General news

• Martin Rowson on Brexit and Tory plans for social care – cartoon

  19-05-2017 23:52 via theguardian.com
  
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• 'Stop the saboteurs!' Comedian tries to mock Theresa May's leadership ahead of Brexit

  19-05-2017 23:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A COMEDIAN attempted to mock Theresa May’s leadership style in the wake of Brexit saying she is out to get “enemies of the people” who turn out to be “small children and pensioners”.
  
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• The Square review – Ruben Östlund turns art world satire into performance-art cinema

  19-05-2017 23:01 via theguardian.com
  
  The Force Majeure director returns with a thrillingly weird study of an art gallery director whose life goes into meltdown after his mobile phone is stolenRuben Östlund’s sprawling and daringly surreal satire The Square turns a contemporary art museum into a city-state of bizarre, dysfunctional and Ballardian strangeness. It is a place where one important person’s guilt infects an entire society with a creeping nervous breakdown, at once intensified and yet camouflaged by a noti
  
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• 'He's not a statesman!' Voters EVEN reject Jeremy Corbyn in Labour's longest held seat

  19-05-2017 23:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  VOTERS have hit out at Jeremy Corbyn saying he is not a strong enough leader to have a chance of beating the Conservatives in the upcoming General Election.
  
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• England Under-17s lose European Championship final to Spain on penalties

  19-05-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  • England 2-2 Spain; Spain win 4-1 on penalties
  • England conceded equaliser six minutes into stoppage timeThe next generation of England footballers last night suffered a fate their seniors are all too familiar with when they lost the final of the Under-17 European Championship to Spain on penalties.England were leading six minutes into injury time when Nacho Díaz headed past Josef Bursik to make it 2-2 at the end of their 80-minute match. The game went straight into a penalty
  
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• Jamie Oliver condemns Theresa May for scrapping free lunches

  19-05-2017 22:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Prime minister will regret move to slash number of primary school children eligible for free meals, says chefThe celebrity chef and healthy eating campaigner, Jamie Oliver, has attacked the Conservatives over their plans to end free lunches for some of the youngest primary school children.Oliver said the “short-sighted” move would prove a mistake in the long run because it would harm children’s health and end up costing the country. Continue reading...
  
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• Watch Julian Assange hail his 'victory' from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy

  19-05-2017 22:50
  
  He said: “I do not forgive or forget.”
  
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• 'I'm getting sick!' SNP voter explodes at Nicola Sturgeon over her independence obsession

  19-05-2017 22:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A LOYAL supporter of the SNP has turned his back on the party because of Nicola Sturgeon's obsession with independence.
  
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• Officials identify White House 'person of interest' in Trump-Russia investigation

  19-05-2017 22:28 via theguardian.com
  
  New report comes as leaked account suggests Donald Trump called James Comey ‘a real nut job’ after firing him from position as head of the FBIThe FBI investigation into ties between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russian officials has reached the White House, according to a damaging new report on Friday.The Washington Post reported that investigators have identified a current White House official as a significant person of interest, according to people familiar with t
  
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• Vice-president leaves Afghanistan amid torture and rape claims

  19-05-2017 22:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Abdul Rashid Dostum has not faced justice over allegations of kidnapping and torture, despite government’s promises of justiceAfghanistan’s vice-president has left the country after a six-month standoff following allegations that he illegally detained a political rival and had him raped with an assault rifle. Abdul Rashid Dostum flew to Turkey on Friday evening reportedly for medical treatment, according to sources in the Afghan government. Dostum is believed to have alcohol problems
  
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• 'Like watching a blood sport' Comedian pokes fun at Labour frontbench on campaign trail

  19-05-2017 22:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A COMEDIAN ridiculed Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench saying watching them on the General Election campaign trail is like witnessing a “blood sport”.
  
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• WARNING: Parents on high alert after gang 'abducts girl and bundles her into black taxi'

  19-05-2017 22:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  PARENTS have been put on high alert after a 12-year-old girl was allegedly abducted by a gang of four men and forced into a black taxi.
  
