General news

• Ten's financial woes take the gloss off Logies gold | The Weekly Beast

  27-04-2017 23:59
  
  If only the Ten Network could monetise its swag of TV Week Logie awards it wouldn’t be on the verge of collapse.Sunday night at Crown Casino in Melbourne, Ten won over and over again – for its entertainment program Have You Been Paying Attention?, news panel show The Project and its co-host Waleed Aly, local drama The Wrong Girl, lifestyle show The Living Room and even for Gogglebox Australia which is co-produced with Foxtel.What the Ten CEO, Paul Anderson, needs now is more money fr
  
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• Merkel's Brexit stance shows need for Tory poll win - May

  27-04-2017 23:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The prime minister says the German chancellor's stance shows why her party needs to win the election.
  
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• M&S to trial online food delivery service this autumn

  27-04-2017 23:33
  M&S is to trial an online grocery shopping service to deliver food to customers' homes for the first time.The retailer's boss Steve Rowe said it needed to be ready to respond to changing shopping habits.M&S has overhauled its online offering in recent years but has until now fought shy of making its food offering available on the internet.
  
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• Disruption as hospital in baby death probe holds meeting

  27-04-2017 23:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An NHS trust being investigated over maternity errors refuses to answer questions from the public.
  
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• Starbucks quarterly revenue falls short, stock falls

  27-04-2017 23:14
  
  By Lisa BaertleinLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Starbucks Corpreported quarterly sales that just missed Wall Street's expectations, hurt by a slight cooling in spending growth by customers in its core U.S. market, sending shares down 4.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday.The world's biggest coffee chain said net revenue was up 6 percent to $5.3 billion (£4.10 billion) for the fiscal second quarter, falling short of the $5.4 billion expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.The
  
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• NHS needs £25bn in emergency cash, Theresa May told

  27-04-2017 23:00
  
  NHS leaders are urging Theresa May to give the health service an emergency cash injection of £25bn before 2020 or risk a decline in the quality of care for patients and lengthening delays for treatment.An influential group representing NHS trusts says that the care provided by hospitals and GP surgeries will suffer over the next few years unless the prime minister provides an £5bn a year for the next three years – and a further £10bn of capital for modernising equipment a
  
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• Antiques Roadshow expert died after hospital 'neglect'

  27-04-2017 22:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Medics failed to resuscitate Alice Gibson-Watt quickly enough after a cardiac arrest, an inquest rules.
  
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• Theresa May lays bare ambition to capture Labour heartlands

  27-04-2017 21:49
  
  Theresa May laid bare the Conservatives’ ambitions to capture some of Labour’s most historic seats in England in a speech on Thursday night, telling voters in Leeds to put aside their traditional allegiances and vote “in the national interest”.The prime minister told the rally of Conservative campaigners that she needed every vote as a mandate for the difficulties ahead in the Brexit negotiations, citing the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on the UK’s “illus
  
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• Is coconut the cream of the milk stars?

  27-04-2017 21:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  UK sandwich chain Pret A Manger has said that coconut is driving its sales forward - so we went out to conduct a "taste test" to see what flavours get you licking your lips.
  
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• Tony Blair says he expects Theresa May to be next prime minister

  27-04-2017 20:28
  
  Tony Blair has said that he expects Theresa May to be the next prime minister, arguing that the best argument to vote for Labour is to provide a strong opposition.The former prime minister, who has been a vocal critic of Jeremy Corbyn, refused again to say that the Labour leader would be the best prime minister.Asked if he was saying “hand on heart” that Corbyn would be the best prime minister, Blair told Sky News: “If the polls are right, we know who’s going to be prime
  
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• Government loses bid to delay air pollution plan until after General Election

  27-04-2017 20:21
  
  The Government has lost its bid to delay publication of its long-awaited air pollution plan.A judge at London's High Court ordered the draft Air Quality Plan to be published on 9 May, the week after the local elections, with the final plan out on 31 July.Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom told Parliament that pre-election proprietary rules, commonly known as purdah, meant it would be inappropriate to publish the plan before the General Election.
  
