General news

• Tesla delivers quarterly record of 25,000 vehicles in first quarter

  02-04-2017 23:54
  Tesla Inc , the U.S. luxury electric car maker, said on Sunday first-quarter vehicle deliveries jumped 69 percent from a year ago to a quarterly record of 25,000 vehicles, bouncing back from delays in the previous quarter.The company said of the total vehicles delivered, about 13,450 were Model S sedan and about 11,550 were Model X sports utility vehicle.In the fourth quarter, deliveries had fallen 9.4 percent due to short-term production hurdles from the transition to a new autopilot hardware.
  
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• There's a petition calling for new pink UK passports after an MP said the current ones were humiliating

  02-04-2017 23:48
  
  A new £490 million contract that could turn the post-Brexit UK passport dark blue has caused quite a stir.
  
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• Several arrested over 'savage' asylum seeker attack

  02-04-2017 22:25
  Several people have been arrested after a teenage asylum seeker was beaten up and left unconscious.Someone who saw the attack in southeast London said the victim was "absolutely beaten up - kicked, mostly in the facial area".A 20-year-old woman, arrested on Saturday, has been released.
  
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• PM's Saudi trip shows few nations will be ruled out of her 'global Britain'

  02-04-2017 21:48
  
  Inside Downing Street, there are two words that advisers would most like to define the way Theresa May leads the country out of the EU: “global Britain”.The hope is to stress a “Hello, world” vision of Brexit in which membership of the world’s largest single market is compensated with new arrangements with far-flung countries.The dream is a raft of exciting new deals in which plucky British exporters will crack through, pouring their whisky into India’s immens
  
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• Britain expresses regret over 'disturbance' during Saudi aide's London visit

  02-04-2017 21:33
  
  LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Britain has expressed regret to Saudi Arabia after what it described as a "disturbance" during a visit by an aide to Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to London last week.Activists said on social media that a demonstrator tried to perform a "citizen's arrest" against Major General Ahmed al-Asseri as he tried to enter an office in London on Thursday.Asseri is also the spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition engaged in fighting against Iran-aligned Houthis in Yeme
  
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• Welfare shakeup 'will push a quarter of a million children into poverty'

  02-04-2017 21:00
  
  The two-child restriction would inflate current child poverty figures by 10% by the end of the parliament, the study predicts.A government shakeup of welfare payments being introduced on Thursday will push a quarter of a million children into poverty while wiping thousands of pounds off payments for bereaved families, according to research.Meanwhile, a terminally ill man has told the Guardian that his wife and children will see tens of thousands of pounds wiped off their bereavement benefits if
  
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• Civil rights activist Darcus Howe dies aged 74

  02-04-2017 20:25
  Civil rights activist Darcus Howe has died aged 74, according to his biographer.Robin Bunce said Mr Howe died in his sleep on Saturday, adding that the news had been confirmed by Mr Howe's wife Leila Hassan.Mr Howe was born on 26 February 1943 in Trinidad and came to the UK in 1961, beginning a career in journalism seven years later.
  
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• NHS waiting lists and the wider consequences | Letters

  02-04-2017 20:15
  
  ‘I fear that even after my operation I will be out of the habit of being active,’ writes Sue Craythorne.As one of the thousands of people waiting for a hip replacement, I’d like to highlight some of the consequences of longer waiting lists (NHS axes key 18-week target for operations, 31 March).Longer waiting lists will lead to us “active older people” being unable to undertake community volunteering.
  
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• Music, nature and the arts are key in education | Letters

  02-04-2017 20:15
  
  ‘Musical education, as part of a rich and broad curriculum, has been left to decay,’ writes Crispin Woodhead.The great sorrow is that musical education, as part of a rich and broad curriculum, has been left to decay.As a consequence, private schools and wealthy families obtain a renaissance education and the rest of society struggle or do without.
  
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• A new take on the oldest parliament | Letters

  02-04-2017 20:14
  
  Theresa May referred to the UK parliament as the ‘oldest of all’ but she was mistaken, writes John McKinnell. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA
  
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• Article 50 was triggered just days ago and there are already talks of war on Spain over Gibraltar

  02-04-2017 19:11
  
  Well, that escalated quickly.
  
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• Prince Charles visits earthquake-hit Italian town

  02-04-2017 18:37
  
  Britain's Prince Charles paid a visit on Sunday to one of the towns in central Italy devastated by a major earthquake last August, a day after locals protested against the government because of aid delays.The 6.2 magnitude earthquake killed nearly 300 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.More than 45,000 aftershocks have rattled the region, including an even stronger 6.6 magnitude quake in October, the biggest to strike Italy for 36 years.
  
