General news

• Burt Bacharach plays some of his best-loved songs – video

  09-02-2023 18:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Burt Bacharach, the songwriter and performer who turned easy listening into high art, has died aged 94. A representative for Bacharach confirmed to the Washington Post that the singer had died at home in Los Angeles of natural causes.
  Video from a televised performance in Edmonton, Canada, in 1977 shows some of Bacharach's best-loved songsBurt Bacharach, master of pop songwriting, dies aged 94 Continue reading...
  
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• Sheffield scientists behind discovery of dwarf planet's rings - BBC

  09-02-2023 14:27 via news.google.com
  
  Sheffield scientists behind discovery of dwarf planet's rings  BBCScientists discover ring around dwarf planet but can't explain it  TechSpotAstronomers stunned by dwarf planet's unexpected ring  Sky NewsQuaoar: Astronomers discover unexpected new ring system around dwarf planet  BBCNew ring system discovered around dwarf planet in our solar system  Metro.co.ukView Full coverage on Google News
  
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• Share your experience of wood burners in the UK

  09-02-2023 11:39 via theguardian.com
  
  We would like to speak to people in the UK following calls for the stoves to be banned due to air pollutionPoliticians and campaigners have called for an urgent review of laws concerning wood burning stoves, which cause large amounts of pollution, amid a sharp rise in their use in urban areas.The calls follow the admission by the environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, that the government had set weaker air pollution targets than it would like. The admission came as she announced a
  
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• 300 jobs to go at publisher DC Thomson

  09-02-2023 11:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The publisher has told staff it has to plug a £10m gap by reshaping its portfolio, meaning the loss of several titles.
  
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• Cervical cancer: Health trusts miss abnormal cells in smear tests

  09-02-2023 10:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 45-year-old woman says she was devastated after learning that three previous checks had been misread.
  
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• Turkey-Syria earthquake: UK charities launch DEC disaster appeal

  09-02-2023 10:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  More than 15,000 people are dead and thousands are homeless in Turkey and Syria.
  
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• Great Yarmouth: Experts rethink WW2 bomb disposal strategy

  09-02-2023 09:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  People are warned not to enter the exclusion zone around an unexploded bomb in a seaside town.
  
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• MP Lee Anderson: New deputy Tory chairman clashes with radio presenter

  09-02-2023 09:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The MP repeatedly asks the presenter if she has ever lied after being challenged about dishonesty.
  
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• Hillview: Hospital exposed over mental health care for women

  09-02-2023 09:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Excessive use of restraint and poor practice is exposed at a mental health hospital.
  
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• India v Australia: first Test, day one – live

  09-02-2023 08:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Updates from the opening match of the series at VCA StadiumAny thoughts? Feel free to get in touch with an emailThat was bang on the money by Siraj. Khawaja played inside the line, missed it completely and replays showed it would’ve uprooted leg stump. Huge breakthrough for the home side.2nd over: Australia 2-0 (Warner 1, Khawaja 1) Huge appeal from Mohammed Siraj! The young firebrand’s first ball was fast an straight and it nipped in just a tad, thundering into Khawaja’s pad.
  
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• Turkey-Syria earthquake updates: death toll nears 16,000 as 72-hour ‘rescue window’ passes - live news

  09-02-2023 08:01 via theguardian.com
  
  12,973 people have died in Turkey as Syria deaths near 3,000; most rescues happen within first three days, says emergency response expertTurkey and Syria earthquake: what we know so far on day fourEarthquake death toll passes 16,000 as Erdoğan defends responseThat is it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. My colleague Jon Henley will take you through developments for the next while.Some good news: emergency crews working through the night in the city of Antakya were able to pull a young gir
  
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• Women Talking review – ensemble drama forefronts female experience of violence

  09-02-2023 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  This important film tells the story of a community battered by rape and patriarchal ideas, as a mainly female cast debate the repercussions of the brutality meted out to them
  Sarah Polley’s sober, sombre ensemble picture stars Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Frances McDormand, among others, as traumatised female members of a remote, patriarchal religious colony, and it’s a heartfelt new engagement with the #MeToo debate, reminding us that the world of Margaret Atwood&rsqu
  
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• Parachute nightdress among recycled items on display at Devon fashion exhibition

