General news

• Darren... MP hails himself as 'first Darren' in Commons

  26-06-2017 23:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  MP Darren Jones says his nominative claim to fame makes his constituency "historic and fascinating".
  
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• This website turns Donald Trump's tweets into poems with hilarious results

  26-06-2017 23:15
  
  Wonderful, beautiful poems.
  
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• Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston denies making up 'death threat'

  26-06-2017 22:37
  Blackpool's chairman has denied he and his father made up an alleged death threat against them by the football club's president.Karl Oyston was accused at the High Court on Monday of making up the allegations against Valeri Belokon in order to "tarnish" the Latvian millionaire.The London court is currently hearing a legal battle between Mr Belokon and the Oystons, stemming from the club's one season in the Premier League in 2010-11.
  
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• Welsh singer Charlotte Church loses unborn baby

  26-06-2017 22:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The singer says she and her partner Jonathan Powell are grieving their loss.
  
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• What we know about the safety of tower blocks after fire tests

  26-06-2017 22:12
  
  Hospitals and schools will also be tested.
  
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• The Conservative/DUP deal: what it says and what it means

  26-06-2017 21:38
  
  DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds, leader Arlene Foster, DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson, chief whip Gavin Williamson, Theresa May and Damian Green, first secretary of state, at 10 Downing Street. Photograph: WPA Pool/Getty Images
  
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• Channel 4 News' Krishnan Guru-Murthy Berates Brandon Lewis For Not Saying Grenfell Tower Fire Exposed Failure

  26-06-2017 21:38
  
  Channel 4 News’ Krishnan Guru-Murthy has berated the ex-fire minister, live on air, after he refused to agree that the Grenfell Tower fire exposed a “catastrophic failure in the system to protect people”.
  
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• Maybot's magic money tree? It'll spread the love in Belfast, says Green

  26-06-2017 21:27
  
  Damian Green tells MPs about the DUP deal to support the minority Conservative government.Photograph: PA
  
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• Canadian soldier becomes first female infantry officer to captain Queen's guard

  26-06-2017 21:14
  
  By Iona SerrapicaLONDON (Reuters) - A Canadian soldier became the first female infantry officer to take command of troops guarding Queen Elizabeth's Buckingham Palace residence in London on Monday.Captain Megan Couto said it was a great honour to lead her Canadian unit in the Changing of the Guard ceremony at the palace, an event which regularly attracts thousands of tourists."I'm feeling a little bit of healthy stress but feeling not too nervous," Couto, 24, told Reuters before marching her tro
  
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• DUP's opponents say Tory deal is not blank cheque for hard Brexit

  26-06-2017 20:55
  
  The DUP’s rivals in Northern Ireland were forced to grapple with a £1bn political problem on Monday, welcoming the injection of new funds into the region but cautioning that it should not be seen as a “blank cheque for Tory Brexit”.With Stormont power-sharing talks on a knife edge ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the huge injection of funding secured by the DUP’s deal with the Conservative party is expected to act as an incentive to reach an agreement in Belfast.
  
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• May strikes £1 billion deal with DUP to prop up government

  26-06-2017 20:54
  
  By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate HoltonLONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May struck a deal on Monday to prop up her minority government by agreeing to at least 1 billion pounds in extra funding for Northern Ireland in return for the support of the province's biggest Protestant party.After over two weeks of talks and turmoil sparked by May's failure to win a majority in a June 8 snap election, she now has the parliamentary numbers to pass a budget and a better chance of passing laws to take
  
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• Theresa May faces backlash from Scotland and Wales over £1bn Tory-DUP deal

  26-06-2017 20:38
  
  Theresa May faced a backlash from politicians in Scotland, Wales and parts of England on Monday after completing a £1bn deal with the Democratic Unionist party to prop up her Conservative minority government.Political figures lined up to demand more money for their regions after Arlene Foster’s DUP agreed to a confidence and supply arrangement in return for the additional funding alongside relaxed spending rules relating to a further £500m previously committed.Critics also clai
  
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• One year on from Brexit

  26-06-2017 20:30
  
  Sky News takes a look back at a busy 12 months since the EU referendum.
  
