General news

• Mark Zuckerberg agrees to testify before Congress over data scandal

  27-03-2018 23:51 via theguardian.com
  Calls for CEO to appear reach fever pitch after Cambridge Analytica reports, paving way for showdown over Facebook accountability
  Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has agreed to testify before the United States Congress in the wake of a data harvesting scandal that has sent the company’s share price tumbling and prompted numerous investigations and lawsuits.Zuckerberg has accepted an invitation to testify before the House energy and commerce committee, according to an aide
  
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• FTSE adds £29bn in value as trade fears ease but remains in doldrums

  27-03-2018 23:37
  The FTSE 100 has rebounded from 15-month lows as it rallied on signs that a global trade war could be averted.London's leading share index turned sharply higher, rising 1.6% or 111 points - an improvement which added nearly £29bn to the combined value of its constituent companies.One analyst described the recovery as a "dead cat bounce" after sharp falls seen last week.
  
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• Victims of the contaminated blood scandal have criticised the Government for not covering their legal fees

  27-03-2018 23:30
  More than 3000 people have died -- many of them haeomophiliacs -- after being infected with HIV and Hepatitis C through blood products given to them as part of their treatment. But this week their families found out that they would have to cover their own legal costs at the inquiry.
  
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• Blood contamination scandal: 'Insulting' decision to refuse victims legal funding

  27-03-2018 23:21
  Victims of a blood contamination scandal have been refused legal funding to help them prepare for a public inquiry.Campaigners have described the decision as "outrageous", with the Cabinet Office accused of treating victims as "cheaply and insultingly as possible".More than 7,500 people, most of them haemophiliacs, were infected with HIV and hepatitis C by contaminated blood products imported from the US in the 1970s and 1980s.
  
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• Thomson Reuters reports UK gender pay gap of 16.95 percent, big bonus gap

  27-03-2018 23:13
  Thomson Reuters, one of the world's biggest news and information companies, on Tuesday reported a mean gender pay gap for its British entities of 16.95 percent and a mean bonus gap of 50.52 percent.UK employers with more than 250 staff have to report their gender pay gap by April 4 to the Government Equalities Office, almost 50 years on from the passage of Britain's equal pay act."We will continue to champion gender equality and look forward to continuing to measure progress," he said in a repor
  
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• Deposit return schemes: A small price to pay for clean seas

  27-03-2018 23:06
  A deposit on plastic bottles is a big win for the ocean.
  
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• Sky Ocean Rescue: Bottle return scheme is 'a victory for the seas'

  27-03-2018 23:05
  Unsurprisingly - considering a rubbish truck of plastic is dumped in the ocean every minute - one of the enduring stories emerged from the sea in Norway just a month after Sky launched its Ocean Rescue campaign.Of the 30 plastic bags that clogged the creature's stomach causing it agony, some came from the UK.Ironically, you could still read the recycling symbol on some of the packaging.
  
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• Govt to launch deposit return scheme for single-use bottles in England

  27-03-2018 23:03
  A deposit return scheme for single-use bottles is going to be introduced in England subject to consultation, the Government has confirmed.UK consumers use an estimated 13 billion plastic drinks bottles a year, but more than three billion are incinerated, sent to landfill sites or left to pollute the country's streets, countryside and seas.Plastic bottles make up a third of marine debris - and their impact on the environment has been under scrutiny since Sky launched its Ocean Rescue campaign, wh
  
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• PM wants to mark NHS anniversary with 'long-term' NHS funding plan this year

  27-03-2018 22:14
  Theresa May wants a "long-term" health funding plan in order to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the NHS this year.The Prime Minister has hinted she is backing Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt's call for a 10-year NHS spending deal as she warned of a need to get away from "annual top ups" of hospital budgets.Mrs May, appearing before the House of Commons Liaison Committee, described NHS funding as a "critical priority" after highlighting "serious cost and demand pressures" on th
  
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• Louis Vuitton expands French manufacturing to meet handbag demand

  27-03-2018 21:57
  SAINTE-FLORENCE, France (Reuters) - Louis Vuitton, the biggest earnings driver at French luxury goods group LVMH, is expanding its leather goods and handbag production with at least two new workshops planned for this year and next, the brand said on Tuesday.The label, originally known for its travel trunks, will hire 500 people for two sites in western France, bringing its staff of leather goods specialists to around 4,000 as it looks to meet growing demand.A third new opening should follow late
  
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• NATO joins nations in expelling Russian diplomats

  27-03-2018 21:55
  NATO joins nations in expelling Russian diplomats
  
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• 'Strong signal to Kremlin' as NATO and 26 countries expel Russian diplomats

  27-03-2018 21:54
  NATO expelled seven Russian diplomats and vowed to reject accreditation requests from three others as countries around the world united against Moscow.A total of 26 countries have expelled 143 Russian officials, with the Foreign Office hailing its allies for standing "shoulder to shoulder" with the UK and sending the "strongest signal to the Kremlin" following the nerve agent attack in Salisbury."Russia cannot break international rules with impunity," it added in a tweet on Tuesday.
  
