Tuesday, July 7

Featured

May vows: she will deliver Brexit deal
Featured, United Kingdom

May vows: she will deliver Brexit deal

    Theresa May today insisted she has won a good deal for Britain and is determined to deliver it as she faced down rebel Cabinet ministers and Tory MPs. The Prime Minister mounted another robust defence of the package thrashed out with Brussels despite the rising threat of a no-confidence vote by her own MPs. In a speech to business leaders, she said the blueprint will allow the UK to regain control of immigration while keeping ties with the EU strong and protecting jobs. The agreement is a good one for the UK. It fulfils the wishes of the British people as expressed in the 2016 referendum, she said. Let no one be in any doubt. I am determined to deliver it. Moving to quell calls from within Cabinet for the deal to be renegotiated, the premier made clear that there...
Meghan Markle could create tax nightmare for Royals
Featured, United Kingdom

Meghan Markle could create tax nightmare for Royals

    The Royal Family faces a tax 'nightmare' as US officials examine whether Meghan and Harry owe them a slice of their multi-million pound fortune, according to reports. The Duchess of Sussex is still an American citizen so has to pay tax in the US, and this could extend to anyone else she draws money from, including her husband. This could deplete both her $5million US fortune and Prince Harry's main source of private wealth, a £300,000-a-year trust fund on which he pays UK income tax. We're looking at a level of financial exposure the Royal Family has never had to face before, one of the aides said. Meghan is reportedly living in the UK on a family visa, but she will have a complicated tax status as long as she remains a US citizen. Tax laws mean that even if Los ...
May delaying Brexit will cost UK £10bn
Featured, United Kingdom

May delaying Brexit will cost UK £10bn

    Theresa May’s hopes of securing her Brexit deal were dealt a new blow on Saturday night as the EU warned the UK would have to pay about £10bn more to Brussels to win extra time for a smooth exit. Ahead of what Downing Street said was a critical week for the prime minister, cabinet ministers also piled on the pressure by publicly insisting that she change the proposals. Pro-Brexit cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom said there was still more to be done to achieve the Brexit that 17.4 million people voted for. Leadsom is one of a team of cabinet ministers including environment secretary Michael Gove who want alterations to the deal, although Brussels insists it cannot be changed. These include reassurances that the so-called backstop that could keep Britain tied in a cus...
Saudi women protest to wear abaya by Islamic garment
Arab world, Featured

Saudi women protest to wear abaya by Islamic garment

    A traditional abaya is black and covers the entire body, leaving the head, feet and hands visible. Earlier this year, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman stated that women in the country need not feel obliged to wear the abaya, as long as they dress in a decent and respectful manner. The laws are very clear and stipulated in the laws of sharia [Islamic law]: that women wear decent, respectful clothing, like men, Mr Salman said in an interview with CBS. This, however, does not particularly specify a black abaya or a black head cover. The decision is entirely left for women to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear. However, many women in the country have stated that they still feel required to wear the Islamic garment, which is ...
Shut down the federal government if Congress fails to give money build up wall US and Mexico
America, Featured

Shut down the federal government if Congress fails to give money build up wall US and Mexico

    President Trump suggested Saturday he was prepared to shut down the federal government next month if Congress fails to give him the money he wants to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. If I was ever going to do a shutdown over border security when you look at the caravan, when you look at the mess, when you look at the people coming in, the president said. ...This would be a very good time to do a shutdown. The president has asked lawmakers for $5 billion for new wall construction in fiscal 2019, but Democrats oppose the project and a bipartisan Senate compromise earlier this year included just $1.6 billion for it. During the 2016 campaign, Trump repeatedly promised voters that Mexico would pay for the roughly 2,000 mile barrier, which carries an estim...
43 people kill in Syria over US led airstrikes
Arab world, Featured

43 people kill in Syria over US led airstrikes

    The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Rami Abdurrahman, said homes were hit on Saturday in a village near the town of Hajin, near the Iraq border. He said at least 43 people died, including 17 children and 12 women, and that it was not clear if the men who died were militants or not. Sana, the Syrian state news agency, also reported the strikes. It said 40 people were killed in the area. Activist Omar Abou Leila monitors the conflict from Deir el Zour and confirmed the strikes too, but was unable to verify the death toll. However, he said IS fighters were stopping civilians from leaving the region, which resulted in the high number of civilian casualties. The US-led coalition and its local partners the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (S...
Virgin And EE Fined after overcharging
Featured, United Kingdom

Virgin And EE Fined after overcharging

    Ofcom has fined BT-owned EE £6.3 million and Liberty Global’s Virgin Media £7 million. Virgin Media and EE have been fined a combined total of £13.3 million by regulator Ofcom, for overcharging nearly 500,000 phone and broadband customers who wanted to leave their contracts early. Ofcom said both companies broke consumer protection rules by failing to make clear the charges customers would have to pay if they ended their contract early and levying “excessive” fees to leave. The watchdog’s investigation into early-exit charges found around 400,000 EE customers who ended their contracts early were over-billed, which saw customers overpaying up to £4.3 million. It added that almost 82,000 Virgin Media customers were overcharged a total of just under £2.8 million. ...
Brexit deal and Tory leadership in a perilous position
Featured, United Kingdom

Brexit deal and Tory leadership in a perilous position

    Brexit deal and leadership of the country have been left in a perilous position this weekend, following a fierce backlash against the agreement she has struck with the EU. Conservative backbenchers in their constituencies on Saturday were continuing to pore over the details of the draft deal, while also taking soundings from their local associations. But the prime minister will tomorrow look to push back against criticism of her leadership and sell her proposed Brexit deal to voters during an appearance on Sky News Sophy Ridge On Sunday show her first live TV interview since the details were revealed. Predicting fellow MPs will see things moving on Monday, Ms Dorries suggested 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady who would organise any confidence vote in the prime...
Khashoggi was married with the Egyptian woman in secret ceremony
Arab world, Featured

Khashoggi was married with the Egyptian woman in secret ceremony

    An Egyptian woman says she married Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a religious ceremony in the United States this year, months before he was killed at a Saudi consulate in Turkey while seeking papers needed to marry a different woman. The disclosure of the marriage, which Khashoggi appears to have kept hidden from his Turkish fiancee and even members of his family, adds to the complicated timeline of Khashoggi’s final months before he was killed by a team of Saudi assassins in October. A longtime associate of Khashoggi who participated in the ceremony as a witness confirmed Atr’s account. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because of safety concerns. Members of Khashoggi’s family declined to comment on the marriage. His Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, said ...
Angry voters accuse Theresa May over failed middle ground on Brexit deal
Featured, United Kingdom

Angry voters accuse Theresa May over failed middle ground on Brexit deal

    Theresa May was accused of trying to find a middle ground on Brexit that has not worked in a fiery clash with voters on LBC this morning. A local councillor named Daniel in Louth was the first caller to confront the Prime Minister on Nick Ferrari's LBC show. He asked her: Why do you think you should stay on as PM? Mrs May talked around the issue and did not respond to this question directly but said the Brexit deal was the best possible for the UK. We are leaving the EU on March 29, she said. Daniel said he commended the PM for trying to strike a Brexit deal with the EU but sadly that has not worked. And he asked her: Please Prime Minister, tell me why do you think you should stay on as PM when you have failed despite your no doubt honourable intentions to (deli...