General news

• Erdoğan clinches victory in Turkish constitutional referendum

  16-04-2017 23:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Electoral board says Turkey has backed constitutional amendments but opposition parties say they will contest some of the resultsThe Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has achieved victory in a historic referendum on a package of constitutional amendments that will grant him sweeping new powers.Sadi Güven, the head of Turkey’s high electoral board (YSK), confirmed the passage of the referendum on Sunday night, based on unofficial results. Continue reading...
  
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• Arsenal fans’ jeers at Héctor Bellerín were unfair, says Arsène Wenger

  16-04-2017 23:43 via theguardian.com
  
  • Right-back has ankle injury and been playing with pain, manager points out
  • Wenger believes it is not ideal Bellerín plays for Spain Under-21s in JuneArsène Wenger believes the anger directed by Arsenal fans towards Héctor Bellerín in the debacle at Crystal Palace last Monday was unfair on a player who has battled an ankle injury for much of the season.Bellerín was in outstanding form until early November, when the problem forced him out for five w
  
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• Ronnie O’Sullivan accuses Barry Hearn and World Snooker of bullying him

  16-04-2017 23:33 via theguardian.com
  
  • O’Sullivan launches tirade after victory at World Championship
  • ‘They’ve pushed me too far. If I didn’t have good lawyers I’d walk away’Ronnie O’Sullivan accused the snooker authorities of bullying and intimidating him in a breathtaking outburst at the World Championship.The 41-year-old five-time Crucible champion pointed the finger at the World Snooker chairman, Barry Hearn, and his board. And he revealed the extent of his distress at recei
  
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• Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino fires early shot at 'artificial' Chelsea | Sachin Nakrani

  16-04-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Argentinian claims before FA Cup semi-final that his club are building in a ‘natural’ way, as opposed to being about ‘money, money, money’If there is one thing those associated with Chelsea do not like it is the claim that their success during the Roman Abramovich era has been inauthentic. Trophies bought rather than earned, plastic achievements from a club with no history. The most vehement taunts have come from Liverpool supporters whenever they have visited Stamford Br
  
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• Tony Adams starts with a jolt against Celta Vigo as Granada head for drop

  16-04-2017 23:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Tony Adams stood on the touchline at his new home ground, with his arms crossed as behind him Granada’s fans began heading for the exit. There were still 15 minutes to go but it was all over – the match and maybe even the season. They had just seen their side concede the third goal of the game, hope extinguished, and left quietly, resigned to relegation. Others made their voices heard, calling for the board to resign – the same board that he came to advise and that appointed hi
  
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• Line of Duty recap: series four, episode four – turn those screws, Roz

  16-04-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Line of Duty gets better the longer the interrogation scenes. And after that stone-cold standoff, it looks like it might finally be game over for AC-12Spoiler alert: this blog is for people watching series four of Line of Duty (it also contains spoilers from earlier series). Don’t read on unless you have watched episode four. Catch up on the episode one, two and three recaps here.That’s more like it. Line of Duty is always at its best when it forgoes the attempts to make your jaw dro
  
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• Ben Youngs makes a ‘nice little last push’ for Lions squad place

  16-04-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  • Scrum-half impresses for Leicester ahead of Wednesday squad announcement• Jamie George and Dylan Hartley waiting for outcome of hookers’ battleAs final auditions go, Ben Youngs could hardly have done more to press his case for inclusion in Warren Gatland’s British & Irish Lions squad when it is announced on Wednesday. A last-ditch try-saving tackle to stop Newcastle edging ahead was followed by a wonderful solo effort that sealed Leicester’s bonus point.It was t
  
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• Andy Murray admits paying price of battle to reach top of world rankings

  16-04-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  • Scot returns to action in Monte Carlo after month out with elbow injury
  • Murray expects fight to retain No1 spot after poor start to 2017In the yin and yang of the sporting world, Andy Murray returns to action at the Monte Carlo Masters this week admitting that the effort of ending last year as world No1, for the first time in his career, may well have contributed to his stop-start beginning to the 2017 season. Having returned home after an early exit at the Australian Open to find
  
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• Lewis Hamilton apologises to Mercedes for Bahrain Grand Prix penalty

  16-04-2017 22:42 via theguardian.com
  
  • Five-second penalty leaves him second behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel
  • ‘Losing points for a team, particularly when you could have won, is painful’Lewis Hamilton has apologised to his Mercedes team after he incurred a penalty that ensured he finished second behind the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel at the Bahrain Grand Prix.The two teams had been very evenly matched in race pace but Ferrari’s aggressive pit strategy gave Vettel the advantage, and when Hamilton
  
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• County cricket round-up: Alastair Cook’s return powers Essex past Somerset

