General news

• Survation poll finds Conservatives' lead narrows after policy launch

  20-05-2017 23:46
  
  Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives have narrowed their lead over the opposition Labour party ahead of a June 8 election after both parties presented their programmes for government, a Survation poll for the Mail on Sunday showed.The Conservatives had a 46 percent share of the vote while Labour had 34 percent.An earlier Survation poll for the Good Morning Britain TV show published on Monday had the Conservatives on 48 percent and Labour on 30 percent.
  
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• Conservatives' lead over Labour halves to 9 points ahead of election - YouGov

  20-05-2017 23:11
  
  The lead enjoyed by British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative party over the opposition Labour party has halved to nine points in the run-up to a general election on June 8, a YouGov poll for the Sunday Times showed on Saturday.May's party is now polling at an expected 44 percent of the vote, down 5 points, versus 35 percent for the Labour Party, up 4 points.The poll of 1,925 adults carried out on May 18 and 19 saw the Liberal Democrats unchanged at 9 percent and the United Kingdom Indep
  
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• UKIP candidate Paddy Singh suspended over 'racist' tweets

  20-05-2017 23:08
  A UKIP candidate has been suspended by the party over a series of tweets dating back to 2014 that have sparked racism allegations.In the social media posts, Paddy Singh compared Chinese and Pakistani people to "animals" and said Israelis were like "Nazis".UKIP is no longer endorsing him but he will still be listed as a party candidate on the ballot paper for North Wiltshire in the General Election on 8 June.
  
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• Is Labour fighting ‘shocking’ media bias or does it need to get its act together?

  20-05-2017 22:31
  
  Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is surrounded by the media during a visit to Leeds.Judging by the cheers, it was one of the more popular questions posed at Labour’s manifesto launch last week.Labour leaders have battled those odds for generations, but his loyal supporters argue none has had it as rough as Jeremy Corbyn – although given the treatment dished out to Neil Kinnock or Ed Miliband, it is perhaps more accurate to say few have had it as easy as Theresa May.
  
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• Stop and search won’t help to beat knife crime, Met chief is told

  20-05-2017 20:53
  
  Met Commissioner Cressida Dick discussing knife crime with families in south London on 18 May.Britain’s most senior police officer has been urged to rethink her support for stop and search as race relations experts warn that an increase in its use will further alienate communities and make it harder to tackle the knife crime epidemic in London.After a dramatic surge in stabbings, the new head of the Metropolitan police, Cressida Dick, spoke approvingly earlier in the week about stop and se
  
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• Election campaigning to be halted for an hour in Jo Cox tribute

  20-05-2017 20:37
  
  A commemorative event to celebrate the life of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox in Trafalgar Square, central London.The leaders of all the main political parties will stop campaigning for an hour on Sunday in memory of Jo Cox, the Labour MP murdered in her Yorkshire constituency a year ago.Jeremy Corbyn is due to visit a project in Liverpool, while Tim Farron will take part in a picnic in Kendal.
  
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• May: Trident row proves Labour can't be trusted on defence

  20-05-2017 19:49
  
  Theresa May has claimed Labour cannot be trusted with defending the country following a row within the party over the future of Trident.Jeremy Corbyn has restated Labour's commitment to renewing the nuclear deterrent after his shadow foreign secretary suggested the party could withdraw its support.Emily Thornberry said she could not confirm the missile system would remain as Labour policy after a post-election review of the UK's defence needs.
  
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• Confusion over Labour's position on Trident

  20-05-2017 19:30
  
  Theresa May has accused Labour of being unable to defend the country. The Prime Minister was speaking after Jeremy Corbyn was put on the spot following a disagreement between his shadow foreign and defence secretaries. Sky's Jason Farrell reports.
  
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• UK's first cancer-fighting proton beam therapy machine arrives

  20-05-2017 19:14
  The UK has taken delivery of its first cancer-fighting proton beam therapy machine.Previously only available overseas, the 55-ton cyclotron accelerator machine is being installed as the final phase of the Rutherford Cancer Centre being built in Newport, South Wales.The £17m machine will take a year to install and is expected to treat 500 patients a year.
  
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• Theresa May's latest social media post has strangely given Labour supporters some hope

  20-05-2017 18:50
  
  Labour supporters have seized on the opening sentence of Theresa May’s lengthy Facebook post.
  
