General news

• Manchester City reach last eight of Women’s Champions League

  16-11-2016 23:59 via theguardian.com
  
  • Toni Duggan scores in 1-1 draw at Brondby to seal 2-1 aggregate win
  • Lyon beat FC Zurich 17-0 on aggregate while Barcelona defeat TwenteManchester City are into the quarter-finals of the Women’s Champions League after a 1-1 second-leg draw at Brondby.Leading 1-0 from the first leg, City put themselves in a comfortable position after the England striker Toni Duggan scored with a fine strike in the 64th minute. Continue reading...
  
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• Rape law review amid fears Ched Evans case might deter victims

  16-11-2016 23:55
  The law protecting alleged rape victims from having to reveal details of their sex lives is to be reviewed by the Government amid fears it has been weakened in the wake of the Ched Evans case. Mr Evans, who plays football for Chesterfield and has been a Wales international, was acquitted of raping a teenager in a hotel room in 2011 following a retrial in October. Details of his accuser's sexual behaviour were disclosed in court following an "exceptional" ruling by the Court of Appeal.
  
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• Semesa Rokoduguni’s return offers England impact against his native Fiji

  16-11-2016 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  • Fijian-born wing and Nathan Hughes set to attract special treatment in Test
  • Alex Goode believes omission by Eddie Jones toughened him up mentallyBig collisions are a regular Twickenham occurrence but the Test between England and Fiji on Saturday is threatening to reach a whole new level. According to the home side’s assistant coach Neal Hatley, a “seismic explosion” awaits if his wing Semesa Rokoduguni runs into Fiji’s Nemani Nadolo which, if true, will sure
  
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• Tom Hanks and Michael Jordan among Obama's last Medal of Freedom picks

  16-11-2016 22:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross and Ellen DeGeneres also among 21 athletes, philanthropists and entertainers chosen to receive highest civilian honor in USIn one of his final acts in office, Barack Obama selected key figures in sports, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, activism, academia and entertainment among the 21 people who will be awarded the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest civilian honor in the US. Obama will present recipients including rocker Bruce Springsteen, Motown
  
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• Tunisian thug loses deportation appeal after using his estranged children to stay in UK

  16-11-2016 22:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A VIOLENT Tunisian criminal who asked the UK's highest court to block his deportation on human rights grounds has lost his appeal.
  
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• Brazil police use pepper spray at austerity protest outside Rio parliament

  16-11-2016 22:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Demonstrators broke barriers outside meeting where legislators proposed ways to cope with post-Olympics fiscal crisis that delayed payment to state workersMilitary police have shot pepper spray at demonstrators who broke down barrier fences outside a meeting in Rio de Janeiro where legislators were considering austerity measures to cope with a deepening financial crisis that has kept thousands of public workers from being paid.The Brazilian federal government sent hundreds of military police to
  
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• 'Very real risk' of South Sudan atrocities, UN secretary general warns

  16-11-2016 22:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Ban Ki-moon claims UN peacekeepers currently deployed in South Sudan would not be capable of preventing mass killingsUN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has warned of a “very real risk of mass atrocities” in South Sudan and that peacekeepers deployed in the war-torn country will not be able to stop such a bloodbath. Related: South Sudan peacekeeping commander sacked over 'serious shortcomings'Continue reading...
  
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• Trump gave his supporters faith in politics again. That is a good thing | Ahmad Sadri

  16-11-2016 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Now, they won’t need their conspiracy theories to explain the world. After all, their straight-shooting candidate will soon be in the White HouseThe day of reckoning for all liberals arrived with Donald Trump’s victory. We had to start figuring out what went wrong. But as I went to class on that beautiful fall Wednesday, I found my students utterly deflated and woebegone. These overwhelmingly liberal millennials were so bewildered after their first presidential vote that I had to spe
  
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• Canada mother calls for ban of indigenous ceremonies in schools

  16-11-2016 21:55 via theguardian.com
  
  British Columbia parent says spiritual smudging ceremony violated religious freedom and asks supreme court to ban expressions of religion in public schoolsA mother in British Columbia has lodged a legal challenge against her local school district, alleging that an aboriginal ceremony at her children’s school infringed on the family’s right to religious freedom.Candice Servatius, whose two children attend an elementary school in Port Alberni, a small city on Vancouver Island, is seeki
  
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• Winter-break talks abandoned, with Football League and FA at loggerheads

  16-11-2016 21:52 via theguardian.com
  
  • Football League says FA stance on fixture congestion has sunk discussions
  • FA hits back, expressing surprise at EFL’s sudden move to end talksThe introduction of a winter break in English football appears further away than ever after talks across the game over fixture congestion broke down, leaving the Football League and the Football Association at loggerheads over the issue.The EFL had said at the start of the season it was taking the initiative by proposing a so-called Whol
  
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• Oklahoma City airport shooting was a case of workplace revenge, police say

  16-11-2016 21:46
  
  Authorities believe the man who gunned down a Southwest Airlines employee likely did so in retaliation for losing his own job.
  