  16-04-2017 21:30 via theguardian.com
  
  • Cook hits century in first match since resigning England captaincy• Yorkshire’s Ben Coad takes 10 wickets in match against WarwickshireEssex and Alastair Cook are back and mean business. In his first competitive match since resigning the England captaincy in February Cook’s 110 – his 57th first-class century – provided the backbone of Essex’s remarkable chase of 255 against Somerset at Taunton, their first win since returning to the top flight after a si
  
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• Martin Rowson on Donald Trump and North Korea – cartoon

  16-04-2017 21:08 via theguardian.com
  
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• The Guardian view on politics at Easter: Jesus of platitudes | Editorial

  16-04-2017 20:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Religious identity is profoundly tied into nationalism. It can weaponise clichesTheresa May’s Easter message marked another step towards the return of religion as part of identity politics. There’s nothing new in substance: hers is unnervingly similar to David Cameron’s Easter message last year. He claimed that: “Responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion and pride in working for the common good … are Christian values and they should give us the confidence
  
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• 'Terrorist' baby faces US embassy interview after error on visa form

  16-04-2017 20:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Wrong tick in box about three-month-old’s terror activities leads to 10-hour detour, missed flights and £3,000 bill
  A three-month old baby was summoned to the US embassy in London for an interview after his grandfather mistakenly identified him as a terrorist.Harvey Kenyon-Cairns had been due to fly to Orlando in Florida for his first overseas holiday, until his grandfather Paul Kenyon made the error on a visa waiver form.Continue reading...
  
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• UK attorney general in bid to block case against Tony Blair over Iraq war

  16-04-2017 19:57
  
  The government’s top law officer is going to court to demand the rejection of an attempt to prosecute Tony Blair over the Iraq war, the Guardian has learned.The planned intervention by the attorney general comes after a judge ruled the former Labour prime minister had immunity from the attempt to bring a criminal charge against him and that pursuing a prosecution could “involve details being disclosed under the Official Secrets Act”.The private prosecution relates to the 2003 I
  
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• Millicent Fawcett is the right feminist, by the wrong sculptor | Letters

  16-04-2017 19:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Rachel Holmes (A feminist statue is welcome. Shame it’s the wrong feminist, 15 April) is disappointed that Millicent Fawcett has been chosen as “the first woman to warrant a likeness” in Parliament Square. Holmes writes that this is part of the “airbrushing of history that makes the fight for women’s suffrage palatable in a contemporary context”. She also implies that the contribution of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, of which Millicen
  
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• Chelsea loss opens up title race

  16-04-2017 19:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Manchester United do Chelsea's title rivals Spurs a favour and keep up their own pursuit of the top four with a dominant win over the leaders.
  
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• Search for Gwbert boat man Arthur Roy Taylor continues

  16-04-2017 19:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The 90-year-old was last seen taking his boat out to sea on Saturday morning.
  
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• Bristol go down fighting after spirited battle against Wasps

  16-04-2017 19:25 via theguardian.com
  
  • Bristol 21-36 Wasps
  • Bristol lacked the overall class of the league leaders and are relegatedBristol are down but they were far from out against the Premiership leaders. They matched Wasps in spirit, pressing at the end when the cause had long been lost and scoring two tries, but they lacked the overall class and polish of their opponents which too often meant that opportunity knocked on.A 10-minute period of play in the first half summed up Bristol’s season. They were trailin
  
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• Home secretary urged to revoke Asma al-Assad's British citizenship

  16-04-2017 19:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Liberal Democrats write to Amber Rudd after British-born wife of Syrian president uses social media to support his regimeThe home secretary has been urged to consider revoking the British passport of Asma al-Assad, the UK-born wife of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, after her social media posts in support of his regime.Led by their foreign affairs spokesman, Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrats have written to Amber Rudd calling on her to use her powers to withdraw Asma Assad’s citizens
  
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• Donald Trump Jr has been spotted around the pool in a 'very fake news' t-shirt

  16-04-2017 19:01
  
  And now the picture has become a bit of a meme.
  
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• Remains of five archbishops found near Lambeth Palace

  16-04-2017 18:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Builders find 30 lead coffins in crypt of former church next to archbishop of Canterbury’s official residence The remains of five archbishops of Canterbury have been found beneath a medieval church next to the current archbishop’s official London residence, it has been revealed, much to the delight of Christians celebrating Easter.The discovery at the deconsecrated church of St Mary-at-Lambeth was made during the refurbishment of Lambeth Palace’s Garden Museum last year, and ha
  
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• Four teens arrested following fatal stabbing of 20-year-old in London

  16-04-2017 18:43
  
  The victim, 20-year-old Syed Jamanoor Islam, was an ‘aspiring artist and business student’.The father of Syed Jamanoor Islam, the 20-year-old stabbed to death in east London last Tuesday, has spoken of how he lost his first-born son in “his mother’s arms”, following the arrest of four teenagers on suspicion of his murder.Suspects aged 15, 17 and 18, were arrested in the early hours of Sunday in South Yorkshire and are being held at a south London police station.
  
