General news

• Councils sit on £375m earmarked for affordable housing

  22-04-2018 23:30
  Despite ‘severe’ need for lower cost homes in some areas, funding is not being releasedLocal councils in England are sitting on hundreds of millions of pounds of money designated for affordable housing.A total of £375m is available, £100m of which has not even been earmarked for a specific project. This is despite a survey last year for the Town and Country Planning Association showing that 98% of councils described their need for affordable homes as either “severe&
  
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• Tory whip dismisses Windrush as 'height of opportunism and hypocrisy'

  22-04-2018 23:14
  A member of Theresa May's government has accused Labour of "opportunism and hypocrisy" over its attacks on the Tories on Windrush.Mike Freer, a Government whip and MP for Margaret Thatcher's old Commons seat of Finchley and Golders Green, hit out in an email to a constituent.The MP was responding after his constituent wrote to him complaining she was "appalled and ashamed" to hear of the impact of the Prime Minister's "hostile environment policy" on immigration.
  
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• Martin Lewis sues Facebook over fake ads with his name

  22-04-2018 23:04
  MoneySavingExpert founder says firm failed to stop false adverts luring victims into scamsMartin Lewis, the consumer advice and money-saving expert, is suing Facebook for defamation after it published dozens of fake adverts featuring his face and name. He is seeking exemplary damages in the high court, arguing that Facebook failed to prevent or swiftly remove false advertising that has both tarnished his reputation and lured unwitting victims into costly scams.Continue reading...
  
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• The Woman in White review – the Victorian classic updated for the #MeToo era

  22-04-2018 23:00
  This latest Wilkie Collins adaptation strikes a very modern note while hanging on to the original’s gothic creepinessThis adaptation of The Woman in White begins with a woman in black. She is Wilkie Collins’ best character, Marian Halcombe (played by Jessie Buckley), who has come to see a man called Mr Nash for help. She is wearing black – including veil – because she’s in mourning.“The coroner stated that the cause of death was natural, wh
  
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• Obey review – powerful, emotional debut dramatises 2011 London riots

  22-04-2018 23:00
  Jamie Jones’s shrewd drama describes some of the tensions, rage and desperation felt by young people of colour before violence spilled on to the streets in 2011
  • Sign up for Film Today and get our film team’s highlights of the dayThis movie, from first-time feature director Jamie Jones, takes place amid the London riots of 2011 and the white noise of rage and desperation they both caused and fed off, as the police shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham triggered angry protests th
  
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• Homeland recap: season eight, episode 10 – Clarity

  22-04-2018 23:00
  There’s a change of pace as Elizabeth gets tough, Franny’s fate is decided and Carrie gets back in the game and heads to MoscowWe rejoin Carrie, a week after the hospital meltdown, for her third and final ECT treatment. With normality restored, her thoughts turn to keeping hold of Franny. Continue reading...
  
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• Government aware for years that 'hostile environment' hurt Windrush generation

  22-04-2018 23:00
  Home Office letter dated May 2016 shows ministers knew of immigration policy’s impactsA letter from a Home Office minister dated May 2016 and obtained by the Guardian shows that the government has known for years about the impact of its “hostile environment” policy on the Windrush generation.As the government struggles to contain mounting pressure on both Theresa May and the home secretary, Amber Rudd, Home Office sources indicate that legislation could be rushed through parlia
  
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• Kalidou Koulibaly’s late header seals victory for Napoli over Juventus

  22-04-2018 22:51
  • Maurizio Sarri’s side one point behind with four matches left
  • Napoli bidding to end Juve’s run of six successive scudettosNapoli threw the Serie A title race open in dramatic style on Sunday when Kalidou Koulibaly scored with a towering header in the last minute to give them a 1-0 win at the leaders, Juventus. Related: Juventus 0-1 Napoli: Serie A – as it happenedContinue reading...
  
