General news

• UK ministers examining secret plan of keeping Irish border open -The Sun

  05-02-2019 23:59
  Officials have been working on the plan, which has been drawn up by Japan's Fujitsu and involves a tracking system that monitors vehicles on designated routes, for 10 months, the report said, citing leaked documents.Brexit Minister Steve Barclay is closely examining the plan, the report said.It would involve a tracking system that will monitor vehicles on designated routes when they cross from Northern Ireland to Ireland through number plate recognition cameras and GPS technology.
  
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• Baroness Lawrence: Racism 'still exists' in Met 20 years after Macpherson report

  05-02-2019 23:58
  The mother of Stephen Lawrence has said she thinks that "in some respects" police are still institutionally racist, 26 years after her son's murder.Baroness Lawrence was answering questions in front of the home affairs select committee during a session to mark 20 years since the Macpherson report.This looked at the handling of the investigation into Stephen's 1993 murder and, when it was published in 1999, accused the Metropolitan Police of institutional racism.
  
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• Liam Neeson: Red carpet at New York premiere cancelled amid actor's racism row

  05-02-2019 23:51
  The red carpet at the New York premiere of Liam Neeson's new film has been cancelled after he confessed to violent thoughts about killing a black person.Organisers said there would no longer be interviews and photo opportunities at the event to promote Neeson's movie Cold Pursuit - just hours before it was due to start - but the film will still be screened.
  
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• Liam Neeson race row: Actor doesn't understand the importance of political correctness

  05-02-2019 23:50
  Hollywood actor Liam Neeson has sparked an ongoing race row after admitting he wanted to kill a black man in a racist revenge attack.Neeson has since denied being a racist and said he reacted in a way that he was "ashamed" of.Sky News presenter Gamal Fahnbulleh writes why the actor may not have made the shocking remarks 10 years ago.
  
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• Battersea Murder Probe: Teenager Stabbed To Death In South London

  05-02-2019 23:37
  A man has died after he was stabbed in Battersea, south London, the
  
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• Ali Issa Ahmad: British man held in UAE for 'wearing Qatar football shirt'

  05-02-2019 23:28
  The Foreign Office has said it is assisting a British man who has been detained in the United Arab Emirates following reports a man was arrested for wearing a Qatar replica football shirt.Ali Issa Ahmad, 26, from Wolverhampton, went to the UAE on holiday last month and while there, was allegedly arrested for wearing a Qatar shirt to the Asian Cup tie between Qatar and Iraq on 22 January, the Guardian reported.It said: "A dual Sudanese-British citizen, presented himself to the police station ther
  
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• Ireland’s next Presbyterian moderator ‘youngest in living memory’

  05-02-2019 23:23
  The Rev William Henry, 50, is minister of Maze Presbyterian Church in County Antrim and said he wanted to focus on the theme of 'enjoying God'.
  
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• Labour will speak out on abuse by socialist governments, says Emily Thornberry

  05-02-2019 23:00
  The shadow foreign secretary will promise that a Labour government will put respect for human rights above other foreign policy considerations.
  
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• Grenfell community cookbook backed by Duchess of Sussex wins award

  05-02-2019 22:59
  The book was published with Meghan's help by a group of west London women who provided meals to neighbours.
  
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• Calais port chief says he does not want to see Chris Grayling again

  05-02-2019 22:46
  Jean-Marc Puissesseau accused the Cabinet minister of behaving in a 'completely disrespectful' manner by planning to divert sea traffic from the port.
  
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• Calais Boss Ridicules 'Failing' Chris Grayling - And Says He Would 'Ban' Minister From French Town

  05-02-2019 22:37
  The boss of the Port of Calais has branded Transport Secretary Chris Grayling
  
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• Air pollution: 'Our children are suffocating'

  05-02-2019 22:22 via bbc.co.uk
  The UN agency Unicef says around one in three British children live in areas with unsafe levels of pollution
  
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• Libby Squire: Hundreds gather in solidarity as police continue search for missing student

  05-02-2019 21:58
  Hundreds of students and staff have gathered to show solidarity as police continue their search for missing student Libby Squire.The University of Hull student, 21, from High Wycombe, was reported missing in the early hours of Friday.Ms Squire was last seen in the area at around 12.09am on Friday.
  
