General news

• Donald Trump arrives at inauguration concert ahead of Friday ceremony – live

  19-01-2017 23:58 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘He doesn’t have a mandate’: anti-Trump inauguration plans sow defianceThe women who won’t march: ‘silenced’ conservatives vow to stay homeTrump accuser leads a train car full of women to march on Washington 10.58pm GMT 10.53pm GMTHe kicks off the with the song American Solider.Trump bops along in his seat.I’m an American soldier, an American,Beside my brothers and my sisters Continue reading...
  
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• T2 Trainspotting review: choose a sequel which doesn't disappoint

  19-01-2017 23:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Danny Boyle’s followup to the cult 1996 hit isn’t quite as quick and extraordinary as the original, but it is a funny, moving ode to middle-aged male disillusion whose risks pay off in spadesDanny Boyle’s T2 Trainspotting is everything I could reasonably have hoped for - scary, funny, desperately sad, with many a bold visual flourish. What began as a zeitgeisty outlaw romp in the Uncool Britannia of the 1990s is now reborn as a scabrous and brutal black comedy about middle-aged
  
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• Global warning: ominous signs for climate in Trump administration – live

  19-01-2017 23:44 via theguardian.com
  
  With climate change deniers moving into the White House, the Guardian is spending 24 hours focusing on the issue. Right now we’re focusing on how warming temperatures will affect the Asia-Pacific regionOur partner, Univision News, is hosting a parallel event in Spanish today. Follow it hereThe Tumblr community is joining us with personal posts about climate change. See them here10.44pm GMTHere in Australia, there’s been a toxic debate about renewable energy. The fossil fuel industry,
  
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• Goodfellas review – a brash, menacing hightail through the death of the mob

  19-01-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Scorsese’s 1990 masterpiece zips along with relish, and his acting A-team – De Niro, Pesci, Liotta – are on top form as this brilliant comic nightmare unfolds‘Being a gangster was better than being president of the United States!” Is it less of a choice than ever? The rerelease of Martin Scorsese’s brash and brilliant mob masterpiece from 1990 – about the rise and fall of Irish-Italian criminal Henry Hill, from the 60s to the 80s – is a reminder of
  
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• This is what is on the Donald Trump inauguration lunch menu

  19-01-2017 23:01
  
  Not a steak in sight.
  
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• Unforgotten series two, episode three recap – was the murder a terrorist act?

  19-01-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A nervous breakdown, a Hello! magazine cutting and a Republican housemate: the revelations keep coming as the four most supportive husbands on TV get suspicious at lastThis week, the four most supportive husbands on TV finally start asking questions of our core four suspects. They may not like the answers they get, but Cassie loves the revelations – thrilled by the prospect of a potential terrorist angle and heartened at David Walker’s story becoming clearer as the fog of the past st
  
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• Nurse shifts left unfilled at nearly every hospital in England, figures show

  19-01-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Analysis of official data finds 96% of NHS hospital trusts had fewer nurses covering day shifts than they had plannedAlmost every hospital in England has fewer nurses on duty than each believes are needed to guarantee safe patient care, research shows.Analysis of official data by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) found that 96% of NHS hospital trusts in England had fewer nurses covering day shifts in October than they had planned and 85% did not have the desired number working at night. Continue
  
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• Lib Dem leader accuses Labour's Corbyn of giving up over Brexit

  19-01-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Tim Farron says the Labour party is failing and that his party’s clear pro-EU stance can help it become the main oppositionThe Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, has accused Jeremy Corbyn of “lamely giving up” while Britain “drives off a cliff” towards Brexit, and said future generations will not forgive Labour for failing to stand up to Theresa May’s plans.In an overt attempt to steal votes from Labour in pro-remain constituencies, Farron said he believed C
  
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• Russia threatens retaliation over Facebook 'censorship' of RT

  19-01-2017 22:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Government-backed network was temporarily banned from posting images, videos or live streams for about 20 hours, possibly over a copyright issueHardly a day goes by without Facebook landing itself in a censorship row, but the social media giant’s latest kerfuffle – a temporary ban of the Russian government-backed network RT – has drawn threats of retaliation from the Russian state censor. RT was barred from posting images, videos or live streams on its Facebook page for about 2
  
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• Steve Bell on the inauguration of Donald Trump – cartoon

  19-01-2017 22:52 via theguardian.com
  
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• Labour planning double by-election on 23 February

  19-01-2017 22:46
  
  Labour is currently planning to hold two challenging by-elections on the same day in late February, Sky News has been told. The current thinking of the party leadership is to hold the contests in Stoke-on-Trent Central and Copelands within weeks, on 23 February, rather than hold off until May as some have suggested. The party believes its best hope of seeing off the Conservatives and UKIP is to "get them over with", said a source familiar with the discussions.
  
