second rowing gold as the men's four triumph in Rio

  12-08-2016 18:38
  
  Team GB窶冱 Gregory, Sbihi, Nash and Louloudis rowed across the finish line in five minutes 58.61 seconds.
  
  Read more

• Two Six-Year-Old Girls Sexually Assaulted At Legoland Windsor

  12-08-2016 18:28
  Police are hunting a man who sexually assaulted two six-year-old girls at Legoland Windsor. Detective Inspector Penny Mackenzie, of Thames Valley Police, said: "I would ask anyone who visited the Legoland Windsor Resort yesterday, especially if you went to Castaway Camp in Pirate Shores, to check any photographs from your trip to see if you recognise anyone matching the offender.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Amazon To Create 500 New Permanent Jobs

  12-08-2016 18:01
  Amazon has promised 500 extra permanent jobs at its new centre in Doncaster. The new site is due to open next year and will be Amazon's third in Doncaster. This will take Amazon's total number of full-time permanent employees to 15,500.
  
  Read more

• Victor Meldrew Actor Richard Wilson Suffers Heart Attack

  12-08-2016 17:48
  One Foot In The Grave actor Richard Wilson is in a stable condition in hospital after suffering a heart attack, says his agent.
  
  Read more

• Court Ruling Bars Thousands Of Members From Labour Contest

  12-08-2016 17:44
  
  Labour's ruling body has won its bid to block 130,000 new party members from voting in the leadership election. The Court of Appeal ruled the party was within its rights to block members who joined after 12 January from voting in the contest. Lord Justice Beatson, sitting with Lady Justice Macur and Lord Justice Sales, announced the decision this afternoon.
  
  Read more

• Man Airlifted To Hospital After Train Hits Car At Level Crossing

  12-08-2016 17:43
  A train has hit a vehicle on the line between Cambridge and Ely, with a man in his forties treated for a severe head injury. A spokesman said an emergency call was received at 2.34pm on Friday with the East Anglian Air ambulance, a land ambulance, three ambulance officers, the hazardous area response team and police sent to the scene near Stretham in Cambridgeshire. The injured man has been taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge for treatment and there are unconfirmed r
  
  Read more

• Golden Day For Britain's Rowers At Rio Olympics

  12-08-2016 17:39
  It has been a great day for Britain's rowers at the Olympics, winning two gold medals in Rio. On day seven, Helen Glover and Heather Stanning triumphed in the women's coxless pair, successfully defending their title from London 2012. Shortly afterwards the men's coxless four crew of Alex Gregory, Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Constantine Louloudis were victorious.
  
  Read more

• Eurostar Strike Suspended For More Talks

  12-08-2016 17:39
  Strike action by Eurostar staff is to be suspended from midnight to allow further talks, the RMT union has said. The union's members had started their four-day industrial action earlier today in a dispute over shift patterns and work-life balance. The union said the dispute centres around Eurostar's failure to honour an agreement from 2008 which ensured a good work/life balance for train managers, specifically regarding unsocial hours and duty rosters.
  
  Read more

• 'Confused' Motorist Drives Wrong Way On M23 Motorway For Six Miles

  12-08-2016 17:34
  Police have released footage showing a "confused" motorist driving the wrong way in the fast lane of the M23 for six miles. Mr Taylor, from King's Lynn, Norfolk, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was sentenced on 25 July to six months' imprisonment, suspended for two years. "The M23 was busy with traffic and it was only by sheer chance that no collision occurred.
  
  Read more

• London nightclub Fabric temporarily closed after two suspected drug-related deaths

  12-08-2016 17:31
  
  The club-goers died within nine weeks of one another.
  
  Read more

• Jeremy Corbyn doing a little jig is a treat for the eyes

  12-08-2016 16:29
  
  He gets really into it by the end.
  
