General news

• Delay Brexit vote to avoid 'heavy' defeat, PM urged

  06-12-2018 23:50
  Theresa May is under pressure from loyalist MPs to delay a vote on her Brexit deal, amid fears it could be "heavily" rejected.It came as supportive MPs suggested that details surrounding the Northern Irish backstop be changed - in the hope they would help the deal pass in parliament.Meanwhile, prospects of a showdown between Mrs May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn were dashed as ITV withdrew its offer to host a televised debate.
  
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• Buzzcocks frontman Pete Shelley dies aged 63

  06-12-2018 23:26
  His Bolton band are best known for their 1978 hit Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).
  
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• Lifeline for May as MPs table amendment giving Commons backstop trigger role

  06-12-2018 23:18
  The amendment tabled by Tory MPs would give Parliament the say over whether the Irish border backstop was activated.
  
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• It's official. Microsoft pushes Google over the Edge, shifts browser to Chromium engine - The Register

  06-12-2018 23:03 via theregister.co.uk
  It's official. Microsoft pushes Google over the Edge, shifts browser to Chromium engine  The RegisterMicrosoft to ditch Edge for Chromium-based replacement  bit-tech.netMicrosoft confirms Edge to adopt open source Chromium code  HEXUSThe future of Microsoft Edge is looking a lot like Google Chrome  TrustedReviewsBattle of the browsers after Microsoft makes big change to Edge  MetroView full coverage on Google News
  
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• Randox forensics inquiry: Forty drug-driving offences quashed

  06-12-2018 23:02 via bbc.co.uk
  About 10,500 test results are being reviewed after data was allegedly manipulated.
  
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• Buzzcocks singer Pete Shelley dies at 63

  06-12-2018 22:46 via bbc.co.uk
  The band he fronted are best known for the hit Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've).
  
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• Man charged following paramilitary activity investigation in Northern Ireland

  06-12-2018 22:39
  He is due to appear at Londonderry Magistrates’ Court on December 19.
  
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• ‘There Is No Plan B’ If Theresa May Loses Crunch Brexit Vote Next Week, Chief Whip Warns

  06-12-2018 22:34
  Theresa May is facing a fresh backlash from Tory MPs after her Chief Whip
  
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• O2 and Ericsson issue joint apology after network outage

  06-12-2018 22:22
  O2 UK CEO Mark Evans said they would be working ‘through the night’ and a full service should be restored by Friday morning.
  
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• Love Island winners Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham split up after six months

  06-12-2018 22:20
  Love Island winners Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham have split up after six months together.The pair, who fell for each other on the matchmaking reality TV show, became the nation's sweethearts in a public vote.Dyer, a model and actress, announced the news in an Instagram post on Thursday evening.
  
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• Buzzcocks singer Pete Shelley dies aged 63

  06-12-2018 22:20
  Pete Shelley, lead singer of punk band Buzzcocks, has died at the age of 63, his brother has said.
  
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• Matthew Hedges: 'I did not spy for anyone'

  06-12-2018 22:15
  Former UAE detainee Matthew Hedges has spoken to Sky News, saying he did not spy for anyone and wishes to clear his name.
  
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• Matthew Hedges calls for 'repercussions' after UAE imprisonment

  06-12-2018 22:11
  The British academic held in solitary confinement in the United Arab Emirates has told Sky News the evidence against him was "unclear, unjustified and weak".Matthew Hedges said he was threatened with physical violence and "psychologically tortured" during his six months in detention.When he pointed this out to his interrogators, he said they were "confused and thought MI6 had infiltrated this process somehow and were trying to dictate their security strategy".
  
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• In Pictures: Christmas tree lights up Trafalgar Square

  06-12-2018 22:07
  Norway’s ambassador to the UK attended the switch-on.
  
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• Brexit: Senior Tory suggests vote could be delayed

  06-12-2018 22:06 via bbc.co.uk
  Sir Graham Brady "would welcome" a delay in the Brexit vote if it would help resolve MPs' concerns.
  
