General news

• Corbyn anti-Semitism promises 'fell short', Jewish leaders say

  24-04-2018 23:55
  Jewish leaders have said Jeremy Corbyn's proposals to wipe out anti-Semitism in Labour "fell short of the minimum level of action".The Board of Deputies (BoD) and Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) said there were "disappointing missed opportunities" after a meeting with the Labour leader on Tuesday afternoon.Earlier, he wrote an article for the Evening Standard admitting that "my party and I are sorry for the hurt and distress caused" from Labour's ongoing row over anti-Semitism.
  
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• Liverpool beat Roma 5-2 in Champions League semi-final first leg

  24-04-2018 23:46
  Liverpool have taken a firm grip on their UEFA Champions League semi-final after beating Roma 5-2 in the first leg at Anfield.Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino both scored twice, with Sadio Mane getting the other as the Reds romped into a 5-0 lead after 68 minutes.Away from the match, Merseyside Police confirmed they are investigating "a serious assault" following reports a Liverpool fan was attacked by Roma supporters before kick-off outside the ground.
  
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• Alfie Evans: Sick toddler cannot be taken to Italy for treatment, court rules

  24-04-2018 23:29
  Alfie Evans' parents cannot take the seriously ill toddler to Italy for treatment, but may be allowed to take him home, a High Court judge has ruled.Mr Justice Hayden, speaking after an emergency hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in Manchester, called Alfie a "warrior", but said the case had reached its "final chapter".Instead, the judge asked Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool to consider permitting them to take their son home.
  
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• Jewish leaders dismiss Corbyn meeting on antisemitism as 'missed opportunity'

  24-04-2018 21:59
  Jeremy Corbyn said Labour must confront the fact that a number of members held antisemitic views.Jeremy Corbyn’s hopes of reassuring the Jewish community over his efforts to combat antisemitism have suffered a blow after Jewish leaders labelled a meeting with the Labour leader a “disappointing missed opportunity” with little achieved.In a joint statement read to the media outside parliament, the heads of the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) and Board of Deputies (BoD) said Corby
  
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• Alfie Evans' parents lose legal appeal for Vatican treatment

  24-04-2018 21:36
  ‘A courageous warrior’: Alfie Evans is held by his mother Kate James at Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool.The parents of Alfie Evans have lost a last-ditch legal appeal to fly their son to Vatican City in what a high court judge called “the final chapter in the case of this extraordinary little boy”.A barrister for Tom Evans and Kate James asked Mr Justice Hayden to show “common humanity and common sense” and allow the seriously ill 23-month-old boy to leave Ald
  
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• WhatsApp to ban under 16s from using its service

  24-04-2018 21:13
  WhatsApp is raising the minimum age limit of its users to 16 across Europe.Users of the popular instant messaging service currently have to be at least 13 years old, but the company is enforcing stricter rules ahead of the introduction of new data privacy rules in the EU next month.WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, will ask European users to confirm they are at least 16 when they are prompted to accept new terms of service and an updated privacy policy in the coming weeks.
  
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• Donald Trump And Emmanuel Macron's Blossoming Bromance In 5 Weird Moments

  24-04-2018 21:11
  When Donnie met Manu, it looked like the beginning of a fine bromance.
  
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• Foreign Office boss apologises for 'Golden Mosque' gaffe

  24-04-2018 21:00
  A top official at the Foreign Office has been forced to apologise after confusing one of the world's most revered Sikh temples with a mosque.Sir Simon McDonald admitted "I was wrong" after inadvertently referring to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, as the "Golden Mosque".The gaffe was made on Twitter, where the Foreign Office permanent secretary referred to a picture of the spiritual building being presented to the UK's deputy high commissioner.
  
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• UK liable for 'divorce bill' even with no Brexit trade deal – NAO chief

  24-04-2018 20:47
  Britain’s Brexit divorce bill has been estimated at between £35bn and £39bn.The UK will have to pay its Brexit “divorce bill” of up to £39bn even if no agreement is reached on a future trade deal with the EU, the head of Whitehall’s spending watchdog has said.The head of the National Audit Office (NAO), Sir Amyas Morse, said on Tuesday that if parliament approves the withdrawal agreement in a vote in the autumn, it will become a legally binding treaty re
  
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• Only one answer to the red terror: absolute rule by Jacob Rees-Mogg

  24-04-2018 20:33
  Jacob Rees-Mogg ‘no longer thinks to question his infallibility as he runs through his greatest Brexit hits’.Especially not Theresa May’s or Amber Rudd’s. Just something that had got a bit out of hand.On Tuesday, at a lunchtime event organised by the Open Europe thinktank, Jacob Rees-Mogg – the Tory MP and chair of the European Research Group (ERG) – came up with rather a different explanation.
  
