General news

• Search for man swept off rocks in Cornwall

  04-09-2017 23:54
  A 'massive' search and rescue operation in Treyarnon Bay on the north Cornwall coast will resume on Tuesday after two men were swept off rocks into the sea.It is believed the two men were fishing in the area around Treyarnon Bay early on Monday afternoon when they were hit by waves.Coastguard Rescue Teams carried out a "massive" search with RNLI Lifeboats from Rock, Padstow and Newquay.
  
  Read more

• Chris Froome can take decisive step towards Vuelta victory in time trial

  04-09-2017 23:51 via theguardian.com
  • British rider aims to carve out a decisive advantage before mountain stages
  • Closest rival Vincenzo Nibali could throw spanner in the worksThe old saw has it that one can lose a stage race on any day but one can win it only on certain selected stages. The time trial on Tuesday at Logrono in northern Spain is one of the latter as far as Chris Froome is concerned in this year’s Vuelta a España, especially given his recent record in the discipline compared with t
  
  Read more

• Government takes over Croydon child services after 'serious failures'

  04-09-2017 23:50 via theguardian.com
  Weak management and overworked staff among the widespread shortcomings revealed in Ofsted reportThe government has taken control of Croydon’s children’s services after an Ofsted report revealed “widespread and serious” failures were leaving youngsters at risk.
  It blamed weak management at all levels of the south London borough for failing to ensure social workers followed protocols for missing children and those at risk of sexual abuse. Too few young people who ran away w
  
  Read more

• Plans to cut plastic bottle waste revealed

  04-09-2017 23:44
  Nicola Sturgeon will commit her government to the introduction of a deposit return scheme, Sky News understands.The initiative, which aims to cut single use plastic waste, is partly prompted by Sky's Ocean Rescue campaign.It will apply to plastic and glass bottles, as well as aluminium cans.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• UK 'does not have capacity to strike new trade deals after Brexit'

  04-09-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Opponents say government’s desire to draw up copycat deals to replace existing EU agreements amounts to ‘cut-and-paste Brexit’Senior government figures have said that the UK does not have the capacity to renegotiate dozens of trade deals that already exist between the EU and third countries. Instead, they are planning to draw up copycat deals to those that already exist, in an attempt to replicate an agreement struck by Theresa May in Japan last week. May and the Japanese prime
  
  Read more

• UK 'does not have capacity to strike new trade deals after Brexit'

  04-09-2017 23:30
  The Japanese PM, Shinzo Abe, with Theresa May. The pair signed a joint trade statement last week.Senior government figures have said that the UK does not have the capacity to renegotiate dozens of trade deals that already exist between the EU and third countries.Instead, they are planning to draw up copycat deals to those that already exist, in an attempt to replicate an agreement struck by Theresa May in Japan last week.
  
  Read more

• Baby Python Found Blocking Bathroom Toilet In Southend, Essex

  04-09-2017 23:16
  It’s probably every child’s nightmare, to discover a python lurking inside the toilet bowl.
  
  Read more

• England 2-1 Slovakia: five talking points from the 2018 World Cup qualifier | Dominic Fifield

  04-09-2017 23:02 via theguardian.com
  Patience pays off again for Gareth Southgate and co as Marcus Rashford, initially pinned to the right flank, eventually inspires victory amid banks of empty seatsPatience, they had all chorused. From Gareth Southgate to Jordan Henderson to Harry Kane. They were talking about the realisation of a long-term plan, of course, but the same virtue had been required in both qualifiers over this window. It has taken England time to find their feet in each fixture, exploiting Maltese fatigue last Friday
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Scotland stay in World Cup play-off hunt with comfortable victory over Malta

  04-09-2017 22:44 via theguardian.com
  There was a time in the not-so distant past when even the visit of Malta would have been met with an element of Scottish trepidation. It is a sign of growing confidence and improved form, to the point where a World Cup play-off berth is possible, that Gordon Strachan’s team were fully expected to see off this international football also-ran. They duly did without much fuss at all. Scotland’s Group F destiny is under their own control.The visit of Slovakia to Glasgow next month promis
  
  Read more

• Jonny Evans puts Northern Ireland on way to win and verge of World Cup play-off

  04-09-2017 22:42 via theguardian.com
  Northern Ireland’s transformation deserves greater recognition, according to Michael O’Neill, but the magnitude of their achievements is not lost on their public. Windsor Park provided a raucous, bouncing and again triumphant stage as O’Neill’s team secured second place plus a probable World Cup play-off berth with a superb defeat of the Czech Republic. Related: England v Slovakia: World Cup 2018 qualifier – live!Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Game of Thrones: Which royals are in line to succeed Queen?

