General news

• US secretary of state questions how the US and China will 'live with each other' in the coming half century

  18-03-2017 23:33
  
  Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of state has said he is uncertain of how America and China will continue to co-exist "for the next half century".Speaking during his first state visit to Beijing, Mr Tillerson said he was committed to establishing an "era of peace" with China, but was surprisingly frank in expressing his concerns about the relationship between the two super powers.Mr Tillerson said that as China had opened itself to the world, and begun to occupy a place in the global economy, the
  
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• England's next target is All Blacks... with Eddie Jones in charge, they can be the best in the world - Daily Mail

  18-03-2017 23:31 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  England's next target is All Blacks... with Eddie Jones in charge, they can be the best in the world
  Daily Mail
  Win, lose or draw, it has been impossible to ignore the dramatic and potentially world-conquering improvements made by England since Eddie Jones took over 16 months ago. The transformation from also-rans to natural-born winners has been absolute.
  Eddie Jones tells England players to 'be proud of yourselves' despite Six Nations Grand Slam heartbreakThe Independent
  Ireland vs
  
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• Stop oppressing Cornwall – Council of Europe's warning to Britain

  18-03-2017 23:28
  
  The report into the “protection of national minorities” concludes that the UK needs to do far more for its southernmost county, including reviving Cornish as a language and preventing the “Disneyfication” of such landmarks as Tintagel Castle.The Council of Europe, set up after the war to uphold human rights and the rule of law across the continent, has expressed misgivings over the neglect of a county that is beloved by the rest of Britain for two weeks a year.The Council
  
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• New evidence in claims against pregnancy-test drugs linked to birth defects that affected hundreds of families

  18-03-2017 23:10
  
  Explosive new evidence has emerged over claims that thousands of children suffered birth defects after their mothers took a controversial pregnancy-testing drug.Hundreds of families have for years been battling for compensation over claims the hormone-based drug Primodos led to their children suffering severe deformities and serious health problems.Until now campaigners have failed to establish a causal link between the drug prescribed by GPs during the Sixties and Seventies and the birth defect
  
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• Why is Putin’s cyber army trashing my reputation with hateful fake news?

  18-03-2017 23:00
  
  At the age of 26, Azi Ahmed turned her back on an arranged marriage and instead chose to sign up to the SAS’s Territorial Army unit.Sixteen years on, Ms Ahmed, a Conservative Party activist and friend of Sir Michael Fallon, has found herself the victim of a vicious race hate campaign over her SAS training.Last month, Russia Today, a television network financed by Vladimir Putin’s government, published an online article, questioning Ms Ahmed’s version of events over her attempt
  
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• Tory activist: Why is Vladimir Putin’s cyber army trashing my reputation with hateful fake news?

  18-03-2017 23:00
  
  At the age of 26, Azi Ahmed turned her back on an arranged marriage and instead chose to sign up to the SAS’s Territorial Army unit.Sixteen years on, Ms Ahmed, a Conservative Party activist and friend of Sir Michael Fallon, has found herself the victim of a vicious race hate campaign over her SAS training.Last month, Russia Today, a television network financed by Vladimir Putin’s government, published an online article, questioning Ms Ahmed’s version of events over her attempt
  
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• Theresa May to unveil plans for converting EU law via 'Henry VIII clauses' later this month 

  18-03-2017 23:00
  
  Government sources said the document will be published when Theresa May formally triggers Article 50 by the end of this month.“It will probably be one of the most controversial bits of the Bill.” At a glance | What is Article 50?
  
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• Small charities to get £4m of foreign aid spending after criticism of how big organisations spend funding 

  18-03-2017 23:00
  
  Priti Patel, the International Development Secretary, will announce the new “small charities challenge fund” in a speech on Monday.“Your organisations are found in every corner of the UK, often run by volunteers and highly valued and trusted by your local communities.
  
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• Police wind up Sir Edward Heath sex abuse probe

  18-03-2017 23:00
  
  The £1 million police investigation into allegations that Sir Edward Heath was a paedophile is being wound up amid claims it has found no evidence to justify tarnishing the former prime minister’s reputation.Private investigators hired by police to help conduct the inquiry have been told contracts are not being renewed, according to sources.The investigation began in August 2015 when Supt Sean Memory, standing outside Sir Edward’s home in Salisbury, launched an appeal for victi
  
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• Police wind up Sir Edward Heath sex abuse inquiry

  18-03-2017 23:00
  
  The £1 million police investigation into allegations that Sir Edward Heath was a paedophile is being wound up amid claims it has found no evidence to justify tarnishing the former prime minister’s reputation.Private investigators hired by police to help conduct the inquiry have been told contracts are not being renewed, according to sources.The investigation began in August 2015 when Supt Sean Memory, standing outside Sir Edward’s former home in Salisbury, launched an appe
  
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• Philip Hammond faces mutiny from Brexit ministers as Whitehall departments demand more money after Budget ‘shambles’

  18-03-2017 23:00
  
  Brexit ministers have demanded Philip Hammond pays for hundreds of extra officials amid fury that departments have been forced to find cuts. 
  