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• Menace Beach: Lemon Memory review – motorik and mind-expanding psych

  19-01-2017 22:45 via theguardian.com
  
  (Memphis Industries) Related: Menace Beach: 'You need this many people to make this much noise' Even in an era in which 90s revivalism is the default mode, Ratworld, the debut album from Leeds sort-of-supergroup Menace Beach, felt particularly beholden to its influences: Dinosaur Jr, Pavement, Galaxie 500 et al. Yes, it was a lovingly constructed facsimile, fuzz-swaddled and full of hooks, but a facsimile nevertheless. Good bands soon get bored of such mimicry, though, and follow-up album Lemon
  
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• Anne Hathaway to join Rebel Wilson in remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

  19-01-2017 22:25 via theguardian.com
  
  The film, to be called Nasty Women, will see the actors taking on the con artist roles made famous by Michael Caine and Steve MartinAnne Hathaway will join Rebel Wilson in a gender-reversed remake of the 1988 comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.The film has been renamed Nasty Women, referencing reality star turned US president Donald Trump’s insult of Hillary Clinton during a televised debate in 2016. The pair will take on the con artist roles originally played by Michael Caine and Steve Martin
  
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• Martin McGuinness announces retirement from frontline politics

  19-01-2017 22:22
  
  Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness has announced he will retire from frontline politics as he focuses on recovering from a "very serious medical condition". Mr McGuinness resigned as Northern Ireland's deputy first minister just last week amid a political crisis over a botched renewable energy scheme. At the time he said his health was not a factor - but his Sinn Fein colleague Gerry Adams admitted he was "not well".
  
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• Davos 2017: Soros says Britons are in denial over Brexit, and Theresa May won't last long - as it happened

  19-01-2017 22:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Billionaire George Soros tells a dinner in Davos that inflation will drive down living standards in UK, that Trump will fail, and that Europe is Latest: Soros says Brexit will hurt, and bring down MaySoros: Trump will failOxfam, OECD, Panama on tax avoidanceHammond: Brexit fog is liftingKhan says Europe won’t get City jobs after BrexitMay speech: UK will play global leadership role9.11pm GMTHere are some of the key quotes from George Soros, for those who missed his interview here in Davos
  
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• Obama commutes a final 330 sentences, most in a single day by any US president

  19-01-2017 22:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Two days after cutting short the prison term of Chelsea Manning, a new flood of commutations further cements the president’s record-breaking numbers In his last full day as president, Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 330 inmates, further cementing his legacy as having granted more commutations than any other president in US history. Related: Chelsea Manning thanks Barack Obama for 'giving me a chance'Continue reading...
  
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• Scots couple among six dead in minibus crash in Saudi Arabia on Mecca pilgrimage

  19-01-2017 22:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A SCOTTISH couple have been killed in a horrific minibus crash in Saudi Arabia while returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca.
  
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• Brazil supreme court justice overseeing vast corruption case dies in plane crash

  19-01-2017 21:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Teori Zavascki was on a small plane that crashed into the sea off the coastTiming of plane crash is likely to raise questions of possible foul play
  The supreme court justice presiding over Brazil’s biggest corruption case has died after the small plane he was travelling in crashed into the sea off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, according to local authorities. Related: Brazil's anti-corruption prosecutor: graft is 'endemic. It has spread like cancer'Continue reading...
  
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• Stranger corrects errors on friendly postcard from Argentina: 'Learn English!'

  19-01-2017 21:31 via theguardian.com
  
  A postcard sent to Canada from Buenos Aires arrived with the text – ‘I west thinking in you, Have a nice day’ corrected with a red pen and a ‘mean’ noteThe postcard featuring an aerial view of the Plaza de la República in Buenos Aires was meant as a thoughtful gesture from a longtime friend.But as it made its way from Argentina to Toronto, its error-laden English provoked someone to take to the text with a red pen, correcting errors and scrawling a note that
  
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• 'Absurd' Mother told she will have to wait over a YEAR for operation to save her sight

  19-01-2017 21:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A MOTHER-OF-TWO is considering going abroad to save her full sight after being told by the NHS she will have to wait more than a year for a 15 minute operation.
  
