General news

• Durex recalls batches of condoms over split fears

  30-07-2018 23:07
  Durex has recalled some batches of its Real Feel and latex-free condoms over fears they could split.In a statement on its website, the contraceptive manufacturer said certain batches did not reach the requirements for "burst pressure" towards the end of their shelf life.Durex advised customers to read the products' label, which says that if a condom leaks or bursts, assistance should be sought from a doctor or pharmacist "as soon as possible, at least within 72 hrs".
  
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• Britain to set out 'sensible precautions' for no deal Brexit - May's spokesman

  30-07-2018 22:24
  Britain will set out 'sensible precautions' in a series of notes looking at how to prepare for a possible exit from the European Union without a formal divorce deal, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said on Monday."It is about setting out sensible precautions in the event of a no deal scenario," the spokesman told reporters when asked about the government's plans to send out "technical notices" on no deal preparations in August and September.In the event of no deal there will of course be
  
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• Britons see Brexit turning sour, half want chance to vote again - poll

  30-07-2018 22:23
  Two-thirds of Britons now think the government will end up with a bad deal when Britain leaves the European Union early next year, and half want the chance to vote on what happens next, Sky News reported on Monday, citing its own poll.With less than eight months until Britain is due to leave the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May has yet to find a proposal to maintain economic ties with the bloc that pleases both sides of her divided party and is acceptable to negotiators in Brussels.The Sky poll sa
  
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• Smethwick Crash: Girl, 6, Killed While Crossing Road On Way To Mosque Is Named

  30-07-2018 22:21
  A six-year-old killed while crossing the road on her way to mosque with her
  
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• 72 pigs have bacon saved in Northern Ireland fire service's largest animal rescue

  30-07-2018 21:12
  Firefighters in Northern Ireland have carried out their largest ever animal rescue, removing 72 pigs from a slurry pit.Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service were called to a farm in Aghalee in County Antrim shortly after 11.30am on Sunday.Large animal rescue teams from Newcastle and Omagh, the specialist rescue team from Central Fire Station in Belfast and crews from Lurgan, Crumlin and Newcastle fire stations worked for almost seven hours to deal with the "protracted and challenging incident
  
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• Northern Rail Commuters Bemoan More Rail Misery As Transport Secretary Chris Grayling Gets PM's Vote Of Confidence

  30-07-2018 20:48
  Rail passengers have been sharing their painful commutes home this evening as
  
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• Maisons du Monde lowers sales growth guidance

  30-07-2018 20:46
  It now expects sales growth of around 8 percent, down from a previous target of 10 percent, set in March.It also said it would open 19 stores this year, against a previous forecast of 25-30, with six store openings originally scheduled for 2018 now delayed until the first quarter of 2019.CEO Julie Walbaum said on a call with media that store openings were affected by rental contract delays.
  
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• Casino owners donated to IEA after thinktank's pro-gambling report

  30-07-2018 20:46
  The National Casino Industry Forum fact-checked a draft of the IEA report and met the author before it was written.The casino industry donated thousands of pounds to the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) after the thinktank published a report on gambling policy that called for restrictions on the number of casinos to be lifted.The National Casino Industry Forum (NCIF) confirmed it donated £8,000 to the IEA having fact-checked a draft of the report.
  
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• Ailing House of Fraser in talks with Mike Ashley over £50m rescue deal

  30-07-2018 20:40
  Advisers to House of Fraser (HoF) are courting Mike Ashley, the Sports Direct tycoon, to fund an emergency £50m deal to stave off the ailing department store chain's collapse.Sky News has learnt that bankers acting for the retailer, which is trying to force through the closure of dozens of shops and thousands of jobs being axed, held initial talks with Mr Ashley's executives late last week.A source close to HoF said on Monday evening that Rothschild, which is advising HoF, had been approac
  
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• The Conservative Party's Love Island-Themed Anti-Corbyn Water Bottle Giveaway Is All A Bit Awkward

  30-07-2018 20:38
  Political parties trying to connect with young people: it's the hardest game
  
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• Europe weather forecast: Warning as temperatures could break records

  30-07-2018 20:15
  Tourists heading to southwestern Europe are being warned to take extra care as record-breaking temperatures are predicted for later this week.Forecasters are advising holidaymakers in Spain, Portugal and southwest France to prepare for extreme heat by staying inside during the hottest parts of the day and keeping hydrated.Very hot weather is expected to build up due to hot air coming up from North Africa - particularly over southwestern Europe.
  
