General news

• Labour suspend and investigate veteran MP Kelvin Hopkins over 'allegations'

  02-11-2017 23:57
  Labour have suspended veteran MP Kelvin Hopkins while they investigate allegations received by the party.Mr Hopkins has served as MP for Luton North since Labour's landslide victory at the 1997 General Election.It is understood the 76-year-old has been subject to a complaint of sexual harassment from a woman, which Sky News has established is Labour activist Ava Etemadzadeh, 27.
  
  Read more

• Before You Open That Account, a Quick Maths Test...

  02-11-2017 23:41
  The other week I rang my bank to open a new account.
  
  Read more

• Bank of England rate hike a blow for UK first-time buyers

  02-11-2017 22:39
  For prospective first-time British home buyer Abby Hall and thousands of others like her, the Bank of England's decision to raise interest rates on Thursday may just have made things a little tougher.The BoE said it did not expect the increase in its benchmark rate to 0.50 percent from an all-time low of 0.25 percent to hit the budgets of borrowers hard, given how low rates remain by historical standards.Home ownership in England has fallen to its lowest level in 30 years fuelled by the growing
  
  Read more

• This suspected burglar got stuck in a chicken shop extractor vent for seven hours

  02-11-2017 22:11
  The picture was taken by the police…
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Shell Deer Park joint-venture refinery weighs repair to gasoline unit - sources

  02-11-2017 21:59
  HOUSTON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc'sjoint-venture 325,700 barrel-per-day Deer Park, Texas, refinery workers were examining a leaking pipe for a possible quick repair on Thursday after idling the gasoline-producing unit, said sources familiar with plant operations.
  
  Read more

• Kelvin Hopkins Suspended By Labour Party Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations

  02-11-2017 21:44
  Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins has been suspended from the party “on the basis of allegations received”, a spokesman said.
  
  Read more

• Labour suspend and investigate MP Kelvin Hopkins over 'allegations'

  02-11-2017 21:38
  Labour have suspended veteran MP Kelvin Hopkins while they investigate allegations received by the party.A spokesperson said: "On the basis of allegations received by the Labour Party today, Kelvin Hopkins has been suspended from party membership, and therefore the Labour whip, while an investigation takes place.
  
  Read more

• 5 Things 'Idiotic' Donald Trump Seems To Not Understand About Guantanamo Bay

  02-11-2017 21:05
  Donald Trump has abandoned his idea to send the man suspected of killing eight people in Tuesday’s terror attack in New York to Guantanamo Bay after he was described as “idiotic” by a leading civil rights group.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Social isolation behind extremism and terrorism, police told

  02-11-2017 21:02
  Britain’s head of counter-terrorism has said that a lack of integration was behind some terrorism suspects as a former government integration tsar said social isolation was driving rising Islamist and other extremist terrorism.Louise Casey, the former government integration tsar, told an audience of police leaders that oppression of women in Muslim communities was a sign of extremism that led to Islamist terrorism.
  
  Read more

• British insurer Legal & General to launch Japan operation - CEO

  02-11-2017 20:52
  British's third-largest insurer, Legal & General , is launching an operation in Japan to offer company pension scheme insurance and investment management, Chief Executive Nigel Wilson said on Thursday.Japan has an ageing population which L&G sees as a key driver of growth in its existing markets, as it fuels demand for companies to cut their pension scheme risks."We've just got approval from the Japanese regulator - you'll see us win business very quickly," Wilson told Reuters in an inte
  
  Read more

• Libyan militia 'to cooperate' with request to extradite Manchester Arena bomber's brother to UK

  02-11-2017 20:51
  A Libyan militia holding the younger brother of the Manchester Arena bomber says it is "ready to cooperate" with a extradition request from the UK.British police called on Libyan authorities to return Hashem Abedi, 20, to the UK after they were granted a warrant for his arrest.A spokesperson for the Libyan government said it was "cooperating to process" the extradition request.
  
  Read more

• Libya considering UK extradition request for Manchester bomber's brother

  02-11-2017 20:30
  Libyan authorities are processing a request from Britain to extradite the brother of the bomber who killed 22 people in Manchester in May, but no decision has been taken yet, a government spokesman said on Thursday.Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton born to Libyan parents, blew himself up at the end of a show by U.S. singer Ariana Grande in the deadliest militant attack in Britain for 12 years.On Wednesday, British police said they had issued an arrest warrant for his brother, Hashem Abedi, for
  
  Read more

• One-Third Of Councils Close Contraceptive Care Services After Spending Cuts

  02-11-2017 20:14
  Around one-third of councils in England have been forced to cut services delivering contraceptive care as a result of cuts to public funding.
  
