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Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Manchester attack: UK threat level raised to highest

The UK terror threat level has been raised to its highest level of "critical", meaning further attacks may be imminent, Theresa May has said.

The move came after investigators were unable to rule out whether Manchester bombing suspect Salman Abedi acted alone, the prime minister said.

Military personnel will now be deployed to protect key sites.

Twenty-two people were killed and 59 injured when a suicide bomber attacked Manchester Arena on Monday evening.
Manchester attack: Latest updates
What we know so far
Eight-year-old and 'superfan' among victims
Who was the suspect Salman Abedi?

The prime minister also confirmed the government had triggered "Operation Temperer", a long-standing emergency plan to put soldiers into key public locations to support armed police in protecting the public.
Third time

Military personnel may also be seen at other events over the coming weeks, such as concerts, Mrs May said, and would work under the command of police officers.

The prime minister said she did not want the public to feel "unduly alarmed" but said it was a "proportionate and sensible response".

She said the government would take "every measure available to us" to help the police protect the public.

"The spirit of Manchester and the spirit of Britain is far mightier than the sick plots of depraved terrorists.

"That is why the terrorists will never win and we will prevail," she said.

The highest level, which is decided by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre - a group of experts from the police, government departments and agencies - has only been reached twice before.

Manchester attack: Security services think they know who bomber is

Police and security services believe they know the identity of the man behind the Manchester suicide bombing.

Speaking outside Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the Government's emergency COBRA committee, the Prime Minister said authorities are working to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a group.

Theresa May said the blast at Manchester Arena, which left 22 people dead, was "among the worst terrorism we have experienced in the United Kingdom" and that the city had fallen victim to a "callous terrorist attack".

:: Live updates: 23-year-old man arrested after Manchester suicide bombing

The target was a pop concert, the audience was a mixture of teenagers, many of them young girls, all out for a fun and innocent evening. Some were young enough to need chaperoning by parents or grandparents.

If this does turn out to be an Islamist-inspired attack, the attacker has deliberately targeted everything his warped beliefs hate in a Western society.

He has also demonstrated a deadly competence - he blew himself up as the high-spirited crowd streamed out of the arena after the concert.

The timing, and location of the explosion - just outside the main arena itself - suggests planning and shows he probably carried out a recce.

The singer Ariana Grande is world-famous. She has more than 45 million followers on Twitter. Another basic but twisted way of guaranteeing this attack will resonate far.

:: What we know so far

The morning after the attack, a number of things will be happening simultaneously and with urgency.

In Manchester, counterterrorism police from North West Command will be carrying out forensic work at the scene of the explosion.

They will try and find bomb-making signatures that might give a clue as to who was behind this attack.

They will look for certain chemicals, such as triacetone triperoxide (TATP).

:: Witness: 'It was absolute carnage'

TATP has been used by terrorists around the world, it is a favoured compound of Islamic State and it is relatively straightforward to make, but it is extremely unstable and lethal.






Ariana Grande 'broken' after Manchester concert attack

Ariana Grande said she is "broken" after a terror attack at her Manchester concert left 22 people dead and many injured.

The 23-year-old American singer was performing at the Manchester Arena on Monday night as part of her Dangerous Woman tour when a suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device.

Making her first comment since the attack, Grande said on Twitter she is "broken".

"From the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I don't have words," she wrote.

:: LIVE: Manchester Arena explosion

Representatives for Grande have said she is physically "okay" following the blast, but TMZ has reported the singer will be suspending the remainder of her tour.

It has quoted sources close to the singer, saying Grande is "inconsolable".

"Highly unlikely her gigs on Thursday and Friday at the 02 will go ahead," Grande's representatives told Sky News.

:: Children among 22 killed in Manchester

After the O2 gigs on Thursday and Friday, she is meant to perform in Belgium, Poland and Germany in the coming weeks.

Later this week, pop group Take That are also scheduled to play at the Arena, but have yet to announce whether or not the shows will go ahead.

Meanwhile the O2 has decided to cancel its Star Wars event scheduled for tomorrow and extra security has been put in place for Professor Brian Cox's show at the SSE Arena tonight.

Grande's manager Scooter Braun tweeted "words cannot express our sorrow for the victims and families harmed in this senseless attack".

:: 'Gut-wrenching' - music stars react to Manchester Arena attack

"We mourn the lives of children and loved ones taken by this cowardly act," he wrote.

"We are thankful for the selfless service tonight of Manchester's first responders who rushed towards danger to help save lives.

"We ask all of you to hold the victims, their families, and all those affected in your hearts and prayers."

Manchester attack: How do you explain terrorism to a child?

The Manchester Arena was packed with thousands of children and young people when a suicide bomber detonated his device.

It happened two months after a deadly attack in Westminster, after which Nicky Cox MBE, editor-in-chief of children's newspaper First News, offered this advice for parents who want to explain terror attacks to children:

1. Don't try to turn off the news when there is bad news.

Sadly, in the technological world in which we live, adults are no longer in control of how children access information. News comes at us 24 hours a day from dedicated news channels, radio, the internet, and newspaper headlines.

Even if you manage to shield your children from all of that, things that happen in the news will be talked about in the school playground or lunch hall.

Better that your child is armed with the real facts than hearing exaggerated, second or third-hand versions. Information is better than misinformation.

