General news

• How May’s Brexit deal laid bare Tories’ deep divisions over Europe

  13-03-2019 23:37
  Theresa May addresses the Commons on Wednesday night. Photograph: Mark Duffy/APThroughout yet another neuralgic day of Brexit debate at Westminster, the deep divisions in the Conservative party were again on excruciating display.Collective responsibility has long been suspended, as shifting groups of ministers and backbenchers pursue their own favoured Brexit outcome. But the chaotic votes of Wednesday night smacked of a government falling apart.First, six cabinet ministers most notable for thei
  
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• Brexit set for delay after May wounded by rejection of 'no-deal'

  13-03-2019 23:27
  The British parliament on Wednesday rejected leaving the European Union without a deal, further weakening Prime Minister Theresa May and paving the way for a vote that could delay Brexit until at least the end of June.After a day of high drama, MPs defied the government by voting 321 to 278 in favour of a motion that ruled out a potentially disorderly "no-deal" Brexit under any circumstances.It went further than the government's position of keeping the threat of a "no-deal" Brexit on the negotia
  
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• Jodie Chesney: Third person charged with teenager's murder in London park

  13-03-2019 23:25
  A third person has been charged with the murder of 17-year-old Jodie Chesney.Svenson Ong-a-kwie, an 18-year-old from Romford, will appear at Barkingside Magistrates' Court on Thursday.Jodie was stabbed in a park in Harold Hill, east London, on 1 March as she was listening to music with friends.
  
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• What The Hell Happened? Humiliated May Fights For Political Life With Final Brexit Gamble

  13-03-2019 23:23
  Theresa May has launched a desperate final bid to save her battered Brexitdeal after a clutch of Cabinet ministers inflicted a fresh Commons humiliationon her premiership
  
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• Scientists plead for moratorium after designer babies outcry - Financial Times

  13-03-2019 23:11
  Scientists plead for moratorium after designer babies outcry  Financial TimesScientists call for global moratorium on gene editing of embryos  The GuardianScientists demand a BAN on human gene-editing after illegal Chinese experiment  Daily MailGene-editing babies: Call to pause humanity-altering research  BBC NewsGroup of World's Top Researchers Call For an Urgent Moratorium on Gene-Edited Babies  ScienceAlertView full coverage on Google News
  
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• Yvette Cooper: amendment was a 'vote against chaos of no deal'

  13-03-2019 23:02
  Yvette Cooper said that she decided to press an amendment that ruled out no deal because Theresa May “has refused to consult or build consensus” and “refused to allow votes on other Brexit options”.It fell upon the Labour backbencher to push the “no to no deal” amendment to a vote after its initial sponsor, Conservative MP Caroline Spelman, had said she wanted to let it drop in favour of the government’s weaker proposal that only ruled out exiting withou
  
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• May’s final warning to Tory rebels: back me or lose Brexit

  13-03-2019 22:50
  Theresa May in parliament after MPs voted to reject leaving the EU without a deal. Photograph: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PATheresa May will attempt one final desperate roll of the dice on her Brexit deal, issuing a stark warning to mutinous Brexiters that they must approve her offer by next week or face a long article 50 extension.The prime minister was humiliated yet again amid chaotic scenes on Wednesday night in parliament, as her cabinet ruptured three ways and MPs inflicted two more defe
  
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• Facebook And Instagram Down: Social Media Giant Turns To Twitter To Announce Problems

  13-03-2019 22:47
  People are reporting problems with Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp
  
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• Third person charged with murder of Jodie Chesney

  13-03-2019 22:43
  Jodie, 17, was fatally stabbed in a park in Harold Hill, east London, on March 1.
  
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• Jodie Chesney: Svenson Ong-A-Kwie, 18, Charged With Murder Of Teenager Stabbed To Death In Park

  13-03-2019 22:42
  A third person has been charged with the murder of Jodie Chesney, theMetropolitan Police have said
  
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• MPs could vote again on May’s EU agreement after ruling out no-deal Brexit

  13-03-2019 22:27
  In another night of drama in the Commons, MPs voted by 321-278 to reject no-deal in any circumstances.
  
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• MPs to vote on delaying EU withdrawal after rejecting a no-deal Brexit

  13-03-2019 22:25
  Theresa May urged MPs to back a Withdrawal Agreement in order to allow a short delay beyond March 29.
  
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• Business leaders welcome rejection of no-deal Brexit but urge action

  13-03-2019 22:25
  Catherine McGuinness, the City of London Corporation's policy chairwoman, says the move is a 'victory for common sense'.
  
