General news

• Watch this tiny plane make a turbulent landing during Storm Friederike

  19-01-2018 23:44
  The plane gets shaken about by the wind before managing to land at Dusseldorf airport.
  
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• Nigel Farage Says Claims He Secretly Passed Data To Julian Assange Are 'Conspiratorial Nonsense'

  19-01-2018 23:32
  Nigel Farage has dismissed claims he passed a data to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in secret meetings at the Ecuadorian embassy as “conspiratorial nonsense”.
  
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• Jeremy Hunt urged to 'delay' NHS shake-up to integrate health and social care

  19-01-2018 21:05
  An influential Conservative MP has asked Jeremy Hunt to delay controversial reforms designed to change the way NHS funds are overseen.There is currently a lawsuit supported by physicist Stephen Hawking which aims to stop the new system due to be introduced in some areas of England in April, amid fears it will benefit private companies while reducing the provision of services.Dr Wollaston writes to Mr Hunt: "I am writing to request that you delay the introduction of the new contract for accountab
  
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• It hurts to look at this custom iPhone theme

  19-01-2018 20:53
  It was designed as a joke but now people want it for real.
  
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• Oil Giant Shell Bids For London Minicab Licence

  19-01-2018 20:25
  Oil giant Shell has been urged to protect workers’ rights as it bids to make an entrance into the London minicab market.
  
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• Donald Trump Cements U-Turn On Abortion View By Comparing US Laws To North Korea

  19-01-2018 20:10
  Donald Trump has described US abortion laws as “among the most permissive in the world” and compared them to those in countries such as China and North Korea.
  
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• Trump-Russia inquiry is told Nigel Farage may have given Julian Assange data

  19-01-2018 19:03
  Nigel Farage may have given Julian Assange a thumb drive of data and was possibly a more frequent visitor than was publicly known to the Ecuadorian embassy where the WikiLeaks founder lives, according to testimony given to US congressional inquiry into the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to the Kremlin.Glenn Simpson, a private investigator whose company compiled the controversial dossier alleging a conspiracy between Trump campaign officials and Russian agents, told the House intelligence co
  
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• McVitie's Digestive Biscuit Packs Get Smaller Partly Because Of Brexit, As Owner Cites Change In Exchange Rate

  19-01-2018 19:03
  Packs of McVitie’s Digestive are to shrink as the manufacturer copes with rising costs partly caused by post-Brexit referendum fall in the pound’s value.
  
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• 12 Times Donald Trump's White House Insulted Britain In His First Year As President

  19-01-2018 18:54
  Theresa May was the first foreign leader Donald Trump met as president, and their January meeting was so cosy it was defined by the moment they held hands as they walked down a set the stairs together.
  
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• Student rape case dropped as police admit mistakes

  19-01-2018 18:47
  A judge has criticised police and prosecutors after a rape case against a student was dropped days before his trial.Oxford University student Oliver Mears, 19, spent two years on bail accused of raping and assaulting a woman in July 2015, when he was 17.Surrey Police has admitted "there were flaws in the investigation" after the force failed to examine the woman's "digital media" or follow "a reasonable line of enquiry".
  
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• Boris Johnson slams UK's infrastructure record, then proposes Channel bridge

  19-01-2018 18:19
  Boris Johnson lambasted the UK’s record at delivering major infrastructure projects just days before raising the prospect of erecting a 22-mile bridge across the English Channel to better connect Britain to the rest of Europe.The foreign secretary criticised systems of planning as being “extremely inimical at getting things done at pace and scale” and warned that Britain spent billions more than countries such as France on equivalent projects.In an interview with the Guardian,
  
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• The Cranberries Zombie cover to raise money for singer Dolores O'Riordan's children

  19-01-2018 18:02
  Hard rock band Bad Wolves have released their cover of The Cranberries' hit Zombie, in memory of frontwoman Dolores O'Riordan.O'Riordan, who was lead singer of Irish rock band,died suddenly on Monday .Zombie, released in 1994, was one of The Cranberries' best-known hits, and O'Riordan had been due to sing for a cover with Bad Wolves when she died.
  
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• Nigel Farage 'slipped Julian Assange a data stick in secret', says investigator

  19-01-2018 18:00
  Brexiteer Nigel Farage is alleged to have slipped a USB stick containing data to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during a secret trip to the Ecuadorian embassy.The former UKIP leader is said to have met Mr Assange, who has been holed up at the London address for more than five years, on several occasions.The claims were made by Fusion GPS boss Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of the investigative firm behind the controversial "Trump dossier" which was released by former British spy Christopher Ste
  
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• Jacinda Ardern is not the first world leader to be pregnant in office – video report

  19-01-2018 17:58 via theguardian.com
  Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, has announced she is pregnant. The last time an elected world leader was pregnant in office was in 1990 when Pakistan's prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, had her daughter BakhtwarJacinda Ardern: New Zealand prime minister announces first pregnancy Continue reading...
  
