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Saturday, 31 July 2021

Child, five, dies after being found in Ogmore River, Bridgend

The discovery was made after police were called to a report of a missing child.

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ICYMI: Decoding feline feelings and a breathtaking bungee jump

A round-up of the week's news you might have missed.

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Thompson-Herah defends 100m title & becomes second-fastest woman in history

Elaine Thompson-Herah became the second-fastest woman in history as she beat fellow Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to defend her Olympic 100m title.

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Tokyo Olympics: Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah breaks Olympic record and defends 100m title

Watch highlights as Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah defends her 100m title in an Olympic record time of 10.61 seconds at Tokyo 2020.

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Covid: Pulse oxygen monitors work less well on darker skin, experts say

Pulse oximeters, which spot falling oxygen levels, may work less well on darker skin, experts warn.

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Afghanistan: Fighting rages as Taliban besiege three key cities

Fears rise of a humanitarian crisis as Islamist militants seek to capture major Afghan urban areas.

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Billie Eilish opens up to Clara Amfo on trolls

Eilish tells Amfo of her frustration with internet criticism in a new documentary to be broadcast on Saturday.

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Tokyo Olympics: Dina Asher-Smith reveals she tore her hamstring at British Olympic trials

Team GB's Dina Asher-Smith tells BBC Sport she tore her hamstring during the British trials after she failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 100m final and pulled out of the 200m.

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Tokyo Olympics: Dina Asher-Smith & Asha Philip fail to qualify but Daryll Neita heads to 100m final

Watch highlights as Team GB's Dina Asher-Smith and Asha Philip fail to qualify for the 100m final but Daryll Neita advances as one of the fastest losers.

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Matthews hits 71 not out as Fire earn first win

Welsh Fire earn their first win of the women's Hundred with a nine-wicket victory against Manchester Originals in Cardiff.

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New top story on Hacker News: Ask HN: Do you have a process or a framework to learn specific skills quickly?

Ask HN: Do you have a process or a framework to learn specific skills quickly?
7 by hypnotist | 3 comments on Hacker News.
Any suggestions/ frameworks on how to learn specific skill, retain the knowledge and be able to share it(in for ex. written form) I usually jump in straight away and start learning "on the job" but I realised that I forget too much and i do not have any notes to refer to later on. Examples of specific skill: - How to write a good cold email - how to learn some snowboarding trick - how to store your bitcoin safely etc.

Covid vaccine will not be compulsory for uni lectures

Ministers are no longer considering making two doses mandatory for students in England, the BBC learns.

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High Wycombe: Murder arrest after man found dead in street

Police officers found the victim in Micklefield Road, High Wycombe in the early hours of Saturday.

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Asher-Smith fails to make 100m final but GB team-mate Neita through

Dina Asher-Smith fails to make the 100m final after clocking a below-par 11.05 seconds in the semi-final - but Great Britain team-mate Daryll Neita is through.

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The X Factor: 'It's always something I'm proud of'

Former X Factor contestants on what it was like to star in one of the biggest show on TV.

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Ballymena: Rare cancer diagnosis leads to unlikely friendship

Cat McKenna and Amber Scott met after being diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer.

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Eurozone out of recession after economy grows 2%

Data suggests all economies in the 19-country bloc expanded in the last three months.

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New top story on Hacker News: Why is YouTube adding “&pp=sAQA” to video URLs?

Why is YouTube adding “&pp=sAQA” to video URLs?
18 by pdkl95 | 9 comments on Hacker News.
YouTube started adding a new parameter "pp=sAQA" to video URLs on most index style pages (e.g. /feed/subscriptions, search results, the /videos page on any channel). The actual video pages (/watch) strip the pp= parameter, and it doesn't appear to be added to the URLs for the "recommended" videos. Does anybody know what this parameter does and/or why it was added? It's really annoying; using YouTube URLs in the shell now requires quoting due to the "&".

Covid-19 pandemic: Japan widens emergency over 'frightening' spike

The Olympics host is facing record Covid case numbers, fuelled by the virulent Delta strain.

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Drug deaths in Scotland reach new record level

The country continues to have the worst drug death rate in Europe, with a further 1,339 people dying last year.

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'Brighton cat killer' Steven Bouquet jailed for stabbing 16 pets

Steven Bouquet has been jailed for more than five years after he killed nine cats in night attacks.

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Turkey fires: Blazes threaten Marmaris and other coastal resorts

Villages and hotels are evacuated as firefighters attempt to put out dozens of blazes.

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Max Verstappen fastest in Hungarian Grand Prix first practice

Red Bull's Max Verstappen heads Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton in first practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

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Djokovic's 'Golden Slam' hopes ended as Zverev reaches final

Novak Djokovic's hopes of winning a 'Golden Slam' are over after losing to Alexander Zverev in the Olympic tennis semi-finals.

