General news

• Absolutely fabulous! Comedy veteran June Whitfield becomes a dame at 91

  16-06-2017 23:36
  
  The 91-year-old has been made a dame for services to drama and entertainment.
  
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• Westminster attack PC gets bravery award

  16-06-2017 23:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Posthumous bravery award is unveiled alongside honours list recognising Billy Connolly, Julie Walters and JK Rowling.
  
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• Honours for brave Westminster police officer and pensioner who tried to save MP

  16-06-2017 23:30
  A police officer killed during the Westminster terror attack and a pensioner who tried to save the MP Jo Cox have both received bravery awards as the Queen's birthday honours and gallantry awards are announced.PC Keith Palmer, who was stabbed as he guarded the Houses of Parliament after terrorist Khalid Masood ran over dozens of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, has been posthumously awarded the George Medal as part of the Civilian Gallantry list.Speaking about the award, Metropolitan Police Co
  
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• 6 heroes who have been honoured for their bravery during terror attacks

  16-06-2017 23:30
  
  Courageous police officers and heroic members of the public are among those awarded.
  
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• Everyone is freaking out that Michael Gove and Ed Balls did Gangnam Style together

  16-06-2017 23:26
  
  “You can’t unsee it.”
  
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• Paul O'Neill jailed after directing child abuse in the Philippines

  16-06-2017 22:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the case was thought to be the first of its kind.
  
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• Everything you need to know about the Grenfell Tower fire protest

  16-06-2017 21:57
  
  Demonstrators are demanding answers in the aftermath of the tragedy.
  
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• University of East Anglia in students' personal data breach

  16-06-2017 21:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sensitive information about 42 students was emailed to nearly 300 undergraduates.
  
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• ‘We want justice’: Grenfell Tower protest spills into town hall

  16-06-2017 21:53
  
  Hundreds of protesters angry at the government’s handling of the Grenfell Tower disaster descended on the offices of Kensington town hall and barracked the prime minister as she met residents for the first time near the scene of the tragedy.Demonstrators demanded more information on their families and friends, and help from the authorities, and one group tried to force their way into Kensington town hall to confront councillors directly, demanding that they come out and answer questions.Ot
  
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• Appeals for missing relatives

  16-06-2017 21:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Family and friends of missing people have appealed on social media for news of their loved ones.
  
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• Jo Cox's family send a message of unity on the anniversary of her death

  16-06-2017 20:43
  
  There will be a string of events this week honouring the murdered MP’s memory.
  
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• Theresa May called a 'coward' after meeting Grenfell fire victims

  16-06-2017 20:42
  
  The Prime Minister has been confronted by angry crowds after meeting victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in Kensington.One woman wept, saying it was because the Prime Minister had declined to speak to those waiting outside to speak to her.Scuffles broke out in the crowd as the Prime Minister's car drove away from the scene of the disaster.
  
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• May on Grenfell Tower - full interview

  16-06-2017 20:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May says £5m will be available for survivors, and the cause of the London fire is being looked at.
  
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• Theresa May pledges to rehouse Grenfell Tower fire victims in three weeks

  16-06-2017 20:18
  Theresa May has announced a £5m fund as part of a "comprehensive package" of support for victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
  
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• My council tax rebate from Kensington and Chelsea is blood money | Letters

  16-06-2017 20:16
  
  A local resident suggests anyone with a council tax rebate passes it on to a local charity.In 2014, I received my Kensington and Chelsea council tax bill and a letter from the leader of the council, Nicholas Paget-Brown, explaining that all residents who pay council tax in full would “receive a one-off payment of £100”, to be deducted from the bill.This bonus, the letter continued, was due to the council’s careful management of its finances over the years, “consiste
  
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• After Grenfell Tower, councils and experts need to take back control of housing | Letters

  16-06-2017 20:15
  
  Extensive damage to the Grenfell Tower block. ‘The problem with certification of building materials is that they are tested in laboratory conditions,’ writes David Graham.If the Building Research Establishment report (Experts’ fear over cladding, 16 June) tells us anything, it’s that while Grenfell Tower’s new cladding may have helped spread the fire, there will be other factors for the public inquiry to consider, including window frame materials.Another vital quest
  
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• Tim Farron didn’t recognise difference between personal faith and political reality | Letters

  16-06-2017 20:11
  
  Tim Farron’s very personal statement has to be respected, but he is wrong (Farron quits as Lib Dem leader over views on gay sex, 15 June).Any other basis, including religious faith, cannot gain the willing consent of the wider public.To govern on this recognition of the fallibilities of civil society is not to deny one’s faith but to recognise the legitimate distinction between personal faith and political and human reality.
  
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• PM driven away from protest outside church

  16-06-2017 20:10
  
  Theresa May encountered angry crowds protesting over the Grenfill Tower fire as she left a church.
  
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• Proportional representation is anathema to Tories … and Labour | Brief letters

  16-06-2017 20:09
  
  The Guardian is changing from Berliner format to smaller tabloid.Francis Prideaux (Letters, 15 June) has this in common with the Tories he aims to displace.Why is it OK that it takes 525,371 votes to elect one Green MP and only 49,141 to elect each Labour MP?
  
