General news

• Britain seeks 30 billion pounds investment to boost economy after Brexit

  16-05-2018 23:56
  Trade secretary Liam Fox will invite overseas investors on Thursday to submit bids for financing 30 billion pounds of projects to help the world's sixth-largest economy cope with the upheaval of leaving the European Union.Britain is trying reinvent itself as a global trading nation and improve economic ties with countries outside Europe as the government prepares to leave the EU next year.Investors will be offered the chance to fund 68 projects across 20 sectors of the economy, including technol
  
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• John Bercow saved as MPs block bullying inquiry into Commons speaker

  16-05-2018 23:48
  John Bercow has won a significant boost in his battle to survive as Speaker amid calls for him to quit over bullying allegations.In a setback for Tory MPs who want to remove him, a probe into claims that he bullied members of his staff has been blocked by senior MPs.In a move immediately condemned by Mr Bercow's enemies, five MPs on the Commons standards committee voted three to two against allowing Parliament's watchdog to investigate the claims.
  
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• For some African-Americans, Meghan Markle is cause for celebration

  16-05-2018 23:34
  All that changed with the announcement of the wedding of the queen's grandson to Markle, whose mother is black."I hope that women, but particularly black women, are able to see themselves in her and her mother, and know that there are no spaces that are not meant for us," she said.There has been a surge of interest and excitement among some black Americans, especially black women, who are inspired by Meghan Markle's new-found status, said Sarah Gaither, a Duke University psychology professor who
  
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• Cambridge Analytica whistleblower says Bannon wanted to suppress voters

  16-05-2018 23:19
  Former Cambridge Analytica research director Christopher Wylie testifies before Senate judiciary committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.Former White House senior strategist Steve Bannon and billionaire Robert Mercer sought Cambridge Analytica’s political ad targeting technology as part of an “arsenal of weapons to fight a culture war”, according to whistleblower Christopher Wylie.“Steve Bannon believes that politics is downstream from culture.
  
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• UK government suffers new Brexit defeat as Lords demand environment safeguards

  16-05-2018 22:32
  Prime Minister Theresa May's government on Wednesday suffered its 15th defeat on legislation that will end Britain's membership of the European Union when parliament's upper chamber voted in favour of adding environmental safeguards to the bill.May has to get the bill approved by both chambers of parliament well in advance of Britain's exit on March 29, 2019, but the House of Lords, the unelected upper house, has demanded major changes that will force a showdown over coming weeks.The Lords voted
  
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• Lords inflict 15th defeat on government over EU withdrawal bill

  16-05-2018 21:49
  Peers argued that enforcement measures proposed in a consultation document published last week were inadequate.Peers have inflicted a 15th defeat on the government’s key Brexit bill, underlining the acute political challenge Theresa May faces in seeking a deal that both parliament and her warring ministers can live with.The latest amendment, aimed at bolstering environmental protection after Brexit, was carried by 294 to 244 votes on Wednesday.
  
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• Grenfell review will not call for ban on combustible cladding

  16-05-2018 21:03
  Grenfell Tower was clad in aluminium panels which had a combustible plastic core.A government review of building regulations will not recommend an explicit ban on combustible cladding and insulation, despite persistent demands from Grenfell Tower survivors and fire safety experts.Survivors of the blaze, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and politicians have all called on the government to ban construction materials that burn.
  
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• Meghan Markle's family stir up royals with TV appearance rumours

  16-05-2018 21:02
  Meghan Markle has not seen her sister-in-law for two decades since she divorced Meghan’s half-brother.When Meghan Markle’s sister-in-law Tracy Dooley touched down at Heathrow airport on Monday night, accompanied by her adult sons Tyler and Thomas Dooley, rumours began to fly about the reasons for the family’s visit.The Dooleys were understood to have been lined up as contributors for Good Morning Britain, with the Daily Mail reporting that they had been recruited as special cor
  
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• Skripals are being 'forcefully contained', Russia claims

  16-05-2018 20:38
  Russia has accused the UK of casting a veil over the case of poisoned spy Sergei Skripal, claiming he is being held against his will.Mr Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury in March, and have since declined offers of help from their home country of Russia.
  
