General news

• Rain keeps UK Boxing Day shoppers at home

  26-12-2019 20:13
  
  UK shoppers sheltered at home on Thursday, with the numbers hitting post-Christmas sales set to drop significantly for a fourth year in a row, initial data showed.Footfall up to 12 p.m. on Dec. 26, known in Britain as Boxing Day and a key date for retailers, was down 10.6% compared with the same period a year ago, market research company Springboard said, adding that bad weather had deterred shoppers.High streets were most affected by the rainy weather with consumers reluctant to go out in the m
  
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• Fugitive arrested as he sat down to Christmas dinner in the Netherlands

  26-12-2019 19:54
  
  Daniel Burdett is due to appear before Dutch magistrates who will consider extraditing him to the UK to face the charges.
  
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• London Bridge attack: Heroes who tackled terrorist 'to be awarded UK’s highest bravery medals for civilians'

  26-12-2019 19:30
  
  The heroes who tackled the London Bridge terrorist are to be awarded the UK’s highest bravery medals for civilians, according to reports.Darryn Frost, 38, and John Crilly, 48, held off knifeman Usman Khan with a narwhal tusk and a fire extinguisher after the terrorist launched an attack at Fishmongers' Hall in London on November 29.
  
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• UK pastor and two children who drowned in hotel pool ‘could not swim’

  26-12-2019 19:07
  
  Inquiries have found 'no concerns relating to the pool in question'.
  
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• UK police out-of-court settlements total £30m in four years

  26-12-2019 19:00
  UK police out-of-court settlements total £30m in four years. Figure is ‘tip of iceberg’ in terms of people on receiving end of unlawful police behaviour
  
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• 10% Drop In Boxing Day Sale Shoppers As Bad Weather Hits UK

  26-12-2019 18:30
  
  Footfall is reported to have been more than 10% down against the Boxing Day average
  
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• 'They got angry at me': woman tells of abuse in children's home

  26-12-2019 18:19
  
  'They got angry at me': woman tells of abuse in children's home. Woman has since been diagnosed with trauma disorder related to her time in the home as a teenager Revealed: councils paid inadequate care homes £2.3m
  
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• Revealed: councils paid inadequate care homes £2.3m to house children

  26-12-2019 18:17
  
  Revealed: councils paid inadequate care homes £2.3m to house children. Twenty-three councils placed 58 children in homes owned by failing providers
  
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• Charismatic leaders and the left’s electoral failures

  26-12-2019 18:15
  
  Charismatic leaders and the left’s electoral failures. Readers including Labour peer David Lipsey discuss Jonathan Freedland’s article on Labour’s next leader and what the defeated party needs to do to win over voters and get back into government
  
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• I’m a remainer and one of the people too

  26-12-2019 18:14
  
  I’m a remainer and one of the people too. The repetition of such phrases as ‘the will of the people’ alienates those who voted against Brexit or in favour of a second referendum, writes Diana Cairns
  
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• Flood warnings set to be lifted as 2019 ends with drier spell

  26-12-2019 18:14
  
  On Boxing Day afternoon there were still 30 flood warnings in place.
  
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• Taking back control of political slogans

  26-12-2019 18:13
  
  Taking back control of political slogans. Conservatives | Labour | Life mantras | Latin corrections
  
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• Man shot dead in front of family on Christmas Eve named

  26-12-2019 17:38
  
  Flamur Beqiri suffered injuries near his home in south-west London.
  
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• ‘A living nightmare’: Woman stranded in hotel room for Christmas after airline loses wheelchair part

  26-12-2019 17:04
  
  A paralysed woman has been left stranded in Singapore after part of her wheelchair was lost while flying with Emirates.Gemma Quinn, 35, who was paralysed from the neck down in a car accident in 1992, and once made headlines after sending a letter to Superman actor Christopher Reeve, had booked a 19-day trip of a lifetime across Asia with her two carers at a cost of more than £15,000.
  
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• Bad weather deters Boxing Day shoppers with drop in footfall reported

  26-12-2019 16:28
  
  But there were still queues outside some stores before they opened.
  
