General news

• Rex Tillerson Throws Boris Johnson Diplomatic Lifeline After Days Of Continuous Bashing

  14-09-2017 23:32
  The US Secretary of State has presented a united front with Boris Johnson over the ongoing Brexit negotiations just days after the Foreign Secretary was branded “a joke” by just about everybody.
  
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• Unions call for 3.9% pay rise plus £800 for a million NHS staff

  14-09-2017 23:30
  Unions have ramped up the pressure on Theresa May over public sector pay by demanding a 3.9% rise for 1 million NHS staff plus an extra £800 to make up for lost earning power during austerity.Health service personnel from nurses and midwives to paramedics and therapists across the UK are urging Philip Hammond to ensure they receive a salary boost that would add an extra £3bn to the NHS pay bill.Emboldened by this week’s scrapping of the pay restraint introduced by the coalition
  
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• Northern Ireland services 'unravelling'

  14-09-2017 23:10
  Sky's Ireland correspondent David Blevins on the latest as James Brokenshire returns to avoid direct rule.
  
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• James Brokenshire: Northern Ireland on 'glide path' to Westminster intervention

  14-09-2017 23:10
  Northern Ireland is on a "glide path" to Westminster intervention within a matter of weeks, James Brokenshire has warned.More decision-making powers will have to be reverted to London if political parties at Stormont fail to reach a power-sharing deal soon, the UK's Northern Ireland Secretary announced.Mr Brokenshire's comments come as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein hold intensive private talks to establish whether there is any prospect of an agreement to re-form a government.
  
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• Hillary Clinton unleashed the sass on Donald Trump after he criticised her new book

  14-09-2017 22:31
  Clinton referenced a children’s book she wrote way back in 1996.
  
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• Arsenal Vs FC Koln Finally Kicks Off After Violence Sparked By Thousands Of Ticketless German Fans

  14-09-2017 22:28
  Arsenal’s Europa League game against FC Koln has descended into chaos as 20,000 German fans travelled to to North London - far above the club’s 3,000 ticket allocation.
  
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• Arsenal Vs FC Koln Delayed Amid Safety Fears As 20,000 German Fans Descend On London

  14-09-2017 22:28
  Arsenal’s Europa League game against FC Koln has descended into chaos as 20,000 German fans travelled to to North London - far above the club’s 3,000 ticket allocation.
  
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• Woman bailed after security at Prince George's school breached

  14-09-2017 22:06
  A woman arrested on suspicion of trying to break into Prince George's school has been released on bail.Asked by a patient about the Duchess of Cambridge, who is expecting the couple's third child, William said she was doing "very well".
  
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• Sixteen found stowed away in tanker on M1 motorway at Newport Pagnell

  14-09-2017 21:57
  Sixteen people have been found stowed away in a large tanker at a motorwayservice station.
  
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• 17,000 ticketless German fans delay Arsenal game

  14-09-2017 21:56
  Arsenal's football clash against Cologne in London has been delayed after 20,000 German fans turned up for 2,900 seats.Thousands of ticketless away fans arrived outside Arsenal's ground in north London and were refused entry.The fans brought central London to a standstill in the afternoon and police said a number of flares had been discharged by the supporters.
  
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• Buba's Weidmann wants to stay in office beyond 2019 - report

  14-09-2017 21:45
  Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann is seeking a second term in office, German magazine Focus reported on Thursday."Mr Weidmann really enjoys his job and if he is asked, he will of course be available for a second term in office," the magazine cited a Bundesbank spokesman as saying.The 49-year-old has been president of Germany's central bank since May 2011 and his term is due to end in April 2019.
  
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• Revised UK child sexual 'consent' rules provoke backlash

  14-09-2017 21:38
  David Lidington made a promise that victims of abuse would no longer be denied compensation.Sexually abused children as young as 12 could still be refused compensation by a government body on the grounds that they “consented,” under revised rules seen by the Guardian.The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) began a review of its guidelines earlier this year when it emerged that almost 700 child victims had been denied payments, even in cases where the attacker had been jai
  
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• Jacob Rees-Mogg view on food banks is unchristian, say charities

  14-09-2017 20:58
  Charities have reacted angrily after the Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said the rapid increase in food banks showed a “rather uplifting” picture of a compassionate country.There are at least 2,000 food banks in the UK giving out emergency food parcels to people in hardship, according to a survey published in May. In 2010, just a handful existed.Challenged by a caller to a radio phone-in about the rapid rise in food banks, Rees-Mogg argued on Thursday that they fulfilled a vital fun
  
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• UK urges changes to international aid rules to help hurricane-hit islands