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• Newborn baby’s body found in public park - police appeal for mother to come forward

  19-05-2017 22:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE body of a newborn baby has been found in a park in Aldershot, Hampshire.
  
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• On the front line with police battling violent crime on the streets of London

  19-05-2017 22:03
  
  During the time of filming, there was an average of one knife murder every other day in London.Myself and Sky's Home Affairs Correspondent Mark White spent our time with PC Joe Broadfoot and his partner in fighting crime, PC Darren Porritt, from Lambeth's gangs unit.In one episode, the gang unit were called to Streatham in south London to reports of a knife attack.
  
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• As the Russia story explodes, women's rights continue to be rolled back | Jessica Valenti

  19-05-2017 21:58 via theguardian.com
  
  As you watch the news obsessively and plan those impeachment parties, don’t forget about what’s at stake in the meantime• Get this newsletter via email – sign upI know it’s hard to think about anything outside of Trump and Russia these days, but while we’re all refreshing Twitter every two minutes, women’s rights are being rolled back across the country.At the end of June, four health clinics in Iowa will shut down because of legislation defunding Planned
  
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• SNP forced to U-turn over invite for radical Islamic hate cleric

  19-05-2017 21:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE SNP was forced into a humiliating climbdown last night over a Holyrood invite to a radical Islamic cleric who promotes terror.
  
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• Cannes 2017 day three: Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Lily Collins – in pictures

  19-05-2017 21:53 via theguardian.com
  
  It’s the third night of premieres on the Croisette, and Korean fantasy fable Okja is the toast of Cannes – as well as Visages, Villages director Agnès Varda Continue reading...
  
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• Filmworker review - Stanley Kubrick's right-hand man gets his moment in the limelight

  19-05-2017 21:51 via theguardian.com
  
  A tender documentary profiles Leon Vitali, who gave up a promising acting career to become the celebrated auteur’s most valued assistant Related: Un Beau Soleil Interieur (Let the Sunshine In) review – Juliette Binoche excels in grownup film The film industry is full of unassuming figures quietly holding everything together without ever demanding a share of the limelight. This tender documentary makes time to profile one of them: Leon Vitali, the man who walked onto a Stanley Kubrick
  
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• Family of Soundgarden's Chris Cornell say he did not intend to kill himself

  19-05-2017 21:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Singer’s wife says death is ‘inexplicable’ and suggests drug he was taking to relieve anxiety may have impaired his judgmentSoundgarden lead singer Chris Cornell did not intend to take his own life, his family have said the day after a US medical examiner’s report determined his cause of death as suicide by hanging.His relatives said they wanted to wait for a toxicology report before coming to any conclusions on what had happened to him, adding that they believed his judg
  
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• Champions League still a financial and sporting lure for Premier League clubs | David Conn

  19-05-2017 21:38 via theguardian.com
  
  The idea that participation in Europe’s top club competition is less important to England’s top flight because of TV money dissolves on analysisThere is an emerging school of thought that qualification for the European Champions League is no longer quite the financial and commercial boost that it used to be, given the galactic increase in Premier League TV money showering fortunes on all 20 clubs from 2016-19.It is true the increase in the English top flight’s broadcasting deal
  
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• Gangland knife hit victim Bonzo Daniel had been warned to get out of town

  19-05-2017 21:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  GANGLAND murder target Steven Daniel was ordered to leave Glasgow three weeks before a bloody attempt to kill him.
  
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• End of the road for Sturgeon? Scottish independence support 'UNCHANGED since last vote'

  19-05-2017 21:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  NICOLA Sturgeon’s dream of an independent Scotland appear to have hit the buffers with support for cutting ties with Westminster among voters remaining static from the referendum.
  
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• Tory social care plans fail to tackle basic funding challenge, IFS says

  19-05-2017 21:08
  
  Under the Conservative manifesto, more elderly people would have to pay for their own social care in the home.Theresa May’s flagship manifesto proposal to shake up the funding of social care for older people has come under fire from the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies and opposition parties.The IFS warned on Friday that the complex new system outlined in the Conservative party’s manifesto, which would force more elderly people to pay for their own care, “makes no attem
  
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• Rory McIlroy pulls out of BMW PGA Championship with rib injury

  19-05-2017 21:05 via theguardian.com
  
  • World No2 has been unable to shake off injury picked up in off-season
  • ‘It’s a disappointing decision but I have to ensure I make a full recovery’Rory McIlroy will miss the BMW PGA Championship that starts on 25 May at Wentworth owing to a rib injury.The world No2 suffered the problem in the off-season when hitting a lot of balls in practice trying to decide on new equipment after his former supplier Nike decided to stop producing clubs. Continue reading...
  
