General news

• Antonio Conte says Eden Hazard will snub Real Madrid and stay with Chelsea

  31-03-2017 23:34 via theguardian.com
  
  • Playmaker expected to sign new deal to stay in London
  • Madrid have been heavily linked with the BelgianAntonio Conte believes Eden Hazard can satisfy his ambitions at Chelsea, despite Real Madrid’s interest. The Premier League leaders will instigate talks aimed at securing the Belgium midfielder to a new long-term deal at Stamford Bridge.Hazard, who is the club’s highest paid player on around £200,000-a-week, is contracted until 2020, but is expected sign new terms
  
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• Victims in Snowdonia helicopter crash named

  31-03-2017 23:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Police name five passengers who died when privately owned Twin Squirrel aircraft crashed en route to Dublin
  The bodies of five members of the same family who died when their helicopter crashed in Snowdonia have been recovered, police have said.The victims, all from the Milton Keynes area in Buckinghamshire, were named by North Wales police as Kevin and Ruth Burke, aged 56 and 49, Donald and Sharon Burke, aged 55 and 48, and Barry Burke, 51. It is believed they were three brothers and two of thei
  
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• The Daily Show says it's going to open a library of Donald Trump's tweets in New York

  31-03-2017 23:14
  
  It’s apparently going to be free and open to the public to visit this June.
  
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• Leeds hold off Wigan to keep revival rolling in enthralling victory

  31-03-2017 23:01 via theguardian.com
  
  • Leeds 26-18 Wigan
  • Joel Moon, Ryan Hall, Kallum Watkins and Carl Ablett score for RhinosThe message from the Leeds chief executive, Gary Hetherington, four weeks ago could not have been clearer. “This month is an important one and at its end we will be in a much better position to make an accurate judgment on the performance of all our players, coaching staff and senior management, including myself,” he said in the wake of the club’s 66-10 defeat by Castleford.It w
  
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• Ghostly presence of Elliot Daly gives Wasps hope in Leinster examination

  31-03-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Wasps travel to Leinster on Saturday for a Champions Cup quarter-final at the location of one of only two of this season’s losses for the gifted centreIt says everything about Elliot Daly’s ability that Eddie Jones went to Coventry this week specifically to consult Wasps about how best to utilise it. Jones would not be bothered were Daly just another average Joe or one of the fly-by-night opportunists to whom England once dished out hasty caps. When the Australian goes into flying do
  
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• Gibraltar will be 'even more British' after Brexit, says chief minister Picardo

  31-03-2017 22:52
  Gibraltar's chief minister has told Sky News the territory "is not going to be a political pawn in Brexit" and will become even more British after leaving the union.Draft Brexit negotiating guidelines, sent out on Friday, contain a clause suggesting that Spain will be able to veto any future trade deal between the EU and the UK.The clause has inflamed tensions over the status of 'the Rock', which has been held by the UK since 1713 and is home to UK military bases.
  
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• 'Barbaric' burglars flew to Dubai after torturing victims

  31-03-2017 22:11
  A husband and wife were tied up by burglars who poured boiling water over their heads and threatened to chop off his ears and her fingers, a court has heard.Kacey Adams, 34, and Daniel Wallace, 33, made off with around £50,000 in the raid on a bungalow in Halstead, Kent in April 2016.Before the attack, victim Janis Buswell was knitting clothes for her expected great-grandchild and husband John was watching a boxing match on TV.
  
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• Parcel posted through window before landing in toilet

  31-03-2017 21:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sam Cooke arrived home to find two panicked notes from his postman explaining the error.
  