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• Louella Fletcher-Michie: Holby City actor's daughter filmed by boyfriend as she overdosed

  05-02-2019 21:48
  The boyfriend of a Holby City actor's daughter filmed her as she overdosed on a party drug he had given her, a court has heard.Louella Fletcher-Michie, 24, the daughter of John Michie, died after taking the Class A drug at Bestival music festival at Lulworth Castle in Dorset, in September 2017.Ceon Broughton, 29, was accused of supplying the drug, known as "2-CP", and filming her on his phone as her condition deteriorated and after she died.
  
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• Children who died in Staffordshire house fire named by police

  05-02-2019 21:48
  Four children aged between three and eight who died in a house fire in Staffordshire have been named by police.The three boys and one girl have been identified as Olly Unitt, three, Keegan Unitt, six, Riley Holt, eight and four-year-old Tilly Unitt.Nicola Glover, headteacher at Castlechurch Primary School, said: "Our entire school community is absolutely devastated by this news.
  
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• May's pledge on Irish border threatens to reopen Tory rift

  05-02-2019 21:46
  Brexiters fear PM’s Belfast speech steps back from previous assurancesTheresa May fired a warning shot at Brexit supporters on Tuesday, insisting there was “no suggestion” Britain would leave the EU without an insurance provision to protect against a hard border in Northern Ireland.At a speech in Belfast, May would only accept that technology could “play a part” in any alternative arrangements and that she would not countenance anything that would disrupt the lives
  
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• May's pledge on Irish border threatens to reopen Tory rift

  05-02-2019 21:46
  Theresa May fired a warning shot at Brexit supporters on Tuesday, insisting there was “no suggestion” Britain would leave the EU without an insurance provision to protect against a hard border in Northern Ireland.At a speech in Belfast, May would only accept that technology could “play a part” in any alternative arrangements and that she would not countenance anything that would disrupt the lives of border communities.The comments came as May prepared to meet EU leaders i
  
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• FA Cup fourth-round replays: Newport v Middlesbrough and more – live!

  05-02-2019 21:42
  Brentford v Barnet, QPR v Portsmouth, Wolves v ShrewsburyLive scores: keep up with all the goals as they go inAnd feel free to email Barry here. Tweet @bglendenning 8.42pm GMT8.42pm GMT Matt Doherty scores his second of the night, heading Wolves level against Shrewsbury at Molineux.Continue reading...
  
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• State of the Union 2019: Pelosi invites trans soldiers to Trump's address – live

  05-02-2019 21:36
  Trump to give speech to hostile audience in HousePresident aims for reboot and calls for American unitySign up for the US briefing and get a new perspective 8.29pm GMT Donald Trump’s four visits to Mar-a-Lago in early 2017 cost the taxpayer $13.6m, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.Between February 3 and March 5 2017 Trump spent all but one weekend at the Florida resort, a total of 15 days, at an average cost of nearly $1m a day. 7.52pm GMT A federal judge has a
  
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• Libby Squires: Hundreds gather in solidarity as police continue search for missing student

  05-02-2019 21:32
  Hundreds of students and staff have gathered to show solidarity as police continue their search for missing student Libby Squire.The University of Hull student, 21, from High Wycombe, was reported missing in the early hours of Friday.Ms Squire was last seen in the area at around 12.09am on Friday.
  
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• Labour membership falls 10% amid unrest over Brexit stance

  05-02-2019 21:31
  Labour party membership has declined by more than 10% from a peak of 575,000 in summer 2017 after Jeremy Corbyn’s stronger-than-expected performance in the general election, according to new figures seen by the Guardian.The figures, shown to the Guardian by a senior party insider, suggest net membership has declined by around 6,000 in each of the past two months, from 524,000 at the start of December, to 512,000.
  