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• 'Protecting our democracy': DNC chair defends suit against Trump and Russia

  22-04-2018 22:27
  Tom Perez: DNC can ‘walk and chew gum’ before the midtermsDemocratic party sues Russia, WikiLeaks and TrumpChairman Tom Perez on Sunday defended the Democratic National Committee’s decision to sue Russia, WikiLeaks and the Trump campaign over Russian election interference, saying the DNC was “protecting our democracy” and could “walk and chew gum” when it came to keeping its focus on the midterm elections.Related: Michael Bloomberg pledges $4.5m to cover
  
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• ‘If you create a hostile environment, you shouldn’t be surprised that it’s hostile’

  22-04-2018 22:05
  It was the coalition government that pushed a policy of outsourcing immigration enforcement that became a licence to discriminateThere was stunned silence in the cabinet room. Ministers exchanged awkward glances. Officials looked at their shoes. Had the prime minister really just stormed out?It was May 2013 and a red-faced David Cameron had suddenly packed up his briefing folder and left, with a full agenda far from complete. It brought an abrupt end to the gathering known as the inter-ministeri
  
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• Council of Europe members suspected of corruption, inquiry reveals

  22-04-2018 21:31
  According to the inquiry, former Italian deputy Luca Volontè played an important role in undermining a report on Azerbaijan’s political prisoners.Several members of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly broke the body’s rules on ethics and are “strongly suspected” of corruption, according an internal inquiry.The report, revealed on Sunday, ends a 10-month investigation into cash-for-votes allegations focused on Azerbaijan, which have rocked the Stras
  
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• Michael Bloomberg pledges $4.5m to cover US Paris climate commitment

  22-04-2018 21:23
  Former NYC mayor criticises Trump for pulling out of dealEPA chief Pruitt did meet lobbyist linked to condo, despite denialsThe former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has said he will write a $4.5m cheque to cover this year’s US commitment to the Paris climate agreement. Related: Macron begins Trump charm offensive with Fox News interviewContinue reading...
  
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• Florida detectives used dead man's finger in attempt to unlock phone

  22-04-2018 20:57
  Linus Phillips, 30, was shot dead by a Largo police officerFiancée says she feels violated but experts say process was legalFlorida detectives investigating a fatal police shooting went to a funeral home and used the dead man’s finger to try to unlock his cellphone. Linus Phillip, 30, was killed by a Largo police officer last month. Authorities say he tried to drive away before an officer could search him.Continue reading...
  
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• 'I feel disgusted': how Windrush scandal shattered two brothers' lives

  22-04-2018 20:56
  Trevor and Desmond Johnson’s family units have been destroyed, but they sense Home Office cruelty is routineTrevor and Desmond Johnson flew from Jamaica to London in 1971 as unaccompanied minors to join their parents who had moved to the UK several years earlier, hoping to make a better life for the family. The brothers were 10 and 11 when they arrived, both incredibly excited about the future, but almost half a century later, both men’s lives have been shattered by the Windrush scan
  
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• This man is winning the marathon sign game

  22-04-2018 20:16
  ‘Nearly finished #FakeNews’.
  
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• Customs union U-turn by May could provoke Brexiter cabinet revolt

  22-04-2018 20:03
  There has been speculation Theresa May is preparing to concede on a customs union.Theresa May could face a cabinet revolt on a customs union as peers prepare to inflict more defeats on the government over the EU withdrawal bill in a key week for the future of the UK’s relations with Europe.Amid Brexiter threats of a leadership challenge, the former cabinet minister Nicky Morgan, who chairs the Treasury committee, said party rebels should be careful what they wished for.
  
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• Ben Jennings on identity checks at elections – cartoon

  22-04-2018 19:58
  Continue reading...
  
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• Few Tories even grasp what Windrush says about them | Isabel Hardman

  22-04-2018 19:41
  Many Conservatives have yet to understand the flaws created by their ‘hostile environment’ for immigrationHow on earth did the government not see the Windrush row coming? That’s what everyone – including members of the government – have been asking since the rumbling story erupted a week ago, after six months of cases appearing in the press. Trying to work it out herself, Amelia Gentleman, the Guardian reporter who uncovered the scandal over six months, wrote rather
  
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• The Guardian view on the Gaza protests: a new challenge to Israel’s blockade | Editorial

  22-04-2018 19:37
  The use of lethal force to cow nonviolent demonstrations by Palestinians erodes Israel’s standing internationally and damages its democracy at homeThis weekend the United Nations Middle East peace envoy asked: “How does the killing of a child in #Gaza today help #peace? It doesn’t! It fuels anger and breeds more killing.” Nickolay Mladenov was right to be outraged. He tweeted after a Palestinian teenager was shot in the head apparently by Israeli army snipers while peacef
  
