General news

• Trump, May discuss desire for 'ambitious' post-Brexit trade deal

  26-09-2018 23:08
  British Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed their will to strike a "big and ambitious" trade deal after Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, May's office said on Wednesday.A trade deal with the United States is seen as an important way to help offset the economic impact of leaving the EU next March.May's government has long touted the freedom to strike such deals independently of the EU as the main economic benefit of Brexit.
  
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• Trump to world leaders: China out to meddle in 2018 election

  26-09-2018 22:37
  UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Taking center stage at the United Nations, President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused China of trying to interfere in the upcoming U.S. congressional elections because it opposes his tough trade policies. The White House provided scant evidence of anything akin to the level of Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
  
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• May challenges Trump with defence of multilateralism

  26-09-2018 21:46
  British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday called on world leaders in New York to reject nationalism and fight to preserve the multilateral system, challenging U.S. President Donald Trump's anti-globalism stance.May used her address at the United Nations General Assembly, chaired by Trump, to warn that "aggressive nationalism" could replace the rules-based international order unless leaders revived public confidence in the current system.
  
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• Tens Of Thousands May Not Know They Have Deadly Virus From Infected NHS Blood, Inquiry Hears

  26-09-2018 21:40
  The NHS should test "every single person" in the UK for the hepatitis C virus
  
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• Salisbury poisoning suspect named as a Russian colonel by UK media

  26-09-2018 21:36
  The real identity of one of the men wanted by Britain for the Salisbury nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter is Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga, according to media reports on Wednesday which said he was a decorated Russian colonel.Earlier this month, British prosecutors charged two Russians - Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - with attempted murderfor the Novichok poisoning of the Skripals in the southern English city in March but said they believed the sus
  
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• 'True identity' of Salisbury suspect revealed, UK defence minister says

  26-09-2018 21:15
  British defence minister Gavin Williamson said the "true identity" of one of the suspects in a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Salisbury had been revealed, apparently confirming media reports that the suspect was a Russian colonel.Earlier this month, British prosecutors charged two Russians - Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - with attempted murder for the Novichok poisoning of the Skripals in the southern English city in March but said they believed the suspects had been using
  
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• True identity revealed: Salisbury suspect is colonel in Russian military intelligence

  26-09-2018 21:05
  One of the men suspected of poisoning Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury is a colonel in the Russian military intelligence service.Chepiga, 39, is reported to have served in conflicts in Chechnya and Ukraine and was given Russia's highest state award - Hero of the Russian Federation - in 2014.
  
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• Teenagers who allowed dog to maul cat to death sentenced

  26-09-2018 20:56
  Two teenagers have been sentenced after luring a missing cat from under a car so their dog could maul it to death.The family of the feline captured the "senseless killing" on CCTV as the attack took place in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, on 9 May.CCTV footage shows one of the youngsters holding a dog by its collar, as the other lies on the road and lures the cat out from under a car.
  
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• May says Brexit vote was not rejection of multilateralism

  26-09-2018 20:34
  British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday the Brexit vote to leave the European Union was not a rejection of multilateralism, but a demand for accountability."The vote by the British people to leave the EU was not a rejection of multilateralism or international cooperation.  It was a clear demand for decisions and accountability to lie closer to home," May said in her address to the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.
  
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• Birmingham pub bombings inquests will not name suspects

  26-09-2018 20:31
  Suspects in the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings are not due to be named at the victims’ inquests after judges upheld a coroner’s decision to leave out of the proceedings any investigations into who was responsiblefor the attack.The lord chief justice, Lord Burnett, and two other judges, ruled on Wednesday that the coroner, Sir Peter Thornton QC, had made no error of law in reaching his decision not to name the IRA unit allegedly responsible.Bereaved families described feeling as if they
  
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• Third person diagnosed with monkeypox in England

  26-09-2018 20:00
  A healthcare worker who looked after someone suffering from monkeypox has been "isolated" after also picking up the disease.It is the third case of the rare viral infection in England and was "not wholly unexpected", Public Health England (PHE) said.Earlier this month, the worker was involved in the care, at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, of the second person to become infected.
  
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• 5 Things We Learned From Labour Party Conference This Week

  26-09-2018 19:38
  ### 1\. Jeremy Corbyn Is Getting More Radical, Not Less.
  
