Prince Harry drove 100 miles to bring girlfriend Meghan Markle to Pippa Middleton's evening wedding reception, according to reports
The Prince left the afternoon celebration early to drive to London and back to collect Miss Markle from Kensington Palace, according to the Sun on Sunday.There had been speculation the American actress would be at the wedding itself, but she is said to have stayed away so as not to take attention away from the bride and her husband.
It would have been Miss Markle's first big public engagement with Prince Harry since they started dating last year.
:: Young Royals attend Pippa Middleton's wedding
Prince Harry arrived at the wedding, which took place at St Mark's Church on the private Englefield estate in Berkshire, with his brother Prince William.
He reportedly stayed briefly at the afternoon reception before driving with a security guard to collect Miss Markle from London.
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again - Abba musical gets sequel
Abba musical Mamma Mia is getting a sequel, with many of the original cast members returning for the new film.
Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Amanda Seyfried are among the stars who will reprise their roles in the new movie, which will be called Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again.
It is expected to be released in July 2018 - a decade after the original.
Image:Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep at the German premiere of the original Mamma Mia
The first film was set in Greece and told the tale of a bride-to-be's attempts to find her real father.
It featured 20 Abba songs including Dancing Queen, The Name Of The Game and Super Trouper.
Producers say the new film will feature a number of Abba tracks which were not in the original.
Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Amanda Seyfried are among the stars who will reprise their roles in the new movie, which will be called Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again.
It is expected to be released in July 2018 - a decade after the original.
Image:Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep at the German premiere of the original Mamma MiaThe first film was set in Greece and told the tale of a bride-to-be's attempts to find her real father.
It featured 20 Abba songs including Dancing Queen, The Name Of The Game and Super Trouper.
Producers say the new film will feature a number of Abba tracks which were not in the original.
Politicians put aside differences to honour murdered MP Jo Cox
Politicians will call an election truce later to honour the late Labour MP Jo Cox, ahead of the first anniversary of her murder.
Theresa May and other party leaders will stop campaigning for an hour to remember Mrs Cox, who used her maiden speech in the Commons to say: "We are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us."
Mrs Cox's widower, Brendan Cox, said Sunday's election truce would "send a powerful message" of unity.
"Doing so in such a coordinated way will, we hope, send a powerful message that whatever our political disagreements, we really do hold more in common and show a united front against hatred and extremism in all its forms," he said.
"Elections are huge moments of national importance and deserve to be taken seriously. But we also need to get a better balance.
"We spend way too much time fixated on the areas we disagree with each other and need to create more moments where we come together as a country.
"That's what I'm focused on and after polling day, I am sure that's exactly what people all over the UK will be crying out for."
In Mrs Cox's former constituency of Batley and Spen the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green candidates will join together at farmers event to raise money for a special care baby unit.
The 41-year-old mother of two was shot and stabbed to death by right-wing extremist Thomas Mair as she arrived for her weekly surgery in her West Yorkshire constituency during the EU referendum campaign last June.
Mair is serving a life sentence for her murder.
Theresa May and other party leaders will stop campaigning for an hour to remember Mrs Cox, who used her maiden speech in the Commons to say: "We are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us."
Mrs Cox's widower, Brendan Cox, said Sunday's election truce would "send a powerful message" of unity.
"Doing so in such a coordinated way will, we hope, send a powerful message that whatever our political disagreements, we really do hold more in common and show a united front against hatred and extremism in all its forms," he said.
"Elections are huge moments of national importance and deserve to be taken seriously. But we also need to get a better balance.
"We spend way too much time fixated on the areas we disagree with each other and need to create more moments where we come together as a country.
"That's what I'm focused on and after polling day, I am sure that's exactly what people all over the UK will be crying out for."
In Mrs Cox's former constituency of Batley and Spen the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green candidates will join together at farmers event to raise money for a special care baby unit.
The 41-year-old mother of two was shot and stabbed to death by right-wing extremist Thomas Mair as she arrived for her weekly surgery in her West Yorkshire constituency during the EU referendum campaign last June.
Mair is serving a life sentence for her murder.
China 'crippled CIA by killing or imprisoning informants'
The Chinese government "systematically dismantled" CIA spying operations in China and killed or imprisoned up to 20 informants over a two-year period, according to reports.