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• Manchester City celebrate title success with demolition of Swansea

  22-04-2018 19:35
  Manchester City fans came to see a victorious coronation and were not disappointed. They witnessed a masterclass from their freshly crowned champions on a jubilant afternoon.It was decorated by a 20-yard peach from Kevin De Bruyne that rocketed past Lukasz Fabianski after 54 minutes on a right-left diagonal that was as pure a connection as possible. This had Pep Guardiola blowing his cheeks in admiration and the Etihad Stadium offering a collective “ooh”. Continue reading...
  
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• What we must learn from Asperger exposé | Letters

  22-04-2018 19:34
  Uta Frith and Sahil Singh Gujral respond to revelations of Hans Asperger’s links to the Nazi euthanasia programmeIt has taken me a while to digest Herwig Czech’s deeply upsetting information about Hans Asperger (Revealed: how Doctor Asperger aided the Nazi project, 19 April).When, in 1991, I translated Asperger’s seminal 1944 paper on “Autistic psychopathy in childhood”, none of this was known. Neither Lorna Wing, the instigator of the translation, nor I believed he
  
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• What we must learn from Asperger exposé

  22-04-2018 19:34
  The late Lorna Wing, above, had Hans Asperger translated long before the world knew of his involvement in the Nazis’ euthanasia programme, says Uta Frith.It has taken me a while to digest Herwig Czech’s deeply upsetting information about Hans Asperger (Revealed: how Doctor Asperger aided the Nazi project, 19 April).Neither Lorna Wing, the instigator of the translation, nor I believed he was part of the Nazi machinery of death.
  
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• Feeling stressed? This paint-pouring art will chill you out

  22-04-2018 19:33
  Her videos have thousands of views.
  
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• Pollen bomb: Top 7 tips to ease your hay fever symptoms

  22-04-2018 19:31
  Millions of people in southern England are suffering from a so-called pollen bomb, set to spread northwards in the next few days.Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen, typically when it comes into contact with your mouth, nose, eyes and throat, and you can ease the symptoms by taking anti-histamines.Dr Ellie Cannon told Sky News: "Histamine initiates a process of inflammation where the blood vessels open, causing the typical watery eyes and runny nose of allergies.
  
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• Four Britons killed in Saudi Arabia coach crash

  22-04-2018 19:07
  Four Britons have died after their coach collided with a petrol tanker in Saudi Arabia.The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed Britons were among a number of victims in the crash, which happened in a town roughly 30m (48km) north of the holy site of Mecca.The coach was travelling between Mecca and Medina on Saturday when it was hit by the tanker, which then caught fire and set the coach alight.
  
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• Cancer, mutations and the facts of life

  22-04-2018 19:00
  If you live long enough, you get cancer. But without our mutating, blundering cells, we’d never have made it out of the primordial soup…Bob Weinberg of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been one of the world’s foremost experts on cancer for nearly five decades. Back when I was a wee graduate student, I lunched with Dr Weinberg at a conference and he told me something that stuck with me: “If you live long enough, you will get cancer.” The inevitability o
  
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• Arsène Wenger says ‘hurtful’ supporters damaged Arsenal’s image

  22-04-2018 19:00
  • Frenchman says ‘fans did not give the image of unity I wanted’
  • Wenger refuses to rule out continuing in managementArsène Wenger has admitted that supporters campaigning for the manager’s removal had created a “hurtful” atmosphere that was damaging Arsenal’s reputation on a worldwide scale. Related: Arsenal fans ambivalent despite win as Arsène Wenger starts long goodbye | David HytnerContinue reading...
  
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• This father returned to the bookshop where he learned English to buy a copy of his son’s novel

  22-04-2018 18:55
  A beautiful moment.
  
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• 'Pollen bomb' brings misery after joy of warm weather

  22-04-2018 18:50
  The April heatwave is about to come to an end but the hay fever misery that came with it will continue, experts say.Weather systems that have been pulling in warm winds up from the equator are being displaced by Atlantic depressions which will trigger a temperature change.Millions of people in southern England are already suffering but it is set to spread northwards in the next few days.
  
