General news

• Johnson blames Corbyn for ‘do or die’ broken Brexit pledge

  30-10-2019 23:30
  The PM tried to suggest it was the Labour leader's fault the UK's withdrawal from the EU had been put back until January 31.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn to position Labour as true 'party of the people'

  30-10-2019 23:30
  Party leader will seek to pour cold water on Boris Johnson’s claim of being anti-establishment. Jeremy Corbyn will seek to scorn Conservative attempts to portray themselves on the side of the people against the elite, kicking off his election campaign by promising to side with the public against a “corrupt system” run by those with vested interests. On Thursday, the Labour leader will single out individuals, including the Sports Direct boss, Mike Ashley, the financier Crispin O
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn to position Labour as true 'party of the people'

  30-10-2019 23:30
  Jeremy Corbyn will make the speech at a campaign launch event in south London. Photograph: Sean Smith/The GuardianJeremy Corbyn will seek to scorn Conservative attempts to portray themselves on the side of the people against the elite, kicking off his election campaign by promising to side with the public against a “corrupt system” run by those with vested interests.On Thursday, the Labour leader will single out individuals, including the Sports Direct boss, Mike Ashley, the financie
  
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• Corbyn blasts Britain’s ‘corrupt system’ as he launches election campaign

  30-10-2019 23:30
  The Labour leader will say 'the elite' are scared of the British people, as he appeals for votes.
  
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• December general election another step closer after clearing Lords

  30-10-2019 22:46
  The one-page Bill, which has already been passed by the Commons, was unamended by peers and now needs Royal Assent.
  
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• EA Access Uptake Was Faster on PS4 Than Xbox One - Push Square

  30-10-2019 22:30 via news.google.com
  EA Access Uptake Was Faster on PS4 Than Xbox One  Push SquareSoapbox: Sony's Made Four of the Five Best-Selling Home Consoles of All Time, And That's Insane  Push SquarePS4 is the second best-selling home console of all time  Metro.co.ukSony Teases PlayStation 5 Games Lineup That 'Will Satisfy Game Fans'  Screen RantSorry PlayStation Vue Users, Service Is Shutting Down in 2020  The Mary SueView full coverage on Google News
  
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• Tactical voting website criticised for 'bogus' advice

  30-10-2019 22:19
  Best for Britain website suggests backing Lib Dems in Labour-held marginals. A new tactical voting website has been criticised for advising pro-remain voters to back the Liberal Democrats in some seats where the party is way behind Labour, including key knife-edge marginals against the Conservatives. The website, launched by the pro-remain Best for Britain organisation, suggested that voters should back the Lib Dems in Kensington, where the Labour MP Emma Dent Coad has a majority of just 20 agai
  
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• Tactical voting website criticised for 'bogus' advice

  30-10-2019 22:19
  Dominic Grieve, Vince Cable and Anna McMorrin at the Best for Britain briefing on tactical voting. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPAA new tactical voting website has been criticised for advising pro-remain voters to back the Liberal Democrats in some seats where the party is way behind Labour, including key knife-edge marginals against the Conservatives.The website, launched by Best For Britain, a pro-remain organisation, suggested that voters should back the Lib Dems in Kensington, where the Labour MP
  
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• UK's culture minister Morgan joins exodus from parliament

  30-10-2019 22:07
  Britain's culture minister Nicky Morgan said on Wednesday she would not stand as a candidate in the next election, the latest high-profile lawmaker to cite a toxic political atmosphere as a reason to join the exodus from parliament.The 2016 vote to leave the European Union has deeply divided the country and sparked vicious scenes both inside and outside the House of Commons where lawmakers are routinely confronted by angry protesters as they enter the parliamentary estate.Prime Minister Boris Jo
  
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• Cabinet minister Nicky Morgan to stand down at election

  30-10-2019 22:03
  The Culture Secretary joins list of senior Tories who will not fight the pre-Christmas general election.
  
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• Which MPs are standing down at the election?

  30-10-2019 21:53 via bbc.co.uk
  Big names such as Ken Clarke, John Bercow and Sir Vince Cable are among those saying goodbye to Westminster.
  
