Political news

• 'Trauma' Episode 3 Review: 9 Moments That Nearly Made Our Heart Stop During The Finale

  14-02-2018 23:00
  Having been penned by ‘Doctor Foster’ creator Mike Barlett, we knew the ‘Trauma’ finale would deliver, and sure enough, it didn’t disappoint. The final 60 minutes of ITV’s latest thriller were proper heart-in-mouth TV, in the same way both series finales of ‘Doctor Foster’ had been before it.Not only did we finally find out if Jon was telling the truth about his conduct during Alex’s operation, but there was a stand-out performance from
  
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• Jacob Zuma Quits As President Of South Africa

  14-02-2018 22:27
  IN SUMMARY:  * Zuma forced to resign after nine years in power* Presidency tainted by corruption, economic decline * Tight grip over ruling ANC helped him survive so long * But party finally moved to oust him under new leader
  In a protracted rant on the state broadcaster, Zuma hit out at the ill-treatment he had received at the hands of the party he had served since his teenage years.“I have therefore come to the decision to resign as president of the republic with immediate effect,&r
  
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• Lord Adonis Has Picked A Fight With The BBC And He Is Losing Badly

  14-02-2018 20:30
  On Wednesday morning, ‘Arch-Remainer’ Lord Adonis appeared on the BBC and seemed to be pleasantly pleased about being given the opportunity to stick it to John Redwood over Brexit live on air.
  About to out John Redwood as supporter of 2nd referendum on @vicderbyshire. Have discovered pre-2016 article where Redwood said 2nd referendum on Brexit terms democratically essential! So much for Boris telling us all to shut up & fall in line.February 14, 2018
  Then, just a few hours l
  
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• Deal to end Northern Ireland stalemate falls apart

  14-02-2018 19:47 via ft.com
  Democratic Unionists say ‘no current prospect’ of agreement
  
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• Penny Mordaunt to hold talks with crime agency over Oxfam

  14-02-2018 19:34 via ft.com
  Dfid secretary says charity should pass information on abuse to foreign governments
  
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• Boris Johnson’s withered olive branch for Brexit’s opponents

  14-02-2018 19:10 via ft.com
  Britain’s foreign secretary tries to soothe Remainers without offering concessions
  
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• Watch: Schools Minister Nick Gibb Fails To Answer Simple Maths Question

  14-02-2018 19:04
  Schools Minister Nick Gibb was warned there is room for improvement after he failed to answer a simple maths question live on air.Gibb was trumpeting new Government plans for more times tables tests for eight and nine-year-olds when he spoke to several broadcasters on Wednesday.The Tory MP was asked to answer a multiplication problem by presenters on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, LBC, Talk Radio and Sky News, but declined. Asked what eight times nine is, he told GMB: “I’m no
  
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• Schools Minister Nick Gibb Fails To Answer Simple Maths Question

  14-02-2018 19:04
  Schools Minister Nick Gibb was warned there is room for improvement after he failed to answer a simple maths question live on air. Gibb was trumpeting new Government plans for more times tables tests for eight and nine-year-olds when he spoke to several broadcasters on Wednesday. The Tory MP was asked to answer a multiplication problem by presenters on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, LBC, Talk Radio and Sky News, but declined.  Asked what eight times nine is, he told GMB: &
  
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• Sarah Jessica Parker Downplays Kim Cattrall Feud: 'There Is No Fight'

  14-02-2018 18:49
  Sarah Jessica Parker has spoken out about her so-called “feud” with Kim Cattrall, insisting that she never retaliated to her ‘Sex And The City’ co-star’s “hurtful” comments.Last year, Sarah Jessica admitted her disappointment after it emerged that Kim had turned down the opportunity to appear in a third ‘SATC’ film, with the Samantha Jones actress later telling Piers Morgan in the aftermath that she felt SJP “could have been n
  
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• We Need A Reuse Revolution

  14-02-2018 18:42
  Sir David Attenborough has succeeded where many of us have failed: he’s managed to get the whole world talking about recycling.His Blue Planet II, which showed incredible scenes of natural wonders beneath the sea, shocked policy-makers into talking tough about plastic pollution, and got them thinking more carefully about how we manage and dispose of our waste.We in the waste sector welcome this willingness to debate with open arms. We, too, want a cleaner, healthier planet. However, we fea
  
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• Gemma Atkinson And Gorka Marquez (Finally!) Confirm Relationship On Valentine’s Day

  14-02-2018 18:40
  After months of “are they or aren’t they?”, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ stars Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez have confirmed their relationship, with matching Valentine’s Day Instagram posts. The two were first rumoured to have been hooking up as far back as October 2017, but throughout their time on ‘Strictly’, the pair insisted they were just friends.When the series came to end in December, Gemma and Gorka remained close, Instagramming numerous join
  
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• Brexitcast

  14-02-2018 18:28 via bbc.co.uk
  Boris Johnson makes a ‘major’ Brexit speech. We listened to it, so you don't have to.
  
