General news

• Plane crazy: Record 8,800 flights expected in UK skies

  21-07-2017 23:55
  Britain's air traffic controllers handled a record 8,800 planes in24 hours as the summer holidays got under way.Some 770,000 planes are due to fly through UK airspace from June to August - 40,000 more than the same time last year.Jamie Hutchison, the director of the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) control base in Swanwick, warned the "ageing design of UK airspace" has brought the UK to the limit of its capacity for flights.
  
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• Prince George's fourth birthday marked with formal portrait photo

  21-07-2017 23:50
  A new photograph of Prince George has been released to mark his fourth birthday.The picture shows him to be a very happy little boy grinning at the camera, wearing a striped collarless shirt.It is the first formal portrait taken of William and Kate's son, who on previous birthdays have often released photographs Kate has taken herself.
  
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• PSG increasingly confident of signing Neymar and Alexis Sánchez

  21-07-2017 23:48 via theguardian.com
  • French club working on respective £199m and £40.3m deals
  • Sánchez and his agent met PSG official in Paris on FridayParis Saint-Germain are increasingly confident of signing Neymar from Barcelona and Alexis Sánchez from Arsenal in the next few days in what would rank as one of the biggest double-signings in football history.Nasser al Khelaifi, the PSG chairman, is working on a potential world-record €222m (£199m) deal for Neymar while Antero Henri
  
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• Racing shocked by death of Haydock stalls handler Stephen Yarborough

  21-07-2017 23:37 via theguardian.com
  • Yarborough believed to have been in a collision while stalls were moved
  • Scheduled six-race card and concert at Haydock on Saturday in doubtRacing was united in shock and sympathy on Friday evening following the announcement that Stephen Yarborough, a stalls handler who had been airlifted to hospital from Haydock Park following an incident earlier in the day, had died as a result of his injuries.Yarborough is believed to have been run over while the stalls were being moved before th
  
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• Euro 2017: Babett Peter seals win from spot as Germany battle past Italy

  21-07-2017 23:33 via theguardian.com
  • Elise Bartoli sent off for Italy as champions earn first win
  • Sweden defeat Russia 2-0 to go top of Group BGermany, six times European champions, sealed their first win in this year’s tournament but were pushed all the way by Italy who were eliminated by their 2-1 defeat in Tilburg.Steffi Jones’ side, aiming to bounce back from a disappointing 0-0 draw with Sweden in their first match, looked on course for a routine win when Josephine Henning opened the scoring after 19
  
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• Toni Duggan: ‘I’m not thinking about Barcelona. Hopefully we’ll smash Spain’

  21-07-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Toni Duggan is concentrating on firing England to European Championship glory as she prepares to face Spain and a number of her new club-mates on SundayA shaft of sunlight highlights a minor chip in the otherwise immaculate bright red polish adorning Toni Duggan’s fingernails. It is a high maintenance colour but Barcelona’s new attacking addition is simply not the type of woman to opt for understated neutrals: taupes, beiges and nudes represent the antithesis of one of the game&rsquo
  
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• Romelu Lukaku no Messi but he’ll thrive at Old Trafford, says Kevin De Bruyne

  21-07-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  • Lukaku has scored in Manchester United’s last two US tour matches
  • ‘He has his way of playing. He’s a big physical guy and that can be awesome’Romelu Lukaku should not be compared to Lionel Messi but will be a highly successful signing for Manchester United, according to Kevin De Bruyne, his Belgium team-mate. Related: Ederson makes inglorious start as Manchester United account for CityContinue reading...
  
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• New portrait released as Prince George celebrates fourth birthday

  21-07-2017 23:30
  Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate released a new official portrait of their son George on Friday to celebrate the young prince's upcoming fourth birthday.George, the great grandson of Queen Elizabeth and third-in-line to the throne, was pictured with a beaming, toothy grin as he posed in a stripy blue shirt in the photo which was taken last month.William and Kate, who are officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, returned to England with George and his sister, two-year-old
  
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• Classy Kadeena Cox retains T38 400m crown at World Para Championships

  21-07-2017 23:29 via theguardian.com
  • Briton makes up for bronze medal disappointment on Monday
  • Cox ignores hamstring problem to land third world titleKadeena Cox, unable to perform at her peak because of fatigue and an aching hamstring, offered another demonstration of her class and resolve with a resounding victory in the T38 400m title at the World Para Athletics Championships last night. Cox, who became the first British Paralympian to top the podium in two sports since 1984 when she won athletics and cycling gold
  
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• Usain Bolt lays down marker with his season’s best 100m in Monaco

  21-07-2017 23:26 via theguardian.com
  • Jamaican’s 9.95sec serves as a world championships warning
  • Britain’s Laura Muir and Eilish McColgan both set personal bests in 3,000mUsain Bolt produced his season’s-best time in the 100m to canter away with the Monaco Diamond League and suggest he will again be the man to beat going into a major championships.The Jamaican’s time of 9.95sec will not necessarily have his rivals at next month’s world championships in London trembling but the way he did i
  
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• Madame Tussauds has addressed the controversial Beyonce waxwork which fans said looked white

  21-07-2017 23:18
  The star’s wax figure took a break from the spotlight amid the backlash.
  
