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The incident happened just after 2 a.m. local time on Monday when a loud explosion was heard at the complex in Neder-Over-Heembeek, which is located in the northern part of the City of Brussels. A fire broke out at the scene. There were no injuries as a result of the explosion, but residents in the surrounding neighborhood reported being shaken by the blast. Firefighters extinguished the fire that engulfed the car and caused damage in the vicinity. No one was injured. Belgian media initially reported that the incident was caused by an explosives-laden vehicle that was rammed through gates at the facility before being detonated, but officials later said that no explosives were found. Instead, the fire was likely caused by fuel that was set on fire. "It's probably not terrorism. It's a criminal act," Ine Van Wymersch, a spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor's office, told the Associated Press news agency. This is a breaking news alert. Please check back or follow @BNONews on Twitter as details become available. If you want to receive breaking news alerts by email, click here to sign up. You can also like BNO News on Facebook by clicking here. Les pompiers sont toujours sur place #Belga #Nederoverheembeek pic.twitter.com/KVuxyuX9wx — Angèle Olivier (@AngeleOlivier) August 29, 2016 Click here for reuse options! ||||| Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption A vehicle was used to break through barriers before it was destroyed by fire Attackers rammed a car through the gates of a Brussels crime laboratory before starting a fire to destroy forensic evidence, prosecutors say. Prosecutor's spokeswoman Ine Van Wymersch said a car broke through fences at about 02:00 (00:00 GMT). She said there was "sensitive material" inside the laboratories, but it is not yet clear what if anything was destroyed in the fire. Five people arrested nearby were later released without charge. Initial reports in Belgian media said a bomb had exploded. But Ms Van Wymersch said that while a bomb was unlikely to have detonated, it was impossible to fully rule out that scenario. "The location was not chosen randomly," she said. "It's an important site, that includes sensitive documents relating to current investigations." "The possibility of a terrorist act is not confirmed. It goes without saying that several individuals may have wanted to destroy evidence related to their legal cases," Ms Van Wymersch added. The case was being treated as arson, she said. Image copyright Reuters Some 30 firefighters helped put out the fire at the National Institute of Criminology, which Ms Van Wymersch said caused damage but caused no casualties. Forensic analysis linked to criminal cases is carried out at the site, but while it is not the only laboratory of its kind linked to the police, it is the most important forensic test centre in Belgium. Images submitted to broadcaster RTL by nearby residents showed flames and heavy smoke rising into the night sky. The independent institute, linked to Belgium's federal justice body, is in Neder-Over-Heembeek, a suburb in the north of Brussels. Belgium's terror alert level remains high since bomb attacks on Brussels airport and the city's metro, claimed by so-called Islamic State, that killed 32 people in March. ||||| BRUSSELS, Aug 29 (Reuters) - A bomb exploded at the Brussels Institute of Criminology in the north of the Belgian capital on Monday but the building was empty and no one was wounded, broadcaster RTL said. Brussels prosecutors confirmed that there had been an explosion at the institute and that there had been no casualties but said the cause had still not been determined. A car rammed through the barriers at about 3 a.m. local time and one or more attackers exploded a bomb near the laboratories which caught fire, RTL said. The institute is linked to the Belgian ministry of justice and carries out forensic investigations in criminal cases, it says on its website. Europe has been on high alert after Islamic State attacks in Paris and Brussels over the past year. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Nick Macfie) ||||| Five held over fire at Brussels criminology institute - prosecutors BRUSSELS, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Five people were being held and questioned on Monday over a fire at Brussels' criminology institute, a spokeswoman for the city's prosecutors said. Arsonists set fire to Belgium's National Institute of Criminology in Brussels earlier on Monday, causing an explosion but no casualties. "Five people were detained in the vicinity and are being heard," the spokeswoman, Ine Van Wymersch, told a news conference. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska) ||||| A bomb has reportedly gone off at the Brussels Institute of Criminology. It happen at about 2.30am loncal time, according to Belgian media. A car reportedly rammed three fences to get near the institute’s building, where the bomb was detonated. No casualties were reported Brussels airport and metro were the targets of an Islamic State bomb attack that killed 32 people in March. Belgium remains on a high terror alert. ||||| A bomb has exploded at the Brussels Institute of Criminology in the north of Brussels but the building was empty and no one was wounded, according to local media. A car rammed through the barriers at about 3am local time on Monday and one or more attackers exploded a bomb near the laboratories which caught fire, broadcaster RTL said. State broadcaster RTBF said no one was injured but that damage at the site was significant. Police have been deployed in force and sealed off the area. The institute is in Neder-Over-Hembeek, a suburb north of Brussels. It is linked to the Belgian ministry of justice and carries out forensic investigations in criminal cases. Belgium has been on high alert since March when attacks on the the city’s airport and subway killed 32 people. Days before the Brussels attacks, Salah Abdeslam, one of the leaders of the terror attacks on Paris in November 2015, was arrested in the Molenbeek area of Brussels after a four-month international manhunt. This is a developing story, please check back for updates. ||||| Arsonists set fire to Belgium’s National Institute of Criminology in Brussels on Monday, causing an explosion but no casualties, a Brussels prosecutor said. Ine Van Wymersch said there were no immediate indications that the fire at the institute, which was empty at the time, was a militant attack although nothing had been ruled out. Europe has been on high alert after Islamic State attacks in Paris and Brussels over the past year. “It was arson, deliberate arson at the laboratory of the federal police,” she said. “With a fire you get explosions, but it’s not that explosives were thrown inside or installed.” “It is a path we are looking down,” she said, referring to the possibility of militant involvement. “But certainly not the first one we are thinking about. We are thinking more of deliberate arson by organised crime. We have no indications that it was terrorism,” she said. The institute is linked to the Belgian ministry of justice and carries out forensic investigations in criminal cases, according to its website. The attack was carried out by more than one person, Ms van Wymersch said. Two people had been detained, although they were not necessarily the perpetrators. Belgian broadcaster RTL said that a car rammed through barriers at the centre at about 3am local time. ||||| Nobody hurt in blast outside Brussels criminology institute BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian media say unidentified attackers have detonated a bomb outside Belgium's criminology institute in the capital, Brussels, but the building was empty and nobody was injured. State broadcaster RTBF and other outlets reported Monday that a car drove through a security barrier at the site about 2 a.m. (0000 GMT), followed by an explosion that caused significant damage to the facility on Brussels' north side. Police have deployed in force and sealed off the area. The institute assists and advises Belgium's justice authorities in carrying out their investigations. Belgium has been on high alert since coordinated March 22 suicide bomb attacks on the Brussels airport and subway killed 32 people. ||||| A bomb has exploded at the Brussels Institute of Criminology in the north of Brussels. A car rammed through the barriers at about 3am and one or more attackers exploded a bomb near the laboratories which caught fire, RTL said. The blast hit the empty building on Monday morning and no one was wounded - it is not clear what happened to the bombers. There was significant damage at the site and police have sealed off the area. State broadcaster RTBF said a car with two people on board accessed the site before scaling a ladded and launching a bomb at the building. They are then said to have torched their vehicle. The institute, which is in the Neder-Over-Hembeek suburb of northern Brussels, assists and advises Belgium's justice authorities in carrying out their inquiries. Eyewitnesses reported seeing thick black smoke coming from the building before fire crews descended on the scene in the early hours of the morning. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack. Fire service spokesman, Pierre Meys, said: 'it was probably not accidental. 'The explosion was extremely powerful. Windows of the lab were blown out dozens of metres away.' He said about 30 firefighters were called to the scene. Belgium has been on high alert since a March 22 attack on the Brussels airport and tube network killed 32 people. Those attacks were claimed by ISIS, which controls large areas of territory in Iraq and Syria and has claimed numerous terror atrocities in Europe in recent months. ||||| BRUSSELS (AP) - Reports of a bomb outside Belgium’s criminal institute early Monday are probably false, the Brussels prosecutor’s office said, adding that the incident is much more likely an arson attack on a crime lab. “It’s probably not terrorism. It’s a criminal act,” said spokeswoman Ine Van Wymersch. “I cannot confirm that there was any bomb.” State broadcaster RTBF and other outlets reported that a car drove through a security barrier at the site about 2 a.m., followed by an explosion that caused significant damage to the facility on Brussels’ north side. Nobody was injured. The institute assists and advises Belgium’s justice authorities in carrying out their investigations. Belgium has been on high alert since coordinated March 22 suicide bomb attacks on the Brussels airport and subway killed 32 people.
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Multiple individuals rammed a van into the entrance of the Brussels National Institute of Criminology building, setting its laboratories on fire. No casualties have been reported. At least five people are arrested.
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Story highlights At least nine people reported dead as storm passes over Japan's main island Flooding, at least one missing on northern island of Hokkaido Tokyo (CNN) Nine bodies were found in a home for the elderly in the town of Iwaizumi in Iwate Prefecture, which suffered flooding following Typhoon Lionrock, police tell CNN. Rescue operations are underway to rescue 400 people who are stranded due to flooding and landslides, according to a statement by the town's prefecture disaster prevention office. Over 1,100 people were evacuated from their homes and are taking shelter in public facilities across Iwaizumi, the statement says. Prefectural officials confirmed that nine bodies were found in the Ran Ran retirement home after the nearby Omoto river broke its banks. Police are working to identify the bodies. Another home for the elderly, Friendly Iwaizumi, avoided casualties as staff were able to move residents to the second floor of the building and avoid the floodwaters. Ran Ran is a single-storey structure. Read More ||||| At least 9 dead as typhoon hits northern Japan TOKYO (AP) — At least nine elderly people were killed when their nursing home was flooded in northern Japan after Typhoon Lionrock dumped heavy rains on the area. The bodies of all nine residents were found at a nursing home in the town of Iwaizumi in Iwate prefecture, when police were checking another facility in the flooded neighborhood, said Takehiro Hayashijiri, an official at a prefectural disaster management division. Hayashijiri said identity of the bodies or other details, including whereabouts of their caretakers, were not known. NHK said the nursing home was for the residents with dementia. Waves crash against a coast in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, northeastern Japan, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. A typhoon is about to barrel into northern Japan, threatening to bring floods to an area still recovering from the 2011 tsunami. Typhoon Lionrock has already paralyzed traffic, caused blackouts and prompted officials to urge residents to evacuate.(Jun Hirata/Kyodo News via AP) Japan's NHK national broadcaster said authorities have found two more bodies in another town in Iwate. Its footage showed the nursing home partially buried in mud, surrounded by debris apparently washed down from the mountains. A car by the home was turned upside down. "We're making a government-wide effort to assess the extent of damage," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. The government sent Self-Defense Forces to help in the rescue and cleanup of the damage caused by the typhoon. At least two rivers swollen by the typhoon broke through their banks, flooding areas in northern Japan. The embankments gave way before dawn on Wednesday on the northern island of Hokkaid, said NHK, quoting Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism. Authorities in the town of Minami-furano are reporting many people trapped in houses and shelters by flooding from the Sorachi river, NHK said. Aerial photos from Kyodo News service also showed serious flooding south of Hokkaido in Iwate prefecture on Honshu, Japan's main island. Typhoon Lionrock slammed into northern Japan on Tuesday evening, hitting an area still recovering from the 2011 tsunami. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least three people were injured in three northern prefectures — Aomori, Akita and Miyagi since Tuesday. It made landfall near the city of Ofunato, 500 kilometers (310 miles) northeast of Tokyo late Tuesday before moving away from Japan. It's the first time a typhoon has made landfall in the northern region since 1951, when the Japan Meteorological Agency started keeping records. More than 170,000 people were subject to evacuation, including 38,000 in Ofunato, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. More than 10,000 homes in the northern region were without electricity, with power lines damaged from the winds. The scene of large parts of northern Japan covered with muddy water was a shocking reminder of the tsunami disaster that struck the region five years ago. Iwate, hardest-hit by the typhoon, is one of the areas still recovering from the tsunami damage. The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami left more than 18,000 people dead in the wide swaths of Japan's northern coast, including 340 in Ofunato. ||||| Nine people were killed when floods hit an old people’s home in Japan, police said on Wednesday, taking the death toll from a typhoon battering northern parts of the country to at least 11. Police found nine bodies on Wednesday in the nursing home in the town of Iwaizumi, in Iwate Prefecture in the north of Japan’s main island of Honshu, but it was not clear when their home was flooded. It was also not clear why people there had not been taken to safety before the storm struck. The nursing home is located near a river and was partially buried in mud and debris when the river overflowed its banks. Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the home was for people with dementia. “The area is in a state of chaos. We are not sure what preparations the facility had taken,” said a prefectural government official who asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The town issued evacuation preparation information on Tuesday morning, which is to inform elderly or disabled people who take time to evacuate. That, however, was not as strong as an evacuation warning, according to another prefecture official. More than 1,000 other people were forced from their homes by the flooding brought by Typhoon Lionrock. The body of a man was also found near a river in Iwaizumi and a dead woman was found in Kuji city, police said. Further north, on the island of Hokkaido, at least two rivers broke through their banks. The fire and disaster management agency said at least one person went missing while driving or riding in a car that went down with a bridge torn away by the flood. Authorities in the town of Minamifurano reported hundreds of people trapped in houses and shelters by flooding from the Sorachi river, the agency said. Hundreds of other people were also trapped in buildings and isolated in several towns in Iwate. Typhoon Lionrock made landfall on Tuesday evening near the city of Ofunato, 310 miles north east of Tokyo on the Pacific coast and crossed the main island of Honshu before heading out to the Sea of Japan. It was the first time a typhoon had made landfall in the northern region since 1951, when the Japan Meteorological Agency started keeping records. Iwate prefecture, the hardest-hit by the typhoon, is one of the areas still rebuilding from the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake, which left more than 18,000 people dead along Japan’s north-eastern coast. ||||| Nine people killed in flooded Japanese old people's home TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Nine people were killed when floods inundated an old people's home in Japan, police said on Wednesday, taking the death toll from a typhoon battering northern parts of the country to at least 11. Police found nine bodies on Wednesday in the nursing home in the town of Iwaizumi, in Iwate Prefecture in the north of Japan's main island of Honshu, but it was not clear when their home was flooded. It was also not clear why people there had not been taken to safety before the storm struck. The nursing home is located near a river and was partially buried in mud and debris when the river overflowed its banks. "The area is in a state of chaos. We are not sure what preparations the facility had taken," said a prefectural government official who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The town issued evacuation preparation information on Tuesday morning, which is to inform elderly or disabled people who take time to evacuate. That, however, was not as strong as an evacuation warning, according to another prefecture official. More than 1,000 other people were forced from their homes by the flooding brought by Typhoon Lionrock. The body of a man was also found near a river in Iwaizumi and a dead woman was found in Kuji city, police said. Television pictures showed flooded rivers with cars and homes partly submerged, while rescuers picked up stranded people by helicopter. Several people were also missing on the northern island of Hokkaido, police said. Iwate, the worst-hit prefecture, was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Robert Birsel and Paul Tait) ||||| Heavy rain from Typhoon Lionrock flooded towns across Japan's north and left at least 11 people dead, most of them elderly residents at a nursing home who could not escape rising floodwaters, officials said on Wednesday. The home in the town of Iwaizumi, which only had the ground floor, included people suffering from dementia who were in their 80s and 90s. Police discovered nine bodies there on Wednesday while checking another facility in the inundated neighbourhood. As floodwaters rapidly rose on Tuesday night, all 85 elderly residents and staff at a three-story facility next door were rescued uninjured after evacuating to the top floor, said Iwate prefectural official Reiko Ouchi. A caretaker at that facility notified the town office about their evacuation to the third floor, noting that the nine residents next door were stuck, NHK TV reported. READ MORE: Typhoon hits site of 2011 tsunami in Japan Ouchi said officials are looking into if and how town officials responded to the call. An evacuation order was not issued. Hiroaki Sato, a senior official at the company that runs the nursing homes, said floodwater poured into the compound in a matter of 10 minutes, making it impossible for the nine elderly residents to escape. The water was at chest-high on Tuesday evening. Despite earlier warnings of the approaching typhoon, only one of the eight staff was on overnight duty, Sato told Kyodo News, adding that a telephone line was cut off due to flooding and she could not reach police or firefighters. "An overnight staff attended the residents, but in the end they all died, including one in (her) arms," Sato told nationally televised NHK news. "I'm so sorry we could not help any of the nine residents," he said, as he bowed deeply in apology, his teary voice trembling. The identity of the victims and other details, including the whereabouts of their caretakers, were not immediately known, said Takehiro Hayashijiri, a prefecture disaster management division. Authorities found two more bodies in Iwate - one in the same town and the second in another town of Kuji, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Footage on NHK showed the nursing home partially buried in mud, surrounded by debris apparently washed down in the swollen river. A car by the home was turned upside down. At another nursing home, a rescue helicopter was perched atop a flat roof, airlifting residents, each wrapped in a blanket and carried by their helpers. "We're making a government-wide effort to assess the extent of damage," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. The government sent troops to help in the rescue and clean-up effort. Farther north, on the island of Hokkaido, at least two rivers broke through their banks. The disaster management agency said at least one person went missing in a car that went down with a bridge torn away by the flood. Authorities in the town of Minamifurano reported hundreds of people trapped in houses and shelters by flooding from the Sorachi river, the agency said. Hundreds of others were also trapped in buildings and isolated in several towns in Iwate. Typhoon Lionrock made landfall on Tuesday evening near the city of Ofunato, 500km northeast of Tokyo on the Pacific coast and crossed the main island of Honshu before heading out to the Sea of Japan. It was the first time a typhoon has made landfall in the northern region since 1951, when the Japan Meteorological Agency started keeping records. The scene of large parts of northern Japan covered with muddy water was a shocking reminder of the major tsunami that struck the same region five years ago. Iwate prefecture, the hardest-hit by the typhoon, is one of the areas still rebuilding from the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake, which left more than 18,000 people dead along Japan's northeastern coast. ||||| Police found nine bodies on Wednesday in the nursing home in the town of Iwaizumi, in Iwate Prefecture in the north of Japan's main island of Honshu, but it was not clear when their home was flooded. It was also not clear why people there had not been taken to safety before the storm struck. The nursing home is located near a river and was partially buried in mud and debris when the river overflowed its banks. "The area is in a state of chaos. We are not sure what preparations the facility had taken," said a prefectural government official who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The town issued evacuation preparation information on Tuesday morning, which is to inform elderly or disabled people who take time to evacuate. That, however, was not as strong as an evacuation warning, according to another prefecture official. More than 1,000 other people were forced from their homes by the flooding brought by Typhoon Lionrock. The body of a man was also found near a river in Iwaizumi and a dead woman was found in Kuji city, police said. Television pictures showed flooded rivers with cars and homes partly submerged, while rescuers picked up stranded people by helicopter. Several people were also missing on the northern island of Hokkaido, police said. Iwate, the worst-hit prefecture, was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. ||||| At least nine elderly people have been found dead at a nursing home in Japan after heavy overnight rain from Typhoon Lionrock flooded towns across the north of the country. Police discovered the bodies in the town of Iwaizumi while checking another facility in the neighbourhood, said Takehiro Hayashijiri, an official at the Iwate prefecture disaster management division. The identities of the victims and other details, including the whereabouts of their caretakers, were not known, Hayashijiri said. The Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the home was for people with dementia. NHK also reported that authorities found two more bodies in another town in Iwate. Footage showed the nursing home partially buried in mud, surrounded by debris apparently washed down from the mountains. A car by the home was overturned. “We’re making a government-wide effort to assess the extent of damage,” the chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said. The government sent the self-defence force, Japan’s military, to help in the rescue and cleanup effort. Further north, on the island of Hokkaido, at least two rivers broke their banks. The embankments gave way early on Wednesday, NHK said, quoting Japan’s ministry of land, infrastructure and tourism. Authorities in the town of Minamifurano reported many people trapped in houses and shelters by flooding from the Sorachi river, NHK said. Typhoon Lionrock made landfall on Tuesday evening near the city of Ofunato, 310 miles (500km) north-east of Tokyo on the Pacific coast, and crossed the main island of Honshu before heading out to the Sea of Japan. It was the first time a typhoon has made landfall in the northern region since 1951, when Japan’s Meteorological Agency started keeping records. The scene of large parts of northern Japan covered with muddy water was a reminder of the major tsunami that struck the same region five years ago. Iwate prefecture, the area hit hardest by the typhoon, is one of the areas still rebuilding from the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake, which killed more than 18,000 people along the north-east coast. ||||| The town issued evacuation preparation information on Tuesday morning, which is to inform elderly or disabled people who take time to evacuate. That, however, was not as strong as an evacuation warning, according to another prefecture official. INTERNATIONAL NEWS - Nine people were killed when floods inundated an old people's home in Japan, police said on Wednesday, taking the death toll from a typhoon battering northern parts of the country to at least 11.Police found nine bodies on Wednesday in the nursing home in the town of Iwaizumi, in Iwate Prefecture in the north of Japan's main island of Honshu, but it was not clear when their home was flooded.It was also not clear why people there had not been taken to safety before the storm struck. The nursing home is located near a river and was partially buried in mud and debris when the river overflowed its banks."The area is in a state of chaos. We are not sure what preparations the facility had taken," said a prefectural government official who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media. ||||| Nine people killed in flooded Japanese old people's home TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Floods have inundated an old people's home in Japan killing nine people, police said on Wednesday, taking the death toll from a typhoon battering northern parts of the country to at least 11. Police found the nine bodies in the nursing home in the town of Iwaizumi on Wednesday but it was not clear when their home was inundated. Nor was it clear why people there had not been taken to safety before the storm struck. More than 1,000 other people were forced from their homes by the flooding brought by Typhoon Lionrock. The body of a man was found near a river in Iwaizumi and a dead woman was found in Kuji city, police said. Television showed pictures of flooded rivers with cars and homes partly submerged while rescuers picked up stranded people by helicopter. The worst-hit Iwate prefecture was devastated by a big earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Several people were missing on the northern island of Hokkaido, police said. ||||| At least nine elderly people have been found dead at a nursing home in Japan as heavy overnight rain from a devastating Typhoon left towns flooded across the country's north. Police discovered the bodies in the town of Iwaizumi while checking another facility in the flooded area. Takehiro Hayashijiri, an official at the Iwate prefecture disaster management division, said the home was for people with dementia. Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed a helicopter hovering over the building as rescuers tried to pluck other stranded residents to safety. Media reports said the building was reserved for people with dementia and another 86 elderly residents and employees were in another facility building at the time. Footage showed the nursing home partially buried in mud, surrounded by debris apparently washed down from the mountains. A car by the home was turned upside down. The death toll from the powerful storm rose to 11 after an elderly woman was found dead in her flooded home nearby, and another body was discovered not far from the nursing home, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. 'We're making a government-wide effort to assess the extent of damage,' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. The government sent the Self-Defense Force, Japan's military, to help in the rescue and cleanup effort. Further north, on the island of Hokkaido, at least two rivers broke through their banks. The embankments gave way early on Wednesday morning, NHK said, quoting Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism. Authorities in the town of Minami-furano reported many people trapped in houses and shelters by flooding from the Sorachi river, NHK said. The typhoon, with winds of over 100 miles an hour when it made landfall, also caused flooding on the northern island of Hokkaido. The typhoon was later reclassified as an extratropical cyclone and moved out into the Sea of Japan at midnight, said the Japan Meteorological Agency. The full scale of damage, however, did not become apparent until daybreak when rescue operations began in earnest. In Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands, one person who had been inside a car was missing in the town of Taiki, police and government officials said. At least three cars fell into rivers in other towns on the island after bridges collapsed, they said, stressing it was not known how many people were inside the vehicles. 'In Minamifurano town, the water level is still very high with a current, and rescue workers are using helicopters now to try to evacuate several people who are left on the roofs of their houses or their cars,' said Hokkaido official Terumi Kohan. Lionrock's path -- hitting northeastern Japan from the Pacific Ocean -- was unusual. Typhoons usually approach Japan from the south and southwest before moving northward across the archipelago. Up to eight centimetres (three inches) of rain per hour fell overnight and authorities had warned of flooding and landslides. The typhoon's landfall came at high tide, which exacerbated the flow of water. Lionrock comes on the heels of two other typhoons that hit Japan in the past nine days, resulting in two deaths, the cancellation of hundreds of domestic flights and disruptions to train services. As of noon Wednesday it had combined with another similar storm in the Sea of Japan and was near the North Korea-China border, said Eiju Takahashi, an official at Japan's weather agency. The scene of large parts of northern Japan covered with muddy water was a shocking reminder of the major tsunami that struck the same region five years ago. Iwate prefecture, the hardest-hit by the typhoon, is one of the areas still rebuilding from the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake, which left more than 18,000 people dead along Japan's northeastern coast.
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At least two rivers break embankments, causing floods on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Operations are underway to rescue 400 stranded people. On Honshu Island, at least 11 people, including nine elderly from a nursing home, have died.