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• Raheem Sterling: ‘I’ve got that face people don’t like but I’m not a brat’

  31-03-2017 21:07 via theguardian.com
  
  In an exclusive interview the Manchester City forward opens up on his negative reputation, performing for his late father and his desire to reach the very topRaheem Sterling strides into a sunlit room at Manchester City’s sprawling academy, shakes hands politely, then offers a killer quip. “Is that really 14 questions?” he says, peering at the paper on the table with its long list of possible inquiries before breaking into laughter.Sterling maintains this open manner during a c
  
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• UK may have to abide by EU laws during any Brexit transition phase

  31-03-2017 20:51
  
  The EU guidelines say a full trade deal can only be concluded after Britain has left the bloc.Britain could be forced to accept EU law, immigration controls and budget payments after it formally leaves the bloc in 2019 if it wants a transitional period to cushion the blow of Brexit, the EU’s draft negotiating guidelines suggest.Published by the European council president, Donald Tusk, the guidelines contained a number of demands that could be difficult for Theresa May to sell to the public
  
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• Labour defers ruling on Ken Livingstone 'antisemitic' remarks

  31-03-2017 20:43 via theguardian.com
  
  As senior Labour figures trade insults, ex-minister Ian Austin accuses shadow cabinet of being ‘pitiful’ and ‘asleep’Labour has deferred its decision on whether to expel former London mayor Ken Livingstone for alleged antisemitic remarks as senior party figures broke ranks to claim the shadow cabinet was “sleeping” on the job.Livingstone – who has been suspended since last April – has been accused of bringing the party into disrepute by making pers
  
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• Labour defers ruling on Ken Livingstone 'antisemitic' remarks

  31-03-2017 20:43
  
  Labour has deferred its decision on whether to expel former London mayor Ken Livingstone for alleged antisemitic remarks as senior party figures broke ranks to claim the shadow cabinet was “sleeping” on the job.Livingstone – who has been suspended since last April – has been accused of bringing the party into disrepute by making persistent claims that Adolf Hitler supported Zionism.
  
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• Campaigners file legal challenge over Brexit reversibility

  31-03-2017 20:35
  Campaigners mounting a legal challenge to determine whether Britain's divorce from the European Union can be reversed said they had filed their written legal case on Friday.Two days after British Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, formally notifying Brussels of Britain's intent to leave the EU, the Good Law Project said it had submitted the case to a court in Dublin.Tax specialist Jolyon Maugham, the lawyer behind the challenge, wants the case to be sent to the
  
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• The Guardian view on social change: seeing what’s in front of us | Editorial

  31-03-2017 20:29 via theguardian.com
  
  A century ago, the right of women to vote was controversial. One day the importance of upholding their right to safety will seem as self-evident as suffrage does nowA century ago this week, MPs voted in support of “the most destructive and dangerous thing ever done by this House of Commons”, in the words of one despairing opponent. Granting women equality by allowing them to vote would kill chivalry and leave government in the hands of those unfitted for it by either nature or temper
  
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• The Guardian view on Brexit divorce: full of needless but expected provocations | Editorial

  31-03-2017 20:28 via theguardian.com
  
  The two-year countdown to Brexit has begun badly. That’s to be expected in a breakup after four decades of marriageThis week Britain said goodbye to the European Union with a letter of divorce, which upset continental leaders with unsubtle demands that they open their markets up for trade on friendly terms or we might not be able to continue military cooperation. On Friday the EU had its chance to respond to British threats and, depressingly, did so in kind. Its leaders alighted on a piece
  
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• Believe it or not, Nigel Farage can now be an inspiration for remainers | Jonathan Freedland

  31-03-2017 20:27 via theguardian.com
  
  The years ahead will not be easy, but the Brexiteers showed that dogged determination can win throughIt’s tempting to go full Farage. Not, perhaps, the pint, cigarette and cartoon grin – there won’t be too many pro-European takers for that look – but surely the many millions feeling despondent at this week’s formal triggering of Brexit can learn from the arch-Brexiteer.Why shouldn’t remainers draw inspiration from those who refused to accept the 1975 referendu
  
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• Brexit skills shortage fears means major engineering projects may be 'phased'

  31-03-2017 20:23
  Go into Heathrow's Terminal 5 and it still has the feel of a futuristic building - light streams in, the check-in desks run off into the distance."Engineers came to work for us because they wanted this on their CV, and they wanted to test themselves.
  
