General news

• Briton jailed in US for trying to grab gun in apparent bid to kill Donald Trump

  13-12-2016 23:57
  
  Michael Sandford, 20, was sentenced to 12 months in prison at a court in Las Vegas.
  
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• Suicide Squad director joins Margot Robbie for female DC villains movie

  13-12-2016 23:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Actor will reprise Harley Quinn role for film-maker David Ayer in Gotham City Sirens, inspired by recent comic about murderous women from Batman’s pastMargot Robbie is set to reprise her role of Harley Quinn for an all-female DC villains movie. Related: Batfleck to the rescue! DC desperately needs a super smash to stop the bad buzzContinue reading...
  
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• British tourist sentenced on weapons charge over Trump rally scare

  13-12-2016 22:35
  A 20-year-old British tourist who prosecutors say caused a security scare at a Donald Trump campaign rally in Las Vegas by trying to wrestle a gun from a police officer was sentenced on Tuesday to a year and a day in prison. Michael Sandford, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Mahan in Las Vegas after pleading guilty in September under a plea agreement with prosecutors to one count each of illegal weapon possession by an alien and disrupting the orderly conduct of government business or
  
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• Lupe Fiasco quits music after accusations of antisemitism

  13-12-2016 22:22 via theguardian.com
  
  The rapper’s latest freestyle caused upset with a line about ‘dirty Jewish execs’ which led to him tweeting that his album is cancelledLupe Fiasco has cancelled his album and quit music after being accused of antisemitism.The rapper released a freestyle earlier this week that included the line “Artists gettin’ robbed for their publishing / By dirty Jewish execs who think that it’s alms from the covenant”, which led to widespread upset on social media. Th
  
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• Win, lose or draw

  13-12-2016 21:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rail bosses have agreed to hold formal talks with unions in a bid to resolve the ongoing Southern rail dispute. But how have rail strikes in the past ended?
  
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• We said never again, but let Aleppo happen | Letters

  13-12-2016 20:52 via theguardian.com
  
  I write to do something that too often does not come easy for politicians; offer an apology. Back in 2013 I backed the decision of the leader of my party, Ed Miliband, not to support the bombing of President Assad in response to his use of chemical weapons on rebel-held districts in Syria. I made this decision as a new councillor ambitious to stand for parliament, but also with memories of Iraq, which I had opposed.I now realise this was wrong. While the action proposed in 2013 was flawed and pe
  
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• Here's what happened when Kanye West visited Donald Trump at the Trump Tower

  13-12-2016 20:50
  
  Apparently the pair discussed “life”.
  
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• Russian hackers 'probably swayed Brexit vote', says Ben Bradshaw MP

  13-12-2016 20:19
  Russian hackers "probably" swayed the EU referendum vote in favour of Brexit, a former Labour minister has claimed in the Commons. Leading Remain campaigner Ben Bradshaw questioned the validity of the result in June, claiming people were underestimating the extent of cyber warfare by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr Bradshaw, dismissed as a "Remoaner" by Leave campaigners, told MPs: "I don't think we have even begun to wake up to what Russia is doing when it comes to cyber warfare.
  
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• British man to be sentenced over Donald Trump gun incident

  13-12-2016 20:01
  
  Michael Sandford, 20, attempted to snatch the weapon at a Las Vegas rally.
  
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• Eastern Aleppo as pro-Assad forces move in – in pictures

  13-12-2016 19:46 via theguardian.com
  
  After weeks of heavy fighting, regime forces were poised to take full control of Aleppo, dealing the biggest blow to Syria’s rebellion in more than five years • Deal reached to evacuate rebels and civilians Continue reading...
  
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• MPs held an emergency debate on Aleppo and it didn't fill that many people with hope

  13-12-2016 19:39
  
  Though Andrew Mitchell’s speech was a powerful highlight.
  
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• Showing 'too much respect' to the Cameroonian President turns one minister into a meme

  13-12-2016 19:31
  
  The #BidoungChallenge is taking Cameroon by storm.
  
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• Individuals at four top London clubs linked to historical sexual abuse

  13-12-2016 19:24
  The Metropolitan Police says it has received 106 separate allegations of historical sex abuse connected with individuals at 30 of London's football clubs. Four of the clubs are in the Premier League, two are in the Championship, and three are in League One or League Two. Mr Balhatchet said the number of allegations received by the force was likely to change.
  
