General news

• Troubles inquiry into British soldiers is 'unfair', minister says as he calls for 'inappropriate' system to be overhauled

  23-02-2017 23:42
  
  Criminal inquiries into British soldiers' conduct during the Troubles are "not appropriate" and must be overhauled to ensure troops are not "unfairly treated or disproportionately investigated", ministers said on Thursday night.James Brokenshire, Northern Ireland Secretary, said that investigations were now focused too heavily on finding abuses by security forces, even though terrorists were responsible for 90 per cent of deaths.Speaking to MPs, Mr Brokenshire said that investigations should als
  
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• Rail commuters stranded amid storm

  23-02-2017 23:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Train services at London Euston were suspended on Thursday afternoon due to winds of up to 94mph.
  
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• New £1 'most secure coin in the world'

  23-02-2017 23:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A new 12-sided coin comes into circulation in March, and the Royal Mint is working 24/7 to make 1.5bn of them.
  
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• Storm Doris: Travel chaos as commuters warned not to travel from several major stations as 'weather bomb' batters Britain

  23-02-2017 23:27
  
  The country is experiencing travel chaos as Storm Doris batters Britain and commuters struggle to make their way home this evening.Aircraft were grounded and trains delayed as gusts of almost 60mph hit the south east of England.Commuters were left stranded after speed restrictions were imposed on the nation's railways and some services disrupted or suspended with passengers urged not to travel.
  
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• Flybe plane from Edinburgh evacuated after landing gear failed

  23-02-2017 23:19
  
  A Flybe plane from Edinburgh has been evacuated after its landing gear collapsed during touchdown.The incident took place following the flight's arrival at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Thursday afternoon.Schiphol Airport tweeted: "The landing gear of a Flybe airplane collapsed during touchdown.
  
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• Stoke and Copeland by-elections: Voting ends

  23-02-2017 23:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Labour is defending both seats with by-election results expected in the early hours of Friday.
  
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• Questions raised over whether campaign group which labelled Jihadi John 'beautiful young man' received payments from former Guantanamo detainees

  23-02-2017 23:00
  
  Questions are being raised over whether Government compensation paid to Guantanamo detainees may have been used to fund the campaign group that described the Islamic State executioner  ‘Jihadi John’ as a ‘beautiful young man’.Cage, which sparked outrage after a senior employee praised Jihadi John, yesterday declined to say what donations it had received from the British detainees, awarded compensation of as much as £20 million.Tim Loughton, a member of the Home
  
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• Guantanamo Bay detainee Jamal Al-Harith's links to Isil recruiter raise fears that taxpayers funded Manchester terror cell

  23-02-2017 23:00
  
  A British terror cell may have been funded by the taxpayer after the wife of an Islamic State suicide bomber confirmed he had used a government handout to fund his extremist activities.Leaked Isil documents show that Jamal Al-Harith, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who blew himself up in Mosul, Iraq, earlier this week, had links to a Manchester-based jihadist who is believed to have recruited dozens of Britons to the terrorist group.In Parliament yesterday, ministers pledged to claw back funds
  
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• Crunch time for Jeremy Corbyn as voting closes in Stoke and Copeland by-elections

  23-02-2017 23:00
  
  Voting has now closed in two crucial by-elections in Labour’s traditional heartlands, with Jeremy Corbyn awaiting the result of his toughest electoral test to date.
  
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• Britain's man in Washington swaps his Jaguar for a Bentley

  23-02-2017 23:00
  
  Britain's US ambassador is trading in his chauffeur-driven Jaguar for a high-powered Bentley as part of a Government bid to promote Britain on the World stage.Sir Kim Darroch, who is based in Washington, will be given the use of a specially-adapted Bentley Flying Spur V8 worth more than £200,000.The Government secured the vehicle for £80,000 after being approached by Bentley and is confident it will eventually make money on the vehicle.
  
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• Girl seriously injured in sports hall ceiling collapse

  23-02-2017 22:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Part of a sports hall roof collapsed and the girl's injuries are said to be life-threatening.
  