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Hurricane specialist Eric Blake works at the National Hurricane Center to track the path of Tropical Storm Hermine, which strengthened this morning and is expected to make landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast as a hurricane by by tomorrow on September 1, 2016 in Miami, Florida. The National Hurricane Center forecasters are urging people to be ready for the possibility of the state's first hurricane in nearly 11 years. ||||| 000 WTNT34 KNHC 240234 TCPAT4 BULLETIN Post-Tropical Cyclone Chantal Advisory Number 13 NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL042019 1100 PM AST Fri Aug 23 2019 ...CHANTAL BECOMES A REMNANT LOW... ...THIS IS THE LAST ADVISORY... SUMMARY OF 1100 PM AST...0300 UTC...INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------- LOCATION...35.6N 40.9W ABOUT 785 MI...1265 KM W OF THE AZORES MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...30 MPH...45 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...S OR 185 DEGREES AT 6 MPH...9 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1014 MB...29.95 INCHES WATCHES AND WARNINGS -------------------- There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect. DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK ---------------------- At 1100 PM AST (0300 UTC), the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Chantal was located near latitude 35.6 North, longitude 40.9 West. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the south near 6 mph (9 km/h). A turn toward the southwest and west is expected over the weekend, followed by a slow motion toward the northwest Sunday night and Monday. Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph (45 km/h) with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is anticipated and Chantal is forecast to dissipate on Monday. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1014 mb (29.95 inches). HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND ---------------------- None. NEXT ADVISORY ------------- This is the last public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on Chantal. Additional information on this system can be found in High Seas Forecasts issued by the National Weather Service, under AWIPS header NFDHSFAT1, WMO header FZNT01 KWBC, and online at ocean.weather.gov/shtml/NFDHSFAT1.php $$ Forecaster Zelinsky ||||| By Faith Karimi and Steve Almasy, From CNN CNN)Hurricane Hermine made landfall early Friday in Florida with a furious mix of rain, whistling winds and surging waves — then weakened into a tropical storm as it wobbled toward Georgia. Hermine, which had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, was the first hurricane to come ashore in Florida since Wilma struck 11 years ago. It made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in the Big Bend area, a part of the Gulf Coast where the state’s peninsula meets the Panhandle. In Tallahassee, more than 100,000 utility customers were without power as winds and rain lashed the city, according to the mayor’s office. Downgraded A few hours after landfall, Hermine had weakened into a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center. All hurricane watches and warnings were dropped, but tropical storm warnings remained for parts of the Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia and up through North Carolina. By dawn Friday, the tropical storm was 20 miles west of Valdosta, Georgia, and moving north at 14 mph, according to the hurricane center. “This motion is expected to continue today and Saturday,” the center said. “On the forecast track, the center of Hermine should continue to move farther inland across southeastern Georgia today and into the Carolinas tonight and Saturday.” Its maximum sustained winds decreased to 70 mph, with additional weakening forecast as it moves farther inland. ‘You cannot rebuild a life’ After its short reign as a hurricane, it’s expected to spawn a few tornadoes in northern Florida and southern Georgia. A tornado watch was in effect for dozens of Florida and Georgia counties until 8 a.m. ET Friday. In Florida, life-threatening flooding remains a risk as rain has pounded the Gulf Coast since Wednesday. Forecasters say much more is in store. Hermine could bring up to 10 inches of additional rainfall to some places, including Tallahassee — with up to 15 inches possible in some areas, forecasters said. Several Florida counties issued mandatory evacuation notices for Gulf Coast communities on the water or in low-lying areas. Parts of Georgia also are expected to get up to 10 inches of rain over the weekend. Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday urged residents to heed warnings about the storm. “We have a hurricane. You can rebuild a home. You can rebuild property. You cannot rebuild a life.” Hurricane Hermine storms into Florida Photos: Hurricane Hermine storms into Florida Sgt. Andy Pace and Lt. Allen Ham with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department jump-start one of their vehicles as Hurricane Hermine approaches. Traffic moves along US 98 as Hurricane Hermine approaches Eastpoint, Florida, on September 1. Power crews with Pike Electric in South Carolina arrive in Carrabelle, Florida, on the Florida Gulf Coast as Hurricane Hermine approaches on September 1. Sunken and beached boats line the shoreline in Eastpoint, Florida, as Hurricane Hermine approaches. Residents of the Sandpiper Resort survey the rising water coming from the Gulf of Mexico into their neighborhood as winds and storm surge from Hurricane Hermine affect the area on Thursday, September 1, in Holmes Beach, Florida. Workers install storm shutters on a storefront as they prepare for Hurricane Hermine on September 1. A resident of the Sandpiper Resort in Holmes Beach, Florida, surveys the rising water coming from the Gulf of Mexico because of Hurricane Hermine. Sgt. Andy Pace and Lt. Allen Ham with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department jump-start one of their vehicles as Hurricane Hermine approaches. Traffic moves along US 98 as Hurricane Hermine approaches Eastpoint, Florida, on September 1. Power crews with Pike Electric in South Carolina arrive in Carrabelle, Florida, on the Florida Gulf Coast as Hurricane Hermine approaches on September 1. Sunken and beached boats line the shoreline in Eastpoint, Florida, as Hurricane Hermine approaches. Residents of the Sandpiper Resort survey the rising water coming from the Gulf of Mexico into their neighborhood as winds and storm surge from Hurricane Hermine affect the area on Thursday, September 1, in Holmes Beach, Florida. Workers install storm shutters on a storefront as they prepare for Hurricane Hermine on September 1. A resident of the Sandpiper Resort in Holmes Beach, Florida, surveys the rising water coming from the Gulf of Mexico because of Hurricane Hermine. Sgt. Andy Pace and Lt. Allen Ham with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department jump-start one of their vehicles as Hurricane Hermine approaches. He told residents not to drive into standing water and to avoid downed power lines, saying crews were working hard to ensure limited disruptions. “We have 6,000 members of the national guard ready to be mobilized,” he said. Scott declared a state of emergency for 51 of the state’s 67 counties. He ordered all state offices in those 51 counties to close. Hours before landfall, Hermine was lashing Apalachicola, St. Petersburg and other cities. A video posted by Joanna Crandell (@chica_de_aqua) on Sep 1, 2016 at 3:17pm PDT The surge of ocean water could be as high as 9 feet above normal levels, forecasters said, as authorities warned its effect was not limited to Florida. The storm is expected to deluge coastal Mid-Atlantic states from Virginia to New Jersey, beginning early Saturday, the hurricane center said. The National Weather Service issued a new online product to help people prepare for the storm. The storm surge watch/warning graphic highlights spots with the highest risk for “life-threatening inundation from storm surge,” the service said. ‘Lock down the house and pray’ In Apalachicola, on the Panhandle coast, contractors Lake Smith and Joshua Wolfhagen boarded up windows in a two-story brick building about 60 feet from the waterfront. “Storm (surge) is what got me worried right now,” Smith said. “Mostly worried about washing out the roads and a few of the homes in low-lying areas.” Eddie Bass, who owns a home in Alligator Point, said he wasn’t boarding it up despite worries about the storm surge. “It’s not much you can do. You just got to bring everything you can. Lock down the house and pray,” he said. In Panama City, a popular Labor Day destination, organizers canceled one of the major tourist draws, the Gulf Coast Jam. Officials said the stage for the three-day country music event had to be taken down as the winds picked up. Emergency management officials in Taylor County said mandatory evacuations were ordered for coastal communities. Nearby Wakulla County also had mandatory evacuations for low-lying areas. Franklin County, just southeast of Panama City, issued a mandatory evacuation order for the coastal towns of St. George Island, Dog Island, Bald Point and Alligator Point, the county’s emergency management office said. Zika concerns dismissed The storm may leave behind large areas of standing water, but one expert said it shouldn’t increase fears over the Zika virus. “We associate severe rain events like tropical events and hurricanes with increases in nuisance mosquitoes, not disease-spreading (mosquitoes),” said Ben Beard of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The type of mosquito that could potentially carry Zika is affected by heavy rain and flooding, which also washes away larvae from small breeding sites such as bird baths and flower pots. Nuisance mosquitoes will breed in water that remains standing after the storm passes. In Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 56 counties. And in North Carolina, Gov. Pat McCrory issued a state of emergency for 33 eastern counties. For more on this story go to: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/02/us/hurricane-hermine/ ||||| Tropical Storm Hermine strengthened into a hurricane Thursday as it continued churning on a path toward Florida, US forecasters said. At 1855 GMT, data from an Air Force hurricane hunter plane indicated that maximum sustained winds in Hermine were about 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. That would make it a Category One hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Hermine is the fourth Atlantic hurricane of 2016. The storm was located about 175 miles west of Tampa, Florida and moving north-northeast at 14 miles per hour. A hurricane warning was in effect for northern Florida and authorities warned of potential strong winds and storm surges that could cause flooding. "Hurricane conditions are expected to reach the coast within the warning area beginning tonight," the National Hurricane Center said. "Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion." With the tropical storm approaching, intensifying winds threaten to make outside preparations "difficult or dangerous," it added. Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in 51 counties to free up resources to brace for the storm. The center of Hermine is expected to be near the Florida coast in the warning area by late Thursday night or early Friday, forecasters said. ||||| TAMPA, Fla., Aug 31 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott declared an emergency on Wednesday, with parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast under a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch from an approaching system that forecasters warned could bring life-threatening flooding and fierce winds. Storm preparations were also underway off the U.S. Pacific coast, where residents of Hawaii's Big Island were warned of an encroaching hurricane, as well as another brewing hurricane that could impact the state over the weekend. In Florida, Scott declared an emergency in 42 of the state's 67 counties in advance of an expected tropical storm that could make landfall on the north-central Gulf Coast between late Thursday and early Friday. Heavy rains were already pounding parts of the state on Wednesday morning. As much as 15 inches (38 cm) could fall from central to northern Florida, National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The approaching system, currently an unnamed tropical depression packing 35 mph (55 kph) winds with higher gusts, is expected to strengthen as it heads east. Forecasters said it could be near hurricane strength at landfall. On its current path, the system would also bring heavy rain into coastal areas of Georgia and the Carolinas on its way to the Atlantic Ocean. Another unnamed tropical depression was turning out to sea on Wednesday after threatening the North Carolina coast, according to the hurricane center. On Hawaii's Big Island, residents were warned that Hurricane Madeline will bring strong winds and heavy rains as it passes over the area, beginning late on Wednesday. Another brewing hurricane could potentially impact the state over the weekend. The National Weather Service (NWS) tracked Hurricane Madeline swirling about 200 miles (320 km) east of the town of Hilo around 2 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Madeline was ranked as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph), the weather service said. The County of Hawaii sent residents an alert about the hurricane's dangers, including heavy rains that could lead to mudslides, as well as possibly damaging ocean swells. "Preparations to protect life and property should be completed by nightfall today," the alert said. (Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Marguerita Choy) ||||| HILO, Hawaii – A tropical storm left parts of Hawaii’s Big Island soggy but intact Thursday as residents of the island state prepared for a second round of potentially volatile tropical weather. Hawaii Island was pummeled with heavy rain and powerful waves overnight, but residents woke to blue skies and little damage after Madeline skirted the island. Hurricane Lester remains on track to affect the islands this weekend and was upgraded to a Category 3 storm Thursday afternoon. CARRABELLE, Fla. – Hurricane Hermine gained strength late Thursday as it roared toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, churning up rough surf that battered docks and boathouses as people braced for the first direct hit on the state from a hurricane in over a decade. The National Hurricane Center said the storm’s top sustained winds rose from 75 mph in the afternoon to 80 mph by nightfall as the former tropical storm gained new fury as it bore down on the coast. Forecasters said the storm would likely gain a little extra punch before slamming ashore. Hermine’s landfall was expected early this morning in the Big Bend area – the mostly rural and lightly populated corner where the Florida peninsula meets the Panhandle – then drop back down to a tropical storm and push into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast with the potential for drenching rain and deadly flooding. Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered many state government offices to close at noon, including those in Tallahassee, home to tens of thousands of state employees. The city has not had a direct hit from a hurricane in 30 years. He also urged people during the day to move to inland shelters if necessary. “This is a life-threatening situation,” Scott said. “It’s going to be a lot of risk. Right now, I want everybody to be safe.” Scott added that 6,000 National Guardsmen in Florida are ready to mobilize after the storm passes. The governors of Georgia and North Carolina declared states of emergency. Projected rainfall ranged up to 10 inches in parts of northern Florida and southern Georgia, with 4 to 10 inches possible along the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas by Sunday. Lesser amounts were forecast farther up the Atlantic Coast, because the storm was expected to veer out to sea. The last hurricane to strike Florida was Wilma, a powerful Category 3 storm that arrived Oct. 24, 2005. It swept across the Everglades and struck heavily populated south Florida, causing five deaths in the state and an estimated $23 billion in damage. Flooding was expected across a wide swath of the Big Bend, which has a marshy coastline and is made up of mostly rural communities and small towns, where fishing, hunting and camping are mainstays of life. On Thursday, residents were out in force preparing for the storm, and stores began running low on bottled water and flashlights. City crews struggled to keep up with demand for sand for filling sandbags. Courtney Chason, a longtime resident of Carrabelle in the Big Bend coastal area, warily watched with his girlfriend Thursday evening as surging waves began battering some docks and boathouses, the angry surf slowly tearing at them. Water also crashed into yards closest to the shore. “I’ve never seen it this high, it’s pretty damn crazy,” Chason said. “I hope it doesn’t get any higher; we need lots of prayers.” On Cedar Key, a small island along the Big Bend, about a dozen people went storefront to storefront, putting up shutters and nailing pieces of plywood to protect businesses from the wind. One of them, Joe Allen, spray-painted on plywood in large black letters: “Bring it on, Hermine.” Despite the bravado, he said, “I’m worried. You can never fully protect yourself from nature.” Chris Greaves and family members stopped in Tallahassee to pick up sandbags for his garage and the church they attend. Greaves said he lived in South Florida when Hurricane Andrew devastated the area in 1992. ||||| CEDAR KEY, Fla. — People on Florida's Gulf coast stocked up on supplies Thursday and some set out sandbags as they braced for Tropical Storm Hermine, which forecasters said could strike land as a hurricane. A hurricane warning was in effect for Florida's Big Bend from the Suwannee River to Mexico Beach. And on the East Coast, a tropical storm warning was issued for an area extending from Marineland, Fla., northward to the South Santee River in South Carolina. Georgia's governor declared a state of emergency for 56 counties through Saturday, in anticipation of high water and strong winds. Hermine's maximum sustained winds Thursday morning were near 65 mph. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hermine was likely to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane when it lands in Florida on Thursday night or early Friday. As of 10 a.m. Thursday, Hermine was centered about 220 miles west of Tampa, Fla., and was moving north-northeast near 14 mph. Residents in some low-lying communities in Florida were being asked to evacuate Thursday as the storm approached. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that emergency management officials in Franklin County have issued a mandatory evacuation notice for people living on St. George Island, Dog Island, Alligator Point and Bald Point. Residents in other low-lying, flood-prone areas were also being asked to evacuate. Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered state government offices in 51 counties to close at noon Thursday. The order included the state capital of Tallahassee, home to tens of thousands of state workers. The city, roughly 35 miles from the coast, has not had a direct hit by hurricane in 30 years. ||||| Are you affected by Tropical Storm Hermine? If it's safe for you to do so, WhatsApp us on +44 7435 939 154 to share your photos, experiences and video. Please tag #CNNiReport in your message. (CNN) Hurricane Hermine made landfall early Friday in Florida with a furious mix of rain, whistling winds and surging waves -- then weakened into a tropical storm as it wobbled toward Georgia. Hermine, which had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, was the first hurricane to come ashore in Florida since Wilma struck 11 years ago. It made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in the Big Bend area, a part of the Gulf Coast where the state's peninsula meets the Panhandle. In Tallahassee, more than 100,000 utility customers were without power as winds and rain lashed the city, according to the mayor's office. A few hours after landfall, Hermine had weakened into a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center. All hurricane watches and warnings were dropped, but tropical storm warnings remained for parts of the Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia and up through North Carolina. By dawn Friday, the tropical storm was 20 miles west of Valdosta, Georgia, and moving north at 14 mph, according to the hurricane center. "This motion is expected to continue today and Saturday," the center said. "On the forecast track, the center of Hermine should continue to move farther inland across southeastern Georgia today and into the Carolinas tonight and Saturday." Its maximum sustained winds decreased to 70 mph, with additional weakening forecast as it moves farther inland. After its short reign as a hurricane, it's expected to spawn a few tornadoes in northern Florida and southern Georgia. A tornado watch was in effect for dozens of Florida and Georgia counties until 8 a.m. ET Friday. In Florida, life-threatening flooding remains a risk as rain has pounded the Gulf Coast since Wednesday. Forecasters say much more is in store. Hermine could bring up to 10 inches of additional rainfall to some places, including Tallahassee -- with up to 15 inches possible in some areas, forecasters said. Several Florida counties issued mandatory evacuation notices for Gulf Coast communities on the water or in low-lying areas. Parts of Georgia also are expected to get up to 10 inches of rain over the weekend. Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday urged residents to heed warnings about the storm. "We have a hurricane. You can rebuild a home. You can rebuild property. You cannot rebuild a life." He told residents not to drive into standing water and to avoid downed power lines, saying crews were working hard to ensure limited disruptions. "We have 6,000 members of the national guard ready to be mobilized," he said. Hours before landfall, Hermine was lashing Apalachicola, St. Petersburg and other cities. The surge of ocean water could be as high as 9 feet above normal levels, forecasters said, as authorities warned its effect was not limited to Florida. The storm is expected to deluge coastal Mid-Atlantic states from Virginia to New Jersey, beginning early Saturday, the hurricane center said. 'Lock down the house and pray' In Apalachicola, on the Panhandle coast, contractors Lake Smith and Joshua Wolfhagen boarded up windows in a two-story brick building about 60 feet from the waterfront. "Storm (surge) is what got me worried right now," Smith said. "Mostly worried about washing out the roads and a few of the homes in low-lying areas." Eddie Bass, who owns a home in Alligator Point, said he wasn't boarding it up despite worries about the storm surge. "It's not much you can do. You just got to bring everything you can. Lock down the house and pray," he said. In Panama City, a popular Labor Day destination, organizers canceled one of the major tourist draws, the Gulf Coast Jam. Officials said the stage for the three-day country music event had to be taken down as the winds picked up. Emergency management officials in Taylor County said mandatory evacuations were ordered for coastal communities. Nearby Wakulla County also had mandatory evacuations for low-lying areas. The storm may leave behind large areas of standing water, but one expert said it shouldn't increase fears over the Zika virus. "We associate severe rain events like tropical events and hurricanes with increases in nuisance mosquitoes, not disease-spreading (mosquitoes)," said Ben Beard of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The type of mosquito that could potentially carry Zika is affected by heavy rain and flooding, which also washes away larvae from small breeding sites such as bird baths and flower pots. Nuisance mosquitoes will breed in water that remains standing after the storm passes. ||||| Growing winds and driving rain from Hurricane Hermine lashed Florida’s northern Gulf Coast early on Friday as power outages left tens of thousands of households in the dark in what the state’s governor warned would be a potentially lethal storm. Conditions deteriorated as Hurricane Hermine was making landfall, packing winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) with several areas in Florida already reporting 5 inches (12 cm) of rain and media reported about 270,000 households had been left without power. “It is a mess…we have high water in numerous places,” Virgil Sandlin, the police chief in Cedar Key, Florida, told the Weather Channel. “I was here in 1985 for Hurricane Elena and I don’t recall anything this bad.” Hurricane Hermine packed a dangerous storm surge that was expected to cause 9 feet (3 m) of flooding in some areas, as rising waters move inland from the coast, the National Hurricane Center warned in an advisory. Hermine, expected to become the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma in 2005, also posed a Labor Day weekend threat to states along the northern Atlantic Coast that are home to tens of millions of people. “Hurricane Hermine is strengthening fast and it will impact the majority of our state,” Florida Governor Rick Scott said in a late-evening bulletin. The National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings for communities throughout northern Florida on Friday as the National Hurricane Center extended a tropical storm watch to Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Hermine became the fourth hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic storm season. By 11 p.m. EDT, maximum winds were listed at 80 mph (130 kph), with hurricane-force winds extending up to 45 miles (75 km) from the storm’s center. Hermine could dump as much as 20 inches (51 cm) of rain in some parts of the state. Ocean storm surge could swell as high as 12 feet (3.6 meters). After battering coastal Florida, Hermine is expected to weaken and move across the northern part of the state into Georgia, then southern U.S. coastal regions on the Atlantic. The governors of Georgia and North Carolina on Thursday declared emergencies in affected regions. In South Carolina, the low-lying coastal city of Charleston was handing out sandbags. Scott declared a state of emergency in 51 of Florida’s 67 counties, and at least 20 counties closed schools. Mandatory evacuations were ordered in parts of five counties in northwestern Florida, with voluntary evacuations in at least three more counties. Twenty emergency shelters were opened across the state for those displaced by the storm. “This is life-threatening,” Scott told reporters on Thursday afternoon. “You can rebuild a home. You can rebuild property. You cannot rebuild a life.” In coastal Franklin County, people were being evacuated from barrier islands and low-lying shore areas. “Those on higher ground are stocking up and hunkering down,” said Pamela Brownlee, the county’s emergency management director. Towns, cities and counties were hastily preparing shelters for people and pets and placing utility repair crews on standby ahead of the storm. The storm was expected to affect many areas inland of the Gulf Coast. In Leon County, home to the state capital of Tallahassee, more than 30,000 sandbags were distributed. At Maximo Marina in St. Petersburg, Florida, dock master Joe Burgess watched anxiously as waters rose 6 inches (15 cm) over the dock at high tide on Thursday, before slowly receding. “If we get hit with a real storm head on, all the provisions you can make aren’t going to matter out here,” he said, preparing to use a chainsaw to cut beams on covered slips if rising water took boats dangerously close to the roof. On its current path, the storm also could dump as much as 10 inches (25 cm) of rain on coastal areas of Georgia, which was under a tropical storm watch, and the Carolinas. Forecasters warned of “life-threatening” floods and flash floods there. ||||| CARRABELLE, Florida (AP) — Forecasters say Hurricane Hermine has made landfall over northwest Florida just east of St. Marks. It's the first hurricane to directly strike the Sunshine State in more than a decade, roaring in from the northwest Gulf Coast with 80-mph winds and heavy rains. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Hermine made landfall early Friday around 1:30 a.m. EDT. Projected storm surges of up to 12 feet menaced the coastline and expected rainfall up to 10 inches carried the danger of flooding through the storm's path, including the state capital, Tallahassee, which hadn't been hit by a hurricane since Kate in 1985. Hermine is expected to drop back down to a tropical storm before pushing into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast with the potential for drenching rain and deadly flooding.
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The National Hurricane Center declares a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning from the Anclote River, north of Tampa, to Destin, Florida, near the Georgia border. Hermine, now at 45 mph (75 km), is expected to reach hurricane strength when it makes landfall Thursday afternoon. Florida Governor Rick Scott, with life-threatening flooding forecast, declares a state of emergency.
