General news

• Waitrose customers dismayed after supermarket stops offering free coffee without purchase

  21-03-2017 23:27
  
  Waitrose customers have expressed dismay after the supermarket announced shoppers will now have to buy something before qualifying for a free cup of coffee.After receiving an email informing them they would now have to make a purchase in the store before collecting their complimentary coffee, myWaitrose card holders voiced disappointment that they would no longer be able to enjoy the hot drink before reaching the check-out.The popular scheme, which offers all members a free coffee each day, will
  
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• Pension raid on middle-class savers is off the cards, private Treasury correspondence says 

  21-03-2017 23:00
  
  Phillip Hammond has ruled out the biggest pension tax raid in nearly a century after the Treasury has privately admitted that "now is not the right time".The Daily Telegraph can reveal the department has privately reassured businesses in correspondence sent out this month that a proposed raid on wealthy pension savers will not take place for the foreseeable future.It comes just weeks before Theresa May is due to trigger Article 50 which will begin the process of Britain leaving the EU.
  
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• Oxbridge Boat Race faces choppy waters amid fears flotilla could catch fire 

  21-03-2017 23:00
  
  The University Boat Race has hit choppy waters.The annual contest between the rowers of Cambridge and Oxford has found itself submerged in a rising tide of health and safety red tape.The problem is not the university rowing boats themselves but the colourful flotilla of river vessels that follows the crews up the Thames.
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon told by senior colleague: Delay referendum until Scots drop opposition

  21-03-2017 23:00
  
  Nicola Sturgeon will be advised by one of her most senior colleagues to postpone a second independence referendum until she has overcome Scots’ opposition to it.Alex Neil, a former Scottish Government Minister, is to tell Holyrood on Wednesday that calling a rerun of the 2014 vote without strong public support for another poll would damage the Nationalists’ chances of victory.Speaking ahead of the conclusion of a two-day Scottish Parliament debate on a second referendum, Mr Neil told
  
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• Martin McGuinness: Vigils held for Sinn Féin leader

  21-03-2017 23:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Vigils are held across the island of Ireland for Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness, who has died aged 66.
  
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• Czech zoo saws off rhino horns to thwart poachers

  21-03-2017 22:57
  
  A Czech zoo has started sawing off the horns of its 21 rhinos to protect them from poaching after the killing of a rhinoceros in France earlier this month.The zoo in Dvur Kralove, some 150 km (90 miles) north-east of Prague, keeps 17 black rhinos and four southern white ones, the largest group in Europe."The decision to remove rhino horns was not made easily at all," Premysl Rabas, the zoo's head, said in a statement.
  
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• Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says Westminster would be 'wrong' to block independence vote

  21-03-2017 22:54
  
  Nicola Sturgeon has said it would be “wrong, unfair and utterly unsustainable” for Westminster to block a second Scottish independence referendum.The Scottish Parliament is expected to back the First Minister’s call for another referendum in a vote on Wednesday evening.Ahead of the vote Ms Sturgeon said it was "'entirely legitimate" for the UK Government and opposition parties at the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood to "robustly" oppose independence.
  
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• Exclusive: Police told to drop investigation into Martin McGuinness's role in 'Bloody Monday'

  21-03-2017 22:34
  
  Sources have told The Daily Telegraph that detectives with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) believed by around 2007 that they had accumulated enough evidence against Mr McGuinness to question him over his role in what became known as ‘Bloody Monday’, when three-car bombs were set off in the town in one of the worst outrages of ‘the Troubles’.
  
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• Anger after head of eurozone finance ministers says southern Europe blew cash on 'drinks and women'

  21-03-2017 22:31
  
  The head of the eurozone’s finance ministers has been criticised for stating that southern European countries blew their money on “drinks and women”.Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who leads the group, made the comments in an interview on Monday with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).“As a Social Democrat, I attribute exceptional importance to solidarity.
  
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• Watson warns minister over George Osborne's editor role

  21-03-2017 22:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson calls for government assurances in its dealings with George Osborne.
  
