General news

• Jeremy Corbyn Supporters At West Bromwich Rally Aren't Concerned At Polls Showing Theresa May Gaining Support

  23-11-2017 23:52
  Labour may not be performing quite as well in the polls as its supporters expected but its voters on the ground certainly don’t seem that bothered.
  
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• Vince Cable: chancellor ‘irresponsible’ for selling off RBS

  23-11-2017 21:34
  Cable says chancellor should not press ahead with sale of RBS.Vince Cable has accused the chancellor of being “irresponsible” over his decision to sell off two-thirds of its remaining stake in bailed-out lender RBS at a significant loss.The budget red book assumes that £3bn a year will be raised over the next five years from the sale of RBS shares, helping to offset the extension in the Help to Buy scheme announced at September’s party conference.
  
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• German men arrested after violent brawl in Liverpool city centre

  23-11-2017 21:25
  More than 20 German men have been arrested over a violent brawl which broke out in Liverpool in which one man was critically injured.Chairs and other objects were hurled as fighting erupted on Concert Square in the city centre shortly after 11pm on Wednesday.Merseyside Police said the brawl involved members of the public and door staff.
  
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• Readers recommend: share your unlikely collaborations

  23-11-2017 21:00 via theguardian.com
  Make your nomination in the comments and a reader will pick the best eligible tracks for a playlist next week – you have until Monday 27 November This week we’d like your recommendations where two – or more – artists have got together in unlikely circumstances, particularly if their collaboration produced surprisingly listenable results.
  You have until 11pm on Monday 27 November October to post your nomination and make your justification. Regular RR contributor George Boy
  
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• Sums don't add up on budget's maths pledge, says Labour

  23-11-2017 20:51
  Philip Hammond has failed to show how the sums add up on his flagship budget announcement of around £250m for maths and computer teaching, according to Labour.Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, highlighted a gap between Hammond’s boasts that around £250m would be spent on improving teaching for those subjects and the official budget scorecard, which allocates only £80m of spending in the next two years.Labour said the Treasury should explain how and when the r
  
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• Ken Clarke: Tories had deal with Rupert Murdoch for 2010 election

  23-11-2017 20:34
  Ken Clarke said he ‘would never know’ how Cameron won the support of the Sun back from Labour.David Cameron may have done “some sort of a deal” with Rupert Murdoch to win the Sun’s support for the Conservatives in the 2010 general election, Ken Clarke, the former justice secretary, has claimed.“Quite how David Cameron got the Sun out of the hands of Gordon Brown I shall never know,” Clarke said.
  
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• Ken Clarke: Cameron had deal with Murdoch for 2010 election

  23-11-2017 20:34
  Ken Clarke said he ‘would never know’ how Cameron won the support of the Sun back from Labour.David Cameron may have done “some sort of a deal” with Rupert Murdoch to win the Sun’s support for the Conservatives in the 2010 general election, Ken Clarke, the former justice secretary, has claimed.“Quite how David Cameron got the Sun out of the hands of Gordon Brown I shall never know,” Clarke said.
  
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• Leaked Irish paper reveals EU politicians' scathing views on Brexit progress

  23-11-2017 20:01
  The scathing views of top EU politicians on Brexit have been revealed in a leaked document.Top ministers including Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson were slammed in the internal paper, drawn up by the Irish government and obtained by RTE News.According to the document, Mr Davis barely mentioned Brexit in a meeting with the French foreign and defence ministers - viewed as a wasted opportunity.
  
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• Moped gang to face jail after raids on 17 mobile phone shops in London

  23-11-2017 19:51
  The gang were tracked down after a mobile phone was discarded following a pursuit after a raid on a shop in Walthamstow.A moped gang who broke into 17 mobile phone shops and caused £1m of damage is facing time in prison.The gang of 10, aged between 19 and 24, used hammers, knives, angle grinders and a battering ram to break into Three mobile stores across east and north London, stealing phones and tablets from the stock room.
  
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• 5 Times Donald Trump's Thanksgiving Speech To The US Coast Guard Made Zero Sense

  23-11-2017 19:39
  Listening to Donald Trump speak can be a challenging experience - made-up and garbled words, veering from one topic to another and, not to mention, bits that just aren’t true.
  
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• Growing proportion of private faith schools fail Ofsted inspections

  23-11-2017 19:02
  The latest figures show 49% of private faith schools were judged less than good.A growing proportion of independent faith schools are being failed by Ofsted because of concerns about leadership and the teaching of British values, according to official statistics.The schools watchdog said there had been a sharp decline in inspection outcomes for smaller, fee-paying schools, in particular faith schools.
  
