General news

• 'I don't think society is equal'

  09-10-2017 23:35
  Jamal, who had a difficult start in life and was in prison by the age 15, shares his thoughts on life as a "world-leading" survey on race is published.
  
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• New race survey makes for 'uncomfortable reading', says campaigner

  09-10-2017 23:33
  A "world-leading" investigation into racial inequality in the UK has revealed sweeping disparities between ethnic minorities and white Britons.Only 54% of white British youngsters and 13% of white gypsy and Roma children meet the same target.The divides reportedly only increase at secondary school, where white 15-year-olds are four times more likely to smoke than their non-white peers, the survey found.
  
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• Katie Hopkins stands by tweets in wake of Natural History Museum crash

  09-10-2017 23:25 via theguardian.com
  Mail Online columnist defends series of deleted tweets: ‘I stand by the idea that it’s a terror attack’Katie Hopkins has defended her reaction to a car crash at the Natural History Museum on Saturday, after she wrongly implied that the accident was a terror attack, sparking widespread condemnation and confusion.The columnist said she stands by a series of tweets – despite later deleting them – and cast doubt on the police verdict that the crash was a road traffic ac
  
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• Boris Johnson 'caves in' over Brexit red lines

  09-10-2017 23:15
  Boris Johnson has backed Theresa May's crunch speech on Brexit - despite her appearing to cross two of his previous 'red lines'.Mrs May also suggested the European Court of Justice (ECJ) would overrule UK law beyond March 2019.The plans directly contravene two of the four so-called Brexit 'red lines' Mr Johnson revealed to The Sun just days before Tory conference.
  
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• Victory Condition review – pizza and the apocalypse in baffling two-hander

  09-10-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  Royal Court, London
  Sharon Duncan-Brewster and Jonjo O’Neill star in Chris Thorpe’s play which offers a bleak view of the world as a desolate wasteland This apocalyptic piece by Chris Thorpe consists of two intercut monologues and left me hopelessly baffled. What we see on stage at the Royal Court are two people – simply called Man and Woman – returning to their flat from a journey, unpacking, eating pizza, drinking wine and, while acknowledging each others’ presenc
  
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• Melania Trump chides 'self-serving' Ivana over first lady claim

  09-10-2017 22:35 via theguardian.com
  After Donald Trump’s first wife jokingly called herself the first lady during a book tour, a Melania Trump spokeswoman accuses her of seeking attentionMelania Trump has accused her husband’s first wife, Ivana Trump, of “attention-seeking and self-serving noise” after the first Mrs Trump joked that she was first lady. Related: Ivana Trump: I talk to Donald regularly despite 'insane' divorceContinue reading...
  
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• How Brexit uncertainty could hit shopping

  09-10-2017 22:35
  Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, says consumers will feel the effect of the Brexit uncertainty weighing on many of the migrants working in the industry.
  
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• Grant Shapps shocked by 'abuse and bile' over coup attempt against PM

  09-10-2017 22:13
  Grant Shapps said he was surprised that the attacks came from those who ‘most rail against cyberbullying’.Grant Shapps has told Conservative colleagues that he has been subjected to an unprecedented level of “abuse and bile” since being outed as the ringleader of an attempted coup against Theresa May.In a leaked email, the former Conservative chair, who was added to a WhatsApp group so that he could read the reams of criticism against him, expressed surprise that attacks
  
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• Brexit is an opportunity for UK firms, says eBay boss

  09-10-2017 22:09
  Brexit should be the catalyst for Britain to put a greater focus on its small businesses, according to the UK boss of eBay.In an exclusive interview for Sky News, Rob Hattrell said that Brexit was "an opportunity" for the companies who used eBay's trading platform."That opportunity comes mainly in export so we have seen a growth of export products from the UK from the moment Brexit was announced," he said.
  
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• May wants a 'unique and creative' Brexit deal

  09-10-2017 21:40
  Theresa May has set out the Government's positions on customs and trade.
  
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• Harvey Weinstein Should Be Stripped Of His CBE, Labour MP Jess Phillips Says

  09-10-2017 21:37
  Harvey Weinstein should be stripped of his honorary CBE, Labour MP Jess Phillips demanded on Monday after the under-fire film producer was sacked from his company.
  
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• Theresa May malfunctions after entering dynamic inertia mode | John Crace

  09-10-2017 21:35
  Several minutes after Theresa May had risen to make a statement designed to give the impression of a government united over Brexit, a red-faced Boris Johnson bumbled into the chamber.Amid some sighing and raised eyebrows, a place was eventually found for him on the frontbench some distance from the prime minister.The prime minister barely gave the foreign secretary a second glance.
  
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• This Thai restaurant really takes its customers’ requests for extra spice seriously

  09-10-2017 21:34
  “Make him regret being born.”
  
