General news

• Part premiere, part Trump protest, Londoners gather for Oscar movie

  26-02-2017 23:31
  By Robin PomeroyLONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of people braved London's winter drizzle on Sunday for a screening of the Oscar-nominated movie that has become a rallying point for opponents of U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.Hours ahead of what looked set to be the most politicised Academy Awards for years, London Mayor Sadiq Khan made clear his political motivation in hosting the British premiere of the "The Salesman", whose Iranian director is boycotting the Hollywood cere
  
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• Pisa plans towering Ferris wheel

  26-02-2017 23:29
  
  The Italian city of Pisa has decided to add a towering Ferris wheel to its roster of tourist attractions.The Tuscan city's culture commissioner, Andrea Ferrante, told state TV on Sunday that the big wheel will be roughly the height of Pisa's famed Leaning Tower, or more than 50-meters (165-feet) -high.
  
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• Theresa May poised to announce end of free movement for new EU migrants next month

  26-02-2017 23:00
  
  Theresa May is next month poised to announce the end of free movement for new EU migrants on the same day that she formally triggers Brexit negotiations.The Prime Minister is expected to say that EU citizens who travel to Britain after she triggers Article 50 will no longer have the automatic right to stay in the UK permanently.Mrs May is expected to say that EU migrants who arrived in the UK before the "cut-off date" will have their rights protected as long British citizens living elsewhere in
  
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• Supermarket shoppers urged to wash hands before eating - as 9 million "bug-covered" chicken packs are sold each year

  26-02-2017 23:00
  
  Campylobacter is the UK's leading cause of food poisoning with 485,000 recorded cases last year, according to Public Health England.Previously the FSA has described the risk of people becoming ill as a result of bacteria on the outside of packaging as "extremely unlikely".Instead it has focussed on educating the public about the safe handling and cooking of raw chicken meat.
  
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• Supermarket shoppers urged to wash hands before eating - as 9 million 'bug-covered' chicken packs are sold each year

  26-02-2017 23:00
  
  Campylobacter is the UK's leading cause of food poisoning with 485,000 recorded cases last year, according to Public Health England.Previously the FSA has described the risk of people becoming ill as a result of bacteria on the outside of packaging as "extremely unlikely".Instead it has focussed on educating the public about the safe handling and cooking of raw chicken meat.
  
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• SS-GB recap: episode two – no sex or violence, please, we're Nazi-British

  26-02-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Action, whether love-making or murder, seems verboten in occupied London so far. Apparently even fascist dystopias must be made family-friendlyAfter the critical mauling the opening episode of SS-GB suffered last week, I was determined to be more positive this week. So let us begin by saying that Sam Riley, as Superintendent Douglas Archer, aka the coolest cop in the Metropolitan Police, declaims his words as if he’s playing Julius Caesar at the National Theatre. OK, no he doesn’t &n
  
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• NHS accused of covering up huge data loss that put thousands at risk

  26-02-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: More than 500,000 pieces of patient data between GPs and hospitals went undelivered between 2011 and 2016
  Thousands of patients are feared to have been harmed after the NHS lost more than half a million pieces of confidential medical correspondence, including test results and treatment plans.In one of the biggest losses of sensitive clinical information in the NHS’s 69-year history, more than 500,000 pieces of patient data sent between GPs and hospitals went undelivered over the
  
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• Heath paedophile investigation plunged into further chaos as detective in charge goes off with stress

  26-02-2017 23:00
  
  The Sir Edward Heath sex abuse investigation has been plunged into further chaos after the senior detective in charge was signed off work with stress.Superintendent Sean Memory went on long term sick leave last month, just weeks after being put in overall charge of Operation Conifer - the £800,000 probe into allegations that the late former Prime Minister was a paedophile.A source close to the investigation said his sudden departure had further undermined the probe, which has been riven wi
  
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• Cathedrals 'not too big to fail', Archbishop of Canterbury warns cash-strapped Guildford

  26-02-2017 23:00
  
  The future of the cathedral is now under threat after plans for a housing development on surplus land that would have raised a £10m endowment were rejected by the council.Local church leaders had hoped a proposal by Linden Homes to demolish existing clergy properties on Stag Hill and build 134 new apartments and houses would solve its financial problems.
  