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• Number crushing: economists give Hammond's budget the big thumbs down | John Crace

  23-11-2017 18:49
  This is when they get to have their say on the government’s competency, and the chancellor can do little but sit back and suck it up.Philip Hammond is quite happy to kick back his heels and listen to MPs from all parties delivering their verdicts in the Commons in the post-budget debate, as he knows that almost all of them are totally innumerate.
  
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• You can now buy a Jeremy Corbyn annual packed full of ‘Jezza-pleasure’

  23-11-2017 17:55
  The book even features a mocked-up love story with the main man.
  
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• British Gas owner warns on outlook amid household customer exodus

  23-11-2017 17:50
  Investors in the owner of British Gas have been left feeling cold after Centrica warned its earnings would be hit by a series of woes including the loss of 823,000 domestic energy accounts.Shares in the FTSE 100 company fell as much as 17% in early trading following the profit warning.Centrica said it expected earnings per share in its current financial year to miss market expectations after a £46m writedown in its North America business and warmer-than-usual start to the winter in the nor
  
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• Britain 'on course for longest fall in living standards'

  23-11-2017 17:43
  Analysis of the Budget has found families are now projected to be at the start of the longest period of disposable income decline in more than 60 years.The Resolution Foundation, a think tank which focuses on how to bolster living standards, said Philip Hammond's speech painted a bleak outlook as the country gets to grips with a slowing economy linked to Brexit.Its downbeat tone was mirrored in a separate study of the Budget small print by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
  
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• Nigel Farage Is Sad That Brexit Means We Erm... Brexit

  23-11-2017 17:41
  The EU Commission has ruled that no UK city is eligible for the European Capital of Culture award in 2023, a “direct consequence” of Brexit.
  
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• James Bulger's mother calls killer Jon Venables a 'vile psychopath'

  23-11-2017 17:28
  James Bulger's mother has said she predicted her son's killer Jon Venables would reoffend, after he was taken back into custody.Venables, who was 10 years old when he murdered the toddler in 1993, has been caught with child abuse images on a computer for a second time.Venables was previously returned to jail in 2010 for downloading and distributing dozens of indecent images of children.
  
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• Campaigner: I received rape and death threats after gender-neutral speech

  23-11-2017 17:27
  Natasha Devon said the threatening posts on social media had been forwarded to police for investigation.The leading mental health campaigner Natasha Devon says she has been sent rape and death threats after a speech to headteachers in which she advocated the use of gender-neutral language in schools.Devon, who was axed from her role as the government’s mental health tsar after criticising education policy, came under attack after she addressed the Girls’ Schools Association’s a
  
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• How To Fund Any Public Service

  23-11-2017 17:23
  Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid, recently said the government should take advantage of “record low interest rates” and “borrow” money to invest in infrastructure that leads to more affordable housing being built.
  
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• Understanding The Far-Right Manson Cult Is More Important Than Ever

  23-11-2017 17:19
  For many readers, the Charles Manson cult and its murders were before their time.
  
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• Remembering My Father, Lord Joffe: A Campaigner For Justice In Life And In Death

  23-11-2017 17:11
  A memorial took place last week at St Martin-in-the-Fields - a moving tribute to his lifelong dedication to campaigning for justice, attended by his peers, colleagues, friends and family.
  
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• Fighting Hate and Extremism: The Living Quran

  23-11-2017 17:06
  The true test of an intelligent person is a humble awareness of the limits of their knowledge.
  
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• More Maths for Everyone

  23-11-2017 17:05
  In Wednesday’s budget the government committed to investing more money for maths teaching in schools.
  
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• Retrial for parachute attempted murder accused

  23-11-2017 16:59
  An Army sergeant will face a retrial on charges of attempting to murder his wife by tampering with her parachute - after the first jury failed to reach verdicts.
  
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• Toddler found with serious injuries at a home in Birmingham dies in hospital

  23-11-2017 16:15
  A toddler found with serious injuries at a home in Birmingham has died in hospital.The 21-month-old girl was found at a house in The Green, Northfield, on Sunday afternoon, and she died at Birmingham Children's Hospital at 8.30pm on Wednesday.West Midlands Police arrested a 30-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man on suspicion of causing or allowing serious injury to a child, and they have been released conditional bail.
  