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• Government fire investigators reported cladding 'risks' in 2016

  26-06-2017 20:25
  
  The Government was told last year by its own fire investigators that tower blocks were covered in flammable material - but were also told building regulations were "adequate".The advice was given by the same fire risk experts who are currently testing the cladding on 600 tower blocks - and so far failing every one of them.The reports were sent to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) in April 2016 by BRE Global, formerly the Government's Building Research Establishment, whic
  
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• 75 high-rise buildings fail fire safety tests after Grenfell disaster

  26-06-2017 20:25
  
  Seventy-five high-rise blocks across 26 local authorities have failed fire safety tests since the Grenfell Tower disaster.Checks are being carried out on hundreds of tower blocks after it was established that the cladding on the 26-storey building helped the fire, which is believed to have killed at least 79 people, to spread.Communities minister Sajid Javid told the Commons that the so-called combustibility test had been failed by every building examined so far.
  
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• 75 buildings with cladding fail safety tests

  26-06-2017 20:25
  
  Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed the cladding from 75 high-rise buildings has failed safety tests.
  
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• 'Continuous' motorway queues without customs deal, shipping boss warns

  26-06-2017 20:24
  Brexit will spark continuous motorway tailbacks should the UK suffer the "nightmare" of leaving the EU without a customs deal, according to the shipping industry chief.Guy Platten, the CEO of UK Chamber of Shipping, outlined how Britain's ports are "just not geared up" to quit the EU's Customs Union without an alternative agreement in place.Demanding ministers ensure the maintenance of "frictionless" trade with the bloc and agree an "essential" transitional departure deal, Mr Platten described t
  
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• The true cost of the Tories’ deal with the DUP | Letters

  26-06-2017 20:23
  
  Theresa May stands with first secretary of state Damian Green, while DUP leader Arlene Foster stands with DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds, as DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson (in glasses) shakes hands with parliamentary secretary to the Treasury Gavin Williamson inside 10 Downing Street on Monday. Photograph: Getty Images
  
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• Post-Grenfell fire safety checks stepped up as cladding pulled from sale worldwide

  26-06-2017 20:23
  
  Dorney Tower on the Chalcots estate in north London, where hundreds of people have been evacuated.The nationwide search for tower blocks at risk of a Grenfell-type blaze gathered pace on Monday as the government said 75 had now been identified and a material linked to the spread of the fire was pulled from sale worldwide.The communities secretary, Sajid Javid, called on landlords of more than 500 other suspect blocks to urgently provide samples for testing after the company that makes a componen
  
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• Tower cladding tests after Grenfell fire lack transparency, say experts

  26-06-2017 20:13
  
  Cladding is removed for testing from one of the tower blocks in Salford City.Building safety experts have warned that government tests on tower block cladding in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster lack transparency and are too simplistic to be used to condemn blocks as unsafe.Fire risk consultants and architects have suggested the government should reveal what tests were being conducted on the material after it was revealed every single cladding sample sent for analysis had failed the new a
  
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• Sinn Fein says Northern Ireland billion-pound windfall no guarantee of power-sharing deal

  26-06-2017 19:54
  By Amanda FergusonBELFAST (Reuters) - Irish nationalists Sinn Fein said on Monday the money coming in to Northern Ireland from a pact by their pro-British rivals to prop up British Prime Minister Theresa May would not in itself help restore the province's regional administration.May struck the deal with the DUP to support her Conservative government in major votes, pledging at least 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in extra funds to the province, a windfall DUP leader Arlene Foster said would bri
  
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• Exam board makes last-minute changes to two A-level papers after leak

  26-06-2017 19:29
  
  As well as allegations of leaks, there have been complaints about errors in GCSE and A-level papers issued by the OCR and AQA exam boards.An examination board investigating allegations of leaks has been forced to make last-minute changes to two A-level papers that were taken on Monday after another apparent breach of security.Pearson, which owns the Edexcel exam board, said it had replaced questions in its statistics and further pure maths papers after the board was informed that some students &
  
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• Theresa May has finally set out her plan for EU citizens in Britain, but it's too late for some

  26-06-2017 19:17
  
  Theresa May has acted too late to secure the rights of EU nationals in Britain, say two EU citizens settled in the UK.
  
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• With housing blocks failing safety checks, May calls for more tests

  26-06-2017 19:14
  
  British Prime Minister Theresa May appealed to landlords of high-rise buildings on Monday to allow potentially flammable building material to be tested, seeking to reassure residents after a tower block fire killed 79 people in London.The Grenfell Tower blaze, which trapped dozens of people in their beds, has become a focus of public anger at the Conservative government's austerity cuts and the perceived slow response in trying to look after those who escaped.The government said the number of hi
  
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• At platform 9-3/4, Harry Potter fans mark 20 years of magic

