The Cause of London’s Surge in Violence Is Obvious — but Nobody’s Talking About It

(ANTIMEDIA Op-ed) London, UK — As the United States continues to experience sensational mass shootings and many Americans call for gun control, the London is dealing with its own rash of violent crime, mostly in the form of knife attacks. Countless memes circulating on the internet have pointed out that despite the British government’s harsh gun laws, criminals […]

England Slides Closer To Communism: Malnourished Children Fill Pockets With Food

The heads of schools from various parts of England and Wales have described differences in the appearance of some of their pupils. Poverty stricken children are “grey and pale” and fill their pockets with food so they can have something to eat.

And the problem is only worsening as government regulations and tax burdens continue to make it hard for everyday people to get by.  According to the BBC, on school head was quoted saying, “My children have grey skin, poor teeth, poor hair; they are thinner.” Lynn, a head teacher from a former industrial town in Cumbria, who did not want to give her full name, was one of a number of head teachers speaking to reporters at the National Education Union conference in Brighton.

Even though the government said measures were in place to tackle poverty, much of the UK is sliding into abject poverty as the country inches closer to Communism. “Children are filling their pockets with food. In some establishments that would be called stealing. We call it survival,” Lynn said.

Jane Jenkins, a head teacher from Cardiff, said children in her school often only brought a slice of bread and margarine for lunch and that teachers supplemented this. “It’s really difficult and when people are asking you about standards, why we don’t go up the league tables?

There’s also becoming a stark difference between the wealthy and the poor. “When you take children out to an event, maybe a sporting event, you see children of the same age from schools in an affluent area. It’s the grey skin, the pallor. It’s the pallor you really notice,” said another teacher.  “Monday morning is the worst.  There are a number of families that we target that we know are going to be coming into school hungry. By the time it’s 9:30 am they are tired.”

The teachers are also washing the grubby clothes for the children who can’t afford to even clean the few pieces of destroyed clothing they own. “We have washing machines and we are washing the children’s clothes while they do PE,” said Lynn.  “We wouldn’t have it that these children are stigmatized because their clothes are dirty.”

Howard Payne, a head at an inner city school in Portsmouth, said there had been a four-fold increase in the number of children with child protection issues. “Every one of these issues has had something to do with the poverty that they live in,” he said. “It’s neglect. It’s because they and their families don’t have enough money to provide food, heating or even bedding.”

As poverty increases too, governments usually attempt to solve the problem by raising taxes, which pushes those already borderline into poverty as well, exacerbating the problem exponentially. More government is never the solution to the problems the government created in the first place.

Queen Elizabeth II Has A WW3 Speech Written And It Is Ready To Deliver

The Queen of England has a pre-written speech prepared for the outbreak of World War 3.  As tensions between Russia and the United Kingdom continue to flare, the Queen’s speech is sparking fears of a nuclear war.

An Austrailian news source, News.Com.Au, reported that some people already fear a nuclear war is more likely that during the Cold War era. The speech was prepared for her back in the 1980s. It was originally revealed in 2013, but no one paid much attention until now. The address was written in the event nuclear war does occur, and she needs to address the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

The speech was released by the government under the 30-year rule, and is reflective of the time it was written, with a “planned” broadcast date of March 4, 1983. It was drawn up as part of a wargaming exercise.  The script for a hypothetical broadcast has the monarch describing the threat to the “brave country” as “greater” than any other in history. It also mentions the Queen’s son Prince Andrew, then in the Royal Navy. The speech, devised by Whitehall officials at one of the most fraught Cold War periods, was never recorded.

Although it was only a simulation, the text of the Queen’s address (written as if broadcast at midday on Friday 4 March 1983) seeks to prepare the country for the ordeal of World War III. According to the BBC, it starts off by referring to the Queen’s traditional Christmas address:

The horrors of war could not have seemed more remote as my family and I shared our Christmas joy with the growing family of the Commonwealth. Now, this madness of war is once more spreading through the world and our brave country must again prepare itself to survive against great odds.

I have never forgotten the sorrow and the pride I felt as my sister and I huddled around the nursery wireless set listening to my father’s [George VI’s] inspiring words on that fateful day in 1939 [at the start of the World War II].

Not for a single moment did I imagine that this solemn and awful duty would one day fall to me.

But whatever terrors lie in wait for us all, the qualities that have helped to keep our freedom intact twice already during this sad century will once more be our strength. My husband and I share with families up and down the land the fear we feel for sons and daughters, husbands and brothers who have left our side to serve their country.

My beloved son Andrew is at this moment in action with his unit and we pray continually for his safety and for the safety of all servicemen and women at home and overseas. It is this close bond of family life that must be our greatest defense against the unknown. If families remain united and resolute, giving shelter to those living alone and unprotected, our country’s will to survive cannot be broken.

As we strive together to fight off the new evil, let us pray for our country and men of goodwill wherever they may be. God Bless you all.

It’s a little eerie, to say the least, that the UK, now neck deep in tensions with Russia had prepared a Cold War speech for their Queen. The current crisis with Russia began on March 4, when former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped on a bench in Salisbury, England. UK Prime Minister Theresa May claimed they had been poisoned by a nerve agent called Novichok, one of the world’s deadliest.

While the pair remains in hospital, their prognosis is grim. And more importantly, what continues to be missed by most mainstream media outlets is that Skripal had connections to the Trump dossier author, Christopher Steele.  Skripal had a close relationship with an unnamed security consultant who worked for Christopher Steele’s Orbis Business Intelligence.

British Official: Russian Spy Attack Is ‘State-Sponsored Attempted Murder’

The nerve agent attack on the former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter looks like “state-sponsored attempted murder,” according to the chairman of the U.K.’s Foreign Affairs Committee.  British media claims that Moscow is behind the attempt to use a nerve agent in the United Kingdom to try to kill a former Russian spy.

Tom Tugendhat told BBC Radio 4 on Monday that he expected Russia to be blamed for the March 4 attack on the ex-spy and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England. Tugendhat said it was a “bit early to be absolutely certain of that” but added that the Russian government was “certainly behaving aggressively towards people in the U.K.”

“We’re expecting the prime minister to make an announcement soon and, frankly, I would be surprised if she did not point the finger at the Kremlin,” Tugendhat told the BBC.Trace amounts of the substance used to poison Skripal and his daughter were found on and around a table where the pair ate at the Italian restaurant Zizzi, the BBC has learned. The table, along with other items, has been removed and destroyed. Scientists have advised police it could take weeks for the premises to reopen.

