General news

• Britain's May tells Trump about plans for early election - White House

  18-04-2017 23:59
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump received a phone call on Tuesday from British Prime Minister Theresa May on her plans for an early election in June, the White House said in a statement. "President Trump wished the British people the best of luck in their electoral process," the statement said. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by David Alexander)
  
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• May could win 114-seat majority in June 8 election - paper

  18-04-2017 23:40
  British Prime Minister Theresa May could win a landslide majority of 114 seats in a June 8 election, The Times newspaper reported, citing YouGov polling data.May's Conservatives could win 382 seats with the opposition Labour Party winning 179, the Liberal Democrats 10, the Scottish National Party 56, and others 23, which would give the government a 114-seat majority in the 650-seat parliament, according to projections from YouGov cited by the paper.
  
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• Corbyn's decision to back election causes serious concerns among his MPs

  18-04-2017 23:33
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has backed Theresa May’s decision to call an early election, triggering serious concerns among a number of his party’s MPs about losing their seats.The Labour leader was quick to react to May’s surprise announcement of an election, making clear on Tuesday he was ready to become prime minister if Labour wins on 8 June.“I welcome the prime minister’s decision to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of th
  
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• Police hunt TV star Ferne McCann's boyfriend over acid attack

  18-04-2017 23:21
  The boyfriend of The Only Way Is Essex star Ferne McCann is being hunted by police in connection with a nightclub acid attack that injured 20 people.Police have released CCTV images of Arthur Collins on the night of the attack in Mangle E8 nightclub in Dalston, east London.Police have urged members of the public not to approach Collins, and have raided an address in Hertfordshire in connection with the incident.
  
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• Boris Johnson calls Assad a 'monster' who needs 'decapitating'

  18-04-2017 23:00
  Boris Johnson has likened Syrian president Bashar Assad to a "monster" who needs "decapitating".The Foreign Secretary was asked in the Commons how Mr Assad could be punished for using chemical weapons without allowing a "virulent Islamist regime" to replace him.Mr Johnson said he agreed with the wisdom of the remark from Julian Lewis, the Conservative chairman of the defence select committee.
  
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• May's shock election move could crush Labour and destroy UKIP

  18-04-2017 22:57
  In 1983, an unpopular Labour leader faced a female Prime Minister, already ensconced in Downing Street with expectations the Conservatives would win.Mrs Thatcher did, Labour slumped to 209 seats and that leader Michael Foot resigned within days.Well if (yes, if) the polls are correct, 2017 will be much, much worse for Labour.
  
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• LIVE: Leicester City vs Atletico Madrid - Goal.com

  18-04-2017 22:37 via goal.com
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  LIVE: Leicester City vs Atletico Madrid
  Goal.com
  Leicester are back in attack, throwing caution to the wind as expected. Their Champions League journey is coming to an end tonight, but they would love to end it with a victory - and they certainly aren't giving up hope. Schmeichel is up as they win a ...
  Football: Vardy in vain as Atletico end Leicester fairytaleChannel NewsAsiaall 385 news articles »
  
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• Useful side-effect?

  18-04-2017 22:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The election will help the Conservatives put behind the embarrassment of the expenses affair.
  
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• 'Bring it on!': Lib Dem Vince Cable to stand in snap election

  18-04-2017 21:35
  Former business secretary Sir Vince Cable has confirmed he will be trying to win back his former seat of Twickenham.Following the PM's call for a snap General Election, he wrote on Twitter: "I plan to lead fight back to recapture Twickenham for Lib Dems.The 73-year-old held the south-west London seat from 1997 to 2016, and must overcome a slim Conservative majority of 2,017 votes.
  
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• The PM's for turning - why did May change her mind?

  18-04-2017 21:25
  Theresa May pledged not to call a snap election - then she did. Is her u-turn about Brexit or Labour's dire poll ratings?
  
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• Syria: 'Either sarin or a sarin-like substance'

  18-04-2017 21:15
  The Foreign Secretary says the claimed chemical weapons attack in Syria involved "either sarin or a sarin-like substance".
  
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• May's real reason for calling election? To show EU that Brexit really means Brexit | Patrick Wintour

  18-04-2017 21:07
  
  Of the many reasons Theresa May supplied for calling a general election, the Conservative leader provided one particularly important one.A Brexit mandate, delivering a large Conservative Commons majority, would sweep away the last hope that that the UK’s referendum decision last June could be reversed.On this basis, a resounding majority for May would remove any motive for the EU negotiators to make the UK’s Brexit terms as unpalatable as possible in the belief that it would help UK
  
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• Britain's May calls Trump, European leaders after poll announcement

  18-04-2017 20:57
  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May called U.S. President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders after she asked parliament to agree to an early election on June 8, a spokesman said on Tuesday. "The PM made separate calls to President Trump, Chancellor (Angela) Merkel, President (Donald) Tusk of the European Council, President (Jean-Claude) Juncker of the European Commission and Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Enda Kenny," the spokes
  
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• All your burning questions about the snap general election answered

  18-04-2017 20:51
  The big day is set to be June 8.
  