  Read more

• How the rate rise affects your finances

  02-11-2017 20:10
  Sky's Business Correspondent Adam Parsons reports on what a Bank of England rate rise means for your finances.
  
  Read more

• What’s the modern purpose of the welfare state? | Letters

  02-11-2017 19:59
  Sir William Beveridge, whose report formed the basis of the British welfare state.Comforting as it may be to think otherwise, the welfare state was not conceived as a gesture of munificent goodwill to the indigent, or even as a system from which we all benefit, but as a necessary bulwark to a moribund, failing capitalism (The ‘welfare state’ should be something to be proud of, 1 November).It was a preventive measure against revolution and rooted in the politics of the day.
  
  Read more

• The need to incentivise antibiotic research | Letters

  02-11-2017 19:58
  ‘A more modern approach is to identify precisely the bacteria responsible for a disease, and use a narrow spectrum antibiotic to target it’.A blunderbuss is effective against the enemy, but what of the collateral damage?A more modern approach is to identify precisely the bacteria responsible for a disease, and use a narrow-spectrum antibiotic to target it.
  
  Read more

• Lyon v Everton: Europa League – live!

  02-11-2017 19:45 via theguardian.com
  Europa League updates from the 6pm GMT kick-off in FranceLive scoreboard: all the latest from Thursday’s matchesAnd feel free to email Tom or tweet him @tomdaviesE17 6.45pm GMT43 mins: Everton substitution: Martina is carried off. All the best to him. Feeney is on. Play resumes after a seven-minute delay. Besic moves to left-back and Kenny to right-back 6.42pm GMTThis isn’t looking good for Martina, who appeared to land awkwardly around his neck/upper-back. Five medical staff are ten
  
  Read more

• Defence Secretary: New role is a 'privilege'

  02-11-2017 19:45
  New Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson comments on his appointment and praises the armed forces.
  
  Read more

• PM can ill afford sexual misconduct scandal but even less can she afford to botch it

  02-11-2017 19:44
  Theresa May is likely to come under increasing pressure to get out ahead of the crisis.Theresa May moved quickly on Thursday to fill the hole in her cabinet left by the departure of Sir Michael Fallon as defence secretary over the Westminster sleaze scandal.By promoting Williamson, who did the deal with the Democratic Unionist party in the days that followed June’s general election, and has since become one of her most trusted confidants, May underlined the impression that she was relying
  
  Read more

• Teaching ban affirmed for world famous bassist after assault conviction

  02-11-2017 19:41
  A music teacher convicted of indecently assaulting his students has been banned from teaching children following a long legal battle.Duncan McTier, a world renowned double bass soloist, was convicted at Liverpool crown court in 2014 for sexually assaulting two of his female pupils and attempting to grope another.Following his conviction, McTier was banned from teaching after an intervention from Nicky Morgan, then education secretary.
  
  Read more

• Conservative backlash at new Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson

  02-11-2017 19:39
  Gavin Williamson has described himself as "honoured and excited" to be appointed Defence Secretary - but his rise to a leading Cabinet role has sparked concern among Conservative colleagues.Theresa May's former chief whip has been promoted to replace Sir Michael Fallon, who resigned on Wednesday night amid the sleaze scandal engulfing Westminster.Mr Williamson has not previously served in a senior departmental role, and his lack of ministerial experience has caused consternation among Tory MPs.
  
  Read more

• Bank of England raises UK interest rates for first time since 2007

  02-11-2017 19:30 via theguardian.com
  Threadneedle Street increases cost of borrowing from 0.25% to 0.5%, reversing emergency action after Brexit voteReaction to the interest rate riseThe Bank of England’s 0.25% rate rise sent the pound tumbling on foreign exchanges as gloomy forecasts for growth appeared to rule out the prospect of steep increases in the cost of credit before 2020. Related: What the interest rate rise will mean for youContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Shell beats third quarter expectations as profit jumps on refining

  02-11-2017 19:27
  LONDON/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shellreported a near 50 percent rise in quarterly profits, driven by strong refining, while solid cash generation underscored the oil and gas company has adapted well to a world of low oil prices.The Anglo-Dutch company sharply boosted its cash generation in recent quarters as the effects of cost cuts and asset sales kicked in following Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden's preparations for "lower forever" oil prices following the 2014 downturn."Shell
  
