General news

• Has the source of some of William Shakespeare's most famous works been found?

  10-02-2018 23:09
  Plagiarism software has discovered a possible new inspiration for some of William Shakespeare's best-known plays.The software WCopyfind was originally developed to catch university students plagiarising other works, but two Shakespeare scholars say it proves one of the famous playwright's sources.Dennis McCarthy and June Schlueter have shared their findings in a book to be published next week by academic press DS Brewer and the British Library.
  
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• Body Of Missing Hillwalker, Alan Gibson, Found As Search For Brother Neil Continues

  10-02-2018 23:03
  The body of a missing hillwalker has been found as rescue teams continue to search for his brother.
  
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• Northern Ireland: Boy, 5, dies after being pulled from fast-flowing river

  10-02-2018 22:40
  A five-year-old boy has died in hospital after he was pulled from a river in Northern Ireland on Saturday, police have confirmed.The child was airlifted to hospital from the Braid River in Ballymena, County Antrim, after he fell into the water at about 1pm and was swept more than four miles down the fast-flowing river.The Community Rescue Service (CRS) said the boy was rescued more than 45 minutes after falling into the water.
  
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• Theresa May faces revolt of leading Tory donors

  10-02-2018 22:32
  Theresa May is facing a growing revolt among party donors, with one senior backer warning that the Tories will be “decimated” at an election unless the prime minister ends her indecision and shows leadership.With mounting accusations across the party that May is dithering over Brexit and lacking an inspiring domestic agenda, Sir John Hall, the former owner of Newcastle United, told the Observer that the prime minister was facing a make-or-break period of her premiership.The north-eas
  
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• Boy, 5, Pulled From River In Ballymena, Northern Ireland, Dies In Hospital

  10-02-2018 22:32
  A five-year-old boy who was swept more than four miles down a river in Northern Ireland before being rescued has died in hospital.
  
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• Private water payouts are a public scandal, says Labour

  10-02-2018 22:30
  John McDonnell has called the shareholder payouts of water companies a ‘scandal’.Labour launched a full-frontal attack on the privatised water industry last night, accusing companies of paying out the “scandalous” sum of £13.5bn in dividends to shareholders since 2010, while claiming huge tax breaks and forcing up prices for millions of customers.The assault by shadow chancellor John McDonnell came as he pledged total, “permanent” and cost-free renationa
  
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• UK plans video campaign to deter African migrants

  10-02-2018 22:00
  Migrants wait to be rescued as they drift in the Mediterranean, some 12 miles north of Libya.A viral video campaign using the testimonies of migrants in Libya to discourage others from making the perilous journey to the north African country – and then on to Europe – is to be launched by the Home Office as part of official attempts to tackle migration from “source” countries.Vox pop interviews with migrants from countries including Eritrea, Nigeria and Sudan will be filme
  
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• Asylum seekers living in ‘disgraceful, unsafe’ housing, says report

  10-02-2018 22:00
  Three-quarters of survey respondents said their accommodation was ‘dirty and unsafe’.Asylum seekers are being placed in appalling housing conditions where they are at risk from abuse and violence, according to a survey published on Sunday documenting the lives of new arrivals.A year after the home affairs select committee found asylum seekers were being held in “disgraceful” conditions and called for a major overhaul of the system, new research suggests the situation rema
  
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• Idris Elba proposes to model girlfriend Sabrina Dhowre in front of packed cinema

  10-02-2018 20:42
  Luther star Idris Elba delighted crowds as he got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend Sabrina Dhowre at a screening of his new film.The 45-year-old was greeted with a rapturous applause from the cinema audience on Saturday morning as he popped the question at the Rio Cinema in east London.In the clip, Miss Dhowre - a model and former Miss Vancouver - appears to say "yes" and kisses Elba as the crowd cheers.
  
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• Donald Trump Calls For 'Due Process', Conveniently Forgets All The Times He's Ignored It

  10-02-2018 20:42
  Donald Trump has been slammed for his hypocrisy after calling for “due process” in the wake of allegations that have surfaced about two members of his staff.
  
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• 15 struggles only people who wear glasses will understand

  10-02-2018 18:54
  ‘Eating hot ramen noodles. With your glasses on.’
  
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• Mary Lou McDonald succeeds Gerry Adams as Sinn Féin leader

  10-02-2018 18:18
  Sinn Féin’s new leader Mary Lou McDonald said Irish unity cannot be a crude exercise of simply stitching north to south and returning to business as usual.Gerry Adams has handed over the leadership of Sinn Féin to Mary Lou McDonald after 35 years as president.More than 2,000 Sinn Féin delegates attended a special Ard Fheis conference in Dublin’s RDS arena on Saturday to see McDonald confirmed as Adams’ successor.
  
