General news

• Northern Ireland DUP wary of PM's new Brexit strategy

  02-04-2019 23:27
  BELFAST (Reuters) - It remains to be seen whether British Prime Minister Theresa May can successfully agree a EU divorce deal with opponents in parliament whom she has demonised for years, the Northern Irish party propping up her government said on Tuesday.
  
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• Iran conducted 'major cyber assault' on key UK infrastructure

  02-04-2019 23:14
  Iran is being blamed for a wave of cyber attacks that targeted key parts of the UK's national infrastructure in a major assault just before Christmas.It is understood that private sector companies, including banks, were also compromised in what has been described as an "ongoing" campaign.Sky News has learnt that the Post Office and local government networks were both hit in coordinated attacks on 23 December.
  
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• Colombia court embargoes treasure from Spanish ship amid legal battle

  02-04-2019 22:55
  A Colombian court on Tuesday ordered an embargo on the salvaging of a 300-year-old Spanish ship believed to be carrying jewels and coins due to a legal battle between the Andean country and a U.S. company that claims 50 percent ownership of the treasure.Spain's San Jose galleon, thought by historians to be carrying gold, silver and emeralds that would be worth billions of dollars today, sank in 1708 near Colombia's Caribbean port of Cartagena.Sea Search Armada (SSA), a U.S.-based salvage company
  
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• May and Corbyn to hold talks in effort to break Brexit ‘logjam’

  02-04-2019 22:53
  Prime Minister Theresa May said she would ask Brussels for a further delay to Brexit in order to reach a cross-party deal.
  
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• Proud to be on the spectrum: Thousands speak out on World Autism Awareness Day

  02-04-2019 22:46
  World Autism Awareness Day is observed on 2 April, and Twitter users have been sharing their experiences of the condition.
  
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• May calls for talks with Corbyn in bid to save Brexit

  02-04-2019 22:32
  Theresa May has offered to enter talks with Jeremy Corbyn to break the logjam over Brexit and let parliament decide a binding way forward if they fail to find a compromise.In a significant shift, May said she would request an extension to leaving the European Union and opened the door to accepting a softer Brexit, with No 10 later not ruling out accepting either a customs union or a second referendum.The prime minister extended the offer in a televised statement from Downing Street following a m
  
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• May gambles on talks with Labour to unlock Brexit, enraging her own party

  02-04-2019 22:23
  Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she would seek another Brexit delay to agree an EU divorce deal with the opposition Labour leader, a last-ditch gambit to break an impasse over Britain's departure that enraged many in her party.Nearly three years since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in a shock referendum result, it is still unclear how, when or if it will ever indeed quit the European club it first joined in 1973.In a hastily arranged statement from her Downing St
  
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• Senior Conservative says PM May's new Brexit plan a disaster

  02-04-2019 21:54
  LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmaker Iain Duncan Smith, a former leader of Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party and a staunch Brexit supporter, attacked her new plan to delay Brexit and open talks with the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn.
  
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• Theresa May seeks further Brexit delay and makes offer to Jeremy Corbyn

  02-04-2019 21:52
  Theresa May has said she will be seeking a further delay to Brexit, as she offered to sit down with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in a bid to break the impasse.Speaking in Downing Street following a marathon seven-hour meeting of her cabinet, the prime minister said the debate and division caused by Britain's EU exit "cannot drag on much longer"."Today I'm taking action to break the logjam," Mrs May said.
  
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• Queen hosts Windsor Castle charity reception for volunteers

  02-04-2019 21:51
  The event marked the 100 year anniversary of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations of which the Queen is a patron.
  