Nerve agents are organic chemicals belonging to the group of organo-phosphorus compounds.  They are stable and easily dispersed, highly toxic, and have rapid effects both when absorbed through the skin and via respiration. Nerve agents can be manufactured by means of fairly simple chemical techniques. The raw materials are inexpensive and generally readily available. All nerve agents in pure state are colorless liquids. Their volatility varies widely. Of the nerve agents, Tabun and Sarin are perhaps the most well-known.

According to CNBC, the advice to wash possessions applies to anyone in either venue between 13:30 GMT on Sunday 4 March and closure on Monday. Prof Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer for England, said the risk of harm to fellow diners was “low.”  Dame Sally said after “rigorous scientific analysis” there was some concern that prolonged exposure over weeks and months could cause health problems but it was “not a subject for panic.” She also said, “I am confident none of these customers or staff will have suffered harm.”

The British, for all intents and purposes, are blaming Russian for trying to kill their own ex-spy in England. The former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter, Yulia, 33, remain hospitalized in “very serious condition” after being poisoned last week in Salisbury. The father and daughter, believed by authorities to have been deliberately targeted, were found slumped on a bench near a shopping center on Sunday afternoon.

People Are ‘Dying In Hospital Corridors’ Under Britain’s Socialized Healthcare System

There’s new outrage overseas, as people are literally dying in the corridors of hospitals because of Britain’s overrun socialized medicine scam. In case Venezuela didn’t do enough to prove that socialism is a deadly joke on humanity, Britain’s healthcare system should be the last nail in its coffin.

The patients are dying in hospital corridors as safety is jeopardized by intolerable conditions say doctors in Britain, according to the BBC last week.  More details continue to emerge surrounding the newest outrages which have sprung up from Britain’s crisis-beset healthcare system. This most recent revelation came as a result of an open letter sent to the Prime Minister by 68 senior doctors, offering details of the inhuman conditions which have become common in the socialized National Health Service’s hospitals.

The letter, which collected statistics from NHS hospitals in England and Wales, found that in December alone over 300,000 patients were made to wait in emergency rooms for more than four hours before being seen. Thousands more suffered long waits in ambulances before even being allowed into the emergency room. But the revelation of horrors was just beginning. The letter further noted that it had become “routine” for patients to be left on gurneys in corridors for as long as 12 hours before being offered proper beds, with many of them eventually being put into makeshift wards hastily constructed in side-rooms. In addition, it was revealed that around 120 patients per day are being attended to in corridors and waiting rooms, with many being made to undergo humiliating treatments in the public areas of hospitals, and some even dying prematurely as a result. One patient reported having gone to the emergency room with a gynecological problem which had left her in severe pain and bleeding, a lack of treatment rooms led hospital staff to examine her in a busy corridor, in full view of other patients. “There was no dignity. It was degrading,” she said. “I couldn’t fault the staff, there was nothing they could do. It was chaos.”

As the NHS entered the first week of 2018, over 97% of its trusts in England were reporting levels of overcrowding so severe as to be “unsafe.” For those who champion socialism, it’s tempting to believe that these extreme cases must be a rare occurrence, but the statistical facts prove otherwise. Horror stories have become increasingly the norm for any socialized healthcare system, just as under socialism in general, poverty becomes the norm.

it doesn’t look like this socialized system will ever work as the horrifying reality gets worse. Many insist that by pumping more taxpayer money into it, the state-run healthcare system somehow magically become a utopia.  Almost as predictable as the regular emergence of new stories of this kind is the equally unwavering refusal of British commentators to consider that the state-run monopoly structure of the system itself might be to blame. Many, including the Prime Minister herself, have pointed to the spike in seasonal illnesses such as the flu at this time of year, to distract from the more fundamental flaws of the system. Officials from Public Health England went so far as to openly dismiss this as a major cause of the current healthcare crisis, stating that current levels of hospital admissions due to the flu are “certainly not unprecedented.” The aging population and local councils’ failure to provide more non-hospital care have also been blamed.

By far the most commonly suggested remedy is simply to inject more taxpayers’ money into this failing system. Indeed, the belief that Britain’s perpetual healthcare crisis is solely the result of funding cuts by miserly Conservative politicians is so widespread that it is almost never challenged, least of all by the trusted experts within the system itself, many of whom stand to benefit from increased funding.

The popular caricature of the NHS as suffering from chronic underfunding is simply a myth. In fact, even when adjusting for inflation, it is clear that government funding to the NHS has been increasing at an extraordinary rate since the turn of the millennium, much more quickly than during the early years which its supporters look back on so fondly.

One commonly heard soundbite from supporters of the current system is that the Conservatives have allowed healthcare spending to slump to historically low levels; all it would take to return the NHS to the levels of success it supposedly previously enjoyed would be to increase its funding back to the same level it previously enjoyed, or so they say. However, to believe such a statement one would have to make two separate misinterpretations of the statistics, both so basic that they would strike shame into even the dullest high school math student: firstly, it is not the absolute amount of spending on the NHS which has fallen under the Conservative-led governments of 2010-18, but merely the rate at which spending is continuing to increase, even when adjusting for inflation. Secondly, the only reason that the rate of increase seems to have fallen is because of how disproportionately high it had been been under the infamously spendthrift Labour governments of 1997-2010. –Mises

What would it take to revive the dead socialized healthcare scheme? Simple.  Free markets. More competition and freedom of choice would not only lower costs but give those in need a say in their own health. As long as British healthcare is organized as a taxpayer-funded state monopoly it will continue to fail, regardless of the amount of money thrown at the problem.

Military Personnel Fire At Man Trying To Ram Checkpoint At US Air Base In UK

US military personnel fired shots at a man who tried to force his way into a military base in central England used by the U.S. air force on Monday. The Mildenhall Royal Air Force base in Suffolk, eastern England said security staff locked down the base, used by the United States to refuel U.S. and NATO aircraft in Europe, at about 1300 GMT following reports of a disturbance. The man was subsequently arrested after the incident.

The U.S. Air Force said the incident had been contained and that the suspect had been apprehended. Police said they remained on the base. The U.S. embassy declined immediate comment.

The UK Ministry of Defence said that the incident took place at the entrance of the base after the driver tried to force the car past the gates.

“Shots were fired by American service personnel and a man has been detained with cuts and bruises and taken into custody,” Suffolk Police said. “No other people have been injured as a result of the incident.”

