General news

• Greysteel families urge politicians to prevent attacks happening again

  30-10-2018 23:37
  Wreaths and flowers were laid in memory of the victims at a plaque outside the Rising Sun pub.
  
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• Sir Richard Branson and Lord Sugar could become ambassadors in UK diplomatic shake-up

  30-10-2018 23:31
  Business chiefs like Lord Sugar and Sir Richard Branson will be eligible to apply to become UK ambassadors should they wish under a plan to be announced by the foreign secretary.Jeremy Hunt will use a speech on Wednesday to encourage new talent to champion British interests overseas and strike deals with other countries after Brexit.This includes the creation of 12 new missions and hundreds of new diplomatic posts.
  
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• Britain plans expansion of diplomatic network after Brexit

  30-10-2018 23:31
  Britain is to hire nearly 1,000 more diplomatic staff as it looks to expand its links with countries around the world after Brexit, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will announce on Wednesday."Our democratic values are arguably under greater threat than at any time since the fall of the Berlin Wall ... we can use our influence, reach and power to defend our values," Hunt will say in the speech entitled "Britain's role in the world after Brexit," according to advance extracts.
  
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• Leicester City players to honour helicopter victims at Cardiff match

  30-10-2018 22:40
  Leicester players will pay tribute to victims of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of the club's chairman and four other people when they play Cardiff City on Saturday.The Foxes confirmed on Tuesday they will go ahead with the Premier League match in the Welsh capital, exactly a week after the club's Thai billionaire owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabh died in the tragedy.All other Premier League matches will also observe the minute's silence.
  
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• In Video: Homeowner hosts Halloween spook-tacular

  30-10-2018 22:23
  This house in Sheffield spared no expense.
  
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• Facebook loses a million users in Europe

  30-10-2018 21:59
  The company’s user base in Europe is falling, according to Facebook’s latest financial results.
  
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• Three-year-old boy fighting for life after being hit by stolen van in police chase

  30-10-2018 21:47
  A three-year-old boy is fighting for his life after being hit by a stolen van as it fled police.Leo Durrington was struck by the white Ford Transit Connect van which was being followed by officers in Leigh, Greater Manchester, on Tuesday morning.The little boy from Wigan is in a critical condition in hospital, a police spokesman said.
  
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• Mystery woman found dead 14 years ago may have been ‘Thai bride’

  30-10-2018 21:16
  North Yorkshire Police say the circumstances surrounding the death on the Pennine Way have ‘remained suspicious’.
  
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• Tree created in lover’s gesture a century ago wins national competition

  30-10-2018 21:00
  The Yorkshire beech tree grafted into an ‘N’ to woo a sweetheart named Nellie won the hearts of voters in the Tree of the Year contest.
  
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• Six-foot Tommies unveiled at US embassy in London

  30-10-2018 21:00
  The There But Not There campaign has raised more than £4 million through sales of the Soldier Silhouettes.
  
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• Poor Couples Don't Stay Married And It Fuels Poverty, Says Tory MP Michael Tomlinson

  30-10-2018 20:59
  Rich people get married and stay together while poor people do not, a Tory MP
  
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• Leicester crash helicopter ‘appeared normal at take-off’

  30-10-2018 20:54
  The aircraft reached the height of the stadium before it spun out of control and crashed, killing five people.
  
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• Police to sue government unless it backs down over cuts

  30-10-2018 20:52
  The home secretary, Sajid Javid, seen right during the budget, is due to address police chiefs at their annual conference this week.Police chiefs in England and Wales will take legal action in the high court against the government unless it backs down on plans to deduct hundreds of millions of pounds from their budgets, the Guardian has learned.The unprecedented decision was taken by the National Police Chiefs Council, which sent a formal letter to the Treasury saying it will seek a judicial rev
  
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• Family plea after three-year-old hit by stolen van pursued by police

  30-10-2018 20:45
  A force spokesman said the boy remained in a critical condition in hospital.
  
