General news

• 105-year-old French cyclist sets record – video

  04-01-2017 22:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Robert Marchand set a new world record on Wednesday when he cycled 14 miles in an hour. The 105-year-old was cheered on by crowds in Paris and was emotional at the end of his challenge. But he admitted that he could have gone faster at the end but he hadn’t seen the sign telling him he only had ten minutes left105-year-old man sets record by cycling more than 14 miles in an hourContinue reading...
  
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• May taps career diplomat to replace EU envoy after scathing resignation

  04-01-2017 21:17
  By Elizabeth Piper and Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May appointed a senior career diplomat as envoy to the European Union on Wednesday to replace an ambassador who quit with a scathing resignation letter that exposed frustration among officials over her strategy. Tim Barrow, political director at the Foreign Office, will take up the post next week following the abrupt departure of Ivan Rogers, who told staff in his resignation letter they should "speak the truth to
  
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• Sir Tim Barrow will be UK's new envoy to EU after Brexit furore

  04-01-2017 20:42
  
  Sir Tim Barrow will replace Sir Ivan Rogers as the UK's ambassador to the European Union, the Government has confirmed. The former ambassador to Russia will take over from Sir Ivan, who unexpectedly resigned on Tuesday, just weeks before formal Brexit negotiations are due to begin. In a scathing leaked email to his staff, Sir Ivan attacked the Government's approach to the talks, accusing Number 10 of "ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking" over leaving the EU.
  
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• May appoints career diplomat as envoy to EU

  04-01-2017 20:39
  By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed a senior career diplomat as envoy to the European Union to replace an ambassador who quit with a scathing resignation letter that exposed frustration among officials over her strategy. Tim Barrow, political director of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and a former ambassador to Moscow, would take up the post next week, May's Downing Street office said, following the abrupt resignation of Ivan Rogers. The sele
  
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• Carol Vorderman demands knighthood for last surviving Dambuster

  04-01-2017 20:13
  
  The recent I’m A Celebrity star says it’s “disgraceful” he was left off the New Year’s Honours list.
  
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• Andrea Leadsom's Brexit boast fails to impress farmers

  04-01-2017 19:07
  Farming minister Andrea Leadsom spectacularly failed to impress an audience of sceptical farmers when she promised them a Brexit bonfire of Brussels red tape. "As we prepare to leave the EU, the fundamentals of the sector are strong," she said.
  
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• Terror arrest at Heathrow Airport after man lands from Cairo

  04-01-2017 18:28
  A 50-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of a terror offence after landing at Heathrow Airport from Cairo.
  
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• Four in court over hit-and-run deaths of young cousins in Oldham

  04-01-2017 18:21
  Four men have appeared in court charged in connection with the deaths of two young cousins who were struck by a car in Oldham on New Year's Eve. Helena Kotlarova, 12, died at the scene of the crash on Ashton Road in Oldham, Greater Manchester. Gabor Hegedus, of Oldham, has been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, driving without a licence, failing to stop after a collision and failing to report a collision.
  
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• Footballer sacked for mocking the death of Harry Arter's baby daughter

  04-01-2017 17:38
  A non-league footballer has been sacked by his club after abusing AFC Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter over the death of his baby daughter. On Tuesday, the Premier League club lost a three goal lead to draw 3-3 at home with Arsenal. In a tweet sent to Arter, Hitchin Town player Alfie Barker said: "At least you didn't lose your kid".
  
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• UK government seeks to assuage Brexit concerns of farmers

  04-01-2017 17:14
  By Nigel Hunt OXFORD, England (Reuters) - Britain's farmers said on Wednesday their main concerns as the nation prepares to leave the European Union are how much access they will have to the EU's single market and its skilled farm workers. Meurig Raymond, president of the National Farmers Union, told Reuters at the annual Oxford Farming Conference, that tariff-free access to the single market "has got to be the top priority." "The number two priority is access to competent labour for seasonal an
  
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• Have you lost a loved one to suicide? Share your stories

  04-01-2017 17:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Suicide affects a lot of people in Brtain, but it’s a often a hard topic to talk about. Tell us about your experiences belowLosing a loved one to suicide can be incredibly painful and it’s a subject that people often struggle to talk about.
  The grief associated with this sort of loss can often be very complicated. Suicide is usually quite sudden, unexpected and may be violent. This can make it more traumatic compared to many other types of bereavement. Sometimes people are left askin
  
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• Gender pay gap halves for millennials, but will widen with age - study

  04-01-2017 16:16
  The analysis of data from the Office for National Statistics by the Resolution Foundation found the gender pay gap has closed for every generation of women since those born between 1911 and 1925. “Young women today face relatively little disadvantage in terms of their pay packets compared to what their parents’ and grandparents’ generation faced," said Laura Gardiner, senior policy analyst at the non-partisan foundation. According to the study, the gender pay gap has fallen fro
  
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• Oldham: Four charged over road deaths of young cousins

  04-01-2017 16:03
  Four men have been charged in connection with the deaths of two young cousins who were struck by a car in Oldham on New Year's Eve. Helena Kotlarova, 12, died at the scene of the crash on Ashton Road in Oldham, Greater Manchester. Gabor Hegedus, of Oldham, has been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, driving without a licence, failing to stop after a collision and failing to report a collision.
  
