General news

• Putin: Trump dossier by British spy an 'obvious fabrication'

  17-01-2017 23:59
  
  Vladimir Putin has denied that Russian secret services would have spied on Donald Trump, in his first public comments on the explosive allegations. The Russian President also questioned why Mr Trump would have need to hire prostitutes, as the dossier claimed. The document, written by ex-MI6 officer Christopher Steele, claimed Russian spies filmed Mr Trump with the prostitutes in a Moscow hotel in order to get information to blackmail him.
  
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• Brexit plan gets welcome from Tories, hostile response from others

  17-01-2017 23:11
  Theresa May's Brexit speech promising a clean break from the EU has been broadly welcomed by MPs but provoked a hostile reaction from some European politicians. Unveiling a 12-point plan for Brexit negotiations, the Prime Minister said the UK would quit the single market and the European Court of Justice and promised MPs a binding vote on the final deal. In the Commons, Tory Brexiteers and Remainers welcomed the speech and Labour's spokesman Keir Starmer praised the Prime Minister for ruling out
  
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• Most people are rushing to thank Obama for commuting Chelsea Manning's sentence

  17-01-2017 23:09
  
  She will now be freed on May 17.
  
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• David Cameron and George Osborne cash in with big-money Davos visit

  17-01-2017 22:58
  David Cameron and George Osborne are being paid tens of thousands of pounds each to make speeches for leading financial institutions at the World Economic Forum. The former Prime Minister and Chancellor, who this time last year were leading figures at the forum, will this year only attend the fringes of the event held in Davos, including a number of parties and private dinners. Mr Cameron is to give a speech at a dinner held by accounting firm PwC, while Mr Osborne will appear at an HSBC event f
  
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• Everything you need to know about the turbulent political situation in Gambia

  17-01-2017 22:49
  
  The country’s president has just declared a state of emergency.
  
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• Paralympic great Weir brands British Athletics 'a joke'

  17-01-2017 22:28
  Six-time Paralympics gold medallist David Weir labelled British Athletics "a joke" on Tuesday and said he would never represent his country again. Weir, who won four golds at the London 2012 Games and two in Beijing four years earlier, took to his Twitter account to vent his anger, without detailing exactly what he was referring to. In another message he added: "I have been let down again." Weir endured a disappointing Rio Olympics, failing to add to his 10 medals.
  
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• Finance industry's "worst case" on Brexit spurs contingency plans

  17-01-2017 22:26
  By Anjuli Davies and Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial services will accelerate plans to move some business overseas after Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday the country will quit the European Union's single market. Businesses have been calling for clarity on what Britain's relationship with Europe will be before deciding how to reshape their operations, but most major firms are now set to relocate some business to ensure they can still trade with Europe. London's f
  
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• Europeans ask May: Where is the give for all this take?

  17-01-2017 22:26
  By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders applauded Theresa May for providing clarity by finally outlining her plan for a clean break with the EU, but said she needed to be realistic about the price Britain would pay for leaving. May's vision of a "global Britain" cutting itself off from European Union's single market and launching negotiations on a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement with the bloc is a form of "hard Brexit" continental leaders were prepared for. For mo
  
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• Sky News poll: Britons back exit from the EU single market

  17-01-2017 21:41
  In her much-anticipated speech on Brexit, Theresa May said the Government's plans for negotiating Britain's exit from the EU "cannot mean membership of the single market". The poll reveals that people are now more likely to believe the Prime Minister has a clear plan for what Brexit should mean for Britain - though they remain divided on the subject. Londoners oppose exiting the EU single market (52% to 33%), are unconvinced that Mrs May has a clear plan (58% to 30%) and do not trust her to get
  
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• Britain to leave EU market as May sets 'hard Brexit' course

  17-01-2017 20:46
  By Kylie MacLellan and William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will quit the EU single market when it leaves the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday in a decisive speech that set a course for a clean break with the world's largest trading bloc. Setting out a vision that could determine Britain's future for generations and the shape of the EU itself, May answered criticism that she has been coy about her strategy with a 12-point plan for what has been dubbed a "hard Brexit
  
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• France's Hollande told May expects quick start of Brexit negotiations - source

  17-01-2017 20:45
  French President Francois Hollande told British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday that negotiations over Britain's exit from the European Union should begin as soon as Britain invokes Article 50, a presidential sources said. Hollande and May held a telephone conversation after she set a course for a clean break with the EU trading bloc in a speech on Tuesday. May said Britain would quit the bloc's single market.
  
