General news

• London terror arrests: Metropolitan Police hold five teenagers

  20-02-2017 23:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The five males are suspected of planning to travel to join a proscribed organisation, police say.
  
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• Newcastle return to Championship summit after Aston Villa defeat - Eurosport.co.uk

  20-02-2017 23:46 via eurosport.co.uk
  
  Eurosport.co.uk
  Newcastle return to Championship summit after Aston Villa defeat
  Eurosport.co.uk
  Newcastle United reclaimed top spot in the Championship following a hard-earned 2-0 win over struggling Aston Villa at St James' Park. The Villans' wait for a league win in 2017 continued as Yoan Gouffran's seventh goal of the season three minutes ...
  Newcastle United 2-0 Aston VillaBBC News
  Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez unsure on Dwight Gayle injurySkySports
  Newcastle on top again after adding to Vil
  
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• Plane crashes into Melbourne shopping centre

  20-02-2017 23:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Plane had five people on board when it crashed into a factory outlet centre near Essendon airport on Tuesday morningA plane has crashed into a shopping centre near Essendon airport in Melbourne.The light aircraft crashed into the DFO shopping centre at Essendon and exploded about 9am on Tuesday. Continue reading...
  
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• Vandalised Devon bus shelter gets mystery 'Banksy-style' makeover

  20-02-2017 23:36
  
  A heavily vandalised bus stop has been transformed into the cosiest in Britain after being given a makeover - by an guerrilla interior designer.Villagers waiting in the stone shelter can now enjoy a homely front room - complete with arm chair, scatter cushions, throws, potted plants and even pictures on the walls.The site in the small Dartmoor village of Walkhampton, Devon, has been plagued by vandals for many years.
  
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• Arsenal beat Sutton 2-0 in FA Cup fifth round

  20-02-2017 23:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Arsenal reach the FA Cup quarter-finals as goals from Lucas Perez and Theo Walcott beat non-league Sutton United.
  
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• Young mother says son ‘spotted cancer’ while being breastfed

  20-02-2017 23:28
  
  Sarah Boyle, 26, a call centre worker, explained how Teddy, now one, would 'scream' and 'become distressed' when she tried to breastfeed him from her right breast.Two weeks later she was diagnosed with grade 2 triple negative breast cancer.The new mum, who lives with her husband Steven Boyle, 28, a recruitment consultant from Staffordshire, is now receiving chemotherapy and is planning a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction.
  
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• Business rates blow to be 'softened' in the Budget

  20-02-2017 23:21
  
  Philip Hammond has indicated that he is prepared to take measures in the Budget to help those worst affected by the business rates hike in an olive branch to Tory rebels.The Chancellor has told Tory MPs he was “alive” to the impact the changes will have on some high street shops and was “open” about ways to help.The comments are the first indication that he could seek to mitigate the impact of the business rates change in April when he unveils his Budget next month.
  
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• Man jailed for sexually assaulting 11-year-old as she watched Hamley's magic show

  20-02-2017 23:20
  
  A man has been jailed after admitting to sexually assaulting a child as she watched a magic show in a central London toy store.Neil Cuthbertson pleaded guilty to the “serious sexual assault” of an 11-year-old girl in Hamley’s Toy Store, Regents Street.After a police appeal, Cuthbertson was arrested and charged on December 19 2016.
  
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• Sutton 0 Arsenal 2: Sutton hearts broken as Theo Walcott nets 100th Arsenal goal - Daily Star

  20-02-2017 23:15 via dailystar.co.uk
  
  Daily Star
  Sutton 0 Arsenal 2: Sutton hearts broken as Theo Walcott nets 100th Arsenal goal
  Daily Star
  ARSENAL did their professional best last night to ensure there was no more FA Cup romance for this round last night. By David Woods, Chief Football Writer / Published 20th February 2017. Roarie Deacon GETTY. Roarie Deacon had a cracking effort from 25 ...
  Relief for Arsene Wenger as Arsenal reach FA Cup last eight with 2-0 win over Sutton UnitedEurosport.co.uk
  Sutton's Deacon dares to dre
  
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• Sutton’s Deacon dares to dream but Arsenal finally end FA Cup fairytale

