Channel Tunnel train operator Eurostar is launching direct services between London and Amsterdam.
Trains will run twice daily from 4 April, with the journey from St Pancras to Amsterdam taking three hours and 41 minutes.
But for an initial period, the Eurostar service will only run direct one-way, from London to the Dutch city.
Passengers travelling from Amsterdam to London will have to change at Brussels to clear passport controls.
Eurostar says the connection at Brussels is a temporary measure until the British and Dutch governments reach an agreement to allow passport checks to be conducted on departure in the Netherlands. It says this should be in place by the end of 2019.
Analysis: BY OP’S NEWS
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
It’s been a long time coming, but finally passengers will have the option of travelling between the UK and the Netherlands direct by rail.
The German operator Deutsche Bahn announced and then cancelled a link between the UK and Dutch capitals five years ago. Since then, Eurostar’s efforts have been plagued by technical and bureaucratic set-backs.
Uptake is likely to be small, at least at first. Whilst Brits are familiar with international train travel, the Eurostar brand will be much newer to those on the other end of the line.
There will be only two trains a day from the UK. That compares to 70 direct flights daily from London to Amsterdam, for example.
Although Eurostar cannot compete on flexibility of travel, the train company is putting itself in direct competition with the airlines on price. Fares start at £35 for a one-way ticket.
There will be those, particularly business travellers, who would prefer access to power sockets, free wifi and room to work on a train over the retail extravaganza of modern airports.
Game-changing will be de-wrinkling the passport controls process on the return leg. Hassle-free, connected travel is a luxury many will be prepared to pay handsomely for.
‘Historic milestone’
The rail company will be running two services a day, departing at 08:31 and 17:31 respectively, with one-way fares starting at £35.
Eurostar also says the new service will cut the journey time between London and Brussels by 17 minutes to one hour and 48 minutes.
“The launch of the London to Amsterdam service marks a historic milestone in the expansion of international high-speed rail travel, revolutionising the connection between these important destinations,” the company said.
It says more than four million passengers travel between London and Amsterdam by air each year and therefore the market is the same size as it was when the London-Paris services launched in 1994.
It points out that since then, the market for travel between London and Paris has more than doubled.
Last week, Mr Trump defied warnings from the FBI to release a Republican document that alleged the agency had abused its power by investigating a Trump adviser as part of its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Democrats argued that the memo cherry-picked information and was misleading.
On Monday, the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee voted unanimously to declassify the 10-page Democratic memo, which aimed to counter the Republican document.
Adam Schiff, who wrote the second memo, said at the time that Republicans had “found themselves in an insupportable position when they released a misleading memo and refused to release the Democratic response”.
Media captionAll you need to know about the Trump-Russia investigation
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said it was a matter of “fundamental fairness” the memo be declassified, urging the president to demonstrate he was not trying to undermine the Russia investigation.
But in a letter to the committee’s chairman, White House Counsel Don McGahn said Mr Trump had decided against approving public release of the Democratic memo “because the memorandum contains numerous properly classified passages”.
A separate letter, from FBI chief Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, also said releasing the memo would create national security concerns.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionThousands of Venezuelans cross into Colombia daily, escaping an economic crisis at home
Thousands of Venezuelans have rushed to border crossings with Colombia after Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced a tightening of controls.
Only those who have registered for a special border card or can produce a passport will be able to cross.
They fear it will become more difficult for them to enter Colombia once the measures are fully implemented.
Thousands of Venezuelans cross into Colombia daily to look for temporary work or to buy essential goods.
Most of them return home, but the Colombian government expects many more to stay permanently as Venezuela’s economic crisis worsens.
Venezuela has suffered for years from high inflation and the chronic shortage of food and medicines.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionColombia says Venezuelan immigration increased by more than 100% in 2017
Brazil has also expressed concerns, with thousands of Venezuelans are living in precarious accommodation in the border state of Roraima.
She said that on separate occasions her former husband ran a car over her foot, threw her against a wall and extinguished a cigarette on her hand.
