City cancels Mansion House dinner after tower tragedy

A City of London event where the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, was due to give a key speech has been cancelled following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

He had been due to speak at the annual Mansion House dinner on Thursday night.

Mr Hammond said he had withdrawn from the speech "in view of the Grenfell Tower tragedy", adding: "My thoughts are with the local community."

A spokesperson for the City of London Corporation, which organises the event, echoed the chancellor's comments.

"In the light of the tragedy at Grenfell Tower we are cancelling tonight's Mansion House Dinner. Our thoughts are focussed with the victims and their families and friends."

Figures including Bank of England governor Mark Carney and the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Andrew Parmley, had been due to attend the Bankers and Merchants Dinner along with the chancellor.

A Treasury spokesman said Mr Hammond would deliver the speech intended for the Mansion House dinner in the near future.

His address was set to offer clues on the government's approach to the Brexit talks.

The chancellor had been expected to say that £48bn of funds from the European Union's investment bank would not be put at risk following Brexit.

BBC NEWS

Australian PM Turnbull mocks Trump in leaked audio

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been recorded apparently mocking US President Donald Trump in footage leaked by the media.

Mr Turnbull was filmed speaking at an event for the Australian media at Parliament House on Wednesday night.

The event is normally not reported on, but the political editor at Australia's Nine Network said he had chosen to break protocol and make it public.

Mr Turnbull said the report was "a breach of faith."

Mr Trump and Mr Turnbull recently repaired ties after a troubled start.

They had an acrimonious first phone call over Mr Trump's reluctance to honour a deal to accept up to 1,200 refugees from Australian detention camps.

But last month the two leaders met in New York, after which Mr Trump described their relationship as "fantastic".

'Winning at the polls'

In the leaked footage, Mr Turnbull performs a jokey routine for guests at the Mid Winter Ball for the media.

Adopting the mannerisms of the president, he says their meeting was "beautiful. It was the most beautiful putting-me-at-ease ever".

"The Donald and I, we are winning and winning in the polls. We are winning so much, we are winning, we are winning like we have never won before," he said.

Mr Turnbull saw a 10-point drop in approval ratings for his government in a March poll, with only a slight recovery in the latest May numbers.

But Mr Trump is also facing tough polling numbers - his disapproval rating hit a new high of 59% in a recent Gallup poll.

Mr Turnbull also jokes that polls are "so easy to win" adding: "I have this Russian guy..." in reference to Mr Trump's long-running difficulties with allegations that his campaign officials may have colluded with Russian hackers to influence the election outcome.

The prime minister appeared on Melbourne's 3AW radio show with Tom Elliott to discuss a different issue, but briefly addressed the controversy and said he, rather than Mr Trump, was the butt of his joke.

"It's a good-humoured roast," he said. "My speech was affectionately light-hearted."

He said the speech was supposed to be "off the record" and that next year, "at the mid-winter ball, I'll read selected passages from budget paper number two."

"It's a breach of protocol, it's a breach of faith, and all those things... you've got to have a laugh, you've got to lighten up."

Nine's political editor Laurie Oakes, who first reported the remarks, said he did not attend the ball himself, but that the audio "just happened" to leak and a sample had been posted on Instagram.

His employer said Mr Oakes "does not believe reporting should be banned at events hosted by journalists".

Australia is one of the closest allies of the United States.

Troops from the two countries have fought together in all recent major conflicts including Iraq and Afghanistan.

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British Airways technology chaos will cost £80m

The IT meltdown that grounded thousands of British Airways passengers will cost the airline at least £80m, it has emerged.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA owner International Airlines Group, told investors its initial assessment of the gross cost "is in the order of £80m".

He promised to provide an update with more details when appropriate.

The chaos was triggered by an engineer who disconnected a power supply.

The major damage was caused by a surge when it was reconnected.

Speaking at IAG's annual meeting in Madridon Thursday, Mr Walsh apologised again for last month's chaos, describing it as a "dreadful experience".

About 75,000 passengers faced severe disruption when BA's system failed over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Mr Walsh said BA was "working hard to ensure that affected passengers are compensated as soon as possible".

