The EU's chief Brexit negotiator has reassured Ireland that he will work to avoid a hard border in the wake of Britain's exit.
Addressing both houses of the Irish parliament, Michel Barnier said: "I am fully aware that some member states will be more affected than others.
"I want to reassure the Irish people: in this negotiation Ireland's interest will be the Union's interest ... Brexit changes the external borders of the EU.
"I will work with you to avoid a hard border."
In addressing both houses of parliament, Mr Barnier was given a privilege normally only afforded to visiting heads of state and prime ministers, joining luminaries like Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton.
Mr Barnier said there was no reason why the EU cannot have a "strong relationship" with the UK after it leaves, but Brexit will inevitably have consequences.
Protecting Ireland's interests as part of the EU would be an important part of the exit talks, with efforts to protect the peace process forming a key element alongside avoiding a hard border.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Rock considering a run for President
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson says he considers a White House run "a real possibility".
In an interview with GQ magazine, the wrestler turned Hollywood producer responded to fans calling for him to take on another role - president of the United States.
The world's highest-paid actor said he started considering the option after reading an article in The Washington Post arguing he could be a viable candidate after Donald Trump.
"A year ago it started coming up more and more," he said.
"There was a real sense of earnestness, which made me go home and think: Let me really rethink my answer and make sure I am giving an answer that is truthful and also respectful."
The Rock, as he is known from his wrestling days, told GQ he did not want to rush into any political promises.
"I didn't want to be flippant: 'We'll have three days off for a weekend! No taxes!,'" he said.
But although he refused to discuss politics in depth, he said he considers running for president "a real possibility".
He also said both political parties reached out to him for endorsement during the last presidential election, which he "did not give".
"I feel like I'm in a position now where my word carries a lot of weight and influence, which of course is why they want the endorsement," he said.
"But I also have a tremendous amount of respect for the process and felt like if I did share my political views publicly, a few things would happen," he added.
"I felt like it would either make people unhappy with the thought of whatever my political view was. And, also, it might sway an opinion, which I didn't want to do."
On Donald Trump's first months in office, Johnson said he'd "like to see better leadership".
"Personally, I feel that if I were president, poise would be important. Leadership would be important. Taking responsibility for everybody," he said.
"If I didn't agree with someone on something, I wouldn't shut them out. I would actually include them," he added.
"The first thing we'd do is we'd come and sit down and we'd talk about it. It's hard to categorise right now how I think he's doing, other than to tell you how I would operate, what I would like to see."
In an interview with GQ magazine, the wrestler turned Hollywood producer responded to fans calling for him to take on another role - president of the United States.
The world's highest-paid actor said he started considering the option after reading an article in The Washington Post arguing he could be a viable candidate after Donald Trump.
"A year ago it started coming up more and more," he said.
"There was a real sense of earnestness, which made me go home and think: Let me really rethink my answer and make sure I am giving an answer that is truthful and also respectful."
The Rock, as he is known from his wrestling days, told GQ he did not want to rush into any political promises.
"I didn't want to be flippant: 'We'll have three days off for a weekend! No taxes!,'" he said.
But although he refused to discuss politics in depth, he said he considers running for president "a real possibility".
He also said both political parties reached out to him for endorsement during the last presidential election, which he "did not give".
"I feel like I'm in a position now where my word carries a lot of weight and influence, which of course is why they want the endorsement," he said.
"But I also have a tremendous amount of respect for the process and felt like if I did share my political views publicly, a few things would happen," he added.
"I felt like it would either make people unhappy with the thought of whatever my political view was. And, also, it might sway an opinion, which I didn't want to do."
On Donald Trump's first months in office, Johnson said he'd "like to see better leadership".
"Personally, I feel that if I were president, poise would be important. Leadership would be important. Taking responsibility for everybody," he said.
"If I didn't agree with someone on something, I wouldn't shut them out. I would actually include them," he added.
"The first thing we'd do is we'd come and sit down and we'd talk about it. It's hard to categorise right now how I think he's doing, other than to tell you how I would operate, what I would like to see."
Trendy gluten-free foods 'increase risk of obesity'
Gluten-free products touted as a healthier alternative to everyday staples could actually be making you fat, experts have warned.
A gluten-free lifestyle has become one of the most popular diet trends of recent years, finding favour with celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian.
It is important for those with coeliac disease - where digested gluten damages the lining of your gut - to maintain a gluten-free diet for health reasons.
