EU Debate: 'Boris Is Only Interested In No 10'

Boris Johnson came under repeated attack in the latest EU referendum debate - with a Tory Cabinet colleague accusing him of putting his personal ambitions ahead of the country.

Energy Secretary Amber Rudd tore into the former London mayor several times during the televised event on ITV, accusing him of peddling "misinformation".

Ms Rudd - representing the Remain campaign alongside Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Labour's Angela Eagle - went on the offensive from the start, accusing the Leave side of talking nonsense.

And during an exchange on immigration numbers, she told the audience: "I fear that the only number Boris is interested in is the one that says No 10."

The Remain side repeatedly focused their attacks on Mr Johnson

Mr Johnson retorted that he was backing Leave because David Cameron had failed to secure the changes which would have enabled him to meet his commitment to cut net migration to below 100,000 in his EU re-negotiation.

"That did not happen in the re-negotiation. We didn't get anything of the kind," he said.

"There has got to be democratic consent for the scale of the flows that we are seeing."

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Ms Rudd turned on her Tory colleague again in her closing remarks, describing Mr Johnson as "the life and soul of the party, but not the one you want driving you home at the end of the evening".

After the debate Vote Leave's Priti Patel said Ms Rudd's attacks against Mr Johnson were "totally unnecessary", adding: "I have the view that when you resort to personal insults you have lost the argument."

Representing the Leave campaign, Mr Johnson, Labour's Gisela Stuart and energy minister Andrea Leadsom repeatedly hammered home their "take back control" campaign message.

Ms Leadsom clashed with Ms Rudd - her departmental colleague in the Conservative Government - when she quoted a former Interpol chief who said EU membership was like "hanging out a sign welcoming terrorists to Europe".

Ms Rudd shot back: "This is what I call scaremongering, when people talk about immigration in that tone. It is completely unacceptable."

The Leave campaign's controversial claim that Brexit would free up £350m a week the UK sends to Brussels came under scrutiny - on the day prominent Tory Dr Sarah Wollaston switched sides to Remain in protest at its continued use.

Ms Sturgeon declared: "It is a scandal that is still emblazoned across the campaign bus because it's an absolute whopper."

Ms Rudd added: "What is so misleading about this is the fact that being in the European Union makes us money.

"We're going to repaint that bus and put a leprechaun on one end, a great big rainbow on one side and a pot of gold at the end.

"Because that's all it is - pure fantasy."

Labour's Yvette Cooper, who backs Remain, told Sky News she agreed with the claim that Mr Johnson was positioning himself for Mr Cameron's job.

She said: "Most people do think that, Boris Johnson has flipped his position around so many different times on all of this. In the end I think for him actually this is about his personal position. 

"I think it's far more about an argument about the future of the Tory party then it is about the future of the country. And that's dangerous for the country."

Queen And Duke To Celebrate Birthdays Together

A new photograph of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh has been released to mark their joint birthday celebrations.

It came as a weekend of events to celebrate Her Majesty's official 90th birthday get under way today, with Prince Philip also marking his 95th birthday.

The picture was taken by Annie Leibovitz at Windsor Castle after Easter and shows the couple, who have been married for 68 years, sitting side by side.

The Queen is wearing a pale pink cardigan with a pink and white striped blouse in the portrait, while the Duke is wearing a pink shirt under a light brown jacket.

As a couple they have marked many milestones together, with the Queen often taking centre stage and the Duke of Edinburgh supporting her as Britain's longest serving consort.

His friend, Martin Palmer, told Sky News that Prince Philip is probably more than happy that the attention will be on his wife's birthday, but expects the family will still make a fuss.

He said: "The great thing about Philip is he's not pompous. So I think he will enjoy the informality ... He'll just have a good time with his family and close friends and carry on as usual."

The Queen was born on 21 April, but public celebrations for her birthday traditionally happen in June.

In the first of three days of celebrations for the Queen, a service of thanksgiving will take place at St Paul's Cathedral, followed by a lunch for the Governors General of all Commonwealth Realms at Buckingham Palace.

On Saturday nearly 1,500 service personnel, together with 200 horses and over 400 musicians will perform the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony.

And on Sunday, The Mall will be transformed into a giant street party called The Patron's Lunch to celebrate Her Majesty's patronage of more than 600 organisations - with 10,000 people sitting down for lunch at a cost of £150 per ticket.

Prince Philip will attend all the events with the Queen.

