Driverless car bomb plot man found guilty

Crime reporter(wp/bbc):::

A man has been found guilty of trying to make a bomb to be used in a driverless car.

Farhad Salah was convicted at Sheffield Crown Court of preparing to commit acts of terrorism.

Jurors heard how Salah, 24, an Iraqi Kurd, posted on social media about using a driverless car in an attack.

The jury failed to reach a verdict on his co-defendant, chip-shop owner Andy Star, who was charged with the same offence.

Prosecutors told the trial how Salah and Mr Star, 32, were in the early stages of testing small improvised explosive devices when they were arrested in raids on their homes in a Sheffield community centre and a Chesterfield fish and chip shop in December 2017

Mr Star has always insisted gunpowder and other items found in his flat above the chip shop were all connected to his long-standing interest in fireworks.The jury was discharged after 15 hours of deliberations.

It was the second jury to try the pair, said Judge Paul Watson QC.

He said that another jury failed to reach verdicts on either defendant after a trial last year.

The judge told Mr Star a decision had been made that he should not face a second retrial and a not guilty verdict was recorded in his case.

He said Mr Star could go free but that he would continue to be detained on immigration matters.

The judge said Salah would be sentenced on July 24.

Johnson vows to stand up for UK diplomats after Washington envoy's resignation

Diplomatic correspondent,London(wp/reuters):::
Boris Johnson vowed to stand up for Britain’s diplomats around the world and take a robust approach towards U.S. President Donald Trump if he succeeds in becoming the next prime minister.Johnson, the favourite to be named as Theresa May’s successor on July 23, has been criticised for failing to support Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Kim Darroch, before he resigned this week.

Diplomatic memos from Darroch describing the Trump administration as inept were leaked to a British newspaper, infuriating the U.S. president, who launched a Twitter attack on both the envoy and outgoing prime minister Theresa May, who had given Darroch her full support.

Johnson pointedly refused to back Darroch during a televised debate, leading to accusations from fellow Conservative Party lawmakers that he had thrown the ambassador “under the bus” in order to bolster his own ties with Trump.

“I will stand up for our fantastic diplomats across the world,” Johnson told a leadership campaign rally on Thursday.

The former London mayor said there were reasons to believe Britain’s relationship with the United States was the “single most important strategic fact of our times”. But he said he had criticised Trump before and would do so again if needed.

“I criticised him as foreign secretary,” he said. “We in the UK do not agree with the position of the United States on global warming ... (or) their approach to the Iran nuclear deal. We were very robust and will continue to be robust with the U.S..”

No-deal Brexit could bring near-zero rates - BoE's Vlieghe

Banking reporter(wp/reuters):::
The Bank of England might need to cut interest rates almost to zero after a no-deal Brexit, while repeated Brexit delays could also make a rate cut necessary, senior BoE official Gertjan Vlieghe said on Friday.

Vlieghe’s comments, in a speech at Thomson Reuters in London, went further than those of other BoE policymakers who have said rates would probably need to fall after a no-deal Brexit shock to the economy, but have not been explicit about the size of such a move.

The prospect of Britain leaving the European Union without a deal has grown after both candidates to become Britain’s next prime minister said they would be prepared to lead the country into a no-deal Brexit if necessary.

Vlieghe used most of his speech to argue that the BoE should make a major change to its forecasting process and follow other smaller central banks by setting out its best collective guess about how borrowing costs might change.Currently the BoE bases its forecasts on interest rate futures in financial markets, which Vlieghe said made it unnecessarily complex for the central bank to get its message across to companies, investors and consumers.

He sought to lead by example by spelling out what he thought the BoE should do with its benchmark rate - which currently stands at 0.75% - if Britain were to leave the European Union without a deal to cushion the change.

“On balance I think it is more likely that I would move to cut Bank Rate towards the effective lower bound of close to 0% in the event of a no-deal scenario,” Vlieghe, one of nine interest-rate setters at the British central bank, said.

This would mean a rate of less than 0.25%, the current record low hit in the aftermath of the 2016 Brexit referendum, Vlieghe told an audience after his speech.

“It is highly uncertain when I would want to reverse these interest rate cuts,” he said, explaining it would depend on the economy recovering from its no-deal shock or a rise in inflation risks caused by a slump in the value of the pound.

On the other hand, if Britain can ease its way out of the EU with a deal, the BoE could raise rates to 1.0% in one year, 1.25% in two years and 1.75% in three years’ time, he said.

However, such increases would probably also depend on the global economy recovering from its slowdown.

Under a third scenario – another Brexit delay beyond the current Oct. 31 deadline – the outlook for rates “is likely to lie somewhere between the two paths that I have outlined already,” Vlieghe said.