  20-02-2017 23:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Sutton United threw their best, their lavishly watered pitch and their streaker with a giraffe’s headdress at Arsenal but a gap worth 105 league places could not be overcome. Arsène Wenger’s team found two moments of clarity to make sure their illustrious name would not be added to the list of Sutton’s scalps this season, with Lucas Pérez and Theo Walcott stopping the pressure on Wenger from intensifying.The French manager will always have the FA Cup. A trophy he
  
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• Paramedics 'tampered with trackers' to avoid 999 calls at a scandal-hit NHS trust

  20-02-2017 23:08
  
  Paramedics at a scandal-hit NHS trust are accused of switching off ambulance tracking devices so they could avoid responding to 999 calls.At least ten ambulance workers are under investigation for deliberate tampering with the trackers, so they could disappear for up to three hours at a time, putting patients at risk.The revelations came as the current head of South East Coast Ambulance Service trust stood down in the wake of allegations that he was among those found responsible for bullying.
  
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• EU mistakenly displays US flag with extra star during visit from Vice-president Mike Pence

  20-02-2017 23:06
  
  The Star-Spangled Banner looked more starry than usual during one of US Vice President Mike Pence's appearances in Brussels.A background picture of the American flag that went up alongside the European Union flag as Mr Pence and EU leader Donald Tusk spoke on Monday had 51 stars instead of the usual 50, one for each state.The Brussels version of the flag had three rows of nine stars and three rows with eight stars each.
  
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• Five London teens arrested after police foil their plans to join a terrorist 'organisation'

  20-02-2017 23:01
  
  Five teenage boys have been arrested by anti-terror officers after police foiled their plans to travel together to join a terrorist “organisation”.Police stormed addresses across London and arrested the males – aged between 15 and 19 – on suspicion of the preparation of terrorist acts.The Metropolitan Police did not specify if the arrests were in connection with Islamic State, but said they “relate to plans to travel to join a proscribed organisation”.
  
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• Newcastle back on top to leave Aston Villa’s Steve Bruce in a bad place

  20-02-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Newcastle United are back on top of the Championship and pleasingly for them have reached the stage where a countdown to promotion can begin. Six more victories might do it.Aston Villa are enduring a rather different self-assessment. They are counting the defeats – five in a row, seven in the last eight in the league. Continue reading...
  
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• Bristol University investigates claims of anti-Semitism after lecturer claims that Jews should stop 'privileging' the Holocaust

  20-02-2017 23:00
  
  Bristol University is investigating claims of anti-Semitism after an article by one of its lecturers emerged, in which she says Jews should stop “privileging” the Holocaust.Dr Rebecca Gould, a reader in translation studies and comparative literature at the elite Russell Group university, has been accused of using the “language of Holocaust denial”. The university said they are “actively looking into this matter”, which first arose when an undergraduate pe
  
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• Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss adds to speculation show could be over due to Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman's packed schedules

  20-02-2017 22:53
  
  The Sherlock writer, co-creator and actor, Mark Gatiss, has added to speculation that the phenomenally successful BBC drama may have run its course.It’s incredibly difficult to get Benedict and Martin’s diaries to align," Gatiss said at the WhatsOnStage awards, according to The Sun.
  
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• Burberry joins forces with Henry Moore as label becomes a creative force

  20-02-2017 22:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Christopher Bailey of Burberry says Moore inspired a collection to ‘sculpt the body’ at show which doubled up as opening for Moore exhibitionTo the left of Henry Moore’s monumental bronze sculpture Mother and Child was Penelope Cruz; to the right was Tinie Tempah. Anna Wintour was seated across the runway from Draped Reclining Mother and Baby. Welcome to the new age of highbrow ambition at London fashion week.“In the human figure one can express more completely one’
  
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• Demonstrators come together in New York for ‘Not My Presidents Day’ rally against President Donald Trump

  20-02-2017 22:39
  
  Protesters came together in New York for a "Not My Presidents Day" rally against President Donald Trump on Monday.The protesters wanted to send a message that he does not represent their interests and they called on others to join them in peacefully resisting his presidency.The New York rally is one of many planned across the US.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn urges Labour MPs to rally behind party's campaign efforts

  20-02-2017 22:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Party leader tells colleagues forthcoming byelections in Labour-held seats of Stoke Central and Copeland are ‘on a knife-edge’ Jeremy Corbyn has told Labour MPs the two crucial byelections that will be held in Labour-held seats on Thursday are “on a knife-edge”. The party’s leader urged colleagues to throw themselves into the campaigns to stop Ukip’s leader Paul Nuttall from winning in Stoke-on-Trent Central and the Tories’ candidate Trudy Harrison from
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn urges Labour MPs to rally behind party's campaign efforts