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• Employers must check EU workers' status under no-deal Brexit, says immigration minister

  30-10-2018 20:42
  Employers will have to check any EU workers living in Britain have a right to be in the country under "a no-deal" Brexit.Immigration minister Caroline Nokes made the announcement, telling firms they would be expected to carry out "adequately rigorous checks".If there is no Brexit deal, EU citizens already living in the UK will be allowed to stay by applying for "settled status".
  
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• No-deal Brexit will make Britain less safe, police chiefs warn MPs

  30-10-2018 20:18
  The UK will become a less safe place in the event of a no-deal Brexit, law enforcement chiefs have warned MPs, saying that a loss of shared EU information could even lead to some overseas criminals deliberately moving to the UK to avoid arrest.The head of the National Crime Agency (NCA), Lynne Owens, told the Commons home affairs committee she would be “deeply concerned” about the security implications if the UK left without a deal.Giving evidence alongside her, Richard Martin, a sen
  
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• Six-year-old boy who died in house fire was ‘superhero’, family say

  30-10-2018 20:13
  Riley Jake Jackson had multiple health conditions and underwent heart surgery aged one.
  
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• Grenfell Survivors Facing Universal Credit Roll-Out Just Days Before Christmas

  30-10-2018 20:01
  Grenfell Tower survivors face being forced onto the Government's controversial
  
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• Harry and Meghan to visit kiwi-breeding programme

  30-10-2018 19:59
  The duke and duchess are travelling to the town of Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand.
  
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• Grandparents teach teens about the days racism was 'normal'

  30-10-2018 19:56 via bbc.co.uk
  Teenagers have been learning from family members about the days when racism was "normal".
  
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• Labour backlash after McDonnell refuses to oppose budget tax cuts

  30-10-2018 19:51
  The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has sparked a backlash from Labour MPs by insisting that the party would not to oppose the tax cuts for higher earners announced in Monday’s budget.Simple as that,” McDonnell said, despite pressure from some colleagues to oppose the giveaway, which was one of the most eyecatching measures in Philip Hammond’s pre-Brexit budget.Hammond brought forward a Conservative manifesto pledge to increase the personal allowance to £12,500, and th
  
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• Train passengers unable to buy tickets as payment machines crash

  30-10-2018 19:47
  Rail commuters have been unable to purchase tickets as machines across much of England cannot accept card payments.Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) said its card-only machines have been affected by a "network-wide issue".Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and the Gatwick Express are all operated by GTR.
  
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• Philip Hammond's budget may just be too good to be true

  30-10-2018 19:37
  Philip Hammond cannot always rely on the OBR finding £12bn at the back of the sofa.Napoleon once said it was better for generals to be lucky than good, and by that score, Theresa May picked well when she chose Philip Hammond as her chancellor.As the Institute for Fiscal Studies made clear in its post-budget analysis, Hammond just got very lucky indeed.
  
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• Chancellor’s budget boost to NHS frontline conceals £1bn cut

  30-10-2018 19:28
  Budget marked a continuation of policy of cutting unprotected areas of health and social care budget.Public health services and the education and training of nurses and doctors will be cut by £1bn next year as part of the government’s plan to boost the NHS’s budget by £20bn by 2023, it has emerged.A leading expert in NHS finances warned ministers that their strategy of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” is a false economy that risks worsening already serious understa
  
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• Hundreds of jobs threatened at Evans Cycles despite Ashley rescue

  30-10-2018 19:27
  Half of Evans Cycles' 60 stores are to close, despite Mike Ashley's Sports Direct rescuing the chain out of administration.The retail tycoon, who in August also bought House of Fraser in a so-called pre-pack deal, said: "We are pleased to have rescued the Evans Cycles brand.Sky News reported that Sports Direct was thought to be the front-runner to secure Evans, which employs around 1,300 staff, after the UK's biggest bikes retailer, Halfords, dropped its interest almost a week ago.
  
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• Peers divided over bid to extend human rights protections to Northern Ireland

  30-10-2018 19:23
  Peers gave mixed reaction to moves by MPs to start equal rights monitoring in Northern Ireland
  
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• Britons could end up in ‘rest of world’ airport queues, says minister

  30-10-2018 19:18
  Caroline Nokes told the Commons Home Affairs Committee firms could find it ‘almost impossible’ to differentiate between new and long-stay EU migrants.
  