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• Great Ormond Street to keep Presidents Club donations

  27-03-2018 21:30
  Great Ormond Street hospital has announced it will keep donations raised by a controversial black-tie event mired in claims that female hostesses were groped.Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) has said it will keep £530,000 it collected in donations from the disgraced Presidents Club Charitable Trust.The children’s charity had said it would return the money after a Financial Times investigation exposed alleged sexual harassment by senior figures in business and politics at a men-onl
  
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• Great Ormond Street keeps £530,000 Presidents Club cash

  27-03-2018 21:29
  The UK's best-known children's hospital charity has rubber-stamped a decision to retain hundreds of thousands of pounds from a scandal-hit fundraising event.
  
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• EU referendum won through fraud, whistleblower tells MPs

  27-03-2018 21:12
  The EU referendum was won through a fraud, the whistleblower Christopher Wylie has told MPs, accusing Vote Leave of improperly channelling money through a tech firm with links to Cambridge Analytica.Wylie told a select committee that the pro-Brexit campaign had a “common plan” to use the network of companies to get around election spending laws and said he thought there “could have been a different outcome had there not been, in my view, cheating”.Vote Leave has repeatedl
  
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• UK to remain on high terror alert for at least two years, sources say

  27-03-2018 21:07
  Britain faces at least two more years of heightened terror alert, with risks from state players including Russia as well as the aftermath of the collapse of Islamic State, Whitehall sources have said.Speaking as the government launched its national securitycapability review, the sources said the risk level – currently at severe – could soon rise to critical, thanks to the possible return of scores of Isis fighters to the UK and the potential threat from states such as Russia, North K
  
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• 12 moments that will make you realise you’re no longer part of the younger generation

  27-03-2018 21:00
  These little moments will make you feel pretty old.
  
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• Throwing Brexit to the wind - how the EU rallied around Britain over Russia

  27-03-2018 20:53
  Three days after European Union leaders left a summit in Brussels with a discreet yet vague agreement to expel Russian diplomats over a nerve agent attack on British soil, envoys met back to share details before an afternoon deadline.Unveiling national expulsion lists at a closed-door meeting on Monday, the 28 ambassadors from the EU's member states were unaware of the scale of their plan to isolate Moscow: more than half the bloc's governments had joined the West's most sweeping expulsion of Ru
  
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• Ireland says to expel Russian diplomat, Moscow's envoy blasts move

  27-03-2018 20:53
  Ireland will expel one Russian diplomat in response to a nerve agent attack in England that the British government has blamed on Russia, a move that Moscow's ambassador to Dublin said would not go unanswered.Governments across Europe, the United States and elsewherehave announced plans to expel a total of more than 100 Russian diplomats in retaliation for the attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter on March 4.Moscow has denied being behind it.
  
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• Expulsion of Russian diplomats shows NATO relevance - Mattis

  27-03-2018 20:53
  U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday that NATO's expulsion of Russian diplomats showed the alliance was still relevant, adding that Moscow had the potential to be a partner with Europe but had chosen a different path."Russia has the potential to be a partner with Europe ... (but) I think right now we have to recognise that they have chosen to seek a different relationship with the NATO nations," Mattis told reporters.Earlier on Tuesday, NATO said it was expelling seven diplomats fro
  
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• Great Ormond Street Hospital To Keep Money Donated From Scandal-Hit Presidents Club

  27-03-2018 20:23
  Great Ormond Street Hospital has U-turned on its decision to return hundreds
  
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• Thomson Reuters reports UK gender pay gap of 16.95 percent

  27-03-2018 20:03
  Thomson Reuters, one of the world's biggest news and information companies, on Tuesday reported a mean gender pay gap for its British legal entities of 16.95 percent and a mean bonus gap of 50.52 percent.Thousands of large UK employers have been ordered to disclose their gender pay gaps by April, almost 50 years on from the passage of Britain's equal pay act."We will continue to champion gender equality and look forward to continuing to measure progress," he said in a report.
  