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• 'Frankly Grotesque': Tory Eurosceptic Fury As Theresa May Proposes Brexit Compromise With Corbyn

  02-04-2019 21:49
  Tory Eurosceptics have vented fresh anger and frustration at Theresa May afterthe PM offered to sit down with Jeremy Corbyn to hammer out a Brexit deal
  
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• 'Frankly Grotesque': Tory Eurosceptic Fury As Theresa May Proposes Brexit Compromise With Corbyn

  02-04-2019 21:49
  Tory Eurosceptics have vented fresh anger and frustration at Theresa May afterthe PM offered to sit down with Jeremy Corbyn to hammer out a Brexit deal
  
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• May has kicked her Brexit can firmly into Corbyn's face

  02-04-2019 21:48
  The only real conclusion her near-obsolete binary brain had reached was that Brexit was a complete mess. Photograph: Jack Taylor/AFP/Getty ImagesAlmost three years into the Brexit process and trust levels are near zero. After a seven-hour meeting, the cabinet had been frisked for their phones – Oi Gove, I want your burner as well – and kettled inside No 10 to prevent them from blabbing. This was one statement that Theresa May would get to make that the country hadn’t already he
  
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• May has kicked her Brexit can firmly into Corbyn's face

  02-04-2019 21:48
  The only real conclusion her near-obsolete binary brain had reached was that Brexit was a complete mess. Photograph: Jack Taylor/AFP/Getty ImagesAlmost three years into the Brexit process and trust levels are near zero. After a seven-hour meeting, the cabinet had been frisked for their phones – Oi Gove, I want your burner as well – and kettled inside No 10 to prevent them from blabbing. This was one statement that Theresa May would get to make that the country hadn’t already he
  
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• Factbox: How parliament plans to pull back from the Brexit cliff-edge

  02-04-2019 21:47
  A group of British lawmakers said on Tuesday they would try to force Prime Minister Theresa May to seek a delay to Britain's departure from the European Union to prevent a chaotic no-deal exit on April 12.The plan, which is outside the government's control, relies on passing a piece of legislation that forces May to seek an unspecified delay to Brexit, but how would it work?The Sun newspaper reported that the group had set out a proposed timetable to push the legislation through the Commons in a
  
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• EU's Tusk calls for patience with Britain over Brexit

  02-04-2019 21:43
  European Union leaders should be patient with Britain over its struggle to find majority support in parliament for a deal to exit the bloc, EU leaders group chairman Donald Tusk said on Tuesday."Even if, after today, we don’t know what the end result will be, let us be patient," Tusk said on Twitter.Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen cautiously backed Tusk but expressed doubt whether May's attempt for a cross-party compromise on Brexit, something EU officials have said May should h
  
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• We need clarity, France and Germany tell UK after May seeks further Brexit delay

  02-04-2019 21:42
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The foreign ministers of Germany and France called for more clarity from London on Tuesday after British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would seek a further delay to Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.
  
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• Gove still hopes Northern Irish DUP will back May's Brexit approach

  02-04-2019 21:41
  The British government still wants the support of Northern Irish unionists to pass its Brexit deal despite pivoting in its strategy to consult the opposition Labour party on the way forward, environment minister Michael Gove said on Tuesday.The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) have said they will never support May's deal so long as the so-called Irish border backstop is in place, contributing to three defeats in parliament for the withdrawal agreement with the EU and forcing a change of approach.
  
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• May gambles on talks with Labour to unlock Brexit, enraging her party

  02-04-2019 21:33
  Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she would ask for another Brexit delay to sit down with the opposition Labour leader, a last-ditch gambit to break the deadlock over Britain's exit that enraged many in her febrile party.Nearly three years since the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU in a shock referendum result, it is still unclear how, when or if it will ever indeed quit the European club it first joined in 1973.In a hastily arranged statement from her Downing Street office after sp
  
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• Brexit becoming "soft to the point of disintegration", says Johnson

  02-04-2019 21:23
  Boris Johnson, who was a leading figure in the campaign to take Britain out of the EU, said Brexit was becoming "soft to the point of disintegration" after Prime Minister Theresa May asked to work with the opposition Labour party to secure an exit deal.Johnson, who quit as Britain's foreign minister over May's handling of Brexit, said he was bitterly disappointed with her move on Tuesday and said the country was now likely to remain in a customs union with the European Union, a much softer form
  
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• Rees-Mogg warns PM people did not vote for a Corbyn-May coalition

  02-04-2019 21:21
  Eurosceptics reacted with shock and dismay to Theresa May's decision to soften her Brexit stance and seek a further extension to reach a consensus.
  