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• Tommy Robinson hearing: pubs around Old Bailey to close ahead of protests

  26-09-2018 19:36
  Tommy Robinson will be retried on a contempt of court charge.A number of pubs around the Old Bailey are to close following police advice, bar staff have told the Guardian, in anticipation of protests during a hearing for rightwing activist Tommy Robinson.Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – has been on bail since August after the court of appeal quashed his 13-month sentence for breaching reporting restrictions at Leeds and Canterbury crown courts.
  
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• Extended interview with Novichok suspects

  26-09-2018 19:35
  Speaking to Russian state-run RT,two suspects in the Salisbury Novichok poisonings have said they were merely tourists.
  
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• British turmoil spooks Brussels on Brexit deal chances

  26-09-2018 19:17
  As British Prime Minister Theresa May prepares to face critics of her Brexit plan at her party conference at the weekend and her Labour opponents vow to vote against it in parliament, EU officials are increasingly uneasy about prospects for a deal.Michel Barnier, the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, told senior EU lawmakers on Tuesday he had concerns about meeting his announced target of an outline deal next month and final package in mid-November to avoid Britain crashing out, a person
  
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• Birmingham pub bombing: Suspects will not be named

  26-09-2018 19:17
  Julie Hambleton the sister of victim of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings feels extremely disappointed with the ruling of the appeal court, after it ruled that the suspects will not be named at fresh inquests.
  
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• Department of Health apologises to victims of infected blood scandal

  26-09-2018 18:48
  The Department for Health has apologised "unreservedly" for the contaminated blood scandal that caused the deaths of almost 3,000 people."Things happened that should not have happened, and so on behalf of my clients, I say unreservedly that we are sorry," Eleanor Grey QC, the barrister for the Department of Health and Social Care, told the public inquiry into the tragedy.Addressing inquiry chair Sir Brian Longstaff, the barrister said: "The infected blood scandal of the 1970s and 80s is a t
  
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• Unpicking the latest low rape conviction rate statistics

  26-09-2018 18:46
  Figures showing the low conviction rates for younger men accused of rape in the UK are a shocking but unsurprising reminder of why so many instances of sexual violence go unreported (Juries convict less than third of young men prosecuted for rape, 24 September).At ActionAid, we know from our own work that around the world, women and girls don’t have the confidence to report gender-based violence, from rape to sexual harassment.In a world where one in three women have experienced gender-bas
  
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• Separating fact from hype in the study of cancer and obesity

  26-09-2018 18:45
  The recent report by Cancer Research UK (Obesity set to be bigger cause of cancer in women than smoking, 24 September) hypes a very minor and unsurprising result – that the fraction of cancers attributable to smoking in the UK may be expected to decline modestly over the next quarter century – by emphasising a notional crossover point when female cancers attributable to overweight and obesity will exceed those attributable to smoking.Cancer due to obesity is portrayed as a rising pub
  
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• This woman found a hilarious way to grab her gaming boyfriend’s attention

  26-09-2018 18:43
  Well, he was playing Spider-Man.
  
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• Meghan Markle can shut her own car door – so why can't Prince Charles iron his own shoelaces?

  26-09-2018 18:37
  The Duchess of Sussex is met by the lord lieutenant of London, Sir Kenneth Olisa, at the Royal Academy.
  
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• A night in Fred West’s old cell: when Halloween fun becomes hateful bad taste

  26-09-2018 18:37
  What japes we have to look forward to at Halloween! Bobbing for apples, making pumpkin lanterns, or, er, spending the night in Fred West’s former cell.Thanks to an imaginative charity fundraiser, £75 will get you a bed at the Steelhouse Lane Lock-up in Birmingham, where West Midlands police once held the serial killer.
  
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• Grenfell residents warn against plan to change tenant management body

  26-09-2018 18:35
  Grenfell residents have said new proposals to fundamentally change the council’s tenant management organisation could prevent it from being properly scrutinised by the Grenfell Tower inquiry and the police investigation into the fire.Kensington and Chelsea Tenants Management Organisation (KCTMO) managed Grenfell Tower and thousands of other council homes in the borough before the fire which claimed 72 lives.Residents want to ensure that any actions taken by the KCTMO before the fire that c
  
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• Amazon users report Alexa breakdowns across Europe

  26-09-2018 18:33
  The website had logged hundreds of reports about the issue with the speakers, which are powered by Amazon's voice-controlled assistant Alexa.The Alexa service is now operating normally," Amazon said in a statement.Users from the U.K. and Europe had earlier reported widespread difficulty in connecting to the server.
  
