General news

• FA Cup final: Antonio Conte says he has 'normal relationship' with Jose Mourinho

  18-05-2018 23:30 via bbc.co.uk
  Chelsea boss Antonio Conte says he will shake Jose Mourinho's hand when his side face Manchester United in the FA Cup at Wembley.
  
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• Spit hoods to be used by Dyfed-Powys police

  18-05-2018 23:14 via bbc.co.uk
  The hoods have been called cruel and degrading, but police say they will protect officers.
  
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• School throws royal wedding complete with vicar, vintage car and flags

  18-05-2018 21:53
  A primary school has celebrated Harry and Meghan's big day in style by throwing their very own royal wedding.The lavish ceremony at Crawford Village Primary School in Lancashire saw Luna and Alfie, both six years old, tie the knot in front of a real vicar.The primary school has a total of 70 pupils - with their head teacher, Debra Eaton, telling Sky News that many of the children had never experienced a wedding before.
  
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• Mumbai's lunch-carriers choose wedding gifts for Harry and Meghan

  18-05-2018 20:55
  A group of Mumbai's dabbawalas - the Indian city's famed lunch delivery men - were out shopping on Friday for a traditional sari dress and a kurta jacket as a wedding gift for Britain's Prince Harry and his American fiancee Meghan Markle.Prince Harry and Markle will marry on May 19 in a ceremony in Windsor that is attracting huge attention around the world.Back in 2005, Harry’s father Prince Charles invited some dabbawalas from Mumbai to his wedding with Camilla Parker Bowles.
  
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• Cheering crowds greet Harry on walkabout ahead of UK wedding extravaganza

  18-05-2018 20:20
  Crowds of well-wishers cheered Britain's Prince Harry as he made an impromptu walkabout on Friday outside the ancient walls of Windsor Castle on the eve of his wedding to U.S. actress Meghan Markle.Queen Elizabeth's grandson was joined by Prince William, his elder brother and best man, as he mingled with excited fans waving red, white and blue Union flags less than 24 hours before Saturday's lavish ceremony.
  
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• Tory Brexit boost? Nine new Conservative Lords appointed

  18-05-2018 20:12
  Nine Conservatives are among 13 new peers appointed to the House of Lords in a move some have described as an attempt to boost the Government's support for Brexit.It comes after 15 recent defeats in the Lords over the Brexit withdrawal bill.Among the life peerages are the former secretary of state for social security and vocal Leave campaigner, Peter Lilley, former communities secretary, Sir Eric Pickles and former chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, Andrew Tyrie.
  
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• Windrush scandal: arrest of vulnerable 62-year-old is 'outrageous'

  18-05-2018 19:49 via theguardian.com
  MP David Lammy said the man had no knowledge of the alleged offence 20 years agoLabour MP David Lammy has accused the government of “outrageous” insensitivity after a vulnerable Windrush citizen was arrested for an alleged criminal offence 20 years ago after a Home Office meeting.The 62-year-old man, who has asked to remain anonymous, came to the UK from Jamaica in 1976. He was arrested earlier this week when he went to get his biometric card at Lunar House, the Home Office visas and
  
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• Britain's Queen Elizabeth meets Meghan Markle's mother

  18-05-2018 19:40
  WINDSOR, England (Reuters) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip met Meghan Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, on the eve of Prince Harry's wedding to the U.S. actress at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace said.
  
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• Buns in the oven? Midwifes compete in cake contest

  18-05-2018 19:38 via bbc.co.uk
  A midwife from Warwick Hospital has been announced as the winner of the Great Midwifery Cake Off for 2018
  
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• BMW to recall an extra 88,000 cars in the UK over battery scare

  18-05-2018 19:38
  BMW is to recall an extra 88,000 cars in the UK over problems with a battery connector.The German manufacturer had already said that 312,000 vehicles needed attention.It follows a media investigation that found some vehicles could cut out completely while on the road.
  