Despite turning 95 today it will be business as usual, just like the hundreds of engagements he still carries out every year.

Peter Westgarth, chief executive of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, told Sky News: "There is definitely an understanding out there that somebody at 95 still being a stalwart to the Queen is an extraordinary thing and I think that is appreciated.

"However he does so much more - so, so much more - and thus being our 60th anniversary he has been involved in some amazing events for us."

India Will Become the World’s Most Populous Country by 2022, the U.N. Says

India is on track to become the world’s most populous nation in less than a decade — or six years earlier than previously thought, according to the U.N.

With 1.38 billion people compared with India’s 1.31 billion, China is currently the world’s most populous country. Figures for both countries are expected to swell to around 1.4 billion by 2022, at which point India’s population is likely to expand beyond China’s.

At the end of the next decade, in 2030, India is projected to have 1.5 billion people, a figure that’s forecast to balloon to 1.7 billion by 2050. China’s population, on the other hand, is forecast to remain relatively stable until the 2030s, at which point the U.N. says it is likely to “slightly decrease.” In a forecast published two years ago, India had been expected to overtake China around the year 2028.

The projections from the population division of the U.N.’s economic and social affairs unit were published in a new reportthat also forecast an expansion in the world’s overall population to 8.5 billion by 2030. By the middle of the century, there are likely to be as many as 9.7 billion people worldwide, with six of the 10 largest countries — India, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and the U.S. — expected to have populations exceeding 300 million people.

“While the global projections should not be cause for alarm, we must recognize that the concentration of population growth in the poorest countries presents a distinct set of challenges, making it more difficult to eradicate poverty and inequality, to combat hunger and malnutrition, and to expand educational enrollment and health systems,” John Wilmoth, who heads the U.N. division that produced the report, told the Associated Press.

India’s population is not growing the fastest, however, with Nigeria growing at such a rapid pace that it is expected to have more people than the U.S. by 2050, at which point it is likely to become the third most populous country in the world.

Biden's 'Furious Anger' Over Stanford Rape

US vice president Joe Biden has written an open letter in support of a rape victim whose attacker at Stanford University received a "lenient" six-month sentence.

The politician, who has been a long-time campaigner on violence against women, commended her courage in reliving the assault through a harrowing witness statement which has caused a national outcry.

The 7,000-word statement gives a compelling account of the crime and its consequences and has been read online by millions of people worldwide since it was released by the district attorney.

In her statement, the 23-year-old victim told her attacker: "You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today."

In his letter to the victim, published by BuzzFeed, Mr Biden acknowledged the nation was "not satisfied" with the trial of Brock Turner, who will be eligible for release in September after receiving considerably less than the six-year sentence recommended by prosecutors for the assault of the unconscious woman.

"I am filled with furious anger - both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth," Mr Biden wrote.
He also criticised the "callous" remarks made by the rapist's father, who said his son had paid "a steep price … for 20 minutes of action".

Security Tightened After Tel Aviv Shootings

Israeli police say thousands of officers will be deployed across Jerusalem's Old City tomorrow to keep the peace during Muslim prayers.

Large numbers of Palestinians are expected to make their way to the holy site on the first Friday in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The site has been a flashpoint of violence in the past, and tensions are exceptionally high after two Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

A couple comfort one another after the attacks

Up to six others were wounded in the attack, at an open-air food market near the defence ministry and army headquarters.

A police commander said the two Palestinians behind the "harsh terror attack" had been "neutralised" at the scene.

One was arrested and the other was said to be in a stable condition after being taken to hospital for treatment.

It is believed the two men are cousins in their 20s and had been eating at one of the restaurants near the Sarona shopping complex when they opened fire.

The Israeli military says it will deploy two additional battalions in the West Bank on Friday in response to the shootings.

An attack victim is wheeled into hospital for treatment

In a statement it said the decision had been taken "in accordance with situation assessments" and the troops would include infantry and elite reconnaissance units.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement saying he rejected "all operations that target civilians regardless of the source and their justification".

Earlier, the military said it had revoked most permits for Palestinians to visit Israel and travel abroad during Ramadan as a precautionary measure.

Police and ambulance crews at the scene of the attack

The Israeli defence body COGAT said Palestinians were also being prevented from leaving and entering the West Bank village of Yatta, where the suspected attackers came from.

In a further reprisal, Israel's Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has announced the bodies of Palestinians killed while carrying out attacks will no longer be returned for burial.

