General news

• Britons gloomier about Brexit but no change of heart - pollster Curtice

  09-01-2018 23:59
  British pessimism on the economic consequences of leaving the European Union is growing, but Britons have not broadly changed their minds about how they voted, Britain's leading pollster John Curtice said on Tuesday.British Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to deliver a new trading relationship with the EU with her authority diminished by party infighting, the resignation of key allies, a fractious parliament, a divided electorate and a tight timetable before the March 2019 Brexit deadline.Re
  
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• Police find body in Stockport after woman says she killed man

  09-01-2018 23:53
  A body has been found after a woman went to a police station in Greater Manchester and claimed she had killed a man and buried his body in a garden.On Tuesday, officers began to dig up a garden in Reddish, Stockport and later said human remains had been found and were believed to be those of a man.The woman went to Cheadle Heath police station on Sunday, Greater Manchester police (GMP) said.
  
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• Strong case to ban all Russians from Winter Olympics, says chair of UK Sport

  09-01-2018 23:32 via theguardian.com
  • Katherine Grainger disagrees with IOC allowing some competitors from Russia
  • Grainger claims doping punishments ‘haven’t been serious enough’Katherine Grainger, the chair of UK Sport and one of Britain’s greatest Olympians, says there is “a very strong argument” that there should be no Russian athletes at next month’s Winter Games in Pyeongchang because of the country’s systematic doping problems.Grainger, who took charge of the UK fun
  
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• Source inside Trump campaign reported concerns to FBI, new transcript suggests

  09-01-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Senator Feinstein releases testimony from Fusion GPS boss Glenn Simpson
  Fusion GPS compiled explosive dossier on Trump campaign and RussiansA source within the Trump campaign reported concerns to the FBI, according to the man behind a controversial dossier on Donald Trump, a new transcript suggests.Senator Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday unilaterally released the transcript of a congressional interview with Glenn Simpson, whose research firm, Fusion GPS, was behind the dossier on alleged contacts be
  
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• Joe Marler to miss England’s Italy and Wales games after six-week ban

  09-01-2018 23:07 via theguardian.com
  • Harlequins prop punished following red card in defeat at Sale
  • Suspension to 20 February rules Marler out of two Six Nations gamesJoe Marler has been ruled out of England’s first two Six Nations matches against Italy and Wales after receiving a six-week suspension, handing Eddie Jones a considerable selection headache for the start of the championship.The Harlequins prop’s second suspension of the season comes after he was shown a red card for striking the head of Sale&r
  
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• Kay Burley's Clash With NUS President Over Toby Young Ends With Serious Shade Thrown

  09-01-2018 23:05
  The President of the National Union of Students and Kay Burley of Sky News have clashed over Toby Young quitting the new universities regulator, with the interview ending acrimoniously as the new watchdog was labelled “not fit for purpose”.
  
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• Steve Bannon leaves Breitbart after expressing 'regret' over Trump remarks

  09-01-2018 22:51 via theguardian.com
  Ex-White House strategist stepped down from the news website less than a week after book excerpts showing his criticisms of Trump were made publicFormer White House strategist Steve Bannon stepped down from his position at Breitbart News on Tuesday, less than a week after he excoriated Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr in book excerpts obtained by the Guardian, and days after he expressed “regret” over those remarks.Related: Trump Tower meeting with Russians 'treasonous', Bannon says
  
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• Sergio Agüero rides to Manchester City’s rescue against Bristol City

  09-01-2018 22:50 via theguardian.com
  Manchester City had to fight throughout this semi-final first leg as they will surely have to do in the return game. That is in a fortnight and for Bristol City still to have a chance of reaching Wembley shows how fine a display this was.Sergio Agüero may have broken the visitors’ hearts with his added-time headed winner but, given the talent at Pep Guardiola’s disposal, Lee Johnson and his players can feel rightly proud at losing by only the odd goal. Continue reading...
  
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• UK government appoints former management consultant as City minister

  09-01-2018 22:41
  Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed a former management consultant John Glen as the new City minister to oversee a financial services sector facing upheaval as Britain prepares to leave the European Union.Glen, whose formal title is economic secretary to the Treasury, will be responsible for financial services policy and the government's relationship with firms such as banks, insurers and asset managers.
  
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• Weatherwatch: can we keep the lights on when the wind fails to blow?

