Political news

• Sussex vice-chancellor receives £230,000 payout

  08-12-2017 21:54
  Latest in a series of high remuneration packages for administrators comes under scrutiny
  
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• Port Talbot official probed over Tata staff pensions advice

  08-12-2017 20:49
  Manager alleged to have been paid to refer colleagues
  
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• People React To Stoneless Avocados

  08-12-2017 20:33
  This week M&S launched the stoneless ‘Cocktail Avocado’ That’s right, it’s an avocado without a stone - and the supermarket chain has said the fruit could reduce instances of “avocado hand.” Millennials rejoice! It has an edible skin and measures in at around 5-8cm.But the big question is, how will people react to their first encounter with the latest upgrade to the humble fruit? 
  
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• May set for new battles after Brexit breakthrough

  08-12-2017 20:24
  UK cabinet awaits discussion on ‘end state’ as EU warns of limited options
  
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• 9 Hilariously Depressing Analogies For Theresa May's Brexit Deal

  08-12-2017 20:22
  You may well have noticed that something rather big happened today - that’s right, a YouTube prankster cemented his head inside a microwave.There was also another important story that may have just edged it in the “most read” stakes - but only just.Tough competition for the top story on the BBC News website#BrexitDealpic.twitter.com/jSyLpLyOM4— Jonathan Roberts (@robertsjonathan) December 8, 2017It is of course, the #BrexitDeal.Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker sho
  
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• Brexit: no transition deal for Gibraltar, EU officials confirm – as it happened

  08-12-2017 20:15
  Officials disclose expected amount Britain will have to pay to leave EU after May’s announcement of deal for talks to progress‘Sufficient progress’ in Brexit talks announced after May’s dash to Brussels 7.15pm GMTIt has been a very long day, and that’s all from us. Read the full story on the breakthrough Brexit deal here:Related: Talks through the night, a pre-dawn flight – how the deal was done7.02pm GMTAnushka Asthana and Peter Walker report on Labour’
  
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• Boris Johnson's Tweet Shows Theresa May Has Merely Postponed A Row With Brexit Tories

  08-12-2017 20:08
  After so spectacularly crashing the negotiations on Monday, just getting the car back on the road with the engine running was enough to generate cheers from Tory MPs.Theresa May’s early morning trek to Brussels after a night of repairing her conked-out deal gave her the result she wanted, and everyone can now move on to round two of these Brexit talks.
  But if May thinks the draft agreement will stop any more sabotage from people back home, she could well be mistaken - especially when hard-
  
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• The Guardian view on Brexit divorce: Tories divided | Editorial

  08-12-2017 20:07
  The puzzle of Northern Ireland has seen Theresa May commit to a soft Brexit. But politically she advocates a hard Brexit, outside the single market and customs union. This tension cannot be sustainedDivorce is often a stressful, hostile process, riven by bad feeling on both sides. For Theresa May’s government, leaving a union with Europe is proving to be a humiliating experience. It has been embarrassing to witness ministers pursue a strategy of bluster, blunders and climbdowns to deliver
  
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• UK cabinet soon to hold debate about ultimate Brexit aims, sources say

  08-12-2017 20:06
  Following Theresa May’s breakthrough on Friday, cabinet must now prepare for serious debate about Brexit ‘end-state’Theresa May’s cabinet is gearing up for a serious debate about the Brexit “end-state”, sources said, as backbenchers on either side of the divide lined up to claim victory over the agreement hammered out on Friday.Conservative figures who campaigned to remain during the EU referendum said the prime minister’s commitment to a soft Irish bord
  
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• The Guardian view on social housing: time to fight for affordable rents | Editorial

  08-12-2017 20:04
  Margaret Thatcher promised a property-owning democracy. She created a nation of private landlordsThe Guardian launches its Christmas appeal on Saturday. This year it is on behalf of charities that support destitute people who are seeking asylum, and the young homeless. The reasons for their plight are often complex but the headline explanation is simple: social housing is scarce and getting scarcer; rents in the private sector are rising; and housing benefit is falling.On Friday t
  
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• Brexit: no transition deal for Gibraltar, EU officials confirm – live updates

