General news

• World Cup 2018: How does England's potential route look?

  28-06-2018 23:53 via bbc.co.uk
  England could have a more favourable route to the semi-finals of the World Cup despite finishing second in Group G.
  
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• Protect your people, May urges EU leaders

  28-06-2018 23:43
  Prime Minister Theresa May urged the European Union on Thursday to consider Europe's safety before cutting Britain adrift from its security architecture, as she sought to push Brexit talks forward to address future ties.At an EU summit focussed more on a crisis over migration than Brexit, May came under pressure to move on with the all-but-stalled talks and consider softening some of her "red lines" to prevent Britain from crashing out of the bloc without a deal.
  
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• Theresa May tells EU leaders: you are putting lives at risk over Brexit

  28-06-2018 23:05
  Theresa May moved to a perceived area of negotiating strength at the bad-tempered summit.Theresa May has issued a stark warning to EU leaders that their citizens’ lives will be at risk if they fail to show more flexibility on Brexit, as she struggled to regain the initiative at a bad-tempered summit in Brussels.The prime minister had earlier faced pointed criticism from a succession of leaders as they arrived at the European council meeting, in which they highlighted division and indecisio
  
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• Grenfell victim 'skimmed firefighter after jumping', inquiry hears

  28-06-2018 22:39
  A person who jumped from Grenfell Tower during the blaze "narrowly" missed a firefighter before hitting the ground, the inquiry has heard.Daniel Brown, who was one of the first firefighters into flat 16 where the fire started on 14 June last year, described the scene in a written submission."It was mentioned that he brushed a firefighter's breathing apparatus set he/she was wearing upon landing, narrowly missing them full on," he said in its submission to the public inquiry on Thursday.
  
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• DUP's Arlene Foster tells LGBT community: 'We are all equal'

  28-06-2018 22:25
  Arlene Foster has become the first Democratic Unionist Party leader to attend an LGBT event in Northern Ireland.The former First Minister told an audience at the Pink News Summer Reception at Stormont that she looked forward to a time when her attendance would be "unremarkable".As she spoke at the PinkNews reception at Stormont, she urged members of the LGBT community to respect her right to oppose same-sex marriage.
  
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• Britain, Ireland agree to convene joint Northern Irish consultative body

  28-06-2018 22:22
  The British and Irish governments agreed for the first time in over a decade on Thursday to convene a British-Irish cooperative body as Dublin seeks a greater say in the running of Northern Ireland amid a political deadlock there.The British region has for well over a year been without a devolved power-sharing executive, a central plank of a 1998 peace agreement that ended three decades of violence between pro-British unionists and Irish nationalists.The deal also created the British–Irish
  
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• Theresa May faces new conflict with defence secretary

  28-06-2018 22:18
  Gavin Williamson will meet the prime minister and the chancellor next week.Theresa May will face pressure from the defence secretary to publish an interim report on the government’s defence review before the Nato summit later this month to demonstrate to international allies her commitment to the armed forces.Gavin Williamson is expected to attend talks with the prime minister and the chancellor at Downing Street next week where the Guardian understands he will make one final push for her
  
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• Arlene Foster Asked For Her Views On Same-Sex Marriage To Be Respected At LGBT+ Event

  28-06-2018 21:30
  Arlene Foster, known for her opposition to same sex marriage, has become the
  
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• Conservatives score 'own goal' with World Cup tweet backing England

  28-06-2018 20:49
  A Conservative tweet backing England ahead of their World Cup game against Belgium has been mocked for including a picture of Labour supporter Raheem Sterling.It featured accompanying images of England winger Jesse Lingard and midfielder Raheem Sterling in blue.Ms Butler was MP for Brenth South from 2005 until 2010, but narrowly lost out to the Liberal Democrats when the constituency changed to Brent Central.
  