  Read more

• Toulouse attack: brother of Islamist convicted of links to terror group

  02-11-2017 19:23 via theguardian.com
  Abdelkader Merah, 35, cleared of helping brother kill seven people in 2012 but jury decided he had been radicalisedThe brother of a French Islamist who killed seven people in Toulouse in a series of terror attacks five years ago has been cleared of being an accomplice to the murders.Abdelkader Merah, 35, was however jailed for 20 years after a special Paris court found him guilty of links to a terrorist organisation. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• RAF officer jailed after sending explicit images to children

  02-11-2017 19:22 via theguardian.com
  Sqn Ldr Kevin Scrafton, 38, dismissed and imprisoned for 18 months after posing as 15-year-old girls on social media to target teenage victimsAn RAF squadron leader who served in Afghanistan and Iraq has been jailed after being caught sending pornographic images to children and asking them to send explicit images in return.Kevin Scrafton, 38, created fake social media profiles of two 15-year-old girls to trick teenagers to send him back indecent pictures.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• World media chiefs call for EU inquiry into Maltese journalist's murder

  02-11-2017 19:18 via theguardian.com
  Guardian editor and BBC news director say Daphne Caruana Galizia’s death is appalling reminder of dangers journalists face The heads of eight of the world’s largest news organisations have called for the European commission to investigate the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and the independence of the media in Malta.The editors and directors have written a letter to Frans Timmermans, the first vice-president of the commission, which describes the murder of Caruana
  
  Read more

• France announces overhaul of Légion d’Honneur

  02-11-2017 19:14 via theguardian.com
  Number awarded to be cut and recipients chosen on merit alone as part of Macron’s efforts to raise standards in public lifeFrance has announced an overhaul of the 200-year-old Légion d’Honneur, drastically cutting the number awarded each year, as part of Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to raise the standards of public life after a series of political scandals.The prizes have been in the spotlight since the French president announced last month that France would strip Harvey We
  
  Read more

• BBC's ​Laura Kuenssberg: critics are trying to silence me

  02-11-2017 19:09 via theguardian.com
  Political editor speaks for first time about abuse and criticism she has received at meetings and in the media The BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, said the abuse and threats she faced were meant to try to silence her, as she spoke out for the first time about the subject since she was assigned a bodyguard during the Labour party conference.Kuenssberg has been subjected to hisses and boos at Labour and Ukip press conferences this year and received criticism from Conservative suppo
  
  Read more

• Spanish judge jails eight members of former Catalan government

  02-11-2017 19:06 via theguardian.com
  Former ministers remanded in custody pending possible charges following last month’s push for regional independence A judge in Madrid has ordered eight members of the deposed Catalan government to be remanded in custody pending possible charges over last week’s declaration of independence, while Spanish prosecutors are seeking a European arrest warrant for the region’s ousted president, Carles Puigdemont.On Thursday afternoon, a judge at Spain’s national court jailed the
  
  Read more

• Super Spurs, Sunderland in a state and David Squires – Football Weekly Extra

  02-11-2017 19:03 via theguardian.com
  Max Rushden and co pick over the Champions League bones, preview an enticing weekend and get inside the mind of cartoonist David SquiresRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Andy Brassell come together to discuss all the latest action and are joined on the phone from Australia by ace Guardian cartoonist David Squires.Continue reading
  
  Read more

• Trump's 'alarming' death penalty call threatens suspect's chance of fair trial, experts warn

  02-11-2017 18:57 via theguardian.com
  President calls for execution of Sayfullo Saipov, suspect in New York attackLegal experts say president’s comments could pollute jury poolDonald Trump’s decision to call for the death penalty for the suspect in this week’s terrorist attack in New York could threaten his chance of a fair trial, legal experts have warned. Related: A bike ride, smiles and a peace sign: footage shows Argentinians before truck attackContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Hong Kong criticised for refusing to accept visa ruling for British lesbian

  02-11-2017 18:56 via theguardian.com
  LGBT rights campaigners hit out at attempt to overrule court of appeal decision that woman should receive dependant visaCampaigners for LGBT rights have hit out at Hong Kong’s government after it announced it would appeal against a landmark decision granting a British lesbian the right to live and work in the territory with her partner.The court of appeal’s ruling in September sparked hopes that hurdles for same-sex couples might be reduced in socially conservative Hong Kong . Contin
  
