TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has received an ancient Persian treasure from the British Museum after a months-long dispute over its loan to the Islamic Republic, state media reported on Friday.
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Britain loans artefact to Iran after dispute
LONDON (Reuters) - The government plans to sell off old office furniture on an online auction website as part of its efforts to curb a huge budget deficit.
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Government to auction off old furniture to save money
LONDON (Reuters) - Hampshire police outlined plans to shrink its workforce by 20 percent on Friday, the second force this month to hint at reductions, as concerns grew over the effects of cost cuts on fighting crime.
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Police warn cuts could hamper crime-fighting
LONDON (Reuters) - The government said on Friday it planned legislation this year to privatise state-owned postal delivery company Royal Mail, despite opposition from trades unions.
LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick will be out for three weeks with an Achilles problem but defender Rio Ferdinand is fit again, manager Alex Ferguson said on Friday.
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United lose Carrick for three weeks, Rio returns
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s healthcare cost watchdog said it was unable to recommend use of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s schizophrenia drug Abilify in children aged 15 to 17 and has asked for more information on its effectiveness.
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NICE wants more data on BMS schizophrenia drug
LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne plans an additional 4 billion pounds of welfare cuts on top of an 11 billion pound reduction to the annual bill already planned, the BBC reported on Thursday.
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Osborne plans extra £4 billion of benefit cuts - report
LONDON (Reuters) - The skeleton of a huge whale, thought to have been butchered for its meat, bone and oils 300 years ago, has been discovered by archaeologists on the banks of London’s River Thames.
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Skeleton of 18th century whale found in London
LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne said on Thursday he had chosen Institute for Fiscal Studies chief Robert Chote to lead the independent Office for Budget Responsibility economic policy watchdog.
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Osborne picks IFS’s Chote as fiscal watchdog chief
LONDON (Reuters) - Tesco, the world’s No. 3 retailer, has launched a grocery app for the Apple iPhone, giving its customers the chance to join the latest shopping trend
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Tesco launches grocery shopping app for iPhone
LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England kept interest rates at 0.5 percent for the 18th month in a row and announced no new quantitative easing purchases, in a widely expected decision on Thursday.
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Bankholds rates at 0.5 percent and makes no change to QE
LONDON (Reuters) - The goods trade deficit with the rest of the world unexpectedly widened to a record high in July after imports of chemicals and oil surged and exports fell, data showed on Thursday.
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July goods trade gap hits all-time high as imports surge
LONDON (Reuters) - Fabio Capello will quit as England manager after the 2012 European Championship, media reported on Wednesday.
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Capello to quit as England coach after Euro 2012 - report
LONDON (Reuters) - British defence firms have been asked by the government to consider scrapping the UK’s aircraft carrier programme and are concerned about the new National Security Council’s role in decisions on defence spending cuts.
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Government weighs scrapping carrier programme
LONDON (Reuters) - The administrator of Connaught’s main social housing unit is seeking to sell its contracts and warned of possible redundancies among the 10,000-strong workforce.
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KPMG seeks to sell stricken Connaught’s contracts
LONDON (Reuters) - The fate of British social housing services firm Connaught is the latest reminder firms dependent on government contracts must be resilient and adaptable to survive austerity.
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Connaught fate: a sign of austerity woes to come?
PARIS (Reuters) - James Bond fans with deep pockets will soon have the chance to get their hands on the ultimate piece of 007 memorabilia, as the martini-sipping, daredevil spy’s Aston Martin DB5 goes up for auction next month.
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Shaken not stirred: 007’s Aston Martin goes up for auction
KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has been cleared by Essex police of betting during an English county match last season, his lawyer said.
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Essex police clear Kaneria over betting allegations
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is to review its extradition laws after widespread concern existing treaty arrangements with the United States are biased against the UK.
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Britain to review extradition laws
LONDON (Reuters) - Former premier Tony Blair has postponed a party at the Tate Modern art gallery celebrating the launch of his autobiography because of threats from protesters, his office said on Wednesday.
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Blair postpones book party at Tate Modern
BASEL (Reuters) - Wayne Rooney scored his first international goal for almost one year to set England on the way to a 3-1 win away to Switzerland in their Euro 2012 qualifier on Tuesday.