  20-02-2017 22:35
  
  Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Vernon Coaker MP, left, campaign in Stoke with party candidate Gareth Snell.Jeremy Corbyn has told Labour MPs the two crucial byelections that will be held in Labour-held seats on Thursday are “on a knife-edge”.The party’s leader urged colleagues to throw themselves into the campaigns to stop Ukip’s leader Paul Nuttall from winning in Stoke-on-Trent Central and the Tories’ candidate Trudy Harrison from winning in Copeland, Cumbr
  
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• Police dig up garden of double-murderer Christopher Halliwell in hunt for other victims 

  20-02-2017 22:17
  
  Specialist police officers have begun excavation work at the former home of double murderer Christopher Halliwell, it is understood.The 53-year-old taxi driver, of Swindon, Wiltshire, murdered Becky Godden, 20, in January 2003 and Sian O'Callaghan, 22, in March 2011.Following his sentence, police said they were working with other forces and the National Crime Agency to identify potential further victims of Halliwell.
  
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• Police dig up garden at double murderer Christopher Halliwell's former house

  20-02-2017 22:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Wiltshire police say work at two gardens on street in Swindon is part of ongoing inquiry but refuse to comment on connection to double murdererTwo gardens in a street where the double murderer Christopher Halliwell lived are being dug up by specialist officers, it emerged on Monday. Taxi driver Halliwell is serving a full life term after being convicted of the sexually motivated murders of Sian O’Callaghan and Becky Godden.Continue reading...
  
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• Police dig up garden at double murderer Christopher Halliwell's former house

  20-02-2017 22:17
  
  Two gardens in a street where the double murderer Christopher Halliwell lived are being dug up by specialist officers, it emerged on Monday.Taxi driver Halliwell is serving a full life term after being convicted of the sexually motivated murders of Sian O’Callaghan and Becky Godden.Following his convictions, the former Wiltshire detective who caught Halliwell, Steve Fulcher, said he believed he had killed other women.
  
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• Anti-Trump protests held across the UK – video

  20-02-2017 22:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Thousands of people gathered to protest in different parts of the UK on Monday to protest President Donald Trump. MPs held a debate to decide whether Trump’s invitation of a state visit should be downgraded and stripped of its royal seal of approvalMPs debate refusing Donald Trump a state visit to Britain - Politics live
  Continue reading...
  
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• Respect Brexit decision, peers urged

  20-02-2017 22:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May sits watching in the House of Lords as peers begin debating the Brexit bill.
  
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• Party lines drawn as MPs debate just how stupid Donald Trump really is

  20-02-2017 22:00
  
  Anti-Trump protesters demonstrate as MPs debate the president’s state visit. Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images
  
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• Just half a pint of beer a week increases risk of heart disease - new study

  20-02-2017 22:00
  
  Drinking just half a pint of beer a week is enough to stiffen people’s arteries and put them at greater risk of heart disease, a new study has found.Researchers in the US tracked nearly 4,000 people for 25 years and found that even a moderate intake, also equivalent to half a glass of wine, prematurely aged the circulatory system.Last year the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, triggered criticism after significantly lowering the official safe drinking advice to
  
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• Europe wants Britain to pay billions into EU schemes up until 2023

  20-02-2017 22:00
  
  The plan is part of a European Union demand that Britain settles a €60bn “Brexit bill” before being granted a deal that will govern future trade relations.The suggestion that Britain should pay in installments up until 2023 was made at a meeting earlier this month between Michel Barnier, the European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator, and senior officials from the 27 remaining EU member states.The aim of the payments would be to help smooth over the €10bn-a-year bl
  
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• MPs pour scorn on 'racist and sexist' Donald Trump in state visit debate - The Guardian

  20-02-2017 21:58 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  MPs pour scorn on 'racist and sexist' Donald Trump in state visit debate
  The Guardian
  British MPs lined up on Monday to pour scorn on a “racist and sexist” Donald Trump, who they said should not be allowed to come to Britain for a state visit because of the risk it would embarrass the Queen. The US president was compared to a “petulant ...
  Donald Trump debate highlights: 9 most powerful - and ridiculous - moments as MPs argue over state visitMirror.co.uk
  MPs in ba
  
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• Police appeal to identify 'disorientated Londoner' found dead in Canterbury field

  20-02-2017 21:57
  
  The body was discovered with a small black suitcase, a book on theology and an Oyster card on the outskirts of Canterbury on the morning of February 3.Detective Inspector Tracy Anstis said he may have been “visiting Canterbury and become disorientated”.Kent Police are renewing their appeal after struggling to identify the man – who may be from the Walthamstow area.
  