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• Useful boxes

  13-12-2016 19:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A third of public telephone boxes in the UK could be removed, but some are being used in other ways:
  
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• Factbox - Murdoch's Sky deal: the political and regulatory hurdles

  13-12-2016 19:09
  By Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox is racing to agree the final terms of a $14 billion (11.03 billion pound) takeover of European pay-TV company Sky , triggering what is likely to be the start of a politically charged regulatory process. The media mogul failed in a 2010/11 attempt to buy the 61 percent of Sky that his group did not already own when a phone-hacking scandal at his News of the World tabloid derailed the bid and reignited claims he held too m
  
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• EU outlines benefits reforms delayed by Brexit vote

  13-12-2016 19:06
  The European Commission proposed new rules on Tuesday on what social benefits governments must pay to citizens from other EU states - a key for people concerned about immigration and "benefit tourism". The package of measures, delayed by nearly a year as Brussels hoped to avoid Britain voting to leave the EU, is designed to clarify rights of EU expatriate workers and states' obligations on unemployment benefits and social security. The new rules will confirm a series of EU court decisions that b
  
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• Have you met the Obamas? Tell us about your experience

  13-12-2016 19:03 via theguardian.com
  
  As Barack Obama nears the end of his final term in office, we want to hear from you about a time you came face-to-face with the first familyIt’s been eight years since the US elected its first black president. In that time, Barack Obama has been applauded and criticized for his administration’s work, welcomed one dog – and then another – to the first family, and even began to enjoy a bit of senioritis before being pulled abruptly back to earth.However you feel about the o
  
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• Donald Trump's secretary of state pick: is Exxon's boss prepared for the job?

  13-12-2016 18:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil CEO and former Boy Scouts president, would be the first top US diplomat in modern history never to have held public officeDonald Trump named Rex Tillerson as his choice for the next secretary of state on Tuesday, potentially elevating an individual with no experience in public office to the position of America’s top diplomat for the first time in modern history.But beyond Tillerson’s role as the chief executive officer of oil giant ExxonMobil, a post he has
  
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• Southern rail strike talks to be held on second day of commuter misery

  13-12-2016 18:50
  Talks to try to resolve the crippling strike by Southern rail workers will be held at conciliation service Acas on Wednesday. The scheduled strike action will still go ahead on Wednesday, as will another walkout on Friday. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling urged striking staff to "get back to work" and called it "union militancy at its worst ... based on a totally false premise".
  
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• JK Rowling illustrated manuscript sells for 368,750 pounds at auction

  13-12-2016 18:50
  A rare book hand-written and -illustrated by "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling sold for £368,750 at auction in London on Tuesday, at the lower end of its estimated price range. "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" is one of six copies that Rowling made as presents to those who helped bring her magical world of wizards and witches to life. The copy sold on Tuesday, bound in brown Morocco leather and adorned with silver, was presented to editor Barry Cunningham, who published Rowling's spellbindi
  
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• When did you last use a phone box?

  13-12-2016 18:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  There are more than 45,000 phone boxes in the UK but BT is planning to remove a third of them.
  
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• AC/DC, sledging and booze: dirty deeds to help you cheat at Christmas board games

  13-12-2016 17:53 via theguardian.com
  
  A study reports that playing Highway to Hell could be just the thing to break your opponent’s concentration - but what other tricks will help you win?The work of rock band AC/DC may not be an obvious festive choice, but for wily board game players it could come to define the sound of every Christmas to come. Research by Imperial College London and the Royal College of Music found that rock music can distract men (but not women) “undertaking complex surgical procedures” in
  
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• Tractor driver jailed for killing boy after he drank equivalent of 13 pints

  13-12-2016 17:43
  Gary Green, 51, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for health and safety violations which contributed to the death of Harry Whitlam at a farm near Leeds. Leeds Crown Court heard Green was more than twice the legal driving limit when the incident happened in August 2013. Because Green was on private land at the time of Harry's death, he was prosecuted under health and safety rather than road traffic law.
  
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• Cash-for-ash scandal

  13-12-2016 17:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News NI answers commonly asked questions about the scandal surrounding the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.
  