  14-09-2017 20:56
  Boris Johnson surveys the damage in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, after Hurricane Irma.Britain has called for urgent changes to international rules on aid to allow UK development cash to be used to help victims of natural disasters like Hurricane Irma.Downing Street has said the prime minister, Theresa May, is frustrated with rules set by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that exclude British overseas territories like Anguilla, Turks and Caicos and British Virgi
  
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• Campaign to end indeterminate sentences after arsonist on 10-month jail term serves 11 years

  14-09-2017 20:23
  The family of a man who spent 11 years in prison even though he was jailed for 10 months have vowed to carry on fighting the rules that kept him inside.James Ward was given an indeterminate Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which meant he would only be released when officials deemed it safe.Ward was finally told he would be freed on Thursday morning, bringing an end to years of battling by his sister April.
  
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• Multiple time-delayed drugs could be given in single injection, say scientists

  14-09-2017 20:00
  The new approach could allow multiple vaccines in one injection, but may also be useful in treatments for allergies, diabetes and even cancer where multiple injections are needed.Multiple injections for vaccinations could become a thing of the past, according to scientists who have developed an approach for delivering many doses of different substances in just one jab.The technology involves encapsulating drugs or vaccines within tiny particles made of biodegradable polymers.
  
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• UK seeks way to use aid budget for hurricane-hit territories

  14-09-2017 19:48
  Boris Johnson surveys the damage in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, after Hurricane Irma.Ministers are seeking a way to ensure the UK can use its foreign aid budget to help victims of Hurricane Irma, the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, has said.UK aid rules have made it impossible to give money directly to the victims of Hurricane Irma in British overseas territories.
  
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• Teacher 'told class to ignore Conservative MP's son' during election campaign

  14-09-2017 19:48
  A teacher told students not to speak to their 13-year-old classmate because his father was a Conservative MP, the Commons has heard.Bob Stewart said his teenage boy had suffered the abuse during the last General Election - and his three other children had also been "hassled" at school because of his political persuasion.Mr Stewart's story was described as "deeply upsetting and deeply troubling" by Home Office minister Sarah Newton, who said the teacher involved had "let themselves down and let t
  
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• Tory MP Bob Stewart Claims Teacher Told Pupils Not To Speak To His Son Because His Dad Is A Conservative

  14-09-2017 19:45
  Conservative Bob Stewart says a teacher told other pupils not to speak to his son because his father is a Tory https://t.co/5StKDf5HZ5
  
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• Number of young people penalised for carrying knives at eight-year high

  14-09-2017 19:37
  Police say young people are now more often carrying blades for status and self-protection.Under-18s were penalised for knife possession 1,180 times from April to June, Ministry of Justice statistics show – the highest quarterly tally for that age group since the period July to September 2009.The figures come amid fresh concern about knife crime, particularly in London where 13 teenagers have been fatally stabbed so far this year.
  
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• Jacob Rees-Mogg and Ruth Davidson in Tory conference spotlight

  14-09-2017 19:37
  Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, will give two public interviews and speak at two receptions.Ruth Davidson and Jacob Rees-Mogg will be two of the most visible politicians at the Conservative’s annual conference, which is set to be dominated by leadership speculation, angst over how to win over young voters and the shape of Brexit.The two MPs, both mooted as possible leadership candidates, are making a series of high-profile appearances at fringe events in the first week of
  
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• Culture secretary tones down plans to move Channel 4 outside London

  14-09-2017 19:13
  The culture secretary has toned down plans to move Channel 4’s headquarters outside London by saying that not all of the broadcaster has to move from the capital.Speaking at the Royal Television Society convention in Cambridge, Karen Bradley said she wanted Channel 4 to have a “major presence” outside London and that decisions about what programmes it showed “should not all be made in the bubble of Westminster”.
  
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• Culture secretary tones down plans to move Channel 4 out of London

  14-09-2017 19:13
  The culture secretary has toned down plans to move Channel 4’s headquarters outside London by saying that not all of the broadcaster’s operations have to move from the capital.Speaking at the Royal Television Society convention in Cambridge, Karen Bradley said she wanted Channel 4 to have a “major presence” outside London and that decisions about what programmes it showed “should not all be made in the bubble of Westminster”.
  
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• Sterling burns past $1.34 on Bank of England rate hike warning

  14-09-2017 18:54
  By Jemima Kelly and Ritvik CarvalhoLONDON (Reuters) - Britain's pound topped $1.34 for the first time in a year on Thursday, after the Bank of England warned it might raise interest rates for the first time in a decade in the "coming months".Sterling initially dipped on the publication of the Bank's policy decision, as markets reacted to the fact that only two BoE policymakers had voted for an immediate rate hike.
  