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• Omar Raza: Two men arrested for murder after young man stabbed to death in Wood Green

  23-02-2017 22:47
  
  Two men have been charged with murder after a young man was stabbed to death in north London.Omar Raza, 23, was set upon after parking his silver BMW convertible in a cul-de-sac in Wood Green.Met police have now charged Akol Gang, 18, from north London, and a 17-year-old man with murder.
  
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• As Theresa May talked tough on terror, Jamal al-Harith was allowed slip out of the country

  23-02-2017 22:32
  
  Jamal al-Harith, the former Guantanamo Bay inmate who carried out a suicide attack in Mosul, travelled from Britain to join Isis at a time when Theresa May was claiming success in efforts to block the jihadi trail to Syria.Speaking in November 2014, Ms May declared: “Since I became Home Secretary... I have revoked the British citizenship of 27 people because their activities were not conducive to the public good, the overwhelming majority because of terrorist activities.
  
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• Leicester City sack title-winning manager Claudio Ranieri - The Independent

  23-02-2017 22:28 via independent.co.uk
  
  The Independent
  Leicester City sack title-winning manager Claudio Ranieri
  The Independent
  Leicester City have sacked their manager Claudio Ranieri following a disastrous Premier League campaign that has seen the Foxes struggle for both form and results. With just five league wins to their name this season, the English champions currently ...
  The 7 most brutal sackings in Premier League history, as Claudio Ranieri is fired by LeicesterMirror.co.uk
  Claudio Ranieri sacked as Leicester City manager
  
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• Briton David Ezekiel presumed murdered in South Africa

  23-02-2017 22:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  London-born David Ezekiel, 60, moved to South Africa 35 years ago, but went missing last week.
  
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• Exclusive: Malaysia asks for China's help in identifying Kim Jong-nam's body as tensions with North Korea rise

  23-02-2017 22:25
  
  Malaysian has already sought the assistance of the Chinese government in reaching a next of kin for Kim Jong-nam to get a positive identification of the body, it can be revealed.The move is likely to increase the already fraught relations between Kuala Lumpur and Pyongyang following the murder last Monday of the half-brother of Kim Jong-un, North Korea's Supreme Leader.Tensions have also risen between Pyongyang and its key ally, China, over the murder.
  
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• Retailer John Lewis to cut net 387 jobs in restructuring

  23-02-2017 22:23
  (Reuters) - John Lewis [JLP.UL] [JLPLC.UL], Britain's biggest department store chain, plans to cut hundreds of jobs in a reorganisation of its soft furnishings business and changes to the way it operates its in-store restaurants, it said on Thursday.The employee-owned group, which also owns the upmarket supermarket Waitrose, said it expected the proposals to lead to about 387 fewer roles overall.It said around 773 employees, or partners as John Lewis calls them, will enter a "period of consultat
  
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• Ex family court head takes own life after dementia diagnosis

  23-02-2017 22:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sir Nicholas Wall had suffered for several years from rare neurological disease, his family says.
  
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• Nigel Farage EVACUATED by Secret Service during LIVE radio show due to 'security alert'

  23-02-2017 22:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  NIGEL FARAGE was forced to abandon his radio show live on-air on Thursday night due to a “security alert”.
  
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• Cheshire woman pregnant with late husband's baby

  23-02-2017 21:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sarah Beattie lost her husband to cancer but is now expecting his child after IVF treatment success.
  
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• John Lewis cuts hundreds of jobs amid online shift - BBC News

  23-02-2017 21:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News
  John Lewis cuts hundreds of jobs amid online shift
  BBC News
  John Lewis plans to cut nearly 400 jobs in its home fittings services and restaurants amid a shift to online shopping. The changes will affect administration staff in its carpet, curtain and blinds fittings service. No jobs will be cut among the ...
  John Lewis expects to cut nearly 800 jobsThe Guardian
  British retailer John Lewis to cut net 387 jobs in restructuringDaily Mail
  John Lewis to axe nearly 400 jobs amid retail secto
  
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• John Lewis cuts hundreds of jobs amid online shift

  23-02-2017 21:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  'Structural change' in retailing prompts department store chain to axe nearly 400 roles.
  
