General news

• Businesses bolster cyber defences for new ransomware attacks

  13-05-2017 23:41
  
  By Jim Finkle and Eric AuchardTORONTO/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Businesses around the world scrambled on Saturday to prepare for a renewed cyber attack, convinced that a lull in a computer offensive that has stopped car factories, hospitals, schools and other organizations in around 100 countries was only temporary.The pace of the attack by a destructive virus dubbed WannaCry slowed late on Friday, after the so-called "ransomware" locked up more than 100,000 computers, demanding owners pay to $300 t
  
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• Labour plans 'Robin Hood Tax', tax avoidance crackdown

  13-05-2017 23:05
  
  Britain's opposition Labour Party would crack down on tax avoidance and introduce a "Robin Hood Tax" on financial transactions to fund public services if it wins next month's national election, it said on Saturday.Labour, which is trailing Prime Minister Theresa May's ruling Conservatives badly in opinion polls, said that 4.7 billion pounds could be raised through a Robin Hood Tax by modernising the tax regime on share trading.Labour would also take on those in Britain who dodge paying tax, clos
  
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• Millionaire Brexit donor targets 140 Remain MPs in general election

  13-05-2017 23:00
  
  Jeremy Hosking launches his Brexit Express campaign in June 2016.A leading donor behind the Brexit victory has pledged to fund a campaign to oust almost 140 pro-Remain MPs in an attempt to ensure there is “no backsliding on Brexit” after the election.Jeremy Hosking, the multimillionaire City asset manager, told the Observer he was prepared to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds targeting MPs who backed staying in the EU, despite representing areas that voted for Brexit.
  
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• May to appeal to low-paid voters with new social housing pledge

  13-05-2017 23:00
  
  May will vow to help ‘ordinary working families’ in a policy designed to appeal to the working class.Theresa May will vow to “fix the broken housing market” and arrest a decline in social housing by announcing a scheme designed to boost the number of new council homes for rent.In an attempt by the prime minister to reach out to low-paid workers, she will announce a plan to offer funds, loans and new powers to councils and housing associations to help them build a new gene
  
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• UK Conservatives have 18 point lead over Labour - YouGov poll

  13-05-2017 22:58
  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party has an 18 point lead over the main opposition Labour Party ahead of a June 8 national election, according to an opinion poll conducted by YouGov for the Sunday Times The Conservatives were at 49 percent, up 3 percent from YouGov's previous poll, against Labour's 31 percent, up 1 percent. The poll put the centrist Liberal Democrats on 9 percent, and the anti-European Union UK Independence Party at 3 percent, both down 4 pe
  
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• Progressive alliance would not stop Tory majority, study suggests

  13-05-2017 21:11
  
  Jeremy Corbyn receives box of cakes from Ella Thurtle at James Paget Hospital in Great Yarmouth.A “progressive alliance” between Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Greens would fail to stop Theresa May securing a strong majority even if it agreed to run a single candidate in every seat, a new analysis has revealed.Some figures from all three parties have backed the idea of cooperating to increase the chances of a soft Brexit and ensure that the Conservatives do not secure a landslide.
  
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• UKIP leader will 'battle to win' Boston

  13-05-2017 20:30
  
  UKIP's leader Paul Nuttall unveiled his election bus as he campaigned in Lincolnshire, where he's hoping to be elected as an MP.
  
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• UKIP's Paul Nuttall defends decision to put up fewer election candidates

  13-05-2017 20:25
  UKIP have unveiled their campaign battle bus in Lincolnshire, as party leader Paul Nuttall defended the decision to field far fewer candidates than in previous elections.Mr Nuttall is standing as a candidate in the Boston and Skegness constituency and plans to use the purple bus plastered with the party's key election pledges as he campaigns in the area.UKIP will only field candidates in 377 seats nationally in this election, around 40% down on 2015, but Mr Nuttall insisted it did not mean the p
  
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• Tories ahead by 15 points despite gain for Labour, poll finds

  13-05-2017 19:46
  
  Poll finds 23% of voters approve of the way Jeremy Corbyn is running Labour while 47% approve of Theresa May’s performance.The Tories hold a 15-point lead over Labour with less than four weeks to go to the general election on 8 June, according to the latest Opinium/Observer poll.Despite the substantial gap, Labour under Jeremy Corbyn now has a larger share of the vote than that enjoyed by Ed Miliband in 2015.
  
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• Here's what happened on the election trail today

  13-05-2017 19:24
  
  There are only 26 days to go until the General Election.
  
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• Cyberattack hit 'one in five' NHS England trusts, says Amber Rudd

  13-05-2017 19:11
  
  All A&Es are back up and running after a cyberattack hit almost one in five NHS England trusts, Amber Rudd has confirmed.Speaking after an emergency COBRA meeting, the Home Secretary confirmed that of the 248 NHS England trusts, 48 had been affected."I'd like to commend the work that NHS staff have done to ensure the hospitals and patient surgeries continue to run smoothly," said Ms Rudd.
  
