General news

• Minister seeks to scotch claims of Brexit power grab

  25-02-2018 23:30
  David Lidington will make a speech in north Wales.The Cabinet Office minister David Lidington will on Monday promise “a very big change” to a key Brexit bill in the hope of resolving the deadlock between London and the devolved administrations over what happens to powers being repatriated from Brussels.In a speech in north Wales, Lidington will say “the vast majority of powers returning from Brussels will start off in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast – and not in Whitehall&
  
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• Major incident after 'explosion' in Leicester

  25-02-2018 22:48
  Four people have been taken to hospital in a critical condition after a reported explosion in Leicester, according to the local NHS Trust.Six fire engines were sent to the scene after members of the public reported a large blast in the area at around 7pm.A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters were on their way to the scene when police told them a building had collapsed.
  
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• Four patients taken to hospital after blast in Leicester

  25-02-2018 22:34
  LONDON (Reuters) - Ambulance officials said on Sunday they took four patients to hospital after an explosion destroyed a convenience store and a home in the central English city of Leicester.
  
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• Footage of fire after 'explosion'

  25-02-2018 22:05
  A major incident has been declared by police after reports of an explosion in Leicester.
  
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• Leicester Police Responding To 'Major Incident' Following Reports Of An Explosion

  25-02-2018 21:25
  Police in Leicester are responding to a “major incident” following reports of a large blast in the city.
  
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• Leicester Blast: Four People In A 'Critical Condition' Following Explosion In Hinckley Road

  25-02-2018 21:25
  Police in Leicester are responding to a “major incident” following reports of a large blast in the city.
  
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• Leicester Blast: Four People Dead Following Explosion In Hinckley Road

  25-02-2018 21:25
  Police in Leicester are responding to a “major incident” following reports of a large blast in the city.
  
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• Leicester Blast: Five People Dead Following Explosion In Hinckley Road

  25-02-2018 21:25
  Five people have died after an explosion at a property in Leicester on Sunday night, Leicestershire Police have confirmed.
  
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• Tony Blair hits back after being branded 'complete liar' by Trump book author Michael Wolff

  25-02-2018 20:49
  Tony Blair has clashed with a leading author as the former prime minister angrily repeated a denial he angled for a job with Donald Trump.The ex-Labour leader hit back after being branded "a complete liar" by Michael Wolff, who recently penned an explosive book about the US President.The row stems from claims made by Mr Wolff in "Fire And Fury: Inside the Trump White House" that Mr Blair told Jared Kushner, Mr Trump's son-in-law and key adviser, that Britain might have spied on the Trump campaig
  
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• Snow Forecast As UK Expected To Feel Colder Than Arctic Circle

  25-02-2018 19:56
  Parts of the UK are set to feel colder than places in the Arctic Circle as freezing temperatures continue into the week.
  
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• Girl, 13, arrested after 120 cars damaged in fire

  25-02-2018 19:53
  A 13-year-old girl has been arrested after an arson attack which left 120 cars badly damaged.The teenager was held by Kent Police following a fire in Deal.Around 40 firefighters were needed to tackle the blaze at a car salvage yard in the town at about 9pm on Friday night.
  
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• Russia hacked the Olympics and tried to pin it on North Korea

  25-02-2018 19:31
  Now that the 2018 Winter Olympics are over, we're now learning who was responsible for hacking the games' systems... and the culprit won't surprise you at all.
  
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• Sewing machinists’ strike at Ford was not about equal pay

  25-02-2018 18:48
  Striking female machinists from the Ford plant in Dagenham attend a women’s conference on equal rights in industry, 1968.As I have noted previously (Letters, 14 February 2017), the Ford sewing machinists went on strike in May 1968 not over the issue of equal pay as a principle of “justice” but over the company’s refusal to upgrade them to the skilled grade C. Nor was Ford’s position one of political reaction per se, but rather a money-saving exercise – the com
  
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• Londoners at greater risk of crime as Met budgets tighten

  25-02-2018 18:31
  The Home Office says the Met gets more money per head of population than any other force, while London mayoral office says the government refuses to meet.The government has given its clearest sign yet that it will not increase budgets for the Metropolitan police amid warnings a funding crisis will leave nine million Londoners at greater danger of crime.The Home Office said the Met gets more officers and money per head of population than other forces, as the office of London’s Labour mayor
  
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• 'Beast from the East': Met Office warns of 'potential risk to life' with heavy snow forecast

  25-02-2018 18:30
  The Met Office has warned of a "potential risk to life" as heavy snow is expected to hit most of the UK in the coming days.Freezing weather sweeping in from Russia - known as "The Beast from the East" - is set to cause travel disruption and power cuts as Britain faces its coldest February week in five years.Severe weather warnings have been issued for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with 20cm of snow predicted in places.
  