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• Alex Lozowski sparks Saracens revival to defeat dominant Northampton

  16-04-2017 18:43 via theguardian.com
  
  • Northampton 25-27 Saracens
  • Late conversion keeps Saracens in hunt for top-two finishIf this was a duel between England’s two hookers vying for a place in the British & Irish Lions squad then Dylan Hartley can celebrate a comprehensive win over his rival Jamie George but it will be of little consolation after a smash and grab victory for Saracens, inspired by a rampant Billy Vunipola leading the cavalry charge.It was Alex Lozowski who clinched the champions’ revival,
  
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• Theresa May urged to honour climate and wildlife commitments

  16-04-2017 18:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Celebrities and pressure groups warn UK prime minister against entering into ‘environmental race to the bottom’ to secure post-Brexit trade dealsLeading environmental campaigners have warned the government against scaling back on commitments to tackle climate change and end the illegal market in wildlife in order to secure post-Brexit trade deals.Greenpeace, WWF, Friends of the Earth and high-profile figures including Andy Murray and Will Young are among those who have signed a joint
  
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• 'Sats make children feel like failures'

  16-04-2017 18:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The government is "test-obsessed", but Sats make children feel like failures, the NUT conference hears.
  
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• Foxes surge into England's towns and cities

  16-04-2017 18:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers estimate there are 150,000 urban foxes in England, with Bournemouth having the highest concentrationThe number of urban foxes in England has quadrupled in the past 20 years, according to a study that estimates there are nearly 150,000 in England, or about one for every 300 urban residents.While the number of foxes is declining overall in the UK, the study by Brighton and Reading universities has found that Bournemouth tops the charts with the highest concentration of urban foxes in t
  
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• Lloyds eyes Berlin for post-Brexit push

  16-04-2017 18:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The banking group will set up a base in Germany after the UK leaves the EU, the BBC understands.
  
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• Bastia v Lyon abandoned after home fans invade pitch and attack players

  16-04-2017 18:17 via theguardian.com
  
  • Kick off in Ligue 1 match delayed after fans storm over barriers
  • Lyon agreed to start match after initially refusing to playBastia’s match against Lyon was abandoned at half-time after home supporters twice invaded the pitch to attack opposition players.After kick-off was delayed by 55 minutes, the game was stopped for good when more trouble erupted at the interval with the score 0-0. The Lyon goalkeeper, Anthony Lopes, was calmly walking off the field after the referee Amaur
  
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• Hassan Rouhani faces tough re-election race as candidate list closes

  16-04-2017 18:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Iran’s moderate president will have to see off various heavyweight conservative critics of his nuclear deal with the westHassan Rouhani, Iran’s moderate president who is seeking re-election, faces a boisterous race after heavyweight conservative figures critical of his landmark nuclear agreement with the west put themselves up to challenge him.Registration for candidates in Iran’s presidential elections next month ended on Saturday, with a record number of 1,636 people putting
  
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• Nothing prepared me for pregnancy – apart from the never-ending hangover of my 20s

  16-04-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  
  I am queasy, irritable and dehydrated. My heavy-drinking days have trained me well for having a babyI am pregnant. I think I’m supposed to say we’re pregnant but it feels more like I’m the pregnant one. He is just reading about being pregnant. Aloud. From a tediously saccharine baby manual, while I mutter things such as, “What? No brie? That’s bullshit,” under my breath.I was going to announce it on Instagram by posing in my bra and wearing a veil in front of
  
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• May gives Easter address as pope condemns global violence

  16-04-2017 17:57 via theguardian.com
  
  PM urges unity, Jeremy Corbyn calls for social justice and the archbishop of Canterbury speaks of ‘restoration and hope’Political and religious leaders used their Easter messages to encourage unity and peace in a divided world.Theresa May insisted Britons were uniting after the divisions of Brexit and faced a “bright future” outside the European Union. Continue reading...
  
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• Declan Patton keen to help Warrington back to another ‘real high’

  16-04-2017 17:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Half-back has been part of Wolves’ three-game unbeaten run and says recent upturn in form must continue against HuddersfieldIt has been quite the few months for Declan Patton. At the age of 21, the Warrington half-back has already fulfilled a number of childhood dreams, helping his hometown club win the League Leader’s Shield as well as appearing – and scoring – in a Super League Grand Final last October.Yet, and perhaps in line with Warrington’s season itself, Patt
  
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• Trump wonders why protesters want to see his tax returns after day of marches

  16-04-2017 17:35 via theguardian.com
  
  President responds to nationwide rallies by claiming they were ‘paid for’ and tweeting about his election win againA day after thousands marched in cities across the US to demand the president release his tax returns, Donald Trump used Twitter to say “someone should look into who paid” for the rallies. Related: Arrests at violent Berkeley Trump protests while tax marches stay calmContinue reading...
  
