General news

• Theresa May to take charge of Brexit talks at crucial Brussels meetings

  03-12-2017 23:29
  Theresa May will have lunch with Jean-Claude Juncker and later meet with Donald Tusk while in Brussels.Theresa May will take personal charge of Brexit negotiations as she visits Brussels for crucial meetings hoping to clinch an agreement on the Northern Ireland border issue, which has so far proved impossible.
  
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• Thousands protest in Honduras in chaos over contested presidential election

  03-12-2017 23:27 via theguardian.com
  Protesters demand a new president and end to a week-long election debacle which has plunged the country into its worst political crisis since 2009 coupTens of thousands took to the streets across Honduras on Sunday, demanding a new president and an end to a week-long election debacle which has plunged the volatile country into its worst political crisis since a coup in 2009. Related: Honduras troops shoot dead teenage girl amid election crisis protestsContinue reading...
  
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• Moment 'sleeping driver' smashed his lorry into cars on M6 revealed in dashcam video

  03-12-2017 23:20
  Dashcam footage shows the moment a lorry driver ploughed into two cars after he apparently fell asleep at the wheel.Mariusz Wlazlo, 47, an agency driver, is seen accelerating his fully-laden HGV into queuing traffic at 43mph in a 40mph zone on the M6 in Birmingham.Video from the lorry and another car shows how Wlazlo, behind the wheel of an Eddie Stobart truck, was speeding up at the time he hit a Volkswagen Polo, which then smashed into a Toyota Verso.
  
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• Theresa May’s Robotic Style Used To Mock Donald Trump In America On 'Saturday Night Live'

  03-12-2017 23:17
  Hopes Theresa May had of shedding her “Maybot” reputation seem to have been dashed after her mechanical style was mocked on US comedy show, Saturday Night Live.
  
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• Theresa May's Robotic Style Is Now Being Mocked In America On 'Saturday Night Live'

  03-12-2017 23:17
  Hopes Theresa May had of shedding her “Maybot” reputation seem to have been dashed after her mechanical style was mocked on US comedy show, Saturday Night Live.
  
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• Nadine Dorries under fire for lax attitude to cybersecurity

  03-12-2017 22:47
  Nadine Dorries revealed her lax attitude to cyber security on Twitter.Conservative MP Nadine Dorries has come under fire for having a lax attitude to cybersecurity after divulging on Twitter that she shares her login and passwords with staff, including temporary interns.Questioning the claims of a retired police officer, who said Green must have been responsible for the material found on his machine, she tweeted: “My staff log onto my computer on my desk with my login everyday.
  
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• Riot Police Sent To HMP Swaleside After Prison Disturbance

  03-12-2017 22:19
  One inmate has been injured during a disturbance at a prison in Kent.
  
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• May to take charge of Brexit talks at crucial Brussels meetings

  03-12-2017 21:28
  Theresa May will have lunch with Jean-Claude Juncker and later meet with Donald Tusk while in Brussels.Theresa May will take personal charge of Brexit negotiations as she visits Brussels for crucial meetings hoping to clinch an agreement on the Northern Ireland border issue, which has so far proved impossible.
  
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• Heathrow may work with rival on runway expansion

  03-12-2017 21:21
  Heathrow may work with rival on runway expansion
  
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• The Guardian view on the Catalonia election: the challenge of compromise | Editorial

  03-12-2017 21:12 via theguardian.com
  Campaigning begins this week in an election that will shape Spain and affect the whole of Europe. First, the region’s imprisoned political leaders should be freed to campaignCampaigning in Catalonia’s 21 December regional election begins officially on Tuesday. Opinion polls show pro- and anti-independence political parties running neck and neck. But the outcome will shape the future not just of Catalonia and Spain but of other European nations and EU institutions.This election was tr
  
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• Ben Jennings on Nigel Farage’s pension – cartoon

  03-12-2017 20:59 via theguardian.com
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• The Guardian view on Alan Milburn’s resignation: Brexit and fairness don’t add up | Editorial