  09-01-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  The UK now has more offshore wind power capacity than any other country – but we need a plan B for ultra-cold winters with soaring energy demandsLast year was one of the greenest for power in the UK. Nearly one-third of all electricity came from renewable sources, and wind and solar provided more power than coal on 315 days of the year. Rapid growth in both solar and wind (the UK now has more offshore wind power capacity than any other country in the world) has enabled the UK to achieve th
  
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• Steve Bannon Quits Breitbart News After Criticism Of Donald Trump

  09-01-2018 22:30
  Former White House strategist Steve Bannon has stepped down from Breitbart News Network after a public break with US president Donald Trump.
  
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• 5 Explosive Claims Made In Newly-Released Trump Dossier Testimony From Glenn Simpson

  09-01-2018 22:25
  Newly-released testimony from the founder of the firm behind the infamous ‘WaterSportsGate’ dossier on Donald Trump has claimed someone has died as a result of its publication.
  
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• Steve Bell on Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle – cartoon

  09-01-2018 22:16 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
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• UK pledges to amend EU withdrawal bill, soothe Scottish devolution worries

  09-01-2018 22:01
  Britain's government will amend the European Union withdrawal bill in time for it to win backing from Scotland's pro-independence devolved administration, Britain's Scotland minister said on Tuesday."I can confirm today that amendments to Clause 11 of the bill will be brought forward in the House of Lords (Britain's upper legislative chamber), allowing for further discussions to take place between the UK government and Scottish government," David Mundell said in a statement.
  
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• World Bank issues warnings on interest rates and inflation

  09-01-2018 22:00 via theguardian.com
  After better than expected growth in the global economy, Bank says financial markets are vulnerable to unforeseen negative newsFinancial markets are complacent about the risks of sharply higher interest rates that could be triggered by better than expected growth in the global economy this year, the World Bank has warned.The Washington-based organisation said that much of the rich west was running at full capacity as a result of a broad-based upswing in activity, but were now vulnerable to a per
  
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• The other Fire and Fury: decade-old book becomes unexpected bestseller

  09-01-2018 21:46 via theguardian.com
  A tome about allied bombing of Germany during the second world war that has the same title as Michael Wolff’s Trump exposé has received a bump in salesWhen it was released 10 years ago, Randall Hansen’s book performed as expected, racking up strong sales that gradually tapered off. But this week the Canadian professor’s 2008 book unexpectedly leapt back on to bestseller lists. The reason lies in the book’s name – Fire and Fury: The Allied Bombing of Germany,
  
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• Martin Glenn’s ‘banter’ remark spoils FA’s Rooney rule announcement

  09-01-2018 21:26 via theguardian.com
  • FA chief implies female footballers may react differently to coaches’ ‘banter’
  • At least one BAME candidate will be interviewed for England manager roles
  The Football Association’s chief executive, Martin Glenn, suggested female footballers may be less tolerant of “banter” than their male counterparts on the day the governing body announced plans to adopt the “Rooney rule” in an attempt to improve inclusivity in the sport.Glenn confirm
  
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• Theresa May reshuffle brings in 'fresh talent' to replace older white men

  09-01-2018 21:25
  Theresa May leading her first post-reshuffle cabinet meeting on Tuesday.Theresa May has insisted that her government looks “more like the country it serves” after axing a string of white men in their 50s and 60s while promoting a number of younger, female and minority ethnic MPs.The prime minister used the second day of her new year reshuffle to refresh the lower ministerial ranks after a difficult cabinet-level shake-up in which some ministers resisted attempts to move them.
  
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• Prince Harry learns elaborate fist bump

  09-01-2018 21:16 via bbc.co.uk
  He was visiting a community radio station in south London with his fiancee Meghan Markle.
  
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• Daily Mail accuses Virgin Trains of censorship over paper ban

  09-01-2018 21:15
  The Daily Mail has accused Virgin Trains of censorship after the rail operator stopped selling the newspaper.Virgin announced in an internal note that it had ceased stocking the paper in November because of matters raised by staff.The note said workers expressed "considerable concern" about the Mail's editorial position on issues such as immigration, LGBT rights and unemployment.
  
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• UK government misses deadline to amend Brexit bill's 'power grab' clause

  09-01-2018 21:07
  Scottish Tories and nationalist politicians have lambasted the UK government for dropping plans to protect Scotland’s position in the Brexit bill at the last moment.Ministers were due to publish amendments to a highly contentious clause in the EU withdrawal bill in the Commons on Wednesday that centralised more than 100 European powers in Whitehall after Brexit, even though they involve policy controlled by the devolved parliaments.
  