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• Toys R Us seeks bids for European arm as UK division heads for collapse

  25-02-2018 18:11
  Toys R Us is seeking bids for its stores in Continental Europe just hours‎ before it plans to place its British operations into administration.Sky News understands that advisers to the stricken toy retailer have told potential buyers of its European division to lodge offers by the close of business on Monday.Several private equity firms are understood to be planning to table bids for the division, which also has a presence in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Poland and Portugal.
  
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• British skier dies after falling off cliff in French Alps

  25-02-2018 17:25
  A British skier has died after falling from a cliff in the French Alps, according to mountain rescue authorities.The man was one of three skiers who had got into trouble while at the Alpe d'Huez resort on Saturday morning.According to mountain rescue spokesman Francois Bepol, the group ventured off-piste and went in the wrong direction.
  
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• University Of Surrey ‘Spent £1,600 On Bringing New Boss’s Dog To Britain’

  25-02-2018 16:52
  A university spent more than £1,600 of public money on transporting its new vice chancellor’s dog from Australia to the UK, an investigation has found.
  
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• Prepare for seriously cold weather this week, Britons told

  25-02-2018 16:35
  Some areas of the UK are set to feel colder than places in the Arctic circle this week.Parts of the UK are set to feel colder than areas in the Arctic circle this week as freezing Siberian air engulfs the British Isles, bringing blizzards, snow drifts and the potential for travel disruption.The icy blast, “the beast from the east”, has prompted the Met Office to issue yellow and amber weather warnings for snow in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for most of the week, wit
  
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• Passage: The Rev. Billy Graham

  25-02-2018 16:01
  It happened this past week: the passing of evangelist Billy Graham, whose ministry preached to more than 200 million people in 185 countries over the years. Rev. Graham, often called "America's Pastor," was 99. Jane Pauley reports.
  
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• Six children in hospital amid fears they took drug MDMA

  25-02-2018 16:00
  Six children who were rushed to hospital may have taken the drug MDMA, police say.The youngsters, all aged 13, fell ill and were taken to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock on Saturday.Police Scotland said it was investigating whether they had taken a type of MDMA tablet stamped with an owl logo.
  
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• Anti-Corbyn rightwing press attacks 'boost Momentum support'

  25-02-2018 15:29
  Jeremy Corbyn blamed significant parts of the national press for ‘a succession of false and absurd stories’.Attacks on Jeremy Corbyn by the rightwing press are leading to large spikes in his support base immediately after negative newspaper articles, according to data seen by the Guardian.New figures from Momentum come days after Labour went on the offensive over reports in the Daily Mail, the Sun and others that Corbyn met a Czechoslovakian spy in the 1980s.
  
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• Rotherham abuse inquiry ‘needs 100 more officers’

  25-02-2018 14:46
  The investigation’s senior officer said it was complex as many of the victims were children when they were abused and were now adults with associated problems.The UK’s biggest investigation into child sexual exploitation needs 100 more officers to tackle the unprecedented scale of abuse in Rotherham, the head of the operation has told the Guardian.The National Crime Agency (NCA), which is investigating past grooming offences in the town, has identified more than 1,500 potential victi
  
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• Michael Wolff Brands Tony Blair A 'Complete Liar' Over Trump Job Denial

  25-02-2018 14:30
  Tony Blair has been labelled a “complete liar” by the author of an explosive book on Donald Trump for denying that he asked an adviser to the American president for a job.
  
