Political news

• Brokenshire gives Northern Ireland talks more time

  30-10-2017 23:44
  DUP and Sinn Féin making progress in negotiation, says minister
  
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• Government refuses to release details of studies into economic impact of Brexit

  30-10-2017 23:01 via theguardian.com
  Department for Exiting the EU refuses to respond to Labour MP’s request to see work on 58 sectors of the economy, saying it needs a ‘safe space’ for negotiationsThe Brexit department has refused to release key details about the 58 secret studies into how leaving the EU will impact the economy, saying officials need to make policy in a “safe space”.Seema Malhotra, a Labour MP on the Brexit committee, had asked to know the scope, terms of reference and state of comple
  
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• Boycott Streets ice cream. Try Manus Island Deathcicle or Recognicy Poles instead! | First Dog on the Moon

  30-10-2017 22:57 via theguardian.com
  Fortunately with the free market there are many scrummy ice-creams made by exploited workers to choose from! Here are some of our non-Streets favouritesSign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and printsContinue reading...
  
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• Alesha Dixon Shares An Update On Simon Cowell After Temporarily Replacing Him On 'X Factor'

  30-10-2017 22:30
  Alesha Dixon has shared an update on how Simon Cowell is doing, after stepping in to replace him on Sunday’s (29 October) ‘X Factor’.The ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ judge was drafted in to temporarily take Simon’s place, as he continued to recover at home after suffering a fall on Friday (27 October).Speaking to HuffPost UK on the red carpet at the Pride Of Britain Awards - which Simon had been planning to attend prior to his ill-health - Alesha said: “
  
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• 'Strictly Come Dancing' Judge Shirley Ballas Admits Surprise At Her Private Life When She Became Head Judge

  30-10-2017 22:09
  Shirley Ballas has admitted she wasn’t prepared for how “invasive” people could be, when she signed up to become a judge on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.For decades, Shirley has been well-known in the dance world but - aside from a few brief ‘Dancing With The Stars’ appearances in the States - this is her first foray into showbiz.Speaking to HuffPost UK at the Pride Of Britain Awards, Shirley answered the question of what’s surprised her since beco
  
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• Hammond vows not to break fiscal rules to fund new spending

  30-10-2017 22:01
  Chancellor under pressure from cabinet to disregard targets in Budget
  
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• Hammond resists call to break fiscal rules to fund new spending

  30-10-2017 22:01
  Chancellor under pressure from cabinet to disregard targets in Budget
  
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• Sarah Sanders Accused Of 'Lying' During Press Briefing On Paul Manafort Charges

  30-10-2017 21:54
  The White House Press Secretary has been accused of “lying” in response to reporters’ questions about the role of former foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulos, in Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign.Sarah Sanders sought to play down the importance of the 30-year-old who has pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to FBI agents about “dirt” he was offered on Hillary Clinton.The information came to light on Monday in the indictments against Trump’
  
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• Former HS2 chief executive accused of ‘defrauding taxpayers’

  30-10-2017 21:33
  Simon Kirby says he did not approve disputed redundancy payments to staff
  
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• Young People Should Be Entitled To The National Minimum Wage

  30-10-2017 21:32
  There is probably no clearer example of direct discrimination in the UK than the current National Minimum Wage. The current minimum wage for people aged over 25 is £7.50, but for under 18s it is almost half that - at £4.05 an hour, or £3.50 for those on apprenticeships. People aged 21 to 24 are entitled to £7.05 per hour, while 18 to 20 year olds can earn £5.60 an hour, all for the same work as their colleagues aged over 25.The Office for National Statistics estimat
  
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• The Front Line In The Battle For The Nation's Mental Health Isn't The NHS

  30-10-2017 21:30
  Half of all mental health problems are established by the age of 14 and after school, the average adult will spend 90,000 hours at work over their lifetime. The front lines in the battle for good mental health in the UK are not within our NHS, they are in our nation's schools, colleges, universities and workplaces. By the time we reach the NHS, all too often we've already reached crisis point.We are facing a mental health crisis. We know that about one in 10 children and young people aged 5-16 h
  
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• Martin Rowson on the Trump-Russia inquiry – cartoon

  30-10-2017 20:46 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
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• Women MPs Outnumber Men During Commons Sex Harassment Debate

  30-10-2017 20:43
  Male MPs were for once outnumbered by female colleagues as the House of Commons debated the latest sexual harassment allegations sweeping Westminster.The gender balance in the chamber was markedly different from usual as Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom unveiled plans to offer more support for victims of misconduct and Speaker Bercow called for a new complaints process.The switch in numbers came as some Labour MPs were accused of privately suggesting there was a “witch-hunt” against m
  
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• Pub talk?

