Political news

• Terminally-Ill Man Granted 'Final Wish' As Hospital Staff Allow Dog To Visit One Last Time

  30-03-2018 22:46
  A terminally-ill man was granted his “final wish” in hospital when staff allowed his beloved dog to visit him one last time.Staff at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee allowed Peter Robson’s border collie Shep to visit him, even though there are strict rules around allowing animals on hospital wards.NHS Tayside’s infection prevention and control policy doesn’t allow animals into hospitals except in “exceptional circumstances”, such as at the request of a termi
  
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• British 'Beatles' Islamic State Fighters Complain About Losing UK Citizenship

  30-03-2018 22:01
  Two Britons accused of being members of Islamic State’s notorious “Beatles” cell have complained that they are unable to get a fair trial because the British government has stripped them of their citizenship.Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, who are said to have been members of the brutal quartet of IS executioners in Syria and Iraq, also described the execution of hostages as “regrettable”.The pair spoke to the Associated Press (AP) from a cell in norther
  
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• Corbyn: Labour must do better on anti-Semitism

  30-03-2018 21:18 via bbc.co.uk
  Jeremy Corbyn says he is an 'ally' in the fight against abuse of Jewish people, amid a row in his party.
  
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• Labour Anti-Semitism Row: NEC Member Suggests MPs ‘Exaggerating’ Problem To ‘Discredit’ Jeremy Corbyn

  30-03-2018 20:44
  A member of Labour’s ruling body has suggested its MPs are “exaggerating” the extent of anti-semitism in the party in a bid to discredit Jeremy Corbyn.Darren Williams, who sits on the National Executive Committee (NEC), retweeted a new statement by the Welsh equivalent of Momentum that suggests claims of Jew hatred in Labour are “inflated” and designed to damage the party ahead of the May local elections.Welsh Labour Grassroots, of which Williams is secretary, said
  
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• On Antisemitism, Corbyn Has Been Shameless And Incompetent

  30-03-2018 19:07
  It takes a truly spectacular level of incompetence for an opposition leader to allow himself to be labelled soft on antisemitism.What else can explain why it took Jeremy Corbyn no fewer than three attempts at issuing a statement of regret after it emerged that he had apparently supported an artist responsible for a grossly offensive antisemitic piece of public wall art in the East End of London?Why else would he reply, when asked in a Jewish News interview whether he plans to visit Israel, &lsqu
  
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• Stansted Airport Fire Sparks Evacuation On Easter Weekend

  30-03-2018 19:06
  Stansted Airport was evacuated on Friday after a bus burst into flames outside one of the terminals.The busy airport in Essex posted a series of tweets on at 4.40pm on Friday.The first tweet about the incident read: “Due to a fire on the car park shuttle bus, terminal forecourt and surrounded area including parts of the terminal building are being evacuated due to smoke.“We are investigating this as a matter of urgency and will provide an update shortly.”Firefighters were sent
  
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• I Tried Giving Up Plastic For Lent - I'm Now Determined To Break The Habit For Life

  30-03-2018 18:58
  I remember laughing when my mother announced that for Lent she was giving up shouting at my sisters and I before breakfast.  I have carried on the tradition and try hard to leave the house in time for the school bus without raising my voice.  The concept of behaviour change for the better during Lent is longstanding for many of us. Giving up plastics this Lent has proved far more difficult than trying to take a positive tone with teenagers. I hate litter, and picking it up has bec
  
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• This Year We Need Transgender Visibility More Than Ever

  30-03-2018 18:57
  Saturday March 31st marks Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV). TDOV aims to promote acceptance of trans people, safeguarding their rights and combating hatred. Hatred relies on stereotyping groups of people and on self-limiting mindsets. Too often these are fuelled by a press whose prevalent view of a trans person is ‘a man in a dress’. The person inside is cruelly willed into forced invisibility.I grew up with a secret, imaginary group of playmates. So many kids have imaginary frie
  
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• The Trans Rights Movement Is Done Waiting

  30-03-2018 18:57
  On 31 March activists will be celebrating International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day for everyone to show support with trans people and activists. Spearheaded by campaign groups like the US-based Trans Student Education Resources, this year’s theme is about how trans people are not just surviving in a climate of transphobia, but also about how they are thriving and making change possible.While there are hundreds of themed days marking important issues competing for our attention, t
  
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• UK defence secretary weighs GKN-Melrose review

