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Britain Tag

On this day, 73 years ago, the Allies stormed into Normandy, France, and led an invasion to liberate Western Europe from the Germans. These men risked everything to bring an end to one of the most evil regimes in history. American, British, and Canadian soldiers took part in Operation Overloard, also known as D-Day, along the 50 miles of five beaches. D-Day is "one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history."

British PM Theresa May, in an address to the nation, stated that it wasn't possible to have "predicted" or "envisaged" the latest terrorist attacks in Manchester and London. Here's her statement, as broadcast on CNN this morning:

"We could never have predicted the tragic turn which events would take. We could never have imagined the appalling depravity which led a cowardly and callous killer to target innocent men, women, and children, in the way that we saw in Manchester two weeks ago. Nor could we have envisaged the brutal attack that was carried out on the streets of London Saturday evening."

Terrorists killed seven people and injured 48 more on London Bridge and Borough Market in London on Saturday night. 35 of the injured remain in hospitals around the area. Police have also made 12 quick arrests in east London in connection with the terrorist attack. This is what we know so far about the attack.

A new poll has shown that British Prime Minister Theresa May and her fellow conservatives face a massive loss in seats in the snap election scheduled for June 8. YouGov released a poll that shows Conservatives at 310 seats, down from the 330 they hold now in the House of Commons. They need 326 seats in order to form the government. The poll showed Labour could have 257 seats, up from the 229 seats they hold now. Yet, other polls have shown Conservatives with a comfortable lead while one Professor Jacobson saw have the Conservatives blowing everyone else out of the water. Can we trust polls? First off, in 2015, pollsters received a shock when the Conservatives came out on top in the general election, which caused the British Polling Council to perform an inquiry into polls and the result. Then 2016 brought doubt to polls after the Brexit vote and President Donald Trump demolished failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Also, YouGov used a different methodology to find the stats.

If you thought that intelligence community leaks against Donald Trump were okay because Trump was the target, then you don't understand the problem. Such leaks to the NY Times and Washington Post, among others, are not only criminal, they are contagious. If accusations being made by the British are true, the leakers in the U.S. intelligence community have revealed to the NY Times highly sensitive information shared as part of a joint terrorism investigation. It all started when the NY Times ran a lengthy report on the evidence recovered at the scene of the Manchester concert suicide bombing, Found at the Scene in Manchester: Shrapnel, a Backpack and a Battery:

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, UK, on Monday night. The attack killed 22 people and left 59 injured. British authorities refuse to name the attacker, but CBS News reported he was 23-year-old Salman Abedi. Yes, the authorities knew about him before the attack.

*We will update this post through the night* (UPDATES BELOW) An explosion occurred at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Police confirmed 19 dead and 50 injured, but have not confirmed exactly what caused the explosion or who caused it. Police have told Sky News that they decided to treat the incident as a "possible terrorist incident" until the officials know otherwise.

Five years ago, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange sought refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy in London after Sweden launched a rape investigation against him. Today, Swedish officials have dropped the investigation. From The Local Sweden:
In a statement on its website, the Swedish prosecution authority said that the "Director of Public Prosecution, Ms Marianne Ny, has today decided to discontinue the investigation regarding suspected rape (lesser degree) by Julian Assange".

In a rare move, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has threatened the British government with "consequences" if it were to restrict immigration from the EU member states after the country formally breaks away from the union. “If the British government says that free movement of people is no longer valid, that will have its price," German Chancellor said. "Merkel threatens the Brits," reported the leading German newspaper, Die Welt.

If Britain were to put a cap on the number of EU immigrants allowed into the country, "we would have to think about what obstacle we create from the European side," Merkel warned. German Chancellor's latest threats came in the backdrop of recent reports that British Prime Minister Theresa May was planning to end the open immigration from the EU countries, once Britain leaves the union following the Brexit negotiations.

The latest polls suggest that UK’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn might be leading his party to a historic defeat in next month's general election. The Conservatives, under the leadership of Prime Minister Theresa May, "are set to become the biggest party in almost every area of Britain including traditional Labour strongholds," British newspaper The Sun reported on Monday. Labour has already been battered in local elections held earlier this month, “losing hundreds of seats and the control of stronghold councils defended by Labour for decades” -- as the British newspaper Independent described it. Sensing an impending electoral drubbing, Corbyn admitted that his party faces "challenge on historic scale" in this general election.

British Prime Minister Theresa May stunned many British politicians on Tuesday morning when she called for a snap election on June 8 as a way to help her negotiate through the Brexit process with the European Union. May had said before that she would not hold a general election, but opposition from within the government over Brexit negotiations forced her hand. The London Times reported:
“The country is coming together but Westminster is not,” she said.

Back in October, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande warned British Prime Minister Theresa May that the United Kingdom might face a tough time leaving the European Union. Those warnings have come to fruition a day after the UK delivered the official Brexit letter to the EU. Merkel and Hollande demanded to May "that Brexit negotiations must deal with how Britain will leave the bloc" before the countries even think about future negotiations.

The divorce between the United Kingdom and the European Union has officially begun. Tuesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May signed the letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which allows a member to leave the union. Wednesday morning, British Ambassador to the EU Sir Tim Burrow handed the letter to Tusk. The UK now has two years to leave the EU.

The U.K. police announced it made two "significant arrests" on Friday in connection with the terrorist attack that killed four people and injured 40 more. Top counterterror office Mark Rowley explained, but did not provide many details:
The latest arrests were a man and a woman detained early Friday in Manchester, northwest England. Police believe Masood acted alone but Rowley said police were trying to determine whether others "encouraged, supported or directed him."