Quoting 10 current and former US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, the New York Times described the intelligence breach as "one of the worst in decades".
Between 18 and 20 CIA sources were killed or imprisoned in China between 2010 and 2012, the Times claimed.
One informant was shot in front of colleagues in a clear warning to anyone else who might be spying, the paper claimed.
The losses were comparable to the number of CIA assets lost in the Soviet Union and Russia as a result of betrayals by two infamous spies - Aldrich Ames and FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who were arrested in 1994 and 2001, respectively - the report said.
Some investigators suspected a former CIA operative of being a mole, but failed to gather enough evidence to arrest him and he is now living in another Asian country, the report said.
But others have rejected the mole theory believing instead that the Chinese had hacked the covert system the CIA used to communicate with its foreign sources.
The Chinese activities began to emerge in 2010, when the US spy agency had been getting high quality information about the Chinese government from sources deep inside the bureaucracy, four former officials told the Times.
The information began to dry up by the end of the year and the sources began disappearing in early 2011, the report said.
As more sources were killed the FBI and the CIA began a joint investigation of the breach, examining all operations run in Beijing and every employee of the US Embassy there.
By 2013, the FBI and CIA concluded that China no longer had the ability to identify American agents, the report said.
The revelations come as the CIA is trying to determine how some of its highly sensitive documents were released two months ago by WikiLeaks, and the FBI examines possible links between Donald Trump's election campaign and Russia.
Both the CIA and the FBI have declined to comment on the report.
Quoting 10 current and former US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, the New York Times described the intelligence breach as "one of the worst in decades".
Between 18 and 20 CIA sources were killed or imprisoned in China between 2010 and 2012, the Times claimed.
One informant was shot in front of colleagues in a clear warning to anyone else who might be spying, the paper claimed.
The losses were comparable to the number of CIA assets lost in the Soviet Union and Russia as a result of betrayals by two infamous spies - Aldrich Ames and FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who were arrested in 1994 and 2001, respectively - the report said.
Some investigators suspected a former CIA operative of being a mole, but failed to gather enough evidence to arrest him and he is now living in another Asian country, the report said.
But others have rejected the mole theory believing instead that the Chinese had hacked the covert system the CIA used to communicate with its foreign sources.
The Chinese activities began to emerge in 2010, when the US spy agency had been getting high quality information about the Chinese government from sources deep inside the bureaucracy, four former officials told the Times.
The information began to dry up by the end of the year and the sources began disappearing in early 2011, the report said.
As more sources were killed the FBI and the CIA began a joint investigation of the breach, examining all operations run in Beijing and every employee of the US Embassy there.
By 2013, the FBI and CIA concluded that China no longer had the ability to identify American agents, the report said.
The revelations come as the CIA is trying to determine how some of its highly sensitive documents were released two months ago by WikiLeaks, and the FBI examines possible links between Donald Trump's election campaign and Russia.
Both the CIA and the FBI have declined to comment on the report.
After attacking Islam, can Trump win round dozens of Muslim nations?
All he had to do was keep smiling and let the extravagant hospitality of his Saudi hosts carry him through the day, which reached a high point with the signing of the biggest arms deal in history.
There's nothing like an investment of $110bn (£85bn) with the prospect of a further $250bn (£192bn) in trade to settle the stomach after a queasy few weeks back home.
It's unlikely that King Salman would have asked about why Donald Trump fired James Comey, boasted about it to the Russians or what he thought his odds were in beating calls for the President's impeachment.
Mr Trump, we can be sure because the deal was done, probably didn't bring up Saudi Arabia's human rights record, the absence of a free press, or the campaign in the Yemen against Shia rebels which has been criticised for high levels of civilian casualties.
When you're looking to reset the directions of diplomacy with a new map and in a vehicle lubricated with billions of petrodollars, it doesn't do to tip the sands of awkward truth into the gearbox.
So there has been no mention of Mr Trump's near innumerable attacks on the Muslim faith, best summed up with his line from the presidential campaign: "Islam hates us."
:: Trump to call for 'Muslim unity' in Saudi speech
:: Where is Donald Trump visiting on his first foreign trip?