In response, Mr Sorensen released a statement in which he said he had “never committed violence of any kind against any woman in my entire life” and that instead it was he who had been physically abused.
He said he was considering legal action, but said he quit because he “didn’t want the White House to have to deal with this distraction”.
White House officials said they learned of the accusations by Mr Sorensen’s wife late on Thursday.
“We immediately confronted the staffer, he denied the allegations and he resigned today,” deputy press secretary Raj Shah said.
What happened with Mr Porter?
Allegations of domestic abuse against Mr Porter involving two ex-wives surfaced on Tuesday.
It is alleged that the former White House staff secretary gave one ex-wife a black eye while another filed a restraining order. He denies both.
On Friday, Mr Trump paid tribute to Mr Porter, who quit his White House position on Wednesday.
Media captionTrump on Porter: ‘We absolutely wish him well’
Speaking in the Oval Office Mr Trump said: “We found out about it recently and I was surprised by it, but we certainly wish him well and it’s a tough time for him.”
But Mr Trump did not refer to Mr Porter’s accusers.
His comments sparked criticism from Democrats, with former Vice-President Joe Biden saying Mr Trump had downplayed the allegations against Mr Porter.
“That’s like saying: ‘That axe murderer out there, he’s a great painter'”, Mr Biden said.
What’s the fallout been?
The case has put pressure on Mr Trump’s Chief-of-Staff John Kelly, who has denied reports he offered to resign over his handling of the accusations.
After initially praising Mr Porter as a man of “integrity”, Mr Kelly later released a statement saying he was shocked by the claims and stressed domestic violence was unacceptable.
US media report that Mr Kelly and other White House officials were aware for several months of the domestic abuse accusations because they were holding up Mr Porter’s security clearance application.
Mr Shah said that Mr Trump was not aware of any security issues before Tuesday and was “disheartened” and “saddened” by the accusations.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionWhite House communications director Hope Hicks’ (C) handling of the controversy has reportedly displeased Mr Trump
White House communications director Hope Hicks’ handling of the controversy has also reportedly displeased Mr Trump.
The 29-year-old aide has recently been in a relationship with Mr Porter, a Harvard graduate and former Oxford Rhodes Scholar.
Mr Trump was reportedly not consulted when Ms Hicks helped draft an initial statement defending Mr Porter.
Who knew what and when?
According to CBS News, Mr Porter approached White House Counsel Don McGahn in January 2017 to inform him his ex-wives might say unflattering things about him to background check investigators.
In June 2017, Mr Porter’s preliminary file was sent from the FBI to the White House security office, containing the abuse allegations.
In November, Mr McGahn received a call from an ex-girlfriend of Mr Porter alleging physical violence by the aide.
Mr McGahn told the White House chief of staff there was an issue with Mr Porter’s security clearance, although he was vague, reports CBS.
Mr Porter told Mr Kelly his ex-wives were saying false things about him.
A White House spokesman said on Thursday that Mr Kelly did not realise the extent of the claims until a photo of one of Mr Porter’s former wives, Colbie Holderness, suffering a black eye, emerged on Wednesday.
Image copyrightAFP/ GETTY IMAGESImage captionKim Yo-jong presented President Moon Jae-in with a blue folder holding a handwritten note from her brother, the leader of North Korea
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has invited South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang.
It would be the first summit in more than a decade between Korean leaders.
Mr Moon said the Koreas should “make it happen” and encouraged the north to return to negotiations with the US.
The handwritten invitation was delivered by Mr Kim’s influential sister, Kim Yo-jong, at a landmark meeting in the presidential palace in Seoul, before the Winter Olympics.
Ms Kim and the north’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam made up the most senior delegation from the north to visit the south since the Korean War in the 1950s.
The figures from the two Koreas shared kimchi (Korean pickled cabbage) and soju rice liquor, and spoke for three hours.
Ms Kim invited Mr Moon to visit “at the early date possible”, a spokesman for South Korea’s presidential palace said.
According to a tweet by the Washington Post’s Tokyo bureau chief, Ms Kim left a note at the palace expressing hope that “Pyongyang and Seoul will become closer in the heart of Koreans” and for “unification and prosperity in the near future”.
