World news

• Coronavirus: Senior Conservative MP and Johnson ally calls for Dido Harding to be axed from Test and Trace role

  24-10-2020 23:59
  
  A top Tory MP and leading Boris Johnson ally is calling for Dido Harding, the beleaguered boss of NHS Test and Trace, to be axed.Sir Bernard Jenkin, who chairs the powerful Liaison Committee of senior MPs, says Conservative peer Baroness Harding "should be given a well-earned break", adding that "the immediate priority is to fill the vacuum of leadership in Test and Trace".It also coincides with a new opinion poll suggesting the public's approval of the government's handling of the coronavirus c
  
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• Poll reveals steep rise in younger adults flouting UK's Covid restrictions

  24-10-2020 23:56
  
  Poll reveals steep rise in younger adults flouting UK's Covid restrictionsProportion of under-45s who admit to breaking rules goes up from 10% to 17% in a fortnight* Coronavirus – latest updates* See all our coronavirus coverage
  
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• Dustin Martin cements status as AFL great with another standout showing

  24-10-2020 23:54
  
  Dustin Martin cements status as AFL great with another standout showing. Four-goal Richmond player wins Norm Smith medal as Tigers win back-to-back grand finals and third in four years
  
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• Saban says Alabama's Jaylen Waddle out for rest of season

  24-10-2020 23:41
  
  Alabama coach Nick Saban said junior wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is out for the rest of the season after hurting his right ankle on the opening kickoff Saturday against Tennessee.“It’s a shame because the guy’s a great player,” Saban told CBS at halftime.Waddle took the opening kickoff and got out to the Alabama 15 when tackled by Kenneth George Jr. Waddle's right foot got caught between the grass and George's body and turned.
  
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• Saban says Alabama's Jaylen Waddle likely needs surgery

  24-10-2020 23:41
  
  Alabama coach Nick Saban said junior wide receiver Jaylen Waddle has a high ankle sprain with a fracture and will be out the rest of the season if he needs surgery.Waddle was hurt when he took the opening kickoff out to the Alabama 15.Waddle was helped off the field putting no weight on his right foot before being carted to the locker room.
  
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• Americans Should Brace for 100,000 New COVID Cases a Day, Experts Say

  24-10-2020 23:41
  
  “You should be prepared for how bad it’s going to get.”That was the resounding—and sobering—takeaway from public health experts and epidemiologists who spoke to The Daily Beast on Saturday, hours after the U.S. smashed its previous record of new daily COVID-19 cases. The country hit 83,757 reported infections in one day on Friday, while hospitalizations skyrocketed across the nation by 40 percent.The problem, experts say, isn’t Friday’s number. It’
  
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• Trump told Republican donors holding Senate will be 'tough' – report

  24-10-2020 23:38
  
  Trump told Republican donors holding Senate will be 'tough' – report* Washington Post reports remarks before Nashville debate* President also said he ‘just can’t’ help some GOP senators* How ending Obamacare would kill Fauci plan to conquer HIV
  
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• Republican Murkowski, who opposed pre-election Supreme Court confirmation, will vote for Barrett

  24-10-2020 23:29
  
  One of two Republican U.S. senators who had opposed the pre-election confirmation of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, said on Saturday she would nevertheless vote to confirm Barrett.Speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska reiterated her opposition to the rushed confirmation process, which will culminate in a final vote on Monday, just over a week from Election Day.Murkowski's support helps cement the near certainty that Barrett
  
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• Nigeria protests: Police chief deploys 'all resources' amid street violence

  24-10-2020 23:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The shooting of unarmed protesters earlier this week sparked the worst street violence seen in two decades.
  
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• Strictly Come Dancing’s first same-sex couple wow the judges

  24-10-2020 23:23
  
  The show returned on BBC One with a thank you to NHS frontline workers.
  
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• Labour turns up the heat over free school meals

  24-10-2020 23:13
  
  Labour is stepping up the pressure on the Government over free school meals, warning it will bring the issue back to the House of Commons if ministers do not relent in time for Christmas.
  
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• EU Brexit negotiators to extend London visit - Sunday Telegraph

  24-10-2020 23:11
  
  EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier is planning to extend his visit to London until Wednesday amid cautious optimism over the progress of post-Brexit trade talks with Britain, the Sunday Telegraph reported.The European Union negotiating team had been due to return to Brussels on Sunday.The paper said the British team would travel to Brussels on Thursday for more talks and that next Saturday had effectively become the deadline to decide whether the two sides could reach a deal.
  