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• London fire: 'They spent £10m on that cladding'

  16-06-2017 19:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Protesters at the town hall say £5m for victims of the Kensington tower block fire is not enough.
  
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• DUP leader calls for 'sensible Brexit'

  16-06-2017 19:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The DUP leader was speaking after meeting newly-elected Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dublin.
  
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• London fire: May offers £5m to victims amid criticism of response

  16-06-2017 19:33
  
  Theresa May has announced a package of measures to help the families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, including £5m of cash handouts to be distributed to residents, after the government received more criticism over its botched response to the disaster.After being widely denounced for failing to meet victims face to face, the prime minister paid two visits to the scene of the deadly blaze on Friday.
  
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• DUP promises to use pact with Conservatives to tone down austerity

  16-06-2017 19:25
  
  The Democratic Unionist party has said it will act as a “brace against hard austerity” in its deal with the Conservatives, as rebel Tory MPs suggested that they could torpedo unpopular policies by tacitly backing Labour amendments to the Queen’s speech.The DUP’s leader, Arlene Foster, said it was “right and proper” that her party would vote for Theresa May’s Queen’s speech next week.
  
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• What is a D-Notice? Debunking claims the media is being gagged over the Grenfell fire

  16-06-2017 19:16
  
  No such gag is in place.
  
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• ‘Jail those responsible’: how Grenfell Tower residents’ grief turned to rage

  16-06-2017 19:06
  
  People gather outside Kensington town hall to demand justice for those affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower.By 4am on Wednesday, three hours after the fire started, Grenfell Tower was a hellish sight: flames poured from all sides of the 24-storey tower block under billowing smoke and charred debris fell from the upper storeys.In the hours and days that followed, anger that such a tragedy could have happened mingled with chaos on the streets of north Kensington, as a close-knit community attemp
  
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• Scuffles outside Kensington Town Hall

  16-06-2017 19:00
  
  Angry scenes erupted outside the town hall in Kensington after some protesters entered the building, unhappy with the council's handling of the Grenfill Tower fire.
  
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• Architects urge change in attitudes towards safety after Grenfell fire

  16-06-2017 18:59
  
  Inflatable slides, expanding net chutes and spider-like rescue robots were some of the design ideas(pdf) that emerged in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001, as part of attempts to make tall buildings feel safer.After the catastrophic fire at Grenfell Tower in west London this week, which killed at least 30 people, what does the future of tall residential buildings look like – if they have a future at all?“It’s certainly not the
  
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• 'We want justice': Grenfell Tower protest spills into town hall

  16-06-2017 18:46
  
  Earlier desperate people with missing loved ones pleaded for help from the authorities and lashed out at the government’s response to the devastating blaze.Theresa May was criticised for avoiding meeting the building’s residents on the streets of North Kensington for another day, instead visiting victims at a London hospital.May had cited security concerns, but they did not prevent the Queen and Prince William from attending the Westway sports centre on Friday, a makeshift relief fac
  
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• Grenfell Tower fire protesters storm Kensington and Chelsea town hall

  16-06-2017 18:44
  Protesters demonstrating over the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze have stormed Kensington and Chelsea town hall.Several people appeared to clash with security guards inside, before leaving the building and gathering on the steps outside.More than 20 police officers rushed into the town hall to restore order and mounted police are on stand-by, Sky Correspondent Enda Brady said.
  
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• Anger in the community in West London

  16-06-2017 18:35
  
  Residents of and near Grenfill Tower are unhappy about a number of issues around the fire that resulted in fatalities.
  
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• London fire: Protesters storm Kensington town hall

  16-06-2017 18:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Angry protesters demand answers following the west London blaze which killed more than 30 people.
  
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• How survivors managed to escape the Grenfell Tower fire

  16-06-2017 18:27
  
  There are some incredible tales of survival.
  
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• EU moves to restrict hormone-disrupting chemical found in plastics

  16-06-2017 18:10
  
  BPA is linked to a range of hormone-twisting health effects including cancer, learning difficulties and diabetes.A chemical found in CDs, DVDs, kettles and water bottles could soon be restricted after the EU authorities ruled that it posed a threat to human health because of its effects on hormones.The European chemicals agency (Echa) voted unanimously that bisphenol A (BPA) was an ‘endocrine disruptor’, linking it to a range of hormone-twisting health effects including cancer, learn
  
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• Jo Cox events show 'appetite for something positive', says sister

  16-06-2017 18:07
  
  Jo Cox’s sister, Kim, and her parents, Gordon and Jean Leadbeater, speak in the marketplace in Birstall, West Yorkshire, on the first anniversary of the MP’s murder.A year to the day after Jo Cox, the MP for Batley and Spen, was murdered, hundreds of children from nine local schools gathered on a sunny green in the West Yorkshire town of Heckmondwike to sing in her memory.The performance was the first of a weekend of events in Cox’s former constituency and across the UK to reme
  
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• Everything we learned from this London firefighter's Reddit AMA

  16-06-2017 18:03
  
  It comes two days after the devastating Grenfell Tower fire.
  