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• Enda Kenny insists on united Ireland clause in Brexit deal - Belfast Telegraph

  23-02-2017 21:48 via belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  
  Belfast Telegraph
  Enda Kenny insists on united Ireland clause in Brexit deal
  Belfast Telegraph
  President of Commission Jean-Claude Juncker (R) and Irish Prime minister Enda Kenny. 3 3 President of Commission Jean-Claude Juncker (R) and Irish Prime minister Enda Kenny (L) give a joint press conference following their meeting at the European ...
  'We're at peace with Brexit' EU boss says members over Britain's 'tragic' decision to quitExpress.co.uk
  Enda Kenny calls for united Ireland clause i
  
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• Steve Bannon vows Donald Trump will take on 'globalist' elites with nationalist agenda at CPAC conservative conference

  23-02-2017 21:46
  
  Steve Bannon, the White House chief strategist, vowed the Trump administration would fight to take America back from “corporatist, globalist” elites in rare public comments on Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).Mr Bannon prefers to operate behind the scenes, but his fingerprints are all over President Donald Trump’s speeches and policy initiatives, making him an enigmatic and even feared figure in Washington.“If you think they’re go
  
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• Donald Trump describes immigration clampdown as a 'military operation' to expel 'bad dudes'

  23-02-2017 21:44
  
  President Donald Trump described his new policies for deporting illegal immigrants on Thursday as a “military operation” after dispatching his secretary of state to discuss the immigration clampdown with the Mexican president.Rex Tillerson’s first high-profile mission as America’s top diplomat was to both smooth relations between the two countries and ensure that the US is “treated fairly”.Mr Trump conceded that he had sent Mr Tillerson and John Kelly, the sec
  
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• Claudio Ranieri: Leicester City sack Premier League-winning manager

  23-02-2017 21:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Manager Claudio Ranieri is sacked by Leicester City, nine months after leading them to the Premier League title.
  
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• Man arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of Syria-related terror offences

  23-02-2017 21:28
  
  A 26-year-old man has been arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of Syria-related terrorism offences, police have said.
  
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• Steve Bannon: Trump is 'maniacally focused' on executing promises - The Guardian

  23-02-2017 21:24 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  Steve Bannon: Trump is 'maniacally focused' on executing promises
  The Guardian
  Steve Bannon, the man seen as the power behind Donald Trump's throne, has declared that the president will take the US back from a “corporatist, globalist media” that opposes his brand of economic nationalism.
  Stephen Bannon's nationalist call to arms, annotatedWashington Post
  Trump adviser hails 'new political order'BBC News
  CPAC leader blasts 'alt-right,' as conservatives define agenda unde
  
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• Tottenham v Gent: Europa League last 32 – live!

  23-02-2017 21:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Live updates from the second leg of the Europa League tieScoreboard: all the latest from Thursday’s matchesEmail Scott here with your musingsKane: Wembley atmosphere even better than White Hart Lane 8.19pm GMT13 min: This is the only scoreline which would lead to extra time. Spurs clearly don’t fancy an extra 30 minutes tonight, and are after another goal quick-smart. The ever-impressive Dele Alli sashays down the left, cuts into the box, and curls one towards the top left. The ball
  
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• CPAC 2017 live: Steve Bannon says Trump 'maniacally focused' on keeping promises

  23-02-2017 21:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Conservative gathering will be forced to reckon with the nationalist populism that has become the dominant force in rightwing politics in the USTrump returns in triumph, with Breitbart as supporting cast‘Banning poor people from jobs’ – and other talks from CPACVideo: Kellyanne Conway at CPAC: ‘Women don’t like women in power’ 8.18pm GMTHow can Spicer criticise the way the Obama administration’s transgender bathrooms guidance was drawn up when the exact
  
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• Tunisia attack: Coroner rejects families' 'neglect' finding call

  23-02-2017 21:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The families of the 30 Britons killed in the 2015 attack think the tour operator is partly to blame.
  