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NHS Covid-19 app pings rise by over 70,000 to new record

The number of coronavirus alerts hits a new record, with nearly 690,000 sent in England and Wales.

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Wayne Rooney apologises over hotel photographs

Derby boss Wayne Rooney apologises to his family and club after images of the ex-England and Manchester United forward were shared online.

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Peter McCombie: Cyclist jailed after Tower Hamlets hit-and-run death

The 72-year-old died eight days after the crash from traumatic head injuries.

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Rare Harry Potter book sells for £80k at Leyburn auction

The volume sold at auction in North Yorkshire for almost three times its estimated price.

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Holocaust memorial outside Parliament to go ahead

Fears have been raised that the site could become a terrorist target, but ministers say it will be safe.

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X Factor: ITV has no plans for another series of the show

The fat lady may be singing for Simon Cowell's long-running but currently dormant TV talent show.

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Hillsborough's 97th victim was unlawfully killed, coroner concludes

Andrew Devine died as a result of injuries he sustained 32 years earlier, a coroner concludes.

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'We lost our life savings in a cryptocurrency scam'

A pensioner caught up in an investment saga lost it all, prompting warnings to others.

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Covid: The doctor sisters working through the pandemic

Caitlín and Megan Prosser have been supporting each other throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Covid travel: No quarantine for fully jabbed from EU and US coming to England

The travel industry had been pushing for the rule change so tourists can more easily come to England.

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Wales' slate landscape wins World Heritage status

The north-west slate mining area is said to have "roofed the world" at its height in the 19th Century.

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Worksop chimney sweeps find Santa letter lost for decades

The slightly-burnt note asks for a "cowboy suit and guns and a hat and everything".

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Covid: Self-isolation rule changes on 16 August 'nailed on' - PM

Recent falls in cases are encouraging but it is too early to draw conclusions, Boris Johnson says.

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Oculus recalls Quest 2 headset pads after skin rashes

Quest 2 headset owners are urged to claim a free silicone cover to avoid skin issues.

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Oculus recalls Quest 2 headset pads after skin rashes

Quest 2 headset owners are urged to claim a free silicone cover to avoid skin issues.

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Covid: Deaf woman wins claim over lack of sign language at briefings

A lack of sign language at government briefings amounts to discrimination, a High Court judge finds.

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Boris Johnson predicts steady economic recovery post-pandemic

Boris Johnson still warns of "bumps on the road" ahead as the IMF predicts 7% growth for the UK economy.

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Housing market cools as stamp duty break withdrawn

UK house prices still rose by 10.5% compared with a year ago, Nationwide building society says.

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Housing market cools as stamp duty break withdrawn

UK house prices still rose by 10.5% compared with a year ago, Nationwide building society says.

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Sheffield Forgemasters: Ministry of Defence to acquire steel firm

Sheffield Forgemasters will see up to £400m of investment in the next decade, the government says.

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Tuesday, 27 July 2021

Tesco offers £1,000 joining bonus for HGV lorry drivers

The supermarket chain is deploying the recruitment tactic amid a shortage in lorry drivers.

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Turner Prize returns to Tate Liverpool after 15 years

The renowned event will be held at the Tate Liverpool gallery in late 2022, it is announced.

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Tesco offers £1,000 joining bonus for HGV lorry drivers

The supermarket chain is deploying the recruitment tactic amid a shortage in lorry drivers.

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Bid for better bailiffs as pandemic debts rise

A plan is agreed to reduce aggressive debt collection, although charities still want statutory regulation.

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Activision staff condemn firm's response to harassment claims

About 1,000 Activision Blizzard staff sign a letter describing managers' response as insulting.

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Culture of cover-up saw hundreds of children abused, report finds

More than 700 children suffered cruelty and sexual abuse at care homes in Lambeth, an inquiry finds.

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Covid: PM warns against 'premature conclusions' as cases fall

The prime minister is urging people to "remain cautious" despite a fall in UK Covid cases.

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Home Office to investigate deportation of Chinese sailors after WW2

An MP says investigating why Chinese sailors were deported from Liverpool is a "step in the right direction".

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DaBaby's HIV and gay comments 'perpetuate discrimination'

The rapper made false claims about the life expectancy of people with HIV at a US festival.

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What is stop and search and what are my rights?

Police could carry out more stop and searches without 'reasonable grounds' under new proposals.

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Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Simone Biles out of Tokyo Olympics gymnastics team final after apparent injury

07/27/21 4:45 AM

Covid: Insurance threat for pinged holidaymakers

Some travel insurance policies will not cover cancellation costs for travellers told to self-isolate.

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Bradford child sexual abuse: Authorities apologise after review

The Bradford Partnership said "more needs to be done" to help victims of child sexual abuse in the district.

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Wayne Rooney: Cheshire Police reviewing blackmail complaint

Cheshire Police confirm a complaint of blackmail was made in relation to photos of Wayne Rooney.

