General news

• Brazil's ex-president Lula sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison for corruption

  12-07-2017 23:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Two-term president found guilty in scandal linked to oil giant PetrobrasLawyers attack sentence and say ‘conviction came without any truth’Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, once the most popular president in Brazil’s recent history, has been sentenced to nine years and six months in prison after being found guilty on corruption and money-laundering charges.Although Lula, as he is universally known, will remain free pending an appeal – and his supporters denounced the sent
  
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• The unanswered questions from Donald Trump Jr's Russia emails

  12-07-2017 23:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Democrats have proclaimed it as clear collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow – but the greater significance of the email chain remains unclearDonald Trump Jr’s email chain, which revealed his enthusiasm for a meeting with a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer offering damaging information about Hillary Clinton, has been greeted as evidence of collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and Moscow. Related: Democrats clamor for Jared Kushner's security cle
  
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• Louise and Jamie Redknapp battling 'the curse of Strictly' as marriage 'on the rocks' - Express.co.uk

  12-07-2017 23:35 via express.co.uk
  
  Express.co.uk
  Louise and Jamie Redknapp battling 'the curse of Strictly' as marriage 'on the rocks'
  Express.co.uk
  THE curse of Strictly is thought to have struck again over claims that the marriage of Louise and Jamie Redknapp is on the rocks. By John Chapman. PUBLISHED: 05:38, Thu, Jul 13, 2017 | UPDATED: 08:18, Thu, Jul 13, 2017 ...
  Redknapp split? Louise and Jamie working it out, says palMetro Guilty Pleasures
  Love-split Louise Redknapp struggles to hide marriage pain as she jets off to
  
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• Johanna Konta’s semi-final with Venus Williams a chance to console the nation

  12-07-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  
  No6 seed has still not quite found what she is looking for but a win against the five-times Wimbledon champion in the last four will get her a bit closerWhen asked what it would feel like to be a British champion at Wimbledon alongside Andy Murray, Johanna Konta paused, grinned and, trapped into stating the obvious but unwilling to elaborate, uttered “amazing”.The world No7, whose star has risen by the day at these championships, was desperate to contain the growing tide of expectati
  
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• Lawsuit claims US has threatened and misled immigrants seeking asylum

  12-07-2017 23:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Legal groups brought suit against Homeland Security and Border Patrol, saying people at US-Mexico border have been blocked from asylum processUS border officials have systemically blocked asylum seekers from accessing the asylum process, in violation of US and international law, according to a lawsuit filed by immigration advocates on Wednesday. A collection of legal groups brought the suit, which claims that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) hav
  
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• Search for person missing in Falls of Bruar

  12-07-2017 23:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Police, fire and ambulance crews have been joined by a mountain rescue team for the search at the Falls of Bruar.
  
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• Angry Grenfell residents demand arrests and resignations at meeting

  12-07-2017 23:08
  
  People attend a vigil to mark four weeks since the Grenfell Tower fire at the memorial wall on Bramley Road, London.Angry residents demanded police investigating the Grenfell Tower fire make arrests and called for the resignation of the new leader of Kensington and Chelsea council at a crowded and chaotic public meeting in the borough on Wednesday evening.DCI Matt Bonner, who is leading the police investigation, struggled to reassure more than 200 people present at St Clement’s church that
  
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• Andy Murray exit leaves Johanna Konta to satisfy Wimbledon’s lust for glory | Barney Ronay

  12-07-2017 23:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Seven times in the past eight years the second Friday of Wimbledon has been an all-out Murray gig – this time Konta carries the semi-final hopes of a nationAs Roger Federer romped past his quarter-final opponent Milos Raonic on Wednesday afternoon he looked at times like a man capable of winning Wimbledon on one leg. Sadly, for Andy Murray the opposite appears to be the case. Afflicted by a longstanding hip injury, Murray lost his quarter-final in five increasingly one-sided, and one-legge
  
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• Alastair Cook relishes his new role back in the England engine room

