Political news

• Irish border remains a Brexit hurdle, say EU sources

  16-03-2018 23:06
  Progress to a transition deal contingent on solution to hard border issueThe UK cannot get a legally watertight transition deal until it resolves the status of the Irish border as part of a wider divorce settlement with the EU, sources have said, as Brexit talks move into an intense phase.Senior UK and EU officials are due to meet this weekend in Brussels, ahead of an EU27 Brexit summit on Friday, when Theresa May hopes to bag the transition deal that British business demands. Continue reading..
  
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• Murder probe launched into Russian businessman

  16-03-2018 20:52 via ft.com
  Metropolitan Police say Nikolai Glushkov died from compression to the neck
  
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• Downing Street Invites Chemical Weapons Watchdog To Test Salisbury Nerve Agent

  16-03-2018 20:46
  The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been invited to test the nerve agent used in the Salisbury attack and the process is expected to begin “imminently”.The announcement from Downing Street on Friday comes after Russia ignored a deadline earlier this week to explain whether it was behind the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on March 4 and instead demanded access to the evidence. A Downing Street spokesman said: &ld
  
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• Corbyn’s Russia stance raises hackles in opposition ranks

  16-03-2018 20:16 via ft.com
  Labour leader adamant that PM was too quick to condemn Moscow
  
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• 'Terrifying' Gaudari Ski Resort Lift Malfunction Injuries Eight In Georgia

  16-03-2018 19:48
  At least eight people were injured when a malfunctioning ski lift hurled people from their seats in the Georgian ski resort of Gaudari on Friday, local media reported.Video shot by people next to the lift, posted on social media, showed skiers jumping or falling from the carriages, as horrified onlookers shouted in panic.The lift appeared to be moving backwards and dangerously fast, leading to a pile-up of broken and twisted chairs at the lift’s lowest point.No one was seriously injured.WO
  
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• UK foreign minister claims Putin ordered nerve agent attack

  16-03-2018 19:46 via ft.com
  British police also launch murder probe into death of Russian exile linked to Berezovsky
  
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• Boris Johnson claims Putin ordered nerve agent attack

  16-03-2018 19:46 via ft.com
  British police also launch murder probe into death of Russian exile linked to Berezovsky
  
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• MPs urge PM to clarify Chris Grayling's post-Brexit border pledge

  16-03-2018 19:20
  Transport secretary criticised for promising no new physical checks on lorries at DoverMPs have written to the prime minister demanding clarification after the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, said any additional physical checks on lorries at Dover after Brexit would be “utterly unrealistic”.The letter came as the Freight Transport Association (FTA) said Grayling’s promise would “open up the UK’s borders to potential abuse and breaches” and that the UK gov
  
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• Martin Rowson on Jeremy Corbyn and Russia – cartoon

  16-03-2018 19:15
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• Why Jeremy Corbyn is still blind to the truth about Russia

  16-03-2018 18:53 via ft.com
  The UK opposition leader is culpably naive about Vladimir Putin
  
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• We have to see through Putin’s fog of lies, and take action now | Jonathan Freedland

  16-03-2018 18:19
  Moscow will not cooperate with an investigation into the Salisbury attack. The president relies on spreading doubtIn the Vladimir Putin showreel, doubtless given repeat airings in the run-up to Sunday’s presidential faux election, there’s usually a place among the shirtless poses and horseback shots for images of the Russian leader on the judo mat. Putin is such a committed judoka, he has even put out his own instructional DVD, wittily titled: Let’s Learn Judo with Vladimir Put
  
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• The Guardian view on schools and austerity: more than just a funding crisis | Editorial

  16-03-2018 18:17
  Underpaid teachers are on the frontline as the impact of cuts to other services is felt in the classroomWhen the Conservatives first took Britain down the path of budget austerity in 2010, schools were meant to be protected. George Osborne, chancellor at the time, was confident in the public’s readiness to tolerate most cuts, but even he realised that taking money away from education was toxic.As with similar promises on NHS spending, the “ring-fence” around the
  
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• The Guardian view on the murder of Brazilian politicians: Marielle Franco’s legacy | Editorial