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• And the next 7nm laptop processor will be designed by In, er, AM, um, Qualcomm: The 64-bit Arm Snapdragon 8CX - The Register

  06-12-2018 22:00 via theregister.co.uk
  And the next 7nm laptop processor will be designed by In, er, AM, um, Qualcomm: The 64-bit Arm Snapdragon 8CX  The RegisterOnePlus' first 5G smartphone will cost almost £1,000  T3Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx is its 'extreme' SoC for PCs  HEXUS5 things you need to know about OnePlus's 5G phone  StuffQualcomm’s new Snapdragon 855 smartphone platform paves way for 5G, 4K HDR and wireless audio  What Hi-Fi?View full coverage on Google News
  
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• Theresa May brings Christmas cheer to Downing Street

  06-12-2018 21:58
  The three children, from her constituency of Maidenhead, won a competition to design her official Christmas cards.
  
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• Corbyn urges support for Labour's Brexit plan as House vote nears

  06-12-2018 21:43
  Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been advised by second EU referendum campaigners to ‘get off the fence’ and declare the party’s plans.Jeremy Corbyn called on MPs of all parties to vote down Theresa May’s deal and back his “alternative plan” for Brexit, as second-referendum campaigners urged him to get “off the fence” and endorse a fresh public vote.Labour’s leader, writing in the Guardian, said that the party’s “comprehensive cust
  
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• Corbyn urges support for his Brexit plan as Commons vote nears

  06-12-2018 21:43
  Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been advised by campaigners for a second referendum to ‘get off the fence’ and declare the party’s plans.Jeremy Corbyn called on MPs of all parties to vote down Theresa May’s deal and back his alternative plan for Brexit, as campaigners for a second referendum urged him to get “off the fence” and endorse a fresh public vote.Labour’s leader, writing in the Guardian, said that the party’s “comprehensive customs u
  
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• Senate approves Trump's nominee for watchdog agency

  06-12-2018 21:42
  In a party-line vote, the Senate approved President Donald Trump's nominee to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday, ending a six-month, highly partisan battle over the fate of the powerful consumer watchdog agency.The vote was 50-49 in favor of approving Kathy Kraninger, who worked as a mid-level official in the White House's budget office, to a five-year term.Kraninger has zero experience in financial services and had never run a federal agency before, a criticism that made
  
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• Dani Dyer And Jack Fincham Split Four Months After Winning Love Island

  06-12-2018 21:41
  Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham have split four months after being crowned winners
  
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• May v Corbyn Brexit TV debate off as ITV joins BBC in pulling out of broadcast

  06-12-2018 21:39
  Both broadcasters had put forward plans to host programmes featuring the leaders but they had been unable to agree terms.
  
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• Food shortages, gridlock and more migrants: Kent's no deal fears

  06-12-2018 21:36
  Kent County Council fears school meals could be compromised and migrant numbers could increase in the event of a "no-deal" Brexit.Sky News has seen a report outlining the council's preparations for the UK leaving the EU without an agreement in place.:: The number of migrants arriving in Kent, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, could increase.
  
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• O2 data outage won't be fixed until tomorrow

  06-12-2018 21:30
  O2 says a massive data outage which has affected millions of people will not be fully fixed until Friday morning.In a joint statement, the chief executives of O2 and Ericsson apologised to customers for the "poor experience" they faced as they struggled to get online on Thursday.Mark Evans, the head of O2's parent company Telefonica, said: "I want to let our customers know how sorry I am for the impact our network data issue has had on them, and reassure them that our teams, together with Ericss
  
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• David Davis: MPs must drive a stake through the heart of May’s Brexit deal

  06-12-2018 21:20
  The former Brexit secretary used a magazine interview to also play down the impact of a no-deal exit saying it was ‘not a bad thing’ if Sterling fell.
  
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• Jamie Acourt: Lawrence murder suspect admits cannabis charge

  06-12-2018 21:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Jamie Acourt, a suspect in the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence, had been extradited from Spain.
  
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• 'I'm having to talk to people': O2 customers find the funny side of data outage

  06-12-2018 21:14
  Most of us now require mobile data for the most basic of everyday tasks.
  
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• CBI chief warns about Theresa May’s plans to curb low-skilled immigration

  06-12-2018 21:00
  Carolyn Fairbairn warned that businesses could collapse unless the changes were handled cautiously.
  
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• Cheers as Harry takes to stage before Bat Out Of Hell musical

  06-12-2018 20:59
  The Duke of Sussex addressed hundreds of Invictus Games Foundation attendees and supporters at the Dominion Theatre in London’s West End.
  
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• Writers pen ‘love letters to Europe’ to mark new year

  06-12-2018 20:55
  Authors including Louise Welsh are taking part in the Message from the Skies project in Edinburgh.
  