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• Varadkar: Ireland’s corporate tax rate brings certainty

  13-03-2019 22:21
  The Irish premier said the 12.5% tax rate 'isn't going to change'.
  
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• MPs defy May to reject no-deal Brexit, to vote on three-month delay

  13-03-2019 22:15
  MPs on Wednesday rejected leaving the European Union without a deal in any scenario, paving the way for a vote to seek to delay Brexit until at least the end of June.After a day of high drama, MPs voted by 321 to 278 in favour of a motion that ruled out a potentially disorderly 'no-deal' Brexit under any circumstances.While the approved motion has no legal force and ultimately may not prevent a no-deal exit, it carries considerable political force, especially as it passed thanks to a substantial
  
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• Ministers who abstained on no deal Brexit vote will not be sacked - Guardian reporter

  13-03-2019 22:15
  LONDON (Reuters) - Government ministers who defied instructions by abstaining in a vote in Britain's parliament on Wednesday will not be sacked, Guardian reporter Dan Sabbagh said on Twitter.
  
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• Germany says Britain's rejection of no-deal Brexit 'sign of reason'

  13-03-2019 22:15
  BERLIN (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas welcomed MPs' vote on Wednesday to reject leaving the European Union without a deal in any scenario as "a sign of reason."
  
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• EU on no-deal Brexit motion: 'like Titanic voting for iceberg to move'

  13-03-2019 22:14
  Michel Barnier speaks at a Brexit debate in Strasbourg on Wednesday.Photograph: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty ImagesBrussels has said a vote by UK MPs to block a no-deal Brexit in any circumstances is a meaningless move, with one senior EU negotiator describing it as “the Titanic voting for the iceberg to get out of the way”.A European commission spokesman offered a withering assessment of the decision by MPs to ignore Theresa May’s assertion that no deal was the default position
  
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• Ben Nevis avalanche victims revealed as French and Swiss climbers

  13-03-2019 22:14
  Three men have died while a fourth, 30-year-old Mathieu Biselx, remains in a stable condition at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
  
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• Ben Nevis survivor says climbers had ‘two seconds’ before avalanche hit

  13-03-2019 22:12
  A police vehicle at Nevis Range mountain resort with Aonach Mor in the background. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PAThe sole survivor of an avalanche that killed three climbers on Ben Nevis has described being suddenly swept away by the force of the snowslide.Mathieu Biselx, 30, has told a Swiss newspaper he and his climbing companions had only two seconds’ warning before being hit by the sudden avalanche on No 5 Gully on the mountain, the UK’s highest peak.Speaking from his bed in Quee
  
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• MPs reject no-deal Brexit, but what happens next?

  13-03-2019 22:03
  Events over the next 24 hours will have a major impact on how, when - and if - the UK leaves the European Union.
  
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• Give us Brexit options or parliament will take over Brexit - Labour MP

  13-03-2019 22:01
  The government must come up with plans to allow parliament to vote on a series of options to break the impasse over Brexit or lawmakers will take over Britain's departure from the European Union, a Labour MP said on Wednesday."The government should come forward with plans to hold indicative votes on different options, including a customs union, so we can get on with this," said Yvette Cooper, a lawmaker who has led efforts to wrest control of Brexit from the government.
  
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• As the losses take their toll, May is now a leader in name only

  13-03-2019 22:01
  As she rose to explain her latest defeat, it became clear an arm had fallen off the Maybot. Photograph: ReutersFirst as tragedy. Then as farce. Finally as sheer batshit craziness. Even by her own standards, this was a new low. The prime minister cannot now even win what should have been a gimme, something with which she fundamentally agrees. Having resorted to whipping against the motion she had championed the day before, after her attempts to get the Caroline Spelman amendment pulled had failed
  
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• We will keep voting down PM May's deal, says senior UK eurosceptic

  13-03-2019 21:55
  LONDON (Reuters) - Senior eurosceptic MP Steve Baker said on Wednesday he would keep voting against Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal if it was put before parliament again.
  
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• Toot your horn! Goats hold up traffic after leaving hills for town centre

  13-03-2019 21:52
  Some of the wild herd of Kashmiri goats decided to snack on the local shrubbery.
  