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• All The MPs Who Are Standing Down At The General Election

  30-10-2019 21:37
  More than 50 MPs have announced they are standing down ahead of the December12 general election, with some hinted at the toxic nature of modern politicsduring a wave of announcements
  
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• Lynton Crosby replaced by protege at heart of Tory election machine

  30-10-2019 21:29
  Isaac Levido has taken up the role in the central ‘pod of power’ at Tory HQ. Isaac Levido, the former right-hand man of Lynton Crosby, has taken centre stage at Conservative headquarters (CCHQ) as head of the campaign, replacing his former boss in the election war-room as the party targets 50 key seats and defends another 50 marginals. Tory insiders said Levido – little known either inside or outside Westminster – has taken a desk in the middle of the office, known as the
  
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• England rugby fan loses thousands on fraudulent World Cup final tickets

  30-10-2019 21:28
  Martin Underwood paid £1,000 each for tickets from sellers who contacted him on Facebook.
  
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• Keith Vaz faces six-month ban from parliament

  30-10-2019 21:27
  Keith Vaz was chair of the home affairs select committee at the time of the claims published in 2016. Photograph: Toby Melville/ReutersKeith Vaz is expected to be banned from parliament following concerns he could stand again as an MP without an official punishment for offering to buy drugs for sex workers.The House of Commons will be asked to support recommendations that the MP for Leicester East should receive a six-month ban for bringing parliament in to disrepute and failing to cooperate wit
  
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• Glasgow Lord Provost Eva Bolander to resign after expenses row

  30-10-2019 21:26 via bbc.co.uk
  Eva Bolander faced criticism after claiming a total of £8,000 on items including 23 pairs of shoes.
  
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• Brexit party divided over election tactics

  30-10-2019 21:19
  Nigel Farage (left) is said to be undecided on the strategy, while the party chair, Richard Tice (right), favours running in up to 650 seats. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/PASenior figures in the Brexit party are divided over whether they should contest every seat in the general election – or give committed Tory Brexit supporters a clear run.The party, led by the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, is hoping to secure its first MPs this December when it stands in a general election for the firs
  
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• Nicky Morgan joins list of MPs stepping down

  30-10-2019 21:18
  Mrs Morgan has been Loughborough MP since 2010.
  
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• MPs pay tribute to John Bercow at his last Prime Minister's Questions

  30-10-2019 20:52 via bbc.co.uk
  Speaker John Bercow was praised for defending the role of Parliament and making it more accessible.
  
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• Items found in car after terror arrests ‘no danger to public’, police say

  30-10-2019 20:51
  Greater Manchester Police said two men were arrested after a Range Rover was stopped on Deansgate.
  
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• Five factors that could be decisive in general election outcome

  30-10-2019 20:42
  Boris Johnson has sometimes appeared chaotic while Jeremy Corbyn’s poll ratings have been poor. Photograph: Jessica TaylorWith Brexit still unresolved, and smaller parties hoping to break through, pollsters and pundits have warned that this general election is the most unpredictable in decades. Here are five factors that could make the difference:1) Is it all about Brexit?Labour has settled its Brexit policy, and will hope to stand out as the one party offering to “let the people dec
  
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• Lib Dems could win hundreds of seats in election, says Swinson

  30-10-2019 20:36
  Leader talks up chances of breakthrough as party election machines swing into action. The Liberal Democrats are “within a small swing of winning hundreds of seats”, the party’s leader, Jo Swinson, has claimed, as the main parties begin pushing out key messages before what is billed as the most volatile general election in living memory. Although the official campaign does not begin until parliament is dissolved next week, the near-certain passage through parliament of a bill ca
  
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• Grenfell Tower survivors 'vindicated' by inquiry report

  30-10-2019 20:06
  Bereaved and survivors welcomed criticism of London fire brigade’s instruction to stay put. Survivors and relatives of victims from Grenfell Tower have said they feel “vindicated” by the inquiry’s initial report into the fire that killed 72 people nearly two-and-a-half years ago. At an emotional press conference following publication of Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s interim report, bereaved family members stood in silence for 72 seconds – one for each of those kille
  
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• Amber Rudd embroiled in Tory spat as she stands down as MP

  30-10-2019 20:02
  Former home secretary banned from running for party – but says PM offered her seat. Amber Rudd has been embroiled in a highly public spat with Downing Street over her departure as an MP, with the party banning her from standing again for the Tories and then Rudd responding that Boris Johnson had offered her a safe seat only last week. The row with broke out after Rudd said she would be stepping down as an MP at the election and not standing again in her marginal seat of Hastings and Rye, w
  
