Melania Trump Explains Her Absence From the Campaign Trail

Andrew H. Walker—WireImage/Getty ImagesMelania Trump at the 2015 New York Spring Spectacular Opening Night in New York City on March 26, 2015.

Melania Trump, the relatively low-profile spouse of Republican front-runner Donald Trump, explained in a new interview why she’s chosen to stay mostly off the campaign trail.

“I’m choosing not to go political in public because that is my husband’s job,” she told Harper’s Bazaar, adding that she is “very political in private life and between me and my husband I know everything that is going on.”

But in terms of getting out on the trail, she “chose not to be on the campaign … I have my own mind. I am my own person, and I think my husband likes that…”

Hospitals In South West On 'Black Alert'

Hospitals across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are on a "black escalation" alert meaning there are not enough beds to cope with demand so some operations have been cancelled and extra staff have been called in.

The problem has been blamed on increasing demand for services over the festive period with a high number of seriously ill patients needing to stay in hospital for long periods.

Other hospitals across the South West are also under pressure with Yeovil, Torbay, Bath Royal United Hospital and those run by Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust on "red alert", the next level down.

Internal NHS alerts vary slightly between regions but indicate how busy services are and are generally based on the colours green, amber, red and then the most severe, black alert.

NHS Kernow, which operates hospitals in Cornwall, said it was also dealing with a high number of patients following Christmas and New Year, but said despite the high demand it is not yet on a system-wide black alert

n a statement, Dr Iain Chorlton, chairman at NHS Kernow, said: "We are working with our partners to closely monitor the situation and are taking action to cope with the demand and return things to normal as quickly as possible."

He added: "People are reminded that A&E is for serious and life-threatening conditions, such as chest pain, stroke, severe abdominal pain, severe bleeding or breathing difficulties, major broken bones and serious head injuries."

Elsewhere, Cardiff's University Hospital is among a number in Wales which have announced they, too, are under severe pressure.

The Welsh Government said this week is traditionally one of the busiest periods in A&E and the situation was "broadly beginning to stabilise".

A spokesperson added: "The last few days have seen further, more severe surges in demand following the festive period, especially for emergency ambulance calls, GP out-of-hours consultations and attendances at emergency departments - all of which have seen a greater proportion of elderly and frail patients with complex needs."

White House Doubts North Korea's H-Bomb Claim

Pyongyang said the detonation was a "historic" event, but White House press secretary Josh Earnest said initial analysis was "not consistent" with the claim.

The UN Security Council has strongly condemned North Korea's purported Wednesday morning test and pledged to pursue new sanctions.

Researchers in South Korea analyse seismic waves caused by the explosion

North Korean state television trumpeted the news, announcing: "With the perfect success of our historic H-bomb, we have joined the ranks of advanced nuclear states."

The announcer said it was a "miniaturised" device that was tested.

Crowds watched the news on a screen in front of Pyongyang Railway Station.

"I cannot think of other words than 'great'," said one resident of the capital city.

"We must keep putting our country in the first place unconditionally in the future."

The country's leader, Kim Jong-Un, scribbled on the detonation order: "Let's begin the year of 2016 with the thrilling sound of our first hydrogen bomb explosion.

"So that the whole world will look up to our socialist, nuclear-armed republic."

The head of the nuclear test ban treaty organisation, CTBTO, said the magnitude of the seismic event in North Korea appears to have been less than a similar one three years ago.

Pyongyang has conducted three nuclear tests - in 2006, 2009 and 2013 - with the last also measuring 5.1 on the USGS scale.

South Korea's meteorological agency said it detected an artificial earthquake 30 miles (49km) from the Punggye-ri site where the North has conducted previous tests.

The US Geological Survey said the quake measured 5.1 on the USGS scale.

If verified, the test would mark a major, and alarming, step forward in the isolated country's nuclear development, as hydrogen bombs are generally more powerful than nuclear bombs.

A hydrogen (thermonuclear) device, uses fusion in a chain reaction that causes a more powerful explosion than the fission blast generated by uraniu

Korea is thought to possess a handful of crude nuclear weapons and has long pushed for an arsenal of warheads that can be mounted on a ballistic missile.

The International Atomic Energy Agency and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also condemned the purported test.

South Korea's defence ministry said its armed forces would step up their monitoring of the North, while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was a "serious threat".

Trump Threatens To Pull £700m Scots Investment

The US presidential hopeful plans to pour £200m into the Turnberry resort in South Ayrshire, and another £500m in Trump International Golf Links outside Aberdeen.

However, the billionaire tycoon said the money would be withheld if he is outlawed from Britain.

It follows an online petition, signed by more than 570,000 people, calling for the businessman to be excluded from the UK over his comments on Muslims.

The petition is to be debated by MPs later this month after receiving more than five times the amount needed to qualify for a debate in the Commons.

His company, The Trump Organisation, said the UK would set a "dangerous precedent" if it restricted his travel and would alienate millions of US citizens.

"Over the coming years, we intend to further develop Trump Turnberry and invest millions more at the site, creating sustained economic growth for South Ayrshire and Scotland," it said.

