General news

• Police contact 131 people over Salisbury nerve agent fears

  15-03-2018 23:57
  Health officials say no members of the public have been harmed in the incident.Police and health officials have identified 131 people who could have been exposed to the nerve agent that has left Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in a critical condition, it has emerged.It was also revealed on Thursday that 46 people have attended hospital in Salisbury expressing concern that they could be affected.
  
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• 'Space harpoon' designed in UK could be the answer to space debris

  15-03-2018 23:37
  A "space harpoon" designed to catch a defunct satellite the size of a double-decker bus has passed a crucial earthbound test.The harpoon, designed by Airbus UK, could be launched on a spacecraft in the 2020s in an attempt to snare the 8-ton EnviSat, which stopped working in 2012.Pete Steele, a space systems engineer at Airbus, told Sky News that the captured satellite would then be dragged through the atmosphere, burning up as it goes.
  
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• FDA pushes to lower nicotine to 'minimally or non-addictive levels'

  15-03-2018 22:54
  FDA said the announcement is ‘a significant step in our efforts to confront nicotine addiction in combustible cigarettes’.The US government is making a strong push to lower nicotine levels in cigarettes to “minimally or non-addictive levels”, the regulator Scott Gottlieb announced Thursday.If the US Food and Drug Administration succeeds in mandating reduced nicotine, the agency said 33 million young people could be prevented from becoming regular smokers, and it would pro
  
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• Someone actually handed the police a driving licence with Homer Simpson on it

  15-03-2018 22:49
  The driver’s car was seized and he was reported for driving with no insurance and driving without a proper licence.
  
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• Data firm pitched 'illegal offer targeting overseas donors' to Leave.EU

  15-03-2018 22:27
  Arron Banks, one of the group’s founders, made the statement to the culture select committee.A controversial data marketing firm appeared to propose raising money from Brexit-supporting foreign donors on behalf of the Leave.EU campaign, in breach of UK election law.Cambridge Analytica told the group fronted by Nigel Farage and Arron Banks they could target wealthy people from the US, Canada and Australia on behalf of the pro-Brexit campaign in November 2015, according to a pitch document r
  
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• In a first, U.S. blames Russia for cyber attacks on energy grid

  15-03-2018 22:13
  The Trump administration on Thursday blamed the Russian government for a campaign of cyber attacks stretching back at least two years that targeted the U.S. power grid, marking the first time the United States has publicly accused Moscow of hacking into American energy infrastructure.Beginning in March 2016, or possibly earlier, Russian government hackers sought to penetrate multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, including energy, nuclear, commercial facilities, water, aviation and manuf
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn again refuses to directly blame Russia for Salisbury poison attack

  15-03-2018 21:58
  Jeremy Corbyn has again refused to directly blame Russia for the Salisbury nerve agent attack, urging the Government not to "rush ahead of the evidence".In an article for The Guardian, he says Theresa May must remain "calm" and "measured" in what is, he says, a "fevered parliamentary atmosphere".
  
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• Egypt calls for swift action after teenager's death in Nottingham

  15-03-2018 21:09
  Mariam Moustafa was assaulted on Parliament Street in Nottingham.The Egyptian government is pressing UK authorities to act swiftly in their investigations into the death of an 18-year-old Egyptian student who was the victim of a street assault in Nottingham.Mariam Moustafa, who was left in a coma after the incident on 20 February, was pronounced dead on Wednesday.
  
