General news

• How Turin turned against its Five Star Movement mayor

  04-02-2018 23:35 via theguardian.com
  Chiara Appendino, elected in a ‘protest vote’ in 2016, has come under fire for failing to deliver on her promises
  On the face of it, little has changed in the elegant northern Italian city of Turin since Chiara Appendino, of the Five Star Movement, became mayor in June 2016, ejecting a leftwing administration that had overseen the city’s transformation over the previous two decades.The wide, tree-lined streets are just as clean, the variety of cultural attractions just as envia
  
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• Women called back in after review of cervical cancer screening lab

  04-02-2018 23:32 via theguardian.com
  NHS trust in Essex is rescreening 2,500 samples, with 17 women so far needing reassessment after problem with testsThousands of cervical smear test samples are being reviewed by an independent screening service after a problem was discovered in a laboratory. Basildon and Thurrock NHS foundation trust in Essex said 2,500 samples from cervical cancer tests were being rescreened after a problem with testing was identified in a routine Public Health England quality assurance visit in June 2017. So f
  
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• Antonio Conte challenges Chelsea to ‘prepare a statement’ of support

  04-02-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  • Manager frustrated at continued speculation over his future
  • Ross Barkley becomes eighth player to sustain hamstring injuryAntonio Conte has challenged the Chelsea hierarchy to back him publicly and demonstrate they retain faith in his stewardship in an attempt to quash suggestions his job is under threat.The Italian will go into Monday’s game at Watford with his side 19 points behind the leaders, Manchester City, and in a battle to finish in the top four, as a testing second
  
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• Alexis Sánchez completes Manchester United forward line, says José Mourinho

  04-02-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  • ‘Don’t speak about attacking players – nobody is coming here’
  • Coach praises Paul Pogba after dropping midfielder from starting XIJosé Mourinho has ruled out signing a forward next summer, believing he has assembled a Manchester United frontline capable of challenging for trophies, but admitted he must work on “the dynamic” of his side’s attacking play after Alexis Sánchez marked his Old Trafford debut with his first goal for t
  
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• McMafia recap – series one, episode seven

  04-02-2018 23:00 via theguardian.com
  As the final descent starts, Alex is in deep trouble, Rebecca is forced to lie for him and Vadim and the police start to tighten the nooseWe are approaching the final descent of McMafia and the prospect of Alex emerging as a hero feels remote. Beneath his suave, chiselled exterior, you sense that the feral beast inside has chewed the remnants of his soul to bits. His English politeness is pure pretence. As Rebecca, recovering in her hospital bed, observes, disillusioned at last: “You&rsquo
  
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• Holocaust denier to become Republican nominee for Illinois congressional seat

  04-02-2018 22:58 via theguardian.com
  Art Jones the sole GOP candidate for third congressional districtAnti-Defamation League calls Jones ‘a long-time neo-Nazi’A neo-Nazi Holocaust denier is set to become the Republican nominee for a congressional seat in Illinois, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Sunday. Related: Armed neo-Nazis prepare for potential clash in small Kentucky townContinue reading...
  
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• Leeds United sack manager Thomas Christiansen after dismal run

  04-02-2018 22:35 via theguardian.com
  • Leeds yet to win in 2018 and winless in past seven matches
  • High-flying Cardiff City won 4-1 at Elland Road on SaturdayLeeds United have sacked head coach Thomas Christiansen following a dismal seven-match winless run, with the Championship club yet to win in 2018.Leeds were hammered 4-1 at home to Cardiff City on Saturday, two weeks after losing to Millwall at Elland Road and almost a month on from their FA Cup exit at the hands of Newport County. The club are 10th in the league, w
  
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• Democrat Memo Release To Be Considered On Monday

  04-02-2018 22:19
  The US House Intelligence Committee will consider on Monday whether to release the Democratic rebuttal to a Republican memo that alleged bias at the FBI and Justice Department against President Donald Trump, two sources told Reuters.
  
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• Katie Hopkins collapses after 'taking ketamine' in South Africa

  04-02-2018 22:08
  Katie Hopkins has been treated by the emergency services after taking ketamine and appearing to collapse in South Africa.The newspaper columnist posted a graphic photo that showed her lying face down on the pavement while receiving treatment.
  