  04-09-2017 22:38
  The birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's third child will reorder the line of succession to the throne, with Prince Harry dropping to sixth.
  
  Read more

• Calls for inquiry into grammar school that 'unlawfully' excluded students

  04-09-2017 22:19 via theguardian.com
  Parents and former governors at St Olave’s want an investigation to restore confidence, after the school was found to eject underperforming pupilsIf you’ve been affected, you can share your experience with us
  Parents and former governors at a leading grammar school found to be systematically excluding pupils halfway through their A-level studies say there needs to be a full inquiry in order to restore confidence in the school.St Olave’s grammar school in Orpington, in the Londo
  
  Read more

• Two men seriously injured in east London shooting

  04-09-2017 22:13 via theguardian.com
  Extra police patrolling Forest Gate in East End to prevent revenge attack after two men found with gunshot woundsTwo men are in hospital after being shot in east London.Police are investigating after the victims were found with gunshot wounds in Forest Gate at about 3.10pm on Monday. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Scorpion halts easyJet flight from Paris to Glasgow

  04-09-2017 21:54
  Easyjet has postponed a flight from Paris to Glasgow after a scorpion was spotted on board.Sightings of a scorpion on flight EZY6883 led the plane to be grounded overnight so it could be fumigated.A passenger reported the arachnid to a member of the crew as they were preparing to take off from Charles de Gaulle airport on Monday.
  
  Read more

• There were some very familiar (and younger) faces on BBC Parliament’s 1997 general election showing

  04-09-2017 21:47
  BBC Parliament showed the BBC’s coverage of the 1997 general election results more than 20 years on.
  
  Read more

• Will North Korea Or Donald Trump Start A Nuclear War? We Asked Four Experts

  04-09-2017 21:46
  Once again the threat of nuclear war has people asking some very serious questions.
  
  Read more

• EasyJet travellers stranded in Paris after scorpion found on plane

  04-09-2017 21:42 via theguardian.com
  Passenger cabin fumigated after cleaner saw the dangerous arachnid running over the seats on Scotland-bound aircraftA passenger jet has been delayed so it can be fumigated after a scorpion was spotted on board. The easyJet flight from Paris to Glasgow on Monday night was postponed after a passenger noticed the arachnid on the preceding flight and alerted staff. The plane is being held at Charles de Gaulle airport before its rescheduled departure on Tuesday. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Bell Pottinger 'Expelled From PR Trade Body' Following Controversial South African Campaign

  04-09-2017 21:32
  A controversial London-based public relations firm at the centre of a row over stoking racial tensions in South Africa has been thrown out of the UK’s leading industry trade body, according to South African media reports.
  
  Read more

• Bell Pottinger is a textbook example of how not to manage a crisis | Nils Pratley

  04-09-2017 20:57
  Phumzile Van Damme of the Democratic Alliance National speaks outside the Bell Pottinger offices in London on 18 August 18.Bell Pottinger, in its handling of its own public relations disaster in South Africa, has provided a textbook example of how not to manage a crisis.When the facts suggested otherwise, and that Bell Pottinger had been running a poisonous campaign based on stoking racial division, the company fired a mid-ranking partner.
  
  Read more

• Sir Lenny Henry leads tributes to 'one of the best' Larrington Walker

  04-09-2017 20:43 via theguardian.com
  Jamaican-born actor, whose television career included The Bill and Inspector Morse, has died aged 70Sir Lenny Henry has led tributes to the actor Larrington Walker, who died at the weekend aged 70.Related: Rudy’s Rare Records review – Lenny Henry’s reggae romp has the audience roaringContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on EU withdrawal bill: a cynical power-grab | Editorial

  04-09-2017 20:38 via theguardian.com
  MPs must thwart government plans to rewrite law behind parliament’s backThere was a time, before the UK voted to leave the European Union, before a referendum posing that question was even planned, when Tory Eurosceptics fixated on parliamentary sovereignty.They argued that the 1972 Communities Act subordinated UK statute to European law in ways that violated national autonomy. From that initial grievance flowed the long lament about “Brussels” as a hostile power, imposing alie
  