  03-12-2017 20:46 via theguardian.com
  The former Labour minister’s attempts to promote social mobility have been frustrated by a government that is too preoccupied with Brexit to give the issues any focusTheresa May heads to Brussels on Monday for another round of talks aimed at striking a deal about Brexit terms at next week’s EU summit. Mrs May is pursuing a deeply destructive Brexit strategy, which should be opposed, insisting on the UK breaking with both the EU single market and the customs union. However, the recent
  
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• Tony Blair Says He's Working To Reverse Brexit: 'It’s Not Done Until It’s Done'

  03-12-2017 20:45
  Tony Blair is attempting to reverse Brexit and thinks voters being misled over an extra £350m per week for the NHS justifies a fresh vote, the ex-Prime Minister has said.
  
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• Theories on why Labour is failing to surge ahead in the polls | Letters

  03-12-2017 20:11 via theguardian.com
  A push on pensioners’ issues won’t put Labour into power, some readers say, though others disagree. Electoral reform? A rational economic policy? A new shadow chancellor? Morgan Stanley?Owen Jones suggests that in order to win the next election Labour has to appeal to pensioners (Why isn’t Labour surging?, 30 November). He reminds us of the government’s “chaotic Brexit process” yet fails to consider that Labour’s own Brexit ambiguities have created
  
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• A same-sex royal wedding would be a wonderful occasion | Brief letters

  03-12-2017 19:50
  • We were amused and appalled to read that the provost of St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow has suggested that the Church of England might recognise same-sex marriage more quickly if people prayed for Prince George to be gay (Report, 1 December).• A same-sex royal wedding would be a wonderful occasion.By then we might even have a woman as archbishop of Canterbury.
  
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• Never mind social mobility. Poverty is an insult to us all | Zoe Williams

  03-12-2017 19:30 via theguardian.com
  Perhaps the fall of Alan Milburn’s commission will remind our politicians that no child should go hungryThe prime minister’s Social Justice and Mobility Commission was no feet-to-the-fire unit, hand-picked with the self-flagellation of the strong to ask questions of the government that were as difficult as could be. Rather, it was boiled down to the well-disposed Alan Milburn, the diplomatic David Johnston, the academic Paul Gregg and the Conservative peer Gillian Shephard. It had be
  
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• Wyboston Lakes Resort 'unhappy' about Britain First conference claims

  03-12-2017 19:20
  A hotel accused of hosting a conference by far-right group Britain First has said it is "unhappy to have been associated" with the organisation.Wyboston Lakes Resort in Bedfordshire faced strong criticism online when it was claimed that Britain First had held its annual conference on its premises.The venue responded on Twitter and Facebook, saying it had "sold a small meeting room on 02/12/2017 at the last minute".
  
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• Nigel Farage Says He's 'Done More Than Anyone' To Tackle Far-Right Extremism, And People Don't Know Where To Begin

  03-12-2017 19:11
  Nigel Farage has claimed he has done “more than anyone else” to halt the rise of the far-right in the UK, a comment which prompted critics to point to a series of occasions where the former Ukip leader has divided the country.
  
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• £300m mental health support for schools initiative dismissed as inadequate by Labour

  03-12-2017 19:09
  Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, says proposals do not amount to ‘meaningful action’.A government commitment to spend an extra £300m over the next three years on improving mental health support for school pupils was dismissed as inadequate by Labour on Sunday.Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said that the Conservatives were “failing to deliver parity of esteem” between mental and physical health, as promised, and that their proposals di
  
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• £300m mental health initiative for schools is inadequate, says Labour

  03-12-2017 19:09
  Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, says proposals do not amount to ‘meaningful action’.A government commitment to spend an extra £300m over the next three years on improving mental health support for school pupils has been dismissed as inadequate by Labour.Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said the Conservatives were “failing to deliver parity of esteem” between mental and physical health, as promised, and that their proposals did not amou
  
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• Bill Pitt obituary

  03-12-2017 19:08
  Bill Pitt at a polling station in Croydon on the day of the 1981 byelection, which he won.Bill had fought the Croydon North West constituency for the Liberals unsuccessfully at three previous elections and his leader, David Steel, wanted him to stand aside for the SDP’s Shirley Williams at a byelection.Having gained his victory, however, Bill was rather complacent about holding on to what he had, and partly as a result he lost it at the general election less than two years later.
  