The meeting comes after the US warned against engagement with Pyongyang.
The Trump administration is cautious of Seoul falling for North Korea’s charm offensive during the Winter Olympics, which are taking place amid tension over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
Correspondents say the invitation puts Mr Moon in a difficult position as he campaigned on a promise to engage with the North, but his moves in that direction go contrary to the wishes of his ally the US.
Image copyrightAFP/GETTY IMAGESImage captionKim Yo-jong was seated near Mike Pence at the opening ceremony of the Games
Earlier, US Vice-President Mike Pence briefly encountered Kim Yong-nam at the Games but the two tried to avoid directly facing each other, Yonhap news agency reports.
At the opening ceremony for the Games, Mr Pence, Kim Yo-jong and Kim Yong-nam were seated in close proximity to each other.
Mr Pence stayed seated when the athletes of the host nation marched in to the arena alongside those from the north.
Later on Saturday Mr Moon and Mr Kim will attend the first ice hockey match played by athletes from both North and South Korea on Saturday, according to reports.
It was not immediately reported whether Ms Kim would attend the evening match against Switzerland.
Who is Kim Yo-jong?
The highest profile member of the North Korean delegation to the Games, she is the first immediate member of the North’s ruling family to visit the South since the 1950-1953 Korean war.
Ms Kim, who is said to be very close to her brother, was promoted to the North’s powerful politburo last year.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionThe Israeli F-16 jet crashed near a village in northern Israel
An Israeli F-16 fighter jet has crashed amid Syrian anti-aircraft fire after an offensive against Iranian targets in Syria, the Israeli military says.
The two pilots parachuted to safety before the crash in northern Israel. It is believed to be the first time Israel has lost a jet in the Syrian conflict.
Israel was carrying out strikes after the launch of an Iranian drone into Israel. The drone was intercepted.
Syria opened fire after an Israeli act of “aggression”, state media said.
Israeli strikes in Syria are not unusual, the OP’S NEWS Middle East correspondent Tom Bateman says, but the loss of an Israeli fighter jet marks a serious escalation.
The Israeli military later said it was responding with a big attack on Iranian targets.
In a statement, the Israeli military said “a combat helicopter successfully intercepted an Iranian UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] that was launched from Syria and infiltrated Israel”.
It said the drone was identified quickly and was “under surveillance until the interception”.
The drone went down on Israeli territory and was “in our possession”, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Brig Gen Ronen Manelis said.
The military said that in response the IDF “targeted Iranian targets in Syria”. It said the mission deep inside Syrian territory was successfully completed.
The two pilots ejected and were later taken to hospital. One of them was “severely injured as a result of an emergency evacuation”, the IDF said.
It was not clear whether the F-16 jet was hit by anti-aircraft fire or went down for other reasons.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionAnti-aircraft fire smoke over the Syrian-Israeli border in the Golan Heights
Red alert sirens sounded in areas of northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights due to Syrian anti-aircraft fire.
Residents reported hearing a number of explosions and heavy aerial activity in the area near Israel’s borders with Jordan and Syria.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThe fighter jet was carrying out strikes on Iranian targets in Syria (file picture)
Syrian state media quoted a military source as saying that the country’s air defences opened fire in response to an Israeli act of “aggression” against a military base on Saturday, hitting “more than one plane”.
What is the Iranian presence in Syria?
Iran – Israel’s arch-enemy – is a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose troops have been fighting rebel groups since 2011.
Tehran has sent military advisers, volunteer militias and, reportedly, hundreds of fighters from its Quds Force, the overseas arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
It is also believed to have supplied thousands of tonnes of weaponry and munitions to help President Assad’s forces and the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah movement, which is fighting on Syria’s side.
Tehran has faced accusations that it is seeking to establish not just an arc of influence but a logistical land supply line from Iran through to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionShelton Benjamin (left) has held the WWE Intercontinental, United States and Tag Team Championship belts
When renting a car it is normal to check for scratches and dents to avoid later being accused of any damage. One thing you might not think is necessary to look for is a loaded handgun in the glove compartment.
