the future of the United Kingdom

David Cameron falls on his sword as gamble backfires
By James Masters, CNN
June 24, 2016

(CNN)Has David Cameron's decision to gamble the future of the United Kingdom left his political career in ruin?

It was a move that backfired spectacularly and led to the dramatic announcement that he'll quit as Britain's prime minister in the aftermath of the Brexit vote -- an era-defining moment that will no doubt lead to him being remembered for generations to come as the man who took the country out of the European Union.
For a man who told members of the Conservative Party to stop "banging on" about Europe in his first conference speech as leader, it is perhaps fitting that his reign comes to end with such symmetry.
Outside 10 Downing Street Friday, Cameron, who had defiantly championed the cause of the Remain campaign, conceded that his position had become untenable after a night of drama.

Though Cameron said he would remain in charge until a new leader is appointed in early October, he pledged to try to "steady the ship" over the coming months before handing over responsibility.

Failure?

It's a huge blow to Cameron, who led the Conservative Party to victory in the 2015 general election and saw off the threat of Scottish independence a year before that.
But his decision to attempt to solve party infighting and see off the threat of the United Kingdom Independence Party by offering a referendum on membership of the EU if he won the general election has proved fatal to his reign.

Cameron's name will no doubt be cast by some alongside the likes of Neville Chamberlain and Anthony Eden, former prime ministers whose careers were defined by failure.

Cameron had been regarded as a lucky politician by some of his closest colleagues but that luck ran out as the "Leave" campaign won 51.9% of the vote to win by 1,269.501 votes, with turnout at 72%.
He'll now be left to watch on as rivals make a claim for his job, with Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London, the current favorite.
Clearly emotional, Cameron, with his wife Samantha by his side, ran through his achievements, including the introduction of gay marriage and progress with the country's economy.

"I fought this campaign in the only way I know how, which is to say directly and passionately, what I think and feel -- head, heart and soul.
"I held nothing back, I was absolutely clear about my belief that Britain is stronger, safer and better off inside the European Union and I made clear the referendum was about this and this alone -- not the future of any single politician including myself.
"But the British people have made a very clear decision to take a different path and as such I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction.
"I will do everything I can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months but I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination.
"This is not a decision I've taken lightly but I do believe it's in the national interest to have a period of stability and then the new leadership required."

Party infighting

But all of those points will be washed away by the enormity of this result -- a result that has changed the landscape of British politics forever.
Cameron's undoing was that he believed the constant infighting within the Conservative Party over Europe had to be resolved -- but the calling of a referendum was an unnecessary gamble.

He attempted to use the economy to persuade voters that remaining in Europe would be best for Britain -- but "Project Fear" as it was dubbed by his opponent, failed to resonate with a divided country.
He resignation was perhaps inevitable -- a man who said that leaving the EU would be like "putting a bomb under our economy" was never going to be able to negotiate the country's exit.
In the end, Cameron's gamble, one that he had been warned against, failed to come off, as CNN's Max Foster summed up from Downing Street.
"We thought he would reassure the markets but obviously the pressure was so high that he had to come out with another solution and he fell on his sword. An extraordinary day here.
"What this country doesn't need right now is more political instability on top of the market turmoil," Foster said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/24/politics/david-cameron-resignation-brexit/index.html

Structure of the Lead:
WHO-David Cameron
WHERE-not given
WHEN-not given
WHAT-the future of the United Kingdom
WHY-not given
HOW-not given

Keywords:
1. backfired: 事與願違
2. symmetry:  對稱（性）
3. defiantly: 大膽對抗地
4. concede: （勉強）承認
5. pledge: 保證，誓言[
6. enormity: 滔天大罪
7. referendum: 公民投票
8. inevitable: 不可避免的
9. resonate: （使）共鳴
10. turmoil: 騷動；混亂

White Helmets

'White Helmets' bring civilian aid to Syria's conflict

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent

May 27, 2015

Turkey (CNN)In the last five years, life expectancy has dropped by nearly 20 years in Syria. It is an astonishing figure.