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Covid: Insurance threat for pinged holidaymakers

Some travel insurance policies will not cover cancellation costs for travellers told to self-isolate.

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Monday, 26 July 2021

Tesco Bank to close all its current accounts

The bank says most of the current accounts have limited activity and are not being used.

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New top story on Hacker News: Launch HN: InstaKin (YC S21) - Help immigrants to manage tasks in home countries

Launch HN: InstaKin (YC S21) - Help immigrants to manage tasks in home countries
6 by yshirazi | 1 comments on Hacker News.
Hi HN, we’re Yasir and Zain introducing ( https://ift.tt/3zAjr7D ) to you. We’re a platform to help immigrant communities manage tasks in their home countries. Zain and I are originally from Pakistan and have been living in the US and Europe for 12 years. Personally, we have regularly sent funds back home to pay for tasks for ourselves and family members. Whether it is for paying home bills or a home renovation, we have done it all – just like millions of other migrants in the US – and experienced all the problems: funds getting misused, vendors pushing for advance payments and then disappearing…you name it and we have seen it. This got us thinking about a platform where we could connect migrants with vendors back home — something to reduce misuse of funds and ensure that vendors perform tasks as agreed. Every year, 250M migrants send $550BN back home to pay for tasks for themselves and their families. Migrants far away from their native countries are dependent on family friends or unknown vendors to make decisions on their behalf. What many folks don’t know is that it is common for these funds to get misused, or for migrants to send funds to a vendor back home and receive poor service or get cheated. We talked to hundreds of migrants from India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Uganda, and more, and found that lack of access to reliable vendors and misuse of remittance funds back home are common ‘migrant’ problems. Just last week, we came across a migrant from Senegal living in the USA who mentioned the same challenge. Initially we operated on WhatsApp to receive orders from migrant customers and also get their feedback. Thousands of migrants contacted us within the first few months of launching our startup. That validation convinced us to build a full product—a solution for migrants built by migrants. We have focused on two key features: (1) provide migrants with access to services back home, and (2) pay vendors based on milestones to eliminate payments fraud. Historically, companies focusing on the migrant community have pushed for making it easier to send remittances back home easily though even today it can cost between 2-8% just to remit funds. Our key insight, though, is that money transfer is not enough. It is only transactional. What’s needed is to ensure last-mile fulfillment. With InstaKin, migrants don’t send funds back home ‘blindly’ hoping that things will get done — you pay for fulfillment directly. Migrants use us to do things like: hiring a ‘runner’ to manage last-mile tasks for their aging parents back home; connecting to a vendor for verification and attestation of educational documents; ordering personalized gifts and having them delivered; paying contractors for home renovation project. We started off with helping Pakistani migrants but our goal is to become the platform of choice for migrants globally. The best part is that while we were reaching out to Pakistani migrants, we started getting requests from other communities (Indian and Bangladeshi migrants). We’ve been surprised at how strong immigrant networks are globally. When we launched, we thought we would receive orders from migrants in a specific city or location only. Turns out that is not true. We have had referrals from all over the world (example: a migrant customer living in London referred us to a migrant living in Chicago who referred us to a migrant living in Singapore). We hope what we are building will help migrants not just from one country but from everywhere in days to come. We would love to hear back from the community. If you are a migrant yourself, please share your experiences with us and feel free to reach out.

Whipps Cross Hospital patients evacuated after flooding

"Major incident" at Whipps Cross Hospital as fire brigade takes 1,000 flood calls across London.

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Wayne Rooney reports photos to Greater Manchester Police

The images appear to show the ex-England footballer asleep with unknown women posing beside him.

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Standon Calling festival-goers make most of mud as heavy rain hits

Organisers of the festival call it off due to flooding and risk of lightning.

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London flooding: When a month of rain fell in one day

From blocked roads to flooded homes, the deluge of rain has caused huge disruption to the capital.

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Lockdown weight gain averaging half a stone - survey

Four in 10 adults in England have become fatter during the pandemic, a survey suggests.

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Ronan Keating accepts phone hacking damages

The ex-Boyzone singer's lawyers told the High Court of the distress caused by newspapers stories.

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Ministers consider blocking China's role in UK nuclear power

The move, amid rising tensions with Beijing, could impact the development of a plant in Suffolk.

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Sir Richard Sutton: Murder accused pleads not guilty

Thomas Schreiber is charged with murdering one of UK's richest men, Sir Richard Sutton, in Dorset.

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Man, woman and boy die in Loch Lomond incident

Police say they died at the scene near Ardlui after getting into difficulty in the water.

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Afghanistan curfew imposed as Taliban militants advance

The government says the measure is to help its forces stop Taliban militants infiltrating cities.

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Carrickfergus: Funfair incident caused by teens, Planet Fun says

Planet Fun says injuries were caused in County Antrim on Saturday because of "misuse of equipment".