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• Eric Shawn: As Florida goes...so goes the nation?

  24-10-2020 23:07
  
  Why the sunshine state is so critical to the presidential election.
  
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• Burnley vs Tottenham: Premier League prediction, TV channel, live stream, team news, time, h2h, odds

  24-10-2020 23:07
  
  Tottenham will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of last weekend's dramatic finale against West Ham when they travel to Turf Moor to meet Burnley on Monday night.Spurs blew a three-goal lead late on at home to the Hammers, with Manuel Lanzini's stoppage time screamer earning the Hammers a remarkable draw.
  
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• Welsh government to review ban on sales of non-essentials

  24-10-2020 23:05
  
  Welsh government to review ban on sales of non-essentialsFirst minister Mark Drakeford announces move on Twitter after more than 30,000 people sign petition* Coronavirus – latest updates* See all our coronavirus coverage
  
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• British & Irish Lions could tour Japan in wake of sides meeting at Murrayfield

  24-10-2020 23:00
  
  British & Irish Lions could tour Japan in wake of sides meeting at Murrayfield* Changes to global calendar could make tour possible* Brave Blossoms generated huge interest in rugby at World Cup
  
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• 'This song is the struggle': Vanuatu's treehouse troubadour on love, loss and language

  24-10-2020 23:00
  
  'This song is the struggle': Vanuatu's treehouse troubadour on love, loss and languageSinger-songwriter Tio Massing writes songs from a sprawling banyan tree, and says ‘I have to do something for this earth, and the next generation’
  
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• Trump upbeat -- despite polls and Covid spike -- 10 days before vote

  24-10-2020 22:59
  
  A Biden-Harris supporter takes a photo before the arrival of former US president Barack Obama at a drive-in rally in Miami, Florida on October 24, 2020
  
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• Fearless Ducks Have a 'Quack' at Record-Breaking Montana Snow

  24-10-2020 22:53
  
  Farm ducks living in Frenchtown, Montana, were unfazed after nearly a foot of snow fell across the region on Saturday, October 24, their owner said.The National Weather Service (NWS) tweeted the historic late October snowfall was a record-breaker for the state. As of Saturday afternoon, some regions in Montana had received 18 inches of snow in the storm.As of 11 am local time Saturday, the NWS reported the snow had ended, but “frigid arctic air spills” and record-breaking cold were e
  
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• Free school meals: Rashford praises local communities as petition for government support nears one million

  24-10-2020 22:50
  
  At least 750 businesses rally to provide food during half-term
  
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• Henry Slade the rock as unstoppable Exeter roll on to cherished double

  24-10-2020 22:49
  
  Henry Slade the rock as unstoppable Exeter roll on to cherished doubleChiefs join Leicester, Wasps and Saracens as double winners but none of these were in the second tier a decade previously
  
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• Arsenal vs Leicester: Premier League prediction, TV channel, live stream, team news, time, h2h, odds

  24-10-2020 22:46
  
  Arsenal will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they welcome Leicester to the Emirates on Sunday evening.The Gunners were narrowly beaten 1-0 at Manchester City last weekend, but come into this fixture having gotten their Europa League campaign off to a winning start away at Rapid Vienna on Thursday.
  
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• Several Detained During Women's March in Minsk: Reports

  24-10-2020 22:40
  
  At least nine protesters were detained during an anti-government women’s march in Minsk, Belarus, on Saturday, October 24, according to Viasna, an unofficial human-rights watchdog, and local media.Demonstrations against President Alexander Lukashenko erupted in August after his administration announced victory in a presidential election that members of the opposition, including presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, claim was rigged in Lukashenko’s favor. Tsikhanouskaya and
  
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• California Cops Capture Runaway Pig in Clovis

  24-10-2020 22:39
  
  Police officers captured a pig on the lam outside a high school in Clovis, California, footage taken on Saturday, October 24 shows. An officer was able to nab the pig using a net and rod.“This morning the Police Department received a call of a loose pig on the campus of Buchanan High School, so we sent a few officers (cue the pig jokes ) and an awesome Animal Services Officer to apprehend the little piggy,” wrote the Clovis Police Department on Facebook.According to the Police Depart
  
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• Labour vows to bring issue of free school meals back to Commons if ministers do not relent in time for Christmas

  24-10-2020 22:37
  
  Labour has warned it will bring the issue of free school meals back to the House of Commons if ministers do not relent in time for Christmas.Boris Johnson faced a grassroots rebellion over the free school meals row as cafés, pubs, parents and local authorities stepped in to offer food to hungry children over the holidays.
  