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• Germany lowers growth forecast as business morale weakens - source

  24-04-2018 20:33
  The German government has lowered its economic growth forecast for this year, a source familiar with the decision said on Tuesday, reflecting expectations that an upswing in Europe's largest economy was losing some momentum.Sentiment surveys published earlier showed that business morale in Germany, France and Italy - the euro zone's three biggest economies - deteriorated in April as a stronger currency and capacity constraints limited output, signalling that growth in the currency bloc has reach
  
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• Minister vows to focus 'laser-like' on vice-chancellor pay

  24-04-2018 20:00
  Sam Gyimah was giving evidence before the education select committee amid mounting concerns about inflated salaries.The universities minister, Sam Gyimah, has pledged to focus “laser-like” on the issue of vice-chancellor pay during questioning from MPs.
  
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• Devon and Cornwall Police charged over Thomas Orchard death

  24-04-2018 19:58
  Devon and Cornwall Police has been charged over the death of a church caretaker with mental health issues who had been arrested a week earlier.Thomas Orchard, 32, who had schizophrenia, suffered a cardiac arrest at Heavitree Police Station in Exeter after being restrained in 2012.The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigated the circumstances surrounding the death and sent a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
  
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• Lammy: 'I'd resign if I was Home Secretary'

  24-04-2018 19:55
  MP David Lammy has been at the forefront of efforts to help those caught up in the Windrush row.
  
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• MP David Lammy shares 'heartbreaking' new Windrush cases

  24-04-2018 19:47
  The Home Office has come under fresh pressure over the Windrush scandal after an MP shared a number of "heartbreaking" new cases he has received.David Lammy, who has been campaigning on behalf of those affected by the scandal, said he had been contacted by eight people on Tuesday alone.In one case, a man who came to Britain as a boy from Jamaica in 1964 was warned he faces being removed from the UK despite having official paperwork going back decades.
  
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• Government gives green light to £8.1bn GKN takeover

  24-04-2018 19:40
  The Government has given the green light to Melrose's £8.1bn takeover of British engineering giant GKN after finding there were no national security grounds for intervening in the deal.At the time, Business Secretary Greg Clark said that the Government would formally consider whether the deal raised public interest concerns.Ministers have acknowledged the importance of GKN to the British economy.
  
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• Swipe right to remain? Brexit app leaves EU lawmakers wary

  24-04-2018 19:29
  British officials presented their plans to ensure 3 million European Union citizens can be granted rights to remain in Britain after Brexit, but their presentation in Brussels on Tuesday left EU lawmakers worried the system won't work.Some said new revelations about efforts to deport people who came from the Caribbean decades ago undermined trust in British promises and so a deal to phase out EU court protection for Europeans in Britain after eight years should be reviewed.At a practical level,
  
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• Amir Khan shares first photo of baby daughter

  24-04-2018 19:26
  Just days after his knockout victory in his return to the ring, Amir Khan has another reason to celebrate.The boxer announced the birth of his second daughter with wife Faryal Makhdoom.The Olympian, 31, shared a photograph of himself and baby Alayna, who is dressed in a leopard print and red ruffle outfit, on Instagram.
  
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• Harry and Markle ask for charity donations

  24-04-2018 19:20
  Harry and Meghan say they are "incredibly grateful" for the "generosity of spirit" shown by the public since their engagement.
  
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• Revealed: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding playlist

  24-04-2018 19:15
  A Christian gospel choir and a teenage cellist will provide some of the music at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle next month.Kensington Palace released details of the musicians who will be playing at the ceremony on 19 March.The couple will exchange their wedding vows in front of 600 family, friends and colleagues at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
  
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• Lockheed Martin shares fall as cash flow outlook disappoints

  24-04-2018 19:00
  The outlook for annual cash flow was the only major financial category that Lockheed did not revise higher."There could be some modest disappointment that the cash guidance has not been raised, but it is early in the year and cash is trickier to predict," analyst Robert Stallard of Vertical Research said in a note.The dispute centres around whether Lockheed or its customer should pay what a source said was $118 million to fix a corrosion issue discovered last year.
  