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• RAF gunner Corrie McKeague no longer missing and 'in waste disposal system', family say

  30-07-2018 20:07
  An airman who has not been seen for nearly two years is "no longer missing" and "somewhere in the Suffolk waste disposal system", his father has said.Corrie McKeague vanished on a night out in Bury St Edmunds on 24 September 2016.Police believe the 23-year-old, who was stationed at RAF Honington, climbed into a waste bin and was taken away by a refuse lorry.
  
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• Tory party's knock-off Love Island water bottles fail to fizz

  30-07-2018 20:06
  Love Island reaches its finale on Monday night.The Tory version of the show’s water bottles feature slogans such as: ‘Don’t let Corbyn mug you off’.Two national institutions with substantial influence over the lives of ordinary Britons clashed on Monday, when the Conservative party attempted to cash in on the popularity of Love Island by producing knock-off merchandise inspired by the show.
  
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• Thousands of mothers left to cope alone with mental illness

  30-07-2018 20:03
  Thousands of women are having to cope alone with mental health problems caused by pregnancy or giving birth because the NHS cannot provide the necessary help, a leaked report has revealed.The secret report, the first in-depth audit of how much care there is for maternal mental illness, found that in many areas of England, services are patchy, and in many others there are none at all.Despite receiving the document in May 2017, neither Health Education England, the NHS agency that commissioned it,
  
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• 'Why me?' asks vulnerable woman covered in flour and eggs

  30-07-2018 19:55
  A vulnerable woman who was covered in flour and eggs and photographed in front of four teenage boys says she wants to know why she was targeted.The woman had been sitting on a park bench in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on Friday evening when she was approached by the group.A photo posted on social media shows the woman cowering on the bench, covered in flour and eggs, as four boys stand around her, grinning and making hand gestures.
  
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• Sajid Javid urged to halt Serco eviction of Glasgow asylum seekers

  30-07-2018 19:29
  An asylum seeker looks from his window at the Glasgow high rise flats where a woman and two men fell to their death in 2010.The home secretary, Sajid Javid, is being urged to intervene to stop a housing provider from locking hundred of asylum seekers out of their homes, leaving them destitute.Glasgow city council and MPs expressed “deep concern” that an imminent mass eviction of asylum seekers by Serco would trigger a humanitarian crisis in the city.
  
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• Should student customers give it all up for the Love Island lottery?

  30-07-2018 19:27
  The quality of British universities in the independent international ratings has declined.The number of students receiving unconditional offers for university places has, we are told, rocketed this year (Sharp rise in unconditional offers prompts calls for reform at universities, 26 July).The decline in the quality of British universities in the independent international ratings tables can be traced back to Tony Blair’s totally irrational ideological decision to get 50% of our young people
  
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• How Denis Healey kept up with the news on holiday

  30-07-2018 19:26
  Denis Healey with his wife Edna at their country home in Sussex in 1976. Photograph: PA
  
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• Matalan Security Guard 'Threatened To Shank' Shopper In Argument Over Returns

  30-07-2018 19:14
  A security guard at a branch of Matalan is alleged to have threatened to
  
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• MPs criticise Lloyds' fraud redress scheme as 'unfair'

  30-07-2018 18:49
  A group of MPs on Monday wrote to the financial watchdog and the board of Lloyds Banking Groupaccusing the bank of "victim blaming" and "unfairness" in its redress scheme for victims of a fraud at its HBOS Reading division.The letters, signed by MP Kevin Hollinrake, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Business Banking, said compensation offers the bank had made were insufficient and that it was treating victims with contempt."We have no trust in such an opaque process," he cont
  
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• Boris: Resignation speech in full

  30-07-2018 18:40
  Boris Johnson explains to MPs why he quit as Foreign Secretary.
  