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• Theresa May warned not to force 'Brexit oath' on UK's new EU envoy

  04-01-2017 16:01
  
  The Prime Minister has been warned not to force Britain's new EU envoy to swear an oath of loyalty to Brexit. Tony Blair's former chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, said Theresa May will have a difficult job recruiting Sir Ivan Rogers' successor if he or she is made to pledge an allegiance to the UK's exit from the European Union first. It follows the resignation of Sir Ivan - Britain's top negotiator in Brussels - on Tuesday, who in a scathing leaked email to his staff attacked the
  
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• UK tourists get help home as All Leisure Holidays collapses

  04-01-2017 15:45
  The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it would ensure All Leisure Holidays' customers overseas would be repatriated at no extra cost under the ATOL protection scheme. The company operated two ships, the Minerva and the Voyager, under the Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery cruise brands. Many holiday companies have been enduring harder times since the UK's vote to leave the EU, as the weaker pound has made in-resort spending more expensive for tourists while costs have also risen for o
  
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• British freerunner Nye Frankie Newman dies in 'accident' on Paris metro

  04-01-2017 14:02
  Tributes have been paid to a British freerunner who died in an accident on the Paris metro on New Year's Day. Nye Frankie Newman, from Guildford, has been described by members of his parkour group Brewman as an "inspirational" freerunner. Luke Stones, a member of the Brewman group, announced Mr Newman's death in "train accident" in a post on 1 January, and insisted his friend "wasn't train surfing as many of you assume".
  
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• Southern rail strike cut from six days to three by union ASLEF

  04-01-2017 13:45
  
  A six-day strike on Southern rail next week has been cut to three days but there will be more walkouts later this month in the dispute over driver-only trains. Drivers in the ASLEF union were due to walk out from Monday, which would have brought services to a halt for the whole week. There will be further strikes on 24, 25 and 27 January, said ASLEF.
  
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• Accrington coach depot rampage: CCTV footage released by police

  04-01-2017 13:43
  Two youths who broke into a coach depot and went on a bus rampage causing thousands of pounds worth of damage are being hunted by police. "We think that the boys in the CCTV images are local and so people must know who they are.
  
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• UK's Southern rail strike next week cut short but union adds more dates

  04-01-2017 13:35
  Train drivers on Britain's Southern rail commuter network have cut a planned six-day strike on one of London's main commuter networks next week but added more stoppages later in January. Strikes next week will now take place on Jan. 10, 11 and 13 after the ASLEF union reduced a walkout due to last from January 9 to 14, the latest action in a dispute over whose role it should be to open and close train doors. ASLEF said on Wednesday it had added new strike dates for Jan. 24, 25 and 27, in a move
  
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• Why are people in Finland getting paid to do nothing?

  04-01-2017 13:23
  
  Everything you need to know about the controversial new system.
  
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• British consumers borrow at fastest rate in 11 years as inflation threat rises

  04-01-2017 13:22
  Economists expect overall consumer price inflation to approach 3 percent in 2017, up from less than 1 percent for 2016 as a whole, while output growth halves to little more than 1 percent. House price growth is also likely to slow to around 2 percent from twice that in 2016, according to mortgage lender Nationwide Building Society.
  
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• What are your experiences of NHS maternity services?

  04-01-2017 13:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Have you been forced to travel for care? Was enough care offered after you gave birth? Share your stories of treatment One in four babies born in the UK are not receiving mandatory checkups from health visitors during the first two years of their life.A fifth of babies do not receive the recommended reviews after they turn one, and one in four miss out at the age of two, according to the government’s commission on social mobility. Continue reading...
  
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• Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster says calls for her to step down are misogynistic - but not everyone is convinced

  04-01-2017 12:46
  
  She’s come under fire over the Renewable Heat Incentive.
  
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• A congressman's son 'dabbed' at his dad's swearing-in ceremony and it was really awkward

  04-01-2017 12:40
  
  Speaker Paul Ryan was pretty confused.
  
