General news

• Obama ends 'wet foot, dry foot' policy for Cuban immigrants

  12-01-2017 23:55
  
  Cubans will no longer be allowed to stay and become legal residents if they enter US illegally, as Obama administration negotiates with Cuba to send people backPresident Barack Obama is ending a longstanding immigration policy that allows any Cuban who makes it to US soil to stay and become a legal resident, a senior administration official said Thursday.The repeal of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy is effective immediately, according the official. The decision follows months of nego
  
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• NHS crisis: Snapshot of an A&E department in the midst of winter

  12-01-2017 23:49
  It's lunchtime at the King's Mill Hospital A&E department in Nottinghamshire.
  
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• Trainspotting review – Danny Boyle's classic holds up terrifically well

  12-01-2017 23:45
  
  This supercharged 1996 story of drugs, violence and growing up has lost none of its edge ahead of the release of sequel T2Prior to the guys’ Take-That-style reunion in the forthcoming sequel T2, here is a very welcome big-screen rerelease of Danny Boyle’s original Trainspotting, 21 years on. It holds up terrifically well. This movie was the first, maybe the only successful 90s British attempt at answering films like Goodfellas or Pulp Fiction; it has a version of their spirit and pow
  
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• The internet collectively wept as Obama gave Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom

  12-01-2017 23:36
  
  Obama called him an “extraordinary man”.
  
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• Most marijuana medicinal benefits are inconclusive, wide-ranging study finds

  12-01-2017 23:29
  
  Study of 10,000 reports into cannabis finds only enough evidence to support therapeutic use for chemotherapy patients, chronic pain and multiple sclerosisThere is not enough research to reach conclusive judgments on whether marijuana can effectively treat most of the symptoms and diseases it is advertised as helping, according to a wide-ranging US government study.The same is also true of many of the risks said to be associated with using cannabis, the study finds.Continue reading...
  
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• Snow hit London and the internet went into absolute overdrive

  12-01-2017 23:04
  
  NOBODY PANIC.
  
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• Unforgotten series two, episode two recap – the case of the dead Tory hots up

  12-01-2017 23:00
  
  A blur of secrets, sex workers and parties slowly come into focus as the hedonistic 80s are remembered – but which party animal killed David Walker?Some huge reveals this week as the slow-burner hots up. Disparate strands are starting to connect as we try to make sense of David Walker’s life – and the core four are all put through the wringer as Cassie and Sunny make excellent progress in the case of the suitcase Tory.Continue reading...
  
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• Further Brexit court cases to be launched in Dublin and London

  12-01-2017 23:00
  
  Government faces two more potential hurdles to process of leaving EU, on top of supreme court’s impending verdict on article 50 caseFresh legal challenges aimed at preventing a hard Brexit will be launched this month as MPs craft parliamentary amendments in the hope of securing a second vote on any final deal with the European Union.Ireland’s courts will host an ambitious crowdfunded attempt to refer an appeal to the EU’s highest tribunal about whether the process of Brexit is
  
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• James DeGale aiming to dethrone only champion in Floyd Mayweather stable

  12-01-2017 22:52
  
  • Eddie Hearn: ‘Badou Jack is great, but my fighter is a whole other level’
  • Win for DeGale brings prospect of showdown with Andre Ward closerNo fighter was ever able to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr in the ring but James DeGale can do the next best thing when he faces Badou Jack in a super middleweight title unification fight on Saturday night in Brooklyn.DeGale, the 30-year-old from London who holds the IBF championship at 168lbs, is expected to beat Jack, the WBC belt-h
  
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• Foster carer 'killed by man who then called porn line on her phone'

  12-01-2017 22:42
  
  Norma Bell, 79, was strangled to death by Gareth Dack, 33, who then burned her house down, Teesside crown court hearsA 79-year-old widow was strangled to death by a debt-ridden drug user who phoned “soft porn” chatlines while she lay dying before burning her house down, a court heard.Norma Bell, a foster carer to more than 50 children, was throttled with an electrical cord so that her alleged killer could steal a new television and £700 in cash, jurors were told. Continue readi
  
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• First picture of Christopher Steele, British spy behind Trump dossier

  12-01-2017 22:39
  
  The first picture has emerged of the British spy who wrote a dossier containing explosive claims about Donald Trump. Christopher Steele, a director of a London-based intelligence firm, is seen in the photograph wearing a black tie outfit. Earlier, Mr Trump said the director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, had called him to "denounce" the "false and fictitious" report, which alleges Russia has compromising personal and financial material about him.
  