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• Hopes of Brexit transition deal face Irish barrier

  15-03-2018 20:56
  Prime Minister Theresa May and British businesses are banking on European Union leaders granting a Brexit transition deal next week but diplomats said they could face disappointment unless a deadlock is broken over the Irish border.May's spokesman said on Thursday she remained "confident" of a deal that would reassure investors that little will change in trading with the bloc for around two years after Britain leaves next March and until a new trade pact can be agreed.EU diplomats and officials
  
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• UK's claims questioned: doubts emerge about source of Salisbury's novichok

  15-03-2018 20:53
  It was a historic moment largely ignored at the time by most of the world’s media and might have remained so but for the attack in Salisbury.At a ceremony last November at the headquarters of the world body responsible for the elimination of chemical weapons in The Hague, a plaque was unveiled to commemorate the destruction of the last of Russia’s stockpiles.Gen Ahmet Üzümcü, the director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which
  
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• Allies back UK to condemn Russia over Salisbury nerve agent attack

  15-03-2018 20:33
  International pressure on Russia following the Salisbury nerve agent attack has been strongly ratcheted up, with Britain, the US, France and Germany jointly condemning an “assault on UK sovereignty”, as Washington boosted its own sanctions on Moscow.With Russia still promising retaliation to the expulsion of 23 of its diplomats from the UK, Theresa May’s frantic telephone diplomacy in the wake of the attack seemed to have coalesced the UK’s allies into a united response.
  
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• Mini 'Beast from the East' to bring up to 20cm of snow this weekend

  15-03-2018 20:19
  Up to 20cm (8in) of snow could fall this weekend as forecasters warn of a mini "Beast from the East".Sky News meteorologist Chris England said it would turn "much colder" over the next few days, with a "raw wind from the Baltic bringing widespread snow showers".Snow has already started falling in the Grampian mountains in Scotland, he said.
  
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• Grenfell Campaigners Fear Others Could Be Living Behind Doors That Failed 30 Minute Test

  15-03-2018 20:02
  Grenfell campaigners have raised fears that more residents could be living in
  
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• EU plans 3 percent digital tax on turnover of large firms - draft

  15-03-2018 19:49
  Large companies with significant digital revenues in the European Union such as Google and Facebook could face a 3 percent tax on their turnover under a draft proposal from the European Commission seen by Reuters.The tax, if backed by EU states and lawmakers, would only apply to large firms with annual worldwide revenues above 750 million euros (£662.2 million) and annual "taxable" revenues above 50 million euros in the EU.Other large U.S. firms such as Uber, Airbnb and Amazon could also b
  
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• After nerve agent attack, NATO sees pattern of Russian interference

  15-03-2018 19:41
  NATO accused Russia on Thursday of trying to destabilise the West with new nuclear weapons, cyber attacks and covert action, including the poisoning of a Russian former double agent in Britain, that blurred the line between peace and war.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters the use of the Novichok nerve agent against Sergei Skripal and his daughter "happened against a backdrop of a reckless pattern of Russian behaviour over many years".
  
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• A barrister on Twitter is debating the legal issues around some your favourite song lyrics

  15-03-2018 19:41
  Could someone acting like the guy in Every Breath You Take by prosecuted?
  
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• The five-year-old girl changing perceptions of Down's syndrome

  15-03-2018 19:38 via bbc.co.uk
  A girl's video raising awareness of Down's syndrome has been watched almost 10 million times on Facebook.
  
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• HSBC Reveals Female Staff In Britain Earn Almost 60% Less Than Men

  15-03-2018 19:03
  HSBC has unveiled a 60% gulf between women and men's pay making it one of the
  
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• Britain to let international body check its poison findings

  15-03-2018 18:54
  BERLIN (Reuters) - Britain is working on giving independent international experts the opportunity to check its conclusion that a critically ill Russian former spy was poisoned by a Russian-made nerve agent, its foreign minister said.
  
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• Brexit putting UK-led space missions 'in jeopardy'

  15-03-2018 18:51
  The UK's ability to lead space missions in future is in jeopardy because of Brexit, leading space scientists have told peers.At present the UK is a European leader in space science research and development, the scientists said.Professor John Zarnecki, president of the Royal Astronomical Society and emeritus professor of space science at the Open University, said: "In the UK, we have been incredibly successful in exploiting these opportunities - whether it's landing on a comet, as in Rosetta... t
  
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• Novichokolate from Putin? Graffiti irony near Russian embassy tackles nerve attack

  15-03-2018 18:50
  Opponents of President Vladimir Putin used graffiti on Thursday to take an ironic swipe at Russia over the nerve toxin attack on a former double agent.Britain and Russia have been trading public insults over the use of a Soviet-era nerve agent called Novichok to strike down former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury."Dine at the Russian Embassy," read the white graffiti stencilled onto the pavement near the Russian embassy in London.
  
