General news

• Labour MP Jared O'Mara quits committee over historical 'offensive' comments

  23-10-2017 23:39
  Labour MP Jared O'Mara has resigned from Parliament's women and equalities select committee after historical comments he posted online re-surfaced.Mr O'Mara was applauded by Jeremy Corbyn as he told of having been on a journey and changed his views.Among the posts sent between 2002 and 2004, the now Sheffield Hallam MP called gay people "f****-packers" and "p*******", saying he found it "funny" that they "think they have the monopoly on being subject to abuse".
  
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• Parachute trial hears soldier Emile Cilliers texted lover as wife in hospital

  23-10-2017 23:28
  A soldier accused of attempting to kill his wife by sabotaging her parachute sent lewd messages to his lover as his wife underwent surgery for her injuries, a court has heard.Sergeant Emile Cilliers asked lover Stefanie Goller if she could be his "nude house cleaner" and promised he would "pay with hugs and kisses".Winchester Crown Court was read WhatsApp messages the lovers exchanged after as Victoria Cilliers, who was injured in a 4,000ft fall when her parachute failed, was undergoing surgery
  
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• Trump supporters can get into the Halloween spirit with the latest evolution of the MAGA hat

  23-10-2017 22:58
  You can also buy your own presidential medal.
  
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• Women MPs Reveal Sex Assaults To Help Victims Speak Up After Harvey Weinstein Scandal

  23-10-2017 22:38
  Women MPs have revealed shocking accounts of being subject to sexual assaults and harassment as they aim to encourage victims of abuse to speak out.
  
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• Paralysed woman Claire Lomas completes Great South Run in bionic suit

  23-10-2017 22:35
  Claire Lomas, from Eye Kettleby, near Melton Mowbray, finished the 10-mile course in 24 hours, walking through the night to achieve her goal.Ms Lomas - who broke her back in a horse-riding accident 10 years ago - said it was her "toughest challenge to date".Ms Lomas became the first person to complete a marathon in the robotic suit back in 2014, completing the London Marathon in 16 days.
  
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• UK likely to end up with Canadian-style deal, warns Michel Barnier

  23-10-2017 22:32
  Michel Barnier foresees a short transition period followed by protracted negotiations between EU and UK.The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has warned that Britain can expect a trade deal little better than the one the EU struck with Canada – and even that would take years to negotiate, despite Theresa May’s claims to the contrary over Britain’s future after Brexit.Barnier said he could envision a short transition period being agreed between the EU and the UK befor
  
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• Luxembourg says punishing City of London after Brexit would harm EU

  23-10-2017 22:30
  The City of London must remain the top global financial centre after Brexit to avoid its financial services drifting to other parts of the world, Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna said on Monday.Financial centres such as Luxembourg, Paris and Frankfurt are battling each other to attract banks, insurers and asset managers in Britain who need an EU base after the UK departs the bloc in 2019.
  
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• No Brexit transition period without final EU trade deal, Theresa May tells MPs

  23-10-2017 22:21
  Theresa May addresses the House of Commons on Monday following her summit with EU leaders last week.Theresa May has signalled there will be no transitional deal to prevent a “cliff-edge” Brexit unless the UK settles its final trading relationship with the EU next year, prompting warnings that businesses will start leaving the country before then.The prime minister surprised MPs when she told them in a Commons debate that there could be no “implementation period” unless th
  
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• Ex-HSBC banker found guilty by US jury in fraud case

  23-10-2017 22:10
  An ex-HSBC banker has been found guilty by a US jury of defrauding an energy company in a $3.5bn currency trade in 2011.Prosecutors said British citizen Mark Johnson, former head of the bank's global foreign exchange cash trading desk, plotted to ramp up the price of sterling before executing a trade for Cairn Energy - making millions for the lender at the company's expense.The 51-year-old was the first banker to be tried in the US as a result of worldwide investigations into the wider multi-tri
  
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• Prince Philip's farewell to public life

  23-10-2017 21:40
  The Duke of Edinburgh will start a well-earned retirement from public life after more than 22,000 solo engagements over 65 years.
  
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• The Queen and Prince Philip will mark their 70th wedding anniversary in private

  23-10-2017 21:31
  Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the Queen and Prince Philip will mark their 70th wedding anniversary privately.The Palace told Sky News that their platinum anniversary on 20 November will be a family celebration.It is understood that no official visits or public engagements are currently planned to mark the milestone.
  
