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Friday, June 23, 2017

Corbyn overtakes May in PM suitability poll for first time

Jeremy Corbyn has overtaken Theresa May for the first time on the question of who voters think would be the best Prime Minister, a poll suggests.

The survey, by YouGov for The Times, puts the Labour leader on 35%, ahead of the Prime Minister on 34%.

Nearly a third of those asked said they were unsure.

When Mrs May called the election in April, she had a commanding lead over Mr Corbyn on the same question - 54% to 15%.

It is more bad news for the PM, who is under pressure after losing her majority in the snap election she called to increase her Brexit mandate.

In the days leading up to the vote (5-7 June), Mrs May was ahead by 43% to Mr Corbyn's 32%.

This suggests the aftermath of the election - in which she has been criticised over her response to the Grenfell Tower disaster - has had an impact.

The PM was also forced to scrap a number of unpopular manifesto pledges in this week's Queen's Speech, including reintroducing grammar schools, holding a vote on ending the ban on fox hunting and means-testing pensioners' winter fuel payments.

In his response to the Queen's Speech, a bullish Mr Corbyn said Labour is now a "government in waiting", although Mrs May mocked her rival, praising him for having "fought a spirited campaign and come a good second".

:: YouGov surveyed 1,670 British adults from 21-22 June.

Media watchdog slams demand to shut Al Jazeera

Gulf nations issue list demanding the closure of Al Jazeera and some other Arab media news outlets [Naseem Zeitoon/Reuters]

Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit organisation promoting press freedom, has condemned the demand by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to shut Al Jazeera network and other media outlets in Qatar.

The Gulf states issued a 13-point list on Friday, demanding the closure of all news outlets that it funds, directly and indirectly, including Arabi21, Rassd, Al Araby Al Jadeed, Mekameleen and Middle East Eye.

"We are really worried about the implication and consequences of such requirements if it will ever be implemented," said Alexandra El Khazen, head of Middle East and North Africa desk at Reporters Without Borders.

READ MORE: Arab states issue list of demands to end Qatar crisis

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Paris, Khazen said: "We are against any kind of censorship and measures that could threaten the diversity in the Arab media landscape and pluralism for instance.

"The Arabic media landscape should make room and accept the broadest range of view points instead of adopting repressive measures against alternative viewpoints that are found to be critical of some governments."

Tim Dawson, president of the UK's National Union of Journalists, expressed his "absolute horror" in reaction to what we called a "monstrous request" and urged the Saudi government to withdraw the demands.

Khazen also expressed concern over the impact of the demands on the employees of the mentioned media outlets.

"Some of them may come under pressure to resign or to choose to do so to be aligned with the policy of their country, so we are currently investigating this," she said.
Al Jazeera's reaction

"We are stunned by the demand to close Al Jazeera," Giles Trendle, the acting managing director of Al Jazeera English, said. “Of course there has been talk about it in the past but it is still a great shock and surprise to actually see it in writing. It's as absurd as it would be for Germany to demand Britain to close the BBC."

Trendle said Al Jazeera is going to continue its “editorial mission of covering the world news in a fair and balanced way".

"We call on all governments to respect media freedom. We hope other media organisations will support our call to defend media freedom," he added.

Trendle said the roots of the demand to close Al Jazeera goes back to 2011 and the Arab Spring.

"At that time, Al Jazeera was covering the dreams and the aspirations of a new generation of people. We provided the platform for the voice of the man and the woman in the Arab streets. We were covering those protests and we were providing a diversity of viewpoints, we were really the voice of the voiceless. I think there are some regimes in the region that don't appreciate that diversity of views. I think that's the reason for what's going on here."

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism". Qatar has denied the allegation.

Will the war of words hamper efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis? – Inside Story

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said that Al Jazeera Media Network is an "internal affair" and there will be no discussion about the fate of the Doha-based broadcaster amid the Gulf crisis.

To stem the flow of negative reactions Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain took steps to curb their citizens from expressing opinions that opposed their policies.

The UAE announced that any objections to the UAE's strict measures against the government of Qatar or expression of sympathy with Qatar would be a crime punishable by a prison sentence of 3-15 years and a fine of no less than $136,000 (500,000AED), whether on a social media platform or via any written or spoken medium.

