General news

• Consumption of wine from the Government’s cellar is down, and it’s because of Brexit

  13-09-2017 23:43
  It’s not all bad news for the politicians though.
  
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• Facial recognition database 'risks targeting innocent people'

  13-09-2017 23:35 via bbc.co.uk
  The police use of facial imaging technology could result in wrongful allegations, a watchdog warns.
  
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• PM May to make Brexit speech in Italy on Sept. 22 - spokesman

  13-09-2017 23:33
  Prime Minister Theresa May will make a speech on Britain's future relationship with the European Union on Sept. 22 in the Italian city of Florence, her spokesman said on Wednesday.The speech will focus on what kind of ties Britain wants to have with the EU after it leaves the bloc in March 2019 - something British negotiators have been keen to discuss with a so-far reluctant Brussels."The prime minister wanted to give a speech on the UK's future relationship with Europe in its historical heart,"
  
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• Foreign Secretary Johnson to hold talks with U.S.' Tillerson in London

  13-09-2017 23:31
  British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in London on Thursday to discuss issues including Hurricane Irma, North Korea and Libya, his office said.Johnson, who this week visited the British territories of Anguilla and the British Virgin islands to see the devastation caused by Irma, will discuss the international response with Tillerson and French Political Director Nicolas de Riviere.
  
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• Theresa May to deliver Brexit speech in Florence

  13-09-2017 23:30
  The UK has had deep cultural and economic ties with Florence, the PM’s spokesman said.A speech by Theresa May billed as an important moment in the Brexit negotiation process is to take place in Florence next week, Downing Street has announced.May will speak in the historic Italian city on Friday 22 September “to update on Brexit negotiations so far”, the prime minister’s spokesman said.
  
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• Kane gets Spurs off to winning start

  13-09-2017 23:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Harry Kane scores twice as Tottenham get their Champions League campaign off to a positive start against Borussia Dortmund.
  
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• Man Booker Prize judge attacks 'annoying' book blurbs by authors

  13-09-2017 23:24
  A Man Booker Prize judge has criticised the gushing blurbs authors put on the back of books, saying they can make readers feel "incompetent".
  
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• What’s it like to be awake during brain surgery?

  13-09-2017 23:21 via bbc.co.uk
  Lisa Upton had brain surgery to remove a tumour and was wide awake throughout the entire process.
  
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• North Wales Police trade online banter with wanted man

  13-09-2017 22:55 via bbc.co.uk
  The on-the-run suspect says he will have the last laugh, but police say they will see him soon.
  
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• Hurricane Irma: UK's aid budget cannot be spent on overseas territories

  13-09-2017 22:03 via bbc.co.uk
  Britain's Caribbean islands are too rich to qualify for development resources, the BBC has learned.
  
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• May suffers humiliation as DUP backs Labour on NHS pay and tuition fees

  13-09-2017 21:39
  Arlene Foster’s Democratic Unionist party is propping up the Tory government.Theresa May has suffered a major embarrassment in the House of Commons after the Democratic Unionist party backed Labour motions in favour of increasing NHS pay and against a rise in tuition fees.Labour’s motions passed on Wednesday without being pushed to a vote after it became clear the government had no majority to oppose the call for an end to the public sector pay cap for NHS workers nor the £250
  
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• Grenfell Tower Survivors Claim Dozens Died Waiting For Helicopters That Never Came

  13-09-2017 21:20
  Grenfell survivors tell @Channel4News dozens died waiting for helicopters that never came pic.twitter.com/yudsoXHFNN—
  
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• Hammond says rejects 'protectionist' EU agendas after Brexit

  13-09-2017 21:04
  Britain will reject "protectionist" agendas from the European Union in favour of "forward-leaning" proposals when it comes to supervising cross-border financial markets after Brexit, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said on Wednesday.Britain, the bloc's biggest financial centre, acknowledged there are legitimate concerns among its European partners about the oversight and supervision of financial markets after the UK leaves the EU in March 2019, Hammond said.
  