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• Trump news – live: Obama rallies Biden supporters in Miami, as president plays down Covid spike

  24-10-2020 22:35
  
  Follow the latest developments
  
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• Free school meals row: MP Philip Davies brands 16-year-old ‘intolerant’ for supporting half term extension

  24-10-2020 22:31
  
  Philip Davies says pupil is ‘virtue signalling’ but later apologises
  
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• Al Qaeda's second-in-command on FBI's most wanted list 'killed by Afghan security forces'

  24-10-2020 22:31
  
  The man believed to be al Qaeda's second-in-command has been killed, Afghan security forces have said.Abu Muhsin al-Masri was on the FBI's most wanted list and was charged with conspiracy to kill US nationals.It added that al-Masri was al Qaeda's supreme leader in the Indian subcontinent.
  
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• Crews vacuum 'murder hornets' out of Washington nest

  24-10-2020 22:24
  
  Heavily protected crews in Washington state worked Saturday to destroy the first nest of so-called murder hornets discovered in the United States.The state Agriculture Department had spent weeks searching, trapping and using dental floss to tie tracking devices to Asian giant hornets, which can deliver painful stings to people and spit venom but are the biggest threat to honeybees that farmers depend on to pollinate crops.The nest found in the city of Blaine near the Canadian border is about the
  
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• Trump claims he won the second presidential debate by 89 to 11 per cent at campaign rally

  24-10-2020 22:20
  
  'That's when I like polls, when I get them in my favour I like them,' the president says
  
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• New study: 130k lives could be saved if majority of Americans wear masks this winter

  24-10-2020 22:20
  
  Forbes magazine contributor Tara Haelle on a new analysis that suggests if 95% of Americans wear masks this winter, 130k lives could be saved.
  
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• What the US Election means for the special relationship - would Trump or Biden be best for the UK?

  24-10-2020 22:18
  
  Donald Trump and Joe Biden have radically different views on many subjects. Each could enhance, or weaken the Special Relationship, in a variety of areas. Here, we look at who would be best for Britain. Post-Brexit trade deal There is no dispute about where Donald Trump stands on Brexit. He has been an enthusiastic supporter from the start. A trade deal with the UK would be near the top of his in-tray in a second term. In recent weeks both the US and UK expressed optimism as talks entered a fift
  
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• Khabib Nurmagomedov announces retirement after beating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254

  24-10-2020 22:13
  
  Khabib Nurmagomedov has announced his shock retirement from UFC after a brutal victory over Justin Gaethje in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.
  
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• Facebook demands academics disable ad-targeting data tool

  24-10-2020 22:13
  
  Academics, journalists and First Amendment lawyers are rallying behind New York University researchers in a showdown with Facebook over its demand that they halt the collection of data showing who is being micro-targeted by political ads on the world’s dominant social media platform.The researchers say the disputed tool is vital to understanding how Facebook has been used as a conduit for disinformation and manipulation.In an Oct. 16 letter to the researchers, a Facebook executive demanded
  
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• Sacred Mysteries: Shuffling the letters of the name of God

  24-10-2020 22:10
  
  In 1978, being at a loose end, I looked at some books in the British Museum (as it was) that had belonged to the Elizabethan magus John Dee. In the margin of one, in his neat italic hand, he had added up the numeric values of the letters of his name. They came to 666. I found this a bit chilling. Dee was practising the Hebrew cabbalistic art of gematria. The system can seem arbitrary, though not often so dark. And now the productive scholar Francis Young has found that interest in a sort of Chri
  
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• Czech Republic's COVID-related deaths double to more than 2,000 in two weeks

  24-10-2020 22:10
  
  The number of people who have died while infected with the coronavirus in the Czech Republic has doubled to 2,047 in two weeks, Health Ministry data showed on Saturday.Czech officials have acknowledged that the country needs help.Prague received the first shipment of ventilators organised by the European Commission on Saturday, when 30 machines arrived.
  
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• Half of Americans have confidence in a Covid-19 vaccine – but Trump’s endorsement shakes their trust

  24-10-2020 22:09
  
  Only 25 per cent of respondents to exclusive Independent poll would welcome president’s backing
  
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• Strictly Come Dancing kicks off new series with tribute to NHS frontline workers

  24-10-2020 22:03
  
  The first live episode of this year's Strictly Come Dancing kicked off with a tribute to NHS frontline workers in the audience.Hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, acknowledged the "incredible" work of frontline staff during the coronavirus pandemic before the celebrities took to the dancefloor for the first episode of the BBC One show.
  
