General news

• 'They will keep coming!' Tony Blair says Brexit will NOT have impact on EU migration to UK

  09-03-2017 23:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  MIGRANTS will continue to arrive in Britain in high numbers regardless of Brexit, chief Remoaner Tony Blair claimed today.
  
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• Theresa May denies breaking election tax promise over National Insurance as 100 Tory MPs prepare to join Budget rebellion

  09-03-2017 23:23
  
  Theresa May has rejected  accusations that she had broken a manifesto pledge on tax rises as she faced a growing rebellion from Tory MPs.The Prime Minister refused to back down over the controversial rise in  National Insurance contributions for the self-employed, but announced a series of concessions to buy time before the policy faces a Commons vote.Senior Conservatives including a minister and Government whip denounced the key pillar of Philip Hammond’s Budget and said th
  
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• Justice Robin Camp resigns after judicial council recommends removal - CBC.ca

  09-03-2017 23:21 via cbc.ca
  
  CBC.ca
  Justice Robin Camp resigns after judicial council recommends removal
  CBC.ca
  Federal Court Justice Robin Camp, dubbed the "knees together judge" for his comments in a sex assault case, has submitted his resignation following a recommendation from Canada's judicial watchdog that he be removed from the bench. In a ruling ...
  Canada judge resigns over 'keep your knees together' comment in rape trialThe Guardian
  Judge who told complainant to 'keep your knees together' resignsBBC News
  'Kn
  
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• Theresa May scrambles to avoid a major Conservative rebellion over National Insurance tax hikes

  09-03-2017 23:17
  
  Theresa May has made a desperate bid to try and avoid a major Conservative rebellion following the Government’s clumsy attempt to hike National Insurance Contributions.The Prime Minister signalled that the tax rise hitting 2.5 million workers could still be mitigated, as she sought to see off a damaging clash with shocked Tory backbenchers who fear the policy looks like a clear breach of a key election pledge.While she continued to stand by the NICs rise on Thursday in Brussels, her sheepi
  
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• 'Do you NOT believe in democracy?' Tim Farron ROASTED over second EU referendum attempt

  09-03-2017 23:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  TIM Farron’s desperate attempt for a second referendum on Theresa May’s Brexit deal has been ridiculed during a BBC documentary.
  
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• Philip Hammond really is another Norman Lamont: both men hurt the Tories by raising tax

  09-03-2017 23:00
  
  Unwittingly, Philip Hammond predicted the unpopularity of his own Budget.Speaking at the Despatch Box on Wednesday, Mr Hammond said the Treasury had informed him that another chancellor who had announced the end of spring budgets was Norman Lamont in 1993.In Lord Lamont’s own view, the March 1993 Budget helped lose the Tories the 1997 election.
  
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• Suspects 'on the run' after five injured in axe attack at Dusseldorf train station

  09-03-2017 22:56
  
  Several people have been injured in an axe attack at Dusseldorf train station.Police spokesman Rainer Kerstiens told The Associated Press that more suspected attackers were believed to be on the run.Pictures from inside the German city's Central Station showed people lying on the floor receiving treatment, surrounded by blood.
  
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• Brixton fight: Three arrests after mass brawl among youths in south London

  09-03-2017 22:56
  
  Three people have been arrested after a mass brawl broke out among youths in a south London street.Scotland Yard said officers were called to reports of a fight shortly after 5pm in Brixton Road.Video footage shows a swarm of emergency services vehicles, including five police cars and a van, at the scene.
  
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• George Osborne could be £120-a-year better off after budget as highest earners left alone by Philip Hammond

  09-03-2017 22:50
  
  Mr Osborne, who is the UK’s highest earning MP thanks to his lucrative outside interests, watched from the backbenches as Philip Hammond presented his first Budget.Mr Osborne updated his entry in the registry of members’ interests yesterday, which lists the income MPs make outside of Parliament, revealing he will earn £650,000 a year for working just four days a month for global investment firm Black Rock.Although his MP’s salary of £74,000 is around £70,000 l
  
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• East coast mainline passengers told to delay travel after service disruption

  09-03-2017 22:50
  
  Virgin Trains East Coast services between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh, Newcastle, York and Leeds were affected. Photograph: David Parry/PA
  
