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Bela bill: South Africans face jail if children not in school
By Danai Nesta Kupemba BBC News South Africa’s parliament has passed a major education bill that could see parents face prison if their children are not in school. Under the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela), they could be jailed for up to 12 months if their children are truant, or if they are not enrolled…
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Watch: Man takes bus for 10-mile drive
Footage has been released after a man took a bus, and drove through a busy city centre. Police said Joshua Redfern, 25, climbed inside the cab of an empty TrentBarton bus in Peveril Drive, Nottingham, on 4 August, while the driver was on a break. He then ran a red light, smashed into a stationary…
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Boris Johnson: Former prime minister to host GB News show
By Annabel Rackham BBC News Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced he is joining GB News. Mr Johnson, who stepped down as an MP earlier this year, will work for the news channel as a presenter, programme maker and commentator. He will “play a key role” in coverage of the UK and US elections…
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Watch: Drug dealers arrested after high-speed chase
Two drug dealers have been jailed after leading police on an hour-long high-speed chase. Patrick McCabe, 28, of no fixed address, drove off from officers at a car wash in Copthorne, West Sussex, on July 12 this year. McCabe, at that time a disqualified driver, proceeded to drive through red lights and the wrong way…
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Maine shootings: Democrat reverses course on assault weapons ban
By Bernd Debusmann Jr BBC News, Washington One of the few remaining Democratic congressman opposed to sweeping gun control measures has abruptly reversed course after a mass shooting in his Maine constituency. Until a gunman killed 18 people on Wednesday in his hometown of Lewiston, Jared Golden, 41, said he opposed a ban on semi-automatic…
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Russia hikes interest rates to 15% as inflation soars
By Tom Espiner Business reporter, BBC News Russia’s central bank has put up its key interest rate to 15% to try to curb inflation and bolster a weak rouble. The higher-than-expected rate hike of two percentage points raises borrowing costs for the fourth time in a row. Globally the pace of price rises has been…
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Sharone Lifschitz’s mother was freed but her father is still held by Hamas
By Wyre Davies In southern Israel For the past week, Sharone Lifschitz has barely left her mother’s side. Yocheved, 85, was one of two women freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Monday, after being taken from her home in Nir Oz. “My mum is strong and resilient, but her heart is still with the…
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Climate change making it harder to produce wine, says vineyard
By Alice Cullinane & Kalpana Boodhoo BBC News, West Midlands A vineyard in Worcestershire has said climate change has made it more difficult to produce wine. The first grapes at Astley Vineyard in Stourport-on-Severn were planted in 1971. Owner Bev Haywood said there had since been an increase in unpredictable weather, making it harder to…
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Ex-GCHQ worker stabbed US security worker in Cheltenham, court told
By Jonathan Holmes & PA Media BBC News A former UK intelligence worker called himself a terrorist after attacking a US government employee in a “vicious” attack, a court has heard. Joshua Bowles, 29, stabbed the woman in a leisure centre car park, three miles from GCHQ’s base on 9 March. In August, Bowles, from…
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Artist paints Taylor Swift on giant Halloween pumpkin
Ohio-based Jeanette Paras has made a model of Taylor Swift using a giant pumpkin. It’s called the ‘Taylor Swiftkin’. It took ten hours to paint and weighs 399lb (181kg). Paras has been making celebrity models out of pumpkins for Halloween for the past 30 years.