General news

• Hammond rebuffs employers' call for customs union after Brexit

  22-05-2018 23:57
  Chancellor Philip Hammond rejected a call from a leading employers group on Tuesday to keep Britain in a customs union with the European Union after Brexit, saying it was not needed to keep trade running smoothly.Hammond, speaking to business leaders, said the government understood a set of post-Brexit customs priorities set out by the Confederation of British Industry, including avoiding delays at borders and no extra red tape."But we do not agree that staying in a customs union is necessary to
  
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• Mum convicted of tricking daughter, 17, into marrying older man

  22-05-2018 23:56
  A Birmingham mother has been convicted of forcing her teenage daughter to marry a man 16 years older - the first successful prosecution of its kind in England.The mother, who is in her 40s but cannot be named to protect her daughter's identity, tricked the girl into travelling to Pakistan for what she thought was a family holiday in 2016.When the teenager was shown his photo, she recognised him as a man she had been introduced to during a previous trip to Pakistan at the age of 13.
  
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• Donald Trump may extend UK visit to play golf

  22-05-2018 23:56
  Donald Trump may extend his controversial visit to the UK, with the US president understood to be considering a longer stay in order to play golf.On the cards for Mr Trump's trip is tea with the Queen, a dinner with Theresa May and a visit to the prime minister's country retreat Chequers.While campaigning to become president, MrTrump criticised his predecessor Barack Obama for spending too much time golfing.
  
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• Looking back with love: Manchester's night of sadness and solace

  22-05-2018 23:48
  Music plays such an important part in Manchester’s identity that it was only right and proper that the council decided to mark the anniversary of the Arena attack with a mass singalong.Three days after the atrocity, a member of the public sparked a spontaneous civic singing session when she broke into Don’t Look Back in Anger following a minute’s silence in St Ann’s Square, which had been carpeted with floral tributes.A clip went viral, prompting both Gallagher brothers t
  
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• Ryder Cup: Thomas Bjorn completes his selection of vice-captains

  22-05-2018 23:45 via theguardian.com
  • Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald are added to the team
  • They join Robert Karlsson, Lee Westwood and Pádraig HarringtonThomas Bjorn and his European Ryder Cup contingent remain unmoved by American dominance of the world scene. Perhaps this is just as well; Bjorn’s September challenge will be to topple a USA team widely branded as the finest of all time.Europe’s Ryder Cup captain provided an early surprise on Tuesday, with the additions of Luke Donald and Graeme McDo
  
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• Rafael Benítez: ‘Liverpool can do it but they have to manage the pressure’

  22-05-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Rafael Benítez reflects on his greatest night in Istanbul and says before the final against Real Madrid on Saturday that a sixth European Cup is not beyond the Anfield clubRafael Benítez has already selected the shirt he intends wearing on Saturday evening. “It’s grey,” says Newcastle United’s manager, deadpan.Considering that some of the best years of Benítez’s life have been spent representing Liverpool and Real Madrid, publicly choosing red o
  
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• England players concerned by possible racial abuse of family and friends

  22-05-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  • World Cup squad members admit to worries about Russia
  • Racism directed at Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster raises fearsConcerns have been expressed within England’s multi-ethnic World Cup squad over bringing family and friends to the tournament, given fears that they could become targets for racial abuse in Russia. Related: Fifa investigates alleged racist abuse of France players by Russia fansContinue reading...
  
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• Boris Johnson wants a plane as PM's is rarely available – and too grey

  22-05-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Foreign secretary says department needs an aircraft to boost UK’s trade prospectsBoris Johnson has suggested that Britain’s post-Brexit trade prospects could be bolstered if he had his own Foreign Office plane.Speaking in Buenos Aires, where he was on the second leg of a five-day visit to South America, the foreign secretary said the official Voyager aircraft, on which the prime minister travels, was rarely available – and not colourful enough. Continue reading...
  
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• Here are some of the funniest things people hide from their partners

  22-05-2018 23:27
  From hidden chocolate to flatulence, most of these are pretty harmless.
  
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• Stock markets drop after Trump signals dissatisfaction with China negotiations

  22-05-2018 23:19 via theguardian.com
  The Dow Jones fell after Trump said he isn’t satisfied with US-China trade talks and cast doubt on the North Korea summitThe Dow Jones stock index dropped 200 points on Tuesday after Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with US-China trade talks and cast doubt on whether a summit with North Korea, scheduled for 12 Jun in Singapore, will in fact take place.The losses, which came after a 300-point gain a day earlier on optimism that a trade war had been at least temporarily averted, came a
  
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• Mark McCall tells Alex Sanderson to resist England and stay at Saracens

  22-05-2018 23:16 via theguardian.com
  • Sanderson has been linked with replacing Paul Gustard
  • McCall says he should be Saracens’ next director of rugbyAlex Sanderson has been urged to stay at Saracens and reject any approach to be England’s next defence coach but his current director of rugby, Mark McCall, will not stand in his way if Eddie Jones comes calling. Related: Paul Gustard’s move to Harlequins may hurt England’s World Cup preparationsContinue reading...
  