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• Jo Cox told staff 'get away, let him hurt me,' Old Bailey hears

  16-11-2016 21:42
  
  Jo Cox shouted "get away you two - let him hurt me," as she was repeatedly shot and stabbed, a court has heard.
  
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• Safe-standing initiative given a lift by Premier League mood swing

  16-11-2016 21:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Top-flight clubs are more open to rail seating and its future is an agenda item at a Premier League meeting on ThursdayWe are yet to hear chants of “stand up if you love safe standing” echo around Premier League grounds but there is undoubtedly a groundswell of opinion building behind an idea that even five years ago was habitually dismissed by clubs as a non-starter.Survey after survey has shown the vast majority of fans welcome the idea of safe-standing areas – rows of so-cal
  
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• Steve Bell on Donald Trump's transition to power – cartoon

  16-11-2016 21:27 via theguardian.com
  
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• Hillsborough families criticise police chief over witch-hunt claim in book

  16-11-2016 21:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Sir Norman Bettison claims in Hillsborough Untold that there was never a conspiracy to blame supporters for the disasterSir Norman Bettison, the former chief constable of Merseyside police, has been criticised by families of people unlawfully killed at Hillsborough in 1989 for writing a book about the disaster in which he portrays himself as the victim of a witch-hunt.In the book, Hillsborough Untold, Bettison acknowledges he is a suspect in the ongoing criminal investigation by the Independent
  
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• No-one can quite believe this Tory MP asked Theresa May to reassure 'fat, middle-aged white men' during PMQs

  16-11-2016 20:46
  
  Well, that was unexpected.
  
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• As a Muslim, how do I tell my child the new president doesn’t like us? | Mehdi Hasan

  16-11-2016 20:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Donald Trump’s victory has led to a surge in anti-Muslim feeling in the US. Explain that to a nine-year-old‘Did she win?” My bleary-eyed nine-year-old had fallen asleep on our couch the previous night, as the polls closed in Florida. When she sat across the breakfast table from me, I had to break the news that, while her own state of Virginia might have (narrowly) opted for Hillary Clinton, most of the other swing states – Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan – went with Do
  
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• Gibraltar rejects Spanish rightwing activists' torture claims

  16-11-2016 20:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Chief minister says Vox party leader’s allegation that he was mistreated after arrest on the Rock is ‘frivolous’The government of Gibraltar has dismissed as “frivolous and vexatious” allegations that members of a rightwing Spanish party were subjected to torture when they were arrested after unfurling a Spanish flag on the Rock.Spain’s top criminal court announced on Wednesday that it was investigating claims of ill-treatment made by Nacho Mínguez, head
  
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• The Guardian view on employment law: an overhaul is needed | Editorial

  16-11-2016 20:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Too many employees are no longer protected by a legal system designed for a different ageOur report that a well-qualified academic once earned so little on his casual contract that he had to supplement it with a job as a refuse collector is confirmation that precarious work has metastasised from unskilled or elementary-level jobs to reach parts of the economy once considered the epitome of security. According to analysis of the official figures by the University and College Union, more than half
  
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• Pacifist white poppies: record sales this year

  16-11-2016 20:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Sales of Peace Pledge Union flowers symbolising peace and commemorating war victims ‘exceeding 110,000 of last year’White poppies, worn as a symbol of peace on remembrance day, sold in record numbers this year, exceeding all previous sales over the last 83 years. More than 110,000 white poppies were sold by shops and cafes, and ordered online across the country, in the run-up to 11 November. The Peace Pledge Union, which makes the poppies, was so overwhelmed by the demand it was unab
  
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• Hearing into handling of child abuse allegations against Lord Janner delayed

  16-11-2016 20:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Inquiry postponed to allow investigations to continue but spokeswoman says it remains committed to holding oral hearingsA public hearing into allegations of child abuse against the late Lord Janner is to be put back to an undisclosed date, the national inquiry into institutional abuse has said. The first public hearing to be held by the national abuse investigation was to be held in March next year and focus on the institutional responses to allegations made against Janner. But the chair, Prof A
  
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• 5 uplifting stories you may have missed while the world was in meltdown over the US election

  16-11-2016 20:06
  
  It’s not all bad news at the moment, promise.
  