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• No 10 rules out customs union with EU

  04-02-2018 21:18 via theguardian.com
  Statement comes after ministers contradict each other and claim of challenge to Theresa May’s leadership over issueDowning Street has ruled out involvement in a customs union with the European Union amid confusion over government policy as Theresa May prepares for a crucial week of talks.After the exposure of divisions between ministers over the UK’s future relationship with the EU, an official source said: “It is not our policy to be in the customs union. It is not our policy
  
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• Piers Morgan Explains Why He Didn't 'Press Harder' In Donald Trump Interview

  04-02-2018 20:40
  Piers Morgan has explained he didn’t press Donald Trump on issues such as climate change and gun crime simply because he wants to interview the President again.
  
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• Cyprus president Anastasiades defeats leftist challenger

  04-02-2018 20:08 via theguardian.com
  Second five-year term for conservative who has promised to reactivate reunification talks Greek Cypriots have re-elected Nicos Anastasiades as their eighth president in what is seen as a ringing endorsement of his stable leadership over the past five years.The 71-year-old conservative won a second five-year term on Sunday with 56% of the vote. His opponent, the leftist-backed independent Stavros Malas, took 44%.Continue reading...
  
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• Hospitals cancelling urgent surgery despite NHS bosses' orders

  04-02-2018 20:00
  Hospitals say the limited supply of ICU beds has forced them to prioritise flu patients at immediate risk of dying.Hospitals have been cancelling urgent surgery for patients with cancer, heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses, despite NHS bosses’ orders not to delay such operations.Others have had operations cancelled on the day they were scheduled to take place.
  
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• Hospitals cancelling urgent surgery despite NHS bosses' orders

  04-02-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: shortage of intensive care beds in England leading to operations being postponedHospitals have been cancelling urgent surgery for patients with cancer, heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses, despite NHS bosses’ orders not to delay such operations. Some patients have had their procedure cancelled several times, even though their poor health means the surgery is urgent. Others have had operations cancelled on the day they were scheduled to take place.
  A combination of
  
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• Italy shooting: Mein Kampf found in home of suspect

  04-02-2018 19:56 via theguardian.com
  Luca Traini, 28, said to show no remorse over two-hour attack in Macerata that injured sixA far-right extremist suspected of carrying out a shooting rampage that wounded six Africans in central Italy was “lucid and determined, aware of what he had done” and exhibited no remorse for his actions, an Italian law enforcement official said.Luca Traini, 28, remained jailed on Sunday as police investigated him on multiple charges of attempted murder with the aggravating circumstance of raci
  
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• Ben Jennings on Tory divisions over Brexit – cartoon

  04-02-2018 19:43 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
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• Harry Kane’s last-gasp penalty earns Spurs dramatic draw at Liverpool

  04-02-2018 19:40 via theguardian.com
  Jürgen Klopp hurtled towards the Kop in celebration of Mohamed Salah’s magnificent 21st league goal of the season. His goalkeeping coach, John Achterberg, performed a forward roll on to the pitch, clipboard still in hand. It was the 91st minute at Anfield and Liverpool had taken a significant step towards Champions League qualification against Tottenham Hotspur. In the 95th, it was taken away.Spurs departed with the point their second-half dominance merited but only because of a conte
  
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• We need to talk about ageing – and it’s about far more than the NHS | John Harris

  04-02-2018 19:23 via theguardian.com
  By 2050, 25% of the population will be over 65 – many living in solitude. Loneliness is becoming one of our biggest problemsThe NHS crisis goes on, and its causes are clear: the government’s underfunding of the health service, and the eternally overlooked cuts to funding for adult social care provided by local councils, both of which go back to the 2010-15 coalition. Though some voices issue the usual cliched warnings about the NHS being a political football, the Conservatives &ndash
  
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• Couple injured in suspected gas explosion in Bolton

  04-02-2018 19:07 via theguardian.com
  Man in his 70s is in serious condition after incident in Farnworth areaA couple are being treated for burns after a suspected gas explosion in Bolton, which has left one of them, a man in his 70s, in a serious condition in hospital. A number of homes have been evacuated and emergency services have attended after reports of an explosion in the Farnworth area at 2:30pm on Sunday. The couple were able to get out of the house before emergency workers arrived, Greater Manchester fire and rescue servi
  
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• The Guardian view on women’s suffrage: still no real equality | Editorial

  04-02-2018 18:57 via theguardian.com
  Political change is important but it’s not enough on its own. More needs to be done to tackle the barriers to progress“It is a great achievement, a mighty constitutional landmark,” the Guardian declared a century ago. After a campaign that had lasted more than 50 years, that had seen violence and death – as well as the forcefeeding of a thousand suffragettes in prison – women had at last won “the full rights of citizenship”; some women, at leas
  
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• The Guardian view on council spending: a crisis unfolding | Editorial