  09-02-2023 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  National Trust aims to inspire visitors to reapply forgotten skills to make their clothes more sustainableSome of the garments in the exhibition are made of elegant silk, others of rough-looking wool or scratchy nylon – but what they all have in common is that they have been repaired, remodelled and reused, sometimes over the course of centuries.There is a long-sleeved waistcoat made in the late 17tth century and then adapted and preserved over 300 years, wedding dresses handed down from m
  
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• OnePlus Buds Pro 2: good-sounding earbuds with spatial audio for Android

  09-02-2023 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Noise cancelling buds are some of the first to support Google’s new surround sound featureFinally, an Android rival to the AirPods Pro has arrived. OnePlus’s new Buds Pro 2 noise cancelling earbuds are some of the first on the market to support Google’s new spatial audio virtual surround sound tech, giving them a boost in a crowded market.The earbuds cost £179 and compete directly with the similarly priced Pixel Buds Pro and £249 AirPods Pro, but with the added adva
  
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• Just because I moved to New Jersey doesn’t mean I’m dead

  09-02-2023 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Like Libby in Fleishman Is in Trouble, I never pictured myself here. But despite all the self-deprecating jokes, I’m happyThere’s a scene at the end of Hulu’s Fleishman Is in Trouble where a weary and kind husband yells at his flaky writer wife, Libby, to accept her nice life in suburban New Jersey. Watching alongside my own husband, a proud son of the Garden state, I noticed him taking in the scene with an expression of the purest contentment. That man loves New Jersey. And la
  
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• Jungles, jackfruit and community tourism: this is Sri Lanka at its best

  09-02-2023 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Our author and her family are wowed by an ethical travel break, meeting local schoolchildren and visiting eco resorts set in verdant countryside and by pristine beachesThere is a moment of absolute stillness – the battered football whizzing through the air, all eyes following it, before it crashes down into the glass case and tiny gasps escape little mouths. Thankfully, it rolls off, leaving the glass and the encased Buddha statue unharmed.We are playing football on a dusty, sunbaked escar
  
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• Activists infiltrate Tory event to protest over missing asylum-seeking children

  09-02-2023 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners protest ‘inhumane’ Home Office policies and call for resignation of Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman at London fundraiserCampaigners infiltrated a Conservative party fundraiser demanding to know what happened to asylum-seeking children who have gone missing from hotels,
  and calling for the resignation of the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick.The 10 social justice activists from Green New Deal Rising, an organisation that campaigns for climate and social justice, pos
  
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• Russia-Ukraine war: Russian offensive has begun in Luhansk, says thinktank; Zelenskiy to lobby EU leaders in Brussels - live

  09-02-2023 07:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Ukrainian president to ask allies for fighter jets and longer-range missiles; pace of Russian operations has ‘increased markedly over the past week’, ISW saysWhat we know on day 351 of the invasionThe latest British intelligence assessment suggests that freezing weather conditions, including frozen ground, has meant there has likely been little change in cross country mobility (CCM) conditions in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks.These conditions are “likely to be at its worst, w
  
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• Firefighters postpone UK strikes after 7% pay offer

  09-02-2023 07:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Fire Brigades Union to delay setting strike dates and is expected to ballot members on the revised offerStrikes by firefighters have been postponed following an increased pay offer during lengthy talks with employers, it was announced on Thursday.The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said it had been offered a 7% pay rise backdated to July 2022, and then 5% from July this year. Continue reading...
  
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• TV tonight: Gemma Arterton will charm your socks off in Funny Woman

  09-02-2023 07:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Arterton’s bottle-blonde Barbara Parker ditches Blackpool for swinging 60s London in this Nick Hornby adaptation. Plus, Grayson Perry boards the soul train to Wigan. Here’s what to watch this evening Continue reading...
  
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• Tricky decisions as Scotland's councils face budget shortfalls

  09-02-2023 07:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scotland's councils consider cutting jobs and services, and council tax rises in a bid to balance books.
  
