Gaza protests: All the latest updates

Gaza protests: All the latest updates

News Unknown   10:57

Israeli forces shoot dead seven Palestinians and wound hundreds more as protests near Gaza border continue.

or a second week, thousands of Palestinians are protesting along the eastern borders of the Gaza Strip, as part of the Great March of Return movement.

Israeli forces have killed 26 Palestinians during the past week, including 17 on the first Friday of protest, and wounded more than 1,600 others.

Here are all the latest updates on Friday's protests:

Yahya Sinwar: Gaza will 'stand tall' in the face of the occupation

• Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has made a rare public appearance at a protest near the city of Khan Younis.
• Freed in a 2011 prisoner swap with Israel after more than 20 years in jail, Sinwar told the crowd that Gaza would "stand tall" in the face of Israeli occupation.
• "The plot of starvation and siege have failed to incite the Palestinian people against the resistance [Hamas].
• "Gaza will not starve and will not abandon its national objective.
• "Our people came out to tell the world that Gaza is free and that we will stand tall and resist the Israeli occupation."

Local media: Seven killed by Israeli forces

The Palestinian Safa Press Agency is reporting that the death toll has risen to seven, with Sidqi Abu Outewi, a 45-year-old from Nuseirat, and Mohammed Hajj Saleh, a 33-year-old from Rafah, joining the growing list of fatalities.

Fifth Palestinian killed, health ministry says

• The Palestinian ministry of health says the death toll has risen to five, with 20-year-old Ibrahim Al-Ourr killed.

Palestinian Ministry of Health: 780 wounded

• Health officials in Gaza said that at least 780 protesters have been wounded, including seven women and 31 children.

Fourth Palestinian killed, health ministry says

• The Palestinian ministry of health said that a 16-year-old boy has been killed by Israeli forces.
• The teenager, Hussein Madi, was dead on arrival after he was taken to Gaza City's Shifa Hospital, the ministry added.

Journalist: 28 wounded protesters in intensive care unit

• Hosam Salem, a photographer at the scene in the southern Gaza Strip, told Al Jazeera that there are currently 28 protesters in the intensive care unit at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.
• Salem witnessed his colleague Yaser Murtaja, a 30-year-old journalist with a local media outlet, drop to the ground after he was shot by Israeli forces in the stomach.
• "Yaser was filming with his camera next to me when we heard the sound of gunfire," Salem said. "He just fell on the ground and said, 'I've been shot, I've been shot'."
• "He needed eight units of blood," Salem continued. "The hospital moved him from the operations room to the ICU where his situation remains critical."
• Another journalist, Ibrahim Zanoun, was shot in the arm while covering the protests in Jabaliya, nothern Gaza.

Health officials: Two killed, 250 injured

• The Palestinian Ministry of Health says protester Majdi Ramadan Shbat has been killed east of Gaza City by Israeli forces.
• The number of those wounded has risen to at least 250, according to the ministry.
• Shbat's death brings the total number of protesters killed on Friday to three, after Thaer Rab'a, who was shot by Israeli forces during the March 30 demonstrations, succumbed to his wounds earlier in the day.

Protesters 'defiant' amid growing tension

A Palestinian woman and man stand behind burning tyres in Khuza'a near the border in southern Gaza Strip [Hosam Salem/Al Jazeera]

continue at Al jazeera news

Barack Obama 'furious' with Donald Trump over wiretapping claims, ex-President's aides report

Barack Obama 'furious' with Donald Trump over wiretapping claims, ex-President's aides report

News Unknown   12:11

The former president is said to be 'livid' about the accusations

Barack Obama is reportedly "furious" about Donald Trump's allegation that he ordered the placing of wiretaps in Trump Tower ahead of the presidential election.
The former US leader was said to be "livid" after his successor accused him of being a "bad, or sick, guy", while failing to provide any evidence his Democratic predecessor had ordered a surveillance operation.
While Mr Obama has kept a relatively low profile since leaving office, aides told The Wall Street Journal  that Mr Trump's accusation - which he made without producing any evidence to back up his claim - has crossed a boundary because it questioned the former leader's integrity and that of the office of president


It follows a string of tweets from Mr Trump over the weekend, that accused the then-President of wiretapping his New York office in 2016.
"Terrible!" he said. "Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!"
He added: "Is it legal for a sitting President to be 'wire tapping' a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A new low!"
Mr Obama's spokesman, Kevin Lewis, flatly denied the suggestion that anything underhand had taken place.
"A cardinal rule of the Obama administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice," he said.
"As part of that practice, neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any US citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false."
Mr Trump flung another accusation at Obama earlier this week, tweeting: "122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from [Guantanamo Bay], have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!"
That claim has been proven false. 113 of the so-called 'vicious prisoners' released from extrajudicial detention were set free by President George Bush, and only nine (or six per cent) by the Obama administration.
Mr Trump's camp was quick to fire back at claims these tweets were unbecoming. "Trump's people think Obama is at war with them," the media baron and Trump ally Christopher Ruddy told The WSJ.
"This president has been under siege since Day One from both the press and Obama loyalists and he’s reacting to it. I don’t think there’s any doubt that Obama loyalists inside the administration and outside are giving Donald Trump a lot of grief and a lot of problems."

UK economy being kept afloat by 'unsustainable' spending binge, Treasury watchdog warns

UK economy being kept afloat by 'unsustainable' spending binge, Treasury watchdog warns

News Unknown   11:52

'The savings ratio has fallen very substantially, back to the sort of level that we saw very early on in the financial crisis'



 
Britain’s economy is being kept afloat by an “unsustainable” spending binge last seen just before the crash, the Treasury watchdog has warned.
The independent Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) highlighted the danger of the ‘savings ratio’ going “negative for the first time since the middle of 2008”.
It means people are spending beyond their means on credit cards and by dipping into their savings, to cope with an incomes squeeze.

