Author: aejay_wp

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said plans to relocate a US military base on the island of Okinawa will continue, despite a referendum rejecting the move.

Some 72% of voters in the non-binding poll were opposed to the construction of a new base.

Okinawa hosts the country’s largest US military presence.

In recent years, a number of accidents and crimes have led to growing local opposition to the base.

On Monday, Mr Abe told journalists the government takes the referendum result seriously, but cannot delay the 20-year-old plan to move US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to a new location.

“We cannot avoid the necessity of moving Futenma, said to be the most dangerous base in the world,” the prime minister said.

“We can’t put this off any longer.”

Mr Abe said he hoped local residents would understand why he had to overrule their preference.

“We have spent many years holding dialogue with people in the prefecture. We will continue our dialogue so that we can gain their understanding,” he added.

There were three options on Sunday’s ballot paper: to support or oppose the move, or neither.

According to officials, 72% of those who voted opposed the relocation, compared to 19% in favour and around 9% voting for neither. Turnout was 52%.

Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki, who was voted in on a promise to fight the relocation, urged the government in Tokyo to “accept the resolute intention” of voters and “immediately halt the construction work”.

Under a local ordinance, the governor is obliged to notify Tokyo and Washington and “respect the outcome” after more than a quarter of eligible voters rejected the proposal.

Local media said he will visit the prime minister’s office and the US embassy in Tokyo later this week. However, Japan’s central government retains the right to ignore the vote result.

The Futenma base is currently located in an urban part of Okinawa, and Washington wants to move it to a more remote location.

The US presence on the island is a key part of the post-war security alliance between Japan and the US, but many locals tolerate it reluctantly.

More than half of the approximately 47,000 American military personnel stationed in Japan are on Okinawa.

Resentment at the US presence rose exponentially after the 1995 gang-rape of a 12-year-old girl by US troops.

In 2016, an ex-Marine employed at one of the bases was found guilty of assaulting and killing a 20-year-old local woman and jailed for life. After his arrest, the US base imposed a temporary ban on alcohol and a midnight curfew.

Source: bbc.com

Theresa May is facing growing calls to say she would delay Brexit rather than leave the EU if no deal is in place by the end of March.

A new plan from some Tory MPs suggests ministers postpone Brexit until 23 May “to conclude negotiations”.

It is being suggested as an alternative to cross-party proposals which would see MPs take control of the process.

But Education Secretary Damian Hinds told the BBC delaying Brexit would only prolong uncertainty for business.

The prime minister is holding talks with EU leaders at a summit in Egypt, as she presses for more concessions to her deal.

Read: Brexit: Theresa May suffers fresh Commons defeat

MPs to vote on deal by 12 March

Mrs May announced on Sunday that MPs will get a fresh vote on her deal by 12 March, vowing that leaving as planned 17 days later was “within our grasp”.

But many MPs had wanted another so-called “meaningful vote” sooner than that, and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn suggested Mrs May was “running down the clock” until a time when MPs were forced “to choose between her bad deal and a disastrous no deal”.

Mrs May’s announcement also provoked disappointment among business leaders, who are clamouring for certainty about what is to come.

On Monday morning, the prime minister met German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on the sidelines of the EU-League of Arab States summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh, and is due to hold talks with other key European figures later.

There will then be further talks in Brussels on Tuesday on the Northern Ireland backstop – the number one sticking point for many when it comes to the Brexit deal.

The prime minister has long resisted any suggestion that the UK’s departure could be postponed beyond 29 March.

Read: Brexit: Theresa May ‘determined’ to leave EU in March

But political editor Laura Kuenssberg says two cabinet ministers have told the BBC they believe she will this week grant some kind of concession to allow for a possible delay.

Such a move, though, would inevitably anger Brexiteers who want the UK to leave as planned, whatever the cost.
In the meantime, MPs seek to block no-deal

On Wednesday, MPs will get another chance to put forward a range of amendments in the Commons to show what direction they want Brexit to take.

One – drawn up by Labour’s Yvette Cooper and Conservative Oliver Letwin – would, if passed, give MPs the power to demand a delay to Brexit if a deal cannot be agreed by 13 March.

Three cabinet ministers, Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke, signalled they could be prepared to vote for it if there is no breakthrough in the next few days.

Ms Cooper told the BBC that the move was not intended to stop Brexit as it would be up to the government, not Parliament, to determine the length of any delay.