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• Shell directors personally sued over ‘flawed’ climate strategy

  09-02-2023 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Claimants ClientEarth say the oil company’s plan puts the company at financial risk as the world transitions to clean energyThe directors of oil major Shell are being personally sued over their climate strategy, which the claimants say is inadequate to meet climate targets and puts the company at risk as the world switches to clean energy.Environmental lawyers ClientEarth have filed the lawsuit against the 11 directors at the high court in England. It is the first case in the world seeking
  
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• You season four review – Penn Badgley’s frothy thriller is awful (and hugely entertaining)

  09-02-2023 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  This series, the murder drama tries to become a whodunnit that satirises the British class system. It’s no longer worth asking if it’s good or bad – just enjoy the rollercoasterOne of the trickier aspects of You (Netflix) is its inability to reconcile its contradictory sides. On the one hand, it adores Joe (Penn Badgley), its book-loving, supersensitive lead who can disguise himself completely by putting on a baseball cap; on the other, he stalks and murders women who fascinate
  
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• UK Firefighters' strike postponed as union votes over new pay offer

  09-02-2023 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Strike dates have been put on hold as union members are balloted over an improved pay offer.
  
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• The serious side of ‘mansplaining’ has been lost. That’s where the harm begins | Rebecca Solnit

  09-02-2023 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The key context of the word I coined in 2008 is that mansplaining is one part of a huge problem – of who gets listened to, and who gets believedI have a file on my desktop titled Mansplaining Olympic Tryouts, mostly screenshots of some of the most epic specimens I’ve come across on social media or that people have steered my way. They’re grimly hilarious: a man explaining vaginas to a noted female gynaecologist, a man telling Sinn Féin adviser Siobhán Fenton to re
  
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• Portrait of a killer: art class in one of Mexico’s most notorious prisons

  09-02-2023 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  In 2016, artist César Aréchiga talked one of Mexico’s most dangerous maximum security prisons into letting him run art classes for its inmates, many of them violent gang members. Could he really change their lives?After two decades working in some of Mexico’s toughest prisons, warden Ángeles Zavala thought she had seen it all. Then one morning in 2016, she arrived for work at Puente Grande prison to find a local artist waiting for her. The man had recently comple
  
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• OMG! Is swearing still taboo?

  09-02-2023 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A judge ruled last week that using the F-word in work meetings was now ‘commonplace’. So is it acceptable to say whatever we like, wherever we are?If it were the 14th century, your name was Robert Clevecunt and you lived on Pissing Alley, you wouldn’t have hesitated to tell anyone your name or address. Such words were common enough to be unremarkable. It is easily offended 21st-century humans who would change our name by deed poll and lobby the council to change its road signs.
  
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• Friendly Ghost: white dog running with coyotes gets help from rescue group

  09-02-2023 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Animal spotted in the desert of southern Nevada likely to have been abandoned as a puppy, rescuers sayFor the last few months, a ghost has roamed the desert of southern Nevada near Las Vegas with a pack of coyotes. The apparent phantom is actually a white dog named Ghost, who observers say the animals accepted as one of their own.Residents in Henderson spotted the dog running through their neighborhood at night, sometimes with the coyotes as they played together, for at least six months, accordi
  
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• Czechs urged to repeal law denying rights to Kindertransport descendants

  09-02-2023 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Communist-era rule to punish defectors is denying descendants of escapees from Nazi occupation Czech citizenshipThe Czech government is coming under pressure to amend a communist-era rule that denies citizenship rights to descendants of Jewish refugee children who fled to Britain from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia on pre-second world war Kindertransports.A law passed after the communists seized power in 1948 aimed to punish defectors who fled the dictatorship for the capitalist west by stripping
  
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• Act now on energy bills subsidy or see fuel poverty surge, says Martin Lewis

  09-02-2023 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Jeremy Hunt urged to reconsider raising state-subsidised energy rate from April as market prices make delay affordable Jeremy Hunt must act now to reverse plans to raise energy bills from April, MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis has warned, saying the change cannot wait until the spring budget next month.In a letter to the chancellor seen by the Guardian, Lewis warned more than 1.7m more households could be plunged into fuel poverty if he does not urgently commit to freezing energy prices.
  