However, professional WWE wrester Shelton Benjamin’s experience may encourage people to be more careful after that was exactly what he found in the Budget rental car he had been driving for four days.
Benjamin’s view that Budget had possibly put his “life in jeopardy” follows a series of deaths of black men at the hands of US police, such as Philando Castile in Minnesota, July 2016, who was shot dead in his car when an officer believed he was reaching for a gun.
Several Twitter users shared Benjamin’s view about the possible severity of being found with the gun, while one wrestling fan encouraged him to press charges over the discovery.
Apple has confirmed that some of the source code for its iOS mobile operating system has been leaked online.
The boot-up source code used on its older iOS 9 operating platform was posted on code-sharing website Github.
Apple typically keeps most of its iOS source code private and ordered Github to remove the content.
But it said the leak had not necessarily compromised security.
In a statement, the company said the security of the iPhone did not rely on “the secrecy of its source code”.
It said it always encouraged customers to keep up to date with operating system upgrades.
The current operating system version is iOS 11
According to Apple, 93% of its users are using iOS 10 or above. These devices may no longer use the leaked code.
‘Extraordinary’
The leak of the code- called iBoot – was reported by news site Motherboard.
The code began with the statement: “This document is the property of Apple Inc. It is considered confidential and proprietary.”
Cyber-security expert Prof Alan Woodward, from the University of Surrey, said it was “extraordinary” that the code had been leaked.
“The source code for a company’s operating system is like the crown jewels – it is guarded very well,” he told the OP’S NEWS.
Security researchers and hackers are likely to study the code, to see whether there are any flaws in it that might make unauthorised access possible, he added.
“If there’s nothing wrong with the code, it doesn’t matter that it’s out there,” he said.
“But Apple should be worried because if somebody has got hold of that, what else have they got? Assuming it is genuine, it has come from the inside somewhere.”
In a statement, Apple said: “Old source code from three years ago appears to have been leaked, but by design the security of our products doesn’t depend on the secrecy of our source code.
“There are many layers of hardware and software protections built into our products, and we always encourage customers to update to the newest software releases to benefit from the latest protections.”
Image copyrightSHUTTERSTOCK/GETTY IMAGESImage captionJill Messick was Rose McGowan’s manager in 1997
Jill Messick, Hollywood producer and former manager of actress Rose McGowan, has died in Los Angeles, aged 50.
Messick represented McGowan in 1997, when the actress alleged she was raped by Harvey Weinstein – which he denies.
McGowan has previously said she was not supported by her management at the time of the alleged attack.
Messick’s family confirmed she took her own life on Wednesday, adding that she was used as “collateral damage” in the Weinstein case.
This was after Weinstein’s lawyer Ben Brafman published an email from Messick to help deny McGowan’s rape claims.
The email from Messick acknowledged that an incident had taken place between McGowan and Weinstein, but described it as “consensual”.
Weinstein maintains that McGowan’s claim that she was raped by him at the Sundance Festival in 1997 is “a bold lie”.
Messick’s family said that she had chosen to stay out of the spotlight in recent months and “opted not to add to the feeding frenzy, allowing her name and her reputation to be sullied despite having done nothing wrong”.
They say she was “victimised” during the process and could not cope as she suffered from depression and bipolar disorder.
Messick spent five years working at Weinstein’s Miramax as an executive between 1997-2003.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionHarvey Weinstein and Rose McGowan appeared at a premiere for the film Grindhouse in 2007
It was in January 1997 that she first held management responsibilities for McGowan whilst working at Addis Wechsler.
Messick’s family said she set up a meeting with McGowan and Weinstein at the Sundance Film Festival as one of her first duties.
Her family said in their statement that McGowan told Messick about the alleged assault but did not use the word rape.
Messick then went to her bosses at Addis Wechsler to recount the story and her family say this was when a settlement was reached between McGowan and Weinstein.
Ten months later, in November, Miramax offered her a production job.
AFP
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