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• This blooper reel from SpaceX’s rocket tests is explosively entertaining

  14-09-2017 18:52
  Literally explosive…
  
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• Man charged over alleged roof repairs scam involving dead squirrel

  14-09-2017 18:46
  A man has been charged over an alleged scam in which a dead squirrel was used to try and persuade victims to have work done on their houses.Kent Police launched an investigation after a number of people in Tunbridge Wells reported a man had knocked on their doors offering to carry out roof repairs over a three-month period earlier this year.The man used a dead squirrel to prove that the property had an infestation problem.
  
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• Cassini's final mission: death plunge into Saturn's rings – video

  14-09-2017 18:41 via theguardian.com
  During its 20-year mission to Saturn, Nasa’s Cassini spacecraft revolutionised our understanding of the ringed planet and its moons, and captured some breathtaking images. Now it has undertaken its final mission, to steer to its destruction through the planet's rings, capturing data until the very last moment Continue reading...
  
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• As The World's Largest Arms Fair Takes Place In London, We Must Not Forget The Impact Of Explosive Weapons On Civilians

  14-09-2017 18:38
  56 countries have received official invitations to gather in London this week for the world's largest arms fair.
  
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• UK's G4S roasted by MPs on violent abuse at immigration centres

  14-09-2017 18:36
  By Elisabeth O'Leary(Reuters) - British MPs accused outsourcer G4S of repeated failures of detainee welfare safeguards and whistleblowing mechanisms at a secure immigration unit, after physical and verbal abuse by guards was revealed in a BBC documentary.G4S, contracted by the British government to run the Brook House detention centre near Gatwick Airport in southeast England, earlier this month suspended nine members of staff, three of whom have now been sacked, for abusive behaviour following
  
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• Ringo Starr Revealed As 'Brexit Beatle' Prompts #BrexitBeatlesSongs Pile-On

  14-09-2017 18:33
  People on Twitter have been mocking Brexit with a little help from their friends, the Beatles.
  
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• Pratchett's study

  14-09-2017 18:33 via bbc.co.uk
  From his tortoise-feeding hat to homemade sword, the fantasy author's office has been painstakingly recreated.
  
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• Police forces in America are trying to prove they have the best looking cops

  14-09-2017 18:10
  There’s a good-natured challenge going on to find the finest, finest.
  
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• New funding formula for English schools is 'recycling', say heads

  14-09-2017 18:10
  Justine Greening called the changes ‘the biggest improvement in the school funding system for decades’.The government has unveiled the details of its new national funding formula for schools in England but headteachers have accused it of “recycling” the funds from other parts of the education budget.Justine Greening, the education secretary, told parliament schools would get an increase of 0.5% per pupil from the next school year, and a 1% increase from 2019-20, confirmin
  
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• Jacob Rees-Mogg: charitable spirit of food banks 'rather uplifting'

  14-09-2017 17:52
  Jacob Rees-Mogg has described the increased prevalence of food banks as a “rather uplifting” show of charity, arguing that the only reason for the rise in their use is that the former Labour government did not tell people they existed.“I think there is good within food banks and the real reason for the rise in numbers is that people know that they’re there, and Labour deliberately wouldn’t tell them,” the Conservative backbencher told LBC radio.The North East
  
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• Seat Leon ST review: loads better than a Golf Estate?

  14-09-2017 17:44
  Seat Leon ST review: loads better than a Golf Estate?
  
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• Ellen Higginbottom Murder: Mark Buckley Sentenced To 31 Years In Prison For 'Chilling' Attack

  14-09-2017 17:42
  A man who killed 18-year-old Ellen Higginbottom in broad daylight has been sentenced to at least 31 years in prison for her “brutal” murder.
  
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• Lizard or laundry? Family wrongfooted by pink stripey sock

  14-09-2017 17:36
  The family were ‘mortified’ when they realised their mistake.A family who thought they had discovered a lizard in their house were found to have overestimated the scale of the problem – after it turned out to be a dirty sock.The “terrified” family called the RSPCA to their Coventry home after they thought they had spotted a reptile under a bed.
  
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• 'I don't have confidence in anything': Grenfell residents tune in to inquiry

  14-09-2017 17:32
  The opening of the Grenfell inquiry was screened live to Grenfell residents gathered in the hall of Notting Hill Methodist church, which has become a focal point for survivors’ families since the fire.Residents filed in past fresh bunches of flowers, recently laid on the pavement outside the church in honour of the dead.After an opening statement from the chair of the inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the response from around 30 local residents was subdued.
  
