Political news

• MPs' 'grave concern' about returning Rohingya people

  15-01-2018 23:34 via bbc.co.uk
  A committee warns about the plight of thousands of people being returned to Myanmar.
  
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• Teens Are Likely To Eat More Junk Food After Watching TV Ads

  15-01-2018 23:30
  Teens who watch more than three hours of commercial TV a day are likely to eat more junk food snacks than their peers, according to a report by Cancer Research UK.  The report, based on a YouGov survey, involved 3,348 young people (aged 11-19) in the UK being questioned on their TV viewing habits and diet. When teens watched TV without adverts, researchers found no link between screen time and likelihood of eating more junk food.They concluded that this suggests the adverts on com
  
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• 'Next Of Kin' Episode 2 Review: 10 Questions We're Asking As The ITV Thriller Continues

  15-01-2018 23:00
  Last week’s episode of ‘Next Of Kin’ may not have been perfect (no, we still can’t get over the massive time-related plot hole), but we were still hotly anticipating the next instalment, after it ended with the revelation Danny Shirani had been found in Pakistan.Luckily, bosses picked up the story from where it left off, and Monday (15 January) night’s episode saw Mona travel to Lahore where she was reunited with a clearly troubled Danny.However, it wasn’
  
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• Antwerp Explosion: Terrorism Ruled Out As Blast Causes Injuries

  15-01-2018 22:49
  An explosion injured several people and brought down a residential building in the Belgian city of Antwerp on Monday evening, police said, stressing the incident was not related to terrorism.Belgian news agency Belga reported five people had been injured. Antwerp police said two adjacent buildings might have also been damaged in what state broadcaster RTBF said was a gas explosion.Belgium has been on high alert since deadly suicide bombings in 2016 and a wave of Islamist attacks across Euro
  
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• Antwerp Explosion: Terrorism Ruled Out As Blast Brings Down Residential Building

  15-01-2018 22:49
  Between ten and 20 people have reportedly been wounded after an explosion brought down a residential building in the Belgian city of Antwerp on Monday evening.The origin of the explosion on the central street of Paardenmarkt is not clear, but police stressed the incident was not related to terrorism.State broadcaster RTBF said was a gas explosion. People have been removed from the rubble, including a child, police say. Antwerp police said two adjacent buildings might have also been damaged.
  
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• Keir Starmer Tells Labour MPs To Stop Trying To 'Rub Out' Brexit Vote

  15-01-2018 22:48
  Keir Starmer has urged Labour MPs to stop thinking how to “rub out” Brexit and instead focus on how to get the best deal for Britain outside the EU.Speaking to the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Monday night, the Shadow Brexit Secretary said that a second EU referendum couldn’t be held until 2021 at the earliest and even then would face “obvious” practical problems.In what was seen by MPs as a hardening of his stance on a second vote, HuffPost can reveal that S
  
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• Leave campaign's £350m claim was too low, says Boris Johnson

  15-01-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Foreign secretary says campaign ‘grossly underestimated’ amount of money UK sends each week to EUBoris Johnson has ratcheted-up his defence of Vote Leave’s infamous assertion on the side of their bus that Britain sends £350m a week to the EU by saying the group could have used a much higher figure.The foreign secretary said the UK’s weekly gross contribution would rise to £438m by the end of a post-Brexit transition period and insisted leave campaigners were r
  
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• Boris Johnson: 'Let us have a grown-up conversation with our American friends'

  15-01-2018 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Foreign secretary stresses ‘crucial’ nature of UK-US relations in exclusive Guardian interview before flying out for North Korea talksBoris Johnson has banned himself from using the phrase “special relationship” to describe Britain’s longstanding links with the United States: it sounds, he says, “a bit needy”. But as Donald Trump’s White House lurches from one crisis to the next – the latest being his remarks about migrants from “shitho
  
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• Remainer MPs bring 'ideas and solutions' to meeting with Barnier

