Rishi Sunak is not prepared to make changes to his landmark Brexit deal as he stares down critics in the DUP and on his own backbenches. Northern Ireland's largest unionist party has claimed the agreement may need "reworking". But Mr Sunak has hinted he could press ahead with the deal without the DUP's support. "This is not necessarily about me or any one political party. This is about what is best for the people and communities and businesses of Northern Ireland and this agreement will make a hugely positive difference to them," he said. The prime minister's official spokesperson said that the government believed it had secured "the right deal for all parties in Northern Ireland" and said the government was prepared to answer questions about "how [the deal] works in practice". Northern Ireland Office minister and Brexiteer, Steve Baker, also warned: "This is the deal ... there is not a different deal available". |
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| Police warn they have to consider possibility that couple's newborn child 'has come to harm' |
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| 'The metrics are going in the wrong direction' |
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| Cost of milk, eggs and margarine driving up inflation, research firm Kantar says |
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| Officials say multiple train cars derailed and at least three burst into flames |
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Carrie and Aidan are doing it but can 'relationship recycling' work in real life? |
TV has a rule I like to call "Chekhov's Love Interest". If a serious paramour pops up in season one, they'll likely be seen again at the very end – most probably running to the airport for a last-minute declaration of love before the show gets cancelled. According to most TV writers, this emotional payoff is only satisfying if the die is cast early on. Ross needs to end up with Rachel. Niles with Daphne. Carrie with Big. Josh Lyman with Donna Moss. These couples are set up early. When Ross decided to "grab a spoon" and ask out Rachel in the first episode of Friends, you just knew he'd get said "spoon" by the finale. These canonical couples are choice examples of an endemic trend in TV of relationship recycling. Crushes last years. Couples endlessly break up and get back together. No one ever moves on. Life is a game of romantic whack-a-mole, where exes pop up constantly for amorous plot development. Proof of this enduring trend is the Sex and the City revival And Just Like That..., which will – in its forthcoming second season – bring back Carrie's ex Aidan, an archetypal "nice guy" on whom she notoriously cheated during the original series. For anyone not keeping count, this will mark their third go at a relationship. But while all of this is fictional on TV, I couldn't help but wonder if these shows have had an indelible effect on our real love lives. Have these rehashed plots made us think that the only relationships worth pursuing are the ones we've already had? |
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– The UK can expect to see rather cloudy and chilly conditions ahead of speculation of an unseasonal blanketing of snow in March, according to the Met Office. Temperatures are likely to be generally below average, with some reports indicating it could plunge to -10C. Read more here |
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"For whatever reasons she and her partner went on the run, the consequences of their actions have increased many fold. It would have been far better if they had handed themselves in earlier." |
– Napier Marten, who issued two heartfelt pleas while his daughter Constance was on the run with her convicted rapist partner, told The Independent that "whatever the weather, I love her dearly and will support her best I can". Read more here |
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| Turkey and Syria earthquake appeal |
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