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Hundred organisers say online 'racism or other forms of abuse' unacceptable

Organisers of The Hundred say they do not "accept racism or other forms of abuse" following "recent online comments directed towards players and fans".

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Football manager Joey Barton charged with attacking woman

The former Premier League player is charged by police after an incident in London.

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Climate change: Hebden Bridge boy, 11, starts 200 mile walk

Jude will walk 10 miles each day for 21 days to reach Westminster, where he will lobby ministers.

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Javid apologises for 'cower' Covid remark

Health Secretary Sajid Javid apologises for his poor choice of word when he said people should no longer "cower" from coronavirus,

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British and Irish Lions 2021: Injured prop Wyn Jones replaced by Rory Sutherland against South Africa

Injured British and Irish Lions prop Wyn Jones is ruled out of Saturday's first Test against South Africa, with Scotland's Rory Sutherland starting and Mako Vunipola of England added to the bench.

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Lightning strikes and storms follow UK heatwave

Days of high summer temperatures give way to storms.

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Open water: Swimmers urged not to take chances

It is thought 28 people have lost their lives in open water during the recent hot weather.

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Covid: Gareth Southgate urges young people to have jab

The England manager says vaccination is a chance for them to "get your freedom back".

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Goole WW2 bomb: M62 closed as Army prepares to detonate device

Army bomb experts will carry out a controlled explosion of the device, found on a new housing estate.

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Missing hiker's partner told of remains find

The hiker disappeared on a solo walk near the France-Spain border in November.

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Australia Covid: Arrests at anti-lockdown protests

Thousands take to the streets in Sydney, with further protests in Melbourne and Brisbane.

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Romsey industrial estate blaze involving 35,000 tonnes of waste

Residents near the blaze at Yokesford Hill Industrial Estate are advised to shut their windows.

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Firm fined £2.6m for claiming clothes prevent Covid

Australian activewear company Lorna Jane is branded "exploitative" and "predatory" by a judge.

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Jadon Sancho: England winger completes £73m move to Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund

England winger Jadon Sancho completes his £73m move to Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund.

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Greensill: Lady Heywood's anger at 'scapegoating' of late husband by inquiry

Lady Heywood calls a report on the Greensill lobbying scandal a "fabricated attack" on her late husband.

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Rail services face cuts as staff self-isolate

Operators say they may have to run fewer trains as more employees are hit by the "pingdemic".

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Soldier found dead in barracks at Larkhill, Salisbury

The Ministry of Defence says it is investigating the circumstances surrounding her death.

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Covid infections around the UK continue to rise

Cases continue to increase, with more rises possible once the impact of easing restrictions kicks in.

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Mystery orcas spotted in Scotland found in Norway

The pod of six killer whales photographed in a Norwegian fjord were last spotted off Vatersay in 2018.

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Rail services face cuts as staff self-isolate

Operators say they may have to run fewer trains as more employees are hit by the "pingdemic".

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Omagh bomb: 'Real prospect attack could have been prevented'

A judge also calls for new investigations into the Real IRA attack which killed 29 people.

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John Simpson: Good Morning Britain hosts apologise after swearing

Veteran foreign correspondent let the rude word slip on the ITV show shortly before 0650 BST.

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Thursday, 22 July 2021

Post Office scandal: Postmasters to get up to £100,000

Subpostmasters wrongly convicted of offences during an IT scandal will receive up to £100,000.

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Post Office scandal: Postmasters to get up to £100,000

Subpostmasters wrongly convicted of offences during an IT scandal will receive up to £100,000.

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Manchester Arena Inquiry: Bomb like being hit by truck, says survivor

Martin Hibbert, who was badly injured, says he wants "the truth" to emerge from the public inquiry.

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Zoomtown-on-Sea? The lure of a new life on the coast

Remote working meant the Lancaster family could live anywhere - they found their sea view in Scarborough.

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Heatwave: The worst jobs to have as temperatures soar

Not all jobs are equal when it comes to working in extreme heat, but which are the worst?

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Croydon tram crash: Passengers accidentally killed, jury finds

Seven people died when the tram tipped over and spun off the track in Croydon in November 2016.

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Mercury Prize nominations: Wolf Alice, Arlo Parks and Celeste make the shortlist

The band are joined by Arlo Parks, Celeste, Ghetts and Mogwai on the album of the year shortlist.

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Tokyo Olympics: I beat an Olympian...when I was younger

Radio 1 Newsbeat speaks to people who can boast they once beat some of the current Team GB.

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More than 600,000 people told to isolate by Covid app

618,903 people in England and Wales received self-isolation alerts in the week up to 14 July

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Greensill had extraordinarily privileged access to government, says inquiry

An official report on lobbying says Lex Greensill's conflicts of interest 'should have been considered".

