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The Royals
What a black eye on the BBC News. An inquiry has found that BBC reporter Martin Bashir tricked Princess Diana into an interview that contributed to her fragile state.
Prince William says the BBC's failures surrounding Bashir's 1995 Panorama interview with his mother "contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation" - and the episode should never be broadcast again.
The princess's brother Earl Spencer maintained for years that Mr Bashir showed him fake financial documents relating to Diana's former private secretary Patrick Jephson and another former royal household member.
He also said the journalist had told outlandish and untrue stories about the Royal Family to get Diana onside, including that she was being spied on by the secret services.
And BBC management was heavily criticized for essentially looking the other way. Dirty reporting, low ethics, a stain on journalism from a British Press famous for cell phone hacking and other trickery and hounding the Royal family literally to death.
Meantime in American Prince Harry has spoken of drug use and alcohol abuse to cover the pain of his mothers loss.
And he harrowingly discussed how his long-lasting memory of his mother is one of torment and fear.
"Unfortunately when I think about my mum, the first thing that comes to mind is always the same one over and over again," he emotionally admitted.
"Strapped in the car, seat belt across with my brother in the car as well and mother driving and being chased by three, four, five mopeds with paparazzi on.
"She was always unable to drive because of the tears. There was no protection."
He admitted that this scenario was one that happened on a daily basis until Diana died in a car crash in 1997.
Israel-Gaza
232 Palestinians have died and a dozen Israeli’s, millions were in bomb shelters, damage to infrastructure is dizzying in Gaza, so what are both sides celebrating?
Hamas sees the firing of more than 4000 rockets into Israel after violence in Jerusalem as a victory of resistance. Israeli P.M. Netanyahu says his forces have set Hamas back years killing key leaders and damaging under ground tunnels, but really he is celebrating a possible revival in his dying attempts to put together a coalition Government and cling to power.
Here’s what you need to know - Netanyahu’s rule, and Hamas’ domination of Gaza, block any new movement towards peace and moderation and as long as both are on the scene the peace process has the life sucked out of it.
Settlement building continues under Netanyahu. Under Hamas Palestinians become more radical and the more liberal Fatah movement, loses influence and the ability to lead Palestinians towards peace and a real future.
Coming soon on Back Story with Dana Lewis podcast, we interview Yossi Beilin, the architect of the OSLO peace accords who predicts if there is no peace movement, Israel will one day have to unilaterally withdraw from the West Bank and “it will be a painful” solution.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/back-story-with-dana-lewis/id1512445640
Covid and Europe
The EU has now announced it will give everyone a QR code on their phone by June to allow the free movement of Europeans to resume. That code will show a person has been vaccinated, and if there is a medical reason for not getting the vaccine, a Covid test will be presented to allow movement between European nations.
So that’s a summer of re-openings, it seems? Wait…
Britain will not necessarily be part of that scheme because it left the EU. But assuming Britain covid rates stay low and vaccine rates are high, UK citizens will also be allowed to travel Europe too, because their tourist money is greatly needed by places like France.
I got my second vaccine in London yesterday, and was told card in my wallet was already out of date. I have had to download the new NHS (National health system) App and it shows proof of my vaccines.
Simple enough? Covid solved? No because many people have avoided vaccines. What about students and younger children who have yet to get vaccines? And the India variant? Evidence suggests that B.1.617.2 may be more transmissible than the Kent variant that emerged last year and became dominant in the UK and cases of the India variant have jumped 160% in a week.
So why are schools in the UK relaxing mask mandates when rates are starting to climb and these variants are effecting children more? Scientists say relaxing mask mandates in the U.S. and in the UK go against basic public health interests and are dangerous.
Canada-Iran
A Canadian court has ruled the downing a plane packed with Canadians by Iran last year was intentional.
Ukrainian Airlines flight PS752 was shot down by two missiles last January amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran, following the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) general.
Among the dead were 85 Canadian citizens and permanent residents and a further 53 travelling to Canada via Kiev, as well as four Britons. A total of 176 crew and passengers died . Canada will now freeze Iranian assets and seek compensation for the crash victims families.
North Korea Is Nuclear
Remember how Trump boasted he could handle North Korea and walked arm in arm with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un? As President Biden is about to meet South Korea’s President here’s the truth, N. Korea’s nuclear stockpile has doubled.
The best unclassified estimates are that the North has at least 45 nuclear weapons, and appears headed to an arsenal roughly the size of Pakistan’s, another nuclear state the United States once demanded must disarm, and now has all but given up that it ever will.
Have a good Friday and weekend!
Dana
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/us/politics/biden-north-korea-nuclear-weapons.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/20/confirmed-cases-of-india-variant-in-england-rise-160-in-a-week
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/prince-harry-turned-to-drugs-and-alcohol-to-mask-pain-of-princess-dianas-death/ar-AAKdpRy?ocid=uxbndlbing
https://news.sky.com/story/prince-william-says-bbc-failures-contributed-to-my-mothers-fear-and-paranoia-12312312
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/iran-intentionally-shot-down-flight-752-in-act-of-terrorism-by-canadian-court-5xp78tdwg