  16-03-2018 18:16
  The killing of a Rio city councillor has sparked mass protests across the country. But will her warnings be heeded?Political cynicism is rife in Brazil, for good reason. Years of scandal have left many regarding elected representatives en masse as corrupt, incompetent liars and democracy as broken. Murder is frequent in Rio de Janeiro. Yet tens of thousands have taken to the streets across the country to protest against the killing of Rio politician Marielle Franco and her driver, in what is wid
  
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• If The Tories Put As Much Effort Into Helping Children As They Do Spinning, No Child Would Go Hungry

  16-03-2018 18:15
  Over the past couple of days the Tories have made bold claims about Labour and The Children’s Society’s position on free school meals. They’ve claimed that we’re “scaremongering” and accused us of spinning the numbers. But it’s not us that are full of spin: it’s them.So here’s the truth behind the Tories claims, one by one.Heidi Allen MP: “I am disappointed in the Children’s Society. Its suggestion that one million children w
  
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• How Graphene Could Allow You To Dye Your Hair Without Damaging It

  16-03-2018 18:12
  A hair dye that will cover greys without damaging your locks is the holy grail for many who regularly head to the salon, and scientists may be on the brink of creating just such a miracle product - all thanks to graphene.Graphene, a Nobel Prize-winning material created by British scientists, is a form of carbon that is 200 times stronger than steel and, more importantly some may argue, can be used to make a new hair dye that is non-toxic, non-damaging and lasts through many washes without fading
  
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• Brexit 'Should Be Delayed' To Give UK More Time For A Better Deal, MPs Set To Urge

  16-03-2018 18:06
  Britain is so unprepared for Brexit that Theresa May should consider postponing the UK’s leaving date, an influential committee of MPs is expected to declare.In a move that has infuriated Tory MPs, the Commons Brexit Select Committee is set to recommend that the PM should request an extension to the EU’s Article 50 process beyond next March, HuffPost UK has been told.The idea of delaying the process beyond the official withdrawal date of March 29, 2019, is seen as so inflammatory tha
  
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• Boris Johnson blames Putin for ex-spy attack

  16-03-2018 18:03 via ft.com
  UK foreign secretary says Russian president ‘overwhelmingly likely’ to have ordered hit on former spy
  
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• Brexit: David Davis heads to Brussels for talks

  16-03-2018 17:53 via bbc.co.uk
  Brexit Secretary to begin talks with Michel Barnier on Monday as EU leaders prepare for summit.
  
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• Sleepy Salisbury wakes up to life as Ground Zero of UK Russia crisis

  16-03-2018 17:52 via ft.com
  Residents are more bemused than frightened in a cathedral city some call ‘Smallsbury’
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Might Be Right About The Russian Mafia - But Here’s Why It Doesn't Matter

  16-03-2018 17:52
  Jeremy Corbyn has called for calm in the response to the poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal – and has warned against rushing into a new Cold War with Russia before full evidence of Moscow’s culpability is proven.In a column for the Guardian on Friday, he wrote:“Either this was a crime authored by the Russian state; or that state has allowed these deadly toxins to slip out of the control it has an obligation to exercise. If the latter, a connection t
  
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• We Truly Live In Dangerous Times

  16-03-2018 17:48
  Is it just me, or are too many people still refusing to see what is staring them in the face?Someone is waging war on the West. They are, if the latest reports are to be believed, hacking into the US energy grid. They are spreading fake propaganda in the hope of destabilising Western democratic processes; they are financing insurgent political groups; they run so-called ‘troll factories’ to swamp social media sites with anti-Western messaging ― oh yes, and they use chemical wea
  
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• What You Need To Know About Sailing The Brexit Transition Ocean

  16-03-2018 17:42
  For a lot of people, the mention of Brexit is enough to trigger a response of “still?!” 21 months since the EU referendum, we’re still a year away from actually leaving the EU. But at least then, we’re done, right?Wrong.While a lot of attention has focused recently on the future relationship between the UK and the EU, that doesn’t actually start on the day the country stops being a member state.Instead, the moment of departure is actually only the start of formal ne
  
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• Trump Appointing Climate Change Denier Mike Pompeo As Secretary Of State Should Send A Chill Down Our Spines

  16-03-2018 17:31
  As Britain’s Brexit Conservatives push us away from our European partners, the appointment of the new Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, a Trump-cheerleading, climate change denier, who reportedly “sounds and thinks much more like the President” than his predecessor Rex Tillerson, should send a chill down our spines.Reaching a consensus that action must be taken to limit global warming to under 2°C is something British Liberal Democrats have fought for over many years. We cha
  
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• Is Mixing Faith And Politics Worth The Risk?

