General news

• UK academic charged with spying in UAE released on bail - sources

  29-10-2018 23:41
  DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - A British academic charged with espionage in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been released on bail, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old doctoral student at Durham University, was arrested on May 5 at Dubai airport after a two-week research visit.The sources did not say when Hedges was released on bail.
  
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• Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood happy to focus on the show now Walsh has gone

  29-10-2018 23:40
  The judge said he was not surprised to see the comedian in the bottom two.
  
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• British academic Matthew Hedges released on bail in UAE - reports

  29-10-2018 23:20
  British academic Matthew Hedges has been released on bail in the United Arab Emirates, according to reports.
  
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• UK academic released on bail in United Arab Emirates - sources

  29-10-2018 23:05
  DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - A British academic charged with spying in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been released on bail, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
  
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• Budget 2018: Philip Hammond's seven best and worst jokes

  29-10-2018 22:54
  Philip Hammond tried once again to show he's not just a numbers man by peppering his 2018 budget with attempts at humour.
  
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• Gemma Collins taking no chances on Dancing On Ice

  29-10-2018 22:51
  The reality TV star reveals at the Pride of Britain Awards she has insured herself for the new series of the ITV show.
  
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• Divers in Thai cave rescue and 11-year-old girl among Pride of Britain winners

  29-10-2018 22:40
  The awards cerebrate people who have acted bravely in challenging situations.
  
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• IR35 tax clampdown is budget's biggest new revenue-raiser

  29-10-2018 22:39
  A rule change on the tax status of self-employed people working for private sector companies was the biggest new revenue raiser in the budget.The tax framework, known as IR35, is aimed at stopping tax dodging by disguising employment through so-called personal service companies, which will cost the exchequer £1.3bn a year by 2023-24, according to HM Revenue and Customs figures.In a bid to stem that flow, the chancellor, Philip Hammond, is making private firms with more than 250 employees r
  
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• Universal Credit cash may not keep families out of poverty, Tory MP warns

  29-10-2018 22:38
  Heidi Allen told the Commons that the £1.7 billion investment “cannot possibly undo the damage of a £3 billion cut”.
  
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• Budget 2018: 24 things you NEED to know

  29-10-2018 22:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  PHILIP Hammond has announced his Autumn Budget in a speech to Parliament, and here are the key changes set to revamp the UK's economy and improve public services before Brexit.
  
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• Storm Oscar path: Post-Hurricane to SMASH UK this week - when will it hit?

  29-10-2018 22:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  BRITAIN is bracing for severe weather as Storm Oscar is on its way, but when will the hurricane hit the UK?
  
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• From potholes to Brexit: an at-a-glance guide to the budget

  29-10-2018 22:17
  An extra £420m was made available for local authorities to tackle potholes.An extra £420m was made available immediately for local authorities to tackle potholes and other minor road works.The AA had asked for a £1bn pothole fund to fill in the craters that are costing motorists dear.
  
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• Devastated Leicester City players in tears as they join fans to pay tribute to chairman

  29-10-2018 22:07
  Leicester players including Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel shared an emotional moment with fans at the club's stadium as hundreds of people turned out to remember their chairman.In front of an ever-growing mass of flowers, shirts and tributes, the devastated players paid their respects to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha following his death in Saturday's helicopter crash."Thank you for everything you have done for Leicester" is a sentiment echoed by many.
  
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• ‘Evil criminals’ behind Saudi journalist death must face justice, says fiancee

  29-10-2018 22:05
  Jamal Khashoggi was killed in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
  
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• 'Labour has spent that!' Andrew Neil MOCKS McDonnell during painful post-budget interview

  29-10-2018 21:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  ANDREW Neil mocked Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell during a post-budget interview on Monday and demanded the Labour frontbencher outline the details behind the party's spending plans.
  
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• Carol Vorderman brings the glamour at Pride of Britain Awards

  29-10-2018 21:30
  The star was hosting the annual ceremony.
  
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• Budget 2018: Personal allowance rises to £12k - when will it affect YOUR income tax?

  29-10-2018 21:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  PHILIP Hammond today delivered the much anticipated 2018 Budget in the House of Commons but how does the personal allowance rise affect your income tax and when will it happen?
  
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• New 50 pence coin to commemorate Britain's Brexit day

  29-10-2018 21:19
  Britain will mint a new 50 pence coin to commemorate leaving the European Union in spring 2019, the finance ministry said on Monday.The departure is one of a series of historic moments such as the 2012 Olympics, the decision to join the European Economic Community, the predecessor to the EU, in 1973, and the centenary of the First World War, it said."In line with this tradition, the Royal Mint will produce a coin to commemorate the UK leaving the European Union," it said.
  