Foods they should avoid usually include wheat, barley and rye such as breads, pastas and crackers.
However, for healthy people a gluten-free diet might not be the best option, according to a study, which has found alternative products often contain higher levels of fats than the foods they aim to replace.
Researchers found gluten-free products have a "significantly higher energy content and a different nutritional composition" to those containing gluten.
Many gluten-rich items such as breads, pastas, pizzas and flours also contained up to three times more protein than their gluten-free substitutes.
The imbalances highlighted in the study could impact children's growth and increase the risk of childhood obesity, experts said, as children are more likely to eat products such as cereals and biscuits.
"As more and more people are following a gluten-free diet to effectively manage coeliac disease, it is imperative that foods marketed as substitutes are reformulated to ensure that they truly do have similar nutritional values," said lead researcher Dr Joaquim Calvo Lerma.
"This is especially important for children, as a well-balanced diet is essential to healthy growth and development."
The team assessed about 1,300 products and found:
:: Gluten-free breads had significantly higher content of lipids and saturated fatty acids
:: Gluten-free pasta had significantly lower content of sugar and protein
:: Gluten-free biscuits had significantly lower content of protein and significantly higher content of lipids
Researchers also called for better labelling "where nutritional values of gluten-free products do vary significantly from their gluten-containing counterparts".
Sarah Sleet, chief executive of Coeliac UK, said the findings tied in with the charity's own research showing higher levels of fat in gluten-free fresh breads and lower protein levels in gluten-free products.
She urged manufacturers to continue "striving for more nutritious products".
She added: "On a positive note, sugar is frequently cited as a concern but this research is also in line with UK data on sugar content, showing gluten free foods don't contain any more sugar than conventional equivalent products which will be reassuring for people who need to live gluten free."
A gluten-free lifestyle has become one of the most popular diet trends of recent years, finding favour with celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian.
It is important for those with coeliac disease - where digested gluten damages the lining of your gut - to maintain a gluten-free diet for health reasons.
Foods they should avoid usually include wheat, barley and rye such as breads, pastas and crackers.
However, for healthy people a gluten-free diet might not be the best option, according to a study, which has found alternative products often contain higher levels of fats than the foods they aim to replace.
Researchers found gluten-free products have a "significantly higher energy content and a different nutritional composition" to those containing gluten.
Many gluten-rich items such as breads, pastas, pizzas and flours also contained up to three times more protein than their gluten-free substitutes.
The imbalances highlighted in the study could impact children's growth and increase the risk of childhood obesity, experts said, as children are more likely to eat products such as cereals and biscuits.
"As more and more people are following a gluten-free diet to effectively manage coeliac disease, it is imperative that foods marketed as substitutes are reformulated to ensure that they truly do have similar nutritional values," said lead researcher Dr Joaquim Calvo Lerma.
"This is especially important for children, as a well-balanced diet is essential to healthy growth and development."
The team assessed about 1,300 products and found:
:: Gluten-free breads had significantly higher content of lipids and saturated fatty acids
:: Gluten-free pasta had significantly lower content of sugar and protein
:: Gluten-free biscuits had significantly lower content of protein and significantly higher content of lipids
Researchers also called for better labelling "where nutritional values of gluten-free products do vary significantly from their gluten-containing counterparts".
Sarah Sleet, chief executive of Coeliac UK, said the findings tied in with the charity's own research showing higher levels of fat in gluten-free fresh breads and lower protein levels in gluten-free products.
She urged manufacturers to continue "striving for more nutritious products".
She added: "On a positive note, sugar is frequently cited as a concern but this research is also in line with UK data on sugar content, showing gluten free foods don't contain any more sugar than conventional equivalent products which will be reassuring for people who need to live gluten free."
Robert Mugabe 'not asleep at public meetings but just resting his eyes'
Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe is just resting his eyes when he appears to fall asleep at public meetings, his spokesman has claimed.
The 93-year-old has been pictured with his eyes closed at a number of recent appearances, including at the World Economic Forum in Durban last week.
Pictures of Mugabe appearing to nod off at the forum went viral, with opponents saying they showed he was unfit for office.
Image:President Mugabe appears to sleep while Colonel Gaddafi speaks at a 2010 summit
But the president's spokesman said the leader was merely resting his eyes from bright lights.
George Charamba said: "I feel like a failure when there is this reading that the president is sleeping in conferences - no.
"At 93, there is something that happens to the eyes and the president cannot suffer bright lights.