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• Wayne Rooney apologises after partying on England duty

  16-11-2016 20:04
  England's players have been warned to "behave appropriately" after pictures emerged of captain Wayne Rooney at a wedding party while on international duty. The Manchester United forward had started the 3-0 win over Scotland hours before the pictures were apparently taken - but was left out for the friendly draw with Spain on Tuesday night. Instead Southgate said Rooney was suffering from a minor injury sustained during the Scotland game.
  
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• Neoliberalism and other factors in the breakdown of society | Letters

  16-11-2016 20:03 via theguardian.com
  
  George Monbiot concludes that, in response to the crisis that lies behind Brexit and Trump, what we need is “a new story of what it is to be a human in the 21st century” (The deep story beneath Trump’s triumph, 14 November). What we actually need is a revolution in our institutions of learning.In order to solve the grave global problems we face – climate change, population growth, extinction of species, war, inequality and the rest – we need governments to act
  
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• Neil Warnock ‘sad and sickened’ to hear of abuse suffered by Andy Woodward

  16-11-2016 20:03 via theguardian.com
  
  • Warnock managed Woodward at Bury and Sheffield United
  • ‘I really think he is so brave to put it out there and come forward’Neil Warnock has described himself as “sad and sickened” to read Andy Woodward’s harrowing life story about the years of sexual abuse he encountered at Crewe Alexandra, and has spoken of his hope that if there are other victims who have never come forward they might now have the confidence to do the same.Warnock took over as manager
  
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• The new rules of winter cool: suit up, get a Cherry Moon hat, go XXL

  16-11-2016 20:01 via theguardian.com
  
  A padded jacket won’t cut it in 2016. Here are 20 rules to help you decide what to wear, how to style it and who to namecheck as the temperatures dropIt’s easy to get lazy in winter. Just get a padded jacket and voice some pithy thoughts about the election and you’re set until spring, right? Wrong. It is possible to be cool in winter. All you have to do is pretend it’s 1996, dry-clean that suit you never wear, get a baseball bat and buy everything in XL. Or hell, even XXL
  
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• A tip for Trump and a search for tropes | Brief letters

  16-11-2016 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Great Hedge of India | The illiberal elite | Word origins | Memes | English national costume | Brian Clough’s political stand | Robert Vaughn, super fly guyAs Donald Trump is now talking of a fence in some places rather than a wall (Report, 14 November), perhaps he might also consider a hedge. In 1869 a hedge stretched across the whole of India – a distance of 2,300 miles. The Great Hedge was a customs barrier put up by the British to levy a duty on salt – cutting off an af
  
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• Welcome to the UK, ethically challenged butler to Qatar’s World Cup dreams | Marina Hyde

  16-11-2016 19:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Trade minister Greg Hands presses the case for ‘creating a lasting, positive impact’, conveniently overlooking appalling abuses suffered by migrant workersFor obvious reasons, the small hours of last Wednesday turned out to be an excellent time to bury bad news. Even so, I was pleased to be awake for a tweet emanating from the trade minister Greg Hands, in which he announced: “In Qatar to open our #SportIsGreat conference, supporting Qatar’s 2022 World Cup & offering
  
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• Redfern housing report 'has downplayed true reasons for homes crisis'

  16-11-2016 19:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Charity Shelter and lender Aldermore argue Redfern review diminishes role of undersupply in reducing home ownershipA landmark review of the housing crisis in Britain backed by Labour and led by the boss of one of the country’s biggest housebuilders has been criticised for downplaying the lack of homes being constructed by property companies. The housing charity Shelter said a “drastic shortage” of affordable homes was the biggest factor behind a slump in home ownership, while A
  
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• Philippe Sands: 'Alarm bells are ringing in this country'

  16-11-2016 19:54 via theguardian.com
  
  The barrister has just won the Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction. He explains what uncovering the truth about his family’s flight from the Nazis taught him about Britain todayBeing a barrister has its uses, Philippe Sands tells me. It means you can rustle up a speech seconds after learning that you’ve just won the UK’s top award for non-fiction. It also means you already have enough money, so can give the £30,000 prize to refugee charities, which is what Sands announc
  
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• Indian tycoon hosts £59m wedding for daughter amid cash crunch

  16-11-2016 19:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Extravagant wedding of Gali Janardhan Reddy’s daughter criticised at a time when many Indians have been hit by cash crisisA controversial Indian mining tycoon has taken over a royal palace and flown in Brazilian dancers at a reported cost of 5bn rupees (£59m) to celebrate his daughter’s wedding. Related: India's rupee crisis: Modi accused of raiding rivals' coffers before key electionContinue reading...
  