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• Conservatives have 18 point lead over Labour - Comres poll

  13-05-2017 19:03
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party has an 18 point lead over the main opposition Labour Party ahead of a June 8 national election, according to an opinion poll conducted by Comres for the Sunday Mirror and the Independent. The Conservatives were at 48 percent, down 2 percent from Comres' previous poll published on April 23, against Labour's 30 percent, an increase of 5 points. The poll put the centrist Liberal Democrats on 10 percent, down 2 percent, and t
  
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• Rudd says NHS was prepared for cyberattack

  13-05-2017 19:00
  
  Home Secretary Amber Rudd says the NHS was ready for the cyberattack that saw some hospitals crippled by ransomware.
  
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• 'Saviour' researcher: Cyberattack was amateur

  13-05-2017 19:00
  
  A UK-based researcher - who saved thousands more computers across the world being affected by the ransomware - says the attack was unsophisticated and amateur.
  
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• Conservatives have 15 point lead over Labour - Opinium poll

  13-05-2017 18:30
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party has a 15 point lead over the main opposition Labour Party ahead of a June 8 national election, according to an opinion poll conducted by Opinium Research. The Conservatives were at 47 percent, up 1 percent from Opinium's previous poll a week ago, against Labour's 32 percent, up 2 percent. The poll put the centrist Liberal Democrats on 8 percent, down 1 percent, and the anti-European Union UK Independence Party at 5 percen
  
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• UK interior minister Rudd says health system has recovered from cyber attack

  13-05-2017 18:20
  Britain's health system has recovered from the disruption caused by a global cyber attack, with 97 percent of the country's health service trusts now "working as normal", interior minister Amber Rudd said on Saturday.Speaking after chairing a meeting of the crisis response committee, or COBRA, Rudd said 48 of 248 health service trusts in England had been impacted by Friday's attack, but that all except six were now functioning normally."We think we have the right preparedness in place and also t
  
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• NHS attack: What we know

  13-05-2017 17:40
  
  The NHS has had to cancel operations because of the impact of the ransomware attack on its IT systems across the country.
  
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• Global cyber attack slows but experts see risk of fresh strikes

  13-05-2017 16:28
  
  By Jeremy Wagstaff and Eric AuchardSINGAPORE/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A global cyber attack described as unprecedented in scale forced a major European automaker to halt some production lines while hitting schools in China and hospitals in Indonesia on Saturday, though it appeared to die down a day after its launch.Capitalising on spying tools believed to have been developed by the U.S. National Security Agency, the cyber assault has infected tens of thousands of computers in nearly 100 countries,
  
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• The new faces of France? Macron's candidates gather in Paris

  13-05-2017 16:15
  
  PARIS (AP) — President-elect Emmanuel Macron promised France that his new movement would reinvigorate politics by bringing in figures from a much wider array of society. On Saturday, candidates running under his banner got to see just how different they are from politics as usual.
  
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• NHS cyberattack: Patients tell of 'chaos' as doctors lost drugs and tests

  13-05-2017 16:05
  Patients have told how hospitals descended into "pandemonium" and "chaos" as medical staff lost track of blood tests and drugs when the cyberattack hit.Richard Waring told how doctors and nurses at Warrington Hospital were having to follow patients around, writing the results of vital tests on paper so they didn't get mislaid, then making sure details were passed to the right medics.Mr Waring, of Runcorn, Cheshire, managed to log his arrival with the hospital using the digitised system and said
  
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• Carmaker Nissan says UK plant hit by cyber attack

  13-05-2017 16:01
  
  Nissan'smanufacturing plant in Sunderland, northeast England, has been affected by a cyber attack that has hit nearly 100 countries, a spokesman for the Japanese carmaker said on Saturday."Like many organisations around the world, some Nissan entities were recently targeted by a ransomware attack.
  
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• Assist in talks to rescue Sports Direct staffing agency Transline

  13-05-2017 15:55
  A privately owned recruitment group is in advanced talks to stitch together a rescue deal for the controversial staffing agency which supplies workers to Sports Direct's warehouse in Derbyshire.Sky News has learnt that Assist Resourcing, a subsidiary of Russell Taylor Group, is close to agreeing a takeover of Transline, which has spent the past three weeks bracing itself for the prospect of administration.A deal could be struck as soon as next week, a person close to Transline said this weekend.
  
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• Police sift through landfill for missing Corrie McKeague

  13-05-2017 15:10
  
  Police have started to search a landfill site in the hope of finding missing RAF gunner Corrie McKeague, who has not been seen since September.
  