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• West London jeweller cleared of murdering abusive boyfriend

  27-04-2017 20:15
  
  A jeweller wept in court as she was cleared of murdering her boyfriend by stabbing him in the neck at their west London home.Elizabeth Hart-Browne, 27, told the jury during her trial at the Old Bailey in London that Stephen Rayner, 25, was abusive and would mimic Charles Bronson, one of Britain’s most violent prisoners, during attacks on her.
  
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• Whitehall terror alert: Man held with knives near Downing Street

  27-04-2017 20:14
  
  Armed officers have arrested a man in connection with preparing a terror attack just yards from Downing Street.Police say the 27-year-old was carrying a rucksack containing several knives, which are being examined by forensic officers.The suspect was known to police prior to his arrest, according to Sky sources.
  
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• Suspicious 'white powder' packages sent to SNP offices

  27-04-2017 20:11
  Three packages containing "white powder-type substances" have been sent to political offices in Scotland.The packages were sent to an MP, a political party headquarters and a local council building between 25 and 26 April, the Scottish Parliament said on Thursday.The first package was sent to SNP MP John Nicolson's office in Kirkintilloch on Tuesday.
  
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• With this Spam I thee wed

  27-04-2017 20:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An English couple have married at a Spam museum in Minnesota.
  
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• 15-year-old held over Mike Samwell car theft killing

  27-04-2017 19:58
  A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a former Royal Navy officer was run over by his own car.The boy, who is also held on suspicion of burglary, is the fourth person to be arrested over the death of Mike Samwell in Chorlton, Manchester, in the early hours of 23 April.A 29-year-old from south Manchester arrested on Wednesday remains in custody.
  
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• Armed British police arrest man with knives near May's office

  27-04-2017 19:55
  
  By Kylie MacLellan and William JamesLONDON (Reuters) - Armed British police officers arrested a man carrying knives near Prime Minister Theresa May's office in London on Thursday on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism.The 27-year-old man was detained by counter-terrorism officers on Parliament Street, a stone's throw from the parliament building, May's Downing Street office and government departments, during a stop-and-search in an ongoing security operation, police said.A Western securit
  
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• Two people die in suspected spice-related incidents

  27-04-2017 19:48
  
  Two people died on Wednesday in incidents believed to have been related to spice, adding to fears that problems relating to the synthetic drug are growing.A prisoner died of a suspected overdose at HMP Forest Bank in Salford, believed to be the second such death at the prison this year.The prison inmate, who has not been named, died on Wednesday at the Sodexo-run jail, sparking an investigation by the Independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
  
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• Claudia's Law to help families of missing people clears Parliament

  27-04-2017 19:43
  The father of Claudia Lawrence, a chef who has been missing since 2009, has said he is "delighted" that a new law to help the families of missing people has cleared Parliament."Claudia's Law" will allow a missing person's relatives to look after financial affairs and property on their behalf after they have been gone for more than 90 days.Peter Lawrence said the law was a fitting tribute to his beloved daughter, who disappeared on her way to work at the University of York eight years ago.
  
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• Man armed with knives arrested in Westminster: Here's what you need to know

  27-04-2017 19:39
  
  The police say they have recovered knives from the man.
  
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• Ukip leader Paul Nuttall confirms he will stand in election

  27-04-2017 19:34
  
  Paul Nuttall lost the Stoke-on-Trent Central byelection in February.Paul Nuttall has confirmed he will stand in the general election after days of refusing to say whether he would throw his hat into the ring.The Ukip leader said he would not yet reveal the constituency, but there is speculation he will contest Heywood and Middleton, where Ukip cut Labour’s majority in a byelection in 2014, or Hartlepool, where he is campaigning at the weekend.
  