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• Princess Charlotte's royal trip tantrum

  21-07-2017 23:10
  The young princess seemed initially unimpressed as the royal family visited an Airbus plant in Hamburg.
  
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• Michael McIlorum leads way as Wigan show inexperienced Leeds no mercy

  21-07-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  • Wigan 34-0 Leeds
  • Oliver Gildart also runs in two tries as Wigan score seven without reply“It was a no-win situation,” said the Wigan coach, Shaun Wane, of the scenario his side were presented with during this convincing victory: and while he may well be correct, it will not be entirely until a week’s time whether both sides’ preparation for a peculiar evening pays off with a trip to Wembley in August.For Wigan this was a much-needed victory to build some con
  
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• Here’s what you need to know about Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the new White House press secretary

  21-07-2017 22:51
  Sean Spicer’s deputy his now his successor.
  
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• Tragedy as stalls handler run over at Haydock Park horse racing course

  21-07-2017 22:21
  A stalls handler has died in an accident at one of the UK's most well-known racecourses.Stephen Yarborough died after being run over by mobile stalls, from which horses start running, at Haydock Park, in Merseyside.Stalls operators RaceTech confirmed the tragedy which happened before the 3.30pm race.
  
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• Metropolitan Police Officer John Sutherland: My Colleagues Are Under Most Strain In 25 Years

  21-07-2017 21:20
  John Sutherland’s reaction to what happened at London Bridge was complicated.
  
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• Here’s what you need to know about Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director

  21-07-2017 21:09
  Sean Spicer resigned as White House press secretary following Scaramucci’s appointment.
  
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• Gove supports plastic bottle deposit scheme

  21-07-2017 20:55
  Environment Secretary Michael Gove says he wants the Government to introduce a plastic bottle deposit scheme "as soon as possible".
  
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• Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk told to train alone after saying he wants to leave

  21-07-2017 20:49 via theguardian.com
  • Van Dijk declared ‘he is not available to play’, says Mauricio Pellegrino
  • Liverpool’s No1 defensive target is not for sale, Southampton insistVirgil van Dijk has in effect gone on strike at Southampton in an attempt to force a transfer, according to Mauricio Pellegrino. The manager said the defender had told him he wanted to leave and was not available to play for the club. Pellegrino has responded by ordering the Holland international to train alone.Van Dijk was
  
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• Cabinet 'pragmatic' on free movement during Brexit transition, Gove says

  21-07-2017 20:46
  Michael Gove has confirmed that the Cabinet supports a transition period after Britain leaves the EU, in which free movement may continue for several years.The Environment Secretary said ministers were agreed that a "pragmatic approach" was needed on controlling migration "in the best interests of the economy".It appears to signal a significant shift compared with earlier in the year when Brexit-leaning cabinet ministers were opposed to a long transition phase after Britain leaves the EU in Marc
  
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• Police: Australian likely killed by Takata air bag inflator

  21-07-2017 20:41
  DETROIT (AP) — Police in Australia say a faulty Takata air bag likely killed a man in a car crash near Sydney.
  
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• England take on India at sold-out Lord’s in Women’s World Cup final to savour

  21-07-2017 20:37 via theguardian.com
  Alex Hartley spent four seasons with Middlesex and has never played at the game’s headquarters but she gets her chance on Sunday for England against IndiaIt is a quirk of the women’s game – one that does not reflect well on domestic cricket – that England’s left-arm spinner Alex Hartley, having spent four seasons playing for Middlesex before returning to her home county Lancashire this summer, has never played at Lord’s. In fact, only in her last two seasons a
  
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• Britons travelling to Europe offered just 88 euro cents for £1

  21-07-2017 20:31 via theguardian.com
  On the UK’s big summer holiday getaway weekend, airports have offered very poor rates for sterling after difficult week on forex markets British holidaymakers heading to Europe for this weekend’s big getaway are being offered what may be the worst ever foreign exchange rates at British airports – in one case, just 88 euro cents for every pound they hand over. Continue reading...
  