  12-07-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  • Second-innings 69 was ‘worth double’, according to Joe Root• Mark Wood keen to build on his successes at No10 and with the ballAlastair Cook is in seemingly relaxed mood about his return to the rank and file of the England team, although his new life only truly hit home during the victory against South Africa at Lord’s last week when one of his previous subordinates, Ben Stokes, moved him in the field.After four years at the Test tiller, Cook handed over to Joe Root
  
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• The rehabilitation of RBS is painful, costly – and nowhere near over | Nils Pratley

  12-07-2017 22:58 via theguardian.com
  
  The bank is resolving another ‘legacy issue’ by paying £4.2bn over mis-sold loans in US, but a return to profit is still a distant dreamThere goes £4.2bn from our (mostly) state-owned bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, to cover the first of two big settlements with US authorities for mis-selling toxic mortgage bonds in the bad old days. The sum to be dispatched to the US Federal Housing Finance Agency is roughly the size RBS had expected, which at least shows that today’
  
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• Acid attack victim launches campaign from her hospital bed

  12-07-2017 22:53
  
  John Tomlin has been charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent after the attacks on Resham Khan and her cousin Jameel Muhktar.The victim of an acid attack has launched a campaign from her hospital bed to end attacks with corrosive substances.In an open letter, Resham Khan called for the police to take “a zero-tolerance stance” on acid attacks.
  
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• Annual Northern Ireland parades pass peacefully despite political crisis

  12-07-2017 22:33
  
  By Ian GrahamBELFAST (Reuters) - Annual parades in Northern Ireland that frequently trigger sectarian violence passed peacefully on Wednesday with little sign the province's political crisis is increasing tensions on the streets.A power-sharing coalition between pro-British Protestant unionists and Irish Catholic nationalists collapsed in January and the protracted political impasse raised fears that inter-community relations might deteriorate.Police Service of Northern Ireland Assistant Chief C
  
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• Mike Ashley swoops on 25% stake in troubled Game Digital

  12-07-2017 22:14
  The billionaire tycoon Mike Ashley has added a 25% stake in the video games retailer Game Digital to a high street shopping list that also includes Debenhams and French Connection.Sky News has learnt that Sports Direct International, the chain controlled by Mr Ashley, is understood to have bought the stake in recent days.A source close to Game Digital, which announced a profit warning last month because of a shortage in supplies of Nintendo's new Switch gaming console, said Sports Direct's purch
  
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• Dog shot in head at point-blank range in Bristol

  12-07-2017 21:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Jack Russell terrier had shotgun pellets beneath the skin with injuries to its jaw and face.
  
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• King Felipe VI: Spain and UK 'profoundly intertwined'

  12-07-2017 21:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  King Felipe VI says they can overcome differences over Gibraltar and Brexit, in his state visit speech.
  
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• Steve Bell on Donald Trump Jr – cartoon

  12-07-2017 21:52 via theguardian.com
  
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• Stormzy Hailed In Parliament As 'Poet Laureate' For Grenfell Tower

  12-07-2017 21:47
  
  Stormzy has been celebrated in Westminster as one of the rappers “calling out Grenfell Britain in gut-wrenching prose”.
  
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• Stormzy Hailed In Parliament Among 'Poet Laureates' For Grenfell Tower

  12-07-2017 21:47
  
  Stormzy has been celebrated in Westminster as one of the rappers “calling out Grenfell Britain in gut-wrenching prose”.
  
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• Nicky Morgan to lead Treasury committee

  12-07-2017 21:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The ex-education secretary sees off Eurosceptic Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg for the coveted position.
  
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• Nick Clegg: Brexit makes it tougher to roll back austerity

  12-07-2017 21:20
  
  Brexit will make it even tougher for the Government to roll back on its austerity programme, Nick Clegg has told Sky News.The former deputy prime minister said Boris Johnson and Michael Gove were partly responsible for the squeeze facing families around the country, accusing the pair of shedding "crocodile tears" in their recent calls to lift the cap on public sector pay.In an exclusive interview, Mr Clegg said the "cruel paradox" is that "leaving the EU makes it much harder to alleviate the eff
  
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• Austerity fatigue has well and truly set in

  12-07-2017 21:20
  
  Sky's Economics Editor reports that ending seven years of austerity might not be as straightfoward as it seems.
  
