General news

• Nurse fails in London Marathon record bid ‘because she wore trousers’

  04-05-2019 23:43
  NHS nurse, Jessica Anderson, completed the London course in 3:08:22 while wearing scrubs, but was told she would not count for 'quickest nurse'
  
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• Green Party gains show NI voters want to step away from ‘them and us politics’

  04-05-2019 23:20
  Clare Bailey described her party's gains across Northern Ireland as 'phenomenal'.
  
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• Controversial councillor loses her seat in Belfast

  04-05-2019 22:58
  Jolene Bunting attracted just 350 votes at the first stage of the count in Court, and was not able to win enough transfers to retake her seat.
  
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• Brexit deal could be done in 'next few days', top Conservative says

  04-05-2019 22:51
  ABERDEEN, Scotland/LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May could reach a Brexit deal with the opposition Labour Party within days, a leading Conservative Party figure said on Saturday, after senior ministers urged compromise following poor local election results.Ruth Davidson, the Conservatives' leader in Scotland, told party members that a cross-partisan agreement on Brexit was needed before this month's European elections, or Britain's major parties would face an even bigger backlash fro
  
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• Labour would pay 20 billion pounds in water nationalisation - Sunday Times

  04-05-2019 22:46
  A future Labour government would offer shareholders in British water utilities a total of 20 billion pounds in a nationalisation programme, compared with a current market value of around 44 billion pounds, the Sunday Times newspaper said.Citing extracts from an internal Labour Party briefing document, the newspaper said Labour only intended to compensate shareholders for investment already put into the utilities, and not for the loss of future profits."Shareholder investment on the books of UK w
  
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• Smaller parties enjoy surge in support in Northern Ireland local elections

  04-05-2019 22:43
  Alliance and the Greens topped the polls in many areas, picking up additional seats in a number of councils.
  
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• Measles Vaccinations: Matt Hancock Says Anti-Vaxxers 'Have Blood On Their Hands'

  04-05-2019 22:38
  Matt Hancock has said he would not rule out making immunisations mandatory,saying that anti-vaxxers "have blood on their hands"
  
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• Madeleine McCann: New suspect is German man under investigation for alleged child sex offences

  04-05-2019 22:34
  The new suspect in the Madeleine McCann case is a German man already being investigated over alleged child sex offences, Sky News can reveal.The man was on remand in prison in Germany when police there decided to alert the Portuguese team which is working with Scotland Yard on the Madeleine case.The suspect is thought to have been living on the Algarve coast when Madeleine vanished 12 years ago.
  
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• Local elections: Brexit dithering and delay hurts the main parties

  04-05-2019 22:17
  The count in Peterborough on Thursday. Photograph: Terry Harris/Rex/ShutterstockBoth main parties took an electoral hit from the Brexit deadlock in this week’s local elections as discontented voters deserted them in droves. The Conservatives and Labour both went backwards, losing many seats and control of multiple councils. The big winner was the Liberal Democrat party, which announced its return as a force in local government with hundreds of seat wins and some major local council takeove
  
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• Star Wars fans descend on Irish film locations for festival

  04-05-2019 22:10
  Activities included walking tours, children's work shops, movie screenings, exhibitions, fireworks and boat trips.
  
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• Anger grows at May-Corbyn bid to stitch up Brexit deal

  04-05-2019 22:03
  Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are facing revolts from their own MPs over their attempts to strike a compromise on Brexit. Photograph: PALast-ditch efforts by Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn to strike a compromise on Brexit looked doomed on Saturday as the party leaders faced mounting revolts from their own MPs and activists.Following Thursday’s local elections, in which both the Conservatives and Labour were punished severely by voters for failing to break the political deadlock, May and Cor
  
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• Woman Injured In Cornwall May Day Parade Dies In Hospital

  04-05-2019 21:59
  A woman who was injured during a May Day festival in Cornwall has died inhospital
  
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• Three who left SDLP in abortion row fail to be re-elected in Belfast

  04-05-2019 21:45
  Former lord mayor Pat Convery, Declan Boyle and Kate Mullan left the SDLP in 2017 in a row over the party's view on abortion.
  
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• Northern Ireland local elections: smaller parties make gains

  04-05-2019 21:36
  The DUP consolidated its support winning 24.1% of first preference votes. Photograph: Niall Carson/PACentrist parties have thrived and the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) has consolidated its support, the results of Northern Ireland’s local elections show.With all first preference votes now counted, the Alliance and Green parties, as well as other small parties and independents, made gains, revealing a slight loosening of the traditional unionist-nationalist stranglehold. The DUP won 24.1%
  
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• Williamson: Investigation into Huawei leak a shabby and discredited witch hunt

  04-05-2019 20:24
  Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu 'satisfied' the details disclosed did not 'contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act'
  
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• May the 4th celebrated by Star Wars fans

  04-05-2019 20:15
  There were plenty of Vaders, Chewies and stormtroopers about today as the film's famous quotation was remembered.
  