The last time there was a negative ratio was in the early part of 2008 – which was followed by the financial crisis and the deepest recession since the Second World War.
At a post-Budget briefing, the OBR also highlighted the economic pain ahead with disposable income per person forecast to fall by 0.7 per cent in 2017.
That meant households were poised to go further into debt – a total set to reach 153 per cent of disposable income by 2022, up from 149 per cent on the OBR’s forecast in November.
Meanwhile, the Resolution Foundation think-tank said the average person would have £900 less in their pocket or purse in 2021 than was forecast a year ago.
On the plunging savings ratio, Sir Charles Bean, a member of the OBR’s budget responsibility committee, said: “The important thing is that that is not sustainable.”
He added: “The savings ratio has fallen very substantially, back to the sort of level that we saw very early on in the financial crisis.
“The financing of that has been partly by some consumers taking out more debt - we have seen credit relatively strong recently.
“Equally, there have been some households which have been running down their savings.”
Only higher productivity and wage growth – neither of which are anticipated – could allow the spending binge to be sustained, Sir Charles said.
The OBR also dismissed Theresa May’s lingering promise to reduce net migration to “tens of thousands” in the next five years, despite Brexit.
Around 525,000 foreign workers would account for the vast majority of the 700,000 predicted rise in employment to 2021-22, as “inward migrants are disproportionately of working age”.
And the watchdog warned the Government was “not on course” to meet its flagship target to balance the books as early as possible after 2020.
The Budget deficit was likely to be as high as one per cent in 2021-22, even before the impact of an ageing population and rising healthcare costs.
Although borrowing this year would be £16.7bn lower than originally forecast, at £51.7bn, this was largely due to one-off factors rather than an improved economic performance.
With no change in “long-term growth potential”, higher than expected growth in 2017 – at two per cent - simply meant lower growth in the years to follow, as “spare capacity is used up”.
On Brexit, the OBR said there was still no “meaningful basis” on which to judge the impact – despite the Prime Minister vowing to pull out of the EU’s single market and customs union.
But it did forecast “a lower trade intensity of UK economic activity” for the next decade, as Britain strove to negotiate new trading arrangements after withdrawal.

Budget 2017: Philip Hammond breaks Tory manifesto promise not to raise National Insurance contributions

Budget 2017: Philip Hammond breaks Tory manifesto promise not to raise National Insurance contributions

News Unknown   11:45

Chancellor hikes taxes for the self-employed


The Chancellor has broken the Conservatives’ manifesto pledge not to raise National Insurance contributions after increasing the headline rate of the tax for some workers in his Budget.
Independent white van traders and freelancers are likely to be worst hit by the policy, which will raise the tax rate twice in the next two years ahead of Brexit.
The 2015 Conservative election manifesto repeatedly pledged that “we will not raise VAT, National Insurance contributions or Income Tax” .
On another page the document stated that “we can commit to no increases in VAT, Income Tax or National Insurance. Tax rises on working people would harm our economy, reduce living standards and cost jobs”.
At the time Labour described the pledge as a “last-minute gimmick”.
In the Chancellor’s speech on Wednesday afternoon Mr Hammond however targeted self-employed workers with a hike in the rate of NI contributions. Self-employed workers will see their rate rise from 9 per cent to 10 per cent in 2018, with a further rise to 11 per cent in 2019


Treasury officials say 2.5 million people will be hit by £240 a year by the NICS class 4 change. The number of people seeing a NICS rise in April 2018 when it comes in will fall to 1.6 million because of the move to abolish class 2 NICS previously announced JIC.
He justified the policy on the basis that differences in benefits between employees and self-employed workers “have been very substantially reduced” in recent years.
A Labour spokesperson said: "It is clear the Tories have broken their manifesto promise in order to hit low and middle earners with the sole-trader tax while continuing with tax giveaways for the super rich and corporations."
A Government spokesperson tried to defend the policy by arguing that the Government remained committed to its manifesto pledges and that detail of the NICs rise had been set out in legislation after the election.
Speaking after the Budget announcement David Gauke, the chief secretary to the Treasury, defended the decision to break the manifesto promise.
“I think we have got a situation where we’ve closed the gap in terms of benefits entitlements, effectively eliminated it, that we have got a growing situation with the costs and the sense that if we don’t take action … we are placing an unfair burden on the 85 per cent of employees,” he told after BBC News.
“I think if you look at our record as a Government over the course of this period in time you’ll see it is a record where we are cutting direct taxes … that when it comes to those direct taxes we are not looking for more, but there is a very specific case and the more we look at this the more we can see there is a problem that is going to build up if we don’t take action on this.”

The Creepiest Abandoned Places on Earth

The Creepiest Abandoned Places on Earth

space Unknown   13:53

Bet, this time, you’re positive the exteriors for the 2nd season of the AHS: Asylum were filmed in this creepy place. Nope. Wrong again! Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts has gone by many names; it’s been variously known as the Danvers Insane Asylum, State Lunatic Hospital, even Hell House on the Hill and other such lovely monikers. During its heyday in the 20s and 30s there were controversies over its given out the use of drugs, shock therapy and lobotomies – as a matter of fact, it may have been the birthplace of lobotomy. Eventually, Danvers transformed into unsanitary and equally dangerous place for both the patients and staff. And since its closure it has fallen into a state of despair and severe creepiness. Beware, as it’s one of the most violently haunted asylums in the world.

2. Hotel del Salto — San Antonio del Tequendama, Colombia

 No, it’s not the set of American Horror Story: Hotel, even though La Casa del Salto del Tequendama does have a past twisted enough to shoot a movie. It was built up in 1923 and named the Hotel del Santo in the 50s. Picturesque location alongside the Tequendama waterfalls in central Colombia attracted many travelers. A few decades later the level of river pollution caused the hotel’s abandonment. Recently it has been changed into a museum, though. And still, the creepiest part remains the same; many believe that this place is haunted since it was known during its prime time as a site for numerous suicide cases.

3. Pripyat, Ukraine

 

An abandoned city, located in northern Ukraine, once bustled with almost 500,000 residents is now a radioactive ghost town over-run by nature. In 1986, Pripyat became a ground zero for the deadliest nuclear disaster in history when an ‘accident’ destroyed a reactor and caused deadly radiation to spread throughout the city. The levels of radiation remain too high for people to live there again though it’s safe for tourist to visit. The city will stay abandoned forever, as that much radiation won’t vanish for hundreds of years
4. House of the Bulgarian Communist Party — Mount Buzludzha, Bulgaria
The Buzludzha monument or the ‘House-Monument of the Bulgarian Communist Party’ used to be a wonder back in the day. Opened in 1981, it served as a symbolic meeting point for the communist regime. But with the fall of the Soviet Union in less than a decade later it went into disrepair; now abandoned, this huge concrete building looks like an alien ship. The extreme location of this otherworldly monument, on Mount Buzludzha, puts it in the path of severe storms, ravaging winds and harsh winters. The outer windows were the first to go, escorted by the most of the metal-tiled roof, which is why the plans are being made to restore it.