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• Corbyn criticises Hammond's ‘broken-promise budget’

  29-10-2018 21:16
  Jeremy Corbyn responds to Philip Hammond’s budget statement.Jeremy Corbyn has accused Philip Hammond of delivering a “broken-promise budget” that showed public spending cuts would continue despite Theresa May’s Tory conference pledge that the era of austerity was over.The Labour leader told the Commons that the chancellor’s statement, peppered with spending announcements aimed at satisfying a variety of Conservative backbench campaigns, would fail to undo the damage
  
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• Low earners gain little from Hammond's £3bn tax giveaway

  29-10-2018 21:14
  The chancellor said he wanted working people to ‘keep more of the money they earn’.A surprise £3bn income tax giveaway worth £860 a year to high earners was the centrepiece of Philip Hammond’s third budget, but tax experts said it would leave low earners with little or no gains.The chancellor brought forward the Conservatives’ election pledge to increase the basic personal allowance to £12,500 while raising the threshold for the 40% higher-rate tax to &p
  
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• Budget 2018: Hard work has paid off, chancellor insists

  29-10-2018 21:10
  Philip Hammond has declared the era of austerity is "finally coming to an end" as he delivered a £30bn giveaway budget.The chancellor, unveiling his last budget before Brexit, told the House of Commons the UK would see "resilient" growth in the years to come as he revealed upgraded growth forecasts from next year.Mr Hammond's budget included confirmation of Prime Minister Theresa May's pledge of £20bn extra per year for the NHS by 2023, a £1bn boost for defence and £1bn m
  
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• Moors Murders: Pauline Reade laid to rest after body parts buried in EMOTIONAL ceremony

  29-10-2018 21:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  MOORS murder victim Pauline Reade was finally laid to rest today in a second funeral after police returned her remaining body parts, kept for more than 30 years since her body was discovered.
  
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• Boost for income tax payers as Hammond eases austerity

  29-10-2018 21:04
  The Chancellor also used his Budget to increase funding for Universal Credit and introduce a new digital tax on internet giants.
  
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• Budget does little to help those ‘pushed towards destitution’, says Frank Field

  29-10-2018 21:03
  The independent MP, who helped reform the welfare system in Tony Blair’s Labour government, says people have been ‘massacred’ by Universal Credit.
  
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• Pencils and potholes as Hammond peters out with barely a whimper

  29-10-2018 21:02
  Theresa May and Sajid Javid listening to Philip Hammond deliver the budget.At least Boris Johnson made the effort to write two entirely contradictory speeches, even if he didn’t particularly agree with either.Philip Hammond couldn’t even manage that as he delivered what is likely to be his last budget.
  
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• MPs squirm as lame-duck chancellor falls to the occasion

  29-10-2018 21:02
  Theresa May and Sajid Javid listening to Philip Hammond deliver the budget.At least Boris Johnson made the effort to write two entirely contradictory speeches, even if he didn’t particularly agree with either.Philip Hammond couldn’t even manage that as he delivered what is likely to be his last budget.
  
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• Liz Truss Sits On Sajid Javid's Knee During Budget Speech Squeeze

  29-10-2018 21:00
  Liz Truss struggled to find a seat on the frontbench during the Budget today
  
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• Britain to target online giants with new 'Digital Services Tax'

  29-10-2018 20:57
  Amazon was down 9 percent, touching six-month low, while Google was off 5.5 percent and Facebook was trading lower 3.5 percent.Netflix and Apple, the others in the so-called FAANG group of stocks, were down 8 percent and 3.6 percent respectively."It's clearly not sustainable, or fair, that digital platform businesses can generate substantial value in the UK without paying tax here in respect of that business," Chancellor Philip Hammond said in his annual budget speech on Monday.
  
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• Man, 50, dies as car collides with lorry in West Lothian

  29-10-2018 20:54
  The crash happened at Boghead roundabout outside Bathgate on Sunday.
  
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• UK airlines hit out at higher levy on long-haul flights

  29-10-2018 20:52
  Britain's aviation industry hit out at the government on Monday over its decision to increase a tax on long-haul flights, saying it made a mockery of the government's ambition for a 'Global Britain' after it leaves the European Union.British finance minister Philip Hammond said in his annual budget that Air Passenger Duty (APD) would be frozen for short-haul flights but would rise in line with inflation for long-haul.The owner of British Airways, IAG , said the tax hindered its efforts to fly to
  
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• UK finally takes on arrogant tech giants with digital services tax

  29-10-2018 20:51
  The chancellor cannot simply ignore the loss of revenue at companies such as Facebook from activity that plainly derives from UK users.The sum of £400m that Philip Hammond says will be raised annually via his new digital services tax is a relative trifle.One suspects their enthusiasm for investing in the UK will not be affected one jot.
  
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• Devastated Leicester City players join fans to pay tribute to chairman

  29-10-2018 20:50
  Leicester players including Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel shared an emotional moment with fans at the club's stadium as hundreds of people turned out to remember their chairman.In front of an ever-growing mass of flowers, shirts and tributes, the devastated players paid their respects to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha following his death in Saturday's helicopter crash."Thank you for everything you have done for Leicester" is a sentiment echoed by many.
  