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• Martin Rowson on Michael Gove's 'pragmatic' transition period – cartoon

  21-07-2017 20:13 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
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• Chelsea announce signing of Álvaro Morata on a five-year contract

  21-07-2017 20:01 via theguardian.com
  • Spain striker is champions’ third signing of summer at cost of £58m
  • ‘It’s an incredible emotion to be part of this big club,’ says MorataChelsea have announced the signing of Álvaro Morata from Real Madrid on a five-year contract. The Spain striker is the Premier League champions’ third major signing of the summer, following the arrival of Antonio Rüdiger from Roma and Tiemoué Bakayoko from Monaco and reportedly costs in the re
  
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• How the straight majority still silences gay people | Philip Hensher

  21-07-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  It is 50 years since sex between men was decriminalised – but gay people, like Pride itself, are now being corralled behind new social and corporate barriers• Philip Hensher is a novelist, critic and journalistTwo weeks ago it was Pride in London – or, as some of us go on calling it, Gay Pride. I must have been going to it for nearly 30 years now. The first time I went, it was with a friend. We didn’t know anyone much who was going (we thought). We turned up
  
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• Tories were warned about anger at austerity before the election

  21-07-2017 19:53
  Frances O’Grady (centre), general secretary of the TUC, joins union members at a protest over public sector pay.Concerns about austerity and the public-sector pay cap were highlighted in internal Conservative research carried out before the general election, leaving senior figures aghast that the party failed to act upon the warnings, the Guardian understands.Individuals taking part in a series of in-depth focus groups raised widespread concerns over issues such as school cuts and the lack
  
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• Banks and companies plan expansion in Frankfurt after Brexit

  21-07-2017 19:53 via theguardian.com
  US investment bank Morgan Stanley is latest to choose city as it vies to become EU’s principle financial centre and win back jobs lost in banking crisisSeveral hundred banks and companies have contacted German authorities about expanding in Frankfurt, as the city vies to become the EU’s principal financial centre after Brexit.Lucia Puttrich, Europe minister in the government of the state of Hesse, told the Guardian she had been in talks with several banks about expanding their presen
  
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• BBC women 'furious but not surprised' by gender pay gap

  21-07-2017 19:44 via theguardian.com
  Female workers speak of being lied to by the corporation over salary disparities and threatened when they challenge them Women working at the BBC have spoken of the anger and frustration that has emerged across all levels of the institution after the disparity in pay between the male and female top earners was revealed. Women said an angry mood had gripped Broadcasting House this week, where staff were “pissed off” but not surprised by the figures, which showed that only a third of t
  
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• Why I’ve never reported being sexually assaulted on public transport | Poppy Noor

  21-07-2017 19:43 via theguardian.com
  A sense of disbelief has always stopped me calling the police. And many friends have reacted in the same way. But new figures show things might be changing• Poppy Noor is a freelance writerThe first time I was sexually assaulted on public transport, I was 12 years old. Though at the time I wasn’t sure whether I had been. Like many young women, I’ve never felt too confident in calling out these events with certainty. Related: Why we need to break the silence around rape and
  
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• Budget deficit leaps as Brexit-fuelled inflation troubles Hammond

  21-07-2017 19:34 via theguardian.com
  Government borrowing rises by more than expected to £6.9bn in June – almost 50% higher than in the same month last yearThe government was forced to borrow more than expected in June after a jump in the UK’s budget deficit to £6.9bn – almost 50% higher than the same month last year.The sharp rise followed a spike in the cost of financing the UK’s debt, a drop in corporation tax receipts and a larger than forecast contribution to the EU in June. Continue reading
  
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• Long, boring school holidays were the making of me | Nikesh Shukla

  21-07-2017 19:28 via theguardian.com
  While my friends enjoyed exciting summers, I worked in my father’s warehouse. As well as cementing family bonds, it cultivated my imagination• Nikesh Shukla is a novelistI approached the summer holidays with dread. Every year, six weeks off school meant six weeks free to pitch in and help at my dad’s warehouse. I helped to pack orders, counting out reams of paper, preparing them and ticking them off on the order sheet; talked cricket and Hindi movies with my uncles; and counted
  
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• The Guardian view on the supreme court: good for Lady Hale – and for us all | Editorial

  21-07-2017 19:23 via theguardian.com
  The new president of the UK’s most senior court has years of experienceThough Justice is usually portrayed as a woman, it has in general been embodied by men. Brenda Hale, the new president of the supreme court, will bring years of experience at the highest level of the judiciary and a strong feminist voice to the country’s most senior court. Legal gossip suggests that the outgoing president, Lord Neuberger, was appointed in 2012 as a “stop Hale” candidate. She was consid
  