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• Mujahid Arshid Guilty Of Kidnap, Rape And Murder Of Niece Celine Dookhran

  14-02-2018 18:22
  A “psycho” builder has been jailed for at least 40 years after being found guilty of abducting, raping and cutting the throats of two young women, killing one and seriously injuring the other.Mujahid Arshid, 33, hatched his murderous plot after becoming fixated with his 20-year-old niece, Celine Dookhran, and the surviving victim, who cannot be identified.In July last year, he attacked them at a house he was renovating in Kingston, south-west London, and stuffed Ms Dookhran’s b
  
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• DUP calls for UK to step in as Northern Ireland talks collapse

  14-02-2018 18:19 via ft.com
  Unionists and nationalists pass blame for impasse
  
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• Chinese New Year 2018: How To Celebrate The Year Of The Dog

  14-02-2018 18:06
  Friday heralds the start of a brand new lunar year in the Chinese calendar. It is the longest and most important of the traditional Chinese holidays, with celebrations usually spanning 15 days.Twelve animals make up the traditional Chinese zodiac with each year having its own unique beliefs, specific to certain life events such as being an auspicious time to give birth or to open a new business.Believers also see the universe as made up of five elements – earth, water, fire, wood and metal
  
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• Brit Awards 2018: Guests To Wear White Rose Pins In 'Time's Up' Protest

  14-02-2018 18:04
  As the ‘Time’s Up’ movement continues to dominate the conversation around awards season, it’s now been reported that this year’s Brit Awards will feature its own show of solidarity.So far this year, the Golden Globes was host to a silent protest in which all of its guests wore black outfits on the red carpet, in support of victims of sexual harassment.The Grammys later saw the musicians in attendance sporting white roses, which is expected to be resumed at the Brits
  
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• Boris Johnson's Brexit Speech Explained For People Who 'Don't Understand The EU'

  14-02-2018 18:04
  Boris Johnson today set out to explain his vision of Brexit to those who don’t understand the “complexities and obscurities” of the EU.To do this he employed a variety of complex and obscure terms, quoted 19th century philosophers and made a joke about Thailand’s sex industry.A rhetorical, occasionally gently amusing, but entirely vacuous speech from Boris Johnson, then under questions he gibbered,waffled and time and again demonstrated his ignorance of the complexities o
  
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• 'Generation Gifted': Five Lessons Learned From The Kids In The New BBC Two Documentary

  14-02-2018 17:47
  Gifted children who come from low income families show resilience and passion but also self-doubt in a new BBC documentary series. ‘Generation Gifted’ is a six-part series following six highly-talented kids from low income families in some of the poorest parts of Britain.The first episode follows Anne Marie, from Port Talbot, Wales; Jada, from Handsworth, Birmingham; and Shakira, from Tamworth in the West Midlands. All three girls are in Year 9 and beginning to prepare for their
  
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• Seeing Myself On Screen In 'Black Panther' Was An Experience I'll Never Forget

  14-02-2018 17:46
  Black Panther. The anticipation has been building for some time. Long before he appeared in ‘Captain America: Civil War’, he was in the hearts of Marvel as far back as 2005 (when they gained back the character rights) with some easter eggs starting in 2010 in Iron Man 2.Sometimes Hollywood says yes to things we don’t want (let’s not talk about Marvel’s ‘Inhumans’) but sometimes they say no to the things we do. Thankfully it was a yes and the reins were h
  
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• Johnson's goal

  14-02-2018 17:46 via bbc.co.uk
  The foreign secretary aimed to bring Leave and Remain camps together but reaction shows extent of divisions.
  
