General news

• Keep on moving: readers' photos on the theme of active

  07-01-2017 23:25 via theguardian.com
  
  For last week’s photography assignment in the Observer New Review we asked you to share your photos on the theme of active via GuardianWitness. Here’s a selection of our favouritesShare your photos on this week’s theme “heavy” by clicking the button belowContinue reading...
  
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• British great-grandmother among five dead at Florida airport

  07-01-2017 23:24
  A British great-grandmother was one of five people shot dead by a former soldier at an airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The suspected shooter Esteban Santiago is being questioned by the FBI and detectives after the attack in a baggage claim area on Friday. Olga Woltering, 84, who is thought to have come originally from Ipswich, Suffolk, was one of those killed in the mass shooting.
  
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• Two monster black holes found lurking in nearby galaxies

  07-01-2017 22:09
  Astronomers claim that monster black holes may be lurking behind 'smokescreens' in our cosmic backyard. Data from NuSTAR - the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array - was then analysed by British researchers at the universities of Durham and Southampton. Ady Annuar, an astronomer at the University of Durham's Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, said: "These black holes are relatively close to the Milky Way, but they have remained hidden from us until now.
  
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• Missing RAF serviceman's family call in private investigators

  07-01-2017 20:33
  The uncle of missing RAF serviceman Corrie McKeague has detailed the military intelligence techniques being deployed in the search for his nephew. Private investigators with a military background have been brought in to collate information and analyse it using specialist technology. It would be impossible to leave that particular area on foot without being captured by CCTV cameras.
  
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• Martin Shkreli doesn't appear to be having much luck finding a date to Trump's inauguration

  07-01-2017 19:43
  
  The former chief executive of Turing invited various women to the date over Twitter.
  
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• Corbyn demands answers from PM over NHS 'humanitarian crisis'

  07-01-2017 17:32
  
  Jeremy Corbyn says he is demanding Theresa May comes to the Commons on Monday to set out how she plans to "fix her failure on the NHS". It comes after the head of the British Red Cross claimed the National Health Service was facing a "humanitarian crisis" due to Government cuts. Mike Adamson told Sky News he was "not trying to embarrass anyone" but hospitals are "feeling the pressure" amid "increasingly chaotic situations".
  
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• Tube strike set to go ahead as talks over staffing and ticket offices fail

  07-01-2017 15:59
  
  Talks to avert a mass strike on the London Underground have broken down, with a 24-hour walkout now expected to go ahead. The union's regional organiser, John Leach, told Sky News that London Underground's offer was "a woeful, inadequate response to a crisis". Mr Leach said union representatives had pushed London Underground to reopen control rooms across the network.
  
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• Red Cross chief defends NHS 'humanitarian crisis' claim

  07-01-2017 13:36
  
  The head of the Red Cross has defended his claim that the National Health Service is facing a "humanitarian crisis" due to Government cuts. Mike Adamson told Sky News he was "not trying to embarrass anyone" but hospitals are "feeling the pressure" amid "increasingly chaotic situations". The phrase "humanitarian crisis" is often used to describe situations in war zones, natural disasters and disease outbreaks such as Ebola.
  
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• People find it utterly bizarre that it's taken 20 months for a woman to realise she lost £7m in the Hatton Garden heist

  07-01-2017 12:48
  
  This brings the total value of stolen goods up to a whopping £21m.
  
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• BBC Breakfast mix-up: 'I think you have the wrong guest'

  07-01-2017 12:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Breakfast presenter Jon Kay accidentally introduces the wrong guest during the programme.
  
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• Donor to PM May's party says to cut funds if single market access lost

  07-01-2017 12:15
  A leading donor to Theresa May's Conservative Party warned on Saturday he would cut his financial support if the government pulled Britain out of the European single market as part of Brexit negotiations. Andrew Cook, chairman of engineering firm William Cook, backed remaining in the EU during last June's referendum. "I would find it impossible under those circumstances (to keep donating to the Conservative Party should it back leaving the single market)," the Times newspaper quoted him as sayin
  
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• Britain's health service in a 'humanitarian crisis' - Red Cross

  07-01-2017 11:00
  Britain's health service is engulfed in a "humanitarian crisis" that requires the support of the Red Cross to use Land Rovers to transport patients, the charity said on Saturday. Founded in 1948, the National Health Service (NHS) is a source of huge pride for many Britons who are able to access care for free from the cradle to the grave. In a statement on its website next to appeals for help in Yemen and Syria, the British Red Cross said it was now "on the front line, responding to the humanitar
  
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• It's a kid's dream come true as thousands of colourful toys wash up on a German beach

  07-01-2017 10:40
  
  It looks like it’s still Christmas for the children on this island.
  
