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Monthly Archives: December 2015

Revealed: housebuilders sitting on 600,000 plots of land

 A new house under construction at Taylor Wimpey’s Churchill Place development in Mill Hill, London. The current rate of 150,000 new homes a year is far short of government targets. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA Britain’s biggest housebuilders possess enough land to create more than 600,000 new homes, an analysis by the Guardian has found, raising questions about whether they are doing ...

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Extremist who planned 7/7 anniversary attack in London jailed for life

A man who plotted a terror attack in London to coincide with the anniversary of the 7/7 bombings has been jailed for life. Extremist Mohammed Rehman, 25, planned to bomb the Westfield shopping centre or the Tube and used Twitter for advice on where to strike. Rehman was sentenced to life with a minimum of 27 years. He was also ...

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Heightened armed police presence for New Year’s Eve fireworks in London

Armed officers will be on duty amid a heightened police presence across the capital as a “precautionary” measure on the night. 3,000 police officers will be on duty in total, predominantly in central London. The Met is also warning Londoners to stay away from the central London firework display areas if you do not have a ticket, and to plan ...

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London student’s parking appeals website saves drivers £2m in four months

An inventive London student who set up a website for parking appeals has saved drivers £2million in the four months since it was launched. Joshua Browder, 18, came up with a website that generates a parking charge appeal automatically. DoNotPay.co.uk has been used by 86,000 people since the IT student set it up in August. Of those, almost 40 per ...

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Jeremy Corbyn calls on Cameron to take part in annual televised debates

The call for the debate came afte research by Leeds University found debates increased viewers’ interest in politics by 30%. Jeremy Corbyn has challenged David Cameron to take part in an annual “state of the nation” televised debate with other political leaders to help the public engage more in politics. The Labour leader urged his rival not to “shrink” from ...

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Turkey’s Erdogan slams Russia for backing Assad

Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government of “mercilessly” killing 400,000 people and criticized Russia for backing him. Erdogan was speaking to reporters on Tuesday before departing for Saudi Arabia for a visit that wiykd focus on Syria, the fight against terror and energy cooperation. Turkey is intensifying efforts to diversify its energy supplies ...

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Bombing kills 12, wounds 35 in northwestern Pakistan

Pakistani police say a bomb has gone off outside a government office in the northwestern city of Mardan, killing at least 12 people and wounding 35. Senior police officer Saeed Khan Wazir says Tuesday’s attack took place outside the regional office of the National Database and Registration Authority, which issues identity cards to Pakistanis. He says the police are still ...

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Report: 69 Journalists Died on the Job in 2015

Sixty-nine journalists were killed around the world on the job in 2015. Twenty-eight of them were slain by Islamic militant groups, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The New York-based organization says Syria again was the deadliest place for journalists, though the number of deaths there in 2015 — 13 — was ...

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David Cameron has met with service personnel and volunteers helping stricken communities in the north of England after a Christmas catastrophe of flood chaos

The Prime Minister visited York, where streets have been deluged with water after the River Ouse burst its banks following heavy rain. He spoke with rescue workers and troops as he toured some of the worst-hit parts of the city. York has been the focus of controversy after the Environment Agency took the decision to open a flood defence barrier ...

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Number of families leaving London to buy cheaper homes elsewhere hits eight-year high

More Londoners in 2015 sold their houses and moved out of the capital than at any other time since the financial crisis, new figures show. Research by property firm Hamptons International revealed 63,000 households have left London for the suburbs in the last 12 months – the highest number since 2007. The company’s head of research Johnny Morris linked the ...

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