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• May's Conservatives lead Labour by 13 points - Opinium poll

  20-05-2017 18:26
  
  British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative party has seen its lead narrow slightly ahead of a June 8 national election but it remains well ahead of its opposition, an Opinium poll showed on Saturday.The poll conducted on May 16 and 17 showed the Conservatives with 46 percent, down from 47 percent a week earlier, while the Labour Party had 33 percent, up one percentage point.The Liberal Democrats had 8 percent while the United Kingdom Independence Party and the Scottish National Party both
  
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• The story behind Pippa Middleton's wedding dress

  20-05-2017 17:59
  Pippa Middleton's Giles Deacon-designed wedding dress has been widely praised by bridalwear experts.The Duchess of Cambridge's sister wore a high neck, cap-sleeved ivory gown with a corseted bodice and bespoke lace detailing.The 33-year-old, who has tied the knot with financier James Matthews, smiled as she arrived at the church, wearing her veil over her head.
  
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• Highlights from outside Pippa Middleton's wedding

  20-05-2017 17:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Duchess of Cambridge's younger sister married her partner James Matthews in Berkshire.
  
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• How workable – and how expensive – might Labour’s renationalisations be?

  20-05-2017 17:00
  
  John McDonnell says renationalisations won’t add to the public debt, and some academics agree with him.Labour has outlined plans to bring the rail, water and energy supply industries back into public ownership.Royal Mail will also be nationalised as part of a manifesto pledge to reverse some of the high-profile privatisations pushed through by the Conservatives in the 1980s and 90s, and by the more recent coalition government.
  
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• See all of the best moments from Pippa Middleton's wedding

  20-05-2017 16:53
  
  Yes, including the cutest pictures of Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
  
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• 'Black Mamba' synthetic cannabis makes man slice off his own nose

  20-05-2017 16:09
  A man high on a form of synthetic cannabis sliced off his own nose before being subdued by police officers, it has been revealed.West Midlands Police, which has released details of the incident now to publicise the dangers of the drugs, said officers were met with a "bloodbath" when they arrived at the scene.Birmingham Police Inspector Mat Minton said: "I believe the actions of these officers saved the man's life.
  
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• Has Croydon cat killer claimed another victim?

  20-05-2017 16:05
  There are fears the so-called Croydon cat killer may have struck again after a body was found in the front garden of a home in southwest London.South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL), which has catalogued more than 200 animal deaths, said the body was found in Wallington, near Beddington Park, two days ago.Foxes and rabbits have been killed as well as cats, but it is not clear if the deaths are linked.
  
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• Young Royals attend Pippa's wedding

  20-05-2017 16:04
  Guests have started arriving for the wedding of the Duchess of Cambridge's sister Pippa Middleton.
  
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• May's Conservatives on 46 percent, Labour on 34 percent ahead of election - Orb poll

  20-05-2017 15:37
  
  British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives have retained their lead over the opposition Labour Party ahead of the June 8 election, but with Labour gaining ground, an Orb poll published by the Telegraph showed on Saturday.The poll showed the Conservatives with 46 percent, the same level of support versus one week ago, while Labour rose to 34 percent, up 2 percentage points, the Telegraph said.The Liberal Democrats fell 1 point to 7 percent while the UK Independence Party gained 1 point to
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn: Theresa May 'creating war between generations'

  20-05-2017 14:42
  
  Jeremy Corbyn speaks to Bridget Shakur during an election campaign visit to Bedford Guild House, which provides support for people over 50.Jeremy Corbyn has accused the Tories of creating a “war between generations” with a manifesto that pitched young people against older members of society.The Labour leader called on Theresa May to drop the “anti-pensioner package” in the Conservative manifesto, including plans to means-test the winter fuel allowance which has caused div
  
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• Royal sister-in-law Pippa takes spotlight in star-studded British wedding

  20-05-2017 14:06
  
  By Elisabeth O'Leary(Reuters) - Pippa Middleton, younger sister of Kate, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, was married in a small English country church on Saturday surrounded by royals and celebrities but those hoping for a dash of Hollywood were left in the cold.The event had been at risk of being overshadowed by the most high-profile appearance yet of Prince Harry's girlfriend, Meghan Markle.Three-year-old Prince George, third in line to the throne after grandfather Charles and father William,
  
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• Royals arrive for Pippa Middleton's wedding

  20-05-2017 13:30
  Guests have started arriving for the wedding of the Duchess of Cambridge's sister Pippa Middleton.
  