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• Israeli leader confirms consent to US arms sales to UAE

  24-10-2020 22:02
  
  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday appeared to confirm that Israel has given its consent for the United States to sell F35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates following a recent agreement establishing diplomatic relations between the Mideast countries.The expected sale would make the UAE the first Arab nation - and just the second country in the Middle East after Israel — — to possess the stealth warplanes.Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted the deal establishin
  
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• Oklahoma has first win streak after cruising past TCU 33-14

  24-10-2020 21:52
  
  Spencer Rattler didn't throw an interception for the first time since the opener, and Oklahoma led from the first possession.The Sooners have their first winning streak of the pandemic-altered 2020 season, and might get back in the Top 25 after their longest absence in 21 years.Rattler threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns — both on long touchdowns to Marvin Mims — and Oklahoma had little trouble avoiding a rare second straight loss in a true road game, beating TCU 33-14 on Saturday
  
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• Strictly Come Dancing pays tribute to NHS frontline workers

  24-10-2020 21:51
  
  Jacqui Smith played on her former career as a politician with her dance.
  
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• Most Americans see Trump as a coronavirus super-spreader and dishonest about Covid, poll finds

  24-10-2020 21:51
  
  Survey for The Independent suggests nearly two-thirds of people hold president directly responsible for others contracting coronavirus
  
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• Police officer fired after shooting of Black couple in Illinois

  24-10-2020 21:50
  
  The unidentified officer was terminated from his job on Friday night for multiple policy and procedure violations, the Waukegan Police Department said in a statement, three days after the incident left 19-year-old Marcellis Stinnette dead and his girlfriend Tafarra Williams wounded.Similar protests and marches against racism and police brutality have swept across the United States during the last six months following the May 25 killing of African-American George Floyd, who died in police custody
  
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• Williams, Carter lead No. 14 UNC past No. 23 NC State 48-21

  24-10-2020 21:47
  
  Javonte Williams ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 14 North Carolina beat No. 23 North Carolina State 48-21 in Saturday’s renewal of the longtime state rivalry.Michael Carter ran for 106 yards and a score of his own for the Tar Heels (4-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who used a run-through-and-over-tacklers ground game that helped them take control in the third quarter.UNC ran for 326 yards and finished with 578 overall, bouncing back from an upset loss at Florida Stat
  
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• Liverpool 2-1 Sheffield United: Diogo Jota seals comeback win after penalty controversy

  24-10-2020 21:46
  
  Liverpool returned to winning ways in the Premier League as Diogo Jota’s header secured a come-from-behind victory over Sheffield United at Anfield.
  
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• Rutgers snaps Big Ten skid, beats Michigan State 38-27

  24-10-2020 21:45
  
  Isaih Pacheco ran for two first-half touchdowns, and Rutgers snapped a 21-game Big Ten losing streak Saturday, beating Michigan State 38-27 in coach Greg Schiano's first game back with the Scarlet Knights.Michigan State has a new coach too, and Mel Tucker's debut was forgettable from the start.The Spartans (0-1) turned the ball over seven times — four in the first half — and never led against a Rutgers team that hadn't won a conference game since Nov. 4, 2017 against Maryland.
  
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• Greek COVID-19 cases hit record as new curbs kick in

  24-10-2020 21:38
  
  Greece reported 935 new infections of COVID-19 on Saturday, a fresh daily record, as further restrictions to deal with a new wave kicked in for high-risk regions.Greece has recorded significantly lower numbers than most other countries in Europe, though cases started to rise in early October as testing increased.
  
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• Afghanistan bombing: At least 18 killed including teenagers in suicide blast at Kabul education centre

  24-10-2020 21:38
  
  At least 18 people have been killed including teenage students following a suicide bombing at an education centre in Afghanistan.Another 57 people were wounded in the blast which struck in a heavily Shia neighbourhood of western Kabul on Saturday.Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Adrian said the attacker was trying to get into the centre before he was stopped by guards.
  
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• Minnesota GOP fighting back against lockdowns

  24-10-2020 21:37
  
  Minnesota House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt weighs in on the contentious battle between lockdown restrictions.
  
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• Frank Lampard says Maguire tackle was a "clear penalty"

  24-10-2020 21:32
  
  Post-match press conference with Chelsea boss Frank Lampard following the 0-0 draw with Manchester United. Lampard reflected on VAR and says Maguire tackle was a "clear penalty"
  
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