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• Philip Hammond faces mutiny from Brexit ministers as departments demand more money after Budget ‘shambles’

  18-03-2017 23:00
  
  Brexit ministers have demanded Philip Hammond pays for hundreds of extra officials amid fury that departments have been forced to find cuts. 
  
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• Parliament’s sleaze watchdog to consider rules banning second jobs like George Osborne’s Evening Standard editorship

  18-03-2017 23:00
  
  “You cannot edit the Evening Standard and represent your constituents in any meaningful sense.Mr Osborne now has six jobs - editing the Evening Standard, advising the financial giant BlackRock, doing after dinner speeches, completing a fellowship in America, chairing the Northern Powerhouse Partnership and being MP for Tatton.
  
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• Analysis: What really happened in the Budget about-turn and the fallout that followed 

  18-03-2017 23:00
  
  In the end, it took less than an hour for Philip Hammond to agree one of his Budget’s biggest revenue raisers should be scrapped.
  
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• Can cryo chambers improve footballers' game?

  18-03-2017 22:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Mike Bushell tried out Fulham FC's cryo chamber.
  
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• Paris Orly Airport attacker wanted to kill, die for Allah - Daily Mail

  18-03-2017 22:43 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  Paris Orly Airport attacker wanted to kill, die for Allah
  Daily Mail
  ORLY, France (AP) - Yelling that he wanted to kill and die for Allah, a suspected Islamic extremist attacked a French soldier Saturday morning at Paris' Orly Airport and wrested away her assault rifle, a French prosecutor said. Two colleagues on her ...
  Last words of Paris Airport Shooting gunman: 'I'm here to die for Allah'Express.co.uk
  Man killed at Paris airport used lead-shot pistol to try to take soldier hostag
  
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• Teenager 'murdered by ex-boyfriend' after police fined her for wasting their time over her fears about him, court hears

  18-03-2017 22:17
  
  A teenager who was found dead with her throat slit months after reporting her ex-boyfriend to police was issued with a fine for wasting police time, a murder trial has heard.The body of Shana Grice, 19, was discovered in her bedroom in Portslade, East Sussex, following an attack last August.Jurors were told that Lane became “obsessed” with the teenager after she got back together with her previous partner, Ashley Cooke.
  
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• Ignoring Scottish referendum mandate would "shatter" UK structure - Sturgeon

  18-03-2017 22:14
  By Elisabeth O'LearyABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - Refusal by Britain's prime minister to discuss an independence referendum would "shatter beyond repair" the United Kingdom's constitutional structure, Nicola Sturgeon told her Scottish National Party on Saturday.Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister, pledged to press on with plans to hold a new Scottish referendum as announced earlier this week, deepening a standoff with the UK government.
  
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• Will the SNP’s policy revamp get Scottish swing voters to say yes?

  18-03-2017 22:00
  
  The Scottish National Party is this weekend engaged in a revamp of policies on currency, Europe, migration, defence and other issues in the hope of winning over swing voters in the event of a second Scottish independence referendum.Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon hopes to neutralise the issues that badly damaged the failed independence campaign in 2014.The SNP, which met this weekend for its spring conference in Aberdeen, is considering policies that would see the Scots having their own
  
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• English nationalism is rising: but hard Brexit is not the way to assuage it

  18-03-2017 22:00
  
  Last week saw the opening moves in a high-stakes game of poker between Nicola Sturgeon and Theresa May. It has left us peering into the future, trying to figure out how their row over the timing of a second Scottish independence referendum will play out.For the emergence of a potent seam of nationalism in Scotland – powerfully accentuated when a different female Conservative leader was in office 30 years ago – laid the foundations for the current ascendancy of the SNP.Deep-seated cha
  
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• 'Cowardly' graffiti on Belfast mural to Irish Zionist who fought in WWI being treated as a hate crime

  18-03-2017 21:58
  
  The defacing of a Belfast war memorial to a soldier who led the "Jewish Legion" has been condemned as a “cowardly attack" on an Irish hero.The words “scum” and “Nazis” were daubed on a mural honouring Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson who commanded the volunteer battalions of the 'Jewish Legion' as they fought against the Ottoman Empire during World War One.The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it was treating the incident as a hate crime.
  