Police have responded to reports of a disturbance at RAF Mildenhall in #Suffolk and a man has been detained with cuts and bruises and taken into custody. No other people have been injured as a result of the incident.

Read more - https://t.co/GNFFXrwysT pic.twitter.com/KTc7EcUTer

— Suffolk Police (@SuffolkPolice) December 18, 2017

The 1,162-acre base, which houses about 3,100 U.S. military and an additional 3,000 family members, is set for closure after the U.S. said it was going to move is operations from the base to Germany. “The base was locked down and emergency personnel are responding to the situation,” RAF Mildenhall said in a statement. “Individuals in the area surrounding the installation are asked to avoid the base at this time.”

A statement for the base said the lockdown had later been lifted.

Police are continuing to deal with an ongoing incident at RAF Mildenhall, it is considered that there is no wider threat to the public or occupants on the base. One man has been arrested and police are not looking for anyone else on the site.

Read more - https://t.co/sgjJOkntCQ

— Suffolk Police (@SuffolkPolice) December 18, 2017

Scarlet Fever Outbreak In England Leaves Researchers Confused: ‘We’re Concerned’

Scarlet fever cases are now at 50-year-high sparking concerns for researchers, as they are baffled as to how “Victorian-era” diseases are making a comeback. The disease has been on the rise since 2014, and researchers are failing to find the cause.

Scarlet fever hit its highest level in England for 50 years, with more than 17,000 cases reported in 2016 according to research in the Lancet. The infection is most common in children under the age of 10 and although highly contagious (being spread easily with a cough) is easily cured with a round of antibiotics. But that, in and of itself, raises concerns of the disease becoming resistant to antibiotics, creating a global pandemic.

Doctors are urging the public to be aware of symptoms, which include a rosy rash, and seek help from their doctor. Data for 2017 suggests the rate of infection may be falling, but experts remain cautious, saying it is “too early to tell.” Normally, first world nations have a better chance of handling an outbreak such as this, but England is on the verge of losing control over this scarlet fever outbreak.

A joint investigation by public health authorities from across England and Wales found that the incidence of scarlet fever tripled between 2013 and 2014, rising from 4,700 cases to 15,637 cases. In 2016, there were 19,206 reported cases, the highest level since 1967. The majority of the outbreaks were in England.

“We are concerned – it’s quite a dramatic rise,” said Dr. Theresa Lamagni, head of streptococcal surveillance at Public Health England, who led the study. “We’ve always seen cases of scarlet fever – it’s just the scale in the past has been much lower than the last few years.” Dr. Lamagni described the soaring number of cases of scarlet fever as “baffling”, adding that no underlying causes had been identified. She stressed that the individual cases of the disease are “not any more serious than previously – it’s just a question of scale.”

Scarlet fever was a common cause of death in the Victorian era but had largely been in decline since the introduction of antibiotics. As with any bacterial infection, prompt treatment remains essential to prevent both the spread of the disease and the risk of further complications such as pneumonia and liver damage. Anyone diagnosed with scarlet fever is advised to stay at home until at least 24 hours after the start of treatment to avoid passing on the infection.

There is no vaccine against the disease and all cases must be reported by doctors to the local health authority. Molecular genetic testing has ruled out a newly emerged strain of the infection. Additionally, there has not been any suggestion that the disease has become resistant to the penicillin normally used to treat it – yet.

Church of England Votes to Hold Special Transgender Services

IDENTITY POLITICS: The official Transgender Flag [image: LGBT Nation]

(21st Century Wire) This week, the Church of England officially recognised transgender people as members of their flock. 

The Anglican Church will offer special religious services for transgender people.

Many delegates at the Church’s General Synod meeting in York opposed the move, but Church leaders claims more debate on the issue “will help to inform that church, and many other churches, of the challenges children with gender dysphoria face.”

Due to continual lobbying from political and activist organisations over the last decade, UK schools have been made to incorporate ‘transgender awareness’ even at the primary school level, and as a result, the country is seeing a sharp rise in gender switching by children. The Guardian conforms this trend:

“Citing data from the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, he said that in 2010, 97 children in the UK were referred to gender identity clinics, but by 2016 the number had risen to 1,400.”

Proposing the motion, Chris Newlands, from Blackburn, Lancashire, told the synod a story about a ‘gender reassignment’:

… where the son of two members of an evangelical church, who he called Nathan. At the age of five, after medical advice, Nathan became Natalie, and returned to school “much happier … and with very little fuss from staff, pupils and parents.”

He added that: “Across the world, trans people have been subjected to appalling violence against them. In the UK, transphobic hate crime has risen by 170% in the last year.”

In 2012 in the US, the Episcopal Church (the U.S.-based wing of the Anglican Communion) voted to allow the ordination of transgender people.

READ FULL ARTICLE AT 21STCENTURYWIRE.COM. 

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London’s Towering Inferno

[image: Natalie Oxford / AFP]The disastrous west London Grenfell Tower blaze was a real-life version of the 1974 Hollywood “Towering Inferno” thriller.

As of Friday, the confirmed death toll was 30, the number expected to rise exponentially, likely dozens more.

Many others required hospitalization, at least 18 in critical condition. Dozens of building residents remain unaccounted for.

Images of the building’s floors ablaze were terrifying, for many escape impossible – for some others, jumping to their death was the only way to avoid incineration, a horrible way to die.

Hundreds of working-class residents were in the 24-story building when fire broke out on June 14 at around 1:00AM, quickly spreading to upper floors – creating a devastating towering inferno.

Images of the charred remains bear testimony to the blaze’s ferocity – and the criminality of UK authorities for letting it happen, their unacceptable neoliberal policies responsible.

No fire alarm alerted residents, no building sprinkler system, no evacuation plan in case of serious fire, and just one stairwell for the structure – clear design flaws for greater developer profits, government negligence and criminality responsible for permitting them.

Firefighters’ ladders only extended up to 12 floors. Residents were told to stay in their units, keeping doors closed with wet towels sealing crevices to keep the blaze from spreading to their apartments.

In normal fires it usually works, not at Grenfell Tower because the intense fire spread quickly, engulfing virtually everything in its path.

For years, the Grenfell Action Group residents’ organization warned about lax safety standards to no avail.

Nothing was done to correct faulty electrical wiring and emergency lighting, lack of sprinkler and fire alarm systems, as well as various other issues of concern – making the building unsafe to live in.

This type regulatory laxity is inexcusable everywhere. Yet it’s all to commonplace in poor or low-income areas – in Western and other societies, putting human lives and welfare at risk.