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• Archbishop's QC friend 'allowed to commit abuse after evangelicals failed to report him'

  26-02-2017 23:00
  
  A barrister at the centre of a child abuse scandal committed a series of sickening assaults against young men after leading evangelical groups failed to report him to the police, it is claimed.John Smyth QC, a friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is accused of carrying out sadomasochistic attacks on boys he met at Christian camps in Britain and Zimbabwe.The assaults first came to light in 1982, when a victim attempted suicide after being summoned to a beating in the shed of Mr Smyth
  
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• Man charged over deaths of man and woman in Dundee

  26-02-2017 22:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 42-year-old man is charged by police following the deaths of a man and woman in Dundee.
  
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• Father of fallen Navy Seal to Trump administration: 'Don't use my son's death to prevent investigation'

  26-02-2017 22:31
  
  The father of William "Ryan" Owens, the Navy Seal who became the first combat fatality of Mr Trump's administration, has demanded that the president not use his son's death to "prevent an investigation".“Don’t hide behind my son’s death to prevent an investigation,” he told the Miami Herald.
  
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• Father of fallen Navy Seal refused to meet Donald Trump

  26-02-2017 22:31
  
  The father of William "Ryan" Owens, the Navy Seal who became the first combat fatality of Mr Trump's administration, has demanded that the president not use his son's death to "prevent an investigation".“Don’t hide behind my son’s death to prevent an investigation,” he told the Miami Herald.
  
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• Scrap benefits sanctions or risk mental health crisis, doctors warn

  26-02-2017 22:23
  
  The Government must immediately stop suspending the benefits of hundreds of thousands of claimants each year or risk soaring rates of mental health problems, experts have warned.In an open letter to The Independent, doctors from Britain’s leading mental health organisations said that an urgent review of the system must be carried out to discover how deep an impact it is having.Ministers are facing a separate battle in Parliament over plans to slash £3.7bn of disability benefits that
  
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• Martin Rowson on Michael Heseltine, the Lords and article 50 – cartoon

  26-02-2017 22:18 via theguardian.com
  
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• Pack of hounds broke into elderly couple's back garden before savaging a fox, campaigners claim

  26-02-2017 22:10
  
  Cheshire Police said it was investigating an incident involving a hunt in Macclesfield, Cheshire, on Saturday after photos surfaced online.The force posted on Facebook: "We are aware of concerns around hunt activity in the Macclesfield area.Residents Locals said a hunt came through the built-up residential area and claimed they saw unmarked quad bikes, hounds and a huntsman blowing a horn.
  
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• Sergei Polunin, 'bad boy of ballet': I felt 'tricked' by 'jealous' Royal Ballet

  26-02-2017 22:00
  
  Now Sergei Polunin, the prodigy regularly called the greatest dancer of his generation, has lifted the lid on his surprise exit from Covent Garden, saying he felt he had been “tricked” into life in ballet.
  
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• Tale of two houses: Marni and Dolce & Gabbana light up Milan fashion week

  26-02-2017 21:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Marni’s new creative chief sports a colourful collage while Dolce & Gabbana serves up the champers and InstagramSunday at Milan fashion week was the setting of two very different stories. First up was Marni, which made its name for cerebral clothes loved by the art crowd, with a womenswear debut from new designer Francesco Risso. And then Dolce & Gabbana, a label that, increasingly, loves a catwalk stunt to generate chatter around its leopard print and lace-fuelled glamour. This ti
  
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• José Mourinho lauds Zlatan Ibrahimovic display and praises Southampton

  26-02-2017 21:45 via theguardian.com
  
  • Mourinho says Ibrahimovic ‘won the game for us because he was outstanding’
  • Ibrahimovic on EFL Cup victory: ‘This is what I came for – to win, and I am’José Mourinho watched Zlatan Ibrahimovic snatch what he admitted was a slightly undeserved EFL Cup final victory against Southampton and he joked that Manchester United’s supporters ought to camp outside the striker’s house to persuade him to sign on for another season at the club
  
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• Disability benefits should go to 'really disabled people' not 'anxiety sufferers', says Theresa May's adviser

  26-02-2017 21:42
  
  Disability benefits should only go to “really disabled people”, a senior advisor to Theresa May has said, and not those "taking pills at home, who suffer from anxiety".George Freeman, a Conservative MP and head of the Number 10 Downing Street policy unit, was defending plans to cut £3.7bn from personal independence payments (PIP)."We've set out in the mental health strategy how seriously we take it," he added.
  
