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| British PM To Visit Saudi Arabia | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 4 2017, 01:39 PM (10 Views) | |
| Webster | Apr 4 2017, 01:39 PM Post #1 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Theresa May is heading for Saudi Arabia today, and this morning she has quashed speculation that, while in the Gulf, she’s unwilling to speak out on matters of conscience and liberty. She has spoken out against a ruling institution accused of suppressing freedom of speech. Yup, it’s the National Trust. Weighing in on the Easter egg hunt row, she told ITV: I’m not just a vicar’s daughter - I’m a member of the National Trust as well. I think the stance they have taken is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t know what they are thinking about frankly. Easter’s very important. It’s important to me. It’s a very important festival for the Christian faith for millions across the world. So I think what the National Trust is doing is frankly just ridiculous. To be fair, it was probably ITV that raised the issue. She has also been talking about other issues, which I will flag up soon. Meanwhile, back in London, Sadiq Khan, the capital’s mayor, had the top slot on the Today programme. He said that London’s air was “lethal” and that he would be introducing “the world’s first ultra low emission zone”. The air in London is lethal. Each year more than 9,000 Londoners die because of our poor quality air. There are children in parts of London whose lungs are under-developed and adults have all sorts of health problems from asthma to lung problems, from suffering heart attacks to strokes and dementia. I am not willing to stand by and do nothing. I am cleaning up our buses. I am ensuring our taxis are clean. I am introducing the world’s first ultra low emission zone, but the government needs to do much, much more if we are going to fix the air in London and across the country. Khan said he would bring forward the launch a new toxicity “T-charge” covering the existing congestion charge zone from 7am to 6pm on weekdays to October 2017. And he said he would also be consulting on the world’s first “ultra low emission zone” in central London to begin in April 2019 with an additional charge for any vehicle that fails to meet strict emissions standards. It will be followed by a further consultation later this year on extending it London-wide to heavy goods vehicles from 2020 and to inner London for all vehicles from 2021. |
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| Webster | Apr 4 2017, 01:41 PM Post #2 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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![]() (The Guardian) Theresa May has insisted building a relationship with Saudi Arabia is better than “standing on the sidelines and sniping” amid criticism of her decision to visit the region as her first trip to explore trade ties after the triggering of article 50. May, who earlier said she hoped she would set an example as a woman leader in country where women are still banned from driving and cannot marry or travel without permission from male guardians, insisted she did raise “difficult issues” with her hosts. On Sunday, it was revealed the Met police’s war crimes unit had begun a “scoping exercise” assessing whether criminal prosecutions could be brought over Saudi Arabia’s bombardment of the country, which is estimated to have killed more than 10,000 civilians and displaced more than 3 million people. May told the BBC she was “concerned about the humanitarian situation” but did not criticise the Saudi campaign. Yes, we will be raising the humanitarian issue. We believe it is important that we recognise the threat that there is in terms of people’s lives. We will be supporting that through the aid and support that we give. Asked whether she would be raising human rights issues like women’s rights or juvenile executions with her Saudi hosts, May said: The important thing for the United Kingdom when we meet people and we want to raise issues of human rights - and that may be in a number of countries around the world - is if we have the relationship with them, then we are able to do that. So, rather than just standing on the sidelines and sniping, it’s important to engage, to talk to people, to talk about our interests and to raise, yes, difficult issues when we feel it’s necessary to do so. The prime minister denied the UK had been selling its principles for the sake of trade deals for the post-Brexit era, May said the ties with Gulf countries were long standing. “No, we are not doing that [selling out principles],” she said. “What we are doing is continuing the links that we have had for a long time with countries that are important to us.” The PM will fly to Saudi Arabia from Amman, Jordan, this morning for the second leg of her Middle East visit. She will meet the Saudi Crown Prince and visit the Saudi stock exchange this afternoon, but there will be no bilateral with the King, who she is expected to call on tomorrow. She is also due to meet the Kingdom’s first female minister, Princess Reema. |
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| Webster | Apr 4 2017, 02:11 PM Post #3 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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![]() --Theresa May has touched down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Worth just this once to comment on her clothes - dark trouser suit, no headscarf. (Jessica Elgot, The Guardian - 4 April 2017) |
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| Webster | Apr 4 2017, 02:16 PM Post #4 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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![]() (The Guardian) Theresa May greeted Saudi officials in Riyadh without wearing a headscarf as she arrived in the conservative Muslim nation - though Foreign Office advice recommends women cover their heads and wear full-length cloaks. The prime minister descended the steps of her plane at King Salman airbase dressed in a sweeping navy coat and black suit trousers, a scarf loosely around her neck. Downing Street officials had recommended women in the prime minister’s delegation ensured their wrists and ankles were covered in conservative clothing, to respect local customs. The FCO recommends female visitors “wear conservative, loose-fitting clothes as well as a full length cloak (abaya) and a headscarf.” May is not the first female leader to eschew a headscarf in Saudi Arabia, including German chancellor Angela Merkel and Michelle Obama, though the former First Lady drew some criticism from Saudi commentators for doing so. Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall, wore a turquoise headscarf and abaya during her recent visit, though Margaret Thatcher opted instead for a long dress and hat when she visited in 1985. |
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