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• People were pretty pumped at Fabric's reopening

  07-01-2017 09:34
  
  The London nightclub has won a hard-fought battle to stay in business.
  
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• Fort Lauderdale shooting: five killed and suspect identified as Iraq veteran

  07-01-2017 09:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Esteban Santiago, 26 – who had previously alerted the FBI to his disturbing thoughts – unpacked gun in baggage claim area and started firing, say policeThe suspected gunman who shot and killed five people at a Florida airport with a weapon collected from his checked baggage was reportedly an Iraq war veteran known to the US authorities. Eight more people were injured in the mass shooting, after which a suspect identified in reports as Esteban Santiago, 26, was taken into custody with
  
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• With Trump and Putin, Europe is now between a rock and a hard place | Natalie Nougayrède

  07-01-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  European uncertainty over the US president-elect’s strategy will make it easier for Russia to exploit cracks in EU solidarityEuropean capitals have been busy sending discreet emissaries to New York to sound out Donald Trump’s intentions. Angela Merkel, who on 9 November delivered a blunt warning to the US president-elect, sent her close adviser Christoph Heusgen to meet General Michael Flynn, the new national security adviser, in late December. François Hollande, who commented
  
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• The 24-hour race: 'It is a battle with your mind'

  07-01-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Ultra-running is one of the fastest growing sports, usually taking place in remote, scenic landscapes. Not a running track in London. Will competitors reach nirvana?‘I hallucinated, of course. I always do,” Pat Seabrook says. She is 76 and has spent the past 24 hours running round a 400m athletics track in Tooting, south London. She sits in the front seat of her car, peeling plasters off her toes. “At some point I began to think the white lines on the track were ropes, rising u
  
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• How to write a novel this year: 'I'm surprised at how much time I find'

  07-01-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  It is liberating and terrifying to write whatever comes into my head. The following morning, I read over it: it’s full of cliches• From being happier to quitting sugar – how to achieve your goalAmbition, people say, is an itch, begging to be realised. I’ve been intending to write a book for a decade, and the itching is getting more insistent. I haven’t settled on a genre, let alone a story, but half-formed characters and narratives are swimming in my mind, and it&rsq
  
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• How to stop swearing this year: 'I always realise a millisecond too late'

  07-01-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  I try to find alternative curses. ‘Sausage bacon egg and chips’ is actually endearing• From being happier to volunteering – how to achieve your goalWhen my son was born, I drew a line in the sand. “No more swearing for me,” I declared. “This boy shall not be tainted by my foul language.” Then I went outside, pointed at a loud aeroplane flying overhead and involuntarily said the word “fucking”.He’s nearly two now, and picking up new
  
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• How to start volunteering: ‘Stop whining, I tell myself. Do something’

  07-01-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  I assumed I didn’t have enough time – that was my first mistake• From being happier to quitting sugar – how to achieve your goalI don’t think it’s a coincidence that 2016 was the year I felt the urge to spend more of my time helping others. At the age of 31, I feel more settled in my life, while the world seems anything but. The news has made me tearful on several occasions, but I got to a point, quietly sobbing in the shower one morning, when I realised crying
  
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• How to quit sugar this year: 'It's a lifestyle change, not a diet'

  07-01-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Week four is when most people experience a crash, and mine is monumental. But by week six, I’ve come through the other side• From getting stronger to writing that novel – how to achieve your goalIt’s Monday night, and I’m clutching an eight-pack of mini Kellogg’s cereals in the queue of my local corner shop, hoping I don’t see anyone I know. This is the next best thing to the full box of Coco Pops I’ve been craving all day.Call it a regression to th
  
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• How to learn a language this year: ‘Will a virtual teacher work for me?'