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• Illness forces Northern Ireland's McGuinness to quit politics

  19-01-2017 21:23
  By Amanda Ferguson BELFAST (Reuters) - Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness, a key figure throughout five decades of conflict and peace in Northern Ireland, said on Thursday he was bowing out of politics and would not lead his nationalist party into elections in March. The 66-year-old former IRA commander said illness and the current political crisis, triggered by his own resignation this month as deputy first minister, had led to him to step down several months earlier than planned. The departure of t
  
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• Eoin Morgan laments England’s failure to execute plans in India victory

  19-01-2017 21:22 via theguardian.com
  
  • Morgan plays defiant innings of 102 in the 15-run defeat against India
  • Home side’s victory secured one-day series against EnglandEoin Morgan admitted England simply had not been good enough with both bat and ball after a thrilling 15-run loss at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack ensured defeat in the three‑game one-day series against India. Related: India beat England in second ODI by 15 runs to wrap up series victoryContinue reading...
  
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• Southern railways to suffer more strike action

  19-01-2017 21:12
  
  Passengers on the Southern railway network face more delays next week after drivers and guards in the RMT union decided to press ahead with further strikes. The RMT said its members would be taking action because it has been excluded from talks between ASLEF and the company. Guards will walk out for 24 hours on Monday and a small number of RMT members who drive Southern trains will strike on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday next week.
  
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• Millwall stadium controversy intensifies as false funding claims revealed

  19-01-2017 21:10 via theguardian.com
  
  • Sports foundation making false claims of a £2m Sport England agreement
  • Foundation set up by developer that would benefit from Millwall land seizureThe sports foundation at the heart of the Millwall FC compulsory purchase battle has been making false claims of having a £2m funding agreement from Sport England during the ongoing CPO process, the Guardian can reveal. The claims have been made by the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation, a charitable company set up and backed by
  
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• New York Jets owner Woody Johnson to be US ambassador to UK

  19-01-2017 21:04 via theguardian.com
  
  NFL team owner initially backed Jeb Bush but emerged as major fundraiser in last months of Donald Trump campaign
  Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets football team and scion of the Johnson & Johnson industrial dynasty, has been nominated as the next US ambassador to London.
  The 69-year-old businessman and philanthropist is a longstanding Republican donor, but came relatively late to supporting Donald Trump’s election campaign. He served as finance chairman on Jeb Bush’s
  
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• The Guardian view on Obama’s legacy: yes he did make a difference | Editorial

  19-01-2017 21:02 via theguardian.com
  
  The outgoing US president’s performance fell far short of the hopes he and others cherished in 2008. But the prospect of his successor is not the only reason to appreciate his time in officeDonald Trump takes office as president of the United States tomorrow, not on the crest of a wave of national or global hope or goodwill but with the lowest approval ratings of any incoming US leader in modern history. Just 40% of Americans have a favourable impression of the new president. No one has ar
  
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• Readers recommend: share your songs about doom

  19-01-2017 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Make your nomination in the comments and a reader will pick the best eligible tracks for a playlist next week – you have until Monday 23 January Ever get the feeling things can’t get any worse for you or the world? This week we want your recommendations where musicians have captured this doom-mongering mood and put it to song.RR regular who posts in the comments as pussel will select from your nominations and produce the playlist, to be published on 26 January. He says of the sense o
  
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• Martin McGuinness – a political career in pictures

  19-01-2017 20:53 via theguardian.com
  
  From republican activist in the 1970s to Northern Ireland deputy first minister, a look at McGuinness’s political journeyMartin McGuinness quits politics to recover from serious illness
  Continue reading...
  
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• Kosovo asks EU and US for help after 'acts of aggression' from Serbia

  19-01-2017 20:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Kosovo’s foreign minister calls on countries to urge Serbia to commit to good relations after ‘numerous acts of provocation’Kosovo’s foreign minister has written to his counterparts in the European Union, the US and other countries denouncing what he said were “numerous acts of provocation and aggression” from Serbia.Enver Hoxhaj called on the EU, which facilitates Pristina-Belgrade talks aimed at normalising ties, to urge Serbia to remain committed to good re
  
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• Martin McGuinness quits politics to recover from serious illness

