General news

• Theresa May calls for end to social housing 'stigma' as she pledges £2bn for new homes

  18-09-2018 23:54
  Theresa May is pledging a £2bn handout to housing associations in a bid to provide tens of thousands of new affordable homes.Claiming it is her personal mission to get more people on the housing ladder, the Prime Minister is promising long-term funding for housing associations.In a speech at a National Housing Federation summit, Mrs May will say housing associations have a central role to play in building homes and challenging attitudes about social housing.
  
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• Sesame Street disputes writer's claim that Bert and Ernie are gay

  18-09-2018 23:51 via theguardian.com
  Children’s show responded that the characters are ‘best friends’ and are ‘puppets and do not have a sexual orientation’The Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie are not gay and in a relationship, the children’s show was moved to say on Tuesday after a former writer said they were.In an interview with Queerty, Mark Salzman was asked if the question had ever come up when he worked on the show in the early 1980s. Continue reading...
  
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• Trump defends Kavanaugh as fate of hearing unclear: 'I feel so badly for him'

  18-09-2018 23:50 via theguardian.com
  President said he feels ‘terribly’ for nominee as Senate firms up hearing details following sexual assault allegations
  Donald Trump again rushed to the defense of embattled supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday, saying he feels “terribly” for the judge as he faces a public hearing over an allegation of sexual assault from a California professor.“I feel so badly for him. This is not a man who deserves this,” Trump said of Kavanaugh at a news conferen
  
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• Pro-EU campaigners map out path to second referendum, say Brexit can be stopped

  18-09-2018 23:37
  Pro-EU campaigners have set out how parliament could force the British government to call a fresh vote on Brexit, arguing that there is still time for another referendum.Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to win support at home and in Brussels for her exit plan.May has rejected the idea of a second referendum on leaving the EU, but the campaign for a so-called "People's Vote" on whether to accept any deal that May is able to agree, has won support from some in parliament.
  
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• Corbyn's proposals to transform Labour party parked for a year

  18-09-2018 23:34 via theguardian.com
  Leader defeated in key votes over plans to increase the influence of the grassroots Labour’s ruling body agreed to park some of the most controversial proposals for party reform at a marathon 10-hour meeting on Tuesday, which saw Jeremy Corbyn defeated in a series of close votes.The national executive committee (NEC) set aside for a year plans for Labour councillors to be forced to defer to new “local government committees” before publishing their own manifesto, and for council
  
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• Corbyn's proposals to transform Labour party parked for a year

  18-09-2018 23:34
  Labour’s ruling national executive committee set aside many of Jeremy Corbyn’s plans after a 10-hour meeting.Labour’s ruling body agreed to park some of the most controversial proposals for party reform at a marathon 10-hour meeting on Tuesday, which saw Jeremy Corbyn defeated in a series of close votes.The national executive committee (NEC) set aside for a year plans for Labour councillors to be forced to defer to new “local government committees” before publishing
  
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• Housing associations to get £2bn investment over next ten years

  18-09-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Theresa May to tell housing federation it needs to take more initiative in returnTheresa May is to announce £2bn in extra money for housing associations over a decade, arguing that secure long-term funding for new schemes is one of the key ways to ease the housebuilding crisis.Speaking at the National Housing Federation (NHF) summit in London on Wednesday, the prime minister will promise longer-term cash for housing associations, asking in return that they take more of a lead in building t
  
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• Anthony Joshua slackens timekeeping after 200 rounds of sparring

  18-09-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  • Joshua says he is in great shape for Alexander Povetkin
  • ‘It’s about preserving you body,’ adds heavyweight championAnthony Joshua expects to be in the best shape of his career against Alexander Povetkin on Saturday after ditching his alarm clock in favour of long lie-ins. The WBA, IBF and WBO champion has also scrapped his early-morning runs and introduced specific eye exercises into his training regime after sports scientists found he could do more to improve his
  
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• Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino leaves it late to sink PSG in five-goal thriller

  18-09-2018 23:00 via theguardian.com
  It wasn’t until the 83rd minute that Kylian Mbappé decided it was time to introduce himself to Anfield properly and at that stage PSG must have imagined they had salvaged a draw. Unfortunately for them, Roberto Firmino had other ideas and the game was deep into stoppage time when the substitute provided the decisive moment with an emphatic right-footed drive.Until that point, it had seemed as though they might not fully appreciate why Anfield, without exaggeration, might currently b
  
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• Michel Barnier rebuffs UK calls for flexibility on Irish border