In the wake of London’s Grenfell Tower blaze, thousands protested publicly for immediate remedial action. “We want justice,” demonstrators demanded.

“May must go.” “Shame on you.” Key is pressuring Westminster and London authorities for responsible change. Allowing residents to live in death traps is unconscionable, including ones with no evacuation plan in case of serious fire.

The Grenfell Tower disaster was caused by indifference to the welfare of ordinary and poor Brits, gentrification reducing the affordable housing stock, force-fed austerity to benefit the country’s rich, and Thatcherite notions of the unacceptability of public housing in a “property-owning democracy.”

On Friday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: “Can @Theresa_May and @David_Cameron hear the voices of the victims of their party’s vicious ideology? Shame on you.”

Labour MP David Lammy called the Grenfell Tower disaster “corporate manslaughter…totally unacceptable (to allow this) to happen…People should be held to account.”

The avoidable disaster reflects criminality at the highest levels of UK governance.

Like America and other Western societies, Britain serves its privileged class and foreign investors exclusively at the expense of its most vulnerable – a shocking indictment of destructive predatory capitalism.

Muslims tell Christians in England that they have ‘taken over’ the entire country

Coming to America soon?

LUTON, England (INTELLIHUB) — In March, the deputy leader of Britain First Jayda Fransen and a few of her colleagues decided to take a stroll down the street in Bury Park, a primarily Muslim district of the city, to see how Muslims reacted to the cross. Needless to say, the peaceful walk turned into a street argument when Muslims living inside the country verbally attacked Fransen and her crew for their beliefs.

“The Muslims of Luton claim they’ve taken our country from us! It seems my Christian cross really offends them!,” the deputy leader tweeted.

The Muslims of Luton claim they"ve taken our country from us! It seems my Christian cross really offends them! pic.twitter.com/KJOpzXBqDN

— Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) March 16, 2017

“F**k you […] it’s our country!” One Muslim man told the group. “Are you jealous we are taking over?”

Via Intellihub

H/T: Tabertronic/Twitter

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Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist, analyst, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics (Intellihub.com). Shepard is also known for producing Shade: The Motion Picture (2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s America Declassified (2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to Infowars. Read more from Shep’s World. Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter.

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UK Police Confirm Manchester Suicide Bomber Was Salman Abedi, Son Of Libyan Refugees

Confirming what CBS reported earlier today, UK police and Whitehall officials said that the suspected bomber who killed at least 22 people is 22-year-old Salman Abedi (or Salman Ramadan Abedi) from a family of Libyan origin. Abedi had not been identified by the coroner so no further details would be given, Greater Manchester Police said.

Born in Manchester in 1994, the second youngest of four children his parents were Libyan refugees who came to the UK to escape the Gaddafi regime. His parents were both born in Libya but appear to have emigrated to London before moving to the Fallowfield area of south Manchester where they have lived for at least ten years according to the Telegraph.

They had three sons in total and a daughter, who is now 18-years-old. Abedi grew up in the Whalley Range area, just yards from the local girl"s high school, which hit the headlines in 2015 when twins and grade A pupils, Zahra and Salma Halane, who were both aspiring medical students, left their homes and moved to Isil controlled Syria.

There were unconfirmed reports in Manchester that the whole family apart from the two elder sons recently returned to Libya.

Abedi was named by Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins on Tuesday.

Manchester Police Chief Hopkins said: “Our priority, along with the police counter terrorism network and our security partners, is to continue to establish whether he was acting alone or working as part of a wider network.”

Authorities say they are trying to determine if suspect Salman Abedi was "acting alone or working as part of a wider network." pic.twitter.com/NhcrpxeyOZ

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 23, 2017

According to the FT, police launched raids across the south of Manchester on Tuesday as authorities tried to establish whether the suicide bomber who killed at least 22 people, including children, in the terrorist attack on a concert arena was working alone.  The hunt has initially focused on three adjoining neighbourhoods in the city’s southern districts. Greater Manchester Police said they had raided two addresses in Whalley Range and Fallowfield, where they also carried out a controlled explosion. Forensic investigators could be seen at one of the addresses searching for clues.

Armed officers also arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with the attack, swooping on the suspect outside a Morrison’s supermarket in nearby Chorlton. It is unclear whether the arrest was related to either of the raids.

All three areas are ethnically diverse and popular places to live for students. Manchester is the biggest university city in the UK outside of London.

Earlier on Tuesday, Isis claimed responsibility for the attack, although the jihadi group has in the past taken credit for terror incidents that were later found to be unconnected. Dan Coats, the US director of national intelligence, said Isis’s role had yet to be confirmed, adding: “They claim responsibility for virtually every attack.”

UK Police said the attacker died in the explosion, which left 59 people in hospital with injuries. The device, which detonated just after 10.30pm on Monday, appeared to have been packed with metal objects to maximise its lethality. Witnesses at the scene described finding nuts and bolts on the floor near the blast.

Another priority noted by the police will be to establish whether any further linked attacks or copycat incidents are planned. It is likely that the bomber"s communications will form a significant part of the inquiry, while investigators will also be checking if he was known to authorities in any way.

One area of focus will be examining the remnants of the device used in the attack as officers work to establish whether the perpetrator built it himself or had help. As well as seeking to identify any potential accomplices in Britain, authorities will also be looking into the possibility of any link to international groups. In the first hours after an attack on this scale investigators were sifting through a number of theories as they work to settle on the most likely lines of inquiry.

Commentators also pointed out that the Manchester attack took place on the fourth anniversary of the killing of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, south-east London. Chris Phillips, the former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, told BBC Radio Four"s Today programme: "That may be significant as well."

Police Confirm 19 Dead, 50 Injured After "Suspected Suicide Bombing" At Ariana Grande Concert In Manchester - Live Feed

Live Feed:

What we know so far:

• The Manchester Arena was hit by at least one explosion during a concert by Ariana Grande


• Police confirm 19 Dead, around 50 injured


• Police state it is "possible terrorist incident"


• UK officials suspect it was caused by suicide bomber.


• Senior counter-terrorism officials meeting in London


• Police warn people to stay away from area


• Emergency services rush to scene


• Ariana Grande "Okay" following the incident

*  *  *

  Update 8 : A second suspect device has been found near the Manchester Arena, and the Greater Manchester Police have carried out a "controlled explosion" in the  Cathedral Gardens area near Manchester Arena.

There will be a controlled explosion in Cathedral gardens shortly if you hearing anything don"t be concerned.