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• May says she hopes Facebook boss understands data leak concerns

  27-03-2018 19:59
  British Prime Minister Theresa May said she hoped FacebookChief Executive Mark Zuckerberg understood why people were concerned about alleged leaks of personal data, but it was up to him to decide whether to face a committee in Britain's parliament."Mr Zuckerberg will decide for himself whether he wants to come before the committee, but what I hope, is that Facebook will recognise why this is so significant for people and why it is that people are so concerned about it, and ensure that the commit
  
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• May, heeding voter concerns, signals higher health spending

  27-03-2018 19:43
  British Prime Minister Theresa May held out the prospect of a new approach to public health spending on Tuesday, a latest sign that she wants to head off concerns among voters about strains in the National Health System (NHS).May said she wanted her government to come up with a long-term plan for health spending which should come sooner than a planned broad review of public spending next year.The Sunday Times newspaper reported at the weekend that the government could spend up to 4 billion pound
  
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• Lavazza to focus on organic growth after acquisitions boost 2017 core profits

  27-03-2018 19:31
  Italian coffee maker Lavazza said on Tuesday it would focus on organic growth after posting a 12.5 percent rise in 2017 core profits, boosted by overseas sales and the company's recent acquisitions strategy.Lavazza's shopping spree has sharply increased its scale in recent years.After buying French brand Carte Noire and Denmark's Merrild, the Turin-based group last year purchased Canadian organic coffee firm Kicking Horse, France's ESP and Italian coffee pods and machines company Nims.
  
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• Terror attack response rules too inflexible, says Manchester’s mayor

  27-03-2018 19:21
  Kerslake Arena Review reports its findings at the University of Salford on Tuesday.From left to right: Hugh Deeming, Karen Lund, Bob Kerslake and Alan Goodwin.Ministers must rethink “inflexible” rules for dealing with terrorist atrocities so that emergency services can use “common sense” to save lives in future attacks, the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has said.
  
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• Terror attack response rules too inflexible, says Manchester mayor

  27-03-2018 19:21
  Ministers must rethink “inflexible” rules for dealing with terrorist atrocities so that emergency services can use common sense to save lives in future attacks, the mayor of Greater Manchester has said.Andy Burnham made the call as Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) was forced to issue an unreserved apology for turning up two hours late to the Manchester Arena attack because fire chiefs followed protocol instead of showing “pragmatism”.A review of the resp
  
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• UK teacher jailed for trying to recruit 'army of children' for attacks

  27-03-2018 19:01
  A British supporter of Islamic State who tried to recruit over 100 children into an "army" of jihadists to carry out a wave of attacks across London was jailed for a minimum of 25 years on Tuesday.Umar Haque, 25, showed the children beheading videos and other violent militant propaganda, forced them to re-enact deadly attacks on the British capital and made them role-play attacking police officers."The children were paralysed by fear of Haque, who they understood to have connections to terrorist
  
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• The hidden lives of gay men in the Middle East – in pictures

  27-03-2018 19:00 via theguardian.com
  Photographer Hoda Afshar was born in Tehran and is now based in Melbourne, Australia. Her latest series, Behold, was photographed in Iran in a town which mostly leaves gay men to be, on the condition they conduct this part of their lives in secret. A group of men invited her inside a traditional bathhouse to document part of their world. Behold was first exhibited at Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, and is now at Horsham Regional Gallery until 14 May Continue reading...
  
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• Britain reviewing visas issued to investors - May

  27-03-2018 18:58
  Prime Minister Theresa May, answering questions about Britain's response to Russia's suspected involvement in a poisoning in England, said her government was conducting a review of visas issued to wealthy foreign investors.May told members of parliament on Tuesday that Britain's home secretary was reviewing investor visas, although the checks on possible loopholes were not specifically focussed on Russia.Britain has ordered the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats and has said it will consider othe
  
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• 'Teacher' who trained kids for terror attacks jailed for 25 years

  27-03-2018 18:26
  A man who trained children as young as 11 for terrorist attacks has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 25 years.Self-styled teacher Umar Haque, 25, was planning to use guns and a car packed with explosives to hit 30 high-profile targets including Big Ben, Heathrow Airport and the Queen's Guard.Some of the youngsters had been "almost paralysed with fear", police said, adding that Haque was a "really dangerous individual" who could have "moved at any time".
  
