General news

• Seal hitches ride on kayak in Firth of Forth

  14-02-2017 23:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A seal surprised a delighted group of kayakers in the Firth of Forth when he jumped on board.
  
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• Boy's death at Topshop store in Reading involved display barrier

  14-02-2017 23:13
  A boy died at a branch of Topshop after an incident involving a store display barrier, police have said.The 10-year-old, who suffered serious head injuries, was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital where he was pronounced dead.The victim has been named in reports as Kaden Reddick from Reading.
  
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• Laura and Jason Kenny expecting first baby

  14-02-2017 23:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Olympic cycling champions Laura and Jason Kenny announce they are expecting their first child.
  
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• Spotted: Mike Pence buying some last-minute Valentine's Day flowers

  14-02-2017 23:01
  
  He’s just like any of us on February 14.
  
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• The Obamas' Valentine's Day messages to each other will hit you right in the feels

  14-02-2017 22:51
  
  They are just too much.
  
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• Boris Johnson avoids questions in the Gambia about colonialism views

  14-02-2017 22:41
  
  Boris Johnson joked about the Gambia’s autocratic last president, Yahya Jammeh, calling him ‘Jammeh dodger’.Boris Johnson has refused to answer questions about his views on colonialism on his first trip to Africa as British foreign secretary.After meeting the new president of the Gambia, which saw its first democratic transfer of power last month, Johnson joked about the autocrat who spent 22 years in power, Yahya Jammeh – calling him “Jammeh dodger”.
  
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• Fire rages after explosion in city

  14-02-2017 20:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An explosion in Osney Mead has led to a building collapse near a block of flats in Oxford.
  
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• Reading Topshop death: Victim said to be Kaden Reddick

  14-02-2017 19:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ten-year-old Kaden Reddick is believed to be the boy who died after suffering head injuries.
  
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• People are sacking off the traditional Valentine's meal to queue up outside Subway for a free sarnie

  14-02-2017 19:32
  
  Nothing says true love like a six-inch.
  
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• Hillsborough families dismayed by Paul Nuttall's 'insulting' admission

  14-02-2017 19:32
  
  Margaret Aspinall, whose son James died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, described Nuttall’s admission as ‘appalling’.Bereaved families of Hillsborough victims have reacted with dismay after the Ukip leader, Paul Nuttall, was forced to admit that claims on his website about losing close friends in the disaster were false.Margaret Aspinall, the chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, whose 18-year-old son, James, died in the disaster, described the admission as “
  
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• UK police shootings fail to inspire confidence | Letters

  14-02-2017 19:21
  
  The routinely armed police of France didn’t prevent the Charlie Hebdo or Bataclan shootings and killing the perpetrators afterwards is no deterrent to fanatical terrorists, as the subsequent Nice atrocity proves.In 2001 PC Chris Sherwood was acquitted of murdering Jimmy Ashley in 1998.
  
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• Valentine's tips from Lancashire lovebirds who met as children

  14-02-2017 18:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An elderly couple who first met as children in 1931 share their relationship tips on Valentine's Day.
  
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• Who has been knocking on Labour voters’ doors?

  14-02-2017 17:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Tristram Hunt's resignation has triggered a by-election in Labour 'safe seat' Stoke Central, but who has been knocking on doors looking for votes?
  
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• British government summons North Korea's ambassador over missile launch

  14-02-2017 17:45
  Britain has summoned North Korea's ambassador to express its condemnation of the country's weekend ballistic missile launch, the Foreign Office said on Tuesday.North Korea said on Tuesday its missile launches were "self-defence measures", rejecting U.N. Security Council criticism of the test.The United States has demanded international action against Pyongyang's weapons programmes.
  
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• Underwater photographer of the year 2017 winners – in pictures

  14-02-2017 17:42 via theguardian.com
  
  French photographer Gabriel Barathieu has been named this year’s winner for his ‘balletic, malevolent’ dancing octopus, while British winner Nick Blake captured a lone diver among the otherworldly sunbeams of a Mexican cave Continue reading...
  
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• Paul Nuttall admits claim he lost close friends at Hillsborough was false

  14-02-2017 17:02
  
  Paul Nuttall said: ‘I haven’t lost a close, personal friend.The Ukip leader, Paul Nuttall, is facing more questions about Hillsborough after being forced to admit that claims on his website about losing close friends in the disaster were false.In an interview with Liverpool’s Radio City News on Tuesday, it was put to him that in 2012 he said on his website that he had “lost close personal friends”.
  
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• Queen opens new cyber security centre in London

  14-02-2017 16:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Queen and Prince Philip are cheered at the opening of the new National Cyber Security Centre.
  