— G M Police (@gmpolice) May 23, 2017

Officers carrying out a precautionary controlled explosion in Cathedral Garden confirm that it was abandoned clothing, not a suspicious item

— G M Police (@gmpolice) May 23, 2017

Update 7: From Mancester Police - 19 dead, around 50 injured...

Latest statement on incident at Manchester Arena pic.twitter.com/BEpLOan3dY

— G M Police (@gmpolice) May 23, 2017

Update 6: NBC reports US officials briefed on Manchester incident say UK officials suspect it was caused by suicide bomber.

They used nail bombs at a kids concert in Manchester pic.twitter.com/oghHJDw0Hd

— Tommy Robinson (@TRobinsonNewEra) May 22, 2017

Update 5    : Shocking first person description of the carnage (via Facebook)

Just out of The Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester,I thought we would leave seconds before the last song finished in order too get home quicker instead of waiting longer for a taxi,As we where leaving a bomb or explosion went off centimetres infront of me.

Peoples skin/blood&Feces where everywhere including in my hair & on my bag,I"m still finding bits of god knows what in my hair.I am fine & back in my hotel I hope everyone involved and in front of me is okay.We are being told it was a balloon/sound system but I can assure you it was not,You never ever expect these things too happen too you but this proves it can happen too anybody.

That sound,The blood & those who where running around clueless with body parts & bits of skin missing will not be leaving my mind any time soon or the minds of those involved.

Again, Hope everyone is alright I am very,Very lucky too be where I am just now

I understand these images might be upsetting however I feel as though people should know what happened

Update 4: Sky News reports another bomb located at Manchester"s Victoria Metro Station - emergency units rushing. Bomb disposal units have arrived at the "active crime scene" at Manchester Arena.

Manchester"s Victoria station, which backs onto the arena, has been evacuated and all trains cancelled. National Rail said in an online statement: "Emergency services are dealing with an incident at Manchester Arena. As Manchester Victoria is located near the arena, the station has been evacuated and all lines closed.

"Trains are currently unable to run to / from Manchester Victoria. Some trains will be cancelled throughout or start / terminate at alternative stations. Disruption is expected to continue until end of the day."

British Transport Police confirmed the blast came from "within the foyer area of the stadium at 10.30pm this evening".

*  *  *

Update 3: BBC is reporting that authorities are treating the explosion as a terror incident.

The North West Counter Terrorism Unit is treating the incident at #ManchesterArena as a possible terrorist incident.

— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) May 22, 2017

"We were making our way out and when we were right by the door there was a massive explosion and everybody was screaming," Catherine Macfarlane told Reuters.

"It was a huge explosion - you could feel it in your chest. It was chaotic. Everybody was running and screaming and just trying to get out of the area."

*  *  *

Update 2: NBC News confirms the BBC"s report that there are at least 20 dead - Eye witness on BBC says 20 to 30 people injured and dead in the box office area of Manchester Arena.

Senior national Counter-Terrorism officers are assembling in London. Early estimates put fatalities at #ManchesterArena in double figures

— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) May 22, 2017

BREAKING: At least 20 dead, hundreds injured following possible explosion at UK"s Manchester arena - NBC News https://t.co/9XohT1Z7IV

— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) May 22, 2017

*  *  *

Update 1: British trainlines out of Manchester Victoria station are currently blocked.

The explosions can be heard in the following clip... (around 7 seconds in - look to the far left and notice the sudden light also)

If you look towards the left you see the explosion and hear the bang. I hope to GOD everyone is ok, and so glad Jess and Em are. #manchester pic.twitter.com/q81KHGEJ6E

— Joe Gregory (@JoeAaronGregory) May 22, 2017

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As we detailed earlier, "two loud explosions" were reported this evening at Manchester Arena by people attending a pop concert by Ariana Grande in an event that Greater Manchester Police is now describing as "serious" and involving a "number of confirmed fatalities":

Police statement on incident at Manchester Arena pic.twitter.com/gaKASukx9a

— G M Police (@gmpolice) May 22, 2017

Members of the public have been advised to avoid the arena.

One Twitter user wrote: "Honestly worst night of my existence. Just kept running from Manchester Arena for my life."

Another added: “Just got out of Manchester arena after seeing Ariana perform. There was a loud bang when the lights came on & everyone ran out screaming.”

Here are videos of the scene from just after the explosion:

#Manchester: Heavy explosions at the #Manchester Arena. There are casualties. Panic and chaos.#England pic.twitter.com/cOZVHQxpxs

— WorldOnAlert (@worldonalert) May 22, 2017

@SkyNews When the bang went off #Manchester pic.twitter.com/ZvYzSzrBwc

— Zach Bruce (@Zach_bruce) May 22, 2017

Ambulance crews make their way to Manchester Arena after major incident. Several injuries being treated and police cordon in place. pic.twitter.com/jnNETqfJcM

— Darryl Morris (@darrylmorris) May 22, 2017

These Fun and Simple Activities can Delay Death, Study Shows

Exercise can undoubtedly help you live better, but what about longer? Are there certain activities that are better than others? Yes, and yes. A study published in the BMJ suggests that exercise can reduce your risk of death from cardiovascular-related issues (think heart disease or stroke), and there are certain activities that may be more beneficial than others. [1]

Dr. Pekka Oja, of the UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research in Finland, says:

“There is plenty of evidence showing that physical activity is good for our health. But (the World Health Organization) recommends generic physical activity, without specifics. We were interested in how sports could contribute to health and how different sport disciplines could benefit health.”

Oja and his team wanted to expand upon existing studies regarding the benefits of exercise. A great deal of past research has focused on the short-term benefits of exercise on health, or the effects of exercise intensity, but they didn’t show the long-term effects, Oja says.

Ultimately, the researchers wanted to figure out whether exercise delays death, either from cardiovascular disease or other causes. They also wanted to know which types of physical activity might extend life the longest.

So, Oja and his colleagues analyzed data from 11 annual health surveys from England and Scotland conducted between 1994 and 2008, involving 80,306 adults with an average age of 52.

Participants self-reported what type and how much exercise they had done in the last 4 weeks, and whether it had made them breathless and caused them to sweat. Exercise included:

• Heavy domestic chores and gardening


• Walking


• Cycling


• Swimming


• Aerobics


• Gymnastics or dance


• Running


• Soccer or rugby


• Badminton, tennis, or squash. [2]

The team tracked the participants’ survival for an average of 9 years, during which time 8,790 participants died from all causes. Of that number, 1,909 died from heart disease or stroke.