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• Australia and New Zealand best placed to survive nuclear apocalypse, study finds

  09-02-2023 06:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers say food and energy security boosts prospects for civilisation to continue, along with Vanuatu, Iceland and Solomon IslandsThe lucky country can count on one more piece of good fortune, with researchers finding Australia – followed by neighbour New Zealand – best placed to survive a nuclear winter and help reboot a collapsed human civilisation.The study published in the journal Risk Analysis describes Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu as the isl
  
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• North Korea puts on biggest ICBM display yet, with Kim Jong-un’s daughter centre stage

  09-02-2023 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Kim Ju-ae attends anniversary military parade and banquet at which Kim Jong-un praises ‘strongest army in the world’North Korea has put on its biggest display yet of long-range missiles at a parade to mark a key military anniversary, as speculation grows that the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, is grooming his daughter as a possible successor.State media said the nuclear-armed North displayed multiple long-range missiles at a parade late on Wednesday to mark the 75th anniversary
  
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• The Papers: 'Give us wings for freedom' and 'UK warns Putin'

  09-02-2023 06:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Volodymyr Zelensky's surprise visit to the UK and his appeal for fighter jets lead the front pages.
  
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• Will the reshuffle save Sunak? Politics Weekly UK – podcast

  09-02-2023 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Rishi Sunak has carried out a reshuffle of his ministers and departments in Whitehall. But will it be enough to save his party from electoral wipeout at the next election? To discuss is the Guardian’s Gaby Hinsliff, standing in for John Harris, who is joined by political editor Pippa Crerar and former Conservative special adviser Salma ShahContinue reading...
  
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• What can we really learn from home blood testing kits?

  09-02-2023 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Companies selling private blood tests offer customers a way to check their health – from measuring cholesterol levels to thyroid hormones – from the comfort of their home. But what happens if there’s an abnormal result? Madeleine Finlay speaks to health journalist Emma Wilkinson and consultant chemical pathologist Dr Bernie Croal about how these tests work, how to interpret your results and whether an already overstretched NHS is being left to deal with the worried well Continu
  
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• Spanish court rules against plan to omit bullfights from youth voucher scheme

  09-02-2023 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Supreme court said bullfighting was part of Spain’s ‘cultural heritage’ but opponents see ruling as backwards stepThe debate over bullfighting’s place in Spanish culture and society has been reignited after the country’s supreme court ruled that the Socialist-led government had been wrong to exclude bullfights from a list of events available to young people through a free culture voucher scheme.Introduced last year, the bono cultural joven (youth culture voucher) en
  
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• Alex Morgan rips ‘bizarre’ potential Saudi sponsorship of Women’s World Cup

  09-02-2023 05:30 via theguardian.com
  
  USA star expresses support for transgender kids in sportsMorgan criticizes potential Saudi sponsorship of World CupTop-ranked Americans kick off SheBelieves Cup next weekForward Alex Morgan says the US national team should have internal discussions about playing games in states that restrict transgender kids from participating in sports.The team is currently preparing for the SheBelieves Cup, a round-robin tournament with Canada, Brazil and Japan that starts next week. Matches are scheduled in F
  
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• Mum traumatised by Nottingham maternity failings gives birth to girl

  09-02-2023 05:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Kim Errington gave birth to her daughter Elfi almost two years after she lost her son Teddy.
  
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• Downed balloon one of a ‘fleet’ of Chinese surveillance devices, US alleges

  09-02-2023 04:29 via theguardian.com
  
  US ‘not the only target’ of Chinese surveillance, warns US secretary of state, as FBI investigates balloon wreckageChina has a “fleet” of surveillance balloons of different shapes and sizes, which it has deployed over five continents, US officials have claimed.The allegations on Wednesday came as salvage work continued off the South Carolina coast for the debris from a high-altitude Chinese balloon a US jet fighter downed on Saturday after it had crossed the whole of the
  
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• Haiti: a country in crisis without an elected government - podcast

  09-02-2023 04:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The last elected Haitian senators left parliament this month. Amid raging gang violence, the country is at breaking point with a health and hunger emergencyAs of the start of this year, Haiti has not a single elected official in its government and no plans to hold elections. Meanwhile, gangs are running amok, police officers are either ineffective or part of the problem and the army is almost non-existent. Haiti now faces a humanitarian catastrophe on top of its government’s crisis of legi
  
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• NHS to use test that prevents babies going deaf

  09-02-2023 03:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Commonly used antibiotics can seriously damage the hearing of some babies.
  