  Read more

• Martin Rowson on a royal baby and North Korea – cartoon

  04-09-2017 20:32 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on the slaughter in Myanmar: a crime against humanity | Editorial

  04-09-2017 20:30 via theguardian.com
  The brutal, bloody, and ultimately pointless mistreatment of a Muslim minority shames Aung San Suu KyiThe Rohingya are a Muslim people living in the north-west of predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, which borders mainly Muslim Bangladesh. In Myanmar they are seen as Muslims, and in Bangladesh as foreigners. Neither country claims or even wants them. Neither will allow them citizenship, though these families have lived in Burma for centuries at least. Now the military in Myanmar will not even tolerat
  
  Read more

• G4S: What undercover officer saw

  04-09-2017 20:28 via bbc.co.uk
  Callum Tulley became a whistleblower at an immigration detention centre. Now G4S is investigating.
  
  Read more

• Munroe Bergdorf on the L’Oréal racism row: ‘It puzzles me that my views are considered extreme’

  04-09-2017 20:23 via theguardian.com
  The trans model was sacked last week for criticising white privilege. Here, she talks about growing up in a mixed-race family, surviving rape – and why she doesn’t regret speaking out
  By 8.12pm on Sunday, Munroe Bergdorf is done in. It is a week since she was announced by L’Oréal as the face of True Match, a campaign that marries makeup to social justice, and three days since she was sacked unceremoniously. A BBC 2 producer is on the phone, talking to her about an interv
  
  Read more

• 'I want to bring up a warrior': Ukraine's far-right children's camp – video

  04-09-2017 20:21 via theguardian.com
  In Ukraine, the far-right Azov militia is fighting on the frontline – and running a summer camp for children. The Guardian visited the camp and followed 16-year-old Anton through his experiences. Is Azov really a modern Hitler Youth organisation, or is it trying to prepare young Ukrainians for the tough reality that awaits them? Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Seeing nuclear weapons from North Korea’s perspective | Letters

  04-09-2017 20:19 via theguardian.com
  Successive British governments have for decades been afflicted with exactly the same delusion as Kim Jong-un, writes Anthony Matthew. Talks have worked before, writes Dr Douglas Reilly. Plus letters from Caroline Westgate, Dr David Lowry, and Jim PragnellYour second leader (A nuclear armed rogue state is bad but war would be worse, 4 September) states: “It is in the nature of paranoid autocrats like the Kim dynasty never to be satisfied with the security they have.” But if we look at
  
  Read more

• Housing policy is more than just building houses | Letters

  04-09-2017 20:15
  Backbench Conservatives are not the only people concerned about government policy on planning for housing in England (Theresa May urged to force councils to build more homes, 4 September).Millions are concerned at the increasing environmental damage and lack of attention to real need by successive governments.The crying needs are for social housing and to move jobs away from overheated areas to places that have both homes and people needing employment.
  
  Read more

• Public sector pay cap: May 'recognises sacrifices of workers'

  04-09-2017 20:08 via theguardian.com
  PM’s spokeswoman fuels speculation cap could be lifted but Cabinet Office and Treasury disagree over details of proposalsWhitehall departments are at odds over plans to raise the public sector pay cap after No 10 offered a clear hint that it would be lifted.The Cabinet Office and the Treasury disagree over the details of proposals to relax restrictions covering the salaries of nurses, doctors, teachers, armed personnel and others, sources have said. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• World Cup maths leaves Socceroos with a simple job against Thailand: win big

  04-09-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Australia’s rivals for the crucial second spot in group B, Saudi Arabia, have a goal difference advantage ahead of the final round of games and play later. All Postecoglou’s team can aim for is a convincing victoryOrdinarily you would think a World Cup qualifying campaign that has featured just two defeats in 17 matches would be considered a success. But when such a campaign has yet to achieve its ultimate aim, you can understand why the Socceroos’ bandwagon remains parked in t
  
  Read more

• 'We weren't meant to own it forever': how Tom Roberts's lost masterpiece was found

  04-09-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  The story of the recovery of Rejection, a painting by one of Australia’s most treasured artists, has drama, sadness and redemption all of its ownJoe Natoli is an obsessive art collector. A fossicker and a finder, he trawled the internet into the small hours looking for that one valuable painting that everyone else had missed. With limited funds, he had learned to identify works that were more important than an auction house realised. “When you have an addiction, you have to find a wa
  