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Rooney on target to set up England’s Swiss stroll
LONDON (Reuters) - The United Nations should help investigate allegations that opposition figures in Bahrain have been tortured in prison in the run-up to next month’s elections, a British lawmaker said on Tuesday.
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U.N. must probe Bahrain torture allegations - UK lawmaker
LONDON (Reuters) - A violin made from a tree in the garden of Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s childhood home has been handed over to the University of Edinburgh instrument collection and will be used for special charity concerts throughout Scotland.
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"Sherlock Holmes violin" goes on show
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain promoted one of its top financial crimebusters on Tuesday to help keep experienced staff on board at a watchdog set to be abolished in two years’ time.
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Government promotes financial crimebuster as shake-up looms
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is falling behind other industrialised nations in the race to produce the highly skilled graduates needed to remain competitive in the world economy, an international survey of education found on Tuesday.
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UK falls behind in international graduate race
LONDON (Reuters) - Change swept through the top banks on Tuesday as Barclays said its investment banking supremo Bob Diamond will take over as group chief executive next year and HSBC was expected to announce later that its chairman is going into government.
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All change at banks, Diamond gets top Barclays job
LONDON (Reuters) - Workers on London’s underground rail network walked out Monday in a staggered 24-hour strike over plans to save money by reducing staffing at stations and closing ticket offices.
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London faces transport chaos in jobs strike
LONDON (Reuters) - A floating duck house, which came to symbolise a scandal which erupted last year over British politicians’ expenses, has been sold and the money given to a cancer charity, the organisation said on Monday.
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Duck house, symbol of MPs’ expense scandal, sold
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. model and actress Jerry Hall is selling several works of art from her private collection, including a portrait by Lucian Freud, as a way of letting go of a past she shared with Rolling Stone Mick Jagger
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Jerry Hall to auction Freud portrait, Warhol
LONDON (Reuters) - A vicar who oversaw hundreds of sham marriages between African nationals and cash-strapped eastern Europeans to help migrants settle illegally in Britain was jailed for four years on Monday.
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Vicar jailed for sham marriage scam
LONDON (Reuters) - Immigration Minister Damian Green is calling for tougher rules for non-EU students seeking to enrol on courses in Britain, after research found a fifth were still in the country five years after being granted visas.
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Non-EU student visa system faces shake-up
LONDON (Reuters) - Public sector job opportunities in IT have fallen markedly since the start of the year, a survey showed Monday, in a sign that the government’s austerity drive is already affecting the labour market.
LONDON (Reuters) - As commuters prepared for travel chaos on Monday at the start of a series of strikes on the London Underground, management and unions traded blows over new safety claims.
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London Tube commuters braced for travel chaos
LONDON (Reuters) - Entrepreneur Richard Caring is considering a counter-bid for British cafe and restaurant chain Carluccio’s, British newspaper the Mail on Sunday reported.
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Caring mulls counter-bid for Carluccio’s - report
CARDIFF (Reuters) - England play their first Twenty20 international on Sunday since claiming the World Cup in Barbados this year against a backdrop of suspicion and innuendo rather than celebration.
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England-Pakistan series opens with air of suspicion
LONDON (Reuters) - Two people died after a mid-air collision by two light planes during an air race over the Isle of Wight, police said on Saturday.
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Two die in mid-air light aircraft collision
LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly six million people are to be told they have paid the wrong amount of tax, and authorities will demand about 2 billion pounds more from hundreds of thousands of taxpayers, HM Revenue and Customs said on Saturday.
LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of car insurance has risen by almost a third in the past year, its biggest ever increase, as insurers seek to offset a sharp rise in claims expenses driven in part by fraud, AA Insurance said.
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Car insurance premiums jump 31 percent - AA
LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of car insurance has risen by almost a third in the past year, its biggest ever increase, as insurers seek to offset a sharp rise in claims expenses driven in part by fraud, AA Insurance said.
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Car insurance premiums jump 31 percent
LONDON (Reuters) - Land Securities is set to bring in Songbird’s Canary Wharf Group (CWG) as a partner to build a new skyscraper in London’s City financial district, sources close to the deal said on Friday.