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• Elderly farmer shot burglar in the foot over suspected diesel theft, court hears

  09-03-2017 22:49
  
  A farmer claims he shot a convicted burglar in the foot outside his farmhouse at night by accident over fears he was about to be run over, a court has heard.Father-of-three Kenneth Hugill, 83, used a double-barrel shotgun to shoot Richard Stables, 44, as he walked out to challenge him in pitch darkness outside his isolated farmhouse in Wilberfoss, near York.Mr Stables, of Bradford, who had been out lamping with a lurcher dog told a jury at Hull Crown Court he and a friend had stumbled on the far
  
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• PM agrees to delay legislation over tax rise for self-employed after Tory revolt - The Guardian

  09-03-2017 22:42 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  PM agrees to delay legislation over tax rise for self-employed after Tory revolt
  The Guardian
  Theresa May said on Thursday she will delay legislating to implement a controversial national insurance rise for self-employed workers until the autumn, after a public rebellion by senior Conservatives, including a government minister. The measure was ...
  May defends 'fair' National Insurance rise amid criticismBBC News
  Chancellor will listen to concerns over 'fair' National Insurance hike
  
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• Donald Trump's environmental protection chief Scott Pruitt 'not convinced' carbon dioxide causes global warming

  09-03-2017 22:38
  
  President Donald Trump's new Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt has said he is not convinced carbon dioxide emissions from human activity are the primary driver of global warming."I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do and there is tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact," he told CNBC."So no, I would not agree that it is a primary contributor to the global warming that we see.
  
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• Theresa May defends National Insurance hike for self-employed 'to make system fairer'

  09-03-2017 22:26
  
  Theresa May has defended the controversial National Insurance hike for the self-employed insisting it will make the system “fairer” for all workers.The Prime Minister said the changes outlined in Wednesday’s budget would close the gap between employees and self-employed workers.The Government faced an immediate backlash after Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the planned rises to National Insurance contributions (NICs), which are expected to hit almost 2.5 million people.
  
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• Silence is golden - May plays down Brexit talk at EU summit

  09-03-2017 22:26
  By Elizabeth PiperBRUSSELS (Reuters) - It was her last EU summit before launching Brexit, but British Prime Minister Theresa May was keener to talk about pretty much anything else.May, who will trigger Article 50 of the European Union'sLisbon Treaty to launch two years of divorce talks later this month, was keen not to linger on her plans for some of the most complicated negotiations Britain has faced since World War Two.At a meeting held in the shadow of Brexit but dominated by more immediate c
  
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• Theresa May insists National Insurance rise in Budget 'honours manifesto commitment'

  09-03-2017 22:19
  
  Speaking in Brussels the Prime Minister said the Government was "clear" that the promise not to increase taxes related only to those paid by 85 per cent of the population and that the hike "honours the manifesto commitment".
  
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• Theresa May must refuse to pay full Brexit 'divorce bill', Boris Johnson says

  09-03-2017 22:07
  
  Theresa May should refuse to pay the money the European Union says Britain owes it in legally binding liabilities, Boris Johnson has said.The Foreign Secretary said the PM should follow the example of Margaret Thatcher over the Brexit bill, which is estimated to be around £52bn.Mr Johnson alluded to the former PM’s battle to secure a rebate for Britain from the EU’s budget in 1984, an achievement regarded by Eurosceptics as one of her finest moments.
  
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• Boris Johnson: UK should reject 'Brexit cash bill' - BBC News

  09-03-2017 22:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News
  Boris Johnson: UK should reject 'Brexit cash bill'
  BBC News
  Boris Johnson has told the BBC that Britain should reject any EU demands for a £50bn "exit bill" and follow the example of former PM Margaret Thatcher. It has been reported that EU negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must continue to pay into the ...
  Boris Johnson urges Theresa May to resist £50bn EU billThe Guardian
  Johnson calls on May to invoke spirit of Iron Lady in her Brexit talks with BrusselsHerald Sc
  
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• US states of Washington, New York and Oregon to join challenge against Donald Trump's travel ban

  09-03-2017 21:34
  
  Legal challengeswere mounting to Mr Trump's proposed ban on people from six predominantly Muslim countries entering the US.Bob Ferguson, the Attorney General of Washington state, said he would ask Judge James Robart in Seattle to block it.Judge Robart  issued a nationwide restraining order halting Mr Trump's original, more sweeping, executive order, a month ago.
  