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• 'Swedish national security adviser' who appeared on Fox News unknown to government, experts

  26-02-2017 21:34
  
  Sweden's defence ministry and foreign office have denied that a man introduced in a recent Fox News segment as a “Swedish national defence and security adviser” works for the government.Appearing on the prime time “O’Reilly Factor” programme, Nils Bildt suggested there was a migration-driven crime wave in the country that was being suppressed by political leaders.Swedes were already on the alert for negative characterisations of their country in the US after Preside
  
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• Southampton’s Manolo Gabbiadini grabs the limelight but is denied final glory | David Hytner

  26-02-2017 21:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The new signing continued his rich vein of scoring form but defensive frailty cost Saints dear as Manchester United won the League Cup final 3-2Manolo Gabbiadini probably does not know too much about the late Bobby Stokes, who became one of Southampton’s greatest heroes after scoring against Manchester United in a Wembley showpiece. That was in the FA Cup final of 1976, when Stokes conjured the only goal of the game to secure the club’s first piece of major silverware.Gabbiadini
  
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• Amber Rudd: It's the end of freedom of movement as we know it

  26-02-2017 21:27
  
  Amber Rudd has promised the UK will see “the end of freedom of movement as we know it” under Theresa May’s Brexit strategy.The home secretary told ITV’s Peston on Sunday that the current right to travel and work in different EU countries will not remain when Britain leaves the EU.“As soon as we get reciprocity so the UK people living in the EU are also secure because we’ve got to look after them as well,” she added.
  
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• Transgender boy wins Texas girls wrestling championship 

  26-02-2017 21:08
  
  Mack Beggs, a 17-year-old wrestler who identifies as male, has won a Texas state title in girls wrestling, overcoming jeers from the crowd en route to a controversial championship.Several parents complained that Beggs was too strong to compete against girls, while others expressed sympathy for him.
  
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• Lessons in Labour leadership from Clement Attlee and George Lansbury | Letters

  26-02-2017 20:59
  
  George Lansbury: Labour leader who ‘did the right thing and resigned’, according to Bert Clough.Jonathan Freedland bemoans the Copeland byelection result and lays the blame squarely on Jeremy Corbyn’s shoulders (Copeland shows that Corbyn must go.This without a hint of irony from a newspaper that has often been in lockstep with the more rabid elements of the tabloid press savaging the man who was elected twice, with overwhelming grassroots support, to lead the Labour party away
  
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• Leading French academic threatened with deportation at Houston airport

  26-02-2017 20:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Henry Rousso was due to take part in a symposium at Texas A&M UniversityTen-hour ordeal highlights ‘total arbitrariness and incompetence’A prominent French historian has said he was detained for more than 10 hours in Houston and threatened with deportation, in the latest of several examples of high-profile individuals being questioned extensively at US airports before being allowed entry.Henry Rousso flew from Paris to Houston last Wednesday to take part in a symposium at Texas A
  
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• Top female rugby player, 20, killed in car crash after watching Six Nations

  26-02-2017 20:51
  
  The 20-year-old was driving a Toyota Yaris which was involved in a collision with a Vauxhall Insignia on the A4109, Inter Valley Road, between Banwen and Glynneath.A 42-year-old woman driving the Vauxhall and a 12-year-old girl who was a passenger were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries."Elli Norkett was a kind-hearted and caring 20-year-old final year student at Cardiff Met University, studying sport development," they said.
  
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• Premiership roundup: Wasps beat Gloucester to move six points clear

  26-02-2017 20:49 via theguardian.com
  
  • Wasps return to form with a 35-22 victory against Gloucester
  • Bristol grab shock 12-11 win over Bath on Gavin Henson’s returnDai Young believes Wasps’ 35-22 victory against Gloucester can spark a fresh wave of momentum after they established a six-point lead at the top of the Aviva Premiership table. A superb hat-trick of tries from the centre Jimmy Gopperth, who finished with 25 points, was the catalyst for their 12th win in the league this season – while there we
  
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• The Guardian view on big data: the danger is less democracy | Editorial

  26-02-2017 20:44 via theguardian.com
  
  The information gathered about us by the internet giants makes our political system vulnerable to new forms of manipulationThe Observer’s discovery that a secretive firm apparently bankrolled by a rightwing billionaire was at work in the Brexit referendum to sway voters selected on the basis of their Facebook profiles highlights the way in which the erosion of privacy can lead to an erosion of democracy – and will inevitably do so without firm, clear, principled action by governments
  
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• Article 50: Labour peers confident government will make concessions

  26-02-2017 20:44
  
  Labour peers say they are confident that the government will ultimately make concessions as the article 50 bill on leaving the EU passes through the House of Lords this week.Opposition whips will watch keenly how the government responds to the first debate at the committee stage of the bill on Monday, which will focus on the Good Friday agreement, to gauge whether the government appears open to concessions, one Lords source said.
  