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• May defeats Labour bid to force her hand on customs

  16-05-2018 20:36
  British Prime Minister Theresa May defeated a bid by the opposition Labour Party on Wednesday to force her government to disclose details of its two Brexit customs proposals, thwarting efforts to embarrass her divided team.May's Conservative Party defeated Labour by 301 to 269 votes, handing the government a victory in a parliament equally divided over the terms of Britain's divorce from the European Union and their future customs arrangements.Labour used a rare parliamentary device called a "hu
  
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• May defeats Labour challenge on Brexit customs proposals

  16-05-2018 20:26
  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May defeated an attempt by the opposition Labour Party on Wednesday to force her government to reveal details of its two Brexit customs proposals, thwarting efforts to embarrass her divided team.
  
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• Why England's young World Cup team is the right choice

  16-05-2018 20:24
  Gareth Southgate has been bold and sensible at the same time in naming his 23 men to carry the nation's hopes at this summer's World Cup.There is no standout 'will he won't he' story along the lines of David Beckham and Wayne Rooney's metatarsals (2002 and 2006 respectively).Just about every club in the world would sign Tottenham goalscorer Harry Kane if he were available and affordable.
  
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• Lachlan Murdoch ascends as CEO and chairman of new Fox company

  16-05-2018 20:11
  Lachlan Murdoch will serve as chairman and chief executive of the proposed new “Fox” company – a position senior to father Rupert Murdoch – once the deal to sell Fox assets to Walt Disney is approved by shareholders and regulators, the company said today.Rupert Murdoch will serve as co-chairman of the new Fox entity, which will maintain ownership of Fox’s existing news, sports and business channels.“We have worked through the winter ‘standing up’ a
  
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• Home Office suspends bank account closures over Windrush fears

  16-05-2018 20:04
  The home secretary has suspended plans to freeze the bank accounts of thousands of people after it emerged that Windrush citizens may have been targeted in the measure.Sajid Javid on Tuesday told the home affairs committee that banks been instructed at the start of the year to close the accounts of "thousands" of people that the Home Office had wrongly identified as illegal migrants.Mr Javid made the comments while being questioned on the Windrush scandal, which saw British citizens targeted wit
  
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• Race was big factor in deportation scandal, Windrush citizens say

  16-05-2018 19:57
  Two of the first people whose cases were documented by the Guardian, Paulette Wilson and Anthony Bryan, were questioned about their experience of being classed by the Home Office as illegal immigrants during the joint human rights committee, along with Bryan’s wife, Janet McKay Williams, and Wilson’s daughter, Natalie Barnes.Both Wilson and Bryan had similar experiences of being wrongly detained and threatened with removal to Jamaica, a country neither had visited since they were chi
  
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• Students’ ‘crash scene’ prank wins praise from cops

  16-05-2018 19:56
  The hoax was applauded for being so good.
  
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• From royal table to empty fields: asparagus farmer faces bust over Brexit

  16-05-2018 19:56
  An asparagus farmer whose produce looks set to be served at Saturday’s royal wedding has warned he faces going bust because of Brexit.Kensington Palace dropped a heavy hint that the 600 guests will be offered asparagus from Andy Allen’s Norfolk farm when it published pictures of his fronds being prepared by the royal kitchens.Supplying the royal kitchens provides a huge boost to Allen’s business but he warns it will not help him plug the gap in migrant workers he needs to stay
  
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• From royal table to bust: asparagus farmer could close over Brexit

  16-05-2018 19:56
  An asparagus farmer whose produce looks set to be served at Saturday’s royal wedding has warned he faces going bust because of Brexit.Kensington Palace dropped a heavy hint that the 600 guests will be offered asparagus from Andy Allen’s Norfolk farm when it published pictures of his fronds being prepared by the royal kitchens.Supplying the royal kitchens provides a huge boost to Allen’s business but he warns it will not help him plug the gap in migrant workers he needs to stay
  
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• UK's risk of losing euro clearing after Brexit eases