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• Community leaders tell Theresa May of their fears about a hard Brexit

  05-02-2019 21:23
  The Prime Minister met community leaders at the 174 Trust in north Belfast during her visit to Northern Ireland on Tuesday.
  
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• Margaret Thatcher statue approved despite vandalism fears

  05-02-2019 21:20
  Plans for a statue of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher in her home town have been approved, despite concerns about it being vandalised.The £30,000 installation, which was originally intended to be placed in Parliament Square in Westminster, will stand on a 10ft-high granite plinth because of fears of a "motivated far-left movement... who may be committed to public activism".South Kesteven District Council's planning committee unanimously voted in favour of the statue, which will pla
  
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• Eddie Jones's England options a cause for joy but they bring problems too

  05-02-2019 21:18
  With so many players ready for France, Jones has to balance keeping some hungry and giving others some game timePicking England’s team to face France this weekend should, on the face of it, be the easiest job in rugby. Identify the most suitable replacement for the injured Maro Itoje in the second row, rubber-stamp the other 14 members of the starting XV responsible for beating Ireland in Dublin and, for once, head out for coffee without a care in the world.In reality, it is not quite that
  
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• Maisie Williams wants networking app to give more power to creative people

  05-02-2019 21:15
  The Game Of Thrones star was discussing her social networking app Daisie at a university careers event.
  
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• RAF Tornado jets make final return to RAF Marham

  05-02-2019 21:14 via bbc.co.uk
  The fighter jets, used in the fight against the Islamic State group, return to RAF Marham in Norfolk.
  
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• EU, Ireland in talks on emergency fund to offset no-deal Brexit - Guardian

  05-02-2019 21:09
  (Reuters) - The European Union and Ireland are in discussions over a substantial Brexit emergency fund in order to offset the impact of a no-deal Brexit on Ireland's food exports to Britain, the Guardian newspaper reported on Tuesday.
  
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• West Indies roll back years to make England look like Calypso Cricketers | Andy Bull

  05-02-2019 21:00
  The hosts have schooled England in the disciplines of Test cricket and made the tourists look like the slapdash outfit West Indies were once so wrongly caricatured asLong before he won the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry, John Agard used to dream he would be a cricket commentator. On Desert Island Discs he told Kirsty Young that when he was growing up in Georgetown he would practise John Arlott’s best lines “the way a present day teenager might stand in front of the mirror and pr
  
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• Interserve's lenders go head-to-head with Cabinet Office over rescue options

  05-02-2019 20:59
  Public sector contractor employing 45,000 people in UK faces Carillion-style collapse over £800m debtThe government has raised objections to a rescue plan designed to stave off a Carillion-style collapse at Interserve, the contractor whose public sector contracts include hospital cleaning and serving school meals.Lenders to the company, which employs 45,000 people in the UK, are trying to thrash out the terms of a plan under which they would agree to cancel nearly half of the company&rsquo
  
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• Nobel peace prize winner Oscar Árias accused of sexual assault

  05-02-2019 20:52
  Former president of Costa Rica denies claim from nuclear disarmament activist that he sexually assaulted her in 2014
  Oscar Árias, the Costa Rican former president and Nobel peace prize laureate, has been enveloped in scandal after a sexual assault complaint was brought against him by a nuclear disarmament activist.Árias denied the allegation, saying he has never acted against the will of any woman and has fought for gender equality during his career. Continue reading...
  
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• Vietnamese blogger vanishes after fleeing to Thailand

  05-02-2019 20:51
  Radio Free Asia editors last heard from Truong Duy Nhat on 26 January, a day after he applied for refugee status with the UN A Vietnamese blogger for Radio Free Asia has vanished after fleeing to Thailand, the news organization said Tuesday, as rights activists voiced fear that he had been abducted.Truong Duy Nhat – a weekly blogger for the Vietnamese service of Radio Free Asia, which aims to provide news to countries that lack press freedom – last made contact with editors on 26 Jan
  
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• Q&A: What is at stake at Richard Freeman’s medical tribunal?