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• Manchester: The Night of the Bomb review – I watched with my heart in my throat

  22-05-2018 23:00 via theguardian.com
  In a devastating documentary, reminiscences from young Ariana Grande fans are followed by harrowing footage of the explosion, the ensuing confusion and a portrait of the bomber himselfIt is a simple opening, but devastatingly poignant in context: teenage girls talking about getting ready to go to a concert. “I wanted something off the shoulder,” says one. “Like girly, but not girly. Like Ariana Grande.” It is poignant because, even now, these teenagers are able to recaptu
  
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• Andy Flower stands in as England director with Andrew Strauss on leave

  22-05-2018 23:00 via theguardian.com
  • Strauss takes compassionate leave to support wife
  • Flower is handed charge for the summerAndrew Strauss is to take a summer-long break from his role as director of England cricket with Andy Flower stepping into the breach as a temporary replacement.The former England captain’s wife, Ruth, was diagnosed with cancer last December and is due to begin a new treatment at the end of this week. With that in mind, Strauss has been granted a period of compassionate leave to offer his f
  
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• Olga Tokarczuk's 'extraordinary' Flights wins Man Booker International prize

  22-05-2018 22:43 via theguardian.com
  The Polish novelist takes £50,000 prize, to be shared with her translator, for a story that moves from ‘wit and gleeful mischief to real emotional texture’Olga Tokarczuk has become the first Polish writer to win the Man Booker International prize, which goes to the best work of translated fiction from anywhere in the world.More than 100 novels were submitted for the 2018 award, and Tokarczuk’s Flights saw off work by two former winners – South Korea’s Han Kang
  
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• Complaints that Zuckerberg 'avoided questions' at European parliament

  22-05-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Facebook founder spends 30 minutes giving answers to 60 minutes of MEPs’ questionsMark Zuckerberg’s meeting at the European parliament ended in acrimony amid a chorus of complaints that the Facebook founder had been allowed to evade questions and give vague answers. Over the 90-minute session, the Facebook founder told MEPs there would be no repeat of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal as he fielded accusations that his company had too much power.The format meant Zuckerberg spent a
  
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• Sinkhole opens on the White House lawn and prompts an accidental caption contest

  22-05-2018 22:06
  It was spotted by reporter Steve Herman.
  
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• Jacob Rees-Mogg admits 'doubts' over Theresa May in warning shot for PM

  22-05-2018 21:54
  Influential Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has confessed to "doubts" about Theresa May and questioned whether the government really wants to leave the EU.The prominent Brexiteer, who is favourite to replace the prime minister, believes the government has been "weak" in preparing for Brexit and needs to show some "backbone" in negotiations with Brussels.Mr Rees-Mogg serves as chair of the European Research Group (ERG) of backbench Conservatives, who are estimated to number about 60.
  
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• US man who mailed cyanide to suicidal Briton sentenced to 25 years in prison

  22-05-2018 21:52 via theguardian.com
  Sidney Kilmartin was charged with mailing a suicidal man in Hull cyanide after he threatened to report Kilmartin for fraudA federal judge in New England sentenced a man to 25 years in prison on Tuesday for mailing a fatal dose of cyanide to a suicidal British man, accusing the defendant of an “appalling moral vacuum”.Judge John Woodcock’s ruling in US district court in Portland, Maine, came four years after Sidney Kilmartin was arrested for mailing the poison to Andrew Denton o
  
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• Hard Brexit Tories pressure May over customs union

  22-05-2018 21:38
  Theresa May is facing growing pressure from leading Brexiters to press ahead with fully leaving the customs union or else put future trade deals in jeopardy and risk losing the trust of the British people.On a trade mission to South America, Boris Johnson warned the prime minister that securing the best trade deals post-Brexit was dependent on leaving the customs union in its entirety with “confidence and brio and zap and dynamism”.
  
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• 'I am not a racist,' says lawyer behind racist New York cafe rant

  22-05-2018 21:32 via theguardian.com
  Aaron Schlossberg makes his first public statement since he was filmed verbally abusing restaurant workers for speaking SpanishIt’s a dance as old as time. First comes the racist outburst filmed by a passerby and shared across the world, then comes the sheepish Twitter apology and the promise that a piece of unedited footage doesn’t reflect the “real me”. Related: Why speaking Spanish is becoming dangerous in AmericaContinue reading...
  