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• Bristol police officer who tasered race relations adviser found not guilty

  18-05-2018 19:17
  A police officer who tasered her own force's race relations adviser, after mistaking him for a suspect, has been found not guilty of assault.Acting Sergeant Claire Boddie approached Judah Adunbi, 64, with another officer in the Easton area of Bristol on 14 January last year.Mr Abundi said that after being tasered, it "felt like my head was frying".
  
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• Dambusters memorial unveiled on Dutch beach

  18-05-2018 19:12 via bbc.co.uk
  Sgt Gordon Yeo's aircraft was moments from safety when it was shot down by German forces.
  
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• Harry and Meghan last night

  18-05-2018 19:10 via bbc.co.uk
  Princes Harry and William meet the crowds in Windsor, while bride-to-be Meghan Markle arrives at her hotel.
  
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• Prince Harry greets Windsor crowds ahead of wedding extravaganza

  18-05-2018 19:09
  Prince Harry greeted royal fans gathered outside Windsor Castle to celebrate his glittering wedding to U.S. actress Meghan Markle this weekend.A smiling Harry was joined by his elder brother Prince William as he mingled with excited crowds waving red, white and blue Union flags less than 24 hours before his marriage on Saturday.The impromptu walkabout came as the final finishing touches were put in place for the royal extravaganza at Windsor Castle, home to monarchs for almost 1,000 years.
  
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• PM backs investigation into Bercow's alleged 'stupid woman' remark

  18-05-2018 19:03
  John Bercow was allegedly overheard calling Andrea Leadsom a ‘stupid woman’ after a debate in which he berated her.Theresa May has said there should be an investigation if a complaint is made over allegations that John Bercow, the House of Commons Speaker, called Andrea Leadsom a “stupid woman” in heated exchanges after prime minister’s questions.Although any complaint can trigger an investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner, Kathryn Stone, her repor
  
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• Princes Harry and William go on Windsor walkabout to greet fans before wedding

  18-05-2018 19:02
  WINDSOR, England (Reuters) - Britain's Prince Harry and elder brother, Prince William, left Windsor Castle on Friday to greet royal fans ahead of Harry's wedding on Saturday to U.S. actress Meghan Markle.
  
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• Poorest and brightest girls more likely to be depressed – UK study

  18-05-2018 19:00 via theguardian.com
  Research into 14-year-olds renews concern over rising rates of teenage mental illnessBrighter girls and girls from poorer families are more likely to be depressed by the time they enter adolescence, according to a study triggering fresh concern about soaring rates of teenage mental illness.The government-funded research identified the two groups as being most at risk of displaying high symptoms of depression at the age of 14. In contrast, more intelligent boys and boys from the most deprived bac
  
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• Jos Buttler’s recall is a decadent pick that’s perfect for our times | Barney Ronay

  18-05-2018 19:00 via theguardian.com
  It might seem odd that English sport’s great invisible superstar is back in the Test team on the back of his Indian Premier League status but his selection is bold and sensibleEvery year in the US five people die and 10 million dollars of damage is caused as a result of deep-frying a turkey. This appears to be a festive tradition among bearded flag-draped men with hunting knives and baggy shorts, men for whom freedom’s just another word for caramelising your own arteries and shouting
  
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• 9 Important Stories Well And Truly Buried By The Royal Wedding

  18-05-2018 19:00
  The marriage of a handsome English prince and a glamorous American actress was
  
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• Pickles and Lilley among former Tory ministers to get peerages

  18-05-2018 18:59 via bbc.co.uk
  Sir Eric Pickles and Peter Lilley are among nine Tories nominated to be elevated to House of Lords.
  
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• Wedding fans outshine the royals in England's Windsor

  18-05-2018 18:58
  Reuters spoke to some of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's most colourful fans lining the streets the day before the wedding extravaganza."I'm here for the big day, to congratulate them. They support the Commonwealth," said Joseph Afrane, from Ghana, whose suit, waistcoat, hat and sunglasses were all emblazoned with the British flag.Caroline Wagstaff did her best to outshine Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth, complete with crown, sash and regal wave.
  
