General news

• Ruth Davidson quits: Is family life possible on the campaign trail?

  30-08-2019 23:11 via bbc.co.uk
  Ruth Davidson says being away from her family during an election campaign filled her with "dread".
  
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• Tetra Pak billionaire Hans Rausing dies at 93

  30-08-2019 23:05 via bbc.co.uk
  The packaging giant's driving force will also be remembered for his philanthropy, his family says.
  
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• Javid 'livid' at Johnson over firing of aide - media

  30-08-2019 22:59
  British finance minister Sajid Javid has challenged Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the dismissal of an aide by Johnson's top advisor which has caused tension between the government's two most powerful men, media said.The Financial Times said on Friday that Javid was "livid" about the firing on Thursday of his press aide by Dominic Cummings, who was looking into whether government officials had helped opponents of Johnson's Brexit plans."He's absolutely furious," the newspaper quoted a colleag
  
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• Health Secretary: Anti-vaxxers have blood on their hands

  30-08-2019 22:52
  The health secretary has revealed he will not rule out making immunisations mandatory, saying that anti-vaxxers "have blood on their hands".
  
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• After six long weeks of unrelieved parenting, we’re on our knees

  30-08-2019 22:33
  ‘You have no holidays that are worthy of the name after having a child.’ Photograph: WPA Pool/Getty Images MondayBank holiday! During our summer holiday! During the school summer holidays! Theoretically, this should be a triple whammy of delight, no?I pause for the hollow laughter of a hundred thousand parents who know where I’m going with this. Because no, you have no holidays that are worthy of the name after having a child – even if you keep it to the singular, as I ha
  
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• Duke of York returns to royal duties following Epstein sex scandal claims

  30-08-2019 21:25
  Andrew was pictured at the Dartmouth Royal Regatta in Devon on Friday.
  
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• Former PM Major backs legal challenge over suspension of Parliament

  30-08-2019 21:15
  Move comes ahead of planned protests against Boris Johnson's actions.
  
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• 'Culture of fear' claims as Javid confronts PM over adviser's sacking

  30-08-2019 20:44
  Dominic Cummings ‘pissed off’ about briefings on pay and gender balance – report. A furious Sajid Javid confronted Boris Johnson on Friday and demanded an explanation of why his media adviser was sacked without his knowledge, amid claims that a deep “culture of fear” has taken hold within the government. Sonia Khan, Javid’s media adviser, was escorted from No 10 by an armed police officer after a meeting with Johnson’s top strategist, Dominic Cummings, i
  
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• 'Culture of fear' claims as Javid confronts PM over adviser's sacking

  30-08-2019 20:44
  Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid at a cabinet in July. There are increasing suggestions Javid is becoming isolated from the core of the Johnson regime. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PAA furious Sajid Javid confronted Boris Johnson on Friday and demanded an explanation of why his media adviser was sacked without his knowledge, amid claims that a deep “culture of fear” has taken hold within the government. Sonia Khan, Javid’s media adviser, was escorted from No 10 by an armed police offic
  
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• Billions more to be invested in England’s schools in next three years

  30-08-2019 19:57
  The government has announced extra funding will be made available for primaries and secondaries.
  
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• How much do these Brits know about the UK?

  30-08-2019 19:48 via bbc.co.uk
  We invited a mixture of UK-born, and new citizens for a test of all things British.
  
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• Johnson says he will continue to bring down public debt

  30-08-2019 19:46
  Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would continue to cut public debt as a share of economic output even as he promises higher spending on services such as education, health and the police.Johnson's finance minister Sajid Javid said earlier this week that he would stick with the fiscal rules of his predecessor, Philip Hammond, one of which was to keep on bringing down public debt as a share of gross domestic product.
  
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• Corporations pile pressure on Brazil over Amazon fires

  30-08-2019 19:45
  Asset managers, pension funds and companies halt deals and stop buying bondsFinancial pressure is growing on Brazil over fires in the Amazon and the far-right president’s belligerent response to them.Asset managers, pension funds and companies have issued warnings, halted deals and stopped purchases of government bonds. Continue reading...
  
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• Print 'smoking kills' on individual cigarettes to deter smokers, say health experts

  30-08-2019 19:16
  Printing "smoking kills" on individual cigarettes could help reduce the number of people lighting up, researchers have said.A study by the University of Stirling examined smokers' reactions to health warnings branded directly on to cigarettes, rather than messages appearing on packs only.It found that the warnings were viewed as "depressing, worrying and frightening" and prolonged the message about the harms of smoking, the university said.
  