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• ITV scraps plans to host May-Corbyn Brexit debate

  06-12-2018 20:55 via theguardian.com
  Decision means there will be no debate between two leaders before next week’s parliamentary voteITV has withdrawn plans for a Brexit debate on Sunday night, meaning there is now little chance of a televised head-to-head match between Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May before next week’s crucial vote. Related: Brexit: Debate between May and Corbyn will not go ahead - Politics liveContinue reading...
  
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• Cabinet's soft Brexiters step up no-deal warnings

  06-12-2018 20:52
  Philip Hammond arrives in Downing Street for Thursday’s meeting.Cabinet ministers including Philip Hammond and Greg Clark ramped up their opposition to a no-deal Brexit, as Theresa May convened a meeting in Downing Street with ministers panicked about the extent of the parliamentary rebellion against her plan.Soft Brexiters such as Hammond, the chancellor, Clark, the business secretary, and David Gauke, the justice secretary, have expressed serious alarm about the mounting prospect of no d
  
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• Cabinet's senior soft Brexiters step up their no-deal warnings

  06-12-2018 20:52
  Philip Hammond arrives in Downing Street for Thursday’s meeting.Cabinet ministers including Philip Hammond and Greg Clark ramped up their opposition to a no-deal Brexit on Thursday, as Theresa May convened a meeting in Downing Street with ministers panicked about the extent of the parliamentary rebellion against her plan.Soft Brexiters such as Hammond, the chancellor, Clark, the business secretary, and David Gauke, the justice secretary, have expressed serious alarm about the mounting pros
  
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• US senators keen to punish Saudi crown prince but divided on tactics

  06-12-2018 20:44 via theguardian.com
  Mohammed bin Salman widely blamed for journalist’s murderThree different measures being considered by SenateUS senators, bent on punishing the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said on Thursday they want to vote next week to penalize Riyadh, but struggled to agree on how best to do so.Despite Donald Trump’s desire to maintain close ties to Saudi Arabia, several of his fellow Republicans have joined Democrats in blaming the crown p
  
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• Panic as the US-China trade war truce lasts less than a week | Nils Pratley

  06-12-2018 20:44 via theguardian.com
  US and UK markets lose all the gains of a year as trade tensions suddenly look ominousInvestors were already confused about where the great US-China trade war was going next, not least because President Trump is capable of sending contradictory signals in the space of two tweets. Now they’re seriously alarmed. The arrest in Canada of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who faces extradition to the US, is a diplomatic incident. And it has arrived just as the US and China h
  
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• O2 data outage causes chaos

  06-12-2018 20:30
  O2's data services remain out of action, as tens of millions of customers are potentially affected.
  
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• Two men guilty of trafficking girls from Welsh care home

  06-12-2018 20:28 via theguardian.com
  John James Purcell, 31, and John Delaney, 33, convicted of rapes and sex trafficking offences, were ‘part of gang’Two men have been found guilty of trafficking vulnerable girls around the UK and then raping them. The pair, John James Purcell, 31, and John Delaney, 33, took two underage girls from a care home near Wrexham, north Wales, and had sex with them, the trial at Mold crown court found.Purcell, who is from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, was found guilty of four sex trafficking offe
  
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• Dumplin' review – Jennifer Aniston's Netflix comedy is more like trifle

  06-12-2018 20:20 via theguardian.com
  Strong turns from Aniston and Danielle Macdonald can’t save this conventional pageant saga with music from Dolly PartonThe new Netflix film Dumplin’ – the mawkish, rhinestoned lovechild of Glee, the 1975 beauty pageant satire Smile, and practically any episode of the reality show Chrisley Knows Best – is a big-hearted dramedy about an overweight teenager who finds herself by way of Dolly Parton. As an ode to the Backwoods Barbie, who executive-produced and penned six orig
  
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• No Brexit TV Debates Before Vote As ITV Scraps Plans For Theresa May And Jeremy Corbyn Head-To-Head

  06-12-2018 20:09
  Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn look unlikely to face-off in a televised Brexit
  
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• Lyft sets itself up to be one of first large tech flotations of 2019

  06-12-2018 20:09 via theguardian.com
  US ride-hailing firm files plans with regulator as it races rival Uber for fundingUS company Lyft has filed plans with the regulator in Washington for a flotation as it races for funding against Uber, the rival ride-hailing company.In a statement on Thursday, Lyft announced it had submitted a draft registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in a move which sets it up to be one of the first large tech flotations of 2019. Continue reading...
  