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• Speeding driver jailed for killing Violet-Grace Youens in hit-and-run

  19-05-2017 21:03
  Aidan McAteer was driving a stolen Ford Fiesta at about 80mph when he lost control and collided with Violet-Grace Youens and her grandmother Angela French in a 30mph area.Liverpool Crown Court heard how the 23-year-old, and passenger Dean Brennan, ran past Violet-Grace as she lay injured after the crash in St Helens on 24 March.McAteer fled abroad in the hours after the collision - later telling officers he had decided to clear his head and "go to Amsterdam for a few days and smoke weed".
  
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• A peacock's tail: how Darwin arrived at his theory of sexual selection

  19-05-2017 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  How Darwin developed the radical idea of females’ power to choose their mates despite it being at odds with his own notions of women as inferiorAbout 150 years ago, and “almost a lifetime” either side, Charles Darwin was beleaguered by the problem of the peacock’s tail. Just the sight of a feather, he wrote in April 1860, “makes me sick!”The plumage of the male bird represented a hole in his theory of evolution. According to Victorian thinking, beauty was divi
  
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• Two-thirds of charities subsidising public sector contracts to survive

  19-05-2017 20:59
  
  Over half the charities surveyed turned down contracts because the operational risks of trying to deliver a quality service on the cheap were too high.The study by analysts, New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), will warn that charities believe their relationship with the state is increasingly dysfunctional, with many of those charities most dependent on public service contracts now struggling.The fact that so many charities feel they need to subsidise public sector contracts shows how much austerity
  
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• Danish model told to drink only water for 24 hours to slim down

  19-05-2017 20:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Ulrikke Louise Lahn Høyer has hit out at fashion industry after being sacked from a Louis Vuitton show after a fitting, despite being a UK size 6A model who was told to drink only water for 24 hours before a Louis Vuitton show before having her appearance cancelled has hit out at the treatment that she and others in the industry face. Ulrikke Louise Lahn Høyer, a 20-year-old model from Denmark, who is a US size 2 or UK size 6, was allegedly sent home from the Louis Vuitton Cruise s
  
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• Tom Hardy to star in Spider-Man spin-off Venom

  19-05-2017 20:58 via theguardian.com
  
  The Oscar-nominated actor will join Sony’s Marvel universe as the comic-book villain in a new film to be directed by Zombieland’s Ruben FleischerTom Hardy is set to join Sony’s rebooted Marvel universe in the Spider-Man spin-off Venom. Related: Kiss of the Spider-Man: what will a Venom movie actually look like?Continue reading...
  
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• Coca-Cola’s ‘health by stealth’ wheeze is sneaky. But if it works so be it | Gaby Hinsliff

  19-05-2017 20:54 via theguardian.com
  
  People don’t like being told what’s good for them. But secretly subtract sugar from many food and drink recipes – and no one even noticesIt had been a long day. I was knackered, and frankly not concentrating. Which is how I managed recently to bake a plum cake and forget to put the sugar in. The damn thing was already cooked and cooling by the time the penny dropped, so there was little option but to keep quiet and dish it up. But surprisingly, plates were licked clean. It tast
  
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• Build-up to Pippa Middleton's wedding boosts her profile

  19-05-2017 20:54
  It's been described as the society event of the year - and brand experts believe the build up to the wedding of Pippa Middleton and James Matthews has already been a huge boost to the couple's public profile.With the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge and the wealthy hedge fund manager getting married on Saturday, the final preparations are underway in the Berkshire countryside.The ceremony will take place at St Mark's Church on the private Englefield estate, with the reception being held in the
  
