General news

• Investor Soros pledges new donation to pro-EU group - Guardian

  11-02-2018 23:27
  Soros, who donated 400,000 pounds to the campaign last week, is to make a new donation after attacks against him in the right-wing press, the Guardian said."I am happy to take the fight to those who have tried to use a smear campaign, not arguments, to prop up their failing case," Soros told the newspaper.The investor's Open Society Foundation (OSF) will match a crowdfunding campaign set up in the wake of attacks on Soros, which has already raised more than 50,000 pounds since last week, the Gua
  
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• Kayden Fleck River Death: 'He Just Melted Your Heart', Say Distraught Parents

  11-02-2018 22:33
  The heartbroken parents of a five-year-boy who died after being swept away in a fast-flowing river in Northern Ireland have said their son “just melted your heart”.
  
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• Captured IS 'Beatles' jihadists 'were trying to escape to Turkey'

  11-02-2018 22:13
  The two British jihadists arrested in Syria - part of the group nicknamed "The Beatles" - were trying to escape to Turkey, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have confirmed.Kino Gabriel, a spokesman for the coalition fighters, told Sky News an investigation was now under way and that his colleagues were trying to get more information from Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh.
  
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• Windsor council to impose fines on rough sleepers

  11-02-2018 20:34
  Windsor council has been accused of punishing people for being homeless after plans emerged to fine rough sleepers £100 as part of a new “homelessness support strategy”.The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will impose public space protection orders (PSPOs) banning aggressive or proactive begging, requests for money, leaving bedding and belongings in a public area and urination or defecation in town centres in the area, including Windsor, Maidenhead, Ascot and Eton.Breach
  
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• Widow of beheaded aid worker pleads for the location of his body

  11-02-2018 19:55
  Dragana Prodanovic Haines has told Sky News that she's been unable to get closure over the death of her husband David back in 2014.
  
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• U.S., UK government websites infected with crypto-mining malware: report

  11-02-2018 19:27
  More than 4,200 sites were infected with a malicious version of a widely used tool known as Browsealoud from British software maker Texthelp, which reads out webpages for people with vision problems, according to The Register.The news comes amid a surge in cyber attacks using software that forces infected computers to mine crypto currencies on behalf of hackers.The prevalence of these schemes has increased in recent months as the volume of trading in bitcoin and other crypto currencies has surge
  
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• Man hunted after attempted rape of girl, 10

  11-02-2018 19:13
  The girl had been with friends but was separated from them at around 2pm on Saturday on Kincraig Close in the Openshaw area of Manchester.Detective Chief Inspector James Riley, from GMP's City of Manchester team, said: "What happened to this young girl is understandably very upsetting and specially trained officers will continue to support her in any way they can."Parents and neighbours will be concerned and we have stepped up our visible police patrols throughout the coming days and nights.
  
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• UK Government website offline after hack infects thousands more worldwide

  11-02-2018 19:12
  Users loading the websites of the Information Commissioner's Office, the Student Loans Company, as well as the council websites for Manchester City, Camden, and Croydon - and even the homepage of the United States Courts - will have their computers' processing power hijacked by hackers.Malicious code for software known as "Coinhive", a program advertising itself as "A Crypto Miner for your Website" will start running in the background until the webpage is closed.Security researcher Scott Helme w
  
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• Skin creams could be behind hundreds of deaths, fire chief warns

  11-02-2018 19:10
  Skin creams containing paraffin could be linked to hundreds of fire-related deaths, a senior firefighter has said.West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service watch commander Chris Bell said the creams used to treat skin conditions were safe to apply but warned they could become flammable when they soak into fabrics, clothes and bandages and come into contact with cigarettes or naked flames.The creams are used to treat skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.
  
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• It isn’t just racism that should bar Enoch Powell from a blue plaque

  11-02-2018 18:59
  Enoch Powell refused to even set eyes on a thalidomide child, says Catherine Bulmer.In addition to Enoch Powell’s hideous “rivers of blood” speech of 1968, he has another claim to infamy which should preclude him from being commemorated in this way (Bishop joins opposition to ‘honouring racist views of Enoch Powell’ with blue plaque, 9 February).Harold Evans remembers Powell as saying “No sir” repeatedly in the Commons over the Distaval (thalidomide
  
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• BBC weathermen felt the way the wind blows

  11-02-2018 18:57
  Michael Fish presents a BBC weather forecast in 1975.Photograph: BBC/PA
  
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• Police hunt man after alleged rape attempt on 10-year-old girl

  11-02-2018 18:55
  Police say extra officers will patrol the area, but they haven’t received any similar reports in the vicinity over the weekend.Police are searching for a man in east Manchester after he allegedly attempted to rape a 10-year-old girl.Greater Manchester police said extra officers would be patrolling the area but that they had not received any similar reports in the vicinity over the weekend.
  