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• Corbyn waits for himself to arrive before delivering confident speech

  26-09-2018 18:28
  The Labour leader acknowledges delegates following his keynote speech in Liverpool.Jeremy Corbyn strolled on to the stage, shaking hands with members of the shadow cabinet who were sitting facing the audience.It was good to finally have the chance to catch up with Tom Watson.
  
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• MI5 knew Westminster Bridge attacker Khalid Masood in 2004

  26-09-2018 18:27
  A terrorist who killed five people, including a police officer, in a car and knife attack on Westminster Bridge in March 2017 was first known to MI5 thirteen years earlier.Khalid Masood, 53, was investigated as a potential extremist in 2010, but the first trace of him in the security service's records dates back to April 2004.The inquest into the deaths of Masood's victims has heard his phone number appeared in the contact list of someone known to Operation Crevice, which smashed a plot to
  
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• Infected blood scandal: government expresses 'sorrow and regret'

  26-09-2018 18:14
  The Treasury refused to release a 1991 document on health risks relating to haemophiliacs, the inquiry heard.The government has expressed its “sorrow and regret” at the contaminated blood scandal and accepted that the infected blood inquiry will have to investigate allegations of “cover-ups” within the NHS.Addressing the hearing at Church House in Westminster, central London, Eleanor Grey QC, for the Department of Health and Social Care, said there was a legacy of distrus
  
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• No, This Pie And Mash Shop Hasn't Closed Due To 'Veganism'

  26-09-2018 18:11
  Wednesday lunchtime in south east London, a traditional pie and mash shop is
  
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• Moonpig is politely asking people to stop uploading pictures of their genitals

  26-09-2018 18:08
  It’s against the company’s terms and conditions for starters.
  
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• Rupert Murdoch's Sky reign to end as Fox sells all shares to Comcast

  26-09-2018 17:57
  Comcast’s victory means the two years of government scrutiny of Rupert Murdoch and his fitness to control Sky were for nothing.Rupert Murdoch’s three-decade reign at Sky TV is to end after his company 21st Century Fox announced it would sell all of its shares in the British broadcaster to the US media firm Comcast.The two companies had been locked in a bidding war for the satellite TV and broadband business, which culminated when Comcast tabled a knockout bid valuing the company at &
  
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• Moonpig Is Really Annoyed That You Keep Sending Them Pictures Of Your Genitals

  26-09-2018 17:55
  Moonpig has been forced to issue a plea asking the British public - that's you
  
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• Five key themes in Jeremy Corbyn's Labour conference speech

  26-09-2018 17:49
  Jeremy Corbyn set the radical policies announced in Liverpool in the past few days within a long-running wider narrative: that policies of the kind he and the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, have long espoused have become the new normal.“Conference, we are winning the public debate.
  
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• Parents in England seek legal action over special needs funding cuts

  26-09-2018 17:47
  Parents are initiating legal action against the government over multimillion pound cuts to special needs funding in England, amid warnings of “a national crisis” affecting thousands of children with disabilities across the country.Two families from East Sussex and North Yorkshire with children with special educational needs are the latest to launch a crowdfunding appeal to bring a legal challenge to cuts.
  
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• Mum of Pret allergy victim Natasha Ednan-Laperouse weeps at inquest after hearing defibrillator was not used in-flight

  26-09-2018 17:46
  The mother of a teenager who died after eating a baguette on a plane has burst into tears as an inquest heard the on-board defibrillator was not used in-flight.Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, collapsed on a British Airways flight from London to Nice in July 2016 after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette.It heard evidence from the BA cabin crew, including into why the on-board defibrillator was not used in-flight.
  
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• Donald Trump's Ambassador Nikki Haley Tries To Spin Disastrous UN Speech, Fails

  26-09-2018 17:40
  Donald Trump was laughed at by a room full of the world's leading dignitaries
  
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• NHS apologises to victims of infected blood scandal

  26-09-2018 17:38
  The NHS has apologised "unreservedly" for the contaminated blood scandal that caused the deaths of almost 3,000 people."Things happened that should not have happened, and so on behalf of my clients, I say unreservedly, that we are sorry," Eleanor Grey QC, the barrister for the Department of Health and Social Care, told the public inquiry into the tragedy.Addressing inquiry chair Sir Brian Longstaff, the barrister said: "The infected blood scandal of the 1970s and 80s is a tragedy that shoul
  
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• Welsh restaurant The Checkers hands back its Michelin star