  19-01-2017 20:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Outgoing Sinn Féin deputy first minister of Northern Ireland announces he will not fight snap election due to health concernsMartin McGuinness, the outgoing deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, has quit frontline politics to concentrate on recovering from “a very serious illness”.McGuinness resigned as deputy first minister last week in protest at the handling of a botched energy scheme, forcing a snap election. He has now revealed that after “a lot of thinking&rdq
  
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• Troops enter the Gambia after Adama Barrow is inaugurated in Senegal

  19-01-2017 20:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Military action come as west African states ramp up pressure on Yahya Jammeh to step downWest African troops have crossed the border into the Gambia as part of regional efforts to support the new democratically-elected president in a showdown with his predecessor, Yahya Jammeh.“We have entered Gambia,” Col Abdou Ndiaye, a spokesman for the Senegalese army, wrote in a text message to Reuters on Thursday night, just hours after Adama Barrow was forced to hold his inauguration as presid
  
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• Poppy Widdison's uncle speaks outside court

  19-01-2017 20:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The uncle of a four-year-old girl speaks outside court, after her mother and another man are sentenced for feeding her a deadly amount of drugs.
  
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• German MPs vote to legalise cannabis for medicinal purposes

  19-01-2017 20:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Lower house of parliament passes law that allows people with chronic and serious illnesses to get marijuana on prescriptionGermany’s lower house of parliament has passed a law legalising the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. People with serious illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis and chronic pain, or a lack of appetite or nausea, could be offered marijuana under the law. Continue reading...
  
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• Julian Assange confirms he is willing to travel to US after Manning decision

  19-01-2017 20:26 via theguardian.com
  
  WikiLeaks founder says Obama’s decision to free whistleblower means he could submit to extradition request WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said he stands by his offer to travel to the US following Barack Obama’s decision to release whistleblower Chelsea Manning from prison.
  Speaking from the Ecuadorian embassy in London during a web broadcast on Thursday, Assange said there were many discussions about his future that could happen before Manning left prison in May, adding: &ldquo
  
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• French elections: Macron vows to field candidates in all parliamentary seats

  19-01-2017 20:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Independent presidential candidate is drawing huge crowds to rallies around the country and showing strongly in opinion polls Independent presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron threw down a direct challenge to France’s existing political parties by announcing he would field candidates in all constituencies in June’s parliamentary elections.On Thursday, Macron, a centrist whose rise in opinion polls is worrying both leftwing and rightwing candidates, launched a call for applications o
  
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• WikiLeaks' Julian Assange 'ready to go to US' after Chelsea Manning release decision

  19-01-2017 20:21
  
  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has feared extradition to the United States, says he stands by his offer to go to America. It comes after President Barack Obama's decision to reduce Chelsea Manning's 35-year jail term to about seven years served, meaning she is set to be freed in May. Mr Assange welcomed the move to release the ex-US soldier who was imprisoned for handing over classified documents to the anti-secrecy organisation.
  
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• Martin McGuinness: A journey from guns to government

  19-01-2017 20:18
  Martin McGuinness's departure from elected office brings to an end one of the most improbable chapters of the peace process. McGuinness, 66, a self-confessed former IRA commander and Sinn Fein politician, made the transition to politics and served as deputy first minister for a decade.
  
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• Julian Assange stands by his decision to face trial now that Chelsea Manning is being released

  19-01-2017 20:13
  
  The WikiLeaks founder had previously said he would agree to extradition if Manning was freed.
  
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• Big six energy suppliers warned not to raise prices any time soon

  19-01-2017 20:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Ofgem tells companies they should be as slow as passing on a recent 15% hike in wholesale prices as they were in passing on recent price fallsThe regulator Ofgem has warned the big six energy companies against raising prices in spring, despite a 15% increase in wholesale costs.It said rising wholesale gas and electricity prices were largely to blame for driving costs upwards, along with renewable energy subsidies. But its chief executive, Dermot Nolan, said this was not an excuse for tariff hike
  
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• Ill McGuinness to stand down as Sinn Fein leader in Northern Ireland

  19-01-2017 20:04
  By Amanda Ferguson BELFAST (Reuters) - Martin McGuinness will not lead Sinn Fein into elections in Northern Ireland in March that were triggered by his resignation as deputy first minister, saying on Thursday he was bringing forward plans to stand down following a recent illness. McGuinness also signalled for the first time that Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams was preparing to make way for a successor. "Last year, Gerry Adams and I confirmed that we had a plan in place for transition to a new le
  
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• WWII bomb discovery closes Waterloo and Westminster bridges

  19-01-2017 20:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Busy London bridges remain shut as specialist safety checks are carried out on unexploded bomb found in the ThamesTwo of London’s busiest bridges have been closed after an unexploded second world war bomb was found in the river Thames.Waterloo and Westminster bridges, as well as part of Victoria Embankment, remained shut on Thursday afternoon while specialist officers carried out safety checks. Nearby underground stations were evacuated as a precaution. Continue reading...
  