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• Listen to the experts on the Stonehenge tunnel | Letter from Prof David Jacques

  27-04-2017 19:26
  
  The site ‘is unutterably precious and you tamper with it at your peril’ writes David Jacques.Helen Ghosh, Kate Mavor and Duncan Wilson’s response to John Harris’s article about the Stonehenge tunnel (Letters, 27 April) entirely misses the point.The Stonehenge world heritage site landscape is unutterably precious and you tamper with it at your peril – you cannot make it come back.
  
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• Battles ahead: May v Corbyn, hope v despair, timidity v boldness | Letters

  27-04-2017 19:26
  
  ‘George Monbiot’s perceptive article cut through the current “beauty contest” between Corbyn and May and considerably raised my morale by concentrating on the fundamental issues,’ writes Ted Woodgate … Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn during the final PMQs of this parliament.
  
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• Dip in bad loans reveals green shoots in StanChart revival

  27-04-2017 19:22
  
  StanChart set aside just $200 million (156.07 million pounds) in provisions against bad loans for the first quarter, 58 percent lower than a year ago, lifting its shares 5 percent on Wednesday.The bank has since tightened limits on who can make decisions about such big loans and decreased internal limits for exposure to a single client, Andy Halford said on Thursday."Today we'd not be lending in such large amounts to some of those clients," Halford, adding that the bank remains cautious and that
  
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• Britain loses case to delay submission of air pollution plan

  27-04-2017 19:20
  
  The British government has failed in a legal bid to delay the publication of its plan to tackle air pollution until after the general election on June 8.The government had gone to the High Court to extend an April 24 deadline to submit its plan to improve air quality and comply with nitrogen dioxide limits set by the European Union (EU).The government is obliged to draw up a new plan after the High Court ruled in November that a calculation of future vehicle emissions was too optimistic.
  
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• You say chorizo...

  27-04-2017 19:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Masterchef viewers get heated on Twitter about the right way to say the spicy sausage.
  
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• PM May says Merkel talk of UK illusions shows how tough Brexit talks will be

  27-04-2017 19:06
  
  German Chancellor Angela Merkel's comments about Britain having illusions over its future relationship with the European Union show how tough the upcoming Brexit negotiations will be, Prime Minister Theresa May will say on Thursday.Earlier Merkel said some people in Britain still had illusions over the EU rights they would continue to enjoy after Brexit and insisted the bloc would only agree on future ties with London after an exit deal has been nailed down.May will use a speech in the oppositio
  
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• Boy, 3, rescued from sinkhole on Exmouth Beach in Devon

  27-04-2017 19:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The child thought he was stepping into a puddle but sank up to his waist.
  
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• Theresa May to lay bare ambition to capture Labour heartlands

  27-04-2017 19:01
  
  Theresa May will lay bare the Conservatives’ ambitions to capture some of the most historic Labour seats in England in a speech on Thursday night, telling voters in Leeds to put aside their traditional allegiances and vote “in the national interest”.In a sign of the Conservatives’ bullishness about their electoral chances in Labour’s northern heartlands, May will tell voters in Harehills that it will be the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, on the ballot, not their trad
  
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• 'Marine A' Alexander Blackman to be freed from jail within hours

  27-04-2017 18:51
  
  Former Royal Marine Alexander Blackman, who shot dead a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan, is to be released from prison within hours.Blackman, who has spent more than three years in prison for killing the injured insurgent in 2011, is to leave Erlestoke Prison, near Devizes, Wiltshire on Friday, campaigners have said.The judges ruled that Blackman was suffering from an "abnormality of mental functioning" at the time of the shooting, when he was serving in Afghanistan with Plymouth-based 42 Command
  
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• 'Strong and stable'

  27-04-2017 18:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Tories crammed 16 mentions of their election slogan into Prime Minister's Questions - does the tactic work?
  
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• How did a copy of U.S. Declaration of Independence get to southern England?

