General news

• Gareth Southgate shows he is not too nice to make bold calls for England

  09-11-2017 23:52 via theguardian.com
  With his words on Smalling and Wilshere and the call-ups from the U-21s the manager has shown it is ridiculous to suggest he would duck big decisionsIn a moment of reflection this week, Gareth Southgate took it on himself to ask a member of staff at the Football Association to contact Manchester United and explain that the England manager did not intend to come across in such a bruising manner when he left Chris Smalling out of the last squad because, as he put it at the time, he needed players
  
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• Northern Ireland’s Steven Davis brings up ton but finds it tough | Ewan Murray

  09-11-2017 23:41 via theguardian.com
  Midfielder leads by example and will need more of the same in Basel after Switzerland’s Denis Zakaria and Granit Xhaka controlled proceedingsThere should be no sense of Steven Davis not being appropriately recognised by supporters of Northern Ireland. There is recurring, audible hero-worshipping of the midfielder when he dons his country’s colours. So there should be; Davis has not only epitomised his nation’s resurgence under Michael O’Neill’s astute guidance, he s
  
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• Suspended Tory MP Charlie Elphicke says he 'does not know' what he has been accused of

  09-11-2017 23:36
  Suspended Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke says he still does not know what he has been accused of.Now, in a statement posted on his website almost a week later, Mr Elphicke, 46, told his local Conservative Association he is still in the dark.The backbencher, who sits on the Commons Treasury Select Committee, said: "So what then is my explanation for what I am accused of?
  
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• Brexit never? Britain can still change its mind, says Article 50 author

  09-11-2017 23:35
  Prime Minister Theresa May should stop misleading voters and admit that Brexit can be avoided if Britain decides to unilaterally scrap divorce talks, the man who drafted Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty will say on Friday.May formally notified the European Union of Britain’s intention to leave the EU by triggering Article 50 of the treaty on March 29, setting the clock ticking on a two-year exit process, which has so far failed to yield a divorce deal.Reconciliation is still possible," John
  
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• Britain agrees to set EU "Exit Day" in law

  09-11-2017 23:33
  Britain's government said on Thursday it would use legislation to fix the time and date of the country's European Union exit, addressing concerns of Brexiteers who fear slow negotiations and opposition to the divorce could cause delays.The government said it was proposing a change to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill currently making its way through parliament to set the exit for 2300 GMT on March 29, 2019."We’ve listened to members of the public and Parliament and have made this change to remove a
  
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• Loftus-Cheek, Abraham and Pickford given England debuts for Germany game

  09-11-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  • Gareth Southgate set to call up three under-21 forwards for Brazil friendly
  • Eric Dier will captain side against Germany with Joe Hart on the benchGareth Southgate’s bold determination to promote youth will mean Tammy Abraham, Jordan Pickford and Ruben Loftus-Cheek making their senior debuts against Germany, and three under-21 forwards are likely to be drafted into the set-up for next week’s friendly with Brazil as the England manager resists the temptation to recall the
  
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• Get Brexit deal fast, business leaders tell Theresa May

  09-11-2017 23:30
  Employers in the UK and the rest of the EU are concerned about the lack of progress in Brexit negotiations.British and European business leaders are to demand an urgent breakthrough on Brexit from Theresa May in order to salvage a transition deal from the stalled negotiations in Brussels.The CBI and counterparts from France, Germany and Italy will meet the prime minister at Downing Street on Monday to warn that taking much longer to negotiate a transition agreement could render it useless becaus
  
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• Farrell and Itoje furious at sitting out England’s date with Argentina

  09-11-2017 23:02 via theguardian.com
  • Eddie Jones makes the changes based on ‘gut feeling’
  • Elliot Daly and fellow Lions regular Anthony Watson start on wingsEddie Jones has revealed Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje were furious to learn they would sit out England’s autumn international against Argentina on Saturday, but he took the opportunity to remind the pair who is the boss, insisting he knows what is best for his outstanding duo.Jones, who was on Thursday night dealt another injury blow when Tom Curry
  
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• Lewis Hamilton refuses to comment on tax avoidance allegations

  09-11-2017 22:32
  Lewis Hamilton has refused to comment on criticism of his tax affairs and says he is solely focused on winning Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.The British driver, who won his fourth Formula One world championship title in Mexico last month, is alleged to have avoided paying tax on a £16.5m private jet, which he imported into the Isle of Man.Hamilton's lawyers have said the tax structure was reviewed by a barrister and was found to be lawful.
  