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• Leicester sack Claudio Ranieri less than a year after winning Premier League

  23-02-2017 21:07 via theguardian.com
  
  • Italian informed of decision on return from Sevilla tie
  • ‘This has been the most difficult decision we have had to make’Leicester have sacked manager Claudio Ranieri, less than a year after the Italian led them to the Premier League title. Related: Leicester show ‘big heart’ to keep hopes alive at Sevilla, says Claudio RanieriContinue reading...
  
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• Jamal al-Harith 'was radicalised decade after Guantánamo release'

  23-02-2017 21:06 via theguardian.com
  
  British suicide bomber’s wife says his views became extreme after he began associating with Islamic State recruiter Raphael HosteyThe wife of British suicide bomber Jamal al-Harith has revealed for the first time that her husband was radicalised a decade after his release from Guantánamo Bay by the Islamic State recruiter Raphael Hostey.Shukee Begum also said he was given “substantially less” than £1m in compensation for his detention from the British government.Co
  
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• Woman killed by falling debris as Storm Doris lashes UK - The Guardian

  23-02-2017 21:02 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  Woman killed by falling debris as Storm Doris lashes UK
  The Guardian
  A fallen tree in Regent's Park, London, caused by Storm Doris. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA. Share on Facebook · Share on Twitter · Share via Email; View more sharing options; Share on LinkedIn · Share on Pinterest · Share on Google+ · Share on WhatsApp ...
  Storm Doris leaves a trail of carnage as deadly winds claim one life and leave others injuredMirror.co.uk
  Photos show Storm D
  
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• Woman killed by falling debris as Storm Doris lashes UK

  23-02-2017 21:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Twenty-nine-year-old dies after being hit by piece of roof in Wolverhampton as violent winds and ice cause travel chaos Violent winds of more than 100mph have battered the UK as the worst storm of the winter caused the death of a woman killed by falling debris and travel chaos across the country.Storm Doris had raged in from the west overnight, leaving freezing temperatures in its wake and prompting Met Office forecasters to label the low pressure system a “weather bomb”, meaning the
  
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• Woman killed by falling debris as Storm Doris causes chaos across UK

  23-02-2017 21:02
  
  Storm Doris had raged in from the west overnight, bringing freezing temperatures with it and prompting Met Office forecasters to label the low pressure system a “weather bomb”, meaning the barometer dropped by more than 24 millibars over 24 hours.There was unpredictable danger for drivers who contended with falling trees and black ice, and train cancellations at stations from London to Birmingham.What some called “Doris Day” saw dozens of planes grounded at Heathrow, the
  
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• Ruth Davidson tells Nicola Sturgeon: Change law so life means life after Paige Doherty killer's sentence cut

  23-02-2017 21:00
  
  Ruth Davidson has issued an ultimatum to Nicola Sturgeon to give judges the power to ensure Scotland’s worst killers die in jail after the murderer of schoolgirl Paige Doherty had his sentence cut by four years.The Scottish Tory leader warned that unless the First Minister tabled legislation allowing the imposition of “whole life tariffs” in the courts then her party would attempt to do so by introducing a private members’ Bill.Whole-life orders have been given to about 8
  
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• Readers recommend: share your songs about the music industry

  23-02-2017 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 28 February This week we’re looking for songs that reference anything to do with the record industry: think labels, the experience of touring, gigs, corporates, the charts, all those things that help – and hinder – music getting from the artist’s brain to the audience’s ear.
  You have until 11pm on Monday 28 February to post your
  
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• Alfie Brown review – subversive standup rages about the pieties of our age

  23-02-2017 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Soho theatre, London
  Like a British Doug Stanhope, the provocative comic oozes scorn, cynicism and sardonic spleen
  There’s a gap in the market for a British Doug Stanhope, although Alfie Brown, who is best positioned to fill it, would reject the terms of that proposition. His whole career, and much of this show, oozes scorn for capitalism and commodified culture. On stage, that parlays into sardonicism, spleen and self-laceration: Brown doesn’t make himself easy to love. But even if
  
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• Exoplanet discovery: seven Earth-sized planets spotted orbiting nearby star

  23-02-2017 20:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Exoplanets found orbiting Trappist-1 raise hope that the hunt for alien life beyond the solar system can start much sooner than previously thoughtA huddle of seven worlds, all close in size to Earth, and perhaps warm enough for water and the life it can sustain, has been spotted around a small, faint star in the constellation of Aquarius. Related: This discovery is a lottery win for astronomers looking for life beyond EarthContinue reading...
  
