General news

• Grenfell fraudster who claimed £87,000 jailed for more than six years

  07-09-2018 23:40
  A drug dealer who claimed nearly £87,000 in funds by pretending he lived in Grenfell Tower has been jailed for more than six years.Yonatan Eyob, 26, was given emergency hotel accommodation, a food allowance and pre-paid cards when he claimed he was lodging with his friend in Flat 182 on the night of the fire.Drugs including MDMA, cocaine and ketamine were found in his hotel room along with seven mobile phones, £3,000 in cash, designer clothes, jewellery and credit cards.
  
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• Asbestos found in school science lab equipment

  07-09-2018 22:39
  Asbestos has been found in a common piece of science lab equipment sold by two companies to schools across the UK.Metal gauze mats, which are designed for use over Bunsen burners, are affected - and schools are being urged to stop using them altogether until they can be certain their gauzes are free of asbestos.As a result, science experiments in some classrooms have been cancelled or delayed at the start of a new school year.
  
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• Fuelling independence? Scotland's oil hub embraces green energy

  07-09-2018 21:01
  Scotland's leader Nicola Sturgeon launched on Friday a major renewable energy project boasting the world's most powerful wind turbines, which she hopes will also propel the independence ambitions of her nationalist party.The 11 191-metre-high turbines in the waters of Aberdeen Bay will eventually produce 312 GWh of power a year - enough to power 80,000 households - helping to reduce Scotland's reliance on its oil industry."Scotland is a world leader in energy and that is good for our present and
  
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• New font remakes the alphabet from leading brand logos

  07-09-2018 21:00
  A is for Adobe now.
  
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• Most people think Boris Johnson's divorce doesn't matter - Sky Data poll

  07-09-2018 20:00
  Boris Johnson is to divorce his wife of 25 years, Marina Wheeler, after a period of separation.A Sky Data poll now reveals that if an unhappy home might put him off running to be the prime minister, he needn't worry.To what extent, if at all, do you think Boris Johnson's divorce is relevant to whether he should be Prime Minister?
  
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• Goodwood Revival festival – in pictures

  07-09-2018 19:43
  The three-day classic car racing festival in West Sussex celebrates the mid-20th century heyday of the sport Continue reading...
  
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• Bike retailer Evans Cycles in talks with lenders as chain struggles

  07-09-2018 19:43
  The century-old retailer Evans Cycles is in talks with its lenders about an urgent capital injection following a slump in profits.Sky News has learnt that the company, which is owned by the private equity firm ECI Partners, is working to secure millions of pounds in new funding.Evans has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to advise it on the financial restructuring, while AlixPartners is understood to be advising AIB and HSBC, the retailer's principal lenders.
  
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• UK government to launch consultation on no-fault divorces

  07-09-2018 19:26
  Demands for change have mounted since the supreme court ruled in July that the 68-year-old could not divorce her husband.A consultation on introducing “no-fault divorces”, which could streamline the slow and confrontational procedures couples face when separating, is being prepared by the government.The justice secretary, David Gauke, who has previously acknowledged that the argument for reform is “strong”, is expected to launch a public debate on proposals to modernise l
  
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• UK universities making slow progress on equality, data shows

  07-09-2018 19:10
  The data showed a marked closing of the gap in final degree results between white and BME students.Statistics collated by Advance HE, formerly known as the Equality Challenge Unit charity, show that last year only a small fraction of professors in UK universities were from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, with women especially poorly represented.More than 14,000 white men were recorded as professors, while just 90 black men held positions of the same status.
  
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• Brexit secretary under fire from Michel Barnier on Irish border issue

  07-09-2018 19:10
  Michel Barnier has expressed his frustration with Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, for allegedly withholding information from the EU, as the question of the Irish border erupted again in the Brexit negotiations.The EU negotiator was said to be “disappointed and irritated” by Raab’s alleged failure this week to live up to a promise to provide data on the trade flows between the UK and Northern Ireland, which had been requested as part of an attempt to take the drama out of th
  
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• British healthcare firm BTG buys Irish vascular device maker

  07-09-2018 19:05
  BTG has paid $20 million in cash to buy Novate, and may pay a further $130 million depending on the device hitting certain sales-related milestones, the UK company said on Friday.The device, Sentry, received approval recently in the United States for use as in implant to prevent blood clots in leg veins from travelling to the lungs.BTG plans a U.S. launch of Sentry in the second half of its current fiscal year.
  
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• Hilary Lister obituary

  07-09-2018 19:04
  Hilary Lister in 2009 as she sailed solo around the UK.Hilary Lister was a record-breaking sailor who became the first quadriplegic person to sail alone across the English Channel.On 23 August 2005, with a map strapped to her foot, and a support boat following behind, she completed the 21-mile crossing from Dover to Calais in six hours and 13 minutes, navigating with her mouth.
  
