General news

• FBI ‘reached agreement’ to pay Christopher Steele, the former MI6 officer who produced the Donald Trump Russian dossier

  28-02-2017 23:59
  
  The FBI was ready to pay Christopher Steele, the former MI6 officer who produced the explosive Donald Trump Moscow dossier, it was alleged on Tuesday night.According to the Washington Post, a matter of weeks before the election the Bureau reached an agreement with Mr Steele to carry on with his work.Mr Steele, the co-founder of London-based Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd, was hired by the supporters of Hillary Clinton to investigate Donald Trump’s background last summer.
  
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• The Nightly Show: ITV's new entertainment offering panned by critics

  28-02-2017 23:00
  
  A new nightly entertainment show that has replaced ITV’s News at Ten got off to an inauspicious start after it was panned by critics and saw nearly half its viewers switch off.The Nightly Show, which will have a rolling roster of presenters, was seen by an average of 2.9 million viewers over its first 30 minute run, 17 per cent more than News at Ten’s usual Monday night audience.ITV chiefs have taken the controversial decision to move the broadcaster’s news bulletin, fronted by
  
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• Housing crisis will continue under current government policies, top civil servant in charge of housing says

  28-02-2017 23:00
  
  One of the most senior civil servants in Government has admitted that Theresa May’s new policies will not stop the country's housing crisis from continuing “as it has done for decades”.Melanie Dawes said she was “simply being honest” when she revealed that houses prices are set to stay out of reach of those who cannot offered a property and that homelessness will continue to rise.
  
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• Every hospital ordered to change its logo by NHS “identity managers” in move which prompts ridicule

  28-02-2017 23:00
  
  A ditkat from NHS England means hundreds of organisations will have to rework all their publicity materials, moving the NHS logo so it is above the name of each trust, instead of beside it.It follows a two year review of the health service logo with nine workshops involving 100 communications officials.NHS England said it would reduce “confusion and concern” among the public - claiming that current inconsistencies in current use of the format could be fuelling pressures on Accident &
  
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• Drones should be banned from sky near airports, says former Met police commissioner

  28-02-2017 22:55
  
  Drones should be banned from entering airspace near airports, a former Metropolitan police commissioner has told the House of Lords.Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington said all drones should be banned from flying near airports to eliminate the possibility of a collision with commercial aircraft, according to ITV News.The government is currently consulting on drone regulation after 70 incidents involving drones were reported last year.
  
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• Large fire in tunnel causes closure of runway at Manchester airport

  28-02-2017 22:48
  
  A runway at Manchester Airport has been closed due to a vehicle fire in a road tunnel which runs underneath.Flights have been moved to the airport's second runway due to the smoke, causing delays and diversions.A Manchester Airport spokeswoman said that seven flights had been diverted elsewhere so far because of the closure, and that there were delays for the "majority" of flights.
  
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• Ukip’s only MP Douglas Carswell ‘holds secret talks on defecting to Tories’ amid ongoing row with Nigel Farage

  28-02-2017 22:36
  
  Ukip's only MP reportedly held secret talks about rejoining the Tory Party to fight the 2020 general election.Douglas Carswell spoke to Conservative MPs to suss out whether he would be welcomed back by his old party, from which he defected in 2014, The Daily Telegraph reports.
  
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• Ukip's only MP Douglas Carswell in secret talks to rejoin Tories

  28-02-2017 22:30
  
  Ukip’s sole MP Douglas Carswell has held secret talks about rejoining the Conservatives to fight the 2020 general election, it emerged last night, as his party considers expelling him in a row over a knighthood for Nigel Farage.The Daily Telegraph understands that Mr Carswell, who defected from the Tories in 2014, spoke to Conservative MPs to sound out whether he would be welcomed back by his old party.Mr Carswell’s future is in doubt after Mr Farage and other senior Ukip figures cal
  
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• Self driving bus that talks and listens to passengers coming to US cities within months

  28-02-2017 22:27
  
  A self-driving bus which not only carries passengers  but talks to them could be seen in several major US cities within months.While the commercial launch of “autonomous cars” is still seen as being several years away, the “Olli” could begin operation on university campuses in Las Vegas and Miami later this year.The electrically-powered Olli, which can carry 12 passengers, is likely to enter service initially in closed locations such as on campuses and at airpor
  
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• Leaked emails appear to show Theresa May's close adviser linked to election campaign being investigated by police

  28-02-2017 22:25
  
  The alleged role of one of Theresa May's most trusted advisers in an election campaign being investigated by police is in question, after a cache of emails was leaked.The papers, including emails, seem to suggest the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Nick Timothy played an important role in the campaign in South Thanet in 2015.Police are looking into claims of whether thousands of pounds of campaign money was wrongly declared in the seat, breaching election rules.
  