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• Miscalculating the cost of Brexit

  11-02-2018 18:51
  Economics expert Tony Thirlwall says the way the media has reported the potential costs of Brexit is misleading.The way you (and other newspapers) have reported the Treasury estimates of the potential costs of Brexit to the UK as a whole, and to the regions, under different Brexit scenarios is very misleading (Revealed: the £80bn cost of hard Brexit, 8 February).A reduction in output of 10% over a 15-year period is a “hit” to the growth rate of less than 0.5% per annum (co
  
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• Burglar chase girl, 11, chooses police puppy

  11-02-2018 18:38 via bbc.co.uk
  Robyn Birdsell, who chased a "prolific thief", picked the three-week-old German Shepherd herself.
  
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• Lloyds sets ethnic leadership goal in first for FTSE-100 company

  11-02-2018 18:15
  Britain's biggest high street lender‎ will this month become the first FTSE-100 company to set a formal target for the number of non-white people it employs in senior posts.Sky News‎ has learnt that Lloyds Banking Group will announce alongside its annual results next week that it wants 8% of its top 7,000 staff to be identified as black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) by 2020.The target will be unveiled as part of a new Helping Britain Prosper blueprint to be implemented by Lloyds over
  
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• Business bosses bemoan a 'lack of clarity' on Brexit

  11-02-2018 18:05
  Innocent Drinks co-founder and Open Britain supporter - Richard Reed, and Lance Forman - owner of H. Forman and Sons - lock horns over Brexit.
  
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• Thousands of teachers caught cheating to improve exam results

  11-02-2018 17:57
  Thousands of teachers have been caught cheating to try to improve their pupils’ test results, figures from one of the country’s leading exam boards show.Nearly 2,300 malpractice offences were committed by staff in educational institutions offering OCR exams between 2012 and 2016, according to data obtained through a freedom of information request by the Sunday Times.More than half of the teachers committing malpractice offences were accused of providing “improper assistance&rdq
  
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• George Soros defends £400,000 donation to pro-EU campaign Best for Britain

  11-02-2018 17:53
  George Soros has defended handing £400,000 to a campaign against Brexit and says he considers leaving the EU a "tragic mistake".Mr Soros has hit back at what he described as "toxic personal criticism" and dismissed accusations that he was "undermining democracy"."Before the referendum Britain was doing better economically than the rest of Europe.
  
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• Rape attempt on 10-year-old girl in Openshaw

  11-02-2018 17:41 via bbc.co.uk
  The victim was approached by a man in his 20s after she became separated from her friends.
  
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• Theresa May to put 'meat on the bones' of Brexit vision

  11-02-2018 17:15
  Theresa May will put some "meat on the bones" of her Brexit vision by leading a PR blitz of speeches.Cabinet heavyweights including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox will follow the Prime Minister as the Government tries to recapture the momentum of Brexit following a fallout with Brussels over negotiations on the transition period.International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt promised more detail on plans for Britain's departure from the EU.
  
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• Elderly woman trapped in bath for three days is rescued by Essex police

  11-02-2018 17:10
  PC Tom Matthews and student officer Tom Currin forced their way into the property in Aveley and heard the woman calling for help."The woman sadly has no nearby family or friends that are able to make regular visits to check on her," said PC Matthews.
  
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• Oxfam Haiti sex claims: Charity 'failed in moral leadership'

  11-02-2018 16:57 via bbc.co.uk
  The charity is warned it must account for its actions or risk losing its government funding.
  