  05-02-2019 20:48
  The career of Richard Freeman, the former Team Sky and British Cycling doctor, is on the line but what is he accused of and what could be the consequences for the sport?When Richard Freeman, the former Team Sky and British Cycling doctor, walks into the St James’s Building in Manchester to face a medical tribunal on Wednesday he knows his career will be on the line. And so, in a way, will be the reputations of the organisations he worked for.For Freeman’s case, brought by the General
  
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• Coronet designed by Albert for Victoria is V&A gallery's new star

  05-02-2019 20:48
  Queen’s cherished possession among 80 new items to go on show in revamped jewellery galleryOne of Queen Victoria’s most cherished items of jewellery, a sapphire and diamond coronet designed by her husband Albert, is to be the star of a newly refurbished gallery at the museum that bears their name.The V&A has announced details of plans for its William and Judith Bollinger jewellery gallery, due to reopen in April. Continue reading...
  
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• Woman at centre of citizenship row cautiously welcomes PM’s immigration review

  05-02-2019 20:45
  The UK government rejected Emma DeSouza's American husband’s application for a visa over her refusal to call herself British.
  
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• Your Move owner to close 124 high street branches to boost profits

  05-02-2019 20:36
  The slowdown in the UK's property market and shift to online searches is to account for the closure of 124 estate agency branches.In a fresh blow for struggling high streets, the owner of the Your Move, JNP and Reeds Rains brands, LSL Property Services, said it was shutting the sites in a bid to boost profitability.The decision puts hundreds of jobs at risk at Your Move and Reeds Rains, though the company said it hoped to redeploy some of those affected.
  
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• Can candidates define the national conversation for 2020 amid the chaos? | Art Cullen

  05-02-2019 20:32
  Trump is set on making the border wall the central issue in the next election – candidates will have to find their own narrative to counter himThe 2020 presidential campaign started amid a government shutdown premised on walling us off from the world. And just the other weekend, the government reopened for three weeks to see if we could come to terms with our identity as a nation of immigrants. Related: Trump set a low bar for other deluded billionaires flirting with a 2020 run | Jill Abra
  
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• Maybot random speech generator gets stuck on repeat | John Crace

  05-02-2019 20:13
  Although PM had nothing much to say to her Belfast audience, she managed to say it three timesWhen you haven’t got anything much to say, it’s generally best to keep quiet. But if Theresa May were to stick to that principle then she’d never say anything. Which might be doing everyone else a favour, but isn’t generally considered to be a sound operating tactic for a prime minister.So every now and again – both to let off steam and to appear in control – May&rsqu
  
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• Football fans score health benefits in EU-funded fitness scheme

  05-02-2019 20:13
  Study found that men’s loyalty to their team encouraged them to attend classes at stadiumsMen who love their football club enough to attend lifestyle advice sessions at its stadium lost weight, ate more healthily and reduced their risk of dying, according to a study.Fans of teams including Arsenal, Everton and Manchester City enjoyed a significant boost to their health after 12 90-minute classes at their grounds. Continue reading...
  
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• In Belfast the only consensus on Brexit is a huge, collective groan

  05-02-2019 20:11
  Backstop? No backstop? As May woos supporters, old rivals agree: all the options are doomedTheresa May visited Northern Ireland this week to pitch a deal that will “command broad support”. But on the streets of Belfast the only consensus about Brexit was a collective groan.Those who want a hard Brexit or no Brexit or just never want to hear the word again expressed little confidence on Tuesday that the prime minister’s two-day trip to Belfast will muster support. Continue readi
  
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• Home Secretary Sajid Javid accused of 'pandering to far-right racism' over Jamaica deportation flight

  05-02-2019 20:04
  Home Secretary Sajid Javid is facing mounting criticism over a charter flight due to deport dozens of people to Jamaica this week.Tabling an urgent question, David Lammy accused the government of pandering to "far-right racism, sham immigration targets and a dog-whistle to the right-wing press".One man believed to be booked on the flight is Twane Morgan, a veteran suffering from PTSD who knows no-one in Jamaica and says his mental health would deteriorate if he were sent to the country.
  