  30-03-2018 18:51 via ft.com
  Williamson probing national security implications after expressing ‘serious concerns’
  
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• British Soldier Killed In Syria Fighting Isis, Ministry Of Defence Confirms

  30-03-2018 18:50
  A member of the British armed forces has been killed in Syria while on a mission fighting against so-called Islamic State, the Ministry of Defence has said.The casualty was embedded with US forces fighting Isis when they were caught in a bomb blast on Thursday.The spokesperson gave no information regarding the casualty’s service branch, unit or gender.He said: “It is with regret that we must confirm that a member of the UK Armed Forces was killed by an improvised explosive device in
  
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• Christine Shawcroft: antisemitism row 'stirred up to attack Jeremy'

  30-03-2018 18:34
  Comments by Labour disputes panel chair who quit overshadow Corbyn bid to draw a line with Passover messageJeremy Corbyn’s latest effort to draw a line under the antisemitism row that has rocked the Labour party has been overshadowed by the leftwing national executive committee member Christine Shawcroft’s claim that it had been “stirred up” to attack him.Shawcroft, who stepped down as chair of Labour’s disputes panel on Wednesday after questioning the suspension of
  
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• Melrose fight over GKN does Britain a service

  30-03-2018 18:28 via ft.com
  The sale shows UK industrial policy and takeover rules need a rethink
  
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• Christine Shawcroft: Labour Anti-Semitism Row 'Stirred Up' To Attack Jeremy Corbyn

  30-03-2018 18:11
  The senior Labour official who was forced to stand down over a row about anti-semitism in the party has said the issue has been “stirred up” to attack Jeremy Corbyn.Christine Shawcroft resigned as disputes panel chairwoman after opposing the suspension of a council candidate accused of Holocaust denial.The Labour leadership is facing growing pressure to tackle accusations of anti-semitism within the party. Corbyn said in a Passover message on Friday that Labour needed to “
  
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• Antisemitism matters: Jews are the canary in the coalmine | Jonathan Freedland

  30-03-2018 18:04
  Conspiracy theories, fake news, demonisation of unpopular groups: if these become the norm, all of society suffersEaster? The very word gives me a migraine.” Not my view, but that of an old family friend who couldn’t shake the folk memory of Easter as pogrom season, a time of anti-Jewish attacks as Christians resurrected the libel that it was the Jews, rather than the Romans, who killed Jesus. But this weekend is also Passover, when Jews retell the story that defines them as a people
  
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• Labour, antisemitism and criticism of Israel | Letters

  30-03-2018 17:32
  Readers respond to criticism of Jeremy Corbyn and the row over antisemitism in the Labour party
  It occurs to me reading Hadley Freeman’s account of the anti-Corbyn demonstration (Why I protested against Corbyn, 28 March) that the best way for her and the Board of Deputies of British Jews to consolidate the benefits of their protest would be to issue a public statement making it absolutely clear they regard criticism of the Israeli government’s policy and its actions against the Pales
  
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• Corbyn, antisemitism and a week that tugged at Labour's frayed fabric

  30-03-2018 17:11
  A row over an East End mural has reopened the party’s divisions, with local elections looming
  It has been a week in which Labour’s post-election truce has been shattered. An ugly row about antisemitism reignited ill-concealed tensions between the party’s left and right which Jeremy Corbyn has been unable to quell despite repeated interventions.The right of the party has repeatedly highlighted examples of antisemitism within Labour around the country, newly emboldened by a convi
  
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• Ingram Pinn’s illustration of the week: To Russia with love

  30-03-2018 16:40 via ft.com
  Spies out in the cold
  
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• Nine out of 10 public sector bodies pay men more than women

  30-03-2018 16:10
  Figures reveal government, councils, NHS trusts, universities and schools pay women on average 14% less than menGroundbreaking legislation forcing companies to disclose their gender pay gap for the first time has revealed that almost nine out of 10 public sector organisations pay men more than women.As government departments, councils, NHS trusts, universities, schools and other public bodies with more than 250 employees scrambled to report their gender pay gap before the midnight deadline on Fr
  
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• Russia ramps up retaliation to UK action over spy poisoning

  30-03-2018 15:55 via ft.com
  Moscow demands Britain cut diplomatic numbers after united western moves against Kremlin
  
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• Russian retaliation part of perilous pas de deux whose end is unclear