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• West Brom 3 - Arsenal 1: Baggies sink Gunners as pressure mounts on Arsene Wenger - Express.co.uk

  18-03-2017 21:31 via express.co.uk
  
  Express.co.uk
  West Brom 3 - Arsenal 1: Baggies sink Gunners as pressure mounts on Arsene Wenger
  Express.co.uk
  THIS latest horror show suggested Arsene Wenger would do well to survive this season, let alone agree a contract to stay at the Arsenal helm. By Harry Pratt at the Hawthorns. PUBLISHED: 00:02, Sun, Mar 19, 2017 | UPDATED: 00:33, Sun, Mar 19, 2017 ...
  Soccer-Chelsea march on, Arsenal's Wenger to soon reveal his future after lossDaily Mail
  Arsenal in limbo while Arsene Wenger remains
  
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• London-bound train evacuated after 'passenger pulls knife and threatens conductor'

  18-03-2017 21:31
  
  The train had just pulled into Haddenham and Thame station when the passenger was pinned to the ground by four police officers and arrested, a witness said.A 23-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of ABH and is currently in custody, police said.A witness told the Daily Mail: “Around 50 people had to get off the train and I saw four police officers sprinting across the bridge to get to the man.
  
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• Tragic story of Victorian novelist's distraught daughter revealed by her descendant

  18-03-2017 21:30
  
  Bulwer-Lytton’s teenage daughter Emily is now thought to have been driven to suicide by an existential crisis, brought on in part by her troubled relationship with her womanising father and embarrassment over her own affairs, one with a 15-year-old boy.This startling conclusion was made by one of Bulwer-Lytton’s aristocratic descendants after he visited her tomb at the family seat of Knebworth House.Henry Lytton Cobbold, Bulwer-Lytton’s great-great-great grandson, stumbled acro
  
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• Tragic story of Victorian novelist's distraught daughter revealed by her ancestor

  18-03-2017 21:30
  
  Bulwer-Lytton’s teenage daughter Emily is now thought to have been driven to suicide by an existential crisis, brought on in part by her troubled relationship with her womanising father and embarrassment over her own affairs, one with a 15-year-old boy.This startling conclusion was made by one of Bulwer-Lytton’s aristocratic descendants after he visited her tomb at the family seat of Knebworth House.Henry Lytton Cobbold, Bulwer-Lytton’s great-great-great grandson, stumbled acro
  
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• Police hunt for missing 13-year-old girls last seen on a bus with two males

  18-03-2017 21:18
  
  West Midlands Police have appealed for information following the disappearance of Holly Ward and Rhianna Spitz shortly after they alighted from the number 97 bus on Garrison Lane in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, around 9pm on March 17.Police appeal to find two missing girls.Rhianna is described as white, 5ft 4ins tall, with shoulder length brown hair.
  
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• SNP back prostitution law changes condemned by sex workers

  18-03-2017 21:16
  
  The Scottish National Party has backed changes to prostitution laws to criminalise those paying for sex, but not those who sell it.Delegates at the party’s conference in Aberdeen voted in favour of a motion proposing a “Scottish model” to handle prostitution, similar to the "Nordic model" used in Scandinavian countries.The resolution, proposed by MSP Ash Denham, stated that “commercial sexual exploitation, including prostitution and human trafficking, is a form of violenc
  
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• Vladimir Kara-Murza, a twice-poisoned Russian dissident, says: 'If it happens a third time, that'll be it'

  18-03-2017 21:00
  
  Six weeks ago, Mr Kara-Murza, who is 35, found himself suddenly and totally incapacitated, as he had done in May 2015, but this time there was no shock and confusion, but a sense of familiar dread.When I am in Russia I have lots of meetings every day, in cafes, in restaurants.“I am confident that this is because of my political activities in Russia, in the democratic opposition to Putin’s regime.
  
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• Earl of Cardigan's lawyer quits in latest storm to hit troubled country estate

  18-03-2017 21:00
  
  As the scion of one of the country’s oldest aristocratic families the Earl of Cardigan has an impeccable pedigree.It has now emerged that a senior lawyer appointed by the Earl, David Brudenell-Bruce,  to oversee his affairs at Savernake Estate has resigned following a dispute over the way it was being run.Simon Weil quit as a trustee as part of an agreed settlement with the Earl, three years after he was appointed to replace another of his trustees, John Moore, who left in acrimonious
  
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• BBC Asian Network apologises for asking 'What is the right punishment for blasphemy?'