  18-09-2018 22:53 via theguardian.com
  Chief negotiator says EU ready to improve proposal, but will not accept British ideas for compromise Michel Barnier has rebuffed British calls for the European Union to change its stance on the contested issue of the Irish border, as he said a “moment of truth” was fast approaching on a Brexit deal.The EU’s chief negotiator said the bloc was ready “to improve” its proposal on avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland, but stopped short of accepting British ide
  
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• Barnier offers better Irish terms to get Brexit deal

  18-09-2018 22:41
  The European Union is ready to address key British concerns over Northern Ireland, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday, in a clear push to get a Brexit deal effectively done in the next month.Speaking on the eve of an EU summit in Salzburg, Austria, where British Prime Minister Theresa May will brief fellow leaders before they huddle on Thursday to agree on how to play what they hope will be the end-game with London, Barnier called the next summit, in Brussels on Oct. 18, th
  
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• Watch time-lapse of rare foul-smelling plant as it blooms at Toronto Zoo

  18-09-2018 22:35
  The amorphophallus titanum is also known as the corpse flower due to its awful stench.
  
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• Mauricio Pochettino accuses reporters of disrespect after Inter’s late show

  18-09-2018 22:34 via theguardian.com
  • Spurs manager loses cool over selection questions
  • ‘You disrespect the players … it’s so painful to hear’Mauricio Pochettino accused journalists of disrespecting his players after Tottenham opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 defeat at Internazionale.Spurs led through Christian Eriksen and the manager described the performance as having been the best of the season. But there would be a sting in the tail, with Mauro Icardi equalising with a sens
  
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• Tottenham fail to heed clear evidence Harry Kane needs a rest | Barney Ronay

  18-09-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  The striker has run out of puff, and failed to get a shot on target against Inter, but Spurs have no one in reserveWell, that escalated quickly. A goal up on 85 minutes: 2-1 down at the final whistle. Defeat for Tottenham to Internazionale in the Champions League makes it three defeats in three – Watford then Liverpool before this one – all of them by the same scoreline, all of them without a goal from Harry Kane. Muddled at the back and lacking energy in the middle: this is becoming
  
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• Danez Smith becomes youngest winner of Forward poetry prize

  18-09-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Chair of judges Bidisha pays tribute to collection Don’t Call Us Dead’s ‘passionate and very contemporary’ verseThe 29-year-old African American poet Danez Smith has beaten writers including the US poet laureate to become the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Forward prize for best poetry collection – and the first winner to identify as gender-neutral.Smith, who prefers the pronoun “they”, confronts race, police brutality and gender in their collec
  
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• Noel Edmonds brands Archbishop of Canterbury 'reincarnation of evil' over Lloyds investment

  18-09-2018 22:28
  Noel Edmonds has branded the Archbishop of Canterbury a "reincarnation of evil" for failing to meet HBOS fraud victims and investing in Lloyds Banking Group.The TV presenter also called Justin Welby a "hypocrite", claiming he tried to book an appointment with the head of the Church of England on numerous occasions.The former Deal or No Deal host is seeking £64m in damages after allegedly falling victim to fraud by former staff at the Reading branch of HBOS, which Lloyds rescued at the heig
  
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• Lionel Messi hits hat-trick as Barcelona trounce PSV Eindhoven

  18-09-2018 22:06 via theguardian.com
  Lionel Messi scored the eighth Champions League hat-trick of his career as 10-man Barcelona eased to an emphatic 4-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven in Group B.The Argentinian was once again in imperious form as the hosts overcame a low-key start to cruise past their Dutch opponents, with Ousmane Dembélé also getting on the scoresheet. Continue reading...
  
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• Starvation fears after piglets stolen from London farm

  18-09-2018 21:55 via bbc.co.uk
  There are fears for the welfare of 11 tiny piglets stolen from a farm in London.
  
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• Wiltshire Police confirm no nerve agent exposure for Salisbury diners

  18-09-2018 21:49 via bbc.co.uk
  Two people fell ill at a restaurant but police have ruled out exposure to a nerve agent.
  
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• May's spokesman - European Parliament's Weber welcomed UK's Brexit proposal

  18-09-2018 21:44
  Manfred Weber, Leader of the European People's Party in the European Parliament, welcomed British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit negotiating plan on Tuesday, May's office said in a statement following a meeting between the two."On Brexit, Weber recognised that the Chequers proposals were a step forward and stressed the priority the European Parliament placed on resolving questions relating to the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as on maintaining the integrity of the Sin
  
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• Mylee Billingham: Father 'murdered daughter after threat to kill mother'

  18-09-2018 21:40 via bbc.co.uk
  Mylee Billingham was stabbed at her father's home after he threatened to kill her mother, a court hears.
  