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• Number one

  16-06-2017 18:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Andy Murray admits he may be approaching the end of his time at the top of tennis but vows to "keep playing while I still enjoy it".
  
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• Quiz: Can you guess what honours these famous faces have received?

  16-06-2017 17:54
  
  Do you know your Knights from your OBEs? Here’s a snappy quiz to test your knowledge.
  
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• Bomber Salman Abedi identified by fingerprints and dental records

  16-06-2017 17:44
  
  Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi was identified mainly by fingerprints, DNA and dental records.The details came out as an inquest into the 22-year-old attacker's death was opened and then adjourned.The court at Manchester Town Hall heard the force of the suicide blast "severely disrupted" the body of the murderer, who died at the scene.
  
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• London fire: Residents in similar tower block share concerns

  16-06-2017 17:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Chalcots estate in Camden is near Grenfell Tower. It was recently refurbished by the same company.
  
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• Schoolgirl Chloe Gilbert died after accidentally eating kebab

  16-06-2017 17:41
  Chloe Gilbert, 15, went into anaphylactic shock shortly after having lunch with a friend while on a shopping trip in Bath city centre in March.Pathologist Dr Deborah Cook confirmed the cause of Chloe's death was anaphylaxis and aspiration of vomit due to "exposure to yoghurt with a known allergy to dairy product".Speaking after the inquest, Chloe's parents paid tribute to their daughter.
  
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• Johnson attacks Labour 'game playing' over Grenfell Tower fire

  16-06-2017 17:40
  
  Boris Johnson has hit out at "political game playing" by Labour in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.The Foreign Secretary attacked "outrageous politicking" as he singled out Labour's London mayor Sadiq Khan.Earlier, Mr Khan wrote to the Prime Minister demanding "answers, action and justice" over the tower block tragedy, which has killed at least 30.
  
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• Tories united after their win – in efforts to keep Boris out of No 10

  16-06-2017 17:08
  
  Boris Johnson arrives at Downing Street – but he’s just visiting.On their first day back in Westminster there was no mistaking which side had enjoyed the election result more.Labour MPs were walking around Portcullis House with wide grins and were happy to chat to anyone.
  
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• Bomber 'became very religious'

  16-06-2017 17:05
  
  Rapper Geko, who knew Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi, has said he knew he was becoming 'very religious'.
  
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• Here's how Republicans and Democrats honoured Steve Scalise at the annual congressional baseball game

  16-06-2017 17:03
  
  The House majority whip was critically wounded by a gunman during practice for the baseball game.
  
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• London fire: The victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy

  16-06-2017 16:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Names and details are emerging of some of those confirmed to have lost their lives.
  
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• Amazon to swallow up Whole Foods in $13.7bn deal

  16-06-2017 16:36
  
  Amazon has agreed to buy upmarket grocery chain Whole Foods in a deal worth$13.7bn (£10.7bn).It prompted shares in UK supermarket chains to slide lower, with Tesco down 4% and Sainsbury's dipping 3%..Texas-based Whole Foods, which has nine UK stores mainly in London, will continue to operate under its own brand.
  
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• Mail Online story about alleged cause of Grenfell fire prompts around 1,300 complaints

  16-06-2017 16:29
  
  A Mail Online article about a man whose faulty fridge allegedly started the Grenfell Tower fire has prompted about 1,300 complaints to the press watchdog.The Mail Online article, which has allegedly been toned down overnight, focuses on the actions and behaviour of Behailu Kebede, whose fourth floor flat is thought to be where the blaze started.The Independent Press Standards Organisation has received around 1,300 complaints, a number expected to climb, with the overwhelming majority relating to
  
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• Liverpool's Commonwealth Games bid includes floating pool

  16-06-2017 16:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Liverpool's Commonwealth Games bid focuses on the waterfront and uses some Greater Manchester venues.
  
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• Tall driver who steered with knees jailed for crash

  16-06-2017 15:57
  A 6ft 6in man who made headlines when he drove a small convertible Ford Ka while standing up has been jailed for a separate case of dangerous driving.Car dealer Adam Elliott, of Newcastle, crashed his Ford Galaxy into a stationary bus and an oncoming vehicle during a police chase in Gateshead in March.Judge Robert Adams was unaware of the Gateshead crash when he handed Elliott a suspended sentence because the driver fled the scene.
  
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• BA cabin crew call two-week strike in July over pay dispute

  16-06-2017 15:51
  
  Cabin crew at British Airways are to strike for two weeks in July, in the longest walkout to date in an increasingly bitter dispute over pay.Unite said they had called the action, which runs from 1 to 16 July, after the airline refused to accept the union’s final compromise position on the sanctioning of striking cabin crew.The union said it would also “vigorously pursue” legal action against BA on behalf of 1,400 cabin crew who face sanctions.
  
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