Muslims raise more then £17,000 in 24 hours for victims of Westminster terror and families - Independent

Muslims raise more then £17,000 in 24 hours for victims of Westminster terror and families

A crowdfunding campaign started by a Muslim man who witnessed the Westminster attack has raised more than £17,000 in just a day for victims of the atrocity and their families.
The Muslims United for London page passed the £3,000 mark within an hour of going live and surpassed £10,000 over the next 15 hours as hundreds of people rushed to donate.
Muddassar Ahmed said he started the fund after witnessing the attack, having entered Portcullis House just 10 minutes before terror struck and being barricaded inside for four hours.
“I was shocked to see the injuries and loss of life outside my window,” he wrote.
“I reflected on what it means to be a born-and-bred Londoner and found myself proud of how security and medical services responded, how ordinary passers-by offered first aid, and what our Parliament means to me, an institution that is the oldest of its kind in the world and how, regardless of our critiques of government policies or political parties, remains an institution that reflects how the will of the people can be expressed with civility and dignity.”
He has now raised the fund’s target to £20,000 because of the unexpected “high demand and heartwarming response”.
Donations continued to pour in on Friday morning after police announced a fourth victim of the attack had died.
A 75-year-old man suffered severe injuries and was receiving treatment in hospital before life support was withdrawn.
He was the third victim to die from injuries sustained as Khalid Masood ploughed his car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing mother-of-two Aysha Frade and American tourist Kurt Cochran, who was in London with his wife to celebrate their 25th anniversary.
Masood, a 52-year-old Muslim convert from Kent, then ploughed the vehicle into a fence outside the Houses of Parliament before running to an entrance and fatally stabbing PC Keith Palmer, before he was shot dead.
Isis hailed him as a “soldier of the Islamic State” in a claim of responsibility issued the following day, although the extent of any involvement by the terrorist group remains unclear.
Theresa May told MPs packed into the House of Commons that he had been the subject of a historical MI5 investigation over suspected violent extremism but was not charged with terror offences.
Born Adrian Elms and using a series of aliases through his life, Masood had been jailed repeatedly for violent crime dating back to the 1980s, including grievous bodily harm, possession of offensive weapons and assault.
A minute’s silence was held for his victims as faith leaders, the Home Secretary and Mayor of London joined thousands of Londoners at a memorial held in Trafalgar Square on Thursday evening.
Among the attendees was the head of the Muslim Council of Britain, Harun Khan, who condemned the “cowardly and depraved” terror attack.
“There is no justification for this act whatsoever,” he added.
“The best response to this outrage is to make sure we come together in solidarity and not allow the terrorists to divide us.”
Sadiq Khan urged Muslims to be “vigilant” against the dangers of Islamist ideology and hate preachers.
He urged people to ensure young people know “true Islam” from online propaganda to help them combat the risk of grooming and radicalistation.
“Terrorists want to attack London is because they hate the fact that we don’t just tolerate each other – whether you’re a Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, member of an organised faith or not, we respect, embrace and celebrate each other and that’s going to carry on,” Mr Khan said.
Police have arrested three women and five men on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts after raids in London and Birmingham, while a house in Camarthenshire was also searched

Donald Trump's US healthcare bill withdrawn - BBC News

Donald Trump's US healthcare bill withdrawn

US President Donald Trump has withdrawn his healthcare bill after it failed to gain enough support to pass in Congress.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said he and Mr Trump agreed to pull the vote, after it became apparent it would not get the minimum of 215 Republican votes needed.
The last minute move was seen as a huge blow to Mr Trump.
Repealing and replacing the programme known as Obamacare was one of his major election pledges.
Earlier on Friday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that the vote would go ahead at 15:30 (19:30 GMT).
Mr Trump had reportedly warned Republicans that if they did not vote for his bill then they would be stuck with Barack Obama's healthcare programme for good.
* How disastrous for Trump?
* Gloats and warnings over failed bill
* Ryan: 'We came really close today'
However, multiple reports suggested that between 28 and 35 Republicans were opposed to his draft American Health Care Act.
The vote was withdrawn shortly after 15:30, and the House is now in recess.
'Obamacare will explode'
Republicans currently have a majority in both the House and the Senate.
However, some Republicans were unhappy that the bill cut health coverage too severely, while others felt the changes did not go far enough.
The bill also appeared unpopular with the public - in one recent poll, just 17% approved of it.
Speaking after the withdrawal, Mr Trump blamed the Democrats for not supporting the bill and predicted that Obamacare would "explode".
He said the Republicans would probably focus on tax reform for now.
"We have to let Obamacare go its own way for a little while," he said, adding that if the Democrats were "civilised and came together" the two parties could work out a "great healthcare bill".

How disastrous is this for Trump? Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, North America reporter
How bad was Friday's defeat of the American Health Care Act in the House of Representatives? Bad. Very bad.
The American Health Care Act was the first major piece of legislation pushed by the White House and the Republican-controlled Congress, a key political test early in the president's term, when he should be at the height of his power and party cohesion at its strongest.
In spite of all of this, Mr Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan and the Republicans running Washington could not get the job done.
For Republicans Friday wasn't just bad. It was a disaster.
Earlier, Mr Ryan told reporters: "We are going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future.
"I will not sugar coat this. This is a disappointing day for us. Doing big things is hard."
"We were a 10-year opposition party where being against things was easy to do," he said, adding that it was difficult to get "people to agree with each other in how we do things".
* All-male US health bill photo sparks anger
* Is Obamacare more popular than ever?
Meanwhile, Democrat and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi described it as "a victory for the American people".
And House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said it was a "good day" for Americans, adding "we worked over years to assure that the American public would have access to affordable, quality healthcare".

What did the bill propose?
* Cuts the Medicaid programme for low earners
* Provides tax credits to help people pay medical bills, but reduced compared to Obamacare
* Ends penalties on those who do not buy health coverage
* Allows insurers to raise premiums for older people
* Blocks federal payments to women's healthcare provider Planned Parenthood for a year