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• 'Lava haze' and 'vog': toxic volcanic gases prompt health fears in Hawaii

  22-05-2018 21:29 via theguardian.com
  Potentially deadly plumes of volcanic gas and particles are polluting the Big Island in the wake of recent eruptions
  Three dozen tourists were gathered at the Wailoa Sampan Basin Harbor in Hilo, Hawaii, hoping to get a glimpse of the lava that they’d seen on the news for weeks.But because Hawaii Volcanoes national park – often a key stop in travelers’ itineraries – was closed after Kilauea erupted, their best hope on Monday afternoon was taking a boat to the point where t
  
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• Argentina weighs 5 airlines' plans for new Falklands flights - minister

  22-05-2018 21:26
  Argentina and Britain are analysing five South American airlines' proposals for new flights between the Falkland Islands and Argentina, Argentina's Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said on Tuesday.Two of the carriers are based in Chile, two in Brazil and one in Uruguay, Faurie said in a joint news conference with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, without naming them.
  
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• Steve Bell on Abdel Hakim Belhaj – cartoon

  22-05-2018 21:23 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
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• Get into Trump's mind? Gavin Williamson can't even get into his own mind | John Crace

  22-05-2018 21:07 via theguardian.com
  The defence select committee gave up trying to probe Williamson on Britain’s role in Nato after his series of banalitiesThere are some politicians to whom there is a great deal more than first meets the eye. And then there are others to whom there is a great deal less. Not so much Russian dolls as fragile shells of low self-worth and giant egos. People very much like Gavin Williamson.“I have a lot of sleepless nights,” Williamson admitted half-way through a hearing of the defen
  
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• Get into Trump's mind? Gavin Williamson can't even get into his own mind

  22-05-2018 21:07
  “I have a lot of sleepless nights,” Williamson admitted half-way through a hearing of the defence select committee on Britain’s role in Nato.Gavin got the gig by first recommending that Michael Fallon resign and then presenting the prime minister with a short list with just one name on it.Williamson began with his rough overview of Nato.
  
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• Ivan Gazidis has won Arsenal power battle but Arteta was a gamble too far | David Hytner

  22-05-2018 21:03 via theguardian.com
  Arsenal’s chief executive will add Unai Emery to his ideal management structure after carrying out a meticulous coupIvan Gazidis met the higher-ups at Real Madrid in August 2013 with the intention of signing one player – Ángel Di María. The Spanish club would not sell and, what was more, they told the Arsenal chief executive he could not have anybody.Then Gazidis’s stars aligned. Over at the Real training pitches the club’s new manager, Carlo Ancelotti, told
  
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• Weather: temperatures to reach 30C over UK bank holiday weekend

  22-05-2018 20:55 via theguardian.com
  Met Office says mercury could hit near-record levels in parts of south-east on MondayBritain is expected to bake again this bank holiday weekend with temperatures rocketing to 30C (86F).The Met Office said parts of the south-east of England could experience temperatures that are double their usual level for this time of year, with the mercury reaching a near-record on bank holiday Monday. Continue reading...
  
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• South Africa kidnappers make ransom demand in bitcoin

  22-05-2018 20:52 via theguardian.com
  Abductors of boy, 13, left note demanding £92,000 worth of cryptocurrency for his releaseA gang that kidnapped a South African teenager from a playground at the weekend have demanded a ransom in bitcoin worth about $123,000, police have said.
  The 13-year-old boy was taken in the town of Witbank in the eastern province of Mpumalanga while he was playing with two friends near his home. Witnesses said a Toyota Corolla pulled up nearby and the teenager was dragged in and driven away. Continue
  
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• M&S braced for £300m hit from high street closure carnage

  22-05-2018 20:30
  Marks & Spencer is braced for a financial hit of up to £300m from an expanded store closure programme that reflects brutal trading conditions on the British high street.Sky News has learnt that the retailer will announce as part of its annual results on Wednesday a huge charge triggered by costs associated with its efforts to shrink underperforming parts of its store portfolio.A source close to M&S said the company was expected to include so-called adjusted‎ items worth approxi
  
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• Blame middle class for drug-related violence, says police leader

  22-05-2018 20:09
  Middle-class people are buying cocaine in large amounts, a youth worker told the conference.Middle-class drug users bear blame for the drug trade and associated violence on Britain’s streets, a leader of rank-and-file police has said.Simon Kempton, who leads on drugs policy for the Police Federation, also said banning illegal drugs did not work and new thinking was needed.
  
