General news

• Twitter is hitting out at Lena Dunham for saying she wished she had an abortion

  20-12-2016 23:12
  
  The Girls star’s comment sparked a huge Twitter row.
  
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• Candlelit vigil held at Berlin market and Brandenburg Gate – video

  20-12-2016 23:11 via theguardian.com
  
  A candlelit vigil was held on Tuesday night on the Berlin square where 12 people lost their lives when a truck rammed into a crowded Christmas market on Monday. Local residents and visitors gathered at the memorial located next to the where the truck made impact. The colours of the German flag were projected onto the Brandenburg Gate as a tribute to the victimsBerlin attack: first suspect released as driver thought to still be at large – live
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• What we learned today about the Berlin Christmas market attack

  20-12-2016 23:05
  
  Here’s everything we know so far.
  
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• See the dramatic brawl break out outside a Watford nightclub when clubbers couldn't even get inside

  20-12-2016 22:43
  
  People trying to get into PRYZM nightclub were left disappointed.
  
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• Security reviewed across UK after Berlin Christmas market attack

  20-12-2016 22:22
  One of London's most popular tourist attractions will be protected by strict road closures as police in the UK react to the attack in Berlin. Twelve people died after a lorry ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in the German capital on Monday night in what is assumed to be a terror attack. It came just hours after Russia's ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was shot dead at a photography exhibition in Ankara.
  
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• Witnesses describe carnage of Berlin attack – video report

  20-12-2016 21:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Witnesses describe the moment an articulated lorry ploughed into a Christmas market on Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz, killing at least 12 and injuring 50. Police are still hunting for the man behind Monday night’s attack Berlin attack: first suspect released as driver thought to still be at large – liveContinue reading...
  
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• Stunt firm director sentenced over human cannonball death

  20-12-2016 21:25
  The director of a stunt firm has been given a 12-month community service order following the death of a human cannonball in front of hundreds of spectators. Stuntman Matthew Cranch, 24, suffered multiple injuries when a safety net intended to break his fall collapsed as he hurtled to the ground. Maidstone Crown Court heard a mechanism which triggered the release of the safety net had not been set properly.
  
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• Traditional English pub becomes lavish Christmas spectacle

  20-12-2016 20:34
  A traditional English pub has been cloaked in more than 80 bright green Christmas trees while nearly 22,000 dazzling lights attract tourists and locals alike to the festive display in London. The lavish decorations adorning "The Churchill Arms" pub in the fashionable Notting Hill neighbourhood took a week and a half to set up and generate an electricity bill of around 55,000 pounds. There were queues of people here last weekend," said landlord Gerry O'Brien, 66.
  
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• Airport staff call off Christmas strikes after improved pay offer

  20-12-2016 20:14
  
  Union members employed by Swissport had been due to walk out on Friday for the two days before Christmas, one of the busiest times of the year for travellers. Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said a better pay offer had been received. British Airways cabin crew are due to strike on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and talks regarding their dispute - also over pay - are continuing.
  
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• Criticism prompts UK to investigate use of contractors in aid programmes

  20-12-2016 20:05
  By Emma Batha LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain launched an inquiry on Tuesday into the use of contractors in its overseas humanitarian programmes after facing criticism for paying rising amounts to for-profit private companies to deliver aid. The announcement comes a day after International Development Secretary Priti Patel reportedly said she wanted to see an end to "extensive profiteering" by contractors and suppliers of Britain's Department for International Development (DFID). D
  
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• Folly of a crackdown on international students | Letters

  20-12-2016 20:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Limiting the numbers of overseas students would see us pulling up the drawbridge not just on our overseas visitors but also on our own prosperity (Secret plans to slash overseas students by almost half, 13 December). By its very nature, higher education is international and people want to come to the UK to study because they are attracted by the quality of higher education available. As highly skilled people, those who stay also make an invaluable contribution to our economy, paying taxes which
  
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• Police make a tongue-in-cheek appeal to drug dealers requesting they report their competitors

  20-12-2016 19:18
  
  It’s worth a shot.
  
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• Trafficked chicken catchers get 'substantial' payout in landmark UK case

  20-12-2016 19:09
  By Umberto Bacchi LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The owners of a chicken company have agreed to pay more than 1 million pounds in compensation and legal costs after reaching a landmark settlement with a group of Lithuanian men trafficked to Britain to work on farms, lawyers said on Tuesday. The agreement follows a June high court ruling that found chicken company DJ Houghton guilty of charging prohibited fees, unlawfully withholding wages and failing to ensure the workers had adequate liv
  
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• Former LME accountant pleads guilty to credit card fraud

  20-12-2016 19:09
  A former accountant at the London Metal Exchange (LME) pleaded guilty on Tuesday to using company credit cards to obtain goods and services for herself and her family's personal benefit to which she was not entitled. Annmarie Norris pleaded not guilty to two further counts of ordering domestic and foreign currency not required for business purposes and possessing 167,595 pounds, knowing or suspecting it to be the proceeds of criminal conduct. The LME declined to comment.
  