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• Press watchdog clears Sun writer who referred to 'the Muslim problem'

  23-11-2017 16:13
  Within the Ipso editors’ code his article was found not to have discriminated against an individual.The Independent Press Standards Organisation has cleared a column in the Sun, written by Trevor Kavanagh, which referred to “the Muslim problem”.In a decision that prompted anger from groups representing Jews and Muslims, Ipso ruled that the column did not breach accuracy or discrimination clauses in the editors’ code of practice.
  
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• EU rules British cities cannot be capitals of culture

  23-11-2017 16:10
  The EU will not allow a British city to become European capital of culture in 2023 after Brexit, dashing the hopes of Dundee, Leeds and others who were preparing bids costing hundreds of thousands of pounds.The European commission said it would not be possible because only countries that were in the EU, the European Economic Area or in the process of becoming members were eligible for inclusion.Britain had been due to have one of its cities designated European capital of culture, along with one
  
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• Blast ‘Consistent With Explosion’ Detected Where Argentinian Submarine Went Missing

  23-11-2017 15:42
  Argentina says a sound detected in the missing submarine search is consistent with an explosion.
  
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• James Bulger killer back in jail after being caught with abuse images again

  23-11-2017 15:21
  Jon Venables was 10 when he was jailed in 1993 alongside his friend Robert Thompson for the murder of two-year-old James Bulger.Jon Venables, one of two boys convicted of the murder of toddler James Bulger, has been returned to prison again after he was caught with child abuse images for a second time.Venables was 10 when he was jailed in 1993 alongside his friend Robert Thompson for murdering two-year-old James.
  
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• East 17 singer Brian Harvey arrested over 'malicious tweet'

  23-11-2017 15:08
  Former East 17 band member Brian Harvey has been arrested over claims he sent malicious tweets.The 43-year-old singer, who made his name in the 90s boy band, is being questioned by police in north London.The Metropolitan Police confirmed they received an allegation of malicious communications relating to a Twitter account.
  
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• Labour criticises delays to universal credit reforms

  23-11-2017 15:04
  Opposition parties and charities have criticised budget measures to improve the rollout of universal credit after it emerged that the changes will not be introduced until as late as April.In his budget speech, Philip Hammond announced a £1.5bn fund to assist people moving to UC, promising a reduction of the six-week initial wait to five, easier access to initial loans and a two-week bridging system for housing benefit.
  
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• Budget 'Not The End Of Austerity' As Eye-Watering £12bn Of Welfare Cuts On Way

  23-11-2017 15:03
  Workers face not one but two “lost decades” of earnings growth as the national debt continues to soar, the Institute for Fiscal Studies predicted in a bleak assessment of Philip Hammond’s Budget.
  
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• Government Confirms Yet Another Universal Credit U-Turn

  23-11-2017 15:02
  A further U-turn on the government’s beleaguered Universal Credit reforms was confirmed today in a victory for campaigners.
  
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• James Bulger Killer Jon Venables ‘Back In Prison Again Over Child Abuse Images'

  23-11-2017 14:47
  Child murderer Jon Venables has been returned to prison for a second time after he was caught with child abuse images again, it has been reported.
  
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• Labour suspend Ivan Lewis MP amid sexual harassment investigation

  23-11-2017 14:46
  Labour has suspended Ivan Lewis MP amid an ongoing investigation into an allegation of sexual harassment.Earlier this month, the Bury South MP denied he had ever made non-consensual sexual comments or sexual advances towards women.It followed allegations, reported by BuzzFeed News, that he touched a woman's leg and invited her to his house at a Labour Party event in 2010, when she was 19.
  
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• UK Economy Forecast From IFS Says Workers Face Two 'Lost Decades'

  23-11-2017 14:44
  Britain’s national debt may not return to pre-financial crisis levels until “well past the 2060s”, on the basis of projections released with Wednesday’s Budget, a respected economic thinktank has warned.
  
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• Number of weapons seized at UK ports triples

  23-11-2017 14:44
  The number of firearms and other weapons seized at UK ports has trebled in a year.More than 6,300 guns and associated paraphernalia have been taken by Border Force officers in 2016/17 - a sharp rise from 2,299 in the previous 12 months which included the UK's biggest ever gun smuggling plot.The haul comprised of 110 real and 353 imitation firearms, and 5,849 related items such as pepper sprays, gun parts and stun weapons.
  
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• Labour suspends ex-minister Ivan Lewis over sexual harassment claim

  23-11-2017 14:30
  Ivan Lewis has denied any ‘non-consensual sexual comments or sexual advances to women’.Labour has suspended the former minister Ivan Lewis over allegations of sexual harassment.The party’s decision means the MP for Bury South, who was placed under investigation last week, will sit as an independent MP in the House of Commons.
  