  04-02-2018 18:57 via theguardian.com
  Eight years of savage cuts are driving local government and the services it provides to the brink of viability. Crisis management is no answer to this looming catastropheMore than it ought to be, council finance is a niche interest. But to those who take an interest, it was only a matter of time before eight years of spending cuts drove a council somewhere in England into the wall. That unwanted accolade has now been won by Northamptonshire county council, which revealed on Friday that it had ru
  
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• Hundreds of thousands join Macedonia name protest in Athens

  04-02-2018 18:45 via theguardian.com
  Demonstrators oppose any compromise by Greece in long-running dispute over former Yugoslav republic’s official nameMore than 100,000 protesters from across Greece converged on Athens’ main square on Sunday to protest a potential Greek compromise in a dispute with neighbouring Macedonia over the former Yugoslav republic’s official name.The dispute broke out after Macedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Greece argues use of the name implies territorial claims on it
  
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• Tax abuse crackdown brings in only a third of expected £1bn

  04-02-2018 18:43
  Measures are in place to tackle use of offshore accounts here and in Switzerland to recover unpaid tax.A crackdown on offshore tax avoiders has only recovered about a third of the £1bn that the government had predicted, according to estimates.Figures from HMRC suggest that a series of measures to tackle avoidance will bring in £349m a year – £650m a year less than had been hoped for.
  
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• Offshore tax abuse crackdown brings in only a third of expected £1bn

  04-02-2018 18:43 via theguardian.com
  Freedom of Information request reveals some attempts to close avoidance loopholes have failed A crackdown on offshore tax cheats has only recovered about a third of the £1bn that the government had predicted, according to estimates. Figures from HM Revenue & Customs suggest that a series of measures to tackle offshore tax evasion will only bring in £349m a year – £650m a year less than had been hoped for. Continue reading...
  
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• Nunes memo 'a political hit job on FBI' in service of Trump, top Democrat says

  04-02-2018 18:40 via theguardian.com
  Adam Schiff says release of memo will compromise work of FBIGOP’s Gowdy: dossier ‘nothing to do with Trump Tower meeting’What is the Nunes memo and why is it important?
  A top Democrat in Congress has accused his Republican colleagues of carrying out “a political hit job on the FBI in the service of the president” with the Friday release of a memo assembled by House intelligence committee chair Devin Nunes. Related: Trump claims Nunes memo 'totally' vindicates him as
  
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• Russians reprieved by Cas await Winter Olympics fate as IOC considers appeal

  04-02-2018 18:38 via theguardian.com
  • Decision on Tuesday on athletes’ eligibility for Pyeongchang
  • Cas says there is ‘insufficient evidence’ to uphold suspensions
  Fifteen of the 28 Russian athletes who had their lifetime Olympic bans overturned by the court of arbitration for sport last week will know by Tuesday whether they can compete in the Winter Olympics which begin in Pyeongchang on Friday.Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee president, confirmed on Sunday morning that the cases of 1
  
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• Man accuses hospital of rushing to kill brain-damaged son

  04-02-2018 18:33
  Haastrup said his son was entitled to the right to seek permission to appeal against that ruling to the court of appeal.Isaiah suffered “catastrophic” brain damage due to being deprived of oxygen at birth.
  
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• Wealth inequality was behind Brexit vote

  04-02-2018 18:22
  Patrick Cosgrove has found a similarity between Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) and Donald Trump.Brexit is Britain’s ideal opportunity to completely reset its relationship with capitalism, and lead the world while doing it.
  
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• Risks of outsourcing and privatisation laid bare | Letters

  04-02-2018 18:22 via theguardian.com
  Readers address government blunders, NHS privatisation, and Capita’s and Carillion’s woesIf the Conservatives would look beyond market-fundamentalist theory they would see that outsourcing is more intrinsically flawed the more complex the task and the more uncertain the contingencies around the contractual terms (Report, 1 February). The results can be the worst of public and private regimes. On the supplier side, not only is a lot of outsourcing conducted in markets characterised by
  
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• Risks of outsourcing and privatisation laid bare

  04-02-2018 18:22
  ‘Outsourcing is more intrinsically flawed the more complex the task and the more uncertain the contingencies around the contractual terms,’ writes Dr Abby Innes.If the Conservatives would look beyond market-fundamentalist theory they would see that outsourcing is more intrinsically flawed the more complex the task and the more uncertain the contingencies around the contractual terms (Report, 1 February).On the supplier side, not only is a lot of outsourcing conducted in markets chara
  
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• Reducing the risks of IVF multiple births

