Thursday, December 15, 2016
Prime Minister Theresa May pledges another £20m in aid for Syria
The UK will provide another £20m of aid for Syria, as the Prime Minister condemned Bashar al Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers.
Theresa May said the Syrian government must let the United Nations ensure the safe evacuation of civilians from Aleppo.
President Assad has claimed victory in the city, which had been held by rebel fighters for more than four years.
Speaking as she left the European Council summit in Brussels, Mrs May said the UK would provide extra funding for the most vulnerable people in Syria.
The PM said: "We have discussed a number of issues here today at this European Council meeting, including how to deal with migration issues, also strengthening Europe's security.
"But perhaps the most important issue we discussed was the appalling situation in Syria.
"We heard from the mayor of eastern Aleppo, he had one plea for us: to allow the safe evacuation of the people in the city.
"President Assad and his backers, Russia and Iran, bear responsibility for the tragedy in Aleppo. They must now allow the United Nations to ensure the safe evacuation of the civilians who are left there.
"The UK is going to provide a further £20m of practical support for those who are most vulnerable.
"The mayor of east Aleppo said to us that we can't bring back those who are lost but we can save those who remain and that is what we must now do."
International Development Secretary Priti Patel said the UK was urgently sending blankets, medical kits, clean water and food for civilians from Aleppo.
She said the aid would "mean the difference between life and death for those fleeing Aleppo and those caught in freezing conditions in the city after being systematically bombed from their homes by the Syrian regime and its Russian allies".
Ms Patel added: "Protecting innocent civilians must be an absolute priority.
"It is paramount that aid agencies now get the unfettered, secure access they need to save lives inside east Aleppo."
US Secretary of State John Kerry has accused President Assad's regime of carrying out "nothing short of a massacre" in Aleppo.
It comes as thousands of civilians started to leave the east of the city, headed for rebel-held areas outside Aleppo as part of a ceasefire deal.
President Putin 'personally involved in US election hacking'
Barack Obama has said the US will take action against Russia after the White House accused Vladimir Putin of direct involvement in cyberattacks designed to influence the outcome of the US election.
President Obama said America would respond at a "time and place of our choosing", some of which might be publicised and some not.
Whenever a foreign government tried to interfere in US elections, the nation must take action - "and we will", Mr Obama told NPR News.
"Some of it may be explicit and publicised, some of it may not be," he said. "But Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it."
On Thursday the Obama administration suggested President Putin personally authorised the hacking of Democratic officials' email accounts in the run-up to the election and said it was "fact" that such actions helped Donald Trump's campaign.
The information on Mr Putin's alleged involvement reportedly came from spies and diplomatic sources.
Russia has denied state-sponsored hacking to tip the balance towards Mr Trump, who is seen as more pro-Russia than Hillary Clinton.
Mr Putin's spokesman dismissed the latest claims as "laughable nonsense".
In October, the US government formally accused Russia of cyberattacks and President Obama last week ordered a review by intelligence agencies, set to be completed before he leaves office on 20 January.
The Washington Post reported that the CIA believes individuals linked to Moscow fed WikiLeaks emails from Mrs Clinton's campaign chief and the Democratic National Committee.
Those emails were steadily released in the months before the election and damaged Mrs Clinton's campaign.
Mr Trump has called the claims "ridiculous" but Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said it was "obvious" Mr Trump knew he was being helped by the Russians.
Top Obama adviser Ben Rhodes also waded in, telling MSNBC: "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it.
"Everything we know about how Russia operates and how Putin controls that government would suggest that, again, when you're talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, we're talking about the highest levels of government."
It is the first time officials have publicly pointed the finger at Mr Putin and it will only ramp up tensions between the Russians and President Obama's outgoing administration.
President Obama said America would respond at a "time and place of our choosing", some of which might be publicised and some not.
Whenever a foreign government tried to interfere in US elections, the nation must take action - "and we will", Mr Obama told NPR News.
"Some of it may be explicit and publicised, some of it may not be," he said. "But Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it."
On Thursday the Obama administration suggested President Putin personally authorised the hacking of Democratic officials' email accounts in the run-up to the election and said it was "fact" that such actions helped Donald Trump's campaign.
The information on Mr Putin's alleged involvement reportedly came from spies and diplomatic sources.
Russia has denied state-sponsored hacking to tip the balance towards Mr Trump, who is seen as more pro-Russia than Hillary Clinton.
Mr Putin's spokesman dismissed the latest claims as "laughable nonsense".