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• Teen and man, 21, face jail for Halloween murder in Croydon

  09-11-2017 22:31
  Jahliel Rose, 21, and the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were both found guilty of the murder of part-time student Scotty Kouebitra following a trial at the Old Bailey.Mr Kouebitra had been setting off fireworks in St George's Field in Croydon, south London, when he and his friends were chased by as many as eight men wearing balaclavas and brandishing weapons including screwdrivers, blades and baseball bats on October 31 2016.CCTV footage showed Mr Kouebitra backing away fro
  
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• Mo Farah set to keep lottery funding after switching to marathon

  09-11-2017 22:30 via theguardian.com
  • UK Athletics to announce list of lottery-funded athletes on Friday
  • Decision increases chances he will run for Britain at 2020 OlympicsMo Farah is set to continue as a lottery-funded athlete when UK Athletics announces the names on its World Class Performance Programme on Friday morning, dramatically increasing the chances he will run again in a British vest at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.It was widely assumed Farah’s name would be the most prominent in a lengthy cull of athletes,
  
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• Mordaunt: 'Delighted to be appointed'

  09-11-2017 22:20
  New International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt says she wants to give Britons "pride" in her department's work.
  
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• Two of Holyrood's ruling committee resign to make way for women

  09-11-2017 22:14 via theguardian.com
  MSPs leave Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body as critics accuse Nicola Sturgeon of downplaying harassment claims against a former ministerTwo members of the committee that runs the Scottish parliament have stepped down to make way for female representatives, after women from across the Holyrood chamber demanded action at a session to discuss how the parliament deals with sexual harassment. The SNP’s Gordon Macdonald resigned from the Scottish parliamentary corporate body, with the party
  
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• Two of Holyrood's ruling committee resign to make way for women

  09-11-2017 22:14
  Sturgeon was questioned over why a minister who resigned over allegations of unacceptable conduct had remained as an MSP.Two members of the committee that runs the Scottish parliament have stepped down to make way for female representatives, after women from across the Holyrood chamber demanded action at a session to discuss how the parliament deals with sexual harassment.The SNP’s Gordon Macdonald resigned from the Scottish parliamentary corporate body, with the party confirming that his
  
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• Canada's naked car crash takes new twist as three face kidnapping charges

  09-11-2017 22:12 via theguardian.com
  Car full of naked people deliberately rammed truck near Edmonton, police sayTwo adults and a baby had allegedly been abducted 20 minutes earlierThree people are due to appear in a Canadian court on charges of kidnapping in a bizarre case that burst into public view after a car full of naked people deliberately rammed another vehicle on a road in Alberta. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were called to the scene of a collision earlier this week in an industrial park in Nisku, south of Edmonton.
  
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• May faces calls for bold cabinet reshuffle but Duncan Smith urges caution

  09-11-2017 21:57
  Theresa May needs to stabilise the government after a turbulent week, say senior Tory figures.Theresa May should go for a bold reshuffle with a new generation of Conservative MPs promoted into government by the end of the year, according to senior figures in the party.Penny Mordaunt was appointed as international development secretary on Thursday replacing Patel.
  
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• May faces calls for bold cabinet reshuffle but advisers urge caution

  09-11-2017 21:57
  Theresa May needs to stabilise the government after a turbulent week, say senior Tory figures.Theresa May should go for a bold reshuffle with a new generation of Conservative MPs promoted into government by the end of the year, according to senior figures in the party.The former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said the prime minister was right to carry out only a limited set of changes after losing both Priti Patel and Michael Fallon from her cabinet within a week.
  