He had previously announced an independent investigation "to learn from the experience".

During the outage, the GMB, a union which represents aviation workers, claimed the problems had been caused by BA making IT staff redundant and outsourcing the department last year.

Mr Walsh said on Thursday: "What we do know at this stage, however, is that this failure had absolutely nothing to do with changes to the way we resource our IT systems and services."

IAG chairman Antonio Vazquez said: "You can be reassured that we will do everything in our powers to avoid similar problems in the future and restore our customers' faith in British Airways."

BA was one of several airlines affected by a baggage system problem at Heathrow on Thursday morning.

Hundreds of passengers on flights operated by IAG-owned Iberia, as well as BA and American Airlines at terminals 3 and 5 had to fly out without their luggage.

Heathrow said the problem has now been fixed and apologised.

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Argentine football player gives opponent the needle

An Argentine football player has caused outrage after admitting that he used a needle to hurt his rivals during a cup match on Sunday.

Federico Allende, a defender for lower-division club Sport Pacifico, bragged in a radio interview about using the needle several times against strikers from top-division club Estudiantes.

Mr Allende said that players had to be clever in order to win.

Pacifico's president Hector Moncada vowed to expel the player.

"We are devastated. This incident has tarnished the team's good work. I will expel him from the club," Mr Moncada told Clarín newspaper.

Pacifico won the match 3-2 and knocked out Estudiantes from the cup competition in a major upset.

The players were received like heroes in the small western town of General Alvear when they returned from Buenos Aires, where the match was played.

'He must hate me'

But the good atmosphere soon turned into bad news.

Allende gave Cordoba's Vorterix Radio an interview on Tuesday in which he said "you need to play dirty" to beat big clubs like Estudiantes de La Plata.

"We knew that we had to play dirty against them and I kept piercing the Estudiantes strikers with a needle," added the Pacifico defender.

"We know that top division players don't like contact, they don't like if we waste time or if we play dirty. So that was the way to do. Football is like that. Football is for the clever," Allende told Vorterix Radio.

Colombian striker Juan Otero said Allende jabbed him many times with a needle and that he complained to the referee during the match.

"I completely nullified Otero. He must hate me," Allende said on the radio.

After hearing the interview, Otero described Allende as "as a nasty man". 

BBC NEWS

London fire: Appeals for missing relatives

Twelve people have died and 18 people are in critical care after a huge fire engulfed a west London tower block on Tuesday night.

Many people are unaccounted for, and loved ones have appealed on social media for information.

Jessica Urbano Ramirez

 

Jessica, aged 12, is believed to have become separated from her family when the blaze broke out.

Her aunt Ana Ospina says they still haven't heard from her, but they have been calling hospitals as they believe she may have been taken in for treatment.

Actor Noel Clarke, who grew up in the area, is one of many social media users appealing for information on her whereabouts.

Mohamednur 'Mo' Tuccu

Mo Tuccu, a British national from Eritrea, was visiting friends or family at the Grenfell tower with his wife Amalahmedin and three-year-old daughter Amayah.

They had gone to break their Ramadan fast.

A colleague at the Red PR consultancy - where he has worked as a security guard for 10 years - said he was due to win an award for his service to the company.

The company tweeted an appeal for news of his whereabouts earlier today.

Khadija Saye and Mary Mendy

 

Artist Khadija Saye, 24, is a 20th floor resident of Grenfell tower.
Khadija had been filmed for a BBC documentary
Labour MP David Lammy was one of the many appealing for information about her whereabouts. His wife is her employer and mentor.
He tweeted: "If you have any information about Khadija Saye pls contact me. She is our dear friend, a beautiful soul and emerging artist."
Khadija's mother Mary Mendy is also missing

Begum Family

 One family from the 17th floor has five people missing. Husna Begum and four other members of her family were last heard of at 03:00 BST.

 

Tony Disson

 

The family of 66-year-old retired lorry driver Tony Disson told the BBC he lived on the 22nd floor of Grenfell Tower.

Mr Disson, who has lived in the property for eight years, phoned his son at 03:30 BST and said he was being told to stay in his flat.