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Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Biden admin promotes radical group pushing critical race theory in schools

07/21/21 5:05 AM

UK property sales at new record as boom peaks

Sales surged during June but analysts say the property boom has peaked as stamp duty holidays are withdrawn.

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China: Taobao, Weibo fined for illegal child content

Major online platforms like Weibo, Taobao and QQ have been fined and ordered to "clean up".

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Next shoppers splurge on summer clothes as weather heats up

The retailer upgrades profits forecast and repays some business rates relief after seeing a summer sales surge.

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Gold attracts young investors trading online, says The Royal Mint

The Royal Mint records a rise in profits aided by a fivefold increase in gold investment by young adults.

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Liverpool stripped of Unesco World Heritage status

The city is deleted from the much-coveted Unesco list because of developments on the waterfront.

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GB women's footballers take knee ahead of first win

Great Britain's women's football squad take the knee before their opening 2-0 win over Chile at Tokyo 2020.

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Giant hail damages cars and windows in heatwave storm

Golf ball-sized hail comes "thundering down" as the extreme heat warning for England continues.

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Tuesday, 20 July 2021

Firms must apply for isolation exemption for 'pinged' staff

Several industries are lobbying the government for their staff to be classed as critical workers.

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Eid al-Adha prayers continue as rockets fired in Afghanistan

Some of the worshippers appeared frightened and unsure what to do when they heard multiple explosions.

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HMV backs High Street with plans for 10 new stores

The music chain's owner says people love shopping and want to touch goods before buying.

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Man stuck in M4 jam plays football on carriageway

There was a three-hour tailback on the M4 in Wiltshire after a lorry caught fire.

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Rescheduling Games 'caused sleepless nights', says IOC president

Rescheduling the Tokyo Olympics "caused sleepless nights" but must go ahead "to give hope" for the future, says IOC president Thomas Bach.

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South Africa captain Kolisi to start against Lions after recovering from Covid-19

South Africa captain Siya Kolisi recovers from Covid-19 to be named in the starting XV to face the British and Irish Lions in the first Test on Saturday.

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Women's state pension: Compensation closer for Waspi campaigners

The government was too slow to tell women they would be directly affected by the rising state pension age.

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Raye and Polydor split after claims record label wouldn't release debut album

The 23-year-old singer says she and Polydor have "different goals artistically".

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New top story on Hacker News: Ask HN: Webdev with poor/deteriorating vision. What can I pivot into?

Ask HN: Webdev with poor/deteriorating vision. What can I pivot into?
6 by mouzogu | 4 comments on Hacker News.
Long story short, I have a corneal disease that cannot be fixed with glasses or surgery. I'm able to get about 20/35 to 20/40 vision depending on whether it's a good day or not with glasses. I can get 20/20 with rigid lenses but it's not very comfortable after 3-4 hours and I'm not able to look at anything dark or black in colour so it's not perfect (thanks all you apps without a light mode :( I've been working as a web dev for 15 years since graduation but I know my days I numbered in this field as it requires near perfect vision due to the UI nature and dealing with things on a pixel level. What kind of field could I leverage my experience and pivot into that does not require perfect vision? Thanks, for any advice.

Women's state pension: Compensation closer for Waspi campaigners

The government was too slow to tell women they would be directly affected by the rising state pension age.

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Tokyo 2020: The hijabi referee making Olympic history

The first Arab and African woman to referee 3x3 basketball at the Olympics shares how her Muslim faith has guided her career.

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Channel crossings migrants: 'We need a safe place'

A BBC team encounters some of the migrants trying to make the dangerous journey to England.

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Monday, 19 July 2021

Paralympian told to wear more appropriate shorts

Double world champion para-athlete Olivia Breen said she was left angry and speechless after being told to wear 'more appropriate' shorts.

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Colin Pitchfork: Double killer will not be on sex offenders register

The government says Colin Pitchfork, who raped and murdered two girls, will be subject to other "strict" conditions.

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Post Office Horizon scandal: More subpostmasters cleared

The Court of Appeal clears 12 more former subpostmasters who were wrongly convicted.

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Strictly Come Dancing: Greatest Dancer winner joins professional dancer line-up

Poland's Jowita Przystal is one of four new additions to the BBC One's team of professional dancers.

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Post Office Horizon scandal: More subpostmasters cleared

The Court of Appeal clears 12 more former subpostmasters who were wrongly convicted.

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Guto Harri quits GB News over taking the knee row

The journalist was suspended for a gesture made during a chat about the abuse of black footballers.

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19 July: The station where masks are mandatory - and not

Commuters at Farringdon station react to the varying face-covering rules now in place in London.

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In pictures: UK soaks up sun as heatwave set to continue

Sunseekers have been flocking to beaches as all four UK nations record the hottest day of the year.

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Sunday, 18 July 2021

Covid: UK faces a difficult summer, says leading scientist

Prof Neil Ferguson says there could be as many as 200,000 cases a day as restrictions ease.