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• Boris Johnson moves out taxpayer-funded home - three weeks after resigning

  30-07-2018 18:32
  Boris Johnson appears to have moved out of the grace and favour home he enjoyed as foreign secretary - three weeks after quitting the role.Removal vehicles were spotted outside the One Carlton Gardens residence in central London on Monday, with Mr Johnson's wife Marina Wheeler and son Milo Johnson seen removing rubbish from the property.Mr Johnson resigned from government on 9 July in protest at Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy, which he has described as "semi-Brexit".
  
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• Amesbury poisoning: 'Very emotional' funeral held for novichok victim Dawn Sturgess

  30-07-2018 18:30
  A "very emotional" funeral service has been held for novichok victim Dawn Sturgess.The 44-year-old, who died earlier this month after being exposed to the nerve agent, was mourned by family and friends at Salisbury Crematorium.Reverend Philip Bromiley, who led the service, said Ms Sturgess' life had been "really celebrated", adding that special security measures expected to be in place were absent.
  
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• Theresa May dismisses calls for second Brexit referendum in wake of Sky Data poll

  30-07-2018 18:06
  No second Brexit referendum will be held "in any circumstances", Downing Street said after a Sky Data poll showed most people would like to see another vote on Britain's exit from the EU.Following the results of the survey, Labour peer Lord Mandelson told Sky News a referendum on the terms on the final Brexit deal was "the only way forward" for the prime minister.Asked about Lord Mandelson's comments on Monday, the prime minister's spokesman said there would be "no second referendum in any circu
  
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• Fundraising Campaign Launched For Homeless Man 'Paid £90' To Get Tattoo On Forehead

  30-07-2018 17:58
  A fundraising drive has been launched to help a homeless man in Benidorm,
  
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• The Beano turns 80: How the comic's characters have changed

  30-07-2018 17:46
  The Beano – Britain’s most rebellious children's comic - is turning 80 today.
  
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• Lucy McHugh's mother calls for end to 'violent threats' after arrest of murder suspect

  30-07-2018 17:04
  The grieving mother of a schoolgirl found stabbed to death has called for an end to threats of violence allegedly made towards relatives of a man arrested on suspicion of her murder.Stacey White said such behaviour would "not bring my angel back" after the body of 13-year-old daughter Lucy McHugh was discovered near Southampton Sports Centre on Thursday.Hampshire Police have a 24-year-old man in custody, who is also suspected of sexual activity with a child.
  
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• Twitter turns to Oxford experimental psychologists over hate speech

  30-07-2018 17:02
  Twitter is turning to academics, including from Oxford's department for experimental psychology, to tackle hate speech and promote "healthy conversations".The company said that it ultimately intends to be able to measure "the health of public conversation on Twitter" although it isn't yet clear how this healthiness could be measured.Professor Miles Hewstone and John Gallacher at the University of Oxford's department for experimental psychology, in partnership with Dr Marc Heerdink of the Univers
  
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• Grenfell Tower tragedy: Young boy told firefighter rest of his family had all died

  30-07-2018 16:51
  A young boy told a firefighter the rest of his family had died after he was rescued from the Grenfell Tower blaze, an inquiry has heard.Fire watch manager Glynn Williams, who coordinated 999 call information at the bottom of the block, told the inquiry into the disaster that he struggled to keep track of who had been rescued as residents streamed out of the tower.In a written account, he said he was given slips of paper with information from residents during fire survival guidance (FSG) calls to
  
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• Lidl plans to build more than 3,000 homes to cement planning permission for stores

  30-07-2018 16:48
  Lidl is planning to develop 3,000 homes as a sweetener to local councils as it pursues planning permission to build more stores.Local authorities are looking for increasingly creative ways to address the housing shortage and commercial developers, willing to make concessions to affordable housing, have begun to catch their attention.Lidl, which began its involvement in housing development in 2008, says it has already supported the creation of 811 homes - with 335 already built and another 476 cu
  