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• Don’t seize rape complainants' mobiles, say police bosses

  04-05-2019 19:56
  The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ Julia Mulligan, who was herself raped as a teenager, has strongly criticised the new consent form. Photograph: Ian Hinchliffe/Rex/ShutterstockBritain’s police commissioners are calling on the Crown Prosecution Service to withdraw a controversial new form issued to rape complainants telling them to hand over their mobile phones or risk seeing their case discontinued. The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), whose memb
  
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• May told to set date for departure ‘or MPs will do it for you’

  04-05-2019 19:55
  Iain Duncan Smith described the local election results as a “judgment on leadership”.
  
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• Sacked Gavin Williamson accuses PM of 'shabby and discredited witch hunt'

  04-05-2019 19:46
  Gavin Williamson has accused the prime minister of mishandling his sacking as defence secretary, describing it as a "shabby and discredited witch hunt".Mr Williamson said he wanted a "full and impartial investigation" into the Huawei leak that led to his dismissal, with Scotland Yard having said the disclosure from a National Security Council (NSC) meeting did not breach the Official Secrets Act.
  
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• Theresa May must resign or be forced out, says Iain Duncan Smith

  04-05-2019 19:23
  Iain Duncan Smith said Theresa May should resign or the 1922 Committee should force her out.Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesTheresa May must either resign as prime minister or her party should force her out, the former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has said.Describing May as a “caretaker prime minister” after the Tories suffered their worst local election result since 1995, the hard Brexit supporter urged her to quickly announce her departure.“We have to make a chan
  
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• DUP condemns 'bad behaviour' aimed at its first gay councillor

  04-05-2019 19:10
  DUP leader Arlene Foster has condemned comments made about the party's first openly gay councillor.Alison Bennington was elected to Antrim and Newtownabbey Council on Friday - representing a party that is opposed to same sex marriage.Former DUP health minister Jim Wells claimed DUP voters felt "very concerned" about the decision to select Ms Bennington.
  
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• Former MP Barry McElduff gains seat in Northern Ireland council

  04-05-2019 18:57
  The Co Tyrone man was elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council on the fourth count.
  
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• Thousands march for Scottish independence – in pictures

  04-05-2019 18:34
  Pro-Scottish independence activists take to the streets of Glasgow for the All Under One Banner marchThousands join Glasgow march for Scottish independence Continue reading...
  
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• In Pictures: Thousands take to the streets to call for independence vote

  04-05-2019 18:34
  Some people joined in with the crowds of marchers waving Saltires as the event passed along the streets of Glasgow.
  
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• UK faces coldest start on record for early May bank holiday

  04-05-2019 18:28
  Hail and rain showers struck central London and the east coast on Saturday just a couple of weeks on from the warmest Easter on record.
  
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• UK police will not probe sacked defence minister over Huawei leak

  04-05-2019 18:24
  British police will not investigate the sacked defence minister, Gavin Williamson, after a senior officer said the information that was leaked about Chinese telecoms company Huawei was too minor to count as a criminal offence.Prime Minister Theresa May fired Williamson on Wednesday, despite his denials that he was to blame for a newspaper report that Britain would allow Huawei equipment to be used in part of a new 5G mobile data network.The Daily Telegraph story, which came from a meeting of Bri
  
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• Tens of thousands take part in rally after march for independence through Glasgow

  04-05-2019 18:23
  Police estimated that up to 35,000 people were at Glasgow Green for the rally.
  
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• Man who helped liberalise laws on homosexuality in NI loses his seat

  04-05-2019 18:10
  In what has been a disastrous election for the Ulster Unionist Party in Belfast, Jeffrey Dudgeon was among the electoral causalities
  
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• Former MP who quit in Kingsmill video row wins council seat

  04-05-2019 18:06
  Barry McElduff was forced to resign his Westminster seat last year.
  
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• Motorcylist dies after crash involving car and lorry

  04-05-2019 17:57
  The motorcylist died at the scene of the crash on the A709.
  
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• Protests against LGBT education ‘part of organised campaign’

  04-05-2019 17:47
  Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman told the NAHT conference it was 'unacceptable' for teachers and schools to be intimidated.
  
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• Armed robbers steal safe from couple at home with child

  04-05-2019 17:35
  The robbers were dressed almost identically in dark clothing, black baseball caps and sunglasses.
  
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• Woman dies after 'being struck by horse costume' at Padstow celebrations

  04-05-2019 17:34
  A woman has died after suffering a neck injury during the traditional May Day Obby Oss celebration in Padstow, Cornwall.Police are investigating reports the 34-year-old was struck by a person wearing a horse costume - known as Obby Oss - while walking along a footpath on Wednesday evening.The woman, named as Laura Smallwood by Devon and Cornwall Police, was airlifted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth following the incident.
  
