General news

• No Big Ben bongs: UK government plans light show to mark moment of Brexit

  17-01-2020 23:37
  
  Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street residence will be lit up with a countdown to Britain's exit from the European Union on Jan. 31, as part of a light display to mark the moment of Brexit, the government said on Friday.Johnson had proposed a crowdfunding campaign to allow the Big Ben bell in parliament's clock tower to sound even though it has been largely silent since 2017 while renovation work is carried out on the tower.Members of the public have donated more than 200,000 pounds($26
  
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• Countdown clock to be projected onto Number 10 to mark Brexit day

  17-01-2020 23:30
  
  A commemorative Brexit coin will come into circulation on exit day.
  
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• Boris Johnson Unveils Brexit Day Celebration Plans – But Big Ben Will Not Bong

  17-01-2020 23:30
  
  Downing Street reveals plans for a light show and a cabinet trip to the north as the Big Ben bonging brouhaha rumbles on.
  
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• Boris Johnson saves face over failed bid for Big Ben Brexit chime

  17-01-2020 23:30
  
  Boris Johnson saves face over failed bid for Big Ben Brexit chimePM plans to project a giant clock face onto Downing Street on evening of 31 January
  
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• Boris Johnson 'saves face' over failed bid for Big Ben Brexit chime

  17-01-2020 23:30
  
  Boris Johnson 'saves face' over failed bid for Big Ben Brexit chime. PM plans to project a giant clock face onto Downing Street on evening of 31 January
  
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• In Pictures: Morris dancers take part in ancient wassailing ritual

  17-01-2020 22:49
  
  Morris dancers and singers turned out at the Vaughan Millennium Apple Orchard in Hampshire.
  
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• Rebecca Long-Bailey: replace House of Lords with elected senate

  17-01-2020 22:39
  
  Rebecca Long-Bailey: replace House of Lords with elected senate. Labour leadership frontrunner launches campaign pledging to end ‘gentlemen’s club of politics’
  
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• Rebecca Long-Bailey launches official bid to become Labour leader

  17-01-2020 22:14
  
  She was asked why Labour had failed to win voters, returning their worst electoral result since 1935.
  
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• Labour's Long-Bailey launches leadership bid with call for 'new professionalism'

  17-01-2020 22:09
  
  Britain's Labour Party needs to do more to promote aspiration and look more like a government-in-waiting, the party's business spokeswoman, Rebecca Long-Bailey, said when she formally launched her leadership campaign on Friday.Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is stepping down, after the party's worst election performance since 1935 gave Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives a large majority in parliament.Long-Bailey is currently second in the race to succeed Corbyn, behind the party's Brexit s
  
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• Betfred owner linked to firm that advises people struggling with high debt

  17-01-2020 21:40
  
  Betfred owner linked to firm that advises people struggling with high debt. Campaigners raise fresh concerns about Done family business after Guardian reveals interest in gambling addiction counselling
  
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• EU politicians form ‘friendship group’ to build closer UK links ahead of Brexit

  17-01-2020 21:18
  
  German Green MEP Terry Reintke has set up the EU-UK Friendship Group.
  
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• Sadiq Khan vows to make London carbon-neutral by 2030 if re-elected

  17-01-2020 21:00
  
  Sadiq Khan vows to make London carbon-neutral by 2030 if re-electedMayor’s pledge on air pollution to form part of vision for green new deal for London
  
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• Emily Thornberry says Boris Johnson ‘has a problem with women’

  17-01-2020 20:52
  
  Ms Thornberry insisted she was best placed to oust the PM within five years.
  
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• Chilly weekend ahead as temperatures plunge

  17-01-2020 20:27
  
  This is a change from last month when meteorologists confirmed that a new UK maximum temperature record for December was set in the Highlands.
  
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• Police defend including environmental groups in counter-terror documents

  17-01-2020 20:20
  
  Extinction Rebellion said their inclusion in the documents is 'pointing a finger at anyone that thinks differently'.
  