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• Forest Hill stabbing: Man charged with attempted murder

  13-12-2016 17:28
  A 38-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after a stabbing on a train in Forest Hill, southeast London.
  
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• Colorado smoked $1 billion of weed in 10 months

  13-12-2016 17:26
  
  That’s A LOT of weed.
  
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• PM says there will be no 'cliff edge' as Labour warns on hard Brexit

  13-12-2016 17:25
  Theresa May says to avoid uncertainty there will be no "cliff edge" as Britain negotiates its exit from the European Union. The Prime Minister said she was clear that business wanted an orderly Brexit, as set out by Chancellor Philip Hammond on Monday. The shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer says Labour will fight any plan which "tears us apart from our EU partners".
  
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• Residents of Aleppo share desperate messages on Twitter as pro-government forces enter the city

  13-12-2016 17:01
  
  Social media users are bearing witness to the death and destruction in the city.
  
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• Yaya Toure banned from road but says he did not mean to drink alcohol

  13-12-2016 16:55
  Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure said he had "not intentionally consumed alcohol" after admitting drink-driving. The 33-year-old Ivory Coast international was banned from driving for 18 months and fined £54,000 after appearing at Barkingside Magistrates' Court in east London on Monday.
  
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• 'We have to be nimble and pragmatic' – crisp maker hit by price rises

  13-12-2016 16:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Kent food manufacturer Nim’s Fruit Crisps faces higher import costs – but sees silver lining of increased export demand for productsManufacturer Nimisha Raja has been following the foreign exchange markets more closely than usual since the referendum. She makes dried fruit and vegetable crisps at a factory in Sittingbourne, Kent, and buying ingredients from abroad has become a lot more expensive since the Brexit vote sent the pound tumbling against the euro, the dollar and other curr
  
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• Afghan boy who had plastic bag Messi shirt meets his idol

  13-12-2016 16:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Murtaza Ahmadi, whose picture in homemade replica went viral, meets Argentinian footballerA young Afghan boy who became an internet sensation after being photographed in a homemade replica of Lionel Messi’s famous football strip has finally come face-to-face with his idol.In January this year, pictures emerged of five-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi wearing a blue-and-white striped plastic bag to emulate the colours of the Argentinian team. On the back of the bag was scrawled the legend: “Me
  
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• You can't unsee these weirdly fitting pictures of the Queen with Donald Trump's face

  13-12-2016 16:22
  Prepare to be amazed.
  
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• Southern rail: Lawyer quit job after three weeks over 'nightmare' commute

  13-12-2016 15:56
  For six years Emma Green was one of the millions of commuters who travelled to London each working day. The 36-year-old mother and diabetic tells of how the "stress" of her commute to a new posting forced her to quit the job after just three weeks because of the "chaos" on the Southern railway.
  
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• Why the jump in inflation is actually something that affects you

  13-12-2016 15:52
  
  We’re afraid it’s bad news for fans of garlic bread.
  
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• Teen hacker's iPhone seized over £42m TalkTalk hack

  13-12-2016 15:21
  A 17-year-old has had his iPhone and computer hard drive confiscated after he admitted charges linked to a major data breach at TalkTalk last year. Norwich Youth Court previously heard how the teenager exposed a security flaw in the telecoms firm's website using "legitimate software" called Sqlmap but later shared it online when challenged to prove it by others. TalkTalk has previously described how it fell victim to a "significant and sustained" attack on its website on 21 October 2015.
  
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• Final chance of 2016 to see a 'supermoon' - but will UK weather block it again?

  13-12-2016 14:47
  Skygazers are hoping for a gap in the clouds tonight as the last "supermoon" of the year makes an appearance. For the third time this year the moon will look about 14% bigger and brighter as it reaches its closest point to Earth. The observatory said the best hours to see the "supermoon" will be from midnight until dawn.
  
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• Seventeen-year-old sentenced for 2015 TalkTalk hack

  13-12-2016 14:44
  A 17-year-old who admitted illegally hacking communications company Talk Talk last year was sentenced to a 12-month rehabilitation order on Tuesday. Talk Talk was subsequently fined 400,000 pounds for insufficient security that allowed customer data to be accessed. "This case involved the deliberate exposure of a security issue on the Talk Talk website which is used by thousands of people every day," said Laura Tams of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on Tuesday.
  