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• The messages sent by the appointment of the Metropolitan police’s new top cop | Letters

  26-02-2017 20:39
  
  Cressida Dick’s appointment as the Metropolitan police’s first female commissioner may not be a big breakthrough for women, says Brent Charlesworth.Your leader (The Met moves with the times, but not fast enough, 24 February) says that Cressida Dick’s reputation is “stained” by the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, but notes that she was personally exonerated of blame by the jury.As commander of the police operation, she bore responsibility for it: even if she was
  
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• Oscars 2017: our final predictions

  26-02-2017 20:38 via theguardian.com
  
  The Academy Awards take place in Hollywood tonight – and you can follow all the action from 11pm GMT on theguardian.com. But first, it’s time for us to put our money where our mouth is Related: 'And the Oscar will go to' … who shall win the 2017 Academy Awards, and why Everyone’s key prediction for the 89th Academy Awards is, of course, that Donald Trump will take quite a kicking.Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on South Korea: scandals and successes | Editorial

  26-02-2017 20:29 via theguardian.com
  
  The controversy that has left Park Geun-hye’s presidency hanging in the balance tells us as much about this overlooked country as it does about her
  North Korea’s bombastic rhetoric, nuclear programme and now the killing of the leader’s half-brother ensure – as intended – that this impoverished and insular country grabs extraordinary international attention. More surprising is that South Korea inspires so little interest in the west. It is, perhaps, too prosperous an
  
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• Fake £5 notes are circulating across Britain - and here's how to spot them

  26-02-2017 20:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  FAKE £5 notes are circulating across Britain - and here’s how to spot them.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn appears rattled as interviewer asks questions about his future as Labour Leader

  26-02-2017 20:27
  
  Jeremy Corbyn appeared rattled as he insisted he will carry on as Labour Leader until the next General Election.The politician lost his temper as he was asked about his plans two days after the party suffered a humiliating defeat in the Copeland by-election.Asked whether he will still be leader in 2020 in the interview with Sky News, Mr Corbyn replied: “I’m carrying on as leader because I’m determined that we will deliver social justice in this country.
  
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• Solidarity key to resisting Trump, says Oscar-nominated Iranian director

  26-02-2017 20:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Asghar Farhadi, director of The Salesman, tells London protest that global reaction to US travel ban has become powerful movementThe Iranian director behind Oscar-nominated film The Salesman told about 10,000 protesters in London that solidarity against Donald Trump’s travel ban holds the power to “stand up to fascism, be victorious in the face of extremism”. Related: Oscars hit by Trump travel ban row as Iranian film-makers protestContinue reading...
  
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• Solidarity is key to resisting Trump, says Oscar-nominated Iranian director

  26-02-2017 20:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Asghar Farhadi, director of The Salesman, tells London protest that global reaction to US travel ban has become powerful movementThe Iranian director behind Oscar-nominated film The Salesman told about 10,000 protesters in London that solidarity against Donald Trump’s travel ban holds the power to “stand up to fascism, be victorious in the face of extremism”. Related: Oscars hit by Trump travel ban row as Iranian film-makers protestContinue reading...
  
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• Leicester covet reluctant Guus Hiddink to replace Claudio Ranieri

  26-02-2017 20:22 via theguardian.com
  
  • Return of former manager Nigel Pearson thought to be unlikely• Caretaker Craig Shakespeare could get job on permanent basisLeicester City are hopeful of persuading Guus Hiddink to take over from Claudio Ranieri until the end of the season, although the Dutchman is understood to be reluctant to take on the role at such short notice, meaning the Premier League champions could turn to caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare on a permanent basis.Representatives of Hiddink, who has been out o
  
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• Robert Peston: ITV News at Ten's time shift may have to be reversed

  26-02-2017 20:21 via theguardian.com
  
  ITV political editor says channel’s new topical entertainment show will have to win audience quickly to keep 10pm slotRobert Peston says ITV’s decision to move its flagship nightly news programme back half an hour to make way for a topical entertainment show may have to be reversed if the new show fails to quickly win over a healthy audience.The influential political editor said he hoped the Nightly Show, which is to be hosted by personalities including David Walliams and Gordon Rams
  
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• Roger Federer rejuvenated and ready to write his latest script in Dubai

  26-02-2017 20:16 via theguardian.com
  
  • Federer: ‘I wanted to be in good shape so I came early this year’
  • Swiss eight-times champion but could face Andy Murray in semi-finalNot even the ageless Roger Federer was on the Tour when the Dubai championships began 25 years ago but the Swiss, newly decorated as a major champion after shaking up the tennis world in Melbourne, is happy to go into this week’s tournament as the hunted again.“I’ve had some great years here in Dubai,” Federer, an e
  
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• Labour Lord: I was not intimidated by Theresa May's presence at Brexit debate

  26-02-2017 20:10
  
  A Labour Lord has claimed she was not "in the least bit intimidated" by Theresa May's presence in the upper chamber during last week's crucial Brexit debate.The Prime Minister was seen to be ramping up pressure on peers as she made the highly unusual move of sitting on the steps in front of the Royal Throne as debate got under way on the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill.Lady Smith told Huffington Post UK: "I had a slightly different take on this from a lot of commentators.
  