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• The 'Meghan effect' - Markle's influential fashion looks

  18-05-2018 18:47
  When American actress Meghan Markle arrives at Windsor Castle on Saturday to marry Britain's Prince Harry, all eyes will be on her wedding dress.Markle's sleek style has inspired fashion blogs and sent many dedicated followers shopping for the same looks.In what fashionistas cite as the "Meghan effect", her outfits and accessories have sold out fast soon after the bride-to-be is seen wearing them, propelling the labels behind them into the global spotlight.
  
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• Bristol police officer cleared over stun gun shooting faces misconduct charge

  18-05-2018 18:46
  The officer mistook Judah Adunbi for a wanted man.A police officer who shot a 64-year-old race relations adviser in the face with a Taser after mistaking him for a man wanted on drugs charges will face a charge of gross misconduct, it has emerged.Acting sergeant Claire Boddie told Judah Adunbi, a community elder in Bristol, that he looked “familiar” and, after he refused to give his name, a scuffle broke out and she discharged the stun gun, hitting him in the jaw.
  
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• May names nine new Tory peers to bolster party after Brexit defeats

  18-05-2018 18:42
  Theresa May has nominated nine new Tory peers, including, clockwise from top left, Sir Eric Pickles, Andrew Tyrie, Diana Barran and Peter Lilley.Theresa May has on the eve of the royal wedding nominated nine new Tory peers, including the former cabinet ministers Sir Eric Pickles and Peter Lilley and handed one to Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party as she tries to bolster her party’s fragile position in the House of Lords.Four other former Tory MPs are to be elevated to a ch
  
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• Police escort for Windsor's 'other' wedding

  18-05-2018 18:39
  The only issue: months after she'd booked it all, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they'd be getting married in Windsor less than 24 hours after she did."We heard they were getting married and we thought, it will be okay because we thought it would be in London," Ms Compson told Sky News.Ms Compson, 33, and her fiance Aaron Hallam, 34, decided in August to marry at the Guildhall in Windsor on 18 May, planning a quiet ceremony with about 30 guests.
  
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• Who will change first - Meghan or the Royal Family?

  18-05-2018 18:22 via bbc.co.uk
  "Ms Markle is certainly dragging them into the Instagram age - but just how much can she change?"
  
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• NHS privately planning to develop Royal Free nurses' home into luxury flats

  18-05-2018 18:22 via theguardian.com
  ‘One Hyde Park-style’ apartments to replace housing for London staff, selling for up to £10m each The NHS is privately marketing a 100-year-old hospital building that provides affordable housing for 52 nurses and other key workers to property developers to create a One Hyde Park-style complex of luxury flats overlooking Hampstead Heath.The Royal Free hospital is promoting Queen Mary’s House – a gift from the Lever Brothers co-founder Lord Leverhulme 97 years ago &nd
  
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• Theresa May Accused Of 'Cynical' Ploy To Bury News Of New Tory Lords Under Royal Wedding

  18-05-2018 18:17
  Theresa May has appointed nine new Conservative members of the House of Lords
  
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• Ruth Davidson: Tory party must embrace more liberal outlook

  18-05-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  The Scottish Conservatives leader says younger voters see the party as anathemaMy fellow Tories, I’m afraid the crash generation just doesn’t trust usConservatives must embrace a more open, liberal outlook in order to win over younger voters who see the party as anathema, says the leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson.Writing in the Guardian, Davidson argues: “The crash generation simply don’t trust the motivation of the right. Given the hand they’ve be
  
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• After a toxic buildup to the royal wedding, are we entertained?