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• Lib Dems face being frozen out of any live TV debates

  30-10-2019 20:00
  Swinson’s question about TV debates in the Commons was dodged by Boris Johnson. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty ImagesLiberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson faces being cut out of televised leadership debates during the general election campaign, as broadcasters begin torturous negotiations over who gets to show the nation’s political leaders arguing with each other on stage.While the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky News are all vying for the position, Swinson’s place in any forth
  
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• Manchester incident: Men arrested on suspicion of 'planning terror attack' as bomb squad examines car

  30-10-2019 19:58
  Police have arrested two men in Manchester on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism, as bomb disposal experts examine a car.Greater Manchester Police said the pair were seen “acting suspiciously” on Chapel Street in Salford at around 2.30pm on Wednesday.
  
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• Man arrested after firearms officer is mown down by car

  30-10-2019 19:56
  The Met Police have arrested a 25-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder following the incident in Tottenham on Tuesday.
  
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• Tory party suspends candidate accused of sabotaging rape trial

  30-10-2019 19:50
  The Welsh assembly in Cardiff. England had been endorsed as a candidate by the Welsh secretary, Alun Cairns.Photograph: eye35.pix/AlamyA Conservative candidate for the Welsh assembly who was accused by a judge of deliberately sabotaging a rape trial has been suspended by his party after Boris Johnson was pressed in the House of Commons to take action.Ross England was giving evidence in the trial last year when he made claims about the victim’s sexual history.The trial judge, Stephen Hopkin
  
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• Samira Ahmed says Jeremy Vine was ‘gifted’ show as she continues equal pay fight

  30-10-2019 19:37
  The BBC says the complaint should be dismissed.
  
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• Two men arrested on terror offences after suspicious items found in car

  30-10-2019 19:33
  Police stopped a Range Rover on Deansgate in Manchester on Wednesday afternoon.
  
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• General Election 2019: The first 24 hours of social media election ads

  30-10-2019 19:33 via bbc.co.uk
  We look at the official adverts, and less official memes, with social media set to dominate the pre-Christmas poll.
  
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• Jeremy Vine was 'gifted' his show, says Samira Ahmed

  30-10-2019 19:32
  Samira Ahmed, right, arrives at an employment tribunal in London on 28 October with Naga Munchetty, left. Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/PAJeremy Vine was “gifted” his primetime Radio 2 show by BBC management and handed opportunities that were not available to ambitious female presenters, according to the broadcaster Samira Ahmed, who is suing the BBC for £693,245 in lost earnings over claims of unequal pay.Ahmed told an employment tribunal in central London that she had bee
  
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• Rare antique Mickey Mouse masks sold at auction

  30-10-2019 19:31
  The papier mache masks were made under licence from the Walt Disney company in the 1930s.
  
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• Johnson knew of potential conflict of interest, says Arcuri

  30-10-2019 19:30
  Jennifer Arcuri said she blagged her way into a gathering of venture capitalists when she first met Boris Johnson in 2011. Photograph: Jim VarneyBoris Johnson was aware there was a potential conflict of interest in his relationship with Jennifer Arcuri, the US businesswoman has claimed, on the eve of the publication of an inquiry into how she secured a £100,000 government grant.In an interview for Bloomberg Businessweek, Arcuri also said that a senior official at the then London mayor&rsqu
  
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• General election 2019: NHS claims fact-checked

  30-10-2019 19:30 via bbc.co.uk
  The health service was a major talking point at Prime Minister's Questions.
  
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• Emotional John Bercow thanks family and staff at final PMQs as Speaker

  30-10-2019 19:28
  Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn led the thanks to Mr Bercow.
  
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• Monaco's Ahsani brothers plead guilty in U.S. to vast bribery scheme

  30-10-2019 19:23
  LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two brothers from the Ahsani family, who ran Monaco-based oil and gas consultancy Unaoil, have pleaded guilty in the United States to being part of 17-year scheme to pay millions of dollars in bribes to officials in nine countries.The U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday that Cyrus Ahsani, 51, and his 46-year-old brother Saman each pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) on behalf of companies to
  
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• Corbyn insists he is ‘not in favour’ of another Scottish independence referendum

  30-10-2019 19:21
  The Labour leader’s comments come after the shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said the party would not “stand in the way” of a second poll.
  