"Additionally, we have plans to invest £500m towards further development at the 1,400-acre Trump International Golf Links.

"Any action to restrict travel would force The Trump Organisation to immediately end these and all future investments we are currently contemplating in the United Kingdom.

"Westminster would create a dangerous precedent and send a terrible message to the world that the United Kingdom opposes free speech and has no interest in attracting inward investment."

Mr Trump was heavily criticised after urging a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US" in the wake of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, last month.

Justifying his comments, he claimed there were "places in London and other places that are so radicalised that police are afraid for their own lives".

David Cameron condemned the remarks as "divisive, stupid and wrong" - but said he did not support banning Mr Trump from Britain.

Fort Dix 5 brothers back in court

The issue of law enforcement entrapment of suspects on terrorism charges is back in the spotlight as one of the most widely known recent cases — concerning the Fort Dix 5 — returns to a courtroom on Wednesday.

Three Muslim brothers are appealing their convictions at a time when terrorism arrests of Muslims and the often controversial use by police and the FBI of confidential informants are once again in the headlines.

For example, prosecutors recently charged a man with a history of mental health issues — who had been talking to at least three confidential sources — with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

After a trial that lasted 12 weeks, on Dec. 22, 2008, Dritan, Shain and Eljvir Duka, Albanian immigrant brothers, were convicted and later sentenced to life in prison for what their supporters said in press release was their “questionable role in a government-manufactured ‘conspiracy’” to kill U.S. military members on a base in New Jersey — a “plot they literally had never heard of.”

It is a case that has been called one of the biggest terrorism prosecutions of Islamic radicals but now also perhaps among the most criticized post-9/11 entrapment examples.

The three brothers, who will be present in court, have rare separate hearings in Camden, New Jersey. The trial judge who presided over the original case will review the men’s appeals: motions for postconviction relief, which usually seek to have a sentence or conviction vacated or to request resentencing.

In this case the Dukas, who have been held in separate prisons, are seeking to have their convictions vacated, arguing that they did not receive a fair trial — more specifically, that their defense attorneys were not effective and that they were not allowed to testify.

“The fact that the court granted a hearing in this case is unusual and suggests maybe the court is troubled by the outcome. The outcome is clearly unjust. So we’re hoping that this is a signal that the court would like to take another look at the case,” said Steve Downs, a civil liberties attorney in Albany, New York. 

US law enforcement accused of using entrapment to ensnare ‘terrorists’

In slew of recent cases across the country, FBI and police have made use of controversial tactics to fight radicalism

Chris Christie, then the U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey and now the state’s governor and a Republican presidential candidate, was responsible for prosecuting the original case. “The philosophy that supports and encourages jihad around the world against Americans came to live here in New Jersey and threaten the lives of our citizens through these defendants,” he said in 2007 at a federal courthouse. “Fortunately, law enforcement in New Jersey was here to stop them.”

Trouble for the Dukas started in the winter of 2006 when they and two other men went on vacation in the Pocono Mountains, in northeastern Pennsylvania. They recorded their activities, including horseback riding and shooting rented guns at a public range. In order to share the vacation experience, they went to Circuit City to make DVD copies so each person could have one.

“The Circuit City person turned in the video to the police and said, ‘These people are shouting out Allahu akbar while shooting weapons,’” Burim Duka, their youngest brother, said in the Intercept documentary “Entrapped.”

And that’s when the FBI got involved and started an investigation that lasted 15 months. Two government informants, Mahmoud Omar and Bakalli Besnik, who had criminal pasts and were paid some $400,000 combined, came up with, planned and lured five men — the three oldest Duka brothers, Mohamed Shnewer and Serdar Tatar — with a plot to attack a military base.

Omar and Shnewer “came up with a plot to strike Fort Dix. The informant needed Shnewer to say that my brothers were in on the plot,” Burim Duka said in “Entrapped.”

“But once the government seen that my brothers weren’t in and knew nothing about it, they created an illegal gun deal. Mahmoud Omar knew that my brothers were into guns … He set up the deal for my brothers to buy some weapons, and the weapons were provided by the FBI,” he added.

The Dukas have said they were interested in owning the guns to avoid the hassle of lining up to rent some on another vacation or for target shooting. Law enforcement put “two completely different theories together,” Downs said.

When the trial came around, Omar testified that Dritan Duka and Shain Duka were clueless about the plot. “[They] had nothing to do with this matter," he told the court.

‘The fact that the court granted a hearing in this case is unusual and suggests maybe the court is troubled by the outcome. The outcome is clearly unjust. So we’re hoping that this is a signal that the court would like to take another look at the case.’

Steve Downs

civil liberties attorney

Regardless of such statements, the five men were convicted and sentenced.

The Fort Dix 5 and the Newburgh 4 are among the highest-profile cases, critics say, of prosecuting people for plots that are fabricated and controlled by law enforcement or informants acting on their behalf. They see it as a form of pre-emptive prosecution, which became popular after 9/11.