In October, the US government formally accused Russia of cyberattacks and President Obama last week ordered a review by intelligence agencies, set to be completed before he leaves office on 20 January.
The Washington Post reported that the CIA believes individuals linked to Moscow fed WikiLeaks emails from Mrs Clinton's campaign chief and the Democratic National Committee.
Those emails were steadily released in the months before the election and damaged Mrs Clinton's campaign.
Mr Trump has called the claims "ridiculous" but Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said it was "obvious" Mr Trump knew he was being helped by the Russians.
Top Obama adviser Ben Rhodes also waded in, telling MSNBC: "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it.
"Everything we know about how Russia operates and how Putin controls that government would suggest that, again, when you're talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, we're talking about the highest levels of government."
It is the first time officials have publicly pointed the finger at Mr Putin and it will only ramp up tensions between the Russians and President Obama's outgoing administration.
Jihadist Humza Ali went paintballing to train to join IS in Syria
An apprentice bricklayer convicted of trying to join Islamic State fighters in Syria trained for battle at a paintballing centre, a court heard.
Humza Ali, 20, posed for photos at a paintballing centre in Solihull in the West Midlands alongside three other men linked to the extremist group.
A three-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard that Ali wanted to "fight until I die" in Syria.
In an undercover recording he told a fifth IS sympathiser that his mother had confiscated his passport.
Ali, of Ward End, Birmingham, denied dissemination of terrorist material and trying to travel to Syria for terrorist purposes.
He will be sentenced in January.
Anne Whyte QC, prosecuting, said: "They were able to use the occasion to take a sort of promotional photo sealing their common sense of identity.
"It was a bonding act of preparation between men of like mind and like intent. They were doing what passed, in their limited circumstances, for training."
Mohammed Ali Ahmed, Gabriel Rasmus and Abdelatif Gaini also featured in the photographs found on Ali's phone.
Ahmed, 27, was jailed for eight years for his part in passing £3,000 to the "man in the hat", Brussels bombing suspect Mohamed Abrini.
Rasmus, 29, of Lozells in Birmingham, was jailed for four years at the Old Bailey last month after being arrested in April last year while en route to Syria to engage in terrorism.
Gaini, 41, seen near a military vehicle in one of the pictures, is now thought to be in Syria.
A three-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard that Ali wanted to "fight until I die" in Syria.
In an undercover recording he told a fifth IS sympathiser that his mother had confiscated his passport.
Ali, of Ward End, Birmingham, denied dissemination of terrorist material and trying to travel to Syria for terrorist purposes.
He will be sentenced in January.
Anne Whyte QC, prosecuting, said: "They were able to use the occasion to take a sort of promotional photo sealing their common sense of identity.
"It was a bonding act of preparation between men of like mind and like intent. They were doing what passed, in their limited circumstances, for training."
Mohammed Ali Ahmed, Gabriel Rasmus and Abdelatif Gaini also featured in the photographs found on Ali's phone.
Ahmed, 27, was jailed for eight years for his part in passing £3,000 to the "man in the hat", Brussels bombing suspect Mohamed Abrini.
Rasmus, 29, of Lozells in Birmingham, was jailed for four years at the Old Bailey last month after being arrested in April last year while en route to Syria to engage in terrorism.
Gaini, 41, seen near a military vehicle in one of the pictures, is now thought to be in Syria.
Dylann Roof guilty of mass shooting at US church
Dylann Roof has been convicted of the racially motivated killings of nine black churchgoers in South Carolina.
The self-professed white supremacist could face the death penalty for the shootings, which took place during a Bible study at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on 17 June last year.
It took less than two hours for the jury to convict the 22-year-old on all 33 charges.
They found him guilty of federal hate crimes resulting in the deaths of the nine parishioners, firearms violations and obstruction of the practice of religion.
Roof stared ahead, expressionless, as the verdicts were read out.
During the six-day trial, the jury had heard a taped confession from Roof in which he said that he carried out the shootings in retaliation for what he said were crimes committed by black people against whites.
He had told the FBI that he had researched "black on white crime" on the internet and had chosen a church because the setting posed little danger to him and because the building was significant to the black community.
Whether he committed the shootings was not disputed but his lawyers, hoping to spare him from execution, had asked jurors to consider what had driven Roof to his crimes, suggesting he may be delusional.
Defence lawyer David Bruck described Roof as a suicidal loner who never realised the seriousness of what he did.
He said Roof was imitating what he had seen on the internet and believed he had to devote his life to "a fight to the death between white people and black people that only he" could see and act on.