  Read more

• Labour Wins Court Appeal Over Leadership Vote

  12-08-2016 16:21
  Labour's ruling body has won its bid to overturn a court decision allowing new party members to vote in the leadership election. The Court of Appeal has allowed the attempt by party officials to reinstate a block imposed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) on tens of thousands of recruits getting the vote.
  
  Read more

• Britain To Bake In Temperatures Of Up To 33C On Tuesday

  12-08-2016 15:38
  Britain is set to bask in temperatures of up to 33C early next week, thanks to gusts of hot air from the continent. Some forecasters believe we could see the hottest day of the year on Tuesday, with temperatures in the low 30s in London, the Midlands, and East Anglia. The hottest temperature of the year so far was 33.5C in July at Brize Norton.
  
  Read more

• Theresa May Heads Out On Alpine Trek At Start Of Holiday

  12-08-2016 15:22
  Prime Minister Theresa May has headed out on an Alpine trek with her husband Philip as they began their two-week holiday in Switzerland. The couple are regular visitors to the Swiss Alps, with the PM previously saying she enjoys holidaying in the country because she can get some "peace and quiet". David Cameron and his wife Samantha were regularly pictured dressed in summer wear, enjoying a drink in a beach-side cafe as they relaxed in sunny climes.
  
  Read more

• What Became Of Bethnal Green Girls Lured To Syria To Join IS?

  12-08-2016 14:55
  
  One of three London schoolgirls who fled to Syria to join Islamic State has reportedly been killed in an airstrike, raising fears for her two classmates - whose fate remains unknown. Kadiza Sultana, 17, is believed to have died several weeks ago in Islamic State's Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, her family's solicitor has told Sky News. Back in 2015 she fled Bethnal Green in east London with two other girls, Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, both then 15.
  
  Read more

• Two Jailed In Scotland Over £500m Cocaine Haul

  12-08-2016 14:39
  Two Turkish men have been jailed for at least 20 years each for smuggling £500m of cocaine destined for Europe. Mumin Sahin and Emin Ozmen were handed 22-year and 20-year sentences respectively at Glasgow's High Court. It was stopped some 100 miles off the coast of Aberdeen by Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset and Border Force cutter HMC Valiant.
  
  Read more

• UK defies firms' pleas not to impose new tax, despite Brexit worries

  12-08-2016 14:34
  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain confirmed on Friday it would press ahead with plans to impose a levy on large employers from early next year to help pay for training workers, prompting dismay from business groups who want the tax delayed to soften the impact of Brexit. The decision comes as Britain faces the looming prospect of a recession following June's vote to leave the European Union, with uncertainty over the country's new relationship with the bloc expected to cause firms to d
  
  Read more

• Northern Ireland activist launches legal challenge against Brexit

  12-08-2016 14:34
  A Northern Ireland human rights activist has launched a legal challenge against any British attempt to leave the European Union, saying it would be in breach of the 1998 peace deal that brought peace to the British province. Raymond McCord's move is one of several attempts being made to use the courts to stave off a British exit from the EU. Northern Ireland voted on June 23 to stay in the EU, with 56 percent voting 'Remain', putting it at odds with the United Kingdom's overall 52-48 percent res
  
  Read more

• Singing with joy

  12-08-2016 13:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Former Butlin's Redcoat Ted McDermott, 79, becomes internet sensation singing carpool karaoke after videos of him singing in his car with his son are watched on YouTube.
  
  Read more

• Turkish sailors sentenced to 42 years for UK's biggest cocaine haul

  12-08-2016 13:55
  Two Turkish sailors were jailed for a total of 42 years on Friday after their attempt to smuggle a huge haul of cocaine into Europe was thwarted, partly due to some swift international co-operation between Britain and Tanzania. Some 3.2 tonnes of cocaine, the biggest class A drug find ever made in Britain, was found on a ship intercepted off the east coast of Scotland last year. British authorities intercepted the cargo off the coast of Aberdeen in April 2015 after the go-ahead from Tanzania, wh
  
  Read more

• Photographer Jailed For Drugging And Raping Men At His Home

  12-08-2016 13:39
  
  Nigel Wilkinson was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court after he admitted attacking two men - although detectives believe there may be many more victims. Wilkinson - whose crimes have been described as "truly horrifying" by police - found his unsuspecting victims through photos they posted on social media. After making contact, the 43-year-old shop manager would offer the men a free photoshoot, even paying their train fares to Bristol.
  