5. Kolmanskop, Namibia

 
 Kolmanskop is one of the most famous haunting ghost towns in the world. It is located in the Namib Desert and was founded in the 1900s when first diamond was found in the sand. Within a few years, hundreds of German families set up homes here desperately seeking their fortune. Year by year it has been turning into bustling oasis which had to be abandoned to the wind and sand within just 50 years. Run-down buildings are falling apart, and their insides are filled with sand from the surrounding desert. The remains of Kolmanskop work as a magnet for ghost hunters, which is why De Beers Company set a museum to keep the town in somewhat decent shape and preserve the history of Kolmanskop.

6. Sanzhi UFO Houses, Taiwan

 
 Other-worldly appearance and wacky architecture of these saucer-like houses made them widely known as Sanzhi UFO houses the mysterious “ruins of the future”. Sanzhi Pod City became abandoned two years after it was built. This resort complex was built in 1978 in Taiwan. In 2 years due to some investment issues and other financial losses, the project was abandoned and left to the mercy of time. Sanzhi Pod City managed to find its way onto various A-lists of eerie ghost towns though and even has been used by MTV as a filming location.

7. Red Sands Sea Forts, the United Kingdom

 
 These huge metal Maunsell gun towers were originally constructed in 1943 during the Second World War to protect Britain from the German Navy. The bizarre-looking concrete monsters are named after Guy Maunsell, the engineer that designed them. Some of the towers survived to this day after they were decommissioned and left abandoned in the 50s. A few of them are still standing out as sea, remarkable as ever. Even though their lives weren’t rather long, these forts are outstanding relics of 2WW architectural history.

8. Mirny Diamond Mine – Eastern Siberia, Russia

 The second largest excavated hole in the world- Mirny was made by Stalin, who desperately wanted a more independent economy for the USSR. It was the 1st and the largest diamond mine in the Soviet Union. The Mir mine also known as Mirny mine is now inactive after 44 years of surface operation. The mine is 1,722 ft deep and has a diameter of 3,900 ft. It started to develop in 1957. Climate conditions were extremely harsh to mine: 7 winter month of frozen ground vs. brief summer month of the slush-turned ground. And yet Mir mine was producing 10,000,000 carats of diamond/year in the 60s.

9. The Haunting New Bedford Orpheum -U.S.A.

 Not only is April 15, 1912, a significant day because of the Auditorium opening, but also it happened to be the day the Titanic sunk. It functioned as the Orpheum for 47 years. This once-mighty theatre space was used to entertain the immense audiences. Since the New Bedford Orpheum closed its doors in 1959, part of the building became a supermarket ant then a warehouse. Sadly today, it remains completely abandoned, and still it never fails to impress, though.

10. Underwater Lost City Shicheng, China

Fifty-seven years ago, the Xin’an River Hydropower Station trapped the 1,300-year-old Chinese city of Shicheng (Lions City) under water. It was named Lion City after 5 Lion Mountain risen largely behind it. It is truly an astonishing sight. The city stands preserved from destructive forces of erosion, like sun, wind and rain, beneath the Qiandao Lake, so it were almost untouched and managed to stay in pretty good condition. Archeologists call it a “virtual time capsule”, but if you wanna open it, you’ll have to get some scuba gear.

Brexit bill: House of Lords vote down calls for second referendum

Brexit bill: House of Lords vote down calls for second referendum

News Unknown   13:36

In an 'extremely rare move' the Liberal Democrats will now vote against the Brexit Bill at its third reading in the upper chamber


Peers in the House of Lords have voted down calls for a second referendum on the terms of the final Brexit deal by an overwhelming majority.
Rejecting the Liberal Democrat’s amendment to the Government’s Brexit Bill, peers voted against a second referendum by 336 votes to 131 – a majority of 205.
In what the party describes as an “extremely rare move” in the Lords, the Lib Dems will now vote against the Brexit Bill at the third reading later on Tuesday.
Dick Newby, the party’s leader in the upper chamber, said “it was only right that they [the people] are given a say on the final deal”.
He continued: “Today the Government have confirmed that the Brexit deal will be finalised behind closed doors in Westminster. This is not accountable, this is not democracy, and that is why the Liberal Democrats cannot support this Bill.
“Theresa May is driving Britain towards a hard Brexit which wasn’t on the ballot paper and which no one voted for.”
Labour's leader in the Lords, Baroness Smith of Basildon, said her party could not support the amendment and would abstain in the vote. She said there had been “no significant public demand for a second referendum” and no significant shift in public opinion about leaving the EU.
Lord Bridges, the Brexit minister, also dismissed the Lib Dem amendment as “misguided in practice and in principle”, adding it was abundantly clear that the referendum last year was a “once in a generation decision”.
He added: "There was nothing on the ballot and no suggestion from Parliament that there would have to be another referendum if the UK were to vote to leave."
It comes after the Archbishop of Canterbury warned that holding a second referendum on the final deal would add to the nation’s division and “deepen the bitterness” exposed by the EU referendum last year.
"I believe it would be both dangerous and unwise and wrong to reduce the substance of the terms on which we exit the European Union to the result of a binary yes-no choice taken last summer,” he added.

Brexit bill: Theresa May suffers second defeat in Lords as peers hand more power to MPs

News Unknown   13:33

Brexit bill: Theresa May suffers second defeat in Lords as peers hand more power to MPs

Vote could put at risk PM's timetable to start talks on quitting the EU later this month


Theresa May has suffered a humiliating setback after the House of Lords approved a plan to give Parliament the final say over Brexit.
After a tetchy debate, peers voted by an overwhelming majority for the proposal forcing Ms May to seek Parliament’s backing  for any withdrawal deal she agrees with the EU.
The change would also mean Ms May must win a future vote in Parliament if she decides to see through her threat of potentially pulling Britain out of the EU with no deal at all.

