General news

• Universal Credit claimants 'told to apply for provisional driving licence' as a form of ID

  05-12-2018 23:48
  A number of people claiming Universal Credit have been told to apply for provisional driving licences as a form of ID with the costs being taken from their benefits, an MP has claimed.Liverpool Walton MP, Dan Carden, called on the Department of Work and Pensions to postpone the roll-out of Universal Credit in his constituency until after Christmas and highlighted the driving licence issue as one of many administrative problems with the new system.In a letter to the secretary of state Amber Rudd
  
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• William and Kate meet forces serving abroad over Christmas

  05-12-2018 23:16
  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have praised the sacrifices made by servicemen and women who will be serving over Christmas.William and Kate flew into RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus for a brief visit on Wednesday afternoon to show their support for military personnel who will not be coming back to their families in the UK for the festive period.Speaking in front of a crowd of RAF personnel and soldiers from the 2 Mercian Regiment, Prince William said: "As we approach Christmas, Catherine and I feel st
  
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• No Deal Brexit Fears Could Save May From Heavy Commons Defeat, Ministers Claim

  05-12-2018 23:14
  Fears of a no-deal Brexit could help Theresa May avoid a heavy Commons defeat
  
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• Highs and lows of Brexit deal debate – day two

  05-12-2018 22:51
  What were the highs and lows in the Commons?
  
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• Sir Martin Sorrell: 'It hasn't been an easy six months'

  05-12-2018 22:32
  Sir Martin Sorrell has boasted that he is "2-0 up" against WPP seven months after being "electrocuted" by his former company - but insisted he was not out for revenge.The businessman, who built WPP into the world's biggest advertising company over 32 years at the helm, was speaking after the announcement of a second big acquisition by S4 Capital, the venture that he set up soon after leaving.Sir Martin told Sky's Ian King he was sad about his acrimonious exit from the company after its board lau
  
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• Brexit legal advice is 'devastating', MP claims

  05-12-2018 22:32
  The UK could be stuck in "repeated rounds of negotiations" to leave the EU for years with no lawful power to exit, according to the government's legal advice.A six-page document analysing the implications of Theresa May's deal warned the mechanism to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland returning could remain indefinitely.It was written by Attorney General Geoffrey Cox and sent to Theresa May on 13 November, but only published on Wednesday after wrangling between MPs and the government
  
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• Two-year-old with severe epilepsy ‘unable to obtain medical cannabis in UK’

  05-12-2018 22:29
  Jorja Emerson is believed to be the first child to have been prescribed medical cannabis in the UK.
  
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• Sir Martin Sorrell on life after WPP and his new business

  05-12-2018 22:20
  Sky speaks to ex-advertising exec Sir Martin Sorrell, about his departure from WPP and what Brexit could mean for his new firm.
  
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• DUP would back Tories in confidence vote – but only if May’s Brexit deal ditched

  05-12-2018 22:17
  Confirmation of the DUP’s position could bolster Tory Eurosceptics to vote against the deal.
  
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• Facebook gave data on user's friends to certain companies - documents

  05-12-2018 22:16
  The 223 pages of internal communication from 2012 to 2015 between high-level employees, including founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, provide new evidence of previously aired contentions that Facebook has picked favourites and engaged in anti-competitive behaviour.The documents show that Facebook tracked growth of competitors and denied them access to user data available to others.In 2014, the company identified about 100 apps as being either "Mark's friends" or "Sheryl's friends" and a
  
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• DUP Will Only Back Theresa May If Her Brexit Deal Fails - Boosting Tory Hardliners

  05-12-2018 22:14
  The DUP has offered would-be Tory rebels a free hit on Theresa May's Brexit
  
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• Three arrested on suspicion of paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland

  05-12-2018 22:12
  The arrests come amid a number of searches that were carried out in Londonderry.
  
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• 'Shocking' image shows van dragging enormous Christmas tree

  05-12-2018 21:54
  A picture of a van carrying an enormous Christmas tree on its roof has prompted police to warn drivers as the festive period approaches.The "shocking" speed camera image, posted by Plymouth PC Jane Bickley, showed the tree almost dragging along the road behind the silver vehicle.The van had been travelling on the A38 towards Plymouth and was spotted on 1 December.
  