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• Scots blast Westminster for missing Brexit bill deadline

  09-01-2018 21:07
  Scottish National party and Conservative politicians have lambasted the UK government for dropping plans to protect Scotland’s position in the Brexit bill at the last moment.Ministers were due to publish amendments to a highly contentious clause in the EU withdrawal bill in the Commons on Wednesday that centralised more than 100 European powers in Whitehall after Brexit, even though they involve policy controlled by the devolved parliaments.
  
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• Trevor Bayliss assumes rather a lot in choosing when to depart England | Andy Bull

  09-01-2018 21:00 via theguardian.com
  Just after being walloped 4-0 by Australia is not a strong position for the head coach to make pronouncements about how long he plans to stayThe career of an England cricket coach is like that of a politician: it always ends in failure. David Lloyd went when England were dumped out in the group stages of the 1999 World Cup, Duncan Fletcher after they were knocked out in the second round in 2007, Peter Moores was sacked when England were thumped in the 2015 tournament and Andy Flower quit after t
  
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• Theresa May reshuffles 'new generation' of diverse ministers into Government

  09-01-2018 20:58
  A raft of women and ethnic minority MPs have been promoted in Theresa May's reshuffle, as the Prime Minister sought to tackle criticism over the diversity of her new Cabinet.Mrs May declared in a statement: "This Government is about building a country fit for the future - one that truly works for everyone with a stronger economy and a fairer society."This reshuffle helps us do just that by bringing fresh talent into Government, boosting delivery in key policy areas like housing, health and socia
  
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• Some parents call it a loving smack. I call it violence | Susanna Rustin

  09-01-2018 20:56 via theguardian.com
  The movement to ban corporal punishment is gaining ground all over the world. Is Britain finally ready to give up the right to hit children?To say that English parents are uniquely keen on hitting their kids wouldn’t be fair – even on a day when the Welsh government’s announcement that it aims to outlaw corporal punishment leaves England looking isolated. What can be said with confidence is that English parents, and the MPs who represent them, appear unusually determined to hol
  
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• US to loosen nuclear weapons constraints and develop more 'usable' warheads

  09-01-2018 20:43 via theguardian.com
  New proposal is significantly more hawkish than Obama-era policy Critics call development of new weapons ‘dangerous, Cold War thinking’
  The Trump administration plans to loosen constraints on the use of nuclear weapons and develop a new low-yield nuclear warhead for US Trident missiles, according to a former official who has seen the most recent draft of a policy review.
  Jon Wolfsthal, who was special assistant to Barack Obama on arms control and nonproliferation, said the new nuclea
  
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• Julian Assange's stay in London embassy untenable, says Ecuador

  09-01-2018 20:37 via theguardian.com
  South American country that has housed WikiLeaks founder for five years says it is seeking mediator to end impasse with UKEcuador’s foreign minister has said Julian Assange’s five-and-a-half-year stay in her country’s London embassy is “untenable” and should be ended through international mediation.The WikiLeaks founder has been holed up in Knightsbridge since the summer of 2012, when he faced the prospect of extradition to Sweden over claims that he sexually assaul
  
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• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wow the crowds in Brixton

  09-01-2018 20:36
  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were met with screaming crowds and chanting well-wishers as they began their second official engagement as a couple.The pair were visiting Reprezent FM in Brixton, south London, a youth-orientated radio station set up 10 years ago in response to the rise in knife crime.Local resident Inna said Meghan was an inspiration for her daughters Davinna and Veronique - "a mixed race girl becoming a princess in the Royal Family".
  
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• The Guardian view on Karen Bradley’s task in Northern Ireland: three months to stop the drift | Editorial

  09-01-2018 20:31 via theguardian.com
  Theresa May’s focus on Brexit has been bad for Northern Ireland. It is time to get the peace process working once moreA year ago, the late Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin stood down as Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister in a dispute about the role of the DUP first minister, Arlene Foster, in a failed renewable energy scheme. In doing so he brought to an end Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government after a decade of working. One year on, the power-sharing institut
  
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• Supreme Court hears argument in 2 vehicle search cases

  09-01-2018 20:31
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court's justices put themselves in the driver's seat Tuesday, hearing arguments in two cases involving vehicle searches, but it was unclear what routes the justices will take to resolve the cases.
  