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LandSecs to partner with CWG on London office - sources
LONDON (Reuters) - A former Labour minister plans legal action after accusing the Metropolitan Police of failing to fully investigate claims of widespread phone hacking by reporters with the News of the World newspaper.
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Former minister seeks probe into NoW hacking
LONDON (Reuters) - Fugitive businessman Asil Nadir appeared in court on Friday for the first time since returning to London last month, 17 years after he fled while awaiting trial on fraud and theft charges related to one of Britain’s biggest corporate failures.
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Tycoon appears in court 17 years after fleeing Britain
LONDON (Reuters) - The marriage of “X Factor” judge and pop singer Cheryl Cole and her England soccer player husband Ashley ended in divorce after four years on Friday.
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Cheryl and Ashley Cole in "quickie" divorce
LONDON (Reuters) - Alcohol consumption in Britain saw its sharpest decline in more than 60 years in 2009 in contrast to the perception that the country has a growing drink problem, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) said on Friday.
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Alcohol consumption suffers sharp slump
LONDON (Reuters) - Pension obligations of British companies have grown to “unprecedented” levels due to falling yields on government bonds, consultancy Aon warned on Thursday.
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UK firms’ pension liabilities hit new high - Aon
LONDON (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown will join efforts to improve access to education and the internet as part of pro bono work following Labour’s election loss in May, his spokesman said on Thursday.
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Gordon Brown begins charity work
LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland announced another wave of job cuts on Thursday as the part-nationalised bank continues with its drive to trim costs and improve its profitability.
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Royal Bank of Scotland to cut 3,500 jobs in UK
LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland’s government announced on Thursday that its planned minimum price for alcohol would be set at 45 pence per unit, meaning a bottle of wine would cost at least 4.23 pounds and a bottle of whisky 12.60 pounds.
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Scotland announces minimum price for alcohol
LONDON (Reuters) - House prices fell much faster than expected last month but further declines are likely to be modest, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Thursday.
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House prices fall in August - Nationwide
LONDON (Reuters) - Staff at Britain’s BBC voted on Wednesday to strike in protest against the state-funded broadcaster’s plans to reduce a large pension deficit by capping the growth of pensionable pay, unions said.
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BBC staff vote for strike over pension overhaul
LONDON (Reuters) - British hedge fund company Man Group Plc named GLG head Emmanuel Roman as its chief operating officer on Wednesday, to help Man Group integrate its recent acquisition of the GLG business.
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GLG’s Roman named Man Group chief operating officer
LONDON (Reuters) - A special constable found guilty of assaulting an off-duty soldier while trying to arrest him was jailed for three years on Wednesday.
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Special constable jailed for soldier assault
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish retail sales fell in July and jobless claims rose last month, adding to fears that a nascent recovery from the euro-zone’s deepest recession may have already hit a wall.
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Irish recovery stutters as retail falls, jobless rises
LONDON (Reuters) - An intact Roman lantern made of bronze, believed by experts to be the only one of its kind in Britain, has been unearthed in a field by a metal-detecting enthusiast.
LONDON (Reuters) - The union representing British Airways’ cabin crew is considering balloting members over a fresh wave of strike action if no progress on a peace deal is made soon.
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Unite union mulling fresh BA strike ballot
LONDON (Reuters) - Protesters from environmental group Greenpeace boarded a drilling rig operated by UK oil explorer Cairn Energy on Monday to try to stall development of what the oil industry hopes will become a major new producing centre.
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Protesters board Cairn oil rig off Greenland
LONDON (Reuters) - A doctor who deliberately cut the lip of a Harlequins rugby player to cover up a fake injury can continue to practise medicine, the General Medical Council said on Tuesday.
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"Blood" doctor free to carry on working -GMC
LONDON (Reuters) - British customs officials said on Tuesday they had had arrested three people as part of an investigation into money laundering.
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Three arrested in money laundering investigation
EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Britain’s top annual comedy prize, the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award, went to England’s Russell Kane at an Edinburgh Fringe festival ceremony on the weekend for his show “Smokescreens and Castles.”
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Comedian Russell Kane takes Foster’s award
LONDON (Reuters) - “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling has donated 10 million pounds ($15.5 million) to set up a new clinic to carry out research into multiple sclerosis (MS), the disease which killed her mother.