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• Syria terror suspect arrested at Heathrow

  23-02-2017 20:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The 26-year-old man is being held in the West Midlands after arriving on a flight from Turkey.
  
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• Stop being sentimental about child refugees, says Tory MP

  23-02-2017 20:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Pauline Latham tells Commons debate on child refugees from France that it is not the UK’s job to look after themCritics of the government’s decision to close the door on refugee children from Calais have been urged to “stop being sentimental” by a Tory backbencher.Pauline Latham, the Conservative MP for mid-Derbyshire, said other governments across Europe should be looking after the children in their jurisdictions, not Britain.Continue reading...
  
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• Don’t abolish the Lords. History shows it really can be reformed | Meg Russell

  23-02-2017 20:43 via theguardian.com
  
  From its Brexit debate to peers’ allowances, the second chamber has faced intense criticism this week. But it’s undergone huge changes, and can do so againThe House of Lords has been in the line of fire this week. During its debate on article 50 there were claims that peers had no right to thwart the will of the House of Commons or the referendum result. As if to emphasise the point, prime minister Theresa May sat in the chamber as the bill was discussed.And then, ahead of a BBC docu
  
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• Police surgeon carried out 'unacceptable' examinations

  23-02-2017 20:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Dr Reg Bunting, who died in 2013, was chief medical officer at Avon and Somerset Police from 1990-97.
  
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• Martin Rowson on the UK's net migration figures – cartoon

  23-02-2017 20:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Continue reading...
  
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• UK's first LGBT retirement home announced by Manchester city council

  23-02-2017 20:09
  
  Plans to build the UK’s first retirement home for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have been announced by Manchester City Council.Heterosexual people would be welcome to stay in the accommodation, although the majority – at least 51 per cent – of residents will be belong to the LGBT community, the council said.One report by the LGBT Foundation commissioned by the council found that older LGBT people were more likely than both their heterosexual peers and you
  
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• PPE: the Oxford degree with a lot to answer for | Letters

  23-02-2017 20:07
  
  ‘I used to believe that PPE ran Britain until I came up to study at Oxford,’ writes Alexander Olive.With this background, and aware of the influence on our leaders of Oxford’s PPE (philosophy, politics and economics) course, I have often wondered what on earth they taught them.Andy Beckett’s article (The degree that runs Britain, 23 February) gives the answer.
  
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• London buses and great expectorations | Brief letters

  23-02-2017 20:06
  
  The concept of poor behaviour as perpetrated by those perceived as “other” is not just a contemporary problem (Suzanne Moore, G2, 23 February).Until I pointed out that London buses displayed notices informing passengers that expectoration was prohibited.• When I was a schoolboy, not only did the chemistry sets on sale in toy shops contain bottles of acids but they could be refilled at the chemist’s without question (Acid is all too readily available in the UK, Letters, 17
  
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• John Lewis says 773 staff to be offered redundancy

  23-02-2017 20:05
  (Reuters) - John Lewis, Britain biggest department store group, said on Thursday it was planning to cut hundreds of jobs in a reorganisation of its soft furnishings retailing business and changes to the way it operates its in-store restaurants.John Lewis, which also owns the upmarket Waitrose supermarket, said at the same time it would be creating 386 other jobs which will be offered to the 773 of its 30,000 staff who face redundancy.Under the reorganisation the company said it plans to move its
  
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• How to get 18 days off work using just nine days of annual leave

  23-02-2017 20:01
  
  A prolonged summer holiday may seem like a distant dream at this stage of the year.With Easter falling on April 16, those looking to book time off work will be able to begin their holiday on Good Friday until the May bank holiday, ensuring that they capitalise on three bank holidays within a nine-day working calendar.The unexpected perk is due to the early arrival of the first full moon following the vernal equinox, used by Western churches to calculate the day on which Easter Sunday must fall.
  
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