But the proposal was met with angry attacks from Brexiteers, with one accusing other lords of seeking to tie the Prime Minister down “by her hair, by her arms, by her legs”.
Labour, Liberal Democrat and crossbench lords joined forces with Tory rebels to push through what has come to be called the “meaningful vote” amendment to the Article 50 Bill, by 366 to 268 votes.
It is the second defeat the Lords has inflicted on Ms May over the Brexit bill, giving her the power to trigger Article 50 talks, after she and her ministers demanded it be passed by Lords unamended.
The Labour-led amendment tabled with Lib Dem and crossbench support, was backed by Tory grandee Lord Heseltine who said the UK is facing “the most momentous peacetime decision of our time”.
He added: “This amendment secures in law the Government's commitment ... to ensure that Parliament is the ultimate custodian of our national sovereignty.
“It ensures that Parliament has the critical role in determining the future that we will bequeath to generations of young people.”
Up to now Ms May has only given a verbal assurance that Parliament will have a vote on the terms that she agrees and has said that if MPs and peers reject it, then the UK would still leave the EU with no deal in place.
She also made clear in her Brexit speech at Lancaster House that if she is not offered favourable terms by European leaders she will not be afraid to leave with no deal.
Proposing the amendment Labour’s Baroness Hayter said the chamber had heard a “compelling case for a simple demand”.
She added: “The Prime Minister has said she will allow a vote in both Houses ... but that to me is not a very firm commitment no matter how sincerely it was given.”
The amendment was also supported by Lord Pannick who worked on the Supreme Court case which forced the Government to let Parliament vote on triggering Article 50.


Addressing fellow peers, the crossbencher said: “It must be for Parliament to decide whether to prefer no deal or the deal offered by the EU.”
Lord Pannick added that the amendment would not delay notification of withdrawal or commit the Government to adopt any specific approach in the negotiations.
But Tory peer Lord Forsyth accused Lord Pannick of a “clever lawyer's confection” and said the proposal was a “wrecking amendment”.
Lord Forsyth said: "This House is absolutely full of people who still haven't come to terms with the results of the referendum, and this is a clever lawyer's confection in order to reverse the results of the referendum."
He went on: “These amendments are trying to tie down the Prime Minister. Tie her down by her hair, by her arms, by her legs, in every conceivable way in order to prevent her getting an agreement, and in order to prevent us leaving the European Union.”


Following the vote Dick Newby, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, said: “The Government must be held accountable as Theresa May drives the country towards a reckless hard Brexit.
“Theresa May has been offered a chance to think again, a chance to support parliamentary democracy on the biggest issue of the day.”
Brexit Secretary David Davis vowed to reverse the change when the Bill returns to the Commons.
He said: “It is clear that some in the Lords would seek to frustrate that process, and it is the Government's intention to ensure that does not happen.
“We will now aim to overturn these amendments in the House of Commons.”

Don Cheadle accuses Donald Trump of extraordinary 'racist, misogynistic' golf course slur

Don Cheadle accuses Donald Trump of extraordinary 'racist, misogynistic' golf course slur

News Unknown   14:28

'He wasn't the president then. Just a racist, misogynistic, draft dodging, "birther" conspiracist, p***y grabbing, bankruptcy machine': Warning, article contains strong language
 

Donald Trump is a "racist" who asked a group of white golfers if they had "ever f*cked a n****r", according to Hollywood superstar and vocal Trump critic Don Cheadle.
 Cheadle made the incendiary allegations during a lengthy back-and-forth on Twitter with supporters of the incumbent president.
The veteran Ocean's Eleven, Crash and Iron Man 2 star was in the depths of a heated debate when one Trump fan accused him of "Trump-hating way before treason" - a reference to the ongoing claims that the New York tycoon won the 2016 election with Russian backing.

"Hated him since he asked my friend's father at a Doral pro-am if he'd ever "f*cked a n****r..." Did it for me ...", Cheadle replied. He was referring to a mixed professional and amateur golf contest at Donald Trump's luxury resort in Doral, Miami.
He went on to claim the unnamed father was playing in a foursome with the billionaire tycoon. The man in question could not be named, Cheadle said, because his daughter was a celebrity.
"The Donald thought they were all 'like minded'," he continued. "Mistook their shock for disgust...

"He went on to clarify, "No, no, it's great!" and some more stuff before they just teed off in silence."
Asked why he had not mentioned this story during the Presidential campaign, Cheadle said he didn't think it would have made any difference.
"Many already know this to be in his nature. It's not hidden. And those who can't see it, might never. The story would have changed little," he wrote.
This was not the first Twitter tirade Cheadle has directed against the billionaire tycoon.
In 2016, he called the then-Presidential hopeful a "POS" (piece of shit) who should "die in a grease fire" after he used the shooting death of black woman Nykea Aldridge to claim "African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!"
Mr Trump has faced multiple accusations of racism: he was sued for allowing his organisations to discriminate against black tenants, and his casinos were fined for allowing wealthy white gamblers to send black employees from the table.
He has also allegedly said that "laziness is a trait in blacks", and accused Mexican migrants to the US of being "racist".
When a fan said they were shocked a public figure would make such comments, Cheadle replied: "He wasn't the president then. Just a racist, misogynistic, draft dodging, "birther" conspiracist, pussy grabbing, bankruptcy machine..."
Cheadle and the White House press office have yet to respond to requests for comment.

The west London industrial estate that became home to an array of Middle Eastern restaurants

The west London industrial estate that became home to an array of Middle Eastern restaurants

News Unknown   14:15

A mini-Beirut and Baghdad has erupted in the unlikeliest of places – a sprawl of warehouses in a little explored corner of the capital oozing with amazing food



“I hope it will snow more so we can take some pictures,” says Ayman Assi as he looks out towards the Grand Union Canal from his restaurant in west London.
It’s a cold Saturday morning in February. An articulated lorry is parked outside where grey, steel and concrete dominate as you’d expect on a drab industrial estate.
Inside is another world: a spotless Mediterranean Mövenpick, freshly made pastries filled with minced lamb, pizza-style discs topped with cheese and thyme, menus where the pound sign comes after the price, chefs drawing rows of bread out of the wall oven, the chicken and lamb shawarmas rotating against a gentle heat that will have them dripping by lunchtime.
Attached to the restaurant is the hookah, or shisha, lounge which sits on the canal side – well-to-do women chill out with a smoke; young men shoot the breeze as hardworking waiters scuttle to and fro with tea, sweets and red hot coals.
It’s a head-turner for cyclists on the canal, the aroma of apple tobacco blowing away the cosy scent of freshly baked biscuits from the nearby McVitie’s factory.