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J.K. Rowling gives millions for MS research
LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly half of the UK public has little confidence in local authorities as they face massive budgetary cuts despite being sympathetic to their plight, a poll by Zurich Municipal showed on Monday.
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Half public not confident in budget-cutting council - poll
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and France are getting ready to unveil plans to share aircraft carriers amid pressure on the British military to cut costs, the Times reported on Tuesday.
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Britain, France to share aircraft carriers - paper
LONDON (Reuters) - British consumer confidence unexpectedly improved in August for the first time since February thanks to a more positive view on the economic outlook, a survey showed on Tuesday.
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Consumer confidence improves in August
LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly half of the public has little confidence in local authorities as they face massive budgetary cuts despite being sympathetic to their plight, a poll by Zurich Munich showed on Monday.
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Public has little confidence in budget-cutting councils
LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices suffered their biggest fall since April 2009 this month, declining by 0.3 percent, property data company Hometrack said on Monday in its monthly survey of estate agents and surveyors.
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August house prices down by most since April 2009 - Hometrack
LONDON (Reuters) - Police said on Saturday they had arrested a man over an alleged cricket betting scam connected to the fourth test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s.
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Police arrest man after newspaper claims of betting scam
LONDON (Reuters) - England coach Fabio Capello said he regretted the way he announced the end of David Beckham’s international career but added he still had a good relationship with the former captain who would make a top manager one day.
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England coach regrets way he handled Beckham decision
LONDON (Reuters) - England manager Fabio Capello could be missing key players for the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland after Frank Lampard was ruled out with a hernia and several other players injured Saturday.
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Lampard out of England squad, Zamora doubtful
LONDON (Reuters) - Frank Lampard will miss England’s Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland with a hernia problem that will need surgery next week, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said Saturday.
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Lampard out of England qualifiers
EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Britain’s top annual comedy prize, the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award, went to England’s Russell Kane at an Edinburgh Fringe festival ceremony on Saturday for his show “Smokescreens and Castles.”
LONDON (Reuters) - The head of the BBC made an impassioned defence of the state broadcaster on Friday, following years of mounting criticism from rivals and politicians accusing it of being too large and too arrogant.
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BBC boss defends it from critics, rivals
LONDON (Reuters) - Planners have given London 2012 Olympic organisers permission to build a temporary water polo centre with an inflatable roof.
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Water polo venue for London 2012 to get inflatable roof
LONDON (Reuters) - Use of weight-loss surgery has increased 10-fold in hospitals in England since 2000 and those who have gastric bands fitted can reduce their risk of early death and cut health service costs, scientists said on Friday.
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Surgery for obesity increases 10-fold in England
LONDON (Reuters) - Robbie Williams and his old band Take That plan to tour together next summer after reconciling their differences, but the reunion is likely to be temporary, they said on Thursday.
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Robbie Williams and Take That plan reunion tour
LONDON (Reuters) - The government has declared war on the profusion of unnecessary road traffic signs, railings and advertising boards, saying they blight towns’ English character.
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Britain being "overrun" by street signs
LONDON (Reuters) - The deputy prime minister on Thursday rejected a report by an independent and influential think-tank that said the government’s fiscal new measures will hit the poor hardest.
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Nick Clegg rejects budget criticism
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Ireland had a solid bank plan and was Europe’s leader in fiscal reform, warning not to take rating agency views such as S&P’s downgrade of Ireland this week too seriously.
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Canada finmin defends Irish policy after downgrade
LONDON (Reuters) - The deputy prime minister on Thursday rejected a report by an independent and influential think-tank that said the government’s fiscal new measures will hit the poor hardest.
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Clegg rejects budget criticism
LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists have created liver cells in a lab for the first time by reprogramming stem cells taken from human skin, paving the way for potential new treatments for liver diseases that kill thousands each year.
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Scientists create liver cells from patients’ skin
LONDON (Reuters) - A Wiltshire beekeeper said on Wednesday he may have discovered a strain of honey bee immune to a parasite that has been gradually wiping out populations of the vital insect worldwide.