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• Disney pulls shows from Sky as it prepares for UK streaming debut

  26-12-2019 16:27
  
  Disney pulls shows from Sky as it prepares for UK streaming debutDisney+ streaming service will launch in UK on 31 March 2020
  
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• Crossrail looks pristine but opening may be delayed for two years

  26-12-2019 15:58
  
  Crossrail looks pristine but opening may be delayed for two yearsManagers of overdue and over-budget project say tests still required to get everything right
  
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• RSPCA probes prominent lawyer’s claim he killed fox with baseball bat

  26-12-2019 15:52
  
  Jolyon Maugham said he had to deal with a fox which had become entangled in protective netting around chickens on his property.
  
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• Rough sleeper gives birth to twins outside wealthiest Cambridge college

  26-12-2019 15:44
  
  Rough sleeper gives birth to twins outside wealthiest Cambridge collegeWoman delivered premature babies in front of Trinity College on Monday
  
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• Father who drowned with children in hotel pool was London pastor

  26-12-2019 15:44
  
  The family were on holiday at Club La Costa World on the Costa del Sol.
  
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• In Pictures: Hounds and horses are stars of Boxing Day hunts

  26-12-2019 14:54
  
  Fox hunting was banned in England and Wales in 2005, but drag hunting is still permitted.
  
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• Hogmanay fury as Edinburgh residents told to apply for access to own homes

  26-12-2019 14:48
  
  Hogmanay fury as Edinburgh residents told to apply for access to own homesLocal people must ask Underbelly if they want more than six passes to their houses
  
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• Fury as Edinburgh locals told to apply for access to own homes on Hogmanay

  26-12-2019 14:48
  
  Fury as Edinburgh locals told to apply for access to own homes on HogmanayResidents must apply to Underbelly if they want more than six passes to their houses
  
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• Tortoise rescued from house fire started by knocking over its heat lamp

  26-12-2019 14:29
  
  The 45-year-old pet had a lucky escape on Christmas Day when neighbours heard the smoke alarm.
  
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• British authorities pick up 49 suspected migrants in Channel - reports

  26-12-2019 13:29
  
  British border and coastguards picked up 49 suspected migrants on Thursday as they were trying to cross the Channel from France in small boats, according to media reports.A further two boats carrying 14 migrants were dealt with by French authorities, the broadcaster said.Sky News showed people, some wearing life jackets and others wrapped in blankets, being escorted by border force officials to the shore in the port of Dover in southeastern England.
  
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• Britain rescues at least 15 suspected migrants off Kent - TV

  26-12-2019 13:29
  
  British border and coastguards rescued at least 15 suspected migrants on Thursday off the Kent coast in southeastern England, Sky News reported.Sky News said it had witnessed the people being brought into the port of Dover by border force officials."HM Coastguard has been coordinating a search and rescue response to a number of incidents off Kent working with the Border Force," it cited the emergency service as saying.
  
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• Prominent lawyer Jolyon Maugham tweets about clubbing a fox to death

  26-12-2019 13:28
  
  Prominent lawyer Jolyon Maugham tweets about clubbing a fox to death. Remain-supporting QC says he killed animal on Boxing Day morning after it got trapped trying to get into his hen house
  
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• Prominent lawyer Jolyon Maugham clubs fox to death while wearing kimono

  26-12-2019 13:28
  
  Prominent lawyer Jolyon Maugham clubs fox to death while wearing kimonoRSPCA brands incident ‘distressing’ after QC describes attacking trapped animal with baseball bat
  
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• ‘Miracle’ cat rescued from industrial bin before Christmas

  26-12-2019 13:11
  
  The 10-week-old kitten was saved by the RSPCA and is now being looked after by a foster carer.
  
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• First deadline approaches for unclaimed £40m EuroMillions prize

  26-12-2019 13:07
  
  Lottery players have until January 2 to submit a claim for the jackpot if they think they have lost, destroyed or had their ticket stolen.
  
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• Man in court charged with Belfast murders

  26-12-2019 12:45
  
  Frances Murray, 37, and Joseph Dutton, 47, were found in a flat in the Kinnaird Close area on Monday.
  
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• Heavy rain greets Boxing Day shoppers across the country

  26-12-2019 12:19
  
  Up to 30mm (1.2ins) of rain is expected to fall in some parts of the south west of England on Thursday.
  