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• Theresa May refuses to guarantee MPs a vote on final Brexit plan

  20-12-2016 19:04
  Theresa May has refused to guarantee MPs will get a vote on the final Brexit deal to be thrashed out with the 27 EU leaders. The Prime Minister was repeatedly asked whether the deal would be put to Parliament, as it will to the European Parliament, in her "end of term" appearance in front of the Liaison Committee. When pushed by the chairman of the committee, Andrew Tyrie, to answer yes or no on a final deal vote for MPs, the Prime Minister simply said: "The answer I gave is the answer I gave".
  
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• Next Budget to be unveiled just weeks before Brexit deadline

  20-12-2016 18:43
  Philip Hammond will unveil his economic proposals as the Prime Minister prepares to invoke Article 50, triggering the two-year process to leave the European Union. Mr Hammond has previously announced plans to scrap the spring Budget and move it to the autumn. "So the spring Budget in a few months will be the final spring Budget.
  
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• Christmas strikes by airport staff are cancelled

  20-12-2016 18:40
  Members of Unite employed by Swissport had been due to walk out for the two days before Christmas, one of the busiest times of the year for travellers. Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said the strikes had been cancelled after a better pay offer was received. British Airways cabin crew are due to strike on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and talks regarding their dispute - also over pay - are continuing.
  
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• Farage facing legal action after speaking about tweet from Jo Cox's husband

  20-12-2016 18:38
  
  Nigel Farage has been threatened with legal action for a "political smear" against an advocacy organisation after a Twitter exchange with Jo Cox's husband about the lorry attack in Berlin. The former UKIP leader has been contacted by the lawyers of Hope Not Hate after he spoke about the group on LBC Radio following the online row. It started when Mr Farage intimated that German chancellor Angela Merkel was responsible for the brutal attack on a Berlin Christmas market, which killed 12
  
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• Britain sets 2017 Spring budget date for March 8

  20-12-2016 18:29
  LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Tuesday the government will publish its next Spring Budget on Wednesday 8 March 2017. The Spring Budget sets out the government’s plans for the economy based on the latest forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. This will be the last Budget to take place in the Spring before they are moved to the Autumn. (Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by Elizabeth Piper)
  
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• Doctors advised to turn off Gulf War veteran's life support

  20-12-2016 17:34
  Doctors should stop providing life support to a Gulf War veteran who was left in a coma after a road accident, a judge has ruled. Police officer Paul Briggs, who served with the Merseyside force, suffered a severe brain injury in a motorcycle crash in July last year. Mr Briggs' wife, Lindsey, had told Mr Justice Charles that her husband should be allowed to die.
  
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• 'Slick, charming, and well-produced': readers review Super Mario Run

  20-12-2016 17:24 via theguardian.com
  
  We asked you to tell us what you think of Nintendo’s new Mario venture. Here’s what some of you said
  After the disappointment of Miitomo, Nintendo has once again ventured into the world of smartphone gaming with Super Mario Run. Following on from the success of the release of Pokémon Go in the summer, the anticipation from fans craving the nostalgia of classic Nintendo games has come to an end. But with some unhappy about the price of the iOS exclusive app we asked readers wha
  
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• Share your commuting nightmares ahead of January's rail fare rises

  20-12-2016 17:01 via theguardian.com
  
  As UK rail passengers brace themselves for an average 2.3% rise in fares, we want to hear from our readers about their service
  From the start of January, UK train fares will be rising again - this year by an average of 2.3%. Related: UK train fares to go up by 2.3% in 2017Continue reading...
  
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• May to outline more of her Brexit approach in early 2017

  20-12-2016 16:49
  Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she would outline more of her approach for Brexit early next year, underlining that her government did not intend to select "bits" of EU membership but forge a new relationship. Answering questions from sometimes irritated lawmakers, May offered little more detail on her plans for Britain to leave the European Union, repeating that she wanted to win the best deal and would not compromise her negotiating stance. Pressed whether she would offer parliament
  
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• May moots "implementation phase" after Brexit deal

  20-12-2016 16:49
  Prime Minister Theresa May raised the prospect of an "implementation phase" for Britain to put into place its new relationship with the European Union. Last week, Chancellor Philip Hammond backed the idea of a transition period to smooth the process of leaving the European Union, and said EU countries also stood to gain from a gradual Brexit.
  