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• Facebook chief pledges to work with governments to regulate social media

  02-04-2019 21:07
  Facebook's European headquarters is in the Irish capital.
  
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• Opposition leader Corbyn: could still call no-confidence vote in PM May

  02-04-2019 21:04
  British opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn welcomed Prime Minister Theresa May's offer of Brexit talks on Tuesday but warned he reserved the right to try to bring the government down if it is incapable of getting a majority in parliament."We hold in reserve the right to bring a motion of no- confidence in the government if the government proves it's incapable of commanding a majority in the House of Commons - time will tell on that," he said in a broadcast interview, adding Labour would try
  
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• Brexit prize in sight, May wants to find way with Labour - spokesman

  02-04-2019 21:02
  Prime Minister Theresa May believes trying to reach agreement with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to break a parliamentary impasse is worth aiming for to win the "significant prize" of Brexit, her spokesman said on Tuesday."Jeremy Corbyn was elected on a manifesto to deliver Brexit."We think there is an opportunity to agree something here and put forward a plan that both sides agree to as a way of getting Brexit over the line.
  
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• May to ask for short Brexit extension and reaches out to Labour

  02-04-2019 20:58
  Theresa May is to ask for another brief Brexit extension in order to seek a compromise withdrawal plan with the Labour party, she has announced, signalling the likelihood of Downing Street backing a softer Brexit. In a brief TV statement inside No 10 following a seven-hour cabinet meeting, the prime minister said she would hold talks with Jeremy Corbyn to seek a Brexit plan they could agree on and “both stick to”. In response, Corbyn said he was “very happy” to take part
  
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• What is Theresa May's new plan for Brexit?

  02-04-2019 20:52
  Theresa May announced at Downing Street that she will try to work out a compromise with Jeremy Corbyn. Photograph: ReutersAfter a marathon seven-hour cabinet meeting at Downing Street, and 10 days before the UK is scheduled to crash out of the EU without a deal, Theresa May has unveiled an updated Brexit plan. Here is what we know so far. What has the prime minister announced? She has called for talks with Jeremy Corbyn to try to work out a compromise Brexit plan that both the government and Lab
  
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• What is Theresa May's new plan for Brexit?

  02-04-2019 20:52
  Theresa May announced at Downing Street that she will try to work out a compromise with Jeremy Corbyn. Photograph: ReutersAfter a marathon seven-hour cabinet meeting at Downing Street, and 10 days before the UK is scheduled to crash out of the EU without a deal, Theresa May has unveiled an updated Brexit plan. Here is what we know so far. What has the prime minister announced?She has called for talks with Jeremy Corbyn to try to work out a compromise Brexit plan that both the government and Labo
  
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• PM May's new plan will hand power to Brussels - Boris Johnson

  02-04-2019 20:44
  LONDON (Reuters) - Boris Johnson, former British foreign secretary and prominent Brexiteer, said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Theresa May's new plan to further delay Brexit and open talks with the opposition Labour Party would hand power to the European Union.
  
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• Jack Renshaw: Neo-Nazi paedophile will not face retrial over National Action membership

  02-04-2019 20:38
  A paedophile neo-Nazi will not face another retrial over charges he was a member of banned far-right group National Action.Jack Renshaw, 23, still faces jail after previously admitting a plot to kill his MP.A jury at their Old Bailey retrial was unable to reach a verdict after 48 hours of deliberations and lawyers say they cannot pursue the charges further.
  