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• Firefighters warned of greater cancer risk 'due to kits not being cleaned'

  25-02-2018 14:24
  Firefighters face a greater risk of developing cancer because of an "alarmingly high" level of dangerous chemicals carried on their clothing, researchers have found.In the first study of its kind, experts at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) discovered firefighters were more likely to absorb cancerous gases through their skin rather than inhaling them.The Government has been urged to take action after it was reported the cancer death rate among firefighters aged 75 or under was up to
  
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• Labour MP: Brexit is a great opportunity

  25-02-2018 14:10
  Labour MP and Brexit supporter, Kate Hoey, says leaving the EU on hard brexit terms will be the best thing for the country.
  
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• Labour shifts to back a customs union with EU after Brexit

  25-02-2018 13:58
  Labour has declared its support for agreeing a customs union with the EU after Brexit, to open a clear dividing line with the Government's approach.The party's shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer confirmed Labour want a new treaty with Brussels that "will do the work" of the UK's current membership of the EU's customs union.Jeremy Corbyn will announce the shift in Labour's Brexit policy during a speech on Monday, following "many weeks of discussion" within the party, Sir Keir added.
  
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• Fire and Fury author and Tony Blair accuse each other of lying

  25-02-2018 13:53
  The former prime minister Tony Blair and the American author Michael Wolff have accused each other of lying, as the row about Blair’s dealings with Donald Trump’s White House reignited.Wolff, whose bestselling book Fire and Fury presents a remarkable and highly negative account of Trump’s first year in office, said on Sunday that Blair was a “complete liar” in the way he dismissed claims in the book.Blair responded by saying Wolff’s stories about him were made
  
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• Workplace Sexual Harassment Complaints Rise By Almost A Third In Five Years

  25-02-2018 13:26
  The number of workplace sexual harassment complaints to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has risen by almost a third in the last five years.
  
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• Labour Support A Customs Union With EU, Shadow Brexit Secretary Says

  25-02-2018 12:11
  Labour will support remaining in a customs union with the European Union after Brexit, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
  
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• Labour to back customs union, says May faces Brexit 'crunch time'

  25-02-2018 12:10
  Britain's opposition Labour party will back a new customs union with the EU, its Brexit policy chief said - a move that would facilitate trade with the bloc but limit Britain's ability to strike deals with other countries.Keir Starmer said on Sunday his party had agreed that if it wins power it should negotiate to create a new union with the bloc, and said Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May faced a potential rebellion over her position on the policy."Crunch time is now coming for the prime
  
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• Ramblers are taking a walk on the wild side...

  25-02-2018 12:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  IF YOU are planning a leisurely ramble, Hackney, Walthamstow and Salford are probably the last places on your list.
  
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• Labour backs staying in EU customs union, Keir Starmer confirms

  25-02-2018 11:46
  Starmer said staying in a customs union was ‘the only way realistically’ for the UK to get tariff-free access to the EU.The shadow Brexit secretary has formally confirmed that Labour wants the UK to effectively remain permanently in the EU’s customs union.Sir Keir Starmer told The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One on Sunday the shadow cabinet had unanimous support for the new policy, which Jeremy Corbyn will flesh out in a speech in Coventry on Monday.
  
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• Dementia tax: Millions of over-40s face paying MORE National Insurance every year

  25-02-2018 11:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  MILLIONS of workers aged 40 and over face paying hundreds of pounds more National Insurance in radical plans that Theresa May’s ex-defacto deputy Damian Green admits could be described as a “dementia tax”.
  
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• Ross Taylor and Mitchell Santner give New Zealand dramatic win over England

  25-02-2018 11:28
  New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner celebrates after hitting the winning runs against England in Hamilton.Ben Stokes may be an England player again but New Zealand quashed any hopes of a fairytale return, winning an absorbing first one-day international by three wickets.While the all-rounder was able to have a say with the ball, the headlines belong to Ross Taylor for a magnificent 113 and Mitchell Santner, whose blazing cameo of 45 from 27 balls saw the Black Caps home to their target of 285.
  
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• A fifth of British troops are too unfit to fight, warns former Armed Forces chief

  25-02-2018 11:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  BRITAIN is at risk of becoming an “insignificant” military power, a former Armed Forces chief has warned, as it emerged a fifth of British troops are unfit to fight on the front line.
  