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• Budget pledges on health and social care dismissed as 'sticking plaster'

  29-10-2018 20:49
  Much of the new money will be needed to ‘get the basics back on track’, the Nuffield Trust said.Health experts have said the chancellor’s £20.5bn boost for the NHS in England by 2023 will leave the service still struggling to cope with rising demand for treatment.The pressure on already overloaded A&E and GP services will continue because Philip Hammond only gave an extra £650m to prop up crumbling social care services, it was claimed.
  
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• Who are the winners and losers from the Budget?

  29-10-2018 20:47
  Some people may feel better off following the Budget, while others may have less of a reason to be cheerful.
  
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• Online gambling, cigarettes and wine hit by 'sin' taxes increase

  29-10-2018 20:40
  The average price of a packet of cigarettes will rise above £10 for the first time.Vices including online gambling, smoking cigarettes and drinking wine or champagne will be hit by increased “sin” taxes, but lovers of beer and spirits escaped with an unexpected duty freeze in Philip Hammond’s budget.A bottle of wine goes up by 7p, sparkling wine by 10p.
  
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• Whisky industry welcomes duty freeze

  29-10-2018 20:39
  A typical bottle costs 30p less than if it had risen by inflation, according to the Treasury.
  
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• Top Gear role still has not sunk in – Freddie Flintoff

  29-10-2018 20:37
  The former cricketer will host the show from next year.
  
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• Mystery of Italian 'amnesiac' found in St Giles in Edinburgh

  29-10-2018 20:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  AN Italian found in Scotland claiming to have lost his memory is being quizzed by police amid reports he searched the internet to find out “how to disappear without a trace”.
  
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• Hammond earmarks £500m budget boost for infrastructure

  29-10-2018 20:33
  The housing infrastructure fund will increase to £5.5bn.Ministers are spending an extra £500m on infrastructure to encourage the construction of 650,000 more homes and restrictions on council housebuilding are being lifted but campaigners are disappointed after the chancellor withstood cross-party pressure to divert billions from landowners’ profits to new homes.Philip Hammond said the housing infrastructure fund, which pays for physical infrastructure like roads and power supp
  
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• Brexit WARNING: Andrew Neil warns EU transition period 'EXTENDED to 2021' in Truss clash

  29-10-2018 20:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  ANDREW NEIL has warned the Office for Budget Responsibility , which is closely aligned with the Government but remains impartial, is basing its forecasts on a 24 month Brexit transition period, three months longer than the agreed transition, in a heated clash with Liz Truss.
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon urged to investigate anti-Semitic blog post claims

  29-10-2018 20:28
  Comments on a blog were made against GMB Scotland organiser Rhea Wolfson.
  
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• Hammond's budget giveaways highlight May's weakness

  29-10-2018 20:22
  Was the real architect of the budget Theresa May – not Philip Hammond?Watching Philip Hammond deliver his third budget, it was hard to avoid thinking that an election must be in the offing.Less than 18 months into the current parliament, Hammond could have saved his windfall and met his stated aim of balancing the budget by the middle of the next decade.
  
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• Belfast gets £350m funding boost in budget

  29-10-2018 20:20
  Belfast and wider economy has received a significant boost from the opening of the Titanic centre in 2012.Belfast landed a big budget boost, with £350m pledged as part of regional city deals announced by the chancellor.Philip Hammond also pledged £320m to the Northern Ireland executive along with £2m cash to help Belfast city centre recover from the fire that engulfed the historic Primark building recently.
  
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• Extra £300 million for shared and integrated education in NI

  29-10-2018 20:17
  Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley said the Government was supporting an inclusive future.
  
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• Former soldier Craig Savage jailed for life for shooting dead ex-wife and mother-in-law

  29-10-2018 20:14
  A former soldier has been jailed for life after shooting his ex-wife and mother-in-law in execution-style killings.Michelle Savage, 32, had told police she believed her ex-husband Craig would "either kill or hurt" her in the weeks before her death."Nasty" and "bitter" Savage shot her along with her mother Heather Whitbread, 53, by firing at them at almost point blank range on 16 March, a court heard.
  
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• Budget 2018: These Parts Of The Chancellor's Budget Were Attempts To Win Back The Young

  29-10-2018 20:14
  Chancellor Philip Hammond - or 'Spreadsheet Phil' as he is known around the
  
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• Harry and Meghan set for welly-wanging contest

  29-10-2018 20:13
  The couple are on a 16-day trip to Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.
  
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• Hammond targets US tech giants with 'digital services tax'

  29-10-2018 20:06
  The tax will be charged at a rate of 2% and only apply against revenue from search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces.The government has announced a special digital services tax on US technology firms – including Google, Facebook and Amazon – to make sure “these global giants with profitable businesses in the UK pay their fair share”.Philip Hammond, the chancellor, said the UK could no longer wait for “painfully slow” discussions on an int
  
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• Budget 2018: UK Digital Services Tax Condemned For 'Trivial' Impact

  29-10-2018 20:02
  A new tax aimed at Facebook, Google and Amazon has been described as "trivial"
  
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• Scottish budget to increase by £950m, says Chancellor

  29-10-2018 19:58
  Philip Hammond’s statement included announcements for Scottish industries including whisky, oil and gas, and fishing.
  
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