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• Nicola Jennings on Donald Trump, Twitter and China – cartoon

  09-11-2017 21:50 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
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• The Millennium Falcon has been spotted next to a motorway in Surrey

  09-11-2017 21:39
  In a galaxy far closer to home.
  
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• Carwyn Jones may face investigation in wake of Carl Sargeant death

  09-11-2017 21:37
  Carwyn Jones has been strongly criticised by Sargeant’s family and friends.The first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, may face an independent investigation over how he handled allegations of harassment made against the sacked minister Carl Sargeant, who was found dead this week.There have been calls for Jones to resign over the issue but during an emotional press conference in Cardiff on Thursday he did not apologise and defended his actions, claiming everything had been done “by the
  
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• The scenes at this ‘pizza party’ were completely surreal

  09-11-2017 21:09
  Chicagoans really love their pizza.
  
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• Readers recommend: share your songs about slowing down

  09-11-2017 21:00 via theguardian.com
  Make your nomination in the comments and a reader will pick the best eligible tracks for a playlist next week – you have until Monday 13 November We’re looking to reduce the pace this week and asking readers to take your time over nominations. For more on how to interpret the theme, keep an eye on the comments.
  You have until 11pm on Monday 13 November to post your nomination and make your justification. Regular RR contributor Scott Blair, who posts as misterbadexample below the line
  
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• US confirms huge taxes on Argentine, Indonesian biodiesel

  09-11-2017 20:49
  The US has slapped punitive duties of up to 72 percent on imports of Argentine biodiesel, and as high as 65 percent for shipments from Indonesia, saying those countries provide unfair subsidies to their ...
  
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• Wales have 2019 in mind as Warren Gatland picks side to face Australia

  09-11-2017 20:40 via theguardian.com
  • Our whole focus this week has been about the next two years, says coach
  • Wallabies pick 13 of the XV who started last month’s win over All BlacksAustralia are used to facing backs the size of old-fashioned second rows when they face Wales but there will be a role reversal at the Principality Stadium on Saturday. The Wallabies have opted for size in midfield in the form of two Fiji-born players while the home side are deploying a fly-half at inside-centre.Last year Wales had Ge
  
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• Maybot reaches political nadir, and then keeps falling | John Crace

  09-11-2017 20:21
  Theresa May was having a lie-in following the worst day of her time in office.A worst day that had followed the previous worst day the day before.Priti Patel goes to Israel on what she claims was a family holiday, which she paid for herself.
  
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• So many unanswered questions from the Priti Patel saga | Letters

  09-11-2017 20:18 via theguardian.com
  Michael Meadowcroft wonders if Priti Patel has been the fall guy for secret diplomacy, Nicholas Hall says the Patel debacle is a further insult to all Palestinians and Martin Lamb questions Patel’s choice of the word ‘fulsome’ in her apology. Plus letters from Angela Croft, KC Gordon, Anna Ford, Willy Montgomery Stack and Philip HeseltonThere are huge inconsistencies in the Priti Patel and Israel affair (PM’s turmoil grows as Patel quits over Israeli meetings, 9 November)
  
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• New international development secretary Penny Mordaunt has a storied history with a very NSFW word

  09-11-2017 20:13
  The MP for Portsmouth North squeezed a rude word into a Commons speech a whole six times.
  
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• Drug bingo - EU readies vote for London-based pharma agency

  09-11-2017 20:12
  Nineteen EU governments will slug it out in a series of secret ballots in 10 days' time for the right to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA) once it leaves London after Brexit, EU officials said on Thursday.In the case of the EMA, whose fate will be decided before a vote the same day among eight cities for the smaller European Banking Authority, the prize is to replace London as a major hub for international pharmaceutical firms and researchers seeking approvals for products, bringing jobs
  
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• 'I'm not ready to say the tide has turned': readers react to Democrats' election wins

  09-11-2017 20:06 via theguardian.com
  We asked readers to share their reactions and what comes next after a series of election results seen as a rejection of the Trump presidency
  Democrats won big in electoral races across the US on Tuesday, marking the party’s first major victory since the election of Donald Trump a year ago. The results were viewed as a backlash to Trump and a shift in American politics. We asked Guardian readers for their reaction – below is a selection of responses.Continue reading...
  