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• The Guardian view on the reshuffle: a pointless luxury | Editorial

  09-01-2018 20:29 via theguardian.com
  Ministerial churn wastefully destroys experience and continuitySome prime ministers believe it is healthy to rotate and retire their colleagues at frequent intervals. It reminds them who’s boss and keeps Whitehall officials sharp. Margaret Thatcher was in that category. Others, like David Cameron – hemmed in by his coalition partners – presided over a ministerially stable five years. Theresa May has taken so-called ministerial churn to a new level. She reinvented – perhap
  
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• Invisibility of disabled people in the media | Letters

  09-01-2018 20:27
  The Labour MP Dawn Butler signs her question in the House of Commons as she urges the government to give British Sign Language (BSL) legal status. ‘The low standard of BSL and English bilingualism in education urgently needs addressing in a British Sign Language Act,’ writes Jill Jones.Is Frances Ryan’s article (Diversity is in Vogue, but not yet for women with disabilities, 8 January) a call to arms addressed to directors of communications, or is it symptomatic of a wider prob
  
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• Development for the north? Let them eat wood | Letters

  09-01-2018 20:27 via theguardian.com
  Readers respond to the government’s pledge of £5.7m towards the creation of a northern forest stretching from Liverpool to Hull, and to a report on agroforestryThe government’s tossing a few million towards a grand £500m “northern forest” (Government pledges £5.7m for northern forest, 8 January) is an example of the puny tokenism operating today, where acts of vandalism against our precious environment, such as HS2, can be so casually “offset&rdquo
  
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• Theresa May’s reshuffle finessed by wild cards and jokers | Letters

  09-01-2018 20:26
  Justine Greening, who rejected a move from education and resigned after being offered the Work and Pensions Department in Theresa May’s reshuffle.Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA
  
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• EU may treat some UK financial rules as equivalent after Brexit - Barnier

  09-01-2018 20:17
  The European Union could treat some British financial regulation as equivalent to EU law after Brexit, but would not give financial firms a general "passport" to do business in the single market, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator said on Tuesday.In a speech at a Belgian business event, Michel Barnier reiterated that once Britain left the EU on March 29, 2019, its firms would lose the benefits of doing business across a market of 440 million people."We will have the opportunity to treat some UK ru
  
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• Persimmon pay shambles shows need to ban long-term bonus plans

  09-01-2018 20:13 via theguardian.com
  Persimmon chairman Jeff Fairburn’s £110 bonus is an extreme example, but the whole long-term bonus system is rotten Jeff Fairburn, the £110m chief executive of Persimmon, will have reflected long and hard about how it looks to receive such an enormous personal windfall at a time when executive pay and housebuilders, with their share prices inflated by help-to-buy subsidies for homebuyers, are in the political spotlight.He will have noted that Persimmon’s chairman, and the
  
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• Cuddly, friendly Boris is back with his bad gags and instant soundbites | John Crace

  09-01-2018 20:06
  Elephants? Boris loved elephants. Whales? Boris loved them, too. The Commonwealth? No one loved the Commonwealth more than him. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters
  
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• Harry and fiancee Meghan get wedding music tips on radio station visit

  09-01-2018 20:00
  Britain's Prince Harry and his U.S. fiancee Meghan Markle were given some street-level tips for their wedding music as they visited a pioneering radio station in south London on Tuesday.Harry, fifth-in-line to the throne, and actress Markle, best known for the TV legal drama "Suits", announced their engagement in November, with the wedding set for May at Queen Elizabeth's Windsor Castle home to the west of London.On their second official royal outing together, the couple were greeted by large cr
  
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• Stokies strike back: the Potteries people scotching their 'Brexit capital' rep

  09-01-2018 19:56 via theguardian.com
  It’s been dubbed a left-behind town mired in apathy. But the people of Stoke asked the Guardian’s film team to come and see the place afresh. Director John Domokos relives a story of hope that began in a £1 house and ended with a duck in spaceThey say there’s one way you can always tell a Stokie: wherever they are in the world, whenever they sit down to eat the first thing they do is turn over their plate to see where it was made. It’s a story that captures both the
  
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• UK ministers call for EU market access during Brexit transition

  09-01-2018 19:47
  British finance minister Philip Hammond and Brexit minister David Davis have called in a German newspaper for Britain to retain its current access to EU markets for a transition period before its final exit from the European Union.The ministers, who are due to begin a visit to Germany on Wednesday, wrote in a guest article for Wednesday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that was also in the interests of Germany and the European Union.The transition period would start when Britain formally exits t
  
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• Just Eat 50p surcharge branded a rip-off by customers

  09-01-2018 19:47 via theguardian.com
  Online takeaway firm adds 50p to all payment forms and rebrands it service charge just days before EU ban on fees for credit card transactionsThe online takeaway company Just Eat has been criticised for introducing a 50p service charge on all payments days before its “rip-off” fee for card transactions was due to be banned.The company, which is worth around £5.4bn and has 9 million UK customers, was accused of “dodging” EU rules by imposing the new fee, which applie
  