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Covid-19: Ireland's top medical officers targeted by abusive calls

Gardaí are investigating reports of abusive calls to Ireland's chief medical officer and his deputy.

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World Student Games: Sheffield's forgotten sporting spectacle

Sheffield's decision to host the World Student Games in 1991 still divides opinions across the city.

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'It's about getting the ball to our danger players' - Vieira's impact at Palace

Patrick Vieira's reign at Crystal Palace got off to a winning start and the Eagles will hope history doesn't repeat itself under the France World Cup winner.

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Covid: 'Pingdemic' threatens shop openings say supermarkets

M&S says it may have to reduce opening hours if more workers are forced to self-isolate.

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Comedian Tom O'Connor dies aged 81

The presenter and comic had had Parkinson's for many years, his family says.

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Labour: Why would we oppose a social care tax?

But the shadow health secretary says he would want a guarantee the money would be used for care.

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Anjem Choudary: Radical preacher's public speaking ban lifted

The strict licence conditions Anjem Choudary was subjected to after leaving prison come to an end.

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PM and chancellor to self-isolate after criticism

It comes after anger over "VIP testing" allowing them to work following Sajid Javid's positive test.

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Britney Spears says she will not perform while father controls career

The singer says the arrangement controlling her personal and financial affairs has "killed my dreams".

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Health Secretary Sajid Javid tests positive for Covid

He says he has had two jabs and so far his symptoms are "very mild" after feeling "groggy" on Friday.

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Farne Islands: Puffins see visitors return after 18 months

Tourists haven't been able to go to the Farne Islands for 18 months and it's changed the birds' behaviour.

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British Grand Prix: Max Verstappen tops final practice before sprint qualifying

Red Bull's Max Verstappen ended the final practice before Formula 1's new 'sprint' qualifying race fastest at the British Grand Prix.

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Mass testing as Covid outbreak hits Perth Prison

Nearly 100 inmates at Perth Prison are self-isolating after testing positive, with no access to family or lawyers.

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Google Maps updates 'dangerous' Ben Nevis route

The firm insists its map service did not direct walkers to a "potentially fatal" trail - but makes changes to avoid confusion.

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What the Premier League can learn from VAR at Euro 2020

The Premier League can learn a lot from Uefa's light-touch approach to VAR decisions, says former official Lee Probert.

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England v Pakistan T20: Liam Livingstone hits England's fastest ever century

Watch as Liam Livingstone hits England's fastest-ever T20 century - but Pakistan win a thrilling first Twenty20 at Trent Bridge.

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New top story on Hacker News: Ask HN: Anyone here built successful SaaS/startup just for money?

Ask HN: Anyone here built successful SaaS/startup just for money?
31 by aristofun | 12 comments on Hacker News.
Is something wrong with me that recently I stopped being excited about tech, products, disruptive ideas, making world better etc. And just want to make money, as much as possible, don’t care how (as long as it’s legal). Is it a good start for starting new project in tech world? Because creating software products is the only thing i can do very well. But except few small exceptions all my life I’ve been working for companies, exchanging my time for money, building software. Anyone created profitable and lasting IT business being motivated only by money?

Craft beer industry accused of being 'sexist boys' club'

Independent beer makers have promised reform following allegations of discrimination and harassment.

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Arsenal agree £50m deal for Brighton defender White

Arsenal agree a deal in principle for the £50m transfer of Brighton and England defender Ben White.

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Friday, 16 July 2021

'Harry is our player. Period. No need to talk about anything else' - Spurs boss Nuno on Kane

New Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo says Harry Kane is "our player" and will speak to the England captain when he returns to the club.

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Warnings grow about staff forced to self-isolate

Alarm mounts over fears of a "surge" in workers and medical staff forced to quarantine after being "pinged".

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Boris Johnson's university friend gets ethics watchdog rule

Labour accuses Boris Johnson of "cronyism" but the government says proper processes were followed.

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GB News says presenter Guto Harri breached standards by taking the knee

Guto Harri made the gesture on air, saying how "hideously ugly racism in some English football is".

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Warnings grow about staff forced to self-isolate

Alarm mounts over fears of a "surge" in workers and medical staff forced to quarantine after being "pinged".

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Covid infections are high and rising around the UK

Cases have risen again in many regions, data reveals, ahead of England dropping most Covid rules on Monday.

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Church of England criticised over suicide of falsely accused priest

Fr Alan Griffin took his own life having spent a year under investigation over baseless allegations.

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Colum Eastwood: MP reveals death threats after naming Soldier F

Colum Eastwood named the former paratrooper, accused of two Bloody Sunday murders, in Parliament.

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Petrol prices at eight-year high, says AA

Prices hit the highest since October 2013 amid forecasts of a very busy summer on UK roads.

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Ashton-Under-Lyne: Baby hurt in Asda ceiling collapse

A witness says "the roof started peeling towards us, dust was everywhere and a baby was screaming".