He has three sons, four grandchildren, and another on the way.

His family say they have been calling hospitals to locate his whereabouts and posted an urgent appeal for any information.

Mariem Elgwahry

 

Mariem Elgwahry, 27, is a marketing manager who is believed to have last spoken to someone at 02:30 BST.
Her friend posted this picture with the message: "Seeking any information on our missing friend. She was on the 19th floor."

Ali Yawar Jafari

 

Ali Yawar Jafari.82, lived on the 11th floor of Grenfell Tower with his wife and daughter.
His son Hamid says his father had a heart condition and had difficulty walking.
His daughter Nadia was visiting on Tuesday evening, and when the fire broke out she got into the lift with him.
But they separated on the 10th floor, and the family have not been able to contact him since.
Mr Jafari has lived in the tower for 16 years. He is a father of six children and seven grandchildren.

Denis Murphy

 

 

The family of 56-year-old Denis Murphy say they last heard from him in the early hours of Tuesday morning sometime between 01:30 and 02:00 BST.
He called from his flat on the 14th floor and said he couldn't breathe because of the smoke.
His family say they have not heard anything since and have been frantically contacting hospitals and care centres.
By Rozina Sini and Chris Bell, BBC's UGC and Social News team

Egypt's parliament approves islands deal to Saudi Arabia

Egypt's parliament has given its approval to a controversial plan to transfer sovereignty of two largely uninhabited islands to Saudi Arabia.

The deal, to hand over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir, was agreed during a visit to Egypt by Saudi King Salman in April 2016.

It sparked rare protests in Egypt, with the president accused of "selling" the islands in return for Saudi aid.

The deal has been subject to challenges in court over the past year.

But parliament has insisted the issue lies in its jurisdiction. Final approval is now needed from President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

Protesters gathered outside the press union in Cairo as news of parliament's approval became known. Several people, including some journalists, were detained.

Mr Sisi said the islands had always belonged to Saudi Arabia and that the Saudis had asked Egypt to station troops there in 1950 to protect them.

A court ruled in January that the government had failed to provide evidence that the islands were originally Saudi, although this ruling was overturned by another court a few months later.

Opponents accuse Mr Sisi of violating the constitution and handing over the islands to please Saudi Arabia which has backed him financially since he led the military's overthrow of his elected Islamist predecessor, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013.

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Why the Red Sea islands matter

 

• Sanafir and Tiran are islands that lie about 4km (2 nautical miles) apart in the Red Sea
• Tiran sits at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba, on a strategically important stretch of water called the Strait of Tiran, used by Israel to access the Red Sea
• The islands are uninhabited, apart from Egyptian military personnel and multinational peacekeepers
• Egyptian troops have been stationed on the islands since 1950 at the request of Saudi Arabia
• Israel captured the islands in 1956 and 1967, subsequently returning them to Egypt both times
• Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi was criticised for "selling" Egyptian territory after deciding in April 2016 to hand the islands to Saudi Arabia.

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 BBC NEWS

Erdogan visit violence: Washington police arrest two Turkish men

Two Turkish nationals living in the US have been arrested in connection with violence outside the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington.

Eyup Yildirim of New Jersey and Sinan Narin of Virginia face assault charges, police said.

The brawl involving protesters and Turkish security personnel happened during a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month.

Police called it a "brutal attack on peaceful protesters".

Mr Erdogan was in a car parked nearby and witnessed the fighting.

Mr Yildirim and Mr Narin were both identified as supporters of Mr Erdogan in a detailed New York Times report into the violence.

The newspaper said the men had travelled to Washington to support the Turkish president, but it was unclear if they had a formal connection to his security detail.

Video footage showed men in suits charging past police to kick and punch protesters. Two other men have previously been charged.

Eleven people were hurt in the fracas, nine of whom needed hospital treatment.

The US complained to Turkey about the incident and confirmed that Turkish security guards were involved.

However, the Turkish Embassy said protesters had provoked Turkish-Americans who were there to greet the president, and they in turn responded in self-defence.

BBC NEWS