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• UPDATE 2-Four Turkish soldiers killed in attacks by Kurdish militants, Turkey says

  04-05-2019 17:22
  Four Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in two separate attacks by Kurdish militants on Saturday, the Turkish defense ministry said, adding that the army had retaliated in both cases.One Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in an attack by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat, the defense ministry said in a statement.The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation du
  
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• UPDATE 1-Four Turkish soldiers killed by cross-border Kurdish militant attacks - ministry

  04-05-2019 17:22
  Four Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in two separate cross-border attacks by Kurdish militants on Saturday, the defense ministry said, adding that the army had retaliated in both cases.One Turkish soldier was killed and another was lightly wounded after an attack by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat, the defense ministry said in a statement.The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-bor
  
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• Davidson says will resist new referendum on Scottish independence

  04-05-2019 17:17
  Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, on Saturday pledged to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom just as support for secession rises.The Conservatives, the party of government in Westminster, have seen their poll support slide in pro-EU Scotland over their handling of Brexit while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.On Friday local council elections in England provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 201
  
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• Why do some still refuse to get the measles jab?

  04-05-2019 17:12
  The World Health Organisation has listed vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019.The US is having its biggest measles outbreak in 25 years, while there have been several reported outbreaks of the disease in recent years in the UK.More than half a million children in the UK were unvaccinated against measles between 2010 and 2017, according to figures released by Unicef.
  
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• Man’s safe stolen in ‘terrifying’ robbery at his home

  04-05-2019 17:08
  The 66-year-old was left shaken after the group raided his home.
  
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• Corbyn praises former Tory voter after she wins council seat for Labour

  04-05-2019 16:59
  Michelle Dorrell hit headlines after an emotional speech on Question Time in 2015.
  
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• Woman dies after being injured during Cornish May Day celebrations

  04-05-2019 16:57
  The family of Laura Smallwood have requested privacy following her death.
  
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• Thousands take part in march for independence through Glasgow

  04-05-2019 16:52
  Independence supporters marched from Kelvingrove Park to Glasgow Green.
  
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• Ruth Davidson pledges ‘blue-collar revolution’ as she bids to be first minister

  04-05-2019 16:25
  The Scottish Tory leader pledged a new approach to vocational education and plans to ensure teenagers stay in education until at least 18.
  
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• Huawei security leak did not break secrecy law, Met Police say

  04-05-2019 16:18
  The Huawei security leak that led to the sacking of Gavin Williamson as defence secretary did not breach the Official Secrets Act, police say.Scotland Yard has said it was satisfied that the disclosure from a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), which prompted a Whitehall mole hunt, was not a crime.It follows calls at Westminster for a criminal investigation into the leak.
  
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• Brexit deal could be done in "next few days", top Conservative says

  04-05-2019 16:09
  ABERDEEN, Scotland/LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May could reach a Brexit deal with the opposition Labour Party within days, a leading Conservative Party figure said on Saturday, after senior ministers urged compromise following poor local election results.Ruth Davidson, the Conservatives' leader in Scotland, told party members that a cross-partisan agreement on Brexit was needed before this month's European elections, or Britain's major parties would face an even bigger backlash fro
  
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• No crime committed in Huawei leak, police say

  04-05-2019 16:02
  Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson was among those to call for a criminal investigation, which he believed would 'absolutely exonerate' him.
  
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• Father in my thoughts in Belfast council race, says John Finucane

  04-05-2019 15:54
  He was elected on the first count in the Castle district electoral area.
  
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• Ruth Davidson says Tories and Labour getting closer to Brexit deal

  04-05-2019 15:40
  Ruth Davidson addresses delegates at the Scottish Conservative party conference in Aberdeen. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PARuth Davidson has said she believes Labour and the Tories are close to striking a deal over Brexit, and said both parties must compromise or face huge losses in the European elections.The Scottish Conservative leader said the results of the local elections in England had shown that voters were angry with both parties. The Tories had been given “an almighty kicking,”
  
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• Dissident republican Gary Donnelly tops poll in area where journalist was murdered

  04-05-2019 15:35
  His re-election came as Lyra McKee, who was shot dead during disturbances in Derry, was remembered during a May Day parade in Belfast.
  
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• DUP councillor who told Rihanna to cover up loses seat

  04-05-2019 15:24
  A farmer who told Rihanna to put her clothes back on when she made a music video in his corn field has lost his council seat.Alan Graham, from the Democratic Unionist Party, gothot under the collarwhen he went to fetch his tractor from the set of the shoot in 2011.The costumes in which Rihanna braved the Ulster autumn included a red bikini barely covered by an extra-large cowboy shirt, and a red-and-white striped bikini and unbuttoned jeans.
  
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• Black people ‘40 times more likely’ to be stopped and searched in UK

  04-05-2019 15:16
  Metropolitan police officers carry out a stop and search on a man in London.Photograph: John Stillwell/PABlack people in England and Wales are 40 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched under controversial powers that home secretary Sajid Javid recently made it easier for officers to use. The analysis is based on Home Office internal data, which means Javid is likely to have known of the discriminatory impact when he gave the police greater powers last month to use “
  
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