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• Your underwhelming Valentine's Day photos

  14-02-2017 16:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Crap cards, strange meat products and disappointing text exchanges dominate on what is, unequivocally, the most romantic day of the yearYou shouldn’t have. No, you really shouldn’t have.Readers have been sharing their underwhelming love-themed photos on this most romantic day of the year, presumably in an attempt to make single people feel better about themselves. Continue reading...
  
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• Ukip leader admits claim he lost close friends at Hillsborough was false

  14-02-2017 16:14
  
  Paul Nuttall said: ‘I haven’t lost a close, personal friend.The Ukip leader, Paul Nuttall, is facing more questions about Hillsborough after being forced to admit that claims on his website about losing close friends in the disaster were false.In an interview with Liverpool’s Radio City News on Tuesday, it was put to him that in 2012 he said on his website that he had “lost close personal friends”.
  
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• Trump to speak with May - White House

  14-02-2017 15:46
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May will speak in a call scheduled for later on Tuesday, the White House said. The White House gave no other details about the discussion, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. (1630 GMT). The call comes after the two leaders met in Washington last month. (Reporting by Susan Heavey Editing by W Simon)
  
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• Simon Reeve's trip of a lifetime: 'I was on a high for weeks after my adventure'

  14-02-2017 15:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Travel author and broadcaster Simon Reeve reveals how a trip to Central Asia changed his life foreverThe 4WD slid down a steep, dusty track and crawled slowly around a precarious, towering boulder the size of a block of flats. We stopped on a gravel precipice, hopped out, and my jaw dropped as I stared into a vast, deep canyon that stretched miles in each direction and was coloured warm rust and golden by the setting sun.For me, it was a moment of transformation. I was standing on the edge of th
  
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• UK civil nuclear archive centre opens in Wick

  14-02-2017 15:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A £21m archive centre which documents the development of the UK's civil nuclear industry opens in Wick.
  
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• Architects call for urgent inspection of all PFI buildings in Scotland

  14-02-2017 15:18
  
  The Cole report was prompted by the collapse of a wall at Oxgangs primary school in Edinburgh in January 2016.Urgent inspections should be carried out on all Scottish public buildings built using private finance initiatives (PFIs), say architects, following the publication of a damning report into the safety of PFI schools.The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) said the recent report into building standards in 17 Edinburgh schools should not just be “put on the shelf&rdqu
  
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• Moorside nuclear project in doubt after Toshiba writedown

  14-02-2017 15:14
  By Susanna Twidale and Karolin SchapsLONDON (Reuters) - The future of Britain's new Moorside nuclear plant was thrown into doubt on Tuesday after Japan's Toshiba Corp , which is developing the project with France's Engie , said it planned to pull out of the construction work.Toshiba, which earlier delayed reporting its earnings, posted a $6.3 billion (£5 billion) hit to its U.S. nuclear unit, Westinghouse."Toshiba will consider participating in the (Moorside) project without taking on any
  
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• Dale Cregan murders: police officer killed himself after death of colleagues

  14-02-2017 14:51
  
  Andrew Summerscales suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after the murder of his two colleagues, at which he was one of the first on the scene.A former police officer killed himself after being left “in a very dark place” following the brutal murder of his two colleagues by gangster Dale Cregan, an inquest has heard.Andrew Summerscales, 46, is believed to have been one of the first on the scene after Cregan killed his “very good friends” PC Nicola Hughes, 23, and
  
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• Europe's NATO spending rises, says Britain meets goal

  14-02-2017 14:39
  By Robin Emmott and Kylie MacLellanBRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - NATO's European allies and Canada increased defence spending by 3.8 percent last year, or $10 billion (8 billion pounds) more than 2015, the alliance said on Tuesday, and said Britain was keeping up with its target after a report said London missed its goal.The International Institute for Strategic Studies, a security think tank, said only Greece and Estonia met a target to spend 2 percent of economic output on defence.A NATO officia
  
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• Fuel price surge sends inflation to highest since June 2014

  14-02-2017 14:37
  By Andy Bruce and David MillikenLONDON (Reuters) - British consumer prices rose last month at the fastest pace since June 2014 and are set to rise further, propelled by higher global oil prices and the Brexit-fuelled fall in the pound,official data showed on Tuesday.Consumer prices increased by 1.8 percent compared with a year earlier, picking up from 1.6 percent in December, and prices paid by factories jumped by more than 20 percent.The Bank of England expects inflation to approach 2.7 percent
  
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• First love: readers on the soundtracks to their teenage crushes

  14-02-2017 14:21 via theguardian.com
  
  The Jacksons, Bachmann Turner Overdrive and wistfulness galore as readers recall love, heartbreak and pop
  For me it was Spiritualized’s Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating In Space. On repeat. Until it became part of me. She’s got two kids now, and lives on the other side of the world. Related: My first love song: musicians remember the soundtracks to their teenage crushesContinue reading...
  