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• Netflix's 'Grace And Frankie' Are Our Future

  14-02-2018 17:37
  One very good friend has been banging on about the joy of the TV series Grace and Frankie for months, if not years. Her husband even proposed to her whilst she was in the middle of watching an episode and she was miffed that she had to pause the hilarity for him to pop the question. If you’re not au fait with the series it’s about two women in their 70’s who after 40 years of marriage are presented with the news that their husbands are lovers and are leaving them to finally liv
  
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• Want Meghan Markle's Strathberry Bag? The Waiting List Has Topped 1,000 People

  14-02-2018 17:34
  Meghan Markle’s Strathberry leather crossbody bag caught everyone’s attention when she arrived for an engagement in Edinburgh on Tuesday [13 February], alongside her fiancé Prince Harry.A spokesperson for the brand told HuffPost UK the bag sold out within minutes and the waiting list is now around 1,000 people long.Once photos of Markle’s bag hit social media, Strathberry “immediately” saw sales of their ‘Bottle Green East/West Mini&
  
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• Theresa May's Chief of Staff Gavin Barwell ‘Regrets’ Twitter Blunder That Linked To X-rated Porn Videos

  14-02-2018 17:18
  Theresa May’s chief of staff has apologised for a Twitter “error” that led to him sharing three graphic porn videos publicly online.Gavin Barwell, the Prime Minister’s most senior aide in Downing Street, regrets the embarrassment caused by the blunder, No.10 sources said.The former Tory MP deleted his tweet on Wednesday after journalists discovered he had replied to a series of X-rated images and clips depicting “schoolgirls” and their “mum”.A Numb
  
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• Boris’s Brexit arguments – an unholy mix of bald assertion and Wikipedia

  14-02-2018 17:05
  The foreign secretary’s latest speech provided more colourful nonsense from his half-baked imaginationAnything – hair, cycling – can be sullied by association with Boris Johnson. You used to like cycling, but now that he does it, you have to get a bus. Sometimes, he’s not doing it on purpose; other times, poisoning the well is clearly part of his plan. Arguably, we have had enough of his own words, since his asinine yet menacing Valentine’s Day speech, but here he i
  
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• Here's How Your Evening Coffee Is Ruining Your Sleep

  14-02-2018 16:55
  We’ve all been there: you’ve devoured a three-course meal, it’s 10pm and the waiter asks if you want a coffee. The rest of the table is ordering cappuccinos so you do too. Fast forward three hours and you’re lying in bed with eyes wider than a set of saucers. Why does this happen? Because caffeine interferes with the action of adenosine, a compound found in the brain which slows down nerve activity and makes you sleepy. As the day progresses, levels of adenosine
  
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• Girl Who Hates Wearing Dresses Writes To Zara Asking To Model Their Boys' Clothes

  14-02-2018 16:47
  A seven-year-old who hates wearing dresses has written to Zara to ask for a chance to model their boys’ clothes.Eliza Brichto, from London, loves the boys’ clothes in Zara and, according to her mum, Jess, would “buy the whole shop” if she could.However she told her mum she didn’t think it wasn’t fair that all the models wearing the collection were boys and she didn’t understand why girls couldn’t be in the photos, because the clothes were “so
  
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• Brexit speech: Boris Johnson refuses to rule out resignation – as it happened

  14-02-2018 16:12
  Follow the day’s political developments as they happen, including the foreign secretary’s ‘road to Brexit’ speech 3.12pm GMT The foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, delivered the first of series of planned speeches by cabinet ministers on Brexit. He called upon pro-leave figures to understand the concerns of those who wanted to remain in the EU. Johnson said he wanted to “reach out to those who still have anxieties”.Related: Boris Johnson urges remainers to reco
  
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• The Government Is Still Refusing To Make Gay Conversion Therapy Illegal

  14-02-2018 16:04
  The government has refused to consider making gay conversion ‘therapy’ illegal despite requests by MPs and campaigners.Ministers say they are keeping the highly controversial practice, offered by some church and religious groups as a way to ‘cure’ homosexuality, under close review, but there are no plans for a change in the law.The Church of England has repeatedly called for it to be banned and Labour MP Sharon Hodgson this week pressed the Home Office on whether it would
  
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• My disability can mean my son is late for school. Fining me solves nothing | Michelle Harris

  14-02-2018 15:44
  I live with chronic pain. Policymakers should help parents like me, not punish usAm I a bad mother because my son misses the morning register sometimes? The odds that I find myself up against certainly make it seem so, as I am being taken to court by my local authority. While I was taught to be respectful of other people’s time and would like to teach my son the same, sometimes it’s not that easy.I have a condition called pseudoachondroplasia. This means I have restricted growth. Sta
  
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• Boris Johnson: Brexit is not 'a V-sign from the cliffs of Dover' - video highlights

  14-02-2018 15:41
  Watch highlights from the foreign secretary's speech in which he urges remainers to recognise benefits of leaving the EU. Johnson says Britons should still work overseas and go on ‘cheapo flights to stag dos’
  Boris Johnson urges remainers to recognise benefits of leaving EU Continue reading...
  