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• A garden bridge over troubled water

  19-01-2018 17:52
  Boris Johnson has proposed a 22-mile bridge across the Channel.Photograph: Peter Nicholls/PA
  
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• Football agent jailed for causing death by dangerous driving

  19-01-2018 17:49
  Football agent Peter Morrison, 37, arrives at Liverpool crown court with an unidentified woman.A football agent who sent a string of text messages before losing control of his car and killing a highways worker has been jailed for seven years.Peter Morrison, 37, was driving his Mercedes ML350 4x4 on the M6 near Tebay in Cumbria, on 21 February 2016, when he hit and killed Adam Gibb, 51, and left his colleague, Paul Holroyd, now 53, paralysed from the chest down.
  
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• Ukip rocked by another two resignations amid criticism of party leader

  19-01-2018 17:44
  Ukip leader Henry Bolton has faced multiple calls to resign over his relationship with Jo Marney, who sent racist text messages.Ukip has been rocked by two more resignations, including that of its former general secretary, Jonathan Arnott MEP, who quit saying the party’s leader, Henry Bolton, was “not up to the job”.Arnott left hours after a former close aide to Bolton also resigned, citing the leader’s relationship with Jo Marney, who sent racist text messages about Prin
  
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• 'Squalid' Liverpool prison worst inspectors have ever seen

  19-01-2018 17:35
  "Squalid" Liverpool prison is the worst inspectors have ever seen, with inmates living among rats and cockroaches and drugs and other illicit items rife.
  
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• God shave the king: Disbelief at reported cost of Prince William's new haircut

  19-01-2018 17:31
  The Duke of Cambridge's new closely cropped haircut has raised a feweyebrows after reports it cost as much as £180.Prince William showed off his new look as he launched a health programme at Evelina London Children's Hospital on Thursday.The shaven style comes after years of jokes about his premature hair loss from wife Kate and brother Prince Harry.
  
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• Experts, industry and PM pour cold water on Boris Johnson's bridge

  19-01-2018 17:27
  Architects, hauliers, the maritime industry, and an MP have so far expressed their scepticism about Boris Johnson’s ambition to build a 22-mile (35km) bridge across the Channel - and even the prime minister has signalled it won’t happen.The foreign secretary proposed the idea on Thursday, telling the French president that it was “ridiculous” that two of the world’s biggest economies were joined only by a single railway line and later tweeting a picture of the two gi
  
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• RBS offers support to customers hit by collapse of Carillion

  19-01-2018 17:24
  The Royal Bank of Scotland on Friday announced a range of measures for individual customers hit by the collapse of construction outsourcing company Carillion.The bank said there would be no financial cap on the measures, which include repayment holidays on loans or mortgages, refunds on overdraft and credit card charges and fee waivers for customers employed by the failed firm or businesses in its supply chain.RBS's move follows on from a total of 225 million pounds in funding that Britain's maj
  
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• Fugitive who complained of unflattering mugshot arrested

  19-01-2018 16:40
  Wayne Savage was arrested by police two days after they made a public appeal for him – prompting his Facebook outburst.
  
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• 5 entirely sensible alternatives to Boris Johnson’s bridge connecting Britain and France

  19-01-2018 16:27
  The man is bridge obsessed.
  
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• 'Seven fewer' McVitie's Digestives in packs because of Brexit

  19-01-2018 15:49
  McVitie's is shrinking the size of a packet of Digestives because of price increases caused by the Brexit drop in the pound, it claims.A packet of Digestives will be shrunk by 20%, from 500g (17oz) to 400g (14oz), equivalent to removing seven biscuits from a pack of 34.It follows a similar change by McVitie's in the number of Jaffa Cakes, from 12 to 10.
  
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• Down's syndrome test could see condition disappear, C of E warns

  19-01-2018 15:28
  A new non-invasive test will be offered to 10,000 women a year considered more likely to have a baby with certain genetic conditions.A new advanced test for Down’s syndrome to be offered to pregnant women this year raises the prospect of people with the condition disappearing from UK society as terminations are expected to rise, the Church of England has warned.Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), a safer form of screening, is to be rolled out by the NHS this year.
  
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• Fugitive trolls police over unflattering mugshot

  19-01-2018 15:20
  Wayne Savage is wanted by police after failing to turn up to court and has been trolling them on Facebook.
  