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• Doctors advised to stop Gulf War veteran's life support

  20-12-2016 16:20
  Doctors should stop providing life-support to a Gulf War veteran who was left in a coma after a road accident, a judge has ruled. Police officer Paul Briggs suffered a severe brain injury in a motorcycle crash in July last year. Mr Briggs' wife, Lindsey, had told had told Mr Justice Charles that her husband should be allowed to die.
  
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• Britain can't pick bits of EU membership, needs new relationship - May

  20-12-2016 16:20
  Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday that Britain must forge a brand new relationship with the European Union, rather than trying to choose parts of its current membership it would like to keep. "What we need to say is 'we're currently members of the EU, we are going to leave the European Union and we need to negotiate a new relationship with the European Union,'" May told lawmakers.
  
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• Bad Brexit deal could force new Scotland referendum, Sturgeon warns

  20-12-2016 15:51
  
  Nicola Sturgeon has warned the Prime Minister that if she takes the UK out of the single market, she will trigger a second referendum on Scottish independence. In an attack on Theresa May for her lack of a plan, Ms Sturgeon said her proposals were the only proper way forward set out by anyone in the six months since the vote to leave. In it she proposed a Norway-style arrangement that would see the UK stay in the single market through membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) and
  
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• Artists are showing solidarity after the Berlin Christmas market attack with poignant illustrations

  20-12-2016 15:49
  
  #PrayforBerlin.
  
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• May says will outline Brexit approach in early 2017

  20-12-2016 15:40
  Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she will deliver a speech early next year outlining the government's approach to leaving the European Union. May also said she intends to stick to the two-year timetable for leaving the EU after triggering Article 50 of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty.
  
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• Goldfinger killing: Thousands have motive in fraudster's death, inquest hears

  20-12-2016 14:42
  Sixteen thousand fraud victims of murdered gangster John "Goldfinger" Palmer could have had a motive to kill him, a coroner has been told. A detective said his murder was probably connected with his criminal past, including links to last year's Hatton Garden jewellery heist and the 1983 Brinks Mat gold bullion robbery. Palmer, 65, was shot dead in the three-acre garden of his secluded, woodland home 18 months ago.
  
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• UK retail sales get bigger-than-expected pre-Christmas boost - CBI

  20-12-2016 14:30
  By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - British retail sales grew at the fastest rate in more than a year in a crucial shopping period in late November and early December, but stores fear a slowdown early next year as higher prices start to bite, an industry survey showed on Tuesday. The Confederation of British Industry said retailers reported the fastest sales growth since September 2015 in the three-week period including 'Black Friday' discounts at the end of November and the first two weeks of
  
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• Queen Elizabeth stands down as All England Club patron

  20-12-2016 14:24
  Queen Elizabeth has relinquished her role as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), home of the Wimbledon championships, after 64 years and will be replaced by The Duchess of Cambridge, a statement from the club said on Tuesday. The long-serving British monarch, who turned 90 in April, memorably presented the Venus Rosewater Dish trophy to home favourite Virginia Wade after she won the women's singles title in 1977, the Queen's Silver Jubilee year. It looked a little bit awkward, bu
  
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• Voters to be forced to bring ID to polling stations

  20-12-2016 14:22
  Voters will have to bring identification to polling stations for the first time next year, as part of a crackdown on electoral fraud. Sky News understands a series of pilots will be set up in which voters will have to produce a document such as a driving licence, passport or utility bill to prove their identity. Ministers have decided to adopt a series of recommendations contained in a hard-hitting report by former cabinet minister Sir Eric Pickles, who said he feared abuse of Britain's electora
  
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• The best TV shows of the year – as voted by you

  20-12-2016 14:10 via theguardian.com
  
  You dutifully read and commented on our best of 2016 list, so now it’s time for Guardian readers’ TV picks
  You praised David Attenborough, moaned about The Night Manager, and gnashed your teeth at The Crown as we unveiled our list of the best TV shows of 2016, a countdown that ended with Planet Earth II on top. Related: The 50 best TV shows of 2016: the full listContinue reading...
  
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• Queen steps down as patron of several organisations

  20-12-2016 14:05
  The Queen will step down as patron of a number of organisations at the end of her 90th birthday year. Organisations including Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Barnardo's, the Rugby Football Union, the British Cycling Federation and the NSPCC were on a list of 25 the monarch will step down from. The patronages will be passed on to other members of the Royal Family from 2017, Buckingham Palace said.
  
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• 6 times the Merriam-Webster word of the year 'surreal' couldn't have been more appropriate

  20-12-2016 14:03
  
  Very 2016.
  