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• South Africa: ANC in chaos after Jacob Zuma sacks finance minister

  31-03-2017 20:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Divisions within party underlined by unprecedented verbal attack from deputy president Cyril RamaphosaSouth Africa is facing a political crisis after its president, Jacob Zuma, sacked his respected finance minister in an overnight cabinet purge.The dramatic move late on Thursday night sent the national currency plunging, outraged business leaders, and pitched the ruling African National Congress party into chaos.Continue reading...
  
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• Ways to solve our growing weight problems | Letters

  31-03-2017 19:53
  
  ‘Obesity is a public health disaster inextricably enmeshed with cardiovascular disease, obstructive sleep apnoea, gout, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, gallstones, cancers, osteoarthritis, breathing problems, dental decay and gum disease,’ write Munjed Farid Al Qutob.The government must do everything in its power to combat obesity (Supermarkets must stop discounting unhealthy foods to tackle childhood obesity, say MPs, 27 March).
  
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• Food insecurity is the most basic form of poverty | Letters

  31-03-2017 19:52
  
  One household in four struggles to eat well regularly.Photograph: Ina Fassbender/Reuters
  
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• Land down blunder: teen heading to Australia lands in Sydney, Nova Scotia

  31-03-2017 19:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Milan Schipper ended up in a snowy city 10,000 miles from his intended destination – and he’s not the first tourist to make the mistake, even on his flightMilan Schipper’s plan was to backpack through Australia, taking in its lush coastal landscapes and white sand beaches before heading to college this fall.But instead, the Dutch teenager found himself 10,000 miles away from Sydney, Australia – staring out at a snow-covered, frozen landscape – as he realised that he
  
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• 'Here I go again talking facts': Clinton jabs Trump at Georgetown speech – video

  31-03-2017 19:42 via theguardian.com
  
  The former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took a subtle jab at Donald Trump on Friday, making a point of invoking ‘evidence and facts’ in her speech at Georgetown University on the role of women in international security and peace. ‘Studies show … here I go again, talking about research, evidence and facts,’ she added, to laughter and applause Continue reading...
  
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• Mammoth discovery: Two-metre tusk found on Essex beach

  31-03-2017 19:31
  Archaeologists on an early morning walk along the Essex coast have found atwo-metre mammoth tusk buried in the sand.Volunteers and members of the Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network (Citizan) made the unexpected find on Thursday morning off Mersea Island in Essex.Citizan - which trains volunteers to recognise surface archaeology in the area - had chosen the beach after a Bronze Age trackway was discovered in the same area last month.
  
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• Orioles, Nationals met with skepticism by NY appellate court

  31-03-2017 19:21
  NEW YORK (AP) — A five-judge appellate panel in New York State Supreme Court questioned all sides with skepticism in the long-running television dispute between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles.
  
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• Doctor Who's Bill Potts to be show's first openly gay companion

  31-03-2017 19:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Pearl Mackie, who plays Potts in upcoming series, says her character’s sexuality ‘shouldn’t be a big deal in 21st century’Doctor Who’s next companion will be the first to be openly gay.Pearl Mackie, who plays Bill Potts in the upcoming series, told the BBC her character’s openness about her sexuality was important to represent onscreen, but not her defining characteristic. Continue reading...
  
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• Trans Day of Visibility: Why it's more important than ever

  31-03-2017 18:56
  
  It’s an opportunity to celebrate trans people and recognise the discrimination they face.
  