The criminalisation of sympathy with Qatar was implemented in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain with slight differences in the length of prison sentences and size of fines.

Khazen said the decision to punish citizens is a "huge violation of freedom of speech and information that could have serious implications".

Al Jazeera reporters have often come under fire, with Egypt imprisoning Arabic reporter Mahmoud Hussein, who has been in jail for 185 days "disseminating false news and receiving monetary funds from foreign authorities in order to defame the state's reputation".

Al Jazeera's Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy spent 437 days in jail before being released. Peter Greste spent more than a year in prison in Egypt.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

EU citizens' rights on the table at European Council summit

Theresa May is expected to provide her fellow European Union leaders with detail on the status and rights which the UK plans to offer EU citizens living in Britain after Brexit.

Attending her first European Council Summit since her disastrous general election, it is understood the Prime Minister will explain the UK's "principles" on the issue of citizens' rights - a key early topic in the Brexit negotiations.

Her party's lost majority, weakened negotiating hand as well as the apparent division on what Brexit means among her own cabinet is raising questions in Europe about her stability as PM.

She will seek to reassure her fellow leaders of her commitment to a fair Brexit deal for both sides by presenting an overview of the UK's intentions regarding the estimated 3.2 million EU citizens currently living in Britain.

The two-day Brussels summit will predominately focus on counter-terrorism, common defence and security.

Two foiled terrorist attacks this week alone put renewed focus on EU-wide efforts to improve counter-terrorism measures.

In Paris on Monday, a man was apprehended after he tried to ram his car into police on the Champs Elysee and in Brussels on Tuesday, a man attempted to detonate a nail bomb in the city's Central Station. No one was injured in either incident.

At the end of a working dinner, Mrs May is expected to address the other 27 leaders on Brexit and the issue of citizens' rights.

It is the most tangible human consequence of the UK's decision to leave the European Union: the status and prospects for 3.2 million EU citizens who currently live in the UK and the 1.2 million Britons who live elsewhere in the European Union.

Their prospects are unclear given that the UK will become a so-called "third country" once it leaves the union.

The remaining member states have shown increasing levels of irritation at the UK's failure to commit to protecting the rights of their citizens in the UK.

French fitness blogger Rebecca Burger killed by exploding whipped cream dispenser

A well-known lifestyle blogger in France has been killed by an exploding whipped cream dispenser, her family has said.

Rebecca Burger, 33, died after the pressurised canister exploded, violently hitting her chest.

French media reports that the impact brought on a cardiac arrest and although she received medical attention, she could not be saved.

"It is with great sadness we announce the death of Rebecca who died the June 18th, 2017 in an accident in the home," her family, including her husband, said in a statement on her Instagram account.

Another post included a photograph of a dispenser, alongside a warning not to use similar devices.

"Here is an example of a whipped cream canister that exploded and struck Rebecca's chest, resulting in her death," the post read.

"Do not use this kind of utensil in your home! Tens of thousands of defective devices are still in circulation."

Police are investigating Ms Burger's death.

Her 55,000 Facebook friends and 158,000 Instagram followers reacted with disbelief to the news.

One wrote on her Facebook page: "A beautiful woman, full of life. All my condolences to the family."

"I am horrified by what happened," said another.

They described her as their "body princess", "bikini icon" and a "beautiful athlete and coach", who would be greatly missed.

French fitness website Women's Best also paid tribute to the blogger: "Rebecca was not only a great fitness figure but a generous and kind person to work with."

Several similar incidents involving exploding cream dispensers have occurred in France in recent years, but no one has been killed.

France's National Consumer Institute (INC) issued a warning in 2014 about such gadgets, French newspaper Le Parisien reported.

Russian fighter jet 'chases NATO plane away' over Baltic Sea

A Russian jet chased away a NATO aircraft after it tried to approach the defence minister's plane, according to a Russian news agency.

TASS reported that a NATO F-16 fighter jet buzzed Sergei Shoigu's aircraft over the Baltic Sea.

It did not specify which member of the defence alliance the fighter jet was from, but on Tuesday the Pentagon accused Russia of carrying out an unsafe intercept of a US RC-135 spy plane in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.

Image:Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu with President Putin

It said the aircraft "did nothing to provoke this behaviour" and accused the Russian pilot of having "poor control" of his SU-27 fighter jet.