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• Theresa May can rally her troops, but the Tory party is dying on its feet | John Harris

  09-01-2018 19:36 via theguardian.com
  The botched reshuffle is a short term fix for the Conservatives, who haven’t even begun to address the structural problems they faceIn all the noise surrounding this week’s reshuffle, one sound in particular has been unmistakable: that of rising Tory angst about the party’s future. It might be strange to witness such self-doubt at the moment Britain’s departure from the EU looks set to realise so many Conservative dreams. But Brexit is perhaps one of those classic pyrrhic
  
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• EU 'surprised' at David Davis' complaint over no-deal planning

  09-01-2018 19:29
  The European Union has said it is "surprised" David Davis complained the bloc is planning for a no-deal Brexit.The Brexit Secretary sent a letter to Theresa May last month saying he would urge the EU to drop measures and guidance which could require UK companies to relocate to Europe or risk contracts being terminated if a Brexit deal is not struck.Margaritis Schinas, European Commission chief spokesman, said: "We are somehow surprised that the United Kingdom is surprised that we are preparing f
  
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• Barry Bennell abused boys hundreds of times, court told

  09-01-2018 19:29 via theguardian.com
  Former Crewe coach told young footballers that if they reported him he would stop them becoming professionals, jury hearsThe former football coach Barry Bennell was a “devious paedophile” who subjected boys from the youth system of Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra to hundreds of sexual assaults and threatened he would end their hopes of becoming professional footballers if they reported him, the opening day of his trial heard.Bennell, 63, admitted to the police that he was attract
  
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• Peggy Cummins obituary

  09-01-2018 19:13 via theguardian.com
  Hollywood film actor who starred in the now-revered 1950 B-movie Gun Crazy, a forerunner of Bonnie and ClydeThe British actor Peggy Cummins, who has died aged 92, was discovered by the Hollywood mogul Darryl F Zanuck when she was a teenager and almost immediately given the lead in his big film of the age, Forever Amber, based on the historical romance by Kathleen Winsor. In 1946 she began filming the part of Amber St Clare, a young beauty making her way in 17th-century England, shooting opposite
  
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• Concerns over Catholic church's 2014 donation to Damian Hinds

  09-01-2018 19:13
  The new education secretary accepted more than £5,000 from the Catholic church in 2014 to pay for a parliamentary intern.Damian Hinds, who was appointed on Monday to succeed Justine Greening, listed the donation in the register of members’ interests as “an educational allowance of £5,116.25 and accommodation provided for an intern in my parliamentary office for 10 months”.The Catholic church is demanding the scrapping of a 50% cap on the selection of children on rel
  
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• Universities will have to justify excessive senior pay under new rules

  09-01-2018 19:04
  Glynis Breakwell, the vice-chancellor of Bath University, was paid £468,000 in 2015-16.Universities that pay vice-chancellors more than 8.5 times the institution’s average salary will have to publicly justify their decision, under new guidelines aimed at curbing excessive pay.The new code aims to provide a framework for ensuring senior staff receive “fair, appropriate and justifiable” pay, and comes in the wake of damaging headlines on the issue – particularly of th
  
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• Meghan Markle chooses M&S for Brixton walkabout with Harry

  09-01-2018 19:03
  Meghan Markle signalled her clear intent to fully embrace Britishness by choosing to wear the high street brand M&S for her second official public engagement with Prince Harry when they dropped in to a south London community radio station.The US former actor was cheered by hundreds who turned out in the January chill to see the couple at Reprezent 107.3FM in Brixton, which trains hundreds of young people every year in media and employment skills.
  
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• 'Change is definitely happening': Baftas to follow Golden Globes' #MeToo lead

  09-01-2018 18:53 via theguardian.com
  While some categories lack diversity, this year’s Bafta awards, hosted by Joanna Lumley, will celebrate varied talents and strong female performancesThe Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro’s strange and thrilling fantasy epic about a woman who falls in love with a sea monster, will lead the charge at this year’s Bafta film awards with 12 nominations.With multiple nominations in the craft categories the film easily topped the 2018 list, followed by Martin McDonagh’s black c
  
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• Britain's counter-terrorism police chief Rowley to retire

  09-01-2018 18:35
  Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer Mark Rowley will retire in March, the Metropolitan Police Service said on Tuesday, after a 31-year career in which he led efforts to curb a rise in militant attacks.Rowley was the public face of the police's counter-terrorism operations as attacks in Britain soared to their highest ever level last year, and he spearheaded the response to deadly incidents such as the London Bridge attack and the Manchester concert bombing.
  
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