General news

• Deputy Speaker orders MPs to stop whistling during Brexit vote

  08-02-2017 23:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scottish National Party MPs were told off by the deputy speaker for whistling the EU anthem "Ode to joy" as MPs voted on Brexit legislation.
  
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• MPs approve triggering of Article 50

  08-02-2017 23:02
  
  MPs have approved the bill giving Theresa May permission to trigger Brexit – on another night of Labour resignations. At its third reading, the final Commons stage, the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill passed by 494 votes to 122 - a majority of 372. A total of 52 Labour MPs voted against triggering Article 50, defying the orders of their leader Jeremy Corbyn - more than the 47 who did the same at last week's second reading.
  
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• Lord Dubs describes closure of child migrant scheme as 'shameful'

  08-02-2017 22:34
  Lord Alf Dubs - the man behind the so-called Dubs Amendment - has called the decision for the UK to stop accepting lone child refugees "shameful". Last year, following intense pressure, the Government made changes to the UK's Immigration Act allowing the relocation of unaccompanied refugee children from other countries in Europe. Two hundred children have so far been relocated in the UK thanks to the Dubs Amendment, with a further 150 expected before the end of the year.
  
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• Bomb squad search Newcastle garden of massacre plotter Liam Lyburd

  08-02-2017 22:27
  Bomb disposal experts are searching the garden of a man who planned a massacre at his former college in Newcastle. Police said they were investigating whether two "potentially dangerous items" had been buried at the former home of Liam Lyburd, who was jailed for life in September 2015. Lyburd gathered pipe bombs, a semi-automatic pistol, expanding bullets, a machete and a "kill bag" for the attack on Newcastle College after he was thrown out because of his behaviour.
  
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• PM May quashes attempts to derail her Brexit plan in parliament

  08-02-2017 21:54
  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May won approval from parliament's lower chamber on Wednesday to trigger Britain's exit from the European Union, defeating attempts by pro-EU lawmakers to attach extra conditions to her plan to start divorce talks by March 31. Lawmakers (MPs) voted 494 to 122 in favour of legislation giving May the right to trigger Brexit, ending days of intense debate. The victory marks a significant step towards starting what is expected to be a comple
  
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• Socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson found dead aged 45

  08-02-2017 20:27
  Socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson has been found dead aged 45 at her west London home. The TV personality and former 'It girl' had been diagnosed with a brain tumour last January after returning from a ski trip. Palmer-Tomkinson, who was also a newspaper columnist, was close friends with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, attending their wedding in 2005.
  
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• Boris Johnson no longer has U.S. citizenship - U.S. Treasury list

  08-02-2017 20:18
  Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has given up his U.S. citizenship, a U.S. Treasury Department list showed on Wednesday, a move the New York-born politician had said he would make. Johnson, who was appointed foreign secretary shortly after Britain voted to leave the European Union in a June referendum, had dual nationality and, according to local media, settled a U.S. tax bill in 2015 on the earlier sale of his London house. The U.S. Treasury lists all people who have renounced U.S. citizenship o
  
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• Londoners can get a free pint of London Pride every time it rains this month

  08-02-2017 20:04
  
  The brand teamed up with former TV weatherman Michael Fish to launch it’s new campaign.
  
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• Five held in 'fully loaded' Kodi streaming box raids

  08-02-2017 19:58
  Five people have been arrested for being involved in the sale of modified set-top boxes that allow copyrighted video to be streamed for free. The so-called "fully-loaded" Kodi devices enable users to watch football matches, premium TV channels and films, without having a subscription. The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) said those taken into custody are believed to have made around £250,000 from the trade.
  
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• McLaren to build £50m supercar chassis factory in Sheffield

  08-02-2017 18:59
  McClaren has agreed a £50m deal to build a new production and research facility for its carbon fibre sports car chassis in the UK. McLaren Automotive, part of the wider group which includes the Formula One racing team, is bringing the work back to the country from overseas in a move creating 200 jobs. The roles would comprise mainly production staff, with 50 support workers.
  
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• Tunisia police 'cowardice' may have cost lives, inquest hears

  08-02-2017 18:50
  
  The full scale of the "cowardice" of Tunisian police officers who failed to deal with a terrorist attack on the tourist resort of Sousse has been detailed at the inquests into the 30 Britons who died. Dozens of police officers were interviewed, and some had conflicting stories about how they dealt with the gun rampage by Seifeddine Rezgui in June 2015. This was down to "simple cowardice that could have prevented loss of life", according to an official who was interviewed later.
  
