Monday, April 27

ENGLISH

Meghan Markle tenderly touches Prince Harry’s cheek in adorable engagement photos released by Kensington Palace
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Meghan Markle tenderly touches Prince Harry’s cheek in adorable engagement photos released by Kensington Palace

    Prince Harry and his bride-to-be Meghan Markle have been released by the couple to mark their engagement. An intimate black and white portrait of the couple embracing has been published alongside an endearing but more formal picture of the couple sat together holding hands. The photographs were taken by fashion and celebrity photographer Alexi Lubomirski earlier this week at Frogmore House, Windsor. Mr Lubomirski said: "It was an incredible honour to be asked to document this wonderful event, but also a great privilege to be invited to share and be a witness to this young couple's love for one another. I cannot help but smile when I look at the photos that we took of them, such was their happiness together. The black and white image, taken in the grounds of the house, show...
Britain’s richest MP worth £110million banned from roads after being caught texting in his BMW
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Britain’s richest MP worth £110million banned from roads after being caught texting in his BMW

    Britain's wealthiest MP who spoke out against using phones behind the wheel has been banned from the road for six months after he was caught texting while driving his BMW. Tory MP and property developer Richard Benyon, 57, was seen using his phone while sitting in stationary traffic by a police officer in Islington, north London. Magistrates' heard the Newbury MP continued to use his mobile after the light turned green and he moved five to seven metres forward. Benyon, a former parliamentary under secretary of state for the Department of Environment, claimed he earns £3,987 a month in a 'means form' submitted to the court. As well as the ban, the Conservative MP was ordered to pay £421 including a fine, prosecution costs and a victim surcharge. Beata Murphy, prosecut...
Dental student from British Army family plotted terror attack in UK
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Dental student from British Army family plotted terror attack in UK

    Mohammed Awan who was jailed for 10 years at Sheffield Crown Court, for preparing for acts of… A dental student from a British Army family plotted a terror attack in the UK after learning his jihadi brother had been killed in Syria on the news. Mohammed Abbas Idris Awan, 24, who was "radicalised" by his suicide bomber brother, was caught by police in June after purchasing 500 ball bearings online and a catapult. Detectives found a "significant volume" of extremist material, including advice on how to be a "sleeper cell" in the West. It included material from his brother "which celebrated brutal and depraved acts of terror such as beheadings, burning of people alive and the Charlie Hebdo murders in Paris in 2015". © Provided by The Telegraph His older brother Rizwan Awan, 2...
British Iranian Nazanin eligible for early release lawyer
Arab world, ENGLISH

British Iranian Nazanin eligible for early release lawyer

    Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been held in an Iranian jail for more than 18 months, is eligible for early release. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe told her husband Richard that she had been informed of the news by her Iranian lawyer. Her case has been marked on the Iranian judiciary database as "eligible for early release". Mr Ratcliffe told Sky News: "This is definitely a positive step. I am a bit cautions but this is terrific news. There has not been confirmation yet and there is still some paperwork to complete. "But compared to where we have been in recent weeks, there is absolutely no doubt that this is positive news, fingers crossed. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family My job is not to get too excited but it all does seem much more positive. Mr Ratcliffe sa...
Donald Trump threatens to cut aid to countries over UN Jerusalem vote
America, ENGLISH

Donald Trump threatens to cut aid to countries over UN Jerusalem vote

    Donald Trump has threatened to withhold billions of dollars of US aid from countries which vote in favour of a United Nations resolution rejecting the US president’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. His comments came after the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley warned member states that she will be taking names of countries that vote for a general assembly resolution on Thursday critical of the announcement which overturned decades of US foreign policy. Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump said: Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care. But this isn’t like it used to be where they could vote against you and then you pay them hundreds of millions of dollars, he said. We’re not going to be taken advantage of any longer...
Can social media help you lose weight
ENGLISH, Technology

Can social media help you lose weight

    Aiming to lose weight? Publicise your goals on social media! The study from the University of California, Irvine examines the role of virtual communities and public commitment in setting and reaching weight loss goals. Our research finds that individuals are more likely to realize success with personal goals when they make a public commitment to attaining them, said Tonya Williams Bradford, study co-author. By sharing success and setbacks in virtual support communities on social media, we found people are achieving better results. This works especially well with goals like weight loss, where before and after images can be shared online with other community members. Along with Bradford, the study was co-authored by Sonya Grier from American University and Geraldine...
Uber dealt blow by EU court ruling that it is transport service
ENGLISH, Europe

Uber dealt blow by EU court ruling that it is transport service

    Ride-hailing app Uber provides a transport service and can be regulated like traditional taxis, the European Union's top court said on Wednesday in a landmark ruling that will determine the rules Uber and peers have to respect in Europe. The service provided by Uber connecting individuals with non-professional drivers is covered by services in the field of transport, the European Court of Justice said. Member states can therefore regulate the conditions for providing that service, it said. The case follows a complaint from a professional taxi drivers association in Barcelona that Uber's activities in Spain amounted to misleading practices and unfair competition from Uber's use of non-professional drivers - a service Uber calls UberPOP. The ECJ said Uber exercises ...
US woman mauled to death by dogs she had raised from puppies
America, ENGLISH

US woman mauled to death by dogs she had raised from puppies

    A woman was mauled to death by her dogs after taking them for a walk near her home in rural Virginia, police said. Bethany Stephens, 22, was found dead in a wooded area on Thursday evening. Officers said they initially thought the two pit bulls were guarding an animal carcass, and that they were eating it. But the body turned out to be Ms Stephens’. Police held a second press conference to describe the details of her death and refute any speculation of foul play. Goochland County Sheriff James Agnew said: In the course of trying to capture the dogs early Friday morning... we turned and looked… I observed, as well as four other deputy sheriffs, the dogs eating the ribcage on the body. He said they did not release the graphic details at first out of concern for the...
Tensions escalate between Saudi Arabia and Iran
Arab world, ENGLISH

Tensions escalate between Saudi Arabia and Iran

    The missile flew through the skies above Riyadh Tensions are escalating between Saudi Arabia and Iran following a missile attack on the Saudi capital Riyadh. Saudi air defences intercepted the ballistic missile in the skies over the city in an incident that is jangling nerves across the region. The attack comes the week after the Trump administration presented evidence it says shows Iran supplied another missile launched at Riyadh's international airport last month. Tensions have escalated after the missile And it comes as a video has gone viral, apparently made in Saudi Arabia, which visualises open conflict between the two sides. So what is going on? Saudi Arabia and Iran back opposing sides in neighbouring Yemen's nasty civil war. Houthi missile launch Saudi-...
Amtrak Train brake automatically activated in fatal wreck
America, ENGLISH

Amtrak Train brake automatically activated in fatal wreck

    A damaged Amtrak train car investigators are looking into whether the Amtrak engineer whose speeding train plunged off an overpass, killing at least three people, was distracted by the presence of an employee-in-training next to him in the locomotive, a federal official said Tuesday. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said investigators want to know whether the engineer lost situational awareness because of the second person in the cab. Preliminary information indicated that the emergency brake on the Amtrak train that derailed in Washington state went off automatically and was not manually activated by the engineer, National Transportation Safety Board member Bella Dinh-Zarr said. The train was ...