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• Rebel MPs confident they have time to stop no-deal Brexit

  30-08-2019 19:14
  Oliver Letwin says law can be passed before parliament is prorogued. Cross-party rebel MPs said they had new optimism that measures to stop a no-deal Brexit could pass both the Commons and the Lords before parliament is prorogued, as Labour’s Tom Watson confirmed a potential bill had been drafted. Sir Oliver Letwin, one of the leading Conservative architects of plans to stop no deal, has said MPs do have time to pass legislation on it. However, MPs from different parties are believed to be
  
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• Five things kids asked Boris Johnson

  30-08-2019 19:13 via bbc.co.uk
  Boris Johnson answers questions in his first lobby session with children from school newspapers.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn joins greenbelt campaigners

  30-08-2019 19:10
  The group wants to take a woodland into community ownership and stop it being built on by developers.
  
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• Johnson pledges 14 billion pound boost for schools

  30-08-2019 19:06
  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would boost funding for schools over the next three years by more than 14 billion pounds, adding to speculation that he might be planning an election around the time of Brexit.Johnson said on Friday that despite his promises of more spending on public services, he would continue to cut public debt as a share of economic output.
  
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• I wanted to be a rock star – Boris Johnson

  30-08-2019 19:00
  The Prime Minister has revealed his early career ambitions.
  
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• English schools to get three-year £14bn funding boost

  30-08-2019 19:00
  Boris Johnson has made schools funding one of his key domestic priorities. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PAThe government has announced a £14bn cash injection over three years for England’s schools, setting out a key aspect of the chancellor’s plans before next Wednesday’s spending review.The funding boost is in line with the new education strategy leaked to the Guardian this week, with £2.6bn for schools in 2020/21, compared with £2.8bn in the draft document. The
  
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• Patel accused of ‘dereliction of duty’ over handling of migrant crisis

  30-08-2019 18:57
  More than 220 migrants, including at least 40 children, have been intercepted by UK and French authorities since Thursday last week.
  
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• No-deal Brexit 'could motivate extremists in Northern Ireland'

  30-08-2019 18:55
  PSNI counter-terror chief warns of year-long upsurge in dissident republican support. A no-deal Brexit could prompt a year-long upsurge in dissident republican support in Northern Ireland, a senior police commander has said. The assistant chief constable Barbara Gray, who heads up the counter-terrorism response unit for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), warned Brexit could become a motivating factor for extremists in the event of a disorderly exit. “We will be prepared and we
  
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• The children with no park to play in

  30-08-2019 18:45 via bbc.co.uk
  Children in Barrow are trying to raise £60,000 for a new park after the council closed their old one.
  
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• Teenage boy fighting for his life after stabbing

  30-08-2019 18:43
  The youngster was taken to hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.
  
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• Extinction Rebellion protester, 80, pleads not guilty to public order offence

  30-08-2019 18:43
  John Scott appeared in court with about 60 others accused of breaking the law during Extinction Rebellion’s protests in London.
  
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• Peterborough fire: Five arrested over Whirlpool HQ blaze

  30-08-2019 18:42 via bbc.co.uk
  The massive fire at the site in Peterborough is under control but still smouldering.
  
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• Calls for nationality profiling to stop sham marriages ‘very worrying’

  30-08-2019 18:27
  Migration Watch UK has called for the Home Office to adopt the practice to track down and stop suspected bogus weddings.
  
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• US vice president Mike Pence’s trip to Ireland set to be brought forward

  30-08-2019 18:18
  The Republican's two-day trip to Dublin and Co Clare was originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday next week.
  
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• Politicians criticise reappointment of Victims’ Commissioner

  30-08-2019 18:07
  The 12-month extension in Judith Thompson's post was announced by Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith.
  
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• More than 50 rebel MPs pledge to convene alternative parliament

  30-08-2019 18:03
  Cross-party group determined to continue debating Brexit policy if parliament prorogued. More than 50 MPs from the main parties have pledged to occupy an alternative House of Commons if the prime minister suspends parliament in September, saying they are determined to continue to debate Brexit policy over the five-week period. In a letter to the Guardian coordinated by Best for Britain, backbenchers from the Conservatives, Labour, the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Change UK and Plaid Cymru said they w
  
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• Brexit: MPs trying to block no deal make it more likely, says Boris Johnson

  30-08-2019 17:55 via bbc.co.uk
  The PM says the way to get a Brexit agreement is to stop the EU thinking MPs are going to block no deal.
  
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• Cannabis extract drink to go on sale at Birmingham City

  30-08-2019 17:54
  Cans of Green Monkey CBD and cocktails will be available from this weekend.
  
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• Mayor asks police chief ‘why haven’t you resigned?’ in online outburst

  30-08-2019 17:52
  Ben Houchen said Cleveland Police had been a 'basket case' for years as he called on Barry Coppinger to quit.
  