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• Swipe right to remain? UK Brexit app leaves EU lawmakers wary

  24-04-2018 18:51
  British officials presented their plans to ensure 3 million European Union citizens can be granted rights to remain in Britain after Brexit, but their presentation in Brussels on Tuesday left EU lawmakers worried the system won't work.Some said new revelations about efforts to deport people who came from the Caribbean decades ago undermined trust in British promises and so a deal to phase out EU court protection for Europeans in Britain after eight years should be reviewed.At a practical level,
  
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• Firm at heart of Facebook data row says: 'We're no Bond villain'

  24-04-2018 18:33
  Cambridge Analytica has responded furiously to coverage of the Facebook data scandal - claiming reports in the media have portrayed the firm as "some Bond villain".During a news conference in London, spokesman Clarence Mitchell addressed claims surrounding the company's dealings with former University of Cambridge researcher Aleksandr Kogan.Earlier on Tuesday, Dr Kogan was questioned by MPs over allegations that an app he developed allowed him to harvest information on Facebook users.
  
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• Why there are more gym supplements in a London fatberg than cocaine and MDMA

  24-04-2018 18:32 via theguardian.com
  Substances used to aid muscle-building and weight loss made up more than half of the pharmaceuticals found in the capital’s sewers. What does this tell us about modern life?Along with the flushed debris and the thriving bacteria – the wet wipes, condoms, and sanitary towels; the listeria and E coli – that have congealed within the giant fatbergs in the sewers under central London, are chemicals found in banned gym supplements. In fact, they were discovered in greater quantities
  
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• 'Hidden Homelessness' Problem Could Be Ten Times Worse Than The Government Says

  24-04-2018 18:13
  The problem of families put in precarious, temporary accommodation when they
  
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• Leeds United accused of 'assisting a brutal regime' with Myanmar tour

  24-04-2018 18:08
  Leeds United have denied supporting the Myanmar regime amid criticism of the club's announcement of a post-season tour to the southeast Asian country.The Yorkshire side have been accused of "assisting a brutal regime" - with Amnesty International warning the trip could be used to "sportswash" the country's human rights record.Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been condemned across the world following violence in its Rakhine state, where the United Nations fears a "textbook example" of ethnic cle
  
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• 'Beyond belief': Brexit app for EU nationals won't work on iPhones

  24-04-2018 18:05
  The Brexit app will not work on iPhones because Apple has not enabled its technology to read the chips on modern passports.A mobile phone app for EU nationals seeking to stay in the UK after Brexit – claimed to be as user-friendly as “an online account at LK Bennett” – will not work on iPhones, Home Office officials have admitted.
  
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• Cambridge donor BP urges university to keep fossil fuel investments

  24-04-2018 17:58
  BPChief Executive Bob Dudley on Tuesday urged Cambridge University not to yield to pressure from hundreds of students and academics to cut its investments in fossil fuels and pointed to BP's donations to the university."We donate and do a lot of research at Cambridge so I hope they come to their senses," Dudley told the AIPN International Petroleum Summit.BP did not immediately disclose how much it has been donating to the university.
  
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• Cambridge Analytica: five key claims by academic at heart of scandal

  24-04-2018 17:51
  Two hours of questioning by MPs of Aleksandr Kogan, the Cambridge University psychologist at the heart of the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data breach scandal, revealed an academic downplaying his part in the affair, unafraid to criticise the companies he once worked with, and willing to argue that the personal information he obtained was of little value in winning elections.At that time, Facebook’s gateway allowed third parties like him “to gather data on users and their friends&rdq
  
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• Money problems: why Finland has given up on the basic income dream

  24-04-2018 17:42
  Market day in Helsinki: Finland became Europe’s first national government to undertake a basic income experiment.When the Finnish government embarked on a trial of basic income it was lauded as bold, evidence-focused and innovative.The country became something of a standard bearer in a worldwide push towards basic income projects.
  