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• Support for Scottish independence rises after PM May goes for 'clean break Brexit'

  08-02-2017 18:48
  By Elisabeth O'Leary and Alistair Smout EDINBURGH/LONDON (Reuters) - Support for Scottish independence has risen since British Prime Minister Theresa May came out last month in favour of Britain making a clean break with the European Union when it leaves the bloc, an opinion poll showed on Wednesday. The poll still showed a slim majority opposed to independence, but the ruling Scottish Nationalist Party said the fact that almost half those asked said they supported secession indicated that senti
  
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• Socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson found dead aged 45 at London home

  08-02-2017 18:11
  Socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson has been found dead aged 45 at her west London home. The TV personality and former 'It girl' had been diagnosed with a brain tumour last January after returning from a ski trip. Palmer-Tomkinson, who was also a newspaper columnist, was close friends with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall and attended their wedding in 2005.
  
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• Walmart to help Asda mount market share fightback

  08-02-2017 17:46
  A top executive at Asda's parent company has pledged greater support to the chain's recovery efforts after admitting it was slow to respond to the challenge posed by discounters in the UK. Scott Price, chief administrative officer at Walmart International, said the supermarket chain's shoppers would benefit more from Walmart's global buying power to drive down costs and therefore prices at the checkout. Walmart's support would be in addition, Mr Price said, to new chief executive Sean Clarke's p
  
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• Did you lose your public sector job under Tory cuts?

  08-02-2017 17:33
  
  The Guardian is looking to speak to former public sector workers for a series exploring the cumulative impact of austerity on communities
  A million public sector jobs are are thought to have been cut since the Conservatives took power in 2010, according to a study by the GMB union. But what impact has this had on local communities?The Guardian is looking to speak to former public sector workers who lost their jobs between 2010 and 2016 about exactly that.We are interested in hearing about your f
  
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• Tunisia inquests: 'Deliberate' police delay down to 'cowardice'

  08-02-2017 17:30
  
  The full scale of the "cowardice" of Tunisian police officers who failed to deal with a terrorist attack on a tourist resort has been detailed at the inquests into the 38 people who died. A summary of an investigation by a Tunisian judge was read out to the court in London, while families of the victims listened. Dozens of police officers were interviewed, and some had conflicting stories about how they dealt with the gun rampage by Seifeddine Rezgui in June 2015.
  
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• Brussels pushes Theresa May to trigger Brexit in early March

  08-02-2017 17:29
  
  Brussels is bracing itself for Theresa May to trigger Article 50 on 9 March - but actual Brexit negotiations are unlikely to start until June. Manoeuvring Senior EU officials have been pushing London to formally notify EU leaders at the next council summit in a few weeks, to avoid clashing with the French elections in April. If the Brexit trigger Bill, currently going through Parliament, doesn't face difficulties in the Lords it will be given Royal Ascent on 7 March, two days before the European
  
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• Annette Bening: 'We can all learn a lot from Jimmy Carter' – video interview

  08-02-2017 17:28
  
  Annette Bening, the star of Mike Mills’s Oscar-nominated 20th Century Women, speaks of her admiration for former president Jimmy Carter, whose ‘crisis of confidence’ speech features in the film, and her belief that his scepticism about materialism has been proved correct. She also discusses the differing approaches to parenthood today and in the late 1970s, when the movie is set• 20th Century Women is released in the UK on 10 February Continue reading...
  
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• Paedophile teacher Mark Frost gets 13 life sentences

  08-02-2017 17:19
  A retired teacher has been given 13 life sentences after admitting a "horrific" catalogue of abuse on children. Mark Frost, 70, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to 45 offences against nine children aged 11 to 15 in Thailand between 2009 and 2012. Frost, formerly known as Andrew Tracey, also admitted having sex with two pupils in Worcestershire over three years in the 1990s.
  