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• Johanna Konta has mental strength to see off Caroline Wozniacki in Miami | Kevin Mitchell

  31-03-2017 18:55 via theguardian.com
  
  The British 25-year-old is back in the world’s top 10 and her final in Miami offers her an important chance to prove she can live with the bestMartina Navratilova, who is as judicious with her praise as she was with her awesome charge to the net, said before Johanna Konta beat the seven-times slam champion Venus Williams, to reach the final of the Miami Open against Caroline Wozniacki, that the British history-maker was worth her return to the world’s top 10 but had yet to prove she
  
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• China to create 'giant' giant panda reserve to boost wild population

  31-03-2017 18:52 via theguardian.com
  
  National park three times the size of Yellowstone in the US will link up 67 existing reserves to make mating easier
  China is planning to create a giant panda reserve three times the size of Yellowstone national park in the US, as part of efforts to boost the wild population of the long-endangered animal. The 10,476 sq mile (27,134 sq km) area will link up 67 existing panda reserves on six isolated mountain ranges. It is hoped the “merger” will help the pandas mingle and mate, thus en
  
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• Bin lorry driver who crashed, killing six, avoids jail for new offence

  31-03-2017 18:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Harry Clarke, 60, banned from roads after admitting ‘culpable and reckless driving’ nine months after deaths of six The driver of a bin lorry which crashed in Glasgow, killing six people, has admitted endangering the public just nine months after the tragedy by driving despite having had his licence revoked for medical reasons.Harry Clarke, 60, was branded “reprehensible” as he was banned from the roads for three years after admitting “culpably and recklessly”
  
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• MPs' expenses watchdog accidentally posts private data online

  31-03-2017 18:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Information on staff’s names, pay, working patterns and holidays was uploaded in error and stayed up for four hoursConfidential data about MPs’ staff pay, working patterns and holidays was accidentally posted on the internet for four hours by the House of Commons expenses watchdog.The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) said it was writing to all MPs and their staff affected to apologise for the distress caused. Continue reading...
  
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• Let’s applaud Simon Stevens: the NHS boss with a plan | Deborah Orr

  31-03-2017 18:47 via theguardian.com
  
  He is taking a risk in scrapping surgery targets, but it should help our ailing health serviceOne trouble with dropping targets is that such a decision tends to create a target. The head of NHS England, Simon Stevens, has outlined many sensible goals in his proposals for the future of the health service. But attention has focused on one thing. In order to take the strain off A&E departments and improve cancer treatment, Stevens has decided to drop the target whereby 92% of routine surgery is
  
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• Egg thrown at Saudi general in protest against military campaign in Yemen

  31-03-2017 18:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Ahmed al-Asiri tells London seminar that human rights groups are being duped by Houthi rebels A Saudi general has directly confronted critics of his country’s military campaign in Yemen during a lively seminar in London that saw him pelted with an egg by protesters as he arrived.Speaking at a seminar organised by the European Council on Foreign Relations, Maj Gen Ahmed al-Asiri accused Saudi Arabia’s critics of making allegations without any independent evidence and of being duped by
  
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• Senate Intel panel not ready to give Mike Flynn immunity - Daily Mail

  31-03-2017 18:38 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  Senate Intel panel not ready to give Mike Flynn immunity
  Daily Mail
  The Senate Intelligence Committee isn't willing to take ex-National Security Advisor Mike Flynn's offer to testify in exchange for immunity – at least for now. Flynn's request, revealed in a letter to two congressional committees by his lawyer Thursday ...
  President Trump Is Under Fire for Potential Interference in Russia InvestigationsTIME
  One of Trump's central problems? He doesn't get policy.Vox
  Trump-Russia
  
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• Venezuela's top prosecutor condemns court move to strip congress of power

  31-03-2017 18:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Luisa Ortega Díaz and governments across Latin America have denounced the power grab as security forces violently repressed small protests in CaracasVenezuela’s most senior prosecutor has added her voice to condemnation of a move by the government-stacked supreme court to gut congress of its last vestiges of power, as security forces violently repressed small protests against the power grab. Luisa Ortega Díaz, normally a government loyalist, said that it was her “unavoi
  
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• Ofsted considers using social media to monitor schools

  31-03-2017 18:29
  
  A school consultancy firm said Ofsted faced the risk of reading fake allegations posted by a disgruntled pupil.Ofsted has raised the prospect of using Facebook and Twitter posts to analyse how schools are performing.The schools watchdog said it was exploring “the possibility of using near-real-time data and information from social media and other sources to predict and prevent decline in school performance”.
  