  08-12-2017 20:02
  Officials disclose expected amount Britain will have to pay to leave EU after May’s announcement of deal for talks to progress‘Sufficient progress’ in Brexit talks announced after May’s dash to Brussels 7.02pm GMTAnushka Asthana and Peter Walker report on Labour’s reaction to today’s initial Brexit deal.Related: Labour MPs hope EU deal is signal for soft Brexit approach6.51pm GMTBritain will be able to carry out criminal records checks on EU nationals seeking
  
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• The Guardian view on plastic bottles: make water available on tap | Editorial

  08-12-2017 20:00
  Thankfully the campaign to cut our plastic habit by making free fresh water widely available is gathering momentumLike a wave building far out at sea, the momentum behind universally available cool fresh water is growing steadily. It is driven by the realisation that the world’s plastic habit must be broken, quickly. It’s reckoned that a million plastic bottles are bought worldwide every minute; the meaning of this number is best expressed in the images of mountains of litter made of
  
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• Irish claim divorce agreement points to ‘soft’ Brexit

  08-12-2017 19:56
  Varadkar welcomes ‘cast iron’ commitment to no hard border
  
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• Talks through the night, a pre-dawn flight – how the deal was done

  08-12-2017 19:45
  The text is little changed from that rejected by the DUP on Monday but is a major climbdown from May’s hardline position at the start of the yearIt took Theresa May 11 months and 200 miles to travel from her starting position that “no deal is better than a bad deal” to the perception that any deal was better than no Brexit. The last, frantic, dash from Downing Street to the European commission headquarters in the early hours was the easy bit.From 3.30am on Friday, her final dri
  
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• Irish border fudge points the way to future Brexit battles

  08-12-2017 19:45
  The negotiations on trade will reveal Tory splits on more than Northern Ireland
  
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• Labour MPs hope EU deal is signal for soft Brexit approach

  08-12-2017 19:29
  Calling for an end to the ‘chaos and confusion’ that has dogged talks thus far, remainers in the party hope the breakthrough now leads to a softer exitIf official Labour reaction to the initial Brexit deal was cautiously welcoming, behind the scenes several MPs were already wondering whether the flexibility inherent in certain clauses might be the cue to push the party definitively towards seeking a soft Brexit.The formal Labour policy, such as it exists, only calls for continued mem
  
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• Brexit passes the first hurdle with divorce deal

  08-12-2017 19:25
  Theresa May has done well to broker an agreement but it is on the EU’s terms
  
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• European governments welcome Brexit progress but warn of challenges

  08-12-2017 18:44
  The most difficult talks lie ahead, say ministers and business leaders warn as they welcome Theresa May’s breakthroughEuropean governments and business leaders have welcomed the breakthrough in Brexit talks but warned that the most difficult negotiations lie ahead.A spokesman for the German government gave a guarded thumbs up to the pre-dawn deal announced by Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday, but said there was “still much work for negotiators to do”.Continue readi
  
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• Brexit: The rights of EU citizens in the UK and Britons in the EU

  08-12-2017 18:33 via bbc.co.uk
  The latest deal promises protection of rights for EU citizens in the UK and Britons in Europe.
  
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• Arlene Foster: Brexit brinkmanship rooted in a border childhood

  08-12-2017 18:30
  The DUP leader was born into the bloodiest era of the Troubles and was never going to back down over the border questionIn an age of marginal political figures seizing centre stage, it is apt that the most powerful person in Britain this week was not the prime minister but Arlene Foster, a 47-year-old County Fermanagh solicitor and the first woman to lead Ian Paisley’s staunchly loyalist Democratic Unionist party.Until she torpedoed Theresa May’s initial Brexit deal on Monday, Foster
  
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• Time For The Government To Drop Its Self-Defeating Brexit 'Red Lines'

  08-12-2017 18:26
  Now that we’re finally moving to the next stage of negotiations, the government should be laser-focused on getting a deal that protects jobs, livelihoods and rights. But it’s clear that their reckless and self-defeating red lines are getting in the way.Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said today that since the UK has ruled out membership of the customs union and single market, the only realistic model is “a free trade agreement on the Canadian model.”
  
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• Is That It? EU Citizens Like Me Have Waited 18 Months For 'Sufficient Progress'?