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• MPs pour scorn on 'racist and sexist' Donald Trump in state visit debate

  20-02-2017 21:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Parliament holds three-hour debate over whether US president’s invitation should be revoked after 1.8m sign petition against visitBritish MPs lined up on Monday to pour scorn on a “racist and sexist” Donald Trump, who they said should not be allowed to come to Britain for a state visit because of the risk it would embarrass the Queen.The US president was compared to a “petulant child” and had his intelligence questioned by MPs during a three-hour debate triggered af
  
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• MPs pour scorn on 'racist and sexist' Donald Trump in state visit debate

  20-02-2017 21:57
  
  British MPs lined up on Monday to pour scorn on a “racist and sexist” Donald Trump, who they said should not be allowed to come to Britain for a state visit because of the risk it would embarrass the Queen.The US president was compared to a “petulant child” and had his intelligence questioned by MPs during a three-hour debate triggered after more than 1.8m people signed a petition urging Theresa May to cancel her invitation.Alex Salmond said he was unsure over whether to
  
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• Mike Pence reassures Brussels of strong American support leaving EU leaders cautiously optimistic

  20-02-2017 21:57
  
  European leaders have responded with cautious optimism to Mike Pence's first visit to Brussels, where the vice president affirmed America's partnership with the European Union.Europe has been rattled by Donald Trump's repeated criticism of the NATO alliance and  apparent delight for Brexit.
  
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• Emil Ferris: 'I didn’t want to be a woman – being a monster was the best solution'

  20-02-2017 21:51 via theguardian.com
  
  My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is finally out, after the artist battled West Nile virus and the publisher battled copies being held hostage at the Panama CanalThere has never been a debut graphic novel quite like Emil Ferris’s My Favorite Thing Is Monsters. The 55-year-old artist’s first published work, which came out last week, is a sweeping 60s-era murder mystery set in the cartoonist’s native Chicago. It’s composed of ballpoint pen drawings on wide-ruled notebook paper
  
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• UK defends Trump state visit offer despite protest

  20-02-2017 21:50
  By William James and Alistair SmoutLONDON (Reuters) - The British government on Monday defended its decision to offer U.S. President Donald Trump a lavish state visit and an audience with the queen this year, defying protests outside parliament and dissent from lawmakers.Prime Minister Theresa May's government wants to reaffirm the "special relationship" with the United States and secure a trade deal as Britain prepares to leave the European Union.The visit has spurred 1.8 million people in Brit
  
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• Peers prepare to push for Brexit bill changes despite PM's Lords appearance

  20-02-2017 21:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Theresa May’s decision to sit in the chamber during debate seen as a warning to those in the House where Tories do not hold majoritySenior peers have indicated they will defy Theresa May by pushing for changes to the Brexit bill in the House of Lords, as the prime minister made a highly unusual appearance in the upper chamber to observe the first day of debate.
  Gus O’Donnell, the former Whitehall cabinet secretary, and Nicholas Macpherson, the ex-permanent secretary of the Treasury,
  
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• Peers prepare to push for Brexit bill changes despite PM's Lords appearance

  20-02-2017 21:40
  
  Theresa May sits on the steps of the throne as Labour’s Angela Smith addresses the House of Lords.Senior peers have indicated they will defy Theresa May by pushing for changes to the Brexit bill in the House of Lords, as the prime minister made a highly unusual appearance in the upper chamber to observe the first day of debate.Gus O’Donnell, the former Whitehall cabinet secretary, and Nicholas Macpherson, the ex-permanent secretary of the Treasury, both suggested they could vote for
  
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• Olympics & Paralympics 2020: Badminton among seven sports to lose funding appeals

  20-02-2017 21:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Badminton is one of seven sports to lose its appeal against UK Sport funding cuts for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic cycle.
  
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• Donald Trump selects Lt General HR McMaster to fill national security adviser vacancy

  20-02-2017 21:39
  
  President Donald Trump has at last found a replacement for Michael Flynn as national security adviser: Lt General HR McMaster.McMaster is a widely respected military leader who once wrote a book criticising the military's top brass for failing to sufficiently challenge civilian leaders during the Vietnam War.
  