  27-04-2017 18:31
  
  By Georgina CooperCHICHESTER, England (Reuters) - British experts will carry out tests to try to determine how a rare copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence found its way to an archive in southern England.The handwritten manuscript, only the second such parchment in existence, had been stored for more than 60 years in a strong-room among miles of documents in the West Sussex Record Office, until its significance was revealed by Harvard University researchers, Danielle Allen and Emily Sneff
  
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• Rachel Johnson joins Lib Dems in protest against Tory backing for Brexit

  27-04-2017 18:30
  
  According to Lib Dem rules, a candidate must be a member of the party for at least a year.Rachel Johnson, the journalist and sister of two Conservative ministers, has joined the Liberal Democrats in protest against Tory support for Brexit, the Guardian has learned.The Mail on Sunday columnist and author has also toyed with the idea of running as a Lib Dem candidate for a West Country seat but may not have enough time to be selected to stand in the general election on 8 June.
  
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• Police thwart suspected terror attack in Westminster

  27-04-2017 18:18
  
  Police detained a man following an incident in Whitehall.A suspected terrorist attack was thwarted in central London on Thursday after armed police arrested a man who is alleged to have been carrying knives near the Houses of Parliament.The afternoon arrest followed a tense intelligence operation that had earlier identified the man detained as being of concern to counterterrorism investigators.
  
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• Elizabeth Hart-Browne cleared of murdering boyfriend

  27-04-2017 18:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The trial heard Elizabeth Hart-Browne cried "I have just killed the man I love" after stabbing Stephen Rayner.
  
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• Two US troops killed in Afghanistan in fight against ISIS - Daily Mail

  27-04-2017 18:13 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  Two US troops killed in Afghanistan in fight against ISIS
  Daily Mail
  Two US service members were killed during a raid against the Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon. The service members were killed in action in the Achin District of Nangarhar during an operation against ISIS Khorasan, the ...
  Two US troops die battling Islamic State militants in eastern AfghanistanWashington Postall 81 news articles »
  
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• British Airways kick couple off after they demand upgrade - Daily Mail

  27-04-2017 18:11 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  British Airways kick couple off after they demand upgrade
  Daily Mail
  This is the dramatic moment a British cancer and diabetes sufferer was thrown off a BA flight by police after trying to stretch his legs in business class. Kwame Bantu, 65, was an hour into the 14-hour flight to visit family in Jamaica when he began to ...
  Man thrown off BA plane revealed as cancer sufferer who claims he was treated like SLAVEExpress.co.uk
  Couple kicked off British Airways flight from London to Jama
  
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• Brexit love-in for last MPs standing as Commons closes its doors

  27-04-2017 18:09
  
  With most Labour MPs having long since retreated to their constituencies to begin the six-week fight to hold on to their seats, Brexit questions on the last day of parliament were largely handed over to a Conservative love-in.Walker has the look of a man-boy whose career highlight was to have been a junior prefect at a minor public school.No, he hadn’t visited Southend or Southampton airports recently, Walker said in answer to questions about the impact of Brexit on tourism and aviation.
  
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• Renault sales rise on new models, Lada consolidation

  27-04-2017 18:03
  
  PARIS (Reuters) - Renaultsaid on Thursday its first-quarter revenue rose more than a quarter as the French carmaker launched new models and production deals, and began consolidating Lada sales by Russian affiliate Avtovaz. Revenue increased to 13.13 billion euros (10.98 billion pounds) in January-March from 10.49 billion a year earlier, the company said in a statement. The French manufacturer reiterated 2017 goals including an increase to operating profit and revenue at constant exchange rates.
  