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• Brexit is a problem not made by Scotland, says Nicola Sturgeon

  20-12-2016 13:48
  
  Brexit is a problem not of Scotland's making, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said, as she set out her plan for leaving the EU. Ms Sturgeon said the UK must remain in the single market and part of the customs union and made clear that if Theresa May struck a deal that failed to do this she would call a second independence referendum. In an attack on the lack of a Brexit plan from the Prime Minister, Ms Sturgeon said her proposals were the only proper plan on leaving the EU set
  
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• 'Germany has to step up' Brexiteer calls for action from Merkel in wake of Berlin killings

  20-12-2016 13:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  ANGELA MERKEL faces a critical 12 months and must take decisive action to protect Germany after the Berlin truck attack.
  
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• Tube strikes 'loom' in New Year, warns RMT union leader

  20-12-2016 13:33
  The RMT union has warned that strikes could spread to the London Underground in the New Year due to a long-running dispute over job cuts. As its members on Southern Railway took part in the second day of a 48-hour walkout in their row over conductor-less trains, the RMT said it was set to escalate its dispute with Tube bosses. "Tube unions have been warning London Underground for two years that stations cannot function after so many job cuts," Mr Cash said.
  
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• Storm Barbara to drop in over Christmas with wet and windy weather

  20-12-2016 13:33
  The run up to Christmas heralds a change to wetter and windier weather with the arrival of Storm Barbara. Strong winds are expected to batter Scotland and the north of England from Friday into Christmas Eve. Storm Barbara, a rapidly deepening Atlantic storm is expected to pass close to northwest Scotland later on Friday.
  
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• Shock survey reveals more than HALF of Brits don't know Father Christmas was a real person

  20-12-2016 13:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  MORE than half of British people do not know that Father Christmas was a real person, a survey has revealed.
  
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• This deer takes working out to an extreme by crashing through a window and leaping around a gym

  20-12-2016 13:27
  
  Do you even lift, doe?
  
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• The Queen eases her workload - slightly

  20-12-2016 13:22
  Queen Elizabeth will step down as patron from a number of national organisations in the coming months after she turned 90 in April, Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Tuesday. Elizabeth, the world's longest-reigning living monarch, will pass her patronage of dozens of charities, academic institutions and sporting groups to other members of the royal family. "Her Majesty will continue to serve as Patron to hundreds of charities and institutions but will now share this work with her family,"
  
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• Security reviewed at UK Christmas events after Berlin attack

  20-12-2016 13:17
  Security at events in the UK over Christmas and New Year is being reviewed following the deadly attacks in Berlin and Ankara. Twelve people died after a lorry ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in the German capital on Monday night in what is assumed to be a terror attack. In a statement on Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police said it has "detailed plans for protecting public events over the Christmas and New Year period".
  
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• Have you taken up a good habit that changed your life? | Sarah Marsh

  20-12-2016 12:56 via theguardian.com
  
  We want to hear about any small changes in behaviour that have had a big impact on your wellbeingAt the start of the new year people often vow to give up certain habits such as to stop smoking, biting their nails, or eating unhealthily. But instead of working out what to quit, perhaps it’s time to think about what to take up.In Gretchen Rubin’s book Better Than Before she argues that our habits have the capacity to lengthen or shorten our lives. And what we do every day matters more
  
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• 'FANTASY politics' Sturgeon's Brexit spokesperson taken to task in fiery BBC interview

  20-12-2016 12:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE SNP’S Europe spokesperson has been lambasted after demanding Scotland be allowed to stay in the single market and retain freedom of movement post-Brexit.
  
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• Nigel Farage slammed by Jo Cox's husband for saying Berlin terror was 'Merkel's legacy'

  20-12-2016 12:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  NIGEL FARAGE and the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox clashed after Brendan Cox accused the ex-Ukip leader of using the Berlin Christmas market attack to score political points.
  
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• UK retail sales surge over Black Friday and early December - CBI

  20-12-2016 12:27
  British retail sales grew at their fastest rate in more than a year during the last week of November and the first two weeks of December, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed on Tuesday. The CBI's December period runs from Nov. 24 to Dec. 13, so includes the surge in sales reported in other data created by heavy discounting following 'Black Friday' on Nov. 25, when many British retailers copy U.S. stores' post-Thanksgiving discounts. "It's encouraging to see retailers reporti
  
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• Nigel Farage called attacks 'the Merkel legacy', hit out at Brendan Cox and angered the internet

  20-12-2016 12:05
  
  Cox said the former Ukip leader was on “a slippery slope”.
  
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• London Underground strikes 'loom' as rail and Post Office action continues

  20-12-2016 12:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  STRIKES could spread to London Underground in the New Year because of a long-running dispute over jobs, as thousands of rail and Post Office workers continue to take industrial action.
  
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