  Read more

• Bank of England takes slow lane after first rate hike since 2007

  02-11-2017 18:50
  The Bank of England raised interest rates for the first time in more than 10 years on Thursday but said it expected only "very gradual" further increases as Britain prepares to leave the European Union, sending sterling down sharply.The BoE's nine rate-setters voted 7-2 to increase the Bank Rate to 0.50 percent from 0.25 percent, reversing an emergency cut made in August 2016 after the Brexit vote.It was the first BoE hike since 2007, before the global financial crisis tipped Britain into a deep
  
  Read more

• After rate hike, May expects higher returns for savers - spokesman

  02-11-2017 18:50
  Prime Minister Theresa May expects to see higher returns for savers following the Bank of England's decision to raise interest rates, her spokesman said on Thursday."Following the rate rise, we would expect to see higher interest rates ... passed on to savers.Some banks have already said they will increase rates on their savings products.
  
  Read more

• Can we get to the bottom of the mystery virus streaking through Hollywood?

  02-11-2017 18:49 via theguardian.com
  Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey appear to be the latest victims of a new illness coursing its way around the film industry. How long before it’s given a name?What is the illness all these men in Hollywood are being struck down with? It’s tearing through the town like a plague of lawsuits, cutting down powerplayers in the prime of their Amazon Prime contracts – yet apparently it dare not even speak its name. What is its name?Whatever it is, I see poor old Kevin Spacey’s
  
  Read more

• Met Police: Adams is a 'ghost-like' figure

  02-11-2017 18:40
  The Met Police's Det Insp Jo Van Der Waag says Thomas Adams is a 'ghost-like' figure who has no financial footprint.
  
  Read more

• ‘Pieces that are going to last’: Erdem x H&M collection hits stores

  02-11-2017 18:39 via theguardian.com
  Not as cheap as H&M’s usual designer tie-ups, Erdem’s collection for the high street focuses on quality wardrobe classicsLeopard-print coats, pyjama sets and sequinned ballgowns are set to be the signifiers of style this party season if the launch of Erdem’s collaboration with H&M is anything to go by. The highly anticipated collection went on sale on Thursday morning. And while there were queues from midnight on Wednesday at H&M shops nationwide, far from the pushi
  
  Read more

• Libyan force ready to cooperate on UK extradition request for bomber's brother - spokesman

  02-11-2017 18:37
  The Libyan force holding the brother of the brother of the bomber who killed 22 people in Manchester in May is ready to cooperate on a British extradition request if it is approved by the attorney general, a spokesman said on Thursday."If there is agreement between the attorney general and the British authorities, we are ready for the next step," said Ahmad Ben Salim, a spokesman for the Special Deterrence Force (Rada), a counter-terrorism group aligned with the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli
  
  Read more

• Changes To Controversial PIP Assessments Set To Increase Benefits For 10,000 Disabled People

  02-11-2017 18:36
  Thousands of disabled people will receive hundreds of pounds more in benefits each month after the Government was forced to backtrack on controversial reforms.
  
  Read more

• Brexit means? British grass for British sheep

  02-11-2017 18:36 via theguardian.com
  Ovine demeanours as elusive exit research, now billed as just a few jottings, remains concealed and stumps the wolfish StarmerOh, those 58 sectoral analyses of the impact of leaving the EU! The face of Brexit minister Robin Walker tried to reassemble itself as a picture of innocence and surprise. If only Keir Starmer could have made it clear he was referring to those 58 sectoral analyses and not the other 58 sectoral analyses, then everyone could have saved themselves the hassle of a three-hour
  
  Read more

• The forlorn ultimatum: the latest in Tyrese Gibson’s furiously doomed feud with The Rock

  02-11-2017 18:33 via theguardian.com
  Fast & Furious second-stringer Gibson has told producers of the mega-grossing car movies they have a choice – between him and the planet’s most bankable starWill we ever stop returning to The Fast and the Furious, the money-shitting broom-broom franchise where the interpersonal relationships can only be described as a total car crash?Certainly not if second-string star Tyrese Gibson has anything to do with it. Tyrese, who plays Roman Pearce in the movies, has issued another Insta
  
  Read more

• Gavin Williamson: New Defence Secretary may have to make 'life and death' decisions

  02-11-2017 18:32
  Gavin Williamson walked into Downing Street by himself.From Number 10 he will go across Whitehall to the imposing Ministry of Defence.This will be delivered by the Chief of the Defence Staff if he is in the country, otherwise one of his deputies will stand in.
  