  30-10-2017 20:37 via bbc.co.uk
  One MP says she raised concerns about inappropriate behaviour, but it was dismissed as "pub" chat.
  
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• Sexual harassment: MPs in no hurry to wash dirty linen in public | John Crace

  30-10-2017 20:20 via theguardian.com
  No cabinet minister makes a virtue of knowing less than Andrea Leadsom does, which made her the ideal person to speak on sexual harassment At times like these it can be useful to have a cabinet minister who knows next to nothing about anything. And no cabinet minister makes a virtue of knowing less than Andrea Leadsom. That made the leader of the house the ideal person to speak on behalf of the government in answer to an urgent question on sexual harassment in parliament from Labour’s Harr
  
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• The Guardian view on MPs and sexual harassment: turn the words into actions | Editorial

  30-10-2017 20:19 via theguardian.com
  MPs understand that parliament’s reputation is on the line. But party leaders must show they will punish the bullies and harassers, whatever the political costMPs from all parties spoke from the heart, from their experience, and largely in harmony on the menace of sexual harassment in the Commons on Monday. On such occasions, when MPs on all sides genuinely engage with one another rather than banging the party drum, the exchanges are sometimes described by Westminster-watchers as examples
  
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• Caroline Lucas Schools Tory On What Churchill Thought Of Voting Reform

  30-10-2017 20:10
  Green MP Caroline Lucas had to set a Tory MP straight after he falsely claimed Winston Churchill was against electoral reform. Steve Double was making the case for the UK’s first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system during a debate in Westminster Hall on Monday - but he got mixed up on the former PM’s stance. The St Austell and Newquay MP said: “One of the strengths of our current FPTP voting system is that it is simple and it gives a quick and decisive result.“In
  
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• Gordon Brown’s tragedy is not his flaws, but his failure to admit them | Deborah Orr

  30-10-2017 19:43 via theguardian.com
  The former prime minister is less honest than he would like to think, especially when it comes to his own recordGordon Brown is a funny old stick: clever, complicated, full of contradictions. He’s got an autobiography coming out next week, My Life, Our Times, and edited highlights are already in circulation. There may be interviews to promote the book. Brown probably feels a bit uncomfortable about that aspect of writing a book. Brown is a man who often feels uncomfortable.Brown probably f
  
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• Key details of Brexit impact reports on 58 industries to stay secret

  30-10-2017 19:40
  Davis to brief cabinet on contingency planning for ‘no deal’ scenario
  
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• Leadsom announces beefed-up helpline to tackle Commons misconduct allegations - Politics live

  30-10-2017 19:04 via theguardian.com
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenWhat No 10 is saying about Westminster sex misconduct allegationsAfternoon summary 5.54pm GMTHere are the main developments in the story about the Wesminster sexual misconduct allegations, including the main points from Andrea Leadsom’s Commons response to an urgent question on the topic.Members’ staff are of course employed by individual members. That means that they cannot simply be treated as if they were par
  
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• MPs vow to make it easier for staff to complain about behaviour

  30-10-2017 19:02
  Westminster confronts allegations of sexual harassment
  
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• Why George Papadopoulos And His FBI Indictment Could Be Trouble For Donald Trump

  30-10-2017 18:52
  A foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to FBI agents about “dirt” he was offered on Hillary Clinton.George Papadopoulos, 30, pleaded guilty on October 5, but the case wasn’t unsealed until Monday, according to a statement from Special Counsel Robert Mueller.He becomes the third adviser to Trump’s campaign to face criminal charges in the FBI investigation after Paul Manafort, the fo
  
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• Who Is George Papadopoulos, Trump Aide Who Lied To FBI About Russian ‘Dirt’?