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• Missing Corrie McKeague's girlfriend April Oliver posts pregnancy photo

  13-05-2017 14:52
  The girlfriend of missing airman Corrie McKeague has posted a picture of herself showing her pregnancy alongside an emotional message to her unborn child.In a post on Facebook, the picture shows April Oliver, 21, holding a pair of baby boots, with a message saying she is "truly in love" with the baby.RAF gunner Mr McKeague, 23, who was stationed at RAF Honington in Suffolk, vanished after a night out in Bury St Edmunds in September 2016.
  
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• Here's how Theresa May plans to allow teens to delete embarassing social media posts

  13-05-2017 14:49
  
  The Conservatives announced they wanted to enforce the “right to innocence” should they win the General Election.
  
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• Hospital patient describes 'chaos' as systems went down

  13-05-2017 14:30
  
  A patient tells how his blood tests were lost as chaos spread through the hospital where he was being treated.
  
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• NHS forced to turn away patients amid cyberattack chaos

  13-05-2017 13:15
  
  Hospitals across the country have been forced to cancel and delay patient operations after a global cyberattack crippled computer systems.At least 30 health service organisations in England and Scotland have been affected by the hack attack, while others shut down servers as a precautionary measure to avoid contagion.Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who is to chair an emergency COBRA meeting to discuss the crisis later, could not confirm if all patient files had been backed up.
  
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• NHS cyberattack: List of hospitals hit by ransomware strike

  13-05-2017 13:09
  A number of NHS organisations say they have been or continue to be affected by the cyberattack, which has caused major disruption.
  
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• Anatomy of a hack and the anonymous hero who stopped it

  13-05-2017 13:08
  
  As hospital after hospital went offline, security researchers around the world started poring over the ransomware that had gone round the globe.Despite the spread of the ransomware, researchers weren't impressed.Other researchers found that the malware was using Tor - anonymity software originally developed by US defence - to communicate with its command and control centre on the deep web (the part of the internet not visible to search engines).
  
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• Cyber security experts working 'round the clock'

  13-05-2017 12:40
  
  Ciaran Martin of the National Cyber Security Centre says experts are working at full speed after a massive cyberattack.
  
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• Two major Indonesian hospitals attacked in 'ransomware' storm

  13-05-2017 12:21
  At least two of Indonesia's major hospitals have been struck in the "ransomware" cyber attack that infected computers globally, a government official said on Saturday.Dharmais Hospital and Harapan Kita Hospital in Jakarta are affected by the ransomware, said Semuel Pangerapan, a director general at Indonesia's Communication and Information Ministry.
  
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• Russia's central bank says domestic banks withstood massive cyber attacks - RIA

  13-05-2017 12:20
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's central bank said on Saturday it had detected "massive" cyber attacks on domestic banks, which successfully thwarted them, the RIA news agency reported. The report came amid a global cyber attack leveraging hacking tools believed to have been developed by the U.S. National Security Agency that infected tens of thousands of computers in nearly 100 countries. Local media reported that state-owned Russian Railways also successfully defended itself from a cyber attack. (R
  
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• 5 key questions about the NHS cyber hack answered

  13-05-2017 12:03
  
  The attack infected computers with software that locks up the user’s data and flashes a message demanding payment to release it.
  
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• Labour deputy leader warns of 'Thatcher style' landslide

  13-05-2017 11:46
  
  Britain's Conservative party will win a "Margaret Thatcher style" landslide in next month's national election unless the Labour party improves its poll ratings, according to Tom Watson, Labour's deputy leader.In an interview with The Guardian newspaper published on Saturday, Watson said Labour had "a mountain to climb" before election day.
  
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• UK government in dark over who behind cyber attack

  13-05-2017 11:21
  
  The British government does not yet know who was behind Friday's global cyber attack that disrupted the country's health system, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on Saturday.Rudd said the government did not know if the attack was directed by a foreign government.
  
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• Global cyber attack hits hospitals and companies, threat seen fading for now

  13-05-2017 11:21
  
  By Jeremy Wagstaff and Costas PitasSINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) - A global cyber attack leveraging hacking tools believed to have been developed by the U.S. National Security Agency has infected tens of thousands of computers in nearly 100 countries, disrupting Britain's health system and global shipper FedEx.Cyber extortionists tricked victims into opening malicious malware attachments to spam emails that appeared to contain invoices, job offers, security warnings and other legitimate files.The r
  
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• Asia assesses ransomware assault, extent may not be known until Monday

  13-05-2017 11:21
  By Jeremy WagstaffSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Some hospitals, schools and universities in Asia were hit by a global cyber attack which infected tens of thousands of computers in Europe and the United States, but officials and researchers said the extent of any damage may not yet be known.China's official news agency Xinhua said secondary schools and universities were hit, but did not say how many or identify them.Sun Yat-sen University said it received a large number of virus complaints on Friday, the
  
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• PM wants under-18s right to delete social media history

  13-05-2017 10:05
  
  Social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, will be forced to let people delete details they posted before they were 18, Theresa May has pledged.Mrs May said: "Unlike a coalition of chaos and instability led by Jeremy Corbyn, a Conservative government led by me will get on with the job of making life in the United Kingdom even better."We want social media companies to do more to help redress the balance and will take action to make sure they do.
  
