Russian jet intercepts US bombers over Baltic Sea

The US Air Force has released images showing a Russian fighter jet which had been scrambled to intercept American bombers.

An SU-27, known by its NATO reporting name of "Flanker", was deployed to head off a US B-52H craft, capable of carrying a nuclear weapon, during exercises taking place over the Baltic Sea.

It also intercepted two B-1B Lancers and a KC-135R Stratotanker.

The alliance is currently running its annual Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise, a multinational, maritime-focused live training event which first began in 1972, in the region close to Russia's border.

A Russian foreign ministry official said the appearance of the B-52H would not ease tensions between the West and Moscow.

Image:Russian SU-27 flanker peels away from US Air Force B-1B Lancer

The ministry said the SU-27 approached at a safe distance, identified the aircraft as an American B-52 strategic bomber, and escorted it until it changed course and flew away from the border area.

The Russian government-controlled news agency Sputnik quoted Mikhail Ulyanov, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry, as stating that a number of the strategic bombers had been relocated to the UK to take part in the BALTOPS exercises.

Image:The SU-27 flanker intercepted a formation of US aircraft

Mr Ulyanov said: "The fact that NATO forces are converging near Russia's borders and carrying out military exercises supported by strategic bombers from the USA capable of carrying nuclear weapons hardly helps de-escalate tensions in Europe."

A statement from the US military claimed the exercise was taking place in international airspace.

Technology tycoons lose billions in stock market fall

A drop in the value of US technology stocks has wiped billions of dollars off the net worth of some of the world's richest people.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos stumbled in his sprint to become the planet's wealthiest man when his company's share price fell more than 3% on Friday, wiping $2.6bn (£2bn) off his net worth.

The Nasdaq stock market, where many tech stocks are listed, closed down 1.8% on Friday, with the tech sector declining 2.7% overall.

Bezos became number two in the rich stakes in March when his company announced plans to acquire Dubai based e-tailer Souq.

He has now dropped back to third, behind Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who is top, and Zara fashion boss Amancio Ortega.

Image:Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's net worth is also down

Shares in Facebook, Google's parent company Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft were also trading down.

Mark Zuckerberg lost $2bn, while the net worth of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin was down $1.32bn and $1.31bn respectively.

Gates is worth $89.2bn, Ortega $84.6bn, Bezos $83.9bn, Zuckerberg $64bn, Page $48.1bn and Brin $47bn.

Apple's shares had sunk 4.7% as a result of news that its new iPhones could have slower speeds.

Image:Google founders Larry Page (L) and Sergey Brin

The drop came as investors paused after a period of enormous growth in the technology sector.

Analysts have said there has been nothing in the news which would explain the drop, but suggests it is a response to the success of technology shares in recent period.

Goldman Sachs warned the successes of the tech giants such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet, may be overextended.

"Tech stocks have done so well, have made such a big move, and people are asking 'How much better can it get for them?'" said Dan Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust.

May's top aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill resign after election

The PM's joint chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill have resigned after Theresa May lost her majority in the election.

The pair have been in the firing line after Mrs May's gamble of calling a snap election backfired, with disgruntled Conservatives highly critical of the role of Mr Timothy and Ms Hill played in the campaign.

Mr Timothy acknowledged that one of his regrets was the way the party's controversial social care reforms, dubbed a "dementia tax" by critics, had been handled.

:: LIVE: All the fallout from the General Election

The PM was forced into a u-turn within days of unveiling the policy in the Tory manifesto, announcing that there would be a cap on care costs, something which had not been in the original policy document.

In a resignation message on the ConservativeHome website, Mr Timothy said: "I take responsibility for my part in this election campaign, which was the oversight of our policy programme.

"In particular, I regret the decision not to include in the manifesto a ceiling as well as a floor in our proposal to help meet the increasing cost of social care.