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• Man who died after fight in London named as Aaron Springett

  22-04-2018 18:49
  A man who died after a fight in London - becoming the 57th to die a violent death in the capital this year - has been named.Detectives are appealing for anyone who saw what happened to Aaron Springett in the moments before and after he collapsed to get in touch.Mr Springett was found in London Road, Morden, southwest London, at about 10.20pm on Thursday.
  
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• Saudi Arabia: four Britons killed after coach hits fuel tanker

  22-04-2018 18:44
  Eighteen British pilgrims were on bus at time of crash between Mecca and MedinaFour Britons have been killed in a coach crash in Saudi Arabia after their bus collided with a petrol tanker, their travel agent has confirmed.The crash happened on Saturday morning on the road between the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, according to Gulfaraz Zaman, a director of Blackburn-based Hashim Travel, which organised the trip. Continue reading...
  
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• London Marathon: huge crowds spur on runners in hottest race ever

  22-04-2018 18:34
  Mo Farah breaks British record but is two minutes behind leader in 23.2C heatTens of thousands of people lined the streets of the capital on Sunday to cheer on friends, family – and complete strangers – who were running in the hottest London Marathon ever.As the mercury hit 23.2C, runners who had trained throughout Britain’s particularly long and cold winter struggled to cope with the heat.Continue reading...
  
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• Olivier Giroud dances past Saints to send Chelsea into FA Cup final

  22-04-2018 18:24
  Antonio Conte would not admit it after the match, but Chelsea’s progress to a second successive FA Cup final has been restorative. The Italian has worn a haggard expression on the touchline in recent weeks as his side’s pursuit of the top four was rendered ever more forlorn, his demeanour indicative of a campaign consumed by anticlimax. But the old zest and manic enthusiasm were back in plain sight at Wembley. Chelsea eased beyond Southampton to ensure a season that has served t
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn thanks Welsh first minister who quit after ‘darkest times’

  22-04-2018 18:18
  Labour leader heralds ‘tireless’ work of Carwyn Jones, who announced departure after pressure over the death of Carl Sargeant Jeremy Corbyn has brushed off the idea that the Welsh first minister is leaving office under a cloud after Carwyn Jones announced he was stepping down as the pressure over the death of Carl Sargeant intensified.Corbyn thanked Jones for his “tireless” work as leader of Labour in Wales and said he had been a strong voice for democracy, devolution and
  
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• Two die after Porsche crash on A525 Denbigh bypass

  22-04-2018 18:15 via bbc.co.uk
  A blue Porsche Caymen crashed on the A525 Denbigh bypass on Saturday night.
  
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• London marathon: Runners dress up despite April heat

  22-04-2018 18:06 via bbc.co.uk
  From Big Ben to Paddington, runners dressed up in a variety of costumes for a sweltering London marathon.
  
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• This bell-ringing tribute to Avicii in the Netherlands may move you to tears

  22-04-2018 18:03
  Avicii was found dead on Friday in Muscat, Oman.
  
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• Bank of England 'dangerously ill-equipped' for next recession, says IPPR

  22-04-2018 18:00
  Thinktank warns of a ‘car crash’ as low interest rates mean further cuts to stimulate demand would not be an option The Bank of England is “dangerously ill-equipped” to avert the next recession and remains mired fighting the last downturn, according to a report calling for the introduction of radical new policy tools. According to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), the odds of a recession once every 10 to 15 years mean Threadneedle Street needs additional fi
  
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• Labour Party likely to seek broader BoE mandate if in power

  22-04-2018 17:56
  Britain's opposition Labour Party would likely broaden the Bank of England's mandate to include factors such as employment but would not seek to remove the central bank's independence, Labour's finance policy chief John McDonnell said on Sunday."I'm quite attracted by the wider mandate that there is in America but we would retain Bank of England independence," McDonnell told ITV's Peston on Sunday show.
  
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• London Marathon: Matthew Rees and David Wyeth reunited

  22-04-2018 17:48 via bbc.co.uk
  Matthew Rees helped a struggling David Wyeth over the finish line in the 2017 London Marathon.
  