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• Essex village of Jaywick to evacuate from Friday

  12-01-2017 22:38
  The village of Jaywick in Essex is to be evacuated due to the threat of flooding, as residents in low-lying areas of Lincolnshire are also told to take action. Police officers are calling at homes to warn Jaywick's 4,665 residents of the evacuation, which will start at 7am on Friday. A rest centre has been set up at Tendring Education Centre until residents' homes "are deemed safe to return to".
  
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• Barack Obama surprises Joe Biden with Presidential Medal of Freedom

  12-01-2017 22:37
  
  Obama awarded the vice-president the highest civilian honor at the White House on Thursday, days before they both leave office Related: Joe Biden hints at 2020 presidential run: 'Fate has a strange way of intervening' Barack Obama surprised the vice-president, Joe Biden, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday. Continue reading...
  
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• A brief tour of Jaywick, the seaside town that is being evacuated

  12-01-2017 22:37
  
  The deprived town has a population of around 5,000.
  
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• This furious newsreader went on an epic tantrum over colleague wearing the same colour dress as her

  12-01-2017 22:34
  
  Awks.
  
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• Rolf Harris trial: woman tells of relief at making assault complaint

  12-01-2017 22:34
  
  Woman accuses entertainer of groping her at a music festival in London in 1971 when she was 14A London court has heard of a woman’s relief at finally finding the courage to make a sexual abuse complaint against Rolf Harris after he was charged with a series of indecent assaults.The woman, now in her late 50s, has accused Harris of groping her at a music festival in London in July 1971 when she was a 14-year-old playing in a youth brass band. Continue reading...
  
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• Obama gives US intelligence greater access to warrantless data on foreigners

  12-01-2017 22:26
  
  CIA, FBI and other agencies will be able to access surveillance on foreigners abroad, including information identifying Americans they may be in contact withBarack Obama, in one of his final acts on national security, has permitted US intelligence and law enforcement agencies far greater access to raw communications data warrantlessly collected on foreign targets, a move that has alarmed privacy advocates.Under an executive order, the CIA, FBI and other security agencies will be able to access u
  
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• Utah dating homework tells girls: be 'feminine' and 'don't waste his money'

  12-01-2017 22:20
  
  Assignment outlining guidelines for ‘$5 Date’ providing separate instructions for boys and girls is example of misogynistic lessons common in the state, critics sayA Utah high school homework assignment directing students to “go on a date” and telling girls to be “feminine and lady-like” and not to “waste” a boy’s money has caused an uproar over what some said was an example of misogynistic lessons common in the state.The handouts from Highla
  
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• Chargers confirm they're leaving San Diego and heading to LA

  12-01-2017 22:20
  
  Owner Dean Spanos announces he’s moving the team to Los AngelesChargers will play at StubHub Center until new stadium is built in 2019‘Dean Spanos made a bad decision and he will regret it,’ says mayorThe Chargers have officially announced they’re leaving San Diego and moving to LA. The switch means Los Angeles will have two NFL teams for the first time in decades.In a letter published on Thursday morning, Chargers owner Dean Spanos confirmed the team would be relocating
  
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• Manchester City will get off lightly over breaking testing rules, say athletes

  12-01-2017 22:06
  
  • City likely to be fined £25,000 if guilty over ‘whereabouts’ rule
  • Sprinter Craig Pickering: ‘Either people don’t cheat or they get away with it’Medal-winning athletes and anti-doping officials have told the Guardian they believe footballers are subject to less stringent anti-doping procedures as it emerged Manchester City are likely to be fined around £25,000 if found guilty of breaching the Football Association’s “whereabouts&r
  
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• Graham Taylor – a life in pictures

  12-01-2017 22:03
  
  The former England, Watford and Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor has died aged 72 Continue reading...
  