  16-03-2018 17:21
  Politics and church are risky things to do at the same time. Five of my predecessors as Archbishop have died violently, three because they were involved in politics. Most famously, Thomas Beckett in 1171 caused the king to ask “who will rid me of this troublesome priest?” Four knights promptly did so, with swords in Canterbury Cathedral. Two centuries later, Archbishop Simon of Sudbury made the mistake of being the king’s main tax collector. After a crowd stormed Lambeth Palace
  
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• A Woman Is Suing Her University For Providing A 'Micky Mouse Degree' - If She Wins It Will Set A Dangerous Precedent

  16-03-2018 17:13
  I find it ridiculous that a student is suing Anglia Ruskin University for providing a ‘Mickey Mouse degree’ that didn’t help her find a job. Pok Wong, who graduated with a first-class degree in International Business Strategy in 2013 is seeking £60,000 for breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation.Her argument falls down on so many levels. Wong told the Sunday Telegraph that she was impressed by the uni’s prospectus but ‘as soon as I started I realis
  
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• Please, Please Can We Stop Making Bad Video Game Movies

  16-03-2018 17:09
  Starring Oscar winner Alicia Vikander as the legendary Lara Croft, the film reboot of Tomb Raider was released this week.Adapted from the 2016 Tomb Raider, itself a reboot of the iconic video game franchise, the film is an origin story which thrusts Lara into unexpected adventure and sees her emerge the fearless, fighty grave robber we know and love.Aside from the apparent erasure of two influential women of colour that appear in the game, the main problem with Tomb Raider seems to be it’s
  
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• Russian Exile Death Of Nikolay Glushkov In London Now Treated As Murder

  16-03-2018 17:07
  A murder inquiry has been launched by counter-terrorism police investigating the death of a Russian exile who was friends with a critic of Vladimir Putin.Police on Friday announced the news after a post mortem confirmed businessman Nikolay Glushkov died from “compression to the neck”.The 68-year-old’s death was initially treated as unexplained after he was found dead by family and friends at his New Malden home, in London, on Monday. Counter-terrorism police were called in
  
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• Shutting down EU ivory trade is a ‘personal priority’ for Boris Johnson

  16-03-2018 16:48
  • An estimated 20-30,000 elephants are killed by poachers each year• UK was world’s largest legal ivory exporter between 2010 and 2015A government minister has promised that the UK will lead a fight to shut down the ivory trade in the EU, describing the issue as “a personal priority” for the foreign secretary Boris Johnson.Speaking at a conservation summit in Botswana, the Africa minister, Harriet Baldwin, said: “The UK will lead by example. We will be shutting
  
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• Nike President Trevor Edwards Resigns As Company Probes Workplace Complaints

  16-03-2018 16:43
  Nike president Trevor Edwards has resigned and will leave the company in August amid an investigation into workplace behaviour. On Thursday the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Nike had received in recent weeks reports of “behaviour occurring within our organisation that do not reflect our core values of inclusivity, respect and empowerment”.An internal memo detailing the claims, written by Nike Chief Executive Officer Mark Parker, has since been circulating in full
  
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• Farewell Stephen Hawking – An Inspiration For Children Around The World

  16-03-2018 16:22
  Listening to the sad news that Stephen Hawking had passed away, somewhat fittingly on Einstein’s birthday, it gave me an opportunity to reflect on how much of an impact he has made on the children I work with every day.The British scientist who was known for his incredible work on black holes, the cosmos and relativity has impacted millions of people across the globe. Probably most well-known for surviving a rare form of motor neurone disease for over 50 years more than doctors predicted,
  
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• Sir Robin Wales Deselected As Labour's Newham Mayoral Candidate