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• May says it's time to get on with leaving the European Union

  09-03-2017 21:32
  Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday both Britain and the European Union were ready to get on with divorce talks, but gave little away on when she will trigger the formal Brexit procedure."Our European partners have made clear to me that they want to get on with negotiations and so do I. It is time to get on with leaving the European Union," she told a news conference at her last summit before triggering Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty.
  
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• Poorer pupils less likely to get into grammars than richer classmates

  09-03-2017 21:19
  
  Children from the most deprived families in grammar school areas have only a 6% chance of attending such a school.High-achieving children from disadvantaged backgrounds who perform well at primary school have less chance of getting into a grammar school than their more affluent classmates who perform less well, according to new research.The study, by a team from Bristol University, Warwick University and University College London, says access to grammar schools is “highly skewed” by
  
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• From the OmNICshambles to the Pasty Tax, Treasury boffins are good at numbers but bad at politics

  09-03-2017 21:15
  
  The Chancellor’s proposals on National Insurance have produced opposition from many quarters, including from the most dangerous of all – his own back benches.How did the Chancellor end up here?At first glance, this looks like another “pasty tax” – an ill-thought-through measure that the Treasury suckered a Chancellor into announcing.
  
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• Boris Johnson urges May to resist Brexit bill

  09-03-2017 21:01
  
  Theresa May, centre, next to Boris Johnson, at Chequers, last August, during Brexit discussions.Theresa May should think back to Margaret Thatcher’s fight for a UK rebate from Brussels as she battles a multibillion pound Brexit divorce bill from the EU, Boris Johnson has suggested.The foreign secretary – referring to the actions the former Conservative prime minister – appeared to apply pressure on May to stand firm against EU demands for cash, amid reports saying the UK could
  
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• BBC viewers OUTRAGED as Richard Dawkins brands Brexit voters 'IGNORANT' in outrageous rant

  09-03-2017 21:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A TOP academic has branded Brexit voters “ignorant” and “misled” during an outrageous rant calling for a second referendum.
  
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• Artist may tweak new Iraq and Afghanistan memorial after Duke of Edinburgh said he can't read it

  09-03-2017 21:00
  
  The Duke had accompanied the Queen around a landmark new memorial to Britain’s military and civilian forces who served in Iraq and Afghanistan from 1990 to 2015.Paul Day, the artist behind it, said he was now considering “re-addressing” the sculpture, conceding the “aesthetic decision” could be re-examined in the face of the Duke’s opinion.
  
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• Christian Candy adviser linked to Litvinenko and his alleged killer

  09-03-2017 20:45
  
  Christian Candy pictured outside the high court earlier on in the trial.Property tycoon Christian Candy’s key adviser was a director of a detective agency which made payments to the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, and to the former KGB officer accused of murdering him.Details of the transfers to alleged killer Andrey Lugovoy and to Litvinenko, who died in 2006 after swallowing a radioactive substance called Polonium-210, were given during a high court trial.
  
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• Thousands of women go on strike in Ireland in protest at abortion ban

  09-03-2017 20:44
  
  Thousands of women have gone on strike in towns and cities across Northern Ireland and the Republic to protest the countries' abortion bans, as part of a day of action organised to coincide with International Women's Day.
  
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• Your calls on the budget: Unfair on the self-employed?

  09-03-2017 20:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Is the 2017 budget unfair on the self-employed? We took your calls
  
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• Mark Zuckerberg to become father for second time and hopes to raise 'another strong woman'

  09-03-2017 20:30
  
  Mark Zuckerberg has announced he is to become a father for the second time.The Facebook co-founder and chief executive is expecting a baby girl with his wife, paediatrican Dr Priscilla Chan.Mr Zuckerberg, 32, who is worth an estimated $58 billion, said on his Facebook page: "Priscilla and I are happy to share we’re expecting another baby girl!
  
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• Scotland split 50/50 on independence as John Swinney continues to claim oil is a 'bonus'

  09-03-2017 20:25
  
  Scotland is split almost exactly down the middle on independence, according to an opinion poll published as Ruth Davidson claimed the SNP’s leadership is divided over its economic case.An Ipsos MORI survey for STV news found 50 per cent backing for separation and 50 per cent for the Union among those certain to vote in a second referendum.If those who were not certain to vote were included, there was 51 per cent support for remaining part of the United Kingdom with 49 per cent opposed.
  