Beit el Zaytoun (or House of Olives) is the newest among a crop of Lebanese and Iraqi restaurants and shisha joints that have popped up in the middle of nowhere – at least in retail terms – over the past few years.
There is a rivalry but it’s amicable – this particular place is probably the most ambitious of them all. Everything is branded; the wooden serving boards and serviettes, all carry the logo.
And the voice of the iconic Lebanese singer Fairuz is omnipresent.
Beit opened three months ago and is teeming with trade. “People come from all over the place, Manchester, Birmingham,” says Assi. “We don’t take bookings except Thursday night there is live music.”
Around the corner in deepest warehouse land is a dimly lit place called Al Banafsaj. High-end cars are parked along the road it sits on at night. Dice roll inside on to boards, couples lounge on sofas, dine at tables, smoke hookahs. It’s a Middle Eastern knees-down. But no photos here, says the manager. “I’d have to ask everyone’s permission.”

I’m surprised as the place is so vast, no one would notice but then this is the Middle East.
“They think you could be MI6, MI5,” says Radwan Issa, a veteran of the neighbourhood, only half-joking.
He runs the Al-Jabal bakery which opened in the mid-1990s and recalls a time when his was the only Middle East catering operation in the neighbourhood: such bakeries spawned today’s phenomenon of outposts of Lebanon’s food empire on an industrial estate.
“People who come here want to get away from it all,” says Issa – it’s a home from home.
First it was him then one “small Iraqi place opened, one Palestinian, one Lebanese” and in time the area was transformed into an unlikely hub of restaurants and hubble-bubbles.
Yet it all largely remains under the radar of most of us: word of mouth has worked its magic largely in Arabic.
Three women chatting in English, two in chic headscarves, step out of a car on a grey afternoon. What are they doing here?
“Buying baklava from Patchi,” says one – the huge sweets maker up the road. And where have the travelled from? “Croydon.”
If you’re not from London that’s basically Bombay.

Around the corner is Abu-Afif, which also specialises in pastries and has a kebab unit too. One customer, Ziad, loves its bread, “perfected over centuries in Mesapotamia – they decided this shape is the best for a kebab”.
Indeed, this ellipse with pointy ends does seem the perfect smiley host for a stuffing of lean lamb shawarma or chicken – it’s a filling sandwich for a mere £4.
Next door is Al Enam, an Iraqi-owned place that is always jam-packed. Inside meaty skewers are flipped on a charcoal grill and bow-tied waiters are rushed off their feet supplying dishes such as “ghouzhi” – roast lambs neck or leg with rice – and fruit drinks to the teetotal punters.
Barbar around the corner is one of the older places – step into this warehouse and it’s proper A Thousand and One Nights oriental charm – but not for much longer. The HS2 project is going to rip the neighbourhood apart, uprooting a number of businesses. “No one knows what they will do,” says Mr Issa from Al-Jabal bakery.
For this is the only place where HS2 and Crossrail meet and the Greater London Authority’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation has plans.
Beit al Zaytoun’s Assi will be unaffected – in fact the council’s given him use of the adjacent car wash. He even welcomes the arrival of fresh competition. Maroush, the chain of around 20 Lebanese outlets around London, is opening nearby. “The more the better,” he says.
He’s invited me for an interview over breakfast but he is less interested in talking than laying on a feast – and I’m not complaining. Dish after dish arrives. It is insane. I want everyone to leave and for a couple of hours to slowly eat everything and lick the plates.

Chunky halloumi dripping in olive oil, beautiful creamy humous (“we boil our own chickpeas – not like in Turkish places where you go and they buy from outside”), crispy Lebanese pizzas with thyme and cheese, and a dish of scrambled egg and finely chopped grilled lamb.

The prices here are possibly one of the attractions – starters are available from as low as £1.95. And then there is the parking. Bustling Edgware Road is a viper pit of fines. Assi is keen for his house of olives to be freestanding, Mediterranean style.
“Where else would we get this space,” he says. “I want this to be like a house, not like a shop next-door, someone living upstairs.”
Assi adds: “I can’t wait for summer”. Then the operation will extend to the roof and a moored canal boat he has sets his sights on.

The 39-year-old, who lives in the rather posh neighbourhood of Barnes in west London, has a regal air about him – this business started off as a distraction from the “VIP-concierge” service that he runs, supplying high-end vehicles (he’s a ‘super-car’ aficionado) to the mega-wealthy. Even his hookah lounge here has a VIP section, separated by its very own red-rope stand.
You wouldn’t guess it because Assi is far from flash – I have to peer through his cuff to make out his Rolex. He has an earthy, George Clooney charm about him. Hasan, one of his two main chefs, arrives.
“When Mr Ayman first came to this neighbourhood, it was like a horror movie,” he says.
“Everyone though I was crazy opening here,” adds Assi.
I’m lost in a trance with all this amazing fresh and exotic food from Beirut. Coming up for breath, I look out and notice it’s snowing in Arabia

White House calls for investigation into unsubstantiated claims Barack Obama ordered 'wiretap' on Donald Trump

White House calls for investigation into unsubstantiated claims Barack Obama ordered 'wiretap' on Donald Trump

News Unknown   13:54

Mr Obama's spokesman has denied the allegations


The White House has called for the US Congress to investigate President Donald Trump's claim Barack Obama ordered Trump Tower to be "wiretapped" during the US election.
In a series of tweets, White House press secretary Sean Spicer called Mr Trump's allegation, for which he has provided no evidence, "very troubling".
He said Mr Trump is requesting Congress examine whether "executive investigative powers were abused" during the 2016 election campaign, as part of an ongoing congressional probe into Russia's influence on the election.

"Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling," Mr Spicer tweeted.
"President Trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into Russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016."
He added: "Neither the White House nor the President will comment further until such oversight is conducted."

Over the weekend, Mr Trump called Mr Obama a "bad, or sick, guy" after accusing him of ordered his offices in New York be wiretapped during the US election.
"Terrible!" the President tweeted over the weekend. "Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!"
Soon after he added: "Is it legal for a sitting President to be 'wire tapping' a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A new low!
"I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to election!"
Despite the severity of his claim, Mr Trump did not provide any evidence Mr Obama was responsible for surveillance at his property and has not provided any since.
White House officials have reportedly said they have no idea where Mr Trump got his wiretapping claims from.
Two former senior US officials dismissed Mr Trump's accusations out of hand as “just nonsense” and “just wrong”, with one telling CNN categorically: “This did not happen”.
One White House official is reported to have “grimaced” when he woke up and saw the President’s flurry of tweets, according to Politico.
“It could have come from anywhere”, the official reportedly said, adding it was unlikely to have been an official source.
Mr Obama's spokesman denied the allegations, saying any suggestion he or his staff "ordered surveillance on any US citizen" was false.
Kevin Lewis added that a “cardinal rule” of the Obama administration was that no White House official ever interfered in any Justice Department investigations, which are supposed to be conducted free of political influence.
“As part of that practice, neither Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any US citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is false,” he said.
The statement did not address the possibility that a wiretap of the Trump campaign could have been ordered by Justice Department officials.
Under US law, a federal court would have to have found probable cause that the target of the surveillance was an “agent of a foreign power” in order to approve a warrant authorising electronic surveillance.
James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence in the Obama administration, said: "there was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president, the president-elect at the time, as a candidate or against his campaign."
He said as intelligence director he would have known about such an order, and added: "Absolutely, I can deny it."
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders went on ABC's This Week to call for a congressional investigation into allegations the Obama administration ordered the wiretaps.
However, Ms Sanders refused to say where Mr Trump got his information from or why he blamed the former president.
She told this week: "If they're going to investigate Russia ties, let's include this as part of it. That's what we're asking."

Ms Sanders would not elaborate on what the President meant, saying his tweets speak for themselves. She also would not say exactly where the President got his information.
Without being specific, Ms Sanders said Mr Trump is "going off information that he's seen that has led him to believe that ... And if it is, this is the greatest overreach and the greatest abuse of power that I think we've ever seen and a huge attack on democracy itself."
The top House Democrat said it is "just ridiculous" for Mr Trump to claim Mr Obama would ever have ordered any wiretap of an American citizen.
Representative Nancy Pelosi said "we don't do that" and she called the charge a "smear."
Ms Pelosi told CNN's State of the Union that Mr Trump is following the playbook of making something up, having the media report it and then saying everybody is writing about it.
The California Democrat said it was a "tool of an authoritarian" to always have people "talking about what you want them to be talking about."

Arsenal left haunted by Arsene Wenger's decision to omit Alexis Sanchez as Roberto Firmino fires Liverpool to win

Arsenal left haunted by Arsene Wenger's decision to omit Alexis Sanchez as Roberto Firmino fires Liverpool to win

sport Unknown   14:46

Liverpool 2 Arsenal 1: Wenger's unexplainable decision to drop Sanchez left his side lacking any fight at all in a first half where they lost the match and possibly their top four hopes

Roberto Firmino was instrumental in Liverpool's emphatic 3-1 defeat of Arsenal

Not quite the searing annihilation of two years ago, perhaps, when Liverpool were three-up on Arsenal in quarter of an hour, but it was a mighty win for them, all-right: a night which left those of an Anfield disposition perhaps not knowing whether to laugh or cry. If they only achieved this kind of display against those sides with no reputation, they might be challenging Chelsea for the title.
The outcome must be viewed in the context of Arsenal’s desperate first half performance yet it was a reminder, too, of Liverpool’s glorious autumn in which the attacking big four – Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana, Roberto Firmino  - looked equal to anyone. Coutinho looked his best in weeks and Mane, contributor to both goals, dominated the Arsenal left.  A moment of sublimity from Firmino early in the second half – chest control, drag back behind Bellerin and shot – was a metaphor for his enduring class.
Liverpool’s belief flowered as the reality of Arsenal’s early hopelessness dawned. They hunted in packs during a first half in which Francis Coquelin and Grant Xhaka were terrorised and mentally spent, and in which Arsene Wenger’s full-backs were utterly absent when each of the decisive first half goals came in.
There was strife to go with all this, when Alexis Sanchez was left on the bench and spent the first half glowering in the dug-out. His absence gave Liverpool a pass. Without his threat, the home defence could afford a higher line from the outset, with Emre Can organised to drop into the back four to deal with Olivier Giroud when required.
Giroud had previously scored five in seven against Liverpool in the Premier League, which offered some rationale to Wenger’s Sanchez decision – but not much. The decision seems to stem substantially from the psychological state Sanchez is in. His body language after the 5-1 defeat at Munich two weeks ago, crouched on the pitch at the end, telegraphed how he took the dreadful display personally and was above it all. He remonstrated with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the pitch that night and did the same with Nacho Monreal when he arrived after half time here and you sense it is his attitude which Wenger had taken against. He senses a selfishness.
That kind of a statement from a manager is all very well when his side goes out and delivers, yet Arsenal without Sanchez were pitiful. From them it was the ‘anti-press’; a first half in which they invited Can to look up and select a pass. Can has not been demonstrating the kind of form which entitles him to his delay on contract talks, yet the space opened up for him and the confidence came freewheeling back.
The goals both displayed Liverpool’s fast exchange of passes at their best, though included a desperate quality of defending, too. Mane slid a cross from the right on nine minutes, which Coutinho tried to flick in. He missed, so Firmino, behind him, did the honours - drilling home instead, with Hector Bellerin drawn fatally into the area and away from the lurking threat. Firmino returned the favour for Mane six minutes before half-time, finding the Senegalese in such space - five yards of it – that he had time to control, take aim and level a right foot shot beyond Petr Cech.
That kind of a statement from a manager is all very well when his side goes out and delivers, yet Arsenal without Sanchez were pitiful. From them it was the ‘anti-press’; a first half in which they invited Can to look up and select a pass. Can has not been demonstrating the kind of form which entitles him to his delay on contract talks, yet the space opened up for him and the confidence came freewheeling back.
The goals both displayed Liverpool’s fast exchange of passes at their best, though included a desperate quality of defending, too. Mane slid a cross from the right on nine minutes, which Coutinho tried to flick in. He missed, so Firmino, behind him, did the honours - drilling home instead, with Hector Bellerin drawn fatally into the area and away from the lurking threat. Firmino returned the favour for Mane six minutes before half-time, finding the Senegalese in such space - five yards of it – that he had time to control, take aim and level a right foot shot beyond Petr Cech.