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• 'Legal high' Black Mamba makes man slice off his own nose

  20-05-2017 13:14
  A man high on a form of synthetic cannabis sliced off his own nose before being subdued by police officers, it has been revealed.West Midlands Police, which has released details of the incident now to publicise the dangers of the drugs, said officers were met with a "bloodbath" when they arrived at the scene.Birmingham Police Inspector Mat Minton said: "I believe the actions of these officers saved the man's life.
  
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• William and Harry arrive for Pippa Middleton's wedding

  20-05-2017 12:40
  Guests have started arriving for the wedding of the Duchess of Cambridge's sister Pippa Middleton.Tennis star Roger Federer was among the early arrivers at the event at one of the Middleton's local churches in Englefield, Berkshire.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's son Prince George and daughter Princess Charlotte are expected to take part in the ceremony as Miss Middleton marries hedge fund manager James Matthews.
  
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• Donald Trump has arrived in Saudi Arabia - here's what you need to know

  20-05-2017 12:31
  
  This is his first foreign visit since assuming the presidency.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn calls on Theresa May to drop 'anti-pensioner package'

  20-05-2017 11:47
  
  Jeremy Corbyn speaks to Bridget Shakur during an election campaign visit to Bedford Guild House, which provides support for people over 50.Theresa May should drop the “anti-pensioner package” in the Conservative manifesto, Jeremy Corbyn is to say, as controversial plans to means-test the winter fuel allowance cause division within her party.The proposal for people in England and Wales is one part of a “triple-whammy of misery” for older people, Corbyn will say in a speech
  
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• The Rider review – impressive, stylish bronco rider drama bucks the trend

  20-05-2017 10:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Chloé Zhao’s distinctive new feature shows life among South Dakota’s star bronco riders, who play themselves in a kind of heightened documentaryChinese-born film-maker Chloé Zhao had her debut feature Songs My Brothers Taught Me in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes two years ago, and she returns to this sidebar with another absorbing indie-realist slice of Americana: a tale of cowboys, bull riders and bronco riders in South Dakota. It’s a sombre study of th
  
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• Urban beasts: how wild animals have moved into cities

  20-05-2017 10:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Rome has a problem with wild boar; wolves mingle with surburban Germans; mountain lions frequent LA. All around the world, city life seems increasingly conducive to wildlifeIn Aesop’s fable, the town mouse turns his nose up at his country cousin’s simple fare, preferring the haute cuisine to be scavenged in the city. It appears that the wild boar of Italy have taken note, and are venturing ever more boldly into Rome.But they are not alone: all around the world, city life seems to be
  
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• 'Her needs had to come first': becoming a father and a widower in a week

  20-05-2017 10:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Tom Malmquist’s partner died seven days after their daughter was born. How would he make sense of life as a suddenly single parent?The doctor in the intensive care unit leaned over Karin and said, “I’ve just spoken with our haematologists, and it’s not looking good: you have a massive build-up of white blood cells. It’s highly likely that you have acute leukaemia.”It was 19 March 2012. I remember that date as a dividing line, sharp and unforgettable, between w
  
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• Christy Turlington: ‘The closest I’ve come to death? The birth of my daughter’

  20-05-2017 10:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The model on her campaign Every Mother Counts, and how she dislikes talking about her appearanceBorn in California, Christy Turlington Burns, 48, was scouted to be a model at 14 and went on to become one of the original supermodels. After suffering a postpartum haemorrhage in 2003, she took a masters in public health and set up non-profit organisation Every Mother Counts, addressing global maternal health. The charity has partnered with Toms shoes. She is married to actor Ed Burns, has two child
  
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• Ian Paterson conviction: more than 100 further patients come forward

  20-05-2017 10:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Law firm says 103 patients treated privately by breast surgeon have sought advice since he was found guilty of unlawful wounding
  More than 100 people treated by the breast surgeon Ian Paterson have come forward since his conviction for wounding patients, a law firm has said. Described by one victim as being “like a God”, Paterson lied to patients and exaggerated or invented the risk of cancer to convince them to undergo surgery, possibly to improve his earnings. Continue reading...
  
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• The airlines with the worst UK inbound delays revealed

  20-05-2017 10:26
  More than a quarter of flights into the UK are delayed, new figures claim.
  
