General news

• Couple killed 17-year-old boy to 'give their children a good Christmas', court hears

  28-02-2019 22:55
  A couple murdered a 17-year-old boy to get money so they could give their children a "good Christmas" and hid his body in their loft for eight months, a court has heard.Stacey Docharty, 28, and Gary Hopkins, 37, are accused of attacking Abdi Ali with a claw hammer and a 16cm-long knife at their second floor flat in Enfield, north London, in December 2017.Jurors at the Old Bailey heard Mr Ali had been hit over the head three times with a hammer and stabbed repeatedly in a "savage attack".
  
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• Dame Eleanor Laing: Bercow deputy says there is 'too much aggression' at PMQs

  28-02-2019 22:35
  One of John Bercow's deputies has revealed she wants to succeed him as speaker - and said there needs to be "less testosterone and less aggression" in Parliament.Conservative MP Dame Eleanor Laing used a magazine interview to reveal her plan to succeed the speaker, who has faced calls to quit amid allegations of bullying, which he denies."I don't know when the Speaker will decide to go, but it's very much his decision," Dame Eleanor, who has been deputy speaker since 2013, told The House magazin
  
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• Defra hits out after two UK fishing boats seized by Irish Navy

  28-02-2019 22:23
  The Voisinage agreement between the UK and Ireland collapsed months after the Brexit referendum.
  
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• Teenager stabbed to death by gang riding bikes named by police

  28-02-2019 22:11
  Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck, 19, died in hospital after he was chased into a hairdressers and stabbed.
  
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• Mia Farrow and Stephen Fry lead tributes to Andre Previn

  28-02-2019 22:03
  Farrow was married to the acclaimed composer for nine years.
  
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• What is gender pay gap reporting, and what does it mean?

  28-02-2019 21:40
  What is gender pay gap reporting and what is being published?Changes to the Equality Act, which came into force on 6 April 2017, made it compulsory for companies in Great Britain (but not Northern Ireland) with more than 250 employees to report their gender pay gap figures at the end of every financial year.Organisations are also required to publish the breakdown of men and women in different pay quartiles and details of the proportion of men and women in the company who receive bonuses.
  
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• YouTube to block comments on children at risk of ‘predatory behaviour’

  28-02-2019 21:04
  It follows claims by a vlogger that he had found instances of paedophiles targeting videos of young girls.
  
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• Labour moving towards plan to let May's Brexit deal pass if it faces public vote

  28-02-2019 21:03
  John McDonnell told ITV’s Peston that Labour would put forward its own amendment in favour of a second referendum.Labour is moving towards a compromise plan that would allow Theresa May’s Brexit deal to pass but make clear that parliament “withholds support” until it has been put to a public vote, according to multiple party sources.
  
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• Trump warns he could abandon China trade deal as advisers tout progress

  28-02-2019 20:54
  U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday warned he could walk away from a trade deal with China if it were not good enough, even as his economic advisers touted "fantastic" progress towards an agreement to end a dispute with the Asian country.The United States and China have imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of each others' goods, roiling financial markets, disrupting manufacturing supply chains and shrinking U.S. farm exports."I am always prepared to walk," Tru
  
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• £1.4m for motor neurone disease research announced by Doddie Weir charity

  28-02-2019 20:37
  Funding has been awarded to MND research projects around the UK.
  
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• Internet giants set out principles for online regulation

  28-02-2019 20:26
  The Internet Association said any new online safety rules should strike the right balance between addressing concerns and allowing the sector to grow.
  
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• Theresa May sends drag queen letter of support and signed picture

  28-02-2019 20:07
  Ben Tye, stage name Amber Dextris, said he was 'shocked' but praised the show of support.
  
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• Police recover vehicles linked to ATM theft from shop

  28-02-2019 20:05
  Detectives are also keen to trace a blue Mini One which was stolen in the Torphins area of Aberdeenshire overnight.
  
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• Meghan’s sister launches another attack on her royal sibling

  28-02-2019 20:00
  Samantha Markle speaks out in the Channel 5 programme Meghan And The Markles: A Family At War.
  
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• UK boats seized by Irish Navy in row over fishing rights

  28-02-2019 19:51
  The Voisinage agreement between the UK and Ireland collapsed months after the Brexit referendum.
  
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• No evidence of any threat to children from 'Momo challenge', says minister

  28-02-2019 19:51
  There is no evidence the so-called "Momo challenge" poses any threat to British children, a minister has said.Speaking in the Commons, Andrea Leadsom pointed out that children's charities have said reports of a ghoulish figure being linked to messages urging recipients to self-harm or take their own lives are a hoax.Conservative MP Douglas Ross raised the matter on Wednesday, asking for a debate on online safety following messages from worried constituents.
  
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• Andre Previn: Versatile musician with a talent for comedy

  28-02-2019 19:45
  Previn has died at the age of 89.
  