Sweden meanwhile said it had summoned Russia's ambassador in the country after a Russian fighter jet flew close to a Swedish reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.

Defence minister Peter Hultqvist said the actions of the Russian Sukhoi Su-27 on Monday was "unacceptable" and "unprofessional", adding that "the risk of serious incidents increases significantly" with such moves.

The Russian claims came as the Kremlin said it was considering a range of retaliatory measures to new US sanctions planned over the country's role in Ukraine.

"At our experts' level, naturally, different variants of sanctions are now being formulated and proposed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Image:The RC-135, made by Boeing, gathers electronic and signal intelligence

US aircraft are often intercepted near the Baltics and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, but the Pentagon says most of these are deemed to be safe and professional.

"Due to the high rate of closure speed and poor control of the aircraft during the intercept, this interaction was determined to be unsafe," a Pentagon statement said after the latest incident.

Tensions between the airforces of the two nations have increased after Moscow said it would treat any plane with the US-led coalition in Syria that flew west of the Euphrates as a potential target.

That move came after US aircraft shot down a Syrian jet on Sunday.

Russian hackers targeted 21 states in election

Russian hackers targeted election-related systems in 21 states during the 2016 presidential election, a US official has confirmed.

Opening a Congressional session, the vice chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Mike Warner, described the hacking as marking a watershed in political history.

"At a minimal cost, Russia sowed chaos in our political system and undermined faith in our democratic process," he told attendees.

Testifying before the Congressional committee, an official from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the number of states targeted by hackers seeking to affect the electoral results.

Jeanatte Manfra, the acting deputy undersecretary of cybersecurity at the DHS, told the Congressional committee the agency had evidence of 21 states being targeted.

Ms Manfra declined to disclose which states were targeted and how successful the attempts at hacking were, other than to affirm that the result of the election was not in question.

Image:Committee chairman Richard Burr

The chairman of the select committee, Richard Burr, asked: "But in no case were actual vote tallies altered in any way shape or form?"

"That is correct," the DHS acting deputy undersecretary responded.

Her statements were the first public confirmation of the scale of foreign interference in the US presidential election.

While the attacks achieved varying levels of success in penetrating their target systems, the access was not enough to allow the attackers to manipulate the ballots themselves.

Last year, reports circulated that hackers had targeted the voter registration systems in the states of Illinois and Arizona.

Prince Harry: No one in the Royal Family wants to be King or Queen

Prince Harry has suggested that no one in the Royal Family wants to take over from the Queen.

Interviewed by Newsweek magazine, Harry said: "Is there any one of the Royal Family who wants to be King or Queen? I don't think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time."

He also hinted at a lingering resentment about what he was asked to do at his mother Princess Diana's funeral in 1997, when he was just 12.

"My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television," he said.

"I don't think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don't think it would happen today."

Image:Prince Harry, second from the left, follows his mother's coffin into Westminster Abbey

Harry revealed in April that he had sought help after he "shut down" his emotions following Princess Diana's death in a road accident in 1997.

Regarding Diana's legacy, he said: "I intuitively know what my mother would like me to do and want to progress with work she couldn't complete."

When she was photographed shaking hands with a HIV-positive man in 1987, the notion that HIV/Aids might be passed on through touch was challenged.

In December, Harry was photographed having an HIV test in Barbados.

Image:Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in Mallorca in 1988

He said his mother "had the most wonderful sense of humour and always wanted to make things fun for us, as well as protect us".

Diana also "took a huge part in showing me an ordinary life".

"People would be amazed by the ordinary life William and I live," Harry said. "I do my own shopping. Even if I was King, I would do my own shopping."

But could things become too ordinary, removing the Royal Family's mystery? "It's a tricky balancing act," he said.

"We don't want to dilute the magic. The British public and the whole world need institutions like it."

Image:Prince Harry says he, William and Kate hope to modernise the monarchy

Harry had lots of praise for the Queen, saying: "She is so remarkable."

"The monarchy is a force for good," he said, "and we (Harry, William and Kate) want to carry on the positive atmosphere that the Queen has achieved for over 60 years, but we won't be trying to fill her boots.

"We are involved in modernising the British monarchy. We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people."

Concerning which roles he, William and Kate take on, Harry said the Queen "has been fantastic in letting us choose".

He added: "She tells us to take our time and really think things through."