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• Tracking Down The Couple Who Killed And Dismembered Teenager Becky Watts

  09-11-2017 20:00
  When 16-year-old Becky Watts went missing two years ago, police had little idea the teenager’s tragic fate would spark the largest police investigation ever launched in Bristol.
  
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• Husband of jailed Brit addresses Boris remarks

  09-11-2017 19:45
  The husband of a British woman jailed in Iran says her family is 'distraught' after Boris Johnson's comments about the case were used to discredit her.
  
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• Financier Staveley's $1 billion Barclays trial postponed to Oct 2019

  09-11-2017 19:25
  British businesswoman Amanda Staveley's $1 billion civillawsuit against Barclayswill not go to trial before October 2019 to avoid any prejudice to a parallel criminal case, a London court ruled on Wednesday.Barclays and Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on Thursday confirmed the decision after a partly private hearing into whether the Staveley trial, originally listed for next January, should be postponed.The civil trial will now be heard after Barclays and four former senior executives, incl
  
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• Carwyn Jones had 'no alternative' but to sack deceased minister Carl Sargeant

  09-11-2017 19:24
  Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones says he had "no alternative" but to sack former Cabinet Secretary Carl Sargeant.The former minister for children and communities was found dead on Tuesday after being sacked and suspended by the Labour party.Mr Sargeant's family said he was not afforded "common courtesy, decency or natural justice" when reports first surfaced of "certain incidents".
  
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• Jones: Sargeant's death brings 'darkest days'

  09-11-2017 19:00
  The First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, says he did everything 'by the book' in dealing with allegations brought against his friend Carl Sargeant.
  
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• 'I'm here!' Johnson avoids sacking question

  09-11-2017 19:00
  Boris Johnson avoided answering a question from Sky News about whether he was unsackable from the Cabinet as he was quizzed in Washington.
  
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• Family of British woman jailed in Iran 'distraught' over reports of Boris Johnson's remarks

  09-11-2017 18:52
  The husband of a British woman jailed in Iran says her family is "distraught" after Boris Johnson's comments about the case were used to discredit her.A report on Iranian state television said the Foreign Secretary's suggestion that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was training journalists when she was arrested last year had "voided" UK efforts to free her.Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband Richard told Sky News it was now important that Mr Johnson "stands up very clearly for Nazanin and says she innocent
  
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• A drunk guy who lost his ID got the shock of his life from a dastardly travel agent

  09-11-2017 18:47
  Nobody wants to wake up to a letter like this.
  
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• Number of UK crack users seeking help to beat addiction is up 23%

  09-11-2017 18:23
  There was a 12% rise in people seeking to beat an addiction to both crack and opiates.The number of crack users seeking help to beat their addictions has risen 23% in a year, even as the overall number of people accessing drug treatment services has continued to decline, figures show.National Drug Treatment Monitoring System figures show 3,657 people asked for help to stop using the smokable form of cocaine in the year to April 2016, compared with 2,980 in the previous year.
  
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• Welsh assembly in 'darkest days' after Carl Sargeant death

  09-11-2017 18:14
  Carwyn Jones has been strongly criticised by Sargeant’s family and friends.Carywn Jones, the Welsh first minister, has said the nation’s assembly is in the midst of its “darkest days” after the apparent suicide of former cabinet member Carl Sargeant.Jones, the Welsh Labour leader since 2009, did not step down as some had predicted amid growing anger over his handling of the allegations of harassment that had been levelled at the 49-year-old Sargeant.
  