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• Twins found dead by cliff 'were holding parent's ashes'

  21-03-2017 22:27
  
  Twins who were found dead at the bottom of cliffs in Dover had rucksacks containing the ashes of their parents, an inquest was told.Muriel and Bernard Burgess were found on New Year’s Day while coastguards were searching for another body.Coroner Patricia Harding said it was not clear if the twins had committed suicide.
  
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• Dad spends three days building elaborate contraption to announce baby’s gender

  21-03-2017 22:23
  
  Dedicated dad, Taylor Calmus, from the US, spent three days building an incredible Rube Goldberg machine to announce the gender of his baby due in August.  Video block text
  
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• Man found murdered at Hoxton block of flats named as Greg Peake

  21-03-2017 22:14
  
  A man found murdered at flats in east London was named by detectives on Tuesday as 26-year-old Greg Peake.Mr Peake, was found lying unresponsive in Hoxton's Cranston Estate by paramedics just after 12.30pm on Sunday.Despite the arrival of police and the London Ambulance Service, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
  
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• Former foes salute Martin McGuinness, IRA man turned peacemaker

  21-03-2017 22:11
  By Ian Graham and Conor HumphriesBELFAST/LONDONDERRY, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - Martin McGuinness, the Irish Republican Army commander who laid down his arms to become a major architect of peace in Northern Ireland, died on Tuesday aged 66, drawing tributes from allies and former enemies alike.The face of Irish Republicanism during some of the worst moments of "The Troubles" that killed more than 3,600 people, McGuinness remained a figure of hate for many pro-British Protestants until his dea
  
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• Prince Philip backed plans for a new Royal Yacht Britannia that could be used a training ship for apprentices

  21-03-2017 22:00
  
  The Duke of Edinburgh has backed plans for a new Royal Yacht Britannia and told friends it should be used as a training vessel for apprentices, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.The Duke also supported a proposal that the new yacht can winning trade deals around the world for Britain.The Telegraph has been campaigning for a new Britannia to help win deals for Britain after Britain leaves the European Union for months.
  
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• Rail unions reach 'new low' with strike plans for Grand National day 

  21-03-2017 21:56
  
  Rail unions have been slammed for planning strike action on the day of the Grand National when the "eyes of the world will be on Liverpool".Merseyrail is one of three rail operators set to stage a 24-hour strike on April 8 amid a protracted row over staffing and the role of conductors.Arriva Trains North and Southern rail services will also be affected.
  
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• Neil Gorsuch distances himself from mentor who compared gay sex to bestiality

  21-03-2017 21:51
  
  Senator Dick Durbin, onscreen, questions Judge Neil Gorsuch about whether ‘we should condemn or congratulate’ Professor John Finnis for his legal opinion on gay sex.Judge Neil Gorsuch, Donald Trump’s nominee for the supreme court, was forced to distance himself on Tuesday from a series of controversial comments made by his doctoral supervisor, a conservative Catholic scholar, during a testy exchange on the second day of his confirmation hearing in the US Senate.Gorsuch studied
  
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• Labour membership expected to fall below half a million

  21-03-2017 21:49
  
  Labour membership is expected to fall below half a million for the first time since its peak under Jeremy Corbyn because about 40,000 people are in arrears.The unusual number of lapsed payments was discussed at a meeting of Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) on Tuesday, as the drop will hit Labour’s budget.The peak of party membership under Corbyn was 554,000 members as of last July, which had fallen to 528,000 by December.
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland's future 'should not be imposed'

  21-03-2017 21:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nicola Sturgeon insists Scotland's future should be decided by its people rather than being "imposed upon us".
  
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• UK's Trump-style ban on laptops for Middle East flights means 'terrorism wins', says security expert

  21-03-2017 21:17
  
  Britain’s decision to follow the US in banning electronic devices on flights from certain Middle Eastern countries means “terrorism wins”, a leading aviation security expert has warned.Aviation Security International editor Philip Baum told The Independent officials should be focused on identifying “negative intent” rather than disrupting the lives of everyday passengers.
  