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• Corbyn says May's manifesto aims to 'pitch young against old'

  20-05-2017 10:15
  
  Jeremy Corbyn will take aim at Theresa May and the Conservatives saying they are trying to "pitch young against old" with plans to scrap the pension triple lock and universal winter fuel allowance.At a speech in Birmingham, the Labour leader will intensify his attack on the Prime Minister over manifesto pledges which he has termed a "triple whammy of misery" for pensioners.The policies have already exposed cracks in the Conservative camp with senior Tory Sarah Wollaston claiming scrapping the pl
  
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• Zoe Smith: ‘You’re treated differently when you’re not an Olympian. I’m a coffee wench now’

  20-05-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Funding cuts mean the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist is working in a coffee shop and training after her shift, but says her circumstances have given her a fresh determination to succeed“It’s interesting how differently people treat you when you’re the barista as opposed to the weightlifting Olympian,” muses Zoe Smith. “At the moment, I’m just coffee wench.” The 23-year-old laughs – her dark, self-deprecating sense of humour finding endless
  
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• Kevin Bacon: ‘I thought I'd be sent to the TV graveyard’

  20-05-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Footloose made him a movie star – but now he’s coming around to the joys of the small screen. Kevin Bacon talks marriage, falling victim to Bernie Madoff, and I Love DickEveryone knows the shtick about Kevin Bacon. You know, the theory that anyone in the entertainment business can be connected to him by, at most, six removes: the Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon. So, to take an actor at random, Dolly Parton: Parton voiced the animated film Gnomeo And Juliet along with James McAvoy, who sta
  
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• Ikea seeks to make more products in UK to fend off post-Brexit vote price rises

  20-05-2017 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Weakened pound pushes Swedish furniture chain to look at making and sourcing more than the odd mattress or sofa in UK Ikea is considering making more products in the UK as the Swedish furniture chain bids to fend off Brexit-led price rises.The retailer already makes some sofas and mattresses in Britain, but UK boss Gillian Drakeford said it was actively examining how it might increase that work while looking at other products that can be sourced domestically. Continue reading...
  
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• Hay fever map reveals Britain's worst pollen hotspots

  20-05-2017 10:00
  As we head towards June, hay fever sufferers across the UK will be bracing themselves for a summer of runny noses, red eyes and sneezing.Produced by the University of Exeter in collaboration with the Met Office, the maps will help acute hay fever or asthma sufferers navigate the worst of the pollen.The detailed research could even help sufferers decide where to buy a house, or where to avoid going on holiday.
  
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• General election 2017: manifesto word count – in data

  20-05-2017 10:00
  
  Jeremy Corbyn holds up the Labour manifesto, in which the word ‘rights’ is the joint-ninth most used word.If you are the kind of person who spent hours poring over the detail of the manifestos of the UK’s three largest political parties this week (and let’s face it, who among us did not) then you may have noticed some common ground among the language they use.Analysis of the top 10 words used in the parties’ 2017 manifestos show they have six words in common.
  
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• Yotam Ottolenghi’s meze recipes

  20-05-2017 09:59 via theguardian.com
  
  If you don’t like strict rules at mealtimes, meze are the way to go: they free you up to have a feast with no official beginning, middle or endI’ ve just got back from a  trip to Georgia, the delicious details of which will no doubt feed my imagination, and these pages, at some point in the future. That visit was immediately followed by a sad couple of days in Israel, where I attended a shiva, the Jewish week of family mourning after a death.On both occasions
  
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• Comey to testify as more revelations pile pressure on Trump

  20-05-2017 09:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Ex-FBI chief to tell Senate committee about campaign inquiry role, as president reportedly described him to Russians as ‘nut job’
  The former FBI director James Comey is to testify in front of cameras following his shock sacking, it has been announced, as a series of damaging revelations pile further pressure on the embattled US president, Donald Trump. Related: Rosenstein stands by memo on firing James Comey: 'I wrote it. I believe it'Continue reading...
  