Ms Rudd told reporters on Monday morning that she was “completely committed” to making sure the UK leaves the EU and she supported the prime minister.

But, she added: “What I don’t think is acceptable is plans to move ever closer to no deal.”

Read: Theresa May suffers three Brexit defeats in Commons

There’s also the proposal of a new amendment from a group of Conservative backbenchers, led by Andrew Percy and Simon Hart, which calls for a “strictly time-limited” delay to Brexit if there is no formal deal by 13 March.

It would avoid handing control of Brexit to Parliament, and its proposers hope it will attract support from MPs who have indicated they might support the Cooper-Letwin amendment a “last resort” to avoid no-deal, as well as colleagues who are relaxed about no-deal, on the basis that it will provide more time for planning.

Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he was “encouraging” the prime minister to announce a delay to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

But Education Secretary Damian Hinds said a delay would “just prolong these issues”.

Source: bbc

British actress Olivia Colman defied the odds to scoop an Oscar on a night when Green Book also sprung a surprise by winning the award for best film.

Colman won best actress for her role in The Favourite and charmed viewers with a funny and tearful speech.

Green Book won three trophies in total, including best picture, which had been expected to go to Netflix’s Roma.

Bohemian Rhapsody won the most awards in total with four, while Roma and Black Panther also won three each.

Overwhelmed Colman wins Hollywood hearts

A controversial cartoon of Serena Williams published in an Australian newspaper last year did not breach media standards, a press watchdog says.

The cartoon depicted Williams jumping above a broken racquet next to a baby’s dummy in the US Open final.

Critics complained that the caricature used racist and sexist stereotypes of African-American people.

The Australian Press Council noted that some had found the image “offensive”, but accepted the publisher’s defence.

Williams sparked controversy during her loss to Naomi Osaka in September for her on-court behaviour where she accused the umpire of sexism and being a “thief”.

The Herald Sun newspaper and cartoonist Mark Knight have consistently called their depiction a comment on Williams’s behaviour, denying it was racist or sexist.

Read: Serena Williams knocked out of Australian Open by Karolina Pliskova

The press watchdog said the newspaper had “sufficient public interest in commenting on behaviour and sportsmanship”.

‘Repugnant’ depiction

The cartoon went viral in September, drawing criticism globally. The National Association of Black Journalists in the US denounced it as “repugnant on many levels”.

Public complaints centred around the portrayal of Williams with “large lips, a broad flat nose… and [being] positioned in an ape-like pose”, said the watchdog.

This contrasted with the depiction of Osaka, whose father is Haitian and mother Japanese, “as white with blonde hair”.

Read: Serena Williams’ claims of sexism backed by WTA

However, the watchdog ruled that the cartoon did “not depict Ms Williams as an ape, rather showing her as ‘spitting the dummy’, a non-racist caricature familiar to most Australian readers”.

Spitting the dummy is an Australian colloquialism for someone who reacts to a situation in a bad-tempered or petulant manner.

Knight told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he was “very happy” about the watchdog’s ruling.

The Australian Press Council is the chief watchdog for complaints about Australian media, but does not have the power to issue or enforce penalties.

Source: BBC 

British Prince Harry and wife Meghan on Sunday visited two teenage boarding schools and a high school in the High Atlas region of Morocco, in support of female education.

This official visit to Morocco was organized at the request of Queen Elizabeth II who last visited the region in 1980.

The trip will be the last out of England for the couple before the birth of their first child later this year.

Read: R Kelly on $1m bail over abuse charges

The pregnant duchess received benediction with a traditional Moroccan henna tattoo, which is intended to bring luck to her child.

Boarding schools managed by the association “Education for All” hosts teenage girls from 12 to 18 years old by offering them accommodation, food and school support.

Some 83 percent of women in rural Morocco are illiterate, according to “Education for All,” which has accompanied 185 adolescent girls in 2017.

Source: africanews.com

According to the State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, boys performed better than girls

Up to 88.2 per cent of students who sat 2018 Advanced Level examinations passed, representing a 1.3per cent drop compared to the previous year’s performance.

This was announced during the official release of the results at the Ministry of Education headquarters in Kacyiru on Thursday morning.

Read: Protect students welfare by resolving PTA dues impasse – NUGS to stakeholders

A total of 42,145 candidates sat last year’s A’ Level exams, up from 40,753 the previous year.

Isaac Munyakazi, the State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, said that, overall, boys performed better than girls.