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• UK government would expect rebel ministers to resign, no comment on abstainers - spokesman

  13-03-2019 21:47
  A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said ministers who voted against the government's instructions on Wednesday would be expected to resign, but did not say that those who abstained would also be expected to resign.Four cabinet ministers, including the work and pensions minister Amber Rudd, the justice minister David Gauke, the business minister Greg Clarke and Scotland minister David Mundell abstained on the motion."If you vote against the government you are expected to resign," the spok
  
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• Brexit chaos in the Commons: what just happened?

  13-03-2019 21:47
  Effigies of British politicians (R-L): Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and David Davis are driven past parliament by pro-EU supporters. Photograph: Tim Ireland/AP What has been decided?Parliament has said the government should rule out the idea of a no-deal Brexit not just on 29 March, but ever, after a backbench amendment was passed. What votes took place?The government tabled a motion ruling out no deal on 29 March, but two amendments to this were allowed by the Speaker, John Bercow.
  
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• Brexit motion to be put to UK parliament on Thursday

  13-03-2019 21:36
  LONDON (Reuters) - Following is the motion to be put to MPs in the House of Commons on Thursday by the government of Prime Minister Theresa May:
  
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• Varadkar: UK can change mind on Brexit and be ‘welcomed back like Prodigal Son’

  13-03-2019 21:32
  The Irish Taoiseach was speaking on his visit to the US.
  
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• Drama as MPs vote to block no-deal Brexit in all circumstances

  13-03-2019 21:27
  It came a day after Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement was dramatically rejected by an overwhelming majority for a second time.
  
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• UK government will propose delay until June 30 if deal approved

  13-03-2019 21:25
  Britain's government will propose on Thursday to seek a delay to Brexit until June 30 if parliament approves a deal to leave the European Union by March 20, the parliamentary Speaker said on Wednesday.MPs are due to vote on a possible extension on Thursday, when the government will also say that if no agreement has been approved by parliament by March 20, it is unlikely that the European Union will approve any extension at its summit on March 21-22 without a specific reason to do so.If the deal
  
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• Cabinet Ministers Defy Theresa May’s Orders In Massive Breakdown Of Collective Responsibility

  13-03-2019 21:23
  Five of Theresa May's cabinet ministers have defied her orders in the no-dealCommons votes - in a massive breakdown of collective governmentresponsibility
  
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• Voting against no-deal Brexit is not enough, UK has to agree to a deal - EU

  13-03-2019 21:21
  It is not enough for the British parliament to vote against leaving the European Union without a deal, the European Commission said on Wednesday, noting that to prevent such an option, Britain had to actually accept some kind of a deal.The comment came after MPs rejected leaving the EU without a deal in any scenario, paving the way for a vote to delay Brexit to seek a way out of the country's worst political crisis in generations."We take note of the votes in the House of Commons this evening,"
  
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• May - Britain could face long Brexit delay if no consensus found

  13-03-2019 21:21
  Britain could face a long delay to Brexit if MPs cannot agree a way forward in coming days, Prime Minister Theresa May said after MPs voted to reject leaving the European Union without a deal in any circumstance."The House has to understand and accept that if it is not willing to support a deal in the coming days and - as it is not willing to support leaving without a deal on March 29 - then it is suggesting that there will need to be a much longer extension to Article 50," she said, adding that
  
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• Lord Steel says he believed Cyril Smith child abuse allegations

  13-03-2019 21:15
  Cyril Smith, left, and David Steel in 1978.Photograph: Keystone Pictures USA/Rex/ShutterstockLord Steel, the Liberal Democrat peer, has admitted believing in 1979 that child abuse allegations against Sir Cyril Smith were true, but did nothing to assess whether he was a continuing risk to children. The former Liberal party leader said the late MP for Rochdale confirmed in a conversation that reports of child sexual abuse in the media were accurate. But rather than suspend and investigate the MP,
  
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• Lord Steel says he believed Cyril Smith abuse claims but did not act

  13-03-2019 21:15
  Inquiry hears ex-Liberal leader assumed allegations were true in 1979 but did not suspend MPLord Steel, the Liberal Democrat peer, has admitted believing in 1979 that child abuse allegations against Sir Cyril Smith were true, but did nothing to assess whether he was a continuing risk to children.The former Liberal party leader said the late MP for Rochdale confirmed in a conversation that reports of child sexual abuse in the media were accurate. Continue reading...
  
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• Brexit live: MPs vote to block a no-deal Brexit

  13-03-2019 21:06
  The amendment had a majority of just four in support.
  