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• 'We should be ashamed': readers on the backlash over EU nationals' rights in UK

  14-02-2017 14:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Leaked paper says Britons living in Europe may face consequences if Theresa May fails to secure EU nationals’ rights in the UK. Here’s what our readers said
  British nationals living on the continent could expect a backlash after May’s failure to offer a secure future for EU nationals in the UK, a leaked EU paper, obtained by the Guardian, has warned. The British government is yet to make a commitment to EU nationals currently living in the UK that they would be free to continue
  
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• 'We should be ashamed': readers on the backlash over EU nationals' rights in UK

  14-02-2017 14:07
  
  British nationals living on the continent could expect a backlash after May’s failure to offer a secure future for EU nationals in the UK, a leaked EU paper, obtained by the Guardian, has warned.The British government is yet to make a commitment to EU nationals currently living in the UK that they would be free to continue to do so.As a result, the leaked paper warns that British nationals living on the continent could expect an uncertain future as EU27 leaders consider their stance on rec
  
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• Toshiba committed to UK nuclear project, says JV NuGen

  14-02-2017 13:13
  Japan's Toshiba Corpremains committed to building the Moorside nuclear plant in Britain, NuGen, Toshiba's joint venture with France's Engiewhich is developing the project, said on Tuesday."NuGen acknowledges the announcement that Toshiba's review into the future of its nuclear power business outside Japan is complete and that it remains committed to developing NuGen’s Moorside Project," NuGen said in a statement.
  
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• Swipe Mr Right

  14-02-2017 13:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Stefan-Pierre Tomlin, the most "swiped-right" man in the UK on Tinder, shares his tips.
  
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• Erdoğan v free speech: how does it feel to live in Turkey right now?

  14-02-2017 12:54 via theguardian.com
  
  From imprisoned journalists to the forthcoming referendum, tell us how the current climate is affecting you Turkey, once held up as an exemplar of secular democracy in the Muslim world, is now the world’s biggest prison for journalists. Since he came to power in 2014, president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has slowly tightened his grip on freedom of expression, choking his critics.Editors of national newspapers now face life sentences for working “against the state”. People have b
  
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• UK cybercrime body launches private sector drive as Queen opens new HQ

  14-02-2017 12:43
  Britain's new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) invited private sector companies to train and collaborate with it on cyber defence, as the Queen formally opened its London hub on Tuesday.The NCSC started last October and is moving into a new operations centre in Victoria, central London.The "NCSC Industry 100" initiative will look to embed people from industry to identify threats, vulnerabilities, and develop advice to combat cyber attacks.
  
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• Man arrested after UK 'hostage' incident shown live on Facebook

  14-02-2017 12:42
  
  A still from the video shot in Spalton Road, Rotherham, which was viewed more than 60,000 times.A man has been arrested following a “hostage” negotiation that was broadcast live on Facebook and watched more than 60,000 times.South Yorkshire police said a 42-year-old man was arrested following the siege in Spalton Road, Rotherham, on Monday night.
  
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• Who is Michael Flynn and why has he resigned as Trump's national security adviser?

  14-02-2017 12:14
  
  Flynn may have discussed US sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador to the US.
  
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• Inflation hits highest since June 2014 as fuel prices surge

  14-02-2017 11:52
  By Andy Bruce and David MillikenLONDON (Reuters) - British consumer prices rose last month at the fastest pace since June 2014 and are set to rise further, propelled by higher global oil prices and the Brexit-fuelled fall in the pound,official data showed on Tuesday.Consumer prices increased by 1.8 percent compared with a year earlier, picking up from 1.6 percent in December, and prices paid by factories jumped by more than 20 percent.The Bank of England expects inflation to approach 2.7 percent
  
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• Combat immunity plan will deny soldiers justice, says Law Society

  14-02-2017 11:31
  
  A British soldier guards the site of a roadside bomb attack on a Snatch Land Rover in Basra, Iraq, in September 2006.Soldiers will be “shut out of justice” and military equipment failures will be covered up under plans to extend combat immunity and prevent military claims going to court, ministers have been warned.The move to channel complaints into an internal Ministry of Defence compensation scheme will do away with the need to prove negligence and include more generous payments, b
  
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• British defence spending dipped below NATO target in 2016 - think tank

  14-02-2017 11:31
  Britain's defence spending last year dipped just below the NATO military alliance's target of 2 percent of gross domestic product, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said on Tuesday.The government disputed the figures, saying NATO's own data showed it had spent 2.21 percent of GDP on defence last year.Britain has previously met the commitment and during a visit to Washington last month Prime Minister Theresa May discussed the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeate
  
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• Should we worry that Donald Trump had a security meeting out in the open at his Palm Beach club?