Israeli officials have long argued attackers' funerals often turn into rallies that promote further violence.

Meanwhile, friends and colleagues have been remembering one of the victims, university professor Michael Feige.

Mr Feige was a professor of sociology and anthropology of Israeli society at Ben-Gurion University and an award-winning author.

In a statement, colleagues said they were "stunned" by his "incomprehensible loss".

"Michael was a friend, scholar and teacher," they said, and "above all ... the incarnation of a man of reason, tolerance and peace."

Obama Endorses Hillary Clinton For President

President Barack Obama has endorsed Hillary Clinton for President of the United States.

The widely expected announcement came in the form of a video released by the Clinton campaign on Thursday.

"I'm with her, I'm fired up and I cannot wait to get out there and campaign with Hillary," the President says in the three-minute clip.

The endorsement came within hours of Mr Obama holding talks at the White House with Mrs Clinton's Democratic rival Bernie Sanders.

The Vermont Senator vowed to continue his fight for the Democratic nomination afterward, but also said he looked forward to working with Mrs Clinton during the general election.

Mr Obama had been expected to urge Mr Sanders to call time on his campaign on Thursday in a bid to fully shift the focus of the 2016 election on the upcoming showdown between Mrs Clinton and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

 Aides to the President have said he is eager to leave the sidelines and join the fray against brash billionaire.

Republicans Rally As Queen Celebrates Birthday

Anti-monarchy campaigners say they will be using the Queen's 90th birthday celebrations to draw attention to why Britain should scrap its hereditary monarchy.

The group Republic are encouraging hashtags such as #stopthereign and #bornequal across social media.

They are also holding their own people's picnic in Kensington Palace gardens as a weekend of celebrations is planned for her Majesty's official birthday.

Campaigners say they appreciate people will want to mark the birthday, but they don't believe it should be used to promote the Royal Family and an unelected head of state.

Lifelong republican Alastair Campbell wrote a book about some of the world's most successful people and couldn't avoid adding the Queen.

He told Sky News: "I think there are still republicans, people who want to get rid of the Monarchy, but I think she's seen them off for a generation and more.

"I think a lot of that is about her ... not just the longevity but the fact that she is who she is and done what she's done.

"And it's worth remembering it's not that long ago that they were in a bit of trouble. What's more, they thought they were in a bit of trouble and they had to strategise, plan and adapt their way out of it.

"I think she personally has been a very big part of that."

Dympna Messanger is a member of Republic and regularly goes out leafleting to get people talking about the inequalities of a hereditary monarchy.

Explaining why she joined the group, she said: "This lot (the Royal Family), we're stuck with them forever, it just seems to me grotesquely unfair that this family are born into this immense privilege and wealth.

"I just don't see how it can be justified."

Republic say they currently have 5,000 paying members, with 35,000 registered supporters. Events like the Queen's birthday often help to boost those numbers.

However, a recent poll from Ipsos Mori found 86% of people were satisfied with the job the Queen does as Monarch, with 76% happy with the role carried out by Prince William and 71% supporting what Prince Charles does.

A Sky Data poll also revealed strong support for the monarchy.

Outlining the results, Sky data analyst Harry Carr said: "Some 72% of young people aged 18-34 support the monarchy, compared with 66% of those aged 55 or over.

"One in five Britons would like the UK to become a republic (22%), while 5% say they don't know and 2% say they would not vote in a referendum on the subject.

"Scots are markedly less likely to support the monarchy than the rest of the country, however, and would narrowly vote to retain the monarchy 47% to 41%."

Graham Smith from Republic admits respect for the Queen, who last year became Britain's longest reigning monarch, does at times make their campaigning more difficult.

He said: "Most people are sympathetic to the Queen and that is an obstacle that we have to get over, but it doesn't make it a particularly tough job because there are a lot of other issues around the Monarchy: secrecy, misuse of public money, the power of the politicians that they draw from the Crown, a lot of things that we can campaign on."

Campaign group Labour for a Republic, which is allied to Republic, is organising a people's picnic on Sunday in Kensington Gardens.

The free event is being put on as an alternative to the Patron's Lunch, which also takes place on Sunday afternoon - the largest-ever street party to be held on the Mall to celebrate the Queen's charity work.

:: Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,009 Sky customers by SMS on 9 June 2016. Data is weighted to the profile of the population. For full Sky Data tables, please click here.