  26-06-2017 19:07
  
  By Estelle ShirbonLONDON (Reuters) - Twenty years to the day after the first book in the Harry Potter series was published, fans gathered online and in the real world to express their enduring love for J.K. Rowling's magical creation.Since "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" came out in 1997, with a first print run of just 500 copies, the series of seven novels has sold 450 million copies worldwide in 79 languages and spawned a blockbuster movie franchise.The book appeared in the United S
  
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• Theresa May's attacks on human rights laws are gifts for despots – UN

  26-06-2017 19:06
  
  The UN human rights chief has criticised Theresa May for comments made in the wake of recent terror attacks, accusing her of offering a “gift” to every despot who “shamelessly violates human rights under the pretext of fighting terrorism”.In a highly charged speech, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Prince Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, spoke of his fears that the current climate in the UK and the US is endangering laws enshrined in the post-war period of hope and
  
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• Kate Moss immortalized as mannequin-style sculpture

  26-06-2017 18:58
  
  Kate Moss has been stripped down and immortalised as a naked, armless mannequin in an avant-garde sculpture titled 'MILF', which has gone on display in London.The silicone sculpture of an expressionless Moss and her naked torso was unveiled at the Opera Gallery on Thursday, with the life-like piece priced at 25,000 pounds.Atrist Edgar Askelovic, who has previously depicted late British rock star David Bowie as half man-half dog, spent four months working from photographs of Moss on the piece, ma
  
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• EU nationals' rights: Here's what will happen after Brexit

  26-06-2017 18:56
  
  Senior Brussels figures have said Theresa May’s proposals lack ambition and contain “worrisome” limitations.
  
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• Grenfell Tower Fire: All 75 High Rises Tested So Far Fail Safety Checks, Sajid Javid Says

  26-06-2017 18:53
  
  All 75 high-rises to undergo fire safety tests in the wake of the Grenfell Tower blaze have failed so far, Sajid Javid announced as he urged councils to send samples for testing quicker.
  
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• It's not enough to let EU residents stay – they should get the vote, too | Paul Mason

  26-06-2017 18:39
  
  More than 2.1 million of Britain’s adult population are disenfranchised by Europe’s voting rules.Of about 100 Labour activists assembled in the scout hut, in Kimberly, Notts, there is a handful of workers from a local factory, badged up and ready to hit the doorstep.The Conservative offer of “settled status” for EU nationals prepared to carry an ID card will now be the subject of justified haggling with Brussels.
  
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• Number of UK tower blocks to fail fire safety checks hits 75

  26-06-2017 18:31
  LONDON (Reuters) - The number of high-rise tower blocks with external cladding in Britain that have failed fire safety tests following the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze has risen to 75, communities minister Sajid Javid said on Monday. Earlier British Prime Minister Theresa May appealed to landlords to allow potentially flammable building material in their properties to be tested as she sought to reassure residents about safety following the London tower block fire earlier this month, which killed
  
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• HMS Queen Elizabeth sets sail

  26-06-2017 18:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The largest and most powerful ship to be built for the Royal Navy leaves its Rosyth dock for the first time.
  
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• Arconic ends sales of panels used at Grenfell Tower for high-rises

  26-06-2017 18:30
  
  By Sinead CarewNEW YORK (Reuters) - Arconic Incsaid on Monday it was stopping global sales of its Reynobond PE cladding for use in high-rise buildings after a fire in London's Grenfell Tower, which used those Arconic panels, killed at least 79 people.Shares of the company, formerly known as Alcoa, fell as much as 11.3 percent after Reuters reported on Saturday it had supplied the PE cladding for Grenfell Tower, despite warning in its brochures those specific panels were a fire risk for tall buil
  
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• Philip Pullman set to name character after Grenfell Tower victim as a result of charity auction

  26-06-2017 18:23
  
  A former teacher of 15-year-old victim Nur Huda el-Wahabi championed her name.
  
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• George Osborne is having a great time if the front page of the Evening Standard is anything to go by

  26-06-2017 18:21
  
  Osborne has taken yet another swipe at Theresa May, and this time it includes Photoshop.
  
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• DUP to seek corporation tax and air passenger duty deal to back Tories

  26-06-2017 18:20
  
  The Democratic Unionist party is to seek further concessions on air passenger duty and special corporation tax status within two years of propping up a minority Conservative government.After extracting a funding package worth an extra £1bn for Northern Ireland as the price for backing the Tories, the DUP is aiming to use its parliamentary muscle to win more deals for the country, party sources said on Monday.While the DUP plots a strategy to gain further advantages for the region from a go
  
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• More than 100 Camden flats still occupied after post-Grenfell evacuation

  26-06-2017 18:17
  
  The Chalcots estate in London was found to have similar cladding to that on Grenfell Tower.More than 100 households have refused to leave the north London blocks that were evacuated over fears about fire safety this weekend following the Grenfell Tower blaze.Camden council ordered residents of four towers in Swiss Cottage – Burnham, Bray, Taplow and Dorney – to leave on Friday evening after the cladding on the blocks failed fire safety checks, and fire inspectors identified further s
  
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• Leading the way

  26-06-2017 18:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A parliamentary inquiry was carried out after a fatal tower block fire in Irvine, North Ayrshire.
  