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• Germany the model for England, says Gareth Southgate - SkySports

  21-03-2017 21:15 via skysports.com
  
  SkySports
  Germany the model for England, says Gareth Southgate
  SkySports
  Gareth Southgate believes Germany are the ideal inspiration for the England squad ahead of their friendly in Dortmund on Wednesday. England face the world champions at Signal Iduna Park in Southgate's first match since being confirmed as Sam ...
  Win, lose or draw in Germany, Gareth Southgate has bigger plans for EnglandThe FA
  Phil Jones sent home from England duty for X-rays on possible broken toeESPN.co.uk
  Gareth Sou
  
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• Southern, Merseyrail and Arriva Trains North strikes announced

  21-03-2017 21:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Southern, Merseyrail and Arriva Trains North staff will walk out for 24 hours on 8 April.
  
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• Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, says he's no 'rubber stamp'

  21-03-2017 20:48
  
  “What was once a hotly-contested issue is no longer a hotly-contested issue,” said Neil Gorsuch, in his confirmation hearing.Barack Obama, the then-president, was blocked from nominating his choice of judge, Merrick Garland – something which infuriated the Democrats, because the judges serve for life and have the ultimate say on fundamental issues of American life.Mr Trump then nominated Neil Gorsuch, a Colorado-based judge.
  
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• Woman who poured acid on her sleeping partner is jailed for life

  21-03-2017 20:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  "Fixated" Katie Leong poured sulphuric acid over her partner as he slept at the home they shared.
  
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• Labour wars: Tom Watson accused by Len McCluskey of living in 'world of skulduggery, smears and secret plots'

  21-03-2017 20:36
  
  Unite union general secretary Len McCluskey has accused Labour deputy leader Tom Watson of living in a "world of skulduggery, smears and secret plots".Mr McCluskey told a meeting of left-wingers that he wanted to “recapture” the party and “reclaim” it at every level from local constituencies to regional and national levels, including annual conference.
  
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• Trump to GOP: Pass health care bill or seal your fate - Daily Mail

  21-03-2017 20:33 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  Trump to GOP: Pass health care bill or seal your fate
  Daily Mail
  WASHINGTON (AP) - Time for talk running out, President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned wavering House Republicans that their jobs were on the line in next year's elections if they failed to back a GOP bill that would overhaul Barack Obama's Affordable ...
  Trump twists arms on Capitol Hill as House Republicans waver on healthcareThe Guardian
  Trump's penchant for vengeance casts shadow on health care votePolitico
  Trum
  
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• World leaders pay tribute to 'peacemaker' Martin McGuinness - The Guardian

  21-03-2017 20:15 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  World leaders pay tribute to 'peacemaker' Martin McGuinness
  The Guardian
  World leaders, old allies and new political colleagues have expressed sorrow at the death of Martin McGuinness, whose journey from IRA chief of staff to Stormont's deputy first minister personified the Northern Ireland peace process. McGuinness died ...
  Martin McGuinness death: Mourners applaud as former Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister's body arrives home in DerryBelfast Telegraph
  Gerry Braiden: Martin Mc
  
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• French minister resigns over probe into daughters' jobs - Daily Mail

  21-03-2017 20:11 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  French minister resigns over probe into daughters' jobs
  Daily Mail
  PARIS (AP) - French Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux resigned Tuesday a few hours after prosecutors opened an investigation into a report that he hired his two daughters for a series of temporary parliamentary jobs, starting when they were 15 and 16 ...
  French interior minister quits over holiday jobs for his daughtersThe Guardian
  French minister probed for hiring daughters as aidesNews24
  French minister resigns amid p
  
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• Martin McGuinness: Sinn Féin leader's body carried home

  21-03-2017 20:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The body of IRA leader turned Sinn Féin politician is carried home after his death at the age of 66.
  