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• London Mayor attacks decision not to challenge release of black-cab rapist

  19-01-2018 15:19
  London Mayor Sadiq Khan joined a chorus of protest on Friday against a government decision not to block the release from jail of a former black-cab driver suspected of assaulting dozens, possibly hundreds of women.Khan said it was "extremely disappointing" that the government was not challenging a decision by the Parole Board to free John Worboys, 60, after nine years in prison.The opposition Labour Party, of which Khan is a member,also called it deeply regrettable.
  
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• Ineos’ plan to build British 4X4s started as a pub chat

  19-01-2018 14:51
  What started as a discussion in a pub could end up creating as many as 1,500 jobs in Britain by late 2020 as privately-owned Ineos moves ahead with plans to build a new 4x4 vehicle, one of its directors told Reuters.Ineos, better known as a chemical manufacturer, wants to build an offroader along the lines of Land Rover's iconic Defender which ceased full production in 2016 after 68 years."Jim (Ratcliffe, Ineos' CEO) was a big fan of the Land Rover Defender," Tom Crotty said in an interview
  
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• Blood test for cancer detects eight different types of tumour

  19-01-2018 14:30
  The medical holy grail of a blood test for cancer has moved a step closer after a US trial of a new technique detected eight different kinds of tumour.CancerSeek was tested on 1,005 patients at John Hopkins University, whose cancers had already been diagnosed based on their symptoms.Ovarian, liver, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colorectal, lung and breast cancers were detected with an accuracy of 70%, according to the journal Science.
  
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• Parsons Green Terror Attack: Teenager Pleads Not Guilty

  19-01-2018 14:27
  A teenager has denied responsibility for the Parsons Green terror attack which injured 30 Tube travellers.
  
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• MPs on both sides back tax break for referendum campaign donors

  19-01-2018 13:56
  Brexit-backing MPs as well as counterparts from the remain campaign have backed a controversial measure to extend a tax break to referendum campaign donors, after several billionaire donors received large demands from HMRC.The amendment to the finance bill has been backed by prominent leave campaigners Charlie Elphicke, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Iain Duncan Smith, as well as Labour MPs and remain supporters Alison McGovern and Caroline Flint.
  
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• John Worboys: Government will not seek review of black-cab rapist's release

  19-01-2018 13:52
  Black-cab rapist John Worboys could be freed within weeks after the Government decided not to challenge his release.Justice Secretary David Gauke said it would "not be appropriate" to seek a judicial review of the case after taking "considered and expert" legal advice.Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Gauke told MPs: "I believe that I owe it to those victims and to the public to consider all the options open to me.
  
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• Bogus Blue Monday equations and an age-defying president

  19-01-2018 13:52
  All smiles … President Trump’s medical has raised as many questions as it has answered.Today is Blue Monday, the day – according to some bogus equation involving the weather, debt and time since Christmas divided by low motivational levels – when people are most likely to be feeling depressed.While anything that raises awareness of mental health issues can’t be all bad, equating depression with feeling a bit glum doesn’t really help that much.
  
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• Loch Fyne Missing Fishermen Search Continues After Boat Capsizes

  19-01-2018 13:50
  The search for two fishermen who went missing after their vessel capsized on Loch Fyne entered its second day on Friday.
  
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• No 10 unenthusiastic about Boris Johnson's Channel bridge plan

  19-01-2018 13:21
  Downing Street has failed to match Boris Johnson’s enthusiasm for a 22-mile bridge across the Channel, saying there are no plans for such a project.Theresa May’s official spokesman repeatedly declined to offer support for the idea but stressed that the prime minister and foreign secretary both backed an agreement to have a panel of experts looking at major projects together with France.Neither would No 10 say if the prime minister had been told about Johnson’s proposal for a se
  
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• John Worboys: Government won't seek review of black cab rapist release

  19-01-2018 13:20
  Black-cab rapist John Worboys could be freed within weeks after the Government decided not to challenge his release.Justice Secretary David Gauke said it would "not be appropriate" to seek a judicial review of the case after taking "considered and expert" legal advice.Speaking in the House of Commons on Friday, Mr Gauke told MPs: "I believe that I owe it to those victims and to the public to consider all the options open to me.
  