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• MPs back proposal to take 'no deal' Brexit off the table

  13-03-2019 20:59
  Britain's parliament on Wednesday backed a proposal for Prime Minister Theresa May to completely rule out a 'no deal' Brexit, something she has said was impossible to do.The government had said it wants to win approval for a deal to leave the EU but that in law, the default position was to leave without one if no agreement had been reached by March 29.
  
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• Why does breast cancer recur? New study finds clues - jamaicaobserver.com

  13-03-2019 20:55
  Why does breast cancer recur? New study finds clues  jamaicaobserver.comCancer's 'internal wiring' predicts relapse risk  BBC NewsHope for breast cancer survivors as scientists develop new test  Daily MailRewriting the breast cancer rulebook  Cancer Research UKBreast cancer test could predict chances of disease’s return 20 years later, study shows  The IndependentView full coverage on Google News
  
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• MPs reject no-deal Brexit by majority of 43 in second vote

  13-03-2019 20:55
  MPs have inflicted two more defeats on Theresa May, rejecting the idea of Britain leaving the EU without a deal and clearing the way for Brexit to be delayed.After the prime minister’s deal was heavily voted down for a second time on Tuesday, she announced a government motion ruling out a no-deal Brexit on 29 March – overturning her longstanding policy of refusing to rule it out.May promised MPs a free vote, but the motion was carefully worded, with the final sentence stating that, &
  
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• Relatives of Bloody Sunday victims hope long wait for justice could be over

  13-03-2019 20:40
  Relatives of those shot on Bloody Sunday marching in Derry before the release of the Saville inquiry in 2010. Photograph: Paul Faith/PAMichael McKinney, Jean Hegarty and John Kelly, like all the close relatives of the Bloody Sunday victims, have waited more than 40 years for justice.On Thursday morning they and others will gather beside the rain-stained memorial to the 1972 shootings in the Bogside. Together they will walk to Derry’s neo-gothic Guildhall after learning whether Northern Ire
  
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• Irish investment in the US at an all-time high, Leo Varadkar says

  13-03-2019 20:29
  The Taoiseach made the comment during a visit to Washington DC as part of his St Patrick’s Day trip to the US.
  
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• MPs Reject No-Deal Brexit And Defeat Theresa May – So What Next?

  13-03-2019 20:22
  MPs have voted to reject a no-deal Brexit "under any circumstance", inflictingyet another humiliating defeat on Theresa May
  
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• British parliament votes for ruling out no-deal Brexit in any scenario

  13-03-2019 20:22
  MPs on Wednesday rejected leaving the European Union without a deal in any scenario, in a non-binding vote which will increase pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May to rule out a 'no-deal' exit.It went further than the government's motion, which notes that parliament does not want to leave without a deal on March 29 and that the default legal position is to leave without a deal unless one is ratified by parliament.
  
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• Leo Varadkar to take partner to meeting with Mike Pence

  13-03-2019 20:06
  The Irish Premier confirmed the pair will attend a breakfast with the US vice-president on Thursday morning.
  
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• Donald Trump Grounds All Boeing 737 MAX Jets In The US

  13-03-2019 19:58
  US President Donald Trump said the country would issue an emergency ordergrounding all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the wake of the Ethiopian Airlinescrash that killed 157 people
  
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• Kew murder: Man arrested in Estonia over murder of film-maker found in shallow grave

  13-03-2019 19:57
  A man has been arrested in Estonia over the murder of a French film-maker found buried in her garden in west London.
  
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• PM ‘terrified’ to say how bad no-deal Brexit will be, Labour MP claims

  13-03-2019 19:54
  Theresa May has been described as a "rabbit in the headlights", too frightened of Brexiteers in her party to really say how bad no-deal would be for country, according to a Labour MP.Jess Phillips, making her first Commons speech in the debates on the Brexit process, said the "single thing that has been missing from …
  
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• ERG signals it could back May's Brexit deal if legal advice is clearer

  13-03-2019 19:39
  The discussions are taking place around a point raised by Jacob Rees-Mogg relating to article 62 of the Vienna convention. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesSenior Tory Eurosceptics believe they and the Democratic Unionist party could be persuaded to back Theresa May’s Brexit deal if Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, gave clearer legal advice about how the UK could withdraw from an international treaty. It is understood the DUP is back in talks with senior government figures about what
  
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• Germany says will not analyse Ethiopian Airlines black box

  13-03-2019 19:32
  BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) said on Wednesday it will not analyse the black box from the Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet which crashed soon after taking off from Addis Ababa on Sunday.
  
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