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• Norway solution 'would put UK in single market but not under ECJ'

  13-09-2017 20:35
  Efta countries are members of the single market but disputes are settled by its own court, not the ECJ.A Norway-style arrangement would give post-Brexit Britain access to the single market and would not lead to fights with the European court of justice, the head of the court that oversees single market countries outside the EU has claimed.Carl Baudenbacher accused the British government of giving a distorted and inaccurate account of the extent to which his European Free Trade Association (Efta)
  
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• Might, not right: betting firms get their due on fixed-odds machines

  13-09-2017 20:27
  Gambling companies’ defence of fixed-odds betting terminals has failed.It is now odds-on that the government will cut the maximum stake from £100.The bookies were able to point to the substantial sums of tax they pay the Treasury.
  
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• Drax plans to turn more coal power into gas

  13-09-2017 20:10
  One of the UK's largest energy producers wants to convert two of its remaining coal-fired power units to gas and to develop battery storage.The move by Drax, which generates 7% of the UK's electricity, has been driven by the shift away from coal power.The Government announced in 2015 that all coal-fired power stations would be closed by 2025 and, as a result, Drax has already switched three of its units from coal to wood pellets.
  
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• Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry Mustn't Let Guilty Parties Evade Responsibility, Key Figures Say

  13-09-2017 19:58
  The inquiry into the Grenfell disaster must hold individuals to account and not hide behind broad phrases like “lessons have been learned”, key figures searching for answers have said.
  
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• Reserve-battery Maybot survives another seven days on borrowed time

  13-09-2017 19:55
  Theresa May was questioned by Jeremy Corbyn over the 1% public sector pay cap during prime minister’s questions.Which means any prime minister’s questions involving Theresa May is always going to be an uphill struggle – all the more so when it’s a 45-minute exercise in damage limitation to stave off for another week any thoughts her backbenchers might have been harbouring of getting rid of her.In recent weeks, the Maybot has traded merely in incoherent soundbites.
  
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• 'I still can't believe it's happened!'

  13-09-2017 19:50
  Fiona Mozley talks to Sky News about her debut novel Elmet being nominated for the Man Booker Prize.
  
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• Victims of disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson granted £37m compensation

  13-09-2017 19:40
  Ian Paterson was convicted in April for carrying out unnecessary breast operations.About 750 victims of botched or unnecessary breast operations carried out by rogue surgeon Ian Paterson are to receive £37m in compensation.Spire Healthcare, the firm that runs the two private hospitals in the West Midlands where Paterson worked, is contributing £27.2m to a new £37m fund.
  
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• Grenfell Tower fire: executive still on full pay despite resignation

  13-09-2017 19:33
  The chief executive of the organisation that managed Grenfell Tower is still being paid his full salary despite resigning from the role after the fire that killed at least 80 people, the Guardian understands.Robert Black remains on the books of the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation and is believed to be receiving a six-figure salary while he helps the organisation respond to multiple investigations.A spokesman for KCTMO confirmed that Black was being paid as before the blaze,
  
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• Security review at Prince George's school in Battersea after woman arrested over attempted break-in

  13-09-2017 19:29
  Security is being reviewed at the London school attended by Prince George after a woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary.The 40-year-old is being held in custody after her arrest on Wednesday afternoon, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.It comes after an individual gained access to the premises of Thomas's Battersea School the previous day.
  
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• Nearly a quarter of Scottish engineering firms risk staff losses due to Brexit - survey

  13-09-2017 19:17
  Almost one quarter of Scottish engineering and manufacturing firms have lost or are at risk of losing staff because of Britain's decision to leave the European Union, a survey published on Wednesday found.The poll by accountants Henderson Loggie also found almost three quarters of firms surveyed had problems recruiting staff with the right skills.Immigration is one of the thorniest issues in Britain´s Brexit negotiations, as many of those who voted to leave were concerned about high levels
  
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• Roald Dahl: Can you spot your favourite character?

  13-09-2017 19:11 via bbc.co.uk
  The BBC went looking for Roald Dahl's creations in honour of Roald Dahl day.
  