Read: Choose your professions based on passion and not monetary considerations CJ to students

“That for the first time we had exams set in line with the new competency-based curriculum and still over 88 per cent of students passed is a good step forward,” he said.

The competency-based curriculum was rolled out in 2015 but it was not until last year that it was used as basis for national exams.

(L-R) Best performers in senior six national exams; Pax Agrippine Nubuhoro from ISF Nyamasheke , Violette Tuyishime of College du Christ Roi and Thomas Havugimana from TTC Nyamata.

Munyakazi said this offered the ministry an opportunity to fix any existing gaps, including taking measures to hire more qualified teachers, increasing training materials, as well as boosting infrastructure.

“The idea is to increasingly improve the quality of education and produce graduates that are ready for the labour market,” he said.

Francois d’Assise Tuyisingize, from Petit Seminaire Saint Vincent Ndera, emerged the best in science subjects. He did Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.

In languages, Violette Tuyishime, from College Christ Roi in Nyanza District, emerged the best. She offered Literature, Kiswahili and Kinyarwanda.

In arts, Mike Manzi, who studied History, Economics and Geography at Conerstone Leadership Academy in Rwamagana District, was the best in the male category.

The best performers, some of whom were present during the announcement of the results, were awarded computers.

The ministry also released results for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), as well as Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) candidates.

Source: allafrica.com

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó has called on other nations to consider “all measures” to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

International pressure is building on Mr Maduro after opposition-led efforts to bring aid into Venezuela descended into deadly violence on Saturday.

At least two people died in clashes between civilians and troops loyal to Mr Maduro, including a 14-year-old boy.

The president has blocked aid deliveries from entering Venezuela.

Mr Guaidó marshalled volunteers to collect and transport the aid from Brazil and Colombia but the efforts set off fierce border clashes with soldiers, who opened fire using a mixture of live ammunition and rubber bullets.

The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, condemned the violence by “Maduro’s thugs” and said the US was prepared to “take action”. President Donald Trump said that Washington had not ruled out an armed response.

On Sunday the European Union joined the condemnation. “We reject the use of irregular armed groups to intimidate civilians and lawmakers who have mobilised to distribute aid,” said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

Read: Venezuela soldiers abandon posts at Colombia border

Mr Guaidó, 35, last month declared himself interim president and has since been recognised as interim leader by more than 50 countries.

He has cited a constitutional provision that passes power to the leader of Venezuela’s parliament if the president is “absent”. Mr Guaidó argues that alleged irregularities with the nation’s 2018 election render Mr Maduro’s leadership illegitimate.

Mr Guaidó has announced his attention to participate in a meeting of mostly Latin American countries in Bogota, Colombia on Monday, despite being under a travel ban imposed by Mr Maduro. US Vice President Mike Pence will represent Washington at the meeting.

Deadly violence at the border

Led by Mr Guaidó, Venezuela’s opposition had intended to peacefully bring aid trucks over the borders with Brazil and Colombia. Soaring inflation has left many Venezuelans unable to afford basic items such as food, toiletries, and medicine.

Mr Guaidó had pledged that the aid would come in to the country on Saturday. In response, Mr Maduro partly closed the country’s borders, citing threats to security and sovereignty.

On Saturday, Venezuelans civilians attempted to cross in order to get to the stores of food and medicine, but the attempt quickly descended into bloody violence. Protesters clashed with security forces loyal to the president along Venezuela’s southern border with Brazil and western border with Colombia.

At least two people including a 14-year-old boy were killed, rights groups said, and many were injured as Venezuelan troops fired a mixture of tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition.

There were also reports that some aid stockpiled on the border had been burned. Mr Pompeo described the reports as “sickening”.

“Our deepest sympathies to the families of those who have died due to these criminal acts,” he wrote on Twitter. “We join their demand for justice.”

Some Venezuelan soldiers on Saturday attempted to defect at the border with Colombia. Mr Guaidó visited the Tienditas bridge on the Colombian side of the border and promised the defectors amnesty if they joined the “right side of history”.

At least 60 soldiers had defected by late Saturday, according to Colombia’s migration service, but most of the military appeared to still be loyal to Mr Maduro.

Video footage showed Venezuelan soldiers crashing their armoured vehicles into the border with Colombia in order to defect.

Another video posted on social media appeared to show four soldiers publicly denouncing the president and announcing their support for Guaidó. “We are fathers and sons, we have had enough of so much uncertainty and injustice,” the soldiers said.