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• No-deal on Brexit will mean more red tape, white paper reveals

  09-10-2017 21:24
  A paper from Liam Fox’s Department for International Trade focuses on the administrative steps Britain will have to take to strike out with new trade deals.Crashing out of the EU without a deal will impose a raft of new regulations on business, according to the government’s first detailed contingency planning for Brexit.Two new white papers, published in response to mounting deadlock in Brussels, also envisage the appointment of many new Whitehall officials to cope with other negativ
  
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• Prince Harry says troops need mental as well as physical fitness combat training

  09-10-2017 21:22
  Prince Harry said on Monday the mental health of serving soldiers was as important as ensuring they were ready to take part in conflicts.Harry, who spent 10 years in the military, including two tours of Afghanistan, joined forces with Britain's Defence Secretary Michael Fallon to promote a new initiative to offer mental health support to those in the armed forces, their families and veterans."Crucially, fighting fitness is not just about physical fitness.
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon Brands Boris Johnson An 'Embarrassing' Foreign Secretary

  09-10-2017 21:22
  Nicola Sturgeon has said that having Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary is bad for the UK’s reputation, branding him “embarrassing”.
  
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• Dad Matthew Scully-Hicks accused of murdering adopted baby daughter

  09-10-2017 21:21
  A fitness instructor "assaulted, abused and ultimately murdered" his 18-month-old adopted daughter, a court has heard.Matthew Scully-Hicks is accused of inflicting serious injuries on Elsie Scully-Hicks before she died in May 2016.The 31-year-old had formally adopted Elsie with his husband, Craig Scully-Hicks, just a fortnight earlier, Cardiff Crown Court heard.
  
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• BRC: how Brexit uncertainty will hit shopping

  09-10-2017 20:50
  Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, says consumers will feel the effect of the Brexit uncertainty weighing on many of migrants working in the industry.
  
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• BAE to axe more than 1,000 UK jobs

  09-10-2017 20:50
  BAE Systems, Britain's biggest defence contractor, is to axe more than 1,000 jobs this week in a bitter blow for Britain's manufacturing industry.
  
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• Brexit MPs angry as Theresa May accepts continuing rule of EU court

  09-10-2017 20:36
  Theresa May has angered pro-Brexit MPs by conceding that the European court of justice would continue to have jurisdiction over the UK during the “implementation period” when Britain leaves the European Union.In response to a question from Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was the darling of Eurosceptic Conservative MPs at the party’s conference last week, the prime minister said a transition deal “may mean we will start off with European court of justice still governing rules we&rsqu
  
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• Teen shot in head while riding pillion on motorbike in Liverpool

  09-10-2017 20:26
  A teenager was shot in the head while riding on the back of a motorbike in Liverpool, police believe.Officers were called out at 9.40pm on Sunday evening after reports someone had fallen from a bike and sustained head injuries.The rider of the motorbike failed to stop after the incident in Lyme Cross Road, Huyton, police said.
  
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• Green party rethinks strategy after split on electoral alliances

  09-10-2017 20:26
  The Green party is rethinking its approach to electoral alliances after losing half of its votes in the general election when it stood aside for a string of Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates to help prevent Theresa May from winning a majority.Caroline Lucas, the Green party co-leader, defended the strategy of working with other parties on the left but said more could be done in future to make sure Green candidates only stood aside in seats where such a move was really necessary to beat the
  
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• Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: British woman jailed in Iran faces new charges

  09-10-2017 20:25
  Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family said they were "bewildered" that authorities had opened a new case against her just a month before she is eligible for early release.The 38-year-old was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016 as she was about to fly home with her two-year-old daughter Gabriella after a family visit.The country's Revolutionary Guard claimed she was plotting to overthrow the regime, an allegation Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe denies.
  
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• Airline rules reform planned after Monarch collapse

  09-10-2017 20:22
  Ministers are to consider reforms which will mean failed airlines such as Monarch can "wind down in an orderly manner", Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has told MPs.Mr Grayling said 80,000 people had now been brought back to the UK in the operation, which has been organised by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).The airline's collapse also saw 750,000 who had yet to travel lose their bookings.
  
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• LVMH sets high bar for luxury peers as it trumps revenue forecast

  09-10-2017 19:59
  LVMH , the world's biggest luxury goods company, reported higher-than-expected revenue growth for the third quarter on Monday, setting a high bar for peers after strong sales at its fashion brands.LVMH, home to labels like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Moet & Chandon champagne, said like-for-like revenues, which strip out currency swings and acquisitions or disposals, grew 12 percent from a year earlier to 30.1 billion euros (26.8 billion pounds).
  