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• More than 800 women sue NHS and manufacturers over vaginal mesh implants

  18-04-2017 20:19
  
  The MHRA said evidence supported the continued use of vaginal mesh surgery for certain conditions.More than 800 women are suing the NHS and the manufacturers of vaginal mesh implants after suffering serious complications.The implants are used to treat incontinence after childbirth or pelvic organ prolapse, where the womb or bladder bulge against the walls of the vagina.
  
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• This guy told the story of the snap general election announcement using Power Ranger GIFs

  18-04-2017 20:15
  Who would have thought a group of teens in morphe suits could appropriately explain British politics?
  
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• The stiff upper lip: why the royal health warning matters

  18-04-2017 20:05
  
  It was Diana, of course, who opened the floodgates of tears that swept away the notion of the British “stiff upper lip”.The public mourning at her death was seen as a turning point for a nation where emotional repression had been a point of pride.Last week, Prince Harry described how he went for counselling after repressing his own grief over the loss of his mother led to a two-year period of anxiety, anger and “total chaos”.
  
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• First US sugar tax sees soft drink sales fall by almost 10%, study shows

  18-04-2017 20:00
  
  Sugar-sweetened drinks are known to be a significant contributor to obesity, particularly in children and young people.The first sugar tax to be introduced on soft drinks in the United States to fight obesity has cut sales by nearly 10% and apparently increased the numbers of people buying water instead, a study has shown.Berkeley, California, introduced a substantial tax on sugar-sweetened beverages on 1 March 2015.
  
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• EU welcomes May's 'Hitchcock' twist, still expects Brexit

  18-04-2017 19:45
  By Alastair MacdonaldBRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union welcomed a snap British election that one of its leaders likened to a Hitchcock plot twist, but there was conspicuously little talk in Brussels of the vote halting Britain's exit from the bloc.Instead, EU officials echoed Prime Minister Theresa May's hopes that a parliamentary poll on June 8 could strengthen her own hand in managing the Brexit negotiations which are due to start around the same time.EU negotiators have been concerned t
  
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• Met chief prioritises giving officers Tasers and fighting cybercrime

  18-04-2017 19:38
  
  Cressida Dick is the first woman to hold the role of Metropolitan police commissioner.The Metropolitan police of the future could have fewer officers on the beat but would be better equipped to fight cybercrime and more officers would carry Tasers, its new commissioner has said.Entering her second week as Britain’s most senior police officer, Cressida Dick said her highest priority as the head of London’s police service would be reducing violent crime in the capital, particularly kni
  
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• Ireland fears UK election could damage talks to ease Northern Ireland impasse

  18-04-2017 19:35
  By Conor Humphries and Amanda FergusonDUBLIN/BELFAST (Reuters) - Ireland fears British Prime Minister Theresa May's call for an early general election in June could damage chances of resolving the political crisis in Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic's foreign minister said on Tuesday.May's government last week extended a deadline for Irish nationalists and pro-British unionists to form a new devolved administration in Northern Ireland to avoid choosing between a third election in the British
  
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• Hammond welcomes sterling gains after election call

  18-04-2017 18:59
  By David MillikenLONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond said sharp gains in sterling on Tuesday after Prime Minister Theresa May called for a snap election showed markets wanted a stronger Conservative government to lead Brexit talks.Sterling rose to a four-month high against the dollar in what looks set to be its biggest one-day gain in three months - though the British currency remains almost 15 percent below its level before last June's Brexit vote.In an unusually direct r
  
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• May's Conservatives take 21-point lead ahead of UK snap election - ICM poll

  18-04-2017 18:51
  British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party has a 21 point lead over the main opposition Labour, the joint highest on record, according to an opinion poll on Tuesday conducted after May announced a June 8 election.The ICM/Guardian poll of 1,000 people showed the Conservatives' vote share stood at 46 percent, up 2 points from a poll conducted over the weekend, with Labour on 25 percent and the Liberal Democrats on 11 percent."As we enter this campaign it's clear that Labour have an el
  
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• UK snap election may boost Scottish independence hopes, Sturgeon says

  18-04-2017 17:58
  By Elisabeth O'LearyEDINBURGH (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May's decision to seek an early election on June 8 gives Scotland a chance to reinforce its democratic mandate to hold an independence referendum, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon suggested on Tuesday."In terms of Scotland, this move is a huge political miscalculation by the Prime Minister," said Sturgeon, whose Scottish National Party (SNP) is seeking a referendum on independence from the United Kingdom which May
  
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• FTSE 100 loses £46bn on May's early election call as pound rallies

  18-04-2017 17:53
  The pound has hit its highest level against the US dollar since December but the FTSE 100's market value plunged by £46bn after Theresa May revealed plans for an early election.Against the euro, the pound was hovering around €1.180, rising from a 0.4% loss.:: Ian King - What will an election mean for the economy?
  