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• Gunman shot father eight times as he waited for son outside school

  05-12-2018 21:36
  Police in Northern Ireland have released footage of a gunman moments before he killed a man who was waiting to pick up his son from school.Jim Donegan, a married father of two, was shot several times - once in the head - in front of scores of terrified children as they left school in west Belfast.Mr Donegan was sat in his Porsche at the time of the shooting, with teachers subsequently shielding the car from the hundreds of pupils who were leaving St Mary's Grammar School at the time.
  
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• May tries to woo Brexit MPs with Irish backstop 'parliamentary lock'

  05-12-2018 21:28
  Theresa May seeks to persuade MPs there is no viable alternative to her deal.Theresa May has stepped up last-ditch efforts to try to win over Brexit-backing MPs after government legal advice warned the Irish backstop could leave the UK trapped in “protracted and repeated rounds of negotiations” for years to come.The prime minister is holding a series of face-to-face meetings with groups of MPs, seeking to persuade them there is no viable alternative to her approach.
  
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• Greenland ice sheet 'melting at unprecedented rate,' say scientists - Evening Standard

  05-12-2018 21:17 via standard.co.uk
  Greenland ice sheet 'melting at unprecedented rate,' say scientists  Evening StandardGreenland's ice sheet is melting at an alarming rate, which is 'off the charts', study warns | V3  www.v3.co.ukGreenland ice loss quickening  Phys.orgGreenland melting is ‘off the charts’ — It’s unprecedented in the last 400 years, scientists warn  ZME ScienceIce loss in Greenland is Accelerating  Universe TodayView full coverage on Google
  
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• Lord Michael Heseltine Warns Brexit Will 'Make This Country Poorer' In Takedown Of Theresa May's Deal

  05-12-2018 21:12
  Lord Michael Heseltine has warned MPs against voting to "make this country
  
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• Meghan attends discussion on how universities can address human trafficking

  05-12-2018 20:43
  The meeting was hosted by King’s College London.
  
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• PM May's chief enforcer listens to eurosceptic concerns over Brexit - source

  05-12-2018 20:41
  One of Prime Minister Theresa May's chief party enforcers listened to the concerns of eurosceptics in the governing Conservative Party and Northern Irish DUP on Wednesday, part of a charm offensive to try to win the Brexit vote next week.Julian Smith, the chief parliamentary enforcer, or whip, met the MPs for around an hour and listened to their concerns about May's Brexit deal but did not discuss detailed policy options to try to win their support, a source close to his office said.
  
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• Factbox - Britain's Brexit vote: How many MPs are backing PM May?

  05-12-2018 20:11
  Britain's parliament is debating whether to support Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, a decision which will define Britain's departure from the European Union and could determine her own future as leader.The odds look stacked against May winning parliamentary approval for her deal, which has come under fire from all sides, including eurosceptics, supporters of the EU and the Northern Irish party propping up her minority Conservative government.Of those, 102 are government ministers and C
  
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• Stirling misses out on volunteering title

  05-12-2018 19:52
  Padua in Italy was named the next European Volunteering Capital, but Stirling leaders are to push ahead with a planned festival in 2020.
  
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• Global carbon emissions expected to reach all-time high

  05-12-2018 19:52
  Global carbon emissions are expected to rise this year to reach an all-time high, according to research released at the United Nations climate conference.Scientists at the University of East Anglia and the Global Carbon Project say carbon dioxide pollution is likely to hit 37.1 billion tonnes by the end of 2018, up 2.7% on last year.It is the second year in a row that carbon emissions have increased, after three years of little or no growth.
  
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• Sajid Javid warns of security risks if May's Brexit plan rejected

  05-12-2018 19:49
  Sajid Javid urged MPs to back the deal as it would allow the UK to work with Brussels on areas such as modern day slavery.Sajid Javid has used the second day of debate on Theresa May’s Brexit plan to warn of the potential security risks from a no-deal departure if her scheme is voted down, then saw a succession of MPs line up to condemn the government’s proposals.“An unplanned no-deal Brexit would mean an immediate and probably indefinite loss of some security capability, which
  
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• Northern Ireland's DUP will support government in confidence motion if Brexit deal voted down - statement

  05-12-2018 19:43
  The Northern Irish party propping up Prime Minister Theresa May's government will vote against any attempt to topple her if she is defeated in a vote to approve her Brexit deal next week, a group of eurosceptic MPs said on Wednesday."The (Democratic Unionist Party) DUP will support the government in a confidence motion if the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) is voted down.The statement was issued following a meeting with DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds.
  
