Brexit plan published in government White Paper

The government has published an official policy document setting out its Brexit plans.

The White Paper lays out the government's 12 "principles" including migration control and "taking control of our own laws".

Brexit Secretary David Davis said the UK's "best days are still to come", outside the EU.

Labour said the document "says nothing" and had been produced too late for "meaningful" scrutiny.
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The White Paper's publication comes after pressure from MPs across the House of Commons.

It sets out the themes of the government's goals for its negotiations with the EU, as announced by Prime Minister Theresa May last month.

These include:
Trade: The UK will withdraw from the single market and seek a new customs arrangement and a free trade agreement with the EU.
Immigration: A new system to control EU migration will be introduced, and could be phased in to give businesses time to prepare. The new system will be designed to help fill skills shortages and welcome "genuine" students.
Expats: The government wants to secure an agreement with European countries "at the earliest opportunity" on the rights of EU nationals in the UK and Britons living in Europe.
Sovereignty: Britain will leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice but seek to set up separate resolution mechanisms for things like trade disputes.
Border: Aiming for "as seamless and frictionless a border as possible between Northern Ireland and Ireland."
Devolution: Giving more powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as decision-making is brought back to the UK.

The document says the government will "keep our positions closely held and will need at times to be careful about the commentary we make public", with MPs offered a vote on the final deal.

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Labour is calling for a "meaningful vote" that could send the prime minister back to the negotiating table if the deal is deemed unsatisfactory by MPs.

Formal negotiations can begin once the UK has given notice of Brexit under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which Mrs May has promised to do by the end of March.

On Wednesday evening MPs voted to allow the PM to do this as they backed the European Union Bill by 498 votes to 114.

MPs will discuss the bill in more detail next week when it reaches the committee stage in the Commons, and Labour has vowed to force through amendments.

Hundreds of amendments have already been tabled for debate between Monday and Wednesday, with objectives set out in the government's strategy expected to attract more.

A total of 47 Labour rebels voted against the bill.

A chart on page 32 of the Brexit White Paper has raised a few eyebrows by claiming UK workers are currently entitled to a generous 14 weeks of annual leave.

It comes in a section comparing employment rights in the UK with the rest of the EU.

According to the government, the correct figure for someone working five days a week is 28 days.

The slip perhaps reflects a possible rush to publish the White Paper with metadata on the file suggesting it was still being worked on at 04:15 GMT.

Shadow cabinet members Rachael Maskell and Dawn Butler quit the party's front bench shortly before Wednesday evening's vote, and in total, 13 Labour frontbenchers voted against their own party position which was to support the bill.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said other parties had also been divided on the issue, with two of the Liberal Democrats' nine MPs abstaining despite orders to oppose the bill.

Mr McDonnell said a decision on whether frontbench rebels could remain in their jobs would be taken "in due course", and that the atmosphere in his party was "one of mutual respect", with determination to oppose a "reckless Brexit".

He said Labour "may look divided" but would unite after the government triggers official negotiations under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty while "the Tory Party will split apart".

Mr McDonnell also said shadow home secretary Diane Abbott had missed the vote because she "wasn't very well".
'Calibre judged'

The Brexit bill was published last week, after the Supreme Court decided MPs and peers must have a say before Article 50 could be triggered.

It rejected the government's argument that Mrs May had sufficient powers to trigger Brexit without consulting Parliament.

Iain Watson, BBC political correspondent, said a "sizeable" Labour rebellion could grow further if amendments were not passed.
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The SNP, Plaid Cymru and seven out of nine Liberal Democrats opposed the government's bill, alongside Tory Ken Clarke.

The SNP's foreign affairs spokesman at Westminster, Alex Salmond, said there would be "detailed questions" about the bill during its next stage.

He said "the calibre of the government will be judged by how they respond to the amendments".

Mr Clarke, the only Conservative MP to defy his party by voting against the bill, said the result was "historic", but the "mood could change" when the "real action" of negotiations with the EU starts.

Exit talks with the EU are expected to last up to two years, with the UK predicted to leave the 28-member organisation in 2019.

Turkish air raids kill 51 Islamic State militants in Syria

Turkey has said its warplanes killed 51 Islamic State fighters in Syria in the space of 24 hours.

Buildings and vehicles were targeted in the airstrikes and 85 IS positions were destroyed in the areas of al Bab, Tadif, Kabbasin and Bzagah.

The assaults, combined with ground attacks, are part of Operation Euphrates Shield - the push to expel jihadist forces from the Turkey-Syria border.

The campaign, launched more than five months ago, was initially successful as IS was ousted from 22 villages and towns between Azaz and Jarabalus.

Turkish special forces, backed up by elements from the Free Syrian Army, established a 37-mile (60km) IS-free zone along the border between al Rai and Jarabalus.

But the battle to retake control of the town of al Bab, northeast of Aleppo and the last remaining IS stronghold in Aleppo province, is proving harder.

Starting in early December, attacking forces reached the suburbs of the town from the west and the north by its second week.

Despite reinforcement by commando battalions and armoured units, the assault, which is now being driven by the Turkish Army rather than the FSA, stalled at Aqil Hill, west of al Bab.

This week has seen a breakthrough, however, as Turkish-backed Syrian rebels took the villages of al Ghoz and Abu al Zindeen on 1 February.

