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/ 16 September 2007

Rally driver McRae confirmed dead after helicopter crash

British rally driver Colin McRae and two children — including his five-year-old son — were among the four passengers killed in a helicopter crash this weekend in Scotland, police said on Sunday. Strathclyde Police confirmed that the 39-year-old driver, his son Johnny, and two family friends were killed in the incident in Lanark, Scotland, on Saturday afternoon.

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/ 16 September 2007

UK bank Northern Rock faces break-up talk

Troubled British bank Northern Rock faced break-up rumours on Sunday as it sought to reassure panicking customers and investors following an emergency bail-out by the Bank of England. Worried customers besieged Northern Rock on Friday and Saturday to withdraw their savings — despite assurances that it would not fall victim to the global credit squeeze.

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/ 16 September 2007

Gunners pull clear as Liverpool, Chelsea stumble

Arsenal pulled clear at the top of the English Premier League after coming from behind to beat north London rivals Tottenham 3-1 on Saturday. The victory at White Hart Lane left Arsene Wenger’s unbeaten side two points clear of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United as the upper end of the table took on a predictable look after a month of the new season.

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/ 15 September 2007

British bank rocked by customer panic

Worried customers were expected to keep withdrawing savings en masse on Saturday from embattled British bank Northern Rock after the Bank of England bailed out the lender. Customers formed lengthy queues outside branches on Friday after Britain’s fifth-biggest home-loan provider said it was facing severe difficulties raising cash to cover its liabilities.

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/ 14 September 2007

UK bank hit by credit problems

Shares in British bank Northern Rock plunged by a quarter on Friday as clients rushed to withdraw their savings following an emergency bail-out of the lender by the Bank of England. The central bank came to the rescue of Britain’s fifth-biggest home-loan provider, which is facing severe difficulties raising cash on money markets amid the ongoing global credit squeeze.

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/ 14 September 2007

‘Caution: Water on road during rain’

Campaigners for the English language on Thursday attacked a growing tendency for "obvious" public information posters, such as a police sign urging people: "Don’t Commit Crime." Other examples highlighted by the Plain English Campaign include "Warning: Platform ends here" on the end of rail station platforms, and "May cause drowsiness" on sleeping pills.

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/ 13 September 2007

Family members rally around McCann parents

As the pressure grows on the parents of missing British toddler Madeleine McCann, support from their extended family, who have angrily denounced the police probe, has become stronger. The McCanns — named as formal suspects by Portuguese police last week — come from close Roman Catholic working-class families.

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/ 12 September 2007

Music greats Zep set to rock again

Rock legends Led Zeppelin were set to announce a one-off comeback concert on Wednesday, nearly three decades after disbanding. The group split in 1980 after the death of drummer John Bonham and have performed only a handful of reunion gigs, last taking the stage 12 years ago at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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/ 12 September 2007

Suspected foot-and-mouth case in UK

Britain found a suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease on a farm in southern England on Wednesday and immediately imposed an exclusion zone and had the herd in question culled. A statement on the Agriculture Ministry’s website said an exclusion zone had been placed around the suspect farm in Egham, Surrey, about 50km from the scene of the last outbreak in August.

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/ 12 September 2007

Alex Ferguson attacked at train station

A man has been charged with assault after an alleged attack on Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson at a train station. According to British Transport Police, who are responsible for dealing with crime on the train services, Ferguson received injuries to his leg after an incident at Euston Station in London on Monday afternoon after he had travelled from Manchester.

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/ 11 September 2007

Number 10 has its first cat since Humphrey

Nearly a decade since Humphrey was shown the door to 10 Downing Street, the prime ministerial house has a cat in residence again. Sybil, named after Basil’s wife in the 1970s sitcom Fawlty Towers, has moved down from Edinburgh with Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling and his family who are living in the three-bedroomed flat above number 10.

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/ 11 September 2007

Top Gear presenter crashes again

Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond escaped unhurt from a high-speed crash while filming the BBC show, less than a year after he nearly died in a jet-powered car, the BBC said on Tuesday. Hammond (37) was shunted off the track during an endurance race at the Silverstone track near Northampton at the weekend.

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/ 10 September 2007

European shares fall as fears grow over US outlook

European stocks fell by midday on Monday in a choppy session as gains in commodity stocks were overshadowed by mounting concern that the United States economy could be headed for recession after Friday’s dismal jobs report. Oil and gas shares were the top performers on the broader European market in spite of a fall in crude oil futures.

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/ 9 September 2007

Italy and France in deadlock, joy for Germany, England

Italy drew 0-0 with France in their World Cup final repeat, Germany and England notched easy wins and 10-man Spain were frustrated by a 1-1 draw in Iceland in Saturday’s Euro 2008 qualifiers. The battle to reach the finals in Austria and Switzerland also saw The Netherlands beat Bulgaria 2-0, while the day’s other upset left Turkey with only a 2-2 draw in Malta.

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/ 6 September 2007

British jets intercept eight Russian bombers

Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) scrambled four Tornado jets on Thursday to intercept eight Russian long-range bombers, the Ministry of Defence said. ”In the early hours of this morning, four RAF Tornado F3 aircraft from RAF Leeming and RAF Waddington were launched to intercept eight Russian ”bear” aircraft, which had not entered UK airspace,” the ministry said.

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/ 5 September 2007

UK to allow creation of human-animal embryos

Britain’s fertility regulator decided in principle on Wednesday to allow scientists to create human-animal hybrid embryos for research purposes. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority gave the go-ahead to controversial plans to create ”cytoplasmic” embryos, which merge human cells with eggs from animals such as cattle.

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/ 5 September 2007

New health scheme launched to help world’s poor

Seven developing countries in Africa and Asia will be the first to take part in a new global health campaign aimed at directing aid more effectively at the basic needs of poor countries. Health ministers from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Cambodia and Nepal will take part in the launch of the initiative at British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s office later on Wednesday.

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/ 5 September 2007

Madonna denies using status to speed up adoption

Madonna has not used her celebrity status to speed up the adoption of a little boy from a Southern African country, her spokesperson said on Tuesday. Madonna’s effort to add Malawian toddler David Banda to her family again came under the spotlight on Monday, when the Malawian official scheduled to go to London to assess the adoption was removed from the case.

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/ 4 September 2007

Media, IRB at odds ahead of World Cup

Days before the opening match of the Rugby World Cup, a global coalition representing news agencies and newspapers is still at odds with the International Rugby Board (IRB) concerning coverage of the event. Despite progress on several fronts over the last two weeks, two points of contention concerning photographs remain.

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/ 4 September 2007

Media, IRB still at odds ahead of World Cup

Days before the opening match of the Rugby World Cup, a global coalition representing news agencies and newspapers is still at odds with the International Rugby Board (IRB) concerning coverage of the event. Despite progress on several fronts over the last two weeks, two points of contention concerning photographs remain.

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/ 3 September 2007

Vickery warns of looming Bok threat

England captain Phil Vickery says the defending champions can have a huge impact on the World Cup but must be wary of Pool A opponents South Africa. Four mediocre years since winning the trophy in Australia in 2003 have left England outside the main favourites for the tournament in France which kicks off on Friday.

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/ 2 September 2007

Reds on top after Derby demolition

Liverpool brandished their credentials as potential English Premiership champions with a 6-0 demolition of Derby on Saturday as champions Manchester United continued to recover from their slow start to the season. The pressure on Tottenham boss Martin Jol increased after his side drew in a six-goal thriller at Fulham.