  04-02-2018 18:22
  ‘The postcode lottery not only goes against the founding principles of the NHS, but also puts the health of mothers and babies at risk,’ writes Professor Dr Geeta Nargund.Alice Richardson’s article (Doctors urge end to IVF postcode lottery to reduce multiple births, theguardian.com, 2 February) highlights the frustrating irony that the NHS is cutting IVF funding to save money, while inadvertently increasing the number of risky multiple births that cost them significantly more i
  
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• No good comes out of putting schools and pupils down

  04-02-2018 18:22
  Michael Rosen’s article (Ofsted forgets our four-year-olds are not GCSE apprentices, 30 January) strikes a poignant chord with parents of children at a Somerset infant school, who learned last week that the school had been rated as “requires improvement” across its key stage 1 years.Rosen is right to question what we should value in young children’s education.Ofsted acknowledges our tremendous support for the school and staff, but this is not properly reflected in Ofsted&
  
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• The competition to be the worst PM ever

  04-02-2018 18:21
  David Cameron and Theresa May in 2015. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA
  
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• England up and running in Six Nations with seven-try win in Italy

  04-02-2018 18:21 via theguardian.com
  • Italy 15-46 England
  • Anthony Watson leads the way with two early scoresThe Six Nations has barely started but, suddenly, all roads lead to Twickenham. If Wales have enjoyed the most spectacular start to this year’s tournament, there was enough sharpness and intent about England’s first outing of the year to suggest Saturday’s tribal collision will not disappoint. On the evidence of this seven-try Roman romp, the Welsh defence should certainly anticipate a tougher w
  
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• Richard Desmond poised to seal £125m Express newspapers sale

  04-02-2018 18:01
  The sale of the Express and Star newspapers, plus OK! magazine, could fetch £125m if deal is agreed.Billionaire Richard Desmond is set to stop the presses on a 43-year publishing career with a £125m deal to sell his Express and Star newspapers and celebrity magazine OK! this week.Desmond has been in talks with Trinity Mirror, the publisher of the Labour-supporting Daily and Sunday Mirror titles, to offload his Brexit-backing titles since autumn.
  
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• Reported pension deal clears way for Mirror to buy Express titles

  04-02-2018 18:01
  Express and Star newspapers, plus OK! magazine, could fetch £125m if deal is agreed.Billionaire Richard Desmond is set to stop the presses on a 43-year publishing career with a £125m deal to sell his Express and Star newspapers and celebrity magazine OK! this week.Desmond has been in talks with Trinity Mirror, the publisher of the Labour-supporting Daily and Sunday Mirror titles, to offload his Brexit-backing titles since the autumn.
  
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• Lullaby by Leïla Slimani – digested read

  04-02-2018 18:00 via theguardian.com
  ‘The children are dead and the nanny is in a coma. The police can’t explain it. And nor can I’The baby is dead. The little girl soon will be too. There is screaming from upstairs. It is the mother who has come home early. A neighbour talks to the police. “It was the nanny who killed them,” she says. In the bathroom upstairs, the nanny has slashed her neck with a knife. She is unconscious. No one knows if she will die too.Paul and Myriam are the perfect couple with t
  
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• Unified Korean women's ice hockey team play debut match

  04-02-2018 17:48 via theguardian.com
  North and South Korea players lose to Sweden in run-up to Winter Olympics in PyeongchangWearing a blue logo of a map symbolising peace between North and South Korea, the most talked-about team at the Winter Olympics was in action on Sunday in a friendly that drew thousands of spectators.The two countries’ female ice hockey players, who only began practising together as a team about a week ago, showed plenty of fight in their first competitive match but never really threatened world no. 5 S
  
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• Iran accuses US of 'shamelessly threatening' Russia with nuclear weapons

  04-02-2018 17:46 via theguardian.com
  Rouhani’s remarks follow Trump administration document outlining plans to expand its nuclear capabilitiesIran accused the US on Sunday of threatening Russia with new atomic weapons, after the Trump administration published a document outlining plans to expand its nuclear capabilities in order to deter others.Related: Mike Pence to stop North Korea 'hijacking' Winter Olympics, aide saysContinue reading...
  
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• Fatal care home fire caused by 'oxygen cylinder exploding'

  04-02-2018 17:39 via theguardian.com
  One resident dies and another person in critical condition after blaze at Stevenage care homeAn elderly man has died and another person is critically injured after a fire thought to have been caused by an explosion at a residential care home.
  Emergency crews were called to the Woodlands View in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, at 4.30pm on Saturday after a “minor explosion” caused by an oxygen cylinder. Eight fire engines were sent to the scene. Continue reading...
  