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• May says response to Westminster incident shows police on alert

  27-04-2017 17:47
  British Prime Minister Theresa May said the handling of an incident near her residence in London on Thursday, in which a man carrying knives was arrested on a terrorism charge, shows that police and intelligence services are always on alert."I think it shows that our police and our intelligence and security services are on the alert, as they always are, looking to keep us safe and secure," May told Sky News.British police said armed officers arrested a man carrying knives near May's office in We
  
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• Police thwart suspected terror attack in Westminster - The Guardian

  27-04-2017 17:36 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  Police thwart suspected terror attack in Westminster
  The Guardian
  Police detained a man following an incident in Whitehall. Photograph: Niklas Halle'N/AFP/Getty Images. UK news. Police thwart suspected terror attack in Westminster. Police say man was arrested near parliament on suspicion of 'commission, preparation ...
  Man 'armed with knives' arrested on suspicion of planning terror acts after Westminster incidentITV News
  Man armed with knives held in Westminster over suspecte
  
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• Marine A: Sergeant Alexander Blackman to be released from prison on Friday - The Independent

  27-04-2017 17:28 via independent.co.uk
  
  Mirror.co.uk
  Marine A: Sergeant Alexander Blackman to be released from prison on Friday
  The Independent
  Royal Marine Alexander Blackman will be released from prison on Friday, the Justice For Marine A campaign group has said. The British soldier — who was previously identified only as Marine A — was handed a life sentence for shooting dead a wounded ...
  'Marine A' Alexander Blackman to leave jail tomorrowEagle Radio
  Marine A to be released from prison on FridayTelegraph.co.uk
  M
  
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• Man detained after Westminster incident was known to MI5 - security source

  27-04-2017 17:26
  The London man detained by armed police in Westminster was known to counter-terrorism officers and Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5 before his arrest, a Western security source told Reuters.The 27-year-old man was detained by counter-terrorism officers on Parliament Street, a stone's throw from the UK parliament building and May's Downing Street office, during a stop and search as part of an ongoing operation, London police said.
  
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• Northern Ireland power-sharing talks paused until after UK election

  27-04-2017 17:21
  Northern Ireland's main political parties have agreed to pause talks on forming a power-sharing government until after Britain's general election on June 8, the British government said on Thursday.The British government last week agreed to extend a deadline on forming a government until June 29 to avoid the risk of election campaigning derailing the talks."At roundtable discussions ... it was agreed that formal talks to establish an Executive will be paused until after the General Election," Sec
  
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• PM May informed of Westminster incident - spokeswoman

  27-04-2017 17:20
  British Prime Minister Theresa May will be kept updated about an incident in which a knife-carrying man was arrested on terrorism charges close to parliament, her spokeswoman said on Thursday."It is an ongoing police operation and we are monitoring it.The prime minister has, as you would expect, been informed by officials and she will be updated as usual for incidents like this," the spokeswoman said at a regular media briefing.
  
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• Screen fatigue blamed as ebook sales fall for second year running

  27-04-2017 17:18
  UK ebook sales fell again last year with readers said to be suffering "screen fatigue" and sales of physical books fighting back to their strongest in four years.Industry figures showed overall publishing revenues - including books and journals - rose 7% to a record £4.8bn in 2016.Sales of physical books were up 8% to £3bn - their highest level since 2012.
  
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• Why politicians are falling out over Syria

  27-04-2017 17:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Boris Johnson is at the centre of divided opinion.
  
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• Tim Farron told someone to 'smell my spaniel' and it's become the phrase of the GE2017 campaign

  27-04-2017 17:05
  
  Today’s been a big day for bizarre sayings in politics.
  
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• Sinful sex, Mother Theresa and mugwumps: the UK election campaign - Financial Times

  27-04-2017 17:05 via ft.com
  Financial Times
  Sinful sex, Mother Theresa and mugwumps: the UK election campaign
  Financial Times
  The BBC is briefing the nation: “Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, has called Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn a 'mutton-headed mugwump'.” At the Foreign Office, the blond bombshell is jubilant at the impact his insult is having. BJ: I say, that mugwump ...
  Labour is full of mugwumps – but Corbyn is not one of themSpectator.co.uk (blog)
  What is a mugwump? Boris Johnson's bizarre at
  
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• Moment Whitehall suspect is taken into police car

  27-04-2017 16:55
  
  The Whitehall suspect is taken into a police car moments after he is arrested.
  
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