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Trump’s “young HOW LEGO Blue Peter’s princeling” CONQUERED daredevil comes unstuck THE WORLD presenter BEST INTERNATIONAL LAST WORD P 40 OBITUARIES P 3 4 ARTICLES P 15 MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 10-16 JUNE 2017 | ISSUE 162 | AED 15 THE BEST OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA Decision time Page 4 RO 2.00 BD 2.00 KD 1.5 QR 20.00 SR 20.00 A Motivate Publication ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS 4 NEWS The main story… Terror overshadows the election With just five days to go before the radicalised in the first place. When election, Britain was struck by he was education secretary, Michael another terrorist attack – the third in Gove likened May’s approach to three months. “Enough is enough,” “waiting to shoot the crocodiles declared the Prime Minister, Theresa when they neared the boat, rather May, after the atrocity, carried out by than seeking to drain the swamp three extremists who used a rented in which they bred”. van to mow down pedestrians on London Bridge before attacking the The row over police cuts is a “red crowds enjoying a balmy Saturday herring”, said The Times. While it’s evening in the adjacent Borough true that overall police numbers Market. The attackers were shot dead and spending have fallen since 2010, by police within eight minutes of the the resources devoted to counter- first call to the emergency services, terrorism have risen. As for the drop by which time they had killed seven in the number of armed officers people, many of whom were stabbed (currently being reversed), it’s more to death, and wounded 48 more (see Armed police on London’s streets important that officers are “trained page 20). The main political parties and mobile than that they are suspended their national campaigns for a day, but agreed that numerous”. Besides, said Richard Littlejohn in the Daily Mail, the election, which polls suggested would be much tighter than May, for all her flaws, is surely a safer bet on this front than previously predicted, should go ahead as planned. her rival. Does anyone seriously think Corbyn is a “fit and proper person to entrust with our national security – let alone Theresa May vowed to step up the fight against jihadism in management of the economy or leading the Brexit talks”? This response to Saturday’s attack. Declaring that Britain had been is a man who has “never met a terrorist he doesn’t like”, and too tolerant of extremism, she outlined a series of policy who has “voted against every single antiterrorism measure measures, including more powers for the security services, which has come before Parliament during his time as an MP”. longer prison sentences for extremists, fresh efforts to tackle Having consistently opposed any kind of shoot-to-kill policy segregation in Britain’s cities, and further regulation of the by the police, Corbyn is now claiming to have changed his internet. But May came under fire over her record on security mind on the issue. If you believe that, you’ll believe anything. as PM and as home secretary. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on her to resign for presiding over cuts to police May was wrong this week to pledge a raft of new antiterror numbers and funding, accusing measures, said The Guardian. the Tories of trying to “protect Leaders should, of course, the public on the cheap”. Sadiq “The attacks in Manchester and London provide reassuring guidance to Khan, the Labour mayor, also forced a serious end to a frivolous, and the public on matters of accused May of failing to weirdly content-free, election campaign” national security. “But they provide enough security should do so in an atmosphere funding for the capital. becalmed by reasoned debate; not in the frenzy of the final days of a general election.” Some May has “serious questions to answer”, said Owen Jones in accused May of politicising the attack by using such strong The Guardian. She presents herself as tough on security, but rhetoric, said Jane Merrick in The Independent, but she would the statistics tell their own story. Between September 2010 and have been damned by others had she reacted in milder terms. September 2016, the number of police officers in England and Downing Street may have been mindful of the fate of former Wales fell by 13% – 18,991 officers. Between March 2010 Spanish PM José María Aznar, whose party lost a general and March 2016, the number of armed police officers fell by election in 2004 after being criticised for his weak response to 19%, to 5,639. May is also vulnerable over her general the Madrid bombings, which happened three days before the approach to counterterrorism as home secretary, said Rachel vote. It’s no bad thing if counterterrorism strategy does Sylvester in The Times. Many of her colleagues were frustrated become politicised, said Janan Ganesh in the FT. For too long, by her department’s “snail-like implementation” of antiterror discussion of the issue has been left to a “closed world of measures, and by the way it only appeared to be interested in security think tanks, consultants and journalists”. The attacks dealing with extremists once they were an imminent threat to in Manchester and London “forced a serious end” to a the public, rather than trying to prevent them from becoming “frivolous”, and weirdly content-free, election campaign. It wasn’t all bad Ariana Grande made an emotional return to Manchester this week, to perform at a benefit concert for the victims A British daredevil has broken of last month’s terrorist attack, and their families. The the world record for the fastest 23-year-old American singer fought back tears as she speed reached by a human played in front of 50,000 people at Old Trafford cricket without the help of machinery. ground. “Manchester, I love you so much,” she said, as Fraser Corsan, a former engineer she took to the stage. She was joined by the choir of from Salisbury, jumped out of Parrs Wood High School, from south Manchester, for her a plane 35,000ft above California ballad My Everything, and by Coldplay singer Chris last week: wearing a custom- Martin for a cover of the Oasis hit Don’t Look Back in made wingsuit, he endured Anger. Take That, Liam Gallagher and Justin Bieber also temperatures as low as -70°C, played at the event, which was organised in just a week. and on his descent reached a Fans who had been at Grande’s Manchester Arena speed of 249mph. The previous concert were able to apply for free tickets; others paid record was 234mph; however, £40 to attend the One Love gig, raising £1.5m for the Red Cross’s We Love Manchester appeal; a the 42-year-old must now wait further £2.7m was raised during the concert. Several of those injured in the attack at the Manchester for his feat to be ratified by Arena were in the audience, including Lily Harrison, eight, whom Grande had visited in hospital two Guinness World Records. days earlier. Doctors had let Lily out for the event, along with two other children from her ward. MCWILLIAM HOWARD CARTOON: COVER THE WEEK 10 JUNE 2017 …and how it was covered NEWS 5 “untrammelled free markets”. But it was the tone Corbyn’s clever campaign of the Tory campaign that was most off-putting, When Theresa May called a snap election seven said Matthew Parris in the Times. Why did it weeks ago, she was quite reasonably banking on have to be so shrill? The silly slogans and the a Tory landslide, said George Parker in the FT. personal attacks on Corbyn have so irritated Simply by projecting an image of strength, the voters that they now say they “might actually Prime Minister was confident she could romp send to Downing Street a man they’ve already home with a clear mandate for the coming Brexit told pollsters they don’t think is up to the job”. talks. How wrong she has proved to be. Instead Or maybe people just changed their minds about of a procession to Downing Street, May has Corbyn, said Louis Staples in The Independent. faced a “slog to reach the finishing line”. Her I have. Before, he struck me as an “unsure, popularity has slumped. Polls show that 38% of inconsistent” liability. But his performance on the voters see her in a more negative light than they stump suggests an altogether smarter politician. did at the start of the campaign – just 21% have a Instead of being “sucked into an endless battle of more favourable view of her. You can see why, said Andrew sound bites over Brexit”, he played to his strengths, banging Rawnsley in The Observer. In the past few weeks, the PM has the drum for better public services and housing. flip-flopped over the cost of social care and ducked a direct TV debate with Jeremy Corbyn. When put under pressure in Corbyn’s trump card was his promise to deliver better services interviews, she has appeared “rattled” and totally “wooden”, without increasing most people’s taxes, said John Curtice in resembling nothing so much as an ill-programmed automaton. The Daily Telegraph, whereas May confronted the electorate Even some Tories now refer to her as the “Maybot”. with problems it was going to have to face. That was a canny strategy for a man who’d been written off as one of the most May’s biggest error was failing to provide any real offer in the unpopular leaders in polling history.