  30-03-2018 15:52
  Response to US expulsions may be symmetrical but does not mean Skripal crisis is being containedRussia’s announcement that it will expel 60 US diplomats and close the American consulate in St Petersburg was a predictable and symmetrical response to the surprisingly tough decision by Washington to throw out 60 Russian diplomats, but left unanswered the question over how far the deterioration in western diplomatic relations with Moscow has yet to descend.The fallout from the attempted poison
  
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• Russia Orders Britain To Reduce Diplomats In Moscow As Tit-For-Tat Expulsions Continue

  30-03-2018 15:52
  The Russian foreign ministry has ordered Britain to reduce the number of diplomats in Moscow down to the same amount that Russia has in London as the row over the attempted assassination of a Russian spy in Salisbury continues.The UK expelled 23 Russian diplomats in the wake of the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia with the nerve agent Novichok.A number of British allies have also ejected Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity following the attack, the Press Association
  
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• Corbyn and Blair: are they really so very different? | Marina Hyde

  30-03-2018 15:50
  Both believe in their own moral infallibility. In the movies, this type of guy redeems himself. In real life, it’s not quite so simpleAre we so different, you and I?” the Emperor wonders of Maximus in Gladiator. “You and I are very much alike,” Belloq tells Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. “I am but a shadowy reflection of you.” “You and me … you and me, we not so different,” a rather poorly drawn Mexican tells Vin Diesel in Fast &a
  
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• Are we there yet? All aboard the Brexit family road trip

  30-03-2018 15:27 via ft.com
  Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are the perfect parents to drive us out of the EU
  
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• Andy Burnham: Manchester Firefighters Did 'Nothing Wrong' In The Wake Of Arena Bombing

  30-03-2018 15:13
  Firefighters have nothing to apologise for over the delayed response to the Manchester Arena terror attack, the Mayor of Greater Manchester has said. In an open letter to the county’s firefighters, Andy Burnham acknowledged those on the front line on the night of May 22 were “desperate to help but were prevented from doing so by decisions taken above you”.Burnham told them it was failure of “process, leadership and culture”. A report by Lord Bob Kerslake,
  
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• Tony Blair says anti-Semitism in Corbyn’s Labour is ‘ugly’

  30-03-2018 15:08 via ft.com
  Former UK prime minister insists problem did not exist when he was party leader
  
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• Can the UK government block the GKN-Melrose deal?

  30-03-2018 14:19 via ft.com
  Enterprise Act allows intervention, but only in strictly defined circumstances
  
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• Diplomatic success over Russia puts spring in Theresa May’s step

  30-03-2018 14:14 via ft.com
  PM enjoys after one of her best weeks in Downing Street but Brexit disputes loom
  
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• Bill Maynard Dead: 'Heartbeat' Actor Dies, Aged 89

  30-03-2018 14:04
  Actor Bill Maynard has died at the age of 89. The star was best known for his role as Claude Greengrass in ITV drama ‘Heartbeat’, which was set in 1960s Yorkshire. His family confirmed news of his death on Saturday (30 March), stating he died in hospital in Leicestershire, after breaking his hip from a fall off his mobility scooter.  His daughter-in-law Jacqueline Reddin said: “He was larger than life and he just loved showbiz. He was so proud of the fa
  
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• Online Comments By Irish Rugby Rape Trial Juror Investigated

  30-03-2018 12:33
  Online comments posted by a juror in the Irish rugby rape trial are being investigated by Northern Ireland’s Attorney General.A spokesman for Attorney General John Larkin’s office confirmed that the matter had been referred to the region’s senior law officer by Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan.Larkin is to investigate whether the comments represent a breach of contempt of court laws, the Press Association reported. Meanwhile, two people have been questioned by police i
  
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• MyFitnessPal Hack Sees Data Stolen From 150 Million Diet App Users

  30-03-2018 11:44
  Personal data from 150 million users of the MyFitnessPal dieting app has been compromised in one of the biggest hacks in history. According to US sportswear brand Under Armour, which owns the app, the stolen data includes user names, email addresses and scrambled passwords. However, payment cards were not affected. Users have been urged to change their passwords immediately, including those for other accounts where similar information was used on MyFitnessPal. Maryland-based
  
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• Rylan Clark-Neal Joins Eurovision Presenting Team To Co-Host Semi-Finals

  30-03-2018 11:36
  Rylan Clark-Neal has said he is “absolutely thrilled” to be joining this year’s Eurovision presenting team. The ‘Big Brother’s Bit On The Side’ host will be joining Scott Mills on BBC Four for the semi-finals of the Song Contest as 37 countries compete for their place in the grand-final.He replaces previous co-host Mel Giedroyc, who will now serve as this year’s BBC Eurovision Spokesperson delivering the result of the UK vote live from London.Graham
  