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• RBS may be fined more than $12bn to settle US mis-selling scandal

  16-11-2016 19:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Body that controls taxpayer stake in bank reveals potential scale of penalty in case being pursued by US Department of JusticeRoyal Bank of Scotland could face a penalty of more than $12bn (£9.6bn) to settle a decades-old mis-selling scandal in the US, the body which controls the taxpayer stake in the bank has said.The bailed-out bank has not set aside any money for a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) over the mis-selling of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) be
  
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• Jaguar Land Rover admits hard Brexit could threaten its UK future

  16-11-2016 19:41
  
  Ralf Speth, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, told Sky News that it would have to "see the facts" before deciding whether to continue manufacturing in the UK. Dr Speth said that if the UK's divorce from Europe resulted in new tax and tariff barriers it would be a "huge challenge" for the company, which is the UK's biggest industrial employer. It follows a deal - whose details have been kept secret - which saw Japanese manufacturer Nissan commit to building two new models at its Sunderland pl
  
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• A plan for Brexit? Hilary Benn's gameshow draws a blankety blank

  16-11-2016 19:32 via theguardian.com
  
  With the Maybot malfunctioning, the search for a strategy fell upon a fractious select committee and its genial host There’s a certain satisfaction to be had from watching Theresa May struggle through prime minister’s questions, but little in the way of enlightenment. Jeremy Corbyn has finally wised up to the fact that all he needs to do to send the Maybot into a death-rattle is to ask her why the government is in such a mess over Brexit and now does so on a regular basis.It’s
  
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• Jo Cox murder trial: MP told assistants to flee to safety after she was shot

  16-11-2016 19:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Trial of Thomas Mair, accused of MP’s murder, hears that Cox shouted, ‘Let him hurt me – don’t let him hurt you’The Labour MP Jo Cox told her two assistants to flee to safety and leave her to her fate after she was shot and stabbed, the trial of the man accused of her murder has heard.Sandra Major, the Batley and Spen MP’s constituency caseworker, told the Old Bailey on Wednesday: “She was shouting, ‘Get away, get away you two! Let him hurt me &nda
  
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• Royal Navy explode WW2 bomb found in Portsmouth Harbour

  16-11-2016 19:25
  A controlled explosion has been carried out on a WW2 bomb which was dislodged from the seabed in Portsmouth Harbour. The 500lb explosive was found during routine dredging work for the next generation of Royal Navy aircraft carriers. Its discovery prompted the closure of the port, as well as the evacuation of shops and residential areas at Gunwharf Quays.
  
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• Post-truth? My word of the year is normalisation – as applied to Trump | Peter Bradshaw

  16-11-2016 19:22 via theguardian.com
  
  This one has two meanings: 1) either Trump will behave normally, or 2) he will be the new normal. Whatever, an urgent de-normalisation may soon be neededOxford Dictionaries has declared that the word of 2016 is “post-truth”. I don’t agree. I’m with those who say the year’s most horribly relevant word is “normalisation”. That’s because, unlike all the other buzz phrases, it has two meanings, sneaking up on your mind in a creepy pincer movement. It e
  
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• Man accused of Jo Cox murder said 'it's me,' Old Bailey hears

  16-11-2016 19:19
  A man accused of killing Labour MP Jo Cox told police "it's me" and "I'm a political activist" as he was apprehended by police, a court has heard. The Old Bailey was also told that a black holdall Thomas Mair was carrying contained a loaded sawn-off rifle, a bag of bullets, a dagger and a leaflet about the EU referendum.
  
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• This isn't austerity, it's asphyxiation: can regional galleries survive the cuts?

  16-11-2016 19:12 via theguardian.com
  
  With the art market rocketing and funding collapsing, how can galleries such as Walsall keep buying new works? The director of the Contemporary Art Society unveils its bold new acquisition planThe collections that regional museums hold are often extraordinary. The pre-Raphaelite collection at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is arguably the best in the world. But the vast majority have no funds for buying art. While many have friends groups and some are lucky enough to have the occasional maj
  
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• Prince Harry 'is considering hiring personal protection' for girlfriend Meghan Markle

  16-11-2016 19:06
  
  Harry has already publicly stated he is “worried” about the actress’s safety.
  