  Read more

• What the Brexit impact papers may – or may not – reveal

  02-11-2017 18:28 via theguardian.com
  Following Labour’s Commons victory, the UK government will have to decide how much ‘excruciating detail’ it is prepared to revealBlack marker in hand, Whitehall officials will soon be hunched over a series of internal reports about the economic effects of Brexit to decide which bits can be released in response to pressure from parliament. Whether this controversial advice survives the process of redaction intact or not though, much can already be deduced about its content.The B
  
  Read more

• Olaseni Lewis's mother backs new restraint laws for mental health units

  02-11-2017 18:17 via theguardian.com
  Ajibola Lewis, whose son died in a hospital in London, supports Labour MP’s bill requiring record-keeping on use of forceThe mother of a man who died after prolonged restraint by police in a mental health hospital has given her support to a bill to make police and medics more accountable for the use of force against patients.Ajibola Lewis, whose son Olaseni died after he was subjected to what an inquest described as “disproportionate and unreasonable” restraint at Bethlem Royal
  
  Read more

• Trump's 'largest tax cut ever' could fall apart over who foots the bill

  02-11-2017 18:16 via theguardian.com
  The Republican tax plan is battling perceptions that it is a handout for the rich but now homeowners are following pension holders’ lead in challenging its basis“We are going to have the largest tax cut ever,” Donald Trump claimed earlier this month – the latest in a series of promises of tax reform from the US president. But as the plan finally emerged on Thursday it may be the president himself who is the biggest threat to the bill getting passed.The long-awaited $1.51t
  
  Read more

• Joseph Wright obituary

  02-11-2017 18:12 via theguardian.com
  Cartoonist and children’s book illustrator who brought to life the adventures of hapless puppy What-a-MessJoseph Wright, who has died aged 70, was a popular cartoonist and illustrator of children’s books. His humorous, off-the-wall and sometimes contentious cartoons featured in newspapers including the Guardian, Times and Independent. He illustrated books by Bamber Gascoigne, Michael Aspel and Paul Heiney, and is probably best remembered for his collaboration on the What-a-Mess child
  
  Read more

• West Ham low on defenders but aim to expose ‘vulnerable’ Liverpool

  02-11-2017 18:09 via theguardian.com
  • Slaven Bilic plans to exploit Liverpool’s weaknesses at the London Stadium
  • West Ham missing five defenders but Winston Reid and Aaron Cresswell fitWest Ham United will have five defenders missing against Liverpool on Saturday but Slaven Bilic still believes his team can pull off a result against opponents he describes as “vulnerable”.José Fonte, James Collins, Sam Byram and Michail Antonio are unavailable for the home game because of injury and Pablo Zabale
  
  Read more

• Sessions slams visa lottery: 'It tells us nothing about who is entering this country'

  02-11-2017 18:08 via theguardian.com
  The US attorney general spoke in New York City about immigration, advocating for a ‘merit-based system’ and promoting ‘extreme vetting’ policiesWhat is the green card law Trump wants to scrap after the New York attack?In the wake of the deadliest terror attack in New York City since 9/11, the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, visited the city on Thursday to advocate a ramping up of anti-terror surveillance and an end to the diversity lottery visa program.“We don&rsqu
  
  Read more

• Legal challenge in Libya rendition case must be held in public, court told

  02-11-2017 18:04 via theguardian.com
  Abdel Hakim Belhaj and Fatima Boudchar are challenging DPP’s refusal to charge ex-MI6 officer for his alleged role in tortureA challenge to the director of public prosecution’s refusal to charge the former MI6 officer Sir Mark Allen for his alleged role in rendition and torture must be heard in public, the high court has been told.The extraordinary sequence of legal battles generated by the abduction of the Libyan dissident Abdel Hakim Belhaj in 2004 intensified on Thursday when sen
  
  Read more

• Winter's a time for comfort food - and for comfort drinks, too

  02-11-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Forget crisp whites, light rosés and refreshing cordials: when winter comes, we want dark, warming sherries, big reds and spiced liqueursUntil November starts, you can just about kid yourself it’s still summer, but the fact that it now gets dark at 5pm plunges us headlong into winter and the desire for comfort food – I was going to say comfort drink, but that sounds unhealthy. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

Follow @GeneralnewsUK on Twitter!