 

At about 19:00 local time (23:00 GMT) on Saturday, Colombia’s government estimated the number of injured at border crossings to be about 300. Journalists at the scene reported severe injuries among protesters, including several who appeared to have lost their eyes.

Amnesty International described the use of live ammunition against protesters as a serious human rights violation and a crime under international law.

How has Maduro reacted?

President Maduro continues to oppose Mr Guaidó’s claim to the presidency and has ignored international calls to hold new elections. He has accused Mr Guaidó of being a “puppet”, an “American pawn”, a “clown” and an “imperialist beggar”.

Read: Venezuela crisis: Brazil vows to deliver aid, defying Maduro

As protests got under way at Venezuela’s borders, Mr Maduro staged a rally in Caracas. “Take your hands off Venezuela, Donald Trump,” he told a cheering crowd, accusing the US president of using the aid as a means to invade the country.

Despite dozens of countries backing the opposition leader, Mr Maduro maintains the support of key economic allies including Cuba, Russia and China. The US is leading the international effort to pressure him, and has implemented a raft of financial sanctions against his government.

How did we get to this point?

The humanitarian aid stockpiled in Colombia and Brazil is at the centre of a standoff between Mr Maduro and Mr Guaidó that goes back to Mr Maduro’s 2018 re-election – a vote Mr Guaidó declared illegitimate.

For several years Venezuela has been in the grip of a political and economic crisis. An out-of-control inflation rate has seen prices soar, leaving many Venezuelans struggling to afford basic items.

Mr Guaidó insists that citizens badly need help, while Mr Maduro argues that aid is a ploy by the US to invade the country. At least 2.7 million people have fled Venezuela since 2015.

 

Source: BBC 

(more…)

Senegalese voters have begun casting their ballots in the country’s presidential election.

President Macky Sall is seeking a second term and faces four challengers in his bid.

Since coming into office, Mr Sall has focused on new infrastructure projects, but critics say he has done little to improve the lives of ordinary Senegalese.

He is also accused of preventing political rivals from running.

Read: Nigeria Elections: Prominent APC member ‘shot dead’

Last month, two well-known opposition figures were barred from contesting the election because of past corruption convictions.

Khalifa Sall, the popular former mayor of Dakar, and Karim Wade, the son of the former president, were deemed ineligible to run because of corruption convictions.

As a result of the decision, neither the Socialist Party nor the Senegalese Democratic Party, which have dominated the country’s political landscape since independence, are fielding presidential candidates.

A law was also passed in 2018 requiring candidates to have a certain number of signatures from voters to be able to run.

As a result, only five candidates have been deemed eligible for Sunday’s vote, compared to 12 in the last election.

Mr Sall has portrayed himself as a moderniser who has helped to boost economic growth to more than 6% a year, one of the highest rates in Africa.

More than 6.6 million people are registered to vote in these elections, and who young people decide to support could have a significant impact, as the average age in the country is 19.

With two peaceful transitions of power through elections and no coup since its independence in 1960, Senegal is one of the most stable countries in Africa.

Preliminary results are expected soon after polling closes at 18:00 local time (18:00 GMT), but will only become official a day or two later, the AFP news agency reports.

If no candidate wins a clear majority, the country will go to a second round of voting in March.

Source: BBC 

Soldiers from the Venezuelan national guard have left their posts ahead of an opposition-led effort to bring aid into the country, Colombia’s migration agency said.

In a separate development, Venezuelan troops have fired tear gas at people looking to cross into Colombia to work.

Tensions have been rising over a row about the delivery of humanitarian aid.

President Nicolás Maduro said the border with Colombia is partly closed to stop aid being delivered.

But self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó has vowed that hundreds of thousands of volunteers will help bring in the aid deliveries, which include food and medicine, on Saturday.

Read: Venezuela crisis: Brazil vows to deliver aid, defying Maduro

The first delivery of aid has already entered Venezuela through Brazil, Mr Guaidó tweeted.

The delivery of aid to the stricken country has proven to be a key area of contention between the two men who see themselves as Venezuela’s leader.

What’s the latest?

Footage posted online shows the soldiers requesting help from the Colombian migration agency to cries of “freedom” and “put down your arms.”

Local media report people jumping the barricades to cross the border at the Venezuela-Colombia border, while opposition MPs have posted defiant messages on social media denouncing the use of force.