  16-05-2018 19:54
  The threat of clearing in euro denominated financial contracts being forcibly moved from London to the European Union after Brexit eased on Wednesday after EU lawmakers backed more detailed economic tests for relocation.The EU has proposed a draft law that instructs its regulators to check on "systemic" foreign clearing houses that handle large amounts of euro-denominated assets like interest rate swaps.If a foreign clearing house's home regulator - the Bank of England in the case of Britain - f
  
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• Corbyn finds the formula to fire up the Maybot. Just ask after Brexit

  16-05-2018 19:50
  Jeremy Corbyn can stop worrying about mugging up on the NHS from now on.Jeremy Corbyn has a stubborn streak.After months – years – of rambling on about something sent in by Susan of Solihull that goes on for so long no one can remember quite what his original point was, the Labour leader has twigged that prime minister’s questions isn’t really that complicated.
  
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• West's knowledge of Novichok came from sample secured in 1990s - report

  16-05-2018 19:27
  The West's knowledge of the secret Russian nerve agent that Britain says was used to poison an ex-spy and his daughter came from a sample obtained by Germany in the 1990s, German media reported on Wednesday.In a joint report, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the weekly Die Zeit and broadcasters NDR and WDR said Germany's BND spy agency had secured the sample of the Novichok nerve agent from a Russian scientist.The sample was analysed in Sweden and the chemical formula was given to the Germ
  
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• Harry and Meghan figures pop up in Windsor ahead of royal wedding

  16-05-2018 19:17
  With just days to go ahead of their highly anticipated wedding, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made an appearance in the town of Windsor on Wednesday -- or rather life-size models of the couple did.A team from the Madame Tussauds wax museum unveiled the figures on the bridge linking Windsor, where Britain's sixth-in-line to the throne and his fiancée will marry on Saturday, to Eton, and passersby soon stopped to take pictures beside them.The London-based museum last week unveiled the Megh
  
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• Superfans, boiled sweets and Pamela Anderson: ​six years spying on Julian Assange – video explainer

  16-05-2018 19:04 via theguardian.com
  Ecuador has housed the WikiLeaks founder at its embassy in central London since 2012. Leaked documents reveal the Ecuadorian government spent millions of dollars monitoring his every move. Here is what we know about 'Operation Hotel'Revealed: Ecuador spent millions on spy operation for Julian AssangeContinue reading...
  
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• UK pledges 400 million pounds to remove cladding after tower fire

  16-05-2018 18:55
  Britain's government promised on Wednesday to spend 400 million pounds ($540 million) to replace unsafe cladding on high-rise public housing blocks after a fire that killed 71 people in a London skyscraper last year.Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey tower block in West London, was clad in plastic-filled aluminium panels which proved to be flammable when a fire broke out in an apartment in June last year and spread quickly."People must always feel safe in their own home," housing minister James Brokens
  
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• Wrongly locked up after decades in UK, Windrush victims speak out

  16-05-2018 18:37
  Two people who came to Britain from Jamaica as children of immigrants invited to plug labour shortfalls after World War Two told lawmakers on Wednesday how decades later they were wrongly branded illegal immigrants and locked up.Anthony Bryan and Paulette Wilson are among an unknown number of children of the so-called Windrush generation, named after a ship that sailed from the Caribbean to Britain in 1948, who were wrongly caught up in a crackdown on illegal immigrants.The resulting political s
  
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• Political risk hits Milan bourse, weak euro backs European shares

  16-05-2018 18:35
  MILAN/LONDON (Reuters) - Italy's two anti-system parties' progress to form a coalitionand free up billions of euros for tax cuts and welfare scared off investors and hit the Milan bourse on Wednesday while a weak euro provided support to the broader European market.The pan-European STOXX 600index rose 0.2 percent, hovering around its highest level since early February but Italy's FTSE MIBfell 2.3 percent, its worst fall since the election took place in early March.Italian banks , which are seen
  
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• Police name 85-year-old woman found dead in Romford after 'cowardly assault'

  16-05-2018 18:26
  Police have named the 85-year-old woman found dead at her home after a "cowardly assault" as Rosina Coleman.A murder investigation has been launched after the woman was pronounced dead on Tuesday morning.Officers were called to an address in Ashmour Gardens in Romford, on the border of east London and Essex.
  