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• Boy, 16, charged over killing of birthday party teen

  28-06-2018 20:44
  A teenager has been charged with the murder of a 15-year-old who was killed outside a birthday party on Saturday, police said.Jordan Douherty, of Grays, Essex, was stabbed in the heart as fighting broke out when up to 100 young people left a birthday at North Romford Community Centre in east London just after 9pm.A 16-year-old boy was arrested on Wednesday at an address in Newham and was charged today, Scotland Yard said.
  
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• Hazard at No.10 - Belgian PM's World Cup dig at May

  28-06-2018 20:32
  Prime Minister Theresa May is used to being isolated in Europe and looked to be on her own again on Thursday in Brussels as England faced Belgium at the World Cup.Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, whose capital hosts the European Union and who is a sharp critic of Britain's decision to leave it, made sure other EU leaders were equipped with Belgian supporter scarves as they arrived for a summit several hours before the game in Kaliningrad.For May herself, Michel presented her with a red Bel
  
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• All over-50s to get savings and pensions advice from FCA

  28-06-2018 20:24
  People in the UK aged 50 or over will start to receive "wake up" packs every five years under proposals published today by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).The chief City regulator wants the packs to include a one-page headline document, setting out the options for people as they consider whether to access their retirement savings under the pension freedoms put in place by George Osborne, the former chancellor, three years ago.It is one of a number of proposals published by the FCA as part
  
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• Top of the group, or second: What's best for England at the World Cup?

  28-06-2018 20:11
  England are already through to the knockout stage of the World Cup.
  
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• London-based 'voodoo' nurse guilty of running human trafficking ring

  28-06-2018 20:08
  Josephine Iyamu, 51, had a "crushing psychological control" over her victims, charging them between €30,000 (£26,400) and €38,000 (£33,400) to traffic them to Germany, where they were met by an associate and forced into brothels to pay the money back, Birmingham Crown Court heard.The court heard how Iyamu had a network of people who helped traffic the women from Nigeria to Libya - across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy and then up to Germany.A British citizen since 2009, Iya
  
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• Teenager Charged With Murder After Jordan Douherty, 15, Killed Outside Party In Romford

  28-06-2018 20:07
  A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of a teenager who was
  
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• Democrats left with little power to block Trump's supreme court nominee

  28-06-2018 19:47
  Justice Anthony Kennedy, first nominated to the high court by President Reagan and confirmed in 1988, will retire as associate justice effective 31 July.Facing a battle over the supreme court seat vacated by Anthony Kennedy, Senate Democrats continued on Thursday to look for ways to fight it.Recent changes to Senate rules mean that a simple majority vote is required for a supreme court nominee to advance.
  
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• The principled thinkers behind universal human rights

  28-06-2018 19:30
  HG Wells circa 1904, ‘whose The Rights of Man provided the source for much of the text of the UDHR declaration,’ writes Paul F Faupel.In reminding us of the 70th anniversary yet to come on 10 December 2018 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Celebrate the NHS at 70.Thus, through the work of the drafting committee chaired by a Canadian, John Peters Humphrey, the UK played a key underpinning role in its drafting.
  
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• 'Bowie Bonds' creator sues Ed Sheeran for copying Marvin Gaye hit

  28-06-2018 19:30
  The lawsuit was filed by a company owned by David Pullman, an investment banker who in 1997 arranged the pioneering $55 million sale of "Bowie Bonds," which made David Bowie the first musician to sell bonds backed by royalties from his catalog.According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, "Thinking Out Loud," which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2015, copies the "melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bass line, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation and looping" of
  
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• Deliveroo forks out to riders in latest gig economy rights claim

  28-06-2018 19:29
  Deliveroo is to pay a six-figure bill to settle an employment rights battle brought by dozens of ‎its riders, underlining continuing tensions over the treatment of so-called gig economy workers.Sky News has learnt that the food delivery app has agreed to award‎ 50 of its British couriers sums "in the low thousands of pounds" each to settle the claim before it was formally heard at an employment tribunal in London.The settlement includes no admission of liability, according to a source cl
  