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Petrol prices at eight-year high, says AA

Prices hit the highest since October 2013 amid forecasts of a very busy summer on UK roads.

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'I'm going to Ibiza by any means necessary'

The Balearic Islands joining the amber travel list for England is causing a dilemma for some holiday makers.

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Drugs giant GSK plans to create up to 5,000 jobs in new UK hub

GSK aims to expand its Stevenage facility to create one of the largest life sciences sites in Europe.

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Five ways for firms to reach customers with disabilities

Five ways to rethink how businesses can reach customers with disabilities.

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Thursday, 15 July 2021

British and Irish Lions: Robbie Henshaw & Marcus Smith start in Lions warm-up

Ireland's Robbie Henshaw returns from injury, debut for Marcus Smith and Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones is on the bench for the British and Irish Lions' match with the Stormers

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The Open 2021: Former champion Jordan Spieth hits four birdies in a row at Royal St George's

USA's Jordan Spieth starts strong with four birdies in a row on the first day of The Open in Kent.

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New top story on Hacker News: Ask HN: Recruiters want people who do side projects, yet contracts forbid them?

Ask HN: Recruiters want people who do side projects, yet contracts forbid them?
40 by uVacCXNiiJCTnYB | 22 comments on Hacker News.
I was reading this [Joel on software essay](https://ift.tt/2VFhWGB) about employment contracts and side prrojects after it was mentioned in another post here. It's been frustrating me for a long time that most companies when hiring are looking for people who do lots of side projects and open source work, yet when you are actually employed, you will usually have a contract forbidding you from having side activities, or potentially trying to grab copyright forr what you do on the side. Most companies also don't let their employees open source their code written at work too. I get that there is a sort of common understanding between employers and employees that lets people have small side projects, but I've never liked the fact that on paper companies can easily claim ownership of them if they become worth it. In a lot of jobs, people end up in a situation where they are actively discouraged from doing anything on the side because it's always hard to know if they're even allowed. Learning new skills, having side projects and doing open source is valued in hiring, but strongly discouraged and sometimes impossible when having a job. Are there any solutions to this problem? Curious what people's thoughts are.

Instagram admits moderation mistake over racist comments

The social-media platform said its technology had been erroneously identifying the comments as benign.

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Clippy returns - as an emoji

Microsoft changes its paperclip emoji to look like its early virtual assistant, the object of much affection and frustration.

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Euro 2020: Four people arrested over racist abuse of England players

Players who missed penalties were targeted online after the team lost the Euro 2020 final.

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Nissan sees 10% of workforce told to self-isolate

Up to 900 workers are sent home from its Sunderland plant after being alerted by the NHS app.

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Nissan sees 10% of workforce told to self-isolate

Up to 700 workers are sent home from its Sunderland plant after being alerted by the NHS app.

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CEO Secrets: 'Don't sell your technology too early'

The CEO of an eco-friendly textiles firm advises holding out for the biggest customer you can find

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Wednesday, 14 July 2021

Online racists to be banned from matches, says PM

The PM vows to change football banning orders - but Sir Keir Starmer says his promise "rings hollow".

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Most Covid rules set to be lifted in Wales on 7 August

Most Covid rules will be scrapped if coronavirus rates allow - but face mask laws will stay.

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Gun resembling Lego toy sparks backlash in US

A US company is told to stop producing a customised firearm covered in what looks like Lego.

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Jones to rejoin Lions in South Africa, 18 days after dislocating shoulder

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones is to rejoin the British and Irish Lions squad just 18 days after dislocating his shoulder.

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Marcus Rashford mural messages of support to be preserved

Hundreds of notes were placed on the artwork which was defaced following England's final defeat.

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'Watching England at Wembley was unbelievable - I can't wait to see what Silverstone will be like'

W Series driver and BBC Sport columnist Jamie Chadwick has been gorging on sport this summer - now it's her turn to shine.

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Waterstones to encourage shoppers to wear masks in stores

Bookseller is one of the first major chains to state policy for shops, but its stance attracts a mixed response.

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Euro 2020 final: Harry Maguire's father suffered two suspected broken ribs

Harry Maguire's father Alan suffered two suspected broken ribs before England's Euro 2020 final defeat by Italy, says the England defender.

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North West England leads housing boom with prices up 15%

Official figures show property prices also rising rapidly in Scotland, Wales and the North East of England.

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North West England leads housing boom with prices up 15%

Official figures show property prices also rising rapidly in Scotland, Wales and the North East of England.

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Waterstones to encourage shoppers to wear masks in stores

Bookseller is one of the first major chains to state policy for shops, but its stance attracts a mixed response.