  Read more

• Large area of Hyde Park cordoned off as body found

  12-08-2016 13:22
  
  The man was found shortly before 6am on Friday.
  
  Read more

• Nigel Barwell: Dopey Drug Crook Caught Out By Cash Snap On Phone

  12-08-2016 13:04
  A career criminal has been jailed for more than four years for running an "industrial-scale" drugs operation after a picture of him counting a bundle of cash was found on his phone. The 29-year-old, of James Galloway Close, Binley, Coventry, was jailed for four years and six months at Birmingham Crown Court after admitting cultivation of cannabis. Police said Barwell ran cannabis farms at five addresses across Coventry, which could have netted him £400,000 a year in illegal earnings.
  
  Read more

• Virgin Trains East Coast Staff Announce Three 24-Hour Strikes

  12-08-2016 13:03
  In the latest round of industrial action announced by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, members have voted to walk out in a dispute over jobs, working conditions and safety. The strike action will take place on the 19th, 26th and 29th August, with members staging a 24-hour walkout each time. The union said cuts were being "bulldozed through" Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) putting hundreds of jobs under threat.
  
  Read more

• Thailand attacks: Everything we know so far

  12-08-2016 12:33
  
  A wave of co-ordinated attacks have hit cities and resort towns across southern Thailand but police have ruled out terrorism.
  
  Read more

• UK Construction Industry Dips Into Recession

  12-08-2016 12:08
  The UK construction sector has fallen into recession for the first time in four years, official figures confirmed – adding to fears of a wider economic downturn. Britain's builders saw output fall by 0.7% in the second quarter - worse than an earlier 0.4% estimate by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and adding to a 0.3% decline in the first quarter. While the figures will not alter the ONS preliminary estimate that the UK grew by 0.6% in the April-June period, they will add to fear
  
  Read more

• UK presses ahead with apprenticeship levy despite calls for Brexit delay

  12-08-2016 11:44
  Britain confirmed on Friday it would press ahead with plans to impose a levy on large employers from early next year to help pay for training workers, despite calls from business groups for the charge to be delayed to soften the economic impact of Brexit. The levy, a 0.5 percent payroll tax on all employers with an annual wage bill above 3 million pounds, is designed to address a chronic skills shortages, but has drawn sceptical responses from businesses since it was announced in 2015. Calls to
  
  Read more

• UK construction output slips in June, economists see worse to come

  12-08-2016 11:32
  British construction output fell roughly as much as expected in June, according to official data, with little evidence that the European Union referendum that month had an impact on builders at the time. The Office for National Statistics said construction output fell 0.9 percent in June compared with May, a slightly smaller drop than the 1.0 percent decline forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. "There is very little anecdotal evidence at present to suggest that the referendum has had an imp
  
  Read more

• Insect-Sized Drone Will Spy On Terrorists

  12-08-2016 11:08
  An insect-sized spy drone with four flapping wings and four legs is set to become Britain's latest weapon in the war on terror. It is one of a number of pieces of kit being developed by the Ministry of Defence as part of an innovation drive.
  
  Read more

• Body Found Under Tree Near Speakers' Corner In Hyde Park

  12-08-2016 11:03
  The discovery of a body under a tree near Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park is being treated as suspicious by police. Police have set up a large cordon following what an officer at the scene called an "unexplained death". A member of the public found the man with injuries shortly before 6am and the victim had died when officers arrived at the scene, the Metropolitan Police said.
  
