General news

• Woman’s ‘abusive’ interview at UK tech firm sparks outrage online

  30-01-2019 23:59
  An MP said it is 'appalling that company bosses still think they can treat people like this in the 21st century'.
  
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• EU negotiator, Council chief tell May: No renegotiation

  30-01-2019 23:17
  LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The EU's chief Brexit negotiator told Britain on Wednesday that time was too short to find an alternative to the Irish border arrangement agreed in their divorce deal, as London wants, and that this deal was not open for renegotiation.With only two months left before Britain is due by law to leave the European Union, a narrow majority in the British parliament instructed May on Tuesday to go back to Brussels to revise what is arguably the most intractable part of the
  
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• UK finance calls for deep ties with EU after Brexit

  30-01-2019 23:06
  Britain's financial sector needs stability to secure its future, along with deeper access to the European Union market after Brexit than what non-EU countries normally get, a senior industry official said on Wednesday.Britain is due to leave the bloc on March 29 but has yet to agree the terms of its divorce after parliament two weeks ago rejected the deal negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May with the EU.On Tuesday parliament told May to renegotiate aspects of her deal, though the EU has rule
  
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• Vaping twice as likely as gum to help smokers quit, research finds

  30-01-2019 23:00
  People are almost twice as likely to succeed in quitting smoking if they use e-cigarettes than if they rely on nicotine replacement patches and gums, a new study has shown.The research, focused on nearly 900 long-term smokers seeking NHS help to quit, was hailed as a landmark by experts in public health in the UK who believe e-cigarettes have already helped bring down the smoking rate.Prof Peter Hajek from Queen Mary University of London led a randomised controlled trial to establish whether e-c
  
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• Belfast murder victim’s family need answers, vigil told

  30-01-2019 22:59
  Hundreds of people attended the vigil at Cluan Place in east Belfast where Ian Ogle was attacked by a group on Sunday night.
  
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• Beware icy roads as temperatures plummet, forecasters warn

  30-01-2019 22:46
  Temperatures could dip as low as minus 12C in parts of the country.
  
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• Two babies die after contracting blood infection at neonatal unit in Glasgow

  30-01-2019 22:29
  Two premature babies have died after their bloodstreams became infected at a hospital neonatal unit.A third is in a stable condition after contracting the Staphylococcus aureus infection at the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow.An incident management team (IMT) of specialists was set up on 24 January to investigate the deaths.
  
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• UK finance industry to shrug off Brexit and grow - Hammond

  30-01-2019 22:03
  LONDON (Reuters) - Finance minister Philip Hammond said on Wednesday that Britain was well positioned to expand financial services exports to some of the world's fastest growing economies as it prepares to leave the European Union.
  
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• Glasgow School of Art submits new evidence ‘to address speculation’ over fire

  30-01-2019 21:42
  Earlier this month an expert said he was 'incredibly puzzled' as to why a mist suppression system was ripped out after the first blaze there in 2014.
  
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• May woos rebel Labour MPs in effort to gain Brexit deal backing

  30-01-2019 21:39
  Labour MP Melanie Onn met cabinet ministers on Wednesday to discuss possible future legislation.Theresa May is putting together a package of measures aimed at wooing Labour MPs in leave-supporting constituencies, offering greater protection for workers’ rights after Brexit and, it emerged on Wednesday night, cash for former coalfield communities.The prime minister has asked two cabinet ministers to consult opposition backbenchers over legislation to protect workers’ rights after Brex
  
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• May woos rebel Labour MPs in bid to gain Brexit deal backing

  30-01-2019 21:39
  Labour MP Melanie Onn met cabinet ministers on Wednesday to discuss possible future legislation.Theresa May is putting together a package of measures aimed at wooing Labour MPs in leave-supporting constituencies, offering greater protection for workers’ rights after Brexit and, it emerged on Wednesday night, cash for former coalfield communities.The prime minister has asked two cabinet ministers to consult opposition backbenchers over legislation to protect workers’ rights after Brex
  
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• UK’s Brexit position highlights need for ‘robust’ backstop, says Irish premier

  30-01-2019 21:28
  Leo Varadkar has reiterated the Irish government's stance as counterpart Theresa May attempts to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement.
  