  15-01-2018 21:28 via theguardian.com
  Labour and Tory MPs hold talks with EU’s chief Brexit negotiator“It’s all sorted, we’re staying,” joked the self-confessed arch-remainer Anna Soubry, a former Tory minister and latterly mischief-maker in chief on the Conservative backbenches.Soubry was talking to reporters after a meeting with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, on a wet evening in Brussels. She had travelled to the Berlaymont, the European commission’s HQ, with the Labour MPs Chu
  
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• Scramble to contain fallout of Carillion collapse

  15-01-2018 21:19 via ft.com
  Only 48 hrs support for private contracts as public works get priority
  
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• Martin Luther King's Children Shatter Donald Trump's Attempt To Honour Their Father

  15-01-2018 21:09
  The son and daughter of Dr Martin Luther King Jr have launched extraordinary attacks on Donald Trump on what would have been the 89th birthday of their father.Reverend Bernice King and Martin Luther King III both rebutted any notion the President represented the ideals of the civil rights movement and said the American Dream is a “nightmare”.The excoriating comments were in stark contrast to a video put out by the White House in which Trump spoke at length about the legacy of Dr King
  
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• The four contracts that finished Carillion

  15-01-2018 20:55 via theguardian.com
  The construction giant’s collapse is a disaster not just for employees and taxpayers, but for public-private partnership policyIt was trusted to build some of the country’s most important infrastructure – from NHS hospitals to much-needed new road projects – yet the foundations of construction giant Carillion were shaky enough for the group to be felled by just four contracts. Two were for much-needed new hospitals – and work on both was immediately halted as the co
  
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• Brexit Britain will have to get used to life as a ‘third country’ | Rafael Behr

  15-01-2018 20:47 via theguardian.com
  The government can avoid being ripped off by the EU, but the best deal the UK can hope for is to be first among outsidersOnce upon a time there was a creature called Brussels that ate national sovereignty. This monster had a special hunger for Britishness, feasting on the independence of that nation, while its neighbours were mysteriously undiminished. France never became less French, despite dwelling closer to the beast’s lair. Prime ministers were forced to pay tribute to Brussels. They
  
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• EU toughens stance for Brexit transition talks

  15-01-2018 20:24 via ft.com
  Draft instructions to Barnier want UK to seek consent to recreate trade deals
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn: Carillion Collapse Is 'Watershed Moment' That Should End 'Rip-Off Privatisation'

  15-01-2018 20:12
  Jeremy Corbyn branded the collapse of HS2 contractor Carillion a “watershed moment” for the UK as MPs savaged huge salaries handed to the top execs who presided over its failure.The Labour leader said Corbyn said the fall of the mega-contractor was symptomatic of a failing “outsource-first dogma” as he linked the news to the ailing Virgin East Coast rail franchise deal and PFI deals with the NHS.Outsourcing and construction giant Carillion - which employs 20,000 British p
  
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• No-deal Brexit would cost EU economy £100bn, report claims

  15-01-2018 19:51 via theguardian.com
  Trading bloc would suffer more in lost output than thought, although lack of trade deal would cost UK around £125bnA no-deal Brexit would cost the remaining 27 EU nations €112bn (£99.5bn) in lost economic output, according to research by a UK-based thinktank.Although the UK would still be the biggest loser from crashing out of the EU single market and customs union without a new trade deal – with a cost to the economy of £125bn by 2020 – the EU would also suffe
  
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• Carillion Goes Bust: George Osborne Mocked For Old Tweet Boasting About 'Long-Term Economic Plan'

  15-01-2018 19:46
  George Osborne has faced online mockery after a four-year-old tweet hailing Carillion’s part in his ‘long-term economic plan’ was shared widely as the construction firm went bust.Tens of thousands of jobs and a host of government contracts are under threat  after the crisis-hit firm was forced to enter liquidation on Monday.The Wolverhampton-based firm employs around 20,000 people in Britain and is involved in a number of government projects, including HS2, new hospit
  
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• MPs Launch Inquiry Into Carillion-Style Contracts Despite Claims Whitehall ‘Played A Blinder’

  15-01-2018 19:22
  MPs have launched a formal inquiry into the Government’s public-private contracts in the wake of the Carillion collapse - despite claims that the civil servant in charge of the project ‘played a blinder’ in protecting the taxpayer.The Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) announced a probe into the way the public sector makes decisions about ‘outsourcing’ of key services, including the risks of handing multiple contracts to a sin
  
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• Martin Rowson on Carillion and the Conservatives – cartoon

  15-01-2018 19:15 via theguardian.com
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• Litter bug

  15-01-2018 18:56 via bbc.co.uk
  The government has proposed new measures to tackle fly-tipping. Is it a growing problem?
  