  18-03-2017 20:59
  
  Presenter Shazia Awan suggested viewers should weigh in on Pakistan's request for Facebook to crack down on blasphemous content.Blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad is punishable by death in Pakistan, which has a number of religious offences listed in its penal code, including "wounding religious feelings", "derogatory remarks" and "defiling the Quran".
  
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• Migrants have raised school standards in London, says Gove

  18-03-2017 20:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Immigration is a key reason behind London's high achievement in schools, says former education secretary.
  
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• The Latest: France: Orly attacker held gun to soldier's head - Daily Mail

  18-03-2017 20:22 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  The Latest: France: Orly attacker held gun to soldier's head
  Daily Mail
  Paris prosecutor Francois Molins has told a news conference that the man who attacked a soldier and was killed by her colleagues at Orly Airport yelled that he wanted to die in the name of Allah and "whatever happens, there will be deaths." An elite ...
  Paris Orly Airport shooting: Another failure for French security forces could have consequences for electionThe Independent
  Paris airport attacker shouted: 'I'm h
  
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• Royals in Paris

  18-03-2017 20:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The royal couple travelled to the French capital on Friday for a two-day trip at the request of the Foreign Office.
  
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• Man arrested after sending tweet 'attack' that caused journalist to have epilepsy seizure 

  18-03-2017 20:21
  
  A man who allegedly tweeted an animated strobe image to a journalist with epilepsy has been arrested and charged with cyberstalking.The flashing image sent to Kurt Eichenwald, a Newsweek senior writer and Vanity Fair contributing editor, on December 15 came with the message: "You deserve a seizure for your post," according to the criminal complaint.Mr Eichenwald said the image triggered a seizure and he then sought to identify the person who sent it.
  
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• RSPCA calls for ban on sale of 'raccoon dogs' who pose threat to wildlife

  18-03-2017 20:00
  
  The charity has confirmed that the creatures, which are native to Japan, Siberia and China, have already escaped into the wild and are posing a threat to British wildlife.Now the Government has said it  “takes the threat of this species seriously” and will investigate any reported sighting of the creatures.Conservationists fear that the so-called racoon dogs could begin to breed in the wild, creating a population explosion which threatens to overwhelm weaker native species.
  
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• Ireland's Six Nations finishes on high as they deny England a Grand Slam - The42

  18-03-2017 19:57 via the42.ie
  
  The42
  Ireland's Six Nations finishes on high as they deny England a Grand Slam
  The42
  WHEN WE SPEAK about 'big plays,' moments like Peter O'Mahony's 74th-minute lineout steal on the English throw is exactly what we're talking about. The Munster man was not even supposed to start this game – a brutal, bloody affair in Dublin – but a late ...
  Ragby - Lessons in Ireland defeat for Lions and All Blacks: ReadThe Star Online
  VIDEO: Joe Schmidt responds to Eddie Jones' commentsIrish In
  
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• Ireland end England's Grand Slam bid

  18-03-2017 19:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Gutsy Ireland end England's bid for a second Grand Slam in a row and a world record 19th straight Test win.
  
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• Record numbers of nurses from EU quitting their NHS jobs

  18-03-2017 19:34
  
  NHS nurses from EU countries are quitting their jobs in record numbers, causing critics to warn that Theresa May is making the NHS staffing crisis worse by refusing to guarantee the rights of European citizens.In total, some 6,433 EU nationals quit the NHS in 2016, up from 5,135 in 2014, responses from 80 of the 136 NHS acute trusts showed.Meanwhile, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said there had been a 92 per cent drop in the number of EU citizens working as nurses – from 1,261 nurses
  
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• Arsenal in limbo while Arsene Wenger remains master of his own destiny - Evening Standard

  18-03-2017 19:31 via standard.co.uk
  
  Evening Standard
  Arsenal in limbo while Arsene Wenger remains master of his own destiny
  Evening Standard
  And so a decision has been made. We may not know whether Arsene Wenger will stay or go at Arsenal, but at least someone does now. If Arsenal's season were one of those prestigious US cable dramas – and there is more than a little of The Sopranos to ...
  Arsenal top-four failure would be a disastrous end to Arsene Wenger eraESPN.co.uk (blog)
  Chelsea march on, Arsenal's Wenger will s
  
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• Chelsea believe Premier League title is coming after Gary Cahill sinks Stoke - The Guardian

  18-03-2017 19:27 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  Chelsea believe Premier League title is coming after Gary Cahill sinks Stoke
  The Guardian
  Chelsea's Gary Cahill celebrates scoring their second goal against Stoke with his teammates. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters. Share on Facebook · Share on Twitter · Share via Email; View more sharing options; Share on LinkedIn · Share on Pinterest ...
  Mark Hughes praises Stoke despite defeat to ChelseaSkySports
  Stoke City 1 Chelsea 2 live as it happened: Gary Cahill goal se
  
