General news

• UK investigators search London office of firm at centre of Facebook data storm

  23-03-2018 23:38
  Investigators from Britain's data watchdog on Friday searched the London offices of Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm at the centre of a storm over allegations it improperly harvested Facebook data to target U.S. voters.About 20 officials, wearing black jackets with "ICO Enforcement" on them, arrived at the firm's central London offices soon after a High Court judge granted a search warrant sought by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).The officials, who were let into the buil
  
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• Epilepsy drug behind birth defects banned for women without pregnancy prevention plan

  23-03-2018 23:20
  An epilepsy drug linked to birth defects in thousands of children will not be given to women of child bearing age unless they are on a pregnancy prevention plan.Sodium valproate was linked to severe malformations in 2,150 to 4,100 children in France, according to a preliminary study by French health authorities.Documents uncovered by Sky News from the National Archive last year revealed that the dangers to pregnant women were kept from patients for decades despite evidence it could harm foetuses
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn regrets comments about 'anti-Semitic' mural

  23-03-2018 22:25 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour leader says he did not look closely at controversial picture before questioning its removal.
  
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• Red Arrows crash: Tribute paid to 'exceptional' engineer

  23-03-2018 22:18 via bbc.co.uk
  The team's squadron leader records a video tribute to the engineer who died in an aircraft crash.
  
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• Labour sacks Northern Ireland policy chief over call for second EU referendum

  23-03-2018 22:07
  Britain's opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sacked his shadow Northern Ireland minister on Friday after he called for a second referendum on Brexit, a move that exposes deep divisions in the party over how and whether to leave the European Union.Owen Smith, who challenged Corbyn for the party leadership in 2016, wrote an article in the Guardian newspaper on Friday urging his party to reopen the question of whether Brexit was the right decision.Smith said he was sacked for voicing his opinio
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn slammed by Labour MPs for criticising removal of anti-Semitic mural

  23-03-2018 21:52
  Jeremy Corbyn has been criticised by his own MPs over his apparent support for an anti-Semitic mural on a street in east London.Included in the portrait, which was removed by Tower Hamlets Council after a number of complaints were made, also included an activist holding a banner which read: "The new world order is the enemy of humanity".Mr Corbyn left a comment on a Facebook post by Mear One, real name Kalen Ockerman, in 2012 after the artist revealed his work was set to be whitewashed.
  
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• UK investigators enter London office of firm at centre of Facebook data storm

  23-03-2018 21:49
  Investigators from Britain's data watchdog on Friday entered the London offices of a data analytics firm at the centre of a storm over allegations it improperly harvested Facebook data to target U.S. voters, a Reuters witness said.About 20 officials, wearing black jackets with "ICO Enforcement" on them, arrived at the central London offices of Cambridge Analytica, soon after a High Court judge granted a search warrant sought by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).Elizabeth Denham, head o
  
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• Data row firm Cambridge Analytica's offices raided after court order

  23-03-2018 21:43
  Eighteen enforcement officers have entered Cambridge Analytica's London office after the High Court granted a search warrant.The Information Commissioner's Office applied for the warrant to access the company's records and data amid allegations it illegally harvested information from 50 million Facebook users."This is just one part of a larger investigation into the use of personal data for political purposes and we will now need time to collect and consider the evidence," it said.
  
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• 'Perfect storm' for retailers, warns McDonald's boss

  23-03-2018 21:24
  Britain's retailers are facing "a perfect storm" that will see businesses squeezed and more corporate failures, according to the UK boss of McDonald's.In an exclusive interview for Sky News, Paul Pomroy said he had made the "bold decision" to keep investing in restaurants and staff since Brexit, but said conditions were getting ever tougher.Describing a "perfect storm of challenges, Mr Pomroy said: "I am really concerned by the amount of inflation that companies are carrying at the moment.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn sacks Owen Smith over call for second EU referendum

  23-03-2018 21:15
  Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of a "Stalinist purge" after he sacked Owen Smith - who challenged him for the leadership in 2016 - from the Shadow Cabinet.Mr Smith was removed from his job as shadow Northern Ireland secretary after attacking Brexit and urging the Labour Party to campaign for a second EU referendum in a newspaper article.With Mr Corbyn already under attack over his response to the Russian poisoning crisis and rows in the party over anti-Semitism, Mr Smith's sacking threatens to r
  
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• Jailed UK fraudster sentenced again after opening accounts on day release

  23-03-2018 20:57
  A jailed fraudster, who conned investors out of 5.5 million pounds by pretending to be a foreign exchange trader, was sentenced again by a London court on Friday after he opened five bank accounts under the radar of authorities.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Alex Hope, who was jailed for seven years in 2015, was sentenced to another 16 months after he received more than 75,000 pounds in the accounts and bought items such as tickets to a Rihanna pop concert.The FCA said Hope had breac
  
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• Russia's UK poison source accusation 'just not true'

  23-03-2018 20:45 via bbc.co.uk
  The UK's top military research centre says it's a coincidence that a former Russian spy was poisoned close by.
  
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• Russian spy: Inside UK lab that identified nerve agent

  23-03-2018 20:45 via bbc.co.uk
  The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera has spent a day in the military's chemicals headquarters.
  