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• It's up to you to sort out Brexit impasse, Donald Tusk tells Theresa May

  30-01-2019 21:26
  Theresa May has been told by Donald Tusk that it is her job to find a solution to the Brexit impasse during what sources have described as an “open and frank” 45-minute phone call in the wake of her demands for a renegotiation.The European council president warned the prime minister that a precondition for any further talks was a concrete plan from Downing Street that could clearly command the support of parliament.Tusk is understood to have replied that the prime minister could not
  
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• In Pictures: Beaming Meghan steals show at National Theatre

  30-01-2019 21:13
  The Duchess of Sussex was making her first visit to the National Theatre in London since becoming its patron.
  
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• EU negotiator and Council chief tell Britain's May: No to renegotiation

  30-01-2019 21:12
  LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The EU's chief Brexit negotiator told Britain on Wednesday that time was too short to find an alternative to the Irish border arrangement agreed in their divorce deal, as London wants, and that this deal was not open for renegotiation.With only two months left before Britain is due by law to leave the European Union, a narrow majority in the British parliament instructed May on Tuesday to go back to Brussels to revise what is arguably the most intractable part of the
  
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• Two premature babies die after infection found at hospital neonatal unit

  30-01-2019 21:11
  NHSGGC said the babies were 'extremely poorly' due to their early births with infection being 'one of a number of contributing causes in both deaths'.
  
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• Duchess of Cornwall pays tribute to stalwart on Somerset trip

  30-01-2019 20:59
  Camilla visited Frome Medical Centre and presented Gerald Franks with an award to mark his contribution to the local community.
  
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• Theresa May faces pressure to clarify backstop changes

  30-01-2019 20:49
  Theresa May faced questions on possible changes to the backstop during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.Theresa May is under mounting pressure to spell out what changes to the Irish backstop she hopes to negotiate with Brussels, after the fragile Brexit truce in her own party appeared to fray on Wednesday.The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, became the latest senior figure to reject the idea of revisiting the withdrawal agreement on Wednesday, insisting, “ca
  
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• Taxpayers face £4bn annual pension bill after court ruling

  30-01-2019 20:09
  The government is seeking permission to appeal against the ruling.The government faces a £4bn a year pensions bill after a group of judges and firefighters won an age discrimination court case, it has emerged.One investment firm said members of public sector pension schemes could receive a massive boost to their retirement pots if the government’s appeal against the court decision was unsuccessful.
  
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• Death of mother ‘horrifically life-changing’, Chris Boardman reveals

  30-01-2019 19:52
  The 50-year-old Olympian said the incident had 'damaged several lives'.
  
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• Irish PM Varadkar rejects May plans to change backstop

  30-01-2019 19:47
  Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told British Prime Minister Theresa May he would not accept her plans to renegotiate a post-Brexit arrangement for the Irish border and said the so-called Irish "backstop" needed to be legally robust.Parliament voted late on Tuesday to order May to return to Brussels to replace the so-called Irish backstop, an insurance policy that aims to prevent the reintroduction of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland."The Taoiseach set out once again the u
  
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• Topshop owners fined after girl fractures skull in store

  30-01-2019 19:34
  The retail group that owns Topshop has been fined £450,000 after a girl was badly injured in one of its stores.The 10-year-old suffered a fractured skull after a queue barrier fell on her in the chain's Silverburn Shopping Centre store, Glasgow.Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that the girl had been shopping with her mother in February 2017 when her mother heard a scream and turned to see her daughter lying on the floor under the barrier.
  
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• Two men arrested over murder in Belfast

  30-01-2019 19:29
  Ian Ogle died after being set upon by a group of men in Cluan Place in the east of the city at around 9pm on Sunday.
  