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• Hardy takes helm from Taylor as CEO of trading giant Vitol

  15-03-2018 18:50
  Ian Taylor, who helped build Vitol into the world's biggest oil trader, will step down as chief executive and continue as chairman, the company said on Friday, naming a long-time ally and insider, Russell Hardy, as the new group CEO.Hardy, who started his career at BP and traded fuel oil, was long seen as one of two front-runners to succeed Taylor alongside another Vitol veteran Chris Bake.Vitol said in a statement that Hardy joined the firm in 1993 and held a number of trading and management ro
  
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• UKIP peer Lord Pearson invites ex-EDL leader Tommy Robinson to Parliament

  15-03-2018 18:44
  UKIP's Lord Pearson has been criticised after inviting ex-English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson to Parliament.The peer, a former leader of the party, was pictured posing with the anti-Islam activist outside the Palace of Westminster.Mr Robinson also conducted an interview with Lord Pearson, which appeared to be filmed on the parliamentary estate.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn defies critics and calls for calm over Russia

  15-03-2018 18:41
  Corbyn urged the government to take a ‘measured approach’ over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter.Jeremy Corbyn has warned Theresa May not to “rush way ahead of the evidence” over the Salisbury poisoning, in what he called the “fevered” atmosphere of Westminster.Doubling down on the cautious stance that infuriated some of his backbenchers on Wednesday, Corbyn used an article in the Guardian to urge the government to take a “calm, measured&r
  
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• ArcelorMittal offers to sell plants in swoop for Ilva

  15-03-2018 18:32
  ArcelorMittal , the world's largest steelmaker, has offered to sell plants across Europe in an effort to address EU antitrust concerns over its 1.8 billion euro (1.59 billion pounds) bid for Italian peer Ilva.The offer of concessions was submitted on Thursday.No details were provided, in line with the European Commission's policy.
  
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• Queen approves wedding of 'Prince Henry and Rachel Markle'

  15-03-2018 18:27
  The marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has received formal consent from the Queen.Henry is actually Harry's first name.As she did for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Queen will have signed an Instrument of Consent, issued under the Great Seal of the Realm.
  
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• Westminster couple to wed after surprise Commons proposal

  15-03-2018 18:21
  The very public proposal was orchestrated by 32-year-old Matthew Reville.
  
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• Consumer stocks a headache as FTSE inches higher

  15-03-2018 18:14
  UK shares managed a meagre gain on Thursday after a three-day losing streak as Britain's third-biggest company, Unilever, fell after announcing it would make Rotterdam its sole legal home a year before Brexit.The blue-chip FTSE 100index was up 0.1 percent at 7,139.76 points at its close, recovering some losses from the day before thanks to gains in financials, healthcare and industrials.The diplomatic tensions between Britain and Russia have so far had little impact on British shares.
  
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• Theresa May fist bumped a member of the public and the internet doesn’t know what to think

  15-03-2018 18:05
  The Prime Minister greeted members of the public in Salisbury.
  
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• Russia, nerve agents and a quest for the truth

  15-03-2018 17:41
  It is not Jeremy Corbyn but your editorial that is dispiriting (15 March).Last month, the PM and defence secretary called on Corbyn to release his nonexistent Stasi file.There is a prescribed and, by multilateral organisations’ standard, speedy verification process for chemical weapon attacks in the chemical weapons convention.
  