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• Donald Trump gives himself 'A+' for effort but a 'C' for communication as president

  28-02-2017 22:16
  
  President Donald Trump has said he would award himself an “A+” for effort but a “C” for getting his message across.“In terms of messaging, I would give myself a C or a C plus,” Mr Trump told Fox & Friends.In a rare show of self-criticism, Trump told the Fox & Friends television programme in an interview broadcast on Tuesday that "maybe it's my fault" the administration's goals on immigration may not have been communicated effectively.
  
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• Man found guilty of trying to travel to Syria to join Isis

  28-02-2017 22:08
  
  A man who tried to travel to Syria to join Isis has been found guilty of terrorism offences.Patrick Kabele, 32, of Willesden in north west London, was stopped at Gatwick Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Istanbul on August 20 last year, a court heard.On being searched Kabele was found to be carrying £3,000 as well as numerous media devices, according to police.
  
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• Couple jailed for terrorising black child’s birthday party with threats, racial slurs and Confederate flags

  28-02-2017 22:03
  
  A couple who terrorised a black child’s eighth birthday party have been have been sentenced to serve 13 years and six years respectively in jail.According to prosecutors in Georgia, Kayla Norton, 25, and Jose "Joe" Torres, 26, targeted the party only a week after Dylann Roof killed nine worshippers at a black church in Charleston, North Carolina, in July 2015.Torres and Norton were part of a group of white supremacists who targeted black Americans.
  
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• Angela Merkel condemns arrest of German journalist in Turkey

  28-02-2017 21:52
  
  Angela Merkel has condemned the arrest of a German journalist in Turkey on charges of spreading “terrorist propaganda” and demanded that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime respect the freedom of the press.Deniz Yücel, a correspondent for Welt newspaper who holds dual German and Turkish nationality, was arrested and formally charged on Monday after being held without charge for two weeks.The charges appear to be related to a news report he wrote about a computer hackin
  
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• Manchester Airport fire in tunnel closes runway

  28-02-2017 21:44
  
  A car fire in a tunnel under Manchester Airport has led to the closure of a runway.Officials said all flights had been diverted to runway two as a precaution due to the smoke and some planes are delayed.Firefighters are battling the blaze after it broke out in Wilmslow Road, which runs beneath runway one.
  
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• Cumbrian zoo facing calls to close after nearly 500 animals die in less than four years

  28-02-2017 21:38
  
  A zoo is facing calls to close down after nearly 500 animals died in less than four years, including a tortoise which was electrocuted and a lemur which found its way into the wolf enclosure.South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton, Cumbria, was fined for health and safety breaches last year over the death of 24-year-old Sarah McClay, who suffered deep puncture wounds to her body at the hands of a Sumatran tiger.
  
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• Italian court recognises gay parents

  28-02-2017 21:04
  
  An Italian court has ruled for the first time that two gay partners should be legally recognised as the fathers of two surrogate children.The children, now aged seven, were born to a surrogate mother in Canada through artificial insemination and neither they nor their fathers have been identified.Details of the decision were published on Tuesday on Article 29, a website that refers to an article regarding family in the Italian Constitution.
  
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• Jack Monroe's Twitter case part of 'crusade' against Katie Hopkins

  28-02-2017 20:12
  
  Jack Monroe (L) argues that Katie Hopkins’ tweets about the defacing of war memorials were libellous.Tweets sent by Katie Hopkins to Jack Monroe allegedly suggesting the food writer supported the defacing of war memorials were not defamatory because the Mail Online columnist was a “professional controversialist” merely engaging in robust political debate, a court has heard.Monroe is suing Hopkins over the tweets, sent in May 2015, arguing that the messages were libellous, led t
  
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• Sturgeon: new vote on independence likely if Scots get no EU deal