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• Juror forced to leave Old Bailey terror trial after asking if detective was single

  21-07-2017 19:19
  A group of men from the Midlands who called themselves the ‘three musketeers’ are on trial, accused of planning a terrorist attack last year.A juror has been forced to leave a four-month long terrorism trial at the Old Bailey after repeatedly trying to find out if a detective involved in the case was single.A second juror acknowledged finding the detective, DS Ryan Chambers of West Midlands police, attractive but was allowed to stay on the case after the judge, Mr Justice Globe, deci
  
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• The Guardian view on historical fiction: reimagining, not reproducing | Editorial

  21-07-2017 19:16 via theguardian.com
  A once-disparaged genre has found new life thanks to Hilary Mantel and others. But what do we want from it?In the first of her recent Reith lectures, Hilary Mantel spoke of the “cultural cringe” of being a historical novelist when she started out in the 1970s, a time when historical fiction meant historical romance and wasn’t respectable or respected. How things have changed – and in no little part due to Mantel’s own magisterial reimagining of the life of the self-
  
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• Sean Spicer is resigning so here are 11 of his spiciest moments

  21-07-2017 19:09
  A look back at the press secretary’s greatest hits.
  
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• Sean Spicer resigns as Trump press secretary after six months - The Guardian

  21-07-2017 19:07 via theguardian.com
  The Guardian
  Sean Spicer resigns as Trump press secretary after six months
  The Guardian
  Sean Spicer has resigned as White House press secretary, bringing to an end a tumultuous six months as the public face of Donald Trump's administration. Spicer stepped down after the president reportedly tapped Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier ...
  Sean Spicer resigns as Trump spokesman in latest White House shakeupLos Angeles Times
  The new White House comms director will bring the storm Trump wa
  
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• Michael Gove says cabinet is united on Brexit transition period

  21-07-2017 19:07 via theguardian.com
  Eurosceptic Tory backbenchers bristle after environment secretary says ministers agree on ‘pragmatic’ approach to free movementMichael Gove has said the cabinet is committed to a post-Brexit transition period that takes a “pragmatic approach” to free movement, as Eurosceptic Tory backbenchers warned the UK must not “check out and never leave”.The environment secretary said a transition was needed to give businesses and the agriculture industry reassurance and
  
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• Vladimir Putin: 'I may not leave Russian presidency'

  21-07-2017 19:03 via theguardian.com
  A question-and-answer session at a Sochi school was designed to make Putin seem youth-friendly after recent youth demonstrations Asked what he plans to do when he leaves the presidency, Vladimir Putin paused and smiled. “But I haven’t decided yet if I will leave the presidency,” the Russian leader replied, to laughter and applause from an audience made up almost entirely of Russians who were born after he first became president in 2000. Related: Russian courts sentence proteste
  
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• Vince Cable leads a party that has lost all that it stood for | Deborah Orr

  21-07-2017 19:02 via theguardian.com
  Why didn’t he stand for the Lib Dem leadership 10 years ago? He might have avoided all the calls that led his party to disaster• Deborah Orr is a Guardian columnistVince Cable has become leader of the Lib Dems, and just 10 years after he should have taken his chance. Acting leader after the resignation of Menzies Campbell in 2007, he didn’t stand, leaving Chris Huhne and Nick Clegg to slug it out. The rest is disaster. The best that can be said about Clegg is that at least he wa
  
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• Resilient Matt Kuchar makes statement of intent as winds blow at Open

  21-07-2017 19:00 via theguardian.com
  • American remains in contention after second-round 71
  • Scot Richie Ramsay adds 70 to his opening-round 68Matt Kuchar reckons he had forgotten how good a test of the game Birkdale provides, and though he got a completely different set of questions in his second round on Friday to those he dealt with well in compiling the five-under total which earned him a share of the overnight lead on day one, he dealt with them well enough to book himself a place in the last pairing with Jordan Spi
  
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• Britain's Got Talent star Pudsey dies after battle with cancer - Daily Star

  21-07-2017 18:52 via dailystar.co.uk
  Daily Star
  Britain's Got Talent star Pudsey dies after battle with cancer
  Daily Star
  BRITAIN'S Got Talent star Pudsey the dog has died after a battle with terminal blood cancer. 0. By Nicholas Bieber / Published 21st July 2017. Pudsey, the adorable winning dog who stole the nation's heart on the ITV talent contest in 2012, died aged 11.
  Britain's Got Talent winner Pudsey dies, as owner Ashleigh says: 'My heart is broken'Birmingham Mail
  Britain's Got Talent champion Pudsey has sadly diedMetro
  Br
  
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• Dick Van Dyke sorry for 'atrocious cockney accent' in Mary Poppins

  21-07-2017 18:50 via theguardian.com
  US actor apologises more than half century after ‘inflicting most atrocious cockney accent in history of cinema’ in Disney filmDick Van Dyke has apologised for the “most atrocious cockney accent in the history of cinema” more than half a century after his role in the 1964 Disney classic Mary Poppins.The US actor played chimney-sweep Bert in the film, and has been the subject of much teasing from fans about his famously off-radar accent. Continue reading...
  