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• Oxfam boss hit by Haiti scandal to stand down

  16-05-2018 18:18
  Oxfam Great Britain chief executive Mark Goldring, who was criticised for his handling of a scandal over the use of prostitutes in Haiti by Oxfam staff, will stand down at the end of the year, the organisation said on Wednesday."Following the very public exposure of Oxfam’s past failings, we have redoubled our efforts to ensure that Oxfam is a safe and respectful place for all who have contact with us," Goldring said in a statement.Oxfam launched investigations into nearly 30 cases of misc
  
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• Let’s lose the cliche of ‘fighting’ cancer. It’s about facing reality

  16-05-2018 18:07
  Charity supporters from Macmillan encourage participants taking part in the London Marathon last month.Your article (Pressure to fight cancer ‘may have negative effect’, 15 May) highlighted the fact that telling cancer patients to “fight” their disease only puts them under undue pressure and stops them from talking about end of life.At Marie Curie we believe language around illness is very important – we try not to use words like “war”, “battle&rdq
  
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• No threat, but royal wedding fans in Windsor face tight security

  16-05-2018 17:50
  All royal fans coming to Windsor to watch the wedding of Britain's Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle will have to pass through tight security but there is no known threat to the event, a police commander said on Wednesday.More than 100,000 people are expected to flock to the genteel town dominated by Windsor Castle where the couple will marry on Saturday in a glittering ceremony mixing traditional royal pomp with a flavour of Hollywood glamour.Britain is on its second-highest threa
  
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• Prince Charles avoids wedding chatter to talk sustainable fashion

  16-05-2018 17:35
  The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall tour the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group offices, with the president of Net-a-Porter, Alison Loehnis.When Prince Charles met British fashion designers, retailers and editors on Wednesday, he succeeded in steering conversation away from wedding dresses and on to clothes made from salvaged plastics and the prospects for reviving Scottish wool production.The royal has long been a connoisseur and patron of traditional British menswear, but his interest in sust
  
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• American 'super-fan' to sleep on Windsor streets for glimpse of royal couple

  16-05-2018 17:17
  For Donna Werner, an American, travelling more than seven hours and 3,000 miles will all have been worth it if she just gets a look and a wave from Britain's newly-married royal couple on Saturday.Werner, 66, from New Fairfield, Connecticut, has joined thousands of others who will camp out for several nights in the streets of Windsor in the hope of catching a glimpse of Prince Harry and U.S. actress Meghan Markle on their wedding day.A self-proclaimed "royal super-fan", Werner, a married, stay-a
  
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• New East Coast rail franchise to be public-private partnership - minister

  16-05-2018 17:11
  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will replace Stagecoach's East Coast rail franchise with a public-private partnership that will connect London with Edinburgh, transport minister Chris Grayling said on Wednesday, after he announced a renationalisation of the route.
  
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• Britain to renationalise rail line sparking new row over ownership

  16-05-2018 17:11
  The British government is renationalising the rail route between London and Edinburgh, taking back the line from a private company after it over-estimated profits, in a step likely to reignite a debate over public ownership of the UK's railways.The government said on Wednesday it was scrapping the contract with London-listed Stagecoachfive years early and would operate the line, which carries 22 million people annually, for 2-3 years before setting up a new public-private partnership.Transport M
  
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• The man behind the saddest cartoon on the internet has finally drawn a sequel

  16-05-2018 16:57
  ‘Oh, it passed. What would you like for dinner?’
  
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• Meghan Markle's mum Doria Ragland arrives in UK for royal wedding

  16-05-2018 16:56
  Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland has arrived in London ahead of her daughter's wedding to Prince Harry.
  
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• Grayling signals new future for rail network

  16-05-2018 16:25
  The Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling MP, tells Sky's Jayne Secker the Government is moving to tackle the rail network's troubles.
  