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• May to restate desire for Brexit transition deal to European business chiefs

  09-11-2017 18:14
  British Prime Minister Theresa May will restate her desire for a two-year Brexit implementation period when she meets European business organisations on Monday, her office said in a statement.The meeting comes amid slow progress in negotiations on leaving the European Union that has unsettled businesses and drawn warnings that unless a transition is agreed soon, some may begin activating Brexit contingency plans."Mrs May will reiterate the UK's commitment to securing an implementation period of
  
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• Carl Sargeant Death: Carwyn Jones Says He Had 'No Alternative' Over Handling Of Allegations

  09-11-2017 18:12
  Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones has said he had “no alternative” over his handling of claims against former Communities Secretary Carl Sargeant.
  
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• Thief jailed for 20 years after father and daughter die in Yorkshire blaze

  09-11-2017 18:00
  Daniel Jones has been jailed for a house blaze that killed a father and his young daughter.Daniel Jones, 29, poured petrol through the letterbox of a home and set it alight in an attempt to destroy CCTV footage of a burglary he had committed earlier at a nearby house.The blaze in Stanley, West Yorkshire, killed Andrew Broadhead, 42, and his daughter Keira after they were unable to escape.
  
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• Progress On Closing Gender Pay Gap Is Stalling - It's Time To Act

  09-11-2017 17:50
  Equal Pay Day, on 10 November, marks the date from which women in the UK effectively work for free because of the gender pay gap.
  
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• May picks Brexiteer to replace scandal-hit aid minister

  09-11-2017 17:47
  Theresa May appointed a strong Brexit supporter as aid minister on Thursday following a resignation that left the British prime minister struggling to ward off open conflict in a cabinet divided over leaving the European Union.Penny Mordaunt, 44, who has previously held junior ministerial roles, had a short meeting with May at Downing Street during which her appointment as the new International Development Secretary was confirmed.Fellow Brexit supporter Priti Patel resigned from the position on
  
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• Buzzing for Gove: your photos of bees

  09-11-2017 17:17 via theguardian.com
  The nation’s bees welcomed the news that Britain backing a Europe-wide ban on insect-harming pesticidesContinue reading...
  
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• Twitter poll backs use of spit hoods by Durham police

  09-11-2017 17:10
  A suspect in America wearing a spit hood, similar to that being proposed for trial by police in Durham.A police force has said it may start using spit hoods after its Twitter followers voted overwhelmingly in favour of them.Durham Constabulary carried out a poll on social media to gauge reaction to the controversial guards, the use of which has been condemned by human rights groups.
  
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• What I Learned From Spending A Year Infiltrating Britain's Far-Right

  09-11-2017 16:58
  I'm frozen just for a moment - my palms clammy, while my mind quickly tries think of a convincing response.
  
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• Paralysed Acid Attack Victim Mark Van Dongen ‘Spelled Out Lover’s Name With His Tongue’

  09-11-2017 16:54
  The father of man who was left almost completely paralysed after an acid attack has told a court how his son spelled out the name of his attacker using just his tongue.
  
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• 'Lucky' British surfer breaks back after being crushed by 60ft wave in Portugal

  09-11-2017 16:53
  The dramatic moment an expert surfer broke his back after being crushed by a 60ft wave has been caught on camera.Andrew Cotton, 38, from Devon, was tackling the waves at surfing hotspot Nazare in Portugal when he was wiped out by the huge wave.The terrifying incident was captured on camera by a filmmaker who was making a documentary about record-breaking American surfer Garrett McNamara's return to big-wave surfing.
  
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• Penny Mordaunt replaces Priti Patel in May's cabinet

  09-11-2017 16:31
  Penny Mordaunt’s appointment will appease many Eurosceptic MPs.Penny Mordaunt, the Brexit-backing work and pensions minister, has been appointed international development secretary to replace Priti Patel, who resigned from the cabinet on Wednesday night.Mordaunt’s appointment will appease many Eurosceptic MPs who wanted to see the prime minister preserve the balance of leave and remain supporters in the cabinet after the departure of Patel, who has been one of the government’s
  
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