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• UK government to review GKN-Melrose deal

  30-03-2018 11:10 via ft.com
  Acquisition will be scrutinised on public interest grounds but is not expected to be blocked
  
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• Brexit means eggs sit: Ferrero warns of stale Easter chocolate

  30-03-2018 11:05
  Thorntons owner says leaving single market and customs union could cause shortages and delays It might be a good year for Britons to stock up on Easter eggs, after a major chocolate manufacturer warned of the risk of shortages, higher prices and products turning stale after Brexit if the government goes ahead with pulling out of the single market and customs union.The Italian confectionery giant Ferrero, which owns the Thorntons brand among others, has told MPs that much of the chocolate it sell
  
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• Tiffany Haddish Says She'll Never Reveal Who Bit Beyoncé As She Hints At Signing NDA

  30-03-2018 10:51
  Sorry everyone, but it doesn’t look like Tiffany Haddish is about to reveal who bit Beyoncé any time soon. The ‘Girls Trip’ star hinted she had signed a non-disclosure agreement preventing her from identifying the famous actress who bit the singer at a party last year. Speaking in an Instagram live video, Tiffany said: “NDAs are real y’all. NDAs are real. So, I’m not saying s*** about nothing.”She continued: “People shoul
  
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• Thousands Of Violent Crime Suspects Released Without Conditions Following Bail Changes

  30-03-2018 10:51
  Thousands of suspects under investigation for violent and sexual crimes have been released without conditions since changes to police bail came into effect. More than 3,000 people were released under investigation for offences such as murder and rape by 12 police forces between April and June 2017, according to the BBC.Figures released to the broadcaster under the Freedom of Information Act found these included 1,692 people arrested for violent crimes, 768 rape suspects and 31 questioned on
  
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• 'The Generation Game': BBC Responds To Claims Canned Laughter Was Inserted Into Mel And Sue Reboot

  30-03-2018 10:06
  The BBC has seemingly confirmed reports canned laughter was used on the upcoming reboot of ‘The Generation Game’. The corporation said the “overwhelming majority of the laughter” was used from the studio audience at the recordings of the show, which is being fronted by former ‘Great British Bake Off’ duo Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins. The Sun had claimed canned laughter was inserted in the edit after the the hosts struggled to recapture the banter pre
  
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• Those Calling For David Lammy's Deselection For Opposing Antisemitism Are In Open Contempt Of Democracy

  30-03-2018 10:05
  After I took the Government to court to ensure regard for Parliament’s sovereignty and that MPs voted on triggering the Article 50 process that formally began the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, I watched the debate on television with a mounting sense of despair.  Honourable Member after Honourable Member stood up and said that, while they had the gravest doubts that Brexit would be in the best interests of the people, they were, with the greatest possible r
  
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• Easter Crafts With Kids: How To Dye And Decorate Easter Eggs

  30-03-2018 10:05
  When it comes to doing crafty activities over the Easter holidays, eggs are a good place to start. Decorated and dyed eggs could be used as decorations for the dinner table, as a way to jazz up the house or simply just something to do to pass time and keep the kids entertained. Depending on how crafty you’re feeling (and how messy you want to get), you could either paint the eggs using acrylic paint or dye them to get a rainbow effect.Here are some tips and advice for crafting ov
  
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• Now What Can I Eat? A Post-Lung Transplant Journey

  30-03-2018 09:50
  On Good Friday 2017 my life changed forever when I received a double lung transplant. Without this operation I was unlikely to survive another chest infection due to my Cystic Fibrosis and in the months leading up to that point I had spent most of my time in hospital and all of it attached to an oxygen cylinder.I am incredibly lucky; the operation meant my life didn’t end at 27 and I will be forever grateful to my donor and his family for allowing me a second chance at life - but with the
  
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• Not Hot Cross Buns

  30-03-2018 09:47
  I love a well-made hot cross bun but I haven’t had much time this week, so if you find yourself in a similar position, you might like this fruity, spiced soda bread. It’ll feed a lot more people than a bag of HCBs from the shop. The raising agent is baking powder, so there’s no hanging around waiting for dough to rise, which if you’re trying to cram this into an already over-crowded evening before the house fills with (naturally, much loved) family for Easter, that&r
  