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• London museum bids farewell to Dippy the dinosaur

  04-01-2017 12:32
  Britain's Natural History Museum bids farewell to its most famous exhibit, Dippy the diplodocus, on Wednesday after almost four decades of greeting visitors before being dismantled ahead of a national tour. For 35 years, the huge skeleton cast, 4.25 metres (14 ft) high and 21 metres long, has been the first sight visitors see when they enter the London museum's main entrance. From the end of 2020, a bronze cast of Dippy will then go on display outside the museum.
  
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• Queen Elizabeth resumes duties as she recovers from cold

  04-01-2017 12:01
  Queen Elizabeth has given an honour to a member of her staff in a private ceremony, resuming official duties as she continued to recover from a heavy cold that forced her to miss Christmas and New Year church services, a spokeswoman said. The 90-year-old monarch fell ill before Christmas, delayed her trip from London to her country estate at Sandringham in eastern England by a day, then took the very rare decision not to attend the festive season church services. On Tuesday, the queen gave a mem
  
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• Man arrested over fatal crash in Yaxley which killed two men

  04-01-2017 11:39
  Police have arrested a man in connection with a fatal crash in Cambridgeshire in which two people were killed. The collision, which involved a BMW and two pedestrians, took place just after 11am on the B1091 between Yaxley and Farcet on Tuesday. Emergency services, including an air ambulance, were called but both victims - two men in their late teens or early 20s - died.
  
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• Spy with no name

  04-01-2017 11:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  In 1977 a woman thought she had finally tracked down the son she had abandoned as a baby. What followed was an extraordinary tale of deception and heartbreak.
  
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• Hammond meeting Gulf leaders this week - finance ministry

  04-01-2017 11:30
  Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will meet with political leaders and finance officials from the Gulf states this week as part of the country's drive to promote trade ahead of its exit from the European Union. The government said in a statement that Hammond would meet Kuwait's acting prime minister, finance minister and central bank governor on Wednesday before travelling to Abu Dhabi to meet sovereign wealth funds and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. "There is huge potential to exp
  
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• Southern rail strike next week reduced to three days

  04-01-2017 11:21
  Train drivers on Britain's Southern rail commuter network have cut a planned six-day strike on one of London's main commuter networks next week to three days, the ASLEF union said on Wednesday. Strikes will now take place on January 10, 11 and 13 after ASLEF reduced the walkout which was due to last from January 9 to 14, the latest action in a long-running dispute over whose role it should be to open and close train doors. Southern train services connect Brighton and Gatwick Airport to London, a
  
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• What is Fat Cat Wednesday and why is everyone so riled up about it?

  04-01-2017 11:04
  
  2017 is already off to a depressing start.
  
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• UK construction PMI touches nine-month high in December, costs jump

  04-01-2017 11:01
  Activity in Britain's construction sector expanded at the fastest rate in nine months in December, boosted by more house building, but sterling's weakness drove the biggest rise in costs in over five years, an industry survey showed on Wednesday. Coupled with Tuesday's strong manufacturing PMI, the figures offer signs that Britain's economy maintained momentum through the end of 2016, though the picture will become clearer once data for the far larger services sector appear on Thursday. "UK cons
  
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• UK consumer credit growth hits fresh 11-year high - BoE

  04-01-2017 11:00
  Consumer credit in November alone jumped by 1.926 billion pounds - well ahead of forecasts in a Reuters poll - to push the annual growth rate in borrowing of 10.8 percent, a rate not seen since October 2005. The data confirm the picture given elsewhere that Britain is likely to have been one of the fastest-growing advanced economies last year, but shed little light on how well consumers will withstand an expected rise in prices in 2017. Economists polled by Reuters expect economic growth to more
  
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• Next warns 2017 profits could fall up to 14% as costs grow

  04-01-2017 09:41
  The retailer confirmed a story by Sky News hours earlier by admitting further "challenging" times were ahead while updating the City on its Christmas trading performance, which missed forecasts. Its share price fell as much as 14% in early trading on the FTSE 100 - following on from a 4.3% loss in the previous session - while other retail stocks also came under pressure.
  
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• What is our problem with single mothers? – video

  04-01-2017 08:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Actor Libby Liburd says people’s views of her changed when she went from being a married mother to a single mother. The demonisation of women who raise children alone exists in politics, popular culture and the media, she argues, adding that we should support families of all kindsContinue reading...
  
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• This 87-year-old former Aussie PM downing a beer will put all freshers to shame

  04-01-2017 08:22
  
  Bob Hawke has some serious skills.
  
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• Donald Campbell's daughter marks 50th anniversary of Bluebird crash

  04-01-2017 07:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The daughter of Donald Campbell will lay flowers at the spot where he was killed on Coniston Water exactly 50 years ago.
  