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• British voters look like they’re rejecting Santa and embracing Scrooge. Why? | Jonathan Freedland

  19-05-2017 20:44 via theguardian.com
  
  It’s bad news for the Labour party. Despite the popularity of its general election manifesto proposals, credibility matters moreBy rights, Labour should be on course for a landslide win on 8 June. The manifestos of the two main parties are now out, and Labour promises lots of things that people really like, while the Conservatives are offering bitter medicine that will especially hurt those who turn out in big numbers: the old. Surely voters will pick the party of sweet
  
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• 'The war has just begun': Julian Assange defiant after Swedes drop investigation

  19-05-2017 20:40 via theguardian.com
  
  WikiLeaks founder describes end of rape allegations inquiry as ‘important victory’, but would still face arrest in London if he leaves embassyJulian Assange has declared that “the proper war is just commencing” after Swedish prosecutors unexpectedly dropped their investigation into an allegation of rape against him, ending a torturous seven-year extradition battle that nevertheless leaves significant question marks over his future.The 45-year-old WikiLeaks founder appeare
  
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• Exclusive: Tackling knife crime with the Met Police

  19-05-2017 20:40
  
  The police in London could step upthe use of their 'stop and search' powers on the streets to try to deal with the increase in knife crime.
  
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• The Guardian view on the election in Scotland: a pivotal poll for the SNP | Editorial

  19-05-2017 20:34 via theguardian.com
  
  The last general election was a triumph for the SNP. Now the nationalists face a pushback that will decide if Scotland has a second independence referendumThere are at least three different general elections taking place in the United Kingdom right now. The first, in England and Wales, is largely about Theresa May and Brexit. The second, in Northern Ireland, is about the province’s historic communal divisions. The third is in Scotland, and it is about the issue of independence versus
  
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• The Guardian view on irreligion in the US: a rising tide | Editorial

  19-05-2017 20:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Growing numbers of Americans no longer say they belong to any church. This could profoundly change politics and cultureFor the first time, the number of Americans saying that the Bible is composed of “fables” by human beings has overtaken the number who say it is the literal truth. The preponderant belief, held by about half the country, is still that the Bible is “inspired by God” but not to be taken literally. Although that figure has hardly varied over 50 years, the ri
  
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• Margaret Atwood: a high priestess of fiction who embraces the digital age | Claire Armitstead

  19-05-2017 20:31 via theguardian.com
  
  The Handmaid’s Tale’s rapturous reception on the small screen reminds us of its ever-energetic author’s spooky prescienceOnce or twice in a generation, a novel appears that vaults out of the literary corral to become a phenomenon, familiar to people the world over who have never read the book: George Orwell’s 1984 is one and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is another.So it’s perhaps not surprising that a new 10-part TV series based on the novel has
  
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• Rape inquiry dropped, WikiLeaks' Assange remains in embassy

  19-05-2017 20:20
  
  LONDON (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange no longer is the subject of an active rape investigation in Sweden, but he remains holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London facing an unclear future because of uncertainty over whether American authorities will try to get him handed over next.
  
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• Rape inquiry dropped, WikiLeaks' Assange remains in embassy

  19-05-2017 20:20
  
  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange no longer is the subject of an active rape investigation in Sweden, but he remains holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London facing an unclear future because of uncertainty ...
  
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• Police investigate deaths at Essex mental health unit

  19-05-2017 20:18 via theguardian.com
  
  The Linden Centre in Chelmsford has been the site of seven suicides by hanging since 2000 despite receiving repeated criticism for safety failures Police have launched an inquiry into a series of deaths among patients at an NHS mental health hospital which has been regularly criticised for safety failings.Essex and Kent police are jointly investigating an unspecified number of deaths at the Linden Centre mental health unit, which is based at Broomfield acute general hospital in Chelmsford, Essex
  
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• Theresa May’s tax on dementia adds to burden of those already suffering most | Letters

  19-05-2017 20:14
  
  Theresa May launches the Conservative party manifesto, which includes the policy on adult social care that has been described as a tax on dementia.Unfortunately, after three years in a care home with dementia, her understanding of such matters is rather diminished – as is my income, as her husband of 57 years.My retirement income, after 23 years as the head of a comprehensive school, is £31,000 (after paying income tax of almost £5,000).
  