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• Cannabis boosts risk of stroke and heart attack, independent of tobacco, new study finds

  09-03-2017 20:00
  
  Cannabis itself is harmful to cardiovascular health and increases the chance of early death regardless of related factors such as smoking tobacco, new research reveals.Data taken from more than 1,000 US hospitals found that people who used the drug had a 26 per cent higher chance of suffering a stroke than those who did not, and a 10 per cent higher chance of having a heart attack.
  
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• US is 'facing a train wreck' as its Turkish and Syrian rebel allies fight over who will lead Raqqa assault

  09-03-2017 19:57
  
  The US was warned on Thursday it is facing “a trainwreck” in Syria amid an escalating confrontation between Turkey and Kurdish forces over who should lead the final assault on the Islamic State (Isil) capital of Raqqa. 
  
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• Couple arrested on suspicion of trying to snatch premature baby 'visited another hospital days before'

  09-03-2017 19:57
  
  Police are probing whether a couple arrested on suspicion of plotting to abduct a premature baby had visited another hospital to enquire about a newborn just days before.A 31-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman were detained by police after allegedly posing as new parents when they approached staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital in Camden on Monday.Scotland Yard said that officers were now investigating whether a couple matching the same description attended the Royal London Hospital enquiring
  
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• Rochdale Council considering fines up to £100 for people who swear in public

  09-03-2017 19:56
  
  Swearing in public could hit the people of Rochdale in the pocket by up to £100 if the town's council gets its way.The Labour-run Town Hall is hoping to introduce a public spaces protection order (PSPO), which could lead to anyone caught “using foul and abusive language’” being warned, moved on or given an on-the-spot fine.The plans were greeted with anger from free speech advocates who say the proposal breaches human rights.
  
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• How the Conservatives pledged no rise in national insurance, then raised it

  09-03-2017 19:49
  
  The Conservatives’ pledge not to raise national insurance or income tax for five years was a central plank of the party’s successful general election campaign in 2015.The chancellor, Philip Hammond, spent much of Thursday morning evading questions about whether he breached that pledge by hiking national insurance contributions for the self-employed in his budget.Former prime minister David Cameron promised a “tax lock” – to not raise income tax or national insurance
  
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• Michael Flynn's lobbying firm received $530,000 from Turkish client

  09-03-2017 19:47
  
  Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, has confirmed his lobbying firm carried out $530,000 worth of work that may have helped the Turkish government in the run-up to the US election.Mr Trump sacked Flynn, a former US army lieutenant-general, last month for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the extent of his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak.In the latest development a lawyer for Mr Flynn filed documents with the US Department
  
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• Government's pledge to make living wage £9 by 2020 will fail, official watchdog warns

  09-03-2017 19:41
  
  A Government pledge to deliver a minimum wage of £9-an-hour for over 25s by 2020 will fail, according to the budget watchdog.Former Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to bring the National Living Wage to £9-an-hour by 2020 in his 2015 budget speech.“The level of the National Living Wage consistent with our forecast has been revised down slightly since November – from £8.80 to £8.75 an hour in 2020, reflecting revisions to our earnings growth forecast,&r
  
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• Islamic State fighters returning to UK 'pose huge challenge'

  09-03-2017 19:36
  
  Civilians stand outside their homes in west Mosul, 9 March, caught up in battles between Iraqi forces and Isis.Security officials in Britain are urgently preparing for hundreds of UK nationals who went to fight for Islamic State to return, following an expected defeat of the group in Iraq and Syria.The jihadi group’s strongholds in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, northern Syria, are expected to fall by the summer.
  
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• Four-year-old girl is youngest dog handler at Crufts - with pet terrier older than her

  09-03-2017 19:36
  
  A four-year-old girl is believed to be the youngest dog handler ever to compete at Crufts - with her pet terrier which is older than her.Jessica Allen impressed the main arena with her five-year-old Australian Terrier Annie today and won the Good Citizens' Australian Terrier category.
  