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• Swindon dig: Police search at Christopher Halliwell's former home

  20-02-2017 21:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The garden at the former home of double-killer Christopher Halliwell is one of two being excavated.
  
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• Steve Hewlett: Radio 4 presenter dies at the age of 58

  20-02-2017 21:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The journalist had movingly shared his experience of coping with cancer on BBC Radio 4.
  
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• Donald Trump: Thousands of protesters across the UK demonstrate against US President as MPs debate state visit

  20-02-2017 21:33
  
  Thousands of protesters angry at Donald Trump have taken to the streets in cities across the UK, as MPs debated an almost two-million strong petition calling for the US President's state visit to be cancelled.Demonstrators carrying placards gathered in Parliament Square on Monday afternoon, while inside MPs from across the political divide urged the Government to rescind its offer of an official visit hosted by the Queen.Organisers said they expected 20,000 people to attend the event.
  
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• British Muslim teacher denied entry to US on school trip

  20-02-2017 21:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Juhel Miah from south Wales was removed from plane in Reykjavik despite suspension of president’s travel ban A British Muslim schoolteacher travelling to New York last week as a member of a school party from south Wales was denied entry to the United States.Juhel Miah and a group of children and other teachers were about to take off from Iceland on 16 February on their way to the US when he was removed from the plane at Reykjavik. The previous week, on the 10 February, a US appeals court h
  
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• Volkswagen 'fixes 470,000 UK diesel cars'

  20-02-2017 21:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  VW's top UK executive says most UK cars affected by the diesel emissions scandal are yet to be mended.
  
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• Donald Trump state visit: MPs of all parties call for US President's trip to Britain to be cancelled

  20-02-2017 21:11
  
  A cross-party group of MPs has called on Theresa May to rescind an invitation for Donald Trump to attend a state visit to the UK later this year.MPs branded the US President “disgusting” and “immoral” as they criticised the Prime Minister for appearing to act in “desperation” by extending the offer to Mr Trump just seven days after he entered the White House.The debate was triggered after a petition to block Mr Trump’s state visit reached almost two mill
  
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• Inviting Donald Trump on a state visit to Britain is a 'no brainer and in the UK’s 'national interest', a former Conservative minister and Hillary Clinton supporter says

  20-02-2017 20:55
  
  Inviting Donald Trump on a state visit to Britain is a “no brainer” and in the UK’s “national interest”, according to a former Conservative minister and Hillary Clinton supporter.Sir Simon Burns said allowing the visit was “infinitely the right thing to do” if it strengthened the special relationship between Britain and America.The comments from Sir Simon are notable because he campaigned for Mrs Clinton against Mr Trump in last year's presidential elect
  
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• Martin Rowson on the NHS deficit – cartoon

  20-02-2017 20:53 via theguardian.com
  
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• Greece standoff over €86bn bailout eases after Brussels deal

  20-02-2017 20:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Government agrees to talks on reforms with European creditors in return for progress on releasing next tranche of fundsGreece’s bailout inspectors are returning to Athens to seek changes to the country’s tax, pensions and labour market laws in a sign that the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, will give way to European pressure for deeper reforms.
  His government agreed at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Monday to talks on big economic reforms in exchange for progress on
  
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• Muslim parents send their children to Christian schools to prepare them for 'life in modern Britain'

  20-02-2017 20:37
  
  Muslim parents are sending their children to Christian schools to prepare them for “life in modern Britain”, according to a senior figure at the Church of England.Rev Nigel Genders, the Church’s chief education officer, said Muslim families see Christian schools as an attractive option because children will be able to integrate with the wider community from a young age.While some schools have a tendency to “squeeze out” and “marginalise&rdq
  
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• Theresa May must take £115bn hint from Kraft Heinz's failed Unilever bid

  20-02-2017 20:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Warren Buffett and 3G were apparently surprised at hostility from Unilever’s board – but PM must use this bid as cue to form proper policy on takeoversWarren Buffett and his Brazilian private equity chums at 3G, the main players at Kraft Heinz, must process their cheese and beans on another planet. The US firm abandoned its £115bn bid for Unilever, we’re told, because it wasn’t expecting its proposal to receive such hostility from Unilever’s board and a few Br
  
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