  Read more

• Bell Pottinger expelled from PR trade body after South Africa racism row

  04-09-2017 19:59 via theguardian.com
  PRCA bans agency from membership for five years after finding it was unethical and brought the industry into disreputeBell Pottinger, one of the City’s leading public relations agencies, has been expelled from the industry’s trade association after an investigation found its secret campaign to stir up racial tensions in South Africa to be the worst breach of ethics in its history. The Public Relations and Communications Association said Bell Pottinger was unethical and unprofessional
  
  Read more

• 'Massive search' for men swept off rocks in Cornwall

  04-09-2017 19:55
  A 'massive' search and rescue operation is underway in Treyarnon Bay on the north Cornwall coast after two men were swept off rocks into the sea.It is believed the two men were fishing in the area around Treyarnon Bay early on Monday afternoon when they were swept into the sea.Coastguard Rescue Teams are carrying out the search with RNLI Lifeboats from Rock, Padstow and Newquay.
  
  Read more

• London mayor seeks stamp duty revenues to boost housebuilding

  04-09-2017 19:48
  The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has urged the chancellor, Philip Hammond, to hand over control of the capital’s booming stamp duty receipts to fund an urgent acceleration in the building of affordable homes.The Labour mayor described trying to tackle the housing crisis without access to the £3.4bn annual revenue from London home sales as like fighting with one arm tied behind his back.The Conservatives accused Khan of making excuses for low housebuilding under his leadership, and th
  
  Read more

• The generation gap is deep: here’s how we bridge it | Alex Smith

  04-09-2017 19:47 via theguardian.com
  Social divisions between young and old mirror financial ones. Ending age segregation is essential, and would remind us how much we share‘Generations at war”, “young ‘screwed’ by older generations”, the prospect of a “permanent” chasm that “could split Britain for good”. If you believe the headlines, Britain’s generational divide has never been wider.On housing, pensions, job security, education, how we vote, on the culture we cons
  
  Read more

• Sweden rejects asylum claim by 106-year-old Afghan woman

  04-09-2017 19:44 via theguardian.com
  Severely disabled refugee was carried through mountains, deserts and forests by family members fleeing Islamist extremistsA 106-year-old Afghan woman who made a perilous journey to Europe, carried by her son and grandson through mountains, deserts and forests, is facing deportation from Sweden after her asylum application was rejected.Bibihal Uzbeki is severely disabled and can barely speak. Her family has appealed against the rejection, and she is allowed up to three appeals, a process that cou
  
  Read more

• British paedophile Paul Leighton jailed for 16 years for rape

  04-09-2017 19:36
  Paul Leighton was successfully prosecuted despite not being present when the crimes were committed.A British paedophile who blackmailed as many as 100 children on the other side of the world into committing sexual acts has been convicted of rape and sentenced to 16 years in prison.Posing as a child, Paul Leighton, 31, used between 30 and 40 fake Facebook accounts to befriend teenagers in the US, Canada and Australia, and persuade them to send naked or sexual images of themselves.
  
  Read more

• Chelsea’s Antonio Conte is not alone in brushing up his football English

  04-09-2017 19:35 via theguardian.com
  The Italian manager has been snapped reading a book dealing with football terminology for non-native speakers that is circulating also at Manchester UnitedAntonio Conte was snapped on the beach this week basking in the Italian sun, taking time off during the international break. Cue a few jokes about budgie smugglers, whether Diego Costa was invited and why, after a year in England, Conte was caught reading a book called Football English: Soccer Vocabulary for Learners of English, by Tom Challen
  
  Read more

• Grid penalties for new car components to be a thing of past after Monza’s near farce

  04-09-2017 19:24 via theguardian.com
  Nine F1 drivers took penalties accruing 150 places at the Italian Grand Prix while Ferrari prepare for a dogfight against Mercedes – McLaren merely seek a solutionLong bemoaned by fans, the application of grid penalties for replacing power unit components and gearboxes reached almost farcical levels at Monza. Nine drivers took penalties accruing 150 places and changing the qualifying results to such an extent that Lewis Hamilton on pole and Romain Grosjean, who crashed in the first session
  