:: 'Matter of time' before May's minority government crumbles

Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt put 59 people and 12 institutions linked to Qatar

Palestinians take part in a rally in support of Qatar in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

Washington, DC - US legislation threatening to sanction Qatar for its support of "Palestinian terror" was sponsored by 10 lawmakers who received more than $1m over the last 18 months from lobbyists and groups linked to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The bill was introduced to the US House of Representatives on May 25, but the text wasn't available until Friday morning, hours after Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt put 59 people and 12 institutions linked to Qatar on a "terror list".

The nations abruptly ended diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing Doha of supporting "extremism" and siding with their regional rival Iran.

"Hamas has received significant financial and military support from Qatar," the Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act of 2017, also known as HR 2712, said. It went on to list sanctions including an end of exports of defence technologies, arms, and loans or financing totalling more than $10m.

READ MORE: Erdogan vows to stand by 'Qatari brothers' amid crisis

For Trita Parsi, author and founder of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), a nonprofit that aims to strengthen the voice of US citizens of Iranian descent, the similarities between the US-allied Arab nations' "terror list" and HR 2712 show growing cooperation between Gulf Arab states and Israel.

What does the Qatar crisis mean for Hamas?

"The coordination between hawkish pro-Israel groups and UAE and Saudi Arabia has been going on for quite some time," Parsi told Al Jazeera. What is new, he continued, is pro-Israel groups such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies "coming out with pro-Saudi [articles] and lobbying for them on Capitol Hill".

Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia all view the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political group, as a threat. Deposed Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi belonged to the group, which endured a heavy-handed crackdown in Egypt since a military coup installed Abdel Fatah el-Sisi as president in 2014.

The Brotherhood was the ideological base for Hamas, the Islamist rulers of the besieged Gaza Strip that have fought three wars with the Israelis. The Saudis demand that Qatar stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas in a move that aligns with Egyptian and Israeli policy.

Israel's influence on US policymakers is clear. HR 2712's sponsors received donations totaling $1,009,796 from pro-Israel individuals and groups for the 2016 election cycle alone, according data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics, an independent research group tracking money in US politics and its effect on elections and public policy, and then compiled by Al Jazeera.

"They're not traditional pro-Saudi lawmakers. They're in the pro-Likud camp," Parsi said, referring to the party of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The bill has bipartisan sponsorship. Five of the lawmakers come from the House Committee on Foreign Relations (HCFR), including sponsor Brian Mast, a first-term Republican congressman from Florida, and Ed Royce and Eliot Engel, the ranking Republican and Democrat of the HCFR, respectively.

Royce received $242,143 from pro-Israel sources for the 2016 election cycle, $190,150 went to Engel. Mast, who volunteered with the Israeli military after he finished serving in the US Army, received $90,178.

Erdogan vows to stand by 'Qatari brothers' amid crisis

President Tayyip Erdogan has firmly stood behind Qatar during the Gulf crisis [Reuters]

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan requested the full removal of a Saudi-led blockade of Qatar after approving the deployment of Turkish troops there, saying Riyadh needed to put brotherhood ahead of animosity.

Erdogan said isolating Qatar would not resolve any regional problems and vowed to do everything in his power to help end the regional crisis.

"We will not abandon our Qatari brothers," Erdogan told members of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party at a fast-breaking meal on Friday in Istanbul during the holy month of Ramadan.

"I also have a special request from the Saudi administration. You are the largest and most powerful state in the Gulf. We call you the Custodian of the Holy Places. You especially should work for brotherhood, not animosity. You have to work for bringing brothers together. This is what we expect from Saudi, the Custodian of the Holy Mosques.

We don't want to be separated' : GCC families in limbo amid Gulf rift

"I say it should be lifted completely," Erdogan said of the embargo.

Late on Thursday, a joint statement by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the UAE accused 59 individuals and 12 charity organisations in Qatar of being "linked to terror", local media reported.

Speaking about the allegations, Erdogan said: "There is no such thing. I know those foundations."