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• Support for Scottish independence rises after May goes for 'clean break Brexit'

  08-02-2017 17:16
  By Elisabeth O'Leary and Alistair Smout EDINBURGH/LONDON (Reuters) - Support for Scottish independence has risen since Prime Minister Theresa May came out last month in favour of Britain making a clean break with the European Union when it leaves the bloc, an opinion poll showed on Wednesday. The poll still showed a slim majority opposed to independence, but the ruling Scottish Nationalist Party said the fact that almost half those asked said they supported secession indicated that sentiment was
  
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• Who decides whether Scotland holds a new independence referendum?

  08-02-2017 16:55
  By Elisabeth O'Leary EDINBURGH (Reuters) - The June Brexit referendum called the future of the United Kingdom into question because majorities in England and Wales voted to leave but in Scotland and Northern Ireland, most people voted to stay. The Scottish National Party (SNP), the biggest party in Scotland's parliament, has said Scotland should hold another independence vote, its second since 2014, if its views on Brexit are rejected. While most polls show that support for independence has bare
  
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• IPCC urges forces to issue officers with body-worn cameras

  08-02-2017 16:53
  The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has called on chief constables to prioritise the roll-out of body-worn video cameras to their officers. The introduction of the cameras across England and Wales has been described as patchy, with some forces performing better than others. As part of its investigation into the police shooting of Yassar Yaqub in January, the IPCC is examining why none of the firearms officers involved in the operation were wearing body worn cameras when they open
  
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• Two British schools trialling body cameras for teachers

  08-02-2017 16:42
  By Ritvik Carvalho LONDON (Reuters) - Teachers at two British schools are trialling the use of police-style body cameras to help maintain discipline, a survey revealed on Wednesday, prompting a civil liberties group to warn that teachers could be turned into snoopers. "The aim is to reduce constant low level classroom disruption which is reducing the effectiveness of teaching," said Tom Ellis, a lecturer at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Portsmouth who will be adv
  
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• Barcelona hub a 'start' for BA owner's budget long-haul flights

  08-02-2017 16:36
  By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British Airways and Iberia owner IAG is looking to offer low-cost long-haul flights from airports other than Barcelona in its efforts to compete on trans-Atlantic routes. IAG said late last year it would start budget flights to U.S. destinations in June, using its budget short-haul brand Vueling, which has its hub at Barcelona's El Prat airport, to feed passengers to the longer routes. "This is the start of something that will be a significant part of IAG..
  
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• Corbyn accuses PM of cutting 'sweetheart deal' with Surrey Council over social care

  08-02-2017 16:33
  
  The Labour leader has claimed the Government offered Surrey County Council cash to drop its plans to increase council tax by 15% to pay for social care. Jeremy Corbyn accused Theresa May of cutting a "sweetheart deal" to see off the embarrassment of a Tory-run council putting up bills because of a lack of Government funding. Surrey County Council had announced it was going to hold a referendum to ask residents to increase council tax by 15% - around £200 on the average annual bill - to pay
  
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• Prolific paedophile Mark Frost given 13 life terms for 45 offences

  08-02-2017 16:32
  A prolific paedophile has been given 13 life sentences after admitting a "horrific" catalogue of abuse on children. Retired English teacher Mark Frost, 70, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to committing 45 offences against nine children in Thailand between 2009 and 2012. Frost, formerly known as Andrew Tracey, also admitted having sex with two pupils in Worcestershire over three years in the 1990s.
  
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• Met Office warns of temperatures 5C colder than normal

  08-02-2017 16:09
  Britain will finish the week with temperatures up to five degrees colder than usual for this time of year. The Met Office has forecast several days of cold weather, snow, sleet and frost, with the Midlands likely to be the coldest region - at -3C on Wednesday night. Yellow warnings have been issued for ice in parts of Wales, southwest England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, while London could see snow on Wednesday night.
  
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• Steven Johnson webchat – post your questions now

  08-02-2017 16:07
  
  The pop-science writer behind Everything Bad is Good for You and Wonderland will answer your questions in a live webchat on Monday 13 February – post them in the comments below 3.06pm GMTAt best, video games, pop music and blockbuster movies are seen as the guilty pleasures of low culture – at worst denigrated as pointless trash. But they have a champion in popular science writer Steven Johnson. His 2005 book Everything Bad is Good for You argued how the complexity of TV drama plots
  
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• Disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris cleared of three sex offences

  08-02-2017 15:53
  Disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris has been cleared of three sex offences, but could face a retrial on another four allegations. A jury at Southwark Crown Court took just under a week to find the 86-year-old Australian not guilty of three of the seven charges, alleged to have happened over four decades, following a second trial. Harris, who declined to give evidence at his second trial, showed no emotion as the guilty verdicts were read out.
  