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• FTSE snaps losing streak as banks rise

  26-06-2017 18:09
  By Danilo Masoni and Kit Rees LONDON (Reuters) - British shares rose on Monday, snapping four straight days of losses, as banks joined a broader European rally and steadier crude oil prices supported energy firms. The blue chip FTSE indexwas up 0.3 percent at 7,446.80 points at its close, paring back its earlier gains slightly as energy shares eased. Financials provided the biggest boost to the FTSE, adding 11.5 points to the index, with heavyweight banks HSBCand Barclaysboth up 1.2 percent. ...
  
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• Finsbury Park attack: Minute's silence held

  26-06-2017 18:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  People around the UK paid their respect to the victims of the Finsbury Park mosque attack.
  
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• May tells EU migrants: "We want you to stay"

  26-06-2017 18:06
  
  Prime Minister Theresa May told European Union citizens who are already living legally in Britain that she wanted them to stay after the country leaves the EU in 2019.Setting out Britain's plans for immigrants from EU countries, she said that all those legally in Britain before a cut-off date to be decided in future negotiations would be allowed to stay and apply for permanent residence rights."I want to completely reassure people that under these plans, no EU citizen currently in the UK lawfull
  
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• EU gives cool reception to British offer on citizens rights

  26-06-2017 18:06
  The European Union's top Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier gave a cool reception to Britain's offer on EU citizens' rights in the United Kingdom after it leaves the EU, saying Brussels wanted to get the same level of citizens' rights as under EU law.British Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier on Monday EU citizens already living in Britain could stay after the country leaves the EU in 2019.
  
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• Europeans back allocation of asylum seekers proportionally, study finds

  26-06-2017 17:50
  
  The majority of Europeans support proportional allocation of asylum seekers, a system that takes into account each country’s capacity, research has revealed.While, overall, 72% of participants across 15 countries supported proportional allocation when taken at face value, just under 58% backed it when told of its expected impact on the number of asylum seekers in their country.
  
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• Political Neglect Of The NHS Interferes Every Time I Treat A Patient

  26-06-2017 17:43
  
  As doctors gather for their annual conference in Bournemouth, there is a distinct air of uncertainty about the future of the NHS after this month's inconclusive election result and threadbare Queen's Speech.
  
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• British Summertime: 'Average' And 'Boring' May Be Just What We Need

  26-06-2017 17:43
  
  After the past few months - or has it only been weeks - I'm looking forward to a boring summer.
  
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• UK's biggest warship HMS Queen Elizabeth sets sail on maiden voyage

  26-06-2017 17:37
  
  Britain's most advanced and biggest warship, 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, set out on its maiden voyage on Monday from the Rosyth dockyard in eastern Scotland.It took eight years to build HMS Queen Elizabeth and along with its sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, it is part of a defence programme worth 6 billion pounds ($7.65 billion), with building and fitting spread over six different shipyards across Britain.
  
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• EU citizens must bring family over before Brexit or face tougher immigration

  26-06-2017 17:37
  
  Theresa May has told EU citizens they must bring family members over to Britain before Brexit or face tougher immigration rules, in a move that will dismay her European counterparts.The Prime Minister has decided not to heed the call from the European Commission to allow EU citizens living in the UK the right to be joined by family members after Brexit, as part of a deal on citizens' rights for the estimated 3.2 million EU nationals living in the UK.
  
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• Terrorism, Tragedy And The National Mood: How United Are We?

  26-06-2017 17:34
  
  We're halfway through 2017 and the nation is in sombre mood according to the Queen, after several months scarred by violence and heartache.
  
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• Spalding Murders: How Kim Edwards And Lucas Markham Became Britain's Youngest Double Murderers

  26-06-2017 17:33
  
  Britain’s youngest double murderers were publicly named after a High Court ruling earlier this month.
  
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• Canadian Soldier Megan Couto Becomes First Female Captain In History To Lead Queen's Guard

  26-06-2017 17:29
  
  A Canadian soldier has become the first woman ever to command troops guarding the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
  
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