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Police investigators inspect the area of a market where an explosion happened in Davao City. Lean Daval Jr., Reuters Andanar: Initial reports say IED shrapnel were found in blast site DAVAO CITY (6TH UPDATE) - A huge explosion rocked a busy night market Friday evening in Davao City, the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte, killing at least 14 people and injuring more than 60 others, police and local officials said. A statement from Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, released through the local government's official Facebook page, confirmed the initial 10 victims who died on the spot. Two other blast victims were reported dead at the South Philippines Medical Center. A Davao City police report handed to President Rodrigo Duterte at a closed-door meeting with officials from concerned agencies raised the death toll to 14. It said 67 others were confirmed injured. The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined. "Right now, we cannot yet give definite answer to as to who is behind this as we are also trying to determine what really exploded," said Paolo, a son of President Duterte. "It's a sad day for Davao and for the Philippines." The explosion happened at around 10 p.m., a time when many people flock to the popular night market in Roxas Avenue, according to Davao City police Insp. Katherine Dela Rey in an interview with DZMM. Online images show emergency teams rushing people out of the night market, which was reopened only three weeks ago after being shut down, in wheelchairs and stretchers. Police have since cordoned off the area. Members of Davao City 911, the Philippine Army, Explosive Ordnance Division (EOD) and Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO) also arrived at the scene. SWAT in Davao: pic.twitter.com/9PLW98Fkz0 — Fr. Jboy Gonzales SJ (@jboygonzalessj) September 2, 2016 More photos: now in front of Ateneo de Davao Roxas Ave gate is this scene: pic.twitter.com/nasMvoJrRI — Fr. Jboy Gonzales SJ (@jboygonzalessj) September 2, 2016 Police Regional Office 11 Director Chief Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan, in a statement, called for calm and asked people to refrain from "creating/passing misleading or unverified reports to avoid confusion and panic." "The PNP is assuring the public that the situation is being handled carefully. A thorough investigation is being conducted to determine the cause of the explosion and checkpoints/chokepoints were already established at all exit points in the city. We call on all the people to be vigilant at all times and report to the police any suspicious packages or persons," said Gaerlan. Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, quoting initial reports, told ABS-CBN News that components of a suspected improved explosive device (IED) were found at the blast site in Davao City. "Sa initial reports ay mayroong nakitang shrapnel from a mortar-based improvised explosive device," he said. Andanar, however, said it is not yet confirmed if an IED indeed caused the explosion. "No. You can say na mayroong initial report na galing sa isang mortar-based na IED." He added that Davao City has been placed on high alert. Checkpoint inilatag sa Doña Carmen Commonwealth kaugnay ng paglalagay sa QC sa heightened alert | via @RPfredcipres pic.twitter.com/dTjq1Vn6Ax — DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) September 2, 2016 Ateneo de Davao University, which is near the night market, has issued a lockdown and warned its students to avoid the area moments after the incident. "To all the students and bystanders in the Roxas night market, please stay away from the area and give way to the ambulances and police," an announcement posted on the university's official Twitter account read. Locals and tourists frequent the Roxas Night Market for bargain items and food. - with reports from Paul Palacio, Hernel Tocmo, and Jasper Magoncia, ABS-CBN News; DXAB ||||| DAVAO, Philippines (Reuters) - Philippine police blamed Islamic State-linked rebels on Saturday for a bombing that killed 14 people in President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown and dealt a blow to the firebrand leader’s bloody crackdown on narcotics and militancy. Investigators said Abu Sayyaf, a southern Philippine group notorious for acts of piracy, kidnappings and beheadings, had claimed responsibility for Friday’s night bombing at a Davao street market, although police said they were still trying to authenticate the claim. The attack rattled the normally peaceful home city of Duterte, who typically spends his weekends there, some 980 kilometers away from the capital Manila. He was in Davao at the time of the bombing but far from the site of the blast outside a hotel where he often holds meetings. National police chief Ronald Dela Rosa said the bomb was home-made and fragments of mortar were found at the site, where two “persons of interest” had been caught on camera. The bomb was likely to have been planted by Abu Sayyaf, he said, to divert the military’s attention from its operations to flush them out of their strongholds on the islands of Basilan and Jolo. The military on Tuesday agreed to deploy a further 2,500 troops to carry out Duterte’s order to “destroy” Abu Sayyaf. “From being offensive, they want us to be defensive,” Dela Rosa told a news conference late on Saturday. Duterte canceled what would have been his first overseas visit on Saturday, to Brunei, and declared a nationwide “state of lawlessness” to deal with what he called an extraordinary security situation. “I must declare a state of lawless violence in this country,” Duterte told reporters after visiting the blast site, where he assured the public that martial law had not been imposed. Rallyists display placards condemning the bombing at a market in Davao city during a candlelight protest in front of the Catholic church in Quiapo city, metro Manila, Philippines September 3, 2016. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco “I have this duty to protect this country,” he said. POWERFUL ENEMIES Police and military promised to act in accordance with his “state of lawlessness”, although there was some confusion about what that actually entailed. Duterte’s office said it referred to a constitutional clause that states the president has full power over the armed forces. The bombing came as the abrasive former prosecutor wages war on narcotics kingpins and street dealers, Islamist rebels and corrupt bureaucrats, scoring big points in opinion polls but at a risk of making powerful enemies. Rumors have swirled of a plot to assassinate Duterte, 71, which he has shrugged off as part of his job. The talk has been fueled by his controversial crackdown on drugs that saw him elected by a huge margin, but condemned by human rights groups and the United Nations. More than 2,000 alleged drug pushers and users have been killed since Duterte’s June 30 inauguration. Critics are alarmed at the sheer number whose deaths have been attributed to vigilantes, and the president and police chief’s apparent support for it. Duterte’s tough stance on crime has ensured Davao has been spared the kind of violence that has dogged other parts of Mindanao, a large island province where several Islamist militant groups operate, including Abu Sayyaf. Abu Sayyaf, which means “bearer of the sword”, has previously used an Islamic State flag in some of its propaganda videos and runs what is among Asia’s most lucrative kidnap rackets. It has this year decapitated two Canadian hostages and held Norwegian, Indonesian, Malaysian and Japanese citizens. Slideshow (16 Images) The group has long been a thorn in the side for the military and has used its ransom earnings to entrench its network and invest in modern weapons, boats and radar technology. The White House offered condolences and assistance to the Philippines, a key regional ally. Duterte is expected to meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Laos next week, when he attends a the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia Summits. ||||| Police investigators inspect the area of a market where an explosion happened in Davao City. Lean Daval Jr., Reuters ZAMBOANGA CITY (1st UPDATE) - The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) has claimed responsibility for the blast in Davao City which left 14 dead and more than 60 wounded on Friday evening. READ: Davao blast death toll rises to 14; 67 others hurt ASG spokesperson Abu Rami said the Davao attack is a "call for unity to all mujahideen in the country" amid the all-out offensive of the military against the group. Rami said that the attack in Davao City is not part of a tactic to divert the attention of government forces who have been pursuing the bandits in Sulu and Basilan. He warned that similar attacks should be expected in the coming days. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this week ordered intensified operations to finish off the 400-strong terror group, following the death of 15 soldiers in a clash in Patikul, Sulu. After the explosion in Davao, Duterte also declared a "state of lawlessness," where he will "invite uniformed personnel to run the country." READ: Duterte declares 'state of lawlessness' The military and the Philippine National Police earlier dismissed circulating text messages about an imminent attack. ||||| (CNN) At least 14 people have been killed and dozens hurt in an explosion at a night market in Davao City in the Philippines, according to the Philippines News Agency, quoting a police official. Earlier, Chief Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan, the director of Region 11 of the Philippine National Police, told CNN Philippines that 12 people were killed and 60 injured. He said 10 people died at the scene and two died after being taken to the Southern Philippines Medical Center. He said the situation was fluid, and a maximum deployment of police and armed forces was called in to secure the region. He asked the public to be vigilant, adding that the government was on the watch "in case there are other attacks." He said Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, whose hometown is Davao City, was heading to the explosion site. It occurred at a busy night market known to attract thousands on Mindanao, the southern Philippine island where the city is located. Paolo Duterte, Davao City's vice mayor and the President's son, told CNN Philippines that 60 people were injured in the blast. The Philippines News Agency said three of them are in critical condition. All victims appear to be adults, Gaerlan said. Authorities were still trying to confirm the cause of the explosion, he said. While the city was not on lockdown, there was an alcohol ban in place, and officials had asked people in the area to return to their homes. Davao City was on high alert, with police checkpoints set up throughout the city, officials said. Noel Vilanueva, medical director of Davao Doctors Hospitals, told CNN Philippines that four patients were brought to the facility, one of whom required surgery for a leg injury. That patient had metal fragments in the wounds. Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar mentioned the possible involvement of the Islamist militant Abu Sayyaf group or drug lords, according to CNN affiliate ABS-CBN. Duterte campaigned on a no-nonsense approach to crime and the Philippine Daily Inquirer's "Kill List" -- regarded as one of the most accurate records of the killings of suspected drug dealers by police and vigilantes -- has recorded 832 deaths since Duterte assumed office June 30. Police say at least 239 drug suspects were killed in the three weeks after Duterte's inauguration. And government troops have been battling Abu Sayyaf, which remains outside the country's sputtering peace process. Andanar said components of a suspected improved explosive device were found at the scene of the explosion, according to ABS-CBN. Leonor Rala, a 19-year-old medical technology student at San Pedro College, told CNN she was in her dorm and about to go to bed when she heard an explosion. She said she initially thought something had fallen on the roof of a neighboring building. She then went down to survey the scene of the blast, about 100 yards from her dorm. Emergency teams were already in place. "I am really scared to go out," she said. "The roads are closed and nobody's allowed to go out of the city. There are bomb threats everywhere and some of my schoolmates are victims of the explosion and now dead." She continued: "We're very terrified because Davao City was known to be the safest city in the Philippines and a situation like this is very rare." Witness Janoz Laquihon told CNN Philippines he was at the scene when the explosion happened. "I saw some smoke. I thought it's just barbecue. A few minutes later ... a big blast." Witness Father Jboy Gonzales told CNN Philippines that he saw more than 30 people being loaded onto ambulances. "[A] lot of people are wounded, shocked, traumatized," he said. Davao City Government tweeted on its official account: "Let us pray for the victims of this unfortunate incident, especially for those who died." Duterte made his name in politics as the mayor of Davao City. His term in office was noted for his hardline stance on drug crime that he has now incorporated into his national policies . It has resulted in more than 1,900 people being killed in a crackdown, which has drawn criticism at home and abroad. ||||| DAVAO CITY: Authorities on Saturday blamed the notorious Abu Sayyaf terrorist and kidnap group for the bombing of a night market in President Rodrigo Duterte’s home city that killed at least 14 people and injured dozens. An improvised explosive tore through the bustling market in the heart of Davao City and close to one of its top hotels just before 11:00 p.m. on Friday. Authorities said the Abu Sayyaf, a small band of bandits that has declared allegiance to the Islamic State group, most likely carried out the attack in response to a military offensive launched against it last week. Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said Duterte believed the terrorists were behind the blast. “The Office of the President texted and confirmed that was an Abu Sayyaf retaliation. For the city government side, we are working on that it is an Abu Sayyaf retaliation,” Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, who is also the President’s daughter, told CNN Philippines. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Abu Sayyaf had struck back after suffering heavy casualties on its stronghold of Jolo island in Sulu, about 900 kilometers from Davao. “We have predicted this and warned our troops accordingly but the enemy is also adept at using the democratic space granted by our Constitution to move around freely and unimpeded to sow terror,” Lorenzana said in a statement. Duterte, who was in Davao at the time of the attack but not near the market, told reporters before dawn Saturday that it was an act of terrorism, as he announced extra powers for the military under a “State of Lawless Violence.” At least 14 people were killed and another 67 were wounded in the explosion, police said. Sixteen of the injured were in critical condition, a local hospital director told reporters. Philippine National Police chief Ronald de la Rosa called on the public to remain calm but vigilant. “We will not be cowed by this single act of terrorism; these people don’t deserve an inch of space in a civilized society,” he said in Camp Crame. The President visited the blast casualties at the San Pedro Hospital, the Southern Philippines Medical Center, Angel Funeral Parlor and the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes. “I suggest that the citizens also do their part by being vigilant and at this time, you can go anywhere but be sure if your hairs on your nape stand up, there’s something that’s afoot. Then maybe just get out as soon as possible,” he told reporters. Pregnant woman dies Durian vendor Maribel Tabalwon, 34, told AFP chaos broke out after the blast. She helped rescue three victims but one of them, a woman seven months pregnant, eventually died. “The blast was so loud the ground shook. She was crawling but she was lucky enough no one trampled her during the stampede. She was shaking and bleeding.” Davao, which has a population of two million people, is the biggest city in Mindanao, where Islamic rebels have waged a decades-long separatist insurgency that has claimed more than 120,000 lives. Duterte had been mayor of Davao for most of the past two decades, before winning presidential elections in a landslide in May and being sworn in on June 30. He became well known for bringing relative peace and order to Davao with hard line security policies, while also brokering deals with local Muslim and communist rebels. Duterte in recent weeks pursued peace talks with the two main Muslim rebel groups, each of which has thousands of armed followers. Their leaders have said they want to broker a lasting peace. But the Abu Sayyaf, a much smaller and hardline group infamous for kidnapping foreigners to extract ransoms, has rejected Duterte’s peace overtures. In response, Duterte deployed thousands of troops onto the small and remote island of Jolo to “destroy” the group. The military reported 15 soldiers died in clashes on Monday, but also claimed killing dozens of Abu Sayyaf gunmen. While Davao has been regarded as relatively safer than the rest of Mindanao, the Abu Sayyaf and other Islamic groups have carried out deadly attacks there in the past. In 2003, two bomb attacks blamed on Muslim rebels at Davao’s airport and the city’s port within a month of each other killed about 40 people. Duterte initially raised the possibility of drug lords carrying out Friday’s attack as a way of fighting back against his crime war. More than 2,000 people have died in his unprecedented anti-crime crackdown, drawing widespread international condemnation over an apparent wave of extrajudicial killings. ||||| AT LEAST 10 people were killed and 60 others were injured when an explosion struck a crowded night market on Roxas Avenue in President Rodrigo Duterte’s home city of Davao Friday night, authorities said. The explosion occurred around 10:20 p.m. close to one of Davao City’s top hotels that is popular with tourists and business people, city police spokeswoman Sr. Insp. Catherine de la Rey said. President Rodrigo Duterte, the former mayor of the city, and aide Christopher Go went to the blast site. Police suspected that an improvised explosive caused the blast, but presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a television interview there was “nothing definite yet” as regards the details of the explosion. ”We don’t want to cause anxiety,” Abella told CNN Philippines. Those injured in the blast were rushed to the Southern Philippines Medical Center. In a statement, Davao Region police director Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan said: “The PNP is assuring the public that the situation is being handled carefully. A thorough investigation is being conducted to determine the cause of the explosion and checkpoints/chokepoints were already established at all exit points in the city.” ”We call on all the people to be vigilant at all times and report to the police any suspicious packages or persons. Please refrain from creating/passing misleading or unverified reports to avoid confusion and panic,” he added. Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, one of the President’s sons, likewise said authorities were on top of the situation. “Right now, we cannot yet give a definite answer as to who is behind this as we are also trying to determine what really exploded,” he said. “Let us pray for the victims of this unfortunate incident, especially for those who died. Let us pray for those who are being treated in different hospitals and pray for their quick recovery. There are at least 10 people who perished because of the incident and a number were reported wounded,” he added. The blast occurred amid military offensives against the IS-linked Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu province. Jihadists have earlier threatened to retaliate against military and civilian targets. ||||| DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/01 Sept) — The Task Force Davao has assured Dabawenyos that there are no threats directed at the city from the Abu Sayyaf despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to “destroy them.” Speaking in Thursday’s iSpeak Forum at the City Hall, TF Davao deputy commander Col. George Lalaquil said they have not received reports from the intelligence community that the city, where Duterte served as mayor for 22 years, is under threat amid Duterte’s war against the Abu Sayyaf terrorists. He said TF Davao is coordinating closely with other military units outside the city, which increases the military’s position to deter possible terror attacks not only within but also outside the city. “All relevant information is always shared to the appropriate unit that needs to act on it,” he said. Lalaquil said TF Davao is now conducting more random monitoring activities day in and day out and setting up more checkpoints at all entry points both by land and sea in order to secure the city. He said TF Davao has enough number of Special Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit Active Auxiliary (SCAA) members and regular troops who do the security patrols while another platoon from the10th Infantry Division will agument the security force. A press release issued by the City Information of Office (CIO) on Wednesday, said the Presidential Security Group (PSG) has doubled the security of the President’s family, most especially his grandchildren, following Duterte’s naming of alleged involvement of politicians, high ranking police officials and judges. Duterte’s son, Paolo, the city’s vice mayor, told reporters that their security has been beefed up. “Akong gipabantayan og maayo sa among pamilya kay among mga anak (I requested that security of our children be intensified),” he said. The President has four children, three with his former wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman – Paolo, Sara, the incumbent mayor, and Sebastian, and one with partner Honeylet Avancena. The President has nine grandchildren. Paolo has five, Sebastian has two and Sara has two, and will soon have five. Sara is pregnant and the ultrasound result indicates she will have triplets. The press release quoted the Vice Mayor as saying threats have always been part of their lives but security measures have been undertaken to ensure their protection. as saying that threats have always been part of their lives but they “have always been “Kami tanan alerto (All of us are ready),” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews) ||||| At least 12 people died and dozens were injured when a bomb tore through a bustling night market in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's home city on Friday, authorities said. The blast occurred just before 11:00pm (1500 GMT), leaving bodies strewn amid the wreckage of plastic tables and chairs on a road that had been closed to traffic for the market in the heart of Davao city. An improvised explosive device caused the explosion, presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said, adding drug traffickers opposed to Duterte's war on crime or Islamic militants may have been responsible. "There are many elements who are angry at our president and our government," Andanar told DZMM radio, after referring to the drug traffickers and the militants. "We are not ruling out the possibility that they might be responsible for this but it is too early to speculate." Twelve people were confirmed killed and more than 30 others injured, according to Ernesto Abella, another presidential spokesman. Davao is the biggest city in the southern Philippines, with a population of about two million people. It is about 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) from the capital of Manila. The blast occurred in the centre of Davao, close to one of the city's top hotels that Duterte sometimes holds meetings in, as well as a major university. "The force just hurled me. I practically flew in the air," Adrian Abilanosa, who said his cousin was among those killed, told AFP shortly afterwards. Duterte was in Davao on Friday but was not near the market when the explosion occurred, according to his aides. They said he went straight into meetings with security chiefs following the blast. Davao is part of the southern region of Mindanao, where Islamic militants have waged a decades-long separatist insurgency that has claimed more than 120,000 lives. Communist rebels, who have been waging an armed struggle since 1968, also maintain a presence in rural areas neighbouring Davao. Duterte had been mayor of Davao for most of the past two decades, before winning national elections in a landslide this year and being sworn in as president on June 30. Duterte became well known for bringing relative peace and order to Davao with hardline security policies, while also brokering local deals with Muslim and communist rebels. However in 2003, two bomb attacks blamed on Muslim rebels at Davao's airport and the city's port within a month of each other killed about 40 people. Duterte has in recent weeks pursued peace talks with the two main Muslim rebel groups. Its leaders have said they want to broker a lasting peace. However Duterte also ordered a military offensive to eliminate the Abu Sayyaf, a small but extremely dangerous group of militants that has declared allegiance to Islamic State and vowed to continue fighting. Fifteen soldiers died on Monday in clashes with the Abu Sayyaf on Jolo island, one of the Abu Sayyaf's main strongholds about 900 kilometres from Davao. Presidential spokesman Andanar referred to the fighting on Jolo when he speculated on who may have been behind Friday's bomb attack. The Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for three bomb attacks in 2005 -- one in Davao, one in a nearby city and a third in Manila -- that killed eight people. The Abu Sayyaf, notorious for kidnapping foreigners to extract ransoms, said it conducted the 2005 attacks in response to an offensive against it at that time. Andanar on Friday also raised the possibility of drug lords carrying out the attack as a way of fighting back against Duterte's war on crime. Duterte has made eradicating illegal drugs the top priority of the beginning of his presidency. Security forces have conducted raids in communities throughout the country to arrest or kill drug traffickers. More than 2,000 people have died in the war on crime. The United States, the United Nations and rights groups have expressed concern about an apparent wave of extrajudicial killings. But the United States quickly released a statement expressing deep condolences for Friday's blast. ||||| Philippines president: Explosion that killed 15 was act of terrorism Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said an explosion in Davao City that killed at least 15 people Friday night was an act of terrorism and he placed the country on lockdown, the official Philippines News Agency reported. About 69 people were hurt in the explosion that happened around 10 p.m. Friday (10 a.m. ET) at the Roxas night market near Ateneo de Davao University, said Chief Inspector Catherine Dela Rey, spokeswoman for Davao City Police. The market is known to attract thousands. Duterte authorized the police and military to search cars and frisk people at checkpoints, the PNA said. He put the nation under a “state of lawlessness,” saying he has not declared martial law and has not suspended the writ of habeas corpus. “We have to confront the ugly head of terrorism,” Duterte said, standing near the explosion site on Roxas Avenue in Davao City, his hometown. “We will take this as a police matter about terrorism.” No group has claimed responsibility, but Duterte said it’s possible the explosion “could be a reprisal” from extremists. Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar mentioned the possible involvement of the Islamist militant Abu Sayyaf group or drug lords, according to CNN affiliate ABS-CBN. Duterte campaigned on a no-nonsense approach to crime and the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s “Kill List” — regarded as one of the most accurate records of the killings of suspected drug dealers by police and vigilantes — has recorded 832 deaths since Duterte assumed office June 30. Police say at least 239 drug suspects were killed in the three weeks after Duterte’s inauguration. And government troops have been battling Abu Sayyaf, which remains outside the country’s sputtering peace process. Andanar said components of a suspected improved explosive device were found at the scene of the explosion, according to ABS-CBN. Duterte people should submit to searches and frisking at checkpoints. “We know that this is not a fascist state. I cannot control the movement of the citizens of the city and every Filipino has the right to enter and leave Davao. It is unfortunate we cannot stop and frisk anybody for just any reason,” he said. MORE FROM THIS SECTION ||||| (CNN) Police in the Philippines are looking for three people they want to question -- one man and two women -- in connection with the blast at a crowded market in Davao City that killed 14 people Friday night. Philippines National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa told CNN Saturday the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device made of mortar rounds -- which pointed to extremist groups being behind the deadly explosion. Dela Rosa told reporters at a news conference in the southern Philippines city Saturday evening that authorities had eight witnesses, and a sketch of one suspect. Sixty-eight people were injured in the explosion at the crowded night market in President Rodrigo Duterte's hometown, Dela Rosa said. Fifteen of the injured are in critical condition, CNN Philippines reported, citing Southern Philippines Medical Center director Leopoldo Vega. Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte -- the President's son -- said the city had received a bomb threat two days before the blast, CNN affiliate ABS-CBN reported. On Saturday morning, during a visit to the blast site, Duterte told reporters that Islamist militants could be responsible. "We are not new to this kind. It is always connected with the Abu Sayyaf or in Central Mindanao," he said, according to a statement from his office. "But this is not the first time that Davao City has been sacrificed in the altar of violence." He said he had warned the public that there could be blowback from intensified government military operations against the pro-ISIS Islamist group Abu Sayyaf in Sulu province, where 8,000 troops deployed in recent weeks. "We have always been ready for this. I warned, I remember warning everybody that there could be a reprisal because of the pressure there in Sulu which is going on," Duterte said. Abu Sayyaf is a violent extremist group that split from the established Philippines separatist movement Moro National Liberation Front in 1991. The group, which remains outside the country's sputtering peace process, has the stated aim of establishing an independent Islamic state on the southern island of Mindanao, on which Davao City is located. The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country, with a large Muslim population in the south. Duterte has described the attack as an act of terrorism, and declared the nation in "a state of lawlessness," authorizing police and the military to search cars and frisk people at checkpoints. The "state of lawlessness" is the mildest of the three executive powers the president can order, giving him the power to summon the military and work more closely with police, but falls short of being a declaration of martial law. The president can only impose martial law in case of invasion or rebellion, Duterte's spokesman said. "It's not martial law but I am inviting now the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the military and the police to run the country in accordance with my specifications," he said, according to CNN Philippines. Duterte, who visited a morgue early Saturday to pay respects to the dead, said people should submit to searches and frisking at checkpoints for the sake of public safety. "We know that this is not a fascist state. I cannot control the movement of the citizens of the city and every Filipino has the right to enter and leave Davao. It is unfortunate we cannot stop and frisk anybody for just any reason," he said. Police and military are on high alert across the country, and authorities have urged the public to be vigilant in case of further attacks. Duterte, the longtime mayor of Davao City, has faced domestic and international criticism since taking national office for his hardline stance on suspected drug offenders. The Philippine Daily Inquirer's "Kill List" -- regarded as one of the most accurate records of the killings of suspected drug dealers by police and vigilantes -- has recorded 832 deaths since Duterte assumed office June 30. Police say at least 239 drug suspects were killed in the three weeks after Duterte's inauguration. Leonor Rala, a 19-year-old medical technology student at San Pedro College, told CNN Friday night that she was terrified after the blast struck near her dorm. She said she initially thought something had fallen on the roof of a neighboring building. She went down to survey the scene of the blast, about 100 yards from her dorm. Emergency teams were already in place. "I am really scared to go out," she said. "Some of my schoolmates are victims of the explosion and now dead." She continued: "We're very terrified because Davao City was known to be the safest city in the Philippines and a situation like this is very rare."