Image:Asleep or resting? Mr Mugabe pictured with former Gabon president Omar Bongo
"If you look at his poise, he looks down, avoids direct lighting"
Mr Charamba compared the president to Nelson Mandela, whose eyes were sensitive to flash photography after years of working in a limestone quarry while imprisoned on Robben Island.
He said: "You were not allowed to even use flashes whenever (Mandela) was in the room."
Image:Mr Mugabe closes his eyes during an Africa Union meeting in July 2005
On Monday, Mr Mugabe travelled to Singapore for specialist eye treatment, his second medical trip in two months.
The president's foreign trips are often criticised in Zimbabwe, where healthcare has collapsed due to financial instability.
Mr Charamba said a "very black" Zimbabwean doctor supervises Mr Mugabe's medical care at home and the leader only flies abroad for specialist treatment.
Image:Nodding off? Mr Mugabe at a summit in 2009
Despite concerns over his health, Africa's oldest leader says he intends to run again in elections next year.
In February, his wife Grace said he would run "as a corpse" if he died before the vote.
The 93-year-old has been pictured with his eyes closed at a number of recent appearances, including at the World Economic Forum in Durban last week.
Pictures of Mugabe appearing to nod off at the forum went viral, with opponents saying they showed he was unfit for office.
Image:President Mugabe appears to sleep while Colonel Gaddafi speaks at a 2010 summitBut the president's spokesman said the leader was merely resting his eyes from bright lights.
George Charamba said: "I feel like a failure when there is this reading that the president is sleeping in conferences - no.
"At 93, there is something that happens to the eyes and the president cannot suffer bright lights.
Image:Asleep or resting? Mr Mugabe pictured with former Gabon president Omar Bongo"If you look at his poise, he looks down, avoids direct lighting"
Mr Charamba compared the president to Nelson Mandela, whose eyes were sensitive to flash photography after years of working in a limestone quarry while imprisoned on Robben Island.
He said: "You were not allowed to even use flashes whenever (Mandela) was in the room."
Image:Mr Mugabe closes his eyes during an Africa Union meeting in July 2005On Monday, Mr Mugabe travelled to Singapore for specialist eye treatment, his second medical trip in two months.
The president's foreign trips are often criticised in Zimbabwe, where healthcare has collapsed due to financial instability.
Mr Charamba said a "very black" Zimbabwean doctor supervises Mr Mugabe's medical care at home and the leader only flies abroad for specialist treatment.
Image:Nodding off? Mr Mugabe at a summit in 2009Despite concerns over his health, Africa's oldest leader says he intends to run again in elections next year.
In February, his wife Grace said he would run "as a corpse" if he died before the vote.
North Korea seeks extraditions of Kim Jong Un assassination plotters
North Korea says it will seek the extradition of anyone involved in an alleged plot to assassinate Kim Jong Un.
The country's vice foreign minister, Han Song Ryol, met with foreign diplomats to discuss its claim that South Korea and the CIA were behind such a plot.
Pyongyang claims a North Korean man surnamed Kim was coerced into attempting to poison the leader with a "biochemical substance".
Reading from a prepared statement, Mr Han said: "These terrorists plotted and planned in detail for the use of biochemical substances including radioactive and poisonous substances as the means of assassination.
"These biochemical substances were to be provided with the assistance of the CIA... while the South Korean Intelligence Service was to provide necessary support and funding for this attempt at assassination on our supreme leader."
The state-run KCNA news agency has described the CIA and the South Korean Intelligence Service as "man-killing groups" and "dens of evil".
Their report said Mr Han had "declared the principled stand of the North Korean government to find out all of the terrorist maniacs and mercilessly wipe them out".
Although he vowed to "punish the organisers, conspirators and followers of this terrible state-sponsored terrorism" through extradition requests, the country is yet to name any foreign suspects.
North Korea first made allegations about the assassination plot last week, and said the heinous crime had been "recently uncovered and smashed".
According to state media reports, the coerced North Korean is a resident of Pyongyang who had previously been working in Russia's timber industry.
It is alleged that he was bribed, brainwashed and cajoled by foreign agents while he was living in the Far Eastern town of Khabarovsk.
The country's vice foreign minister, Han Song Ryol, met with foreign diplomats to discuss its claim that South Korea and the CIA were behind such a plot.
Pyongyang claims a North Korean man surnamed Kim was coerced into attempting to poison the leader with a "biochemical substance".
