General news

• Campaign highlights: Sturgeon and Johnson press the flesh out on the trail

  16-11-2019 19:36 via uk.news.yahoo.com
  
  Meanwhile, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats thinks a hung parliament is the most likely outcome on December 12.
  
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• Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department review – fame, fans and former flames in the firing line

  19-04-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  (Republic)
  Subtly detailed album splits the difference between 1989’s glossy pop-rock and Midnights’ understatement – and lets her ex Matty Healy have it in no uncertain termsThe two cliches used to describe the new release by a major star are that it’s long-awaited and eagerly anticipated. You could hardly describe Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album as long-awaited – it’s barely 18 months since her last album, Midnights, a blink of an eye in the release s
  
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• Rwanda bill: what does the latest delay mean?

  19-04-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Flights have been pushed back to summer after the House of Lords spoke out for Afghans and refugees – here’s what to expect over the coming weeksRishi Sunak’s plan to fly people seeking asylum to Rwanda this spring appears to have been put back to the summer after House of Lords insisted on changes to the scheme.On Thursday the prime minister’s spokesperson said the Lords were responsible for any delay after attaching unwanted amendments to the deportation bill. Continue
  
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• Most UK dairy farms ignoring pollution rules as manure spews into rivers

  19-04-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: 80% of Welsh dairy farms inspected, 69% of English ones, 60% in Scotland and 50% in Northern Ireland breaching regulationsThe majority of UK dairy farms are breaking pollution rules, with vast amounts of cow manure being spilled into rivers.When animal waste enters the river, it causes a buildup of the nutrients found in the effluent, such as nitrates and phosphates. These cause algal blooms, which deplete the waterway of oxygen and block sunlight, choking fish and other aquatic life.
  
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• Lost orchards and blossom flourish in placenames across England and Wales

  19-04-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Doubling of related street, house and farm names since 1900 gives glimpse of flower ‘ghosts’, says National TrustOver the last century orchards and blossom trees have been slipping out of the British landscape at an alarming rate but the “ghosts” of lost flowers are glimpsed in an increasing number of placenames recalling the vanished pinks and whites, researchers have found.A National Trust study has discovered that the number of street, house and farm names relating to
  
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• Joanna Scanlan among actors backing gender equality push in theatre

  19-04-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Women in Theatre Lab will act as incubator for playwriting and acting talent and address gender inequalityGemma Arterton, Joanna Scanlan and Stella Kanu are some of the figures backing an initiative to promote women in the theatre, who are being overlooked across the industry, according to the project’s founder.Women in Theatre Lab will primarily act as an incubator for playwriting and acting talent. Its founder, Jennifer Tuckett, said the group would also put pressure on Arts Council Engl
  
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• Basque election: leftwing coalition partly descended from Eta leads in polls

  19-04-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Surveys suggest EH Bildu’s focus on health, housing and employment is attracting younger votersA leftwing coalition of Basque separatists, partly descended from the political wing of the defunct terrorist group Eta, could become the largest party in the Basque Country’s parliament after an election in the northern Spanish region on Sunday.Latest polls suggest that EH Bildu, which is led by a convicted Eta member who later played a key role in persuading the group to end its armed cam
  
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• A historic revolt, a forgotten hero, an empty plinth: is there a right way to remember slavery? – podcast

  19-04-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As the author of a book about a pivotal uprising in 18th-century Jamaica, Vincent Brown was enlisted in a campaign to make its leader a national hero. But when he arrived in Jamaica, he started to wonder what he had got himself into Continue reading...
  
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• Middle East crisis live: Israel has carried out an attack on Iran, US officials say, after blasts reported near Isfahan

  19-04-2024 05:32 via theguardian.com
  
  US officials say military operation carried out, without giving further details; Iran state media says air defences fired and airspace closed in some areasFollow all our Middle East crisis coverageUS officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out military operations against Iran but did not describe those operations.They said Israel warned the Biden administration earlier on Thursday that the strike was coming in the next 24 to 48 hours. Continue reading...
  
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• Middle East crisis live: air defences activated in Iran after explosions reported near Isfahan

  19-04-2024 05:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai divert around western Iran early on Friday after Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reports explosions in central city of Isfahan Follow all our Middle East crisis coverageThe explosions that have been reported so far appear to have been at a major Iranian base, the Shahid Salami airbase in the Iranian city of Isfahan. There are reports of explosions also occurring in southern Syria and Iraq, although details remain sketchy for now.According to
  
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• Voting begins in India’s election with Modi widely expected to win third term

  19-04-2024 04:30 via theguardian.com
  
  First phase in world’s largest democratic exercise begins, with 969 million people eligible to vote over six-week periodVoting has begun in India’s mammoth general election, as Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party hopes to increase its parliamentary majority amid allegations that the country’s democracy has been undermined since it came to power 10 years ago.India’s elections are the largest democratic exercise in the world, with more than 969 million voters, amou
  