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• £56bn wiped off FTSE 100 in biggest market fall since Brexit vote

  06-12-2018 20:08 via theguardian.com
  Arrest of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou compounds fears of escalating US-China trade warThe value of the City’s leading companies has fallen by more than £56bn during waves of selling on stock markets in Asia, Europe and North America prompted by heightened fears of a trade war between the US and China.The FTSE 100 index suffered its biggest percentage fall since the day after the EU referendum in June 2016 – closing almost 218 points lower at 6,704. Continue reading...
  
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• The 'great dying': rapid warming caused largest extinction event ever, report says

  06-12-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Up to 96% of all marine species and more than two-thirds of terrestrial species perished 252m years agoRapid global warming caused the largest extinction event in the Earth’s history, which wiped out the vast majority of marine and terrestrial animals on the planet, scientists have found. Related: Save millions of lives by tackling climate change, says WHOContinue reading...
  
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• Planet with helium-filled atmosphere shaped like balloon found by astronomers

  06-12-2018 20:00
  The planet, which is around the same size as Neptune, has been named HAT-P-11b and is in the Cygnus constellation.
  
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• Stephen Colbert: 'Trump is the only person who can bring down a funeral'

  06-12-2018 19:57 via theguardian.com
  Late-night hosts discussed the president’s presence at George HW Bush’s funeral and the closing net of Mueller’s investigationLate-night hosts covered Donald Trump’s presence at the funeral of George HW Bush and how Robert Mueller is edging closer to the finish line. Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on the Brexit backstop: getting Ireland wrong again | Editorial

  06-12-2018 19:54 via theguardian.com
  History is repeating itself as English Conservatives once again fail to understand the Irish dimension of their doctrinaire political obsessionsOstensibly, Theresa May went on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday to address all the listeners. In reality, however, her aim was to reach an audience of fewer than 200. The people she wanted to influence are the Conservative MPs who hold her government’s future in their hands next Tuesday in the votes on her Brexit deal.Mrs May’
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn: Labour could do a better Brexit deal. Give it the chance – or give the people another vote

  06-12-2018 19:53 via theguardian.com
  All options, including another referendum, will be on the table if Theresa May’s botched Brexit is defeatedThe botched Brexit deal that Theresa May has put to parliament this week is a monumental and damaging failure for our country. Instead of the sensible agreement the prime minister could have negotiated, it is a worst-of-all-worlds deal that works for nobody, whether they voted leave or remain.Instead of taking back control, it gives up control. Instead of protecting jobs and living st
  
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• Ecuador says UK has given ‘guarantees’ for Assange to leave embassy

  06-12-2018 19:53 via theguardian.com
  Lenín Moreno said Ecuador has received written assurances UK would not extradite Assange to face death penaltyEcuador has received written assurances from the UK government that it would not to extradite Julian Assange to any country where he would face the death penalty, the country’s president, Lenín Moreno, has said.In a live radio interview on Thursday, Moreno said that the WikiLeaks founder now had sufficient guarantees to leave Ecuador’s embassy in the UK, where h
  
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• Gilets jaunes protests: Eiffel Tower and Louvre to shut amid fears of violence

  06-12-2018 19:52 via theguardian.com
  French authorities to deploy 65,000 security personnel across country on SaturdayTourist attractions and museums in central Paris have said they will not open on Saturday, when fresh gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protests are planned, as French authorities prepared to deploy 65,000 security personnel across the country.“The demonstrations announced on Saturday 8 December in Paris do not allow us to welcome visitors in safe conditions,” said the operator of the Eiffel Tower in a statem
  
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• 'Inadequate' Steiner school to be taken over by academy chain

  06-12-2018 19:49 via theguardian.com
  State-funded Steiner Academy Exeter is seeking a new sponsor after damning Ofsted reportA state-funded Steiner school in Devon is to be transferred to a multi-academy trust after the schools watchdog said it was inadequate.Ofsted inspectors raised serious concerns about safeguarding and lack of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) at the Steiner Academy Exeter, which opened in September 2013. Continue reading...
  
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• Bell secretly recorded ‘personal and private’ conversation with DUP colleagues

  06-12-2018 19:48
  The minister who oversaw the RHI met deputy leader Nigel Dodds and East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell in March 2015 about complaints he had raised.
  
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