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• Sky Data poll: Public prefer a deal instead of hard Brexit

  30-01-2019 19:19
  Most of the British public would prefer a Brexit deal rather than crashing out of the European Union without one, a Sky Data poll reveals.Asked to choose between Theresa May's initial Brexit deal including the backstop, a version of the same deal without the backstop, or a no-deal Brexit, leaving without a deal is the most popular single option - but significantly more would prefer a deal of some sort if you count the different options together.
  
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• May plea for Brexit renegotiation hits wall of resistance from EU

  30-01-2019 19:09
  European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned MEPs that the Commons votes have increased the likelihood of a no-deal outcome.
  
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• Government urged to ‘make the fine fit the crime’

  30-01-2019 19:08
  The Conservatives want tougher fixed penalty notices to be brought in to help tackle anti-social behaviour.
  
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• The Brexit hardliners ready to ruin Britain have won

  30-01-2019 19:04
  Yvette Cooper speaking to members of the House of Commons in London on 29 January as MPs debate amendments to Theresa May’s Brexit withdrawal bill. Photograph: Jessica Taylor/AFP/Getty Images
  
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• Brexit is the wrong answer to the wrong question

  30-01-2019 19:03
  Ian Lavery correctly observes how public trust in politics has been eroded by “a political class that has too often taken them for granted, and an economic system that works against them” (A second referendum could destroy public trust in politics, theguardian.com, 25 January).Both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are in favour of Brexit, for their own reasons – May’s dictated by her party and Corbyn’s personal.
  
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• After a night to remember, MPs need a little ‘me time’

  30-01-2019 19:01
  Jeremy Corbyn appeared rather less comatose – there was at least a pulse now – than he had in Tuesday’s debate and immediately put May on the back foot by asking what alternative arrangements she had in mind to replace the Northern Ireland backstop.Well done.
  
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• Meghan’s baby bump steals the show on visit to National Theatre

  30-01-2019 19:00
  Director Rufus Norris joked that the Duchess of Sussex was working on her 'own production'.
  
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• Facebook ‘paid users to gather their personal data’

  30-01-2019 18:58
  A report claims the social media firm rewarded users as young as 13 who let it 'spy' on how they used their mobile devices.
  
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• EU calls for 'lucid and realistic' approach as it holds firm on backstop

  30-01-2019 18:56
  Theresa May has been accused by Michel Barnier of distancing herself from her own Brexit deal as the EU steadfastly rejected each of the prime minister’s fresh demands over the Irish backstop.In the wake of Tuesday’s night’s Commons vote, the bloc’s chief negotiator gave a withering assessment of the PM’s conduct, warning: “Calmly, I will say, right here and now, we need this backstop as it is.“She took distance from the agreement she herself negotiated
  
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• Coldest night of winter so far expected after snow disruption

  30-01-2019 18:55
  Airport runways were shut and schools closed as snow and ice hit the UK, with the early hours of Thursday forecast to be the coldest of winter so far.Further snow and ice warnings for much of the UK were issued by the Met Office on Wednesday after much of the country woke up to snow.Liverpool Airport and Manchester Airport closed their runways for most of the morning as they struggled to shift snow and ice from their runways, delaying dozens of flights.
  
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• Undiscovered Merlin tale fragments found in Bristol archives

  30-01-2019 18:52
  People visit the ruins of Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, the legendary birthplace of King Arthur.An intriguing, previously unknown 13th-century version of a tale featuring Merlin and King Arthur has been discovered in the archives of Bristol central library.The seven handwritten fragments of parchment were unearthed bound inside an unrelated volume of the work of a 15th- century French scholar.
  
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• Scary clown mask gang facing jail over armed police chase

  30-01-2019 18:50
  The defendants will be sentenced on February 8.
  
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• Ministers agree to review of mainstreaming in schools policy

  30-01-2019 18:50
  The move should ensure more effective uptake of places in special schools and special units.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn And Theresa May Discuss ‘Soft Brexit’ EU Customs Union Plan

  30-01-2019 18:50
  Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May discussed the 'soft Brexit' option of staying in
  
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• EU's Barnier says time too short for alternatives to Irish backstop

  30-01-2019 18:49
  PARIS (Reuters) - Time is too short to find an alternative arrangement to the Irish backstop and Britain's divorce deal with the European Union will not be re-opened for negotiation, the EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Wednesday.
  