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• China calls on US to be 'cool-headed' over North Korea as Tillerson warns tensions at 'dangerous levels' - Telegraph.co.uk

  18-03-2017 19:23 via telegraph.co.uk
  
  Telegraph.co.uk
  China calls on US to be 'cool-headed' over North Korea as Tillerson warns tensions at 'dangerous levels'
  Telegraph.co.uk
  China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, called for the US to remain “cool-headed” over North Korea after US secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, warned that tensions were at “dangerous levels”. Mr Wang's remarks appeared to be an attempt to soften the tone ...
  North Korean Nukes and the Grand International-Relations Experiment in AsiaThe Atlan
  
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• Tourist needed surgery after violent assault by man who chatted her up

  18-03-2017 19:18
  
  The suspect followed the victim, grabbed her from behind and seriously assaulted her by repeatedly punching her in the face, leaving her with shocking facial injuries.Detective Constable Mike Reilly, the investigating officer from Westminster CID, said: "This was a vicious unprovoked attack that has left the victim very shaken."Warwick Avenue is a busy area, especially at 8pm on a Friday evening.
  
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• A strong press keeps the elites in check

  18-03-2017 19:12
  
  Government, and the opposition, need to be held to account.Britain needs a vibrant and free press.Last Wednesday, the Government U-turned spectacularly.Politicians understand this, as George Osborne will attest.
  
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• Police make urgent appeal to find young boy's parents after he was seriously injured in a road accident

  18-03-2017 19:08
  
  Police have made an urgent appeal to find  the parents of a young boy who is a serious condition in hospital after being struck by a motorcycle.The incident happened at around 12.20pm on Saturday when the unknown child got off a Route E3 bus on Popes Lane at the junction with Knight's Avenue, W5, in South Ealing.Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended the scene and found the boy with a head and leg injury.
  
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• Most Britons say Brexit vote makes break-up of UK more likely – poll

  18-03-2017 19:07
  
  Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland had a ‘cast-iron mandate’ for a second independence referendum.A majority of Britons believe the Brexit vote increases the chances of the United Kingdom breaking apart, a new poll shows.A survey by Opinium for the Observer shows that 54% agree that the UK’s vote to leave the EU has made a break-up more likely.
  
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• Brits in favour of higher income tax on country's wealthiest, poll finds

  18-03-2017 19:00
  
  Increased taxes on wealthy individuals and businesses in order to balance the country’s books have the overwhelming support of the British public, a new poll reveals.According to a survey by ComRes for The Independent, restoring the income tax rate for those earning more than £150,000 a year from 45p to 50p has the support of 77 per cent of the public, including 76 per cent of Conservative respondents.George Osborne, the former Chancellor, introduced the cut in April 2013, and later
  
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• Almost half of British people do not believe Government will conclude Brexit talks within two years

  18-03-2017 19:00
  
  Almost half of British people do not believe the Government will conclude the process of leaving the European Union by March 2019, according to a new poll for The Independent.It comes as Theresa May prepares to invoke Article 50, the untested mechanism for a member state leaving the EU, within the next two weeks ahead of her self-imposed deadline at the end of March.For an extension to be granted for the negotiation period – if Downing Street fails to reach an agreement by March 2019 &ndas
  
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• Scottish people split over independence referendum before Brexit, poll suggests - The Independent

  18-03-2017 18:59 via independent.co.uk
  
  The Independent
  Scottish people split over independence referendum before Brexit, poll suggests
  The Independent
  Scotland is split over whether Theresa May is right to block a second independence referendum while Britain negotiates its exit deal with the European Union, according to a new poll for The Independent. The survey comes against the backdrop of a ...
  Sturgeon in plea to anti-independence voters over referendum planThe Guardian
  Nicola Sturgeon 'heading for extreme independence outs
  
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• Scottish people split over independence referendum before Brexit, poll suggests

  18-03-2017 18:59
  
  Scotland is split over whether Theresa May is right to block a second independence referendum while Britain negotiates its exit deal with the European Union, according to a new poll for The Independent.The survey comes against the backdrop of a constitutional stand-off between the Prime Minister and Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, who renewed her assault on Downing Street’s “intransigence” and indifference to Scotland.Pollster ComRes found that 44 per cent of Scot
  
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• Sturgeon: Holyrood's will 'must and will prevail'

  18-03-2017 18:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nicola Sturgeon tells the SNP conference that "Scotland's future will be in Scotland's hands".
  
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