  Read more

• Illegal Tattooists Are 'A Danger To Health'

  12-08-2016 10:02
  Councils are calling for tougher sentences for illegal tattooists who they accuse of tempting children with "pocket money" prices. The Local Government Association (LGA) claims illegal tattooists - also known as 'scratchers' - are putting people at risk of catching hepatitis and HIV. The LGA is also urging online retailers to provide warnings to children on the dangers of using DIY tattoo kits, which can be bought for less than £25.
  
  Read more

• 'No Man's Sky': from a humble shed to a new gigantic universe

  12-08-2016 08:47
  Hot on the heels of smartphone game "Pokemon Go"'s runaway success, "No Man's Sky" has captured the imagination of gaming fans for creating a video game universe so expansive that no player could possibly discover its reaches in a lifetime. Video games website GamesRadar called it "perhaps one of the most anticipated games ever made" while Britain's Independent newspaper said: "It's that huge world and stunning concept that has made the game so famous, and led to perhaps the most hype ever gener
  
  Read more

• Several killed in a series of explosions across Thailand

  12-08-2016 08:13
  
  Among the injured were 10 foreigners in the seaside resort town of Hua Hin.
  
  Read more

• The Yorkshire Ripper has been considered sane enough to go back to jail

  12-08-2016 08:05
  
  A mental health tribunal has ruled on his cae.
  
  Read more

• AstraZeneca wins UK cost approval for longer use of heart drug

  12-08-2016 01:03
  Long term use of AstraZeneca's blood thinner Brilinta has been recommended as a cost-effective option for treating patients after a heart attack, Britain's healthcare cost watchdog NICE said on Friday. Ticagrelor 60 mg -- sold in Britain as Brilique for just under 1 pound ($1.30) a pill -- could help "many thousands of people" when given twice a day alongside aspirin, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said. A higher 90 mg dose of Brilique is already recommended for 12
  
  Read more

• UK Is Too PC Over Electoral Fraud, Says Report By Eric Pickles

  12-08-2016 00:48
  Britain is turning a blind eye to corruption in town halls and elections because of political correctness, according to a former Cabinet minister. In a hard-hitting report, Sir Eric Pickles says there is evidence of pressure being put on vulnerable members of some ethnic minority communities in elections. Presenting an action plan to the new Prime Minister Theresa May on electoral fraud, he attacks the failures of town halls, police and election watchdogs to detect, prevent and prosecute&nb
  
  Read more

• London schoolgirl who left to join Islamic State dead - lawyer

  12-08-2016 00:21
  (Reuters) - One of three schoolgirls who left London in February of 2015 to join Islamic State has died, her family lawyer told Reuters on Thursday. Attorney Tasnime Akunjee said the family of Kadiza Sultana learned of her death in Raqqa a few weeks ago. The BBC said she was believed to have been killed in an air strike in Syria. http://bbc.in/2aKr0NQ Sultana, 16, along with two other friends, flew from London's Gatwick Airport to Turkey on Feb. 17, 2015. The British Home office and British Inte
  
  Read more

• Gold For GB Cyclists In Men's Team Sprint

  12-08-2016 00:16
  Britain's cycling trio of Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner have won the men's team sprint at the Rio Olympics. New Zealand's Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster and Ed Dawkins, the world champions, had to settle for silver in 42.542secs, just 0.102 behind. It was Britain's fourth gold of the Games and came after British canoeists David Florence and Richard Hounslow claimed their second successive Olympic silver medal in the men's C2 category.
  
  Read more

• Sparks Fly As Smith Takes Fight To Corbyn In Bitter Labour Debate

  12-08-2016 00:02
  Owen Smith has snubbed a plea from Jeremy Corbyn to return to the Shadow Cabinet, in an ill-tempered Labour leadership hustings. Towards the end of a heated 90-minute debate in Gateshead, chaired by Sky's Sophy Ridge, he said serving under Mr Corbyn would be "futile work". "I have lost confidence in you," Mr Smith told the Labour leader in a much more punchy performance than he gave in the first hustings, in Cardiff a week ago.
  
  Read more

Follow @GeneralnewsUK on Twitter!