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• Emily Thornberry tells unions: 'don't close gates' to would-be Labour leaders

  17-01-2020 20:03
  
  Emily Thornberry tells unions: 'don't close gates' to would-be Labour leaders. Shadow foreign secretary has yet to secure backing from a single union in race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn
  
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• Emily Thornberry tells unions: 'don't close gates' to would-be Labour leaders

  17-01-2020 20:03
  
  Emily Thornberry tells unions: 'don't close gates' to would-be Labour leadersShadow foreign secretary has yet to secure backing from a single union in race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn
  
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• Football hooligan convicted of attacking Guardian columnist over political views

  17-01-2020 19:46
  
  James Healy admitted assaulting Owen Jones outside a pub.
  
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• Behaviour battleground: isolation booths divide opinion among teachers

  17-01-2020 19:45
  
  Behaviour battleground: isolation booths divide opinion among teachersFrom a ‘lose the booths’ conference to ‘warm-strict’ policies, teachers fail to agree on best way to tackle unruly pupilsSchools ‘converting toilet blocks into isolation booths’
  
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• Heathrow arrivals halted by RAF during 'security incident'

  17-01-2020 19:42
  
  Heathrow arrivals halted by RAF during 'security incident'. Flights to airport paused briefly on Friday morning as RAF operation closed airspace
  
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• Heathrow arrivals halted by RAF during 'security incident'

  17-01-2020 19:42
  
  Heathrow arrivals halted by RAF during 'security incident'Flights to airport paused briefly on Friday morning as RAF operation closed airspace
  
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• Positive debate needed on possible increase in tuition fees – Foster

  17-01-2020 19:41
  
  The First Minister said the way universities are funded should be considered in discussions on generating more revenue in Northern Ireland.
  
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• Family of murdered teenager criticise ‘chaos’ of privatised probation services

  17-01-2020 19:25
  
  David Braddon was being monitored by probation services after being convicted of drug and assault offences when he murdered Conner Marshall.
  
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• Fiance jailed for bomb hoax call to delay flight in romantic getaway

  17-01-2020 19:07
  
  Fiance jailed for bomb hoax call to delay flight in romantic getawayRashidul Islam, 32, was bound for a flight from Gatwick to meet fiancee in Marrakech
  
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• Rebecca Long-Bailey’s leadership pitch is far from perfect

  17-01-2020 19:01
  
  Rebecca Long-Bailey’s leadership pitch is far from perfectReaders respond to an article by the Labour leadership contender Rebecca Long-Bailey
  
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• Wales could well join Scotland in its standoff over independence

  17-01-2020 19:00
  
  Wales could well join Scotland in its standoff over independenceJohn Thomson points out that the UK in which Scotland voted to stay in 2014 was a UK in the EU. Colin Garwood says the loaded term ‘independence’ should not be accepted. Bernard Gillespie thinks the tectonic plates are moving in Wales too
  
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• Man found guilty of aggravated assault against Owen Jones

  17-01-2020 18:52
  
  Man found guilty of aggravated assault against Owen Jones. James Healy had admitted assault but trial was to find if motive was homophobia or hostility to journalist’s leftwing views
  
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• Labour candidates rush to highlight 'working class backgrounds'

  17-01-2020 18:39
  
  Labour candidates rush to highlight 'working class backgrounds'Leadership rivals tout origins from council houses to fathers who worked as toolmakers* Stop trying to out-working-class each other, Labour candidates told
  
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• 'My dad was a toolmaker': Labour candidates and their backgrounds

  17-01-2020 18:39
  
  'My dad was a toolmaker': Labour candidates and their backgroundsThe leadership rivals have described varying upbringings as they make their case to the membership* Stop trying to out-working-class each other, Labour candidates told
  
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• Craigavon murder victim named

  17-01-2020 18:36
  
  A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
  
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• Slip-up leaves priests rolling in the aisles

  17-01-2020 18:16
  
  Slip-up leaves priests rolling in the aisles. Oxford University | English usage | Noel Coward | Driving in cities | Flavoured crisps
  
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• Schools 'converting toilet blocks into isolation booths'

  17-01-2020 18:01
  
  Schools 'converting toilet blocks into isolation booths'. Children’s commissioner describes ‘horror stories’ of children put in isolation
  
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• Family heartbroken after fatal stabbing of 17-year-old boy

  17-01-2020 17:55
  
  Two teenagers remain in custody following the attack.
  