  18-05-2018 18:00
  After the week they’ve had, it’s too fitting that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are doing this thing in Windsor Castle’s St George’s Chapel, the official spiritual home to the Order of the Garter.Legend has it (probably apocryphally) that Edward III’s dance partner accidentally flashed her garter, to various looks askance, prompting Edward to take the garter upon himself and challenge the mockers with what would become his new order’s motto: “Honi soit
  
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• Where Did Harry And Meghan Meet? The Story So Far

  18-05-2018 17:57
  It's been a whirlwind, trans-Atlantic romance spanning just under two years
  
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• Meghan And Harry, The Story So Far – The Makings Of A Very Modern Royal Wedding

  18-05-2018 17:57
  It's been a whirlwind, trans-Atlantic romance spanning just under two years
  
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• BMW expands UK vehicle recall to 390,000 cars

  18-05-2018 17:53
  LONDON (Reuters) - BMWis expanding a recall of vehicles in Britain, which it launched last week, by 88,000 cars to a total of 390,000, in the wake of a BBC investigation which found that some vehicles could cut out completely while being driven.
  
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• Meghan Markle 'will walk alone' down first half of aisle before meeting Prince Charles

  18-05-2018 17:39
  Meghan Markle is set to break with royal tradition and walk down much of St George's Chapel alone, according to reports.The former Suits actress, 36, will meet Prince Charles halfway at the church's quire - the top end of the church where the clergy and choir are usually seated.The bride-to-be is expected to make a bold statement and walk down the nave of the church without a chaperone while being followed by her young bridesmaids and page boys.
  
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• Uber files appeal against licence loss in Brighton

  18-05-2018 17:33
  Uber submitted an appeal on Friday against the decision by the southern coastal English city of Brighton to strip the taxi app of its licence for not being "fit and proper" over data concerns and the use of drivers from outside the area."We have today filed our appeal at Brighton Magistrates’ Court," an Uber spokesman said.The Silicon Valley firm is also battling to keep its cars on the streets of London after losing its licence in the British capital, its most important European market.
  
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• Poor Thomas Markle – imagine your daughter marrying a royal

  18-05-2018 17:29
  With my own daughter planning on getting married this year, I’ve taken a closer interest than I otherwise might have done in Thomas Markle.After all, most members of the royal family have spent a lifetime manipulating the media and cashing in on their royal status.After first deciding that he wouldn’t come, then he might come, then he wouldn’t come because he needed a heart operation, then he would definitely come, Thomas has finally announced that he will remain in the US.
  
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• Royal wedding 2018: Manchester bomb survivor's special guest

  18-05-2018 17:22 via bbc.co.uk
  Manchester Arena attack survivor, 12, takes victim's grandmother to the royal wedding.
  
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• Britain counts down to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding extravaganza

  18-05-2018 17:08
  Britain made its final finishing touches to the plans for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding extravaganza on Friday, with the U.S. actress asking Prince Charles, heir to the throne, to walk her down the aisle in place of her ill father."The Prince of Wales is pleased to be able to welcome Ms Markle to The Royal Family in this way," Harry's office Kensington Palace said in a statement.
  
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• Putin: 'Skripal would be dead if military-grade poison was used'

  18-05-2018 16:19
  Vladimir Putin has wished Sergei Skripal "good health" after his release from his hospital on Friday - adding that the former spy would be dead if he had been targeted with "a military-grade poison".The Russian president's remarks are in keeping with the Kremlin's stance that Moscow was not behind the attack on Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia on 4 March.Mr Putin said: "God grant him good health, if a military-grade poison had been used, the man would have died on the spot.
  
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• Italy's two maverick parties to boost spending, seek review of EU rules

  18-05-2018 16:12
  Italy's two anti-establishment parties on Friday promised to ramp up spending in a programme for a new coalition government, putting them on a collision course with the European Union despite having dropped some of their most radical proposals.The "contract" between the League and the 5-Star Movement, the two parties that won the most parliamentary seats in an election on March 4, still needs the approval of their memberships in informal votes to be concluded by Sunday."Days and nights of work,"
  
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• Guernsey assisted dying proposal defeated

  18-05-2018 16:08
  A proposal to allow assisted dying in Guernsey have been defeated, leaving campaigners pressing for a change in the law disappointed.The move for a working group to draw up recommendations for assisted dying legislation on Guernsey was rejected by politicians after three days of debate.Deputies had earlier in the week defeated a so-called wrecking amendment that would have denied the people of Guernsey a full debate on the subject.
  