The BBC’s Orla Guerin, on the Colombia border, said Venezuelans were begging soldiers to be allowed to cross.

Standoff at Simon Bolivar Bridge – Venezuelans begging their countrymen for aid to be allowed through #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/qO3gK6SfaX

— Orla Guerin (@OrlaGuerin) February 23, 2019

Pictures show protesters burning outposts and throwing rocks at soldiers and riot police in border areas.

Mr Guaidó was seen at the Tienditas bridge on the Colombian side of the border, where he was accompanied by the country’s president, Iván Duque.

Mr Guaidó told reporters that humanitarian aid was on its way to Venezuela, in a “peaceful manner.”

“Welcome to the right side of history”, he told soldiers who had abandoned their posts, adding that soldiers who joined them would be guaranteed “amnesty.”

Earlier he had urged the military to allow aid trucks to enter, calling on Venezuelan soldiers to “put themselves on the side of the people”.

Three soldiers abandoned their post at this bridge by crossing into Colombia, while another did so at the Paula Santander International Bridge in Ureña, in south-west Venezuela.

A video posted on social media appears to show four soldiers publicly denouncing Mr Maduro and announcing their support for Guaidó.

“We are fathers and sons, we have had enough of so much uncertainty and injustice,” they say.

“We want to work!” people chanted as they faced riot police at the Ureña border bridge.

Activists there were joined by 300 members of the “Women in White” opposition group who marched in defiance of Mr Maduro’s attempts to close the border.

Meanwhile, a top ally of President Maduro has suggested the government would allow Venezuelans to accept aid “at their own risk”, but that no foreign soldiers would “set foot” inside Venezuela.

Read: Venezuela crisis: US planes carrying aid arrive in Colombia

The president himself tweeted that “there will not be a war”, posting pictures of cheering crowds in Caracas. It is not clear when these photos were taken.

Earlier on Saturday, two people were killed by Venezuelan forces near the border with Brazil.

A military outpost near the Venezuela-Brazil border has been taken over by a militia loyal to President Maduro, according to VPI TV.

“Why are you serving a dictator?”

It’s been a difficult day here on the Venezuelan side.

We found locals getting angry because they found the border was closed Рthese people normally make a living across the border. Then it turned ugly in Ure̱a.

We witnessed protesters lunging to break one of the barriers but the National Guard started firing tear gas and pellets.

People were shouting at the National Guard asking them why, in their words, they were serving a dictator and not serving their own people.

We had to run away to avoid being hurt but there is still a lot of tension in the air, with a heavy military presence everywhere.

How did we get to this point?

Humanitarian aid has become the latest flashpoint in the ongoing standoff between Mr Maduro and Mr Guaidó.

Mr Guaidó, who is the leader of the country’s opposition-dominated National Assembly, last month declared himself the country’s interim leader.

He has since won the backing of dozens of nations, including the US. He has called the rule of President Nicolás Maduro constitutionally illegitimate, claiming that Mr Maduro’s re-election in 2018 was marred by voting irregularities.

Venezuela is in the grip of a political and economic crisis. The country’s inflation rate has seen prices soar, leaving many Venezuelans struggling to afford basic items such as food, toiletries and medicine.

Mr Guaidó insists that citizens badly need help, while Mr Maduro says allowing aid to enter is part of a ploy by the US to invade the country.

About 2.7 million people have fled the country since 2015.

Source: BBC 

At least 130 people have died and more than 200 are being treated in hospital after drinking toxic bootleg alcohol in north-eastern India, officials said.

Some 35 people were reported dead in the state of Assam on Sunday, days after about 100 people died in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Ten people have been arrested over the bootleg drink, a police official said.

Read: Brexit must not be frustrated, Theresa May vows

There were many women among the victims, who all worked on tea plantations.

An inquiry has been ordered into the tragedy. The death toll is believed to be the highest since a 2011 case in West Bengal, where more than 170 people died after ingesting bootleg alcohol.

The first victims died on Thursday, according to the administrator of the Golaghat district in Assam, Dhiren Hazarika.

Golaghat district Superintendent of Police Pushkar Singh told the BBC Hindi service that police had found the home where the toxic liquor was made and had recovered one and a half litres (2.5pts) of it.