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• Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron grin for 'le selfie'

  19-01-2018 13:17
  It's not quite in the same league as the famous Oscars selfie tweeted by Ellen DeGeneres, but the wide smile on Theresa May's face shows she didn't seem too concerned.The Prime Minister beamed as she clearly enjoyed rubbing shoulders with media-savvy French President Emmanuel Macron in the age of Instagram and Twitter.Mr Macron held the phone aloft and snapped Thursday night's photo at a reception of young leaders of the Franco-British council, held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
  
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• John Worboys release: government will not pursue judicial review

  19-01-2018 13:14
  John Worboys was jailed in 2009 for sexually assaulting 12 women and raping one.The justice secretary, David Gauke, will not pursue a judicial review to stop the release of the serial sex attacker John Worboys, he has told the House of Commons.Gauke has been investigating the possibility of challenging the Parole Board’s decision to release the black-cab rapist Worboys, 60, after less than 10 years in prison.
  
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• Sky sources: Carillion collapsed with £5bn of financial liabilities

  19-01-2018 13:10
  Carillion, the bankrupt construction group, had financial liabilities worth about £5bn when it went bust this week, according to the most extreme calculation of its obligations to tens of thousands of pension scheme members.Sky News can reveal that private analysis of Carillion's pension deficit on a Section 75 - or full buyout - basis has concluded that it was as high as £2.6bn, a far higher sum than the £587m accounting deficit referred to by its former chief executive in a H
  
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• Book clinic: what would you like to ask our experts?

  19-01-2018 13:00 via theguardian.com
  In our weekly series you can ask experts in the books industry any questions you want answered
  Book Clinic is a weekly series in the pages of the New Review section of the Observer where we will turn to experts in their field to answer any book, reading or publishing questions you may have. For example:I’m a mature student and I want to find a creative writing course. Where should I start?My son is struggling with depression. Can you recommend any first person books written by men?I’
  
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• France says no for now to Johnson's idea of giant Channel bridge

  19-01-2018 12:51
  LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - France on Friday politely rejected Boris Johnson's idea of building a giant bridge across the English Channel after Brexit, saying that, while far-fetched ideas were worth considering, there were plenty of major European projects to finish first.Foreign Secretary Johnson, who led the campaign to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, broached the idea of building a 22-mile Channel Bridge during a visit to Britain by French President Emmanuel Macron, the Daily Telegraph new
  
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• Parsons Green bombing: Accused teen pleads not guilty

  19-01-2018 12:36
  A teenager accused of a bomb attack which injured 30 commuters at Parsons Green tube station has denied responsibility.
  
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• BTS superfan moves to South Korea to be near K-pop band

  19-01-2018 12:35 via bbc.co.uk
  Stephanie moved from Scotland to South Korea just so she could be closer to the K-pop group.
  
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• Thundersnow Forecast By Met Office But An End To The Wintry Weather Is In Sight

  19-01-2018 12:28
  It’s January, it’s bleak, it’s frigidly cold – so it must be time to roll out the thundersnow.
  
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• Teenager pleads not guilty to carrying out London bomb attack on train

  19-01-2018 12:22
  A teenager accused of planting an improvised bomb on a London commuter train which injured 30 people pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges of attempted murder and causing an explosion at Parsons Green station in southwest London last September.Ahmed Hassan, 18, appeared at London's Old Bailey by video link from Belmarsh prison.
  
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• Call to curb disruption caused by holiday lets like Airbnb

  19-01-2018 12:12 via bbc.co.uk
  Short-term lets, like Airbnb, are big business in the UK - but neighbours are increasingly fed up.
  
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• New Zealand’s PM announces she is pregnant and Twitter is ablaze with excitement

  19-01-2018 12:06
  She’s the first female leader to have a baby while in office in 30 years.
  
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• Does dry January work? We ask the experts

  19-01-2018 12:00
  Five million Britons took part in Dry January last year.Millions of people pledge to ditch the booze every January, but experts are divided over whether going dry for a month is the answer to the UK’s troubled relationship with alcohol.
  
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• Retailers suffer worst December since 2010 - ONS

  19-01-2018 11:44
  Retail sales fell more sharply than expected in the core Christmas month, capping the worst December performance for volumes since 2010.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) issued the grim update on the health of the high street just hours after Carpetright became the latest big name chain to announce a profit warning.Higher inflation, coupled with earnings failing to keep pace, has been a thorn in the side of the retail sector as the squeeze on shoppers' budgets has dented demand for non-es
  
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• UK retail sales slide in December, capping tough year for consumers

  19-01-2018 11:38
  British shop sales slid by much more than expected in December, capping off the weakest year for retail since 2013 as consumers squeezed by the Brexit hit to prices continued to keep a tight grip on spending.Retail sales volumes dropped 1.5 percent from November, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, well below economists' forecasts of a monthly dip of 0.6 percent in a Reuters poll, and more than reversing a 1.0 percent rise in November.
  
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