  Read more

• Joy of unisex: the rise of gender-neutral clothing

  04-09-2017 19:22 via theguardian.com
  John Lewis’s decision to stop dividing children’s clothes by gender has sparked anger and delight. But it’s not just childrenswear that is increasingly non-binary – there’s a sartorial revolution for adults, too
  Is John Lewis at the frontline of modern gender politics? It has never seemed so before, but judging by the reaction to the department store’s announcement last week that its own-brand children’s clothes will no longer be divided by gender, some
  
  Read more

• Search for fisherman swept off Cornish coast to resume in morning

  04-09-2017 19:16 via theguardian.com
  One man has been taken to hospital and another remains missing after incident at Treyarnon Bay, near PadstowA large-scale search and rescue operation has taken place off the Cornish coast after a member of the public reported that two men had been swept from rocks into the sea.One man was recovered by a coastguard helicopter and taken to hospital by air ambulance. No details of his condition have been released.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Brian White: Oxford-Bound Student 'Genius' Wins Battle To Stay In UK

  04-09-2017 19:15
  A 21-year-old “genius” who faced deportation despite winning a place to Oxford University has been told he can stay in the UK indefinitely.
  
  Read more

• Brexit: Labour prepares first attempt to vote down EU withdrawal bill

  04-09-2017 19:14
  The shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, has repeatedly said Labour will not support the bill without significant amendments.Labour is preparing its first attempt to vote down Theresa May’s EU withdrawal bill in the next week over concerns that controversial Brexit legislation hands too much power to the executive.Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, has repeatedly said Labour would not support the bill without significant changes to its contents, and the government has not yet mad
  
  Read more

• What is Daca and who are the Dreamers?

  04-09-2017 19:04 via theguardian.com
  With Donald Trump poised to scrap the Obama-era program for children brought to the US illegally, we explain everything you need to know about itDonald Trump has said he will announce on Tuesday whether he is scrapping a program giving work permits to people who were brought to the US illegally as children. Reports suggest he is planning to scrap Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) but will give Congress up to six months to find a legislative alternative. But what is Daca, who are the
  
  Read more

• The Refugee Crisis Is Still A Thing

  04-09-2017 18:55
  This morning I was scrolling through my Facebook memories, nostalgically reminiscing at pictures of my children.
  
  Read more

• Value of classic cars and fine art plunges as photographs soar

  04-09-2017 18:54 via theguardian.com
  Fall in the value of vintage vehicles comes after years of demand that have made them a strong investment, says Coutts bankClassic cars and works of fine art tumbled in value in 2016, while photography and rare musical instruments emerged as the hottest collectors’ items, according to a leading private bank.The fall in the value of classic cars – down in price by 10.4% last year – comes after years of booming demand that has made them one of the best investments over the past d
  
  Read more

• Philip Hammond pressed on rail plans during northern visit

  04-09-2017 18:49
  Philip Hammond backtracked this summer on a Tory manifesto promise to fully electrify key northern rail routes.Philip Hammond has met regional leaders in the north of England as part of an attempt to prove that the government is committed to the so-called “northern powerhouse” project to close the north-south divide.“In truth we didn’t see the colour of his money today,” said Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester.
  
  Read more

• Tory MP: Teach children about Armed Forces

  04-09-2017 18:45
  Mark Francois MP believes children should be taught about the Armed Forces in school in a bid to tackle arecruitment crisis.
  
  Read more

• Merkel doubles funding to help German cities fight air pollution

  04-09-2017 18:44 via theguardian.com
  German chancellor pledges extra €500m in attempt to head off threat of ban on diesel vehicles following emissions scandalAngela Merkel has pledged a further €500m (£460m) to help German cities fight air pollution caused by diesel cars, as a scandal strangling the automobile industry threatened to engulf politicians at the height of an election campaign.
  The German chancellor said she was doubling financial aid to cities from a previously announced €500m, in an attempt to sta
  
  Read more

• MP: Give children Armed Forces lessons to improve recruitment

  04-09-2017 18:41
  Children should be taught about the Armed Forces in school in a bid to tackle a military recruitment crisis, the Prime Minister has been told.Mark Francois MP, a former Territorial Army officer who served as Armed Forces minister from 2013 to 2015, is proposing children should be taught about the military as part of the national curriculum.Mr Francois blames political correctness, left-wing teaching and an emphasis on "peace studies" in schools for the failure to educate children about the role
  
  Read more

Follow @GeneralnewsUK on Twitter!