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• Dolores O’Riordan Dead: The Cranberries Singer Dies, Aged 46

  15-01-2018 18:30
  Dolores O’Riordan has died at the age of 46, her publicist has confirmed.A statement issued on Monday (15 January) afternoon, explained that the Cranberries singer had been “in London for a short recording session” at the time of her death.Her publicist added (via Irish publication The Journal): “No further details are available at this time. Family members are devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”The Cranberri
  
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• Hard Brexit would cost Scotland £13bn a year, SNP warns

  15-01-2018 18:25 via ft.com
  Analysis makes case for continued membership of the EU single market
  
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• Poppi Worthington Was Sexually Abused Before She Died, Coroner Rules

  15-01-2018 18:24
  Toddler Poppi Worthington was sexually abused before her death, a coroner has ruled.The “fit and active” 13-month-old was in an “unsafe” sleeping environment and suffered injuries to her bottom caused by penetration, Cumbria’s senior coroner David Roberts said.Roberts gave his conclusions on Monday following a three-week inquest before Christmas at which Poppi’s father Paul Worthington refused to answer questions about her death 252 times, reports the Press As
  
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• Dolores O’Riordan Dead: The Cranberries' Singer Dies, Aged 46

  15-01-2018 18:18
  Dolores O’Riordan has died at the age of 46, her publicist has confirmed.A statement issued on Monday (15 January) afternoon, explained that the Cranberries singer was “in London for a short recording session” at the time of her death.Her publicist added (via Irish publication The Journal): “No further details are available at this time.“Family members are devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
  
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• Asos Has Quietly Included A Visibly Disabled Model In Its New Ad

  15-01-2018 18:02
  While a small number of brands have embraced diversity, few have featured models with visible disabilities in their campaigns.Asos has released a new activewear advertising campaign featuring models of various backgrounds, genders and abilities in order to encourage shoppers to see working out, not as burden, but as a form of self expression.Much like Dolce & Gabbana has been sneaking curve models into their campaigns, Asos has included a visibly disabled model in theirs - without makin
  
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• Asos Has Quietly Included A Visibly Disabled Model In Its New Ad - Here's Why That's So Important

  15-01-2018 18:00
  While a small number of brands have embraced diversity, few have featured models with visible disabilities in their campaigns. Asos has released a new activewear advertising campaign featuring models of various backgrounds, genders and abilities in order to encourage shoppers to see working out, not as burden, but as a form of self expression.Much like Dolce & Gabbana has been sneaking curve models into their campaigns, Asos has included a visibly disabled model in theirs - without
  
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• Remainers Need A New Election Before A Second Referendum

  15-01-2018 17:52
  Referendums, as the British are increasingly aware, are different from general elections. In the latter a party makes a series of promises they then attempt to implement in office. This is their electoral mandate. If the electorate don’t like how these turn out, they kick them out. In contrast, however illusory, contradictory or empty the promises made by the winning side in 2016 may have proved in practice, there is no ready-made constitutional mechanism for a re-think a few years after a
  
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• Minister contradicted vow that rights would not be lost after Brexit

  15-01-2018 17:45 via theguardian.com
  Suella Fernandes said exiting EU charter of fundamental rights would avoid extra protectionsOne of Theresa May’s new ministers has claimed the UK’s plan to drop the EU charter of fundamental rights after Brexit would help avoid an “extra layer” of human rights, contradicting the government’s assurance that no protections would be lost.Suella Fernandes, who was promoted to the Brexit department last week, had warned in November that transposing the “flabby&rdqu
  