Doctors at the hospitals where the victims were being treated were baffled by the ingredients used in the illegal alcohol, which has caused organ failure. An expert team from the city of Guwahati is being brought in analyse the contents of the drink

“The people came to the hospital with severe vomiting, extreme chest pain and breathlessness,” Dr Ratul Bordoloi, joint director of Golaghat’s health department, told the AFP news agency.

One worker who was undergoing treatment at Golaghat Hospital told the BBC that he had been at a tea plantation on Thursday when the purchase the alcohol.

“I had bought half a litre of wine and drank it before eating,” he said. “Initially, everything was normal, but after some time my head started hurting. The headache grew so much that I could not eat or sleep.”

The man felt restless until the morning, when he started getting chest pain. His wife took him to the tea plantation hospital and he was referred to the district hospital.

Source: bbc.com

The Brexit vote must not be frustrated and the government needs to maintain an “absolute” focus on delivering it, Theresa May has said.

In a speech to Tory activists the PM said, as her negotiations with the EU reach their final stages, the “worst thing we could do is lose our focus”.

It came as three pro-EU cabinet members warned they could vote to delay Brexit to prevent a “disastrous” no-deal.

Read: More Brexit embarrassment for May as parliament defeats her again

But Mrs May said there must be no party “purges” over MPs with differing views.

Ahead of crucial votes in the Commons next week, Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke told the Daily Mail they would be prepared to defy the prime minister and vote for a delay.

The intervention led to calls for their resignations by Tory Brexiteers.

The UK remains on course to leave the European Union on 29 March.

However, the government has repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility of the UK leaving without a formal deal, in the event that Mrs May cannot get MPs to approve the deal she negotiated with Brussels in time.

Mrs May’s speech to the National Conservative Convention (NCC) in Oxford on Saturday evening came as MPs prepare for a series of votes on Wednesday which could see Parliament take control of the Brexit process.

Mr Clark, the business secretary, along with Ms Rudd, the work and pensions secretary, and the justice secretary, Mr Gauke, had said they would be prepared to defy Mrs May and vote for a delay to Brexit.

They argued there “simply will not be time to agree a deal and complete all the necessary legislation” unless a deal is approved in the coming days.

An amendment tabled by former Tory minister Sir Oliver Letwin and Labour’s Yvette Cooper would give Parliament the opportunity to delay Brexit and prevent a no-deal situation if there is no agreement with the EU by the middle of March.

However, Mrs May told activists: “Our focus to deliver Brexit must be absolute.

“We must not, and I will not, frustrate what was the largest democratic exercise in this country’s history. In the very final stages of this process, the worst thing we could do is lose our focus.”

Mrs May said there should be no moves to deselect MPs because of their views on Brexit.

Broad church

Her remarks came after the resignations of three pro-Remain Tory MPs – Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston – to join a group of Labour defectors in the new Independent Group reduced the Tories working majority in Parliament to eight.

Mrs May said: “No-one gets more frustrated than I do when people vote against the whip, particularly given the tight Parliamentary arithmetic that we face.

“But we are not a party of purges and retribution. We called a referendum and let people express their views – so we should not be seeking to deselect any of our MPs because of their views on Brexit.

“Our party is rightly a broad church – on that and other issues.”

Mrs May is expected to hold talks with European Council president Donald Tusk and other key EU figures in Egypt later during a summit between leaders of EU and Arab league countries.

But Downing Street has played down hopes of a breakthrough on her Brexit deal being reached in Sharm el- Sheikh.

The summit is the first between leaders of EU and Arab league countries and will focus on tackling concerns over security and migration, and boosting trade.

Source: bbc.com

Saudi Arabia has announced that Princess Rima bint Bandar al-Saud will become its next ambassador to the US – the first woman ever to take on an envoy role for the kingdom.

Her appointment was made public in a royal decree on Saturday.

Princess Rima spent part of her childhood living in Washington DC.

Read: Ahead of Saudi visit, China seeks ‘deeper trust’ with Iran

She assumes the role at a difficult time, as Saudi Arabia tries to quell an international outcry over journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death.

After giving conflicting explanations of what happened, the Kingdom eventually admitted Khashoggi, who was once a Royal insider, was murdered after entering the country’s consulate in Istanbul last year.

Before his death the journalist was a columnist for the Washington Post newspaper, where he frequently criticised the Saudi government.

Read: Saudi Arabia signs $20bn in deals with Pakistan

Saudi Arabia denies that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman had any involvement in his death – a claim the US intelligence community has cast doubt on.