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• India looking to compel e-commerce, social media firms to store data locally

  30-07-2018 16:42
  MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is considering asking e-commerce and social media firms to exclusively store customer data locally, a move that could affect global giants that operate in the country such as Amazon, Facebook and its messaging service WhatsApp.It comes at a time when deep-pocketed foreign players are rapidly investing in India's e-commerce market, which Morgan Stanley estimates may be worth $200 billion in a decade.Vinay Kesari, an independent Bengaluru-based lawyer who has adv
  
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• Legal rulings not needed to remove life-support, London court says

  30-07-2018 16:32
  The doctors and families of patients in a permanent vegetative state will no longer need legal permission to end their treatment, London's Supreme Court ruled on Monday.Judge Jill Black ruled that food and liquid could be removed by medical staff to let patients die without applying to the Court of Protection if both the family and two doctors are in agreement.The ruling looked at cases of a prolonged disorder of consciousness (PDOC), which encompasses people who are minimally conscious or in a
  
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• Firefighters 'were not trained for the toxic conditions of Grenfell'

  30-07-2018 16:28
  Firefighters were not trained to deal with toxic conditions at Grenfell Tower, inquiry hears.Firefighters are not trained to lead people to safety through the type of toxic conditions they faced in the Grenfell Tower fire, an officer who attended the blaze has said.Giving evidence to the official inquiry into the disaster, Glynn Williams, a firefighter for 18 years, said: “The FSG [fire service guidance] training we receive teaches how to coordinate a targeted rescue to people that are una
  
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• UK couple jailed after trying to force daughter to marry

  30-07-2018 16:20
  A judge at Leeds crown court sentenced the father to four-and-a-half years and the mother to three-and-a-half years.A couple who tricked their teenage daughter into travelling to Bangladesh in an attempt to force her to marry her first cousin have been jailed.On Monday a judge at Leeds crown court sentenced the father to four-and-a-half years and the mother to three-and-a-half years.
  
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• Are UK trains the 'envy' of Europe?

  30-07-2018 16:18 via bbc.co.uk
  Northern Rail passengers have had huge disruption, but is the rest of Europe jealous of our railways?
  
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• In transit: eight of the best audiobooks for long journeys

  30-07-2018 16:17 via theguardian.com
  That hefty tome you’ve been meaning to read for years? Why not treat yourself to a listen en route instead? Jack May selects the perfect titles to immerse yourself in as you clock up the miles
  (We know you’re not seriously thinking of cycling all that way. But just in case, a gentle reminder: as engrossing as these stories are, make sure you always pay full attention to the road)
  The complete Harry Potter by JK Rowling, read by Stephen Fry
  5 days 7 hrs 39 mins, equivalent to cycling
  
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• Babcock fails to get UK approval for proposal to add to maintenance contract

  30-07-2018 15:58
  Defence and engineering firm Babcockhas failed to secure support from Britain's defence ministry for a proposal to add some services to an existing long-term armoured vehicle maintenance contract."Value for money is always one of our key considerations and on that basis we have decided not to progress Babcock's proposal," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.A defence ministry spokesman was not immediately able to confirm the value of the deal.
  
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• Prime ministers and their holiday snaps

  30-07-2018 13:34 via bbc.co.uk
  Theresa May's in Italy just like last year - but there are plenty of other ways for PMs to unwind.
  
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• Songbird: a virtual moment of extinction in Hawaii - 360° video

  30-07-2018 12:13 via theguardian.com
  Hawaii is the extinct bird capital of the world. Many native birds are endangered, but for some it's too late. The fabled ʻōʻō (songbird) was last seen in 1985. Set amid the cloud forest of Kauai, Songbird takes you back in time to meet the legendary species and hear its last song.
  Songbird is available as a 360° interactive virtual reality experience for Daydream and HTC Vive, as a stereoscopic 360° film for Google Cardboard and as a 360° monoscopic film for YouT
  
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