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• John McDonnell Says That Public Ownership Will Cost Taxpayers Absolutely Nothing

  10-02-2018 18:04
  Labour’s plans to bring services into public ownership would cost “absolutely nothing”, John McDonnell has said.
  
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• Gang of five masked men targets 'vulnerable' 94-year-old woman in Liverpool burglary

  10-02-2018 17:49
  Officers were alerted to the burglary in Anfield, Liverpool, on Friday evening at about 8.25pm.Officers are speaking to neighbours while they also examine CCTV and carry out forensic examinations in the area.Detective Inspector Jacky Fitzpatrick said: "This was a shocking and cowardly incident against a lone vulnerable elderly victim.
  
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• Oxfam Boss Denies Claims Of A 'Cover Up' Over Aid Workers' Actions In Haiti

  10-02-2018 17:04
  The chief executive of Oxfam has denied that the charity tried to cover up allegations that some of its aid workers used prostitutes in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.
  
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• Where should the IS 'Beatles' be tried?

  10-02-2018 16:38 via bbc.co.uk
  Captured members of a notorious Islamic State cell...
  
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• Treasury holds US talks in bid to seal huge RBS mis-selling fine

  10-02-2018 16:15
  The Treasury has held secret talks with‎ US officials aimed at accelerating a multibillion fine for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) that would finally draw a line under its pre-bailout misconduct.Sky News has learnt that officials from the Treasury were due to discuss earlier this week the progress of settlement negotiations between RBS‎ and the Department of Justice (DoJ) over the mis-selling of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).The talks were scheduled just days before the sta
  
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• This story of two men chatting on a train will make you want to talk to strangers more

  10-02-2018 16:12
  Heartwarming in so many ways.
  
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• This environmental group is giving free ‘endangered species’ condoms to couples for Valentine’s Day

  10-02-2018 15:57
  Its aim is to get people ‘talking about the effect of human population growth on wildlife’.
  
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• Wolverhampton Stabbing: Family Of Jasmine Forrester, 11, 'Utterly Devastated' By Her Death

  10-02-2018 14:32
  The father of an 11-year-old girl who was stabbed to death has said her family is “utterly devastated”.
  
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• Jasmine Forrester, 11, dies after stabbing: Family 'utterly devastated'

  10-02-2018 13:28
  The family of an 11-year-old girl fatally stabbed at a house say they are "utterly devastated" at the death of the "shining star".Jasmine Forrester was attacked at a property in Kent Road, Wolverhampton on Friday and died later in hospital.Jasmine's father Simeon Forrester said: "This is a hugely tragic time for our family and the loss we feel is unexplainable.
  
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• Dippy the Diplodocus skeleton is touring the UK

  10-02-2018 13:22
  For the first time in more than a century, members of the public can see Dippy the Diplodocus outside of London.At 85ft-long (26m), the plaster cast of the dinosaur skeleton has stood in the entrance hall of the Natural History Museum in London since 1979.It has been housed at the museum since 1905, but has now begun a three-year tour of the UK, starting with Dorset County Museum in Dorchester, near to the UK's Jurassic Coast.
  
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• Convicted London killer on the run after release from prison

  10-02-2018 13:05
  Police have warned the public not to approach Mark Woolley, who was jailed for life and has not been seen since a probation meeting on 31 January, if he is seen.A convicted killer who ran over a woman after she tried to stop him stealing her handbag has gone on the run after being released from prison on licence.Mark Woolley was jailed for life in 2001 and later ordered to serve a minimum of 16 years for the murder of Elizabeth Sherlock, a costume designer, at Euston station in London.
  
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• iTunes scam: Warning as fraudsters con victims out of thousands

  10-02-2018 13:00
  Fraudsters are conning older people out of thousands of pounds by asking them to pay off a non-existent tax debt in iTunes vouchers.HM Revenue and Customs says hundreds of people have fallen victim to a scam in which a fraudster makes a cold call and tells them they owe a significant amount in tax, and says it can be paid off by buying iTunes gift cards.HMRC has written to the chief executives of major retailers, asking them to tell staff about the scam so they can help protect customers.
  
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• Fraudsters targeting older people in iTunes tax scam

  10-02-2018 11:58
  Fraudsters are conning older people out of thousands of pounds by asking them to pay off a non-existent tax debt in iTunes vouchers.HM Revenue and Customs says hundreds of people have fallen victim to a scam in which a fraudster makes a cold call and tells them they owe a significant amount in tax, and says it can be paid off by buying iTunes gift cards.HMRC has written to the chief executives of major retailers, asking them to tell staff about the scam so they can help protect customers.
  