  28-02-2017 20:08
  
  Nicola Sturgeon said in a speech in Edinburgh that Scotland needed a bespoke deal.Nicola Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum will become a “legitimate, almost necessary” step unless Scotland secures a special relationship with the European Union before article 50 is triggered.Sturgeon earlier wrote in an article for the Times that her moves towards a second referendum were prompted by the prime minister’s “sheer intransigence”, in a further effort to
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon's Brexit deal 'would lead to fracturing of UK trade'

  28-02-2017 20:06
  
  Nicola Sturgeon’s demand for a special Brexit deal so Scotland can stay in the EU single market would lead to the “fracturing” of free trade within the UK, a group appointed to advise Ruth Davidson has warned.A report into the First Minister’s blueprint for a “differentiated deal” found that it was neither “deliverable” nor in Scotland’s “self-interest” as it would mean the creation of an internal UK border and customs controls.It
  
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• Gunmen in east Ukraine 'occupy Donetsk stadium' amid standoff over coal blockade 

  28-02-2017 19:52
  
  Gunmen occupied the Donbas Arena in Donetsk on Tuesday, a charitable foundation run by Rinat Akhmetov, the billionaire owner of the stadium, said in statement.The move came after the heads of the two Russian-backed break away states in eastern Ukraine threatened to seize Ukraine-registered businesses in revenge for a blockade of trade between government and rebel held territory.
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon accused of 'synthetic grievance' over claim Brexit threatens her powers

  28-02-2017 19:49
  
  Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of manufacturing “synthetic grievance” about Brexit after claiming that the UK Government is attempting to use it to attack “the very foundations” of the Scottish Parliament’s powers.The First Minister used a speech to a think tank in Edinburgh to claim that Westminster is plotting to strip Holyrood of some of its responsibilities despite Theresa May specifically pledging not to do so.
  
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• Local authorities fail to allocate one in four special needs students with school place by deadline 

  28-02-2017 19:49
  Thousands of school children with learning difficulties are at risk of suffering heightened stress and anxiety because local authorities failed to provide them with a secondary school place, experts say.“We are working with those local authorities that failed to complete the transfer reviews on time to ensure every child gets a place at school that enables them to reach their full potential.
  
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• Theresa May set for defeat in the House of Lords over EU citizens' rights

  28-02-2017 19:47
  
  Theresa May faces a defeat in the House of Lords after refusing to write into legislation a Post-Brexit guarantee for EU citizens currently in Britain.Lords wanted a clause in Ms May’s bill to trigger Article 50 stating that EU citizens already in the UK will have the same rights to live and work here after Brexit.With a face-off over the matter expected on Wednesday, Lords are now likely to push the matter to a vote and defeat the Government – with Tories in a minority in the upper
  
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• Davis warns ministers to prepare for EU exit with no trade deal in place

  28-02-2017 19:34
  
  Were the UK to crash out of the EU without a trade deal in place, it would revert to trading rules as set by the WTO.David Davis has warned his fellow cabinet ministers that they must be prepared for the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union without an agreed trade deal in place, according to Downing Street.The Brexit secretary told ministers at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that they had to prepare for unexpected outcomes, said the prime minister’s spokesman.
  
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• 'Can do' folk get to see foreign secretary have narcissistic breakdown | John Crace

  28-02-2017 19:33
  
  Boris Johnson explains the benefits of globalisation.Boris Johnson looked out towards the few hundred near-comatose faces gathered in the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre for the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference.
  
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• Scottish leader says Britain's hard Brexit stance raises chance of new independence vote

  28-02-2017 19:32
  By Kate HoltonLONDON (Reuters) - The "sheer intransigence" of the British government over Brexit could lead to a second Scottish independence referendum, the head of the devolved Scottish government said on Tuesday.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, elected leader in 2014 after an unsuccessful referendum to break away from the United Kingdom, has long said she will seek to give Scots a second vote if they are forced into a "hard Brexit" that would end their preferential access to the EU's single ma
  
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• Russia vetoes UN resolution on Syria for a seventh time

  28-02-2017 19:32
  
  Russia has vetoed a UN resolution that would have sanctioned the Syrian regime over its use of chemical weapons, drawing angry condemnations from Britain, the US and France. 
  
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• St Paul's Cathedral appoints first female chorister in 1,000-year history

  28-02-2017 19:25
  
  St Paul's Cathedral choir includes 26 boy treble choristers, eight probationers and 12 Vicars Choral, the professional adult singers who take the alto, tenor and bass parts.Almost all other cathedral choirs have started accepting girls.
  