  30-10-2017 18:52
  A foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to FBI agents about “dirt” he was offered on Hillary Clinton.George Papadopoulos, 30, pleaded guilty on October 5, but the case wasn’t unsealed until Monday, according to a statement from Special Counsel Robert Mueller.He becomes the third adviser to Trump’s campaign to face criminal charges in the FBI investigation after Paul Manafort, the fo
  
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• Direct democracy threatens way we are governed

  30-10-2017 18:50
  Business and technology are shaping a world in which earthly government is peripheral
  
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• UK faces new £20bn budget black hole –as it happened

  30-10-2017 18:49 via theguardian.com
  Weak productivity and Brexit uncertainty make it hard for chancellor Philip Hammond to see tax cuts or spending increases in next month’s Budget UK deficit to heighten pressure on chancellor
  Introduction: IFS report gives Hammond a headache
  How can Hammond raise spending without raising taxes?Letwin: We need a new tax to fund NHSSpain has grown twice as fast as the UK 5.49pm GMTIn an uncertain day ahead of a busy week, the Spanish stock market bucked the trend and jumped sharply on hopes t
  
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• 'I Want To See If The Sex Kitten Wants Any Of My Sandwiches' - Female Staffers Lift Lid On Harassment In Parliament

  30-10-2017 18:39
  Whispers about WhatsApp groups, redacted spreadsheets and the biggest controversy since the expenses scandal are rife in the corridors of Westminster.A rapidly-growing snowball effect that began with allegations against Hollywood director Harvey Weinstein, before encompassing Labour MP Jared O’Mara and government minister Mark Garnier so far shows no sign of slowing down.HuffPost UK talked to a number of current and ex-staff members, from across the political spect
  
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• MPs Must Change The Law On Restraint In Mental Health Hospitals

  30-10-2017 18:17
  Good mental health hospitals save lives. Many of the young people we work with say that, at their very lowest point, they received excellent support from amazing professionals who helped them to turn their lives around, see a way forward and begin on the path to recovery.But this isn't always the case.Too often, young people in inpatient care, and their parents, find going into hospital a frightening and confusing experience and don't feel they have enough of a voice in treatment and medication.
  
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• My Best You

  30-10-2017 18:13
  So, she says, "I have a list of things I need you to do, alright?""OK", I say, "sure"."Good, because it's important", she says."OK, where's the list?""On my iPad, I'll give you the code.""Cool", I say and write the code down.Then she belches and breaks wind at the same time and we laugh. We laugh so hard the others look at us as if we've lost our minds."This is my best friend", she says to the nurse.The nurse nods and smiles as she adjusts the flow rate of the medicine, says hello.
  "Friends sinc
  
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• Why I Had To Stop Fearing Anxiety

  30-10-2017 18:04
  Image SourceFor as long as I could remember I viewed anxiety as an enemy. Something that had bullied me since a child. A nagging voice. Something that had slowly taken a tight grip on my life.At first I did not understand anxiety, I did not understand the overwhelming feelings of worry and dread and the irrational thoughts that had filled my head over the years. As a child I would lay awake frozen by fear and nightmare thoughts. My parents had gone out for the evening but what if something happe
  
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• Kevin Spacey Accusations Addressed By 'House Of Cards' Creator On Twitter

  30-10-2017 18:03
  ‘House Of Cards’ creator Beau Willimon has spoken out over the accusation that the show’s leading actor, Kevin Spacey, made sexual advances towards a then-teenage Anthony Rapp in the 1980s.Beau addressed the matter on his Twitter page, claiming he’d never witnessed any “inappropriate behaviour on or off set” in the time he’s known Spacey, and insisting he’d been left “troubled” by the allegation.He wrote: “Anthony Rapp’s sto
  
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• Theresa May 'Not Covering Up' Allegations Of Sexual Harassment By Tory MPs, Says Andrea Leadsom

  30-10-2017 18:02
  Theresa May is not “covering up” allegations of sexual harassment against Conservative MPs and ministers, Andrea Leadsom has said.The Commons leader said on Monday it was “not true” that the prime minister turned a blind eye to the behaviour of her MPs.It came as she announced parliament needs a new independent body to protect MPs’ staff from abuse and unwanted attention.Leadsom’s statement in the Commons followed allegations that MPs and ministers were guilty
  
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• Macmillan's 'Fake News' Nurse Shares Heartbreaking Story About How Online Misinformation Can Ruin Lives

  30-10-2017 17:50
  A digital nurse hired to combat ‘fake cancer news’ has revealed the heartbreaking reason why tackling misinformation online is so important.Macmillan Cancer Support’s new digital nurse specialist Ellen McPake revealed to HuffPost UK that one man flew his sick wife abroad and paid thousands of pounds for a coffee enema treatment (where coffee is injected directly into the colon), which never worked. The man’s wife later died, leaving him distraught.Ellen said the
  