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• Boat races go ahead after shell found near starting line is removed

  02-04-2017 18:15
  The Oxford-Cambridge boat races have gone ahead this afternoon after a shell first believed to be a World War Two bomb was removed from near the starting line.On Saturday, police were called when a member of the public spotted the object in the River Thames near Putney Bridge, close to the starting line of the race.Scotland Yard said marine experts examined the shell and it was removed by specialist officers on Sunday morning.
  
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• Paramedics taking tens of thousands of days a year off sick with stress

  02-04-2017 18:08
  
  There is concern that stress leave is exacerbating existing pressures on ambulance services.Paramedics are taking tens of thousands of days a year off sick with stress, as growing numbers of 999 calls add to the pressure on NHS ambulance services.The number of days being lost to paramedics having time off work because they are struggling with stress, anxiety or other mental health conditions is rising, official figures show.
  
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• Paramedic stress: 'We're micro-managed by people checking response times'

  02-04-2017 18:08
  
  Paramedics say demands on the ambulance service have increased over the past five years.Peter (not his real name) has been a paramedic with an NHS regional ambulance service in the south of England for almost 20 years.You end up putting things like that, which you have witnessed or dealt with, into a filing cabinet in your head, but over the course of a career that filing cabinet fills up.
  
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• Two pitbull-type dogs shot dead by police after people were bitten

  02-04-2017 18:04
  Two pitbull-type dogs have been shot dead by police after a man and a woman were bitten and another dog seriously injured.Police were alerted that six dogs were dangerously out of control in Queen's Park in Chorley New Road, Bolton, at 10.20am on Sunday."Armed response officers were deployed to the scene and two dogs were humanely destroyed and two dogs have been seized," Greater Manchester Police said.
  
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• Spain makes position clear on Gibraltar's post-Brexit future

  02-04-2017 17:50
  
  Spain's top diplomat said Sunday that his government is urging the European Union to side with Madrid on the future of the British territory of Gibraltar, which lies at the southern tip of the Iberian ...
  
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• Spain makes position clear on Gibraltar's post-Brexit future

  02-04-2017 17:50
  
  BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain's top diplomat said Sunday that his government is urging the European Union to side with Madrid on the future of the British territory of Gibraltar, which lies at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula and Spain has long sought to reclaim.
  
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• Brexit: Ex-Tory leader Lord Howard likens Gibraltar to Falklands

  02-04-2017 17:37
  Former Conservative leader Lord Howard has said Theresa May would show the same resolve to defend Gibraltar as Margaret Thatcher did over the Falklands.The peer told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday show: "I think there's no question whatever that our Government will stand by Gibraltar.Shortly afterwards, Mrs May pledged to work with Gibraltar to get "the best possible outcome on Brexit" for the British territory.
  
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• Britain expresses 'regret' after egg is thrown at Saudi general

  02-04-2017 16:43
  Britain has expressed "regret" to Saudi Arabia after an egg was thrown at a Saudi military official during a visit to London, the Foreign Office said.Anti-war activists last week attempted a citizen's arrest against General Ahmed Assiri, a spokesman for the Saudi-led Gulf coalition fighting rebels in Yemen, and then threw an egg that hit him in the back.
  
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• Bolton police shoot dead two rampaging pit bull-type dogs

  02-04-2017 16:29
  
  The scene in Bolton after two dogs were killed after a man and woman were bitten.Greater Manchester police said two other pit bull-type dogs involved in the incident on Chorley New Road, on Sunday morning have been seized and they are still searching for another.A 38-year-old man believed to be the owner has been arrested on suspicion of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place, and affray.
  
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• This is how people are marking the 365th day since Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's arrest in Iran

  02-04-2017 15:51
  
  Supporters are tying ribbons to trees and sharing their ideas of freedom.
  
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• Gibraltar row shows scale of PM's Brexit challenge

  02-04-2017 15:51
  In her latter years as Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher used to tell a story.
  
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• Boat races to go ahead after shell found near starting line is removed

  02-04-2017 15:40
  The Oxford-Cambridge boat races are set to go ahead this afternoon after a shell first believed to be a World War Two bomb was removed from near the starting line.On Saturday, police were called when a member of the public spotted the object in the River Thames near Putney Bridge, close to the starting line of the race.Scotland Yard said marine experts examined the shell and it was removed by specialist officers on Sunday morning.
  