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• Blue Monday: Depression Is Far More Than Just A Day Of The Week

  15-01-2018 17:43
  Where do I start? Well, for those that are unaware of the concept of ‘Blue Monday’, let me briefly summarise the meaning of this day. Typically the third Monday of January, it is known as the ‘most depressing day of the year’, but why is this? Weather related of course. Oh, and also apparent high levels of debt after the Christmas period, low motivational levels, and failure to complete our New Year’s revolutions. So why are people so angry on social media, includin
  
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• Absent Fathers And 'The End Of The F***ing World': The Programme That Finally Got Estranged Parents Right On Screen

  15-01-2018 17:43
  On Sunday, I binge watched all eight episodes of ‘The End of the F***ing World’, the dark-comedy masterpiece from Channel 4 that everyone’s talking about and honestly: it lives up to the hype. It was brilliant, mainly in its boldness in tacking some pretty heavy themes (murder, sexual assault, suicide) in an innovative - often darkly funny - way, and not trivialising the subject matter just because it’s experienced by teens; if anything, it felt more emotionally raw than
  
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• Churchill's Darkest Hour And If Only He Were Here To Help Us Out Of Ours

  15-01-2018 17:37
  Politics is crammed with what-ifs.What if Christine Keeler had never slept with John Profumo, thereby extending the life of Harold Macmillan’s government? What if the Falklands hadn’t happened, resulting in Margaret Thatcher’s continued unpopularity and defeat in 1983? What if Michael Foot had smartened up his act, hired a stylist got on the GQ Best-Dressed Men of the Year List and embraced capitalism? Might he have made it to Number 10? What if John Smith hadn’t died of
  
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• Why We Are Asking People To Pledge To Strike For Repeal Again

  15-01-2018 17:35
  Strike 4 Repeal launched plans before Christmas for a national strike if the Irish Government does not commit to a clear yes or no question on a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment; a constitutional barrier to autonomy and health for those of us who need to access an abortion and also to those of us who want to continue with a pregnancy but instead face a health and legal system which places a higher value on the life of a fetus over that of women and pregnant people.After a successful str
  
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• More Than 180,000 People Have Lost Disability Payments Under Government Reforms

  15-01-2018 17:35
  More than 180,000 people have lost out on disability payments under government reassessments, it has emerged.The Department for Work and Pensions began phasing out Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in favour of the controversial Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in April 2013.Since then, medical reassessments of claimants undertaken by private contractors Atos and Capita have led to 125,000 and 64,000 claims being disallowed respectively.In total, Atos have disallowed 19% of claims, while Capi
  
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• A Recyclable Disposable Coffee Cup Has Been Created, And All It Took Was One Small Change

  15-01-2018 17:34
  Coffee drinkers of the world, rejoice. The world’s first easy-to-recycle disposable coffee cup could be hitting a coffee shop near you, very soon.In the wake of the Government’s recommended Latte Levy, people have been taking steps to reduce coffee cup waste, with the sale of re-usable cups increasing by more than 500% in some shops over the last couple of months. Frugalpac, a Suffolk-based company, is taking the eco-friendly approach to coffee drinking a step further, with the
  
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• Ukip leader's future uncertain despite splitting from girlfriend

  15-01-2018 17:32 via theguardian.com
  Henry Bolton ‘will resign or be sacked’ over his handling of racist comments by Jo MarneyHenry Bolton’s future as Ukip leader is in the balance, with some senior party figures calling on him to resign despite him ending his relationship with an activist found to have sent a series of racist and offensive messages.Suzanne Evans, formerly Ukip’s deputy leader, said she expected Bolton to either resign or be sacked because of how he handled his relationship with Jo Marney, w
  
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• Recriminations fly after Carillion collapses

  15-01-2018 17:32 via ft.com
  Threat to thousands of jobs and to smaller companies from construction group liquidation
  
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• We Need Evidenced, Honest Discussion On Immigration To Heal Brexit Divides