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• Pub bombings survivor tells of escape – as inquest hears police numbers were cut

  28-02-2019 19:41
  The IRA bombings of the Tavern In The Town and Mulberry Bush killed 21 people and wounded 220 others.
  
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• Police probe footage of offensive chants about Brendan Rodgers

  28-02-2019 19:36
  Celtic have condemned the footage which was posted on social media.
  
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• Andre Previn hailed as ‘one of a kind’ after death at 89

  28-02-2019 19:35
  The composer and pianist won four Oscars during his long career.
  
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• Louella Fletcher-Michie: Man guilty of killing Holby City star's daughter

  28-02-2019 19:34
  A rapper has been found guilty of killing the daughter of a Holby City star after he "bumped up" her dose of a party drug at a music festival in 2017.Louella Fletcher-Michie, daughter of actor John Michie, took the hallucinogenic drug 2-CP at Bestival in Dorset on 10 September, 2017, and died in woodland close to the site an hour before her 25th birthday.Ceon Broughton supplied her with the drug and filmed her as she died.
  
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• Sally Challen to face fresh trial after murder conviction quashed

  28-02-2019 19:31
  Appeal judges made the ruling after hearing new evidence that was not available at the time of her trial.
  
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• Violent 'Night Watcher' burglar suspected of fresh attack on Surrey home

  28-02-2019 19:27
  The so-called "Night Watcher" burglar - suspected of stealing more than £1m worth of items in violent raids across the Home Counties - is believed to have struck again.The victim was threatened with a knife at her home in Reigate and left "shaken" but did not suffer any serious injuries.The suspect, dubbed the Night Watcher, is believed to have carried out a series of raids in which wealthy victims have been attacked and tied up.
  
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• The pointless pain caused by austerity

  28-02-2019 19:25
  The severe cuts to children’s services since 2010 reported by the five major children’s charities (Cuts plunge children’s services in England into crisis, charities warn, 26 February) are an indictment of this government and its predecessor’s austerity which no amount of evasive waffle by the minister for children and families can justify.Poverty and material deprivation are known to be detrimental to brain and physical development in early childhood, and the negative eff
  
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• Rights threatened by immigration bill

  28-02-2019 19:24
  The UK government is proposing to end the free movement of Europeans into the UK and replace it with a skills-based immigration system.The government’s immigration bill is a threat to the rights of millions of people, and we oppose it.The immigration bill will extend the hostile environment to European migrants, putting them into the same system that brought us the Windrush scandal.
  
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• Church must speak up on Begum return

  28-02-2019 19:23
  Shamima Begum. ‘Where is the church’s voice in supporting the return to the UK of Shamima Begum and her young son?’ asks David Jennings.• Where is the church’s voice in supporting the return to the UK of Shamima Begum and her young son (Report, 28 February)?
  
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• YouTube turns off comments on videos of children amid child safety fears

  28-02-2019 19:20
  YouTube’s new policies follow the discovery of a paedophile ring operating in plain sight on the platform.YouTube will turn off comments on all videos that contain young children, the company says, as well as a number of other enforcement actions designed to stave off an advertiser boycott sparked by the discovery of an organised paedophile ring operating in plain sight on the video-sharing platform.The company will disable all comments on videos featuring younger children, and will also d
  
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• Knife-killer facing life behind bars after murdering pub-goer

  28-02-2019 19:18
  Police say Carlton Junior Donaldson was seen with a combat-style knife.
  
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• Anger over MPs’ above-inflation pay rise, taking basic salary to almost £80,000

  28-02-2019 19:13
  Unions said the 2.7% rise was nearly double the 1.5% received by parliamentary staff.
  
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• Sally Challen wins appeal over conviction for hammer murder

  28-02-2019 19:08
  Sally Challen has won an appeal against a conviction for murdering her husband in a hammer attack.The court quashed Challen's original conviction and ordered a retrial.In the ruling, Lady Justice Hallett said: "The Court of Appeal heard that, in the opinion of a consultant forensic psychiatrist, the appellant was suffering from two mental disorders at the time of the killing.
  
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• PM vows financial support for Jordan to help unlock nation’s potential

  28-02-2019 19:08
  The PM said efforts will ensure the country can 'prosper and remain a beacon of stability'.
  
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• Endurance cyclist Mike Hall's death avoidable, says Australian coroner

  28-02-2019 19:08
  The death of a British endurance cyclist during a 3,500-mile race across Australia was avoidable, a coroner has concluded.Mike Hall, 35, died almost instantly after being struck from behind by a vehicle on a stretch of the Monaro Highway about 25 miles south of Canberra in the early hours of 31 March 2017.Coroner Bernadette Boss said the sportsman's death should be a "catalyst for change" to improve safety for cyclists on the country's roads.
  
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• Unit to speed up process of hearing Troubles inquests given green light

  28-02-2019 19:04
  Stormont's Department of Justice has released £55 million to finance the initiative after years of political stalemate.
  