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New top story on Hacker News: Launch HN: Onfolk (YC S21) – Modern HR and Payroll in One Place (For the UK)

Launch HN: Onfolk (YC S21) – Modern HR and Payroll in One Place (For the UK)
11 by 4thstreet | 0 comments on Hacker News.
Hey, we’re Naz and Charlie! We’re a couple of engineers who discovered that payroll in the UK is pretty backward and that building good software can raise the bar. We built [Onfolk]( https://onfolk.com/ ). You can check out some pics on our Product Hunt post [1] or see a quick vid [2]. To set the scene: we were software engineers at Monzo for 4 years. Joined at 400k customers, left at 5.5m. We took voluntary furlough in April 2020 ("furlough" is the UK government’s scheme for keeping workers paid for a bit so that companies don't have to lay them off). During that time, Monzo changed payroll provider. The old one sucked and had errors. The new one sucked and had errors. It took a consultant a year to implement the new one. We wondered how on earth a company with our funding, whose main asset was its people, couldn't find a good way to pay them. We dug into what doing payroll actually means (shout out to payroll guru Duane Jackson [3] for the early pointers!). Turns out, payroll is: (1) gross-to-net calculations, (2) reporting that to the government, and (3) making payslips. It’s not conceptually hard but you have to be meticulous. Complicated, not complex. Some of the payroll products in the UK have 0 automated tests in their software. A typical process is run on spreadsheets pulled out of HR softwares or emails to accountants. No validation, data keyed in on the other end. Payroll is unloved. There are a huge amount of edge cases. Tax systems aren't put in place all at once – they evolve over time. So when you're programming payroll you run into things like: gender is a mandatory field to report to the government and a binary male/female. Until April 1977 married women could choose to pay a reduced rate of national insurance (our word for "social security" in the UK). Anyone who opted into that scheme before 1977 might still be on it. Another one: Deep-sea fisherman have their own national insurance rates [4]. The government changes people's tax codes periodically, and sometimes the reasons why can seem quite baffling. It's not a very transparent system Turns out the competition is listed on the government's website [5]. There’s about 130 other payroll softwares. Desktop software still dominates the UK market ("butt" is a feature in payroll land). We discovered the certification process to get on the list, found the right person in the government to email when we had questions, and kinda just started building. We trundled on over our weekends until we got on the list (might still be under our old name, “Hyko”, at the time of writing. Hyko is a dog [6]). Then, a friend whose payroll provider had just got their numbers wrong gave us a shot. I phoned up Charlie, who said “I guess I’d better put the kettle on”. We had less than 2 weeks to get it done and worked like maniacs over Christmas to arrive at something that looked like a payrun. The calculations were run from test files on our local machines, as was notifying the government via their XML API with it's random polling intervals. Payslips were cobbled together on Figma. It was artisanal. Since then, here’s a few ways we’ve tried our best to raise the bar on the software side: Thorough automated unit tests on our calculation logic; integration tests for playing through multiple months of salaries (especially important as tax calculations in the UK care about the cumulative amount paid over a year vs. only concerning the current month); whenever anything changes, we recreate payments for the current month on the fly. So that the user always has a live view of what payroll will be (vs. finding out on the day); Reconciliation logic. So that if things that should add up don't add up, we error loudly way before payday. This reduces the chances that we'll ever run payroll with incorrect numbers (techniques learnt while interacting with banking ledgers); Wrote in a language with a strong compiler (Go); Generally validate the shit out of everything. Since Christmas, the product has expanded from payroll into one tool for everything that touches employee data. We think that a ton of the manual admin work in UK companies results from no 'single source of truth' for employee data (often spread across Xero, accountants, spreadsheets, time-tracking software, Google Drive). The same data is duplicated in multiple tools, which means it has to be synced, which means spreadsheet exports and manual process. e.g. when an employee leaves, you usually want their remaining time-off allowance to be automatically added to their final salary, reported to the government as such, and to have them removed from payroll, time-off rotas etc. Typically, that means a bunch of faffy jobs where people get paid wrong if you mess up. We’ve tried to kick off everything that needs to be done from key actions (new joiner, leaver, salary update, payrun). When a payrun is started, from our backend: the UK government is notified, payslips are created, journals are posted to accounting software, pension contributions are posted, and payments are scheduled. As an employee you don’t have to log in to “myEPayslipPortal” to get your payslip. It’s there alongside your time-off and personal info. Currently we charge £8 / employee / month and have a bunch of startups on board. This autumn we’ll be working on exposing our backend as a UK payroll API. So that anyone can have payroll in their product without having to care about unintuitive tax calculations and keeping up with changes in regulations. I’d be interested if our findings ring true with anyone's payroll experiences. Any ideas for applications for a payroll API? Or interesting implications come to mind with having a source of truth for all your employee data? Thanks all!! [1] https://ift.tt/3vP9Urd [2] https://ift.tt/3ehSxJI [3] https://ift.tt/3AU282W... [4] https://ift.tt/3edw3cz... [5] https://ift.tt/3yXrHOY [6] https://ift.tt/3BaQcdx