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• Grenfell inquiry: Hillsborough families back calls for PM to ditch panelist

  17-01-2020 17:47
  
  Grenfell inquiry: Hillsborough families back calls for PM to ditch panelist. Appointment of panelist with links to cladding firm criticised as ‘absolutely ridiculous’
  
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• Iranian chess referee accused of violating islamic dress code, says she won't return home

  17-01-2020 17:45
  
  SHOWS: VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA (JANUARY 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRANIAN CHESS REFEREE SHOHREH BAYAT, SAYING:"It was very, very difficult for me because it was something unexpected. I had my hijab but the angle of the camera was kind of that it was not clear in different photos. And if you take the videos, you will see that I had my hijab in round two. And I also had my scarf in round three. But apparently it was not enough for the Iranians. And they wanted me to writ
  
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• 'You have not seen the last of us': Greta Thunberg

  17-01-2020 17:29
  
  Greta Thunberg has a warning to politicians and big business at the World Economic Forum in Davos:Her global climate change movement isn't going anywhere.(SOUNDBITE) (English) CLIMATE ACTIVIST GRETA THUNBERG SAYING:"You haven't seen anything yet. You have not seen the last of us. We can assure you that."Thunberg was demosntrating in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Friday. A poll of leaders attending the Davos summit showed that, for the first time, climate change and environmental destruction top
  
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• Sheffield Arena urged to cancel event by 'homophobic' Trump ally

  17-01-2020 17:28
  
  Sheffield Arena urged to cancel event by 'homophobic' Trump ally. LGBTQ+ campaigners say Franklin Graham’s statements amount to hate speech
  
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• Yum Yum the ‘very fat’ sheep rescued after getting rammed in tight spot

  17-01-2020 17:27
  
  The two-year-old was soon reunited with his best friend, Tasty.
  
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• Prince Harry and Meghan's UK home being closed down

  17-01-2020 17:03
  
  Prince Harry and Meghan's UK home being closed down. Reports add to speculation that Duke and Duchess do not plan to spend much time in UK
  
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• Bloody Sunday families irate Soldier F’s trial may move to Belfast

  17-01-2020 16:55
  
  Bloody Sunday families irate Soldier F’s trial may move to Belfast. Judge says murder trial of ex-paratrooper should relocate because of ‘security concerns’
  
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• Five-year-old boy free of leukaemia after Singapore treatment – family

  17-01-2020 16:32
  
  Oscar Saxelby-Lee's treatment in Singapore was paid for after a £600,000 crowd-funding appeal.
  
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• Section of Chester’s ancient walls collapses

  17-01-2020 16:20
  
  Excavations were being carried out nearby by a private developer.
  
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• Meghan and Harry face pitfalls becoming financially independent, experts suggest

  17-01-2020 16:18
  
  The couple's combination of Hollywood glamour and royalty will generate huge interest in the corporate world.
  
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• Late passenger jailed after causing bomb scare in bid to catch flight

  17-01-2020 16:16
  
  Rashidul Islam was jailed for 16 months at Lewes Crown Court.
  
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• David Attenborough named as UK's dream prime minister ahead of Stephen Fry and JK Rowling

  17-01-2020 16:08
  
  Sir David Attenborough has been named as the UK's dream prime minister.A poll of 2,000 adults revealed the popular naturalist and broadcaster would be the preferred resident of 10 Downing Street.
  
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• Widower 'surprised' by hospital's fingerprint hunt for whistleblower

  17-01-2020 16:01
  
  Widower 'surprised' by hospital's fingerprint hunt for whistleblower. Jon Warby says letter sent after wife’s death also contained claims about second patient
  
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• Stop trying to out-working-class each other, Labour candidates told

  17-01-2020 16:01
  
  Stop trying to out-working-class each other, Labour candidates told. Party chairman Ian Lavery says voters want leader who understands different classes
  
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• In Pictures: Model fans enjoy world in miniature

  17-01-2020 16:00
  
  The London Model Engineering Exhibition features nearly 2,000 miniatures.
  
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• Manchester's much-derided Piccadilly Gardens to be revamped

  17-01-2020 15:58
  
  Manchester's much-derided Piccadilly Gardens to be revampedCouncil promises to turn magnet for anti-social behaviour into ‘family-friendly’ civic space
  
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• Cost of policing COP26 in Glasgow 'could exceed £200m'

  17-01-2020 15:53
  
  Cost of policing COP26 in Glasgow 'could exceed £200m'. Head of Police Scotland says UN climate gathering will mean ‘acute operational demands’
  
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