Arsenal must be asking where the tunnel they are trapped in is taking them

Liverpool had their own chance to put the game away when a Coutinho free-kick presented Joel Matip with a free header and substitute Divock Origi headed against the upright from a James Milner free-kick eight minutes later. The game was in its dying embers when Liverpool finished it off – an imperious pass from the Firmino outstep finding Origi who crossed for Georginio Wijnaldum to strike home. It was some finish from a midfielder under such pressure.
Jurgen Klopp’s side stride into the top four, still daring to believe that they are progressing. Arsenal are simply left bereft - wondering where on earth this tunnel will take them and when they will find some light.

Teams

Liverpool (4-3-3): Mignolet; Milner, Matip, Klavan, Clyne; Lallana, Can, Wijnaldum; Mane, Firmino, Coutinho, Substitutes not used: Karius, Lovren, Moreno, Lucas
 Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Xhaka, Koscielny, Monreal; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coquelin; Welbeck, Iwobi, Mustafi; Giroud. Substitutes not used: Ospina, Gibbs, Gabriel, Sanchez, Ramsey
Star man: Firmino
Match rating: 8

Checks appeal: Why gingham is fashion’s go-to print for Spring

Checks appeal: Why gingham is fashion’s go-to print for Spring

sex Unknown   14:38

A lesson in how to incorporate the trend into your wardrobe without looking like Dorothy

The pattern gave designers something to rebel against this season Getty

From Dorothy’s sickly sweet pinafore in Oz to loathsome school uniforms and Brigitte Bardot, gingham conjures the most contrasting of images but nevertheless it remains a keynote fabric of spring.

Packed with nostalgia, it’s as inevitable as florals that gingham should re-emerge year after year, but before you reach for the nearest picnic blanket, incorporating this pattern into your wardrobe requires a little more thought.
While many women have an outright aversion to gingham thanks to its wavering connotations, its presence on the catwalks this time around has matured, but in a good way.


For designers like House of Holland, Carolina Herrera, Peter Pilotto and Shrimps, toying with gingham gave them something to rebel against. Alas, for spring/summer 2017, the pattern has more of an adult appeal and has been injected with a serious dose of cool.
Cut in contemporary silhouettes like ruched mid-length dresses, asymmetric crop tops and boxy round-neck blouses, it really has seen a coming of age. So too, the pattern came in a myriad of contrasting hues from classic black and white to Cadbury’s purple and forest green.

Gingham came in a mishmash of colour ways at Peter Pilotto (Getty)

If you’re a fully-fledged check-mate, this will make for easy shopping and thankfully the high street has plenty of refreshing colour combinations on offer across shirts, skirts, dresses and trousers.
But, if you want to nod to the trend without fully diving in, why not try out a pair of gingham flats or a nifty neck scarf instead?

Former Labour cabinet minister insists Jeremy Corbyn is to blame for Copeland by-election loss

News Unknown   14:32

Ben Bradshaw describes Corbyn's leadership of the party as 'the one issue on the doorstep'

Former Labour cabinet minister insists Jeremy Corbyn is to blame for Copeland by-election loss

Ben Bradshaw describes Corbyn's leadership of the party as 'the one issue on the doorstep'

• James Beeson
• 2 hours ago
• 266 comments

210

Click to follow
Indy Politics

Ben Bradshaw said Labour ought to be 20 points ahead of an ‘evidently beatable’ Tory party PA

 

Jeremy Corbyn was “the one issue on the doorstep” in Labour’s defeat in the Copeland by-election last week and anyone who suggests otherwise is “lying”, according to Labour MP Ben Bradshaw.
Speaking to The Independent, the former cabinet minister placed the blame for the historic loss – the first time an opposition party had lost a by-election to a sitting Government in more than 30 years – at the door of the Labour Party's leader, claiming that no Labour seat was safe in the 2020 general election.
“Our candidate [Gillian Troughton] has done a fantastic job of making sure the voters knew that she was very pro-nuclear power,” he said. “There’s no point kidding ourselves. Talk to anyone who campaigned in that election the only issue was Jeremy Corbyn.
“Anyone else who suggested otherwise is lying. Jeremy was the one issue on the doorstep.”
 Mr Bradshaw’s comments come after Labour frontbenchers, including Shami Chakrabarti, suggested that bad weather and poor public transport had contributed to the loss. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell argued that high-profile interventions by former Labour figures Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson were in part to blame.
“It was a terrible result for Labour,” said Mr Bradshaw. “You have to go back to 1960 until there was another loss of an by election seat from an opposition party to a party of Government without any kind of extenuating circumstances. It was an absolutely catastrophic defeat for us."
“Based on the opinion polls and the real results not just in Copeland and Stoke but in local and council by-elections all over the country, no Labour seat is safe. Not a single one.”
Mr Bradshaw, Labour MP for Exeter since 1997, praised the “incredible and very important” interventions made by former Prime Minister’s Tony Blair and John Major on the subject of Brexit. “There are at least 48 per cent of people out there whose views and hopes are not being represented at the moment by any major political party or leader,” he said. “We’re one of the few countries in the world that doesn’t take notice of what former prime ministers think or say, and given the experience they’ve had at the highest level, I think it’s more important than ever that we have those voices to speak on behalf of the resistance.”
Mr Bradshaw said the Labour Party ought to be 20 points ahead of an “evidently beatable” Tory party and argued that forcing Labour MPs to vote in favour of Article 50 was “catastrophic historical and political error”.
“I think a hard Tory Brexit is going to be an absolute disaster,” he said. “It will unravel very, very quickly and when people begin to see that happening that will provide a huge opportunity for Labour, but only if we are in a position where we can capitalise on that and only if we are competently led.
“We can stop a destructive and hard Tory Brexit and Labour can win the next general election. But certain things have to happen. I will do everything I can over the next few weeks and months to ensure that they do.”
On the three-line whip imposed by Mr Corbyn during the Article 50 vote, Mr Bradshaw said: “Future generations will not forgive the people who were responsible for that when they see the damage that a hard Brexit is going to do to our country.”
Mr Bradshaw also defended Mr Blair over the Iraq war and said the public should trust the former PM now that he is re-engaging in political debate.
“The Chilcot inquiry completely exonerated Tony Blair of all of the mad allegations that were thrown at him,” he said. “I think that quite unfairly and without any evidence there is a section of the British public that don’t like Tony Blair.
“We’ve got to get over this nonsense about Iraq – just look at Syria where we didn’t intervene, it’s far worse, far more people died, far more refugees and no solution in sight. In Iraq you now have a functioning democracy and it is beating back Isis.”
“There are some on the far left who are blinded by their misinterpretation of what happened in Iraq and that perverts their view of anything Tony Blair does or says. In the real world that is not the majority view of people who I meet on the doorstep.”
Despite the recent resignations of fellow Labour MPs Tristam Hunt and Jamie Reed, Mr Bradshaw, who unsuccessfully ran for the position of deputy leader in 2015, confirmed he intends to stand for re-election in 2020. “I’m staying and fighting to save the party I’ve spent all my life fighting for,” he said.
“I think this country desperately needs a left-of-centre party more than ever at this time, with the awful and destructive damage the Tories are wreaking on our health and social care system, our education system and our economy. I’ve got more fight in my belly than I’ve ever had."