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• Football fans score health benefits in training programme

  05-02-2019 20:00
  EuroFIT, based on a model developed by the University of Glasgow, involved more than 1,100 men who support clubs including Arsenal and FC Porto.
  
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• Dementia care figures branded ‘unacceptable’ and ‘utterly shameful’

  05-02-2019 19:58
  New figures from the NHS showed that in 2016-17 just 46.7% of dementia cases suffered were referred to specialist support services after diagnosis.
  
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• Emiliano Sala plane crash: Investigators attempt to recover body in wreckage

  05-02-2019 19:55
  The missing aircraft was located off the coast of Guernsey on Sunday evening after disappearing on January 21.
  
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• The Guardian view on Brexit and Ireland: the forging of folly | Editorial

  05-02-2019 19:54
  Hard Brexiters view the Irish backstop not as a way of keeping the peace but as a devious mechanism to force Britain to march in lockstep with EU regulations they are desperate to get out ofBrexit is about drawing lines on maps and hearts. In that respect it is at odds with the 1998 Good Friday agreement which sought to erase them. Key to ending the Troubles was the removal of the hard border between the north and south of Ireland. Theresa May’s problem is that she has committed to leaving
  
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• Ireland and EU discuss emergency funds to offset no-deal Brexit

  05-02-2019 19:52
  Ireland taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is to hold a round of meetings in Brussels on Wednesday.Ireland is in talks with the EU over a substantial Brexit emergency fund to offset the damage caused to the country’s €4.5bn (£3.96bn) food exports to Britain if the UK crashes out of the bloc with no deal next month.As Theresa May prepares for a crunch meeting in Brussels on Thursday, officials at the European commission are already looking at continuous compensatory measures for Ireland as
  
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• Business leader in NI urges end to Brexit ‘brinkmanship’

  05-02-2019 19:48
  Aodhan Connolly said a no-deal Brexit would destroy 40 years of supply chain development with the Republic of Ireland.
  
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• Wales flanker Thomas Young to make Six Nations debut against Italy

  05-02-2019 19:47
  • Wasps forward steps up after adapting to intense Wales training
  • Garry Ringrose and Devin Toner out for IrelandThomas Young is in line to make his Six Nations debut for Wales against Italy in Rome on Saturday after impressing during training in Nice.The 26-year-old was picked for the first time by Warren Gatland last month. Young’s caps against Tonga and Samoa in 2017, after he had been in the training group for the Six Nations that year without making the match-day 23, came w
  
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• Richer, older men more likely to drink to excess, figures show

  05-02-2019 19:41
  ‘Affluent, well-educated groups are drinking the most,’ said Katherine Severi, chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies thinktank.Overall, 21% of people aged 16 and over in England drink more than the 14 units a week recommended by the UK’s four chief medical officers, a fall on the previous year.Far more men (28%) than women (14%) drink more than this threshold, according to NHS Digital, in a detailed portrait of alcohol and the harm it causes.
  
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• Runner suffocated mountain lion after animal attacked him, officials say

  05-02-2019 19:35
  Colorado Parks and Wildlife says man fought off the cougar, hiked out of the area after attack and drove himself to hospitalWildlife officials say a man who fought off a young mountain lion on a northern Colorado trail killed the animal by suffocating it.Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the man was running alone near Fort Collins when the lion attacked him from behind after the movement apparently triggered its hunting instincts. Continue reading...
  
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• My daughter’s life is priceless, but the NHS must not overpay for drugs | Letters

  05-02-2019 19:32
  The mother of a young woman with cystic fibrosis and other readers respond to a report and editorial about the prohibitively high cost of life-saving drugsMy 22-year-old daughter has cystic fibrosis (Ministers urged to intervene over ‘unaffordable’ cystic fibrosis drug, 4 February). She is on the brink of starting a career as a social worker, despite the enormous hurdles her health and other people’s failure to make reasonable adjustments have caused to date.We hope she will ha
  
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