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• Denmark joins race to host EU drug agency instead of London after Brexit

  08-02-2017 15:41
  The Danish government on Wednesday teamed up with the former head of drug company Novo Nordisk in its campaign to become the new host of the London-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) after Britain's vote to leave the European Union. "EMA should be situated in a place where there is a strong tradition of putting the patient in focus... We have that in Denmark," said Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen in a statement. Denmark is not the only country courting to EMA and will compete with offers fr
  
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• British tourism to Spain hits record despite pound's post-Brexit fall

  08-02-2017 15:40
  By Sonya Dowsett MADRID (Reuters) - The number of British tourists visiting Spain jumped by the most in over a decade to hit a record in 2016, defying expectations of a slowdown in bookings after June's Brexit vote and the subsequent tumble in sterling. The trend looks set to continue into this year, with British early bookings for 2017 summer holidays in Spain up 16 percent on last year, according to travel market analysts GfK. Spanish economists and policymakers had feared tourism, which accou
  
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• Fingerprint scanning and autonomous trains part of ambitious proposals for UK rail improvements

  08-02-2017 15:11
  
  The ambitious plans could also see smart, double decker trains able to split and join on the move.
  
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• McLaren Automotive to create 200 UK jobs with new chassis plant

  08-02-2017 15:10
  By Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Luxury sports car maker McLaren Automotive said it will create more than 200 jobs in Britain by bringing production of its carbon-fibre chassis from Austria to northern England, a move it said had been initiated long before the Brexit vote. The firm, which shares facilities and its brand with the Formula One team but is a separate legal entity, will begin building the facility in Sheffield, northern England, early this year with full production due to begin by
  
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• PMQs: People think all this chat around John Bercow has gone to his head

  08-02-2017 15:06
  
  He rocked a one-shoulder robe look throughout most of PMQs.
  
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• Britons face smaller pay rises, buttressing central bank's slowdown forecast

  08-02-2017 14:59
  By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - British employers plan to offer the least generous pay deals since 2012 this year, the Bank of England said on Wednesday, underscoring its view that the economy is set to suffer from the effects of the Brexit vote. The economy surprised investors last year when it outpaced its peers among the world's big rich nations, driven by the spending of households who shrugged off the vote to leave the European Union. Inflation was running at 1.6 percent year-on-year i
  
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• Have you been stuck in an NHS hospital longer than you need to be?

  08-02-2017 14:57
  
  The case of Iris Sibley, trapped in hospital for six months, highlights our social care crisis. Have you experienced something similar?
  The case of Irish Sibley, an 89-year-old woman who was medically fit to leave hospital but couldn’t get out for six months due to difficulties finding social care, may sound extreme. But cases like this are more common than you might imagine and it highlights a deepening social care crisis in the UK.Sibley was trapped on a ward at Bristol Royal infirmary b
  
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• Rolf Harris cleared of three sex offences

  08-02-2017 14:30
  Disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris has has been cleared of three sex offences. The jury at Southwark Crown Court has been discharged on the other counts he was facing. The 86-year-old Australian was charged with seven offences said to have taken place over four decades.
  
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• There should not be a second Scottish independence vote - May's spokesman

  08-02-2017 14:22
  The British government does not believe there should be a second referendum on Scottish independence, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said when asked about a report it was preparing contingency plans for one. A majority of Scots backed staying in the EU in last year's referendum and the ruling Scottish National Party, which lost a bid for independence in 2014, has said there should be another vote on the issue if its views on Brexit are ignored. A report by Dundee-based newspaper the Cour
  
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• Steptoe and Son co-writer Alan Simpson dies at 87

  08-02-2017 14:19
  Alan Simpson, of the Galton and Simpson writing duo behind Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe and Son, has died at 87. Simpson died of lung disease, his manager Tessa Le Bars said. The two met at Milford Sanatorium after they were both diagnosed with tuberculosis as teenagers - and went on to forge a friendship that lasted decades.
  