A series of rolling “cliff-edges” - Brexit deadlines which give way to a new date at the last minute - could pave the way for lower interest rates if the global economy weakens.“That’s a situation that is very negative in terms of the impact of uncertainty on business investment,” Vlieghe said, answering questions from the audience after his speech.

It was difficult to say if his colleagues on the Monetary Policy Committee would be swayed by his suggestion that the BoE should set out a preferred path for interest rates, Vlieghe added.

HEADWINDS

The BoE’s long-standing core message has been that it plans to raise rates gradually, assuming Britain avoids a no-deal Brexit, but this is increasingly at odds with the view of many investors.

They have ramped up their bets on the central bank’s next move being a rate cut.That tension has grown recently due to increased concerns about a no-deal Brexit, as well as a slowdown in the global economy, which has prompted other major central banks such as the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to signal that they are ready to pump more stimulus into their economies.

BoE Governor Mark Carney warned last week that Britain was facing higher risks from Brexit and increased protectionism, prompting investors to put a 50-50 chance of a BoE rate cut before Carney’s term ends in just over six months’ time.

In his speech, Vlieghe noted the global headwinds for Britain and said Britain’s jobs market - long a bright spot - also appeared to be slowing, with a small fall in the number of vacancies and a slight slowdown in wage growth.

But he warned against reading too much into Britain’s weak second-quarter growth rate which could be close to zero “or even slightly negative” due to swings in car production and inventory build-ups around the original Brexit deadline in March.

“It is entirely possible that we see data volatility again around the perceived no-deal risk at the end of October,” he said.

The Queen's Medal for Music 2018 awarded to Gary Crosby

The Queen's Medal for Music 2018 has been awarded to jazz musician Gary Crosby OBE.

The award, established in 2005, is presented annually to an outstanding individual or group of musicians who have had a major influence on the musical life of the nation.

The Queen presented the award to Mr Crosby in an Audience at Buckingham Palace today, Wednesday, 10th July 2019.

Mr Crosby is the fourteenth recipient of the award, and follows Thea Musgrave CBE, who received The Queen's Medal for Music 2017 last year.

The nominating process for the award is overseen by a committee chaired by the Master of The Queen's Music, Judith Weir, whose recommendation is then submitted to The Queen for approval.

Commenting on this year's award, Judith Weir said: “Looking around the UK’s currently thriving jazz scene, the name of Gary Crosby is constantly cited as the person who has encouraged a whole generation to look again at jazz and become involved. Gary has achieved this over many hard-working years, as part of his own practice as a bass player and teacher. His career is an inspiration to musicians and educators in every area of music, and I am delighted to see him awarded The Queen’s Medal for Music in recognition of this.”

On receiving the award, Mr Crosby said: “I’m honoured to receive The Queen’s Medal for Music, and humbled to join such a distinguished group of Medal recipients. As a founder of Tomorrow’s Warriors, I’m also delighted to be recognised for my work as an educator and mentor to the many young jazz musicians we’ve worked with over the years.” 

ROYAL  PRESS-ENGLAND

British naturalist warns climate change may bring social unrest

Staff reporter(wp/reuters):::

Naturalist David Attenborough told British lawmakers on Tuesday it would be essential to stick to a new target to decarbonize the economy, warning that failure to tackle climate change could lead to massive social unrest.

Attenborough, one of the world’s most influential wildlife broadcasters, said Britain’s move last month to become the first G7 country to commit to a goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 could help galvanize broader international action.

“It’s a tough target. It’s not an easy statement to have made, and it’s going to cost money,” Attenborough told a hearing of parliament’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee. “It’s actually a practical commitment, and I hope to goodness that we can achieve it and stick by it.”

Attenborough, who has become increasingly outspoken about risks posed by the climate crisis in recent years, added: “It’s absolutely essential that it should be done … if we’re going to avoid massive social unrest.”

Attenborough had earlier told the hearing that he drew hope from an upsurge in environmental activism by a younger generation aware that they would bear the brunt of climate impacts as the crisis worsened in coming decades.

“The problems in 20-30 years are going to be major problems that are going to cause great social unrest, changes in what we eat, how we live,” Attenborough said.“The most encouraging thing I see is that the electorate of tomorrow is already making their voice very, very clear.”

Attenborough, the man behind the “Planet Earth” and “Blue Planet” documentaries, also said that the environmental impact of air travel should be factored into ticket prices.

“If you cost that, you would see that the tickets are extraordinarily cheap,” he said.

Trump says UK ambassador 'a very stupid guy'!!!!