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• Pluto's icy surface may conceal a vast ocean, say researchers

  16-11-2016 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The position of the dwarf planet’s heart has long been a puzzle. Now two research teams suggest Pluto tipped over - potentially aided by a huge oceanPluto may have a vast ocean beneath its frozen crust, according to researchers studying a heart-shaped feature on the dwarf planet’s surface.Captured in high resolution by the New Horizon’s spacecraft in 2015, the bright, heart-shaped expanse is known as Tombaugh Regio, the left lobe of which is formed by the 1,000-kilometre-wide S
  
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• Breakthrough as gene-editing technique restores sight to blind animals

  16-11-2016 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Study first to show gene-editing tool Crispr can replace faulty genes within adult cells - and in future could be applied to range of devastating genetic diseasesBlind animals have had their vision partially restored using a revolutionary DNA editing technique that scientists say could in future be applied to a range of devastating genetic diseases.The study is the first to demonstrate that a gene editing tool, called Crispr, can be used to replace faulty genes with working versions in the cells
  
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• Police to interview Devon schoolboy who went missing

  16-11-2016 18:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Arthur Heeler-Frood faces questions to check he did not come to any harm during two months sleeping roughA schoolboy who spent more than two months sleeping rough as he explored three of Britain’s biggest cities after fleeing his remote rural home faces interviews with police and local authority officials to check he did not come to any harm. Arthur Heeler-Frood, 15, was reading George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London – the classic tale of living on a shoestring &ndash
  
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• Andy Murray battles past Kei Nishikori to stay on course at ATP finals

  16-11-2016 18:53 via theguardian.com
  
  • World No1 beats his US Open conqueror 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 in Group A at O2 Arena
  • Wawrinka defeats Cilic to put pressure on Murray in final round-robin matchThe two best players in the world, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, are not exactly having an easy time of it in the last tournament of the season. They head for an almost nailed-on weekend showdown, the 35th of their careers, unbeaten and resolute but looking just a little weary, with maybe a twist or two to come.The Scot, buoyed by a
  
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• In one week, 240 feared drowned in Med

  16-11-2016 18:50 via theguardian.com
  
  UN reports four accidents, including 130 refugees missing from one boat, bringing this year’s Mediterranean death toll to 4,500About 240 people are suspected to have drowned this week in four separate incidents in the Mediterranean, raising the total annual death toll to an unprecedented 4,500.Deaths in the Mediterranean are now nearly 20% higher than last year’s total of 3,771, which was the previous annual record. Continue reading...
  
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• Breast is best for everyone in the workplace – not only new mothers

  16-11-2016 18:50 via theguardian.com
  
  A new report says paid breaks to breastfeed or express milk should be part of flexible working, but first we must be weaned off the cultural stigmaA new report published by the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative argues that women should be allowed paid breaks to breastfeed or express milk at work. It suggests that an “unhelpful culture” contributes to the UK having some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, and recommends the provision of workplace creche facilities to e
  
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• Child sexual abuse inquiry delayed by police investigations

  16-11-2016 18:49
  The national inquiry into child sexual abuse has been delayed "to allow ongoing police and IPCC investigations to continue".
  
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• Sea Hero Quest: the mobile phone game helping fight dementia

  16-11-2016 18:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Game played by 2.4 million people has become largest dementia study in history, generating equivalent of 9,400 years of lab-based research A mobile phone game that tests spatial navigation skills and has been played by 2.4 million people, has become the largest dementia study in history and raised hopes of a breakthrough in diagnosing the disease.Sea Hero Quest, a collaboration between Alzheimer’s Research UK, Deutsche Telekom, game designers Glitchers and scientists, has generated the equ
  
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• Qatar wins approval to turn US embassy in London into hotel

  16-11-2016 18:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Westminster council accepts plan to build 137-room hotel in Grade II-listed building in Grosvenor Square
  The Qatari royal family’s property company has won approval to turn the US embassy in London into a luxury hotel.Westminster council agreed Qatari Diar Real Estate’s plan for the Grade II-listed building in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, on Tuesday. The nine floors, three of which are underground, will include up to 137 hotel rooms, shops, restaurants and bars. Continue reading...
  
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• Judge orders Making A Murderer's Brendan Dassey to be released by Friday

  16-11-2016 18:41
  
  His conviction was overturned in August but lawyers argued he should remain in prison while they pursued an appeal.
  
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