General news

• May's 12-point plan for clean break from EU

  16-01-2017 23:21
  Theresa May will delight Brexiteers and dismay Remainers by pledging a clean break from the EU in her long-awaited speech spelling out her Brexit strategy. "The United Kingdom is leaving the European Union.
  
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• Helen Bailey murder trial: Writer’s fiance ‘watched son play bowls after dumping her body’

  16-01-2017 23:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE man accused of killing author Helen Bailey watched his son play bowls after dumping her body in a cesspit, a court heard today.
  
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• Britain's Antarctic base Halley VI to shut over ice crack concerns

  16-01-2017 23:02
  A British research base in Antarctica is being shut down for eight months because it is perched on an ice shelf which is cracking. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is withdrawing all staff from its space-age Halley VI base from March to November. BAS says a new crack in the floating Brunt ice shelf presents "a complex glaciological picture" and scientists are unable to predict what will happen during the Antarctic winter.
  
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• Carney: Consumer-led UK growth following Brexit vote could fizzle out

  16-01-2017 22:10
  
  Bank of England governor Mark Carney has stood by forecasts of a UK slowdown as he suggested the economy's consumer-led growth could fizzle out. Mr Carney said that in contrast with the "less sanguine assessment of financial markets" that had sent the pound plunging, households were "entirely looking through Brexit-related uncertainties". In a speech at the London School of Economics, Mr Carney also defended the 0.25% interest rate cut in the wake of the referendum, claiming that without it 250,
  
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• Man in court over brother's death in Milngavie house fire

  16-01-2017 21:54
  A man has appeared in court charged with murdering his brother in a house fire on New Year's Day. Cameron Logan, 23, died at his family home in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire, in the early hours of 1 January. Mr Logan's parents, both 54, were also affected and were treated for smoke inhalation.
  
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• Police sergeant sacked over ‘hug breaks and sex’

  16-01-2017 21:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A POLICE sergeant has been sacked after having “hug breaks” during work hours with a young control room call handler.
  
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• Bank of England's Carney says UK reliant on buoyant consumers

  16-01-2017 21:44
  By David Milliken and Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Monday that he would keep a close eye on British consumers this year to see if their buoyant mood since June's Brexit vote persists in the face of higher inflation. Britain had one of the world's fastest-growing advanced economies last year, but the central bank has forecast growth will slow in 2017 as inflation rises above target in response to sterling's slump since the European Union referendum. I
  
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• Tunisia inquest: Video shows people fleeing beach terror attack in Sousse

  16-01-2017 21:16
  
  A video showing holidaymakers running for their lives as the Tunisia beach attack began has been shown at an inquest. Thirty Britons were among 38 who died in Sousse when Seifeddine Rezgui Yacoubi went on the rampage on the beach and inside a five-star hotel in June 2015. The inquest, at London's Royal Courts of Justice, was filled with the relatives of the Britons who died.
  
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• 'UK's thriving economy not in crisis' as pound bounces back after slump, experts say

  16-01-2017 21:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE UK pound bounced back from its low today amid claims market sentiment is being driven by false fears over Brexit.
  
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• Asked about sterling fall, BoE's Carney says it moves up and down

  16-01-2017 21:08
  Bank of England Governor Mark Carney declined on Monday to say if the central bank would respond to the sharp fall in the pound, saying only that the value of sterling goes up and down. "The best I can say is that the value of the pound will go up and down," Carney said, after being asked a question about the outlook for the currency after delivering a speech at the London School of Economics. Carney also repeated his view that leaving the European Union has the potential to reinforce existing r
  
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• Katie Rough murder: Parents celebrate her eighth birthday with releasing balloons

  16-01-2017 20:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE heartbroken parents of Katie Rough gathered with friends and family yesterday to release balloons to celebrate what would have been the little girl’s eighth birthday.
  
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• Bank of England's Carney says UK economy reliant on buoyant consumers

  16-01-2017 20:42
  LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Monday that he would keep a close eye on British consumers this year to see if their buoyant mood since June's Brexit vote persists in the face of higher inflation. Britain had one of the world's fastest-growing advanced economies last year, but the central bank has forecast growth will slow in 2017 as inflation rises above target in response to sterling's slump since the European Union referendum. In his first speech of 2017,
  
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• Snap election to be held in March after Northern Ireland government collapses

  16-01-2017 20:40
  
  An early election will be held in Northern Ireland on 2 March after the collapse of its government, it has been announced. Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire said the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly will sit for the last time on 25 January, before it is dissolved the following day. The break-up of the power-sharing government comes amid a dispute between Sinn Fein and the DUP over a botched renewable energy scheme that could have cost the taxpayer £500m.
  