When the researchers compared the participants who exercised with those who did not, they found that risk of death during the follow-up period from any cause was:

• 47% lower among those who played racquet sports


• 28% lower among swimmers


• 27% lower among aerobic dancers


• 15% lower among cyclists [1]

Source: CNN

Racquet sports appeared to be the best type of exercise for preventing death from heart disease and stroke. Racquet sports players were found to have a 56% lower risk of death, while swimmers had a 41% lower risk, and those who participated in aerobics had a 36% lower risk compared to non-exercisers.

Runners and footballers did have a lower rate of death from heart disease. Tim Chico, a consultant cardiologist at professor at Britain’s Sheffield University, who was not involved in the study, said:

“Although this was not ‘statistically significant’, many other studies have found that runners live longer and suffer less heart disease.

I will continue to tell my patients that regular physical activity (including running) is more effective in reducing their risk of heart disease than any drug I can prescribe.” [2]

When it comes to physical activity, any exercise is good exercise. If participants were active, no matter how, they reduced their risk of death.

Sources:

[1] CNN

[2] Reuters

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Hospitals Across England Go Dark After Massive "Cyber-Attack"; Hackers Demand Ransom

Hosptials across the UK have been hit by what appears to be a major, nationwide cyber-attack, resulting in the loss of phonelines and computers, with many hospitals going "dark" and some diverting all but emergency patients elsewhere. At some hospitals patients are being told not to come to A&E with all non-urgent operations cancelled, the BBC reports.

The UK National Health Service said: “We’re aware that a number of trusts that have reported potential issues to the CareCERT team. We believe it to be ransomware.” It added that trusts and hospitals in London, Blackburn, Nottingham, Cumbria and Hertfordshire have been affected and are reporting IT failures, in some cases meaning there is no way of operating phones or computers.

At Lister Hospital in Stevenage, the telephone and computer system has been fully disabled in an attempt to fend off the attack.

NHS England says it is aware of the issue and is looking into it.

According to the Telegraph, doctors across the country have seen this message - what appears to be ransomware - flash up on their screens. The notification demands that $300 worth of bitcoin be sent to a specific address to unlock the infected computer.

One source told Health Service Journal that  multiple trusts had been affected by a suspected malware attack around 1.30pm. They said trusts had their computer systems almost entirely shut down.

East and North Hertfordshire NHS trust said in a statement: “Today the trust has experienced a major IT problem, believed to be caused by a cyber attack.

“The trust is postponing all non-urgent activity for today and is asking people not to come to A&E - please ring NHS111 for urgent medical advice or 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.

“To ensure that all back-up processes and procedures were put in place quickly, the trust declared a major internal incident to make sure that patients already in the trust’s hospitals continued to receive the care they need.”Health officials are understood to have declared a major incident and ordered a meeting of national resilience teams.

NHS Digital said: “We’re aware that a number of trusts that have reported potential issues to the CareCERT team. We believe it to be ransomware.”

Routine appointments are being cancelled at Barts and other hospitals. Ambulances diverted. Major incidents being declared.

— Shaun Lintern (@ShaunLintern) May 12, 2017

There are reports that trusts affected include East and North Hertfordshire, North Cumbria, Morecambe Bay hospitals, Blackpool, and Barts Health in London. A number of GP surgeries also say they are also unable to use their systems.

IT specialists are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible, a statement from the trust says. A GP from a surgery in York said: "We received a call from York CCG [Clinical Commissioning Group] around an hour ago telling us to switch off all of our computers immediately. "We have since remained open, and are dealing with things that can be dealt with in the meanwhile."

Services affected are thought to include picture archiving communication systems for x-ray images, pathology test results, phone and bleep systems and patient administration systems. The source added: “This will mean delays and a focus on the sickest patients. I’ve seen it once before and we relied on local trusts supporting each other. If truly widespread then that’ll not be an option.”

British Secret Intelligence Service Spymasters

(image: (AP/Alastair Grant)

England is a mythical land of Magna Carter power politics heritage. Such cultural and emotional symbols as ‘Mrs. Miniver’ Rose or the White Cliffs of Dover are engrained in the public consciousness as essential British tradition. When the “Bard of Avon”  presented his indispensable observations, Shakespeare on England defined the perception essence of countless generations.

This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle,

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,

This other Eden, demi-paradise,

This fortress built by Nature for herself

Against infection and the hand of war,

This happy breed of men, this little world,

This precious stone set in a silver sea,

Which serves it in the office of a wall

Or as a moat defensive to a house,

Against the envy of less happier lands,

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,

This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,

Feared by their breed and famous by their birth

[Richard II, 2.1, 40-51]

Yet even with such lofty attitudes about England, the real world upon which intelligence operations maneuver have very little to do with serving the British society that most closely associates with the image of a fable people. When scholars examine the nature of the British Empire, many fail to indentify that the true power behind the institutions and military prowess is not controlled by Parliament or even the German Monarchy clan of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who has taken the name of  Windsor. In actuality, the raw power that embodies the “Crown” functions accordingly.

“The colored people of the British Empire, comprising 87% of the total population, are the voiceless subjects of the international financial oligarchy of “The City” [the City of London] in what is perhaps the most arbitrary and absolute form of government in the world. This international financial oligarchy uses the allegoric “Crown” as its symbol of power and has its headquarters in the ancient City of London, an area of 677 acres; which strangely in all the vast expanse of the 443,455 acres of Metropolitan London alone is not under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police, but has its own private force of about 2,000 men, while its night population is under 9,000.

This tiny area of a little over one square mile has in it the giant Bank of England, a privately owned institution; which is not subject to regulation by the British Parliament, and is in effect a sovereign world power. Within the City are located also the Stock Exchange and many institutions of world-wide scope. The City carries on its business of local government with a fanciful display of pompous medieval ceremony and with its officers attired in grotesque ancient costumes. Its voting power is vested in secret guilds… All this trivial pomp and absurdity and horse-play seems to serve very well to blind the eyes of the public to the big things going on behind the scenes.”

This background is necessary to properly understand The City of London’s strange history.

“William and Mary, whose Second Charter in 1690 leaves no doubt as to who were the greatest beneficiaries of the Glorious Revolution. It declared: “That the mayor, commonalty and citizens of London shall for ever hereafter remain, continue and be, and prescribe to be, a body politic, in re, facto, et nomine … and shall have and enjoy all their rights, gifts, charters, grants, liberties, privileges, franchises, customs, usages, constitutions, prescriptions, immunities, markets, duties, tolls, lands, tenements, estates and hereditaments whatsoever.”