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• Prince Charles walks amid ruins of quake-hit Amatrice in Italy

  02-04-2017 15:11
  Prince Charles has visited an Italian town hit by a devastating quake last summer, walking amidst the ruins of ancient buildings and paying tributes to the victims.The Prince of Wales was in Amatrice, in central Italy, as part of a European tour designed to shore up relations with EU allies post-Brexit.The Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall are on a six-day visit to Italy.
  
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• Britain 'steadfastly committed' to Gibraltar - PM May

  02-04-2017 15:03
  
  Britain is "steadfast" in its commitment to Gibraltar and will work with the territory on the southern tip of Spain to secure the best possible outcome from Brexit talks, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday.The European Union on Friday offered Spain a right of veto over Gibraltar's future relations with the bloc, giving Madrid sway over the fate of the enclave once the territory is no longer an internal EU matter.Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713, but has long called for it to be re
  
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• Charlie Gard: Parents of unwell baby reach £1.2m target to pay for US treatment

  02-04-2017 14:43
  A mother and father trying to raise £1.2m to fund treatment for their unwell baby son have reached their target.Doctors at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital have told the couple they believe it is time to stop life-support treatment to Charlie Gard who is almost eight months old.A judge is due to analyse medical evidence at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London on Monday before deciding what is in Charlie's best interests.
  
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• Theresa May would go to war to protect Gibraltar, Michael Howard says

  02-04-2017 14:15
  
  Theresa May would be prepared to go to war to protect Gibraltar as Margaret Thatcher once did for the Falklands, former Conservative leader Michael Howard has suggested, in comments that were immediately criticised as inflammatory.Lord Howard’s suggestion that the prime minister would be ready to follow in the footsteps of her predecessor 35 years ago came alongside a government pledge to protect the sovereignty of Britain’s overseas territory.
  
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• 1m African migrants may be en route to Europe, says former UK envoy

  02-04-2017 13:55
  
  As many as one million migrants are already on the way to Libya and Europe from countries across Africa, the former head of the British embassy in Benghazi has warned.The warning by Joe Walker-Cousins, head of the UK’s Libya mission between 2012 and 2014 comes as European governments struggle to find a response to the flow of migrants from the Mediterranean, and the appalling conditions in detention camps run by traffickers or the Libyan government.More than 590 migrants have drowned on th
  
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• Spain eases opposition to an independent Scotland in EU

  02-04-2017 13:30
  
  By Jesús AguadoMADRID (Reuters) - Spain, at loggerheads with Britain over Gibraltar, appears to be easing its opposition to an independent Scotland in the European Union, saying it would not block such a move at least initially.The Scottish independence drive -- now resuscitated by the prospect of Britain's departure from the EU -- is highly controversial in Spain because of the secessionist movement in Catalonia.As a result, Madrid has long been seen as an obstacle to an independent Scot
  
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• Watch the shocking moment a bonfire accidentally explodes at a French town fair

  02-04-2017 13:27
  
  18 people were injured in the incident.
  
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• Theresa May vows to get best Brexit deal for Gibraltar

  02-04-2017 13:23
  The Prime Minister has pledged to work with Gibraltar to get "the best possible outcome on Brexit" for the British territory.
  
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• People aren't entirely sure whether Ed Miliband was doing an interview or a therapy session

  02-04-2017 13:19
  
  The former Labour leader appeared on the Andrew Marr Show and was quizzed about his feelings.
  
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• Technology company? Publisher? The lines can no longer be blurred | Emily Bell

  02-04-2017 13:01
  
  Google’s problem of running advertising against inappropriate content has been hiding in plain sight for a long time.Recently the seemingly unstoppable digital behemoths of Google and Facebook have been at least temporarily derailed by the wrong kind of attention.First we had Facebook being unmasked as the world’s largest repository for made-up stories and “fake news”, and now we have Google fighting a rearguard action over apparently putting advertising from respectable
  
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• Labour questions legality of scrapping NHS 18-week waiting time target

  02-04-2017 12:58
  Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth has questioned the legality of government plans that will see operation waiting times increase.In his letter he also demands to know whether the Health Secretary plans to legislate to change the NHS constitution.The NHS target is for 92% of patients to be treated within 18 weeks of referral but this has not been met since February 2016.
  
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• Family 'devastated' at Stourbridge stabbings as daughter visits scene

  02-04-2017 12:50
  A teenager whose mother and young brother were stabbed to death at the family home has visited the scene to pay tribute to them.Lydia Wilkinson laid flowers and read scores of cards left by friends and neighbours of her mother, 50-year-old Tracey, and 13-year-old brother Pierce.Ms Wilkinson, an 18-year-old student at Bristol University, was accompanied by her boyfriend as she visited the scene, where a police tent remains outside the house.
  