  16-03-2018 16:04
  Sir Robin Wales, Labour’s longest-serving Mayor, has been ousted as the party’s mayoral candidate in Newham after local party members decided to back rival Rokhsana Fiaz. Fiaz won 861 votes to Sir Robin’s 503 votes. It brings to an end his 23-year leadership in the East London borough.The result will be seen as a victory for Jeremy Corbyn’s wing of the party - although supporters of Fiaz point out she appealed to the breadth of the party who were fed up with one indi
  
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• This DUP-Tory pact will fall apart – but we’ll have to live with its toxic legacy | Mary Lou McDonald

  16-03-2018 15:59
  The Good Friday agreement belongs to the people of Ireland, and Tory Brexiteer talk of shredding it is utter madness• Mary Lou McDonald TD is leader of Sinn FéinModern history is punctuated with significant dates marking the changed relationship between Ireland and Britain. The Easter Rising of 1916; the advent of the civil rights campaigns in 1968; the hunger strikes of 1981; and the signing of the Good Friday agreement in 1998. We can now add to those dates the Brexit referendum of
  
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• Britain plays for high stakes in its face-off with Russia

  16-03-2018 15:57 via ft.com
  The UK has to deal with Moscow as it redefines its role in the world
  
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• HS2 builders find ancient sub-tropical coastline in west London

  16-03-2018 15:42 via ft.com
  Work on high speed rail network unearths layer of thick black clay dating back 56m years
  
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• 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Series 10 Returns To Netflix In The UK

  16-03-2018 15:41
  ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as Netflix has confirmed that the upcoming 10th series will once again be made available on the streaming service.The most recent ‘All Stars’ edition aired in the UK on Comedy Central, a move which divided fans of the show when it was first announced, as they’d grown used to watching it weekly on Netflix during season 9.However, the streaming service has confirmed that new episodes of series 10 will be av
  
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• Week in Review: Nerve agent attack sees Corbyn fall down the rabbit hole

  16-03-2018 15:36
  
  The domestic political war over a Russian assassination attempt shows how badly burned trust in British political institutions has become.
  
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• MPs back refugee family reunification bill

  16-03-2018 15:34
  Government is likely to block proposals, saying they could put people in dangerMPs have backed a bill that would allow child refugees to sponsor close relatives to join them in the UK, though the government has said it will oppose the legislation at a later stage.The Commons voted in favour of the Scottish National party MP Angus MacNeil’s refugee family reunification bill at its second reading and it will now move to committee stage. The immigration minister, Caroline Nokes, has said the
  
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• A Giant Harpoon Could Be Used To Drag Space Junk Back To Earth

  16-03-2018 15:25
  A giant space harpoon that captures old or rogue satellites could be the answer to our planet’s growing space junk crisis.With no way to currently manage all the 500,000+ bits of trash that are orbiting our planet engineers from Airbus UK in Stevenage developed the harpoon as a solution to the crisis.Fired from a spacecraft, the harpoon would skewer the piece of junk and then the spacecraft would physically drag it back down into the atmosphere where it would burn up.There are around 500,0
  
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• Jennifer Lopez Recalls Sexual Harassment From Film Director In Early Stages Of Her Career

  16-03-2018 15:01
  Jennifer Lopez has shared her experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace, revealing she was treated inappropriately by a director in the early days of her film career.In the wake of the #MeToo and ‘Time’s Up’ movements, which were founded after many women in Hollywood coming forward with accusations of sexual misconduct against high-profile men, Jennifer was asked whether this was a subject that directly affected her during an interview with Harper’s Bazaar.She tol
  
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• Bank of England warns of threats to post-Brexit financial stability

  16-03-2018 14:47 via ft.com
  UK and EU regulators urged to tackle ‘material risks’, particularly in £26tn derivatives market
  
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• 'Overwhelmingly likely' Putin ordered spy attack, says Boris Johnson

  16-03-2018 14:42
  Putin spokesman says Johnson’s comments are ‘unforgivable breach of diplomatic rules’Boris Johnson has said it is “overwhelmingly likely” that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, personally took the decision to use a nerve agent to attempt to kill the former double agent Sergei Skripal on UK soil. Related: Kremlin says accusing Putin of ordering spy attack is 'unforgivable'Continue reading...
  