The FBI has defended its actions. In response to another FBI case involving undercover operations, FBI Director James Comey said the bureau’s use of such law-enforcement tactics was justified and fair. “Every undercover operation involves deception, which has long been a critical tool in fighting crime. The FBI’s use of such techniques is subject to close oversight, both internally and by the courts that review our work,” he said.

But that argument does not convince some campaigners. In these types of sting cases, the government “kind of choreographs the whole thing, and they know that if it involves a plot with attacks in the U.S., [the defendants] are looking at really harsh sentences,” said Kathy Manley of Project SALAM (Support and Legal Advocacy for Muslims) and the legal chairwoman of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms.

Nigeria court sentences cleric to death for blasphemy

An Islamic court in Nigeria has sentenced a cleric to death by hanging for insulting the Prophet Muhammad in the northern city of Kano.

Abdulazeez Dauda, popularly known as Abdul Inyass, is a preacher at a local faction of the Tijaniya sect, founded in Senegal by Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse, which has a large following across West Africa.

Dear Jeremy: Three Resignation Letters In Full

Three shadow ministers resigned in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn's reshuffle. Here are their resignation letters in full.

:: Jonathan Reynolds, former shadow rail minister

Jonathan Reynolds (L) with Jeremy Corbyn

Dear Jeremy

I am writing to you to resign from my position as shadow rail minister in the transport team.

I have enjoyed the role a great deal and particularly the discussions I have had with you personally. I believe you to be sincere and passionate in your commitment to public transport, which I welcome a great deal. I would also like to say that Lilian Greenwood MP has been an excellent leader of the transport team as shadow secretary of state.

However, I have always seen your election as Labour leader as a catalyst for the Labour party to have a wide debate about its future and policy positions. This is a debate I welcome and want to be part of. I feel the best way to do this is to not be a member of the Labour frontbench team at this time, which would then allow me to have more freedom to engage in these arguments. I believe Labour needs to work out how to build an economy that generates a much greater degree of prosperity, is much more successful at tackling inequality and poverty, and which is radical in pursuing more democratic and inclusive political change, such as via electoral reform. I understand your need for a greater degree of discipline on the frontbench and there believe it would be more appropriate to advocate these causes as a backbencher.

Although I was personally against the proposal to extend airstrikes into Syria, I cannot in good conscience endorse the world view of the Stop the War Coalition, who I believe to be fundamentally wrong in their assessment and understanding of the threats the UK faces. The security and well-being of my constituents must always be my first consideration, and I therefore believe my colleague Pat McFadden was right to condemn those who would to any degree absolve Isis [Islamic State] for their actions following the atrocities in Paris.

With best wishes,

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan Reynolds

:: Stephen Doughty, former shadow foreign affairs minister

Stephen Doughty is "dismayed" at the sacking of Pat McFadden

Dear Jeremy,

Our party has always been a broad church, and despite my principled differences with you over many issues of defence, foreign policy and national security, I agreed to serve on your front bench because of the mandate you were given, the assurances that honesty and difference were welcomed, and due to the many areas we agreed wholeheartedly on such as fighting the vicious Tory trade union bill - which I was proud to lead our work on - cuts to tax credits and tackling climate change.

I was therefore dismayed that two of our most able and experienced colleagues have been sacked for speaking out in the straight talking and honest way that I believe the public expect and want from their representatives - let alone when it comes to matters of national security. I agree entirely with the words Pat McFadden used in denouncing terrorism and the false narrative that the West is to blame, and so I believe the only honourable thing for me to do, when a fellow team member has been singled out for punishment for speaking with honesty and principle on this critical issue, is to leave the front bench.

You and your team will continue to enjoy my full support from the back-benches in taking on this uncaring and brutal Tory government - but we need to urgently recognise and re-affirm as a Labour Party that the national security and defence of our country in such a volatile world, is a red line and a matter that should and must transcend party politics, let alone the internal machinations of our own party or personal score-settling.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Doughty MP

:: Kevan Jones, former shadow armed forces minister

Kevan Jones became the third shadow minister to resign

Dear Jeremy,

I am writing to inform you that I will be standing down from my position as shadow minister for the armed forces with immediate effect.

It has been an honour to serve the Labour party in both government and opposition. Defence has always been an integral part of the Labour tradition, and we should always remember that it is an important issue to Labour communities across the country.

The issue of the UK’s nuclear deterrent and how we progress the aim of nuclear disarmament has always been one that has divided opinion within the Labour party. There are well-founded views on each side of the debate, and I respect those like yourself who advocate a unilateralist position. However, as you know from our discussions when you appointed me in this role, I do not agree with this view. I have been clear and consistent that I believe it is the right policy for the country to maintain a minimum credible nuclear deterrent, while working to advance global nuclear disarmament.

I am determined to continue making the case for Labour to have strong, credible defence and security policies, and I feel that the most effective way for me to continue to do this is from the backbenches.

As you know, on a personal basis we have always got on. I would particularly like to thank you for your campaign work around mental health, and would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best for 2016.

Yours sincerely,

Kevan