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• The many wrongs of the Tories’ Brexit bill | Letters

  13-09-2017 19:10
  Demonstrators outside parliament demanding guarantees that non-UK EU nationals will be given full rights to stay in the UK after Brexit.J Cameron Smith (Letters, 13 September) is wrong to suggest EU legislation “entered our laws from the EU without parliament being involved”.The UK parliament agreed in the first place that sovereignty should be pooled in areas of competence where necessary action is best taken at the level of the EU.
  
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• Graham Taylor 'warned of abuse' at Aston Villa

  13-09-2017 19:09 via bbc.co.uk
  One victim told the FA's inquiry the ex-England manager advised him to "sweep it under the carpet".
  
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• Firefighters Reject 2% Pay Offer Amid Fears Over Job Losses

  13-09-2017 18:55
  Firefighters have rejected a 2% pay offer as it included a “whole host of strings”, the Fire Brigades Union said as it warned a rise funded through cuts is “unacceptable”.
  
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• Theresa May's snap election cost taxpayers £140m

  13-09-2017 18:54
  Theresa May’s snap election that resulted in the loss of her majority cost the public purse more than £140m, the Cabinet Office has said.In a written statement, Chris Skidmore, a Cabinet Office minister, said £98m was spent by returning officers to run the poll and a further £42m on posted material.It covers the expense of millions of postal votes, poll cards and ballot papers as well as manning polling stations and counts across the country.
  
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• G4S: 'Serious questions' over immigration removal centre profits

  13-09-2017 18:44 via bbc.co.uk
  Two immigration removal centres made significant profits, documents seen by BBC Panorama suggest.
  
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• Prince George's school security review after break-in

  13-09-2017 18:42 via bbc.co.uk
  A woman has been arrested over a daytime break-in at Prince George's prep school.
  
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• Prince George's School Reviews Security After Woman Arrested On Suspicion Of Attempted Burglary

  13-09-2017 18:37
  A woman has been arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary at Prince George’s London school, police have announced.
  
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• London police arrest woman after incident at Prince George's school

  13-09-2017 18:36
  A woman has been arrested in London on suspicion of attempted burglary at a primary school attended by Prince George, the great-grandson of Queen Elizabeth, police said on Wednesday.The four-year-old son of Prince William and Kate Middleton started last week at Thomas's Battersea, a private school in southwest London.London's Metropolitan Police said a 40-year-old woman was arrested on Wednesday in relation to an incident at the school on Tuesday, and was now in police custody.
  
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• Tackling The Mental Health Crisis Must Include Improving Support For Care Leavers

  13-09-2017 18:34
  Just over a year ago Theresa May stood outside Number 10 and referred to the "burning injustice" of there not being enough help for people suffering with mental health problems.
  
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• Things Fall Apart, The Centre Must Hold

  13-09-2017 18:29
  Though the aid sector has been criticised for being inefficient, colonial, uncoordinated and unregulated, it remains a critical salve for people suffering from conflict and catastrophe around the world.
  
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• Police review security after woman arrested at Prince George's school

  13-09-2017 18:29
  Police are reviewing security at Prince’s George’s school after a 40-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary.Metropolitan police arrested the woman on Wednesday in relation to an incident at Thomas’s Battersea school on Tuesday, when an individual gained access to the premises.The Metropolitan police said: “We are working with the school, which is attended by His Royal Highness Prince George, to review its security arrangements after the incident.
  
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• When Minorities Criticize Britain It's A Sign Of Integration, Not Disloyalty

  13-09-2017 18:27
  'Well if you don't like it why don't you go back to where you came from', is a sentiment that I often hear and see expressed towards individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds who wish to criticize the country in which they live.
  
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• Confessions Of A 'Fake' Parenting Expert Who Debuted At Number One On The New York Times Best Seller List

  13-09-2017 18:24
  It's November 2011, and I am the most controversial parent in America by virtue of a short, obscene, fake children's book by the name of Go the Fuck to Sleep.
  
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• This police officer sung and danced with an elderly woman to soothe her during Hurricane Irma

  13-09-2017 18:17
  Singing and dancing are a good combination for happiness.
  