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• Theresa May plays to her strengths

  16-03-2018 14:29 via ft.com
  PM’s handling of Salisbury attack has been an important fillip for UK diplomacy  
  
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• Scottish minister demands Labour expel councillor over racist remark

  16-03-2018 13:55
  Humza Yousaf describes anger over ‘brazen nature’ of comment made about him by Jim DempsterScotland’s transport minister, Humza Yousaf, has demanded that a councillor who made an Islamophobic comment about him be expelled from the Scottish Labour party.Jim Dempster, a Labour member of Dumfries and Galloway council, told transport officials at a meeting on Tuesday that “no one would have seen [Yousaf] under his burqa”. Continue reading...
  
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• Russian Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko Says Britain Is Using Salisbury Poisoning 'To Divert Attention From Brexit'

  16-03-2018 13:50
  Russia’s ambassador to London has suggested Britain is using the Salisbury poisoning case to divert attention from Brexit in the latest of a series of barbs at Theresa May’s Government.Alexander Yakovenko said the UK had put its weight behind an “anti-Russian campaign” by accusing Moscow of being responsible for the poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.Speaking to the Russian state-funded RT network, Yakovenko said: “There is one m
  
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• Opioid Crisis Feared As Use Of Codeine, Tramadol And Others Skyrocket

  16-03-2018 13:47
  The number of powerful painkillers, also known as opioids, being prescribed in England has skyrocketed in the last ten years, according to a new investigation by the BBC.Analysis reveals that the number of prescriptions in England has nearly doubled in the last ten years, with the North East of the country reporting the highest prescription rates in the country.The steep rise in drugs such as morphine, codeine and tramadol has prompted doctors to warn that people could become addi
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Ally Chris Williamson Says Labour MPs Who Back Theresa May On Russia Are ‘Political Enemies’

  16-03-2018 13:10
  The row within Labour Party over Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the Salisbury incident has intensified, after a senior ally of the leader said MPs who supported Theresa May’s position were as much “political enemies” as the Tories.Chris Williamson, the Labour MP for Derby North, said his party colleagues in parliament who had decided Moscow was “unequivocally” to blame were “baying for blood” and suggested they face deselection. HuffPost UK
  
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• Brexit Briefing: David Davis and Michel Barnier Return

  16-03-2018 13:07
  You can sign up for this briefing by clicking here, and you’ll receive it straight to your inbox every Thursday afternoon.If you like what you read, make sure you subscribe to our Commons People podcast here for even more analysis about what goes on in Westminster. My apologies for the delay in this week’s Brexit Briefing hitting your inbox - I was struck down by a migraine on Thursday afternoon, possibly through spending too much time trying to work out the Gover
  
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• ‘Coronation Street’, David Platt And Male Rape: How Survivors Manchester Is Helping The Soap Make History

  16-03-2018 13:05
  It might have once been easy to dismiss soaps as light entertainment fodder, but in the past 12 months alone, ‘EastEnders’, ‘Coronation Street’, ‘Emmerdale’ and ‘Hollyoaks’ have shone a light on drug abuse, child grooming, acid attacks, consent and HIV, sparking conversations on a national level. On Friday (16 March) night, ‘Coronation Street’ will kickstart another important discussion, when David Platt is raped by Josh Tucker, a man h
  
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• Fortnite Battle Royale Mobile Now Live For iOS, Here's How To Get An Invite

  16-03-2018 12:52
  Fortnite Battle Royale on mobile can now be played on your iPhone starting today.Earlier this week Epic Games unveiled that Fortnite would be launching on iOS and Android this year with an invite-only test on iOS starting first.Well that test is here and players who have signed up are already getting a chance to try out the game on their mobile devices.To celebrate Epic Games has released a trailer video showing off mobile gameplay of Fortnite on an iPhone X. Incredibly, it looks like
  
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• Parsons Green Tube Attack: Ahmed Hassan Found Guilty of Attempted Murder

  16-03-2018 12:31
  Parsons Green Tube bomber Ahmed Hassan, 18, has been convicted at the Old Bailey of attempted murder.The Iraqi asylum seeker plotted to cause carnage in central London, armed with a 400g device made of volatile “Mother of Satan” explosives packed in a bucket with more than 2kg of screwdrivers, knives, nuts and bolts.The Old Bailey heard he wanted to cause “maximum” carnage to avenge the death of his father, who was killed in an explosion in Iraq more than 10 years ago.Has
  
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