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• Labour Suspends MP Ivan Lewis Over Sexual Harassment Allegations

  23-11-2017 14:18
  Labour MP Ivan Lewis has been suspended from the party while sexual harassment allegations against him are investigated.
  
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• EU officials say UK Brexit stance chaotic in leaked document

  23-11-2017 14:15
  LONDON (AP) — European officials see Britain's performance in Brexit negotiations as confused and chaotic, a leaked Irish government document says.
  
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• Study on football's dementia links commissioned by FA and PFA

  23-11-2017 13:42
  An independent study has been commissioned into football's impact on the chances of developing degenerative brain disease.The Football Association and the Professional Footballers' Association have appointed a Scottish research team to undertake the project, titled Football's Influence on Lifelong Health and Dementia Risk.In February the family of Chesterfield FC's all-time leading goalscorer Ernie Moss - who at the age of 67 is suffering from dementia - told Sky News the authorities were "in de
  
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• Irish report shows lack of respect in EU for UK's handling of Brexit

  23-11-2017 12:40
  The report says David Davis hardly mentioned Brexit in a meeting he billed as an effort to unblock French resistance.The near contempt felt by European leaders at the British government’s management of the Brexit negotiations, and their concerns over the “unimpressive” and “surprising” behaviour of Boris Johnson and David Davis, have been revealed by a confidential report drawn up by the Irish government.
  
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• Autumn Budget 2017 Forecasts Mean 'Longest Ever Fall In Living Standards', Says Resolution Foundation

  23-11-2017 12:30
  Britons are projected to suffer the longest ever period of falling living standards, after Philip Hammond revealed a gloomier economic forecast in the Budget, expert analysis has found.
  
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• Billy The Kid And Pat Garrett Pictured Together In Rare Flea Market Find

  23-11-2017 12:27
  A random photo bought for $10 at a flea market is now believed to feature both Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett – and could be worth millions.
  
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• England and Wales police record highest number of violent sexual crimes in EU

  23-11-2017 12:09
  Eurostat stressed that the figures reflected the extent to which sex crimes are reported and recorded, and not necessarily the actual number of victims.The highest number of violent sexual crimes, including rapes, in Europe are recorded by the police in England and Wales, according to new European Union official statistics.The disclosure comes as official British figures show that 1.2 million women and 700,000 men in the year to March 2017 reported being the victims of some form of domestic abus
  
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• Petronella Wyatt Angers Viewers After Claiming Women In Mini Skirts Send Wrong 'Signal' To Men

  23-11-2017 11:43
  Journalist Petronella Wyatt left Channel 5 viewers outraged on Wednesday night after she claimed that women wearing short skirts in Westminster were sending out a “signal” to colleagues.
  
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• Philip Hammond: stamp duty axe is incentive to save house deposit

  23-11-2017 10:39
  The chancellor rejected the criticism that saving enough for a deposit was the key barrier to home ownership.Philip Hammond has defended his flagship housing policy against criticism it will raise house prices and said that abolishing stamp duty for first-time buyers would create an incentive to save a deposit.The chancellor said the policy, which abolished the stamp duty on homes under £300,000 for first-time buyers, would help a million people get on the housing ladder.
  
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• Labour's extra borrowing would pay for itself, says McDonnell

  23-11-2017 10:15
  The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has refused to put a figure on the cost of Labour’s plans for extra borrowing and dismissed being challenged on specific numbers as “trite journalism”.Asked nine times by BBC Radio 4’s Today presenter Mishal Husain how much extra it would cost to service public debt under Labour, McDonnell refused to give a figure.Instead he repeatedly claimed that extra borrowing would “pay for itself”.
  
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• UK Weather: Met Office Warns Floods, Wind And Snow Will Batter Britain

  23-11-2017 10:13
  Around 70 people and 20 horses had to be rescued from floods in Lancashire as heavy rains caused widespread flooding.
  
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• James Bulger killer 'back in jail after being caught with abuse images again'

  23-11-2017 09:29
  Jon Venables was 10 when he was jailed in 1993 alongside his friend Robert Thompson for the murder of two-year-old James Bulger.Jon Venables, one of two boys convicted of the murder of toddler James Bulger, has reportedly been returned to prison again after he was caught with child abuse images for a second time.Venables was 10 when he was jailed in 1993 alongside his friend Robert Thompson for murdering two-year-old James.
  
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