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• Nicky Morgan beats pro-Brexit MP to chair of Treasury committee

  12-07-2017 21:16
  
  Nicky Morgan has been one of the most prominent voices in parliament warning of the economic dangers of a hard Brexit.Nicky Morgan, the former cabinet minister, has won the contest to chair parliament’s influential Treasury select committee, beating the arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg to position herself as a thorn in the side of the government’s plans for leaving the EU.The former Treasury minister and education secretary was elected against Rees-Mogg, her nearest rival, by MPs acros
  
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• British Gymnastics coach under investigation over athlete abuse claims

  12-07-2017 21:09 via theguardian.com
  
  • Verbal and physical abuse alleged to have started in 2012
  • Parents alerted governing body after concerns were raisedA British Gymnastics licensed coach is being investigated by police in the latest development in the duty of care scandal engulfing Olympic sport.The Guardian has learnt the coach is part of an investigation by the Metropolitan police, who are assessing whether they have enough evidence to bring criminal charges. Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on select committees: chairs of power | Editorial

  12-07-2017 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Parliament’s system of electing select committee chairs has been a great success. The new incumbents have something to live up toTheresa May and Jeremy Corbyn invariably make the big political headlines, even when they skip prime minister’s questions, as they did on Wednesday in order to be with the Spanish royal visitors, leaving Damian Green and Emily Thornberry to deputise capably. But a hung parliament is a backbenchers’ parliament as much as a party leaders’ parliame
  
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• Pro-EU lawmaker Nicky Morgan to head Treasury Committee

  12-07-2017 21:00
  
  Pro-European Union British lawmaker Nicky Morgan was elected on Wednesday to lead parliament's Treasury Select Committee, the watchdog for the finance ministry and the Bank of England.Morgan, a former mergers and acquisitions lawyer who has also been education minister and an outspoken critic of some aspects of Prime Minister Theresa May's approach to Brexit, won a ballot to become the committee's first female chair.The committee does not have any legislative power but its high profile hearings
  
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• Understudies take PMQs up a notch – which wasn't hard | John Crace

  12-07-2017 20:51 via theguardian.com
  
  With the Maybot and Corbyn out of the way, the deputies happily traded insults over Brexit safe in the knowledge they could do no worse than their bossesOne day after announcing she was open to policy suggestions from Labour, the Maybot passed up the first opportunity to indulge in cross-party dialogue by choosing to dodge prime minister’s questions in favour of tapas with King Felipe of Spain. First secretary Damian Green didn’t look unduly bothered to be stepping in as understudy.
  
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• Understudies take PMQs up a notch – which wasn't hard | John Crace

  12-07-2017 20:51
  
  Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry was up for a scrap.One day after announcing she was open to policy suggestions from Labour, the Maybot passed up the first opportunity to indulge in cross-party dialogue by choosing to dodge prime minister’s questions in favour of tapas with King Felipe of Spain.First secretary Damian Green didn’t look unduly bothered to be stepping in as understudy.
  
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• Charlie Gard case: quality of life is more important than life at all costs | Letters

  12-07-2017 20:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Sometimes sick people such as Charlie Gard have to be allowed to die, write GM Draper, Donal Manning, Peter Freyhan and Veronica EdwardsMalcolm Pittock says he mentally flinches when he hears the phrase “own best interest” used by “some socially powerful institution” when deciding if someone should be “forced to die” (Defining Charlie Gard’s best interests, Letters, 11 July). This is mischief-making on many counts. Discontinuing life support (mechanical
  
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• Andy Murray corrects journalist's 'casual sexism'

  12-07-2017 20:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The British player is praised on social media after picking up a reporter on his "casual sexism".
  
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• Balearic Islands plead for alcohol ban on flights

  12-07-2017 20:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Spanish islands famous for their party resorts ask for ban in effort to tackle ‘anti-social tourism’Authorities in the Balearic Islands, home to the party resorts of Ibiza and Mallorca, have asked Spain and the European Union to ban alcohol on flights and in airports as they battle “anti-social tourism”. Related: Magaluf’s days of drinking and casual sex are numbered – or so Mallorca hopesContinue reading...
  