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• Sterling gains, euro pares losses as May seeks Brexit delay

  02-04-2019 20:36
  Sterling gained and the euro pared losses, but remained lower on the day, after British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday that she would ask the European Union for a further delay to Brexit.May is seeking a delay beyond April 12 to give her time to sit down with the opposition Labour Party in a bid to break the impasse over Britain's departure.Survey data on Monday showed factories in the euro zone had their worst month in almost six years in March, while economic data in the United Sta
  
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• "Deeply unsatisfactory": Rees-Mogg attacks PM May's new Brexit plan

  02-04-2019 20:31
  Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading hardline Brexiteer in Theresa May's Conservative Party, attacked her plan to further delay Brexit so she can work with the opposition Labour party to break the impasse over Britain's departure.It is not in the interests of the country, it fails to deliver on the referendum result and history doesn't bode well for it," Rees-Mogg told reporters after a meeting of the Conservative eurosceptic group.
  
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• London's Tulip skyscraper given planning permission

  02-04-2019 20:28
  At 305 metres high, the Tulip will be the second tallest bulding in western Europe after the Shard. Photograph: Foster + Partners/PAA controversial new London skyscraper dubbed “the Tulip” has been given planning approval, paving the way for the construction of the second tallest building in Western Europe after the Shard. Designed by Foster + Partners, the 305-metre tower in the City of London will feature a viewing platform with rotating pods, a restaurant and a sky bar, and is exp
  
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• London's Tulip skyscraper given planning permission

  02-04-2019 20:28
  At 305 metres high, the Tulip will be the second tallest bulding in western Europe after the Shard.Photograph: Foster + Partners/PAA controversial new London skyscraper dubbed “the Tulip” has been given planning approval, paving the way for the construction of the second tallest building in Western Europe after the Shard.Designed by Foster + Partners, the 305-metre tower in the City of London will feature a viewing platform with rotating pods, a restaurant and a sky bar, and is expec
  
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• A Tulip-Shaped Skyscraper Is Coming To London And It Looks... Interesting

  02-04-2019 20:25
  Plans for a huge tulip-shaped London skyscraper has been given the go-ahead
  
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• Starbucks offers to pay for UK staff university fees

  02-04-2019 20:21
  Starbucks will offer eligible employees the chance to have university degrees paid for through a new scheme.The Starbucks Degree Achievement Plan looks to create opportunities for employees in the UK to earn their degrees online with Arizona State University (ASU).To apply, employees will need to meet the criteria, which stipulates they must not already have a bachelor's degree, that they meet the university's entry requirements and have been employed in a Starbucks-owned shop for at least three
  
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• Man arrested after fifth knife attack yards from police cordon

  02-04-2019 20:15
  Scotland Yard said the victim staggered to a police cordon in Aberdeen Road, which was still manned by at least one officer, to get help.
  
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• Macron: no-deal still possible despite May's compromise offer

  02-04-2019 20:15
  Emmanuel Macron: ‘A long extension, implying the UK takes part in European elections and European institutions, has nothing easy or automatic about it.’ Photograph: Nicolas Nicolas Messyasz/SIPA/REX/ShutterstockThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, has led other EU leaders in warning that Theresa May’s apparent move to take no deal off the table offers no guarantee that Britain will not crash out of the bloc on 12 April. EU sources said Brussels instead would want to see a &ld
  
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• Macron: no-deal still possible despite May's compromise offer

  02-04-2019 20:15
  Emmanuel Macron: ‘A long extension, implying the UK takes part in European elections and European institutions, has nothing easy or automatic about it.’ Photograph: Nicolas Nicolas Messyasz/SIPA/REX/ShutterstockThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, has led other EU leaders in warning that Theresa May’s apparent move to take no deal off the table offers no guarantee that Britain will not crash out of the bloc on 12 April.EU sources said Brussels instead would want to see a &ldq
  
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• May offers talks with Corbyn to deliver short delay to Brexit

  02-04-2019 20:14
  The Prime Minister made a statement in Downing Street after a Cabinet crisis meeting lasting more than seven hours.
  