The Saudis have focused on trying to get across that it is only a perverted version of their faith that leads to violence, and that they are in the forefront of fighting it - literally in Syria and Iraq and virtually, through a global digital hub, that Mr Trump will open in Riyadh.
This is all fine.
But on his second day in the kingdom, Mr Trump is due to address the combined heads of state and government of some 30 predominantly Muslim countries.
Before he left, he told Americans in a TV address that he expected the Islamic world to do more to fight extremism. Many of the leaders may agree with him.
Addressing the roots of Islamic extremist terror takes more than asking Muslims to do some soul searching.
Osama bin Laden, the late founder of al Qaeda, was viciously extreme in his hatred of the West. But his following did not expand beyond a few dozen veterans of the Afghan war against the Soviets until his successful plot to attack America on 9/11.
He hoped to provoke an unequal and opposite reaction - and he got it. Within three years, the West was at war in two major Islamic nations, Afghanistan and Iraq, where chaos and bloodshed have reigned now for more than a generation - spreading into Syria and elsewhere.
:: President honoured in Riyadh amid Comey turmoil
Dr Hamid el Shaygee is a leading sociologist at the Mohammed bin Nayef Centre, which has pioneered the de-radicalisation of violent Islamists.
He insisted that often they asked themselves the right questions - such as "why has the West attacked Muslim nations?" - but "come up with the wrong answer": that violence is a "rational and religious response".
This, though, is old hat to the Sunnis of the Middle East. They know they're facing the scourge of violent nihilism and the Islamic State's death cult. Right or wrong, they believe they'll prevail.
Winning the war against extremism and ending the clash of civilisations bin Laden so deliberated engineered requires an increasingly subtle campaign waged in the cybersphere, on the ground, and in the realms of theology and philosophy.
Mr Trump will have to travel a long way from "Islam hates us" to win over his audience on day two of his Saudi sojourn.
There's nothing like an investment of $110bn (£85bn) with the prospect of a further $250bn (£192bn) in trade to settle the stomach after a queasy few weeks back home.
It's unlikely that King Salman would have asked about why Donald Trump fired James Comey, boasted about it to the Russians or what he thought his odds were in beating calls for the President's impeachment.
Mr Trump, we can be sure because the deal was done, probably didn't bring up Saudi Arabia's human rights record, the absence of a free press, or the campaign in the Yemen against Shia rebels which has been criticised for high levels of civilian casualties.
When you're looking to reset the directions of diplomacy with a new map and in a vehicle lubricated with billions of petrodollars, it doesn't do to tip the sands of awkward truth into the gearbox.
So there has been no mention of Mr Trump's near innumerable attacks on the Muslim faith, best summed up with his line from the presidential campaign: "Islam hates us."
:: Trump to call for 'Muslim unity' in Saudi speech
:: Where is Donald Trump visiting on his first foreign trip?
The Saudis have focused on trying to get across that it is only a perverted version of their faith that leads to violence, and that they are in the forefront of fighting it - literally in Syria and Iraq and virtually, through a global digital hub, that Mr Trump will open in Riyadh.
This is all fine.
But on his second day in the kingdom, Mr Trump is due to address the combined heads of state and government of some 30 predominantly Muslim countries.
Before he left, he told Americans in a TV address that he expected the Islamic world to do more to fight extremism. Many of the leaders may agree with him.
Addressing the roots of Islamic extremist terror takes more than asking Muslims to do some soul searching.
Osama bin Laden, the late founder of al Qaeda, was viciously extreme in his hatred of the West. But his following did not expand beyond a few dozen veterans of the Afghan war against the Soviets until his successful plot to attack America on 9/11.
He hoped to provoke an unequal and opposite reaction - and he got it. Within three years, the West was at war in two major Islamic nations, Afghanistan and Iraq, where chaos and bloodshed have reigned now for more than a generation - spreading into Syria and elsewhere.
:: President honoured in Riyadh amid Comey turmoil
Dr Hamid el Shaygee is a leading sociologist at the Mohammed bin Nayef Centre, which has pioneered the de-radicalisation of violent Islamists.
He insisted that often they asked themselves the right questions - such as "why has the West attacked Muslim nations?" - but "come up with the wrong answer": that violence is a "rational and religious response".