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• Judge says Mike Ashley case is 'a lot more interesting' than others

  12-07-2017 20:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Mr Justice Leggatt, who will give his verdict next week, has listened to hours of evidence about Sports Direct billionaire’s unorthodox business practices
  A high court judge has joked that the legal dispute over what Sports Direct billionaire Mike Ashley allegedly said during a drunken night out to a London pub is “a lot more interesting” than most dry business disputes that reach the courts.Mr Justice Leggatt was on Wednesday hearing closing arguments in a dispute between Ashl
  
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• New way of reading scans can predict heart attack risk, research finds

  12-07-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers says colour of fat surrounding a heart’s arteries can predict risk, meaning expensive drugs can be given to those most likely to benefitHeart attacks may soon be easier to predict thanks to a method of reading routine heart scans that can pinpoint those most at risk, research suggests.Every year, roughly 750,000 Americans have a heart attack and around half die from it, often before reaching hospital. In the UK, someone has a heart attack every seven minutes. Doctors hope to id
  
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• Hospitals to receive £21m to increase cybersecurity at major trauma centres

  12-07-2017 19:59
  
  Jeremy Hunt has pledged extra money to try to stop future malware attacks disrupting operations.Hospitals responsible for treating patients from major incidents including terrorist attacks will receive £21m to beef up their cybersecurity in the wake of the WannaCry assault on NHS IT systems.Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, has pledged the extra money to try to stop future malware attacks disrupting operations and appointments in key medical centres.
  
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• King of Spain in state visit to UK

  12-07-2017 19:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  King Felipe VI said he wanted to protect UK citizens living in Spain and vice versa, after Brexit.
  
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• Punk, prints and ponchos: who won the fashion match at Wimbledon?

  12-07-2017 19:46 via theguardian.com
  
  The Grand Slam tournament has a famously strict dress code for players. However, this year both players and fans have been getting around it in new and interesting waysIn 2013, Roger Federer wore orange-soled Nikes on Centre Court and ruined Wimbledon for everyone – in 2014, the committee implemented an “almost entirely white” accessory rule on court. Still life finds a way, with players on court and attendees in the Wimbledon frow exploiting stylistic loopholes in ever more in
  
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• Frankie Dettori to make return from shoulder injury at Newmarket

  12-07-2017 19:38 via theguardian.com
  
  • Dettori takes two rides including Denaar in July Stakes
  • Favourite Rajasinghe set to deny Dettori comeback winA month to the day after the fall and injury which ruled him out of Royal Ascot, Frankie Dettori will return to action at his local track on Thursday, on the first afternoon of Newmarket’s three-day July Festival meeting. Dettori has opted to take only two rides in the Group 2 feature events: the July Stakes for juveniles, and the 12-furlong Princess Of Wales&rsqu
  
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• Andy Murray Corrects Reporter Who Overlooked Female Tennis Success

  12-07-2017 19:26
  
  Andy Murray was quick to set the record straight when correcting a journalist who asked a question that ignored women players following his shock quarter-final defeat at Wimbledon.
  
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• PM orders inquiry into intimidation of MPs during general election

  12-07-2017 19:15
  
  Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said she receives racist abuse every day, both on- and offline.Theresa May has ordered an investigation into intimidation experienced by candidates during the last election after a barrage of complaints by MPs about death threats and harassment.The prime minister asked the committee on standards in public life to prepare a report, saying she was “horrified by stories from colleagues about the scale and nature of the intimidation, bullying and harass
  
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• PM orders inquiry into intimidation experienced by MPs during election

  12-07-2017 19:15
  
  Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said she receives racist abuse every day, both on- and offline.Theresa May has ordered an investigation into intimidation experienced by parliamentary candidates at the election after a barrage of complaints by MPs about being insulted and threatened.The prime minister asked the committee on standards in public life to prepare a report, saying she was “horrified by stories from colleagues about the scale and nature of the intimidation, bullying and
  
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• Donald Trump Jr and the Russia connection - video explainer

  12-07-2017 19:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Donald Trump Jr has admitted meeting a Russian lawyer he was told could help to damage Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The president’s son admits he could have handled the situation better, but claims he did not tell his father about the meeting because ‘it was nothing’ Continue reading...
  