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• NHS braces for weekend of chaos after cyberattack

  13-05-2017 10:01
  
  At least 30 health service organisations in England and Scotland have been affected by the hack attack, while others have shut down servers as a precautionary measure to avoid contagion.An alleged hacker unconnected to the incident told Sky News the attack could spread to nearly every country in the world.The National Cyber Security Centre is working on a major operation in response to the attack, which it said targeted "thousands of organisations and individuals".
  
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• Home Secretary does not know who was behind cyber attack - BBC radio

  13-05-2017 09:52
  
  The British government does not yet know who was behind Friday's global cyber attack that disrupted the UK's health system, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on Saturday.Rudd said the government did not know if the attack was directed by a foreign government.
  
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• Can split digraphs help children learn to read and write?

  13-05-2017 09:30
  
  Testing times … but does the way we teach grammar risk putting children off writing altogether? Photograph: David Davies/PA
  
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• NHS seeks to recover from global cyber-attack as security concerns resurface

  13-05-2017 07:31
  
  The NHS is investigating a cyber-attack on its systems.The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said teams were “working round the clock” in response to the attack, which saw operations cancelled, ambulances diverted, and documents such as patient records made unavailable in England and Scotland.Prime minister Theresa May and NHS Digital said they were not aware of any evidence patient records had been compromised in Friday’s attack, which is thought to have affected computers
  
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• Social media 'failing' to tackle online hate

  13-05-2017 07:10
  
  A committee of MPs say social media companies should be fined for failing to remove illegal and harmful material. Sky's Laura Bundock reports.
  
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• Lauri Love on hack: Expect to see this everywhere

  13-05-2017 07:00
  
  Alleged cyber hacker Lauri Love has warned that the cyberattack that disabled NHS computers could spread to nearly every country in the world.
  
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• David Mach's new installation uses tonnes of old newspapers

  13-05-2017 05:31
  
  Artist David Mach says the UK definitely needs to encourage more artists to "start making stuff".The Turner Prize nominee has spent the last two weeks working on a new installation for London's Griffin Gallery, resurrecting a technique he mastered in the 90s.Mach sees art as an essential part of who we are.
  
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• Boris Johnson says Brussels should pay 'preposterous' Brexit bill

  13-05-2017 05:28
  
  Brussels could be forced to pay the UK a Brexit divorce bill, rather than the other way round, Boris Johnson has said.The Foreign Secretary accused the EU of trying to "bleed this country white" with an expected bill of as much as €100bn (£84bn) to settle liabilities on withdrawal.Asked whether he agreed with former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith that Britain might end up receiving a payment, Mr Johnson told the Daily Telegraph: "I do, I think there are very good arguments.
  
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• Artist David Mach: 'We need to make stuff'

  13-05-2017 05:00
  
  David Mach invites fellow artists to "make stuff now" as he unveils his new installation created from 20 tonnes of newspapers.
  
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• Chelsea crowned Premier League champions with 1-0 win at West Brom

  13-05-2017 01:42
  
  Chelsea have secured the Premier League title with a late winner over West Bromwich Albion.The 1-0 win, with Michy Batshuayi's 82nd-minute goal, gave the club an unassailable 10-point lead over second-place Tottenham Hotspur, who have only three games to play.Chelsea clinched the title in Antonio Conte's first season as the club's manager.
  
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• NHS left reeling by cyber-attack: ‘We are literally unable to do any x-rays’

  13-05-2017 01:36
  
  Richard Harvey, a 50-year-old wheelchair user, waited all day without food or drink for an operation that was eventually cancelled.Thousands of patients across England and Scotland have been in limbo after an international cyber-attack hit the NHS, with many having operations cancelled at the last minute.According to one junior doctor who works in a London hospital, the attack left hospitals struggling to care for people.
  
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• Hackers exploit stolen U.S. spy agency tool to launch global cyberattack

  13-05-2017 01:36
  
  By Costas Pitas and Carlos RuanoLONDON/MADRID (Reuters) - A global cyberattack leveraging hacking tools widely believed by researchers to have been developed by the U.S. National Security Agency hit international shipper FedEx, disrupted Britain's health system and infected computers in nearly 100 countries on Friday.Cyber extortionists tricked victims into opening malicious malware attachments to spam emails that appeared to contain invoices, job offers, security warnings and other legitimate f
  
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