The significance of this long history of establishing a shadow apparatus behind the public appearance of democratic government has been the template for transferring the effective power to a financial elite that actually controls the clandestine events that shape the planet. So it is totally understandable that when the establishment of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) was put into motion, the true masters of supremacy are the mercantile elites, who manipulate the City of London.

Before Ian Fleming coined the designation “M” for the chief of the SIS office that would become to be known as MI6, Sir Mansfield Cumming, in typical British idiosyncrasy, Cumming set the stage for bizarre cloak and dagger demeanor.

“Working behind the mahogany desk that once graced the cabin of Admiral Nelson on HMS Victory, Cumming wore a gold-rimmed monocle, signed all correspondence with “C” and only used green ink. He would set the standard for his successors – to this day heads of MI6 go by the codename C (it has come to stand for chief rather than Cumming) and use green ink as well as the Nelson desk.”

While these traits seem benign, a famous test for new recruits using Cumming’s wooden leg is certainly eccentric.

“Not one to let something like the death of his son and the loss of a limb get him down, Mansfield took to travelling around his office using a scooter he stole from a child, using his wooden leg to slap people aside. During meetings with people who weren’t aware of the fact he needed to hop in place every time he took a piss, Mansfield grew quite fond of randomly screaming at the top of his lungs and stabbing himself in the leg with a pen, you know, just because.

Mansfield would reportedly do this during interviews with potential spy recruits to see how they reacted to something unexpected, dismissing them immediately if they had the totally human reaction of freaking the hell out.”

The successor to Cumming was Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair.

“A noted bon vivant with a stormy private life and “an astonishing flow of forcible language”, this was a man whose expansionist ambitions – matched only by those of Sir Basil Thomson of Scotland Yard – led him to make a disastrous mistake for any intelligence chief: getting too close to politics, and moving from providing intelligence to advising on policy. Sinclair started to investigate communist subversion in Britain, running a group of agents known as “The Casuals”, and therefore crossing boundaries with the police and MI5. Eventually he was carpeted by the Home Office Permanent Under-Secretary’s Office and MI6 was stripped of domestic operations, which went to MI5, the division of responsibility that endures today.”

More ambitious than his predecessor, Sinclair prepared MI6 for WWII years to come.

“Beginning in 1919 he attempted to absorb the counter-intelligence service MI5 into the SIS to strengthen Britain’s efforts against Bolshevism, an idea was finally rejected in 1925. The SIS remained small and under-funded during the inter-war years. By 1936 Sinclair realized that the Gestapo had penetrated several SIS stations and Claude Dansey, who had been removed from his station in Rome, set up Z organization, intended to work independently of the compromised SIS.

In 1938, with a second war looming, Sinclair set up Section D, dedicated to sabotage. In spring of 1938, using £6,000 of his own money, he bought Bletchley Park to be a wartime intelligence station.”

The next spymaster successor Major-General Sir Stewart Menzies took charge during the war years and during the beginning of the cold war.

“Stewart Menzies, like other members of establishment, was appalled by the idea of a Prime Minister who was a socialist. As Gill Bennett has pointed out: “It was not just the intelligence community, but more precisely the community of an elite – senior officials in government departments, men in “the City”, men in politics, men who controlled the Press – which was narrow, interconnected (sometimes intermarried) and mutually supportive. Many of these men… had been to the same schools and universities, and belonged to the same clubs. Feeling themselves part of a special and closed community, they exchanged confidences secure in the knowledge, as they thought, that they were protected by that community from indiscretion.”

“Menzies was also responsible for the overall supervision of the Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS), whose greatest achievement in the war was the breaking, with considerable initial Polish and French help, of the German Enigma.”

While these accounts are sanitized to pass the orthodox and accepted version of a historic version, suitable for public conception; the hidden purpose of the entire intelligence machinery system is to protect and advance the interests of “The City”.

The flair and secrecy used to establish the SIS service feeds and safeguard the ruling class society of a privileged elite. The art of spying has become proficient as disclosed in Dope Inc., MI6 Are The Lords Of The Global Drug Trade.  The City of London – The Centre of the global crime scene, links the financial protection racket of the British establishment to the pervades of illicit control of the drug trade.

The Secret Intelligence Service stands as an about the law facilitator for the hierarchy of well breed and meticulously tailored operatives, dealing in the family business of unfeigned power. Information is the real license to kill. Spymasters operate with immunity not because they are patriots of the British nation, but because they are dependable servants to “The City”. Not exactly the England that Shakespeare envisioned.

U.K. Doctors Granted License to Create 3-Parent GM Babies

Doctors in the U.K. have been given the first-ever license to create “three-parent babies,” with the controversial IVF treatment taking place as early as later this year. [1]

The license was granted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to a team who pioneered the mitochondrial pronuclear transfer technique at the University of Newcastle.

The development takes humanity closer to the creation of “designer babies,” but the doctors at the Newcastle Fertility Centre say they only plan to use the technology “to help families affected by these devastating diseases.”

Mary Herbert, a professor of Reproductive Biology at the Centre, says:

“Many years of research have led to the development of pronuclear transfer as a treatment to reduce the risk of mothers transmitting disease to their children. It’s a great testament to the regulatory system here in the U.K. that research innovation can be applied in treatment.” [2]

Read: “Steer Clear of Creating GMO Babies,” Scientists and Ethicists Say

The IVF treatment involves halting the fertilization process to remove faulty mitochondria that can cause fatal heart problems, liver failure, brain disorders, blindness, and muscular dystrophy. These are known as mitochondrial diseases, and they are incurable conditions that get passed down the maternal line, affecting about one in 6,500 children worldwide.

Source: Daily Mail

It’s known as “three-parent IVF” because the babies are born from genetically modified embryos, and they would have DNA from a mother, a father, and a female donor.

In 2016, Britain’s parliament voted to change the law to allow three-parent IVF if and when it was ready for licensing. However, the HFEA still had to approve each clinic and each patient on an individual basis before the treatment could occur.

Now that the Newcastle Fertility Centre has received a license, the HFEA must approve each applicant for treatment. [2]

Professor Sir Doug Turnbull, who has led the team at Newcastle in developing the new IVF therapy, says:

“This will allow women with mitochondria DNA mutations the opportunity for more reproductive choice. Mitochondria diseases can be devastating for families affected and this is a momentous day for patients who have tirelessly campaigned for this decision.” [1]

Last fall, a team of U.S. doctors announced that the world’s first three-parent baby had been born in Mexico on 6 April 2016 to a Jordanian couple. The team held off on the announcement for five months to make sure the child didn’t have the same condition that killed his siblings, Leigh syndrome – a fatal disorder that affects the central nervous system.