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An explosion at a night market in Davao City, Philippines, kills at least 14 people and injures 60. President of the Philippines and former Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte was in the city at the time. Abu Sayyaf have claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Hurricane Hermine tore a path of destruction across Florida on Friday, leaving more than 253,000 homes and businesses without power, flooding low-lying areas and raising concerns about the spread of the Zika virus due to the massive pools of standing water left behind. The first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma more than a decade ago, Hermine came ashore early on Friday near St Marks, Florida, 30km south of the capital of Tallahassee, packing winds of 130kph and churning up a devastating storm surge in coastal areas. It was set to snarl US Labour Day holiday travel after battering Florida's US$89-billion tourism industry. The tempest headed toward the Atlantic seaboard on a path where tens of millions of Americans live, causing storm watches and warnings stretching to New Jersey, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. One homeless man was hit by a tree and died, Florida Governor Rick Scott said, but officials have not confirmed whether the death was storm-related. "Now is the time to come together. There is a lot of work to do," Scott told a news conference, warning people to look out for downed power lines and avoid driving in pools of standing water. Concerns over the standing water in which mosquitoes breed intensified as the state battles an outbreak of the Zika virus. "... It is incredibly important that everyone does their part to combat the Zika virus by dumping standing water, no matter how small. Any amount of standing water can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes," Scott said. According to the Florida Department of Health, there have been 47 cases of Zika in people believed to have contracted the virus through local mosquitoes. Active transmission is thought to be occurring only in two small areas around Miami. As the sun rose on Friday morning (Saturday NZT) on Hudson Beach, just north of Tampa, cars sat askew in the middle of flooded out roads. Palm fronds, tree branches and garbage cans were scattered about. Overnight, Pasco County crews rescued more than a dozen people and brought them to shelters after their homes were flooded. Richard Jewett, 68, was rescued from his home in nearby New Port Richey, around 1.30am local time (5.30pm NZT) on Friday as emergency workers carried out a mandatory evacuation. "The canal started creeping up toward the house and even though it wasn't high tide it looked like it was coming inside," he said. A weakening Hermine moved across southern Georgia, blowing winds of 95km at 8am local time (12am Saturday NZT), according to the NHC. The tropical storm was expected to reach the coastal Carolinas later on Friday (Saturday NZT), then move offshore from North Carolina on Saturday (Sunday NZT). Forecasters said it could strengthen over the sea. In Cedar Key, an island community in northwest Florida, waters rose more than 2.9 metres, among the highest surges ever seen, the National Weather Service said. Officials in the affected region on Friday (Saturday NZT) warned that homes continued to be threatened by high water and implored people to avoid flooded roads. "This is one of the worst that we have seen in the city in a long time, and unfortunately, it is not over yet," Mayor Rick Kriseman of St Petersburg, Florida, told reporters. On its current path, the storm could dump as much as 38cm of rain on coastal Georgia, and the Carolinas. Forecasters warned of "life-threatening" floods and flash floods. The governors of Georgia and North Carolina declared emergencies in affected regions. As it moved north across Florida, the storm continued to whip up heavy rain. Trees blocked roads and bridges were shut to assess the damage caused by high waters, the Florida Department of Transportation said. ||||| Tropical Storm Hermine moves northeast across the Carolinas on Friday afternoon in this satellite image from the National Hurricane Center. The storm slammed into Florida's Big Bend around 1:30 a.m. EDT Friday as a category 1 hurricane. Forecasters expect it to regain strength when it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. Image courtesy National Hurricane Center/NOAA Beach trash cans are strewn along the dunes from high winds along the coast from Tropical Storm Hermine in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on September 2, 2016. Beach goers were discouraged from entering the water due to rip currents, turbulent waves and winds exceeding 50-mph. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo A woman picks up her small dog after tides surged along the beach in high winds from Tropical Storm Hermine in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on September 2, 2016. Beach goers were discouraged from entering the water due to rip currents, turbulent waves and winds exceeding 50-mph. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo A and and daughter hold themselves against high winds along the coast from Tropical Storm Hermine in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on September 2, 2016. Beach goers were discouraged from entering the water due to rip currents, turbulent waves and winds exceeding 50-mph. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo A young girl struggles to walk along the beach in high winds along the coast from Tropical Storm Hermine in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on September 2, 2016. Beach goers were discouraged from entering the water due to rip currents, turbulent waves and winds exceeding 50-mph. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo A surfer struggles to hold on to his surfboard in high winds along the coast from Tropical Storm Hermine in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on September 2, 2016. Beach goers were discouraged from entering the water due to rip currents, turbulent waves and winds exceeding 50-mph. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo A young man uses a raining parachute to pull his boogie board along the incoming tide as winds reach 50-mph along the coast from Tropical Storm Hermine in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on September 2, 2016. Beach goers were discouraged from entering the water due to rip currents, turbulent waves and winds exceeding 50-mph. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo The Storm Warning flag flies above the beach in high winds along the coast from Tropical Storm Hermine in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on September 2, 2016. Beach goers were discouraged from entering the water due to rip currents, turbulent waves and winds exceeding 50-mph. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- The Sunshine State hardly lived up to its namesake on Friday, as Hurricane Hermine stormed ashore and left behind a soggy mess that killed one person and left a quarter-million others without electricity, authorities said. Hermine arrived about 1:30 a.m. EDT Friday at Florida's Big Bend area and carved a path between Tampa and the Panhandle with hurricane-force winds and torrential rains. Officials said a 56-year-old man died when he was hit by a falling tree. John Mayes had been sleeping in a tent behind a gas station in Ocala when a tree fell without warning. Emergency workers had to cut through the tree to get to him, but they declared him dead on the spot. RECOMMENDED Hawaiian islands prepare for Hurricane Lester Several Homes and businesses in Taylor County, located in the Panhandle area, were damaged from rising flood waters and at least 10 feet of storm surge. In Pasco County, unconfirmed reports of a tornado overturned a tractor trailer and downed trees. RELATED Hawaiian islands prepare for Hurricane Lester Florida Gov. Rick Scott said crews began assessing damages Friday afternoon and said the storm cut power to about 253,000 customers. He warned residents to begin cleanup with caution. After reaching shore, Hermine immediately began losing strength -- as storms pick up their speed from warm water in the oceans -- and was downgraded to a tropical storm early Friday as it headed northeast. By early Friday evening, it was located over North Carolina -- about 15 miles east of Charlotte, N.C. -- and making its way to the Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center said. RELATED Oil prices edge higher on Gulf of Mexico weather woes Video: CBS Evening News "We expect to see downed traffic lights, road signs and power lines that must be avoided. We also expect to have significant amounts of flood water along coastal and inland areas," Scott said earlier Friday. Hermine was the first hurricane to hit Florida since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Forecasters said the storm, the eighth named system of the year, made landfall just south of Tallahassee as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing with it winds of 80 mph. By late Friday, tropical storm warnings had been discontinued for Florida's Gulf Coast, but meteorologists said tornadoes are possible for North and South Carolina throughout Friday night. The National Hurricane Center said the storm should re-strengthen once it moves into the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday and picks up more steam from the warm water there. "The combination of a storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. There is the possibility of life-threatening inundation during the next 48 hours at most coastal locations between the North Carolina/Virginia border and Bridgeport, Conn.," the National Hurricane Center said. A tropical storm watch has been posted for parts of New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island as Hermine continues north. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned the storm could cause severe damages, including flooding. "I don't want anyone to take this one lightly," he said Friday morning. "There are some elements of this storm that are very, very troubling." ||||| Hurricane Hermine, the first hurricane to strike Florida in more than a decade, made landfall on the Florida Gulf Coast early Friday morning, pummeling small seaside towns with powerful 80 mph winds and heavy rain. The Category 1 hurricane crashed ashore early Friday near St. Marks, a tiny town with a population of less than 300, in the low-lying, marshy Big Bend area, where the state's peninsula meets the Panhandle. In St. Marks, the storm surge flooded the Riverside Café, the Sweet Magnolia Inn and Bo Lynn’s Grocery, the community’s only grocery store. Yet it did not reach the post office as it did when Hurricane Kate swept through the region in 1983. “It just came up like a torrent, like you’re on the river rapids,” said Denise Waters, owner of the Sweet Magnolia Inn, which began to fill with 18 inches of water around dusk Thursday night. Storm water pooled in all the lower rooms, damaging her etched-glass doors and baby grand piano, and leaving mud all over her baseboards. “Oh boy, it’s a mess, for sure,” Waters said, as her husband, Andy, drove 15 miles to visit his 92-year-old mother, who had taken refuge in a hotel. “I don’t know what we’re going to do as she needs oxygen and all the hotels have lost power.” After pounding through a mostly undeveloped area of Wakulla County, full of national wildlife refuges and forests, Hermine stormed on to the state’s capital of Tallahassee, which has a population of more than 181,000. Hermine downed trees and tree limbs and knocked down power lines, blocking roads and cutting off power to more than 253,000 utility customers across Florida. Yet there were few reports of fatalities or injuries. In Marion County in Central Florida, a homeless man was hit by a tree, but officials were waiting for the coroner to confirm the death was storm related. At least 59 shelters were operational in Florida on Thursday night, serving approximately 300 people, the governor’s office said. The American Red Cross reported that five shelters were open in Georgia, sheltering 140 people. “We got a little less rain that we thought,” said Florida Gov. Rick Scott in a Friday morning news briefing. “What I worry about now is people driving in standing water, people touching power lines… We need to be careful. By end of the day, hopefully a lot of this will be cleaned up.” In Tallahassee, a tree fell on to Amy Park’s brick home about 11:45 p.m. Thursday night, creating a 10-by-10-foot hole in the middle of her living room and another in her kitchen. As rain poured through the roof, flooding her home, her husband and a friend emptied buckets through the night. “We have six kids sleeping on mattresses in the hallway right now,” she said in an interview with local television station WCTV. “The house is actually flooding, so we’ve grabbed pillows, blankets, couch cushions, anything we can to try to stop flooding from coming into the hallway where the children are.” As the hurricane traveled north, residents were urged to remain indoors and not travel unless absolutely necessary as crews from the Florida Department of Transportation cleared debris and fallen trees from roads. A few hours after landfall, Hermine weakened into a tropical storm as it moved further inland toward Georgia, according to the National Hurricane Center. At 11 a.m. EDT, it was about 55 miles west-southwest of Savannah, Ga., with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. Hermine is forecast to move up into the Carolinas late Friday and Saturday, with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 175 miles from the center. Tropical storm warnings has been extended northward, all the way up to Fenwick Island, Del. Major cities, such as New York City and Long Island, are now under a tropical storm watch. A few hours after landfall, Hermine weakened into a tropical storm as it moved further inland toward Georgia, according to the National Hurricane Center. At 5 a.m., it was about 20 miles west of Valdosta, Ga., with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. Hermine is forecast to move farther inland across southeastern Georgia on Friday and into the Carolinas on Friday night and Saturday, with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 175 miles from the center. Hermine is the first hurricane to strike the state since Wilma hit just south of Marco Island in southwest Florida in 2005, killing five people and causing $20 billion in damage. Governors in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina have declared states of emergency in a swath of counties: Gov. Rick Scott for 51 Florida counties, Gov. Nathan Deal for 56 Georgia counties and Gov. Pat McCrory for 33 North Carolina counties. Friday morning, the Weather Channel reported that 16 million people were under a tropical storm warning and 6 million were under a tropical storm watch. As the National Weather Service in Tallahassee forecast a storm tide of up to 9 feet that could lead to flooding, mandatory evacuations were in effect across low-lying, coastal areas of Franklin, Wakulla, Taylor, Dixie and Levy counties. Voluntary evacuations were issued along the coast of Walton, Gulf and Jefferson counties. “We’re right in the target, directly in the bull’s-eye,” said Steve Spradley, director of emergency management for Florida’s Taylor County, as a slow, steady rain soaked his region in the bend of the panhandle. “It’s quiet. We’re just sitting and waiting and planning.” ||||| Tropical storm and flooding watches and warnings were in effect along the Atlantic seaboard from South Carolina north to Rhode Island as the potentially life-threatening storm moved along a stretch inhabited by tens of millions of Americans. "Hermine not only threatens to foil weekend getaways at the beach, but has the potential to cause damage in some communities and pose risk to the lives of those who venture in the surf or on the seas," said Alex Sosnowski, a meteorologist, on Accuweather.com. The storm was projected to creep north along the Carolina coast, then gather strength after moving offshore into the Atlantic on Saturday morning, possibly reaching near-hurricane intensity by late Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said. The threat of severe weather caused officials in Atlantic City to cancel concerts over the weekend and beaches to close in several coastal communities. Labor Day weekend plans for thousands of vacationers who were headed to popular beach spots along the Atlantic seaboard were dampened after the storm battered Florida's $89 billion tourism industry. "We’ll probably stay inside watching movies or going to the movie theater," Joan Whalen told an ABC affiliate in Virginia after canceling plans to head to the beach for the weekend. Hermine, the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years, swept ashore early on Friday near the Gulf shore town of St. Marks, 20 miles (30 km) south of the capital of Tallahassee, packing winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and churning up a devastating storm surge in coastal areas. As of 2 a.m. EDT, the fourth named storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season was about 115 miles (185 km) west of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, where 60 mph (95 kmh) winds were reported, the hurricane center said. Early Saturday morning, crews in Wilmington, North Carolina rescued several people who were sitting on top of their vehicle after a flood engulfed their street, photos from local media showed. At least one tornado was reported touching down in North Carolina on Saturday, causing at least one injury, local media reported. On Friday the storm passed near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, leaving some 51,000 power outages across the state, said state emergency management spokesman Derrec Becker. Becker said localized flooding hit low-lying areas across the state, and there were widespread reports of "downed power lines, downed trees, trees on cars and some flooded cars," along with isolated incidents of tree-damaged homes. A total of about 150,000 households were without power in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, utility companies reported on Saturday. Emergency declarations remained in effect for all or parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. Overnight, crews in Pasco County, Florida, rescued more than a dozen people after their homes were flooded. Richard Jewett, 68, was rescued from his home in New Port Richey, just north of Tampa, as emergency teams carried out a mandatory evacuation. "The canal started creeping up toward the house, and even though it wasn't high tide it looked like it was coming inside," Jewett said. One storm-related death was reported by authorities in the northern Florida town of Ocala, where a fallen tree killed a homeless man sleeping in his tent. In addition to powerful winds extending up to 185 miles (295 km) from its center, Hermine was expected to unleash a dangerous storm surge in the Hampton Roads area of tidewater Virginia, where flooding could become 3 to 5 feet deep, the NHC warned. The storm also could douse several southeastern and mid-Atlantic states with up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain through Sunday, the agency said. New Jersey, still mindful of devastation from superstorm Sandy in 2012, was on high alert as emergency officials advised residents to prepare for flooding, high winds and a surge of seawater. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday activated his state's emergency operations center and ordered officials to stockpile resources, including sandbags and generators. New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said residents should avoid beach waters for fear of life-threatening riptides. In Florida, concerns over the standing water in which mosquitoes breed intensified as the state battled an outbreak of the Zika virus. ||||| There's a storm brewing, and it's not just in the Gulf Of Mexico, but on Twitter — over the name of a hurricane that is due to hit the Gulf Coast of Florida on Thursday night. The argument is over whether storm Hermine should have been named after the Harry Potter character Hermione or even the late Cincinnati gorilla, Harambe. More than 2,500 people have already signed a Change.org petition urging the World Meteorological Organization to change the name to pay tribute to Harambe, who was shot dead in May after a young boy fell into his enclosure at the city's zoo. 'Tropical Storm Hermine sounds terrible, and is disrespectful to the great Harambe. To honor Harambe, a renaming is required to continue his legacy,' the petition notes. A number of Twitter users appear to be campaigning for the storm to be renamed Hermione after one of Harry Potter's best wizarding friends. On social media Wednesday, the National Weather Service made it clear the name didn't have anything to do with Hermione Granger, one of the lead characters from the wildly popular Harry Potter series. 'We now have TS Hermine in the Gulf of Mexico! This is pronounced 'her-MEEN' instead of a certain character's name,' NWS in Huntsville said. In German versions of the fictional series, however, Hermione is named 'Hermine,' the feminine form of the name Herman. Despite the good intentions of the general public, the names for tropical storms come from a pre-determined list that see each season start at the beginning of the alphabet, alternating between genders, on a six-year cycle. The names are only retired if a storm is particularly deadly or catastrophic. Only then, can new names be introduced. It was a system that was developed by the World Meteorological Organization in 1979 to avoid confusion if more than one storm system developed at the same time. Hermine, the French version of Hermione, is derived from the Greek messenger god, Hermes, and is the eighth tropical storm of the year. In 2010, a different Tropical Storm Hermine killed four people and caused extensive flooding in Texas. ||||| Hurricane Hermine wreaked havoc across Florida on Friday, causing widespread power outages and flooding before diminishing into a tropical storm and plowing up the Atlantic Coast into the Carolinas with a still-potent mix of high winds and heavy rains. The first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years, Hermine swept ashore early on Friday near the Gulf shore town of St Marks, 20 miles (30 km) south of the capital of Tallahassee, packing winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and churning up a devastating storm surge in coastal areas. Torrential downpours and high surf left parts of some communities under water early Friday, with mandatory evacuations ordered in parts of five northwestern Florida counties. State officials said electricity had been knocked out to nearly 300,000 homes and businesses by afternoon. One storm-related death was reported by authorities in the northern Florida town of Ocala, where a fallen tree killed a homeless man sleeping in his tent. Hermine was expected to snarl Labor Day holiday travel as it churned northeast for several more days after battering Florida’s $89 billion tourism industry. While maximum sustained winds had weakened to 50 mph (80 kph), the tempest headed to the Atlantic seaboard along a path inhabited by tens of millions of Americans, prompting storm watches and warnings as far north as Rhode Island. As of 9:00pm EDT (0100 GMT), the fourth named storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season was passing near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, leaving some 51,000 power outages across the state, said state emergency management spokesman Derrec Becker. Becker said localised flooding hit low-lying areas across the state, and there were widespread reports of ‘downed power lines, downed trees, trees on cars and some flooded cars,’ along with isolated incidents of tree-damaged homes. One mobile home was virtually sliced in two by a fallen tree, but authorities had no reports of serious storm-related injuries or fatalities, Becker added. Likewise, emergency officials reported no storm deaths in Georgia, which Hermine swept through on its way to South Carolina, but said at least 100,000 utility customers were without power at one point. Emergency declarations remained in effect for all or parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. The storm was projected to creep north along the Carolina coast Friday night, then gather strength after moving offshore into the Atlantic on Saturday morning, possibly reaching near-hurricane intensity by late Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center. In addition to powerful winds extending up to 185 miles (295 km) from its center, Hermine was expected to unleash a dangerous storm surge in the Hampton Roads area of tidewater Virginia, where flooding could become 3 to 5 feet deep, the NHC warned. The storm also could douse several southeastern and mid-Atlantic states with up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain through Sunday, the agency said. New Jersey, still mindful of devastation from superstorm Sandy in 2012, was on high alert as emergency officials advised residents to prepare for flooding, high winds and a surge of seawater. New York governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday activated his state’s emergency operations center and ordered officials to stockpile resources, including sandbags and generators. New York City mayor Bill De Blasio said residents should avoid beach waters for fear of life-threatening riptides. ‘I say that to people who go the beach, I say that to surfers: Don’t even think about it,’ De Blasio told reporters. In Florida, concerns over the standing water in which mosquitoes breed intensified as the state battled an outbreak of the Zika virus. ‘It is incredibly important that everyone does their part to combat the Zika virus by dumping standing water, no matter how small,’ Florida governor Rick Scott told a news conference. Overnight, crews in Pasco County, Florida, rescued more than a dozen people after their homes were flooded. Richard Jewett, 68, was rescued from his home in New Port Richey, just north of Tampa, as emergency teams carried out a mandatory evacuation. ‘The canal started creeping up toward the house, and even though it wasn’t high tide it looked like it was coming inside,’ Jewett said. ||||| Sept 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. East Coast faces a potential mix of dangerously high winds and heavy rains over the long holiday weekend as Tropical Storm Hermine plowed up the Atlantic Coast on Saturday, leaving a path of destruction in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. Tropical storm and flooding watches and warnings were in effect along the Atlantic seaboard from South Carolina north to Rhode Island as the potentially life-threatening storm moved along a stretch inhabited by tens of millions of Americans. "Hermine not only threatens to foil weekend getaways at the beach, but has the potential to cause damage in some communities and pose risk to the lives of those who venture in the surf or on the seas," said Alex Sosnowski, a meteorologist, on Accuweather.com. The storm was projected to creep north along the Carolina coast, then gather strength after moving offshore into the Atlantic on Saturday morning, possibly reaching near-hurricane intensity by late Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said. The threat of severe weather caused officials in Atlantic City to cancel concerts over the weekend and beaches to close in several coastal communities. Labor Day weekend plans for thousands of vacationers who were headed to popular beach spots along the Atlantic seaboard were dampened after the storm battered Florida's $89 billion tourism industry. "We'll probably stay inside watching movies or going to the movie theater," Joan Whalen told an ABC affiliate in Virginia after canceling plans to head to the beach for the weekend. Hermine, the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years, swept ashore early on Friday near the Gulf shore town of St. Marks, 20 miles (30 km) south of the capital of Tallahassee, packing winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and churning up a devastating storm surge in coastal areas. As of 2 a.m. EDT, the fourth named storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season was about 115 miles (185 km) west of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, where 60 mph (95 kmh) winds were reported, the hurricane center said. Early Saturday morning, crews in Wilmington, North Carolina rescued several people who were sitting on top of their vehicle after a flood engulfed their street, photos from local media showed. At least one tornado was reported touching down in North Carolina on Saturday, causing at least one injury, local media reported. On Friday the storm passed near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, leaving some 51,000 power outages across the state, said state emergency management spokesman Derrec Becker. Becker said localized flooding hit low-lying areas across the state, and there were widespread reports of "downed power lines, downed trees, trees on cars and some flooded cars," along with isolated incidents of tree-damaged homes. A total of about 150,000 households were without power in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, utility companies reported on Saturday. Emergency declarations remained in effect for all or parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. Overnight, crews in Pasco County, Florida, rescued more than a dozen people after their homes were flooded. Richard Jewett, 68, was rescued from his home in New Port Richey, just north of Tampa, as emergency teams carried out a mandatory evacuation. "The canal started creeping up toward the house, and even though it wasn't high tide it looked like it was coming inside," Jewett said. One storm-related death was reported by authorities in the northern Florida town of Ocala, where a fallen tree killed a homeless man sleeping in his tent. In addition to powerful winds extending up to 185 miles (295 km) from its center, Hermine was expected to unleash a dangerous storm surge in the Hampton Roads area of tidewater Virginia, where flooding could become 3 to 5 feet deep, the NHC warned. The storm also could douse several southeastern and mid-Atlantic states with up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain through Sunday, the agency said. New Jersey, still mindful of devastation from superstorm Sandy in 2012, was on high alert as emergency officials advised residents to prepare for flooding, high winds and a surge of seawater. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday activated his state's emergency operations center and ordered officials to stockpile resources, including sandbags and generators. New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said residents should avoid beach waters for fear of life-threatening riptides. In Florida, concerns over the standing water in which mosquitoes breed intensified as the state battled an outbreak of the Zika virus. ||||| Sept 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. East Coast faces a potential mix of dangerously high winds and heavy rains over the long holiday weekend as Tropical Storm Hermine plowed up the Atlantic Coast on Saturday, leaving a path of destruction in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. Tropical storm and flooding watches and warnings were in effect along the Atlantic seaboard from South Carolina north to Rhode Island as the potentially life-threatening storm moved along a stretch inhabited by tens of millions of Americans. "Hermine not only threatens to foil weekend getaways at the beach, but has the potential to cause damage in some communities and pose risk to the lives of those who venture in the surf or on the seas," said Alex Sosnowski, a meteorologist, on Accuweather.com. The storm was projected to creep north along the Carolina coast, then gather strength after moving offshore into the Atlantic on Saturday morning, possibly reaching near-hurricane intensity by late Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said. The threat of severe weather caused officials in Atlantic City to cancel concerts over the weekend and beaches to close in several coastal communities. Labor Day weekend plans for thousands of vacationers who were headed to popular beach spots along the Atlantic seaboard were dampened after the storm battered Florida's $89 billion tourism industry. "We'll probably stay inside watching movies or going to the movie theater," Joan Whalen told an ABC affiliate in Virginia after canceling plans to head to the beach for the weekend. Hermine, the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years, swept ashore early on Friday near the Gulf shore town of St. Marks, 20 miles (30 km) south of the capital of Tallahassee, packing winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and churning up a devastating storm surge in coastal areas. As of 5 a.m. EDT, the fourth named storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season was about 60 miles (95 km) west-northwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, where 60 mph (95 kmh) winds were reported, the hurricane center said. Early Saturday morning, crews in Wilmington, North Carolina rescued several people who were sitting on top of their vehicle after a flood engulfed their street, photos from local media showed. At least one tornado was reported touching down in North Carolina on Saturday, causing at least one injury, local media reported. On Friday the storm passed near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, leaving some 51,000 power outages across the state, said state emergency management spokesman Derrec Becker. Becker said localized flooding hit low-lying areas across the state, and there were widespread reports of "downed power lines, downed trees, trees on cars and some flooded cars," along with isolated incidents of tree-damaged homes. A total of about 150,000 households were without power in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, utility companies reported on Saturday. Emergency declarations remained in effect for all or parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. Overnight, crews in Pasco County, Florida, rescued more than a dozen people after their homes were flooded. Richard Jewett, 68, was rescued from his home in New Port Richey, just north of Tampa, as emergency teams carried out a mandatory evacuation. "The canal started creeping up toward the house, and even though it wasn't high tide it looked like it was coming inside," Jewett said. One storm-related death was reported by authorities in the northern Florida town of Ocala, where a fallen tree killed a homeless man sleeping in his tent. In addition to powerful winds extending up to 185 miles (295 km) from its center, Hermine was expected to unleash a dangerous storm surge in the Hampton Roads area of tidewater Virginia, where flooding could become 3 to 5 feet deep, the NHC warned. The storm also could douse several southeastern and mid-Atlantic states with up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain through Sunday, the agency said. New Jersey, still mindful of devastation from superstorm Sandy in 2012, was on high alert as emergency officials advised residents to prepare for flooding, high winds and a surge of seawater. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday activated his state's emergency operations center and ordered officials to stockpile resources, including sandbags and generators. New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said residents should avoid beach waters for fear of life-threatening riptides. In Florida, concerns over the standing water in which mosquitoes breed intensified as the state battled an outbreak of the Zika virus. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Gareth Jones) ||||| Hurricane Hermine dropped to a tropical storm but then regained strength Saturday as it drenched coastal North Carolina and Virginia on a path up the East Coast. Hermine (her-MEEN) could approach hurricane intensity again Sunday as it spins over the Atlantic Ocean, lashing coastal areas as far north as Massachusetts through a soggy Labor Day weekend. "Anyone along the U.S. East Coast needs to be paying close attention this weekend," said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the National Hurricane Center. At 11 a.m. Saturday, Hermine was centered just off North Carolina's Outer Banks, with top sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph), moving east-northeast at 15 mph (24 kph). Tropical Storm Warnings were extended through New York City to Rhode Island, and a dangerous storm surge was expected from Virginia to New Jersey. Hermine rose up over the Gulf of Mexico and became the first hurricane to hit Florida in more than a decade, wiping away beachside buildings, toppling trees onto homes and leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity as it plowed onward to the Atlantic Coast. About 300,000 homes were without electricity in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott said Saturday morning. Other outages included more than 107,000 without power in Georgia, 21,000 in South Carolina, 45,000 in North Carolina and 53,000 in Virginia. "I want everybody to have their power. I want them to be able to take a hot shower," Scott said. Governors Terry McAulliff of Virginia and Larry Hogan of Maryland declared states of emergency for coastal areas and warned of life-threatening storm surges. In Florida's Big Bend area, the storm surge crumpled docks and washed out homes and businesses. A homeless man died from a falling tree south of Gainesville, Scott said. Scott observed damage in the coastal communities of Cedar Key and Steinhatchee by helicopter, and pledged state help for damaged businesses. Hermine spawned a small tornado over North Carolina's Outer Banks, knocking over two trailers and injuring four people. In Virginia Beach, the storm forced Bruce Springsteen to move a Saturday night concert to Monday. Further up the coast, Amtrak cancelled or altered some service as the storm approached. New Jersey officials ordered swimmers out of the surf. And Gov. Andrew Cuomo activated New York's Emergency Operations Center to begin preparations. In Valdosta, Georgia, Hermine didn't cause much damage other than the holes in Nick Wykoff's roof from a burly pecan tree that was toppled in strong winds. He, his wife and their small children were unhurt. The timing couldn't be worse for communities along the coast that count on Labor Day weekend festivals for revenue. In Savannah, Georgia, Bacon Fest was canceled Friday and the Craft Brew Fest had to move beer tents indoors. Back in Florida, the surge at Dekle Beach damaged numerous homes and destroyed storage buildings and a 100-yard fishing pier. The area is about 60 miles southeast of St. Marks, where Hermine made landfall at 1:30 a.m. An unnamed spring storm that hit the beach in 1993 killed 10 people who refused to evacuate. This time, only three residents stayed behind. All escaped injury. In nearby Steinhatchee, Bobbi Pattison wore galoshes and was covered in black muck as she stood in her living room amid overturned furniture and an acrid smell. Tiny crabs darted around her floor. "I had a hurricane cocktail party last night and God got even with me," she said with a chuckle. Only wet sand and rubble remained where her bar once stood. Pattison and two neighbors managed to set upright a large wooden statue of a sea captain she had carved from wood that washed ashore in the 1993 storm. The last hurricane to strike Florida was Wilma, a powerful Category 3 storm that arrived on Oct. 24, 2005. It swept across the Everglades and struck heavily populated south Florida, causing five deaths in the state and an estimated $23 billion in damage. The Florida governor declared an emergency in 51 counties and said about 6,000 National Guardsmen stood ready to mobilize for the storm's aftermath. The governors of Georgia and North Carolina also declared emergencies. Associated Press writers Freida Frisaro and Curt Anderson in Miami; Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Gary Fineout, Joe Reedy and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Florida; Tamara Lush in Tampa, Florida; Russ Bynum in Valdosta, Georgia, and Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed to this report. ||||| Tropical storm and flooding watches and warnings were in effect along the Atlantic seaboard from South Carolina north to Rhode Island as the potentially life-threatening storm moved along a stretch inhabited by tens of millions of Americans. "Hermine not only threatens to foil weekend getaways at the beach, but has the potential to cause damage in some communities and pose risk to the lives of those who venture in the surf or on the seas," said Alex Sosnowski, a meteorologist, on Accuweather.com. The storm was projected to creep north along the Carolina coast, then gather strength after moving offshore into the Atlantic on Saturday morning, possibly reaching near-hurricane intensity by late Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said. The threat of severe weather caused officials in Atlantic City to cancel concerts over the weekend and beaches to close in several coastal communities. Labor Day weekend plans for thousands of vacationers who were headed to popular beach spots along the Atlantic seaboard were dampened after the storm battered Florida's $89 billion tourism industry. "We’ll probably stay inside watching movies or going to the movie theater," Joan Whalen told an ABC affiliate in Virginia after canceling plans to head to the beach for the weekend. Hermine, the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years, swept ashore early on Friday near the Gulf shore town of St. Marks, 20 miles (30 km) south of the capital of Tallahassee, packing winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and churning up a devastating storm surge in coastal areas. As of 2 a.m. EDT, the fourth named storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season was about 115 miles (185 km) west of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, where 60 mph (95 kmh) winds were reported, the hurricane center said. Early Saturday morning, crews in Wilmington, North Carolina rescued several people who were sitting on top of their vehicle after a flood engulfed their street, photos from local media showed. At least one tornado was reported touching down in North Carolina on Saturday, causing at least one injury, local media reported. On Friday the storm passed near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, leaving some 51,000 power outages across the state, said state emergency management spokesman Derrec Becker. Becker said localized flooding hit low-lying areas across the state, and there were widespread reports of "downed power lines, downed trees, trees on cars and some flooded cars," along with isolated incidents of tree-damaged homes. A total of about 150,000 households were without power in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, utility companies reported on Saturday. Emergency declarations remained in effect for all or parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. Overnight, crews in Pasco County, Florida, rescued more than a dozen people after their homes were flooded. Richard Jewett, 68, was rescued from his home in New Port Richey, just north of Tampa, as emergency teams carried out a mandatory evacuation. "The canal started creeping up toward the house, and even though it wasn't high tide it looked like it was coming inside," Jewett said. One storm-related death was reported by authorities in the northern Florida town of Ocala, where a fallen tree killed a homeless man sleeping in his tent. In addition to powerful winds extending up to 185 miles (295 km) from its center, Hermine was expected to unleash a dangerous storm surge in the Hampton Roads area of tidewater Virginia, where flooding could become 3 to 5 feet deep, the NHC warned. The storm also could douse several southeastern and mid-Atlantic states with up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain through Sunday, the agency said. New Jersey, still mindful of devastation from superstorm Sandy in 2012, was on high alert as emergency officials advised residents to prepare for flooding, high winds and a surge of seawater. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday activated his state's emergency operations center and ordered officials to stockpile resources, including sandbags and generators. New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said residents should avoid beach waters for fear of life-threatening riptides. In Florida, concerns over the standing water in which mosquitoes breed intensified as the state battled an outbreak of the Zika virus.
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Hermine, as a Category 1 storm, kills one person and leaves a quarter-million others without electricity during its trek through Florida. Now a tropical storm over North Carolina, Hermine should re-strengthen when it moves into the Atlantic Ocean tomorrow. Tropical storm warnings and watches are issued from Georgia to Rhode Island.