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• Christmas Eve shooting victim killed in front of family after night out

  26-12-2019 12:18
  
  The 36-year-old was fatally shot close to his home in Battersea, south-west London.
  
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• Wheelchair user ‘felt freed’ after indoor skydiving

  26-12-2019 12:00
  
  Christopher Sloan then inspired his brother David, who also has Parkinson's, to try an indoor skydiving facility.
  
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• Police name walker who died in Highlands

  26-12-2019 11:22
  
  Terry Rooney, 65, from the Norwich area, died while walking in Glencoe on Monday.
  
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• Children with brain tumours to benefit from new scan

  26-12-2019 11:00
  
  Children with brain tumours to benefit from new scan. New scan predicts how rapidly tumours will grow thus sparing patients unnecessary treatment
  
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• You will always be welcome to come back, EU chief tells UK

  26-12-2019 10:50
  
  European Commission vice president Frans Timmermans has written a 'love letter', lamenting Britain's looming departure from the bloc.
  
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• Seven dead as migrants' boat sinks in Turkey's Lake Van

  26-12-2019 10:39
  
  Seven people have died and 64 had to be rescued when a boat carrying migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan sank in eastern Turkey's Lake Van.The accident happened at around 3 a.m. on Thursday (December 26).The lake is near the border with Iran, where migrants regularly cross into Turkey, heading west towards Europe.It was not clear why the migrants were on the boat in Lake Van, which is completely within Turkey's borders.Five people were found dead at the scene and two died at hospi
  
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• British soldiers in anti-poaching mission to protect endangered black rhinos

  26-12-2019 09:59
  
  Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles have recently returned from a three-month counter-poaching deployment in Malawi.
  
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• Parents of premature triplets celebrate first Christmas in new home

  26-12-2019 09:46
  
  Scarlett, Max and Troy were born six weeks and four days prematurely on June 26.
  
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• Post-Brexit UK always welcome back in EU, says Timmermans

  26-12-2019 07:00
  
  Post-Brexit UK always welcome back in EU, says Timmermans. European commission’s VP writes ‘love letter’ to Britons, saying UK unnecessarily damaged by Brexit
  
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• Heavy rain set to greet Boxing Day shoppers

  26-12-2019 06:34
  
  Up to 30mm (1.2ins) of rain is expected to fall in some parts of the south west of England on Thursday.
  
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• Kylie invites politics-weary Brits to "call on your friends in Australia"

  26-12-2019 05:11
  
  Australian popstar Kylie Minogue has invited weary Britons to forget politics and "call on your friends in Australia" in a tourism campaign launched in Britain on Christmas Day.Britain, which is responsible for the fourth largest number of tourists to Australia, has had a tumultuous political year with deep rancour over Brexit and its first December election in almost a century."We can turn off the news, you can kick off your shoes," Minogue sings in the advertisement.
  
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• Data regulator hones in on TikTok as it makes child safety top priority for 2020

  26-12-2019 03:45
  
  The Information Commissioner says she expects her office's current investigation into TikTok to be complete 'in the coming months'.
  
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• Cancer patients to be given option of fitness programmes to boost survival rates

  26-12-2019 03:44
  
  More than 500 people in the Greater Manchester area are already participating in the exercise programme.
  
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• Varadkar: Bridge to Scotland worth examining but UK must pay for it

  26-12-2019 01:01
  
  The Irish premier said he is more interested in talking to Boris Johnson about creating a high speed rail link between Belfast, Dublin and Cork.
  
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• Top doctor praises football clubs for helping fans with dementia

  26-12-2019 01:01
  
  Professor Alistair Burns praised football clubs across England for running community schemes for people with dementia.
  
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• Quarter of drone users face £1,000 fines

  26-12-2019 01:01
  
  Registration for drone owners and users became mandatory on November 29.
  
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• Lichen never seen before in Britain found by mountain biker

  26-12-2019 01:01
  
  The Club-wielding Crust Lichen - Multiclavula corynoides - was found in a nature reserve in the Scottish highlands.
  
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• Ex-Archbishop of Canterbury in climate change warning

  26-12-2019 01:01
  
  Rowan Williams also criticised conspiracy theorists.
  
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