  08-12-2017 18:22
  “So the deal is done, EU citizens rights guaranteed.Not for me, because I don’t fall under the terms of Directive 2004/38, which will be used to determine ’settled status.’Even though I have been continuously in the UK for 32 years, and I am sick, I could STILL lose my rights and possibly get deported.Today is not a relief or reason to celebrate for me, the opposite is true. My future looks bleaker than ever.”This is just one of many worried messages I have received
  
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• House Of Lords Disturbance Sees Man Arrested On Suspicion Of Common Assault

  08-12-2017 18:21
  A man has been arrested on suspicion of common assault and criminal damage after a disturbance at the entrance of the House of Lords public gallery, Scotland Yard said.A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “At approximately 11:15am on Friday, 8 December police were called to reports of a disturbance within the Palace of Westminster.“A man, believed aged in his 20s, was escorted from the premises by officers.“He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of common assault and cri
  
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• This Brexit deal should be celebrated – let the church bells ring | Michael Fabricant

  08-12-2017 18:20
  My red lines are the freedom to agree trade worldwide, control over our borders, and supremacy of our law. Today’s agreement meets those tests
  The deal sealed on Friday morning in Brussels and first heralded by the tweet of a puff of white smoke is – as all deals are – a compromise. But not all compromises are bad.The pressure on Theresa May over the last few days has been immense. The British media have reported her travails with the DUP and both remainer and leave colleagues
  
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• Five Tests Britain Must Pass Before We Can Truly Say We're Tackling The Cancer Of Corruption

  08-12-2017 18:19
  In May 2016 David Cameron hosted an International Summit attended by over 40 countries and pledged to work for “so long as there is breath in my body” to tackle what he described as the “cancer” of corruption. It was an important moment. The British government did what few others have done before and recognised that corruption is a global issue – not just one isolated to developing countries and notorious tax havens.Cameron was clear that corruption is “one of
  
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• Man held over House of Lords disturbance

  08-12-2017 18:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Police arrest a man in the House of Lords after a debate is interrupted by shouting.
  
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• East London Barber Snips Away At Loneliness With Free Treatments For Older Men

  08-12-2017 18:15
  On 7 December, Luke Dolan’s east London barbershop was abuzz with excitement. Behind the glass facade, several older men sat, chatted and enjoyed complimentary haircuts, with swing music playing in the background.Luke’s Barbershop was taking part in #ShaveTheDay, where elderly men across the UK were treated to complimentary services in participating barbershops for one day only. The campaign was spearheaded by TABAC on behalf of Age UK to tackle an epidemic of loneliness among e
  
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• Palestinian Shot Dead In 'Day Of Rage' Clashes After Donald Trump's Jerusalem Decision

  08-12-2017 18:06
  At least one Palestinian has been shot dead and scores more have been injured in clashes with Israeli troops on a “day of rage” on Friday against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.Across the Arab and Muslim worlds, thousands more demonstrators took to the streets on Friday, the Muslim holy day, expressing solidarity with the Palestinians and outrage at Trump’s reversal of decades of US policy.Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palest
  
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• Two Palestinians Killed In 'Day Of Rage' Clashes After Donald Trump's Jerusalem Decision

  08-12-2017 18:02
  At least two Palestinians have died and scores more have been injured in clashes with Israeli troops on a “day of rage” on Friday against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.Across the Arab and Muslim worlds, thousands more demonstrators took to the streets on Friday, the Muslim holy day, expressing solidarity with the Palestinians and outrage at Trump’s reversal of decades of US policy.Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestini
  
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• Liberals Will Always Find A Home In Comic Books Against The Far-right

  08-12-2017 17:49
  The essence of superhero storytelling for a long time has felt mostly about just good, fun stories about the fantastical. It’s always been about exploring the untapped well of goodness lying in everyone, the potential for heroism.But another whole aspect to comic stories have always been the political overtones. It’s always been there within the comic industry yet has flared sharply in recent times, coinciding during a time of social unrest and political division which have never fel
  
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• Judge Rinder Gives His Official Verdict On The Biggest Celebrity Feuds