  07-01-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  I have to shout certain Italian phrases over and over to get the software to recognise my answer, but at least I remember them• From quitting sugar to getting stronger – how to achieve your goalItalian, for me, has always been the one that got away. At school, French and Latin came easily, but for some reason I chose German as my third language. After getting into university to study French and Italian, I decided I’d rather lie around reading novels for three years and switched
  
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• How to keep your resolutions (clue: it's not all about willpower)

  07-01-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  It’s not the only way to change your habits: you could start by making the goal easier in the first place• From quitting sugar to writing that novel – how to achieve your goalIt’s hard to think of a situation in which it wouldn’t be extremely useful to have more willpower. For a start, your New Year’s resolutions would no longer be laughably short-lived. You could stop yourself spending all day on social media, spiralling into despair at the state of the world,
  
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• How to give up clothes shopping: 'I became skilled at hiding holes'

  07-01-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Sometimes there was genuine temptation, but more often the urge to buy new clothes came at moments of panic and despair• From quitting sugar to writing that novel – how to achieve your goalThere are many excellent reasons to stop buying clothes – ethical, environmental, anti-consumerist, self-abnegatory – but it was necessity that got me in the end. Our decrepit fridge was shorting out the boiler circuit twice a month and a 12-month fashion fast seemed a clean means of mar
  
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• How to get strong this year: 'I worry I might actually pass out'

  07-01-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  After four weeks lifting weights, I realise that I’m generally feeling really good; in control, building muscle and, yes, stronger • From quitting sugar to writing that novel – how to achieve your goalIn 2017, it’s not enough to be fit and healthy: you need to be strong. The cruel twists and turns of the fitness world: once, you were meant to be lean, limby, elegant, perhaps a ballet dancer. Then you had to prove you could swim for miles or run a marathon (or two). But the
  
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• How to be more positive this year: 'Trump makes this much harder'

  07-01-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  I’ve been described as ‘radiating gloom’; can I change my attitude?• From volunteering to quitting sugar – how to achieve your goal“You are positive, though,” a friend says as I explain that I’m trying to make myself into a sunnier person. “Actually,” she pauses for a minute, “you’re kind of both upbeat and miserable.”It’s true. On the grey side, I’m the guy whose university professor described him as &ldquo
  
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• German police quash Breitbart story of mob setting fire to Dortmund church

  07-01-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Country’s politicians warn against fake news after Breitbart website said group chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ vandalised church on New Year’s EveGerman media and politicians have warned against an election-year spike in fake news after the rightwing website Breitbart claimed a mob chanting “Allahu Akbar” had set fire to a church in the city of Dortmund on New Year’s Eve.After the report by the US site was widely shared on social media, the city’s police
  
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• Londoners need spaces to live, but also need places to make things | Ian Jack

  07-01-2017 07:59 via theguardian.com
  
  An insatiable demand for property assets in the capital threatens to crush the green shoots of new creativityWhen industry left the big manufacturing regions, it was impossible not to notice. Entire landscapes changed. Bolton without its cotton mills, Greenock without its shipyards, Consett without its steelworks: you returned to them after a while away and wondered at how much less enclosed they seemed – how a view that once stopped at a brick wall or a factory shed now extended as far as
  
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• After her death I discovered Mum was a decade older than she claimed

  07-01-2017 07:30 via theguardian.com
  
  A search for my Hungarian family’s immigration records gave me more information than I’d bargained for – and left lingering questions over my mother’s ageThe discovery of my mother’s big lie happened by accident. I had been mulling over ideas for a birthday present for her. Something personal; something that showed that I knew her like no one else.For most of our lives, we had had a tempestuous relationship. She was my hypercritical mother; I was her disaster o
  
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• A letter to … My parents, who abandoned me to boarding school

  07-01-2017 07:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The letter you always wanted to writeI can understand why you did it. In theory. I understand that you wanted to give me the best education money could buy. I don’t blame you for sending me away to an extremely strict boarding school when I was very young. I think you genuinely thought it was best for me – and for my younger brother, who you also sent away, to another boarding school in another part of the country, miles away from me.What I find harder to forgive is that when there w
  
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• Our fridge magnets and pictures tell the stories of our lives