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• Student loans: use of RPI costs graduates up to £16,000

  28-06-2018 19:05
  Student loan outlays are forecast to reach £20bn a year by 2022-23.Graduates with student loans in England are saddled with up to £16,000 more debt because of the government’s use of an unreliable inflation measure to set interest rates, according to research from the House of Commons library.The analysis, provided to Labour’s shadow Treasury team, shows that the use of the retail prices index (RPI), a measure criticised by the Bank of England and the Office for National
  
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• Firefighter describes moment he arrived

  28-06-2018 18:55
  Firefighters describe moment the arrived
  
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• On the wall - Art inspired by Michael Jackson displayed in London

  28-06-2018 18:53
  From an Andy Warhol print to the final commissioned portrait of Michael Jackson, artworks depicting the King of Pop went on display in London on Thursday in a new exhibition looking at his influence on artists."Michael Jackson: On the Wall" features an array of portraits and Jackson-inspired works including a quilt, collages, videos and installations.Also on display is a jacket adorned with cutlery and "Equestrian Portrait of King Philip II (Michael Jackson)" by New York artist Kehinde Wiley, th
  
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• Tesco tests checkout-free shopping

  28-06-2018 18:48
  Britain's biggest retailer Tesco is trialing a checkout-free method of payment for its convenience stores, allowing customers to scan products on their mobile devices and then walk out with them, it said on Thursday.The supermarket group is testing the smartphone app at the Tesco Express convenience store located in the campus of its headquarters at Welwyn Garden City, north of London."Using your mobile device you select some products, put them into your basket on your device and then just walk
  
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• Grenfell firefighter tells inquiry: 'I thought the blaze was out'

  28-06-2018 18:46
  One of the first firefighters into the flat where the Grenfell fire began has told the inquiry the night was like a "war zone".Charles Batterbee was sent into flat 16 on 14 June last year, and told the inquiry he believed the job was done when he put the flames out in the kitchen.
  
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• Could the UK become embroiled in human rights abuses in future?

  28-06-2018 18:43
  In the years after 9/11, UK intelligence agencies were involved in 598 cases in which prisoners were tortured or placed at risk of mistreatment.Intelligence officers were giving consent, or watching the torture, or supplying questions and receiving answers.Immediately after 11 September, MI6, MI5 and the military were anxious to protect the UK and its interests against attacks by al-Qaida.
  
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• Napping May scores own goal in face of Belgium Brexit striker

  28-06-2018 18:31
  Heads of state at the EU summit celebrate after Theresa May scored an own goal in the pre-meeting entertainment.Not even catching a glimpse of Iain Duncan Smith in the Daily Mail cleverly comparing British business to Nazi collaborators – irony meters went off the scale – could spoil Theresa May’s morning.Flying to Brussels was the prime minister’s very own “me time”.
  
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• Large part of Glasgow School of Art to be urgently dismantled

  28-06-2018 18:16
  Fire devastated the 110-year-old Charles Rennie Mackintosh building this month.A significant part of the Glasgow School of Art building will need to be urgently dismantled because it is dangerously unstable, increasing doubts about its survival.Safety experts said a large part of the south facade of the fire-ravaged Charles Rennie Mackintosh building would need to be taken down as a matter of urgency after surveys found its walls had moved significantly.
  
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• British lawmaker eyes tribunal to help small firms challenge banks

  28-06-2018 18:11
  Small businesses that are victims of fraud, conspiracy and misconduct by British banks could soon be able to sue their lenders in a tribunal dedicated to helping them bring banks to justice without fear of financial ruin.British lawmaker Kevin Hollinrake, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Business Banking, told Reuters that the APPG would propose the tribunal, likely funded by the banks themselves, in a report in July.It would offer a recourse for small businesses whi
  
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• Another fire near Manchester as army hits Saddleworth

  28-06-2018 18:07
  Firefighters have been called to a fire on Winter Hill, around 1.5 hours from the large blaze on Saddleworth Moor.Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said it had also sent help to Winter Hill.Meanwhile, firefighters are optimistic that they can beat the raging wildfires on Saddleworth Moor, hailing "significant improvement".
  
