Queen's 'Falling In Love' Letter Sells For £14k

A letter written by the Queen about how she fell in love with the Duke of Edinburgh has sold for £14,400.

The two-page letter was written in 1947 when Elizabeth was a 21-year-old princess.

It recounts how the couple met and the early stages of their relationship - including how they danced at London nightclubs Ciro's and Quaglino's.

The recipient was author Betty Shew, who was writing a book about the couple's wedding.

The Queen wrote: "The first time I remember meeting Philip was at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in July 1939, just before the war. (We may have met before at the coronation or the Duchess of Kent's wedding, but I don't remember).

Princess Elizabeth, pictured in 1947

"I was 13 years of age and he was 18 and a cadet just due to leave. He joined the Navy at the outbreak of war, and I only saw him very occasionally when he was on leave - I suppose about twice in three years.

"Then when his uncle and aunt, Lord and Lady Mountbatten, were away he spent various weekends away with us at Windsor. Then he went to the Pacific and Far East for two years as everyone there will know.

"The wedding ring will be made of Welsh gold, but not from the Craigwen mine.

"The engagement ring was made by Antrobus. Princess Alice took it in as Philip obviously couldn't but he designed the ring.

"I don't know the history of the stone, except that it is a very fine old cutting. It was given to me not long before the engagement was announced.

"Philip likes riding but as yet, has not done much racing.

"We both love dancing - we have danced at Ciro's and Quaglino's as well at parties.

"We first started seeing more of each other when Philip went for a two-year job to the R.N Petty Officers School at Corsham - before that we hardly knew each other.

He'd spend weekends with us, and when the school was closed he spent six weeks at Balmoral - it was great luck his getting a short job first them! Elizabeth."

The letter, written in ink on white paper adorned with the royal crest, was bought by a private collector from the UK at a sale at Chippenham Auction Rooms Rooms in Wiltshire.

Woman Strips Naked During Police Pursuit

A woman who led police on a high-speed chase in Southern California stripped naked before she was finally detained.

Local media captured aerial footage of the pursuit that ended with the woman throwing off her clothes outside a bar in downtown Los Angeles.

Officers arrested the woman outside a bar in downtown LA

The chase began after officers responded to a domestic violence call at a home owned by the woman's parents, Pasadena police said.

Lieutenant Vasken Gourdikan told a news conference the woman allegedly threw a brick through a window at the home and rammed a car into other vehicles parked on the property.

The woman, identified as 32-year-old Simone Gonzalez, then led officers on a chase through parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, KTLA-TV reported.

She finally abandoned her car in downtown LA and attempted to enter a bar. She was refused entry and began removing her clothes as officers moved in on foot to arrest her.

Lt Gourdikan said Gonazelz faces felony charges including assault with a deadly weapon, evading and reckless driving.

U.S. Drops Case to Force Apple to Unlock iPhone

The Justice Department dropped a court case asking Apple to help them unlock an iPhone after its owner came forward with the passcode, a potential blow to the department in its ongoing battle with Apple over encryption and privacy

Prosecutors said the phone’s owner, who was arrested as part of a drug investigation, suddenly remembered the passcode and provided it to authorities, who were then able to unlock the phone, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Late last night, the government used that passcode by hand and gained access to the iPhone,” prosecutors wrote in a letter filed with a Brooklyn federal court Friday, according to the Journal. “Accordingly, the government no longer needs Apple’s assistance to unlock the iPhone, and withdraws its application.’’

The dropped case is a blow to any Justice Department efforts to set a legal precedent in favor requiring companies cooperate with authorities in unlocking encrypted devices.

The resolution of this case follows the department’s other high-profile suit against Apple over a phone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters, another instance when authorities were ultimately able to unlock the phone without Apple’s assistance.

North Korea launches missile from submarine, Seoul says

North Korea appears to have launched a ballistic missile from a submarine Saturday evening, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said.

The missile was fired from a submarine off North Korea’s east coast, in the Sea of Japan, about 6:30 p.m. local time, the joint chiefs said. But they did not say whether the launch was a success, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

North Korea said last May that it had successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile from under the sea, with the state news agency reporting that Kim Jong Un had ordered the test of the “world-level strategic weapon” and was present when it “soared into the sky from underwater.”

North Korea also released photos of the event, including one that showed Kim on a boat holding binoculars as the rocket blasted out of the sea. But missile experts later said that the launch was faked and the pictures had been doctored.

As Kim’s regime prepares for a much-hyped communist party congress early next month, analysts have been expecting North Korea to stage more provocations to give Kim more to crow about. A congress of the Workers’ Party has not been held since 1980, and 33-year-old Kim is expected to use the meeting to bolster his legitimacy as the third-generation leader of North Korea.

Tensions have run high since Kim ordered a nuclear test in January, swiftly followed by a long-range rocket launch that scientists say appeared to be part of an inter-continental ballistic missile program.

South Korean military officials warned earlier Saturday that North Korea could be preparing to carry out a fifth nuclear test. They had seen vehicles and people moving at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the northeast of the country.

President Obama tells young to 'reject cynicism'

US President Barack Obama has urged young people to "reject pessimism and cynicism" and "know that progress is possible and problems can be solved".

Speaking in London, he said: "Take a longer, more optimistic view of history."