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• The boy behind the Talk Talk data hack given rehabilitation order and has devices seized

  13-12-2016 14:34
  
  The chairman of the bench told him to use his IT skills legally in the future.
  
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• Christmas turkeys: sizing up the birds on market day - in pictures

  13-12-2016 14:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Christopher Thomond visits Chelford market in Cheshire for the final turkey auction before Christmas Continue reading...
  
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• SNP mulls putting candidates up in England

  13-12-2016 14:00
  In an interview with the Big Issue, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she been in touch with people in England and found the London branch of her party is "booming". In the interview with Scottish actor Alan Cumming, Ms Sturgeon said: "I'm tempted ... There are a lot (of people) in England - a lot who contact me - who feel completely disenfranchised that there is nobody speaking up for them.
  
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• Everything you need to know about Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump's choice for secretary of state

  13-12-2016 14:00
  
  The CEO of ExxonMobil is a controversial pick.
  
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• Argos drivers' strike threatens 'mayhem' days before Christmas

  13-12-2016 13:39
  Drivers who deliver goods for Argos are set to go on strike just days before Christmas in a dispute over pay. The union said the three-day walkout from next Tuesday threatened "mayhem" for Christmas deliveries. Argos said it had contingency plans in place and was working to prevent deliveries from being disrupted.
  
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• Brain test on three-year-olds 'can spot future criminals'

  13-12-2016 13:24
  A brain test on children as young as three can show if they are likely to end up as criminals, get benefits or have health problems, according to researchers.
  
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• British pension funds warn on any Fox/Sky deal

  13-12-2016 13:19
  British public sector pension funds on Tuesday called for an "appropriate" premium in any potential deal between Twenty-First Century Fox and Sky as well as for safeguards to protect minority shareholders. Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox Inc aims to table a firm cash bid valuing Sky at 10.75 pounds ($13.66) per share as early as Wednesday for the 61 percent of the British broadcaster it does not already own, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. "All directors of Sky have
  
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• Sadiq Khan wants TfL to run Southern but not everyone's convinced that's such a great idea

  13-12-2016 13:13
  
  Rush hour on the Underground isn’t exactly a dream.
  
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• E.ON invests in UK start up that uses sails to harness wind power

  13-12-2016 13:12
  German energy group E.ON has invested in a British start-up business that uses sails instead of rotors to harness wind energy. Kite Power Solutions (KPS) secured 6 million euros (5 million pound) in a fresh funding round that, apart from E.ON, included oil industry services company Schlumberger and Royal Dutch Shell, E.ON said on Tuesday. KPS's technology generates energy from wind by flying sails comparable to the ones used in kite surfing in altitudes of up to 450 metres (1,476 ft), which is m
  
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• Nigel Slater’s sweet potato, brussels and cream recipe

  13-12-2016 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Baked spuds with the taste of ChristmasWipe a couple of large sweet potatoes and put them in the oven to bake. They should take between 45-60 minutes at 200C/gas mark 6. Continue reading...
  
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• This Tory MP featured none other than Donald Trump on his Christmas card

  13-12-2016 12:50
  
  A slightly unusual choice from Nigel Evans, we must admit.
  
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• Loneliness at Christmas: how are you tackling it?

  13-12-2016 12:35 via theguardian.com
  
  If you work to help those experiencing social isolation, or have any tips on managing loneliness, we’d like you to share your experiences with usAn ageing and more transient population, and changes to the way we make social connections, are responsible for more lonely people than ever before. But even for the most experienced among us, the pang of loneliness and isolation is often never more pronounced than it is at Christmas.Befriending networks and charities promote their services more i
  
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• Lloyd's of London concerned for 2017 after insurance loss

  13-12-2016 12:31
  By Carolyn Cohn LONDON (Reuters) - Underwriters at Lloyd's of London [SOLYD.UL] lost money in 2016, driving the 90-plus syndicates in the insurance market to be more selective in the risks they take on and forcing Lloyd's to cut its subscription rates. To tackle the downturn in premium rates, insurers would need to review their business plans for 2017 and exert the same "underwriting discipline" they had in 2016, Lloyd's said on Tuesday in its annual end of year email. "Current year underwriting
  
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