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• Grenfell firefighters who deserve our respect and understanding

  30-10-2019 19:20
  A defence of the London fire brigade watch manager in charge during the early stages of the Grenfell fire, plus a letter from Sheila Myron who believes the LFB as a whole are being scapegoated. I hope the press and the public will show more sympathy and understanding for Michael Dowden, the watch manager in charge at the beginning of the Grenfell fire, than is shown in the Grenfell inquiry report ( Fire brigade ‘was gravely unprepared for Grenfell’, 29 October). Firefighters work in
  
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• Election panics, polls and prophecies

  30-10-2019 19:20
  Guardian readers respond to the news that Britain will once again take to the voting booths on 12 December. The Lib Dems have embarked on a high-risk strategy, in provoking an early general election with the Tories ahead in the polls, ostensibly on the grounds that it is “our best chance to elect a government to stop Brexit” ( Parliament breaks deadlock with December 12 election, 30 October). They must know that the only way to do so is to work with Labour to ensure that the public c
  
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• Baked beans and damp squibs for Brexit

  30-10-2019 19:19
  A sign advertising Brexit fireworks in the window of a hardware shop.Photograph: Phil Noble/ReutersWhat an enthralling collection of Other Lives (Obituaries, 28 October). We mere mortals standing on the sidelines can only be grateful to these champions of British agriculture, academia, publishing, education, social policy, design and nursing. And not a little concerned that valuing such achievements seems sadly out of step with the current lie of the land.Richard LeeLeigh-on-Sea, Essex• I h
  
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• Two-legged robot can mimic human balance, say researchers

  30-10-2019 19:14
  Engineers say the robot could one day be used to help recovery in disaster zones.
  
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• Will delaying Brexit cost £1bn a month?

  30-10-2019 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Boris Johnson claims that delaying Brexit instead of leaving on 31 October will cost an extra £1bn a month.
  
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• Ötzi the Iceman’s doomed ascent to 10,500-foot Alps grave finally revealed by ‘gut microbes’ - The Sun

  30-10-2019 19:00 via news.google.com
  Ötzi the Iceman’s doomed ascent to 10,500-foot Alps grave finally revealed by ‘gut microbes’  The SunÖtzi the Iceman's journey to final resting place revealed by plant remains on clothes and in his gut  Daily MailOtzi the Iceman: Frozen moss offers new clues of 5,300-year-old mummy's final journey  CNNAncient Plants Found on Ötzi the Iceman's Clothes Offer Clues to His Final Journey  NewsweekView full coverage on Google New
  
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• Loss of undisturbed tropical forests ‘six times worse’ for climate than thought

  30-10-2019 19:00
  Researchers looked at the loss of intact tropical forests - tracts of woods which are free of significant human activity - between 2000 and 2013.
  
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• Final journey of 5,300-year-old iceman revealed by moss

  30-10-2019 19:00
  The mummified corpse of Otzi had fragments of plants known as bryophytes frozen with him at his time of death.
  
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• Duck-billed hadrosaurs ‘were the caribou of the Cretaceous’

  30-10-2019 19:00
  Dozens of dinosaur tracks were found in the remote Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve in south-west Alaska.
  
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• Tactical voting could deliver remain victory in election – study

  30-10-2019 18:58
  Dominic Grieve, Vince Cable and Anna McMorrin at the Best for Britain briefing on tactical voting. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPATactical voting could swing a victory for pro-remain parties in the December election, new research suggests.Boris Johnson would fail to get a majority if one in three pro-remain voters in England and Wales switched their vote, the campaign group Best for Britain said. In this scenario, the Conservatives would win 309 seats, Labour 233, the Liberal Democrats 34, Plaid Cymru
  
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• Lib Dems hint at ‘arrangements’ with other pro-Remain parties

  30-10-2019 18:51
  Jo Swinson said negotiations are taking place in relation to a 'small number' of constituencies.
  
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• Varadkar rules out Irish general election due to ongoing Brexit uncertainty

  30-10-2019 18:42
  The Irish PM said he hopes a new British government will ratify Boris Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement but he will respect the will of the electorate.
  
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