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• Two-thirds of BHS stores lie empty as anniversary of collapse nears

  16-04-2017 17:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Only 52 of 164 stores have new tenants or deals in the offing as changing shopping habits cut demand for large premisesA year after the collapse of the department store chain BHS, more than two-thirds of its former stores still lie empty, blighting the UK’s high streets and shopping centres. According to research by the Guardian, just 52 of BHS’s 164 stores have found new tenants or have deals on the table ahead of next week’s anniversary of the biggest high street failure sinc
  
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• Remains of five archbishops of Canterbury found in church next to Lambeth Palace

  16-04-2017 17:27
  The remains of five archbishops of Canterbury have been found buried next to Lambeth Palace.Builders are currently renovating the church, the current home of the Garden Museum, which stands opposite the Houses of Parliament.Site manager Karl Pattern, who was part of the team which made the discovery, said: "It was a very interesting day.
  
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• Diesel car owners may be paid to trade in under new UK air quality plans

  16-04-2017 17:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Environment committee chair Neil Parish MP is to raise proposals for a scrappage scheme for pollution hotspots this weekCash payments to persuade drivers who live in pollution hotspots to give up their diesel cars may be part of a new scrappage scheme under the government’s air quality plans, due to be published in the next week.Downing Street has been mulling the idea after being forced to produce a new air quality plan after a court ruling, which said existing proposals to meet EU-mandat
  
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• Don’t give up on unions – they can still drive a more progressive politics | Zoe Williams

  16-04-2017 17:14 via theguardian.com
  
  The Unite leadership contest lays bare trade union failings, but fresh thinking can sow the seeds of a regenerationThe last day of voting for the Unite leadership is technically on Thursday, but the real deadline whooshed past on Saturday. No post on Monday; second-class stamps on the ballot papers. It is a minor irony of the Easter season that its myth is cute animals delivering things, when getting anything real delivered over the period is impossible.Part of me wants to break off Unite to com
  
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• Scotsman wins 'most colourful 5k run'

  16-04-2017 17:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Thousands took part in Paris' Color Run along the Seine, finishing with a party by the Eiffel Tower.
  
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• Teachers back moves towards primary Sats boycott

  16-04-2017 16:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Teachers move closer to boycotting Sats, saying they are damaging children's education.
  
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• West Yorkshire police drugs warning after two further deaths

  16-04-2017 16:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A man in Leeds and another in Normanton are believed to have died after using drugs, say police.
  
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• MP Neil Parish to call for scrapping scheme for old diesel cars

  16-04-2017 16:18
  A scheme should be set up to allow diesel car owners to trade in old models for cash, according to the chairman of an influential Commons committee.MP Neil Parish is expected to suggest the idea in the House of Commons next week in a bid to tackle harmful emissions.To qualify, car owners would be means tested and would have to live in a pollution hotspot.
  
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• Justin Welby urges strength in Easter message

  16-04-2017 15:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Archbishop of Canterbury says people facing despair should remember the words "Do not be afraid".
  
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• York Minster bells ring out for Easter despite row

  16-04-2017 15:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Volunteer bell-ringers mark one of the most important days in the Christian calendar at Minster.
  
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• Peterborough high chair car driver halted by police

  16-04-2017 15:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A motorist is caught attempting to drive her car with her head between the legs of a high chair.
  
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• Yorkshire fire crew sent to wrong address by Cornwall control room

  16-04-2017 15:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A North Yorkshire fire crew is sent in the wrong direction by call centre staff based 400 miles away.
  
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• Archbishop of Canterbury: Don't let terror triumph

  16-04-2017 15:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Most Reverend Justin Welby calls for restoration and hope as Easter services are held around the UK.
  
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• People are sharing pictures of the Weston Sand Sculpture Festival and now we're terrified

  16-04-2017 14:43
  
  This year’s theme is “topsy-turvy”.
  
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• Search for Gwbert boat man Arthur Roy Taylor scaled back

  16-04-2017 14:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The 90-year-old was last seen taking his boat out to sea on Saturday morning.
  
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• Royals attend Easter service at Windsor

  16-04-2017 14:19
  The Queen has been joined by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for an Easter Service at Windsor Castle.
  
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• Spice Girl Emma Bunton hints at possible reunion

  16-04-2017 13:18
  Emma Bunton has hinted that there might be a Spice Girls reunion, saying it would "a shame" if the group did not get back together.The singer, who during the band's heyday was known as Baby Spice, said it would have to happen soon as they are all "getting on a bit".Bunton said: "It would be lovely to show us performing to a whole new generation.
  
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