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• End the inhumanity of immigration detention

  15-03-2018 17:41
  The damning inspection report on Harmondsworth immigration removal centre (Detention of torture victims attacked by prison inspectors, 13 March) is a reminder of the inhumanity of immigration detention.The report mentions a self-inflicted death of a detainee.Fellow detainees told the Guardian that Marcin had been begging for help but staff did nothing.
  
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• U.S. labour market tightening, inflation gaining steam

  15-03-2018 17:33
  The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to sustained labour strength even as economic growth appears to have slowed early in the first quarter.Other data on Thursday showed an increase in the prices of imported goods in February amid weakness in the U.S. dollar and rising commodity prices, bolstering expectations that inflation will pick up this year.Import prices are likely to rise further after President Donald Trump last week imposed tariffs on steel
  
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• China's consumer day show targets Volkswagen, bike sharing

  15-03-2018 17:26
  BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's annual consumer day TV show took aim at Volkswagenand the country's fast-growing bike-sharing market on Thursday in an otherwise subdued outing for the once feared event.The late evening China Central Television (CCTV) show named and shamed the German carmaker for engine defects with its Touareg SUV, prompting an apology from the company as it looked to salve consumer concerns in the world's largest auto market."We sincerely apologise again for any inconvenie
  
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• Queen gives formal consent for grandson Harry to marry Meghan Markle

  15-03-2018 17:25
  Britain's Queen Elizabeth has formally given her permission for her "dearly beloved" grandson Prince Harry to marry his U.S. fiancee Meghan Markle.In a letter to the Privy Council, a formal advisory body to the monarch comprised of senior politicians, judges and bishops, the queen confirmed her approval of the wedding of Harry, the fifth-in-line to the throne, and Markle, star of U.S. TV drama "Suits"."I declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between My Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince
  
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• West calls on Russia to explain nerve toxin attack on former double agent

  15-03-2018 17:23
  Britain, the United States, Germany and France jointly called on Russia on Thursday to explain a military-grade nerve toxin attack in England on a former Russian double agent, which they said threatened Western security.After the first known offensive use of such a weapon on European soil since World War Two, Britain has pinned the blame on Moscow and given 23 Russians who it said were spies working under diplomatic cover at the London embassy a week to leave.Moscow has denied any involvement in
  
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• Trump says 'it looks like' Russia was behind the poisoning of former spy in Britain

  15-03-2018 17:23
  U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said "it looks like" Russia was behind the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain earlier this month."It looks like the Russians were behind it," Trump said during a meeting at the White House with Ireland's prime minister, Leo Varadkar.
  
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• May visits policeman in hospital after he was poisoned helping Russian spy - spokesman

  15-03-2018 17:22
  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May visited a policeman in hospital on Thursday after he was poisoned helping a Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, her spokesman said.
  
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• Danny Boyle confirms he is working on script for Bond 25

  15-03-2018 17:05
  The director of Trainspotting has confirmed he is writing the script for the next James Bond film.Danny Boyle ended months of speculation on the red carpet in New York, when he said he is working on the next in the MI6 spy franchise.John Hodge and I are working on a - the guy who wrote 'Trainspotting,' the 'Trainspotting' films.
  
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• Hero police dog Finn to receive 'George Cross' for animals

  15-03-2018 16:55
  A police dog that was stabbed with a 10-inch knife as he protected his handler is to be awarded the "George Cross for animals".Finn, a German Shepherd, was stabbed twice with a hunting knife after grabbing the leg of a robbery suspect who was trying to jump over a fence.PC Wardell was stabbed in the hand as he and Finn pursued the suspect in Stevenage in October 2016.
  
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• EU calls on Russia to declare 'Novichok' to chemical weapons body

  15-03-2018 16:49
  Russia must cooperate with the world's chemical weapons body and disclose a "Novichok" nerve agent programme after a former spy was attacked with military-grade toxin in an English city, the European Union said on Thursday."We support the call for a full and complete disclosure by the Russian Federation," Bulgaria's envoy to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, Krassimir Kostov, told members of the OPCW's executive council.
  