And the reason is not because of deadly infectious diseases or lack of clean water, although those are problems there as well. Instead, it has to do primarily with rusty old barrels that are packed with explosives and hurtled out of helicopters onto large neighborhoods. These barrels often contain nails, wire, glass and anything else that can brutally maim and destroy a human body.

The images are awful to imagine, and even worse to see.

According to the Syrian Civil Defense, barrel bombs, as they are called, are now the greatest killer of civilians in many parts of Syria.

Every time one of these barrels strikes, it is the seismological equivalent of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, and it happens around 50 times a day. While I spoke to James Le Mesurier in Southern Turkey last night, he received word that three more barrel bombs had fallen in just the past few hours. He also told me that when this happens, there is no one for the average citizen to call. "You can't dial 911. You can't dial the fire service. You can't call the local police department. They don't exist."

Over time, it was ordinary men who started to respond to the explosions, fires and attacks. Barbers, bakers, students and electricians, to name a few -- consistently showed up to help in any way they could. In many of these areas, it was the same people who kept running into each other while conducting rescues. Most had bought helmets that were white, instead of colored, simply because they were cheaper. And, according to James, it was the local media who first asked "who are all those guys with the white helmets?" It was the birth of a humanitarian organization that three years later has saved 18,000 lives, and recently been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

There are now around 2,600 White Helmets, including 56 women who joined over the last several months. In some of Syria's more conservative communities, women trapped in the rubble cannot be rescued by a man no matter how dire the situation. For them, the women of the White Helmets satisfy an unmet need.

Obama says Syria war unlikely to end during his presidency

Over the last few days, I have had a chance to sit down and talk to 25 of the White Helmets to try and better understand their lives, their motivations and their future. We were in Southern Turkey, not too far from the border with Syria, where the White Helmets were going through a sophisticated training exercise. I was invited to tag along. On our first day, the men all sat in a circle with me, and just started gushing their stories. It was almost cathartic for them, maybe even therapeutic.

Every single one of them raised their hands when asked if they had personally saved a life.

Ibrahim Armanazi, age 28, worked as a barber. He saved a 17-year-old woman with a head injury after a bombing near a local bakery. Abdul Kader Suleyman, 32, is a farmer who saved a 7-month-old girl after two thermobaric missiles hit the town of Darkoush. Mohammed Ata Rashwani, 44, previously worked as a hospital administrator. He rushed to the scene of a missile attack, and "rescued a man whose entire lower half was buried." It was only later that he added something I will never forget. Mohammed joined the White Helmets five days after his son was killed doing the very same job.

Ahmad Rahhal worked as a policeman, and at age 27 moved up the ranks quickly to detective. He told the story of two other White Helmets, who had died after being "double tapped." This is a particularly malicious act that occurs when a helicopter carries two barrel bombs. After dropping the first one, the helicopter circles in the sky waiting for the first responders to arrive. Once a big enough crowd has gathered, they drop the second bomb.

It is different level of savagery.

Ahmad survived that double tap, and was able to also rescue three young girls, who are alive and well.

Ahmad, like all the other White Helmets, is doing his part to turn around the plummeting life expectancy in Syria. And, for him, it is even more personal than that. He is getting married next week, and will be starting a family of his own. When he shared that news, the entire group of hardened White Helmets broke out into spontaneous applause, hooting and hollering.

Despite all they have seen and endured, the men and women who wear the white helmets believe Syria and its citizens can be saved. They have a palpable optimism about the future -- and, they want to share it with everyone.

Syrians look for survivors amid the rubble of a building targeted by a missile in the al-Mashhad neighborhood of Aleppo on January 7, 2013.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/21/health/white-helmets-profile/index.html

Structure of the Lead:

WHO-not given

WHERE-Syria

WHEN-the last five years

WHAT-life expectancy has dropped by nearly 20 years

WHY-not given

HOW-not given

Keywords:
1. barrel: 槍管；砲筒
2. hurtle: 猛烈碰撞
3. brutally: 殘忍地
4. seismologic: 地震學的
5. magnitude: 巨大
6. conservative: 守舊的
7. cathartic: 有淨化作用的
8. plummet: 重壓
9. spontaneous: 不由自主的
10. palpable: 可觸知的