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• Boris digs himself deeper as his usual tricks fall flat | John Crace

  14-02-2018 15:27
  The foreign secretary had no hard facts to back up his Brexit vision, just a few lame tropesIt was the pathos rather than the hypocrisy that really struck home. The entertainer who used to sell out the O2 and now can’t even buy a gig as a warm-up act in front of a captive afternoon audience of retirement home residents. Boris Johnson tried all his familiar tricks. He smirked. He trotted out some bad gags. He spoke a bit of Latin. He went off on predictable riffs.All things that had worked
  
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• Tom Daley And Dustin Lance Black Are Having Their First Baby

  14-02-2018 15:11
  Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black have announced they are about to become parents as they are expecting their first baby together.The Olympic diver and his husband, 43, shared two separate photographs, in which they are both holding an ultrasound scan - on their personal Instagram pages on Valentine’s Day (14 February) to make the announcement.A post shared by Tom Daley (@tomdaley) on Feb 14, 2018 at 5:44am PSTDaley captioned his post: “Happy Valentine’s Day!”And his spous
  
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• By 2100 Cities Are Going To Become Unbearably Warm

  14-02-2018 14:58
  A heat wave is one of the deadliest forms of environmental extreme, and in the concrete jungle of a city its effects can be magnified to an almost unimaginable degree.Using a global climate model researchers led by Princeton University studied how heat waves would interact with some 50 North American cities up until 2100.What they found was surprising, and potentially a little worrying.Thanks to a combination of impenetrable, concrete surfaces and lack of moisture in the surrounding areas these
  
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• Shock As Suspected Rough Sleeper Dies Outside Parliament Tube Entrance

  14-02-2018 14:53
  MPs have spoken of their shock after a man, believed to be a rough sleeper, died just yards from the entrance to Parliament.Police were called to Westminster tube station just after 7.15am on Wednesday, following reports of an “unresponsive” man in an area where rough sleepers are known to gather, just outside a Commons side entrance.Despite attempts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.Parliamentary staff arriving at work were diverted away from the entrance, whic
  
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• Juncker: EU superstate claims 'total nonsense'

  14-02-2018 14:49 via bbc.co.uk
  Jean-Claude Juncker says the EU is "richer" because of the diversity of its 28 members.
  
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• Boris Johnson sets out areas of Brexit divergence

  14-02-2018 14:36 via ft.com
  Foreign secretary makes the case for optimism but offers little clarity
  
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• The Tory blueprint: fund a cruel system, not the disabled people it punishes | Frances Ryan

  14-02-2018 14:33
  A new report shows a benefits system riddled with failings. But this isn’t a policy gone wrong – it’s one going exactly as plannedOn Wednesday, the work and pensions select committee released its much-anticipated report into Britain’s disability benefit system and it pulled no punches. The picture it paints is one of incompetence and outright cruelty: assessments riddled with errors and omissions or even fabrications; poor use of medical evidence that often leads to peopl
  
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• Minister Karen Bradley Told To Defy DUP Over Gay Marriage In Northern Ireland

  14-02-2018 14:27
  Ministers can no longer “sit on the sidelines” while gay marriages conducted in England, Scotland and Wales are “effectively struck off” in Northern Ireland, a Labour MP has said.Ged Killen has written to Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley calling for the Government to amend UK legislation and extend the recognition of same-sex marriage to all of the country. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where gay marriage is not legal, despite overwhelming
  
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• Brexit speech: Boris Johnson refuses to rule out resignation – politics live

  14-02-2018 14:20
  Follow the day’s political developments as they happen, including the foreign secretary’s ‘road to Brexit’ speech 1.10pm GMT Keir Starmer, Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, has responded to Johnson’s speech this afternoon, saying it was full of “empty rhetoric”.This speech underlined the government’s real intentions; a Brexit of deregulation, where rights and protections are casually cast aside and where the benefits of the single market and
  
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• Boris' Brexit Valentine Was A Mix Of Self-Love And Self-Interest

  14-02-2018 14:11
  Boris Johnson said Brexit was ‘not a V-sign from the cliffs of Dover’ or ‘some reactionary Faragist concept’ but ‘the great liberal project of the age’.
  The foreign secretary said he understood ‘fears’ and ‘noble sentiments’ of those who voted ‘Remain’.
  But warned reversing the referendum result would be a ‘betrayal’ and a second vote would cause ‘another year of turmoil’.
  He notably refused to r
  
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• Boris' Brexit Valentine Was A Mix Of Self-Love And Self-Interest - HuffPost Verdict