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• Italy's first black minister fears far-right party's government influence

  18-05-2018 15:57 via theguardian.com
  Cécile Kyenge, who is now an MEP, speaks out after the League agrees a power-sharing deal with M5SItaly’s first black cabinet minister has expressed deep concerns about the entry into Italy’s government of the League, as the far-right party and the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) revealed plans for more detention centres to be built across the country.Cécile Kyenge, who has been a regular target of racial abuse, said the League’s position as a coalition partner
  
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• Met chief says budget cuts have contributed to rise in violent crime

  18-05-2018 15:50
  The Metropolitan police commissioner has said she is “sure” cuts to her force’s budget have contributed to a rise in violent crime, and called for 500 extra officers by the end of 2019.Dick’s comments on an LBC radio phone-in, after a 24-year-old man was stabbed to death in Barking, east London, were in response to concerns over a rise in the level of violent crime in the capital this year.Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, has said he is spending record amounts raised from lo
  
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• Putin - Skripal would be dead if poisoned by weapons grade agent

  18-05-2018 15:41
  SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that former Russian spy Sergei Skripal would be dead if a weapons grade agent had been used to poison him.
  
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• Waiting on a dream: a right royal photo essay

  18-05-2018 15:35 via theguardian.com
  Photographer Sarah Lee spends two days among crowds afflicted by royal wedding fever as Windsor gets ready for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s big dayAn estimated 100,000 people are expected to descend on Windsor for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal couple. Thursday was an official military rehearsal day, and the town was packed with people joining in with the royal event. Continue reading...
  
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• Grenfell tower victims: telling the story of the 72 lives that were lost

  18-05-2018 15:33
  Demonstrators calling for justice for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire stand with images of the dead on Parliament Square in London.Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP/Getty Images
  
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• Murder arrest over death of 85-year-old Rosina Coleman

  18-05-2018 15:29
  A 65-year-old man has been held on suspicion of murdering Rosina Coleman, 85, who was found dead in her Romford home on Tuesday.A post mortem found that Mrs Coleman died from a blunt force trauma to her head and neck.The suspect is in custody at an east London police station after he was arrested at his home in Romford on Friday.
  
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• Guernsey assisted dying proposals defeated

  18-05-2018 15:15
  Proposals to allow assisted dying in Guernsey have been defeated.The States of Guernsey have also agreed that the Committee for Health and Social Care should "consider the measures necessary to improve quality of life and health outcomes for all islanders towards the end of their lives".Deputies had earlier in the week defeated an amendment that would have denied the people of Guernsey a full debate on the subject.
  
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• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding after-party - the lowdown

  18-05-2018 15:03
  After a whirlwind day of pomp and ceremony, newlyweds Harry and Meghan will get the chance to let their hair down at their exclusive after-party.Hosted by Prince Charles, who will have walked Meghan down the aisle hours earlier, 250 of the couple's closest friends and family have been invited to the evening reception at a 17-century royal retreat in the grounds of Windsor Castle.Following an afternoon reception hosted by the Queen, which all 600 guests will attend, the select invitees will make
  
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• Royal wedding not alone in recasting father-of-the-bride role

  18-05-2018 15:00
  Meghan Markle will not be the first royal bride to be walked down the aisle by someone other than her father – a practice wedding experts say has become increasingly common in modern ceremonies.Queen Victoria, whose father died from pneumonia when she was eight months old, was given away by her uncle Prince Augustus Frederick, the Duke of Sussex, in 1840.In 1936 the American actor and divorcee Wallis Simpson was given away by her close friend Herman Rogers after a scandal engulfed her wedd
  
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