Real World News

Viola Beach band crash awful tragedy says coroner 7 December 2016 From the section Liverpool The coroner says he does not think it will "ever be known" what caused the crash that killed the British group Viola Beach and their manager. The four-member band, who were aged between 19 and 27, died on 13 February following a gig in Stockholm. Their car crashed into a raised section of a bridge and plummeted into a canal. Cheshire Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg described the crash as "the most awful tragedy". He ruled that manager Craig Tarry, 32, and three band members died due to head injuries. …

Aleppo battle: Syria rebels 'withdraw from old city' 7 December 2016 From the section Middle East Related Topics Syrian civil war Image copyright Reuters Image caption Aleppo's old city has been in rebel hands for four years The last rebel-held areas of Aleppo's historic old city have fallen to Syrian government forces, an activist monitoring group says. The Syrian Observa…

Pfizer fined record £84.2m for overcharging NHS 7 December 2016 From the section Business Image copyright Getty Images Drugs giant Pfizer has been fined a record £84.2m by the UK's competition watchdog for overcharging the NHS for an anti-epilepsy drug. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also fined distributor Flynn Pharma £5.2m for the 2,600% price increase for the drug in 2012. NHS spending on the capsules rose from £2m a year in 2012 to about £50m in 2013. UK prices for the drug were m…

Trump says Air Force One Boeing order should be cancelled 6 December 2016 From the section US & Canada Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Trump told reporters that Boeing was "doing a little bit of a number" US President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to cut government costs by cancelling the order for new planes to carry the American president. Six weeks ahead of taking office, he tweeted: "Boeing is building a brand …

Europol set to investigate mass migrant drowning 6 December 2016 From the section World Related Topics Europe migrant crisis Image caption Iman Nasr Taha's son Hamed was on the boat that sank - he is still missing The European policing agency Europol is planning to investigate what is believed to be the biggest loss of a migrant boat in 2016, following a Reuters-BBC Newsnight investigation. More than 500 people are tho…

North Korea 'hacks South's military cyber command' 6 December 2016 From the section Asia Image copyright PA Image caption North Korea is thought to have thousands of personnel involved in cyberwarfare South Korea's military cyber command, set up to guard against hacking, appears to have been breached by North Korea, the military has said. A spokesman told the BBC that classified information was thought to have been stolen, althoug…

India Jayalalitha: Thousands mourn colourful politician 6 December 2016 From the section India Media captionA look back at the career of J JayalalithaThousands of mourners are flocking to pay their respects to J Jayalalitha, one of India's most influential and colourful politicians. The 68-year-old chief minister of Tamil Nadu state suffered a heart attack on Sunday night and died at 23:30 local time (18:00 GMT) on Monday, Chennai's Apollo Hospital says. Her body, draped in the Indian flag, is on display at a large public hall. Extra police have been deployed in the southern sta…

Rail management in England to be revamped says government 6 December 2016 From the section Business The way that England's railway network is run is set to be overhauled under plans outlined by the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling. He wants each rail franchise to be run by joint management teams, including representatives from both the train operating company and Network Rail. The changes will start when each franchise is renewed in the future. Mr Grayling said: "I intend to start bringing back together the operation of track and train on …

Tata Steel: Unions close to deal to keep Port Talbot open 5 December 2016 From the section Wales Image copyright Getty Images Unions are close to agreeing a deal with Tata Steel which would keep the Port Talbot works open along with other UK plants, BBC Wales understands. Talks were held between the company and unions last week, where it is thought the issues of pensions, production and jobs were discussed. It is thought a deal could emerge this week. The future of Tata plants has been in doubt s…

China protests at Trump-Taiwan call 3 December 2016 From the section China China's foreign ministry says it has lodged a complaint with the US after President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Taiwan's leader in a phone call. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province. US policy set in 1979 cut all formal relations with Taiwan. However, Mr Trump's transition team said he and Tsai Ing-wen noted "close economic, political, and security ties" in a phone call. China said it had lodged a "solemn representation" with Washington. According to the state news agency Xinhua, China urged the US "to cautiously, pro…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38160291 Anyone here offended by the use of tallow to make the new notes?

Racial segregation 'growing in UK', Dame Louise Casey warns 5 December 2016 From the section UK Image copyright Reuters Image caption The year-long review found ethnic segregation is growing in some places in Britain Segregation, deprivation and social exclusion in some areas of Britain have coincided with a growth in "regressive" ideologies, a report has found. Public bodies in the UK had too often ignored or condoned divisive or…

Italian referendum: PM Matteo Renzi suffers heavy defeat, exit polls suggest 4 December 2016 From the section Europe Image copyright Reuters Image caption Italian PM Matteo Renzi, seen here casting his vote with his wife, said before the referendum he would resign if he lost the vote Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has suffered a heavy defeat in a referendum over his plan to reform the constitution, exit polls suggest. An exit…