  15-01-2018 17:27
  Too often the debate about immigration has been polarised. Be it in the Brexit referendum debates, or in national discussions before and since, the issue is frequently used to divide us. Yet immigration policy is too important – to community cohesion, to our economy, and to our national and local identities – not to have public confidence and consent. That is why today the cross-party Home Affairs Select Committee is calling for major reform and public involvement so Government can b
  
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• 'I Hope He Bloody Resigns': Ukip Leader To Be Ousted This Weekend If He Doesn't Quit

  15-01-2018 17:19
  Henry Bolton’s stint as Ukip leader looks to be coming to an end within days, with the party’s ruling committee set to turf him out at a meeting on Sunday.The Ukip NEC will meet this weekend and HuffPost UK has learned the committee will seek to remove Bolton as party leader after further controversy around his private life.Revelations Bolton left his wife for a Ukip activist almost 30 years his junior provoked anger in the party, with many feeling he had presented a false image of h
  
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• Brit Awards 2018 Nominations: Our Predictions For This Year's Show (Plus Who *Should* Win Each Category)

  15-01-2018 17:06
  The nominations are out, the performers are (mostly) confirmed and the host has been revealed, meaning the countdown is on to this year’s Brit Awards.We’ve still got a little while to go until we found out who is taking home some of the most coveted awards in British music, but now we know who the contenders are, we’ve put our thinking caps on, rounding up our predictions for this year’s winners (as well as which artists we think should be honoured during the ce
  
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• The Carillion Crisis Shows It’s Time To Take Back Control From Contractors

  15-01-2018 16:57
  The unfolding Carillion crisis has brought the failures of our broken economy into stark relief.Today we have seen the collapse of a company that runs swathes of Britain’s public services. Carillion holds £16 billion worth of public sector contracts, including contracts in hospitals, schools and prisons. Tens of thousands of jobs and vital services that hundreds of thousands of people depend on are on the line.Despite multiple profit warnings, Ministers have continued to spoon-feed t
  
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• Gloucester City Council Under Fire Over Poster Urging People Not To Give Money To Rough Sleepers

  15-01-2018 16:34
  A Tory council has come under fire over “awful” posters urging the public not to give money to rough sleepers because they might be fakes.The poster, created by Gloucester City Council, reads: “Are you really helping homeless people?“In some cases, the people you see sleeping rough are not homeless. They are in accomodation, receiving support and benefits.”Sharing a photo of a homeless man begging for change, the notice continues: “Think before you give - chan
  
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• Hard Brexit 'would cost Scots £12.7bn'

  15-01-2018 16:14 via bbc.co.uk
  Analysis by the Scottish government concludes a so-called hard Brexit would cost each Scot £2,300 a year.
  
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• Corbyn supporters win seats on Labour’s ruling committee

  15-01-2018 16:10 via ft.com
  Jon Lansman of Momentum elected as the radical left tightens grip on party
  
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• Ukip leader Bolton suffers further blow after girlfriend furore

  15-01-2018 16:07 via ft.com
  Financial setback for politician who faces calls to quit after model’s racist comments
  
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• How To Inspire Kids To Look After Their Teeth (And 7 Steps To Combat Fear Of The Dentist)

  15-01-2018 15:45
  How to teach kids about how sugar impacts their teeth.We might understand it, but it can be hard for children to understand that the fizzy drinks they’re consuming and the sweets they’re eating are directly impacting their oral health.“What you say to them depends on the age of a child,” said Claire Stevens, president of the BSPD and the author of the toothfairyblog.org.“With very young children, delay introducing sugary drinks as long as possible. If they only
  
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• The World Is Engaged In A Battle Of Ideas. Boris And Trump Are On The Wrong Side

  15-01-2018 15:38
  What do Boris Johnson and Donald Trump have in common?Talks of a state visit by the controversial President Trump have been divisive since the visit was prematurely announced last year. There has been calls for mass rallies and protests against the US leader who - on more than a couple of occasions - has used racist and inflammatory language. Responses have come from both activists and the political class who see the invitation of a state visit as a tacit endorsement of Trump’s views and p
  
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