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• Jet air dryers spread viruses and bacteria from unclean hands, study finds

  07-09-2018 18:58
  Jet air hand dryers spread bacteria and viruses around public toilets and should not be used in hospitals, according to new research.Staphylococcus aureus, which causes a range of conditions including MRSA, was found three times more often on the surfaces of air dryers compared to paper towel dispensers during an international study, funded by the European Tissue Symposium.The dryer creates an "aerosol that contaminates the toilet room", said Mark Wilcox, professor of medical microbiology at the
  
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• European shares suffer worst week since March on trade woes

  07-09-2018 18:55
  LONDON/MILAN (Reuters) - European shares steadied on Friday but suffered their worst week since end March as uncertainty over global trade rippled through markets and investors dumped riskier sectors.The STOXX ended off earlier lows after White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC that the United States continued to talk with China about a number of trade issues but added that so far China has not met U.S. requests.The STOXX however fell 2.2 percent on the week, its worst performance si
  
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• Rachael Bland obituary

  07-09-2018 18:47
  The BBC Radio 5 Live newsreader Rachael Bland, centre, with fellow hosts of the You, Me and the Big C podcast Deborah James, left, and Lauren Mahon.The BBC Radio 5 Live newsreader and presenter Rachael Bland, who has died aged 40, chronicled her battle with breast cancer first in a blog titled Big C Little Me, then in a popular weekly podcast, You, Me and the Big C, with the tagline “Putting the CAN in cancer”.“When I was diagnosed with cancer, being a journalist I thought I&rs
  
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• Russia says regrets that Western countries 'repeated lies' from London

  07-09-2018 18:21
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Friday it regrets that France, Germany, Canada and the United States "repeated lies" from London and accused Russia of being behind a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter.
  
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• No prosecutions over alleged fraud in Tower Hamlets election, Scotland Yard says

  07-09-2018 18:19
  There is not enough evidence to prosecute any individual following a £1.7m year-long investigation into alleged fraud in the 2014 Tower Hamlets mayoral election, Scotland Yard has said.City of London Police declined to comment, citing "operational reasons", adding that "evidential opportunities" had been "identified" by the Met.The former mayor of Tower Hamlets in east London, Lutfur Rahman, was forced to step down after an election court found him guilty of a series of corrupt and illegal
  
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• Britain's FTSE falls on trade fears as pound strengthens

  07-09-2018 18:18
  LONDON (Reuters) - The UK's blue-chip index fell on Friday as investors awaited news on whether the United States would impose new tariffs on Chinese imports while a data breach at British Airways triggered a fall in its owner's shares.
  
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• Reshaping the economy a decade after the crash

  07-09-2018 18:16
  The London Evening Standard is sold near the offices of Lehman Brothers in Canary Wharf in London on 15 September 2008.The IPPR report contains many intriguing ideas (Tom Kibasi: We can and must rebalance the economy.
  
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• Hospital staff in key areas who refuse flu jab may be redeployed

  07-09-2018 18:15
  NHS Improvement wants all NHS staff in England to have the vaccine before winter.Hospital staff in key areas of NHS care who refuse to have the flu jab will be moved to other units this winter in order to protect patients’ safety.NHS Improvement, which oversees NHS and foundation trusts as well as independent providers of NHS-funded care, said it wanted all NHS staff in England to have the vaccine before this winter.
  
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• Europe must not forget what the UK sacrificed for it in the war

  07-09-2018 18:09
  In your piece (Report, 2 September) you say the UK in a Changing Europe report concludes that “the status of legal contracts and commercial arrangements with EU companies would be unclear, as the UK would become a ‘third country’ overnight”.Legal contracts with EU firms will not be affected.The provisions of the regulation on choice of law for contracts do not distinguish between member and non-member states.
  
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• A footnote to the steam locomotive Mallard’s record-breaking run

  07-09-2018 18:09
  The note correcting the quick crossword clue about the world record speed for a steam locomotive (Corrections and clarifications, 5 September) raises an interesting point.According to an article by David Andrews in the August 2018 edition of the authoritative railway magazine Back Track, Mallard touched 126 mph for just one second, and therefore the substantive speed is actually 125 mph, as the LNER originally claimed.
  
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• Waterstones buys Foyles in fightback against 'Amazon's siren call'

  07-09-2018 18:05
  Bookshop chain Waterstones is buying rival Foyles for an undisclosed sum as part of the "fightback against online and e-reading", its boss has said.Betting on a future where customers still appreciate the look and feel of books, against the onslaught of online giant Amazon, Waterstones will take on Foyles' flagship Charing Cross Road store in London alongside two others in the city, as well as shops in Bristol, Birmingham and Chelmsford, and its online operation."Together, we will be stronger an
  
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• Starbucks pulls in crowds at first Italian cafe

  07-09-2018 17:46
  Around two hundred people queued outside the first Starbuckscafe in Italy on Friday, as the world's biggest coffee chain faces one of its toughest tests yet with an upmarket roastery in the centre of Milan.Coffee-obsessed Italy has more than 57,000 cafes and Starbucks, at its lavish roastery decorated with brass and marble, is charging almost twice what Italians are used to paying for their daily espresso drunk standing at a bar.The opening enticed curious Italians and tourists alike.
  