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• Kay Burley Refused To Let US General Jack Keane Dictate Their Interview Over Trump's Latest Row

  23-10-2017 21:31
  General Jack Keane says "I'm done with the conversation" when @KayBurley asks about Donald Trump's treatment of war widow Myeshia Johnson pic.twitter.com/FUgXeB76MU—
  
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• Transition to be agreed with Brexit trade deal - May

  23-10-2017 21:16
  British Prime Minister Theresa May signalled on Monday that any Brexit transition deal would be put together as part of a wider trade agreement - potentially stripping companies of the time they need to prepare to leave the European Union.International businesses have become increasingly vocal in recent weeks over fears that Britain could crash out of the world's biggest trading bloc without a deal, sending shockwaves through global markets and fracturing intricate supply chains.May has promised
  
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• Labour MP Jared O'Mara resigns over historic 'offensive' online comments

  23-10-2017 21:02
  Labour MP Jared O'Mara has resigned from the Women and Equalities select committee after comments he posted online surfaced.A party source confirmed Mr O'Mara stood down in front of the weekly Parliamentary Labour Party meeting of MPs, over controversial forum posts made between 2002 and 2004.Among them, the Sheffield MP suggested singer Jamie Cullum should be raped with his own piano and asked the band Girls Aloud to "come have an orgy with me".
  
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• Doctors want to move these conjoined twins to a more advanced hospital

  23-10-2017 20:57
  The girls have separate heads and lungs but the hospital in Gaza lacks the expertise and equipment to separate them.
  
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• It’s official: James Comey has a Twitter account

  23-10-2017 20:40
  The former FBI director is now officially on the social network.
  
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• Theresa May drags herself in for ritual update on lack of Brexit progress | John Crace

  23-10-2017 19:57
  This now-ritual update on the continued lack of progress in the Brexit negotiations has become as painful for the Conservative party as it has for the prime minister.Theresa May dragged herself to her feet and tried to pretend that what had been uppermost in her mind in Brussels had been the situation in Turkey and the Iran nuclear deal.Almost as an afterthought she got on to Brexit.
  
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• Labour and rebel Tories secure debate on universal credit rollout

  23-10-2017 19:47
  Debbie Abrahams, the shadow work and pensions secretary, who has criticised the government over universal credit.Labour and Conservative MPs have secured an emergency debate on the new universal credit welfare system, as ministers face continued calls to reduce the six-week waiting time for claimants to receive their first payment.What is universal credit?
  
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• The danger of less advantaged students being put off Oxbridge | Letters

  23-10-2017 19:42
  ‘If Oxbridge teaching is as good as the universities claim, why can’t they adapt their teaching to the needs of students with somewhat lower entry qualifications?’ asks Prof Colin Richards.Oxbridge has a diversity problem.The general public knows it, the students know it, and the university knows it.
  
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• Lack of empathy for poor people continues | Letters

  23-10-2017 19:41
  There is a painting by Thomas Cantrell Dugdale in the Geffrye Museum in Hackney: The Arrival of the Jarrow Marchers in London, Viewed From an Interior (1930s show economic disaster needs a radical response, 23 October).Alan Price’s stirring Jarrow Song was written in 1974.Larry Elliott says the Great Depression led to a radical rethink.
  
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• Fitness First slimming exercise goes on with digital app sale

  23-10-2017 19:31
  The slimming down of what was once the world's largest gym group is continuing with the multimillion pound sale of CustomFit, a digital training system.Sky News understands that Fitness First, which has been going through a winding-down exercise for well over a year, has agreed to sell the app to Wexer, a company specialising in virtual fitness services.The disposal by Fitness First's parent company, Moray Holdings, is the latest in a string of asset sales which have included gym chains in the U
  
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• Female politicians speak out about sexual assault experiences

  23-10-2017 19:11
  Labour MP Mary Creagh said she had been attacked when seven years old.Female politicians have shared their experiences of sexual assault and harassment to encourage other victims to speak out.The Labour MPs Jess Phillips and Mary Creagh and Conservatives Theresa Villiers and Anne Jenkin have spoken of having been assaulted or subjected to unwanted advances.
  
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• No Brexit transition period without final EU trade deal, May tells MPs

  23-10-2017 19:02
  Theresa May addresses the House of Commons on Monday following her summit with EU leaders last week.Theresa May has signalled there will be no transitional period to prevent a “cliff-edge” Brexit unless the UK manages to agree a deal with the EU on their future relationship.The prime minister has been under pressure to help businesses plan for the future by agreeing a time-limited transitional period by Christmas, but she told MPs that this “implementation phase” could on
  
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• Trump hits out at the pregnant widow of US soldier killed in Niger – the internet hits back

  23-10-2017 19:01
  The president took to Twitter to give his version of events.
  