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• Leicester match at Cardiff will go ahead after helicopter crash, club says

  30-10-2018 19:15
  Leicester City have confirmed Saturday's match at Cardiff will go ahead after thousands of people turned out to sign books of condolence.Striker Jamie Vardy and his wife Rebekah was among a steady stream of people arriving at the club to pay tribute to owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter crash on Saturday.Leicester City said the book will be available each day from 8am until 10pm "for the foreseeable future".
  
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• Get a grip: are smartphones ruining our hands?

  30-10-2018 19:15
  Prof Roger Kneebone, a professor of surgical education at Imperial College London, has said students are arriving at medical school without the required manual dexterity to perform simple, necessary surgical tasks such as sewing up patients after operations.Comparing participants’ scores on the “smartphone addiction scale” with their “grip and pinch strengths”, the study found that “frequent smartphone users may be more prone to experience pain in their thumbs
  
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• Champion teenage swimmer Tazmin Pugh and her boyfriend die in Worcester house fire

  30-10-2018 19:14
  A champion teenage swimmer who represented Britain at the Commonwealth Youth Games has died in a house fire with her boyfriend.Tazmin Pugh, 18, and Josh Kirk, 21, were found dead inside the property in Cotheridge, Worcester.Paramedics from a passing ambulance had spotted the blaze and stopped to help before police and the fire service arrived, Worcester News reports.
  
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• Health Secretary mocked by MPs for geography gaffe

  30-10-2018 19:13
  Matt Hancock appeared to believe Rachael Maskell was from the SNP.
  
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• Pluses and minuses in the pre-Brexit budget

  30-10-2018 19:09
  Chancellor Philip Hammond delivers his budget statement to parliament on Monday.Polly Toynbee (A sticking plaster budget for a country in decline, Journal, 30 October) reports Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies as asking rhetorically why most countries in Europe raise more money in taxes than the UK.The answer is because they have higher levels of public spending.
  
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• Stonehenge: some mega myths about megaliths

  30-10-2018 19:08
  Stuart Jeffries is right to say that plenty happened at Stonehenge over the past century that we might now wish had not (Stonehenge: regifting really doesn’t get any better than this, 29 October).John Ruskin, who argued that all restoration is a lie (“And, today, so is Stonehenge,” says Jeffries), should be happy with the way the site looks: nothing has been added or taken away.Frequent calls for restoring megaliths were dismissed both by Stonehenge’s private owners and b
  
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• Dog owner offers £50,000 reward after puppies stolen in armed raid

  30-10-2018 19:02
  Mark Orley said a gang of three men broke into his home in Essex, threatened his boy then took the 11 pets.
  
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• Yvette Cooper Condemns Home Office For Uncertainty Over Border Security Under No-Deal Brexit

  30-10-2018 19:00
  Yvette Cooper has given Home Office officials a furious dressing down after
  
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• 'You’ve Only Got Five Months Left': Yvette Cooper Blasts Home Office Over Post-Brexit Border Uncertainty

  30-10-2018 19:00
  Yvette Cooper has given Home Office officials a furious dressing down after
  
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• Philip Hammond accused of gambling with the public finances

  30-10-2018 18:59
  The Chancellor said his giveaway Budget gave voters a taste of a ‘brighter future’ after years of austerity.
  
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• Hammond's digital tax faces opposition from big tech firms

  30-10-2018 18:58
  The chancellor’s levy on tech companies aims to raise £400m a year by 2020.Philip Hammond’s proposals to introduce a digital sales tax on technology firms will face tough opposition, as the industry warned a similar EU measure could inadvertently damage European companies.Microsoft, Facebook and Google expressed confusion over the chancellor’s plans and told the House of Lords’ communications committee they needed further clarity about what the tax would entail.
  
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• UK ministers accused of ‘buying DUP votes’

  30-10-2018 18:57
  The SNP said the Chancellor had failed to support Glasgow in the same way as Belfast, with both cities hit by major fires this year.
  