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• Milngavie fire: Brother in court on murder charge after New Year's Day house fire

  16-01-2017 20:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A MAN has been charged with murdering his younger brother in a deliberate house blaze in the early hours of New Year's Day
  
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• Exclusive: British Airways to sack thousands of staff worldwide amid strike chaos

  16-01-2017 20:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THOUSANDS of British Airways employees are facing the sack as the airline gets set to wield the axe.
  
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• Hard-up Dundee hospital needs £90m for upgrade

  16-01-2017 20:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  HEALTH chiefs are to ask ministers for cash to tackle "unsafe" wiring at one of Scotland's busiest hospitals, it emerged yesterday.
  
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• Northern Ireland sets March 2 election after government collapse

  16-01-2017 19:32
  By Amanda Ferguson BELFAST (Reuters) - Britain's Northern Ireland minister called an early election on Monday for March 2 following the collapse of the region's power-sharing government that risks a lengthy period of political paralysis just as Britain prepares for talks to leave the EU. Northern Ireland is widely seen as the part of the UK most exposed to Brexit as it could upend trade and the free movement of people across its land border with the Irish Republic. Efforts to form a new devolved
  
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• Top bosses question benefits of globalisation, PwC survey finds

  16-01-2017 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Business leaders more upbeat than a year ago, but doubt whether free trade has helped tackle inequality or climate change Executives running the world’s leading companies share public scepticism about the benefits of globalisation and doubt whether breaking down barriers to trade has helped tackle climate change or inequality.The annual health check of global boardrooms conducted by the consultancy firm PwC found the mood more upbeat than a year ago, despite the shockwaves caused in 2016 b
  
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• We need a Ladybird book of climate change deniers | Patrick Barkham

  16-01-2017 19:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Prince Charles has been signed up by the publishers to write an expert’s book. But maybe readers nowadays prefer spoofsMy twins are “studying” Jack and the Beanstalk, and I’ve just packed them off to school with my battered copy of Ladybird’s Well-Loved Tales.I’ve collected a few old Ladybirds from car boot sales because they are beautiful and nostalgic, hailing from a time when truths were simpler and there was faith in the future. My favourite is The Story o
  
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• Tunisia inquest: Beach attacker's 1.8-mile rampage revealed in video

  16-01-2017 19:25
  
  A video showing the route a gunman took as he shot dead 38 people on a Tunisia beach and in a hotel has been played at an inquest. Thirty Britons were among the victims killed when Seifeddine Rezgui Yacoubi went on the rampage in Sousse in June 2015. The gunman's route - approximately 1.8 miles (2.9km) from the point he was dropped off to the point he was killed - was digitally reconstructed for the video shown in court.
  
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• Rolls-Royce in £671m settlement of bribery and corruption probe

  16-01-2017 19:25
  Engine maker Rolls-Royce has agreed to pay £671m to UK, US and Brazilian authorities to settle bribery and corruption claims. The penalties include a record £497m payment to Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and if finalised would see a prosecution of the company suspended. It is the largest penalty ever levied by the SFO and is understood to be the largest enforcement action relating to any criminal allegations in the UK.
  
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• Wanted: sociable hermit for Austrian cliffside retreat

  16-01-2017 19:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Town of Saalfelden seeks replacement for its outgoing anchorite, who must be ‘at peace with themselves’ while dealing with a steady stream of tourists
  There are no neighbours and the views are stunning, and if you can live without heating, running water, electricity and internet, then why not apply for a job as a hermit? Such is the position that Saalfelden near Salzburg in Austria is seeking to fill, inhabiting alone one of central Europe’s last hermitages, built into a cliff
  
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• Body of girl, 16, found on path in South Yorkshire

  16-01-2017 19:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Police treating death as suspicious after body found by members of the public in Dinnington, east of SheffieldDetectives are investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl whose body was found on a path in South Yorkshire.The discovery was made by members of the public at 10.55am on Monday off Lordens Hill in Dinnington, 15 miles east of Sheffield.Continue reading...
  