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• Hungarian filmed tripping up fleeing refugees is convicted

  12-01-2017 22:01
  
  Camerawoman Petra László caused outrage when she kicked child running from disturbance close to Serbian border in 2015A Hungarian television camerawoman who was filmed tripping and kicking migrants fleeing police has been found guilty of breaching the peace.A judge in Szeged, southern Hungary, said the actions of Petra László triggered “indignation and outrage”, and rejected her defence lawyer’s argument that she was trying to protect herself. Contin
  
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• The Flaming Lips: Oczy Mlody review – some of their prettiest music in years

  12-01-2017 22:00
  
  (Bella Union) Related: Wayne Coyne on Miley Cyrus: 'She sends me pictures of herself peeing' It’s a long time since the Flaming Lips bothered the mainstream with the likes of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots; in the past decade, they’ve charted a stranger course, with freaky Beatles covers, 2013’s darkly wondrous The Terror and an unlikely bond with Miley Cyrus. More weirdness abounds on their 14th album. Described by frontman Wayne Coyne as sounding like “Syd Barratt meet
  
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• ILO warns of rise in social unrest and migration as inequality widens

  12-01-2017 22:00
  
  UN agency records rising discontent in all regions and calls on policymakers to tackle unemployment and inequality urgentlyRising unemployment, inequality and a lack of decent jobs have helped fuel a rise in social unrest that threatens to intensify unless policymakers take swift action, the UN’s labour agency has warned.The International Labour Organization said its measure of protest activities around the world had ticked higher in the last year against a backdrop of economic and politic
  
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• A day without murder: no one is killed in El Salvador for first time in two years

  12-01-2017 21:52
  
  One of the world’s deadliest countries recorded Thursday as the first day without a single homicide since January 2015El Salvador, one of the world’s deadliest countries, has recorded a rare day without a single homicide. Related: Central America's rampant violence fuels an invisible refugee crisisContinue reading...
  
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• Theresa May to deliver long-awaited Brexit speech on Tuesday

  12-01-2017 21:42
  
  PM to set out approach before triggering article 50 – but many MPs are concerned about lack of clarity on key EU issuesTheresa May will lay out her plans for Britain’s exit from the European Union on Tuesday, in a major speech that will be closely scrutinised in financial markets, and by other European leaders.
  The prime minister has come under intense political pressure to reveal more details of her negotiating priorities before she triggers article 50, the formal divorce process fr
  
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• Westminster station was renamed 'Webminster' and Tube passengers were mega confused

  12-01-2017 21:38
  
  Turns out, it was all part of a PR stunt.
  
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• Army minister accuses Corbyn of siding with Russia against Nato

  12-01-2017 21:36
  
  Mike Penning says Labour leader ‘would rather collaborate with Russian aggression’ in row over Estonia troop deploymentA Conservative defence minister has launched an extraordinary attack on Jeremy Corbyn, accusing the Labour leader of collaborating with Russian aggression.Mike Penning, the armed forces minister, took issue with Corbyn’s comments that it was “unfortunate that troops have gone up to the border on both sides” – referring to Nato and Russian forc
  
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• British Airways cabin crew to stage second strike next week

  12-01-2017 21:23
  British Airways "mixed fleet" cabin crew, who make up around 15 percent of BA's total cabin staff, are to stage a 72-hour pay strike from Thursday next week, their union Unite said. Crew who serve as part of BA's mixed fleet, who have poorer terms and conditions than some longer-serving staff, rejected a pay offer shortly before Christmas and staged a 48-hour strike earlier this week which caused the cancellation of some 40 flights from Heathrow. BA is part of the International Airlines Group al
  
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• Brian Fletcher, three-times Grand National winning jockey, dies aged 69

  12-01-2017 21:11
  
  • Jockey partnered Red Rum to the first two of his Grand Nationals
  • Ron Barry and Stan Mellor recall “brilliant” riderLong-retired greats of jump racing have been sharing their memories of Brian Fletcher, the jockey most closely associated with Red Rum and three times a Grand National winner, who has died aged 69. Remembered as an undemonstrative man whose career was cut short by repeated head injuries, Fletcher was hailed by his fellow National winner Gerry Scott as &ldqu
  
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• Steve Bell on Nato and Russia – cartoon

  12-01-2017 21:02
  
  Continue reading...
  
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• Readers recommend: share your 1980s 12-inch singles and remixes

  12-01-2017 21:00
  
  Make your nomination in the comments and a reader will pick the best eligible tracks for a playlist next week – you have until Monday 16 January A tricky topic hoping to unearth some gold from your record libraries this week – for more on what we’re looking for, read on ...Related: Vinyl destination: who is actually buying records?Continue reading...
  