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• Signs of burnout at SNP conference: 'I’m not quite sure what we’re for now'

  09-10-2017 19:56
  ‘Progress’ is a watchword at the SNP’s conference in Glasgow.As party conference debates go, it was a gentle rebuke to the leadership rather than an activist uprising.The resolution called for the appointment of paid regional organisers to harness the energy of the SNP’s vastly expanded activist base – hardly controversial stuff for a party that enjoyed a spectacular surge in membership after the Scottish independence referendum of 2014, rising to a tally of 120,000
  
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• Noel Conway’s case illustrates the difference between living and surviving | Letters

  09-10-2017 19:47
  Noel Conway (pictured with members of his family), who has motor neurone disease, failed in his legal challenge against the law on assisted dying.Noel Conway’s plight is desperately moving, and he argues his case with great lucidity (Terminally ill man loses high court fight for help to end life, 6 October).By contrast we hear from Not Dead Yet UK that what is needed is “a proper discussion on ensuring proper palliative care is provided for the terminally ill”.
  
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• Caste discrimination law would be a fitting tribute to Rodney Bickerstaffe | Letters

  09-10-2017 19:37
  Rodney Bickerstaffe pictured in 2000.As a friend of Rodney Bickerstaffe who visited him several times in his last few months, I can assure Andy Pegg he was able to rejoice in the revival of a socialist Labour party (Letters, 9 October).It would be a fitting tribute to Rodney if the clause introduced at the end of the last Labour government, to incorporate caste discrimination into UK equality law, was now triggered, albeit seven years on.
  
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• Ritual observance of PM’s pious pause | Brief letters

  09-10-2017 19:32
  My father had one of those three-wheeled “invalid carriages” designed for driver only (Lorraine Gradwell obituary, 4 October).My brother and I had an annual treat of being taken to the Matlock Bath illuminations (a 50-mile return journey) in it.
  
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• SNP dampens hopes for public sector pay increase in Scotland

  09-10-2017 19:25
  Scotland’s finance secretary has dampened hopes of a substantial pay rise for public sector workers, claiming he needed more money from the UK government.Derek Mackay said his ability to offer Scottish nurses, police, teachers and civil servants the proper wage increase he had promised depended on whether Philip Hammond, the chancellor, increased public spending in the next UK budget.
  
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• Slovenia's financial watchdog warns about virtual currency risks

  09-10-2017 19:10
  Slovenia's financial watchdog issued a warning on Monday that virtual currencies - such as bitcoin - are not regulated and are not guaranteed by the central bank or any other state body.The Financial Stability Board, which is affiliated with the central bank, said interest in virtual currencies from the public had lately increased "very much" and particularly as an investment opportunity."Investors in virtual currencies ... have to take into consideration whether risks are in line with their per
  
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• Foster Carer Fights For Workers' Rights In Landmark Legal Case

  09-10-2017 19:03
  A foster carer has launched a bid to secure workers’ rights in a landmark legal case that “could change the lives” of those in the role.
  
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• European courts could decide trade disputes during transition period - May

  09-10-2017 18:54
  British Prime Minister Theresa May said it was possible that the European Court of Justice could continue to arbitrate trade disputes during a transition period after Britain has formally left the bloc in March 2019."We want to have a smooth and orderly process of withdrawal ... that's why we want that implementation period and we have to negotiate what will operate during that implementation period, and yes that may mean we will start off with the ECJ," May told parliament.The jurisdiction of t
  
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• Bum steer: how cycling shorts became the height of fashion

  09-10-2017 18:52 via theguardian.com
  The clothing item beloved by obsessive pedallers but much maligned by everyone else, has received a high-end makeover from Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and DiorName: Black cycling shorts.Appearance: Black cycling shorts. Continue reading...
  
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• May tells business chiefs - two year Brexit transition is assured: source

  09-10-2017 18:46
  British Prime Minister Theresa May told business leaders during a meeting on Monday that they should treat a two-year transition period after Brexit as assured, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.May said last month that she would seek a Brexit transition period of around two years after Britain formally leaves the EU in 2019, aiming to appease businesses concerned that the country could leave the European Union without a deal.
  
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• May seeks Brexit 'bridge' to future

  09-10-2017 18:45
  The Prime Minister has insisted that it is her duty to carry out the will of the 'British people' regarding Brexit and that 'is just what she will do'.
  
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• Any Brexit deal will come at end of two-year negotiations - May

  09-10-2017 18:45
  LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday she expected any deal with the European Union to be struck close to the end of the two-year negotiating period and only then would Britain know the costs or benefits. "We are negotiating a deal. We will not have negotiated that deal until, I suspect, close to the end of the period (which has been set aside)," May told parliament. (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by William James)
  
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• May: UK to be 'independent trading nation' post-Brexit

  09-10-2017 18:41
  The latest Brexit papers will pave the way for Britain to operate as an "independent trading nation", Theresa May has said.The documents on post-Brexit trade and customs arrangements were published as the Prime Minister told MPs that "real and tangible progress" had been made in the negotiations since her high-profile Florence speech last month.Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was dismissive about the PM's latest update, telling MPs that "no real progress" had been made sixteen months on from the Bre
  
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• Dad Matthew Scully-Hicks accused of murdering adopted daughter

  09-10-2017 18:39
  A fitness instructor "assaulted, abused and ultimately murdered" his 18-month-old adopted daughter, a court has heard.Matthew Scully-Hicks is accused of inflicting serious injuries on Elsie Scully-Hicks before she died in May 2016.The 31-year-old had formally adopted Elsie with his husband, Craig Scully-Hicks, just a fortnight earlier, Cardiff Crown Court heard.
  