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• The Idea Of Reversing Brexit Would Be Laughable If It Wasn't So Undemocratic

  30-03-2018 09:33
  “The people are entitled to change their minds”. “The referendum was only advisory”. “They didn’t really understand what leaving the EU meant”.Week after week the zealots on the Remain side supported by the usual suspects in the establishment repetitively push this mantra all ending with “that’s why we need another referendum!”The referendum in June 2016 was the highest turnout for any UK-wide vote since the General Election of 1992 and
  
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• Brexit Can And Must Be Reversed

  30-03-2018 09:32
  With this week marking one year until Britain officially leaves the EU, HuffPost is running a series of blogs answering big questions still left unanswered about our Brexit future. Today, Labour peer Andrew Adonis and Labour MP Kate Hoey write on whether Brexit can, or should, be reversed. Follow the series on #BrexitFutureClement Attlee, the man who led us out of the rubble of the Second World War and into a more modern, egalitarian Britain, is one of this country’s greatest Prime Mi
  
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• This Is What A Forced Deportation Sounds Like When It Goes Wrong

  30-03-2018 09:03
  Last year 12,666 people were forcibly deported from the UK - an average of nearly 35 people every day, often on commercial flights filled with holidaymakers, families and business travellers. But unlike the other passengers, they arrive accompanied by border police. They’re often restrained, in preparation for being sent back to their country of origin after failed asylum claims, criminal activity, or breaching immigration rules. Although most of these deportations happen wi
  
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• 'There Was A Mole': The Enduring Mystery Of The White Cadbury's Creme Egg

  30-03-2018 08:00
  “Nobody knows where they were made or how they got into the boxes, we have operators watching the production line at all times.” Shaheed Khattak, 22, an engineer on Cadbury’s one and only Creme Egg production line, speculates about the mysterious, and unknown, origins of the now-famed white Creme eggs.HuffPost UK is speaking to Khattak on the phone from the floor of the iconic chocolate factory in Bournville, four miles outside of Birmingham, just weeks after the country embark
  
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• The Gender Pay Gap: As Deadline Looms, A Startling Picture Of Inequality In the Public Sector Is Revealed

  30-03-2018 08:00
  With just hours to go before the final deadline for public sector employees to reveal their gender pay gap, the picture is already clear: across the UK, women working in schools, hospitals and for the government are consistently paid less than men. The pay gap is calculated as the difference between the average salaries of men and women. Public bodies employing 250 people or more must submit their pay gap figures to the government by Friday, or face legal action. Private firms and char
  
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• How To Shop Ethically For Chocolate

  30-03-2018 08:00
  Whether it’s coffee, wine or chocolate: if you’re going to have a vice, make sure that you go in for the decent stuff. The good news is, with all three, ‘decent’ tends to mean ‘sustainable,’ too.High quality, high cocoa percentage chocolate, especially, is often the product of smaller businesses who have direct relationships with the farmers who cultivate the beans – and tend to have an emphasis on eco-friendly growing methods, too.We spoke to some of th
  
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• How To Cancel A Subscription On Your iPhone

  30-03-2018 08:00
  Apple’s iOS operating system has this wonderful ability of making what feels like a complex task appear really simple.Where it sometimes struggles however is when you want to backtrack on that task, in this case subscriptions.Just like Apple Music, Apple lets you subscribe to monthly services within apps on your iPhone. Signing up is completely effortless, you just agree to the monthly sum and it all goes through the payment information you’ve securely given Apple.Now where things ge
  
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• Could You Work With Your Partner? These Couples Explain How They Make It Work

  30-03-2018 08:00
  Kamil and Maria, sat metres from each other in the office. They ate lunch together, shared the usual colleagues chat – and were in a relationship they kept secret from colleagues for three years. For two years they even lived together, travelling to work in separate cars and communicating during the day on text message rather than work email.The pair only revealed the truth to their co-workers when Kamil moved to a new company. The reaction of their colleagues? “Priceless,&rdquo
  
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• 5 Transitional Pieces That Will See You Through The Changeable Weather

  30-03-2018 08:00
  When the weather can’t make its mind up and you’re almost late to work every day of the week because you don’t know what to wear: you’re in need of some key transitional clothing you can throw on no matter what the forecast. Let’s start off with five key pieces you can build your outfit around and which will also get you through the different appointments of the day. Midi Magic A midi skirt is perfect for when you are ready to give up the tights, but it isn&rsq
  
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