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Bee industry abuzz with mite resistant breed
LONDON (Reuters) - Pope Benedict will be confronted by posters on London’s famous red buses during his trip to the British capital next month which will call for the ordination of women priests.
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London bus ads to back women priests during pope’s visit
LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of workers on London’s underground rail system will start four one-day strikes on September 6 to protest against proposed ticket office job cuts, unions said on Wednesday.
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London Tube staff to strike from Sept 6 - unions
LONDON (Reuters) - The government unveiled a new look passport on Wednesday after it was redesigned to include strengthened security features and iconic images from across the nation.
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White cliffs to feature on new UK passport
LONDON (Reuters) - Classical music label Decca has signed up with the Royal Air Force to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, a key phase of World War Two, in a bid to top the pop charts.
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Churchill set to music in military chart attack
LONDON (Reuters) - A man who worked for the Secret Intelligence Service MI6 has been found murdered at a flat near the agency’s headquarters, media said on Wednesday.
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MI6 worker found murdered in London
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s coalition government’s June budget will hit the poor hardest, the Institute of Fiscal Studies said on Wednesday, directly contradicting finance minister George Osborne’s assertion that his plans are progressive.
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IFS says June budget will hit poor hardest
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain recorded almost half a million new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) last year, with teenagers and those aged under 25, especially young women, particularly affected, figures showed on Wednesday.
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Almost half a million UK sex infections last year
LONDON (Reuters) - The Handel House Museum in London is a permanent celebration of the 18th century German-born composer’s life and times, but this week honours another legendary musician linked to the site — Jimi Hendrix.
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UK show explores Hendrix’s links to Handel
KARACHI (Reuters) - Former captain Younus Khan was again ignored by Pakistani selectors but fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was recalled to the 16-man squad for next month’s one day series against England.
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Younus ignored but Akhtar recalled for England ODIs
LONDON (Reuters) - Singer George Michael admitted on Tuesday that he had been under the influence of cannabis when he crashed his car into a north London shop in July.
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George Michael admits drug-drive charge
BANGALORE (Reuters) - UK pawnbroker H&T Group posted a 71 percent jump in profit as it bought more gold from those who sold off the metal amid surging prices, and forecast full year above the top end of market expectations.
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H&T Group shines on gold buy, sees brighter days ahead
LONDON (Reuters) - UK housebuilder Persimmon unveiled a 70 million pound writeback and the resumption dividends as the chief executive said there may be a dent in the crucial autumn selling season until the government’s October spending review.
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Persimmon restores dividends, warns on early autumn sales
LONDON (Reuters) - The upcoming UK-Dutch electricity interconnector is expected to link Britain to European power markets, which could result in additional supply at the right, but sometimes wrong, times.
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UK-Dutch Britned cable may import power price shocks
LONDON (Reuters) - UK oil explorer Cairn Energy said it had struck gas in Greenland with the first well to be drilled in the Arctic territory in a decade.
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Cairn Energy finds gas in Greenland
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain faces the risk of sliding into recession and the central bank’s growth forecast for this year and next may be too optimistic, a Bank of England policymaker was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
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Bank’s Weale says Britain faces recession risk - report
LONDON (Reuters) - Healthcare cost agency NICE rejected Roche’s drug Avastin for advanced bowel cancer again on Tuesday, saying it was too expensive, despite a fresh price deal offered by the manufacturer.
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Roche’s Avastin again spurned by NICE
Corrects Saturday story in last paragraph to remove reference to NCR.
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CORRECTED - Barclays’ network glitch causes nationwide chaos
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s tax authority will introduce reverse value-added tax (VAT) charges relating to carbon emissions trading from November 1, replacing a zero tax rate implemented last year to prevent fraud.
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UK to launch reverse VAT charges for CO2 trading
LONDON (Reuters) - A new reality TV show, which will film two people — one disfigured, the other attractive — living together in a house full of mirrors, has been branded a “freak show” by critics.
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Channel 4 reality show branded "freak show"
BANGALORE (Reuters) - British marine services provider James Fisher and Sons Plc posted a 4 percent rise in first-half pretax profit, driven by growth in its specialist technical unit, and raised its interim dividend by 5 percent.
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James Fisher profit up; raises interim dividend