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• Moorland fire - is it bad news for birds?

  28-06-2018 18:03 via bbc.co.uk
  Experts warn it may take years for the wildlife to fully return to the burnt area near Saddleworth Moor.
  
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• Crowd of 6,000 heads to UK beach to be extras in Danny Boyle film

  28-06-2018 17:50
  Around 6,000 people gathered at a British beach for the chance to be extras in a film directed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle on Wednesday, after answering a Twitter call to take part in the production as concert revellers.The crowd filmed the scene at Gorleston beach in southern England for the yet untitled movie, which was written by "Love Actually" director Richard Curtis.Boyle, who won an Oscar for "Slumdog Millionaire" and will direct the next James Bond film, applauded the crowd for their wor
  
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• Grenfell Inquiry Told How Cladding Helped Turn Building Into A 'War Zone'

  28-06-2018 17:44
  One of the first firefighters on the scene of the Grenfell Tower disaster has
  
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• MP breaks House of Commons taboo by discussing her period

  28-06-2018 17:38
  An MP has been praised for breaking a taboo by talking about being on her period during a debate over the cost of sanitary products, which many women cannot afford.Scottish Labour’s Danielle Rowley, who represents Midlothian, apologised for being late to a House of Commons women and equalities debate, saying she was on her period and it had cost her £25 so far this week.“We know the average cost of a period in the UK over a year is £500.
  
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• Five Times Millionaire Brexiteers Advised Businesses On How To Get Round Brexit

  28-06-2018 17:37
  They campaigned to leave the EU, but it seems that when it comes to UK
  
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• Here’s what happens if you get stung by a bee near your eye

  28-06-2018 17:29
  Ouch!
  
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• Westport Lake Drowning Victim Ryan Evans' Family Issue Stark Warning

  28-06-2018 17:28
  The family of a teenager who died after getting into difficulty in a Stoke-on-
  
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• Water shortages warning on hottest day of the year

  28-06-2018 17:03
  Water companies are asking customers to put away their garden sprinklers, take short showers instead of baths and avoid using hoses to water plants as the heatwave continues across the UK.Water companies said there has been a huge spike in demand for water at morning and evening peak times which means billions more litres of water have to be pumped into the system.Customers in some areas will see a drop in their water pressure unless people make some simple changes to the way they use water, ind
  
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• UK's cabinet split is bad for Brexit negotiations, says Juncker

  28-06-2018 17:01
  Theresa May is welcomed by the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, at an EU leaders summit in Brussels.Brexit negotiations cannot go on with a divided British cabinet, Jean-Claude Juncker has said, as European leaders expressed concern that they do not know who is in charge.With major figures in the UK government still at odds on key issues, the European commission president said Brussels desperately needed a clear, coherent vision for the future.
  
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• 'Fragile, like the president's ego': Trump Baby blimp prepares for takeoff

  28-06-2018 16:59 via theguardian.com
  Activists plan to fly a balloon effigy of the US president during his London visit on 13 July. Here, activists watch with pride as it inflates for the first time Continue reading...
  
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• British spies complicit in torture of suspected militants - lawmakers' report

  28-06-2018 16:46
  British spies were complicit in the mistreatment of hundreds of suspected militants by the United States and involved in dozens of cases of their illegal transfer, according to the findings of a committee of lawmakers.The Intelligence and Security Committee spent several years looking at the actions of British security and intelligence agencies in relation to the handling of detainees overseas following the attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.The committee found British intelligence o
  
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• Man's body and hazardous materials found in Surrey house

  28-06-2018 16:45
  A man's body and hazardous substances have been found in a house in Surrey after reports of "strong smells".Police were called to a home in Elmer Mews, Fetcham, on Wednesday evening, after reports there were concerns over safety and found the body of a man in his 20s.A Surrey Police spokesman said: "Police, South East Coast Ambulance Service and Surrey Fire and Rescue Service were in attendance the scene and the body of a man in his 20s was found inside the property.
  