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• Cambridge Analytica: Enforcement Officers Enter London Office After Search Warrant Issued

  23-03-2018 20:07
  Enforcement officers working for the Information Commissioner have entered the
  
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• Grenfell Survivors Urge Special Measures For Council After Rehousing Delay

  23-03-2018 19:57
  Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have called for Kensington and Chelsea
  
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• Doctors Allowed To Deceive HIV Positive Mentally-Ill Woman Into Taking Drugs

  23-03-2018 19:55
  A judge has given doctors permission to deceive a mentally-ill woman who is
  
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• Corbyn sacks Owen Smith over second EU referendum call

  23-03-2018 19:55
  Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Smith has been sacked by Jeremy Corbyn over his call for a second EU referendum.Mr Smith sent a defiant tweet, saying: "Just been sacked by @jeremycorbyn for my long held views on the damage #Brexit will do to the Good Friday Agreement & the economy of the entire U.K.Mr Smith set out his view on a second referendum in an interview with the Guardian.
  
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• Parsons Green Tube Bomber Jailed For Minimum Of 34 Years

  23-03-2018 19:50
  A "ruthless" teenage asylum seeker has been jailed for at least 34 years for
  
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• Ongoing Declines In World’S Plants And Animals ‘Puts Humans At Risk’

  23-03-2018 19:47
  Nature is in decline in every region of the world, putting human livelihoods
  
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• Man Appears In Court Over Death Of Holby City Actor’S Daughter

  23-03-2018 19:39
  A man has appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of Louella Eve
  
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• CCTV shows men smashing through patio door in 'terrifying' burglary

  23-03-2018 19:39
  CCTV has been released of a gang breaking into a house in a terrifying burglary where they dragged around the family's children and squirted an 81-year-old in the face with liquid.When no one answered, they all went to the rear patio door of the property in affluent Chislehurt, southeast London, and smashed the glass with a crowbar.
  
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• Prince Of Wales Watches Prison Inmates Performing Opera

  23-03-2018 19:38
  The Prince of Wales watched inmates performing songs from Carmen and Les
  
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• Owen Smith sacked from Labour party frontbench

  23-03-2018 19:30
  Owen Smith and Jeremy Corbyn during the contest for the Labour leadership in 2016, which they both contested.The shadow Northern Ireland secretary, Owen Smith, has been sacked by Jeremy Corbyn after advocating a public referendum over the final Brexit deal.Smith, who challenged Corbyn for the party leadership in 2016, wrote an article in the Guardian urging his party to reopen the question of whether Brexit was the right thing for Britain.
  
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• Would-be mayor Dan Jarvis must now quit as MP

  23-03-2018 19:23
  Labour MP Dan Jarvis, once seen as a rising star and tipped as a potential party leader, will have to quit Parliament within weeks after being selected as a mayoral candidate in South Yorkshire.A former major in the Parachute Regiment and MP for Barnsley Central since 2011, Mr Jarvis has been selected as Labour's candidate to fight the new post of mayor of the Sheffield City Region.
  
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• Irish Stew On The Menu As Harry And Meghan Visit Belfast’S Crown Liquor Saloon

  23-03-2018 19:15
  Meghan Markle and Prince Harry embraced the culture of Northern Ireland during
  
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• Woman Accused Of Murder Heard Screaming At Nanny, Court Told

  23-03-2018 19:12
  A mother accused of murdering her French nanny was heard screaming "horrible"
  
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• Soldier In Banned Neo-Nazi Group Trial Was ‘Given’ Propaganda On Base, Court Told

  23-03-2018 19:12
  A serving soldier accused of being a member of a banned neo-Nazi group
  
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• Who's your friend? Wistful EU embraces May before Brexit

  23-03-2018 19:10
  With Brexit a year away, European Union leaders made a point on Friday of embracing Theresa May, with some treating her troubles with Russia and the United States as an opportunity to show Britain who its friends are.It surprised some British officials and contrasted sharply with the past two years of frosty summitry since Britons voted to quit the bloc and seek a better global role alone."In these difficult circumstances, I am personally especially pleased that, despite the tough Brexit negotia
  
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• Sir David Attenborough Mourns ‘Warning Signal’ Loss Of Northern White Rhino

  23-03-2018 19:10
  Sir David Attenborough has said the death of the last male northern white
  
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• CBE A Remarkable Feeling, Says Brigadier Who Set Up ‘Facebook Warriors’ Unit

  23-03-2018 19:06
  A British Army brigadier who created a specialist unit of "Facebook warriors"
  
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• Russian Ambassador Sends Well Wishes To Novichok Attack Victims

  23-03-2018 19:01
  The Russian Ambassador in London has sent his well wishes to those directly
  
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• Porton Down denies it could have been source of nerve agent that poisoned ex-spy

  23-03-2018 19:00
  Britain's military research facility at Porton Down said it could not have been the source of the nerve agent that poisoned Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the city of Salisbury this month, the BBC reported on Friday.The BBC quoted Porton Down Chief Executive Gary Aitkenhead as saying there was "no way" the substance could have come from its laboratories as Russia has suggested.Russia denies any involvement in the attack on the pair who have been critical in hospital since they
  
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• Mass stranding in Australia claims more than 130 whales – video

  23-03-2018 18:55 via theguardian.com
  More than 130 whales have died after being washed up on a beach in Western Australia. Veterinarians and volunteers are racing to save more than a dozen other short-finned pilot whales. Authorities have warned people to stay away from the beach in Hamelin Bay as the dead and dying animals could attract sharks More than 130 whales die in mass stranding in Western Australia Continue reading...
  