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• The leaked Russia-Trump dossier rings frighteningly true | Andrei Soldatov

  12-01-2017 20:56
  
  There is factual confusion in this document but its depiction of the Kremlin’s tactics is soundThe Kremlin has dismissed the stories about Donald Trump’s alleged dealings with Russia as “pulp fiction”. Even a superficial glance at the dossier on his relationship with Moscow supposedly compiled by a former M16 counter-intelligence officer and published by BuzzFeed reveals a confusion that raises questions about its credibility at the very least. Related: Trump dossier: int
  
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• Ministers can’t silence NHS concerns because people can see it unravelling | Gaby Hinsliff

  12-01-2017 20:54
  
  It was easy to dismiss officials’ fears about Brexit: more difficult to discredit Simon Stevens because we can see the health crisis for ourselvesBelieve hard enough, and you can get what you want. Or at any rate that’s the theory behind the fashionable cult of manifestation, as championed by Oprah; focus on your heart’s desire, tell yourself you’re going to get it, and it’s amazing what positive thinking can achieve. Only now this form of secular prayer seems
  
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• Here's how you can claim compensation if your journey gets disrupted by the weather

  12-01-2017 20:52
  
  The wintry conditions could mean you train, plane or ferry is delayed.
  
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• Graham Taylor put Watford on an upward path and rescued Paul McGrath | Simon Burnton

  12-01-2017 20:49
  
  Graham Taylor took Watford and Aston Villa to the top flight while the former England manager was also a gentle man who was generous with his timeDuring a book signing in the summer of 2007 a stranger passed Graham Taylor a handwritten note relating to its author’s wedding, scheduled for the following January. “I got the letter and thought I knew what was coming,” Taylor said. “I thought I’d be asked to do a video message but to my surprise he wanted me to be his be
  
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• Jane Fonda: don't fall for 'good-looking liberals' like Trudeau on environment

  12-01-2017 20:48
  
  Canadian prime minister ‘betrayed’ what he committed to in Paris climate talks and ‘disappointed’ her by approving oil pipelines, political activist and actor saidActor Jane Fonda has said that people should not be fooled by “good-looking liberals” such as the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who “disappointed” her by approving pipelines from the Alberta oil sands.Fonda said after touring the oil sands area that environmentalists everywhere
  
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• The Guardian view on Trump on the eve: democracy is more than elections | Editorial

  12-01-2017 20:17
  
  The president-elect’s first press conference in months showed that victory has not tempered him. The media, his own party and ordinary Americans must hold him to accountIf a one-hour press conference is anything to go by, Donald Trump’s manner, style and message after he enters the Oval Office next week will resemble the persona he has enjoyed putting out on Twitter: making shocking or unexpected policy statements, creating confusion, lashing out recklessly and deflecting attention f
  
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• The Guardian view on NHS politics: a truce is necessary but not inevitable | Editorial

  12-01-2017 20:16
  
  Tribal hostilities run deep but there is no enduring solution to the healthcare crisis without bipartisan compromisePrime minister’s questions, when the House of Commons works itself into an adversarial frenzy, is not a forum made for non-partisan collaboration. So it was not surprising when, on Wednesday, a request that Theresa May convene cross-party hearings on the crisis facing the National Health Service had a mixed response.Mrs May answered Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat
  
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• Sheffield mayoral vote delay prompts calls for Yorkshire-wide deal

  12-01-2017 20:15
  
  High court ruling forces Sheffield city region to postpone election planned for this May until 2018Residents of South Yorkshire will not get to vote for a mayor this summer after the high court ruled they had not been not properly consulted on whether the county could annex part of Derbyshire.The mayoral elections are being postponed until 2018 so that the Sheffield city region (SCR) can consult the public on whether Chesterfield in Derbyshire should join the combined authority, along with Basse
  
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• BBC sets up team to debunk fake news

  12-01-2017 20:12
  
  Permanent Reality Check team will target false stories or facts being shared on social mediaThe BBC is to assemble a team to fact check and debunk deliberately misleading and false stories masquerading as real news.Amid growing concern among politicians and news organisations about the impact of false information online, news chief James Harding told staff on Thursday that the BBC would be “weighing in on the battle over lies, distortions and exaggerations”. Continue reading...
  
