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North Korea: Nato chief says global response needed

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Nato's general secretary, Jens Stoltenberg, has said North Korea's nuclear programme "is a global threat and requires a global response". "That of course also includes Nato," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. But he refused to say whether an attack on the US overseas territory of Guam would trigger the military alliance's collective defence pact. Article 5 of the Nato treaty says that an attack against one member is considered an attack against all. Guam, an island territory of the US in the Pacific Ocean, is a key military outpost and has been the subject of heated rhetoric from Pyongyang. "I will not speculate about whether Article 5 will be applied in such a situation," Mr Stoltenberg said. "What I will say is that we are now totally focused on how can we contribute to a peaceful solution of the conflict and press North Korea to stop its nuclear missile programmes." He called on North Korea to stop its

HURRICANE IRMA HITS FLORIDA HARD

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Residents of mainland Florida are bracing for Hurricane Irma to hit, as conditions in the south of the state deteriorate. The category four storm with winds up to 130mph (209km/h) moved away from the Florida Keys and should make landfall on the west coast within hours. High winds and storm surges are affecting the Miami area, but Florida Governor Rick Scott said he was "very concerned" about the west coast. More than 1m homes are without power. More than 6.3 million people in Florida were told to evacuate, with warnings of a "life-threatening" storm surge. Irma has already devastated parts of the Caribbean with at least 25 deaths. What is happening in Florida? Extreme winds and storm surges continued in the Lower Florida Keys area, which includes Key West. All residents had been ordered to leave. Some surges could reach 15ft (4.6m). One official had warned staying on the islands would be "almost like suicide". Media reports say a

THE MOST IMPORTANT TRUTH OF FINDING A LIFE PARTNER

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We've all heard it before: “You'll find someone to love when you're not looking.” Some of us believe it, and the rest of us realize how ridiculous and illogical that statement is. How likely are you to find your car keys if you don't bother looking for them? How about that matching sock? How likely are you to receive that promotion if you don't put in the conscious effort to be noticed? Just because a person is a living being doesn't mean that he or she will simply walk into your life. On top of that, if you're not looking, who's to say that you'll notice this person when he or she does happen to walk into your life? There is, of course, a difference between actively and passively looking for a life partner. Looking for someone actively via dating sites or going out to bars does — I promise you — have a much higher success rate than not looking at all does. Yet, actively looking gets tiring, and whether we like to admit it or not,

Pierre Bergé, partner of Yves Saint Laurent, dies at 86

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The French businessman Pierre Bergé, who helped his partner Yves Saint Laurent build his fashion house into a worldwide brand, has died at his home in the south of France.  The 86-year-old had suffered a long illness, said the foundation the two men set up. Saint Laurent and Bergé together established the Yves Saint Laurent label in 1961. Bergé was also a patron of the arts both in France and Morocco. He was a passionate campaigner for gay rights and founded Sidaction, a fundraising organization dedicated to Aids research and treatment, in 1994. He died on Friday at his home in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Former French culture minister Jack Lang said he was a "true prince of the arts and culture". Bergé was an ambitious provincial who came to Paris after World War Two and found his new home among the city's arts and fashion elites. On his first day in Paris in 1948, he was walking along the Champs-Elysées when the poet Jacques Prevert fell out of an ap

Israeli PM Netanyahu's wife 'facing fraud charges'

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Israel's top prosecutor has said he is considering charging the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with fraud. The attorney general said he would make a final decision pending a pre-trial hearing for Sara Netanyahu. Mrs Netanyahu is suspected of misusing 359,000 shekels ($100,000; £77,000) of state funds for catering purposes, the justice ministry said. Prime Minister Netanyahu said the claims against his wife were "absurd". Avichai Mandelblit's announcement is the strongest indication yet as to whether Mrs Netanyahu will be charged, following a long-running investigation, which has been the subject of intense speculation in the Israeli media. 'Pathetic and obsessive' The allegations centre on Mrs Netanyahu's suspected involvement in expenses claims at the prime minister's official residence. Prosecutors say Sara Netanyahu and a senior official, Ezra Seidoff, claimed costs for food prepared externally and for hiring