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• Scrap Northamptonshire county council, inspectors say

  15-03-2018 16:45
  Northamptonshire county council (NCC), which declared effective bankruptcy last month, should be scrapped, a devastating inspectors’ report into widespread financial and management failures at the authority has recommended.A government-appointed investigator’s report said the problems at the council were so deep-rooted that it was impossible to rescue it in its current form, and to do so “would be a reward for failure”.It recommends that ministers send in a team of extern
  
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• UK Weather: Met Forecasts A Bitterly Cold And Snowy Weekend

  15-03-2018 16:42
  Forecasters have issued yellow weather warnings for snow and ice across large
  
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• Russia opens books for new Eurobond issue, to tap an Russia-47 - source

  15-03-2018 16:25
  The Russian finance ministry has opened its books for a new 11-year sovereign Eurobond issue and also plans to sell some more of its already-issued notes maturing in 2047, a financial market source said on Thursday.Books for both are expected to close on Friday.According to its 2018 budget, Russia plans to place up to $3 billion in new bonds.
  
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• Russia: We never had a programme to develop nerve gas named in UK spy case - Ifax

  15-03-2018 16:22
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that neither Russia nor the Soviet Union had run a programme to develop the 'Novichok' nerve gas which Britain says was used to poison a former double agent, the Interfax news agency reported.
  
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• Royal Wedding: Queen Gives Consent For Prince Harry And Meghan Markle To Marry

  15-03-2018 16:08
  The Queen has given her formal consent to the marriage of Prince Harry and
  
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• Met Office issues warnings of snow and ice across the UK

  15-03-2018 16:02
  The latest cold snap comes just a couple of weeks after snow blizzards caused chaos around the UK.A weather warning has been issued for some parts of England this weekend, as forecasters predict more snow to arrive on Friday evening, with cold weather continuing until Sunday.The Met Office issued a yellow warning, which means people should be prepared as there is a low chance of disruption caused by adverse weather, in the north-east on Friday.
  
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• 'Go away and shut up', British minister tells Russia

  15-03-2018 15:34
  Britain's defence secretary said on Thursday that Russia should shut up and go away as London and Moscow traded insults over the nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in the English city of Salisbury.After the first known offensive use of a such a nerve agent on European soil since World War Two, Britain said Russia was to blame and gave 23 Russians who it said were spies working under diplomatic cover a week to leave London."It is absolutely atrocious and outrageous what Russia di
  
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• EU publishes draft text of Brexit treaty, some key issues unresolved

  15-03-2018 15:29
  The European Commission published on Thursday an updated draft text of the treaty that will regulate Britain's exit from the European Union on March 29th, 2019, but some of the key sticking points remain unresolved.The text, which includes both the terms of the divorce as well as of the two-year transition period that is to follow, has now been sent to London for further negotiations.An EU official said the updated text contained legal clarifications, but no major or meaningful changes compared
  
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• Russian spy poisoning: 'smug' response shows guilt, says Boris Johnson

  15-03-2018 15:27
  Boris Johnson has stepped up Britain’s war of words with Russia by accusing the Kremlin of glorying in the poisoning of the double agent Sergei Skripal.The foreign secretary said Russia had deliberately chosen the Soviet-era nerve agent novichok in the Salisbury attack as a warning to opponents of Vladimir Putin.Theresa May will visit Salisbury on Thursday to meet local businesses and members of the public, as well as receiving a briefing from Public Health England.
  
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• Theresa May visits Salisbury as Moscow prepares retaliation to sanctions

  15-03-2018 15:26
  Theresa May views the area in Salisbury where Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found critically ill.Theresa May has visited the scene of the poisoning of a former Russian double agent as the diplomatic row deepened between Moscow and London over the attack.The prime minister spoke in Salisbury on Thursday to members of the emergency services and the military who had responded to the nerve agent attack, as well as local business owners.
  
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