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KABUL, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Afghan security forces ended an 11-hour standoff in central Kabul on Tuesday, killing the last gunman holding out after an attack that began when a car bomber blew himself up in a prosperous business and residential area. Police sealed off the centre of the city as they battled three attackers who barricaded themselves inside an office of the aid group Care International. After hours of standoff, interrupted occasionally by sporadic gunfire, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said Afghan special forces had killed all those involved in the attack in the Share Naw area of Kabul. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which took place just hours after Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 24 people near the Defence Ministry, including a number of senior security officials. Initial casualty reports suggested one person had been killed and six injured while more than 31 people were evacuated. The attacks highlighted the precarious security in the capital just a month before a conference in Brussels where international donors are expected to pledge continued financial support to Afghanistan. After several hours of quiet overnight, gunfire and explosions could be heard as day broke. Rafi Ullah, a security guard near the Care International office was walking in the area when the explosion occurred. "Right after the explosion, a huge flame rose and everything was covered with smoke, and then Afghan security forces arrived and blocked the area," he said. City traffic was blocked in several places and schools in the vicinity were closed. Hours before the attack in Share Naw late on Monday, at least 24 people were killed and 91 wounded when twin blasts in quick succession tore through an afternoon crowd in a bustling area close to the Defence Ministry. The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for that attack, in which a suicide bomber caught security forces personnel and civilians who rushed to help victims of the first explosion. An army general and two senior police commanders were among the dead, a Defence Ministry official said. Another official said the deputy head of President Ashraf Ghani's personal protection force had also been killed. The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23. That assault was claimed by Islamic State. The Taliban's ability to conduct coordinated attacks in Kabul has piled pressure on the Western-backed government, which has struggled to reassure a war-weary population that it can guarantee security. Afghanistan's foreign partners, concerned about the ability of the security forces to withstand Taliban violence, are expected to pledge support over coming years at the Brussels conference, three months after NATO members reaffirmed their commitment at a meeting in Warsaw. Outside Kabul, the insurgents have stepped up their military campaign, threatening towns including Lashkar Gah, capital of the strategic southern province of Helmand, as well as Kunduz, the northern city they briefly took last year. (Additional reporting by Sayed Hassib; Writing by James Mackenzie, Rupam Jain; Editing by Nick Macfie, Robert Birsel) ||||| ||||| KABUL (Reuters) - A car bomb hit the center of Kabul late on Monday, just hours after a Taliban suicide attack near the Defense Ministry killed at least 24 people including a number of senior security officials, and wounded 91 others, officials said. Gunmen who followed the initial attack appeared to have barricaded themselves into a building and security forces blocked off a large area in the city center. After several hours of quiet overnight, sporadic gunfire and explosions could be heard as day broke but there was no immediate comment on the operation from police and no claim of responsibility. Just a month before a conference in Brussels where international donors are expected to pledge continued financial support to Afghanistan, the attacks highlighted the precarious security climate in the capital. Earlier on Monday, twin blasts in quick succession tore through an afternoon crowd in a bustling area of the city close to the Defense Ministry. The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for that attack, in which a suicide bomber caught security forces personnel and civilians who rushed to help victims of the first explosion. “When the first explosion happened people crowded to the site and then the second blast occurred, which was really powerful and killed lots of people,” said Samiullah Safi, who witnessed the attack. An army general and two senior police commanders were among the dead, a Defense Ministry official said. Another official said the deputy head of President Ashraf Ghani’s personal protection force had also been killed. The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23. That assault was claimed by Islamic State. Slideshow (5 Images) The Taliban’s ability to conduct coordinated high profile attacks in the capital Kabul has piled pressure on the Western-backed government, which has struggled to reassure a war-weary population that it can guarantee security. Afghanistan’s foreign partners, concerned about the ability of the security forces to withstand Taliban violence, are expected to pledge support over coming years at the Brussels conference, three months after NATO members reaffirmed their commitment at a meeting in Warsaw. Outside Kabul, the insurgents have stepped up their military campaign, threatening Laskkar Gah, capital of the strategic southern province of Helmand as well as Kunduz, the northern city they briefly took last year. ||||| Explosions in Afghan capital Kabul kill at least 24 KABUL, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A loud explosion hit the centre of Kabul late on Monday, just hours after a Taliban suicide attack near the Defence Ministry killed at least 24 people, including a number of senior security officials, and wounded 91 others, officials said. Sporadic gunfire could be heard in an area with many shops and businesses and initial reports suggested that a guesthouse had been targeted. Glass from shattered windows lay on the street near the explosion but police sealed off the area but there was no immediate claim of responsibility and no word on any casualties. Just a month before a conference in Brussels where international donors are expected to pledge continued financial support to Afghanistan, the attacks highlighted the precarious security climate in the capital. Earlier on Monday, twin blasts in quick succession tore through an afternoon crowd in a bustling area of the city close to the Defence Ministry. The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for that attack, in which a suicide bomber caught security forces personnel and civilians who rushed to help victims of the first explosion. "When the first explosion happened people crowded to the site and then the second blast occurred, which was really powerful and killed lots of people," said Samiullah Safi, who witnessed the attack. An army general and two senior police commanders were among the dead, a Defence Ministry official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said killed 58 officers and commanders. The militants have stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed government in recent weeks, following a brief lull after the death of their former leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour. The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23. That assault was claimed by Islamic State. Afghanistan's foreign partners, concerned about the ability of the security forces to withstand Taliban violence, are expected to pledge support over coming years at the Brussels conference, three months after NATO members reaffirmed their commitment at a meeting in Warsaw. (Additional reporting by Sayed Hassib; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Robert Birsel and Alison Williams) ||||| The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. A loud explosion hit the centre of Kabul late on Monday, hours after a Taliban suicide attack near the Defence Ministry killed at least 24 people, including a number of senior security officials, and wounded 91 others, officials said. Sporadic gunfire could be heard in an area of the city near to embassies and government buildings, including the Interior Ministry but there was no immediate claim of responsibility and no word on any casualties. Earlier, twin blasts in quick succession tore through an afternoon crowd in a bustling area of the city close to the Defence Ministry. The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for that attack, in which a suicide bomber caught security forces personnel and civilians who rushed to help victims of the first explosion. “When the first explosion happened people crowded to the site and then the second blast occurred, which was really powerful and killed lots of people,” said Samiullah Safi, who witnessed the attack. An army general and two senior police commanders were among the dead, a Defence Ministry official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said killed 58 officers and commanders. The militants have stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed government in recent weeks, following a brief lull after the death of their former leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour. The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23. That assault was claimed by Islamic State. Government officials have been preparing for a conference in Brussels next month at which foreign donors, concerned about the ability of the Afghan security forces to withstand Taliban violence, are expected to pledge continuing support over coming years. ||||| KABUL， Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants fighting the government to regain power have claimed responsibility for twin blasts that went off near the fortified defense ministry on Monday claiming 24 lives besides injuring 91 others including security personnel and civilians. In the deadly incidents， according to the spokesman for Public Health Ministry， Ismael Kawusi， two dozen people have lost their lives and more than 90 injured who have been taken to hospitals for medical treatment. "Based on the latest information collected from concerned sources and hospitals， 24 people including civilians and security personnel were killed and 91 others injured in the twin blasts that hit near defense ministry today afternoon，" Kawusi told Xinhua. However， eyewitnesses believed that the casualties might go higher than reported by officials. Meantime， Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi in talks with media has confirmed that one police officer is also among those killed in the deadly attacks. According to Sediqi， an explosive device went off in front of the second police district， which is next to defense ministry， causing casualties， and when security personnel rushed to the site of the blast to rescue the injured people， a suicide bomber blew himself up killing and injuring people at nearby. The twin blasts occurred at 03:30 p.m. local time when the employees of defense ministry were coming out from the gate after their duties. Defense Ministry is located next to the Finance Ministry， the Presidential Palace， and the Petroleum and Mines Ministry among other government buildings. A busy road is located in front of the Defense Ministry， where hundreds of civilian vehicles and pedestrians travel to the downtown city. This is the third terrorist attack conducted by militant groups on the same road against defense ministry over the past couple of years. Zabihullah Majahid who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit， in contact with media claimed responsibility for the twin attacks， insisting huge casualties inflicted to the personnel of defense ministry. President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in a statement released by his office blamed the "enemies of Afghanistan" for organizing the deadly bombings and condemned it with strongest term. Meantime， local observers blamed security lapse for the deadly double bombings， saying that security slips would enable Taliban and associated groups to conduct subversive activities even in the fortified capital city Kabul. ||||| Attacks in Afghan capital kill at least 24 KABUL, Sept 6 (Reuters) - A car bomb hit the centre of Kabul late on Monday, just hours after a Taliban suicide attack near the Defence Ministry killed at least 24 people including a number of senior security officials, and wounded 91 others, officials said. Gunmen who followed the initial attack appeared to have barricaded themselves into a building and security forces blocked off a large area in the city centre. After several hours of quiet overnight, sporadic gunfire and explosions could be heard as day broke but there was no immediate comment on the operation from police and no claim of responsibility. Just a month before a conference in Brussels where international donors are expected to pledge continued financial support to Afghanistan, the attacks highlighted the precarious security climate in the capital. Earlier on Monday, twin blasts in quick succession tore through an afternoon crowd in a bustling area of the city close to the Defence Ministry. The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for that attack, in which a suicide bomber caught security forces personnel and civilians who rushed to help victims of the first explosion. "When the first explosion happened people crowded to the site and then the second blast occurred, which was really powerful and killed lots of people," said Samiullah Safi, who witnessed the attack. An army general and two senior police commanders were among the dead, a Defence Ministry official said. Another official said the deputy head of President Ashraf Ghani's personal protection force had also been killed. The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23. That assault was claimed by Islamic State. The Taliban's ability to conduct coordinated high profile attacks in the capital Kabul has piled pressure on the Western-backed government, which has struggled to reassure a war-weary population that it can guarantee security. Afghanistan's foreign partners, concerned about the ability of the security forces to withstand Taliban violence, are expected to pledge support over coming years at the Brussels conference, three months after NATO members reaffirmed their commitment at a meeting in Warsaw. Outside Kabul, the insurgents have stepped up their military campaign, threatening Laskkar Gah, capital of the strategic southern province of Helmand as well as Kunduz, the northern city they briefly took last year. (Additional reporting by Sayed Hassib; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Alison Williams, Sandra Maler and Michael Perry) ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption The attack on Monday is the latest in a series of militant bombings of Kabul in recent months Twin bomb blasts in the Afghan capital Kabul have killed at least 24 people and injured 91 others near the defence ministry, officials say. The first bomb was detonated remotely while the second was triggered by a suicide bomber, local media reported. An army general and two senior police officers are among the dead, a ministry of defence spokesperson told the BBC. The Taliban, who have carried out frequent attacks in Kabul, claimed the blasts. Deputy defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told the Associated Press news agency that the suicide attacker struck as security forces gathered near the ministry to deal with the first blast. As night fell, another loud explosion was heard in Kabul, followed by gunfire. There was no immediate word on the cause of the blast or details of any casualties. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Police and the security services have now secured the area of the blasts Image copyright Reuters Image caption The emergency services rushed to treat numerous injured people Image copyright AP Image caption The area of the attack is now being cleared up by fire fighters Civilians, police and soldiers were all killed in the earlier blasts as ministry employees were leaving work at rush hour. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack saying it had been carried out by "the enemies of Afghanistan who have lost their ability to fight the security and defence forces". He said that "the aim of the terrorists is to spread fear". An Italian-run emergency hospital in Kabul tweeted that it was treating 21 injured people, four of whom died on arrival. The attack comes 11 days after 13 people, including seven students, died in an attack by gunmen on the American University in Kabul. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Scores of the injured were rushed to hospital in the aftermath of the blasts In August two foreign professors, one from the US and one from Australia, were kidnapped by armed men near the university. No group has admitted responsibility and their whereabouts are still unknown. Several other foreigners have been kidnapped in recent times. In July a suicide bomber from the self-styled Islamic State (IS) targeted a protest march by members of the Shia Hazara minority in Kabul, killing 80 people. Shia Muslims are reviled by IS. The upsurge in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban also strives to increase its presence nationally, making an already uncertain security situation even worse since Nato forces ended their combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014. The militants are now threatening to capture Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern province of Helmand, in addition to the northern city of Kunduz - which they briefly captured last year in their biggest military offensive since the US-led 2001 invasion. ||||| Afghan security forces sealed off the centre of Kabul on Tuesday as they battled gunmen who barricaded themselves inside the offices of an international aid group after a car bomb attack on Monday night. The attack in a prosperous business and residential area of the capital took place just hours after a Taliban suicide attack near the Defence Ministry killed at least 24 people, including a number of senior security officials. Fraidoon Obaidi, chief of the Kabul police Criminal Investigation Department, said one of the two gunmen who had entered an office of Care International in Kabul had been killed but another was holding out. “We have rescued several families from the area,” he said. The attacks highlighted the precarious security climate in the capital just a month before a conference in Brussels where international donors are expected to pledge continued financial support to Afghanistan. After several hours of quiet overnight, sporadic gunfire and explosions could be heard as day broke. Security officials evacuated terrified civilians from their offices and homes near the explosion site. An Interior Ministry official said initial reports indicated one person had been killed and six wounded in the attack, with 31 people rescued from the area. Kabul traffic was blocked in several parts of the city and schools in the area were closed. On Monday, 24 people were killed and 91 wounded when twin blasts in quick succession tore through an afternoon crowd in a bustling area of the city close to the Defence Ministry. The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for that attack, in which a suicide bomber caught security forces personnel and civilians who rushed to help victims of the first explosion. “When the first explosion happened people crowded to the site and then the second blast occurred, which was really powerful and killed lots of people,” said Samiullah Safi, who witnessed the attack. An army general and two senior police commanders were among the dead, a Defence Ministry official said. Another official said the deputy head of President Ashraf Ghani’s personal protection force had also been killed. The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23. That assault was claimed by Islamic State. The Taliban’s ability to conduct coordinated high profile attacks in Kabul has piled pressure on the Western-backed government, which has struggled to reassure a war-weary population that it can guarantee security. Afghanistan’s foreign partners, concerned about the ability of the security forces to withstand Taliban violence, are expected to pledge support over coming years at the Brussels conference, three months after NATO members reaffirmed their commitment at a meeting in Warsaw. Outside Kabul, the insurgents have stepped up their military campaign, threatening Lashkar Gah, capital of the strategic southern province of Helmand, as well as Kunduz, the northern city they briefly took last year. ||||| Dozens of people have been killed after a Taliban suicide attack in Kabul - with a second blast aimed at those helping the wounded. Two explosions in quick succession went off near the defence ministry in the Afghan capital, killing at least 24 people - including security officials - and wounding 91. A witness described how the second blast ripped through a crowd of troops, police and civilians who had rushed to the busy area, near a market and a main junction. 'When the first explosion happened people crowded to the site and then the second blast occurred, which was really powerful and killed lots of people,' said Samiullah Safi, who witnessed the attack. The casualty total may increase as more information becomes available, said Mohammad Ismail Kawousi, a spokesman for the public health ministry. An army general and two senior police commanders were among the dead, a defence ministry official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said killed 58 officers and commanders. The militants have stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed government in recent weeks, following a brief lull after the death of their former leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour. The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23. That assault was claimed by Islamic State. Government officials have been preparing for a conference in Brussels next month. This is expected to see foreign donors pledge continuing support over coming years in the light of Afghanistan's security forces to withstand terrorist violence.
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Two successive suicide bombers on foot kill at least 24 people and injure 91 others, including senior security and police officials, after striking close to the Afghan Ministry of Defence in Kabul. The Taliban claims responsibility by disclosing the death of 58 officers and commanders. Another bombing took place not long after.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wells Fargo has long been the envy of the banking industry for its ability to sell multiple products to the same customer, but regulators on Thursday said those practices went too far in some instances. The largest U.S. bank by market capitalization will pay $185 million in penalties and $5 million to customers that regulators say were pushed into fee-generating accounts they never requested. “We regret and take responsibility for any instances where customers may have received a product that they did not request,” the bank said of a settlement reached Thursday with California prosecutors and federal regulators. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will receive $100 million of the total penalties - the largest fine ever levied by the federal agency. “Today’s action should serve notice to the entire industry that financial incentive programs, if not monitored carefully, carry serious risks that can have serious legal consequences,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. Los Angeles officials and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency were also party to the settlement. In a complaint filed in May 2015, California prosecutors alleged that Wells Fargo pushed customers into costly financial products that they did not need or even request. Bank employees were told that the average customer tapped six financial tools but that they should push households to use eight products, according to the complaint. The bank opened more than 2 million deposit and credit card accounts that may not have been authorized, the CFPB said Thursday. Wells Fargo spokeswoman Mary Eshet said the bank fired 5,300 employees over “inappropriate sales conduct.” The firings took place over a five-year period, Eshet said, adding that the bank has 100,000 employees in its branches. Wells Fargo regularly releases numbers about how many products it sells to customers, a practice it calls “cross-sell.” Its wealth and investment management unit, for example, sold 10.55 products per retail banking household in November 2015, up from 10.49 a year earlier, according to the bank’s annual 10-K financial filing. A Wells Fargo branch is seen in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, February 10, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young In the second quarter, however, the bank changed how it tallies up some of those numbers and said it was considering more changes. Piper Jaffray analyst Kevin Barker said he does not think the crackdown on Wells Fargo will have much of an impact on others in the industry. “I think this is unique to Wells Fargo and their particular situation and how hard they push on cross-sell,” he said. ||||| (Reuters) - Wells Fargo will pay $185 million in penalties and $5 million to customers that regulators say were pushed into fee-generating accounts that they never requested, officials said on Thursday. "Wells Fargo reached these agreements consistent with our commitment to customers and in the interest of putting this matter behind us," the bank said of its settlement with California prosecutors and federal regulators. "We regret and take responsibility for any instances where customers may have received a product that they did not request," it added. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will receive $100 million of the total penalties - the largest fine ever levied by the agency, which was conceived after the 2008 financial crisis. "Today's action should serve notice to the entire industry that financial incentive programs, if not monitored carefully, carry serious risks that can have serious legal consequences," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. Los Angeles officials and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency were also party to the settlement. In a complaint filed in May 2015, California prosecutors alleged that Wells Fargo pushed customers into costly financial products that they did not need or even request. According to that complaint, Wells Fargo employees pushed checking account customers into savings, credit and online accounts that could generate fees. Bank employees were told that the average customer tapped six financial tools but that they should push households to use eight products, according to the complaint. The bank opened more than 2 million deposit and credit card accounts that may not have been authorized, according to the CFPB. The bank said that the deal this week settles the "allegations that some of its retail customers received products and services that they did not request." In recent financial filings, Wells Fargo has changed how it describes and calculates "cross-sell" - a term for bundling multiple products to retail, wealth management and corporate customers. The bank added new language to its last annual report, stating that its "approach to cross-sell is needs-based as some customers will benefit from more products, and some may need fewer." ||||| NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators are fining Wells Fargo $185 million for illegally opening millions of unauthorized accounts for their customers in order to meet aggressive sales goals. The San Francisco-based bank will pay $100 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency created five years ago; $35 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and $50 million to the City and County of Los Angeles. It will also pay restitution to affected customers. The CFPB says Wells Fargo sales staff opened more than 2 million bank and credit card accounts that may have not been authorized by customers. In a statement, Wells Fargo said: "We regret and take responsibility for any instances where customers may have received a product that they did not request." ||||| Everyone hates paying bank fees. But imagine paying fees on a ghost account you didn't even sign up for. That's exactly what happened to Wells Fargo customers nationwide. On Thursday, federal regulators said Wells Fargo employees secretly created millions of unauthorized bank and credit card accounts -- without their customers knowing it -- since 2011. The phony accounts earned the bank unwarranted fees and allowed Wells Fargo employees to boost their sales figures and make more money. "Wells Fargo employees secretly opened unauthorized accounts to hit sales targets and receive bonuses," Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said in a statement. Wells Fargo confirmed to CNNMoney that it had fired 5,300 employees over the last few years related to the shady behavior. Employees went to far as to create phony PIN numbers and fake email addresses to enroll customers in online banking services, the CFPB said. Related: Who owns Wells Fargo? You, me and Warren Buffett The scope of the scandal is shocking. An analysis conducted by a consulting firm hired by Wells Fargo concluded that bank employees opened up over 1.5 million deposit accounts that may not have been authorized, according to the CFPB. The way it worked was that employees moved funds from customers' existing accounts into newly-created accounts without their knowledge or consent, regulators say. The CFPB described this practice as "widespread" and led to customers being charged for insufficient funds or overdraft fees -- because the money was not in their original accounts. Additionally, Wells Fargo employees also submitted applications for 565,443 credit card accounts without their knowledge or consent, the CFPB said the analysis found. Roughly 14,000 of those accounts incurred over $400,000 in fees, including annual fees, interest charges and overdraft-protection fees. The CFPB said Wells Fargo will pay "full restitutions to all victims." Wells Fargo is being slapped with the largest penalty since the CFPB was founded in 2011. The bank agreed to pay $185 million in fines, along with $5 million to refund customers. "We regret and take responsibility for any instances where customers may have received a product that they did not request," Wells Fargo said in a statement. Wells Fargo is the most valuable bank in America, worth just north of $250 billion. Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), the investment firm run legendary investor Warren Buffett, is the company's biggest shareholder. The $100 million fine will go toward the CFPB's Civil Penalty Fund, a $35 million penalty will go to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and another $50 million will be paid to the City and County of Los Angeles. "One wonders whether (the CFPB) penalty of $100 million is enough," said David Vladeck, a Georgetown University law professor and former director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "It sounds like a big number, but for a bank the size of Wells Fargo, it isn't really." Wells Fargo confirmed to CNNMoney that the 5,300 firings took place over several years. The bank listed 265,000 employees as of the end of 2015. Related: Barclays fined $109 million for trying to hide a deal with rich clients "At Wells Fargo, when we make mistakes, we are open about it, we take responsibility, and we take action," the bank said in a memo to employees on Thursday. The CFPB declined to comment on when the investigation began and what sparked it, citing agency policy. "We don't comment on how we uncover these matters," a spokesman said. As part of the settlement, Wells Fargo needs to make changes to its sales practices and internal oversight. "Consumers must be able to trust their banks. They should never be taken advantage of," said Mike Feuer, the Los Angeles City Attorney who joined the settlement. Feuer's office sued Wells Fargo in May 2015 over allegations of unauthorized accounts. After filing the suit, his office received more than 1,000 calls and emails from customers as well as current and former Wells Fargo employees about the allegations. Wells Fargo declined to say when it hired a consulting firm to investigate the allegations. However, a person familiar with the matter told CNNMoney the bank launched the review after the L.A. lawsuit was filed. Even though the Wells Fargo scandal took place nationally, the settlement with L.A. requires the bank to alert all its California customers to review their accounts and shut down ones they don't recognize or want. "How does a bank that is supposed to have robust internal controls permit the creation of over a half-million dummy accounts?" asked Vladeck. "If I were a Wells Fargo customer, and fortunately I am not, I'd think seriously about finding a new bank." Brian Kennedy, a Maryland retiree, told CNNMoney he detected that an unauthorized Wells Fargo savings account had been created in his name about a year ago. He asked Wells Fargo about it and the bank closed it, he said. "I didn't sign up for any bloody checking account," Kennedy, who is 57 years old, told CNNMoney. "They lost me as a banking customer and I have warned family and friends." --To reach the author of this article email [email protected] ||||| Retail and commercial banking giant Wells Fargo will pay more than $185 million in fines after US regulators accused the bank of secretly opening accounts without customers' knowledge, officials said Thursday. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said employees at Wells Fargo, the world's largest bank by market value, had illegally boosted sales figures by opening unauthorized deposit and credit accounts and then covertly funding them with customers' money, sometimes creating phony email addresses to enroll them. This resulted in fees and other charges for customers and improperly helped bank employees meet sales targets and receive bonuses, according to the CFPB. Wells Fargo will pay $100 million to the CFPB, the largest fine to date imposed by the bureau, which was created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The San Francisco-based bank will pay $50 million to the City of Los Angeles, which had filed suit last year, accusing the bank of pressuring employees into fraudulent behavior, such as opening fictitious accounts. The bank will also pay a $35 million fine to banking regulators at the Treasury Department in addition to fully compensating all customers concerned, the CFPB said in a statement. “Today's action should serve notice to the entire industry that financial incentive programs, if not monitored carefully, carry serious risks that can have serious legal consequences," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a statement. ||||| Everyone hates paying bank fees. But imagine paying fees on a ghost account you didn't even sign up for. That's exactly what happened to Wells Fargo customers nationwide. On Thursday, federal regulators said Wells Fargo employees secretly created millions of unauthorized bank and credit card accounts -- without their customers knowing it -- since 2011. The phony accounts earned the bank unwarranted fees and allowed Wells Fargo employees to boost their sales figures and make more money. "Wells Fargo employees secretly opened unauthorized accounts to hit sales targets and receive bonuses," Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said in a statement. Wells Fargo confirmed to CNNMoney that it had fired 5,300 employees over the last few years related to the shady behavior. Employees went to far as to create phony PIN numbers and fake email addresses to enroll customers in online banking services, the CFPB said. Related: ATM and overdraft fees top $6 billion at the big 3 banks The scope of the scandal is shocking. An analysis conducted by a consulting firm hired by Wells Fargo concluded that bank employees opened up over 1.5 million deposit accounts that may not have been authorized, according to the CFPB. The way it worked was that employees moved funds from customers' existing accounts into newly-created accounts without their knowledge or consent, regulators say. The CFPB described this practice as "widespread" and led to customers being charged for insufficient funds or overdraft fees -- because the money was not in their original accounts. Additionally, Wells Fargo employees also submitted applications for 565,443 credit card accounts without their knowledge or consent, the CFPB said the analysis found. Roughly 14,000 of those accounts incurred over $400,000 in fees, including annual fees, interest charges and overdraft-protection fees. The CFPB said Wells Fargo will pay "full restitutions to all victims." Wells Fargo is being slapped with the largest penalty since the CFPB was founded in 2011. The bank agreed to pay $185 million in fines, along with $5 million to refund customers. "We regret and take responsibility for any instances where customers may have received a product that they did not request," Wells Fargo said in a statement. Wells Fargo is the most valuable bank in America, worth just north of $250 billion. Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), the investment firm run legendary investor Warren Buffett, is the company's biggest shareholder. "One wonders whether a penalty of $100 million is enough," said David Vladeck, a Georgetown University law professor and former director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "It sounds like a big number, but for a bank the size of Wells Fargo, it isn't really." The CFPB declined to explain how it came up with the $100 million penalty figure. Wells Fargo confirmed to CNNMoney that the 5,300 firings took place over several years. The bank listed 265,000 employees as of the end of 2015. "At Wells Fargo, when we make mistakes, we are open about it, we take responsibility, and we take action," the bank said in a memo to employees on Thursday. It's not clear when Wells Fargo hired a consulting firm to investigate the allegations, nor what triggered the response. Wells Fargo did not respond to a request for comment on this. The CFPB declined to comment on when the investigation began and what sparked it, citing agency policy. "We don't comment on how we uncover these matters," a spokesman said. As part of the settlement, Wells Fargo needs to make changes to its sales practices and internal oversight. "Consumers must be able to trust their banks. They should never be taken advantage of," said Mike Feuer, the Los Angeles City Attorney who joined the settlement. Feuer's office sued Wells Fargo in May 2015 over allegations of unauthorized accounts. After filing the suit, his office received more than 1,000 calls and emails from customers as well as current and former Wells Fargo employees about the allegations. Even though the Wells Fargo scandal took place nationally, the settlement with L.A. requires the bank to alert all its California customers to review their accounts and shut down ones they don't recognize or want. "How does a bank that is supposed to have robust internal controls permit the creation of over a half-million dummy accounts?" asked Vladeck. "If I were a Wells Fargo customer, and fortunately I am not, I'd think seriously about finding a new bank." --To reach the author of this article email [email protected] ||||| NEW YORK (AP) — California and federal regulators fined Wells Fargo a combined $185 million on Thursday, alleging the bank’s employees illegally opened millions of unauthorized accounts for their customers in order to meet aggressive sales goals. The San Francisco-based bank will pay $100 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency created five years ago; $35 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and $50 million to the City and County of Los Angeles. It will also pay restitution to affected customers. It is the largest fine the CFPB has levied against a financial institution and the largest fine in the history of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office. The CFPB said Wells Fargo sales staff opened more than 2 million bank and credit card accounts that may have not been authorized by customers. Money in customers’ accounts were transferred to these new accounts without authorization. Debit cards were issued and activated, as well as PINs created, without telling customers. In some cases, Wells Fargo employees even created fake email addresses to sign up customers for online banking services. “Wells Fargo built an incentive-compensation program that made it possible for its employees to pursue underhanded sales practices, and it appears that the bank did not monitor the program carefully,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. The behavior was widespread, the CFPB and other regulators said, involving thousands of Wells Fargo employees. “Consumers must be able to trust their banks,” Feuer said. Wells Fargo’s aggressive sales tactics were first disclosed by The Los Angeles Times in an investigation in 2013 . The story series prompted the Los Angeles City Attorney office to sue Wells Fargo over its tactics. Roughly 5,300 employees at Wells Fargo were fired in connection with this behavior, according to Los Angeles City Attorney’s office. In a statement, Wells Fargo said: “We regret and take responsibility for any instances where customers may have received a product that they did not request.” Wells Fargo said they’ve refunded $2.6 million in fees associated with any product that was opened without authorization. Despite the LA Times investigation, Wells Fargo is still known for having aggressive sales goals for its employees. Wells Fargo’s executives highlight every quarter the bank’s so-called “cross sale ratio,” which is the number of products the bank sales to each of their individual customers. The ratio hovers around six, which means every customer of Wells Fargo has on average six different types of products with the bank. Ken Sweet covers banking and consumer financial issues for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at @kensweet. ||||| Wells Fargo & Co. will pay $185 million to resolve claims that bank employees opened deposit and credit-card accounts without customers’ approval to satisfy sales goals and earn financial rewards, U.S. regulators said. The lender opened more than 2 million accounts that consumers may not have known about, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a statement Thursday. Wells Fargo, which fired 5,300 employees over the improper sales practices, agreed to pay a record $100 million fine to the CFPB, $35 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and $50 million to the Los Angeles city attorney to settle the matter. The San Francisco-based bank also will compensate customers who incurred fees or charges, the agencies said. “Wells Fargo employees secretly opened unauthorized accounts to hit sales targets and receive bonuses,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in his agency’s statement. “Because of the severity of these violations, Wells Fargo is paying the largest penalty the CFPB has ever imposed.” The bank agreed to resolve the allegations without admitting or denying the agencies’ accusations, and said in a statement that it had set aside $5 million for customer remediation. “We regret and take responsibility for any instances where customers may have received a product that they did not request,” Wells Fargo said in its statement. The thousands of employees terminated by Wells Fargo included managers and were dismissed over five years, said Mary Eshet, a bank spokeswoman. “On an annual basis, more than 100,000 team members worked in our stores,” she said. “While we regret every interaction that was not handled properly, the number of instances and team members involved represent a very small portion of our business.” “Each quarter we consider all available relevant and appropriate facts and circumstances in determining whether a litigation matter is material and disclosed in our public filings,” Eshet said. “Based upon that review, we determined that the matter was not material.” Thousands of employees at Wells Fargo were involved in opening accounts and moving funds that resulted in customers getting charged fees for services they didn’t seek, according to the regulators. Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer sued Wells Fargo last year and accused the bank of high-pressure quotas for workers that encouraged them to skirt the rules. “When I worked at Wells Fargo, I faced the threat of being fired if I didn’t meet their unreasonable sales quotes every day, and it’s high time that Wells Fargo pays for preying on consumers’ financial livelihoods,” Khalid Taha, a former employee, said in a statement. Wells Fargo shares rose 13 cents to $49.90 in New York trading Thursday. The stock has dropped 8.2 percent this year, the third-worst performance in the 24-company KBW Bank Index. ||||| More than 5,000 Wells Fargo employees have been fired as a result of a scandal involving phony bank accounts. But do the CEO or other senior executives need to be let go too? Wells Fargo is paying $185 million in fines after the Los Angeles City Attorney and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that Wells Fargo employees had secretly set up new fake bank and credit card accounts in order to meet sales targets. In some cases, Wells Fargo customers were hit with overdraft fees and other charges because their money had been unknowingly moved from their regular account to a fake one. The CFPB said Thursday that the practice was "widespread." But how "widespread" remains to be seen. During the past decade, only a few top executives at many U.S. and European banks have lost their jobs due to numerous scandals going back to the financial crisis. Several big banks inflated the value of mortgage-backed securities on their books. And some major banks coordinated to manipulate the Libor lending rate and foreign exchange rates, for example. But the Wells Fargo (WFC) scandal impacts thousands of average people a lot more directly than these instances of fraud. Imagine having to pay a fee because someone took your money and moved it somewhere else! The outrage is justifiable. So it's fair to wonder why some of Wells Fargo's highest-paid employees are not taking more responsibility and why no one is taking the fall. CEO John Stumpf made $19.3 million in compensation in 2015. That makes him one of the top-paid bankers in the United States as he has been for years, along with these others: JPMorgan Chase (JPM)'s Jamie Dimon, Bank of America (BAC)'s Brian Moynihan and Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs (GS). Stumpf, and his predecessor Dick Kovacevich, are well-known in banking circles for leading the bank's efforts to cross-sell, or get customers to sign up for more and more accounts, with Wells Fargo. Both often won banker of the year awards from various industry organizations because of their cross-selling prowess. The stock has outperformed nearly all of its big bank rivals over the past five and 10 years as well. Wells Fargo's financial success is a big reason why many investors, including the legendary Warren Buffett, love the bank. His Berkshire Hathaway firm owns nearly 480 million shares of Wells Fargo, a 9.5% stake. That makes Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) the largest owner of Wells Fargo. And Wells Fargo is Berkshire Hathaway's second largest holding overall, trailing only Kraft Heinz (KHC). Berkshire Hathaway and Buffett were not immediately available for comment about the Wells Fargo scandal and whether or not high-level management changes are needed. Related: Who owns Wells Fargo? You, me and Warren Buffett But Buffett's right hand man, Berkshire vice chairman Charlie Munger told me in an interview at the company's 2015 annual shareholder meeting, that "Wells Fargo behaves better than the average big bank." He added that "nobody's perfect" though. Stumpf isn't the only one at Wells Fargo that is making a lot of money though. COO Timothy Sloan took home $11 million in compensation in 2015. CFO John Shrewsbury received $9.05 million. As did David Carroll, the senior executive vice president in charge of Wealth and Investment Management. In an SEC filing, Wells Fargo justified Carroll's pay package by saying that under Carroll's leadership, his division "achieved a number of important strategic objectives, including ... growth in loan balances and deposits." A spokesperson for Wells Fargo said in an e-mailed statement that "both managers and team members were affected by the disciplinary actions and terminations." Related: Who owns Wells Fargo anyway, You, me, and Warren Buffett The spokesperson added that the firings took place between January 2011 and March of this year and that it only affected about 1% of its workforce over that timeframe. "While we regret every interaction that was not handled properly, the number of instances and team members involved represent a very small portion of our business," the spokesperson said. But a lawsuit filed by the state of California against Wells Fargo in May, 2015 sheds some more light on the bank's cross-selling efforts and alleged misconduct. According to the suit, Wells Fargo imposes "unrealistic sales quotes on its employees." The suit claims that employees engaged in "unlawful and fraudulent conduct, including opening customer accounts and issuing credit cards without authorization" and that the bank "has known about and encouraged these practices for years." "The result is that Wells Fargo has engineered a virtual fee-generating machine, through which its customers are harmed, its employees take the blame, and Wells Fargo reaps the profits," according to the lawsuit. Wells Fargo boasts that its customers have an average of six financial products or accounts with the bank. It "seeks to increase this to an average of eight" financial products per account holder. It's a company goal "Wells Fargo calls the 'Gr-eight' initiative." But there's nothing Great about the attention Wells Fargo is now getting though. --CNNMoney's Matt Egan and Pallavi Gogoi contributed to this report. ||||| Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. bank by market cap, will pay $185 million in fines and penalties plus restitution to customers, according to a statement from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Los Angeles prosecutor's office were also parties to the settlement. In a complaint filed in May 2015, California prosecutors alleged that Wells Fargo for years pushed customers into costly financial products that they did not need or even request. The bank opened more than 2 million deposit and credit card accounts that may not have been authorized, according to the CFPB.
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International banking company Wells Fargo agrees to pay $190 million, including $100 million to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (largest ever for the agency), to settle a case involving deceptive sales that pushed customers into fee-generating accounts they never requested. The bank fired 5,300 employees over "inappropriate sales conduct." The firings took place over a five-year period.
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Cape Canaveral, Florida (CNN) NASA on Thursday evening launched a space probe called OSIRIS-REx to chase down a dark, potentially dangerous asteroid called Bennu . The probe will take a sample of the asteroid and -- in a US space first -- bring the sample back to Earth. "NASA did it again!" Jim Green, Planetary Science Division director at NASA, said at a post-launch briefing. "Tonight is a night for celebration," said Ellen Stofan , NASA chief scientist. "We are on our way to an asteroid." OSIRIS-REx lifted off at 7:05 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. NASA tweeted, "Our @OSIRISREx spacecraft is on its way, and everything is on the timeline ..." Our @OSIRISREx spacecraft is on its way, and everything is on the timeline. Keep watching: https://t.co/KX5g7zfYQe pic.twitter.com/89uZ54af0v Mission managers said the launch was flawless, the spacecraft is in excellent health and that the mission is hitting all its early milestones. "The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is happy and healthy," said Rich Kuhns, OSIRIS-REx program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems. Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft. The mission's principal investigator, Dante Lauretta, said the next big moment for him will be seeing Bennu for the first time from OSIRIS-REx. "Everyone on the team has some image in their mind of what Bennu is going to look like and it's going to be phenomenal to see what it really looks like." Those images should start arriving in about two years as OSIRIS-REx approaches Bennu. Life, sort of, imitating art In this real life story, OSIRIS-REx will study and sample Bennu, a big, roundish space rock that has made it onto NASA's list of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids . That means Bennu is one of the most dangerous space rocks we know of because it could one day collide with Earth. The probe is scheduled to arrive at Bennu in August 2018. For months it will hang out -- take pictures, make scans of the asteroid's surface and create a map. Then, in July 2020, OSIRIS-REx will unfurl its 11-foot-long (3.35-meter) robot arm called TAGSAM and make contact with Bennu's surface for about five seconds. During those few seconds, the arm will use a blast of nitrogen gas to kick up rocks and dust and then try to snag a sample of the dust and store it. "We are basically a space vacuum cleaner," said Lauretta NASA hopes to get at least 2 ounces (60 grams) and maybe as much as 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of asteroid dust and small rocks. Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth OSIRIS-REx pulled within 12 miles of the diamond-shaped space rock Monday, December 3. Hide Caption 1 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth An artist's concept of what the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will look like as it orbits asteroid Bennu. Hide Caption 2 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth OSIRIS-REx sits on top of its launch vehicle, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, after it was rolled to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral on September 7, 2016. Hide Caption 3 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth This drawing shows an artist's concept of what it will look like when the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touches asteroid Bennu with its robot arm to grab a sample of the asteroid. Hide Caption 4 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth OSIRIS-REx will spend two years mapping and scanning Bennu before taking a sample of the asteroid and flying it back to Earth. Hide Caption 5 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is sealed inside its protective payload fairing as it sits atop a rocket at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on September 2. Hide Caption 6 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, enclosed in its protective shell, is lifted and examined by workers on August 29 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Hide Caption 7 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is sealed inside a two-piece payload fairing on August 24. The fairing will protect it during launch. Hide Caption 8 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth The OSIRIS-REx arrives at Kennedy Space Center on an Air Force C-17 aircraft. The spacecraft was shipped in this huge container from Lockheed Martin's facility near Denver. The spacecraft arrived at Kennedy on May 20. Hide Caption 9 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Denver. It is 20.25 feet in length (6.2 meters) with its solar arrays deployed. Its width is 8 feet (2.43 meters) x 8 feet (2.43 meters). Its height is 10.33 feet (3.15 meters). It's powered by two solar panels that generate between 1,226 watts and 3,000 watts. It has five instruments to explore asteroid Bennu and also has a robot arm to touch the asteroid long enough to collect a sample. Hide Caption 10 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth OSIRIS-REx will briefly touch asteroid Bennu to take a sample of the space rock. It will use its 11-foot ( (3.35 meters) robot arm, called the Touch-and-Go Sample Arm Mechanism, or TAGSAM. Above, a worker at Lockheed Martin tests the arm. Hide Caption 11 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is rotated on a spin table during testing on May 24 at Kennedy Space Center. Hide Caption 12 of 13 Photos: OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth These radar images of asteroid Bennu were obtained by NASA's Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, California, on September 23, 1999. Hide Caption 13 of 13 "We kind of expect a gravel field on the surface of the asteroid," Lauretta said. He said he thinks the rocks will be about half an inch, based on information gathered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope on September 24, 2023, but it won't land. In a bit of Hollywood-style drama, it will fly over Utah and OSIRIS-REx heads home in March 2021 and arrives back at Earthon September 24, 2023, but it won't land. In a bit of Hollywood-style drama, it will fly over Utah and drop off the capsule holding the asteroid sample. A parachute will guide the capsule to the ground at the Utah Test and Training Range in Tooele County. Will Bennu really hit Earth? The short answer is maybe. If it does, it's big enough to do some damage. Bennu has a diameter of 1,614 feet (492 meters). It makes its next approach to Earth in 2135 when it will pass just inside the moon's orbit. This close approach will change Bennu's orbit, and scientists say that could cause it to impact Earth sometime between 2175 and 2199. The odds are small -- about 1 in 2,500. But NASA wants to get as much warning as possible for anything that threatens Earth. It's worth pointing out that while Bennu is a known threat, NASA said only about 51% of the near-Earth asteroids of Bennu's size have been found. Meaning there could be lots of unknown threats out there. The mission is a first for NASA but ... This is not the first mission to bring an asteroid sample to Earth. Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft brought back a small sample of asteroid Itokawa dust in 2010. NASA also has brought back other space rocks and dust: • • The • And NASA has landed on an asteroid before: The • The Apollo astronauts brought back rocks and soil from the moon. NASA's Stardust mission brought back samples of dust from Comet Wild 2.• The GENESIS mission brought back samples of the solar wind, material ejected from the outer portion of the sun, in 2004.• And NASA has landed on an asteroid before: The NEAR-Shoemaker mission touched down on asteroid Eros in 2000. It's still there. But it didn't send back any samples. What OSIRIS-REx won't do ... It won't blow up Bennu, and it won't save the Earth from any other menacing space rocks. Right now, efforts to defend the planet from asteroids and comets are still in their infancy. "It really takes more than one agency for the kind of capabilities that are needed for this," Lindley Johnson of NASA's new Planetary Defense Coordination Office told CNN. He said the new office is coordinating with several agencies, the US government and other nations to help develop resources to defend Earth from asteroids of about 330 feet (100 meters) in size or larger. (For smaller asteroids we would just be told to take cover.) But we would have to know years in advance that a dangerous rock is coming before we could do anything about it. "We would need probably at least five years warning to 10 years warning to be able to launch an effective space mission to deflect that object," Johnson said. NASA has a spacecraft called NEOWISE that is hunting potentially threatening asteroids. Ground-based telescopes also are helping watch Pan-STARRS LINEAR (it discovered Bennu in 1999) and the Catalina Sky Survey Early Monday, the Catalina Sky Survey detected an asteroid close to Earth that had never been seen before. The rock was given the designation 2016 RB1. "Just right about now, it's on its closest approach to the Earth, passing underneath the Earth at about 21,000 miles (33,796 kilometers)," Johnson said a briefing Wednesday afternoon. "That's closer than communications satellites orbit the Earth." NASA estimated the asteroid to be between 25 and 50 feet (7 and 16 meters) in diameter and said it was not a hazard to Earth. "If it were to have impacted the Earth, it would have disintegrated in the atmosphere," Johnson said. Besides trying to identify potentially hazardous asteroids, Johnson's agency is working on plans to deflect them away from Earth. It's collaborating with the European Space Agency on the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment Mission , and it's working with other NASA departments on the Asteroid Redirect Mission About the spacecraft The name OSIRIS-REx is an acronym for the spacecraft's mission objectives: Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-Regolith Explorer. The acronym spells the name of the Egyptian god Osiris. Minus fuel, OSIRIS-REx weighs 1,940 pounds (880 kilograms). With fuel -- 4,650 pounds (2,110 kilograms). The sample return capsule weighs about 100 pounds (45.4 kilograms). The mission costs about $800 million excluding the rocket. Bennu was named by North Carolina student Michael Puzio during a 2013 international contest. Puzio, who was 9 at the time, thought the spacecraft's robot arm and solar panels looked like the Bennu bird, also from Egyptian mythology. (Before Puzio stepped up, the rock was known in the scientific community as 1999 RQ36.) And what happens to the spacecraft after it drops off its sample? OSIRIS-REx will keep flying and will go orbit the sun. NASA said it may be repurposed, but it won't be bringing home any more samples. ||||| The mission has been described as a ‘slow high-five’ with a nearby asteroid to collect material that could date back to the origins of the solar system Nasa launched a spacecraft on Thursday for a mission to slap an asteroid, capture some of the debris that shakes off, and return more interstellar samples to Earth than any mission since the Apollo era. The space agency launched its Osiris-Rex spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in clear dusk skies a little after 7pm, local time, Thursday as scientists, reporters and spectators cheered. Within minutes, the rocket booster jettisoned, leaving the craft en route for a seven-year journey into space. Nasa's Osiris-Rex probe set to attempt 'smash-and-grab' on speeding asteroid Read more Though Atlas V rockets have had a 100% success rate, Nasa engineers combed over the launch procedures with extra care this week, following the explosion of a SpaceX rocket and its payload last week. Even with the extra precaution, the mission is so far on schedule and under budget, principal investigator Dante Lauretta told reporters earlier this week. “Nobody likes to see your colleagues go through a day like they did,” Lauretta said. “It was a stark reminder of the risk we face in this business.” Celebrating with his colleagues after the successful launch, Lauretta struck a philosophical note. “It’s the human spirit, you know? Orisis-Rex is us,” he said at a briefing. The mission, he added, fit Nasa’s broader quest to answer “the big questions: where do we come from, what is our future, and really, are we alone in the universe?” The two-ton spacecraft is on a mission to Bennu, officially classed a “potentially hazardous asteroid” chosen for its relative proximity to Earth and our orbit. The asteroid nears Earth every six years and will come closest in 2135, when it threads between our planet and the moon. In the decades after that pass, to about 300,000km from the planet, Nasa calculated that Bennu has a one in 2,700 chance to strike the Earth. Osiris-Rex is scheduled to meet its 492m-wide destination in August 2018, and it will spend as long as two years mapping Bennu. “We will be able to see an object the size of a penny on Bennu,” Nasa researcher Daniella DellaGiustina told reporters at a separate briefing. Once it has found a suitable spot on the surface, Osiris-Rex will swing down, strike the asteroid with a jet of nitrogen and capture what debris it bounces off the surface. Christine Richey, deputy program scientist for the mission, called the operation a “safe, smooth, slow high-five” to collect material that could date back to the origins of the solar system. SpaceX's booms and busts: spaceflight is littered with explosions and disasters Read more Then the craft will drift away and measure its prize: the scientist want at least 60 grams, and as much as two kilograms, to expel in a capsule back Earth. If all goes well, the chunk of asteroid will parachute down to Utah in September 2023. Past missions have brought scientists less than a milligram of asteroid material and samples of solar wind and comet dust. A single sample “is a lifetime of data”, Nasa astrochemist Jason Dworkin told reporters. “You can take rocks and slice them up into tiny, tiny fragments and manipulate them using people,” he said, noting that one of his colleagues continues to study material from the Apollo missions. “People not yet born, with ideas we don’t have now, can test them in ways we can’t even conceive of.” Richey agreed that a successful return would be “the gift that keeps on giving”. The researchers hope that the asteroid material will help reveal what happened in the earliest stages of the solar system, including whether asteroids brought water and organic molecules to planets like Earth, seeding it with the chemicals for life. While Osiris-Rex studies the asteroid from orbit, it will also help scientists learn how sunlight changes asteroids by heating them up and subtly changing their course. They may also learn more about how to predict their paths and potentially deflect larger, more dangerous rocks, such as the six-mile-wide asteroid believed to have killed the dinosaurs. ||||| US space agency NASA is poised Thursday to launch its groundbreaking first mission to a near-Earth asteroid to collect samples that could shed light on the dawn of the solar system. Scientists hope the seven-year, $800 million mission will reveal something about the origins of the Bennu asteroid and of life itself. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is scheduled to blast off Thursday at 7:05 pm (2305 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "The primary objective of the mission is to bring back 60 grams (2.1 ounces) of pristine carbon-rich material from the surface of Bennu," said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator of the mission and a professor of planetary science at the University of Arizona. "We expect these samples will contain organic molecules from the early solar system that may give us information and clues to the origin of life." The Lockheed Martin-made spacecraft will be carried aboard an Atlas V rocket made by United Launch Alliance, a 50-50 joint venture owned by Lockheed and Boeing. Weather forecasters said there was an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions for the launch of the mission aimed at peering into the solar system's birth 4.5 billion years ago. OSIRIX-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) is expected to reach Bennu in August 2018 and return to Earth with its bounty in 2023. The asteroid is about 1,600 feet (492 meters) in diameter. "Think of it as a small mountain in space," Lauretta said. Its 1.2-year orbit around the sun brings it closer to Earth every six years at a distance similar to the moon -- although there is very little chance Bennu could collide with Earth, according to estimates by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The highest probability, one in 2,500, would occur between 2175 and 2196. Once OSIRIX-REx reaches the asteroid in 2018, five instruments will map its surface using 3D laser imaging, identify the minerals and chemicals that may be on the surface, and select the sample site. In July 2020, the spacecraft will touch Bennu -- but only for three seconds -- with a three-meter (3.3-yard) arm to collect rocks and dust using a device called the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM). The TAGSAM is a type of reverse-vacuum device originally conceived by a Lockheed Martin engineer in his garage. The space dust -- which may reveal how the materials necessary for life, such as carbon and ice, made their way to Earth -- will be stored in a capsule for the return journey. The OSIRIS-REx will leave the asteroid in March 2021 and travel two and a half years to return to Earth in September 2023. As the spacecraft nears our planet, the return sample capsule will be ejected and gently lowered to Earth by parachutes to an area southwest of Salt Lake City in the western state of Utah. From there it will be transported to the NASA space center in Houston, Texas, where the materials will be analyzed. The OSIRIS-REx will remain in orbit around the sun. The mission will lay the groundwork for future explorations of asteroids and other small objects in the solar system, scientists say. It could notably cast light on the widely accepted hypothesis that this type of asteroid brought water and other materials seen as necessary for life on Earth, they say. Another aim of the mission is to measure the Yarkovsky effect, the sun's heating force on asteroids as they rotate that can cause them to drift widely over time. A better understanding of this effect could help scientists more accurately predict the long-term risk of asteroids to Earth and divert the path of those threatening to collide with our planet. In December 2014 the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency launched a similar mission, Hayabusa 2, which should reach an asteroid (162173 Ryugu) in 2018. The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft will place on the space rock's surface a small lander named Mascot, produced by the French and German space agencies. Its predecessor, Hayabusa, was supposed to study the effect of a crash landing on asteroid Itokawa and recover samples to bring back to Earth, but it only managed to bring back a few micrograms of material in 2010. The European Space Agency succeeded in November 2014 to put its Philae lander on a comet, a space first. The lander transmitted 60 hours of data before running out of power. Unlike the OSIRIS-REx mission, a return to Earth had not been planned. ||||| Cape Canaveral, Florida (CNN) NASA on Thursday evening launched a space probe called OSIRIS-REx to chase down a dark, potentially dangerous asteroid called Bennu . The probe will take a sample of the asteroid and -- in a US space first -- bring the sample back to Earth. "NASA did it again!" Jim Green, Planetary Science Division director at NASA, said at a post-launch briefing. "Tonight is a night for celebration," said Ellen Stofan , NASA chief scientist. "We are on our way to an asteroid." OSIRIS-REx lifted off at 7:05 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. NASA tweeted, "Our @OSIRISREx spacecraft is on its way, and everything is on the timeline ..." Our @OSIRISREx spacecraft is on its way, and everything is on the timeline. Keep watching: https://t.co/KX5g7zfYQe pic.twitter.com/89uZ54af0v Mission managers said the launch was flawless, the spacecraft is in excellent health and that the mission is hitting all its early milestones. "The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is happy and healthy," said Rich Kuhns, OSIRIS-REx program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems. Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft. The mission's principal investigator, Dante Lauretta, said the next big moment for him will be seeing Bennu for the first time from OSIRIS-REx. "Everyone on the team has some image in their mind of what Bennu is going to look like and it's going to be phenomenal to see what it really looks like." Those images should start arriving in about two years as OSIRIS-REx approaches Bennu. NASA hopes to get at least 2 ounces (60 grams) and maybe as much as 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of asteroid dust and small rocks. The short answer is maybe. If it does, it's big enough to do some damage. This close approach will change Bennu's orbit, and scientists say that could cause it to impact Earth sometime between 2175 and 2199. The odds are small -- about 1 in 2,500. But NASA wants to get as much warning as possible for anything that threatens Earth. It's worth pointing out that while Bennu is a known threat, NASA said only about 51% of the near-Earth asteroids of Bennu's size have been found. Meaning there could be lots of unknown threats out there. The mission is a first for NASA but ... NASA also has brought back other space rocks and dust: It won't blow up Bennu, and it won't save the Earth from any other menacing space rocks. Right now, efforts to defend the planet from asteroids and comets are still in their infancy. He said the new office is coordinating with several agencies, the US government and other nations to help develop resources to defend Earth from asteroids of about 330 feet (100 meters) in size or larger. (For smaller asteroids we would just be told to take cover.) But we would have to know years in advance that a dangerous rock is coming before we could do anything about it. "We would need probably at least five years warning to 10 years warning to be able to launch an effective space mission to deflect that object," Johnson said. "Just right about now, it's on its closest approach to the Earth, passing underneath the Earth at about 21,000 miles (33,796 kilometers)," Johnson said a briefing Wednesday afternoon. "That's closer than communications satellites orbit the Earth." NASA estimated the asteroid to be between 25 and 50 feet (7 and 16 meters) in diameter and said it was not a hazard to Earth. "If it were to have impacted the Earth, it would have disintegrated in the atmosphere," Johnson said. The mission costs about $800 million excluding the rocket. And what happens to the spacecraft after it drops off its sample? OSIRIS-REx will keep flying and will go orbit the sun. NASA said it may be repurposed, but it won't be bringing home any more samples. ||||| Cape Canaveral, Florida (CNN) NASA is launching a space probe called OSIRIS-REx on Thursday to chase down a dark, potentially dangerous asteroid called Bennu . The probe will take a sample of the asteroid and -- in a US space first -- bring the sample back to Earth. "I'm really excited. I can't wait to get to the asteroid," OSIRIS-REx program scientist Jeffrey Grossman told CNN. "We're going to learn so much about the solar system from studying this asteroid and getting a sample back." If you're thinking this sounds a bit like the plot from the 1998 sci-fi flick "Armageddon," you would be right, but without Bruce Willis (there won't be any people on this spacecraft) and without space shuttles. (NASA retired the shuttles in 2011.) In this real life story, OSIRIS-REx will study and sample Bennu, a big, roundish space rock that has made it onto NASA's list of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids . That means Bennu is one of the most dangerous space rocks we know of because it could one day collide with Earth. Thursday's launch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET , with backup launch windows for an additional 33 days. OSIRIS-REx will lift off from Cape Canaveral on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The spacecraft rolled out to the launch pad Wednesday. What OSIRIS-REx will do? NASA hopes to get at least 2 ounces (60 grams) and maybe as much as 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of asteroid dust and small rocks. The short answer is maybe. If it does, it's big enough to do some damage. This close approach will change Bennu's orbit, and scientists say that could cause it to impact Earth sometime between 2175 and 2199. The odds are small -- about 1 in 2,500. But NASA wants to get as much warning as possible for anything that threatens Earth. It's worth pointing out that while Bennu is a known threat, NASA said only about 51% of the near-Earth asteroids of Bennu's size have been found. Meaning there could be lots of unknown threats out there. The mission is a first for NASA but ... NASA also has brought back other space rocks and dust: It won't blow up Bennu, and it won't save the Earth from any other menacing space rocks. Right now, efforts to defend the planet from asteroids and comets are still in their infancy. He said the new office is coordinating with several agencies, the US government and other nations to help develop resources to defend Earth from asteroids of about 330 feet (100 meters) in size or larger. (For smaller asteroids we would just be told to take cover.) But we would have to know years in advance that a dangerous rock is coming before we could do anything about it. "We would need probably at least five years warning to 10 years warning to be able to launch an effective space mission to deflect that object," Johnson said. "Just right about now, it's on its closest approach to the Earth, passing underneath the Earth at about 21,000 miles (33,796 kilometers)," Johnson said a briefing Wednesday afternoon. "That's closer than communications satellites orbit the Earth." NASA estimated the asteroid to be between 25 and 50 feet (7 and 16 meters) in diameter and said it was not a hazard to Earth. "If it were to have impacted the Earth, it would have disintegrated in the atmosphere," Johnson said. The mission costs about $800 million excluding the rocket. And what happens to the spacecraft after it drops off its sample? OSIRIS-REx will keep flying and will go orbit the sun. NASA said it may be repurposed, but it won't be bringing home any more samples. ||||| CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Sept 8 (Reuters) - An Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from Florida on Thursday carrying a space probe on NASA's first quest to collect samples from an asteroid and return them to Earth in hopes of learning more about the origins of life. The United Launch Alliance booster lifted off at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Perched on top of the 19-story rocket was NASA's robot explorer Osiris-Rex, built by Lockheed Martin to carry out the seven-year, $1 billion mission to and from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. United Launch Alliance is a private partnership between Lockheed and Boeing. The 3,300-pound (1,500 kg) solar-powered probe is expected to take two years to reach its destination, a dark, rocky mass roughly a third of a mile wide and shaped like giant acorn orbiting the sun at roughly the same distance as Earth. Scientists believe Bennu is covered with organic compounds dating back to the earliest days of the solar system. "You can think of these asteroids as literally prebiotic chemical factories that were producing building blocks of life 4.5 billion years ago, before Earth formed, before life started here," NASA astrobiologist Daniel Glavin said before launch. Once it settles into orbit around Bennu in 2018, the Osiris-Rex probe will spend up to two more years mapping the asteroid's surface and taking inventory of its chemical and mineral composition. Scientists will ultimately select a promising site to sample and command Osiris-Rex to fly close enough to Bennu so that the probe's 11-foot-long (3.4 meter) robot arm can touch the asteroid's surface. A sampling container will then release a swirl of nitrogen gas, which will stir up gravel and soil for collection. After gathering at least 2 ounces (60 grams) of material, Osiris-Rex will fly back to Earth, jettisoning a capsule bearing the asteroid-sample container for a parachute descent and landing in the Utah desert in September 2023. Osiris-Rex is the latest in a series of missions to asteroids that began with the 1991 flyby of asteroid Gaspra by NASA's Jupiter-bound Galileo spacecraft. Only one other spacecraft, Japan's Hayabusa, has previously returned samples from an asteroid to Earth, but due to a series of problems it collected less than a milligram of material. A follow-on mission, Hayabusa 2, is underway, with a return to Earth planned for December 2020. The U.S. space agency also hopes Osiris-Rex will demonstrate the advanced imaging and mapping techniques needed for future science missions and for upcoming commercial asteroid-mining expeditions. Although Bennu occupies the same approximate orbital distance from the sun, it poses little threat to Earth. NASA estimates that there is a one-in-2,700 chance that Bennu might hit Earth sometime between 2175 and 2199. (Reporting by Irene Klotz at Cape Canaveral; Editing by Steve Gorman and Tom Brown) ||||| WASHINGTON: US space agency NASA is poised Thursday to launch its groundbreaking first mission to a near-Earth asteroid to collect samples that could shed light on the dawn of the solar system. Scientists hope the seven-year, $800 million mission will reveal something about the origins of the Bennu asteroid and of life itself. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is scheduled to blast off Thursday at 7:05 pm (2305 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “The primary objective of the mission is to bring back 60 grams (2.1 ounces) of pristine carbon-rich material from the surface of Bennu,” said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator of the mission and a professor of planetary science at the University of Arizona. “We expect these samples will contain organic molecules from the early solar system that may give us information and clues to the origin of life.” The Lockheed Martin-made spacecraft will be carried aboard an Atlas V rocket made by United Launch Alliance, a 50-50 joint venture owned by Lockheed and Boeing. ||||| CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Sept 6 (Reuters) - A U.S. space probe was cleared for launch on Thursday to collect and return samples from an asteroid in hopes of learning more about the origins of life on Earth and perhaps elsewhere in the solar system, NASA said on Tuesday. A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket was scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to dispatch the robot explorer Osiris-Rex on a seven-year mission. United Launch Alliance is a partnership of Lockheed-Martin and Boeing. Osiris-Rex is headed to a 1,640-foot (500-meter) wide asteroid named Bennu, which circles the sun in roughly the same orbit as Earth. NASA estimates that there is a one-in-2,700 chance that Bennu might hit Earth sometime between 2175 and 2199. NASA estimates that there is a one-in-2,700 chance that Bennu might hit Earth sometime between 2175 and 2199. Chance of being born left-handed: one in 10. Chance of dying on a U.S. motor vehicle accident: one in 112. Heating from the sun gently pushes the asteroid, and charting its path is among the goals of the $1 billion mission. The U.S. space agency also hopes Osiris-Rex will demonstrate the advanced imaging and mapping techniques needed for future science missions and for upcoming commercial asteroid-mining expeditions. Osiris-Rex is expected to reach Bennu in August 2018 and begin a two-year study of its physical features and chemical composition. The solar-powered spacecraft will then fly to Bennu's surface and extend a robot arm to collect at least 2 ounces (60 grams) of what scientists hope will be carbon-rich material. "We're going to asteroid Bennu because it's a time capsule from the earliest stages of solar system formation, back when our planetary system was spread across as dust grains in a swirling cloud around our growing protostar," lead researcher Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona told a prelaunch news conference on Tuesday. Inside the developing solar system, small rocky bodies were beginning to form, many of them studded with water ice and organic materials, which are key compounds that may have made Earth habitable or even given life its start, Lauretta said. If all goes as planned, the capsule containing samples from Bennu will be jettisoned from the returning Osiris-Rex spacecraft on Sept. 24, 2023, for a parachute descent and landing at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range. Osiris-Rex is the latest in a series of missions to asteroids that began with the 1991 flyby of asteroid Gaspra by NASA's Jupiter-bound Galileo spacecraft. Japan's Hayabusa 1 probe managed to return a few tiny grains of asteroid Itokawa to Earth in 2010, the first asteroid sample return mission. A follow-on mission, Hayabusa 2, is underway. The Osiris-Rex launch was set for between 7:05 p.m. and 9:05 p.m. on Thursday (2305 to 0105 GMT on Friday). ||||| What the OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission is all about ||||| A Colorado-developed spacecraft designed to follow, study and briefly touch a large asteroid with an orbit near Earth is set to take off Thursday evening from Cape Canaveral in Florida. OSIRIS-REx, which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer, has a mission of studying the Bennu asteroid and snatching a sample from its surface. NASA is scheduled to launch the craft within a two-hour window starting at 5:05 p.m. local time. “We designed and built the entire spacecraft, including a unique collection arm” said Gary Napier, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin in Littleton. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton will monitor and operate the craft during its seven-year mission and in another Colorado connection, NASA is launching the craft on an Atlas 5 rocket built by the United Launch Alliance, which is based in Centennial. Scientists at the University of Arizona are heading up the project, the third under NASA’s New Frontier program, which seeks to advance the understanding of the solar system with relatively low-cost projects. After launch, OSIRIS-REx will orbit for a year and fly by the earth on Sept. 22, 2017, in a slingshot maneuver designed to whip it towards Bennu, which it expects to reach in August 2018. OSIRIS-REx will spend the next two years photographing and mapping the asteroid to better understand its composition and features, including locating the best spot to collect a sample some time in July 2020. Low-gravity conditions make landing on Bennu and trying to scoop up loose materials from the bedrock difficult. Instead, the craft will extend an 11-foot arm with a device to vacuum up a sample using a device called the Touch and Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism or TAGSAM. Lockheed Martin engineer Jim Harris developed the TAGSAM, which uses a concentrated blast of nitrogen gas to push materials into a collection chamber. The goal is to collect a minimum of 4 ounces of material, but possibly as much as 4 pounds, Napier said. The craft has enough nitrogen gas to make three attempts to get what it needs. By March 2021, the craft will bid adieu to Bennu 101955 and make its way back to earth. A capsule containing the samples will separate and make its way back to earth on Sept. 24, 2023, landing in the Utah desert. Its mission accomplished, OSIRIS-REx will head off into deep space awaiting future instructions. So why spend $800 million, not counting the launch vehicle, to chase an asteroid moving 63,000 miles per hour for seven years and grab a small sample in a five-second span? For starters, Bennu is carbon-bearing asteroid. While common in space, the ones that have landed on Earth quickly become contaminated. Scooping up the ancient and pristine carbon-based materials could offer insights into the origins of the solar system. Dante Lauretta, professor of planetary science and cosmochemistry at the University of Arizona, is heading a team of scientists trying to answer questions such as how do materials flow and form in low-gravity environments and whether asteroids contributed to the water found on earth. There is another, less esoteric, reason for getting to know that particular asteroid, which is named after the ancient Egyptian bird deity. Every six years, Bennu comes very close to earth. By the second half of the next century, scientists put the probability of Bennu hitting earth at 1 in 2,700, Napier said. Long odds, perhaps, but a head-on collision with a chunk of rock the size of five football fields would be devastating.
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The United Launch Alliance successfully launches NASA's OSIRIS-REx from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida. The mission is to study asteroid 101955 Bennu and in 2023 to return a sample to Earth for detailed analysis. If successful, OSIRIS-REx will be the first U.S. spacecraft to return samples from an asteroid.
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13 dead, 200 injured in Tanzania earthquake: local official At least 13 people were killed and 203 injured in northwest Tanzania when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit the country Saturday, local authorities told AFP. "The toll has climbed from 11 people dead to 13 and from 192 injured to 203," said Deodatus Kinawilo, District Commissioner for Bukoba, the town close to the epicentre of the quake. "For now, the situation is calm and under control," said Kinawilo, who was reached by telephone. Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity ©Tony Karumba (AFP/File) "Some people have been discharged from hospital," he told AFP. "We don't expect many more injuries. We'll see tomorrow." Residents of Bukoba had said earlier that some houses there had caved in, and Augustine Ollomi, the Kagera province police chief in charge of the Bukoba district, had said "rescue operations are ongoing". The epicentre of the 1227 GMT quake was about 25 kilometres (15 miles) east of the north-western town of Nsunga on the border of Lake Victoria, according to the US Geological Survey. Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity. An AFP correspondent in Dar es Salaam whose mother's family lives in Bukoba said 10 family houses had collapsed. "My brother was driving around town, suddenly he heard the ground shaking and people starting running around and buildings collapsing," he said. The quake rattled the entire province of Kagera. Parts of Mwanza region further south also felt the quake but there was no impact, he said. No damage had been reported in the economic capital, Dar es Salaam, which is located some 1,400 kilometres southeast of Bukoba. "It's safe in Dar but we are still worried about the safety of our family," the AFP correspondent added. "The regional hospital is overwhelmed and can't handle any more patients." "Emergency operations are poor and the government isn't saying anything," he said. The earthquake was felt as far away as Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, the US Geological Survey said. "The walls of my home shook as well as the fridge and the cupboards," said an AFP correspondent in the Ugandan capital Kampala. ||||| Image copyright AP Image caption Major earthquakes are rare in East Africa's Great Rift Valley A magnitude 5.7 earthquake has killed at least 13 people and injured 203 in northern Tanzania, the authorities say. The quake struck close to the border with Uganda and Rwanda near Lake Victoria. Images posted on social media showed significant damage to buildings in Bukoba, a city of more than 70,000 people where most casualties were reported. Tremors were felt as far away as western Kenya. "This incident has caused a lot of damage," Deodatus Kinawila, the district commissioner of Bukoba, told the BBC. "For now, the situation is calm and under control," he said later. Image copyright AP Image caption This boy is one of more than 200 people injured in the quake "Some people have been discharged from hospital," he added. "We don't expect many more injuries." The US Geological Survey says the quake struck at a depth of 10km (six miles) at 15:27 local time on Saturday (12:27 GMT). East Africa's Great Rift Valley runs along a geological fault line but major earthquakes there are rare. A magnitude six quake struck the Tanzanian town of Arusha, east of Bukoba, in July 2007. ||||| Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity. By Tony Karumba (AFP/File) Dar es Salaam (AFP) - At least 13 people were killed and 203 injured in northwest Tanzania when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit the country Saturday, local authorities told AFP.s "The toll has climbed from 11 people dead to 13 and from 192 injured to 203," said Deodatus Kinawilo, District Commissioner for Bukoba, the town close to the epicentre of the quake. "For now, the situation is calm and under control," said Kinawilo, who was reached by telephone. "Some people have been discharged from hospital," he told AFP. "We don't expect many more injuries. We'll see tomorrow." Residents of Bukoba said earlier that some houses there had caved in, and Augustine Ollomi, the Kagera province police chief in charge of the Bukoba district said "rescue operations were ongoing". The earthquake was felt as far as nearby Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, the US Geological Survey said. "The walls of my home shook as well as the fridge and the cupboards," said an AFP correspondent in the Ugandan capital Kampala. The epicentre of the 1227 GMT quake was about 25 kilometres (15 miles) east of the north-western town of Nsunga on the border of Lake Victoria. Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity. An AFP correspondent in the Tanzanian capital whose mother's family lives in Bukoba said 10 family houses had collapsed and that the regional hospital was overwhelmed and could not handle any more patients. "My brother was driving around town, suddenly he heard the ground shaking and people starting running around and buildings collapsing," he said. No damage had been reported in the capital, Dar es Salaam, he added. ||||| Houses damaged following an earthquake measuring 5.7 magnitude which struck Tanzania's northwestern Great Lakes Zone on September 10, 2016. By (AFP) Dar es Salaam (AFP) - At least 16 people died and 253 were injured in a 5.7-magnitude earthquake that struck northwest Tanzania, local authorities said Sunday. As rescuers scrambled to find survivors from the Saturday quake, premier Kassim Majaliwa headed to the worst-hit city, Bukoba, to attend a mourning ceremony at its stadium. President John Magufuli, who is from the region, said he was "deeply saddened." Salum Kijuu, governor of Kagera province where Bukoba is located, told AFP "the current toll is 16 dead, 253 injured, 840 buildings destroyed, including 44 public buildings." He said most of the casualties and damage occurred in Bukoba district itself. A group of 15 boarders at a boys' secondary school was believed to be among the casualties there. The previous toll from local authorities was 14 dead and 200 injured. The quake struck at 1227 GMT in a region near Lake Victoria and the borders of Uganda and Rwanda, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Its epicentre was 23 kilometres (15 miles) east of the northwestern town of Nsunga, in Bukoba district. Bukoba suffered widespread damage, with 270 houses destroyed and electricity disrupted, the Red Cross said in a statement. Its main hospital was stretched to nearly full capacity and had limited stocks of medicine. "Telecommunications have been disrupted and we are trying to get a clear picture of the damage to hospitals and other essential infrastructure," Andreas Sandin, Red Cross operations coordinator in East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, said in a statement. "We ran out immediately, part of my house collapsed," Bukoba resident Jonathan Mbelwa was quoted as saying in Tanzania's Swahili-language Habari Leo newspaper. "Even the old people say they've never seen an earthquake as big as this in these parts," he added. Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity. An AFP correspondent who has relatives in Bukoba said 10 family houses had collapsed. No damage was reported in Tanzania's economic capital, Dar es Salaam, which is located some 1,400 km southeast of Bukoba. "It's safe in Dar but we are still worried about the safety of our family," the AFP correspondent added. "The regional hospital is overwhelmed and can't handle any more patients." The earthquake was felt as far away as Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, the USGS said. "So far, no further damages have been reported in Kenya, and minor damages reported in Uganda," the Red Cross said. But in Rwanda the shaking was felt across the country, with hotel staff and half-dressed visitors seen rushing out of their rooms in the capital, Kigali, when the quake struck. In the Burundi capital, Bujumbura, the president's spokesman, Willy Nyamitwe, tweeted "I just felt an earthquake at 1429". ||||| An earthquake measuring 5.7 hit Tanzania on Saturday and was felt in nearby Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, the US Geological Survey said, as reports came in of collapsed homes. The epicentre of the 1227 GMT quake was about 25 kilometres east of the north western town of Nsunga on the border of Lake Victoria. There were no immediate reports of casualties but residents of the Tanzanian town of Bukoba, near the epicentre, told AFP some houses there had caved in. In Uganda, the earthquake was most felt in central and the southern parts of the country including the capital Kampala. Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity. ||||| DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — A Tanzanian police official says that at least 11 people have died in one town in the 5.7-magnitude earthquake that shook the Lake Victoria region, while the president says that many are dead. Augustine Olomi, regional police commander for Kagera region, said Saturday that the 11 who died were in brick structures in Bukoba. A statement from the Tanzanian president's office says that he was "shocked by reports of the earthquake that caused the death of many people, injury to others and destruction of property." The quake was felt as far as western Kenya and parts of Uganda, which share the waters of Lake Victoria. Tremors were also felt in Kigali, Rwanda. ||||| At least 11 dead, 100 injured in Tanzania earthquake: police At least 11 people were killed and around 100 injured in Tanzania's Bukoba district when an earthquake hit the country on Saturday, a district police chief told AFP. "We currently have 11 people dead and more than 100 injured, several of whom have been hospitalised... rescue operations are ongoing," Augustine Ollomi, the Kagera province police chief in charge of the Bukoba district said by telephone. Residents of the Tanzanian town of Bukoba, near the epicentre, had earlier told AFP that some houses there had caved in. The earthquake measured 5.7 and was felt in nearby Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, the US Geological Survey said. The epicentre of the 1227 GMT quake was about 25 kilometres (15 miles) east of the north-western town of Nsunga on the border of Lake Victoria. "The walls of my home shook as well as the fridge and the cupboards," also said an AFP correspondent in the Ugandan capital Kampala. Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity. ||||| NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 has shaken Tanzania in East Africa. The U.S. Geological Survey said Saturday that there is a low likelihood of casualties and damage from the quake in the Lake Victoria region whose tremors were felt as far as western Kenya and parts of Uganda, which share the waters of the lake. Tremors were also felt in Kigali, Rwanda. Recent earthquakes in the area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides. The last quake in the region was in 2004 and measured 4.7. ||||| At least 11 people were killed after an earthquake with a magnitude 5.7 struck the northern part of the country. According to authorities 192 were injured by the earthquake in northern Tanzania. The quake struck close to the border with Uganda and Rwanda near Lake Victoria. Images posted on social media showed significant damage to buildings in Bukoba, a city of more than 70,000 people where most casualties were reported. Tremors were felt as far away as western Kenya. “This incident has caused a lot of damage,” Deodatus Kinawila, the district commissioner of Bukoba, told the BBC. “As we speak now, the number of injuries stands at 192 and 11 dead. Because we are still collecting the information it’s likely to go up. Even the number of injuries is likely to go up.” Rescue workers have told the BBC that local hospitals are full and cannot cope with the number of injured. Buildings have collapsed and people are still trapped underneath the rubble. The US Geological Survey says the quake struck at a depth of 10km (six miles) at 15:27 local time (12:27 GMT). East Africa’s Great Rift Valley runs along a geological fault line but major earthquakes there are rare. A magnitude six quake struck the Tanzanian town of Arusha, east of Bukoba, in July 2007. ||||| The Tanzanian city of Bukoba suffered widespread damage in the earthquake, with 270 houses demolished and electricity disrupted, the Red Cross said. By Tony Karumba (AFP/File) Dar es Salaam (AFP) - A 5.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Tanzania, close to Lake Victoria and the border with Uganda, has killed at least 14 people and injured 200, local authorities said Sunday. Deodatus Kinawilo, district commissioner for Bukoba, the town close to the epicentre of the quake, said 14 people had been confirmed dead following the quake that struck early afternoon on Saturday. The previous toll from local authorities was 13 dead and 203 injured. A group of 15 boys who were secondary-school boarders in the worst-hit city of Bukoba, which is in Kagera province bordering Uganda and Rwanda, were believed to be among the casualties. Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa is to join mourners at the Bukoba stadium later Sunday. The city suffered widespread damage, with 270 houses demolished and electricity disrupted, the Red Cross said in a statement. Bukoba's main hospital was stretched to nearly full capacity and had limited stocks of medicine, the Red Cross said. "Telecommunications have been disrupted and we are trying to get a clear picture of the damage to hospitals and other essential infrastructure," Andreas Sandin, Red Cross operations coordinator in East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, said in a statement. Significant shaking was also felt in parts of nearby Uganda, western Kenya and Rwanda. "So far, no further damages have been reported in Kenya, and minor damages reported in Uganda," the Red Cross said.
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A magnitude 5.7 earthquake occurs in northern Tanzania, near Lake Victoria, killing at least 13 people and injuring 200 others. Tanzanian authorities report significant damage in the town of Bukoba. The governments of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda report tremors.