2. Even if your child doesn't mention bad news, don't assume they are not troubled by it.

They may be worrying quietly inside.

Explain simply what has happened, taking care not to use sensationalised words that tend to be used by the national press.

3. First News covers good and bad news in the paper and on our daily online news channel, First News Live!

Use our content, made especially for children, as a platform to talk to children about the news.

It is always created to explain what has happened but to offer reassurance, too.

4. Remind them that there is much more good news than bad news happening.

And that there are many more good people than bad people.

5. Reassure them that they are safe.

The likelihood of being caught up in an event like this is so, so small, you can't even do the sum to calculate the risk.

6. Remind children that the best way to stay safe is to take care in their own daily lives.

Children are more likely to have an accident in their own home than when they are out and about.

7. Hold them a little bit closer and for a little bit longer.

Monday, May 22, 2017

General Election 2017: Is honesty always the best policy for politicians?

When it comes to honesty, politicians are usually seen as on a par with estate agents, used car salesmen and - dare I say it - journalists.

Voters are fed up with MPs who are slippery with the truth and shrouded in spin, we are told, and desperate for straight-talking and straightforward politicians.

But is there a thing as too much honesty?

This week Labour and the Conservatives published their election manifestos and both - in different ways - have been punished for being too honest.

First up was Labour, who provided not only a whopping 124-page manifesto but a separate costings book to show how the sums added up.

Coverage of the manifesto has been dominated by queries over the costings.

Questions have been asked, for instance, about whether Labour can really expect to raise what they claim through increasing corporation tax and, if they can't, whether there's a financial black hole at the heart of the manifesto as a result.

Similar queries have been raised about everything from the amount that would be gained by changes to income tax to how much scrapping tuition fees would cost.

But here's the thing: the only reason we are able to scrutinise Labour's costings is because they have provided them.

This is far from usual.

The Conservatives, for instance, haven't provided anything like the amount of financial detail.

In a way, Labour are being punished for being too honest.

The same is true for the Conservatives, although for different reasons.

Theresa May's manifesto is open about some difficult policy decisions that are likely to prove unpopular with large numbers of the electorate.

BBC apologises for using child-killer Ian Brady as radio quiz answer

The BBC has apologised after Moors murderer Ian Brady was used as the answer to a mystery person quiz on a local radio station.

During the Sunday breakfast show on BBC Radio Leeds, the presenter said he would be playing four songs linked to "someone well known who has been in the news this week" and asked listeners to guess the person's identity.

DJ Nathan Turvey, who was standing in for the station's regular Sunday presenter, first played Mott The Hoople's All The Young Dudes and The Brady Bunch theme song.

He then played a song written in memory of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley's victims - Suffer Little Children by The Smiths. That was followed by Psycho Killer by The Talking Heads.

The radio segment was posted to Radiofail, a website featuring mistakes by DJs.

In the recording of the show, Turvey can be heard saying: "They were four songs all linked to someone in the news this week, all you've got to do is work out who it is."

Revealing the answer later, he referred to The Smiths' song and said: "It's called Suffer Little Children, all about the Moors murders - may have given the game away, that one, I think."

Horrified listeners expressed their outrage on Twitter, with one calling the competition "mind-boggling" and another saying it was "beyond Partridge", in reference to Steve Coogan's radio presenter parody Alan Partridge.

Following the show, a BBC spokesman said: "This was clearly unacceptable and we apologise."

Brady and Hindley killed five children aged between 10 and 17 from 1963 to 1965.

He died in a psychiatric hospital last week after spending half a century locked up for the murders. Hindley died in 2002.

Trump flies to Israel amid concerns over US-Saudi arms deal

Donald Trump is making his way from Saudi Arabia to Israel, where he will spend the next two days of his foreign trip.

His stay will include separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - as well as a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

White House aides are attempting to downplay expectations for significant progress on the peace process during the visit.

In March, the US President declared that finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is "maybe not as difficult as people have thought".

Image:Marine One nears a landing zone during a rehearsal for Mr Trump's visit to Israel

Mr Trump may face a few challenging conversations following revelations he disclosed highly classified intelligence obtained by Israel to top Russian officials without permission.

Israel has also expressed concern about the $110bn (£84.6bn) arms deal announced between the US and Saudi Arabia on Saturday - with a senior cabinet minister describing the kingdom as a "hostile country".

As the US President's time in Saudi Arabia came to an end, he likened the fight against Islamic extremism to a battle between "good and evil" and not different faiths.

Speaking to leaders from about 50 Muslim-majority countries in Riyadh, Mr Trump attacked militants as "barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life".

The US leader urged the nations to "confront Islamic terror of all kinds", deny sanctuary to extremists and stand together against the murder of innocent Muslims by groups such as Islamic State.

According to Mr Trump, "95% of the victims of terrorist attacks are themselves Muslims".

He said America was seeking a "coalition of nations" in the Middle East with the aim of "stamping out extremism".

Striking a conciliatory line, his comments marked a change in tone for Mr Trump after his remarks during the presidential campaign where he told the US: "Islam hates us."

Mr Trump told leaders at the Arab-Islamic American Summit that he brought "a message of friendship and hope and love", adding: "We now face a humanitarian and security disaster in this region that is spreading."