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• Rise in EU citizens not getting UK settled status causes alarm

  30-08-2019 17:30
  Proportion being granted pre-settled status – with fewer rights – has risen to 42%. A sharp rise in the proportion of EU citizens not considered eligible for settled status has caused alarm among campaign groups as the rush to secure the right to stay in the country gathers pace ahead of a possible no-deal Brexit. The settled status scheme has been running since March for EU nationals living in the UK to establish their permanent right to live in the UK. In his first House of Commons
  
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• University apology over policing course advert ‘for students with bad grades’

  30-08-2019 17:18
  The University of Derby have said the post has since been removed from Facebook.
  
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• Bangor men who stole from blind busker jailed

  30-08-2019 17:18 via bbc.co.uk
  The men stole takings from a musician in a "targeted attack on a vulnerable disabled man".
  
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• Anniversary appeal to trace killer of The Specials’ singer’s grandson

  30-08-2019 17:15
  Fidel Glasgow's murder remains unsolved, one year after he was fatally stabbed during violence outside a nightclub.
  
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• Sharp rise in measles in England amid fears over ‘anti-vaxxers’

  30-08-2019 17:12
  Concerns that misinformation is leading parents to refuse to let their children have MMR jab. Cases of measles and mumps in England are rising sharply, figures have shown amid fears that growing numbers of people are not getting immunised because of “dangerous” myths about vaccines. Public health experts reacted with alarm to the increases and warned that misinformation about vaccination is leading to parents refusing to let their children have the MMR jab. Of the 301 people diagnose
  
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• Jonathan Agnew is subject of complaint to BBC over abusive tweets

  30-08-2019 17:03
  Broadcaster made series of late-night posts calling cricket writer Jonathan Liew ‘racist’. Jonathan Agnew is the subject of a formal complaint to the BBC over a series of abusive tweets he sent to a fellow cricket writer. The Test Match Special commentator has deleted his Twitter account after making a series of late-night posts calling the Independent’s Jonathan Liew a racist, despite already having being warned by BBC bosses about his behaviour towards the same journalist. In
  
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• The 1975 branded ‘hypocritical’ by Tory MP

  30-08-2019 17:00
  The Welsh politician has written a mocking letter to the band.
  
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• Former British ambassadors to EU condemn UK 'empty-chair' policy

  30-08-2019 16:53
  Officials will skip most EU meetings in what former ambassadors call ‘petulant and futile’ gesture. Three former British ambassadors to the EU have condemned the government’s decision to withdraw from most Brussels meetings as a “petulant and futile gesture” that will harm the national interest. From 1 September, British officials and ministers will cease attending EU meetings, apart from those deemed to have a “significant national interest”, such as se
  
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• 'This political generation won't be forgiven if Brexit isn't delivered'

  30-08-2019 16:42
  The prime minister suggests remain-supporting MPs in parliament are harming his chances of getting a new Brexit deal with the EU.
  
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• Judge gives Thomas Cook go-ahead to proceed with next phase of rescue deal

  30-08-2019 16:41
  Mr Justice Norris approved the travel giant’s plans for meetings with creditors at a High Court hearing in London on Friday.
  
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• 'How a blue badge will help with my hidden disability'

  30-08-2019 16:40 via bbc.co.uk
  People with hidden disabilities tell Radio 1 Newsbeat how a blue badge will help them.
  
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• Head of Ireland’s haulage organisation calls for calm heads ahead of Brexit

  30-08-2019 16:28
  The president of the Irish Road Haulage Association claimed that 'alarmist or incendiary' remarks will be seized on by hardline Brexiteers.
  
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• Dissident republicans energised by Lyra McKee murder, police commander claims

  30-08-2019 16:27
  Assistant Chief Constable Barbara Gray said the New IRA derived 'sick and sad' pleasure in the reaction to the shooting.
  
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• Violence in wake of no-deal Brexit could last up to a year, say PSNI

  30-08-2019 16:26
  Assistant Chief Constable Barbara Gray said the force is attempting to combat the threat from several dissident groupings.
  
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• Gatwick Airport ‘drugs bust’ turns out to be piece of cake

  30-08-2019 16:09
  Vegan pizza restaurant Purezza had been transporting white powder in a suitcase when a member of staff was stopped by the police.
  
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• Judge rejects temporary ban on Parliament shutdown ahead of full hearing

  30-08-2019 16:06 via bbc.co.uk
  The Court of Session will now make a full ruling next week on whether Boris Johnson is acting legally.
  
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• Every school to receive backing on relationships teaching – Gavin Williamson

  30-08-2019 16:06
  The Education Secretary said pupils, parents and teachers should be able to go to school 'without any form of intimidation'.
  
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