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• March election after NI government collapses

  16-01-2017 19:22
  
  An early election is due to be held in Northern Ireland on 2 March after the collapse of the government, it has been announced. Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire said the Northern Ireland Assembly will sit for the last time on 25 January, before it is dissolved the following day. The break-up of the power-sharing government comes amid a dispute between Sinn Fein and the DUP over a botched renewable energy scheme that could have cost the taxpayer £500m.
  
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• Italy dismisses Germany's allegations over Fiat Chrysler models

  16-01-2017 19:15
  Tests conducted on Fiat Chrysler's 500X model showed the vehicle is compliant with regulations and there are no emissions irregularities as alleged by Germany, Italy's transport ministry said in a statement on Monday. Germany last year raised concerns over certain Fiat Chrysler models, including the Fiat 500X, alleging the existence of hidden software that allowed excess diesel emissions.
  
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• Justin Trudeau’s holiday on Aga Khan’s island comes under investigation

  16-01-2017 19:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Canadian prime minister’s family break in the Bahamas is being scrutinised by the ethics commissionerCanada’s ethics commissioner is launching an investigation into the recent family holiday taken by the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, at the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas.Mary Dawson said on Monday that Trudeau may have violated the federal ethics code during his holiday with the Aga Khan, the philanthropist and hereditary spiritual leader to the world’s Ismail
  
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• Jared Kushner has Trump’s trust but lacks experience for Middle East role

  16-01-2017 19:13 via theguardian.com
  
  President-elect says his son-in-law ‘knows the region, knows the people,’ but the reality appears to be somewhat differentDonald Trump’s proposed new point man on the Middle East peace process, his 36-year-old son-in-law Jared Kushner, is almost unknown to Israeli business and political figures and an even greater mystery to Palestinians, as well as a diplomatic neophyte.Trump’s insistence on pushing the untried Kushner into such an important and difficult role comes at a
  
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• Joe Root says England need better plan to counter India’s Virat Kohli

  16-01-2017 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  • Kohli scored 122 in India’s three-wicket win in first ODI of three-match series
  • ‘If we could have slightly more individual plans to him that could be a way’Joe Root has admitted that England need to work on their bowling plans for Virat Kohli after the stunning three-wicket defeat at a febrile Maharashtra Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Related: Virat Kohli reels in England in style to give India win in first ODIContinue reading...
  
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• Diego Costa will not return to Chelsea team unless his attitude improves

  16-01-2017 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  • Antonio Conte will not hold talks with Costa but judge him on training pitch
  • Chelsea likely to sell striker in summer but will reject China bid this monthAntonio Conte has no plans to hold clear-the-air talks with Diego Costa and the onus will be on the Spain forward in training this week to prove he warrants a swift restoration to the Chelsea side for Sunday’s visit of Hull.Costa, the subject of interest from the Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian, who would apparent
  
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• Ivory Coast 0-0 Togo: Afcon 2017 – as it happened

  16-01-2017 18:57 via theguardian.com
  
  The defending champions were held to a goalless draw by Togo in a cautious opening match 5.57pm GMTThe first rule of tournament football is you shall not talk about tourn lose the first game, and that fear dominated a poor game. We shouldn’t underestimate how good a result that is for Togo, however. Thanks for your company, night! 5.51pm GMT90 min Added minutes there will be three. Continue reading...
  
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• WhatsApp vulnerability explained: by the man who discovered it | Tobias Boelter

  16-01-2017 18:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Facebook denies it is deliberate loophole but Tobias Boelter sets out what the vulnerability is and why it mattersThere was an outcry when the Guardian published my information regarding a vulnerability within WhatsApp’s implementation of end-to-end encryption, but much of the response misses the point.Most of the arguments seem to revolve around what is and isn’t a backdoor. You can argue that we are looking at a vulnerability which would be something that is there by error, or a ba
  
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• Nando's is inviting people to hang #EveryoneIsWelcome posters on inauguration day

  16-01-2017 18:45
  
  Americans can display the posters in their own homes on January 20.
  
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• Northern Ireland assembly elections announced

  16-01-2017 18:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Election will take place on 2 March, James Brokenshire announces, after deadline passes, triggering collapse of powersharing executiveStormont assembly elections will take place on 2 March, the Northern Ireland secretary has announced. James Brokenshire called the poll minutes after a deadline passed that effectively triggered the collapse of the powersharing executive in Belfast.Continue reading...
  