Pic-->USA President Donald Trump/WP

Exclusive News-->The UK's "wacky" ambassador to the US is "a very stupid guy" Donald Trump has said, amid a row over leaked emails.

This came after Downing Street reaffirmed its "full support" for Sir Kim Darroch.

On Sunday emails revealed the ambassador had called the Trump administration "clumsy and inept".

Sir Kim will now no longer meet the president's daughter Ivanka Trump as scheduled on Tuesday, the BBC has been told.

Mr Trump tweeted: "The wacky Ambassador that the U.K. foisted upon the United States is not someone we are thrilled with, a very stupid guy.

"He should speak to his country, and Prime Minister May, about their failed Brexit negotiation, and not be upset with my criticism of how badly it was handled."I told @theresa_may how to do that deal, but she went her own foolish way-was unable to get it done. A disaster!

"I don't know the Ambassador but have been told he is a pompous fool. Tell him the USA now has the best Economy & Military anywhere in the World, by far...and they are both only getting bigger, better and stronger...Thank you, Mr. President!"Confidential emails from the UK's ambassador, leaked to the Mail on Sunday,contained a string of criticisms of Mr Trump and his administration, and said the White House was "uniquely dysfunctional" and divided under his presidency.

Sir Kim, who became ambassador to the US in January 2016 about a year before Mr Trump took office, questioned whether this White House "will ever look competent" but also warned that the US president should not be written off.

The emails, dating from 2017, said rumours of "infighting and chaos" in the White House were mostly true and policy on sensitive issues such as Iran was "incoherent, chaotic".

Speaking on Monday following Mr Trump's initial comments on the leaked emails, Downing Street said the prime minister did not agree with Sir Kim's assessment but had "full faith" in him.On Tuesday morning, before the president's latest comments, a Downing Street spokesman said: "We have made clear to the US how unfortunate this leak is. The selective extracts leaked do not reflect the closeness of, and the esteem in which we hold, the relationship."

But he said ambassadors needed to be able to provide honest assessments of the politics in their country, and the prime minister stood by Sir Kim.

"The UK has a special and enduring relationship with the US based on our long history and commitment to shared values and that will continue to be the case," he said.

New UK PM must put Brexit plan to second referendum - Labour's Corbyn

Special political reporter(wp/reuters):::
Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday said Britain’s next prime minister must put their Brexit plan to a second referendum on European Union membership, saying his party would campaign to remain.

In an email to members, Corbyn said Labour would campaign to stay in the EU to stop a new Conservative Party leader, who will be chosen later this month, taking Britain out of the bloc without a divorce deal or to stop what he called a “damaging” Brexit.

The move by Corbyn inches the opposition party closer to heeding demands from many Labour members and some lawmakers to unequivocally embrace a second referendum to break the impasse in parliament over how to leave the EU.

But it might not be enough to satisfy all in his party, falling short of campaigning for a second referendum in any circumstance - a position some wanted to adopt to counter a challenge from the pro-EU, smaller Liberal Democrats.

Brexit has brought down Prime Minister Theresa May, who failed three times to get the divorce deal she agreed with the EU ratified by parliament.

Former foreign minister and London mayor Boris Johnson is battling current foreign minister Jeremy Hunt to replace her as party leader and prime minister. Johnson, who says he will take Britain out of the EU with or without a deal, is favourite.

“Whoever becomes the new prime minister should have the confidence to put their deal, or no deal, back to the people in a public vote,” Corbyn said.

“In those circumstances, I want to make it clear that Labour would campaign for Remain against either no deal or a Tory (Conservative) deal that does not protect the economy and jobs.”

What he did not say in his mail was what his party would campaign for in a parliamentary election - something the veteran socialist renewed his call for by saying: “We need a Labour government to end austerity and rebuild our country for the many not the few”.

More than three years since voting 52% to 48% to leave the EU, Britain’s two main parties, its parliament and cities and towns across the country are still deeply divided over Brexit, opening the way for smaller parties to grab some share of the vote.With Labour struggling in some opinion polls, some in the party want it to adopt a clearer message to tackle the twin challenges from the pro-EU Liberal Democrats and the Brexit Party, led by veteran eurosceptic Nigel Farage.

Corbyn, an instinctive critic of the EU, has so far resisted calls to make his party a wholesale supporter of a second referendum, keen to keep on board Labour Brexit supporters.

Chuka Umunna, a former Labour lawmaker who has joined the Liberal Democrats, said on Twitter: “Yet another fudge, where the Labour leadership keep open the door to standing on a pro-Brexit platform in a general election or supporting it in government.”