During closing arguments, prosecutors said Roof's guilt was proved "beyond any doubt - much less reasonable doubt".
Assistant US Attorney Nathan Williams said: "He must be held accountable for each and every action he took inside that church.
"For every life he took."
He added: "This defendant chose to take their lives, he chose to break their bodies. But he does not get to choose who they were."
:: June 2015 - Relatives tell Charleston suspect: Hate won't win
The court had heard that Roof sat in the church carpark for 28 minutes in his car before going inside.
He had been given a Bible and a worksheet and sat with the Bible study group members for nearly 45 minutes before shooting them as they closed their eyes for a final prayer.
The jury, made up of nine white people and three black people, will gather again next month to decide whether Roof should get the death penalty or serve a life sentence in prison.
Roof has said he wants to represent himself at this hearing.
The self-professed white supremacist could face the death penalty for the shootings, which took place during a Bible study at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on 17 June last year.
It took less than two hours for the jury to convict the 22-year-old on all 33 charges.
They found him guilty of federal hate crimes resulting in the deaths of the nine parishioners, firearms violations and obstruction of the practice of religion.
Roof stared ahead, expressionless, as the verdicts were read out.
During the six-day trial, the jury had heard a taped confession from Roof in which he said that he carried out the shootings in retaliation for what he said were crimes committed by black people against whites.
He had told the FBI that he had researched "black on white crime" on the internet and had chosen a church because the setting posed little danger to him and because the building was significant to the black community.
Whether he committed the shootings was not disputed but his lawyers, hoping to spare him from execution, had asked jurors to consider what had driven Roof to his crimes, suggesting he may be delusional.
Defence lawyer David Bruck described Roof as a suicidal loner who never realised the seriousness of what he did.
He said Roof was imitating what he had seen on the internet and believed he had to devote his life to "a fight to the death between white people and black people that only he" could see and act on.
During closing arguments, prosecutors said Roof's guilt was proved "beyond any doubt - much less reasonable doubt".
Assistant US Attorney Nathan Williams said: "He must be held accountable for each and every action he took inside that church.
"For every life he took."
He added: "This defendant chose to take their lives, he chose to break their bodies. But he does not get to choose who they were."
:: June 2015 - Relatives tell Charleston suspect: Hate won't win
The court had heard that Roof sat in the church carpark for 28 minutes in his car before going inside.
He had been given a Bible and a worksheet and sat with the Bible study group members for nearly 45 minutes before shooting them as they closed their eyes for a final prayer.
The jury, made up of nine white people and three black people, will gather again next month to decide whether Roof should get the death penalty or serve a life sentence in prison.
Roof has said he wants to represent himself at this hearing.
GOP voters warm to Russia, Putin, WikiLeaks, poll finds
After Donald Trump seized the Republican presidential nomination, pollsters found the party's voters shifting their opinions on trade to match up with the candidate. On Wednesday, new polling by YouGov finds a similar phenomenon moving Republican views of WikiLeaks and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the party's voters increasingly fond of both.
The Economist-YouGov poll, which has tracked partisan sentiment about WikiLeaks since 2013, now finds a majority of Republicans viewing the organization favorably. In the summer of 2013, WikiLeaks was viewed more negatively than positively by Republicans by a 47-point margin; Democrats, by a 3-point margin, also viewed it negatively. Now, Republicans view WikiLeaks favorably by a 27-point margin, a 74-point swing; Democrats have swung against it by just 25 points.
That's probably a result of the presidential campaign, which closed with 33 days of WikiLeaks dumps from the stolen emails of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta. On the stump, Trump frequently drew applause simply by saying the word “WikiLeaks,” then drew more as he gave a quick-and-dirty version of an allegation from the emails. “Boy, we love WikiLeaks!” he told a mid-October crowd in North Carolina. Despite steady media coverage of the stolen emails, Trump also accused the press of suppressing their revelations.
Trump was not alone on the right. WikiLeaks stories rippled through conservative media, and some WikiLeaks revelations — like an exchange between liberal Catholic Clinton campaign staff in which they criticized their church leadership — were advanced or hyped by fitful Trump critics like House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.).
There's been similar movement on the Putin question. In the summer of 2014, both Democrats and Republicans held negative views of the Russian president. His net negative rating with Democrats was 54 points; with Republicans, it was 66 points. At the time, the mainstream Republican foreign policy opinion was that a wily, aggressive Putin was rolling over U.S. interests in Europe. There was some punditry about Putin as a greater leader than President Obama, but it did not shift views of Putin himself.