  08-12-2017 17:46
  Judge Rinder has settled many disputes in his court before and even presided over some celebrity cases (yes, we still remember ‘Big Brother’ contestant Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace’s appearance), so what better person to settle some of the biggest feuds in showbiz.As we met up with the star to discuss his new primetime series ’Judge Rinder’s Crown Court’, we asked him to give his verdict on the likes of Katie Price vs Chris Hughes, Lady Gaga vs Madonna and Piers Mo
  
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• Politics Should Be A Compulsory Part Of Education

  08-12-2017 17:45
  When I turned 18, I remember being most ecstatic about being an “adult.” To “adult” meant being now able to drink (legally anyway), drive and exercise my voter’s right. But six months later, the 2013 May local election would swiftly come along and I’ve find myself dumfounded, having not even the slightest of clues. I spent so much time anticipating and not enough time thoroughly doing my research. Long story short, like many 18-year-olds for years to come, I d
  
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• Jeremy Hunt's Brexit Divorce Bill Message To EU NHS Staff: 'Too Little, Too Late'

  08-12-2017 17:42
  A message from Jeremy Hunt urging European NHS doctors and nurses not to quit Britain over Brexit has been branded “too little, too late”.The health secretary tweeted his happiness that the Brexit divorce agreement, finalised Friday morning, said that EU nationals already in the UK can remain, ending nearly 18 months of uncertainty over the future of more than three million people.He told “our brilliant EU doctors and nurses” that the NHS valued their “life-sav
  
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• Awareness And Political Leadership Matter, But Only Research Can Transform Our Mental Health

  08-12-2017 17:42
  How much will our understanding of mental health improve in the next decade?Looking at the Government’s new ten-year framework for mental health research, published today (7th December 2018), it’s clear how much we still have to learn – and how much work there is to do to fill in the major gaps in our knowledge.But the question of how much our knowledge will actually develop – and how much, therefore, life will actually improve for the one in four people who experience a
  
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• Alexandra Burke’s Appearance On Strictly Has Negatively Impacted On Her Public Persona

  08-12-2017 17:42
  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and panto season seems to be in full swing – that is, if you believe the familiar stories and array of villains we are seeing paraded on TV in the nation’s favourite reality shows. Nothing says ‘Christmas prime time’ quite like celebrities eating kangaroo testicles in the jungle or a fantastic dancer being accused of diva behaviour and being lampooned in the media, does it?At this time of year, we have become accustomed to
  
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• Jerusalem: The Dogs That Didn't Bark

  08-12-2017 17:41
  I wonder how many Palestinians are familiar with the Sherlock Holmes story Silver Blaze.Detective: ‘Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?’ Holmes: ‘To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.’ Detective: ‘The dog did nothing in the night-time.’ Holmes: ‘That was the curious incident.’Bear with me. After President Trump’s reckless announcement on Wednesday that the US now recognises Jerusalem as the c
  
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• Did We Really Try Everything To Resolve The North Korean Crisis?

  08-12-2017 17:37
  While Trump administration is ramping up its military rhetoric, US and North Korea seem dangerously close to conflict. Nuclear war is almost becoming a thinkable option and the sudden mania of speaking about nuclear warfare does not seem to shock anyone.The message is simple: we tried everything, nothing works and the only solution is to use force.But did really the international community do anything in its power to resolve the crisis in the Korean peninsula?By 1989, North Korea has developed a
  
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• Japanese Drone Has An Ingenious Solution To Workers Who Just Won't Go Home On Time

  08-12-2017 17:36
  One of Japan’s largest corporations has come up with an bizarre (but brilliant) solution to workers who just won’t go home on time.Tackling Japan’s chronic problems with overworking, construction company Taisei has developed a security drone that will fly around the workplace annoying workers until they finally give up and go home on time.So how does it annoy them? Well other than generally making a loud buzzing sound the drone will also be blaring out “Auld Lang Syne&rdq
  
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• UK intelligence services urged to change tactics

  08-12-2017 17:30
  Lone wolf extremists often radicalised online and increasingly difficult to detect
  
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• What’s the Irish view on the Brexit border dispute? Difficult discussions lie ahead | Brigid Laffan