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• Grenfell inquiry: distressing footage halts proceedings on emotional day

  22-05-2018 20:06 via theguardian.com
  Inquiry suspended for 30 minutes after survivors in the audience broke downEmotion overwhelmed the Grenfell Tower inquiry when about 20 survivors walked out in distress and a woman collapsed in an apparent panic attack during a video presentation about the deaths of six members of the same family.
  Proceedings were suspended for 30 minutes on Tuesday after survivors in the audience broke down at the sight of footage of the tower on fire and people trapped behind windows. The footage was still run
  
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• US and China work on ZTE rescue; Mnuchin denies quid pro quo

  22-05-2018 19:57
  The United States and China are working toward an agreement that would ease U.S. sanctions that were imposed on ZTE Corp. and let the Chinese telecommunications giant stay in business.President Donald Trump says the deal might require ZTE to revamp its board and pay a fine of $1 billion or more.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is denying that the U.S. is offering relief for ZTE in exchange for trade concessions.
  
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• Manchester unites to remember 22 victims of arena bomb attack

  22-05-2018 19:46
  Manchester has united in remembering the 22 victims of the bomb attack at the city's arena, a year after the atrocity took place.Prince William and Theresa May were at a remembrance service at Manchester Cathedral, and were joined by the families and friends of those killed.Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable were also there.
  
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• Mike Pompeo claims Iran carrying out 'assassination operations' in Europe

  22-05-2018 19:40 via theguardian.com
  The statement bewildered security experts and Iranian exiles, who say they are not aware of any evidence for the allegationMike Pompeo’s claim that the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is carrying out “assassination operations in the heart of Europe” has bewildered security experts and Iranian exiles, who say they are not aware of any evidence for the allegation.
  The new US secretary of state referred to the alleged assassinations in his first major speech on Monday, but devote
  
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• Bill Clinton in NI to mark Good Friday deal

  22-05-2018 19:35
  Bill Clinton in NI to mark Good Friday deal
  
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• Birmingham woman guilty of duping daughter into forced marriage

  22-05-2018 19:34 via theguardian.com
  Jury at Birmingham crown court convicts woman in first successful prosecution of its kind in the UKA woman from Birmingham has been found guilty of deceiving her teenage daughter into travelling to Pakistan and forcing her to marry a man nearly twice her age in the first successful prosecution of its kind.The jury at Birmingham crown court heard that the teenager, who became pregnant by the man when she was just 13, had sobbed as the marriage took place. Continue reading...
  
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• Brandi Chastain puts on brave face over 'not the most flattering' plaque

  22-05-2018 19:33 via theguardian.com
  Chastain, who won two World Cups with USA, inducted into the Bay Area Hall of Fame – but a tribute to her achievements has … provoked debateThe sculptural humiliation of football’s finest players continues apace. Few thought the bar could be lowered after one artist’s interpretation of Cristiano Ronaldo last year prompted much amusement on social media – but a strong contender has emerged in California.On Monday one of America’s finest ever footballers, Brand
  
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• The Guardian view on papal infallibility: an authoritarian U-turn | Editorial

  22-05-2018 19:32 via theguardian.com
  Popes rarely admit their own mistakes. But Pope Francis has now done so, spectacularly, in a case of child abusePopes hardly ever pronounce infallibly: in fact they have only ever done so twice; on the other hand it is almost as rare that they admit to making mistakes. Last week all 34 bishops of the Roman Catholic church in Chile sent in their resignations to Pope Francis after he got the report of an investigation into the hierarchy’s attempts to suppress a child abuse scandal there
  
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• The Guardian view on Gove’s clean air plan: just hot air | Editorial

  22-05-2018 19:32 via theguardian.com
  The environment secretary must not use simplistic policies to avoid the complex and difficult trade-offs called for in dealing with the air quality crisis that is ending thousands of lives prematurelyMichael Gove, the environment secretary, made his name during the Brexit campaign for quipping that “the people have had enough of experts” and likening economists who warned against leaving the European Union to Nazi propagandists against Einstein. Mr Gove knows how to attract an audien
  
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• Immigration minister Caroline Nokes admits she has not read Good Friday Agreement

  22-05-2018 19:27
  The minister responsible for border policy and passports has never read the Good Friday Agreement, she has admitted.Despite stressing it is "crucially important" to the UK government to uphold the rights of the 1998 peace deal, immigration minister Caroline Nokes confessed to MPs she has not read the historic document herself.In a bruising appearance in front of the House of Commons Northern Ireland affairs committee, Mrs Nokes revealed how she was "probably giving birth" when the Good Friday Ag
  