  07-01-2017 07:15 via theguardian.com
  
  From records of overseas travels and adventures to words of wisdom and royal wedding sick bags, our readers explain the stories behind what’s on their fridgeKiosk photos taken over the years dominate our fridge. I never know where to put them, but I love them.The picture of the volcano was drawn by my husband, Tony, a few years ago. I pointed out that there were only four figures running from the volcano and we are five. Tony replied: “You’re the volcano.” Continue readin
  
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• Taiwan president heads to US as Beijing keeps close watch for possible Trump contact

  07-01-2017 07:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Tsai Ing-wen is en route to Central America, but US stopovers will be scrutinised following fury at her congratulations call to Donald TrumpTaiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen left for the United States on Saturday on her way to Central America, a trip that will be scrutinised by China, incensed by her congratulatory call to Donald Trump.
  While the focus of the nine-day trip is to bolster relations with Taiwan’s Central American allies, Tsai’s US stopovers will be closely watched a
  
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• Taiwan president heads though US as Beijing keeps watch for any Trump contact

  07-01-2017 07:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Tsai Ing-wen is en route to Central America but US stopovers will be scrutinised following fury at her congratulatory call to Donald TrumpTaiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, left for the United States on Saturday on her way to Central America, a trip that will be scrutinised by China, incensed by her congratulatory call to Donald Trump.While the focus of the nine-day trip is to bolster relations with Taiwan’s Central American allies, Tsai’s US stopovers will be closely watched am
  
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• Tim Dowling: ‘There’s a crowd in the kitchen’

  07-01-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  At this stage in life, I thought the house would be empty or full. Turns out it is both On Tuesday morning, I lie in bed until 10am, because I can. My wife is already out somewhere, so there is no one around to question my choices. In fact, I am under the impression that I’m alone in the house, but when I eventually go downstairs to make coffee, I find three grown sons sitting at the kitchen table in their coats. They are not, I can’t help noticing, my sons. Continue reading...
  
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• Saturday's best TV: David Bowie – the Last Five Years; Taboo

  07-01-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Bowie’s life and career is remembered in an intimate new documentary, while Tom Hardy plays a shamanic bounty hunter in a new period drama Continue reading...
  
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• Readers’ recipe swap: clementines | Dale Berning-Sawa

  07-01-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Whether juiced, zested or candied, the electric kick of sweet citrus amps up your nutty pilaffs, fried duck breasts and chocolate drizzle cakesA smarty-pants reader who shall therefore remain nameless sent in instructions for peeling and eating a clementine this week. Not that I blame them. Haven’t you ever been on a train or sat at a desk and suddenly the scent hits you and you’re frantically turning your head to see who’s eating a clementine? The spritz of citrus oil that ble
  
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• Cuddles, not bombs: how one woman helped children in Syria

  07-01-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Focusing on the quality of family life in a war zone may seem futile, but one woman is doing just that. Juliet Rix meets Aala el-Khani, who is reaching out to traumatised parents trapped on the frontline in order to help thousands of childrenFatima, a jolly-looking woman in a sparkly grey jumper and tightly wrapped headscarf that accentuates her round, smiley face, laughs as she shows me into her living room in Manchester, which is comfortable even though the family moved in just a fortnight ago
  
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• Blind date: ‘I thought he was going in for a kiss’

  07-01-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Did 23-year-old office manager Alice hit it off with carpenter Nick, 23?What were you hoping for?
  A fun, easygoing date and a nice meal. Continue reading...
  
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• UK ends millions in funding for 'Ethiopia's Spice Girls'

  07-01-2017 06:51
  
  Ministers have ended millions of pounds in funding for a five-member female band dubbed Ethiopia's Spice Girls. Following criticism over the amount of money being granted to them, the Department for International Development (DfID) confirmed that the partnership has now ended. Responding to the decision, the Girl Effect project that launched Yegna and promotes women's rights in Ethiopia said that "new ideas are often resisted and sometimes willfully misrepresented".
  