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• What Trump means for trade – and for Britain | Letters

  17-01-2017 20:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Simon Jenkins (We’ve lost a saint. But a sinner may make a better president, 12 January) makes some good points about Obama’s mixed legacy. But he fails to acknowledge the big difference between Trump’s forthcoming presidency and the one Obama has had to endure, especially during his last term. Unlike Obama – who despite his failings was shackled by an unprecedentedly destructive and obstructive Republican majority in both houses – Trump, with the prospect of an eve
  
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• Twitter has a fiendish plan to make Joe Biden the 45th president of the United States

  17-01-2017 19:43
  
  All to troll Donald Trump.
  
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• May's Brexit: going it alone, hoping for an EU trade deal

  17-01-2017 19:11
  By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May has finally outlined what Brexit really means for her: Britain going it alone, fully disentangled from the European Union while hoping the bloc will agree to a comprehensive trade deal. Britain will exit the EU's vast internal market for goods and services and will instead try for a "bold and ambitious" free trade agreement (FTA), rejecting the kind of arrangements some other European countries, such as Norway and Switzerland, have for
  
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• May's Brexit speech: Sturgeon says second referendum 'undoubtedly' closer

  17-01-2017 19:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nicola Sturgeon says Theresa May's plan to take the UK out of the EU's single market brings a second Scottish independence referendum "undoubtedly" closer.
  
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• UK to leave EU single market as May sets course for 'hard Brexit'

  17-01-2017 18:54
  By Kylie MacLellan and William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will quit the EU single market when it leaves the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday, in a decisive speech that set a course for a clean break with the world's largest trading bloc. Setting out a vision that could determine Britain's future for generations and the shape of the EU itself, May answered criticism that she has been coy about her strategy with a 12-point plan towards what has been dubbed a "hard B
  
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• Author Helen Bailey 'wanted space', murder accused told police

  17-01-2017 18:47
  Ian Stewart reported his partner Helen Bailey missing, saying her disappearance had come as “a shock”. Ms Bailey’s body was discovered in the waste tank underneath her home three months after she disappeared.
  
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• Brexit: UK to leave single market, says Theresa May

  17-01-2017 18:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May sets out UK hopes for Brexit talks, warning that "no deal is better than a bad deal".
  
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• Sinn Fein's Adams anticipating significant Irish border changes

  17-01-2017 18:26
  By Padraic Halpin and Amanda Ferguson DUBLIN/BELFAST (Reuters) - Britain's plan for leaving the European Union is unlikely to be accomplished without significant changes to border arrangements between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said on Tuesday. Northern Ireland, a British province, will represent the only land frontier between Britain and the EU once it leaves and leaders in London, Dublin and Belfast say they want to avoid the raising of a "hard" bo
  
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• Time to cash in: spend your paper £5 notes now

  17-01-2017 18:25 via theguardian.com
  
  From May, your old money won’t be legal tender and may not be accepted in shops. Here’s what to do if you are stuck with someYou may be hanging on to your rumpled old fivers out of affection for a simpler time when you didn’t have to worry about the meat content of your wallet. But that time is up, folks. You must spend those retro paper £5 notes now or, come May, face the kind of shame usually reserved for those who try to spend Scottish notes south of the border.On Frid
  
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• Popular British TV drama to feature female genital mutilation plotline

  17-01-2017 18:20
  By Emma Batha LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Popular British period drama "Call the Midwife" is to feature female genital mutilation (FGM) in a storyline about a pregnant Somali woman living in east London in the 1960s. Campaigners against FGM welcomed the news, saying the mainstream show would help boost awareness of the widely condemned practice which has long been shrouded in secrecy. It's amazing," said British activist Hibo Wardere whose FGM prevention work includes training medical
  
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• May to meet Wall Street‎ chiefs for talks on 'hard Brexit'

  17-01-2017 18:17
  Theresa May will meet the heads of ‎some of Wall Street's biggest firms for talks about her plan for a 'hard Brexit' that they believe will trigger the loss of thousands of jobs from the UK's financial services sector. Sky News has learnt that the chief executives of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley - three of the biggest banks in the US - and the boss of Blackrock, the world's largest asset manager, have been invited to meet the Prime Minister for private talks on Thursday. The meet
  
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• BMW, UK car industry say Britain needs to keep tariff-free EU trade

  17-01-2017 17:59
  By Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should retain tariff-free access to the European Union's single market, Germany's BMW said on Tuesday, while a UK car industry body called for participation in the EU's customs union to hold onto trade after Brexit. In a major speech on Tuesday, Prime Minister Theresa May said that Britain would leave the EU's single market and cannot remain a full member of its tariff-free zone but will seek unfettered trade with the bloc.
  