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• Father 'has no memory of stabbing daughter Mylee Billingham to death'

  18-09-2018 21:40
  A father accused of stabbing his young daughter in her stomach with a kitchen knife says he has no memory of the alleged murder, a jury heard.William Billingham attacked "trusting and defenceless" Mylee Billingham, eight, at his home near Walsall moments after threatening to kill her mother, Tracey Taundry, on 20 January, Birmingham Crown Court was told.On the murder trial's first day, prosecutor Karim Khalil QC said the 55-year-old was struggling to cope with his ex, Miss Taundry, starting a re
  
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• 'I'm not on the menu': McDonald's workers strike over 'rampant' sexual harassment

  18-09-2018 21:38 via theguardian.com
  The #MeToo movement has inspired low-wage workers to speak out about sexual harassment that they say is systemicWhen Teresa Cervantes entered her manager’s office at a Chicago McDonald’s, a different manager asked what she wanted, as Cervantes recounted in Spanish during a one-day strike of McDonald’s workers, outside the Chicago corporate headquarters on Tuesday.The manager asked if she was there for “pito” – a word for male genitalia – since Cervantes&
  
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• Joe Penhall: 'Stephen Jeffreys soothed you through failure and cheered your success'

  18-09-2018 21:30 via theguardian.com
  The work of his friend and fellow playwright, says Penhall, was warm, incisive, unassuming but clever – just like the man‘You’re not going to like me …” Thus began The Libertine, the most famous play by Stephen Jeffreys, a friend and a great influence on my playwriting who has died after a long illness. I remember him finishing the play and reading me the first paragraph. He used to giggle at his own good lines – as all playwrights should. And of course we al
  
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• Daughter's accident leads to Dragon's Den deal

  18-09-2018 21:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Ex-teacher Craig Hill developed an outdoor equipment for schools business after getting depression.
  
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• Child's accident leads to Dragon's Den deal

  18-09-2018 21:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Ex-teacher Craig Hill developed an outdoor equipment for schools business after getting depression.
  
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• Pair who fell ill in Salisbury Prezzo were not exposed to nerve agent, tests confirm

  18-09-2018 21:22
  A pair who fell ill in a Prezzo restaurant in Salisbury on Sunday were not exposed to a nerve agent, tests have confirmed.The man, 42, and woman, 30, were taken to Salisbury District Hospital after emergency services were called to the restaurant at 6.45pm.Due to recent events in the city, scientific tests were undertaken to establish if they had come into contact with the nerve agent novichok.
  
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• UK employers condemn 'ignorant, elitist' Brexit immigration report

  18-09-2018 21:21
  Construction sector leader says workers from overseas with vital skills could be kept out of UK labour market under government committee proposals.Business leaders have lined up to criticise the government’s migration advisory committee (MAC) after it proposed an “ignorant and elitist” ban on foreign workers earning less than £30,000 a year from obtaining visas to work in the UK after Brexit.Richard Burnett, the chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, which repre
  
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• Egypt hotel deaths inquest: British couple moved granddaughter out of their room due to 'musty smell'

  18-09-2018 21:16
  A British couple who died while on holiday in Egypt moved their granddaughter out of their room when she complained of a "musty smell" that made her feel unwell, an inquest has heard.John and Susan Cooper were on a Thomas Cook break at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, when they died on 21 August.Later that night, Molly complained the smell was making her feel ill and Mr Cooper, 69, took her to the room where the couple's daughter, and Molly's mother, Kelly Or
  
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• Couple who fell ill in Salisbury not exposed to novichok, police confirm

  18-09-2018 21:05 via theguardian.com
  Nationality of pair not revealed after a witness on Sunday reported they were RussianA couple who fell ill in an Italian restaurant in Salisbury, sparking a fresh novichok scare, were not exposed to any kind of nerve agent, police have confirmed.The pair, a 42-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman, were taken to hospital on Sunday evening after becoming ill in a Prezzo restaurant. Continue reading...
  
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• Tommy Fleetwood: ‘Teeing off at the Ryder Cup will tick off a lifetime goal’

  18-09-2018 21:00 via theguardian.com
  Three years ago the Southport golfer had the yips so badly he feared for his future in the game, but now he is a household nameNext Friday, 28 September, will forever hold a place in Tommy Fleetwood’s heart. It is hardly being dismissive of the golfer’s idyllic family backdrop to suggest that in 2018 the date will carry extra resonance. “It will be a very special day,” Fleetwood explains. “I’ll stand on the tee and it’s my son’s first birthday as I
  
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• The Great British Bake Off 2018: episode four – live!