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• Prey silence for the peregrine falcon

  07-01-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Udale Bay, Cromarty, Highlands Rapid wings took the peregrine high, and it wheeled, looking for any movement belowThe tide was starting to ebb as I raised two of the windows in the RSPB hide. This meant I could not only see the mass of birds on the saltmarsh but also enjoy the music of their various calls. They seemed to be trying to decide just when to leave for the mudflats and the food that would be exposed for them by the departing tide. Curlews walked around looking superior on their long l
  
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• Red Cross: Britain's emergency health system is 'humanitarian crisis'

  07-01-2017 06:26
  The charity warned of a "humanitarian crisis" as NHS staff warned that the emergency care system is "on its knees". "The British Red Cross is on the front line, responding to the humanitarian crisis in our hospital and ambulance services across the country," Mr Adamson said. Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said it was "staggering" that the Red Cross had been called on to help.
  
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• Australia wrap up third Test win over Pakistan on day five – as it happened

  07-01-2017 05:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Australia 538-8 dec & 241-2 dec; Pakistan 315 & 244Hosts win third Test by 220 runs and secure 3-0 series whitewash 4.20am GMTUnlike the first two Tests, this one went exactly the way that we expected after the first couple of days. That makes 12 Test losses on the spin in Australia for Pakistan, and the Pakistani stats guru Mazher Arshad reminds us that this means four consecutive series whitewashes. Ouch. We’ll wait on Misbah, to see if he’ll retain the captaincy or hand it
  
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• New generation of cider makers go back to their roots

  07-01-2017 05:37
  The drink, which has been popular in Britain ever since Roman times, is mainly produced in the South West of England. There, drinkers were surprised that sales were down and put it down to the fact that younger generations now preferred spirits, larger and beer.
  
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• 'Fear and threats': Mexico hits back over Trump's bullying of automakers

  07-01-2017 05:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Mexican government ‘categorically rejects’ attempts to scare off investors but effects seem clear as future Ford plant – and job hopes – are left an empty shellMexico has hit back in the verbal trade war with Donald Trump, hitting out at the use of “fear or threats” to deter companies from investing in the country.The US president-elect has threatened to slap import tariffs on US automaker General Motors for importing cars it makes in Mexico and Japan’s
  
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• Fabric reopens: crowds in high spirits as legendary club returns

  07-01-2017 04:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Five months after closure due to deaths of two teenagers, revellers are greeted with banner saying ‘You Saved Fabric’In the cavernous space below Farringdon, it was almost a night like any other. Blue, green, red and orange strobes flashed and bounced off the club’s rugged walls, every molecule in the air pulsed with the bassline and the crowds moved in a frenzy across the dancefloor. But there was one difference: smiling down upon them all in Room 1 was a banner bearing a happ
  
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• War memorial trees deemed a danger to the public

  07-01-2017 04:02
  A row has blown up over a First World War memorial that council officials claim is a danger to the public. An avenue of trees planted 98 years ago in Sheffield to commemorate locals who died in action has been earmarked for thinning out by council contractors. The fight to save the memorial trees follows increasingly bitter campaigns against tree felling elsewhere in the city.
  
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• A 'listening' hairbrush and emotional cars: the futuristic trends of CES 2017

  07-01-2017 02:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Digital interactivity has top billing at the Las Vegas event. But how many people really want a toothbrush that films the inside of their mouth as they clean?If this year’s CES continues to predict future tech trends, then we can soon expect to have emotional relationships with our cars, virtual reality devices so realistic you need a sick bag, and products so pricey most people won’t be able to afford them.One of the main themes this year at the premier electronics convention, which
  
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• Running boy

  07-01-2017 01:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ben Moore is one of the first children in England to receive a false leg for sport, on the NHS.
  
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• Pothole 'tipping point' looms as bill set to spiral to £14bn

  07-01-2017 01:32
  The country is approaching "a tipping point" in tackling the blight of potholes with the repair bill set to soar to £14bn, it has been warned. To deal with the problem, the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils across England and Wales, has urged the Government to plough a further £1bn a year into roads maintenance. LGA analysis shows the bill for repairing roads in England and Wales could reach £14bn within two years.
  
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• Fort Lauderdale shooting: five dead as suspect identified as Iraq veteran

  07-01-2017 01:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Eight injured in Friday airport shooting and sent to local hospitals
  Sheriff: ‘Too early to say’ if shooting was considered a terror attackFive people were killed and eight injured in a shooting at Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida on Friday. A suspect was in custody.Asked at a mid-afternoon news briefing if the shooting was considered a terror attack, Broward County sheriff Scott Israel said: “It’s too early to say either way.”Continue reading...
  
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