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• A ‘Watershed’ Moment: Why It’s Prime Time To Protect Children From Junk Food Adverts

  03-12-2017 19:06
  At this time of year, most parents can confirm there is a direct correlation between the toy adverts on TV and their child’s Christmas list.
  
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• Innocent Entertainment Or A Negative Introduction To Work? The Portrayal Of Working Life In Disney Films

  03-12-2017 18:57
  How much could Disney’s portrayals of work be impacting your children’s perspectives and future choices?
  
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• ‘Wookie cop’ Chewbacca is here to help this US police force recruit new officers

  03-12-2017 18:53
  The Force is certainly strong with this one.
  
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• Britain’s coral reefs and marine wildlife are equal to anything on Blue Planet II | Fiona Gell

  03-12-2017 18:36 via theguardian.com
  Far from being murky and dull, the waters surrounding the British Isles contain riches to rival the tropics – and they’re just as in need of protectionI won’t be alone in being mildly distraught when the BBC’s Blue Planet II series comes to an end. But as a marine biologist who switched from working on tropical reefs and seagrass beds to the cooler waters around the Isle of Man, I have become an advocate for the seas around the British Isles. That’s because they are
  
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• Social mobility not being ignored, Tory ministers say

  03-12-2017 18:31
  Justine Greening told The Andrew Marr Show the government was implementing policies to ‘drive the equality of opportunity’.Ministers have rejected claims from the outgoing chair of the social mobility commission that the government has given up on making Britain fairer.Justine Greening, the education secretary, and Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, used a round of interviews on Sunday to plug government social justice policy announcements that they claimed disproved Alan Milburn&rsq
  
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• 'Supermoon' brightening up skies around UK

  03-12-2017 18:22
  A 'supermoon' is brightening UK skies this evening as it moves closer to Earth, appearing 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual.The Met Office said it should be visible in most parts of the country, although there could be cloud in some areas.Traditionally called a Cold Moon, the supermoon will appear at its brightest at around midnight, according to Tom Kerss, an astronomer at Royal Observatory Greenwich.
  
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• Trump’s lawyer apparently used Comic Sans in his statement and you can imagine what happened next

  03-12-2017 18:21
  Ty Cobb appeared to use the internet’s most-hated typeface to make the announcement about Mike Flynn’s guilty plea.
  
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• Half of Britons support a second vote on Brexit, poll finds

  03-12-2017 18:18
  Half of Britons support a second vote on whether to leave the European Union and a third said they would be worse off financially outside the world's largest trading bloc, according to a new opinion poll.The poll, published in the Mail on Sunday newspaper, found 50 percent of people supported another vote on the final terms of Britain's exit deal, 34 percent rejected another referendum and 16 percent said they did not know.The newspaper said it was the first major opinion poll since last week's
  
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• Financial markets could be over-heating, warns central bank body

  03-12-2017 18:15 via theguardian.com
  Bank for International Settlements’ quarterly health check warns global economy resembles era just before financial crashInvestors are ignoring warning signs that financial markets could be overheating and consumer debts are rising to unsustainable levels, the global body for central banks has warned in its quarterly financial health check.The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said the situation in the global economy was similar to the pre-2008 crash era when investors, seeking high
  
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• Teenager arrested after woman killed in motorcycle hit and run in Liverpool

  03-12-2017 17:57
  A teenage boy has been arrested after a motorcyclist left an elderly woman in the road in a fatal hit and run incident in Liverpool.It happened at the junction of Queens Drive and Moor Lane in the Walton area on Saturday evening.A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "A teenage boy has today voluntarily attended a police station in Liverpool in connection with the fatal road traffic collision in Walton.
  