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• Transport trouble ahead as air, rail and tube strikes loom

  12-01-2017 20:08
  
  British Airways and Southern rail staff to walk out in coming weeks, while RMT issues ultimatum to London UndergroundMore strikes are looming across a range of British transport services, with fresh action announced on British Airways and Southern rail, and an ultimatum issued for another tube strike next month. Up to 2,900 cabin crew from BA’s “mixed fleet” branch at Heathrow will strike again for three days next week in a row over pay, while conductors on Southern will walk o
  
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• Knotty professors: chemists break world record to create tightest knot ever made

  12-01-2017 20:00
  
  A microscopic circular triple helix built from a strand of atoms could make a whole new world of materials possibleIn a feat that breaks one of the most obscure world records in science, a team of chemists has created a microscopic circular triple helix, or put in more simple terms, the tightest knot ever made.Researchers in Manchester in the UK built the knot from a strand of atoms which curls around in a triple loop and crosses itself eight times. Made from 192 atoms linked in a chain, the kno
  
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• Russia says US troops arriving in Poland pose threat to its security

  12-01-2017 19:54
  
  Early deployment of biggest American force in Europe since cold war may be attempt to lock Trump into strategyThe Kremlin has hit out at the biggest deployment of US troops in Europe since the end of the cold war, branding the arrival of troops and tanks in Poland as a threat to Russia’s national security. The deployment, intended to counter what Nato portrays as Russian aggression in eastern Europe, will see US troops permanently stationed along Russia’s western border for the first
  
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• Plan for world-class concert hall in City of London back on track

  12-01-2017 19:52
  
  Scheme appeared derailed when government pulled funding, but City of London Corporation has plugged gapProposals for a new world-class concert hall in London appear to be back on track after the City of London Corporation agreed to replace money withdrawn by the government.The scheme, costed at £278m, appeared derailed in November when the government unexpectedly announced it was withdrawing money it had pledged for a detailed business case to be made. Continue reading...
  
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• Cyclists don't count as road users, argues transport secretary

  12-01-2017 19:52
  
  Chris Grayling’s response to question in House of Commons draws fire from cycling groups and accusation of ‘astonishing lack of knowledge’ of his briefThe transport secretary, Chris Grayling, has been accused of showing “an astonishing lack of knowledge” of his brief after arguing in the House of Commons that cyclists do not count as road users.Grayling, shown in a video last month knocking a rider off his bike by suddenly opening the door to his ministerial car out
  
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• Russia dossier: what happens next – and could Donald Trump be impeached?

  12-01-2017 19:50
  
  What are the origins of the 35-page intelligence dossier containing allegations about links between Donald Trump and the Kremlin – and how bad could it get?With days to go before Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States, Washington has been convulsed by news of a 35-page intelligence dossier containing incendiary allegations from Russian spies about close links between the Trump camp and the Kremlin as well as salacious sexual details that could allegedly expo
  
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• Stephen Carruthers: One of UK's most-wanted arrested in France

  12-01-2017 19:48
  One of the UK's most-wanted suspected paedophiles, Stephen Carruthers, has been arrested in France, Sky News can reveal. Carruthers, 43, was thought to be in Spain but was arrested after he was involved in a car accident near Toulouse. Sky News Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said: "He was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
  
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• Rwanda's new king named – a father of two living on an estate near Manchester

  12-01-2017 19:47
  
  Emmanuel Bushayija, the nephew of the late exiled King Kigeli, named as king Yuhi VI by Kigeli’s chief courtierIt is not a typical royal residence but a terraced house on a quiet and slightly dishevelled housing estate in Sale, Greater Manchester, is now the home of the new king of Rwanda.Three months after the country’s previous exiled monarch King Kigeli died in relative poverty in the US aged 80, an official decree by his chief courtier has declared his nephew Emmanuel Bushayija &
  
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• Hillsborough investigators pass 23 cases to CPS for possible charges

  12-01-2017 19:42
  
  The 23 include individuals and organisations, with possible charges including gross negligence manslaughter and perverting the course of justiceCriminal charges could be brought for the first time against individuals and organisations involved in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster after the investigators passed files on 23 suspects to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Fifteen of the 23 investigated have been subject to inquiries relating to the disaster itself on 15 April 1989, in which 96 people
  
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