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• Do Aur Do Pyaar (Two Plus Two Is Love) review – refreshingly nonjudgmental infidelity romcom

  19-04-2024 04:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Vidya Balan shines in this witty remake that sees a married couple, both cheating on each other, on the verge of breaking upThe algebra of love is a multiple-choice conundrum in Shirsha Guha Thakurta’s debut, a witty remake of Azazel Jacobs’ romance The Lovers starring Debra Winger. Transporting the original story of a disaffected American couple caught up in extramarital affairs to Mumbai, Do Aur Do Pyaar often heads to the city’s beaches, whose shifting tides bring to mind th
  
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• The chilling policy to cut Greenland’s high birth rate – podcast

  19-04-2024 04:00 via theguardian.com
  
  In the 1960s the birthrate in Greenland was one of the highest in the world. Then it plunged. Decades later, women have finally begun speaking out about what happenedBula Larson was 14 when one day she and her friends were told to go to the hospital. Bula lived in Greenland and was Inuit like most of the population of the island, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. At the hospital she and her friends lined up, and one-by-one were told to enter a room. Bula recalls how she was asked to s
  
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• Ukraine war briefing: Donald Trump says survival of Ukraine important to the US

  19-04-2024 03:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Former president’s comments are being described as a shift in tone days before Republicans vote on a multibillion-dollar aid package. What we know on day 786See all our Ukraine war coverageDonald Trump has said the survival of Ukraine is important to the US, in what Reuters describes as a shift in tone days before Republicans are due to vote on a $61bn aid package in the US House of Representatives. “As everyone agrees, Ukrainian Survival and Strength should be much more important to
  
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• ‘Lost for words’: Joe Biden’s tale about cannibals bemuses Papua New Guinea residents

  19-04-2024 03:20 via theguardian.com
  
  President’s suggestion that his ‘Uncle Bosie’ was eaten by cannibals harms US efforts to build Pacific ties, say local expertsJoe Biden’s suggestion that his uncle may have been eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea during world war two has been met with a mixture of bemusement and criticism in the country.Biden spoke about his uncle, 2nd Lt Ambrose J Finnegan Jr, while campaigning in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, describing how “Uncle Bosie” had flown single engi
  
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• Prince Harry confirms he is now a US resident

  19-04-2024 01:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Paperwork filed shows the royal has informed British authorities that he has moved and is now ‘usually resident’ in the United StatesPrince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has formally confirmed he is now a US resident.The acknowledgment is said to underscore the prince’s increasing estrangement from Britain, after he and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, walked away from royal duties four years ago. Continue reading...
  
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• Sydney church stabbing: police charge 16-year-old boy with terrorism offence

  19-04-2024 01:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Bishop was injured in alleged attack in Wakeley with the teenager expected to appear at a bedside court hearing on FridayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastPolice have charged a 16-year-old boy alleged to have stabbed a bishop and priest at a western Sydney church with a terrorism offence.The teenager was due to face a hospital bedside hearing of the Parramatta children’s court on Friday. He is stil
  
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• Guardian wins award for exposé of founders’ links to transatlantic slavery

  19-04-2024 01:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Press Awards recognise newspaper’s cross-platform Cotton Capital series amid wins for several Guardian reportersThe Guardian has won a diversity award at the prestigious Press Awards after its exposé on its founders’ links to transatlantic slavery, as one of its reporters took home the award for news reporter of the year.Judges at the Press Awards called the Guardian’s cross-platform Cotton Capital series, encompassing news articles, long-form essays, podcasts, video, a
  
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• UK supermarkets accused of misleading labelling on origins of food products

  19-04-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Which? says inconsistencies also found, with ‘meaningless’ labels making it hard for shoppers to make informed choice“Misleading” and “inconsistent” labels make it hard for shoppers to know where their food comes from, the consumer champion Which? has said, as it found supermarket chains were selling products with “meaningless” statements on their packaging.Retailers must supply the “country of origin” for specific foods including fresh
  
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• Sunak to cite Britain’s ‘sicknote culture’ in bid to overhaul fit note system

  19-04-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Prime minister to express concern about ‘over-medicalising’ normal worries with diagnoses as mental health conditionsRishi Sunak will today claim Britain is suffering from a “sicknote culture”, as he warns there is a risk of “over-medicalising” normal worries by diagnosing them as mental health conditions.In a speech on how to reduce people being signed off sick from work, the prime minister will say the government is planning to trial getting “work and
  
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• Quarter of UK’s three- and four-year-olds own a smartphone, data shows