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• Corbyn gives May unexpected lifeline but Javid flounders

  05-12-2018 19:36
  Sajid Javid was trying not to talk about immigration simply because he had nothing to say.A government found to be in contempt of parliament for the first time in living memory.The prime minister’s desperate efforts to turn the Brexit vote into a binary choice between her deal and no deal nullified by Dominic Grieve’s amendment.
  
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• British husband of woman murdered in Jamaica devastated by her death

  05-12-2018 19:32
  Ken Brown said the body of his spouse, Karen Cleary-Brown, was discovered buried in the garden of her property on the Caribbean island.
  
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• Police release chilling footage of man who shot victim dead near Belfast school

  05-12-2018 19:19
  Jim Donegan, 43, was targeted in the gangland-style attack in front of scores of terrified children.
  
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• Police, military and courts lagging decades behind on ethnic diversity

  05-12-2018 19:00
  It will take 34 years before the police reach equivalence to today’s population.Some of the groups wielding the most power in British society, such as the police, the judiciary and the military, are decades away from becoming as ethnically diverse as the population they serve, Guardian analysis has found.Projections of the progress that key public services are making in eliminating racial bias suggest it will take the police in England and Wales until 2052 before the ranks are reflective o
  
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• Greenland ice sheet melting ‘off the charts’ as climate warms: study

  05-12-2018 19:00
  Ice core samples reveal melting is at ‘exceptional highs’ for the past 350 years, scientists say.
  
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• 'It’s nowhere near good enough': broken promises on police diversity

  05-12-2018 19:00
  One evening last month, the police chiefs of England and Wales sat down for dinner at the end of the first day of their annual conference in Westminster.Among the guests was Yvonne Coghill, the head of workplace diversity for the NHS.
  
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• Scottish parliament vents anger at May's Brexit plan

  05-12-2018 18:59
  Scottish political parties joined forces on Wednesday to show their opposition to both Prime Minister Theresa May's "damaging" deal for leaving the European Union and the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.The symbolic vote -- which was not supported by the Scottish Conservatives allied to May -- was a rare example of near-unity on a constitutional issue in the nationalist-led devolved parliament.It also showed the level of anger about Brexit in Scotland where most voters backed staying in the EU i
  
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• MSPs vote to reject Brexit withdrawal plans and no-deal scenario

  05-12-2018 18:58
  They voted by 92 to 29 for a motion which said both these options ‘would be damaging for Scotland’.
  
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• Facebook gave preferential data access to certain companies - documents

  05-12-2018 18:58
  The 223 pages of communication from 2012 to 2015 between high-level Facebook employees, including founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, show how the social media company debated generating revenue by selling access to data, tracked and fended off rivals and braced for potential blowback as it moved to capture more user data.Damian Collins, a Conservative member of parliament, made the documents public on Wednesday after demanding them last month under threat of sanction from Six4Three.
  
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• Monzo hits crowdfunding target in under three hours

  05-12-2018 18:44
  Mobile-only challenger bank reaches £20 million goal after customers were able to buy shares in the company.
  
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• Immigration minister listens to calls to end indefinite detention

  05-12-2018 18:38
  The UK has no cap on immigration detention and there are numerous cases of detainees being held for months and in some cases years.The immigration minister, Caroline Nokes, has told MPs she is looking “very closely” at calls to end indefinite immigration detention.The UK is an outlier in Europe with its policy of having no cap on immigration detention and there are numerous cases of detainees being held for months and sometimes years.
  
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• Sir Terry Morgan resigns from HS2 and Crossrail roles

  05-12-2018 18:37
  There has been growing speculation that the high-speed railway will exceed its £55.7 billion budget.
  
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• Man arrested over theft of phones worth £1.3m after Sky News appeal

  05-12-2018 18:35
  A man has been arrested in connection with the theft of mobile phones worth £1.3m after a Sky News appeal.The huge haul of Samsung mobile phones and tablets were taken from a distribution depot based in Stanwell, Surrey, in December 2017.At the time, the force released CCTV images of a suspect and said he may have been "an unknowing participant" in the crime believing he was doing legitimate work.
  