21 UNDERWATER DISCOVERIES THAT WILL MAKE YOUR JAW DROP!

21 UNDERWATER DISCOVERIES THAT WILL MAKE YOUR JAW DROP!

technology Unknown   15:19

You won't believe what they found under the sea!

F4U CORSAIR

The submerged World War II plane ran out of fuel, and the quick-thinking pilot changed trajectory and landed in the ocean. According to the story, the pilot was able to free himself from the plane before it sank and survived the crash.

THE LOST CITY OF HERACLEION

For five years, famed archaeologist Frank Goddio embarked on an epic journey in search of the lost Egyptian city. When he was almost ready to give up, he stumbled upon the ruins by accident.

THE GHOST FLEET

Imagine diving and coming across this eerie undersea graveyard. The “Ghost Fleet” is a World War II-era underwater grave with over 40 vehicles bombed near Chuuk Lagoon.

SCULPTURE PARK

The warm Caribbean waters of Cancun, Mexico, offer this unique attraction for divers where they can see over 500 life-like sculptures.

MS ZENOBIA

A 10,000 ton ferry sank to the bottom of the ocean in Larnaca Bay in Cyprus in the 1980’s and rests there still today.

THE UNDERWATER RIVER

Skilled divers can access the “Underwater River,” also known as “Cenote Angelita Cave.” The trees and plants which appear to grow out of the “river,” are actually just an optical illusion caused by a cloud of hydrogen sulfide interacting with the saltwater.

USS ORISKANY

The aircraft carrier saw years of warfare through both the Korean and Vietnam Wars before finally being sunk. It’s now a part of the world’s largest artificial coral reef.

TRAIN GRAVEYARD

n 1985, archaeologists discovered a “train graveyard” off the coast of New Jersey, with locomotives and train cars dating back to the 1850’s. Not surprised New Jersey would waste them…

YONAGUNI MONUMENT

Off the coast of Japan is the Yonaguni Monument, a massive stone structure believed to be over 5,000 years old.

SS PRESIDENT COOLIDGE

The large ship saw its seafaring days end after succumbing to a series of underwater mines.

THE TITANIC

You know the story, so we won’t bore you with details. “We’ll never let go, Jack.” (Note: “Jack” was not a real person. Well, the movie “Jack” anyway.)

“ANCIENT” CHINESE CITY

China’s Qiandao Lake is the home of this “ancient” city, which really isn’t ancient at all since the city was purposely submerged by a construction company.

SS THISTLEGORM

The British merchant ship was sunk in WWII in the Red Sea, and contains everything from vehicles and motorcycles, to ammunition and other weaponry.

MANGANESE BALLS

Taking a break from sunken treasures, these naturally occurring manganese balls have kept scientists stumped for decades. No one quite knows how or why they form, but they can be just millimeters wide to watermelon-sized.

IRISH SILVER

Researchers in Ireland discovered this huge 61 ton haul of World War II-era silver off the coast, nestled in a British cargo ship. Score!

THE ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM

Discovered in the early 1900’s, the Antikythera Mechanism is an ancient analog “computer” used to predict the movement of the moon and stars, and dates back to somewhere between 100 and 205 BCE.

APOLLO 11 ROCKETS

Once thought lost to the ocean, the rockets were discovered using sonar technology in the Atlantic, led by a team of researchers funded by Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos. Amazing.

SWEEPSTAKES

This Canadian schooner from 1867 sunk in Big Tub Harbour in 1885. It’s only 10 feet underwater, so even novice divers can go searching it’s 100-year-old corridors.

BLACKBEARD’S CANNONS

Nope, it’s not “Pirates of the Caribbean”, or maybe it is. Edward Teach, aka, Blackbeard, sunk the Queen Anne’s Revenge off the coast of North Carolina, along with the millions of pounds of treasures, artifacts, and this cannon weighing over 3,000 lbs.

ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN SHIPWRECK

For thousands of years, a legend persisted of an ancient merchant vessel that sunk with jewels and pottery in the Mediterranean. Finally, in 2014, divers off the coast of Malta found the ancient Phoenician shipwreck with many of the old pots and golden treasures still intact.

LAKE MICHIGAN STONEHENGE

OK, it’s not the sea, but we had to include Lake Michigan’s “Stonehenge,” this prehistoric rock formation that contains engravings of a mastodon.