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• Barclays to shift £160 billion to Ireland as Brexit looms

  30-01-2019 18:40
  The move, which has been approved by the High Court, is designed to deal with the consequences of a no-deal hard exit.
  
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• Labour MP speaks out on daily social media hate speech and abuse

  30-01-2019 18:31
  Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff says she had hoped there would be change following the murder of Jo Cox in 2016.
  
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• Sterling slide, oil majors lift FTSE 100 after parliament votes on Brexit

  30-01-2019 18:30
  Britain's blue-chip index jumped on Wednesday after a sharp fall in sterling overnight when British lawmakers voted down a proposal in parliament that aimed to prevent a potentially chaotic "no-deal" Brexit.The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 surged 1.6 percent, extending its more than 1 percent rally on Tuesday ahead of the vote, while the FTSE 250, which is more domestically focused, climbed 0.7 percent.All the sectors in the main index ended the day in positive territory as the FTSE 100 is often boos
  
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• Barclays' lawyers did not object to £322m fees paid to Qatar, court told

  30-01-2019 18:29
  Former Barclays European boss Richard Boath arrives at Southwark crown court in London on Wednesday.A senior Barclays banker raised red flags over the terms of a multibillion-pound fundraising deal with Qatar and said the company’s lawyers “persuaded themselves” that the 2008 agreement was legal, a court was told on Wednesday.Ed Brown QC, prosecuting on behalf of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), told a jury at Southwark crown court that Richard Boath, an executive in Barclays&rs
  
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• Police deny theory that teenager was stabbed to death over bike

  30-01-2019 18:26
  Investigators have said they do not believe robbery was the motive for the killing.
  
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• Luxury stocks may yet lose lustre despite China's taste for Vuitton

  30-01-2019 18:15
  Even if LVMH is right that Chinese demand is as strong as ever for items like its $3,150 Louis Vuitton mini-backpacks, there are still plenty of danger signs for luxury stocks this year, from slowing U.S. growth to a drop in Swiss watch exports.LVMH's reassuring fourth-quarter performance and outlook put paid to fears for now that demand in China is stalling and lifted shares at European luxury peers on Wednesday, who depend on Chinese consumers for a third of sales.Brands at the top end of the
  
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• Stolen bus used to tear up grass pitches

  30-01-2019 18:10
  The incident has been described as 'madness' by a local councillor.
  
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• Cancer patients: Nurses strike a dark day for all

  30-01-2019 18:05
  Colourful and noisy picket lines were formed outside hospitals across the country, from the capital Dublin to Galway in the west.
  
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• Transfer window: Almirón arrives at Newcastle and Carrasco latest – live!

  30-01-2019 18:01
  Moves and news as the January window inches closer to shuttingTransfer interactive: every deal from Europe’s top five leaguesEmail Gregg with your thoughts or tweet @GreggBakowski5.01pm GMT Right. That’s all from me on Transfer Deadline Day Eve. This blog will be back up and running again tomorrow when clubs will have to get a move on and do some actual deals before the window SLAMS SHUT! at 11pm. I’ll leave you with The Fiver … and be sure to log back on to the Guardian
  
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• No-Deal Brexit: MP Sammy Wilson Says People Should 'Go To The Chippy' If There Are Food Shortages

  30-01-2019 17:58
  DUP MP Sammy Wilson has been branded "woefully out of touch" for saying people
  
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• Ministers Making Northern Ireland Abortion Campaigner 'Relive' Trauma By Shelving Reform, Says Labour MP

  30-01-2019 17:58
  Ministers are making a women's rights campaigner "relive the trauma" of an
  
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• Nurses calling for better pay and conditions in first strike in 20 years

  30-01-2019 17:56
  More than 30,000 INMO nurses have taken to the picket lines in freezing conditions.
  
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