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• Footballers Goodwillie and Robertson ruled as rapists

  17-01-2017 17:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A former Scotland international footballer and his ex-teammate are ruled to be rapists and ordered to pay £100,000 damages in a civil action.
  
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• European court rejects whole-life murder term challenge

  17-01-2017 17:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A European court rules the rights of a man who killed three people in 1983 have not been breached.
  
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• Bradford teen terror suspect 'praised Jo Cox killer'

  17-01-2017 17:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A teenager accused of preparing acts of terrorism branded MP Jo Cox's killer a "hero", a court hears.
  
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• Vote in UK parliament on Brexit deal will be binding - PM May spokeswoman

  17-01-2017 17:45
  A vote in parliament over Britain's final Brexit deal will be binding, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday, but she stressed that the country would be withdrawing from the European Union regardless of the outcome. "You can regard it as binding," the spokeswoman said when asked about the vote announced earlier in the day by May, which will come at the end of a negotiating period with the EU.
  
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• Rolf Harris trial: Ex-TV star 'groped teenager in taxi'

  17-01-2017 17:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ex-TV presenter Rolf Harris groped a teenager in a taxi in 1978, a jury in his trial hears.
  
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• Fraudsters use sham UK charity appeals to steal money via emails, social media

  17-01-2017 17:42
  By Magdalena Mis LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Fraudsters have been using social media and emails to trick British corporations and members of the public to donate money to fake charity appeals, the UK's charity regulator said on Tuesday. In one case, emails purporting to be from Migrant Helpline - a genuine charity supporting migrants - were sent to individuals and businesses with a link containing malware to steal banking details, the Charity Commission said. The emails contained detai
  
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• National Football Museum among those in line for cultural funding boost

  17-01-2017 17:33
  
  Other museums in line for a boost include London’s V&A Museum.
  
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• Young royals urge Britons to talk more about mental health issues

  17-01-2017 16:53
  Britain's Prince William, his wife Catherine and his brother Harry urged Britons on Tuesday to talk more openly about mental health issues, saying too many people suffer in silence. Long-standing supporters of mental health initiatives, they launched the "Heads Together" campaign in 2016, which works with charities to help tackle the stigma around mental health. "There are times when whoever we are, it is hard to cope with challenges and when that happens, being open and honest and asking for he
  
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• UK minister: No decision yet on best Brexit financial services deal

  17-01-2017 16:52
  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has yet to reach a decision on the arrangements it will seek for the financial services industry once it leaves the European Union, Brexit minister David Davis told parliament on Tuesday. "We haven't arrived at a conclusion on that yet," he said, noting that financial services lobby groups had dropped efforts to keep full 'passporting' arrangements in place, and were instead pushing for an arrangement based on mutual regulatory recognition and external equivalence. (Re
  
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• 'It's not just banter, it puts you on edge': readers on harassment while running

  17-01-2017 16:51 via theguardian.com
  
  More than 60% of women feel anxious when out running on their own, according to a new survey. Readers share their experiences
  What do you do if you experience unwanted attention while out running on your own? Many women try to ignore it, while others confront their catcallers.A survey of 2,000 women found a third had experienced some form of sexual harassment while running on their own. The poll, commissioned by England Athletics, also showed half of them feared for their personal safety.Continu
  
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• Vegetable price warning after poor weather

  17-01-2017 16:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The impact of wet and cold weather means yields in Spain and Italy are much lower and prices higher.
  
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• UK will still have access to EU's single market - Brexit minister

  17-01-2017 16:47
  Britain's decision to leave the European Union's single market does not mean it won't retain access to it, Brexit minister David Davis said on Tuesday. Prime Minister Theresa May set out her priorities for Brexit earlier, including ditching membership of the single market as she pitched her plan for a "hard Brexit" divorce from Britain's biggest trading partner. "Pretty much every country in the world that is not subject to sanctions has access to the single market.
  
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• Some unskilled migration to UK likely to continue after Brexit - minister

  17-01-2017 16:47
  Britain will still accept some unskilled migration after it leaves the European Union, Brexit minister David Davis said on Tuesday. During a speech setting out her Brexit priorities earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain would continue to attract "the brightest and best" and would always want immigration, especially high-skilled immigration. "A level of unskilled migration is likely to continue," Davis told parliament.
  