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• Coca-Cola bottles to be made from 50% recycled plastic by 2020

  12-07-2017 19:12
  
  Coca-Cola has pledged that all its UK bottles will be made from 50% recycled plastic by 2020.The soft drinks giant will also trial a "recovery and reward" scheme in the UK, which it says will inform national projects that encourage recycling.Similar deposit return programmes have been highlighted by Sky's Ocean Rescue campaign.
  
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• Scientists encode movie into DNA in first step to ‘molecular recorders’

  12-07-2017 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Transfer of Eadweard Muybridge’s galloping horse opens possibility of using living cells to store information His groundbreaking photos showed life in motion, from cantering bison to leapfrogging boys, and settled an argument that had long divided trainers and riders: do all four hooves of a racehorse ever leave the floor at once?Now, more than a century later, the stills and animations of Eadweard Muybridge, the eccentric Englishman and father of the motion picture, have had a modern make
  
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• UK government declines to publish review on funding of extremism

  12-07-2017 18:58
  
  By Michael HoldenLONDON (Reuters) - The British government said on Wednesday it would not publish in full its report on the sources of funding of Islamist extremism in Britain, prompting opposition charges that it was trying to protect its ally Saudi Arabia.The report, commissioned in November 2015 by then-Prime Minister David Cameron, was handed to the government last year and ministers have been under pressure to release its findings following three deadly attacks in Britain since March which
  
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• King of Spain confident of 'acceptable' Gibraltar deal

  12-07-2017 18:58
  
  The King of Spain has said he is confident his country and Britain can find a solution on Gibraltar "acceptable to all involved".King Felipe raised the controversial topic as he addressed MPs and peers at the Royal Gallery in the Houses of Parliament, outside which the flag of Gibraltar was on display.Conservative MPs had threatened to walk out of the speech if the monarch laid claim to the territory during his speech, but his considered remarks did not see this happen.
  
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• In Thoreau's footsteps: my journey to Walden for the bicentennial of the original de-clutterer

  12-07-2017 18:54 via theguardian.com
  
  He retreated to a cabin by a pond and wrote Walden, the most influential guide to happy living ever. As his devotees (modestly) celebrate his bicentennial, our writer follows in the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau
  ‘I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately,” Henry David Thoreau declares early in the pages of Walden. But these words, some of his most quoted, are only half true. In the summer of 1845, Thoreau – who would have turned a healthy 200 this week &ndash
  
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• Rudd's refusal to publish full report into extremist funding 'unacceptable'

  12-07-2017 18:53
  
  Amber Rudd also cited ‘the volume of personal information’ in the report as a reason not to publish it.Opposition parties have condemned the government for opting not to publish a much-delayed report into the funding and support of extremist groups, saying the decision appeared intended to bury any criticism of Saudi Arabia.
  
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• Labour's Diane Abbott tells of 'racist and sexist' abuse

  12-07-2017 18:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Labour's shadow home secretary gives graphic details of "racist, sexist" abuse she has experienced.
  
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• Hate-filled abuse is poisoning Britain. I fought it, and ask you to do the same | Gina Miller

  12-07-2017 18:48 via theguardian.com
  
  The 4th Viscount St Davids made vile threats to my life on Facebook and will pay the price. But this is part of a wider problem that needs an urgent solution• Gina Miller was the lead claimant in the legal fight to allow parliament to vote on whether article 50 should be triggeredI am no shrinking violet. Having battled against dubious practices in the UK investment industry and the charity sector for nearly a decade, I am used to receiving harsh, often personally insulting responses. I oft
  
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• Time running out for dying Liu Xiaobo to leave China, diplomats fear

  12-07-2017 18:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Sources say it is medically possible for dissident to be moved for treatment, but China may be waiting until it is notDiplomats in Beijing say time is running out for the ailing Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo to go overseas for treatment and fear China’s top leaders are deliberately stalling the process until it is no longer safe for medics to move him.
  Last Sunday two foreign doctors who were allowed to visit the critically ill dissident announced – contrary to Chinese claims – tha
  
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• Inside Grenfell Tower police search

  12-07-2017 18:45
  
  New footage shows specialist officers conducting a forensic search of Grenfell Tower.
  
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