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• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder In Children: These Are The Symptoms Parents Need To Look Out For

  30-10-2017 17:47
  Often associated with veterans returning from war zones, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may not seem like something that might affect a child.But actually more than two thirds of children in the UK are likely to have experienced a traumatic event by the age of 16, according to chartered clinical psychologist Dr Camilla Rosan, who helped to write the guide for social workers looking after the families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.And the risk of them subsequently developing the
  
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• Westminster Needs Independent Body To Deal With Sexual Harassment Claims, Says Andrea Leadsom

  30-10-2017 17:46
  Parliament needs a new independent body to protect staff from sexual harassment from MPs, the government has said.Andrea Leadsom said on Monday the current system for dealing with complaints had been shown to be “inadequate”.“There can be no place for harassment, abuse, or misconduct in politics,” the Leader of the Commons told MPs. “There is a vital need to provide better support and protection of the thousands of staff members working in Westminster and in co
  
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• This Manchester Restaurant Serves Roast Dinner Fondue And It's A Thing Of Beauty

  30-10-2017 17:34
  If you think the best part of a roast dinner is the homemade gravy, prepare to salivate.Manchester restaurant Bock Biere Cafe has created a roast dinner fondue, where all your favourite dinner components can be dipped into a thick biere bourguignon gravy.The eatery launched the concept earlier this year, serving the unique fondue every Sunday. But due to its popularity, they’ve recently started offering the dish on Mondays, too.Better yet, diners can now book in advance for a special
  
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• Kevin Spacey's Coming Out Story Will Go Down In History As The Worst Ever

  30-10-2017 17:33
  Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp has alleged that when he was just 14, more than 30 years ago, he was sexually harassed by Hollywood A-lister Kevin Spacey.Spacey responded swiftly, saying "if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour." He then goes on to confirm that he is now "living as a gay man."Let us not examine too closely the details of the alleged assault, which involved Spacey carrying Rapp on to a bed
  
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• Bizarre 'Flesby' Concept Car Puts The Airbags On The Outside

  30-10-2017 17:30
  As companies like Volvo are looking to create the next generation of safety features inside the car, one Japanese company is taking something of a different approach.Car manufacturing firm Toyoda Gosei have created a car where the safety features are very definitely on the outside.It’s called Flesby II and as you can see from the car’s quirky design, the airbags have been moved to the exterior of the vehicle.According to Toyoda Gosei the green panels are made from a highly durable ne
  
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• 'X Factor': Stormzy Insists He Didn't Snub MNEK, Following Performance With Labrinth

  30-10-2017 17:11
  Stormzy has set the record straight following his performance on ‘The X Factor’ over the weekend.On Sunday night (29 October), Stormzy made a guest appearance during the second live show of the current series, performing his track ‘Blinded By Your Grace, Pt. 2’, which features vocals from MNEK.However, for his ‘X Factor’ performance he chose to have Labrinth join him on stage instead, which didn’t go unnoticed by MNEK, who only found out about
  
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• Saudi Arabia To Allow Women To Attend Sports Events For The First Time

  30-10-2017 17:00
  Saudi Arabia will for the first time allow women to attend sports events in another step towards opening public spaces to them.There will be special sections prepared at three stadiums from early next year.The stadiums in Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh will be set up to accommodate families from early 2018, according to a statement from the General Sports Authority, carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.Last month Saudi Arabia announced that, from June, women would be allowed to drive cars
  
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• ‘Great British Bake Off’ 2016 Finalist Jane Beedle Says Younger Contestants Should Get Counselling To Help Them Cope With ‘Wicked’ Social Media Trolls

  30-10-2017 16:44
  With the ‘Great British Bake Off’ final upon us once again, one of last year’s finalists has issued a plea to show bosses to help protect the younger contestants from “hideous” online trolls.Jane Beedle, who was a runner-up to eventual winner Candice Brown in the 2016 ’Bake Off’ final, says more needs to be done to protect the younger bakers from the “wicked” abuse levelled at them on social media.“We didn’t get counselling,&rdquo
  
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• Anne Robinson, You're Dead Wrong (And Somewhat Confused)

  30-10-2017 16:44
  Like many, I listened to and then read, Anne Robinson's recent wordson sexual harassment. Yup, she said it, I didn't mishear it, she actually took younger women to task for not putting up with harassment in the workplace, or "men behaving badly" as she euphemistically phrased it."In the early days, 40 years ago, there were very few of us women in power and I have to say we had a much more robust attitude to men behaving badly." Her points meander all over the issue however, as she adds: "... the
  