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• First 'plastic free' label to help shoppers curb pollution

  16-05-2018 16:15
  A new "plastic-free" logo launched in Britain on Wednesday will allow shoppers to identify products with plastic packaging, as companies come under growing pressure to use green alternatives.Growing concern from the public and lawmakers about the damage to the environment means food and drink manufacturers and retailers are under pressure to act on plastic waste."We all know the damage our addiction to plastic has caused, we want to do the right thing and buy plastic-free," said Sian Sutherland,
  
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• Grenfell fire: Theresa May pledges £400m to replace dangerous cladding

  16-05-2018 16:11
  Theresa May has pledged £400m to remove and replace dangerous cladding from tower blocks - 11 months after the Grenfell disaster.The prime minister sought to dodge an embarrassing defeat in the Commons on Wednesday by revealing the money would be given to councils to carry out the work.The Grenfell Tower blaze on 14 June killed 71 people.
  
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• Meghan Markle As Popular As Prince Charles (ie Not Very)

  16-05-2018 15:59
  The UK public is yet to fully embrace Meghan Markle whose popularity is
  
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• 85-year-old woman found dead in Romford after 'cowardly assault'

  16-05-2018 15:58
  An 85-year-old woman has been found dead at her home after suffering serious injuries in a "cowardly assault", police have said.A murder investigation has been launched after the woman was pronounced dead on Tuesday morning.Officers were called to an address in Ashmour Gardens in Romford.
  
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• No new cameras on Irish border after Brexit, Karen Bradley says

  16-05-2018 15:55
  Bradley said there were ‘a small number of people who believe the way to achieve their aims through violence and who would destroy physical infrastructure’ at the border.There will be no new cameras on the border on the island of Ireland after Brexit, the Northern Ireland secretary, Karen Bradley, has said, warning that any physical checks on the border could be targets for criminal activity.Bradley appeared to cast doubt over how the government could implement one of the two post-Br
  
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• Council of Europe bans ex-president from top posts after corruption inquiry

  16-05-2018 15:47
  A former president of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly will be banned from holding any senior post in the human rights body for 10 years, after a major corruption inquiry into vote-rigging.The unprecedented punishment has been handed down to the Spanish senator Pedro Agramunt, who has ignored calls to resign.
  
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• Big name absentees as Gareth Southgate names 23-man England World Cup squad

  16-05-2018 15:40
  The FA has announced England’s 23-man squad for this summer's World Cup, with Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere among the big names missing out to a number of uncapped youngsters.Widespread reports on Tuesday revealed that Gareth Southgate had decided to leave West Ham goalkeeper Hart and Arsenal midfielder Wilshere at home, and there is indeed no place for either despite the pair having amassed more than 100 caps between them.Former Under-21s boss Southgate has named one of the most inexperience
  
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• Megharryccino anyone? Bakery serves up royal wedding coffees

  16-05-2018 15:39
  Coffee fans can celebrate the upcoming royal wedding of Prince Harry to actress Meghan Markle by sipping a special type of hot drink - the "Megharrycino".A bakery in the picturesque town of Windsor, where Britain's sixth-in-line to the throne will marry his American fiancée on Saturday, is serving up cappuccino and latte coffees topped with a frothy portrait of the couple.Surrounded by Union Jack bunting and a large cut-out of the pair, baristas at Heidi's bakery use a special machine to
  
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• Former England footballer and World Cup winner Ray Wilson dies aged 83

  16-05-2018 15:36
  Ray Wilson - a former England footballer and 1966 World Cup winner - has died aged 83.The former Huddersfield Town and Everton player died at The Bell House care home in Huddersfield, his former clubs said."Ray is arguably the most successful and best-known player ever to pull on a Huddersfield Town shirt, having been a key member of England's World Cup-winning team in 1966," Huddersfield Town FC said in a statement.
  
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• England fans warned to behave themselves at Russia World Cup- or face lengthy jail sentences

  16-05-2018 15:20
  England fans have been warned to behave themselves at the World Cup in Russia -- or they could face lengthy jail sentences.
  
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• Royal wedding 2018: All you need to know

  16-05-2018 15:18 via bbc.co.uk
  A summary of everything you need to know about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal nuptials.
  
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• Ray Wilson: England World Cup-winning defender dies

  16-05-2018 15:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Former Huddersfield and Everton left-back Ray Wilson, a member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning team, dies, aged 83.
  
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• England World Cup squad: Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold in Gareth Southgate's squad

  16-05-2018 15:17 via bbc.co.uk
  England manager Gareth Southgate names uncapped Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold in his 23-man squad for the World Cup.
  
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