  19-04-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners express concern at new Ofcom figures, which also show that half of under-13s are on social mediaA quarter of three- and four-year-olds in the UK now own a smartphone, while half of children under 13 are on social media, according to new data that comes as ministers consider banning all children under 16 from owning a mobile phone.The figures, from the communications regulator Ofcom, show high and rising rates of online activity by children of infant-school age, with 38% of five- to s
  
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• English primary schools cutting teacher numbers amid budget pressure, survey finds

  19-04-2024 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Rising inflation and falling pupil numbers also forcing schools to cut spending on extracurricular activitiesPrimary schools across England are having to shed staff and cancel trips and activities this year as rising inflation and falling pupil numbers cause a rapid deterioration in their finances.A survey of more than 1,000 school leaders and teachers by the National Foundation for Educational Research found that three-quarters said their primary schools were cutting teaching assistant roles, w
  
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• Premier League and FA Cup semis: 10 things to look out for this weekend

  19-04-2024 01:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Two big Wembley meetings await in the Cup, while a desperation derby looks to be in store at Goodison ParkThere was a distinct end-of-season vibe at the Gtech Community Stadium following Brentford’s recent win over Sheffield United, with Thomas Frank and his players performing what amounted to a lap of honour as they took plaudits from fans relieved that the spectre of relegation had finally been banished from their small corner of west London. Of course only time will tell if the Bees bec
  
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• US vetoes Palestinian request for full UN membership

  18-04-2024 23:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Washington blocks security council resolution supported by 12 member countries, with two abstentions including UKThe US has vetoed a Palestinian request to the United Nations security council for full UN membership, blocking the world body’s recognition of a Palestinian state.The vote in the 15-member security council was 12 in favor, the US opposed and two abstentions, the UK and Switzerland. Continue reading...
  
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• UK to delay start of health and safety checks on EU imports – report

  18-04-2024 23:30 via theguardian.com
  
  New post-Brexit border checks ‘set to zero’ to avoid what Defra calls risk of serious disruptionThe UK government has reportedly told port health authorities it will not “turn on” health and safety checks for EU imports as new post-Brexit border controls begin this month.A presentation prepared by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) highlighted the risk of “significant disruption” if the new measures were implemented, according to th
  
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• All 12 jurors seated in Trump hush-money trial after two dismissals

  18-04-2024 23:22 via theguardian.com
  
  First criminal trial of a former president one significant step closer to beginning after full jury selected in New YorkA full jury of 12 people has been seated in the criminal case against Donald Trump, bringing the first criminal trial of a former president a significant step closer to beginning.At least one of six alternate jurors had been selected before court concluded on Thursday.A guide to Trump’s hush-money trial – so farThe key arguments prosecutors will use against TrumpHow
  
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• Liverpool comeback falls short against Atalanta despite early Salah goal

  18-04-2024 23:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Jürgen Klopp has taken Liverpool to four European finals, one Champions League trophy and places that players and fans alike may never have imagined possible but a journey that enriched his reign is over. There will be no fairytale ending in Dublin after one more feat of escapology proved beyond Klopp’s team against Atalanta.The 91st European game of Klopp’s nine-year Liverpool tenure was also his last despite a much-improved display and victory against Gian Piero Gasperini&rsqu
  
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• Leverkusen knock out West Ham as Frimpong’s strike saves unbeaten run

  18-04-2024 23:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Bayer Leverkusen will be waking up with sore heads again. Their treble hopes remains alive, as does their sheen of invincibility, but only just. After the beer-stained celebrations that followed their regal charge to the Bundesliga title, Xabi Alonso’s side looked groggy on a pulsating night at the London Stadium and can count themselves lucky to be in a Europa League semi-final against Roma after beating West Ham 3-1 on aggregate.The home fans responding to Jeremie Frimpong’s late e
  
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• A silent Trump glowers and stares during third day of criminal trial

  18-04-2024 22:59 via theguardian.com
  
  This was not Donald Trump the business mogul or Donald Trump the 45th president – it was Donald Trump the defendantWith Donald Trump just a few feet away, a potential juror in the criminal case against him summed up the experience in just three words. “This is bizarre,” she said, with just a slight hint of a seasoned New York accent.Bizarre it was. There was a potential juror who once spent the night at one of Trump’s lawyers’ homes more than a decade ago (Trump&rsq
  
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• Netflix profits surge as streaming service adds 9.3m subscribers in latest quarter

  18-04-2024 22:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Company says ‘we’re off to a good start in 2024’ as net income jumps 79% to $2.3bn, beating analysts’ expectations Profits at Netflix have surged as the world’s largest streaming service added millions of new paying subscribers.The entertainment giant added 9.3 million subscribers in the latest quarter – more than expected by analysts on Wall Street – leaving it with a record 269.6 million worldwide. Continue reading...
  
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