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• China considers financial “rewards” for second child after baby boom fails to materialise

  28-02-2017 19:24
  
  China has vowed to improve help for new mothers, and is mulling new regulations which will see nurseries set up at workplaces and maternity leave extended."To have a second child is the right of each family in China, but affordability has became a bottleneck that undermines the decision,” he told a recent conference, according to the China Daily.It is the first time China has mooted such a measure, according to an expert who was cited by the China Daily.
  
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• French police sniper accidentally shoots two people during Hollande speech

  28-02-2017 19:21
  
  A police sharpshooter accidentally fired his weapon during a speech by President Francois Hollande of France,  injuring at two people, according to officials.
  
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• Montenegro asks for British help after cyber attacks in wake of 'Russian-backed coup plot' 

  28-02-2017 19:05
  
  Montenegro has asked Britain for technical help to defend against cyber attacks after suffering a barrage of online assaults in the wake of an alleged Russian-backed coup plot.The Balkan nation says it suffered sustained cyber attacks against state websites on the day the foiled coup was due to take place, and then faced another wave of attacks in February.Both Montenegro and British officials have accused Russia of being behind the coup plot, to stop Montenegro joining Nato.
  
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• The Duchess of Cambridge opens Ronald McDonald Evelina House

  28-02-2017 18:58
  
  Kate Middleton The Duchess of Cambridge opens the Ronald McDonald Evelina House.
  
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• Jean-Claude Juncker faces dissent over EU survival blueprint  

  28-02-2017 18:54
  
  Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, will today launch a blueprint for Europe's survival after Brexit amid growing dissent from poorer eastern states over plans to deepen EU integration.The plan, which will be presented in a white paper at the European Parliament today [weds] will set out five “pathways to unity” for the 27 member states who will remain Europe after Britain leaves in 2019.
  
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• Female Met officer who had sex with rape victim in McDonald's toilet struck off

  28-02-2017 18:54
  
  A female police officer who had sex in a McDonald’s toilet with a rape victim she was supposed to be looking after has been struck off.PC Charlotte Peters, 33, started the affair in February last year with the vulnerable woman who had been raped by a stranger and had been assigned to her as a liaison officer.The PC, with the Met's Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, first kissed the woman while taking her fingerprints, and they met for sex four times in less than a month
  
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• Terminal cancer patients in complete remission after one gene therapy treatment 

  28-02-2017 18:53
  
  A groundbreaking gene therapy treatment which boosts a patient's own immune cells has been shown to clear disease from one third of terminal patients."The numbers are fantastic," said Dr Fred Locke, a blood cancer expert at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa who co-led the study.
  
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• Met Police officers who went to McDonald's on way to suicide call avoid dismissal

  28-02-2017 18:41
  
  Two police officers who stopped at McDonald’s for tea en route to an emergency call about a suicidal woman in east London have avoided dismissal.PC’s Gavin Bateman and Tony Stephenson attended a public gross misconduct hearing on Monday and Tuesday where they were found to have breached standards of professional behaviour, police said.The independent panel found that the evidence amounted to misconduct and the officers were issued with written warnings.
  
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• Christian Candy 'was hellbent on destroying' former friend's family

  28-02-2017 18:32
  
  Property billionaires Nick and Christian Candy have been accused of frightening another businessman’s wife so seriously that she took to sleeping in her children’s bedroom, while the family hired armed guards and installed CCTV to protect their home.The claims were made in court documents by Emma Holyoake, the wife of entrepreneur Mark Holyoake, who is suing the Candy brothers for £132m in damages over a business deal gone sour.“It seemed as if Christian was hellbent on d
  
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• MEPs vote to lift Marine Le Pen's immunity for tweeting violent Isil images

  28-02-2017 18:26
  
  A group of European members of parliament on Tuesday voted "overwhelmingly" to lift the immunity of French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen for tweeting pictures of Isil violence.Ms Le Pen, 48, an MEP, is under investigation in France for posting three graphic images of Isil executions on Twitter in 2015, including the beheading of the American journalist James Foley.MEPs "overwhelmingly voted to lift Le Pen's immunity," said Laura Ferrara of the Eurosceptic 5 Star Movement.
  