Source: Science Magazine

Sources:

[1] The Sun

[2] Scientific American

Daily Mail

Science Magazine

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Orwell Rolls in Grave as Police Roll Out Unprecedented Drone Air Force to “Track Anti-Social Behaviour”

The Devon and Cornwall police force, tasked with the patrol of the largest geographical area in England, are pioneering perpetual drone surveillance by establishing an unprecedented 24-hour drone surveillance of its patrol area set to begin this summer.

The police drones, also identified as “unmanned aerial systems,” have undergone smaller tests last year. Multiple reports state that the drones will mostly be used for locating crime suspects and missing persons as well as surveillance of crime scenes.

Steve Barry, the UK’s National Police Chiefs’ Council spokesman regarding police drones, touted the cost savings of choosing these devices rather than deploying police helicopters; according to a report from The Daily Mail, Barry predicts “forces across Britain would soon be using them as they are cheaper than helicopters and can perform some duties of bobbies on the beat.” The does not specify how deeply these police drones will be able to inspect individuals, including in regards to audio capacity.

The Mail noted that Barry has pondered the possibility of drones replacing some officers and said “there may be an opportunity at some point in the future to rationalise what we need our cops to do because we find drones can do it more effectively and more cost-efficiently.” However, Barry did not indicate that he approves of a reduced police force in favor of the devices, and other officers and experts were quoted in the report as viewing drones as a supplement for police rather than their replacement.

Drones indeed have a unique ability to scope areas that officers cannot approach on foot.  A report published by the Cato Institute acknowledged that drones “allow police to investigate dangerous situations such as bomb threats and toxic spills.” These devices can seen as an advantage for civilians in peril, but they also serve as a troubling mechanism of undermining the personal privacy of a large population.

READ MORE:  UK Maniac with Huge Knife: Why Can"t Cops in the US Be this Brave?

The Daily Mail highlighted how drones are useful for aerial footage of crime scenes, but also pointed to their use in monitoring “protests, sieges and football matches,” and noted that they “have been tested for use in terror attacks and to track anti-social behavior.”

The use of drones as a law enforcement tool has been taking place for years. Since the beginning, civil liberties advocates have warned of the consequences that heightened, innovative surveillance can unleash on the populace. Drones “deployed without proper regulation, drones equipped with facial recognition software, infrared technology, and speakers capable of monitoring personal conversations would cause unprecedented invasions of our privacy rights.

Interconnected drones could enable mass tracking of vehi­cles and people in wide areas. Tiny drones could go completely unnoticed while peering into the window of a home or place of worship,” the ACLU advises. While the 24-hour drone surveillance initiative is based in one large area of England and has yet to be introduced publicly in the United States, Cato cautions that the courts have yet to tackle drones and their capability to obstruct our Fourth Amendment.

The Devon and Cornwall police are currently recruiting a “drone manager” to oversee this new program. The law enforcement agency is also expressing confidence that this program will motivate police across the country to follow their lead. “‘I would not be at all surprised if other forces follow in due course – the question is not whether they will, it’s when,” Barry said.

#Nexit? Northern Ireland May Leave the U.K. After Brexit, Elections

(ANTIMEDIA) Northern Ireland is the closest it’s been to leaving the United Kingdom in two decades after recent elections only increased animosity between its two major parties. The rising tensions come amid Brexit taking effect and a push for Scottish independence.

Assembly elections last Thursday left just a sliver of difference between the seats carried by Northern Ireland’s two largest political parties, setting the stage for another election to possibly be announced in the coming weeks. It would be the third election in the region in a year.

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At the heart of this division is the controversial matter of Irish independence from the U.K., but more recent global developments have compounded the issue. First, let’s examine was led to Thursday’s elections.

In 1998, following three decades of sectarian fighting, a compromise on political control of Northern Ireland was finalized. The Good Friday Agreement required cooperation between the U.K. unionists of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Irish republicans of Sinn Féin. Each party would hold either the position of first minister or deputy first minister, and neither office would be able to govern without the consent of the other.

That system broke down in January of this year, when Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, of Sinn Féin, retired after citing health reasons, The Atlantic reported. His party, the second-largest, never chose a replacement, which prompted the elections held on Thursday. It turned out to be a good strategy, as the DUP leader was mired in scandal. DUP picked up one more seat than Sinn Féin, but not enough to maintain any veto power, which was a major boost for the republicans.

Back in 2012, when she was a minister of enterprise, trade, and investment, DUP leader and Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster helped initiate a program that subsidized renewable energy to heat people’s homes. Taxpayers ended up footing a nearly £500 million bill (about U.S. $609 million ) when they were promised only £25 million would be spent within a five-year period.

Whistleblowers spurred investigations into the program in February 2016, and in December, another whistleblower accused Foster of ignoring the cost overruns when they became apparent. Ten days later, Sinn Féin’s First Minister McGuinness demanded Foster step aside. She refused, and by January 2017, McGuinness had retired, forcing new elections.

Now, Northern Ireland has less than three weeks to form a new power-sharing government. If the elected Sinn Féin and DUP officials fail to come to an agreement, the reign over the region will default to London, or new elections could be called for once again.

The issues to be settled include how Brexit will be managed. The republicans were firmly anti-Brexit, or pro-remain, while the unionists were adamantly in favor of leaving the European Union. As Ireland has trading partners that remain in the E.U. and shares a border with Northern Ireland, the republicans want an exemption. They fear the Brexit fallout will cut off their free flow of goods and people over the border, an existential threat to their desire for unity with Ireland.

Sinn Féin may still be the second-largest political party in Northern Ireland, but it was only 1,200 votes away from overtaking the DUP last Thursday. Voter turnout increased Thursday, as well, so it is not far-fetched to anticipate a repeat surge if another election is soon announced, Reuters reported.

Northern Ireland is the poorest region of the U.K., and it benefits greatly from E.U. subsidies, including receiving £320 million (about $390 million in USD) in 2015. Eighty-seven percent of its farmers’ average incomes come from Brussels, according to the Financial Times. The region voted 56 percent against Brexit, and if its Scottish neighbors further pursue their own independence, Irish republicans may well push that much harder against London.

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