  26-09-2018 17:36
  A restaurant in Wales is handing back the Michelin star it has held for seven years - while admitting the sought-after accolade is the "ultimate benchmark" of its trade.The Checkers, in Mongomery, Powys, first appeared in the Michelin Guide in October 2011, just a few months after opening in March of the same year.Sarah Francis and her partner Mr Borie have three young children while Kathryn has two.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn's Speech Highlights At Labour Party Conference 2018

  26-09-2018 17:31
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• The Row Over Transgender Girlguides And Leaders Explained

  26-09-2018 17:29
  Girlguiding has defended its decision to allow transgender women to become
  
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• 'How bad can things get?' Wall Street chief puts Theresa May on Brexit spot

  26-09-2018 17:12
  Theresa May, right, was taking questions from IBM’s Ginni Rometty before the microphone was passed to Steve Schwarzman. Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn tells Theresa May: Labour would back 'sensible' Brexit deal

  26-09-2018 17:06
  Jeremy Corbyn has not ruled out backing the Brexit deal Theresa May secures with Brussels, as he rounded off a Labour conference dominated by Europe.The Labour leader called on the prime minister to ditch her Chequers blueprint for Britain's European exit in favour of a "sensible" deal that includes a customs union with the EU to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland and protects workers' rights and environmental standards.If not, Mr Corbyn said Mrs May needed to "make way for a party that c
  
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• Birmingham pub bombing inquests: Suspects will not be named

  26-09-2018 16:49
  The names of alleged Birmingham pub bombing suspects will not be part of the new inquests into victims' deaths.Coroner Sir Peter Thornton QC had decided to exclude the "perpetrator issue" from the inquests in July last year.A judicial review had then been brought on behalf of bereaved families by Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was 18 when she was killed in the tragedy.
  
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• Mylee Billingham Murder Trial: Father Appears In Court With Bandaged Arms

  26-09-2018 16:35
  A father accused of killing his eight-year-old daughter has appeared at his
  
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• EU orders Ryanair to meet European rules on local contracts

  26-09-2018 16:27
  The European Commission ordered Ryanairon Wednesday to respect EU rules by giving workers contracts in the country they live rather than in Ireland where its planes are registered.Europe's largest low-cost carrier has traditionally employed a significant proportion of its staff under Irish law, which unions say inconveniences staff and impedes them from accessing local social security benefits.After a meeting with European Employment Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary sai
  
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• Mum shares video of baby struggling to breathe as lesson to other parents

  26-09-2018 15:56
  The baby is now a year old and healthy.
  
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• 'Never underestimate millennials!': top lessons for creative mentors

  26-09-2018 15:54 via theguardian.com
  We’re taught to listen to our elders – but it’s not always a one-way street, as these four mentors found out from their young charges at creative courses organised by ŠKODAThey are some of the most inspiring, engaging and informed people you could ever wish to meet, but it’s not always easy for 16- to 25-year-olds to break their way into the creative industries. Things have been a bit less difficult over the past four weeks, however, as around 100 young people have
  
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• A new stage: why old school theatre has essential lessons

  26-09-2018 15:53 via theguardian.com
  Theatre may not seem like the natural medium of young people, but a creative course from ŠKODA is finding that plenty of aspiring young people are keen to get a start in the craftGathered in a studio space within Birmingham Repertory Theatre are a group of people who have either discovered an incredible anti-ageing product, or are bucking a serious trend. According to audience-monitoring charity Audience Agency, younger people are in such short supply at the theatre that the typical crowd
  
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• Irish economy would still grow in 2019 in event of no-deal Brexit - finance minister

  26-09-2018 15:40
  If Britain exits the European Union without a deal next March it would cause a "very significant shock," but the Irish economy would still post annual growth in 2019, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday."The figures that I have indicated to date is that a Brexit shock in the form of either a very hard or a disorderly Brexit is equivalent to between 3/4 of a (percentage) point to a full point of national income growth" in one year and between 3 and 3.5 per
  
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• PM May says post-Brexit immigration system will attract brightest to UK

  26-09-2018 15:26
  Prime Minister Theresa May said a post-Brexit Britain would allow businesses to attract the brightest talents and be one of the best places to grow and develop business whatever the outcome of negotiations with the European Union."We will put in place a new immigration system that will allow businesses and universities to attract the brightest and best to the UK," she told business leaders in New York on Wednesday.
  
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• What Is A General Strike? Labour MP Laura Smith's Mass-Action Plans Explained

  26-09-2018 15:21
  Laura Smith may have caused a stir up and down the country on Tuesday, when
  
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