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• Marine Le Pen angers French police over 'threat to purge civil servants' who take part in corruption probes

  28-02-2017 18:26
  
  Ms Le Pen, 48, on Friday refused a summons to answer questions in an investigation into allegations she misused EU funds to pay FN staff, claiming she is the subject of a political smear campaign.At a campaign rally in Nantes, western France, on Sunday she went further, issuing a thinly-veiled threat to "fonctionnaires" - civil servants and public sector workers including police and magistrates - before a crowd of 3,500.
  
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• Rail staff at Merseyside and Northern to strike

  28-02-2017 18:22
  
  Southern rail services will be subject to industrial action again next month.Strikes over guards on trains are to start on Northern and Merseyrail next month, as the dispute that has wreaked havoc on Southern services spreads to other parts of Britain’s rail network.Strike ballots from both Merseyrail and Northern (Arriva Rail North) showed more than 80% of votes backing strike action, ahead of moves to change the roles of onboard train crew.
  
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• Labour has ‘no prospect’ of winning the next election, says senior shadow cabinet minister

  28-02-2017 18:21
  
  Labour currently has “no prospect” of winning the next general election, a senior shadow cabinet minister has said.Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, said Labour’s by-election loss in Copeland was “really serious” and rubbished the list of explanations given by the Labour leadership for the loss.
  
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• Tunisia beach attack: Victims' families to sue travel firm

  28-02-2017 18:20
  
  The family of a Briton killed in the Tunisian beach attack have said they feel "robbed of a future".The statement by Scott Chalkley's family came as a coroner concluded that the 30 British victims of the June 2015 massacre were "unlawfully killed"."As a family, we have been robbed of a future that held promise and laughter of a wonderful man so needlessly and heartlessly snatched from our lives," Mr Chalkley's family said.
  
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• Austerity measure - PM May gives up crisps for Lent

  28-02-2017 18:16
  British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is not known for her self-indulgence, has revealed she will be giving up crisps in the run-up to Easter -- a period called Lent when many Christians fast or give up luxuries.Lent, which begins on Wednesday, commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert preparing for his ministry.May, a vicar's daughter, is a regular church goer.
  
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• Brexit will make fighting terrorism harder, warns EU security commissioner

  28-02-2017 18:11
  
  Fighting terrorism and people trafficking will be more difficult after Brexit, the EU’s security commissioner has warned MPs.Sir Julian King, who is British, said there would be “practical limits” on sharing crime-fighting information, even if the post-withdrawal negotiations go well.
  
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• Theresa May will give up her favourite treat for Lent ... crisps

  28-02-2017 18:09
  
  Theresa May is giving up crisps for Lent, Downing Street has revealed.A Number 10 spokesman said that the Prime Minister's favourite flavour of the crunchy snack is salt and vinegar, but he declined to state whether she prefers any particular brand.
  
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• Starlings dance around southern Israel skies

  28-02-2017 18:06
  
  Migrating starlings create breathtaking 'murmurations' as they come to Israel where they are spending the winter. Video block text
  
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• Theresa May's national security adviser Sir Mark Lyall Grant resigns after 'mansplaining' reports

  28-02-2017 18:04
  
  Theresa May’s national security adviser has resigned after reports that colleagues in Downing Street are fed up with his “mansplaining”.Sir Mark Lyall Grant is said to have been due to leave at the end of 2016 but agreed to stay in post after the resignation of Sir Ivan Rogers, the UK’s ambassador to the EU, to avoid giving the impression of an exodus of senior officials.Reports late last year suggested the Prime Minister was frustrated at Mr Lyall Grant’s “ma
  
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• Fines for using mobile phone while driving to double

  28-02-2017 17:58
  
  The fixed penalty for being caught using a handheld phone in the car will double to a £200 fine and six points on your licence from 1 March.The Department for Transport (DfT) said mobile phone use while driving "has a worse impact on driving ability than being above the drink driving limit" and is introducing its new rules after a consultation last year.In 2013 the fine went up to £100 but "there has been no sustained reduction in observed mobile phone use over time", according to th
  
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• Mount Etna erupts for first time in eight months - with spectacular show of lava

  28-02-2017 17:54
  
  Mount Etna has erupted in a fiery show of lava in eastern Sicily.The giant orange fountains of lava, spewing toward the sky, could be seen in the city of Catania and the resort town of Taormina.Although volcanic ash clouds can cause flight disruptions, the nearby Catania airport was operating normally Tuesday.
  
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