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• Rejection of Brexit deal by parliament won't stop EU exit - minister

  17-01-2017 16:47
  Britain will still leave the European Union even if parliament votes against the final terms of the deal, Brexit minister David Davis told parliament on Tuesday. During a speech setting out her Brexit priorities earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Theresa May said she would put the final agreement on Britain's exit from the European Union to a vote in parliament.
  
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• Tunisia attack: Report warned UK about resort security

  17-01-2017 16:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Security at a Tunisian resort was questioned months before 30 Britons were killed, an inquest hears.
  
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• Southern driver strikes suspended for peace talks at TUC

  17-01-2017 16:44
  
  There is new hope for thousands of rail passengers that a deal can be made to end the crippling strikes affecting Southern Railway services. Three days of action tabled for next week, as part of the dispute over driver-only trains, have been suspended by the drivers' union ASLEF to allow for new negotiations. Following the breakdown of previous efforts to resolve the stand-off, it was announced that the train operator and union would get round the table on Wednesday for talks under the joint cha
  
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• What Theresa May's 12-point Brexit plan really means

  17-01-2017 16:38
  Theresa May has set out her plan for leaving the European Union, or the Plan for Britain, as she has called it.
  
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• UK car sector warns Britain needs custom union to help retain trade

  17-01-2017 16:38
  By Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Britain needs to participate in the European Union's customs union to help retain trade, a car industry body warned on Tuesday after the government said that, post Brexit, it would no longer be a full member of Europe's tariff-free zone. The customs union is vital to Britain's auto sector as nearly 60 percent of the parts in an average British-assembled car are made abroad and some components travel to and from the continent several times in the manufacturing p
  
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• Scotland must have choice on independence if Brexit wishes ignored-Sturgeon

  17-01-2017 16:36
  By Elisabeth O'Leary EDINBURGH (Reuters) - The British government's plan for leaving the European Union is "economically catastrophic" and Scotland must have the option of voting for independence if its views on Brexit are rejected, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday. Sturgeon, who leads the pro-independence devolved government, was speaking after British Prime Minister Theresa May signalled Britain would quit the European Union single market and impose immigration limits wh
  
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• Pound set for biggest one-day rally since 2008 on PM's Brexit speech

  17-01-2017 16:24
  The pound has surged by more than three cents on Theresa May's Brexit speech putting it on course for its biggest one-day rise against the US dollar since 2008. Sterling rocketed after the Prime Minister's vision for exiting the European Union appeared less "hawkish" than had been expected - and floated the possibility of an associate membership of the tariff-free customs union. Sterling leapt by as much as 2.5% to match the scale of one-day gains last seen in 2008 and overtake the size of a ral
  
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• Britain will leave EU single market as May sets aim for 'hard Brexit'

  17-01-2017 16:13
  By Kylie MacLellan and William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will quit the European Union's single market when it exits the bloc, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday, in a decisive speech that quashed speculation she would seek a compromise deal to stay inside the world's biggest trading bloc. Setting out a vision that could chart Britain's future for generations, May answered criticism that she has been coy about her plans with a direct pitch for a clean break, widely known in Britain
  
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• Borough without A-levels plans their return

  17-01-2017 15:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Knowsley, which became the first borough to lose all its A-level classes, has plans for the exam to return.
  
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• Hull bin man kicking rubbish under car caught on CCTV

  17-01-2017 15:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A bin man is filmed spilling rubbish on to a Hull street and kicking it beneath a parked car.
  
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• Karen Gillan film boost for homegrown industry

  17-01-2017 15:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Karen Gillan begins directing her first feature film in what is being seen as a boost for the homegrown film industry.
  
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• Brexit minister Davis says not seeking to cherry-pick bits of EU membership

  17-01-2017 15:06
  Britain's approach to leaving the European Union is not about cherry-picking, Brexit minister David Davis told parliament on Tuesday after Prime Minister Theresa May set out her priorities for upcoming negotiations. May said Britain would seek an equal partnership with the EU, but would not adopt models already used by other countries that have free trade agreements with the bloc. EU leaders have said Britain cannot try and cherry-pick the best elements of membership.
  
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• Here are Theresa May's 12 objectives for Brexit

  17-01-2017 14:49
  
  Brexit really does mean Brexit.
  
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• Theresa May confirms the UK will leave the single market - but what do people think?

  17-01-2017 14:45
  
  Theresa May said staying in the single market would basically be like not leaving the EU at all.
  
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