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• Pippa Middleton's wedding: a party fit for almost-royalty

  20-05-2017 09:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Facts about Saturday’s bash are scarce but that has only fed speculation over the biggest Middleton wedding since the last oneIt is not, of course, an actual royal wedding, but until Prince Harry answers the call of an impatient nation, it will have to do.
  On Saturday, at St Mark’s church in Englefield, Berkshire, Pippa Middleton, a 33-year-old best known for her shapely posterior and well-connected sister, will marry James Matthews, a 41-year-old hedge fund manager best known for ma
  
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• We need to talk about...Nationalism

  20-05-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A monthly podcast in which Guardian journalists tackle a topic suggested by Guardian members and answer their questions on it. In this edition, Vicky Frost, the Guardian’s deputy membership editor, discusses the global rise of nationalism with Randeep Ramesh, Iman Amrani and Ewen MacAskillIn our monthly podcast series We Need to Talk About … we tackle the big issues shaping the world. This is the fourth in this podcast series, and the first which is available for everyone to listen
  
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• The derided railway sandwich, and its role in the privatisation of Britain | Ian Jack

  20-05-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From restaurant cars to curling corners, onboard catering tracked the fortunes of public ownershipAs from today there will be no more bacon-and-sausage baps for sale on the trains from London Marylebone to Banbury and Birmingham; no more ploughman’s sandwiches or cheese-and-onion crisps; neither hot drinks nor cold. Chiltern Railways, which operates the service, is the latest train operator to abolish onboard catering. Most travellers now bring their food and drink with them in little pape
  
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• ‘You’d come in and think, what’s dead or escaped?’: inside Britain's most controversial zoo

  20-05-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Last summer inspectors revealed that nearly 500 animals had died in a three-year period. Can a new team turn South Lakes Safari around?It’s 2pm at South Lakes Safari zoo. “Free entry!” reads the cheerful banner tacked on to the rustic wooden entrance gate. “Hand feed a baby giraffe!” But these enticements seem to have missed their mark today: I’m the only visitor. The enormous gift shop filled mostly with stuffed animals is empty of humans. The £20 famil
  
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• Green party proposes scrapping all existing student debt

  20-05-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Greens are set to unveil manifesto on Monday, when they say they will present the means by which they will pay for such plansWith Labour having promised to scrap university tuition fees if elected, the Greens are going one step further, with a pledge to write off all existing student loan debts, at a cost of more than £14bn over the next parliament.The party, which is already committed to ending tuition fees, concedes that this cost would be significantly higher over time, given the lo
  
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• Colm Tóibín: rewriting Greek tragedy

  20-05-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Drawing on his memories of Northern Ireland, and images of violence from the Middle East, the author returns to the violent story of Clytemnestra and her childrenIn September 1986 I sat on a bench in the village green in Bessbrook, County Armagh, in Northern Ireland trying to pluck up the courage to knock on the door of Alan Black, who was the single Protestant survivor of what was known as the Kingsmill massacre – which had happened in January 1976. I was writing a book about the bor
  
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• Clive James: ‘The Death Star is threatening me with a lethal dose of boredom’

  20-05-2017 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  All the special effects are bigger now, but you can’t bring on another Han Solo just by pressing a buttonYou know you’re getting on when you lose track of the Star Wars sequels. My elder daughter’s family keeps track of them, so even my granddaughter’s wonder dog can tell a post-prequel starring Natalie Portman from one of the later, newer, pre-early, post-imperial mega-sagas. The dog can recognise these later developments by the absence of Princess Amidala’s rococo
  
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• Iran: Hassan Rouhani set for landslide in huge victory for reformists

  20-05-2017 08:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Just before 9am, the interior ministry said Rouhani was ahead, with 14 million votes to Ebrahim Raisi’s 10 million, with over half of votes countedIranian President Hassan Rouhani is to claim re-election with a landslide victory, in a ringing endorsement of his efforts to re-engage with the West and offer greater freedoms at home.With a huge turnout, polling stations stayed open until midnight in parts of the country, defying worries that moderates disillusioned by the weak economy or slow
  
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• Cigarettes get plain green packets from this weekend

  20-05-2017 08:18
  Plain packaging will be standard for all cigarette packets sold in the UK from this weekend.Smokers will also have to cough up extra cash to pay for their tobacco, with packs of 10 cigarettes banned and the cheapest pack costing £8.82 after the move.The new rules - called the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD2) - will apply to all EU countries selling tobacco products.
  
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• Want to lose weight? Eat in a crinkly plate

  20-05-2017 08:01
  
  Crinkly plates are creation of a graphic artist from the Art Academy of Latvia.Its ridges trick the mind into seeing less food as more.A crinkly plate, designed with ridges that cunningly reduce the amount of food it holds, may be heading for the market to help people concerned about their weight to eat less.
  
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