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• Plenty of reasons for poor people to vote Labour | Letters

  19-05-2017 20:12
  
  Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and local parliamentary candidate Mohammad Yasin during a campaign visit to Bedford Guild House on Friday. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA
  
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• Praise those who pay the real living wage | Letters

  19-05-2017 20:11
  Recent announcements from across the political spectrum have raised the issue of living wages and statutory minimum wages.With inflation rising and wages not keeping pace, no doubt the debate around what level statutory wages should sit at will continue in the weeks, months and years to come.In the meantime, we should champion businesses that go beyond what’s legally required of them in supporting those at the lowest end of the pay scale by rewarding them fairly.
  
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• Express readers have had their say on the winter fuel allowance - THIS is what they think

  19-05-2017 20:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE major political parties in the UK have ignited a debate over the winter fuel allowance and who should be entitled to it - and this is what Express.co.uk readers think.
  
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• Pay for social care? Our reaction shows Britain is a nation of minor aristocrats | Deborah Orr

  19-05-2017 20:06 via theguardian.com
  
  The Tories’ manifesto plan repulses us because we’re so focused on protecting the family estate for the next generationOne of the many enduring miseries of the past 20 years is the particular character of the social care crisis. The most recent Conservative foray into the funding of elderly care is in its general election manifesto, proposing that the number of people who pay for care at home will have to increase, to include anyone with assets worth more than £100,000: so, ess
  
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• Wales Coast Path is a fine legacy of Rhodri Morgan | Letters

  19-05-2017 20:05
  
  You rightly recognise the legacy of Rhodri Morgan, former first minister of Wales (Obituary, 19 May).Rhodri, with his caravan on the Ceredigion coast and his love of walking, appreciated the magnificence of the Welsh coast and the opportunities it provides for walkers.The idea of a path around Wales was first discussed by Rhodri and his then environment minister Jane Davidson in Rhodri’s kitchen in 2007.
  
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• Unrest, sanctions – and now Venezuela's Maduro faces a shamanic curse

  19-05-2017 20:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Liborio Guarulla, the former governor of Amazonas state who was barred from office for opposing Maduro, enacts ‘Dakubi’ rite to bring suffering and lossVenezuela’s embattled government has endured weeks of violent street protests, criticism from its neighbours, and sustained diplomatic pressure – including the announcement on Thursday of fresh US sanctions against eight supreme court judges.This week, however, Nicolás Maduro’s administration was targeted by a
  
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• Exclusive - Italy tax police seize documents from IBM in BT Italy probe

  19-05-2017 20:03
  
  By Emilio ParodiMILAN (Reuters) - Italian investigators have seized documents from the Milan offices of International Business Machines Corpas part of an investigation into allegations of fraud at one of its customers, BT Italy, a unit of Britain's BT Group , sources said.Dozens of tax police visited the Italian offices of nine suppliers to BT Italy, including the U.S. tech group, on Thursday, as well as BT Italy's own headquarters, and took boxes of documents away, said sources familiar with th
  
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• Brexit clouds gather over Chelsea flower show as sponsorship wilts

  19-05-2017 19:57 via theguardian.com
  
  This year there will be just eight show gardens – down from 18 – as several major sponsors withdraw from London event The number of major show gardens may have been pruned back heavily as some key sponsors have pulled out, but the Chelsea flower show’s gala opening night on Monday remains one of the prime events of the London social calendar.This year there will be just eight show gardens – down from at least 14 last year as some long-term supporters including the Daily T
  
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• Syrian peace talks break up after making only 'incremental progress'

  19-05-2017 19:54 via theguardian.com
  
  UN’s special envoy defends himself against charge that talks in Geneva have become hopelessly bogged downFour days of faltering Syrian peace talks broke up in Geneva on Friday evening with the UN’s special envoy on Syria admitting there had only been “incremental progress”, with no detailed discussions held on the main agenda items. Staffan de Mistura said he hoped talks would recommence in June, but set no specific date.The atmosphere at the already difficult talks were
  
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