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• Britain's Treasury 'fully supports' work on toughening up gambling rules

  24-04-2018 17:19
  Britain's finance ministry said on Tuesday it fully supported a government proposal to toughen up gambling rules, saying reports that it was worried about losing tax revenues were speculative.Shares in bookmakers including William Hill, GVC Holdings and Paddy Power Betfair, fell sharply on Tuesday after newspaper reports said the government would cut the maximum stake on lucrative fixed-odds betting terminals to 2 pounds, the steepest cut under consideration.
  
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• British woman escapes after being 'kidnapped and raped' by three men in Italy

  24-04-2018 17:18
  Three men have been arrested in Italy after a British woman they allegedly held as a sex slave and repeatedly abused managed to escape, police have said.When they arrived in the country, 37-year-old Jallow allegedly emptied her bank account, stole her phone and took her prisoner.
  
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• Rees-Mogg: Peers risk 'burning down' House of Lords by thwarting Brexit

  24-04-2018 16:56
  Peers are "playing with fire" by trying to thwart Brexit and could end up "burning down" the House of Lords, Jacob Rees-Mogg has warned.The influential Tory backbencher, who chairs the hardcore European Research Group, cautioned people could soon get "fed up" with Parliament's upper house.The comments come a day after Theresa May suffered three defeats on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill in the Lords.
  
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• Ikea recalls gas hobs in the UK over carbon monoxide emissions

  24-04-2018 16:41
  Ikea is recalling a model of gas hobs sold in its UK stores because of an issue with carbon monoxide emissions.Eldslaga hobs bought before 1 January 2018 are affected - and the Swedish furniture retailer is urging customers to stop using the rapid burner in the upper-right corner of the appliance.Ikea is describing the recall as a "precautionary measure" and stressed there was no elevated risk of fire or explosion.
  
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• Millicent Fawcett Statue Is 'Absolutely Massive' For Women And Girls, Say Female MPs

  24-04-2018 16:26
  Standing in the shadow of the newly-unveiled statue of suffragist leader
  
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• Emmanuel Macron goes to Washington – in pictures

  24-04-2018 16:14 via theguardian.com
  The French president and his wife Brigitte opened their pomp-filled three-day state visit with a double date with Donald and Melania Trump at George Washington’s house Continue reading...
  
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• Millicent Fawcett's statue unveiled

  24-04-2018 16:05
  Millicent Fawcett's statue was unveiled today and a speech give by the Prime Minister.
  
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• Cambridge Analytica scandal: Facebook 'unclear' over what is done with user data

  24-04-2018 15:56
  The researcher at the heart of the Facebook data breach scandal has accused the social network of being "unclear" about what it does with user information.Aleksandr Kogan was questioned by MPs on Tuesday over allegations that an app he developed allowed him to harvest information on Facebook users for Cambridge Analytica, a data firm hired by Donald Trump's presidential campaign.The app was developed before Facebook changed its policies in 2014, barring apps from accessing information on the fri
  
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• Calls mount to deselect 'fantasist' Labour candidate Mandy Richards

  24-04-2018 15:54
  Labour is under pressure to deselect a candidate it has picked for a crucial swing seat at the next general election.Mandy Richards was recently picked by the party to fight the parliamentary seat of Worcester.It is currently held by just 2,500 votes by Robin Walker, a Brexit minister.
  
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• Masterchef star death: Runners vow to finish Matt Campbell's London Marathon

  24-04-2018 15:52
  Thousands of runners have pledged to finish the last 3.7 miles of the London Marathon in honour of Matt Campbell who died during the race.It urges runners "in London, Somerset, Manchester, where ever you are" to complete "a 3.7m run on Strava on Saturday, and give a £5 'entry fee' to Matt's justgiving page".According to Mr Campbell's fundraising page he had surpassed his target of raising £2,500 for youth charity The Brathay Trust, in honour of his late father, by competing in the ma
  
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• Alfie Evans could be flown to Rome if latest appeal succeeds

  24-04-2018 15:48
  Tom Evans, the boy’s father, speaks to reporters outside Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool.Alfie Evans, the severely ill toddler whose life support machine was switched off on Monday, could immediately be flown to a children’s hospital in Rome for treatment if a last-ditch appeal succeeds, a solicitor involved in the case has said.The child’s parents were granted an emergency hearing before a high court judge on Tuesday afternoon after they said the 23-month-old boy had been brea
  