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• Bellingham crash: Five people hurt, one critically, after car mounts pavement in south London

  26-02-2017 20:04
  
  The victims, reportedly Romanian car washers, were hit by a black Mercedes on Bromley Road, Bellingham.A 25-year-old man was in a critical condition, while two others, a 35-year-old woman and another 25-year-old man, were in a serious but stable condition.Raee Towolawi, 26, was on her way to church with her mother, brother and sister at around 8.20am when they heard the sound of screaming.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn: give Labour more time to develop appealing policies

  26-02-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Labour leader blames demographic changes for byelection defeat in Copeland but says he accepts share of responsibilityJeremy Corbyn has pleaded for more time for Labour to develop appealing policies and said demographic change rather than questions over his leadership were the cause of his party’s defeat in the once safe Copeland seat last week.
  In an interview with the Guardian, the party leader also said a report on the byelection defeat would be delivered to the shadow cabinet and the n
  
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• Montenegro 'to indict Russian spy behind coup plot'

  26-02-2017 19:57
  
  Montenegro is reportedly preparing to indict the Russian intelligence officer it accuses of masterminding a bloody coup plot to stop the Balkan nation joining Nato.Eduard Sismakov, an officer with Russia’s GRU military intelligence service, is accused of running a web of Serbian and Russian nationalists and paramilitaries who plotted to assassinate the Montenegrin prime minister.The British government believes the thwarted plot was carried out with the backing of Moscow and UK and US intel
  
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• Ibrahimovic takes Manchester United to EFL Cup final win over Southampton

  26-02-2017 19:47 via theguardian.com
  
  In the end, perhaps it was just inevitable that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would insist on having the final say. Southampton had given everything to drag themselves level and, for long spells, it had felt as if Manchester United were about to fall to one of the more improbable comebacks of any Wembley final. It would need a flint heart not to feel sympathy for the losing side but this is why José Mourinho was so determined to being Ibrahimovic to his club: the big moments on the occasions that re
  
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• Taliban leader encourages people to plant trees

  26-02-2017 19:44
  
  Springtime in Afghanistan usually brings a spike in violence as the Taliban takes advantage of the thaw to launch a wave of fresh attacks.The statement does point out that the Taliban remain, "actively engaged in a struggle against foreign invaders and their hirelings" - a reference to the Kabul government that the militant group seeks to overthrow."Since the establishment of the Taliban movement the only things that these people have in their minds are fighting, cr
  
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• Pupils take part in national robotics competition.

  26-02-2017 19:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Teams of schoolchildren are tasked with solving a real world problem with the help of a Lego robot.
  
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• Thousands march in Moscow two years after murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov

  26-02-2017 19:41
  
  Thousands of Russians marched through Moscow on Sunday shouting slogans such as "Russia will be free!" and "Putin is war!" to mark two years since opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down outside the Kremlin.Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister, was a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin."It's very important that after two years people continue to come out and show their solidarity with the ideas for which Boris Nemtsov fought for and gave his life," opposition
  
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• Welfare funds must serve 'really disabled' people, says MP

  26-02-2017 19:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Tory policy head George Freeman argues for ‘tweaks’ to stop benefits ruling entailing £3.6bn bill and PIP eligibility for ‘anxiety’The head of Theresa May’s policy unit has been criticised for suggesting welfare spending should prioritise “really disabled people” rather than those with mental health problems, prompting Labour to redouble efforts to reverse controversial changes to disability benefit in next month’s budget.The Tory MP, George
  
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• Welfare funds must serve 'really disabled' people

  26-02-2017 19:35
  
  The head of Theresa May’s policy unit has argued that welfare spending should prioritise “really disabled people” rather than those with mental health problems, prompting Labour to redouble efforts to reverse controversial changes to disability benefit in next month’s budget.The Tory MP, George Freeman, said reforms to personal independence payments (PIPs) were needed to stop the government becoming liable for more than £3.6bn, following a ruling by the upper tribun
  
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