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• Unpaid Trial Shifts: Young People Working 40 Hours For Free In Desperate Bids To Find Jobs

  09-10-2017 18:36
  The “scandal” of unpaid trial shifts has seen young people work as many as 40 hours for free, an MP bidding to outlaw the “soul-destroying” practice has revealed.
  
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• Russia warns US-funded media outlets of possible limits

  09-10-2017 18:28
  MOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. government-funded broadcaster says Russia has warned of possible restrictions on some of its operations.
  
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• 'Ball in your court' - Britain, EU clash over next Brexit move

  09-10-2017 18:27
  By Elizabeth Piper and Alastair MacdonaldLONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain and its European Union partners clashed on Monday over which side should make the next move to unblock Brexit talks, despite concerns they will miss a deadline for a divorce deal and that London is heading for a chaotic departure.Prime Minister Theresa May made clear in a speech she delivered to parliament that she hoped her EU partners would make proposals at a new round of talks opening the way to the next stage of ne
  
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• Female A-Listers Criticise 'Double Standards' Over Calls For Women To Condemn Harvey Weinstein

  09-10-2017 18:26
  A number of female stars have hit back at calls for women in Hollywood to condemn Harvey Weinstein, asking why men too should not stand up and denounce the Oscar-winning film producer.
  
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• Giulio Cesare and Dardanus review – ETO update Handel and make Rameau feel contemporary

  09-10-2017 18:24 via theguardian.com
  Hackney Empire, London
  English Touring Opera’s ambitious autumn programme features two baroque operas that both deal with sex and war and the private and the political English Touring Opera’s autumn season centres on two great baroque works, Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Rameau’s Dardanus. They’re poles apart in style: Rameau’s tragédie lyrique – tense, declamatory and reined in – is almost antithetical to Handel’s expansive, bravura take
  
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• UK prepares to manage customs, duties if no deal agreed with EU

  09-10-2017 18:23
  Britain will prepare to implement a customs, sales tax and excise regime that could operate in the event that no deal is reached with the European Union on its future trading relationships, the government said on Monday.The government document on plans for customs and trade said Britain believed it was prudent to prepare for every possible outcome and had set out its plans in a new piece of legislation."Therefore, the paper covers provisions for the implementation of customs, VAT (Value Added Ta
  
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• EU investigates possible Dutch and Polish blocking of fintech services

  09-10-2017 18:19
  By Foo Yun CheeBRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust authorities are investigating Dutch and Polish banking associations and their members to determine whether financial technology services are being blocked from accessing customer account data.The two bodies were the targets of dawn raids by the European Commission last week, spokesmen from both associations confirmed on Monday.The Commission said the investigation would focus on whether banks and their national industry associations acted as a car
  
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• David Cameron takes job with US electronic payments ​​firm

  09-10-2017 18:14
  David Cameron stepped down as an MP in September last year.David Cameron has taken a job with the electronic payments firm First Data Corporation, his first major private sector job since leaving office.In a press release, First Data described Cameron as one of the “most prominent global influencers of the early 21st century” and said he would help “expand the company’s footprint in new and existing markets”.
  
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• How 'Sex For Rent' Ads Are Swamping The Internet Amid Homelessness Crisis, SNP Conference Hears

  09-10-2017 18:10
  Law-makers must stamp out ‘sex for rent’ deals amid fears thousands of poverty-stricken women are being exploited, SNP delegates have said.
  
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• May says Brexit talks must focus on future relationship

  09-10-2017 18:04
  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said negotiations with the European Union on leaving the bloc needed to be focussed on the long-term future relationship between the two after a limited implementation period. "We should concentrate our negotiating time and capital on what really matters: the future long-term relationship we will have with the EU after this temporary period ends," May told parliament. (Reporting by William James; editing by Estelle Shirbon)
  
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• Fairy light bomb plotter Zahid Hussain jailed over plan to attack rail line

  09-10-2017 18:03
  A man who planned to bomb a train track using a device made from fairy lights and a pressure cooker has been jailed for life.Zahid Hussain packed the "bomb" with 1.6kg of shrapnel after being radicalised by Islamic State propaganda, his trial heard.CCTV showed him climbing down a storm drain near a high-speed track - but detectives said they could find no evidence of a specific target or train service.
  
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