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• Explosive device found near German market 'targeted DHL'

  03-12-2017 17:42 via theguardian.com
  Suspicious package that sparked evacuation was not terror-related and may have been part of blackmail attemptA suspicious package that prompted the evacuation of a Christmas market near Berlin on Friday was not terror-related but part of an attempt to blackmail the German logistics firm DHL, police say.The delivery of the parcel containing nails and an improvised explosive device to a pharmacy in the city of Potsdam triggered the temporary evacuation of the nearby Christmas market.Continue readi
  
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• Tony Blair confirms he is working to reverse Brexit

  03-12-2017 17:32
  ‘When the facts change, people are entitled to change their mind,’ Blair told Radio 4.Tony Blair has confirmed that he is trying to reverse Brexit, arguing that voters deserve a second referendum because the “£350 per week for the NHS” promise has now been exposed as untrue.In an interview with the BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend on Sunday, the former prime minister said that what was happening to the “crumbling” NHS was a “national trag
  
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• Britain First Conference Hotel ‘Unhappy’ To Be Connected With Far-Right Group

  03-12-2017 17:17
  A hotel where Britain First held a conference has said it is unhappy to have been associated with the far-right group.
  
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• Pollution stops play at Delhi Test match as bowlers struggle to breathe

  03-12-2017 16:47 via theguardian.com
  Sri Lanka say conditions in smog-hit Indian capital left players vomiting, and some of them took to field wearing face masks A cricket Test match between India and Sri Lanka was repeatedly interrupted on Sunday with claims players were “continuously vomiting” due to hazardous pollution levels in the Indian capital.
  Commentators said it was the first recorded instance of an international match being halted due to the toxic smog that afflicts much of north India year-round but worsens
  
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• John McDonnell Claims Labour's Plan To Re-Nationalise Britain's Railways Would 'Pay For Itself'

  03-12-2017 16:23
  Labour’s plan to re-nationalise the railways will pay for itself by delivering a more efficient service, John McDonnell has claimed.
  
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• 21st Century Fox 'restarts talks' for possible sale to Walt Disney

  03-12-2017 16:19
  Comcast and Verizon have also expressed interest in buying 21st Century Fox.The Rupert Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox has restarted talks to sell most of the company, including UK broadcaster Sky, to Walt Disney, it was reported on Sunday.The negotiations centre on Fox’s film studio, cable channels, such as FX, and international businesses including India’s Star network and Sky, the FT reported citing “multiple people with knowledge of the talks”.
  
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• White swans and festive parades: Sunday's best photos

  03-12-2017 16:00 via theguardian.com
  The Guardian’s picture editors bring you a selection of photo highlights from around the world, including a Santa dash and the International Space Station Continue reading...
  
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• TD David Cullinane: 'The entire island of Ireland must remain in the EU'

  03-12-2017 16:00
  TD David Cullinane: 'The entire island of Ireland must remain in the EU'
  
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• Finally, proof that Christmas songs really do your head in | Arwa Mahdawi

  03-12-2017 16:00 via theguardian.com
  A study has shown ubiquitous festive tunes don’t just infuriate us and perpetuate the futile materialism of the season - they can wreak real emotional damage. That’s why All I Want for Christmas Is You (And A Proletarian Revolution)God rest ye merry gentlepeople, let nothing you dismay, except excessive festive music, heard well in advance of Christmas Day.Yep, it’s that time again! That magical time of year when it is impossible to leave your house without a faint fa la la la
  
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• Tory MP Nadine Dorries criticised for 'cavalier attitude to security' in her Commons office

  03-12-2017 15:49
  Conservative MP Nadine Dorries is being told to 'get your house in order' after admitting she shares login passwords with staff, including temporary interns.The Mid Bedfordshire MP was defending her colleague Damian Green when she tweeted this about a news interview she had seen on the topic: "My staff log onto my computer on my desk with my login every day.Ms Dorries' comments on social media were picked up swiftly by the IT security community, one of which tweeted that it was a "cavalier attit
  
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• Brexit deal on Irish border '50/50' after 'some progress'