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• Piccadilly Circus: still London’s heart of darkness

  16-01-2017 18:41 via theguardian.com
  
  The famous illuminated advertisements have been switched off – but the junction will always be tinged with a neon-hued hint of sex and dangerThe young Alfred Hitchcock was so obsessed with the bright lights of London’s Piccadilly Circus that he gave them a starring role in no fewer than five of his films. In his eyes, the illuminated hoardings first introduced in 1908 to the West End’s great popular intersection symbolised everything glamorous and exciting about
  
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• Rolls-Royce to pay £671m over bribery claims

  16-01-2017 18:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Voluntary payments will mean UK manufacturing giant avoids being prosecuted by anti-corruption investigatorsRolls-Royce plc, Britain’s leading manufacturing multinational, is set to pay £671m in penalties following long-running investigations into claims it paid bribes to land export contracts.The voluntary payments will mean the company will avoid being prosecuted by anti-corruption investigators, although individual executives may still be charged. Continue reading...
  
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• Immediate antibiotics might have saved triathlete, inquest finds

  16-01-2017 18:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Ellie Penrose, 18, died of sepsis at Hull Royal Infirmary after being sent home from A&E with stomach bug diagnosisAn 18-year-old Great Britain international triathlete who died from sepsis after going to an accident and emergency department twice in 24 hours might have survived if she had been given antibiotics earlier, a coroner has concluded.
  But Prof Paul Marks said he could not be sure it was probable that Ellie Penrose would have been saved if the drugs had been administered on her arr
  
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• Wife of Orlando Pulse nightclub gunman Omar Mateen arrested

  16-01-2017 18:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Noor Salman held, FBI confirms, reportedly on charge of obstructionMateen killed 49 and wounded 53 in attack on Pulse LGBT nightclubThe wife of the gunman who killed 49 people in the Pulse nightclub shooting was arrested on Monday near the Bay Area, an FBI official said. Related: Life after the Orlando massacre: ‘I have to brace myself every day’Continue reading...
  
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• Rogue One's CGI resurrection tech: how 'ghosting' will change Hollywood

  16-01-2017 18:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Peter Cushing-style reappearances might soon be used to solve all kinds of problems, from Ben Affleck’s discomfort in the Batsuit to Benedict Cumberbatch’s busy scheduleIt’s already possible to be in two places at once in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Benedict Cumberbatch proved during several out-of-body experiences in last year’s Doctor Strange. So the New York Post story that the Sherlock star has been replaced by a body double for the shooting of scenes as the sor
  
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• Helen Bailey's fiance led son to believe author was 'taken', trial hears

  16-01-2017 18:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Ian Stewart told his son two men had repeatedly visited property and assaulted him on one occasion, jury hearsThe fiance of children’s author Helen Bailey led his son to believe she had been “taken” by two violent men, a court heard.Ian Stewart, 56, of Royston, is accused of drugging and killing the author in April 2016, before dumping her body in the cesspit deep below the home they shared. The 51-year-old writer’s body was found dumped alongside her beloved dog Borisben
  
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• Jersey monitors threat from toxic sea lettuce fumes

  16-01-2017 18:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Channel Island’s authorities considering measures to protect people from coastal algae linked to death of jogger in FranceAuthorities in the Channel Islands are looking at ways to protect residents and visitors from toxic beach gases after the death of a jogger in France that has been linked to the fumes from rotting seaweed.The government of Jersey said on Monday it was considering the installation of devices to check gas levels from deposits of sea lettuce. Warning signs could also be er
  
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• Tunisian beach gunman 'walked nearly two miles' before being shot, UK inquest hears

  16-01-2017 18:07
  By Alistair Smout LONDON (Reuters) - The gunman who murdered 30 Britons on a Tunisian beach in 2015 had been able to walk nearly two miles on his killing spree before being shot dead by security forces, inquests into the deaths heard on Monday. Evidence critical of local authorities' response and of tour operator TUI is expected to form part of the inquiry, a lawyer said. The inquests, being held collectively at the Royal Courts of Justice, are expected to last around six weeks.
  