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• Man, 23, charged with murder of mother and son in Stourbridge

  31-03-2017 18:28
  A 23-year-old man has been charged with the murders of a mother and her son following a stabbing in Stourbridge, police have said.Tracey Wilkinson, in her 50s, was pronounced dead at her home on Thursday and her son, 13-year-old Pierce, died at Birmingham's Children's Hospital.West Midlands Police said Aaron Barley, of no fixed abode, had also been charged with the attempted murder of the boy's father, Peter Wilkinson.
  
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• Spain handed right to BLOCK Gibraltar from any Brexit deal - Daily Mail

  31-03-2017 18:25 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  Spain handed right to BLOCK Gibraltar from any Brexit deal
  Daily Mail
  The EU has handed Spain an effective veto over the entire Brexit deal by declaring Madrid must agree to it applying to Gibraltar. It means Theresa May could be faced with choosing between accepting a deal that leaves the Rock in the wilderness or ...
  'No surprises really': politicians react to Tusk's EU negotiating guidelinesThe Guardian
  Theresa May urged to protect citizens of Gibraltar amid suggestions Spain coul
  
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• Snowdonia helicopter crash victims were surprising niece - Daily Mail

  31-03-2017 18:25 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  Snowdonia helicopter crash victims were surprising niece
  Daily Mail
  The elderly mother of a millionaire family killed when their helicopter crashed in Snowdonia has lost all three of her sons in the air disaster, it was revealed today. Noeleen Burke, from Dublin, has been left heartbroken by the deaths of her 'generous ...
  Snowdonia helicopter victims' bodies recoveredBBC News
  Danielle Lloyd's tribute to friends reportedly killed in helicopter crashLiverpool Echo
  Bad weather slows re
  
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• Doctor Who has confirmed its first openly gay companion - Yahoo News

  31-03-2017 18:25 via uk.news.yahoo.com
  
  Yahoo News
  Doctor Who has confirmed its first openly gay companion
  Yahoo News
  During an interview with the BBC, new Doctor Who companion Pearl Mackie revealed that her character, Bill Potts is openly gay – the first gay companion in the show's history. “It shouldn't be a big deal in the 21st Century,” she said. “It's about time ...
  Pearl Mackie: Bill's Gay and it Shouldn't Be A Big DealDoctor Who TV (blog)
  New 'Doctor Who' Teaser Shows How the TARDIS Defeats TanksInverse
  
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• South African President Jacob Zuma's midnight reshuffle throws ruling ANC party into crisis - The Independent

  31-03-2017 18:22 via independent.co.uk
  
  The Independent
  South African President Jacob Zuma's midnight reshuffle throws ruling ANC party into crisis
  The Independent
  South Africa's Jacob Zuma has taken the biggest political risk of his scandal-hit presidency, sacking the locally and internationally well-regarded finance minister Pravin Gordhan in a dramatic midnight Cabinet reshuffle. By taking the unusual step of ...
  South Africa has lost a key line of defence against corruption. What now?Mail & Guardian
  Prexit: 5 things to watch
  
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• Sterling’s fall lifts UK exports, figures show

  31-03-2017 18:15 via theguardian.com
  
  ONS data raises hopes that sharp decline in pound since Brexit vote could make economy less reliant on domestic spendingBritain’s trading position with the rest of the world improved markedly in the final three months of 2016, boosting hopes that the pound’s sharp fall since the Brexit vote can help the economy become less reliant on domestic spending.
  As sterling’s fall made UK goods more competitive on overseas markets and boosted exports, there was a significant narrowing in
  
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• Brexit effects may reflect in business surveys