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• After historic week, Brexit dawns a shade warmer

  02-04-2017 12:29
  
  By Alastair MacdonaldBRUSSELS (Reuters) - The week Britain filed for divorce from the European Union brought relief in London and Brussels that crockery was not smashed - far from it - but negotiators fear tantrums or even a breakdown once talks start.As the fateful day approached for May to trigger Article 50 of the EU treaty and launch an unprecedented exit that Brussels wants to ensure remains a one-off, officials on both sides privately sounded increasingly worried the process could work.
  
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• Meet Millicent Fawcett: The first woman to get a statue in Parliament Square

  02-04-2017 12:04
  
  She tirelessly campaigned for women’s suffrage.
  
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• Spain would not 'initially' block Scotland from joining the EU after Brexit

  02-04-2017 11:12
  
  Spain has said it would not "initially" veto an attempt by an independent Scotland to join the European Union after Britain has left the bloc, its foreign minister said in interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais.Spain has long been seen as an obstacle to an independent Scotland joining the EU to deter separatists in some of its own regions."Initially, I don't think we would block it," Alfonso Dastis said in an interview published on Sunday.
  
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• Ecuador election could determine Julian Assange's fate

  02-04-2017 11:11
  Ecuadorians go to the polls to elect a new president, a choice that could have repercussions thousands of miles away for the fate of Julian Assange.Sunday's vote pits the government-backed leftist candidate Lenin Moreno against a conservative former banker, Guillermo Lasso.Both candidates have spoken during the campaign of how they would deal with Mr Assange, who is holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
  
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• Nottinghamshire police search for missing mother and two sons

  02-04-2017 10:45
  
  Louis (left) and Dylan Madge, who are missing along with their mother Samantha Baldwin.About 100 police officers are hunting for a mother and her two sons who disappeared last week hours after a judge ruled she posed a “risk of harm” to the children.Samantha Baldwin and her sons, Dylan Madge, six, and his nine-year-old brother Louis, have not been seen since the Nottingham family court said on Monday that the boys should be removed from her care.
  
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• Unexploded wartime bomb find casts doubt on Boat Race

  02-04-2017 10:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Work to assess a suspected wartime shell on a bank of the River Thames is continuing on Sunday.
  
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• Sports Direct increases Debenhams stake to 16%

  02-04-2017 10:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Mike Ashley's leisure retailer ups its holding in the High Street department store chain.
  
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• Phone line set up for Michaela McAreavey murder appeal

  02-04-2017 10:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Move coincides with Mauritius visit by John McAreavey to seek more information about 2011 killing.
  
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• All the wildest scenes from International Pillow Fight Day

  02-04-2017 09:48
  
  Now this is the kind of day we can get on board with.
  
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• New call for release of British mother jailed in Iran - a year on since her detention

  02-04-2017 09:04
  A British-Iranian mother jailed in Tehran for allegedly plotting to topple the government has told of how she dreams of watching her husband and their young daughter dancing in their living room.On the eve of the first anniversary of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's arrest, her family and friends will gather at Fortune Green close to her home in Hampstead, northwest London.The 38-year-old charity worker was arrested at Tehran Airport on 3 April last year as she attempted to return to the UK following
  
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• Fewer prosecutions for death crash drivers

  02-04-2017 08:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Campaigners say the loss of thousands of traffic police officers in England and Wales is to blame.
  
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• We need hard facts, not tabloid bile, to find our way through Brexit

  02-04-2017 08:00
  
  How can 27 states of separation – plus briefing Britain – make sense of the negotiation years?Theresa May says she doesn’t want a running commentary, but there’s fat chance of avoiding one in a 24/7 news world, speeches examined as though they were holy writ.Worse, the traditional British redtop way of reporting Brussels from a cosy desk in the Palace of Westminster threatens constant bad temper and bad information.
  
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• Spain drops plan to impose veto if Scotland tries to join EU

  02-04-2017 08:00
  
  Spain’s foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis, says a UK breakup would not be welcome.Spain has said it would not veto an attempt by an independent Scotland to join the EU, in a boost to Nicola Sturgeon’s campaign for a second independence referendum and the clearest sign yet that Brexit has softened Madrid’s longstanding opposition.Alfonso Dastis, the Spanish foreign minister, made it clear that the government would not block an independent Scotland’s EU hopes, although he st
  
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• Ofcom means more BBC bureaucracy, not less

  02-04-2017 08:00
  
  The BBC is already used to strangulation by charter. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA
  
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