  14-02-2018 14:08
  K E Y   P O I N T SBoris Johnson said Brexit was ‘not a V-sign from the cliffs of Dover’ or ‘some reactionary Faragist concept’ but ‘the great liberal project of the age’.The foreign secretary said he understood ‘fears’ and ‘noble sentiments’ of those who voted ‘Remain’.But warned reversing the referendum result would be a ‘betrayal’ and a second vote would cause ‘another year of turmoil&rsqu
  
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• Boris Johnson urges remainers to recognise benefits of leaving EU

  14-02-2018 14:07
  Foreign secretary says Britons should still work abroad and go on ‘cheapo flights to stag dos’ UK citizens after Brexit should have the freedom to retire to Spain, work overseas, go on “cheapo flights to stag dos” and fall in love with foreigners just as easily as now, Boris Johnson has said, in a speech urging remainers to see the benefits of leaving the EU.Johnson, whose speech at the Policy Exchange thinktank in London was billed as the foreign secretary’s vision
  
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• We Should All Be Allowed Animals In Our Lives – Whether We Rent Or Own Our Homes

  14-02-2018 13:57
  Tenants should have a “default right” to have pets, says the Labour Party, which has announced plans for tenants to be able to keep pets “unless there is evidence the animal is causing a nuisance”. With high house prices meaning many younger people are unable to buy their own home, it’s welcome news for those pining for a furry friend.It would also reduce the amount of animals taken into shelters each year. “Giving up a pet can be devastating, w
  
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• Childhood Trauma Must Be A Public Health Priority

  14-02-2018 13:48
  It is the experiences we find hardest to talk about in our society that have a lasting impact on mental health and wellbeing. There is clear evidence that children who grow up in the most difficult and complex circumstances – dealing with issues like bereavement, prejudice, domestic violence, drug or alcohol misuse or sexual abuse – are at increased risk of developing mental health problems, becoming suicidal and dying young.Yet too often these children do not get the support they de
  
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• Brexiters focus on the Commonwealth factor

  14-02-2018 13:19 via ft.com
  Nations of the former British empire touted as trade partners by Tories  
  
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• Home Office urged to refuse Polish far-right speaker entry to UK

  14-02-2018 13:16
  MP says Rafał Ziemkiewicz, due to speak at events in Bristol and Cambridge, is not welcomeThe Home Office has been urged to prevent a Polish far-right speaker from entering the UK, amid growing concern about extremist groups sending people to Britain to spread hateful views.Rafał Ziemkiewicz, a Polish author and journalist who has compared Muslims to “invaders” and “barbarians”, is due to speak at events in Bristol and Cambridge on Friday and Saturday. Continue
  
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• Boris Johnson focuses on the 'positive Brexit agenda'

  14-02-2018 13:15 via bbc.co.uk
  Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson sought to talk up the "positive agenda" as he took questions after his London speech on Brexit.
  
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• Boris Johnson Won't Rule Out Resigning If He Doesn't Get His Way On Brexit

  14-02-2018 13:14
  Boris Johnson has refused to rule out resigning as Foreign Secretary if the Government agrees to remain aligned to EU rules and regulations after Brexit.After a major speech this morning, Johnson was asked if he would guarantee he won’t quit Theresa May’s top team if his post-Brexit vision for the UK was rejected.Johnson refused to make such a promise, but did offer an olive branch to colleagues who want to see the UK remain close to certain EU rules to help maintain trade.Johnson&rs
  
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• Love Island's Jess And Dom Have Viewers Cringing As They 'Marry' On 'Good Morning Britain'

  14-02-2018 13:10
  ‘Good Morning Britain’ viewers were forced to cover their eyes in embarrassment as they tucked into their cornflakes on Wednesday (14 February), when former ‘Love Island’ pair Dom Lever and Jess Shears got ‘married’ live on air. To mark Valentine’s Day, the reality stars exchanged vows on the ITV breakfast show, after getting engaged last September.Jess and Dom were “married” by newly-ordained showbiz reporter Richard Arnold, paying homa
  
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• Stop Alexa Accidentally Ordering Things And Spending Your Money

  14-02-2018 12:59
  Amazon’s Alexa is a fantastically useful piece of technology allowing you to ask it questions, control your home and even play music.It’s also a massive nuisance when it goes wrong.This was perfectly demonstrated by one customer who found it had accidentally ordered some cat food when it overheard one of Amazon’s own adverts. He then promptly complained to the Advertising Standards Agency (it wasn’t upheld).Now as anyone who owns an Amazon Echo will know, accide
  
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