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• Labour MP Jared O'Mara says he's 'ashamed' of derogatory remarks about celebrities

  23-10-2017 18:52
  A Labour MP who defeated deputy PM Nick Clegg at the elections says he is "ashamed" for making derogatory comments about celebrities.Jared O'Mara made the derogatory remarks on a music site in 2004, before being elected as MP for Sheffield Hallam.In comments posted on the Drowned in Sound website, he asked four Girls Aloud members if they would like to "come have an orgy" and joked that it would be funny if jazz musician Jamie Cullum was raped with his own piano and died.
  
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• EU calls report on May-Juncker talks a smear

  23-10-2017 18:47
  The European Commission said a newspaper report that Jean-Claude Juncker had disparaged Theresa May's "despondent" demeanour after a dinner last week was a deliberate smear intended to disrupt Brexit negotiations.It was the second time in six months that a correspondent for Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung who is respected for his access to Juncker's team has published an account of the EU chief executive's reactions after a dinner meeting with the British prime minister on Britain's EU
  
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• FCA weighs further action over RBS small business treatment

  23-10-2017 18:44
  Britain's financial watchdog is considering further action against Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)for its treatment of struggling companies during and after the financial crisis.The Financial Conduct Authorityon Monday published a detailed summary of a report into RBS's Global Restructuring Group (GRG), after clashing with lawmakers over the disclosure of its full contents.Customers have accused the GRG of pushing ailing firms into bankruptcy to pick up their assets on the cheap.
  
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• After question on foreign meddling in Brexit, UK says democracy secure

  23-10-2017 18:31
  Britain's democracy is one of the most secure in the world and will remain so, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday in response to a question about a suggestion that there may have been foreign interference in the Brexit vote.Opposition lawmaker Ben Bradshaw last week urged the government to look into reports by advocacy group Open Democracy suggesting that the origin of some Brexit campaign funds was unclear.Bradshaw said in parliament the issue should be investigated "give
  
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• Interview: Tory MP pushing back against Universal Credit

  23-10-2017 18:20
  Johnny Mercer says waiting six weeks for Universal Credit is unfair.
  
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• Universal Credit claimants in trial roll-out 'suffering hardship'

  23-10-2017 18:17
  Tenants who were part of a trial of the incoming Universal Credit scheme "universally... experienced financial hardship", according to a report.The report by The Smith Institute found 36% of the total rent owed by those studied was not paid after the scheme was introduced in Southwark and Croydon.The study found arrears built up most quickly in the first few weeks after Universal Credit (UC) was introduced.
  
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• Jared O'Mara: Labour MP Quits Equalities Committee After 'Unacceptable' Derogatory Comments

  23-10-2017 18:07
  A Labour MP has apologised for a series of “unacceptable” derogatory comments amid calls for him to quit a parliamentary committee that investigates women’s equality.
  
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• Jared O'Mara: Labour MP Apologises For 'Unacceptable' Derogatory Comments

  23-10-2017 18:07
  A Labour MP has apologised for a series of “unacceptable” derogatory comments amid calls for him to quit a parliamentary committee that investigates women’s equality.
  
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• #MeToo Is Painful, Yes, But So Much More

  23-10-2017 17:04
  For a while it seemed that Harvey Weinstein might have found a way out.
  
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• World mayors pledge emissions-free cities by 2030

  23-10-2017 16:55
  The mayors of London, Los Angeles, Paris and several other major world cities are pledging to ban gasoline and diesel vehicles from "large parts" of their cities by 2030. Some cities are moving ...
  
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• Britain's small firms struggling to hire in face of Brexit - survey

  23-10-2017 16:49
  Recruiting and keeping staff is having a bigger negative impact on smaller businesses in Britain than the post-Brexit vote fall in the pound or a weakening economy, a survey has found.Firms are divided over what Britain's exit from the European Union will entail and crave certainty as they deal with higher costs since the vote to leave the bloc last year, a survey of more than 1,000 small and medium sized enterprises said.The survey by Bibby Financial Services found that 41 percent of those firm
  
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• ‘Tis the season! Christmas bleach is now in the shops

  23-10-2017 16:41
  For anyone dreaming of a very white Christmas.
  
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• Woman in court charged with murder after toddler dies in fall from sixth-floor window

  23-10-2017 16:33
  A woman has appeared in court accused of murdering an 18-month-old boy who died in a fall from a sixth-floor window.Police were called to Newcastle House in Bradford just after 5pm on Saturday following a report that a child had suffered life-threatening injuries.Officers said that after arriving at the seven-storey block of flats it became apparent that Elliot Procter had died.
  