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• Andrea Leadsom shrugs off a 'jaw-dropping' week for the government

  14-09-2017 17:12
  When even the crusty Little Englander Peter Bone suggests that the government ought to be taking parliament a little more seriously, you might have thought ministers would care to pay some attention.As far as she was concerned the government was already taking parliament much too seriously as it was.Business questions had begun with the shadow leader Valerie Vaz describing the government’s performance over the past week as “jaw-dropping”.
  
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• House of Lords should be half the size, says Commons Speaker

  14-09-2017 16:49
  Bercow said it was ‘patently absurd that the House of Lords is significantly larger than the House of Commons’.The House of Lords should halve in size, John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, has said in a rare foray into political opinion during which he also argued for a longer weekly prime minister’s questions.This point, Bercow argued, was not made “in a sprit of machismo, or personal or institutional pride, still less willy waving”, but only as the Commons is the ele
  
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• Mercury Prize 2017: What has changed?

  14-09-2017 16:47
  Twenty-five years ago, Primal Scream were the very first winners of the Mercury Prize.CDs are gone and downloads and music streaming services mean artists can reach an even bigger audience without having to wait for a good write-up in the music press.
  
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• Here's Why It's Important That Jane Austen Is On The £10 Note

  14-09-2017 16:14
  Four years ago, Caroline Criado-Perez started a campaign to keep a female historical figures pictured on bank notes.
  
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• The Tenner In Your Pocket, And Why We Need To See More Women Everywhere

  14-09-2017 16:13
  Is it possible to look at the image of a women without descending into a discussion on looks?
  
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• Britain might be able to use EFTA court after Brexit, court head says

  14-09-2017 16:10
  Britain might be able to use the European Free Trade Area's court once it leaves the European Union and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, the head of the EFTA court said on Thursday.Carl Baudenbacher, president of the Luxembourg-based EFTA Court, said he had not discussed the idea with the British government during a trip to London, but in theory it could work.
  
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• Overburdened NHS faces 'winter of woe', leading doctors warn

  14-09-2017 15:54
  A war of words broke out between local councils and the NHS over who was to blame for the high number of patients trapped in hospital.Full hospitals mean the NHS is facing “a winter of woe”, leading doctors have warned, after official figures released on Thursday again showed the service struggling to cope with the growing demand for care.A total of 181,692 bed days were lost in hospitals in England in July to “delayed transfers of care”, when patients are fit to leave bu
  
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• G4S roasted by MPs on violent abuse at immigration centres

  14-09-2017 15:39
  By Elisabeth O'Leary(Reuters) - British MPs accused outsourcer G4S of repeated failures of detainee welfare safeguards and whistleblowing mechanisms at a secure immigration unit, after physical and verbal abuse by guards was revealed in a BBC documentary.G4S, contracted by the British government to run the Brook House detention centre near Gatwick Airport in southeast England, earlier this month suspended nine members of staff, three of whom have now been sacked, for abusive behaviour following
  
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• Bank: Rate rise likely in 'coming months' if inflation jumps

  14-09-2017 15:34
  The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold - but warned a rise is "likely" in the "coming months" if inflation continues to surge.Minutes of the latest meeting of the monetary policy committee (MPC) showed a 7-2 vote in favour of no change this month - keeping rates at their post-Brexit low of 0.25%.It was being closely watched as the decision was made just days after the Office for National Statistics revealed a leap in consumer price inflation to 2.9% last month from an annual rate of
  
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• Community still 'traumatised' by Grenfell

  14-09-2017 15:30
  The reverend of Notting Hill Methodist Church, where Grenfell families were watching the live of Sir Martin Moore-Bick's inquiry statement , says the community is looking for 'truth'.
  
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• Britain seeks to smooth Brexit path for nuclear power

  14-09-2017 15:27
  The British government said on Thursday it was in talks with the European Union to ensure a smooth transition for its nuclear industry as Britain moves away from Euratom's regulatory regime to a domestic one.The nuclear industry has raised concerns that its operations and investments could be hampered should Britain fail to replicate the regulatory regime provided by Euratom, the EU's atomic agency, in time for Brexit in March 2019.
  
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• Sterling surges to one-year high on Bank of England rate hike warning

  14-09-2017 15:24
  By Jemima KellyLONDON (Reuters) - Britain's pound jumped by well over a cent on Thursday to hit a one-year high against the dollar, after the Bank of England warned interest rates were likely to rise for the first time in more than a decade in the "coming months".Sterling initially dipped on the publication of the policy decision, as markets reacted to the fact that only two BoE policymakers had voted for an immediate rate hike.Six-month Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) swap rates, which
  
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