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• The Guardian view on the French campaign: a defining election - The Guardian

  21-03-2017 20:06 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  The Guardian view on the French campaign: a defining election
  The Guardian
  The French start voting in one month – and Marine Le Pen is set to reach the presidential run-off. Whether she can then be defeated is the next big test for Europe and liberal democracy. Marine Le Pen. 'Monday's TV debate highlighted that the Marine Le ...
  Burkini takes center stage in fiery French presidential debateFox News
  Le Pen fails to land her punches in first TV debate of French presidential ca
  
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• Resistance to university consent classes shows schools are failing to educate young men on the dangers of sex

  21-03-2017 20:06
  
  As part of freshers’ week at Oxford, I attended a compulsory sexual consent workshop.Similar initiatives take place in several UK universities: some voluntary and others, like mine, given the same mandatory status as fire safety talks.Despite criticism, sexual consent classes are a positive step, but their seeds should be sown before university, such that a wider atmosphere of mutual respect is fostered during adolescence.
  
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• Brexit: Remind EU about cancelling German WW2 debt to get better deal, says senior Tory MP

  21-03-2017 19:58
  
  UK government ministers should remind the EU about the cancellation of German debt after the Second World War as they try to secure a better Brexit deal, a senior Conservative MP has said.Sir Bill Cash, a long-standing Eurosceptic, who chairs the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee, said European officials wanting to whack Britain with a hefty Brexit bill were being “extravagant” and should remember how European countries had written off German debt in the 1950s.“Would
  
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• US and UK flight ban on electronic devices explained

  21-03-2017 19:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Daniel Sandford considers the reason for the UK and US banning most devices from certain flights.
  
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• Rail strikes due on Grand National day

  21-03-2017 19:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Southern, Merseyrail and Arriva Trains North staff will walk out for 24 hours on 8 April.
  
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• Osborne becomes the remainers’ great hope | Letters

  21-03-2017 19:44
  
  George Osborne listens in the House of Commons on Monday during an urgent question regarding his appointment as editor of the London Evening Standard.Now I read that to Polly Toynbee that fine upstanding illuminatus George Osborne is to become the great hope of those who hanker for the good old days (Osborne could be a potent weapon in this Brexit war, 21 March).At least she can bask in the gratification of knowing that she’ll also have John Major and Tony Blair marching shoulder to should
  
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• UK flight ban on electronic devices announced

  21-03-2017 19:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Laptops and tablets will not be allowed on some inbound routes from the Middle East and North Africa.
  
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• Islington blues for Corbyn and Wenger | Letters

  21-03-2017 19:38
  
  Arsenal fans display ‘Wenger out’ banners during the Premier League match at West Bromwich Albion. Will the Arsenal manager or Jeremy Corbyn go first? Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/WBA FC via Getty Images
  
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• Indian Police Helped Scotland Yard Hack Into Emails of Greenpeace and Other Activists, Says Report - The Wire

  21-03-2017 19:36 via thewire.in
  
  The Wire
  Indian Police Helped Scotland Yard Hack Into Emails of Greenpeace and Other Activists, Says Report
  The Wire
  A British police intelligence unit allegedly relied on an Indian counterpart, who in turn used hackers to obtain the email ID passwords of environmental campaigners and journalists. An Indian police officer or unit may have helped British police gain ...and more »
  
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• Anger as MPs bow to peers' pressure and end 500-year old tradition of printing new laws on vellum

  21-03-2017 19:34
  
  The centuries-old tradition of printing new laws on vellum is to be abandoned after MPs bowed to pressure from peers and agreed to use paper.The House of Lords – which is in charge of printing copies of laws - has been pushing to use archival paper, rather than calf skin, to save £80,000 a year.Last year, MPs voted in the House of Commons to reject suggestion, after Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock offered to step in to pay the extra cost.
  
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• Probe launched after claims Met Police used hackers to access campaigners' emails

  21-03-2017 19:31
  
  An investigation is underway into claims the Met Police used hackers to access the emails of political campaigners.In a letter to Green Party peer Jenny Jones, the anonymous individual claimed the unit worked alongside Indian police to hack passwords of environmental campaigners.Ms Jones passed the letter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which has now begun an investigation.
  