  31-03-2017 18:09
  By Catherine EvansLONDON (Reuters) - In the week after Britain formally notified the European Union of its intention to quit the bloc, business surveys will give more idea of what -- if any -- impact Brexit is having on the British economy and how its EU peers compare.Last month's purchasing managers' index (PMI) reports suggested unexpectedly strong growth in Britain's economy sinceJune's Brexit vote may be starting to flag as inflation picks up, partly as a result of the pound's post-referendu
  
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• Brexit guidelines: EU hands Spain power over Gibraltar's future

  31-03-2017 18:04
  The EU has effectively handed Spain a veto over the future of Gibraltar in its Brexit negotiating guidelines.The negotiating principles from the European Council stipulate that any future trade deal between the EU and the UK will not apply to the British territory - unless it is agreed by Spain.The move will inflame already high tensions over the status of 'the Rock', which has been held by the UK since 1713 and is home to UK military bases.
  
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• Out and about with autism: ‘If a baby starts crying, we have to leave’

  31-03-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Parents of autistic children face major challenges whenever they go outside. Here, a mother of autistic twins explains how she and her family cope when they leave the house – and what members of the public can do to help My husband and I have two autistic sons, 18-year-old identical twins Nathan and Curtis. Taking them out and about is a big challenge.Both boys have severe learning difficulties and are non-verbal. Curtis also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsi
  
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• Drone flew 'within wingspan' of plane approaching Heathrow

  31-03-2017 17:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Report on near-misses also reveals pilots were shocked to see another drone hovering as high as 3,000 metresA drone flew within 20 metres of a plane on the approach to Heathrow, while another shocked pilots by appearing at 3,000 metres (10,000ft), a monthly update on near-misses has revealed.Commercial jet pilots reported two “category A” incidents, the most serious class of near-miss, involving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), known as drones. Continue reading...
  
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• 'No surprises really': politicians react to Tusk's EU negotiating guidelines

  31-03-2017 17:52
  
  Donald Tusk has set out terms for negotiating the UK’s departure from the EU.Donald Tusk’s letter setting the terms for negotiating the UK’s departure from the EU was the moment when Theresa May’s rhetoric collided with reality, according to a string of politicians who have been warning against a hard Brexit.Chris Leslie, the former shadow chancellor, said the letter by the president of the European council marked the emergence of “the cold, hard realities of modern
  
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• GP reveals his 30-year secret life as Archers character Robert Snell

  31-03-2017 17:51 via theguardian.com
  
  For 30 years Graham Blockey, voice behind Lynda Snell’s husband in Radio 4 soap, doubled up as full-time doctor in SurreyA country doctor has revealed that he has been moonlighting for the past 30 years as a character in the Archers.In a story to match the often far-fetched plotlines of the radio soap’s fictional village of Ambridge, Dr Graham Blockey marked his retirement as a GP in Surrey by outing himself as the voice behind the character Robert Snell. Continue reading...
  
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• Heart of Midlothian v Celtic

  31-03-2017 17:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Preview followed by live coverage of Sunday's Scottish Premiership game between Heart of Midlothian and Celtic.
  
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• Stourbridge stabbings: homeless man charged with murder

  31-03-2017 17:46
  
  Police at work near where Tracey and Pierce Wilkinson died after being stabbed at their home.A 23-year-old homeless man has been charged with the murder of a woman and her 13-year-old son together with the attempted murder of the teenager’s father.West Midlands police said on Friday they had charged Aaron Barley, of no fixed abode, over the attacks at a family home in Stourbridge, West Midlands.
  
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• US defense chief says North Korea has 'got to be stopped' - Daily Mail

  31-03-2017 17:40 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Daily Mail
  US defense chief says North Korea has 'got to be stopped'
  Daily Mail
  LONDON (AP) - North Korea must be stopped on its path toward being able to threaten the United States with nuclear attack, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday in a stark expression of America's top national security concern at the moment.
  Russia is a 'strategic competitor' to the west, says James MattisThe Guardian
  UK and US accuse Russia of 'interfering in other parts of the globe'The Independent
  No retur
  
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