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• Blue blooms: Matisse is having a fashion moment this spring

  22-04-2018 17:45
  Sixty-four years after his death, the French artist is this season’s style inspirationIn Dior’s spring 2018 campaign, a model poses on a floor marked with flowing black line drawings of idealised faces. You can’t mistake the origin of these designs – Henri Matisse. Of course, these sketches are not actually by Matisse, any more than JW Anderson’s Moon Face earrings or Victoria Beckham’s Fluid shirt (which sold out quickly upon their autumn release) were design
  
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• Stop handing out so many suspended sentences, courts told

  22-04-2018 17:32
  Offenders in Norfolk carrying out work as part of a community order.Judges, magistrates, court clerks and probation officers have all been instructed to stop handing down so many suspended prison sentences and switch instead to giving offenders community orders.A leaked circular sent earlier this month by the chair of the Sentencing Council, Lord Justice Treacy, to courts across England and Wales warned that a punitive culture had developed – imposing suspended sentences “as a more s
  
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• Shine: the self-care app that teaches you to ‘hustle more mindfully’

  22-04-2018 17:30
  Leaving your scepticism at the door, this digital wellness startup can feel like a personal therapistFor all the things that the millennial generation struggle with (buying a house, cultivating a career, monogamy), self-care seems to be one area where they flourish. So much so that it is said to be a multibillion-dollar industry, and whatever your particular strand of self-care needs, Shine may be the app you have been waiting for. Along with recently landing $5m (£3.5m) of investment, the
  
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• Sadiq Khan 'deeply saddened' by latest stabbings in London

  22-04-2018 17:20
  London mayor appeals for witnesses after knife violence across the city over the weekendThe mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said he is deeply saddened after a series of stabbings in the capital over the weekend left one man dead and several others injured.A 20-year-old was killed in Finsbury Park in the early hours of Saturday following reports of a fight. Police later arrested a 21-year-old, who had also been stabbed, on suspicion of murder.Continue reading...
  
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• 'Four' Britons killed in Saudi Arabia coach crash

  22-04-2018 17:18
  Four Britons have died after their coach collided with a petrol tanker in Saudi Arabia, according to reports.The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed Britons were among a number of victims in the crash, which happened in a town roughly 30 miles north of the holy site of Mecca.
  
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• These tweets will make you care about Earth Day

  22-04-2018 17:15
  These tweets contain practical advice, pretty illustrations and may make you cry.
  
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• Roma’s Eusebio Di Francesco: ‘I don’t need my team to tell me about Salah’

  22-04-2018 17:12
  Roma’s voluble manager Eusebio Di Francesco is full of passion as his side prepare to face Liverpool in the Champions LeagueWords race out of Eusebio Di Francesco’s mouth like cars entering il Gra, the orbital motorway that encircles the city of Rome. They are going a mile a minute, bumper to bumper, yet the man behind the wheel somehow finds a way to transmit an overwhelming sense of calm.Roma’s manager speaks fast because this is no time to drop a gear following his
  
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• The breakup guru who ​invented conscious uncoupling: ‘I understand the backlash’

  22-04-2018 17:00
  Katherine Woodward Thomas’s term went mainstream when Gwyneth Paltrow used it to announce her separation from Chris Martin. But, argues the lifestyle guru, divorcing happily is not just for the rich and famousFor someone who has coached thousands of people through their separations, been through a divorce herself and written a book on how to have a better breakup, Katherine Woodward Thomas still likes the idea of a lifelong union. But, she says, it is unrealistic. “We have to remembe
  
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• Shania Twain on abuse, betrayal and finding her voice: ‘I wanted a break – but not for 15 years’

  22-04-2018 17:00
  She recorded the bestselling album ever made by a woman, but later disappeared from the limelight. As she begins her first album tour since 2002, she talks about the violent childhood and devastating divorce that make her pop’s great survivorShania Twain was at the peak of her powers when she lost her voice. We are not talking a couple of cancelled concerts or a few weeks on the throat lozenges. Twain did not make a record for 15 years.“I never thought I’d sing again,” sh
  
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• Killer Whales Spotted In The River Clyde

  22-04-2018 17:00
  Ferry passengers and locals were treated to a rare sighting of killer whales
  
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