These geographically important villages lie along the M4 highway, which runs from the Syrian coastline to the western border of Iraq.

According to the Turkish military command, at least 1,775 IS militants have been "neutralised" in Operation Euphrates Shield, with more than 1,500 of those killed. At least 47 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the campaign.

Iran says it will not bow to pressure after ballistic missile test

An adviser to Iran's leader Ayatollah Khamenei has said the country will not bow to US pressure as he defended a missile test.

Ali Akbar Velayati said US threats were aimed at limiting Iran's defensive capabilities.

He said: "This is not the first time that an inexperienced person (US President Donald Trump) has threatened Iran... the American government will understand that threatening Iran is useless.

"Iran does not need permission from any country to defend itself."

It comes after the Trump administration put Tehran "on notice" over the missile test, with the US military warning it placed "American lives at risk".

On Thursday, President Trump tweeted: "Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the US made with them!

"Iran was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the US came along and gave it a life-line in the form of the Iran Deal: $150billion."

Retired US Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn said Iran had defied the UN and hit out at the country's "destabilising behaviour across the Middle East".

He said: "President Trump has severely criticised the various agreements reached between Iran and the Obama administration, as well as the United Nations, as being weak and ineffective.

"Instead of being thankful to the United Stated for these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened."

Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan had earlier told the Tasnim news agency the test, on Sunday, was "successful", adding: "The test was not a violation of a nuclear deal with world powers or any UN resolution."

US officials had claimed the medium-range ballistic missile exploded early - after travelling 630 miles.

Google overtakes Apple as world's most valuable brand

Apple has been replaced by Google as the world’s most valuable brand, according to new rankings.

 The Global 500 research, compiled annually by business valuation company Brand Finance, looks at how much a firm's brand is likely to be worth in terms of money and power over the coming months, based on categories including emotional connection, financial stability and sustainability.

It found that Google's value had jumped 24% in the past year while Apple's dropped 27% - allowing the search engine to take the top spot.

Google's brand value is estimated at $109,470m, while Apple is just behind at $107,141m.

This is despite new company figures released on Tuesday which showed iPhone sales returned to growth at the end of 2016 following three previous quarters of decline.

Speaking to Sky News, Brand Finance's chief executive David Haigh said the Global 500 report looks at the future of a company, rather than the past.

"Our valuation reflects a consensus view among analysts that [Apple] have reached a zenith, and they appear to be plateauing or possibly going downwards."

Online retail giant Amazon maintained its third place position with a brand valuation of £106,369m.

Microsoft, Samsung and Facebook all made the top 10, clinching fifth, sixth and ninth places respectively.

When looking at the power a brand possesses, however, Lego has overtaken Disney to regain the number one position it lost last year.

Haigh points to the fact that Lego has recently diversified outside of its traditional market as a reason for its success, branching into areas such as film and gaming.

Ferrari, Visa and Nike are among the other companies to feature in the list of the top 10 most powerful brands.

Bank of England raises UK growth forecast again to 2% for 2017

The Bank of England has sharply upgraded its forecast for UK growth again, predicting that economic output will expand as fast this year as it did last year and that unemployment will be just as low as it predicted before the Leave vote.

It predicted Britain's consumers will run down their savings and borrow at a record rate, fuelling a solid increase in gross domestic product of 2% this year - the same rate the Office for National Statistics reported for 2016 only last week.

The upgrade is only the latest in a series from the Bank.

Before the referendum last year it expected the economy to grow by 2.3% this year.

After the vote, it cut the forecast to 0.8%.

In last November's Inflation Report it raised the projection to 1.4%.

Zimbabwe pastor facing 20 years in jail over anti-Mugabe protests

A Zimbabwean cleric who organised protests and started a social media campaign against president Robert Mugabe is facing up to 20 years in jail.

Evan Mawarire was arrested at Harare International Airport on Wednesday, accused of subverting a constitutionally-elected government.

His lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, said the allegations come partly from his role in organising protests against Mr Mugabe in New York during the UN general assembly in September last year.

The Baptist cleric is also accused of using social media to incite "violent demonstrations".

It follows a Facebook video posted in April last year, in which Mr Mawarire wrapped himself in a Zimbabwean flag and complained about the state of the nation - sparking the #ThisFlag protest movement against the country's leadership.

He left Zimbabwe soon after, taking his family to America.

It is not clear why he chose to return home.

Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for southern Africa, has described the allegations against Mr Mawarire as "absolutely ridiculous and a total sham", saying he was being punished "for speaking out about the declining human rights situation".

Mr Mugabe has said Mr Mawarire and other protesters should leave Zimbabwe if they are unhappy with the country's situation.

Snooker star Jimmy White: 'Everything gone' after flat fire

Snooker star Jimmy White says he is "gutted" after he lost most of his possessions in a fire at his Surrey home.

The former Masters and UK Championship winner posted a picture on Twitter of smoke at the Epsom building where he has a flat.

He wrote "everything gone" after the blaze but said his snooker cue was fortunately in his car.

White, 54, added that "most importantly" no one was injured.

Despite the damage to his apartment, the six-time World Championship finalist was thought to be travelling to Germany to play in the country's masters tournament this week.