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• Under pressure to soften Brexit plans, May signals faster pace

  28-06-2018 16:43
  European leaders told Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday to soften some of her red lines on Brexit, warning her that time was running out to prevent Britain crashing out of the European Union without a deal.At an EU summit focused more on a crisis over migration than on Brexit, the region's leaders expressed rising frustration over the lack of progress in the talks, just nine months before Britain is due to leave.May has hesitated to spell out detailed plans for Britain's departure from the
  
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• Ex-youth footballer tells jury Bob Higgins brainwashed him

  28-06-2018 16:35
  Winchester crown court heard that the complainant worked with Bob Higgins in the mid-1990s.The complainant said he believed the former Southampton and Peterborough United coach Bob Higgins was his “best friend” and his only chance of becoming a star.The complainant, who can only be identified as V, went on to have a career in football and did not speak about what allegedly happened to him until years later.
  
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• UK nurse is first person convicted under modern slavery laws

  28-06-2018 16:34
  Josephine Iyamu was convicted of five counts of arranging or facilitating travel for sexual exploitation.A British nurse has become the first person to be convicted under new modern slavery laws, after being found guilty of trafficking five Nigerian women to Germany to work as prostitutes.Josephine Iyamu was prosecuted under the Modern Slavery Act involving victims who have no connection to the UK but have been victimised by a British national.
  
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• 'Two-child policy' cuts benefits of more than 70,000 families

  28-06-2018 16:24
  Official statistics revealed 59% of the families who lost financial support for a third child were in work.The statistics reveal that during the first year of operation, 59% of the 73,500 families who lost financial support for a third child were in work.Nine per cent of UK claimant households with three or more children were affected.
  
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• Judge rules police liable for death of British aristocrat Alexander Monson

  28-06-2018 16:22
  A British aristocrat who died in a Kenyan jail was killed at the hands of police, a judge has ruled.Alexander Monson died in 2012, aged 28, in a jail cell in the Kenyan resort of Diani.Police officers said he died from a drug overdose, but his family has maintained he was beaten to death.
  
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• Theresa May scores own goal by holding up Belgium football shirt

  28-06-2018 16:21
  Theresa May was presented with the shirt ahead of a meeting of EU leaders.At the start of a summit of EU leaders in Brussels, the British prime minister was ambushed by her Belgian counterpart, Charles Michel, who presented her with a Belgium football team top ahead of the England v Belgium World Cup game.The shirt had No 10 on the back, perhaps a nod to May’s Downing Street home, or Belgium’s finest player, Eden Hazard.
  
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• Theresa May holds up Belgium football shirt in PR gaffe

  28-06-2018 16:21
  Theresa May was presented with the shirt ahead of a meeting of EU leaders.At the start of a summit of EU leaders in Brussels, the British prime minister was ambushed by her Belgian counterpart, Charles Michel, who presented her with a Belgium football team top ahead of the England v Belgium World Cup game.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, appeared particularly amused by the jape.
  
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• New driver, 79, killed pedestrian in Hull

  28-06-2018 16:21 via bbc.co.uk
  A police officer was called to the scene of the accident unaware that the victim was his own mother.
  
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• William visits great-grandmother Princess Alice's Jerusalem tomb

  28-06-2018 16:17
  Prince William has made a pilgrimage to his great-grandmother's tomb on the final day of his historic tour in the Middle East.The Duke of Cambridge paid his respects to Princess Alice, who is famed for saving a Jewish family from the Holocaust.At the entrance to the church, William took bread and salt, which is in keeping with Russian Orthodox tradition.
  
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