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• Next could give formal profit alert - Sky News

  04-01-2017 07:46
  (This January 3 story corrects first paragraph to say 'Next Plc', instead of 'Next Inc') (Reuters) - British clothing retailer Next Plc could give a formal profit warming for its 2017 financial year in its fourth-quarter trading update, Sky News reported, citing a source. http://bit.ly/2iM9FsD A spokeswoman for the company said Next would report its quarterly trading update on Wednesday as scheduled without providing further details. The retailer was downbeat about prospects for 2017 when it rep
  
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• 'Fat Cat Wednesday' highlights pay inequality

  04-01-2017 07:42
  By lunchtime today, the UK's top CEOs will have already made more money than average workers earn in a year, says a group that campaigns against "fat cats". The think tank High Pay Centre published research that compares the earnings of top executives at FTSE 100 firms with UK average pay packets. The group estimates that a chief executive makes roughly £1,000 an hour - compared to the national living wage of £7.20 - meaning it would take around 28 hours of work in the New Year
  
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• Arlene Foster describes calls for resignation as 'misogynistic'

  04-01-2017 07:23
  
  Arlene Foster says she will not be stepping down as Northern Ireland’s First Minister and has described calls for her to do so as "misogynistic". The Democratic Unionist leader told Sky News she was ready for an election if Sinn Fein pulls out of the power-sharing government over a public finance scandal. Mrs Foster said: "There's a lot of it personal.  There's a lot of it, sadly, misogynistic as well, because I'm a female, the first female leader of Northern Ireland.
  
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• Newspaper headlines: EU ambassador's resignation dominates press

  04-01-2017 07:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The resignation of the UK's ambassador to the European Union, Sir Ivan Rogers, dominates the front pages of Wednesday's newspapers.
  
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• CitizenAID app aims to help save lives in a terror attack

  04-01-2017 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Military and security experts in the UK have developed an app called CitizenAID, which offers the public a step-by-step guide to saving lives in the event of a terror attack.
  
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• Britain's Next could give formal profit alert - Sky News

  04-01-2017 06:38
  (This January 3 story corrects first paragraph to say 'Next Plc', instead of 'Next Inc') (Reuters) - British clothing retailer Next Plc could give a formal profit warming for its 2017 financial year in its fourth-quarter trading update, Sky News reported, citing a source.
  
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• Australia v Pakistan: third Test, day two – live!

  04-01-2017 05:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Australia v Pakistan, third Test, day two live from the SCGEmail: [email protected] | Tweet: @GeoffLemonSport 4.42am GMT9th over: Pakistan 21-2 (Azhar 12, Younus 5)
  Not great signs for Younus against Starc early. Over the wicket, left-arm inswing, Starc has the veteran batsman falling over to keep a full ball out, then jumping to defend a short one. Either of those methods are liable to lead to dismissal, missing the full ball or fending the short one to hand. Twice Younus makes contac
  
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• Brexit 'could put countryside, farming and wildlife at risk'

  04-01-2017 04:40
  Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee is also warning the Government that environmental protections must not be weakened. The Committee's chairman Mary Creagh said: "Changes from Brexit could put our countryside, farming and wildlife at risk. "Protections for Britain's wildlife and special places currently guarded under European law could end up as 'zombie legislation', even with the Great Repeal Bill".
  
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• Clothing prices up as higher inflation looms following pound slump

  04-01-2017 04:39
  Clothing and footwear prices have seen a month-on-month rise for the first time in nearly two years as consumers look set to face an uptick in inflation. The British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Nielsen shop price index showed that, over all categories, prices declined by 1.4% in December compared to the same month last year. BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said it had expected for some time that inflationary pressures including the slump in sterling would feed through.
  
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• Paul Ryan prevents Roger Marshall's son from dabbing during swearing-in

  04-01-2017 04:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Speaker of the house believed Cal Marshall was about to sneeze when he moved his face down to his forearm while his family posed for photographsThe teenage son of a Kansas congressman flummoxed the speaker of the US house of representatives by dabbing during a photo call at his swearing in.Paul Ryan believed Cal Marshall, the 17-year-old son of Roger Marshall, was about to sneeze when he moved his face down to his forearm while he and his family posed for photographs at Tuesday’s swearing
  
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• UK's EU ambassador tells colleagues to challenge 'muddled thinking'

  04-01-2017 04:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK's outgoing ambassador to the EU urges colleagues to continue to challenge "muddled thinking".
  
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• Asthma patients 'missing out on basic care'

  04-01-2017 03:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Millions of UK asthma patients do not receive the basic care they need for their condition, a survey finds.
  
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• Law needed to limit Brexit's environmental impact, say MPs

  04-01-2017 03:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Brexit poses a huge risk to the UK wildlife and habitats, a group of MPs says.
  
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