  08-12-2017 17:24
  The UK-EU statement is a significant achievement that meets the needs of Dublin and the DUP – for now. But many twists and turns are still to come• Brigid Laffan is director of the global governance programme at the European University Institute, FlorenceThe question of the Irish border brought the Brexit talks to a halt on Monday when the DUP stymied an emerging deal. The unfolding drama this week was no surprise to anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the island of Ireland and th
  
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• Grenfell fire: response failings highlighted in report on tragedy

  08-12-2017 17:22
  Lack of interaction between councils, convoluted system to request aid and poor information sharing were among failingsSignificant failings in preparations to deal with a major disaster have been identified in a report on the response to the Grenfell Tower fire.The concerns are highlighted in a review produced by Hammersmith and Fulham council (H&F), a neighbouring borough to the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and one of the first authorities to get involved in the immediate
  
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• Maria Miller: Government must act to get more women MPs

  08-12-2017 16:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Theresa May's rejection of quotas for female MPs is 'startling,' says equality committee chief Maria Miller.
  
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• 'Brace for impact': EU citizens in the UK react to Brexit deal

  08-12-2017 16:47
  EU citizens living in the UK tell us what the latest agreements in Brussels mean for them, and how they feel about the future
  Lisa Leysen, digital marketer, 27. Belgian, in the UK for two yearsContinue reading...
  
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• Meet The People Working And Volunteering On Christmas Day To Help Others

  08-12-2017 16:39
  While the majority of the country is scoffing turkey, across the UK men and women will be foregoing a traditional Christmas day in order to help others.Despite what mass media will lead you to believe, Christmas isn’t a merry time for all, with the homeless, isolated elderly people, patients in hospital and families relying on food banks among those who find the season difficult.The nation’s Christmas workers and volunteers provide a vital lifeline for these people and we t
  
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• Dubious polls and murky media: the truth behind Vladimir Putin’s popularity | Maxim Trudolyubov

  08-12-2017 16:34
  The Russian president is seeking re-election – and the fact that he’ll achieve it virtually unopposed says much for the slick propaganda machine he’s builtIn Russia, there is an entire generation of young people who do not have a first-hand recollection of life before Vladimir Putin. The Putin era must feel to them a bit like the Brezhnev era felt to me.I remember Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev well. I remember the way he spoke, the way everyone made fun of him, the way he was synonymo
  
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• May returns to Brussels to secure peace for our time | John Crace

  08-12-2017 16:24
  All irony is missed as Jean-Claude Juncker praises the PM for securing a deal by agreeing to everything the EU has been demanding all alongFor the first time in months, a smile crossed Theresa May’s lips. She had bought herself a year; she had peace for our time. After months of disagreement – not to mention incompetence – inside her own government, she finally had a wording that was acceptable to everyone on her own side. Shortly before dawn she had been able to telephone the
  
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• 'Standing for completely different future'

  08-12-2017 16:23 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour wants a "close and co-operative relationship" with European neighbours when the UK leaves the EU, Jeremy Corbyn says.
  
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• Google's DeepMind AI Becomes One Of The Best Chess Players In The World In Just Four Hours

  08-12-2017 16:22
  Not content with absolutely thrashing humanity at Go, Google’s DeepMind AI has now turned its attention to chess, and as expected it has put us all to shame.The specialist AlphaZero program was able to beat one of the world’s best chess programs a mere four hours after learning how to play.Out of 100 games against Stockfish 8, DeepMind either drew or won all of them.Google hasn’t officially commented on the success of the experiment but the DeepMind research team have published
  
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• Nigel Farage reaction to UK and EU Brexit talks

  08-12-2017 16:21 via bbc.co.uk
  The Brexit deal will see Britain paying "an extravagant sum of money we don't owe" and leave it unable to make its own trade deal, says Nigel Farage.
  
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• Amber Heard Responds To JK Rowling Statement On Johnny Depp’s ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Role

  08-12-2017 16:16
  Amber Heard has shared a reminder about her split from Johnny Depp, in the wake of JK Rowling’s defence of the actor.The author published a statement on the decision to cast Depp as Gellert Grindelwald on Thursday (7 December), after criticism from spectators who believed the actor should not have landed the job, given the many negative headlines surrounding his personal life in the past two years.And taking to Twitter less than 24 hours after Rowling’s statement, Amber has indirectl
  
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