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• Government Urged To Ban Sale Of Corrosive Liquids To Children

  25-02-2018 11:16
  A schoolgirl was able to buy bleach from London shops, despite retailers agreeing to prevent sales of corrosive substances to children amid a spate of acid attacks, an investigation has revealed.
  
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• Robin Hood's grave could be concreted over to become an INDUSTRIAL ESTATE

  25-02-2018 10:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  ROBIN Hood’s grave will be concreted over under plans to build a sprawling industrial estate on the centuries-old meadows where he fired his last arrow. The outlaw met his death after leaving the safety of Sherwood Forest to be healed by nuns in Kirklees Priory.
  
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• Grenfell Tower tragedy: Council workers keeping residents informed are being targeted

  25-02-2018 10:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  COUNCILLORS working to keep residents informed in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy say troublemakers are intent on “hijacking” their meetings.
  
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• Samsung Galaxy S9: Features, UK Price And Release Date

  25-02-2018 09:55
  Samsung has officially unveiled its brand-new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S9.
  
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• Woman found dead on a motorway has been identified as mother-of-two

  25-02-2018 09:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  A woman found dead on a motorway has been named as Dominique Worrall, mother of two. The 32-year-old’s body was discovered by police on the London-bound M20 near Ashford, Kent, shortly after 6pm on Tuesday.
  
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• Nokia 8110: Remember The Slider From The 90s? It's Back And It's Bright Yellow

  25-02-2018 09:47
  Riding off the success of re-releasing the 3310 the company is back with another remake and this time it has chosen the classic ‘slider’ phone, the Nokia 8110.
  
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• Premier League considers new anti-terror barriers

  25-02-2018 09:02
  A number of Premier League clubs will meet this week to discuss whether to introduce a "revolutionary" new anti-terror barrier at their grounds.Burnley and Manchester United are already using the portable barriers, which security experts have described as a "leap forward" in protection against vehicle-borne attacks.The system is designed by a UK company, after the Government challenged the security sector to come up with a barrier concept which could be easily deployed and quickly dismantled.
  
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• People living in this town could see the council tax SCRAPPED by 2022

  25-02-2018 08:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  A TOWN hall says it can scrap council tax in just four years, through efficiencies and investments. People living in East Hampshire, who already enjoy one of the lowest council tax rates in England, were the only people in the country to enjoy a decrease last year.
  
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• People living in this council could see the council tax SCRAPPED by 2022

  25-02-2018 08:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  A TOWN hall says it can scrap council tax in just four years, through efficiencies and investments. People living in East Hampshire, who already enjoy one of the lowest council tax rates in England, were the only people in the country to enjoy a decrease last year.
  
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• Mother pays tribute to her boys as couple are charged over their deaths

  25-02-2018 08:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  A COUPLE were yesterday charged with the car crash death of two young brothers.
  
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• Sir Vince Cable calls on Government to introduce US-style bankruptcy scheme

  25-02-2018 08:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  A US-STYLE bankruptcy scheme to give struggling firms a breathing space and let suppliers collect cash owed has been called for by Sir Vince Cable.
  
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• Corbyn, the spy and the cold war’s long shadow

  25-02-2018 07:00
  It’s the mid-1980s and a group of Islington North Labour party activists are in a quandary.Some want to show support for Solidarity, the trade union movement that emerged from Poland’s shipyards in opposition to the hegemony of the USSR.Susan Greenberg, now an academic but in the 80s a journalist, had been invited to talk to the meeting about her recent reporting trips to central Europe.
  
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• NHS BAN stocking CADBURY products after AMERICAN owners HIKE UP prices

  25-02-2018 06:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  CADBURY products have been delisted from the NHS after owners Mondelez increased their prices at a time where the NHS supply chain has been tasked with finding £300 million worth of savings, it has been revealed.
  
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• Brexit betrayal? REMOANER Tory rebels back plan to SHACKLE UK in customs union with EU

  25-02-2018 06:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  PRO-EU Conservative rebels are taking part in a cross-party effort to keep the UK locked in a post-Brexit customs union with the EU despite the efforts of other Conservatives to unshackle Britain from the Brussels bloc, it has been revealed.
  
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