  18-09-2018 21:00 via theguardian.com
  It’s week four, which means Dessert Week. Heidi Stephens is back to guide you through all the sugar and stress of melting meringue and creamy caramel 8.00pm BST Previously on Bake Off - bread. Rahul got his second Star Baker, but Anthony was toast. Boo, I loved him. 7.44pm BST This week’s Bake Off bingo – a mouthful of spotted dick for any occurrence of the following: Continue reading...
  
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• Liverpool v PSG: Champions League – live!

  18-09-2018 20:59 via theguardian.com
  Champions League updates from the 8pm BST game at AnfieldThe Fiver: sign up now and get our daily football emailAnd you can email Paul your thoughts or tweet @Paul_Doyle7.59pm BST There’s some people on the pitch ... it’s the teams: kickoff is imminent. Hold on to your hats! 7.58pm BST The teams are in the tunnel ... and Allison is locked in an affectionate embrace with Neymar, while Thiago Silva warmly greets Firmino. Ah come on, chaps, some of us are trying to hype this up as war b
  
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• Spurs stunned by Matías Vecino’s injury-time winner for Inter

  18-09-2018 20:58 via theguardian.com
  Another game, another set-piece concession for Tottenham and another morale-shuddering setback, which will only intensify the questions about the team’s mentality.After the defeats by Watford and Liverpool that shadowed Spurs to Milan, this breakdown cut them to the core. A draw might not have been the worst result in the world and that was what Tottenham looked to have within their grasp as a slow-burning tie entered stoppage time. Continue reading...
  
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• Internazionale v Tottenham: Champions League – live!

  18-09-2018 20:58 via theguardian.com
  Champions League updates from the 5.55pm BST game at San SiroBarcelona v PSV Eindhoven: Champions League – live!Email Barry your thoughts or via Twitter @bglendenning 7.58pm BST Elsewhere in Group B: Barcelona have beaten PSV Eindhoven 4-0 at the Camp Nou, where Leo Messi scored a hat-trick, Ousmane Dembele got the other and Samuel Umtiti’s dismissal meant Barca finished with 10 men.7.53pm BST Spurs lose again: For the first time since Mauricio Pochettino took over at Spurs, his side
  
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• Barcelona v PSV Eindhoven: Champions League – live!

  18-09-2018 20:52 via theguardian.com
  Champions League updates from the 5.55pm BST kick-offInternazionale v Tottenham: Champions League – live!Spain looks north as Basque clubs take giants to the wire
  You can email Bryan here or tweet him here 7.52pm BST There’s the final whistle and Barcelona have won their European opener behind three Messi goal and a fourth by Dembélé. The Argentinian becomes the first player in the Champions League history to register eight hat tricks in the competition.Death, taxes and
  
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• Ben Jennings on the latest round in the US-China trade row – cartoon

  18-09-2018 20:51 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
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• Manchester arena bomber was rescued by Royal Navy

  18-09-2018 20:45
  Manchester arena bomber was rescued by Royal Navy
  
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• Fate of Brett Kavanaugh hearing unclear as Senate scrambles to set terms

  18-09-2018 20:45 via theguardian.com
  Questions remain as Senate firms up details of the supreme court nominee’s hearing following sexual assault allegationsSupreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination hangs in the balance as the Senate scrambles to set the terms of a public hearing scheduled in the wake of a woman’s allegation that he sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers.The timing of the hearing – scheduled for Monday morning in Washington – is politically perilous for both parties, w
  
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• Politics, pinstripes and soft power at London fashion week

  18-09-2018 20:41 via theguardian.com
  No 10 reception is heavy on the suits as Brexit frays nerves of British fashion industryThis London fashion week focused on hard numbers rather than soft power, and closed with a businesslike Downing Street reception. The cocktail-hour celebration regularly held at No 10 was downsized this season to a 90-minute afternoon reception at which – unusually for a fashion week event – suits outnumbered party dresses. Related: Richard Quinn offers a fashion education with LFW showContinue re
  
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• Fraudster faked Manchester arena attack daughter to make insurance claim

  18-09-2018 20:41
  A woman who pretended to have a daughter who was seriously injured in the Manchester Arena attack in order to get money has been jailed.Twenty-two people died after Islamist terrorist Salman Abedi detonated a homemade bomb as people were leaving Manchester Arena following a concert by American singer Ariana Grande.Abedi also died in the attack, which was the first suicide bombing in Britain since the July 2005 London atrocities.
  