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• Russell Bishop trial: Alleged killer's lawyer accuses father of dead schoolgirl

  30-10-2018 18:56
  Russell Bishop, a 52-year-old former roofer, is on trial for the second time over the murders of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows.Opening the defence case at the Old Bailey, Bishop's lawyer Joel Bennathan QC said police had spent "32 years building a case against the wrong man".Mr Bennathan then pointed the finger at Nicola's father Barrie Fellow, saying he was "complicit" in sexual abuse.
  
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• Police probe murder of building site security worker

  30-10-2018 18:40
  Mohammad Abu Sammour, 49, was found injured at a housing development in North Lanarkshire on Sunday.
  
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• Throwaway Phil embraces austerity lite to save his skin

  30-10-2018 18:39
  Shortly before she was due to address the Nordic Council in Oslo, Theresa May was asked if she was planning on calling a snap general election.“A general election would not be in the national interest.” As this was precisely the same answer she had given seven times before calling last year’s snap general election, many MPs must have feared the worst.How else to explain a budget in which the chancellor appears to have undergone a total personality change?
  
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• Ecuador throws out WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's mistreatment claim

  30-10-2018 18:38
  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's claim that Ecuador is violating his "fundamental rights" in its London embassy has been thrown out by the country.The 47-year-old Australian claimed Ecuador was limiting his access to the outside world and he was living in an "inhuman situation".Mr Assange's situation should have already been resolved but is being "dragged out longer and longer" by the "involved states", his lawyer said.
  
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• Uber drivers’ worker status should be upheld, court hears

  30-10-2018 18:37
  Counsel for two former drivers said the relationship between Uber and drivers was ‘inconsistent with a relationship of agency’, as argued by Uber.
  
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• Suspend repayments on ‘illegitimate’ loans to councils, report urges

  30-10-2018 18:27
  This London local authority has the largest amount of lobo loans in the UK, and had to spend £75m on servicing debt, a sum exceeding the £68m it earned from council tax.Repayments on a crippling set of council loans worth £15bn – which left one local authority spending more on servicing its debt than it earned in council tax – should be suspended immediately, according to a report published on Tuesday.The cooperative Research For Action, which investigates public fi
  
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• Sir Philip Green Says He Will 'Turn Gay' In Extraordinary Tirade Against Reporters

  30-10-2018 18:21
  Sir Philip Green launched an extraordinary tirade against reporters in which
  
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• Student loans firm accused of ‘KGB tactics’ for assessing eligibility

  30-10-2018 18:16
  Student Loans Company applicants should expect to have their Facebook posts and social media activity vetted as part of the approval process, despite a senior MP condemning such surveillance as “sinister, KGB knock-on-the-door” tactics.Christian Brodie, the SLC’s chair, told a committee of MPs that the company gathered evidence from social media to determine eligibility for student loans because it regarded personal Facebook accounts as a public source of information.“If
  
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• Employers must check EU nationals' right to work, says minister

  30-10-2018 18:09
  Employers will be expected to check whether EU nationals have the right to work in the UK if there is a no-deal Brexit, even though it will be almost impossible to assess this, and the nature of the checks remain unknown, Caroline Nokes, the immigration minister, has told MPs.In a fractious appearance before the home affairs select committee, Nokes said it would be up to companies offering jobs to EU nationals after Brexit to determine whether those applicants were eligible to work in the UK.
  
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• CPS criticised as charges dropped over death of man in UK detention camp

  30-10-2018 18:08
  The family of a man found dead in an immigration detention centre have reacted with fury to a decision to drop criminal charges against two private firms.Last year, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided that charges should be brought over the death of Prince Fosu, whose naked body was found on the concrete floor of his cell in Harmondsworth, west London, on 30 October 2012.On Tuesday, the CPS announced that it was reversing its decision, saying that it did not believe it could secure convi
  
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• Lawyer for man accused of murdering schoolgirls in 1986 points finger at father

  30-10-2018 18:06
  Former roofer Russell Bishop is on trial for the second time for the 1986 murders of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows.
  
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