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• Donald Trump offers pizza and bowling to Republicans on charm offensive to secure healthcare bill

  09-03-2017 19:19
  
  President Donald Trump launched an all-out charm offensive targeting opposition within his own Republican Party as he sought to secure the repeal and replacement of Obamacare.In a critical early test of his ability to fulfill his campaign promises Mr Trump planned to head to various states and hold football stadium rallies as he seeks to overhaul President Barack Obama's controversial signature healthcare policy.A bill to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, cleared its first
  
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• Man 'glassed for holding hands with boyfriend’ in unprovoked homophobic attack at Peckham Wetherspoon pub

  09-03-2017 19:10
  
  A young man had a glass smashed into his face for holding hands with his boyfriend in an unprovoked homophobic attack at a Wetherspoon pub.The victim, a 23-year-old man, was attacked at the Kentish Drovers pub in Peckham late on Sunday evening, police said.Scotland Yard confirmed that the attack was being treated as a homophobic hate crime.
  
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• Phone hacking: lawyers seek access to Murdoch and Brooks email accounts

  09-03-2017 19:03
  
  Lawyers have requested access to email accounts used by Rebekah Brooks and James Murdoch.Lawyers have asked a court to grant access to email accounts used by James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks in a bid to prove there was an attempt to cover up phone hacking at the News of the World and the Sun.A judge is expected to rule on Friday whether 17 company email accounts used by executives and journalists at News International, the former owner of the News of the World, can be searched for any discussion
  
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• Jonathan McPhillips murder: Man arrested after father-of-two stabbed to death in Islington

  09-03-2017 19:02
  
  A man in his 20s has been arrested following the murder of father Jonathan McPhillips in north London.Mr McPhillips was seriously stabbed and collapsed outside cocktail bar Be At One on Islington’s Upper Street in the early hours of Saturday, February 25.The father-of-two, known as JJ, was rushed to a hospital in east London but died three days later surrounded by his family.
  
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• Watch: Theresa May talks Brexit, budget and trade at EU summit

  09-03-2017 18:57
  
  Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday she is optimistic that the UK can achieve "a good and a comprehensive free trade deal with the European Union," arguing this was in the interest of both parties.  Video block text
  
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• Watch live: Theresa May holds press conference at EU summit

  09-03-2017 18:57
  
  Watch live as Theresa May holds a press conference at the EU summit.
  
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• Enormous dead fin whale washed up on Devon coast 'shows whale populations are recovering'

  09-03-2017 18:57
  
  The stranding of an enormous fin whale on the coast in Devon is a sign of the resurgence in whale numbers after hunting was banned in 1986, an expert has said. 
  
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• EU Parliament wants trade talks with UK after deal on Brexit terms

  09-03-2017 18:51
  The European Union and Britain should first strike a deal on the terms of Brexit and then proceed to discuss future bilateral relations, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said on Thursday.Britain has said it would prefer parallel talks on its divorce terms, likely to include a bill to pay and the issue of citizens' rights, and its future trade and economic relations with the 27 EU countries.
  
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• Macron polls to win both French presidential rounds against Le Pen for first time 

  09-03-2017 18:43
  
  Emmanuel Macron is for the first time slated to beat the Front National's Marine Le Pen in both rounds of France's presidential election, one poll suggested on Thursday.The Harris Interactive survey showed Mr Macron, a former economy minister, taking 26 per cent of the vote on April 23 - a six-point hike in two weeks - compared to 25 per cent for Ms Le Pen, who had long been leading in the first round.
  
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• Milo Yiannopoulos launches attack on Glasgow University campaigners after his rector nomination sparks backlash

  09-03-2017 18:34
  
  Milo Yiannopoulos has hit back at Glasgow University students after they launched a campaign against his nomination to be rector.The far-right commentator, who rose to notoriety for his inflammatory, anti-immigrant views, is one of 12 names put forward for the prestigious position.Students have voiced their opposition to the nomination of the former Breitbart editor, who has been dubbed a spokesperson for the so-called alt-right movement, and a petition demanding for him to be removed has amasse
  
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• New Bishop of Sheffield stands aside after 'highly individualised attacks' over his views on women priests

  09-03-2017 18:28
  
  The new Bishop of Sheffield is to withdraw from the post after attacks from members of his new diocese over his view that women should not become priests. 
  
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