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• Met Police investigated by watchdog for ‘illegal monitoring’ of environmental campaigners’ private emails

  21-03-2017 19:29
  
  Scotland Yard is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) over claims its officers illegally hacked the emails of environmental campaigners and journalists.The watchdog was first alerted to the allegations by an anonymous source, who claimed a unit inside the Metropolitan Police was working with counterparts in India to regularly monitor the inboxes of activists, four of whom worked for Greenpeace.The letter, sent to Green Party peer Jenny Jones and seen by The G
  
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• Syrian rebels renew assault on Damascus

  21-03-2017 19:24
  
  Syrian rebel groups have launched a second surprise offensive in east Damascus, a day after government forces said they had recovered areas near the capital lost over the weekend.
  
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• How a life model uses nudity to explain his disability

  21-03-2017 19:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Kevin French poses as a nude life model to explain more about his disability.
  
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• Sisters sue London hotel where they suffered brutal hammer attack

  21-03-2017 19:17
  
  Three sisters from the United Arab Emirates who were the victims of a brutal hammer attack while on a shopping trip to London are suing the hotel where it happened.Drug addict and “hotel creeper” Philip Spence was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder after he bludgeoned the women in their room during a burglary at the four-star Cumberland hotel on 6 April 2014.Announcing the claim, Riffat Yaqub, a solicitor at London law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, said that as well
  
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• Mad March weather: Northern England to be buried under 10cm of snow as Scotland freezes on second day of spring

  21-03-2017 19:17
  
  Up to ten hours of snowfall will cause problems for commuters heading to work over the Pennines on Wednesday morning, meteorologists said.The Met Office issued a yellow warning which ended at 10am on Tuesday after wintry weather hit roads in Scotland.
  
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• As school budgets continue to be stretched, technical innovation in the classroom is more important than ever

  21-03-2017 19:14
  
  Today, Britain’s academic community faces more pressure than ever in ensuring students are future-ready.Schools are looking at a £3billion funding squeeze, and a new Parliamentary inquiry launching this week is set to investigate why, despite ongoing initiatives, the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills gap continues to grow.With the Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Spring Budget announcements still ringing in the ears of many, now marks an ideal time to po
  
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• UK bans laptops and tablets on flights from six Middle East countries - The Guardian

  21-03-2017 19:13 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  UK bans laptops and tablets on flights from six Middle East countries
  The Guardian
  Cairo International airport is one of several in the Middle East affected by the UK and US bans. Photograph: David Degner/Getty Images. Share on Facebook · Share on Twitter · Share via Email; View more sharing options; Share on LinkedIn · Share on ...
  Britain will ban electronic devices on flights from six Middle Eastern nations amid terror threatTelegraph.co.uk
  US and UK ba
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon accused of hypocrisy as independence debate begins - The Guardian

  21-03-2017 19:13 via theguardian.com
  
  The Guardian
  Nicola Sturgeon accused of hypocrisy as independence debate begins
  The Guardian
  Opposition parties have accused Nicola Sturgeon of hypocrisy after she insisted Theresa May had to respect Holyrood's call for a second independence referendum. The Conservatives and Labour said the first minister repeatedly ignored majority votes in ...
  'Brexit is the latest EXCUSE!' Dugdale goes BERSERK at Sturgeon during fiery Holyrood rantExpress.co.uk
  Not oil but trade: the economic case for Scotti
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon accused of hypocrisy as independence debate begins

  21-03-2017 19:13
  
  Nicola Sturgeon has said she has an ‘unquestionable democratic mandate’ to hold the referendum.Opposition parties have accused Nicola Sturgeon of hypocrisy after she insisted Theresa May had to respect Holyrood’s call for a second independence referendum.The Conservatives and Labour said the first minister repeatedly ignored majority votes in the Scottish parliament on issues she disagreed with yet claimed the UK government had to give way if Holyrood voted for a new referendum
  
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• Poland accuses Donald Tusk of 'illegal agreement' with Vladimir Putin over air disaster

  21-03-2017 19:05
  
  Poland last night intensified its attack against Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, accusing him of committing a “crime” when dealing with Russian during his time as the country’s prime minister.The decision to file a criminal complaint against Mr Tusk represents the latest escalation in a bitter political feud between Poland’s current ruling Law and Justice party and the former prime minister who now holds one of the top three offices in Brussels.Antoni
  
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