Trump's campaign did so. There's been a 56-point positive shift among Republicans in their views of Putin; his net negative rating is now just 10 points. While Clinton voters view Putin negatively by 72 points, Trump voters do so by a slim 16-point margin.
During the campaign, Democratic attacks on Trump for his praise of Russia and Putin drew media attention but didn't appear to move voters. Among the reasons: Many of the Republican voters seen as gettable by Democrats were more ready to shift their views of Russia than shift their views of Clinton.
The Economist-YouGov poll, which has tracked partisan sentiment about WikiLeaks since 2013, now finds a majority of Republicans viewing the organization favorably. In the summer of 2013, WikiLeaks was viewed more negatively than positively by Republicans by a 47-point margin; Democrats, by a 3-point margin, also viewed it negatively. Now, Republicans view WikiLeaks favorably by a 27-point margin, a 74-point swing; Democrats have swung against it by just 25 points.
That's probably a result of the presidential campaign, which closed with 33 days of WikiLeaks dumps from the stolen emails of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta. On the stump, Trump frequently drew applause simply by saying the word “WikiLeaks,” then drew more as he gave a quick-and-dirty version of an allegation from the emails. “Boy, we love WikiLeaks!” he told a mid-October crowd in North Carolina. Despite steady media coverage of the stolen emails, Trump also accused the press of suppressing their revelations.
Trump was not alone on the right. WikiLeaks stories rippled through conservative media, and some WikiLeaks revelations — like an exchange between liberal Catholic Clinton campaign staff in which they criticized their church leadership — were advanced or hyped by fitful Trump critics like House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.).
There's been similar movement on the Putin question. In the summer of 2014, both Democrats and Republicans held negative views of the Russian president. His net negative rating with Democrats was 54 points; with Republicans, it was 66 points. At the time, the mainstream Republican foreign policy opinion was that a wily, aggressive Putin was rolling over U.S. interests in Europe. There was some punditry about Putin as a greater leader than President Obama, but it did not shift views of Putin himself.
Trump's campaign did so. There's been a 56-point positive shift among Republicans in their views of Putin; his net negative rating is now just 10 points. While Clinton voters view Putin negatively by 72 points, Trump voters do so by a slim 16-point margin.
During the campaign, Democratic attacks on Trump for his praise of Russia and Putin drew media attention but didn't appear to move voters. Among the reasons: Many of the Republican voters seen as gettable by Democrats were more ready to shift their views of Russia than shift their views of Clinton.
Angelina Jolie's mastectomy led to breast cancer test increase
Angelina Jolie's decision to publicise her double mastectomy led to a sharp rise in breast cancer genetic testing, researchers have said.
The star announced in May 2013 that she had undergone surgery in order to reduce her chances of getting the disease.
"My doctors estimated that I had an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman," she wrote in the New York Times.
Women who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic faults have a higher risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
"Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much I could," she said.
"I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy."
:: Jolie's breast op honesty will help others
In 2015, an NHS clinic in Manchester attributed a sharp rise in preventive double mastectomies to women being inspired by Jolie's decision.
Now, experts in the US have said they found a steep increase in breast cancer gene testing in the weeks following her announcement - but no change in overall mastectomy rates.
The team of researchers looked into data concerning nine million insured American women aged 18 to 64, and said they found a 64% increase in BRCA testing rates in the 15 working days after Jolie's editorial was published.
The Hollywood actress, who is one of the world's highest paid performers, says the cost of getting tested for BRCA1 and 2 is more than $3,000 (£2,390) in the US.
The actress says this "remains an obstacle for many women".
NHS guidelines in the UK recommend that anyone who is at "high risk" of developing breast cancer at some point in their life should be gene tested.
The star announced in May 2013 that she had undergone surgery in order to reduce her chances of getting the disease.
"My doctors estimated that I had an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman," she wrote in the New York Times.
Women who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic faults have a higher risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
"Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much I could," she said.
"I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy."
:: Jolie's breast op honesty will help others
In 2015, an NHS clinic in Manchester attributed a sharp rise in preventive double mastectomies to women being inspired by Jolie's decision.
Now, experts in the US have said they found a steep increase in breast cancer gene testing in the weeks following her announcement - but no change in overall mastectomy rates.
The team of researchers looked into data concerning nine million insured American women aged 18 to 64, and said they found a 64% increase in BRCA testing rates in the 15 working days after Jolie's editorial was published.