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• Stop and search makes crime more likely, report finds

  18-09-2018 20:33 via theguardian.com
  Charity condemns tactic and says Met’s gangs matrix marks out individuals for harassmentThe police tactic of stop and search is increasing the likelihood of crime rather than preventing it, finds a report that paints a bleak picture of young men and boys snapping under the pressure of relentless checks sometimes multiple times a day.Based on in-depth interviews with young Londoners named on the Metropolitan police’s controversial list of gang suspects – the gangs matrix –
  
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• Telford grooming victim's father tells EDL and Britain First to stop using her picture

  18-09-2018 20:26
  The father of a Telford grooming victim says he has asked far-right groups not to use images of his daughter to promote Islamophobia.Vernon Round, whose daughter Vicky was groomed from the age of 11 by men of Pakistani origin, said the English Defence League (EDL) and Britain First had been using her image for racist means.
  
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• Stormy Daniels' tell-all book on Trump: salacious detail and claims of cheating

  18-09-2018 20:26 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: pornographic actor says Trump ‘didn’t want to be president’ in her book Full DisclosureTrump’s insecurity and ‘bullshit’ hush money: key takeawaysIn a tell-all memoir, the pornographic actor Stormy Daniels details salacious descriptions of her time with Donald Trump, wonders if he is fit to be president and claims he offered to cheat for her in his reality TV show. Related: Stormy Daniels: 'little girl from Baton Rouge' posing big problem for TrumpC
  
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• Move over Bodyguard: how crime drama Shiro's Story became a YouTube hit

  18-09-2018 20:20 via theguardian.com
  Written in freestyle rap, this story of love, betrayal and drug violence is what kids watched while their parents tuned into Bodyguard. We meet the ex-gang member behind the online sensationAs millions of parents settled down in front of the telly for the latest Bodyguard on Sunday night, their kids were getting their phones out for the denouement of another British crime thriller hit. Shiro’s Story, which airs on YouTube, clocked up 7m views for its first two episodes, while that final in
  
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• Surrey’s Rory Burns maintains push for England spot with runs at Somerset

  18-09-2018 20:13 via theguardian.com
  • Day one: Surrey 368-4 v Somerset
  • Surrey’s top four all pass 50 on a tough day for bowlersThis will not be such a stressful match for the pitch liaison officer. Two weeks ago in Somerset’s match against Lancashire 22 wickets fell on the first day; against Surrey there were four. Phil Whitticase can sleep easily unless he concludes this surface is too flat for the good of the game – an unlikely outcome since liaison officers rarely reach that conclusion even though
  
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• Couple taken ill in Salisbury not exposed to nerve agent - UK police

  18-09-2018 20:09
  (Reuters) - Two people taken ill in a restaurant in Salisbury, the English town where a former Russian agent and his daughter were poisoned in March, were not exposed to any kind of nerve agent, British police said on Tuesday.
  
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• Trump's insecurity and 'bullshit' hush money: key takeaways from Stormy Daniels' book

  18-09-2018 20:08 via theguardian.com
  Daniels’ memoir Full Disclosure contains vivid details about Trump’s beauty regime and his rapport with Hillary ClintonWhile its level of salacious detail about the sitting president is extraordinary, Stormy Daniels’ memoir also chronicles her career and her life. Related: Stormy Daniels' tell-all book on Trump: salacious detail and claims of cheatingContinue reading...
  
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• Can men be nice to some women and rape others? Of course | Arwa Mahdawi

  18-09-2018 20:08 via theguardian.com
  Following allegations against US supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, two ex-girlfriends came out in his defense. But there is a problem in the logic at play
  I hate to state the obvious, but apparently it needs to be done. Just because someone has never sexually assaulted you, it doesn’t mean they’ve never sexually assaulted someone else. Just because someone has been nice to you, it doesn’t mean they’ve acted the same way with everyone else in their life.It’s not
  
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• Stephen Darby: Motor neurone disease forces ex-Premier League footballer to retire at 29

  18-09-2018 20:05
  A former Premier League footballer has been forced into retirement at the age of 29 after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND).Bolton right-back Stephen Darby said it was "with great sadness" that he had chosen to hang up his boots after receiving the diagnosis from a specialist recently.The announcement comes just months after Darby married Manchester City Women and England captain Steph Houghton.
  
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