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• Labour MPs expected to urge Corbyn to reconsider decision to back election

  18-04-2017 17:45
  
  Several Labour MPs will urge Jeremy Corbyn to reconsider his backing for an early general election at a meeting of the parliamentary party on Tuesday evening.Corbyn has welcomed Theresa May’s decision to call an election, and the prime minister is widely expected to gain the two-thirds majority in the House of Commons necessary to hold a contest on 8 June.There are wider concerns that dozens of Labour MPs in marginal constituencies are at risk of losing their seats.
  
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• Tories could have 140 seat majority after snap General Election

  18-04-2017 17:34
  If the polls are right, the Conservatives could be looking at a massive majority of as many as 140 seats following Theresa May’s call for an early General Election.A recent Yougov poll showed Labour at their worst ever level since they began polling.Were their results, with the Conservatives holding a 21-point lead over Labour, to be realised, Sky News' Election Analyst Michael Thrasher suggests this could lead to a 140-seat majority for the Conservatives.
  
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• This will be a Tory manifesto worth reading

  18-04-2017 17:34
  In recent decades, political manifestos have not been what they once were.The 2015 Tory election pledges were largely written with the expectation of never having to follow them through (everyone, the Conservatives included, thought there would be another coalition).The 2010 manifestos were all thrown in the bin when there was a hung parliament.
  
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• Dead-eyed Theresa May puts the Tories' interests first

  18-04-2017 17:34
  
  Right to the end, Theresa May was unable to keep to her own timetable.Sometime over Easter, Theresa was blessed with a divine revelation – there are advantages to being a vicar’s child – and came to the conclusion her own party’s interests were rather more important than the country’s. So shortly before 10am her office announced that she would be making a statement in Downing Street at 11.15.Worried she hadn’t caught enough people on the hop, Theresa darted ou
  
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• 5 things parties could learn from the snap election in The Thick Of It

  18-04-2017 17:03
  
  There is wisdom to be learned from Malcolm Tucker.
  
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• Call for end to TVT mesh implants after complications 'covered up'

  18-04-2017 16:58
  There are growing calls for a controversial medical procedure used to help cure stress incontinence in women to be suspended as medical professionals describe it as the biggest health scandal of our time.
  
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• Theresa May calls for snap General Election to ensure Brexit 'unity'

  18-04-2017 16:51
  Theresa May is seeking to hold a General Election on 8 June arguing it is the only way to secure stability ahead of Brexit.Under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, introduced under the last coalition government, the next election was not due until 2020.Jeremy Corbyn has said he welcomes the poll move, but many of his MPs are likely to have private reservations, given the party's poor performance.
  
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• Labour 'campaigning to win', says Jeremy Corbyn amid General Election move

  18-04-2017 16:50
  Jeremy Corbyn has insisted he is "campaigning to win" despite Labour languishing in the opinion polls.The opposition leader said he wanted to be the next prime minister and head a government that would "transform this country".Asked if he was the next prime minister, Mr Corbyn said: "If we win the election, yes.
  
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• This snap election business is making some Americans pretty jealous

  18-04-2017 16:35
  Nope, the same can’t happen in the US.
  
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• Germany hopes Britain's early election leads to more Brexit clarity

  18-04-2017 16:26
  German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said he hoped early elections called by Britain's prime minister would bring more "clarity and accountability" in its negotiations to leave the European Union.Prime Minister Theresa May called on Tuesday for an early election on June 8, saying she needed to strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the EU by shoring up support for her Brexit plan."Accountability and reliability are more important than ever after the Brexit vote of the Britons," Gabriel told
  
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• Unions urge parents to turn education cuts into election battleground

  18-04-2017 16:22
  
  Teaching unions say they will carry the fight against budget cuts affecting schools directly to parents and voters, with the National Union of Teachers’ general secretary vowing to make education funding a key election issue.Kevin Courtney told the union’s annual conference the snap election was an opportunity to challenge the funding shortages in England.
  
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• Unlikely TV star

  18-04-2017 16:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The 2001 compilation album saw sales surge after appearing in Peter Kay's Car Share - but why?
  