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• Andrew Mitchell 'cannot remember' Oxfam case

  10-02-2018 10:21 via bbc.co.uk
  The former international development secretary cannot remember if he was told about the incident with Oxfam staff in Haiti.
  
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• Teenager dies of 'serious injuries' after possible assault

  10-02-2018 10:06
  A teenager who died of "serious injuries" in the early hours of Saturday morning may have been assaulted, police say.An 18-year-old man was found at 2.18am on Saturday in Sackville Street, Portsmouth, with "significant injuries" and was taken to hospital where he later died.A Hampshire police spokesman said: "We're investigating the circumstances of his death and are carrying out activity in other areas of Portsmouth as we believe the man may have been assaulted earlier in the evening.
  
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• East Coast line bailout puts rail privatisation back in spotlight

  10-02-2018 09:00
  For the third time in a decade, an East Coast rail franchise operator has shown little of the financial prudence once associated with the great cities linked by its trains from London to Yorkshire and Scotland.Following the failures of GNER in 2007 and National Express in 2009, Virgin Trains East Coast has run out of steam, with the government declaring a financial covenant breached and the contract set to fail in months.In 2013, when bidding started, East Coast was nationalised, run by Directly
  
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• 'I could've recovered from anorexia sooner'

  10-02-2018 07:49 via bbc.co.uk
  A woman says it was only when she had therapy as an adult that she started to recover from anorexia.
  
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• Police trial new mobile fingerprint scanners to identify suspects

  10-02-2018 06:27
  Police officers are being given mobile finger print scanners to instantly identify suspected criminals and illegal immigrants.Two hundred and fifty of the new pocket-sized devices are being trialled in West Yorkshire before being rolled out by the Home Office across the country.The scanners, which cost less than £300 each, can be used by any officer to take two fingerprints from a suspect.
  
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• Police warn public not to approach killer who ran over woman during handbag theft

  10-02-2018 05:45
  A man jailed for life for killing a woman as she tried to stop him stealing her handbag has gone on the run.Mark Woolley, 52, was released from HMP Ranby in Nottinghamshire on licence in November.Ms Sherlock, 42, had jumped onto the car and was thrown into the air as it was driven away by Woolley - who allegedly smiled as he ran over her body.
  
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• Liam Miller dies: Ex-Manchester United & Celtic footballer loses fight with cancer

  10-02-2018 04:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  FORMER Manchester United and Celtic footballer, Liam Miller, has died at the age of 36 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
  
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• Men sought in connection with death of 87-year-old killed in violent robbery

  10-02-2018 03:11
  Police are searching for two men in connection with the death of an 87-year-old man, who died after he was beaten to the ground by robbers raiding his home.Arthur Gumbley was left for dead and had his jewellery stolen in a vicious late-night attack at his home in Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham.Photographs of two men have since been issued by Staffordshire Police in connection to the incident.
  
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• Catastrophe star Rob Delaney reveals son's death

  10-02-2018 03:07
  Comedian and actor Rob Delaney has announced the death of his two-year-old son Henry in an emotional Facebook post.Two-and-a-half-year-old Henry was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2016.Henry had been left with significant physical disabilities by the tumour, Delaney said, but had "quickly learned sign language and developed his own method of getting from A to B shuffling on his beautiful little bum".
  
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• Lowestoft girl follows in father's footsteps as a clown

  10-02-2018 01:41 via bbc.co.uk
  Eve is making her stage debut as a clown, following a family tradition.
  
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• Brexit BETRAYAL: 'Treasury PLOT' to keep UK in halfway deal with EU revealed to Cabinet

  10-02-2018 01:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  THERESA May is planning to keep the UK partially in the EU as she continues to be held to ransom by her Cabinet Remoaners, reports from the Tory party’s Brexit away day have revealed.
  
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• New mobile fingerprint scanning system could identify potential suspect in under a minute

  10-02-2018 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  A NEW mobile fingerprint scanning system allows police to identify a potential suspect in under a minute at the scene of an incident. The system involves a small device which connects to smartphones already used by frontline officers and then uses the new Biometric Services Gateway to search records held on both police and immigration databases.
  
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• Benjamin Lay: The Quaker dwarf who fought slavery

  10-02-2018 01:01 via bbc.co.uk
  The remarkable life of Benjamin Lay: Quaker, abolitionist, feminist and vegetarian - and 4ft tall.
  
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