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• BBC Admits It ‘Gets Coverage Of Climate Change Wrong Too Often’

  07-09-2018 17:39
  A BBC boss has told staff at the corporation that when it comes to climate
  
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• BA apologises after 380,000 customers hit in cyber attack

  07-09-2018 17:36
  British Airways apologised on Friday after the credit card details of hundreds of thousands of its customers were stolen over a two-week period in the most serious attack on its website and app.The airline discovered on Wednesday that bookings made between Aug. 21 and Sept. 5 had been infiltrated in a "very sophisticated, malicious criminal" attack, BA Chairman and Chief Executive Alex Cruz said.Around 380,000 card payments were compromised, the airline said, with hackers obtaining names, street
  
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• Inquiry After 54 Deaths Over Six Months At Russells Hall Hospital A&E

  07-09-2018 17:26
  A health watchdog has ordered an inquiry into the deaths of 54 patients over
  
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• 'Sense of closure' in Salisbury after police name Skripal suspects

  07-09-2018 17:16
  The leader of Salisbury city council has said there is a “sense of closure” among residents after an extraordinary week in which two men suspected of the novichok attack were named and decontamination work finally began on Sergei Skripal’s house.Matthew Dean said people were feeling relief at the progress of the investigation but anger that such a “reckless” act had been carried out in the cathedral city.The council leader said: “I think the evidence the polic
  
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• British journalist wanted in Thailand over report on teen's rape allegations

  07-09-2018 17:13
  A British journalist is being sought for arrest after reporting on the alleged rape of a teenager in Thailand.A total of 12 people have already been arrested for sharing a Facebook post about therape allegation made by a 19-year-old British woman .Officials say they are taking legal action against Suzanne Emery, a British editor who published a report on her website, Samui Times.
  
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• Shetland pony put down after being stabbed and slashed in Sunderland

  07-09-2018 16:53
  A Shetland pony had to be put down after being stabbed and slashed numerous times in what the RSPCA says was a deliberate attack.The pony, Murphy, was in "an awful state" and "very distressed, as you'd expect", said RSPCA inspector Terri Ann Fannon.Emergency services called the animal welfare group to Downhill Road Allotments in Sunderland at about 1am on Friday following a suspected arson attack in which another horse died.
  
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• Frogs, whales and snakes created for threatened species Bake Off competition

  07-09-2018 16:51
  The online contest by the Australian government was aimed at raising awareness about the country’s vulnerable plants and animals.
  
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• EU's Barnier wants orderly Brexit with Irish fix, strong future ties

  07-09-2018 16:48
  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday he was "determined" to work for a negotiated and managed British withdrawal of the bloc.
  
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• Police launch new investigation into 2014 Tower Hamlets election

  07-09-2018 16:46
  Police have launched a new criminal investigation into the 2014 mayoral election in Tower Hamlets, east London, Scotland Yard said.
  
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• Decontamination begins at Skripal house in Salisbury after novichok poisoning

  07-09-2018 16:32
  A major decontamination operation has begun at the home of novichok poisoning victim Sergei Skripal.The work at the house in Christie Miller Road, Salisbury, is being planned and overseen by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in partnership with Wiltshire Council and carried out by specialist military teams.It will begin with ground preparation before the team removes items from the house.
  
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• Sir Vince Cable reveals Liberal Democrats could be renamed as he announces resignation timetable

  07-09-2018 16:31
  Sir Vince Cable has said he would not "rule out" changing the name of his party, as he announced a series of reforms aimed at building a mass "movement for moderates".The Liberal Democrat leader used a speech in Westminster to set out why he believed his party would be a more effective home for disaffected Labour and Conservative members and MPs than a new centrist party.During his speech, Sir Vince said the possibility of a number of new centrist parties being formed risked a situation that res
  
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• Qatar eyes Germany's energy, finance sectors with 10 billion euro investment

  07-09-2018 16:02
  The Gulf state of Qatar said on Friday it would invest 10 billion euros (8.9 billion pounds) to strengthen its ties with Germany over the next five years, including the possible creation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani announced the funding boost for its long-term trading partner and Europe's largest economy at a bilateral investment conference in Berlin.Germany is Europe's biggest energy consumer.
  