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• Google AI chatbot Bard sends shares plummeting after it gives wrong answer

  09-02-2023 02:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Chatbot Bard incorrectly said James Webb Space Telescope was the first to take pictures of a planet outside the Earth’s solar systemGoogle’s debut of a new AI-powered search bot got off to a bumpy start after it shared inaccurate information in a promotional video, wobbling investors’ confidence.Google parent Alphabet lost $100bn in market value on Wednesday, feeding worries that it is losing ground to rival Microsoft. Alphabet shares, which slid as much as 9% during regular tr
  
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• Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 351 of the invasion

  09-02-2023 02:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Zelenskiy calls for combat jets from west during tour of Europe; Nato chief says Russia is preparing for a new military offensiveSee all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageVolodymyr Zelenskiy has used a visit to Paris to urge Europe to deliver combat aircraft and heavy arms to Ukraine as soon as possible. “The sooner Ukraine gets long-range heavy weaponry, the sooner our pilots get planes, the sooner this Russian aggression will end and we can return to peace in Europe,” the Ukrainian pr
  
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• New Zealand government under fire after shelving Christchurch hate speech reforms

  09-02-2023 01:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Prime minister Chris Hipkins has said his government will refocus on economic issues, after dropping laws put forward after terror attackNew Zealand’s government has come under fire for withdrawing proposed hate speech laws – introduced after the mosque terror attacks in Christchurch – in favour of “refocusing on the economy”.The prime minister, Chris Hipkins, announced on Wednesday that the government would halt efforts on the hate speech laws, as part of a wider e
  
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• Twitter users told they’ve hit daily post limit in latest outage since Musk takeover

  09-02-2023 01:25 via theguardian.com
  
  US tech publication reports CEO Elon Musk has asked staff to pause all new development to stabilise appTwitter users were unable to post instantly on the website for almost an hour, in the latest outage to hit the social media platform since billionaire Elon Musk’s $44bn takeover.From around 10pm GMT on Wednesday, users attempting to tweet were informed by the platform they had hit their daily limit – despite many of them reporting having not tweeted at all that day. Continue reading
  
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• Jury rules artist’s NFTs of ‘MetaBirkins’ violate Hermès’ trademark rights

  09-02-2023 01:18 via theguardian.com
  
  New York jury rules against Mason Rothschild for selling digital copycat versions of the fashion house’s famous bags In one of the first cases to address the high-tech new art world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a New York jury ruled on Wednesday that an artist violated the trademark rights of the French fashion house Hermès by selling pictures of furry, copycat purses as NFTs.The jury ruled that artist Mason Rothschild’s unauthorized versions of Hermès’s iconic
  
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• Wreck of ship carrying rare ‘ordinary’ crockery wins protection off Kent coast

  09-02-2023 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Unknown patterns found on ceramics from Josephine Willis, which collided with steamer in 1856 The wreck of a mid-19th century sailing ship transporting British people to New Zealand and with a cargo of exceptionally rare ceramics onboard has been listed for protection 167 years after it sank off the Kent coast.The Josephine Willis wooden packet boat, built in Limehouse and launched in 1854 by HH Willis & Co, foundered four miles (6.4km) south of Folkestone harbour following a collision with
  
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• Students should be told of university course job prospects, says commission

  09-02-2023 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Social Mobility Commission says students should be informed of ‘earnings implications’ of course choicesStudents should be given more details about how the courses they study after leaving school might affect their employment prospects, it has been suggested, as figures show near-record numbers of 18-year-olds applying to university.A review of research into the employment effects of higher and further education by the government’s Social Mobility Commission showed wide variati
  
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• Millions with mental health needs not seeking NHS help, watchdog says

  09-02-2023 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  National Audit Office praises expansion of care but says soaring demand means delays will persistMillions of people in England with mental ill-health are not seeking NHS help, and many who get it face long delays and a “poor experience”, a report says.Long waits for care will persist for years because soaring demand, exacerbated by Covid, will continue to outstrip the ability of severely understaffed mental health services to provide speedy treatment, the National Audit Office (NAO)
  
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• Greenpeace threatens legal action over UK failure to meet fuel poverty targets

  09-02-2023 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Government plans to upgrade energy efficiency of homes will help only 5.8% of fuel poor households by 2030, campaign group claimsGreenpeace is threatening to take legal action against the government as it emerged a target to lift millions of struggling households out of fuel poverty is likely to be missed.Government plans to upgrade the energy efficiency of homes will help fewer than 6% of fuel poor households by 2030, according to the environmental campaign group. Continue reading...
  
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