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• 98-Year-Old Mum Moves Into Care Home To Help Look After 80-Year-Old Son

  30-10-2017 16:33
  A mum has moved into a care home at the age of 98 in order to help care for her 80-year-old son.Dedicated parent Ada Keating recently moved into Moss View care home in Huyton, Merseyside, after her son Tom became a resident a year earlier.Ada helps Tom with his daily activities and according to staff at the home, the pair are inseparable.Speaking to Liverpool Echo, Ada said she goes into Tom’s room every evening to wish him goodnight and makes sure he’s up for breakfast in the m
  
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• Europe’s centre-right is on the wrong track with ‘good populism’ | Cas Mudde

  30-10-2017 16:29 via theguardian.com
  In the Austrian and Dutch elections, it’s debatable how much ground mainstream parties won by flirting with nativism. Swinging to the right carries long-term risksOften post-election days feel like groundhog day: after every election in which a far-right party has won a “shock” victory, voices from the left to the right will argue that established parties should be more “realistic” about immigration, and the “problems” of multiculturalism, because &ldquo
  
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• Acting After Illness #15 Backstory

  30-10-2017 16:29
  My backstory is everything from the moment I was born to now, this moment, writing this blog.I, all of us, carry our backstories around with us, in our heads, 24/7.In training to be an actor, time was spent on building backstories for the characters I was playing.The hope is that an underlining of the dialogue from the script, with a backstory, would bring about truth to my performance.It was like being back at school, doing "a school project", on say, Winston Churchill.Scissors and glue at the
  
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• Poppy Appeal 2017: Royal British Legion Drone Footage Captures Poem Spelled Out In Flowers

  30-10-2017 16:21
  Verses from a famous World War One poem have been written using poppies in seven locations across Britain and France.In Flanders Fields, by Canadian officer John McCrae, was written after the bright red flowers bloomed in the otherwise barren battlefields, despite the death and destruction that preceded them.The flower came to be regarded as a symbol of hope and of remembrance of the sacrifices made in war.The poem lines – filmed with a drone on behalf of the Royal British Legion - ar
  
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• Theresa May denies seeing sexual harassment ‘dossier’

  30-10-2017 15:59
  UK government confronts newspaper reports of alleged misconduct by MPs
  
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• Cutting Carbon And Keeping The Lights On

  30-10-2017 15:56
  As if evidence was needed as to the imperative of dramatically cutting carbon emissions and promoting energy efficiency, the day after the Government published its much-anticipated Clean Growth Strategy, the European Environment Agency (EEA) published new figures on the impact of air pollution.The EEA concluded that more than half a million people a year are dying prematurely across the continent as a consequence of air pollution. There's little reaction you can give to such a figure than to des
  
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• I've Met The World's Future Leaders, And They Give Me Hope

  30-10-2017 15:54
  The vision of the strong leader single-handedly forcing through their agenda is not one that impresses the next generation of global policy makers.When we launched our Future Leaders Connect programme at the British Council this year, we asked the 11,000 applicants, aged 18-34, what they thought were important leadership skills and what they saw as the most difficult and urgent problems facing the world.Despite a diverse range of applicants from ten very different countries (the UK, Egypt, India
  
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• How Central Banks Helped Fuel The Rise Of Political Extremism

  30-10-2017 15:53
  A decade on from the start of the financial crisis and we're still feeling its impact. Despite talk of a global recovery, many major global economies remain in a fragile state, while some countries, such as Greece, remain so crippled with debt that any meaningful growth remains practically impossible.Indeed, solving a debt crisis by directly financing the issuance of even more debt is the paradoxical solution that the major central banks have implemented over the last ten years. There's no quest
  
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• This Woman's Won The Most 2017 Halloween Costume Award For Her Take On The Infamous Dove Advert

  30-10-2017 15:48
  All those competing for the title of the most on point Halloween costume of 2017 can stand down - we have a winner.This woman poked fun at one of the most controversial and offensive advertising campaigns of this year - the infamous Dove advert that portrayed a black woman taking her t-shirt off and turning into a white woman.And the best part is, all she needed was a couple of plain T-shirts and a printer. Who doesn’t love a bit of DIY satire?Other costumes worthy of 2
  
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