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• Ex-Tory MP Nick Boles Slams 'Selfish' Ministers As 'Worst Cabinet In Recorded History'

  02-04-2019 20:13
  Theresa May's Cabinet is "the worst in recorded history" and no servingminister should be PM after Brexit, ex-Tory MP Nick Boles has said in ascathing attack on the government
  
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• Scotland's Sturgeon says May's Brexit offer is a potential trap

  02-04-2019 20:10
  Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Prime Minister Theresa May's offer to ask for a Brexit extension "as short as possible" is a potential trap.Sturgeon said if lawmakers agree to the extension and not to fight European parliament elections then they will face the choice between the prime minister's divorce deal or leaving the EU without a deal."Parliament needs to be very wary about a potential trap," Sturgeon said in a Tweet.
  
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• Softer Brexit would be welcome but PM May needs to deliver - Labour's Benn

  02-04-2019 20:04
  British Prime Minister Theresa May needs to back up her shift in Brexit strategy with action but if she is moving towards a softer Brexit, that would be welcome, influential Labour lawmaker Hilary Benn said on Tuesday.May said she would ask the European Union for a further delay to Brexit beyond April 12 to give her time to sit down with the opposition Labour Party in a bid to break the impasse over Britain's departure.
  
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• Fourteen ministers against long Brexit extension - The Times

  02-04-2019 20:00
  LONDON (Reuters) - Fourteen British ministers spoke against a long extension to Brexit at a cabinet meeting convened by Prime Minister Theresa May to find a way out of the impasse, The Times' Deputy Political Editor Sam Coates said.
  
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• Family of man stabbed to death in London had fled war in Congo, uncle says

  02-04-2019 19:57
  The victim was named locally as Calvin Bungisa on Tuesday, as family described him as a happy man who 'was always laughing'.
  
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• SNP MP claims Scottish Tory leader wants her Westminster seat

  02-04-2019 19:55
  Comments revolve around a Conservative campaign leaflet about 'Ruth Davidson's Conservatives' in Edinburgh.
  
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• Adam Johnson breaks silence on child sex conviction

  02-04-2019 19:50
  Disgraced former footballer Adam Johnson has said he "deeply" regrets his actions that saw him serve three years in prison for child sex offences.The 31-year-old has said he now wants to move on with his life following his conviction for engaging in sexual activity with a besotted 15-year-old fan.Johnson admitted two charges relating to kissing the girl and meeting her with intent after grooming her and was convicted of a further offence of sexual activity with a child when they met in his Range
  
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• Virgin Atlantic updates airline's emblem to represent 'modern Britain'

  02-04-2019 19:45
  Virgin Atlantic is to replace its traditional emblem with a diverse range of men and women "representing modern Britain".Among the people wearing a red leotard in the updated artwork - to be put on its new A350-1000 fleet - will be a black man and black woman, and a gay man.The airline says it will be the first to have male figureheads on its jets.
  
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• Signs of hope and despair as we march towards Brexit calamity

  02-04-2019 19:38
  ‘The polite middle is also willing to turn out: 6 million sign a petition and 1 million protest.’ Photograph: Isabel Infantes/AFP/Getty ImagesJohn Harris, in his thoughtful piece, (Petitions and jokes will not halt this march into calamity, Journal, 1 April) says: “Out in the everyday world, the ongoing Westminster drama feels like it only scratches the surface of what is actually going on. And so the mad riddle … goes on, complete with one key mystery: that … by
  
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• Highlights: May's statement on Brexit extension

  02-04-2019 19:31
  British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she will ask the European Union for an extension to the Brexit negotiation period and will sit down with opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in an attempt to break the impasse in parliament.
  
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• Let's be open to credible Brexit proposals from Britain: Varadkar

  02-04-2019 19:29
  Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday a no-deal Brexit would be difficult for Ireland and that European leaders needed to be open to any credible proposals the British government puts forward to break the deadlock.Britain could crash out of the European Union in just 10 days time if Prime Minister Theresa May fails to secure parliamentary ratification of her divorce deal or an alternative plan supported by the bloc's 27 other member states.A no-deal scenario raises the question of how Irel
  
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