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• RBS keeps compensation pot for restructuring claims at 400 million pounds

  23-10-2017 16:20
  Royal Bank of Scotlandsaid on Monday the potential bill for claims against its small business restructuring division will remain at 400 million pounds after misconduct allegations against it were dismissed by Britain's financial regulator.Britain's Financial Conduct Authority on Monday published a detailed summary of a report into RBS' Global Restructuring Group (GRG).The FCA last year effectively cleared RBS of the many of the allegations by customers.
  
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• MP sparks Twitter storm with doner kebab tweet

  23-10-2017 16:20
  Tory MP Greg Hands posted a picture of a German Doner Kebab shop asking: “How long before we have German Fish & Chips?”.
  
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• Muslim Women React To Channel 4 Show Trailer ‘My Week As A Muslim’

  23-10-2017 16:10
  Muslim women have branded Channel 4′s new show ‘My Week As A Muslim’ as patronising, set to air tonight at 9pm.
  
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• Phone-hacking victims' lawyer sues former employer for 'unpaid fees'

  23-10-2017 15:41
  It is estimated that Mark Lewis won payouts for hacking victims of more than £10m.A lawyer who negotiated a £2m payout from Rupert Murdoch for the family of the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, is suing his former employer over £1m in alleged unpaid fees for legal work in phone-hacking cases, it has emerged.Mark Lewis, who became a regular on TV news when he led the fight by phone-hacked celebrities against the now-defunct News of the World, claims he is owed the money from hi
  
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• Met Office Forecasts ‘Indian Summer’ Respite From The Storms

  23-10-2017 15:19
  If you spent last week in a weather-induced depression you’ll be happy to know a brief respite is on the way.
  
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• Appeal for witnesses after fatal fall of toddler from sixth-floor window

  23-10-2017 15:11
  Officers were called to the block of flats at Newcastle House at about 5.10pm on Saturday after reports that a baby had fallen from a sixth-floor window.The solicitor representing a woman charged with the murder of her 18-month-old son has appealed for witnesses.Gemma Procter, 23, was charged on Monday after the death of her son, Elliot, at a block of flats in Bradford on Saturday.
  
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• #PatientsNotPassports Urges Government To Scrap Contentious Health Tourism Policy

  23-10-2017 14:59
  A contentious new government policy which requires health care professionals to crack down on so-called “health tourism” has been slammed by medics as an attempt to “scapegoat migrants and fuel xenophobia”.
  
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• Art involving a staircase and a trampoline in Paris’ Pantheon is blowing people’s minds

  23-10-2017 14:40
  The piece is called The Mechanics of History.
  
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• London introduces vehicle pollution levy in new blow to diesel

  23-10-2017 14:28
  London brought in a new levy on the oldest and most polluting cars entering the city centre from Monday, almost doubling how much motorists have to pay in the latest blow to diesel.Drivers are already charged 11.50 pounds ($15) to enter the financial district and parts of west London under a congestion charge.Since the 2015 Volkswagenemissions cheating scandal, a number of major cities including Madrid, Paris and Athens have announced plans particularly focused on cutting diesel emissions includ
  
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• Dubai frees Briton sentenced for touching another man - advocacy group

  23-10-2017 14:25
  Dubai's ruler has pardoned a British man a day after he was sentenced to three months in jail for touching another man at a bar, a legal advocacy group said on Monday.Jamie Harron, an electrician working in Afghanistan, was convicted for public indecency after being accused of touching a German man's behind in a bar.The incident at the raucous Rock Bottom bar, popular among Dubai's many wealthy and often tipsy foreign residents and tourists, was reported to police by the accuser.
  
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• Royal Pardon For Alan Turing

  23-10-2017 14:00
  Alan Turing, the man who led the Bletchley Park code breakers, has received a Royal pardon. Sky's Michelle Clifford reports.
  
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• Boris Johnson calls on Kim Jong Un to negotiate over nuclear ambitions

  23-10-2017 13:59
  The Foreign Secretary has called on North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un to negotiate over his nuclear ambitions but warned the rogue state a pre-emptive strike remains a possibility.Boris Johnson said he backed a series of "commitments" made by South Korea and the US secretary of state's efforts to talk, making it clear the UK did not seek to bring about regime change.
  
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• Teachers criticised genius codebreaker Alan Turing's 'vague ideas' in school report

  23-10-2017 13:54
  An eye-opening school report of the Second World War scientist, who is widely seen as the originator of modern computing, is set to go on public display for the first time.The Codebreakers and Groundbreakers exhibition in Cambridge will also feature other personal items and rarely seen coding devices from the Turing Archive held at King's College in the city.The report from Sherborne School in Dorset showed Turing, who later carried out groundbreaking work in cracking the Enigma encryption used
  
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