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• MP says warnings over Durham nightclub venue were dismissed

  11-02-2018 16:48
  Police investigators at the scene outside the Missoula nightclub in Durham where 20-year-old Olivia Burt died on Wednesday.Durham council’s licensing authority dismissed repeated warnings about safety issues in the leisure complex where a student was killed last week, the local MP has said.Olivia Burt, 20, who was in her first year studying natural sciences at Durham University, died from a serious head injury on Wednesday night following a crowd surge outside the Missoula nightclub in the
  
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• Government websites secretly mined cryptocurrency 

  11-02-2018 16:43
  Government websites secretly mined cryptocurrency 
  
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• Ex-International Development Secretary says individuals should be prosecuted

  11-02-2018 16:40
  Former International Development Secretary says charities need more transparency when operating abroad.
  
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• Life-size Lego safari on show in Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay

  11-02-2018 16:38 via bbc.co.uk
  The 12 models are made of over 600,000 bricks and took 4,000 hours to build.
  
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• Priti Patel: Government officials 'pushed back' inquiry into aid workers' abuse

  11-02-2018 16:31
  Senior officials at a Government department are facing questions over claims an investigation into sexual exploitation by UK aid workers was suppressed.Priti Patel, who resigned as International Development Secretary in November, made the shock allegation amid revelations about Oxfam.The charity is accused of suppressing information about aid workers hosting sex parties with prostitutes during a 2010 mission to Haiti.
  
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• Uncle charged with murder of 11-year-old Jasmine Forrester

  11-02-2018 15:50
  Jasmine Forrester was found seriously injured at a house in Wolverhampton on Friday.West Midlands Police have charged her 51-year-old uncle Delroy Forrester with her murder.Detective Inspector Ian Wilkins said: "We are continuing to support Jasmine's family at this truly tragic time.
  
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• Jasmine Forrester's uncle charged with murder

  11-02-2018 15:11 via bbc.co.uk
  Delroy Forrester, 51, is charged after 11-year-old Jasmine Forrester was attacked in Wolverhampton.
  
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• MPs could block Theresa May's Brexit plan - Anna Soubry

  11-02-2018 14:24 via bbc.co.uk
  Tory rebel joins forces with Labour's Chuka Umunna to warn Theresa May against seeking a "hard Brexit".
  
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• Richard Desmond is no longer a press baron – it can only be good news

  11-02-2018 13:45
  Trinity Mirror now owns Desmond’s stable, including the Daily and Sunday Express.Press barons aren’t a much admired breed but Desmond over his 17 years found ways to lower even a denuded brand.On issues such as immigration, integration and diversity its tone has been malignant and crude, befitting its refashioning as the house journal of Nigel Farage and Ukip.
  
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• UKIP leader Henry Bolton: It's not all over

  11-02-2018 13:29 via bbc.co.uk
  Henry Bolton says he still has "strong affection" for Jo Marney but insists he can remain as leader.
  
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• PC in 'Hot Fuzz' swan chase near Reading

  11-02-2018 13:22 via bbc.co.uk
  Roads PC Jamie Payne pursued the "elusive" bird on foot - in scenes reminiscent of the 2007 film.
  
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• McDonnell: EU debate could still lead to election or referendum

  11-02-2018 13:22
  A second EU referendum would divide the UK again but Labour would not rule out further “democratic engagement”, John McDonnell has said, ahead of a series of speeches by cabinet ministers on Britain’s future after Brexit.The shadow chancellor said the country was still smarting from the aftermath of the 2016 vote and he was doubtful another referendum would bring the country together.Asked whether Labour would rule out a second referendum, he said: “We’d never turn
  
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• UKIP chief Henry Bolton: Ex's 'racist' messages were doctored

  11-02-2018 13:08
  "Racist" messages by Henry Bolton's ex-girlfriend were doctored, according to the UKIP leader.Jo Marney, 25, was suspended from the party after leaked messages showing her making controversial remarks about Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle were published in January.Mr Bolton is not saying that Ms Marney did not write the leaked messages but is to claim she was "stitched up" as he fights allegations of having shown "deeply flawed judgement".
  
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• Parental alcohol abuse linked to child deaths and injuries

  11-02-2018 13:02
  The study, commissioned by a cross-bench group of MPs and peers, found that more than half of councils did not have a strategy to help children of alcoholics.A report commissioned by a cross-bench group of MPs and peers found that alcohol abuse by parents was behind horrific problems for children and warned that budgets of alcohol and drug treatment programmes were being cut.“Parental alcohol misuse scars kids for life and can lead many into a life of drinking too much themselves,” s
  
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• Woman in her 80s stuck in Essex bath for three days

  11-02-2018 13:01 via bbc.co.uk
  The elderly woman was rescued after a neighbour alerted police to a lack of activity at the house for several days.
  