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt severed relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting "extremists" and their arch-adversary Iran - charges Qatar calls "baseless". Several countries followed suit.

READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis - All the latest updates

Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar, as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbours. Turkey and Qatar have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Erdogan said he had never witnessed Doha supporting "terrorism".

"There are those who are uncomfortable with us standing by our Qatari brothers, providing them with food. I'm sorry, we will continue to give Qatar every kind of support," he said.

On Wednesday, Turkey's parliament ratified two deals on deploying troops to Qatar and training the Gulf nation's security forces.

The deal to deploy Turkish troops in Qatar, aimed at improving the country's army and boosting military cooperation, was signed in April 2016 in Doha.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis: All the latest updates

After an initial deployment of Turkish soldiers at a base in Doha, Turkish warplanes and ships will also be sent, the mass-circulation Hurriyet newspaper said on its website on Friday.

"The number of Turkish warplanes and Turkish warships going to the base will become clear after the preparation of a report based on an initial assessment at the base," Hurriyet said.

A Turkish delegation would go to Qatar in the coming days to assess the situation at the base, where about 90 Turkish soldiers are currently based, it said.

Turkish officials were not available to comment on the report, but Hurriyet said there were plans send some 200 to 250 soldiers within two months in the initial stage.

London Bridge attackers tried to rent bigger van

The London Bridge terrorists, who killed eight people by hitting them with a van, tried to rent a larger truck to kill more people.

One of the attackers initially tried to rent a 7.5 ton truck, but his payment was declined, according to the Associated Press. The attacker and two of his accomplices then rented a smaller, white vehicle, which they then drove into crowds of people at London's Borough Market, ultimately leaving eight people dead and nearly 50 injured.

WITNESS DESCRIBES VAN ATTACK ON LONDON BRIDGE

The intended truck was smaller, but similar to the one used in the Nice, France attack last year.

In the weeklong investigation of the attack conducted by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command, police found multiple petrol bombs left in the van. Additionally, more than a dozen wine bottles filled with flammable liquids and rags wrapped around them in the shape of Molotov cocktails, and two blow torches, were found in the truck, according to the AP.

The terrorists may have been planning to kill more people had they survived their stabbing spree and made it back to the white van, according to Dean Haydon, head of the Command.

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The attackers, who used 12-inch knives with bright pink blades, were shot dead before they could make it back to their truck.

Eighteen people have been arrested in connected with the attack around London’s Borough Market. All but five of those people have been released.

Theresa May: I wanted different result, but now I'll lead

Theresa May has admitted she "wanted a different result" in the General Election but insists the Conservatives are the "only party" in a position to form a government and lead Brexit talks.

Speaking inside Downing Street, she said she would reflect on what she now needed to do to take the party forward after seeing a working majority of 17 wiped out.

She also apologised to colleagues who had "contributed so much to our country" and "didn't deserve to lose their seats".

Shortly after her comments Downing Street confirmed that five high-profile Cabinet ministers would remain in place.

Speaking outside Number 10 earlier in the day, Mrs May pledged to form a government that can "provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time".

:: LIVE: Hung parliament - the latest

Facing down calls to stand down by Labour, the Lib Dems and even some of her own MPs, a defiant Mrs May has decided to cling on to power by forming a minority Conservative government.

Following a meeting with the Queen to seal her continued premiership, she asserted only the Conservatives and the DUP have "the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons" having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the General Election.

Image:Theresa May ended her statement by saying: 'Now let's get to work'

She and her team are trying to produce a small working majority in coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party.

:: Who are the DUP power brokers?

She said the two parties had enjoyed "a strong relationship" over many years.

"This gives me the confidence to believe that we will work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom," she said.

"This will allow us to come together as a country and channel our energies towards a successful Brexit deal that works for everyone.

"That's what people voted for last June. That's what we will deliver... now let's get to work."