A council has accidentally rejected planning applications with sarcastic joke responses. A junior officer, who thought he was testing the local authority’s website, accidentally told applicants their plans were “whack”. One was told: “No mate, proper whack”. It will now have to spend thousands of pounds to reverse the spoof decisions. Legal advice taken by the council had confirmed that the decisions are legally binding and will cost at least £8,000 to overturn through judicial review.
Snakes measure radiation in Fukushima
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Woman, 100, sets powerlifting record
A 100-year-old woman is set to enter the Guinness World Records as one of the oldest powerlifters. Great-great-grandmother Edith Murway-Traina’s 68kg power lift will be marked in the 2022 book. The former dance instructor and performer living in Florida took up weightlifting nine years ago when forced to go to the gym by a friend. She said that trashing the “sweet little old lady stereotype” motivates her further.
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6 exquisite homes with vast acreageFeature Featuring an off-the-grid contemporary home in New Mexico and lakefront farmhouse in Massachusetts
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Film reviews: ‘Wuthering Heights,’ ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,’ and ‘Sirat’Feature An inconvenient love torments a would-be couple, a gonzo time traveler seeks to save humanity from AI, and a father’s desperate search goes deeply sideways
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Political cartoons for February 16Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include President's Day, a valentine from the Epstein files, and more
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Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
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Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
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Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
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China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
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Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
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Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
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Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
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US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