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• Investigation launched after Iranian state TV films private Labour meeting

  07-09-2018 15:54
  Labour party bosses are scrambling to uncover how Iranian state television was able to broadcast from a vote of no confidence in an MP who chairs its pro-Israel group.An investigation has been launched after footage emerged on Press TV's UK Twitter account of an emergency meeting held on the future of Joan Ryan, Enfield North MP and head of Labour Friends of Israel.Pictures and videos posted from the Iranian state broadcaster showed crowds whooping and cheering as Ms Ryan narrowly lost the vote
  
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• Waterstones Buys Foyles To 'Protect Bookshops' Against Amazon

  07-09-2018 15:50
  Waterstones has bought family-run business Foyles, stating that doing so will
  
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• EU's Barnier says ready for new Irish border solutions as Brexit deadline looms

  07-09-2018 15:43
  The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said in evidence published on Friday that he was willing to consider new ways to solve the Irish border issue, the toughest of remaining issues in Britain's exit negotiation.The United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on March 29, yet little is clear: There is, so far, no full exit deal, rivals to Prime Minister Theresa May are circling and some lawmakers are pushing for a rerun of the 2016 referendum.Barnier told British lawm
  
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• Alex Jones And Infowars Permanently Banned From Twitter

  07-09-2018 15:41
  Alex Jones and his Infowars website have been permanently banned from Twitter
  
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• Pasty wars: disquiet in Cornwall as Greggs store opens

  07-09-2018 15:34
  Greggs says the opening of its new outlet in Saltash has created eight jobs.Greggs has caused consternation by daring to open an outlet in the land of the Cornish pasty when its own pasties do not qualify for the famous food designation.Bakers in Cornwall said they were sure any loyal Cornish person would shun a Greggs bake in favour of a true Cornish pasty but expressed concern that the chain’s buying power could threaten smaller producers.
  
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• 'Class war' row as Oxford City Council only resurfaces affluent end of road

  07-09-2018 15:04
  A council has been accused of reigniting a 1930s class war by resurfacing a "posh" part of a road and leaving out the poorer end.Oxford City Council paved only as far as the intersection where the more affluent Wentworth Road meets the poorer Aldrich Road in Sunnymead, Cutteslowe.Aldrich Road residents claim preferential treatment is being given to more affluent neighbours and a critic of the council has sprayed "class war" in bright blue paint on the new resurfacing.
  
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• Tony Blair doubts Labour can be 'taken back by moderates'

  07-09-2018 15:01 via bbc.co.uk
  The former PM tells the BBC "moderates" may have lost the party to Jeremy Corbyn and the left.
  
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• Germaine Greer ‘On Rape’: 6 Controversial Talking Points From The Writer’s New Book

  07-09-2018 14:37
  Germaine Greer is no stranger to outrage and her latest book, 'On Rape', is
  
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• So long, it's been nice knowing you – I have only 19 years left to live

  07-09-2018 14:30
  I’m not always the best at enjoying my holidays to the full – the extra free time often seems to merely accommodate extra worry – so I’m not entirely unhappy to be back at work. At least now my anxiety levels are entirely familiar. Part of the problem of going away is the enormous amount of effort you have to put in beforehand to make sure you are even within a shout of enjoying yourself. Starting with the car rental. An experience that always seems to blight the first fe
  
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• Superimposed image of Frank Lampard used to promote upcoming New York park

  07-09-2018 14:21
  Ex-England star Frank Lampard has been superimposed onto a promotional image for a new state park in New York, sparking ridicule on social media.New York governor Andrew Cuomo released pictures imagining what the Shirley Chisholm State Park will look like when it is complete.The original photo of the Derby County manager was taken in 2015 when he was on a jog in Central Park with a personal trainer during his spell playing in the city.
  
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• Waterstones buys Foyles to defend bookshops against Amazon

  07-09-2018 14:18 via bbc.co.uk
  The deal will help booksellers fight back against Amazon's "siren call", says the boss of Waterstones.
  
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• Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and wife to divorce

  07-09-2018 14:09
  Boris Johnson, Britain's former foreign secretary, said on Friday he had separated from his wife Marina Wheeler and the couple will divorce, the Press Association reported.Johnson is the bookmakers' favourite to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May and is seen as someone who would lead Britain to a more radical departure from the European Union after being the figurehead of the "Leave" campaign in 2016.In a joint statement, Johnson and Wheeler said they separated some time ago and divorce proceedi
  
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• Spider season: How to tackle an influx of arachnids

  07-09-2018 14:05 via bbc.co.uk
  Spider season is back, with the numbers of the eight-legged creatures on the rise. How can people tackle the arachnid invasion?
  
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• PM 'retains' confidence' in Northern Ireland secretary Karen Bradley

  07-09-2018 14:02 via bbc.co.uk
  Karen Bradley described NI politics as a "very different world" to her experiences as an English MP.
  
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