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• Miriam Gonzalez Durantez was called 'Mrs Clegg' in her invite to speak at an International Women's Day event

  08-02-2017 14:18
  
  Probably not the best of moves.
  
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• Unmarried woman entitled to late partner's pension, Supreme Court rules

  08-02-2017 13:47
  Denise Brewster, from Coleraine, Northern Ireland, argued she was a victim of discrimination and took her case to the UK's highest court. The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in her favour - a move which is likely to improve the pension rights of unmarried couples in the public sector. The case could have implications for all pension schemes.
  
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• Mysterious Stonehenge-like 'geoglyphs' found in Amazon rainforest point to ancient human settlements

  08-02-2017 13:44
  
  The earthworks remained hidden amongst the rainforest trees until modern deforestation allowed the discovery.
  
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• May says an independent Scotland would not be in the European Union

  08-02-2017 13:39
  An independent Scotland would not be part of the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday. A majority of Scots backed staying in the EU in last year's referendum and the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP), which lost a bid for independence in 2014, has said there should be another vote on the issue if its views on Brexit are rejected in upcoming divorce negotiations with Brussels. On Tuesday, Scotland's devolved parliament rejected May's Brexit plans in a symbolic, non-bind
  
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• Amazon UK further expands AmazonFresh service

  08-02-2017 13:12
  Amazon said on Wednesday it had expanded its AmazonFresh food delivery service in Britain to 260 postal areas, making it available in selected parts of the southern England county of Hampshire for the first time. Amazon launched AmazonFresh in the UK last June, starting with 69 London postcodes and expanding to 190 Greater London and Surrey postcodes last September. AmazonFresh offers same day delivery, with one-hour delivery slots seven days a week.
  
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• Man charged after RAF fighter jets escort passenger plane to Stansted Airport

  08-02-2017 13:10
  A man who was arrested after a passenger flight was intercepted by RAF fighter jets has been charged with fraud. The Pakistan International Airlines aircraft, which was flying from Lahore to Heathrow, was escorted to Stansted Airport by RAF Typhoons, following what the airline described as a "vague security threat through an anonymous phone call". Khalid Baqa, of Priory Road in Barking, east London, was due to be arrested on arrival at Heathrow but was instead detained at Stansted, police said.
  
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• Corbyn resignation claims denied as he comes under pressure over Brexit vote

  08-02-2017 12:56
  
  Sources close to Jeremy Corbyn were forced to deny the suggestion he had given his inner circle a date he would step down on as he prepared to face down a rebellion over the Brexit vote. Mr Corbyn could see the resignations or sackings of his close ally Diane Abbott and Clive Lewis over the third reading of the Government's Article 50 bill. Mr Lewis voted with the Government last week but later promised his constituents he would resign rather than pass the bill unamended.
  
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• Scotland must have say on UK's Article 50 letter - Scottish minister

  08-02-2017 12:07
  The British government cannot begin the process of leaving the EU before it has agreed with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the form of the letter to launch divorce talks, Scotland's Brexit minister said on Wednesday. Michael Russell told a committee of MPs in London that he did not know when Prime Minister Theresa May planned to submit a letter to the European Union to trigger Article 50 of the bloc's Lisbon Treaty and had not been shown a draft. The fourth meeting of the joint ministerial
  
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• Overheating drill sparks fire on train at Dalston Kingsland station

  08-02-2017 11:31
  Several people have been injured after a workman's drill overheated and sparked a small fire on a packed commuter train. Firefighters were called to Dalston Kingsland station in east London where they extinguished the drill's battery pack and placed it in a bucket of sand. London Ambulance Service said it was treating "a small number of patients" at the scene for minor injuries.
  
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• UK employers expect to offer smaller pay rises in 2017 - BoE

  08-02-2017 10:56
  British employers expect to offer less generous pay deals this year compared with 2016 despite rising inflation, probably putting pressure on consumer spending as the year goes on, a Bank of England survey showed on Wednesday. The BoE said firms expected the average pay deal would offer staff a 2.2 percent rise, down from 2.7 percent in 2016, reflecting difficulties passing on rising costs after last year's Brexit vote and a slowdown in the rate of increase in Britain's minimum wage. "Consumer s
  
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• Throwing shade is now totally dictionary approved, thanks to Merriam-Webster

  08-02-2017 10:09
  
  Watch out, Donald Trump.
  
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