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• All-male no more - London's Parliament Square gets first statue of a woman

  24-04-2018 15:45
  A statue of 19th century British feminist leader Millicent Fawcett was unveiled in London's Parliament Square on Tuesday, the first monument honouring a woman in a public space previously occupied by 11 statues of men.Fawcett led campaigning for women to be given the vote in Britain, and the unveiling of the statue was the high point in a series of events marking 100 years since some women were granted that right for the first time in 1918.Fawcett is represented in middle age, with her head held
  
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• Suffragist Millicent Fawcett first woman to have statue in Parliament Square

  24-04-2018 15:07
  Suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett has been immortalised outside Parliament - the first statue of a woman in Parliament Square.Fawcett, who fought for women's right to vote 100 years ago, joins 11 all-male statues in the square, including Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.The 8ft 4in bronze statue features a 50-year-old Fawcett, who died in 1929, holding a banner which reads "Courage calls to courage everywhere".
  
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• Unfit for office? How the 25th amendment could remove Trump – video explainer

  24-04-2018 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Political dramas Homeland and Designated Survivor have recently explored how a president could be removed from office using the 25th amendment to the US constitution. It can only be triggered if the president is deemed 'unfit for office'. But how would it work in reality? Who would be needed to trigger it? And why has it never been used before? The Guardian's US political reporter Sabrina Siddiqui explains Continue reading...
  
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• TSB digital banking taken offline for fix after upgrade failure

  24-04-2018 14:54
  TSB has taken down its mobile app and online banking service after a botched IT upgrade and apparent data breach.Mr Pester said TSB's digital banking services were taken offline at 10.30am and should be back later on Tuesday afternoon.The bank had switched to new servers over the weekend, preventing its 1.9 million digital customers accessing their accounts.
  
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• Alfie Evans: parents in emergency high court bid to restore life support

  24-04-2018 14:54
  Tom Evans speaks to reporters outside Alder Hey hospital on Tuesday morning.The parents of Alfie Evans have been granted an emergency hearing before a high court judge after they said the 23-month-old boy had been breathing unassisted since his life support machine was switched off.Life support was withdrawn from Alfie, who has a rare degenerative brain disease, on Monday after a last-ditch appeal to the high court was turned down.
  
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• Facebook in 'PR crisis mode' over Cambridge Analytica scandal

  24-04-2018 14:34
  Aleksandr Kogan also told the select committee that his firm GRS did not need ethics approval from Cambridge University, which is still his primary employer.Facebook’s claims to be outraged over the Cambridge Analytica scandal were simply hollow words in “PR crisis mode”, the academic at the centre of the dispute has told parliament.Aleksandr Kogan, the Cambridge University researcher whose Facebook app, GSR, extracted the data of millions of users from the platform, said he th
  
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• Prince Charles jokes he may struggle to 'keep up' with grandchildren

  24-04-2018 13:56
  Prince Charles has admitted he may struggle to keep up with his expanding brood of grandchildren following the birth of Prince William and Kate's third child.The heir to the throne, who will turn 70 this year, spoke of his "great joy" at the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's new son on Monday.A day after the birth, Charles said both he and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are "so pleased at the news".
  
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• Valproate: New licensing rules for controversial epilepsy drug

  24-04-2018 13:36
  The UK medicines regulator has changed the licence of the drug Valproate to protect women from giving birth to children with malformations or learning defects.Campaigners say it is an "admission" that regulations were "not strong enough in the past".Campaigners have welcomed the move and say that regulators have properly listened to their concerns.
  
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• General Electric to trial world’s largest wind turbine in Britain

  24-04-2018 13:15
  U.S. conglomerate General Electricwill test the world's largest wind turbine in a facility in northeast England, it said on Tuesday.GE Renewable Energy, the renewable arm of the U.S. firm, and the British government-funded Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult signed a five-year agreement to test GE's Haliade-X 12 megawatt (MW) turbine in Blyth, Northumberland."This is an important agreement because it will enable us to prove Haliade-X in a faster way by putting it under controlled and extreme cond
  
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