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• Brexit groups had 'common plan' to avoid election spending laws, says Wylie

  27-03-2018 18:20
  There was a “common plan” to use the network of companies orbiting Cambridge Analytica to get around election spending and co-ordination laws, Christopher Wylie, the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, has told a parliamentary committee.All four groups had employed the services of Aggregate IQ (AIQ), a Canadian company that Wylie said was “set up and worked within the auspices of Cambridge Analytica [and] inherited the company culture of total disregard for the law”.&ldquo
  
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• Facebook data scandal widens as Canadian company accused of helping target U.S. voters

  27-03-2018 18:13
  A scandal engulfing Facebookover the use of its data by political consultants widened on Tuesday when a whistleblower said Canadian company AggregateIQ had developed a programme to target Republican voters in the 2016 U.S. election.Christopher Wylie, who previously revealed that consultancy Cambridge Analytica had accessed the data of 50 million Facebook users to build voter profiles on behalf of Donald Trump's campaign, said AggregateIQ (AIQ) had built software called Ripon to profile voters.Wy
  
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• Lack of migration may push businesses overseas, report warns

  27-03-2018 18:11
  Businesses fear they could be forced to move abroad if they have difficulty hiring European workers after Brexit, a study commissioned by the Government has found.The interim report from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) said many employers have argued possible restrictions on workers from the European Economic Area could have an impact on businesses and the economy.A lack of migrant workers could damage a company's ability to grow, "forcing firms to relocate to Europe in order to access EU
  
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• Kerslake findings: emergency responses to Manchester Arena attack

  27-03-2018 18:09
  Lord Bob Kerslake is on the review panel into the Manchester Arena bomb attack.The Kerslake report was initiated last September by Greater Manchester’s mayor, Andy Burnham, after he was contacted by “immensely frustrated” firefighters who had been ordered by their superiors to move away from the arena rather than towards it.The firefighters heard the explosion from their base at Manchester Central fire station, which is just 0.6 miles from the concert venue, but they were order
  
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• UK minister - We will implement the result of the EU referendum

  27-03-2018 18:01
  Britain will implement the result of the 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union, cabinet office minister Chloe Smith told parliament on Tuesday during a debate about allegations pro-Brexit campaigners broke electoral laws."Let me make this very clear for the record today: we will continue to implement this referendum's result and to make a success of it," Smith said.On Monday a whistleblower at the heart of a Facebook data scandal questioned the result of the Brexit vote as his lawyers pr
  
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• Anthony Joshua: 'I'll knock out Parker for sure in heavyweight bout

  27-03-2018 17:38
  Boxer Anthony Joshua has promised he will "knock (Joseph) Parker out for sure" when the pair meet in their heavyweight unification fight on Saturday.The pair made a series of confident predictions as they met at a news conference at Sky's headquarters ahead of the bout, which is due to be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office.Briton Joshua, the reigning IBF, IBO and WBA (Super) champion, appeared calm throughout and said of his opponent from New Zealand: "He is quick and can take a punch, that's w
  
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• Mark Zuckerberg's refusal to face MPs is 'absolutely astonishing'

  27-03-2018 17:33
  Mark Zuckerberg's refusal to appear in front of a parliamentary inquiry into the alleged abuse of Facebook users' data has been described as "absolutely astonishing" by MPs.The Facebook founder has offered to send senior executives in his place to give evidence to a Commons committee.Mr Collins' remarks came as a parliamentary meeting heard evidence on the alleged illicit transfer of Facebook users' data by Cambridge Analytica (CA).
  
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• Isis supporter jailed for life for trying to build child army in London

  27-03-2018 17:04
  Haque played Isis propaganda to students at the fee-paying Lantern of Knowledge Islamic school in east London, the court heard.Umar Haque was convicted of attempting to groom children as young as 11 at the Ripple Road mosque in Barking, east London, where he showed them footage of beheadings and conducted terrorism role-play exercises.The self-confessed Isis supporter was also convicted of planning to use guns and a car packed with explosives to strike 30 high-profile targets including Big Ben,
  
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• Teacher Who Trained 'Army Of Children' For Isis-Inspired London Terror Attacks Jailed For Life

  27-03-2018 17:01
  A self-styled teacher who trained an "army of children" for terrorist attacks
  
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• Police inspector Darren McKie jailed for 19 years over the murder of his wife

  27-03-2018 17:00
  Police inspector Darren McKie has been jailed for at least 19 years for the murder of his wife Leanne.Sentencing McKie to life imprisonment at Chester Crown Court, judge Mr Justice Spencer said: "You strangled her to death in the family home.Mrs Mckie, a fellow police officer with Greater Manchester Police, was found strangled in Poynton Lake, Cheshire, on September 29.
  