This, though, is old hat to the Sunnis of the Middle East. They know they're facing the scourge of violent nihilism and the Islamic State's death cult. Right or wrong, they believe they'll prevail.
Winning the war against extremism and ending the clash of civilisations bin Laden so deliberated engineered requires an increasingly subtle campaign waged in the cybersphere, on the ground, and in the realms of theology and philosophy.
Mr Trump will have to travel a long way from "Islam hates us" to win over his audience on day two of his Saudi sojourn.
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Melania Trump forgoes headscarf in Saudi Arabia despite husband's 2015 tweet
Melania Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia without a headscarf, two years after her husband criticised then-first lady Michelle Obama for not wearing one in the conservative kingdom.
In January 2015, Barack Obama travelled to Saudi Arabia for King Abdullah's funeral and Michelle Obama appeared at a number of events without her head covered.
At the time when Washington's relationship with Riyadh was strained as the US sought to reach a nuclear deal with the kingdom's rival Iran.
Donald Trump was among those who suggested Mrs Obama risked deepening the rift with the Saudis.
"Many people are saying it was wonderful that Mrs Obama refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia, but they were insulted," he wrote on Twitter.
"We have enuf (sic) enemies."
In January 2015, Barack Obama travelled to Saudi Arabia for King Abdullah's funeral and Michelle Obama appeared at a number of events without her head covered.
At the time when Washington's relationship with Riyadh was strained as the US sought to reach a nuclear deal with the kingdom's rival Iran.
Donald Trump was among those who suggested Mrs Obama risked deepening the rift with the Saudis.
"Many people are saying it was wonderful that Mrs Obama refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia, but they were insulted," he wrote on Twitter.
"We have enuf (sic) enemies."
Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia as Comey agrees to testify
Ex-FBI boss James Comey, who was fired by Donald Trump, has agreed to testify publicly before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Although the date of the hearing has not yet been set, it will be scheduled after the 29 May Memorial Day holiday, the committee said.
Committee chairman Senator Richard Burr said he wants to hear from Mr Comey on his role in the development of the US intelligence agencies' assessment that Russia interfered in last year's presidential elections.
Image:Donald Trump and Melania Trump step off Air Force One
He said he hopes Mr Comey's testimony will answer some of the questions that have arisen since the FBI director was suddenly dismissed last week by President Trump.
Top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, said in a statement: "Director Comey served his country with honour for many years, and he deserves an opportunity to tell his story. Moreover, the American people deserve an opportunity to hear it."
:: Trump departs on first foreign trip: Where's he going?
The development will come as blow to White House efforts to dampen down interest in the Russia investigation as Mr Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia for his first foreign trip as president.
:: Bombshell allegations will follow Trump abroad
The White House has been thrown into turmoil by a string of allegations against Mr Trump this week, including that he may have obstructed justice by asking Mr Comey to drop an investigation into one of his top advisers.
On Friday, The Washington Post reported that a senior White House official was now under investigation as part of an inquiry into Russian efforts to tilt the elections in Trump's favour.
Although the date of the hearing has not yet been set, it will be scheduled after the 29 May Memorial Day holiday, the committee said.
Committee chairman Senator Richard Burr said he wants to hear from Mr Comey on his role in the development of the US intelligence agencies' assessment that Russia interfered in last year's presidential elections.
Image:Donald Trump and Melania Trump step off Air Force OneHe said he hopes Mr Comey's testimony will answer some of the questions that have arisen since the FBI director was suddenly dismissed last week by President Trump.
Top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, said in a statement: "Director Comey served his country with honour for many years, and he deserves an opportunity to tell his story. Moreover, the American people deserve an opportunity to hear it."
:: Trump departs on first foreign trip: Where's he going?
The development will come as blow to White House efforts to dampen down interest in the Russia investigation as Mr Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia for his first foreign trip as president.
:: Bombshell allegations will follow Trump abroad
The White House has been thrown into turmoil by a string of allegations against Mr Trump this week, including that he may have obstructed justice by asking Mr Comey to drop an investigation into one of his top advisers.
On Friday, The Washington Post reported that a senior White House official was now under investigation as part of an inquiry into Russian efforts to tilt the elections in Trump's favour.
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