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• Architects build gingerbread city to whet appetite for design

  05-12-2018 18:32
  Architects swapped traditional building materials for sugar and spice to create an edible gingerbread city of the future at London's V&A Museum, to show that urban planning can be fun, and tasty.The annual exhibition, which runs from Dec. 8 to Jan. 6, showcases buildings by architects, designers and engineers who had been asked to create a sustainable and inclusive city of the future."We design and we work a lot in model making, and at this scale as well," said Robert Nolan, an architect at
  
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• UK government has broken its promises on Irish backstop - DUP MP

  05-12-2018 18:30
  The British government has broken its promises to Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party and put pressure on the arrangement that keeps Prime Minister Theresa May in power, the party's Brexit spokesman said on Wednesday.The DUP, which props up May's minority government, is angry over the so-called backstop arrangement in the deal for Britain to leave the European Union, saying it essentially splits Northern Ireland from the rest of mainland Britain.
  
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• Death of woman in Ayr treated as murder

  05-12-2018 18:30
  A man was also found to be seriously injured inside the same property on Main Road.
  
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• HS2 and Crossrail chairman Sir Terry Morgan resigns

  05-12-2018 18:29
  HS2 and Crossrail chairman Sir Terry Morgan has resigned, the Department for Transport has announced.The announcement comes days after Sir Terry said he expected to be sacked and just months after he was appointed to the HS2 role.The departure of Crossrail chief executive Simon Wright was announced last month.
  
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• Golf-mad lad gets hands on Open trophy in after-school surprise

  05-12-2018 18:16
  Joshua Marshall had asked for his room to be decorated with a theme based on the tournament.
  
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• Death of BBC radio presenter Vicki Archer ruled as suicide

  05-12-2018 18:11
  Vicki Archer was found hanged at her home in Shrewsbury on 6 August.A radio presenter who left her show while it was on air and was found dead at her home hours later took her own life, an inquest has concluded.Vicki Archer, who left work part-way through a drive-time show, had a history of depression and had made two previous attempts on her life, Shropshire coroner’s court was told.
  
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• Ex-Minister Sam Gyimah Makes Impassioned Case For Second Brexit Referendum

  05-12-2018 18:02
  Ministers should keep a second Brexit referendum on the table as voters could
  
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• Tone of full Brexit legal advice is very different

  05-12-2018 17:51
  It is now clear that the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox gave the prime minister some stark warnings about what she was signing up to in the EU withdrawal agreement.Dated 13 November, the letter warns that the UK could remain in a customs union "indefinitely" amid "repeating rounds of negotiations".Both Downing Street and DExEU (the Department for Exiting the European Union) say this single letter, which focuses on the Irish backstop, is the sum total of his written advice to Number 10 on the with
  
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• EU 'willing to help' if May loses -- up to a point

  05-12-2018 17:46
  If British Prime Minister Theresa May loses a vote in parliament on her divorce agreement with the European Union next week, EU leaders won't rip it up and start negotiating again -- but they could help her try to win a second bout.
  
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• Van drives down dual carriageway with huge Christmas tree on its roof

  05-12-2018 17:44
  The picture showed the tree almost dragging along the tarmac behind the silver vehicle.
  
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• Christmas unwrapped: how do you open your presents?

  05-12-2018 17:42 via theguardian.com
  From cryptic clues to silly stocking fillers, family rituals around present-giving can make for a more memorable festive experienceWhen it comes to opening Christmas presents, many families have their own time-honoured rituals. Maybe you just can’t wait until the 25th and always unwrap a present each on Christmas Eve before heading to mass? Or perhaps you all have to wait until your (usually late) uncle arrives at nana’s before the paper ripping can begin? Maybe you take your time ov
  
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• UK could be in customs union indefinitely under backstop - legal advice

  05-12-2018 17:41
  Britain could be stuck in the Irish backstop forever if trade talks with the EU break down, the Prime Minister was warned in legal advice.
  
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• Top toys for 2018 and the £500 extra you’ll spend: five facts about Christmas shopping

  05-12-2018 17:39 via theguardian.com
  Expect to see slime and the Boxer robot topping children’s gift lists, plenty of online shopping, and more socks under the treeWe spend the equivalent of two working weeks preparing for Christmas
  Christmas is time-consuming. A 2016 survey by the Post Office gift card One4All found that the average Briton spends 66 hours and 44 minutes preparing for Christmas – that’s the equivalent of almost two working weeks in a full-time job. No wonder we’re ready to put our feet up on
  
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