Russian fighter jet 'chases NATO plane away' over Baltic Sea

A Russian jet chased away a NATO aircraft after it tried to approach the defence minister's plane, according to a Russian news agency.

TASS reported that a NATO F-16 fighter jet buzzed Sergei Shoigu's aircraft over the Baltic Sea.

It did not specify which member of the defence alliance the fighter jet was from, but on Tuesday the Pentagon accused Russia of carrying out an unsafe intercept of a US RC-135 spy plane in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.

Image:Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu with President Putin

It said the aircraft "did nothing to provoke this behaviour" and accused the Russian pilot of having "poor control" of his SU-27 fighter jet.

Sweden meanwhile said it had summoned Russia's ambassador in the country after a Russian fighter jet flew close to a Swedish reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.

Defence minister Peter Hultqvist said the actions of the Russian Sukhoi Su-27 on Monday was "unacceptable" and "unprofessional", adding that "the risk of serious incidents increases significantly" with such moves.

The Russian claims came as the Kremlin said it was considering a range of retaliatory measures to new US sanctions planned over the country's role in Ukraine.

"At our experts' level, naturally, different variants of sanctions are now being formulated and proposed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Image:The RC-135, made by Boeing, gathers electronic and signal intelligence

US aircraft are often intercepted near the Baltics and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, but the Pentagon says most of these are deemed to be safe and professional.

"Due to the high rate of closure speed and poor control of the aircraft during the intercept, this interaction was determined to be unsafe," a Pentagon statement said after the latest incident.

Tensions between the airforces of the two nations have increased after Moscow said it would treat any plane with the US-led coalition in Syria that flew west of the Euphrates as a potential target.

That move came after US aircraft shot down a Syrian jet on Sunday.

Russian hackers targeted 21 states in election

Russian hackers targeted election-related systems in 21 states during the 2016 presidential election, a US official has confirmed.

Opening a Congressional session, the vice chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Mike Warner, described the hacking as marking a watershed in political history.

"At a minimal cost, Russia sowed chaos in our political system and undermined faith in our democratic process," he told attendees.

Testifying before the Congressional committee, an official from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the number of states targeted by hackers seeking to affect the electoral results.

Jeanatte Manfra, the acting deputy undersecretary of cybersecurity at the DHS, told the Congressional committee the agency had evidence of 21 states being targeted.

Ms Manfra declined to disclose which states were targeted and how successful the attempts at hacking were, other than to affirm that the result of the election was not in question.

Image:Committee chairman Richard Burr

The chairman of the select committee, Richard Burr, asked: "But in no case were actual vote tallies altered in any way shape or form?"

"That is correct," the DHS acting deputy undersecretary responded.

Her statements were the first public confirmation of the scale of foreign interference in the US presidential election.

While the attacks achieved varying levels of success in penetrating their target systems, the access was not enough to allow the attackers to manipulate the ballots themselves.

Last year, reports circulated that hackers had targeted the voter registration systems in the states of Illinois and Arizona.

Prince Harry: No one in the Royal Family wants to be King or Queen

Prince Harry has suggested that no one in the Royal Family wants to take over from the Queen.

Interviewed by Newsweek magazine, Harry said: "Is there any one of the Royal Family who wants to be King or Queen? I don't think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time."

He also hinted at a lingering resentment about what he was asked to do at his mother Princess Diana's funeral in 1997, when he was just 12.

"My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television," he said.

"I don't think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don't think it would happen today."

Image:Prince Harry, second from the left, follows his mother's coffin into Westminster Abbey

Harry revealed in April that he had sought help after he "shut down" his emotions following Princess Diana's death in a road accident in 1997.

Regarding Diana's legacy, he said: "I intuitively know what my mother would like me to do and want to progress with work she couldn't complete."

When she was photographed shaking hands with a HIV-positive man in 1987, the notion that HIV/Aids might be passed on through touch was challenged.

In December, Harry was photographed having an HIV test in Barbados.

Image:Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in Mallorca in 1988

He said his mother "had the most wonderful sense of humour and always wanted to make things fun for us, as well as protect us".

Diana also "took a huge part in showing me an ordinary life".

"People would be amazed by the ordinary life William and I live," Harry said. "I do my own shopping. Even if I was King, I would do my own shopping."

But could things become too ordinary, removing the Royal Family's mystery? "It's a tricky balancing act," he said.

"We don't want to dilute the magic. The British public and the whole world need institutions like it."

Image:Prince Harry says he, William and Kate hope to modernise the monarchy

Harry had lots of praise for the Queen, saying: "She is so remarkable."

"The monarchy is a force for good," he said, "and we (Harry, William and Kate) want to carry on the positive atmosphere that the Queen has achieved for over 60 years, but we won't be trying to fill her boots.

"We are involved in modernising the British monarchy. We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people."

Concerning which roles he, William and Kate take on, Harry said the Queen "has been fantastic in letting us choose".

He added: "She tells us to take our time and really think things through."

Eid al-Fitr 2017

Muslims around the world will celebrate the three-day Eid al-Fitr festival this weekend. Depending on the sighting of the moon, Eid will either start on Sunday June 25 or Monday June 26.

What is Eid al-Fitr?

Eid al-Fitr means "festival of breaking the fast" and marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. It is celebrate for three days, and on the morning of the first day, Muslims gather for prayer.

Eid is also infused with different traditions in different countries. Most people use the three days of Eid for visitations. Other traditions include the Eidiyah, money given to kids on Eid and wearing new clothes.
When does Eid al-Fitr begin?

It begins with the first sighting of the new moon, so most of the time Muslims have to wait until the night before Eid to verify its date. The starting day varies every year and from country to country depending on geographical location.
How do people celebrate?