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• Sajid Javid faces battle over 4% affordable homes in Sainsbury's scheme

  23-03-2018 18:54
  The decision comes after Sajid Javid said it is “totally unacceptable” for developers to claim they cannot afford to meet affordable housing promises.The housing secretary, Sajid Javid, is facing a legal challenge after he approved a 700-home housing scheme by the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, which includes just 4% affordable housing.The 29-storey development in Ilford, east London, will be built in a borough that has a stated policy that 50% of all new homes should be afford
  
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• Drawing Of Lots Gives Tied Council By-Election To Conservatives

  23-03-2018 18:52
  A council by-election tied between Conservative and Labour was decided in
  
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• Soviet Cold War Missile Sells For More Than £15,000 At Auction

  23-03-2018 18:49
  A giant Soviet Cold War missile has sold for £15,600 at auction.
  
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• Toby Young quits New Schools Network, citing media pressure

  23-03-2018 18:48
  Toby Young has resigned as chief executive of the New Schools Network charity.Toby Young has stepped down from his government-funded job as head of a charity supporting new free schools, blaming the pressure of media attention.The journalist’s decision to leave the New Schools Network follows the controversy that erupted earlier this year when Young was appointed a director of the universities regulator, which catapulted his lurid comments on women and eugenics into the public spotlight.
  
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• Mining Boss Blasts Government’S ‘Perverse’ Decision To Block Open-Cast Application

  23-03-2018 18:48
  A mining boss has branded the Government's decision to block an open-cast coal
  
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• Two lorry drivers jailed over M1 crash in which eight people were killed

  23-03-2018 18:46
  Two lorry drivers have been jailed for causing a crash last year that resulted in the deaths of eight people on the M1.Ryszard Masierak, 31, was sentenced to 14 years behind bars, while David Wagstaff, 54, got three years and four months in prison.Cyriac Joseph was behind the wheel of the minibus which was crushed between the lorries when Masierak came to a complete stop in the slow lane while twice the legal alcohol limit.
  
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• ‘Down-To-Earth’ Royal Couple Impress At Peace Event Held On Former Maze Site

  23-03-2018 18:33
  Harry and Meghan impressed their teenage hosts as they dispensed with
  
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• Man Jailed For Life For Stabbing Schoolboy In The Head Near Mosque

  23-03-2018 18:26
  A man has been jailed for life after carrying out two knife attacks including
  
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• Bin Man Jailed For Stockpiling Explosives To Prepare For World Disaster

  23-03-2018 18:23
  A bin man who stockpiled 250 explosive devices and military supplies in his
  
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• The evolution of UK-Australia travel into a single flight

  23-03-2018 18:21 via bbc.co.uk
  The first non-stop journey takes place on Saturday, almost 80 years after it involved 31 stopovers.
  
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• Prezzo To Shut 94 Restaurants With 500 Jobs To Go

  23-03-2018 18:21
  Hundreds of jobs are to be axed at Prezzo after the restaurant chain agreed a
  
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• Royal wedding: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's plans

  23-03-2018 18:13 via bbc.co.uk
  A summary of the latest details on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding day plans.
  
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• Ex-teacher smashes rowing world record eight MONTHS after brain surgery

  23-03-2018 17:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  A FORMER teacher who underwent brain surgery just eight months ago has smashed the world record for the fastest transatlantic crossing by a female rower.
  
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• High Street crisis: Prezzo and Carluccio's battle falling profits

  23-03-2018 17:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  POPULAR Italian restaurants Prezzo and Carlucci’s are the latest victims in a growing list of high-street eateries battling falling profits.
  
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• Britain Shared Intelligence On Salisbury Attack With EU Allies

  23-03-2018 17:29
  Theresa May has confirmed she shared UK intelligence on the Salisbury nerve
  
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• Salisbury nerve agent attack bench cut away and removed

  23-03-2018 17:28
  The bench that Sergei and Yulia Skripal were sitting on when they were discovered unresponsive has been wrapped in plastic, cut from the ground and put in the back of a van.It was taken away from outside the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury to preserve as a "potential crime exhibit" into the attempted murders of the former spy and his daughter.Sparks flew as police in chemical suits used an angle grinder power tool and crowbar to remove it from the ground.
  
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• Police inspector Darren McKie found guilty of wife's murder

  23-03-2018 17:28
  A police inspector who strangled his wife before dumping her body in a lake has been found guilty of murder.Darren McKie had racked up debts of more than £100,000 fraudulently applying for loans in his wife Leanne's name without her knowledge.Leanne was a fellow police officer with Greater Manchester Police and was described by colleagues as "popular and professional".
  
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