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• BA to operate all Heathrow long-haul services during strike

  16-01-2017 18:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Airline says it has strengthened schedule over three days of industrial action by Unite union which begins on ThursdayBritish Airways will operate all its long-haul services to and from Heathrow during a three-day cabin crew strike this week and cancel a small number of short-haul flights, the airline has announced.Members of the Unite union will take industrial action from Thursday in a long-running dispute over pay. Continue reading...
  
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• A UK trade deal with Trump? Be careful what you wish for

  16-01-2017 18:02 via theguardian.com
  
  An agreement with the US could instantly shatter the Brexiters’ dream of ‘taking back control’, limiting sovereignty in key areasDonald Trump’s promise of an early US-UK trade deal has been greeted with relish by those hoping Britain will “take back control” when it leaves Europe. But the history of transatlantic trade talks suggests it could lead to the opposite: swapping one diminution of sovereignty for another.If this happens, there could be an even greate
  
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• Hamilton West End tickets appear on resale sites despite anti-tout measures

  16-01-2017 18:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Less than two hours after tickets for musical’s London run went on early sale, Viagogo lists several at £999-£2,500 eachTickets for the London run of hip-hop musical Hamilton, the most anticipated theatre event of the year, have already appeared on secondary ticket websites for almost £3,000 despite measures to prevent them being touted.Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Pulitzer prize-winning show, based on the life of one of America’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton,
  
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• Hospital 'failures' during caesarean caused death of young mother, coroner finds

  16-01-2017 17:56
  Frances Cappuccini, 30, died at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Pembury, Kent, just hours after her second son was born by caesarean section. An inquest was told Mrs Cappuccini lost more than two litres of blood following the procedure and was operated on for a postpartum haemorrhage, but never woke up from the anaesthetic. Coroner Roger Hatch blamed her death on "failures, inadequate diagnosis and treatment" and said the C-section was not carried out with enough care.
  
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• Man dies after falling on to rocks in Plymouth in 'tombstoning' incident

  16-01-2017 17:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Coroner records accidental death verdict on Vincent Wagstaff who misjudged 10-metre drop while ‘significantly intoxicated’A man died after plunging on to rocks at a notorious “tombstoning” spot while five times the drink-drive limit, an inquest heard.Vincent Wagstaff asked his cousin to film his attempted leap on a phone so he could show his son and have him upload the clip to YouTube. But the lab technician, 39, suffered multiple injuries after misjudging the 10-metre ju
  
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• Watching porn in public is not OK. It’s harassment | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

  16-01-2017 17:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Yes, there are men who watch porn on the bus. We must challenge this disrespectful and distressing behaviour – and the culture that underlies itYou’re on the train, or the bus, or the tube, or the tram. Perhaps you’re on the way to work, crammed in during the damp crush of winter rush hour. Or you’re on your way home, and it’s late, and dark, and half empty. Or maybe, even, because you are young, you are on your way to or from school. Whatever the purpose of your jo
  
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• What do you think Theresa May should say in her Brexit speech?

  16-01-2017 17:40 via theguardian.com
  
  As the PM prepares to outline her government’s negotiating stance, tell us what you think she should say
  Theresa May will reveal whether Brexit means Brexit, as she outlines UK objectives in negotiations for departure from the European Union in a statement on Tuesday.Related: Theresa May to say UK is 'prepared to accept hard Brexit'Continue reading...
  
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• McDonald's accused of exploiting homeless people in Rome

  16-01-2017 17:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Local group says fast-food chain’s pledge to donate 1,000 meals is a cynical PR strategy after Vatican restaurant openingMcDonald’s has been accused of exploiting homeless people in Rome as part of a public relations strategy to gain favour with locals following the controversial opening of a restaurant within steps of the Vatican.A community group called Safeguard the Borgo said a recent initiative by McDonald’s to pledge 1,000 meals to the homeless was nothing but a “co
  
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• IMF upgrades UK forecast but notes Brexit terms are 'unsettled'

  16-01-2017 17:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Performance better than expected, fund says as it cuts 2018 outlook and cites Trump protectionism as risk to global economyThe International Monetary Fund has upgraded its forecasts for the UK economy this year after the latest signs that businesses and consumers have shrugged off the Brexit vote. Unveiling its new forecasts on the eve of a key speech by Theresa May on the Brexit process, the Washington-based fund also cut the outlook for 2018, reflecting widespread uncertainty over Britain&rsqu
  
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