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• Durham farmer runs off with coal carrying crown

  18-04-2017 16:19
  A Durham farmer has beaten dozens of rivals to the title of World Coal Carrying Champion after charging through a northern England town with a 50kg (110 pounds) sack on his back.Andrew Corrigan collapsed on a bed of hay after completing Monday's 1.1-km (1,200-yard) race in a time of four minutes, 31 seconds, receiving warm applause from the crowd who lined the course in Gawthorpe, near Wakefield.The quirky race started in the old mining town in 1963 when a man entered a pub and accused another o
  
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• British PM May calls for early election to strengthen Brexit hand

  18-04-2017 16:18
  By Elizabeth Piper, Kylie MacLellan and William JamesLONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May called on Tuesday for an early election on June 8, saying she needed to strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the European Union by shoring up support for her Brexit plan.Some were surprised by her move - she has repeatedly said she does not want to be distracted by time-consuming campaigning - but opinion polls give her a strong lead, the economy is weathering the Brexit vote and she h
  
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• Hammond hails sterling gains after snap election announced

  18-04-2017 16:15
  Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond welcomed gains in sterling against the euro and the dollar on Tuesday following Prime Minister Theresa May's announcement that she would hold an early election on June 8.In a rare comment on the strength of Britain's currency - which tumbled after last year's Brexit vote - Hammond said Tuesday's gains showed markets were confident that the Conservative government would win an increased majority.
  
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• 7 events on June 8 Theresa May has inadvertently ruined with her snap election

  18-04-2017 16:03
  
  General Elections are attention grabbers, aren’t they?
  
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• Lib Dems hope to gain dozens of seats with anti-Brexit campaign

  18-04-2017 16:01
  
  The Lib Dems hope to capture dozens of seats but Tim Farron’s personal polling is an issue, with more than one-third of Britons saying they do not know who he is.Liberal Democrat strategists hope to gain dozens of seats from Labour and the Tories in London and the south-west by making opposition to Brexit the key issue of the seven-week snap election campaign.The party said it had gained 1,500 new members in the first hour since Theresa May announced the 8 June poll, and the Lib Dem leader
  
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• How do you feel about Theresa May's snap election?

  18-04-2017 15:36
  
  Theresa May has called for a general election in June, citing parliamentary opposition to Brexit as justification for her decision.The call for a snap election came as a surprise, with the prime minister having previously ruled out an election before 2020.
  
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• Britons can show EU preferences in election - EU's Verhofstadt

  18-04-2017 15:36
  British voters can use a snap election called on Tuesday to show what kind of relationship they want with the European Union, the European Parliament's point-man on Brexit, Guy Verhofstadt, said in a statement."As the EP Brexit negotiator, I will work with a new government for the best common future possible."Verhofstadt, a strong proponent of a more federally centralised European Union, leads the liberal bloc in the EU legislature to which Britain's Liberal Democrats belong.
  
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• IMF raises forecast for UK economic growth to 2% in 2017

  18-04-2017 15:28
  The IMF, a global organisation focused on economic stability, said the UK's economy will grow by 2% in 2017 and by 1.5% in the following year.While the forecast growth for many economies has been increased slightly, the 0.5% rise in predicted UK growth this year is striking - it is, by far, the biggest change made in any of the IMF's forecasts.In October 2016, the same organisation said it thought the UK economy would expand by just 0.9% in 2017 - six months later, that predicted growth rate has
  
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• Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya arrested in London on extradition warrant

  18-04-2017 15:23
  An Indian businessman who is being pursued over unpaid loan allegations has been arrested in London, the Metropolitan Police has said.Vijay Mallya was held after an extradition warrant was issued by Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud.The 61-year-old appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court later on Tuesday.
  
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• All the times Theresa May said there would not be a snap election

  18-04-2017 15:21
  
  A spokesman said last month: “There is no change in our position on an early general election, that there isn’t going to be one.”
  
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• May decided on early election during holiday in Wales - ITV

  18-04-2017 15:16
  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday that it was during a walking holiday in Wales when she decided she would hold an early election to strengthen her hand in talks with the European Union. May told ITV news: "Before Easter I spent a few days walking in Wales with my husband, thought about this long and hard and came to the decision that to provide that stability and certainty for the future that this was the way to do it, to have an election." (Reporting by Eliz
  
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• Election a chance for Scotland to boost mandate for independence vote - Sturgeon

  18-04-2017 15:14
  By Elisabeth O'LearyEDINBURGH (Reuters) - The decision by British Prime Minister Theresa May to call an early election on June 8 gives Scotland a chance to reinforce its democratic mandate to hold an independence referendum, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon suggested on Tuesday.May unexpectedly announced she would seek an early election, saying she needed to strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the European Union by shoring up support for her Brexit plan."In terms of Scotland, this m
  
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• Factbox - May calls election: What next?

  18-04-2017 15:06
  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday called for an early election on June 8. Here are the steps needed before the vote happens. HOW WILL SHE CALL AN ELECTION? The mechanism for a government in Britain to call a new election is more complicated than it used to be. Governments used to be able to call elections when they saw fit, but the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, passed in 2011, set a timetable for elections to take place every five years. ...
  
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