Eid traditionally start with prayers followed by a short sermon. In some countries the prayers take place outside, while others are hosted in mosques or large halls. After the prayers, Muslims wish thoe around them a happy Eid. People then visit relatives, friends and sometimes graveyards to pray for their dead.

Many people wear traditional clothes, give gifts or money to children, and donate to charity. In some countries, the holiday is known as Sweet Eid for its variety of sweets.
How do people dress for Eid?

An important marker of Eid is the clothes. Some would wear clothes from their culture, while others would pick out something new to wear.

This year, social media users were already fretting over Eid clothes mid-way through Ramadan. A few Muslim-owned businesses started trading free Eid outfits for retweets.

Queen's Speech: Brexit takes centre stage as controversial policies dropped

The Queen will set out the Government's two-year blueprint for Brexit in Parliament later - despite talks to build a parliamentary majority appearing to falter.

The Queen's Speech will have Brexit at its core, with the Great Repeal Bill as its centrepiece, in which EU law will be transposed onto the UK's statute book.

The Government also plans to set out the opportunities presented by our departure from the European Union in order to construct a society which "works for everyone".

Image:Last year's Queen's Speech

In a statement issued by the Prime Minister, she committed to work with "humility and resolve", which suggests criticism of her remote response to the Grenfell Tower fire has hit home.

She said: "This is a Government with purpose. Determined to deliver the best Brexit deal. Intent on building a stronger economy and a fairer society. Committed to keeping our country safe, enhancing our standing in the wider world and bringing our United Kingdom closer together.

"Putting ourselves at the service of millions of ordinary working people for whom we will work every day in the national interest," she concluded.

There will be bills to protect consumers by reducing motor insurance premiums, to boost transport infrastructure and turbocharge our space industry.

The Government will also contain details of a proposed Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill and a draft Tenants' Fees Bill, which "sits alongside action to fix the dysfunctional housing market".

But the speech will be remembered for what has been left out.

Image:There will be no carriage for the Queen this year

It usually draws on the winning party's manifesto for its substance, but controversial policy proposals including social care funding, ending free lunches for all primary school children and axing the pension triple-lock are expected to be quietly shelved because of the Government's precarious position.

The speech will also be memorable for another reason: the singular lack of pomp.

Due to its proximity to the Trooping the Colour ceremony, it was considered too great a logistical exercise for the military and the Royal Mews to include the extravagance usually invested in the day.

Rather than the Imperial state crown and ceremonial robes, the Queen will wear a day dress and hat and take a car instead of the carriage from Buckingham Palace.

The last time the Queen's Speech was similarly pared down was in 1974, when Harold Wilson defeated Ted Heath in another snap election designed to give the Conservatives a larger mandate in Westminster.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have started talks on forging a 'confidence and supply' deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has 10 MPs.

Man 'wearing explosive belt' shot by police at Brussels Central station

Belgian troops patrolling a major train station in Brussels have "neutralised" a person following an explosion.

Police said they are unable to comment on media reports that the suspect was wearing an explosive belt and had wires coming out of his clothes.

Belgium's federal prosecutor confirmed the incident at Brussels Central, one of the country's busiest stations, is being treated as a terrorist attack.

At a news conference, spokesman Eric van der Sypt said the unidentified suspect was still inside the station, and it is unclear whether he is dead or alive.

Image:Belgian troops and police are at the scene of the terror attack 'in large numbers'

No civilians were injured or killed in the explosion.

Nicolas Van Herrewegen, an employee at Brussels Central station, told reporters that the suspect had cried "allahu akbar" and detonated something on a luggage trolley.

Pictures from the scene showed a fire had broken out inside the station building.

A spokesman for Belgium's railway operator said a crowd in the station panicked and "ran for the tracks" after the incident.

Image:Police in Brussels closed roads following the incident

Brussels Central was evacuated and searched, with rail services from the station suspended. Grand Place, a major tourist site which lies about 200m (656ft) away, was also evacuated.

Train services at two other stations in the capital, Brussels North and Brussels South, were also disrupted.

Belgium has been on high alert since suicide bombers killed 32 people on the Brussels subway and at an airport on 22 March 2016.

Soldiers have been stationed at railway stations, government buildings and EU institutions since.

Image:Brussels Central is one of Belgium's busiest train stations. File pic

People in the area were pushed away from the scene, and police on Twitter urged the public to follow instructions given by the authorities.

Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel was "following the situation very closely from the crisis centre," according to his spokesman Frederic Cauderlier.

Grenfell Tower residents were promised fire-resistant cladding five years ago

Residents of Grenfell Tower were promised that fire-resistant cladding would be fitted to their building in 2012, before plans were changed and a cheaper, flammable covering was fitted.

Decorative cladding called Reynobond PE was fitted to the outside of the west London tower block during renovations last year.

Made of flammable plastic sandwiched between aluminium sheets, it is being blamed for spreading the fire from one floor to another in the 24-storey block.

It will be a major focus of the investigations into why so many were killed in the devastating blaze last week - with at least 79 people confirmed dead or missing, presumed dead.

:: Demand for answers on high-rise fire warnings

Documents submitted to Kensington and Chelsea Council's planning department show residents were consulted in 2012 over the renovations and were asked what cladding they wanted.

They show they chose a fire-resistant product called VMZ Composite which was said to have "many benefits".

A newsletter handed to tenants and submitted with the planning application stated: "Various cladding options have been shown to residents with the composite cladding system being favoured by the majority."

The document clearly stated the cladding had "fire retardancy".

Two years later, a cheaper scheme was agreed and new proposals were approved by council planners.

Instead of the fire-resistant panels chosen by residents, cheaper plastic-filled cladding was fitted.

:: Firefighters' horror as they near Grenfell Tower blaze

:: Fire patients kept unconscious to aid recovery