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• Tobacco company launches foundation to stub out smoking

  13-09-2017 18:12
  The tobacco company says that it believes its future is in smoke-free nicotine delivery systems such as e-cigarettes.One of the world’s biggest tobacco companies has launched the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, claiming that it wants to see a future in which people will stop smoking its cigarettes.Philip Morris International (PMI) says its future is in e-cigarettes and other smoke-free nicotine delivery systems, but anti-tobacco campaigners were highly sceptical, pointing out that it ha
  
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• 'We will rebuild'

  13-09-2017 18:04 via bbc.co.uk
  Social media users poke fun at reports of gusty winds knocking down trees and wheelie bins.
  
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• UK nuclear operator warns of plant outages if Brexit mismanaged

  13-09-2017 17:40
  By Sabina ZawadzkiLONDON (Reuters) - EDF,, the French utility that runs Britain's nuclear reactors, said on Wednesday power plants could suffer extended outages if a new safeguard regime and other measures were not in place when Britain exits the European Union in 2019.The regulation chief for EDF's British unit, EDF Energy, also said construction of Hinkley Point C - the first nuclear plant to be built in Britain for more than 20 years - would be delayed unless Britain had a new regulatory regi
  
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• Spire Healthcare to pay out 27 million pounds to victims of Ian Paterson

  13-09-2017 17:33
  (Reuters) - Spire Healthcaresaid it decided to settle claims against the company relating to actions by Ian Paterson, a former breast surgeon currently facing jail-time for carrying out operations on patients he wrongly diagnosed.Ian Paterson, who was employed as a consultant by the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, and who also operated in Spire's Parkway and Little Aston hospitals, was found guilty of the 20 charges he faced, the company said in April.The fund will be paid for by the comp
  
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• Coventry Police Officer Jokes About Shooting Black Suspect And Mocks Black Lives Matter

  13-09-2017 17:29
  An investigation is underway after a police officer was filmed making racial comments to a young black man in Coventry.
  
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• Broken wheels won't stop Curiosity from exploring Mars

  13-09-2017 17:19
  NASA's Curiosity Rover has been roaming around Mars for more than five years.
  
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• Cop delivers own baby as wife goes into labour on way to hospital

  13-09-2017 17:17
  Baby Eli did not want to wait for the hospital.
  
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• Factbox - What influence do Scotland and Wales have over Brexit?

  13-09-2017 17:14
  By Elisabeth O'LearyEDINBURGH (Reuters) - The governments of Scotland and Wales say they cannot consent to a UK-wide parliamentary bill on withdrawal from the European Union, arguing that the bill would strip back the powers of their devolved parliaments.The UK, a union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, has a central parliament at Westminster in London which legislates for the entire UK, and three devolved parliaments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, to which different powers h
  
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• RAF Northolt becoming commercial airport 'in all but name', says MP

  13-09-2017 17:04
  David Cameron at RAF Northolt, which is used for many VIP passenger flights and by the royal family.A military airport used frequently by the royal family has become a commercial hub by stealth, hosting 10,000 passenger flights a year, a Labour MP has said.Gareth Thomas, the MP for Harrow West, said local residents had not been consulted over further changes at RAF Northolt in west London, including a proposal that would increase the number of commercial flights to 50,000 a year.
  
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• Officer investigated over Rashan Charles death

  13-09-2017 17:04
  A police officer is being investigated for gross misconduct over the death of Rashan Charles, the police watchdog has said.Mr Charles, who was from south west London, became ill after "trying to swallow an object" and died in hospital around an hour later.The young father's death was followed by angry protests in Hackney, with riot police called in to break up the crowd.
  
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• Brexit: UK will 'soon regret' leaving EU argues Juncker

  13-09-2017 17:04 via bbc.co.uk
  Jean-Claude Juncker says the EU will move on, but Nigel Farage says it has "learnt nothing".
  
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• Councils must act to combat destitution | Letters

  13-09-2017 17:03
  ‘The Grenfell Tower disaster exposed failings in the local authority’s response to a large-scale emergency,’ write seven Church of England bishops.Local welfare assistance schemes are a vital lifeline for people who find themselves in a crisis and without basic essentials, such as food, electricity, or a working oven.It is therefore very worrying that most of these schemes have been cut back considerably in recent years and that 26 local councils have now closed them altogether
  
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