Earlier, the US president visited the Globe theatre and watched actors perform scenes from Hamlet. 

It came a day after he said Britain would be at "the back of the queue" for US trade deals if it left the EU. 

His comments angered Leave campaigners. UK leader Nigel Farage accused him of doing Downing Street's "bidding" and "talking down Britain" and Tory Liam Fox said his views were "irrelevant".

Asked at the town-hall event about his legacy as president, Mr Obama said: "I'll look at a scorecard at the end... I think that I have been true to myself."

He referred to changes he had made to the US healthcare system. "That's something I'm proud of," he said.

"And saving the world economy from a great depression, that was pretty good."

Asked about dealing with political opponents, Mr Obama said: "Seek out people who don't agree with you. That will teach you to compromise.

"Compromise does not mean surrendering what you believe."

Mr Obama's comments came on the second full day of his three-day visit to the UK. Later Mr Obama will meet Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. 

The US president's intervention on the EU issue comes just weeks ahead of the 23 June in-out referendum.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday, Mr Obama said the US "wants Britain's influence to grow - including within Europe". 

"The UK is at its best when it's helping to lead a strong European Union. It leverages UK power to be part of the EU. 

"I don't think the EU moderates British influence in the world, it magnifies it."

London mayor criticised for 'racist' Obama comments

London Mayor Boris Johnson has caused controversy in the United Kingdom by claiming that US President Barack Obama has an "ancestral dislike" for Britain as a result of his "part-Kenyan" heritage.

Johnson, who is seen as the unofficial leader of the campaign for Britain to leave the EU, claimed in his article that Obama removed a bust of Britain's war-time prime minister Sir Winston Churchill from the Oval Office shortly after he took office in 2009.

"Some said it was a snub to Britain. Some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan president’s ancestral dislike of the British empire - of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender" wrote the London mayor.

However, his remarks about Obama’s heritage did not score Johnson any points in the EU discussions. Instead, he was branded "racist" by several prominent MPs.

Tory MP Sir Nicholas Soames, who is the grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, said Johnson’s comments were "appalling" and "totally wrong on almost everything".

"Time and time again, his judgment is awry and he shows in this article a remarkable disregard for the facts, the truth and for all judgment," he told LBC radio. "I don’t think Boris has the stature to be leader."

Sir Nicholas also said it was inconceivable that Churchill would not have welcomed the views of Obama.

John McDonnell, Labour Party's shadow chancellor, suggested that Johnson's remarks were "racist".

"Mask slips again," he tweeted. "Boris part-Kenyan Obama comment is yet another example of dog-whistle racism from senior Tories. He should withdraw it."

In a rare sign of support for the mayor, UKIP party leader Nigel Farage, who also campaigns for UK to leave the EU, said Obama should "butt out".

Accusing him of being the most anti-British American president in history, the far-right party leader told the Radio 4’s World at One programme: "I think Obama, because of his grandfather and Kenya and colonisation, I think Obama bears a bit of a grudge against this country."

Obama responded to Johnson's comments on his alleged "ancestral dislike" for Britain in a press conference on Friday.

Talking next to British Prime Minister David Cameron, Obama said he loved Churchill and still had a bust of the British leader in his White House private residence.

"Right outside the door of the Treaty Room, so that I see it every day - including on weekends when I’m going into that office to watch a basketball game - the primary image I see is a bust of Winston Churchill," he said.

"It’s there voluntarily because I can do anything on the second floor. I love Winston Churchill. Love the guy."

Obama said there was a bust of Churchill in the Oval Office during the presidency of his predecessor George W Bush but he decided that he would have a bust of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King in his office instead.

"I thought it was appropriate - and I think most people in the United Kingdom might agree - that as the first African-American president, it might be appropriate to have a bust of Dr Martin Luther King in my office," he said.

Islamic State 'Captures Syrian Warplane Pilot'

Islamic State claims it has shot down a Syrian warplane and captured the pilot.

Footage put out by the IS-affiliated news agency Aamaq showed what the group said was wreckage of a MIG-23 jet.

IS said it had been shot down by anti-aircraft weapons near Mount Dakwah, southeast of Damascus.

Militants captured the pilot after he successfully bailed out, the group claimed.

The video starts with a black panel reading in English: "Wreckage of the Warplane Shot down by Islamic State Fighters East of Mt. Dakwah in the Eastern Countryside of Damascus." 

It then features several shots showing smoking wreckage of the plane including a wing, the engine and the painted Syrian flag on its tail wing.

Several fighters wearing camouflage outfits are also seen walking around.

AP Television said it could not independently verify the date and authenticity of the video.

identified the pilot as Azzam Eid.

The Syrian government has yet to comment on the downing of the plane.

Meanwhile, at least 18 people were killed in government airstrikes in the northern city of Aleppo, according to anti-regime activists.

A ceasefire called in February is close to falling apart amid rising violence and UN-brokered talks to resolve the conflict have become bogged down, with the Saudi-backed opposition delegation recently suspending its participation.

The High Negotiations Committee, which represents most of the opposition at the talks, accuses the government of repeatedly violating the ceasefire, illegally detaining thousands of people and blocking humanitarian aid access.

Islamic State and other jihadists are not represented in Geneva.