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• UK urged to sanction 'top Putin oligarchs' as new powers take effect

  22-05-2018 19:18 via theguardian.com
  Follow US lead and seize assets of Russians accused of human rights abuses, say campaignersBritain should target high-profile Russians with economic sanctions soon after so-called Magnitsky powers passed by parliament come into force, according to campaigners and MPs who supported the introduction of the legislation in the wake of the Salisbury poisoning.
  Bill Browder called on the government to implement “swift and robust action” against individuals. The financier, who supports the
  
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• Letters: Tessa Jowell obituary

  22-05-2018 19:16
  Tessa Jowell visiting a Sure Start centre in 2010. Her insights at the Tavistock may have inspired the early intervention policy.Photograph: Tim Ireland/PA
  
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• 'Medical emergency' at Grenfell inquiry after harrowing footage accidentally played to survivors and relatives

  22-05-2018 19:09
  A person collapsed after harrowing footage of the burning Grenfell Tower was accidentally played without warning to relatives and survivors on day two of the inquiry.Some of those watching at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, South Kensington, buried their faces in their hands, while others left the room in tears.Meanwhile, the artist who gave a stark image of Grenfell Tower to Theresa May has passed on a copy to inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick as the tributes entered their second day.
  
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• Organisations are preparing for GDPR and Twitter users are having a field day

  22-05-2018 18:58
  Santa may need to comply with the new data protection regulations.
  
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• Robbie Williams to 'party like a Russian' with Uzbek-born billionaire

  22-05-2018 18:56 via theguardian.com
  Singer will entertain global elite at glitzy event to celebrate success of Alisher UsmanovRobbie Williams has been hired to perform at a party to celebrate the business success of the Uzbek-born Russian billionaire and Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov.Williams, who released a 2016 track titled Party Like a Russian, is headlining an event this week to celebrate 25 years of MegaFon, a Russian mobile phone company largely owned and controlled by Usmanov, according to Bloomberg.Continue reading..
  
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• The big bangers: grime smashes into the Hadron Collider

  22-05-2018 18:44 via theguardian.com
  They rapped in its tunnels and played instruments made out of old science equipment. Could this be Cern’s most amazing experiment yet?‘Anyone attending the performances,” says Jack Jelfs, “will find themselves in a 12-dimensional quantum superposition.” This superposition, adds the artist, will contain three overlaid elements: our mythic past, our scientific present and our unknown future. “So,” concludes Jelfs, “you may wish to prepare appropriate
  
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• Simon Yates retains Giro lead after limiting Dumoulin damage in time trial

  22-05-2018 18:34 via theguardian.com
  • British rider keeps pink jersey with lead of 56 seconds
  • Australia’s Rohan Dennis wins stage 16 time trialFive days from the finish in Rome and with three mountain stages remaining Simon Yates is within grasping distance of becoming the first Briton to win the Giro d’Italia after he defended his pink leader’s jersey in the three-week race’s longest and toughest time trial, holding the defending champion Tom Dumoulin to a more than respectable margin over the
  
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• Hospitals struggling to afford new equipment after NHS budget cuts

  22-05-2018 18:30
  Hospitals can no longer afford the most modern scanners and surgical equipment to treat patients who have cancer and other diseases because of multibillion-pound cuts to the NHS’s capital budget, research reveals.Staff are having to continue using vital diagnostic and treatment technology beyond its natural life because there are insufficient funds to replace it.Ambulances are breaking down because they have been kept in service for too long, and hospitals are having to continue using arch
  
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• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend Charles' garden party

  22-05-2018 18:25
  Prince Harry and his new wife Meghan Markle - the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - appeared at their first official engagement since marrying last weekend when they attended an event in the gardens of Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.The couple, whose wedding in Windsor on Saturday was watched by millions of TV viewers worldwide, were at a party to celebrate Harry's father Prince Charles' charity patronages and military affiliations ahead of his 70th birthday this year.Charles and his wife Camilla visit
  
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• Irish PM urges voters to see through last minute abortion 'tactics'

  22-05-2018 18:23
  Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar accused campaigners opposing a referendum on liberalising Ireland's abortion regime of trying to dupe voters into thinking the government could still change the laws even if they voted 'No'.Voters will be asked on Friday if they wish to repeal a constitutional amendment inserted following a 1983 referendum that enshrined the equal right to life of the mother and her unborn child, and to enable parliament to set the laws.Some politicians appealing for a 'No' vote
  
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