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• Aiba ‘risks bankruptcy’ as civil war erupts at top of amateur boxing

  21-07-2017 18:42 via theguardian.com
  • International Boxing Association in turmoil over repayments
  • Management culture alleged to be neither inclusive nor transparentAmateur boxing’s governing body, Aiba, faces the risk of bankruptcy after demands it immediately pays back millions of pounds in loans and investments it does not have, a senior figure in the organisation has claimed to the Guardian.The revelation comes amid an increasingly bitter civil war inside Aiba, which has led to the resignations of its treasure
  
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• 2 dead, 500 hurt as deadly quake rattles Greece, Turkey - Daily Mail

  21-07-2017 18:41 via dailymail.co.uk
  Daily Mail
  2 dead, 500 hurt as deadly quake rattles Greece, Turkey
  Daily Mail
  KOS, Greece (AP) - A powerful earthquake shook beach resorts Friday in Greece and Turkey, killing two tourists crushed when a building collapsed on a bar in the Greek island of Kos and injuring nearly 500 others across the Aegean Sea region. Only a few ...
  The Latest: 2 dead, 500 hurt as 6.7 quake rocks Aegean SeaWashington Post
  Kos earthquake: British holidaymakers describe 'scariest night'BBC News
  Earthquake in
  
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• Virgil van Dijk training alone at Southampton after saying he wants to leave - The Guardian

  21-07-2017 18:35 via theguardian.com
  The Guardian
  Virgil van Dijk training alone at Southampton after saying he wants to leave
  The Guardian
  Southampton want to keep hold of Virgil van Dijk. 'The club told me they will not sell Virgil,' said Mauricio Pellegrino. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA. Southampton. Virgil van Dijk training alone at Southampton after saying he wants to leave. • Van ...
  Virgil van Dijk tells Southampton he wants to leaveSkySports
  Mauricio Pellegrino: Virgil van Dijk wants to leave Southampton and is not i
  
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• Charlie Gard's father in court outburst after scan results revealed - The Guardian

  21-07-2017 18:30 via theguardian.com
  The Guardian
  Charlie Gard's father in court outburst after scan results revealed
  The Guardian
  Charlie Gard's parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, arrive at the high court in London. Photograph: Lauren Hurley/PA. Charlie Gard. Charlie Gard's father in court outburst after scan results revealed. Chris Gard shouts 'evil' after lawyer for Great ...
  Charlie Gard's parents break down as they are told latest scan is 'very sad'Telegraph.co.uk
  Dad yells 'evil' as lawyer reveals Charlie Gard's latest sc
  
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• Charlie Gard's father in court outburst after scan results revealed

  21-07-2017 18:30 via theguardian.com
  Chris Gard shouts ‘evil’ after lawyer for Great Ormond Street hospital says latest scan on terminally ill Charlie makes for ‘sad reading’Charlie Gard’s father shouted “evil” after a lawyer representing Great Ormond Street hospital (Gosh) said a new scan on the terminally ill boy made for “sad reading”. Charlie’s parents were hoping the scan would support their case that, contrary to what doctors at the hospital say, their son is not bra
  
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• Charlie Gard's father in court outburst after scan results revealed

  21-07-2017 18:30
  Charlie Gard’s parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, arrive at the high court in London.Charlie Gard’s father shouted “evil” after a lawyer representing Great Ormond Street hospital (Gosh) said a new scan on the terminally ill boy made for “sad reading”.Charlie’s parents were hoping the scan would support their case that, contrary to what doctors at the hospital say, their son is not brain damaged and would be receptive to experimental treatment in the U
  
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• 'No trace' of missing Corrie McKeague as police end landfill search

  21-07-2017 18:30
  Police have ended a five-month search of a landfill site after finding "no trace" of missing RAF gunner Corrie McKeague.Officers completed their hunt through more than 6,400 tons of waste at Milton landfill site, Cambridgeshire, for the 23-year-old on Friday afternoon.There is nothing to support any other explanation than Mr McKeague being in a bin that was emptied into a waste lorry shortly after he was last seen, according to Suffolk Police.
  
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