US lawmakers have tried to pressure the White House into investigating the matter further.

Recently, members of Congress have also investigated US-Saudi relations in other areas, including on nuclear technology and the war in Yemen.

In father’s footsteps

Princess Rima will take over the role from the crown prince’s younger brother, Prince Khalid bin Salman, who has been appointed as the country’s deputy defence minister.

She follows in the footsteps of her father, Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud, who held the US ambassador post from 1983 until 2005.

The princess is widely viewed as being an advocate of women’s rights, in a country frequently criticised for its record on gender equality.

More recently, she worked at the kingdom’s General Sports Authority, with a focus on increasing women’s participation in sport and exercise.

She has also known for her work around breast cancer advocacy.

Because of his role, she spent part of her childhood growing up in the US. She also got a Bachelor of Arts degree in Museum studies from George Washington University.

Since returning to Riyadh in 2005, Princess Rima has worked in both the private and public sector.

She has held several business positions, including as CEO of a retail company with Harvey Nichols Riyadh in its portfolio.

Source: bbc.com

The ex-Blues, PSG and AC Milan defender developed a close relationship with the Portuguese coach, despite expecting to have to deal with a huge ego
Former Chelsea defender Alex says he had the wrong idea of Jose Mourinho before he met the Portuguese coach, saying he is not as arrogant as expected.

The Brazilian centre-back joined Chelsea from PSV in 2004, a month after Mourinho was hired for his first of two spells at Stamford Bridge, but work permit problems saw him loaned to PSV for the majority of the coach’s time in charge.

Mourinho went on to become the most successful coach in the club’s history, but the Portuguese’s reputation has plummeted in recent years. Disappointing performances and results as well as breakdowns in relationships with players plagued his second spell at the Blues as well as spells at Real Madrid and Manchester United.

But Alex has fond memories of his time with the Champions League-winning manager, who became a father figure to him at Chelsea.

“I was surprised with Mourinho,” Alex told Goal. “I had that impression of him as a super arrogant person with a massive ego, because of what we saw in the media, but I ended up seeing another thing.

“I worked with him for just three months at Chelsea and everyday Mourinho used to sit by my side and and we talked a lot. I liked him very much as a person and as a coach. Of course he has his own way of bringing out the best of the players, and a lot of times the players don’t agree with him.

“Sometimes he can hurt, he is very severe with some players… I saw Andriy Shevchenko suffering a bit with this at Chelsea. Mourinho used to put a lot of pressure on Shevchenko and some players don’t work well with this, but for me he is fantastic as a person and as a coach.

“I arrived in 2007 and I can say that our group accepted him very well, and it seems to me that the players today don’t. In his latest jobs he always ended up fighting with someone, especially the big stars. We saw that at Manchester United too. It seems that the players from today don’t accept his style, his way of working. But in that [Chelsea] team, what I saw were players who really liked him.”

Mourinho is one of a long line of coaches who have been hired and fired at Chelsea since Roman Abramovich bought over the club. The trend looks set to continue, as current boss Maurizio Sarri has come under pressure in his first season in charge of the Blues and has been given a few games to save his job.

And Alex believes the Italian must hurry up and turn things around immediately if he has a chance of living up to expectation.

“I had great expectations for Sarri because I played against his Napoli team and it was really tough,” Alex said. “They were a team with no stars, just Gonzalo Higuain up front but tactically it worked. They were flying. As a fan I created expectations but it’s not happening… They suffered that defeat to Manchester City, 6-0, and this is not normal for Chelsea, right? It depends a lot on the coach I think.

“Because of what is happening at Chelsea, he has to recover as fast as possible. Otherwise I think that if he loses… it’s difficult down there. Abramovich is not that patient and there’s this result against City. Things got really bad for the manager. I think it’s very difficult. He must recover fast and get good results.”

Asked if Chelsea’s dressing room could be described as ‘toxic’, Alex said it was common for players to do their part to get an underperforming manager forced out.

“During my time, yes. I can’t speak about now because I’m not there. But it was during my time,” he said. “There were lots of people hoping that things wouldn’t end well and a coach ended up leaving. I think this happens in a lot of clubs, I think it’s normal in football. And Chelsea became very famous especially after what happened with Luiz Felipe Scolari, with some people saying Didier Drogba had a meeting with Abramovich… I think it happens at all clubs, I don’t see much of a difference. Sometimes players really hope that managers can be sacked.”

Source: Goal.com