David Lidington

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Labour urges Parliament recall over no-deal assessment

Shortages of fresh food, increased risk of public disorder, rising fuel prices, potential disruption to medicine Supplies . . The potential risks outlined in a no-deal Brexit assessment make it "more important than ever" that Parliament is recalled, after the government was forced to publish the document. The government says it will reveal plans to cushion any effects of the UK leaving the EU without a formal deal in due course.

It Comes after Scotland's highest civil court declared the government's suspension of Parliament unlawful, a ruling which are saying that the judges are biased". This has not gone down well with some longstanding MPs, such as Conservative former Justice Secretary Sir David Lidington , who tweets he has "seen no evidence of the courts getting involved in politics".

Meanwhile, in Brussels, there is little sign of agreement on how much progress is being made in talks between UK and EU negotiators, let alone on the substance of the fresh withdrawal deal UK ministers want. Our assesses how things are going.

UK cancer survival rates 'lagging'

Latest figures show dramatic improvements in survival rates for some cancers. By 2014, some 62% of UK rectal cancer patients were surviving More Than five years, compared with 48% two decades earlier. Figures for colon cancer are up from 47% to 59%. But other high-income nations, performing worst for cancers of the lungs, colon, rectum, stomach and pancreas, according to research in Lancet Oncology. Cancer Research UK says there's a need for more investment in the NHS and the "systems and innovations that support it", although the government argues newer data shows 12-month survival rates at a "record high".

Freddie Flintoff suffers Top Gear mishap

Life as a Top Gear presenter can be hazardous - particularly, it seems, when filming at Elvington Airfield, near York. But former England cricketer after crashing a three-wheeled motorcycle at the location where predecessor Richard Hammond was seriously injured during filming in 2006. Despite "running out of runway" while filming a drag race with fellow hosts Paddy Mcguinness and Chris Harris , Flintoff was unhurt. "It will look more ridiculous than dangerous when you see it on TV," he confesses.

Can a sacred drink boost an island's fortunes?

By Sarah Treanor and Vivienne Nunis, business reporters, BBC News

It's a typically humid afternoon in Port Vila , the capital of Vanuatu, an island nation scattered across hundreds of miles of Pacific Ocean . The cicadas are loud, the mosquitoes are In Search of a bite, and in a makeshift bar, a Ni-Vanuatu woman scoops muddy liquid into a small plastic bowl. The liquid in question is kava, which is a mixture of water and the crushed root of the kava plant. .

Dr Vincent Lebot is hoping the unusual tasting, sour, clay-coloured liquid might have global appeal, and could provide Vanuatu with a much needed revenue stream. . He points to the kava bars that have recently popped up in some of New York 's hippest neighbourhoods.

What the papers say

The various ways in which the government is butting heads with MPs - or the courts - over Brexit dominate For The Guardian , the government's reluctant publication of its no-deal planning assessment is the main story. For The Times , it's Boris Johnson 's refusal to release private messages concerning the suspension of Parliament, while others lead on Wednesday's decision by a Scottish court that the PM's move was unlawful. "Another fine mess," is the Metro's verdict.

Daily digest

Hospitals need Way Out of 'toxic' NHS mortgages

Ban children from gambling in games, MPs say

Author donates £15. 3m to MS research centre

Australian and British passport-holders arrested in Iran identified

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Lookahead

09:30 Monthly statistics on NHS waiting times for routine surgery, A& E admissions and cancer treatment to be published.

11:00 England take on Australia in The Final Test of cricket's Ashes series at The Oval , South London .

On this day

2001 US President George W Bush declares a "war on terror" in The Wake of the al-Qaeda attacks using airliners in New York and Washington.

From elsewhere

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Source of news: bbc.com