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• May to set out 'Road to Brexit' in speech

  11-02-2018 11:30
  British Prime Minister Theresa May will make two speeches on Brexit in the coming weeks to provide more details setting out the country's path to leaving the European Union.Britain is hoping to seal a transition deal next month to smooth its exit from the EU, and reach agreement on a long-term trade agreement later this year.May's government will aim to address that in a series of six speeches by the prime minister and other senior ministers in the next few weeks, which her office dubbed "The Ro
  
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• Energy firms could get welfare data

  11-02-2018 11:30 via bbc.co.uk
  Details of customers on some benefits could be handed to energy firms so they can give them special rates.
  
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• Mylee Billingham death: Father charged with murder

  11-02-2018 11:13 via bbc.co.uk
  William Billingham, 54, of Valley View, will appear before magistrates in Wolverhampton on Monday.
  
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• 'Common sense will prevail' on Brexit transition deal - Penny Mordaunt

  11-02-2018 11:06
  LONDON (Reuters) - British aid minister Penny Mordaunt said on Sunday she believed the government would be able to strike a transitional Brexit deal with the European Union.
  
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• British PM May to set out 'Road to Brexit' in speech

  11-02-2018 10:44
  British Prime Minister Theresa May will make two speeches on Brexit in the coming weeks to provide more details setting out the country's path to leaving the European Union.Britain is hoping to seal a transition deal next month to smooth its exit from the EU, and reach agreement on a long-term trade agreement later this year.May's government will aim to address that in a series of six speeches by the prime minister and other senior ministers in the next few weeks, which her office dubbed "The Ro
  
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• UK threatens to cut off aid cash to charities after Oxfam sex report

  11-02-2018 10:42
  Britain will cut off aid funding from any organisation that does not comply with a new review into charities work overseas, aid minister Penny Mordaunt said on Sunday, describing reports of sexual exploitation in the sector as "utterly despicable".Oxfam, one of Britain's biggest charities, on Friday condemned the behaviour of some former staff in Haiti after a newspaper report said aid workers had paid for sex while on a mission to help those affected by the 2010 earthquake.Mordaunt said she wou
  
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• Mylee Billingham: Father charged with murder of eight-year-old girl

  11-02-2018 10:35
  Mylee Billingham was discovered with knife wounds at William Billingham's home in Walsall on 20 January.A post-mortem examination on 22 January confirmed Mylee had suffered a single stab wound to the chest.Billingham was taken into police custody to be interviewed after being discharged on 9 February.
  
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• Man charged with murder of eight-year-old daughter in Walsall

  11-02-2018 10:16
  Mylee Billingham was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to hospital.William Billingham is accused of killing Mylee Billingham, who was found with knife wounds at his house in Walsall at 9.15pm on 20 January.West Midlands police said the 54-year-old man had also been charged with making threats to kill.
  
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• Driver who hit house in Bradford police chase dies

  11-02-2018 09:56 via bbc.co.uk
  The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the crash.
  
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• Bank of England chief economist says 'no rush' to raise rates

  11-02-2018 09:37
  The Bank of England is likely to need to raise interest rates to tackle inflation but will not do so in a hasty manner, the central bank's chief economist said in a newspaper article published on Sunday.Haldane, on a visit to northeast England, referred to the BoE's statement after its policy meeting on Thursday that interest rates were likely to need to rise somewhat faster and to a somewhat greater extent than previously thought.
  
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• ‘Unfair’ Universal Credit Clause Used To Quietly Change Council Tax Rules

  11-02-2018 09:12
  Self-employed people are facing financial hardship, stress and even bailiffs at the door as local councils use an “unfair” Universal Credit rule for entirely separate tax relief decisions, campaigners have warned.
  
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• Why you should love your 'saggy boobs'

  11-02-2018 08:50 via bbc.co.uk
  Blogger Chidera Eggerue wants women to celebrate breasts of all shapes and sizes.
  
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• David Haines' widow: We need him back

  11-02-2018 08:00
  Dragana Prodanovic Haines says husband David Haines deserves to be returned to his family so they can grieve his loss.
  
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