  03-12-2017 15:43
  There has been "some progress" towards a Brexit agreement on the Irish border but it remains "50/50" whether a deal will be reached, Sky News understands.Ahead of a crunch meeting between the Prime Minister and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday, officials have been trying to thrash out a form of words to ease the Irish Government's concerns.Dublin has claimed the UK Government has not yet tabled a serious or credible plan to avoiding a hard border between the Republic o
  
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• 11 people rescued after 'banging' heard in back of lorry in Wiltshire

  03-12-2017 15:34
  Police say they are investigating after 11 people were discovered in the back of a lorry in West Knoyle, Wiltshire.Firefighters prised the lorry doors open and 11 people were found in the back of the vehicle, including three children under the age of 15.Wiltshire Police said it was working with officials from the Home Office Immigration Department.
  
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• Why Jeremy Corbyn rocked an M&S suit on the cover of GQ

  03-12-2017 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Forget Armani, Hugo Boss or even Vetements: the Labour leader made his debut on the front of the glossy men’s mag in a £200 M&S suit – and ticked all the right fashion boxesJeremy Corbyn has been a cover star in the making for years. Anyone else with the same savviness for following (setting, even?) the season’s hottest trends would have been snapped up to front a glossy mag aeons ago and countless campaigns would already be in the bag (shot in Juergen Teller’s
  
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• How Scotland reduced knife deaths among young people

  03-12-2017 14:48 via theguardian.com
  Treating knife crime as a health issue has led to a dramatic drop in stabbings: of the 35 deaths of young people in Britain this year, none were in Scotland In 2005, Strathclyde police set up a violence reduction unit (VRU) in an effort to address a problem that had made Glasgow, in particular, notorious. Later that year, a United Nations report illustrated why that strategy was so urgent. The study concluded that Scotland was the most violent country in the developed world. Based on telephone i
  
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• Passengers urged not to travel amid 'major disruption' at London Euston

  03-12-2017 14:32
  Passengers at one of Britain's busiest railway stations are being warned to expect disruption until the end of Sunday because of emergency repairs.All trains in and out of London Euston were cancelled during the morning, with travellers urged to avoid the busy station and seek an alternative route.Network Rail says urgent work was required after more than 500m of overhead wires were damaged on Friday afternoon.
  
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• Justine Greening rejects social mobility tsar Alan Milburn's attack

  03-12-2017 14:26
  The Government is doing a "massive amount" to increase Britons' life chances despite the entire board of the Social Mobility Commission quitting over a lack of progress, a senior minister has claimed.Education Secretary Justine Greening admitted the Government has a "long, long way to go" in improving social mobility, but rejected a stinging attack on ministers' performance.Former Labour minister Alan Milburn, the chairman of the Social Mobility Commission, has led a top-level walkout from the G
  
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• Cambodian strongman leader joins thousands in 'stability' ceremony

  03-12-2017 13:29 via theguardian.com
  Carefully choreographed prayers at Angkor come as disbanding of opposition party cements Hun Sen’s grip on powerThousands of monks have joined the Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, for a prayer ceremony at the famous Angkor temple, lauding “political stability” after the main opposition party was dissolved, an act that has cemented the strongman’s grip on power.Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia since 1985, making him one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, an achievem
  
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• Education Secretary Justine Greening Ramps Up Pressure On Damian Green Over Computer Porn Allegations

  03-12-2017 13:15
  Cabinet minister Justine Greening has piled pressure on beleaguered Damian Green saying it was “not acceptable” if he used a workplace computer to watch pornography.
  
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• Tory Brexiters set new red lines over ECJ and free movement

  03-12-2017 13:00
  Iain Duncan Smith has said he opposes plans for the ECJ to have an ongoing role adjudicating on the rights of EU nationals in the UK.The former cabinet ministers Iain Duncan Smith, Owen Paterson, Nigel Lawson and John Redwood have said it would be unacceptable for the European court of justice to have any jurisdiction over the UK during the planned two-year transition after Brexit.
  
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