  14-02-2017 11:25
  
  Donald Trump took Shinzo Abe to his hotel in Florida on Friday, and the public looked on as they heard news of North Korea’s missile test.
  
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• Britain unlikely to trigger Article 50 at March 9 EU summit - Brexit Secretary

  14-02-2017 11:22
  By Daniel DicksonSTOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Brexit Secretary David Davis said on Tuesday the government was on course to meet its end-March deadline to launch the formal divorce procedure from the European Union but did not see Britain doing so at an EU summit next month.EU officials are keen to know when Prime Minister Theresa May will trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty and launch some of the most complicated talks Britain has held since World War Two to end its more than 40-year membershi
  
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• Government: Trump 'should be extended full courtesy of state visit'

  14-02-2017 10:39
  
  The Government believes Donald Trump should "be extended the full courtesy of a state visit", the Foreign Office has said, responding to a petition urging Downing Street to call off the trip.The petition, which says the visit would "cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen", has been signed by more than 1.8 million people.Protests against the US President intensified after Mr Trump sought to impose a travel ban against citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries, with tens of thousand
  
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• Inflation rises to highest since June 2014 as fuel costs surge

  14-02-2017 10:38
  LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - - British consumer prices rose last month at the fastest pace since June 2014, caused by higher global oil prices and the Brexit vote-fuelled fall in the value of sterling, official data showed on Tuesday.Consumer prices rose 1.8 percent compared with a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said, slightlybelow expectations for a 1.9 percent annual rise in a Reuters poll of economists.The Bank of England forecast earlier this month that inflation will rise ab
  
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• UK inflation rises to highest since June 2014 as fuel costs surge

  14-02-2017 10:36
  British consumer prices rose last month at the fastest pace since June 2014, caused by higher global oil prices and the Brexit vote-fueled fall in the value of sterling, official data showed on Tuesday.Consumer prices rose 1.8 percent compared with a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said, slightlybelow expectations for a 1.9 percent annual rise in a Reuters poll of economists.The Bank of England forecast earlier this month that inflation will rise above 2.7 percent in around a ye
  
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• Gary Lineker joins stars to condemn scrapping of Dubs refugee scheme

  14-02-2017 09:44 via theguardian.com
  
  More than 200 celebrities including Keira Knightley and Mark Rylance tell Theresa May that ending scheme is ‘truly shameful’More than 200 high-profile public figures including Ralph Fiennes, Keira Knightley, Michael Morpurgo and the band Coldplay have written to Theresa May calling on the government not to close a scheme to bring unaccompanied child refugees from Europe to Britain.In an open letter addressed to the prime minister, the signatories describe the decision to admit no mor
  
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• Rolls-Royce posts biggest loss in its history

  14-02-2017 09:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Currency costs from Brexit vote and bribery case settlement force record £4.6bn statutory pre-tax loss for 2016Rolls-Royce has suffered the biggest loss in its history due to the cost of settling corruption charges and the impact of Brexit on the value of sterling.The engine-maker reported a £4.6bn statutory pre-tax loss for 2016, one of the biggest corporate losses in British history. Continue reading...
  
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• The Government has officially responded to the petition to stop Trump making a State Visit to the UK

  14-02-2017 09:32
  
  Donald Trump will be making a State Visit to the UK.
  
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• Football transfer rumours: Tottenham target Martial? Clattenburg to MLS?

  14-02-2017 09:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Today’s rumours need a LearjetWhy – apart from the lure of Champions League football – would Anthony Martial become the first player since Teddy Sheringham to leave Manchester United for Tottenham? The Frenchman would almost certainly have to take a paycut, would have to leave the soft glades of Carrington, no doubt to the sound of that Sir Alex Ferguson half-time team-talk being played at max volume through the PA system, and make his way to the Big Smoke, with its inflated pr
  
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• Toshiba delays earnings and writedown report, fuelling fears of crisis

  14-02-2017 09:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Shares off 8% after company says it is ‘not ready’ to release details about US nuclear subsidiary WestinghouseToshiba has unexpectedly delayed the release of a key earnings report and details of its rumoured withdrawal from overseas nuclear projects – including one in the UK – amid reports that it could suffer net losses of 500 billion yen ($4.4bn).The delay sent shares in the Japanese conglomerate down by 8% in Tokyo, and added to speculation that its financial woes coul
  
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• Trump security adviser Flynn quits after leaks suggest he tried to cover up Russia talks

  14-02-2017 09:05 via theguardian.com
  
  The departure of Trump’s national security adviser is the most dramatic development yet to hit the president’s chaotic administrationThe US national security advisor, Michael Flynn, resigned late on Monday night amid a flow of intelligence leaks that he had secretly discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador to Washington and then tried to cover up the conversations.
  The resignation, with the Trump era less than four weeks old, is the latest and most dramatic convulsion in the m
  
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