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• Unions warn of ‘damaging consequences’ over university budget funding

  28-02-2019 18:56
  The University and College Union raised concern after the Scottish Funding Council published indicative funding allocations for 2019-20.
  
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• Lidington and Coveney hold ‘constructive’ talks on Brexit

  28-02-2019 18:52
  But the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister said it was 'not in any way a bilateral negotiation' on the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
  
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• John Michie tells of ‘life sentence’ for family after daughter’s festival death

  28-02-2019 18:47
  Ceon Broughton has been found guilty of the manslaughter of Louella Fletcher-Michie and supplying her with drugs.
  
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• Just 15 police on duty in Birmingham on night of IRA pub bombings, inquest told

  28-02-2019 18:42
  The blasts at the Tavern in the Town and the Mulberry Bush killed 21 people and injured 220 others.
  
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• Hillsborough: chief officer said he 'froze' after opening gate

  28-02-2019 18:41
  The Hillsborough jury was told by the prosecution of earlier admissions by David Duckenfield.The jury at the trial for manslaughter of the match commander at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough has been told that he accepted at the 2014-16 inquests into the disaster that his professional failings had caused the deaths of 96 people.In a series of admissions read by the prosecution barristers Christine Agnew QC and Charlotte Atherton at Preston crown court, David Duckenfield accepted he had
  
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• University group wants ‘bizarre’ three-year EU visa plan scrapped

  28-02-2019 18:37
  The Russell Group has urged the UK Government to drop plans for a 36-month visa for EU nationals in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
  
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• Hundreds of well-wishers wave goodbye to William and Kate in Ballymena

  28-02-2019 18:37
  Several hundred people lined the streets of the Co Antrim town as William and Kate went on a walkabout.
  
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• William and Kate discuss parenting skills at childcare centre

  28-02-2019 18:36
  Cheering onlookers gathered at St Joseph's SureStart facility in Ballymena, Co Antrim, to greet the royal couple.
  
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• One in five Scottish children missing out on basic essentials, study shows

  28-02-2019 18:35
  Children are missing out on 'basic rights', including having a warm winter coat and new clothes, figures have revealed.
  
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• February delivers second straight month of gains for European shares

  28-02-2019 18:27
  MILAN/LONDON (Reuters) - European shares scored a second straight month of gains in February after a choppy session on Thursday when optimism about European banks offset caution over U.S.-China trade.On a monthly basis, European shares rose 3.9 percent after a 6.2 percent increase in January."What we're really waiting for, is more concrete news on trade", said Mikael Jacoby, head of continental European Equity sales trading at Oddo Securities.
  
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• Secondary school places: share your experiences on offer day

  28-02-2019 18:26
  How do you feel about where your childresn are going in September? Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
  
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• Thousands face incorrect benefit cuts from automated fraud detector

  28-02-2019 18:24
  The government-backed London Counter Fraud Hub, developed by BAE, has been hailed a success after being trialled in four boroughs - Camden, Ealing, Croydon and Islington.Using vast quantities of data from millions of households, it is designed to target potential fraud cases involving the single person council tax discount, subletting in local authority housing and business rate relief and rating.Ealing, the lead council for the project, found the automated elements of the system targeting singl
  
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• Man seriously injured after ‘sickening’ attack by two men

  28-02-2019 18:14
  The victim was taken to hospital where he was treated for head injuries.
  
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• Flybe jet evacuated on runway after cabin fills with 'smoke' during take-off at Exeter Airport

  28-02-2019 18:08
  A Flybe aircraft has been evacuated after the plane's cabin filled with "smoke" just moments before take-off at Exeter Airport.Andy Feaver, 51, who was on the flight with his wife, said: "As soon as I got on I smelled burning."As they put the accelerator down to go, it filled up with smoke in the cabin.
  
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• Manchester attack widower 'as upset as day it happened'

  28-02-2019 17:57
  A man whose wife died in the Manchester terror attack says he is "as upset today as the day it happened" after being told the inquest into the deaths of the 22 victims might be delayed until next year.Relatives were told the delay was due to the ongoing extradition of Hashem Abedi - bomber Salman Abedi's brother - from Libya.Tewnty-two people died in the terror attack in May 2017 at an Ariana Grande concert.
  
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• Investor flows to emerging markets cool after China stocks fever - IIF

  28-02-2019 17:55
  Investor money flows into emerging markets have slowed in recent days after scaling dizzying heights in mid-February thanks to Chinese equities attracting foreign funds, data from the Institute of International Finance showed.Emerging markets had a torrid 2018 when crisis in Turkey and Argentina as well as rising borrowing costs battered riskier assets around the globe.In mid-February, fund managers surveyed by Bank of America Merrill Lynch named emerging markets the "most crowded trade" around
  
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• Manchester Divided On No-Deal Brexit As Fear And Frustration Mount

  28-02-2019 17:53
  Manchester had the strongest Remain vote in the north west of England, with60
  
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