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• Trump taps NFL owner Woody Johnson as ambassador to UK

  19-01-2017 20:02
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday that National Football League team owner Woody Johnson was "going to St. James," indicating he would assume the plum diplomatic post of U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. Trump referred to Johnson, owner of the New York Jets, as "ambassador" during remarks at a luncheon in Washington honouring supporters on the eve of his swearing in as the 45th U.S. president. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe and Steve Holland, writing by Doina
  
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• Lives torn apart and assets lost: this is what a Labour privatisation would mean | Aditya Chakrabortty

  19-01-2017 20:02 via theguardian.com
  
  The battle under way in the capital should trouble us all. Proponents call it innovation, but I say it’s an assault on the poor
  A battle broke out on Tuesday in one of the scruffier parts of north London. It didn’t look much: a few dozen placard wavers outside Haringey civic centre, and a restive public heckling councillors as they debated big plans for their future. But this is a battle that concerns all of us. At its heart is a programme that is among the most audacious I’ve
  
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• Martin McGuinness announces retirement from politics

  19-01-2017 20:01
  
  Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness has announced he will retire from politics as he deals with a "very serious medical condition". Mr McGuinness resigned as deputy first minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly just over a week ago over a botched renewable energy scheme - demanding the resignation of then DUP first minister Arlene Foster. At the time he said his health was not a factor but his Sinn Fein colleague Gerry Adams admitted he was "not well".
  
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• Sea levels could rise by six to nine metres over time, new study warns

  19-01-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Evidence that continental ice sheets are sensitive to slight increases in ocean temperature suggests ocean levels will continue to rise for centuriesSea surface temperatures today are strikingly similar to those during the last interglacial period, when sea levels were six to nine metres above their present height, according to research.The findings provide compelling evidence that Greenland and Antarctica’s continental ice sheets are highly sensitive to slight increases in ocean temperatu
  
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• Bankers expect Britain to back Brexit transition calls

  19-01-2017 19:59
  By Carmel Crimmins DAVOS (Reuters) - Top bankers are confident that British Prime Minister Theresa May's government will support a transition period of several years for the financial sector to cope with Britain's exit from the European Union. May met the heads of major U.S. financial firms at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday to discuss their concerns. The Prime Minister confirmed on Tuesday that Britain would quit the single market when it exits the EU, although she said she would
  
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• Tom Arscott sacked by Sale over alleged leak of information to Bristol

  19-01-2017 19:58 via theguardian.com
  
  • Club confirm in statement that Arscott’s contract has been terminated
  • RFU investigation into alleged leak to brother Luke still ongoingSale Sharks have sacked Tom Arscott after he allegedly leaked information to his brother before a Premiership match. Jon Dorsett, the club’s chief executive, said in a brief statement that the decision followed a disciplinary hearing.Arscott had been suspended since 4 January over the alleged leak to Bristol before the clubs’
  
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• Proposed Manchester revamp puts synagogue and police station at risk

  19-01-2017 19:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville back redevelopment plan that could see some of city’s best 20th-century architecture lostA plan backed by the footballers Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville to build shops, offices, flats and a luxury hotel in Manchester city centre has propelled a 1950s synagogue and a 1930s police station on to a list of buildings at risk.The top 10 from the C20 Society, which campaigns for 20th-century architecture, also includes murals in Stockport and Hull, a housing estate in sou
  
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• Martin McGuinness - from paramilitary to politician

  19-01-2017 19:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A look back the the career of former deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness.
  
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• Lindsay Lohan still hasn’t found Islam. Or Kettering

  19-01-2017 19:31 via theguardian.com
  
  She’s been seen in a headscarf, snapped with a copy of the Qur’an and has cleared out her Instagram account. None of these things are getting her any closer to NorthamptonshireIt was the philosophising Greek Earth-measurer Eratosthenes who said: “Once I have a kid I’m not going to be on Instagram. You know, I’ll probably delete my Instagram and just … I don’t know, live life.” Or was it Kylie Jenner? The details are unimportant but the m
  
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