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• Elderly man dies in fire after 'explosion' in Stevenage care home

  04-02-2018 17:29
  Seven people were taken to hospital following the blaze at Woodlands View Care Home in Stevenage, and one remains critically ill.Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service sent eight fire engines to the care home after reports of a fire at about 4.30pm on Saturday.There were 41 people in the home - which provides residential, nursing and dementia care - when the fire broke out.
  
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• Luka Milivojevic penalty earns Crystal Palace draw with Newcastle

  04-02-2018 17:24 via theguardian.com
  The grumble on the final whistle, with its undercurrent of anxiety, told its own story. This was a result which did little for either of these teams as they strive for survival in a division whose lower reaches are so congested that a win can thrust any of those currently labouring around the cut-off into the deceptive security of mid-table. Every missed opportunity is made to feel all the more excruciating in that context.The locals gnashed the loudest at the inadequacy of a point. Crystal
  
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• Studio behind Star Wars and James Bond films considers new London site

  04-02-2018 17:17 via theguardian.com
  Pinewood is looking to buy 20 acres of land in Dagenham to meet extra demand for UK production facilitiesThe film studio behind the James Bond and Star Wars franchises has expressed interest in building a new site in east London, as the British film industry struggles to accommodate demand for TV and blockbuster shoots. Pinewood, a cornerstone of the UK’s film and TV production sector, is looking at a 20-acre site in Dagenham after the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, announced plans for a studio
  
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• Decision time this week for government on Brexit trade policy

  04-02-2018 17:17
  Theresa May. The row over customs presents the first real fork in the road for her Brexit policy.In four hours this week the Conservative party is planning to debate an issue it has put off for five years: what sort of economy does it want to see after Brexit?Cabinet subcommittee meetings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday are to discuss what negotiating objectives the government will take into the next stage of exit negotiations.
  
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• Peter Rabbit review: James Corden's twerking bunny gets away with it – just

  04-02-2018 17:13 via theguardian.com
  Thew new Beatrix Potter adaptation tries to follow in the footsteps of the blockbuster Paddington movies, and largely manages to pull it offWhen the first trailer for the new, updated Peter Rabbit came out a few months ago, the general reaction was horror. Here was Beatrix Potter’s delightful 19th century creation as an obnoxious, James Corden-voiced lout who abuses songbirds, scatters lettuce leaves like dollar bills and holds a raucous frat party in Mr McGregor’s house involving &n
  
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• 'Be optimistic': Andrew Adonis launches his drive to reverse Brexit

  04-02-2018 16:55 via theguardian.com
  As Labour peer begins national tour in Durham, locals find idea of second vote hard to stomachThe first step along what Andrew Adonis hopes is the road to reversing Brexit starts a few miles upstream from where it all began 19 months ago.Fresh from introducing proposals for a second referendum into the House of Lords, the Labour peer travelled to Durham on Friday to begin a national tour that aims to convince the poll-weary country to think again. Continue reading...
  
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• Black cab rapist John Worboys moves prison after his transfer caused fury

  04-02-2018 16:53
  Black cab rapist John Worboys has been transferred from Belmarsh Prison following outage over his move to a London jail.The serial sex offender is understood to have returned to HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire.The Prison Service faced a backlash in January after Worboys, 60, was transferred to a prison in the city where he committed his crimes.
  
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• Katie Hopkins Collapses In South Africa, Blames It On Ketamine

  04-02-2018 16:50
  Katie Hopkins has tweeted a shocking photo of herself lying on a road in South Africa being attended to by medics.
  
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• This Brexit mess cannot go on. Theresa May must stand down now | Matthew d’Ancona

  04-02-2018 16:36 via theguardian.com
  She is said to be the only senior Tory who could preside over the talks. The trouble is, she’s making Britain an international joke“Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out”: the muttered incantation of the emperor in Robert Graves’s Claudius the God has rarely seemed so apposite. It is time for this government to drop the pretence that it is healthy and functioning. A reckoning is long past due. Daily, we see a new pustule or sore – on some days several.
  
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• Mike Pence to stop North Korea 'hijacking' Winter Olympics, aide says

  04-02-2018 16:30 via theguardian.com
  Vice-president believes Pyongyang’s presence ‘a charade’The Observer view: the Winter Olympics and North KoreaVice-president Mike Pence will stop North Korea “hijacking” the Winter Olympics, an aide said on Sunday, by using his own presence at the Games to remind the world “everything the North Koreans do at the Olympics is a charade to cover up the fact that they are the most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet”. Related: North Korea criticis
  
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