Reading from a prepared statement, Mr Han said: "These terrorists plotted and planned in detail for the use of biochemical substances including radioactive and poisonous substances as the means of assassination.
"These biochemical substances were to be provided with the assistance of the CIA... while the South Korean Intelligence Service was to provide necessary support and funding for this attempt at assassination on our supreme leader."
The state-run KCNA news agency has described the CIA and the South Korean Intelligence Service as "man-killing groups" and "dens of evil".
Their report said Mr Han had "declared the principled stand of the North Korean government to find out all of the terrorist maniacs and mercilessly wipe them out".
Although he vowed to "punish the organisers, conspirators and followers of this terrible state-sponsored terrorism" through extradition requests, the country is yet to name any foreign suspects.
North Korea first made allegations about the assassination plot last week, and said the heinous crime had been "recently uncovered and smashed".
According to state media reports, the coerced North Korean is a resident of Pyongyang who had previously been working in Russia's timber industry.
It is alleged that he was bribed, brainwashed and cajoled by foreign agents while he was living in the Far Eastern town of Khabarovsk.
What was the motivation for leaking Labour's manifesto?
Labour's gathering to approve their draft manifesto was already set to be contentious. It will be even more heated now the document they are discussing has been leaked to two newspapers.
Jeremy Corbyn has pulled out of a poster launch. His press team denies suggestions his office leaked the draft policies as "outrageous", but no one denies that only a small number of people within the Labour Party had access to this document.
Intriguingly, it was handed to the left-wing Mirror and the right-wing Telegraph. It's as if someone wanted to see how both sides would react. The timing is everything.
Under what is called Clause V, Labour's national executive committee and shadow cabinet meet with officers of the backbench party and the heads of the national policy forum to thrash out which policies from the draft make it through - but now, everyone has seen the draft.
There are many rumours circulating as to who leaked and why, but it seems there are two key possible motivations for making it public now.
Jeremy Corbyn has pulled out of a poster launch. His press team denies suggestions his office leaked the draft policies as "outrageous", but no one denies that only a small number of people within the Labour Party had access to this document.
Intriguingly, it was handed to the left-wing Mirror and the right-wing Telegraph. It's as if someone wanted to see how both sides would react. The timing is everything.
Under what is called Clause V, Labour's national executive committee and shadow cabinet meet with officers of the backbench party and the heads of the national policy forum to thrash out which policies from the draft make it through - but now, everyone has seen the draft.
There are many rumours circulating as to who leaked and why, but it seems there are two key possible motivations for making it public now.
Russia investigation issues subpoena for Flynn
A subpoena has been issued demanding documents from Donald Trump's former national security adviser relating to Russia's alleged interference in the US election.
Michael Flynn was subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into links between Russia and Mr Trump's campaign team.
The committee's chairman Richard Burr and vice chairman Mark Warner said they had first asked for the documents on 28 April but Flynn's lawyer had not produced them.
Senator Warner told Reuters that some documents had been received from people but, as other people were not complying, the "next steps" were going to be taken.
Flynn was fired by President Trump in February after less than a month in the job.
The White House said he had misled top officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, regarding his links with Russia's ambassador in Washington.
On Monday, former acting US Attorney General Sally Yates told a hearing that she had warned the White House about Flynn's possible vulnerability to blackmail from the Russians and that he could be compromised.
Both Russia and Mr Trump's administration deny any collusion aimed at influencing November's election result.
The retired Army lieutenant general is also being investigated by other congressional committees and by the Pentagon's inspector general regarding his contacts and earnings from organisations linked to the Russian and Turkish governments.
Michael Flynn was subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into links between Russia and Mr Trump's campaign team.
The committee's chairman Richard Burr and vice chairman Mark Warner said they had first asked for the documents on 28 April but Flynn's lawyer had not produced them.
Senator Warner told Reuters that some documents had been received from people but, as other people were not complying, the "next steps" were going to be taken.
Flynn was fired by President Trump in February after less than a month in the job.
The White House said he had misled top officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, regarding his links with Russia's ambassador in Washington.
On Monday, former acting US Attorney General Sally Yates told a hearing that she had warned the White House about Flynn's possible vulnerability to blackmail from the Russians and that he could be compromised.
Both Russia and Mr Trump's administration deny any collusion aimed at influencing November's election result.
The retired Army lieutenant general is also being investigated by other congressional committees and by the Pentagon's inspector general regarding his contacts and earnings from organisations linked to the Russian and Turkish governments.
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