The Hollywood actress, who is one of the world's highest paid performers, says the cost of getting tested for BRCA1 and 2 is more than $3,000 (£2,390) in the US.
The actress says this "remains an obstacle for many women".
NHS guidelines in the UK recommend that anyone who is at "high risk" of developing breast cancer at some point in their life should be gene tested.
Senators: Duterte impeachable over claims of killings
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte risks impeachment after he admitted "personally" killing criminals when he was the mayor of Davao City, according to two Philippine senators.
The firebrand leader boasted to business leaders on Monday that as Davao City mayor he used to prowl the streets on a motorcycle looking for "an encounter to kill", just to show to local law enforcers he was able to do so.
"I used to do it personally," Duterte said. "If I can do it why can't you?"
More than 2,000 people have been killed in police anti-drug operations since Duterte became president in July. Almost all were shot when they resisted arrest.
Another 3,000 deaths are under investigation, with critics calling them vigilante killings.
Senator Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte, said the president's admission could be a ground for impeachment.
"That is betrayal of public trust and that constitutes high crimes because mass murders certainly fall into the category of high crimes. And high crimes is a ground for impeachment under the constitution," de Lima told CNN on Thursday.
Senator Richard Gordon, who heads the senate justice committee, also said Duterte opened himself to possible impeachment proceedings following his controversial comments.
"When he says that, he's opening himself up, so what's the legal way, then go ahead and impeach him," he told reporters, adding he was not surprised by the statement.
Duterte's 'bravado'
Duterte's allies in Congress dared the president's opponents and critics to file an impeachment motion, saying that removing the leader through a political process is a numbers game.
There are fewer than 50 opposition politicians in the 293-member lower house of Congress. A two-thirds vote is needed to impeach a president.
Peter Wallace, who organised the business forum where Duterte spoke, thought the president's statement was his "usual bravado".
"He talked as he often does about drugs, and killings and criminality. And we had expected that he would but we were there not to listen to that," said Wallace.
"We were there to talk to him or listen to him about business issues and I was pleased that...he moved on to those subjects," he said.
Justice Minister Vitaliano Aguirre dismissed Duterte's statement as an exaggeration.
"It's like a hyperbole, that's the president, he is used to exaggerate just to put his message across," Aguirre was quoted in radio reports as saying on Thursday.
Even if that were true, Aguirre said it did not necessarily mean that he violated the law.
"It could be done with a justifiable cause and justified circumstances as a public officer in order to arrest but if they resisted. He must have been forced," Aguirre said, referring to Duterte.
The firebrand leader boasted to business leaders on Monday that as Davao City mayor he used to prowl the streets on a motorcycle looking for "an encounter to kill", just to show to local law enforcers he was able to do so.
"I used to do it personally," Duterte said. "If I can do it why can't you?"
More than 2,000 people have been killed in police anti-drug operations since Duterte became president in July. Almost all were shot when they resisted arrest.
Another 3,000 deaths are under investigation, with critics calling them vigilante killings.
Senator Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte, said the president's admission could be a ground for impeachment.
"That is betrayal of public trust and that constitutes high crimes because mass murders certainly fall into the category of high crimes. And high crimes is a ground for impeachment under the constitution," de Lima told CNN on Thursday.
Senator Richard Gordon, who heads the senate justice committee, also said Duterte opened himself to possible impeachment proceedings following his controversial comments.
"When he says that, he's opening himself up, so what's the legal way, then go ahead and impeach him," he told reporters, adding he was not surprised by the statement.
Duterte's 'bravado'
Duterte's allies in Congress dared the president's opponents and critics to file an impeachment motion, saying that removing the leader through a political process is a numbers game.
There are fewer than 50 opposition politicians in the 293-member lower house of Congress. A two-thirds vote is needed to impeach a president.
Peter Wallace, who organised the business forum where Duterte spoke, thought the president's statement was his "usual bravado".
"He talked as he often does about drugs, and killings and criminality. And we had expected that he would but we were there not to listen to that," said Wallace.
"We were there to talk to him or listen to him about business issues and I was pleased that...he moved on to those subjects," he said.
Justice Minister Vitaliano Aguirre dismissed Duterte's statement as an exaggeration.
"It's like a hyperbole, that's the president, he is used to exaggerate just to put his message across," Aguirre was quoted in radio reports as saying on Thursday.
Even if that were true, Aguirre said it did not necessarily mean that he violated the law.
"It could be done with a justifiable cause and justified circumstances as a public officer in order to arrest but if they resisted. He must have been forced," Aguirre said, referring to Duterte.
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