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• Zuckerberg's snub of UK parliament 'astonishing' says MP

  27-03-2018 16:56
  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision not to answer questions from British lawmakers about a scandal over the firm's data is "astonishing", the parliamentary committee chief who invited him to attend said on Tuesday."Given the extraordinary evidence that we've heard so far today... it is absolutely astonishing that Mark Zuckerberg is not prepared to submit himself to questioning," Damian Collins said.Collins, Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee was speaking during a
  
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• Freezing temperatures and snow over Easter weekend

  27-03-2018 16:56
  Anyone wishing to avoid Easter traffic should stay off the roads on Good Friday - during an unsettled bank holiday weekend with below average temperatures.Likely hotspots include the M25 between Gatwick Airport and the M1, the M3 southwest of London, the A303 at Stonehenge, the M55 between Preston and Blackpool, and the M53 between Liverpool and Chester.Around 99% of motorways and major A-roads will be roadworks-free, Highways England said.
  
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• Anthony Joshua: 'I'll definitely knock out' Parker in heavyweight bout

  27-03-2018 16:54
  Boxer Anthony Joshua has promised he will "knock (Joseph) Parker out for sure" when the pair meet in their heavyweight unification fight on Saturday.The pair made a series of confident predictions as they met at a news conference at Sky's headquarters ahead of the bout, which is due to be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office.Briton Joshua, the reigning IBF, IBO and WBA (Super) champion, appeared calm throughout and said of his opponent from New Zealand: "He is quick and can take a punch, that's w
  
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• Boris Johnson branded 'sexist' in House of Commons dressing-down

  27-03-2018 16:39
  Boris Johnson has been accused of being "sexist" in a furious dressing-down by House of Commons Speaker John Bercow.The Foreign Secretary was admonished for referring to his Labour shadow Emily Thornberry as Lady Nugee, a title afforded to her through her husband's knighthood.The exchange came as Mr Johnson answered questions from MPs on Tuesday, with the Foreign Secretary noting heckles from the Labour front bench as he was urged by Conservative backbencher to David Evennett to hail the upcomin
  
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• Man jailed for life for 'revenge' attack on Muslims

  27-03-2018 16:22
  Mr Justice Soole handed down the sentence at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday.Paul Moore, 21, attempted to kill Zaynab Hussein with his Volkswagen Up car on 20 September last year in Leicester, narrowly missing a 12-year-old schoolgirl.Ms Hussein, 47, was struck once and then driven over again moments later as Moore was seen laughing.
  
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• Ex-BHS owner Chappell faces directorship ban after BHS demise

  27-03-2018 16:06
  Dominic Chappell, the former owner of BHS, faces a lengthy ban from serving as a company director following a Government-sanctioned probe into the retailer's collapse.Sky News has learnt that Mr Chappell and three other former BHS directors have been informed by the Insolvency Service that it is minded to pursue disqualification proceedings against him, while Sir Philip Green - who sold BHS to Mr Chappell for £1 in 2015 - has been told he will face no further action.The Insolvency Service
  
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• Teach First briefed Scottish heads at Prince Charles event

  27-03-2018 15:22
  The Guardian disclosed last year that Prince Charles and his officials repeatedly lobbied Scottish government ministers to promote teacher-training charity.The controversy over a teaching charity promoted by the Prince of Wales has intensified after his officials invited Scottish headteachers to a private meeting with him and the charity’s executives.Documents released to the Guardian show Prince Charles met headteachers from East Ayrshire just after they were briefed by executives from Te
  
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• New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern says 'We can't find Russian spies to expel'

  27-03-2018 15:10
  New Zealand has said it wants to join the chorus of voices against Vladimir Putin by removing Russian spies - but it can't find any to kick out.As Russian officials prepare to be escorted to airports around the world in protest at the alleged Kremlin-backed nerve agent attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal, the antipodean nation is struggling to find any suitable to expel."We have done a check in New Zealand.
  
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• How will Russia respond to the expulsions?

  27-03-2018 15:10
  Countries across the globe are to expel dozens of Russian diplomats in solidarity with the UK over the Salisbury nerve agent attack.
  
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