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The United States believes two Russian aircraft attacked an aid convoy near Aleppo in a strike that shattered a one-week truce, US officials said on Tuesday. Despite the military blame game over Monday’s attack, diplomats struggled to save the US-Russian ceasefire agreement that took effect on September 12th. The incident, in which 18 trucks from a 31-vehicle convoy were destroyed, looked likely to deal a death blow to diplomatic efforts to halt a civil war now in its sixth year. Two Russian Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes were in the skies above the aid convoy at the exact time it was struck late on Monday, two US officials told Reuters, citing US intelligence that led them to conclude Russia was to blame. Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman denied the assertion, telling reporters at the United Nations the US administration “has no facts” to support the claim, adding: “We have nothing to do with this situation.” Ben Rhodes, a deputy US national security adviser, said the White House held Russia responsible for what he called an “enormous humanitarian tragedy” but he did not address whether the attack was carried out by Russian aircraft. Earlier Russia, which denied its aircraft or those of its Syrian government allies were involved, had said it believed the convoy was not struck from the air at all but had caught fire because of some incident on the ground. The Syrian Red Crescent said the head of one of its local offices and “around 20 civilians” had been killed, although other death tolls differed. The attack prompted the United Nations to suspend all aid shipments into Syria. Senior officials from 23 nations emerged from a one-hour meeting on Syria at a New York luxury hotel with little more than an agreement to meet again, on Friday, about how to end a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and driven millions from their homes. They also differed on the chances of renewing the ceasefire. “The ceasefire is not dead,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said after the meeting, which he hosted with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. ||||| This image provided by the Syrian anti-government group Aleppo 24 news, shows a vest of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent hanging on a damaged vehicle, in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. A U.N. humanitarian aid convoy in Syria was hit by airstrikes Monday as the Syrian military declared that a U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire had failed, and U.N. officials reported many dead and seriously wounded. Aleppo 24 news via AP BEIRUT — The U.N. humanitarian aid agency suspended all convoys in Syria on Tuesday following deadly airstrikes on aid trucks the previous night that activists said killed at least 12 people, mostly truck drivers and Red Crescent workers. The attack plunged Syria's U.S.-Russia-brokered cease-fire further into doubt. The Syrian military, just hours earlier, had declared the week-long truce had failed. The United States said it was prepared to extend the truce deal and Russia — after blaming rebels for the violations — suggested it could still be salvaged. In Geneva, spokesman Jens Laerke of OCHA said further aid delivery would hold pending a review of the security situation in Syria in the aftermath of the airstrike. Laerke called it "a very, very dark day... for humanitarians across the world." The U.N. aid coordinator said the Syria government had granted needed authorizations in recent days to allow for aid convoys to proceed inside Syria. Humanitarian U.N. aid deliveries had stalled in recent weeks amid continued fighting, and the truce had not paved the way for expanded convoys as initially expected. It was not clear who was behind the attack late on Monday, which sent a red fireball into the sky in the dead of night over a rural area in Aleppo province. Both Syrian and Russian aircraft operate over Syria, as well as the U.S.-led coalition that is targeting the Islamic State group. Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the civil war, and Aleppo-based activist Bahaa al-Halaby both said the attack killed 12 people. Among the victims was Omar Barakat who headed the Red Crescent in the town where the attack occurred, they said. The Syrian Civil Defense, the volunteer first responder group also known as the White Helmets, confirmed that casualty figure. The convoy, part of a routine interagency dispatch operated by the Syrian Red Crescent, was hit in rural western Aleppo province. The White Helmets first responder group posted images of a number of vehicles on fire and a video of the attack showed huge balls of fire in a pitch black area, as ambulances arrive on the scene. U.N. officials said the U.N. and Red Crescent convoy was delivering assistance for 78,000 people in the town of Uram al-Kubra, west of the city of Aleppo. Initial estimates indicate that about 18 of the 31 trucks in the convoy were hit, as well as the Red Crescent warehouse in the area. When asked who was behind the airstrikes, Abdurrahman said Syrian President Bashar Assad's "regime does not have the capabilities to carry out such airstrikes within two hours." He said the airstrikes on Aleppo province, including the ones that hit the convoy, were part of some 40 air raids that lasted about two hours — starting at about 7:30 p.m. Monday — and that "it was mostly Russian warplanes who carried out the air raid." Al-Halaby said that rebels in Aleppo province also claimed Russian aircraft were behind the attack. The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group in Syria, said Russia's air forces and government warplanes dropped 25 bombs damaging some 20 trucks and destroying the Red Crescent warehouse in Uram al-Kubra. Abdurrahman said the convoy of about 30 trucks had crossed earlier from a government-controlled area and were hit from the air hours after they reached the Red Crescent warehouse. He said that some of the trucks were already emptied when the attack occurred and that in all, 20 trucks were destroyed or damaged. A paramedic, speaking in a video released by Aleppo 24 News, a media collective, blamed Russian and government warplanes as well as Syrian army helicopter gunships that he said dropped barrel bombs. Piles of white bags filled with flour were seen near one of the trucks. Photos posted by Aleppo 24 News showed what appears to be an SUV riddled with shrapnel, its windshield blown out. Another one shows damaged trucks filled with bags parked in front what appeared to be a building. Others show three damaged trucks parked on the road. Jan Egeland, humanitarian aid coordinator in the office of the U.N. envoy for Syria, told The Associated Press in a text message that the convoy was "bombarded." Egeland added, "It is outrageous that it was hit while offloading at warehouses." U. N. Humanitarian Chief Stephen O'Brien called on "all parties to the conflict, once again, to take all necessary measures to protect humanitarian actors, civilians, and civilian infrastructure as required by international humanitarian law." A Red Crescent official in Syria confirmed the attack, but said no further information was available. Also Tuesday, the Observatory said government forces launched an offensive in the Handarat area, just north of the city of Aleppo, in what appears to be an attempt to tighten the siege on rebel-held parts of Syria's largest city. Apart from the 12 killed in the convoy attack, 22 civilians died in attacks Monday across the province, according to the Observatory and Aleppo 24 News. Keaten reported from Geneva. Associated Press writer Philip Issa in Beirut contributed to this report. ||||| The Latest on developments in Syria, where a cease-fire is faltering further after airstrikes hit an aid convoy overnight (all times local): The U.N. humanitarian aid agency says it has temporarily suspended all convoys in Syria following a deadly airstrike on aid trucks the previous night. Spokesman Jens Laerke of OCHA says the temporary suspension of the aid deliveries would hold pending a review of the security situation in Syria. Laerke said on Tuesday that the U.N. aid coordinator had received needed authorizations from the Syrian government in recent days to allow for aid convoys to proceed within Syria. He said it's "a very, very dark day ... for humanitarians across the world." The attack late on Monday came just hours after the Syrian military declared the week-long U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire had failed. The United States said it was prepared to extend the truce deal and Russia — after blaming rebels for the violations — suggested it could still be salvaged. Syria's cease-fire has faltered further after an aid convoy was hit by airstrikes, with activists saying at least 12 people were killed in the attack, mostly truck drivers and Red Crescent workers. It was not clear who was behind the attack, which sent a red fireball into the sky in the dead of night over a rural area in Aleppo province. Both Syrian and Russian aircraft operate over Syria, as well as the U.S.-led coalition that is targeting the Islamic State group. U.N. officials said the U.N. and Red Crescent convoy was delivering assistance for 78,000 people in the town of Uram al-Kubra, west of the northern city of Aleppo. Initial estimates indicate that about 18 of the 31 trucks in the convoy were hit, as well as the Red Crescent warehouse in the area. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that tracks the civil war, said at least 12 were killed in the attack, mostly truck drivers and Red Crescent workers. ||||| MOSCOW, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia's military was checking media reports of air strikes on a humanitarian aid convoy near Aleppo in Syria the previous day and was expected to say something about the matter later in the day. Syrian or Russian aircraft struck an aid convoy near Aleppo on Monday and killed 12 people, according to a war monitor. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement on Monday that Washington was "outraged" and would be raising the matter directly with Russia at a time when a shaky ceasefire in Syria has all but unravelled. "The situation in Syria is a source of great concern," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "Unfortunately, we can state ... that our American colleagues have failed to separate terrorists from the so-called moderate opposition." Peskov said there was little hope for a renewal of the ceasefire in Syria. (Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov/Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Andrew Osborn) ||||| Aid convoys for four Syrian towns will be postponed as staff reassess security after a deadly attack on relief trucks and intensified violence, a senior official from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday. Syrian or Russian aircraft struck an aid convoy near Aleppo, killing 12 people on Monday, a war monitor reported, as the Syrian military declared a one-week truce over. “This is very worrying. We see a resumption of violence, an intensification of fighting in many locations,” Robert Mardini, ICRC director for the Middle East and North Africa, told Reuters in Geneva. “We had something planned in the four towns, but for now it is put on hold to reassess the security conditions,” he said, referring to rebel-besieged Foua and Kefraya in Idlib and government-blockaded Madaya and Zabadani near the Lebanese border. At least 18 of 31 trucks in a U.N. and Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) convoy were hit on Monday along with an SARC warehouse, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York. The convoy was delivering aid for 78,000 people in the hard-to-reach town of Urm al-Kubra in Aleppo Governorate, he said. SARC’s director in Urem al-Kubra, Omar Barakat, was among the dead, Mardini said. “The team is in shock.” “Omar was badly injured and rescue team could not reach him for two hours. When he was evacuated he could not survive his wounds,” he said. A separate SARC/ICRC convoy to Talbiseh in Homs province made its first delivery since July on Monday, carrying supplies for more than 80,000 people. The team stayed there overnight due to intensified fighting, Mardini said. “Inshallah, they will be on their way back to Homs this morning,” he added. “It is difficult to read the environment in coming hours because you have a mixture of intensification of fighting and politicization of humanitarian aid … It is high time to de-link humanitarian work from politics,” Mardini said. ||||| The US has blamed Russia for an overnight attack on an aid convoy that killed 20 civilians, as the United Nations announced it was suspending overland deliveries in Syria, jeopardising food and medical security for millions of besieged and hard-to-reach civilians. Confusion continued about who struck the convoy, but the White House insisted it was either Russia or Syria. White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said either way the US held Russia responsible because it was Russia's job under the week-old ceasefire to prevent Syria's air force from striking in areas where humanitarian aid was being transported. "All of our information indicates clearly that this was an airstrike," he said, rejecting the claim by Russia's Defence Ministry that a cargo fire caused the damage. Both Russia and Syria have denied carrying out the bombing. Within one minute of the strike, the US tracked a Russian-made Su-24 directly over the region of the attack, officials said. Even that revelation failed to definitively implicate Russia because both the Russian and Syrian air forces fly the Su-24, although the US officials said there were strong indications that the jet was flown by the Russian military. Witnesses described Monday's attack on a Syrian Arab Red Crescent warehouse and convoy in the rebel-held town of Uram al-Kubra in Aleppo province as prolonged and intense, saying the aerial bombardment continued as rescue workers rushed to pull the wounded from the flaming wreckage and rubble. The convoy was part of a routine dispatch operated by the Syrian Red Crescent, which UN officials said was delivering assistance to 78,000 people in Uram al-Kubra, west of Aleppo city. It was carrying food, medicines, emergency health kits, IV fluids, and other essentials supplied by the UN and the World Health Organisation. Paramedic and media activist Mohammad Rasoul, who was among the first to arrive at the scene, said more than 100 tons of food, medicine, and baby formula had gone up in flames. He said 18 of the convoy's 31 lorries were destroyed. The attack "erased the convoy from the face of the earth", he said. "I've never seen anything like this attack. If this had been a military position it wouldn't have been targeted with such intensity." He said the attack began around 20 minutes after sunset on Monday and continued for two hours. Pointing to the fact that Syria's rebels do not possess an air force, the White House said process of elimination indicated that either Syria's military or Russia's launched the attack. Both Syrian and Russian aircraft operate over the province, while the U.S.-led coalition targets the Islamic State group in other parts of the country. At the same time the attack took place on Uram al-Kubra, presumed Syrian or Russian jets launched a wave of attacks in and around the nearby city of Aleppo, minutes after Syria's military announced a week-long ceasefire had expired. A cargo fire would not explain the footage filmed by rescuers of torn flesh being picked from the wreckage, or the witness accounts of a sustained, two-hour barrage of missiles, rockets, and barrel bombs - crude, unguided weapons that the Syrian government drops from helicopters. Hussein Badawi, the head of the town's Syrian Civil Defence search and rescue group - also known as the White Helmets - said that on the night of the attack he heard the sounds of overhead ballistic missiles, helicopters and fighter jets. He and other witnesses reported seeing a reconnaissance aircraft observing the convoy before the attack. "There were reconnaissance flights before the air strikes," said Mr Badawi. "They filmed and combed the area, and they knew there was a Red Crescent (facility). The target was the Red Crescent, central and direct." Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed that a drone had followed the convoy from a warehouse in the government side of Aleppo to its destination in Uram al-Kubra. The International Committee of the Red Cross said 20 civilians were killed in the attack, many of them killed as they were unloading the trucks. Syrian activists and paramedics had said earlier that the air strikes killed 12. Witnesses said some of the remains were charred beyond recognition. Among those killed was Omar Barakat, 38, the local director for the Red Crescent and a father of nine. His brother, Ali Barakat, who was also present at the attack, said it took him three hours to reach Omar, who was trapped in his vehicle. "I stayed with my face on the floor for about an hour because of the intensity of the strikes," said Mr Barakat. Omar died in an ambulance on the way to hospital. UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon called it a "sickening, savage and apparently deliberate attack" in his address to world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. "Just when we think it cannot get any worse, the bar of depravity sinks lower," he said, describing the bombers as "cowards" and those delivering aid as "heroes". The UN's humanitarian agency OCHA announced earlier in the day it had suspended relief convoys in Syria pending a review of the security situation. OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke called it "a very, very dark day for humanitarians across the world". ||||| The Latest on developments in Syria, where a cease-fire is faltering further after airstrikes hit an aid convoy overnight (all times local): The U.N. humanitarian aid agency says it has temporarily suspended all convoys in Syria following a deadly airstrike on aid trucks the previous night. Spokesman Jens Laerke of OCHA says the temporary suspension of the aid deliveries would hold pending a review of the security situation in Syria. Laerke said on Tuesday that the U.N. aid coordinator had received needed authorizations from the Syrian government in recent days to allow for aid convoys to proceed within Syria. He said it's "a very, very dark day ... for humanitarians across the world." The attack late on Monday came just hours after the Syrian military declared the week-long U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire had failed. The United States said it was prepared to extend the truce deal and Russia — after blaming rebels for the violations — suggested it could still be salvaged. Syria's cease-fire has faltered further after an aid convoy was hit by airstrikes, with activists saying at least 12 people were killed in the attack, mostly truck drivers and Red Crescent workers. It was not clear who was behind the attack, which sent a red fireball into the sky in the dead of night over a rural area in Aleppo province. Both Syrian and Russian aircraft operate over Syria, as well as the U.S.-led coalition that is targeting the Islamic State group. U.N. officials said the U.N. and Red Crescent convoy was delivering assistance for 78,000 people in the town of Uram al-Kubra, west of the northern city of Aleppo. Initial estimates indicate that about 18 of the 31 trucks in the convoy were hit, as well as the Red Crescent warehouse in the area. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that tracks the civil war, said at least 12 were killed in the attack, mostly truck drivers and Red Crescent workers. ||||| Syria aid convoy attack appears to be air strike -U.S. WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - An attack on a convoy carrying humanitarian supplies in the Aleppo area of Syria appeared to be an air strike but it was not carried out by coalition jets, U.S. Central Command spokesman Colonel John Thomas said on Tuesday. "It was certainly not the coalition who struck from the air. It does look like an air strike," Thomas told reporters during a telephone briefing. "The only other entities that fly in Syria are Russia and Syria," he said. The incident could deal a powerful blow to the ceasefire, the latest attempt to halt a war in its sixth year. The Syrian Red Crescent said the head of one of its local offices and "around 20 civilians" were killed in Monday's strike, which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights blamed on Russian or Syrian aircraft. Russia, which is allied with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad's government, denied that either its air force or the Syrian armed forces was responsible. The Syrian army also denied that it was involved in the attack. The United Nations suspended aid shipments into Syria on Tuesday. Thomas said the ceasefire in Syria was in jeopardy because of increased violence. "This is not the vision that I think was put in place more than seven days ago, to try to get humanitarian assistance flowing into the area and try to decrease the level of violence," Thomas said. On Saturday, Russia said that U.S. jets had killed more than 60 Syrian soldiers. The strike triggered a war of words between Washington and Moscow and further strained the cessation of hostilities. Thomas said a brigadier general would be appointed to investigate the incident. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Diane Craft) ||||| The Latest on developments in Syria, where a cease-fire is faltering further after airstrikes hit an aid convoy overnight (all times local): The U.N. humanitarian aid agency says it has temporarily suspended all convoys in Syria following a deadly airstrike on aid trucks the previous night. Spokesman Jens Laerke of OCHA says the temporary suspension of the aid deliveries would hold pending a review of the security situation in Syria. Laerke said on Tuesday that the U.N. aid coordinator had received needed authorizations from the Syrian government in recent days to allow for aid convoys to proceed within Syria. He said it's "a very, very dark day ... for humanitarians across the world." The attack late on Monday came just hours after the Syrian military declared the week-long U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire had failed. The United States said it was prepared to extend the truce deal and Russia — after blaming rebels for the violations — suggested it could still be salvaged. Syria's cease-fire has faltered further after an aid convoy was hit by airstrikes, with activists saying at least 12 people were killed in the attack, mostly truck drivers and Red Crescent workers. It was not clear who was behind the attack, which sent a red fireball into the sky in the dead of night over a rural area in Aleppo province. Both Syrian and Russian aircraft operate over Syria, as well as the U.S.-led coalition that is targeting the Islamic State group. U.N. officials said the U.N. and Red Crescent convoy was delivering assistance for 78,000 people in the town of Uram al-Kubra, west of the northern city of Aleppo. Initial estimates indicate that about 18 of the 31 trucks in the convoy were hit, as well as the Red Crescent warehouse in the area. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that tracks the civil war, said at least 12 were killed in the attack, mostly truck drivers and Red Crescent workers. ||||| Washington (CNN) The United States has reached the preliminary conclusion that Russian warplanes bombed an aid convoy and warehouse belonging to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, two US officials told CNN. "All the evidence we have points to that conclusion," one of the officials said. The White House position is that Russia is responsible, whether it was Russian planes -- or the Syrian regime's -- that carried out Monday night's attack. The aid convoy was hit in the area of Urum al-Kubra, west of Aleppo, prompting the United Nations to halt its aid operations in Syria. It is not clear who was responsible for the strike, which the International Committee of the Red Cross said killed about 20 people as well as the director of the Red Crescent's Urum al-Kubra branch, Omar Barakat. "All of our information indicates clearly that this was an airstrike. That means there only could have been two entities responsible," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Tuesday night, referring to Russia and Syria. He didn't specify which country's planes carried out the strike. "We hold the Russian government responsible for airstrikes in this airspace given their commitment under the cessation of hostilities was to ground air operations where humanitarian assistance was flowing," Rhodes said, referring to the terms of a recent ceasefire brokered between the United States and Russia. Russia denies it was responsible and says that terrorists carried out the attack. Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Tuesday that analysis of video footage from drones of the strike show that militants were following the convoy, according to the Russian state news site Tass. "It is clearly seen in the video that a terrorists' pickup truck with a towed large-caliber mortar is moving along with the convoy," he said. Syria has also strongly its forces were behind the attack. "Just when we think it cannot get any worse, the power of depravity sinks lower," Ban told world leaders convening Tuesday at the UN General Assembly annual meeting. Eighteen of the convoy's 31 trucks were hit, the United Nations said. The convoy was due to deliver food and medical aid for some 78,000 people in eastern Aleppo, where an estimated 250,000 civilians are facing severe shortages as a result of a government siege. Rebels, locked in a vicious civil war with the Syrian government, reportedly hold the area where the convoy was struck. Russia has been helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the fight, though it has said its efforts are focused on attacking terror groups such as ISIS that have flourished during the conflict. The US military has been reviewing classified radar, signals and aerial surveillance intelligence. Based on that intelligence and reports from the ground, it has concluded that only Russian warplanes were in a position to attack this location at the time, the official said. For now, no intelligence indicates Syrian aircraft or helicopters were in the area, though that type of information could come to light later, the official said. The official added that reports from the ground appear accurate about at least two waves of airstrikes -- a common Russian military practice. Trucks inside as well as outside the compound on the road were hit. But the Obama administration has not yet fully decided how much information it wants to reveal, concerned that it will expose sensitive military intelligence capabilities to the Russians. What about the the ceasefire? Monday night's attack came just hours after Syrian authorities declared an end to the fragile ceasefire, which began September 12. Soon afterward, Syrian warplanes resumed airstrikes in Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and deadly violence returned across parts of the country. The events have left the hard-fought ceasefire brokered by Russia and the US in tatters, although US officials said they believe the ceasefire agreement is still in place. Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, said the US preference is to continue with the ceasefire effort, paving the way for more cooperation between the Russian and US militaries in Syria, but that Moscow's actions could prevent further coordination. "We have not seen good faith. This was an outrageous action," Rhodes told CNN's Michelle Kosinski. "It raises serious questions about whether or not this agreement moves forward." He added, "In conflicts like this I think we have an obligation to continue to pursue whether there are diplomatic openings. If we can't, we walk away." US Secretary of State John Kerry said before the convoy was struck Monday that any decisions about the ceasefire would be made between Washington and Moscow. "The Syrians didn't make the deal," he said, "the Russians made the agreement."
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The Obama administration claims that Russia was responsible for the bombing of a United Nations aid convoy near Aleppo on September 19. Russia denies its involvement. In the aftermath of the attack, the United Nations suspends all aid convoys in Syria.
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Congress Overrides Obama's Veto On Sept. 11 Lawsuit Bill Enlarge this image toggle caption Drew Angerer/Getty Images Drew Angerer/Getty Images Updated at 3:22 p.m. ET with House vote Congress approved the first successful override of a presidential veto from President Obama on Wednesday when the House joined the Senate in voting against Obama's objection to a bill that would allow family members to sue Saudi Arabia over the Sept. 11 attacks. Politics House Approves Bill Allowing 9/11 Victims To Sue Saudi Arabia House Approves Bill Allowing 9/11 Victims To Sue Saudi Arabia Listen · 2:02 2:02 The override cleared the Senate earlier Wednesday, in a 97-1 vote in favor of the override, well above the two-thirds majority needed to overcome the president's objection. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid cast the lone "no" vote. Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., did not vote. Politics Saudis Threaten Economic Repercussions If Congress Passes 9/11 Bill Saudis Threaten Economic Repercussions If Congress Passes 9/11 Bill Listen · 4:01 4:01 The House vote was 348-77. The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) would, among other things, give families of Sept. 11 victims the right to sue Saudi Arabia over claims it aided or financed the terrorist attacks. The House initially passed the measure on a voice vote earlier this month, two days before the 15th anniversary of the deadly terrorist attacks. The Saudi government denies any role in those attacks, and the 9/11 Commission found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials were involved. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, though, and there have long been suspicions that some of the hijackers received support during their time in the U.S. from individuals with possible connections to the Saudi Kingdom. Supporters of the veto override say those suspicions should be explored in a U.S. court of law. The Obama administration says it's sympathetic to victims' families, but concerned that allowing such lawsuits would open the door to legal challenges against American officials in other countries. "The president understands the passion that's on both sides of this issue," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday. "It's the president's responsibility to consider the broader impact that this bill, as it's currently written, would have on our national security, and our standing around the world, and on our diplomats and our service members who represent the United States around the world." Those concerns were underscored by CIA Director John Brennan shortly before the Senate vote. National Security Congress Releases Long-Classified 29 Pages Of 9/11 Report Congress Releases Long-Classified 29 Pages Of 9/11 Report Listen · 3:03 3:03 "The principle of sovereign immunity protects U.S. officials every day, and is rooted in reciprocity," Brennan said in a statement. "If we fail to uphold this standard for other countries, we place our own nation's officials in danger. No country has more to lose from undermining that principle than the United States—and few institutions would be at greater risk than CIA." Under the principle of "sovereign immunity," a country should remain immune from lawsuits in the courts of another country. Although there are some very limited exceptions to that principle already, critics complain the measure allowing lawsuits against the Saudi government creates a dangerously wide exception. Families of Sept. 11 victims have demanded a right to seek monetary compensation from Saudi Arabia since the attacks, and versions of this bill have been floating around the Capitol since as far back as 2009, but the legislation never reached the floor until this year. It sailed through both chambers without any opposition, but did so without a formal tally of votes. Passage of JASTA was done by so-called "unanimous consent" in the Senate, and by voice vote in the House. What does this bill do? JASTA would allow a lawsuit against any country by any U.S. citizen who claims the country financed or otherwise aided and abetted a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Liability would attach only if the plaintiff could show the country acted with knowledge in providing this support. Congress already has allowed Americans to sue countries that have been designated as "state sponsors of terrorism," but currently, that list includes only three countries — Iran, Syria and Sudan. The White House says that designation is assigned only after very careful review by national security, intelligence and foreign policy officials, and that such designations should not be left to private litigants and judges. The concerns voiced by the White House, some lawmakers There's been talk about the principle of "sovereign immunity" and how this bill might erode that principle. Under the principle of "sovereign immunity," a country should remain immune from lawsuits in the courts of another country. It's a long-held principle of international law. And although there are some very limited exceptions to that principle, some lawmakers and the White House believe JASTA creates a dangerously wide exception. The fear is that other countries might reciprocate and enact laws that would drag U.S. government officials or members of our military into lawsuits in foreign courts under the theory that those people aided and abetted some injury abroad. And to Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, that would expose the U.S. to tremendous liability. "Let's face it. We're the greatest nation on earth. We have more involvements around the world than any country," said Corker. "We've got assets deployed all around the world more than any country. So if sovereign immunity recedes, we're the nation that is most exposed." In his veto message, President Obama said there could be lawsuits against the United States for "actions taken by members of an armed group that received U.S. assistance, misuse of U.S. military equipment by foreign forces, or abuses committed by police units that received U.S. training." However without merit these claims may be, the White House argues, they would still suck up resources and increase the country's legal exposure. Allowing Sept. 11 families a day in court Supporters of the bill say it's a little alarmist to think this bill is going to corrode the principle of sovereign immunity and invite a flood of retaliatory litigation against the U.S. They point out sovereign immunity is not absolute — there are already, after all, exceptions to it. And most importantly, they argue, all JASTA ultimately does is give Sept. 11 victims a chance to be heard in court. "The issue is fundamentally about, is whether someone would have the opportunity to raise their concerns in the judicial system. It's not a judgment about how a case would come out," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a senior member of the Intelligence Committee. "It seems to me that it is appropriate — particularly in light of the families — that they should have a chance to raise their concerns in court. " ||||| In a landmark 97-1 vote, the United States Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to override Barack Obama’s veto of a bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. Only Obama’s ally Nevada Democrat Harry Reid voted against the bill. This is a severe blow to Obama, who lobbied hard against the bill, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. This is a first rebuke to Obama in his eight years of presidency. Obama vetoed the legislation on Friday because he said the bill would infringe on the president’s ability to conduct foreign policy. It was the 12th veto of his presidency and, until now, none have been overridden even after Republicans’ longstanding control of the Congress. The White House argued the 9/11 bill would undermine the principle of sovereign immunity and open up the United States itself to lawsuits. In a letter to Republican and Democratic Senate leaders, Obama had said: ‘I strongly believe that enacting JASTA into law would be detrimental to US national interests.’ Obama warned of ‘devastating’ consequences for the Pentagon, service members, diplomats and the intelligence services. It would ‘neither protect Americans from terrorist attacks, nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks’, he warned. Families of 9/11 victims have campaigned for the law -- convinced that the Saudi government had a hand in the attacks that killed almost 3,000 people. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens, but no link to the government has been proven. The Saudi government denies any links to the plotters. Declassified documents showed US intelligence had multiple suspicions about links between the Saudi government and the attackers. ||||| WASHINGTON — Congress is poised to override President Barack Obama’s veto of a bill that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for the kingdom’s alleged backing of the terrorists who carried out the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. The showdown is scheduled for Wednesday. Proponents of the legislation say they have enough votes for what would be a first: During his nearly two full terms in office, Obama has vetoed nine bills. None has been overridden. While there is broad and bipartisan support for bucking the president, the bill’s opponents also are pushing hard to keep the measure from being enacted. They’re warning the U.S. will become vulnerable to retaliatory litigation in foreign courts that could put American troops in legal jeopardy. Here’s a look at the key issues surrounding the bill, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act: WHAT WOULD THE LEGISLATION DO? The legislation, known as JASTA, gives victims’ families the right to sue in U.S. court for any role that elements of the Saudi government may have played in the 2001 attacks that killed thousands in New York, the Washington, D.C., area and Pennsylvania. Under the terms of the bill, courts would be permitted to waive a claim of foreign sovereign immunity when an act of terrorism occurs inside U.S. borders. Saudi Arabia has objected vehemently to the bill. WHY DID OBAMA VETO THE BILL? In his veto message issued on Friday, Obama said the bill would disrupt longstanding international principles on sovereign immunity and could create complications with even the closest allies of the United States. Foreign governments would be able to act “reciprocally” and allow their courts to exercise jurisdiction over the United States and its employees for allegedly causing injuries overseas through American support to third parties, according to Obama. As examples, Obama cited actions taken overseas by U.S.-backed armed militias, the improper use of U.S. military equipment, and abuses committed by U.S.-trained police units. The bill’s proponents have disputed Obama’s rationale as “unconvincing and unsupportable,” saying the measure is narrowly tailored and applies only to acts of terrorism that occur on U.S. soil. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that the Senate would vote Wednesday on the president’s veto. WHAT’S THE CONCERN FOR AMERICAN TROOPS AND SECRETS? Rep. Mac Thornberry, the Texas Republican who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, said that even if none of the potential lawsuits against the United States succeeded, “the risks of discovery or trial in foreign courts, including the questioning of government employees under oath, will disclose sensitive information and subject Americans to legal jeopardy of various kinds.” Thornberry is opposed to the bill and is urging his colleagues not to override Obama’s veto. But attorneys for the 9/11 families said U.S. military personnel are not at risk of lawsuits. Should a foreign government enact a law that allows a claim against American service members, that nation would not be reciprocating but engaging in a “transparent and unjustifiable act of aggression” that the U.S. should respond to, they said. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Monday he is inclined to vote to override and said it looks as though there are enough votes in the House to overturn the president’s decision. The House would act after the Senate votes. IS THERE HEIGHTENED TENSION WITH A KEY MIDDLE EAST ALLY? An override of Obama’s veto is stoking apprehension about undermining a longstanding yet strained relationship with Saudi Arabia, a critical U.S. ally in the Middle East. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir had previously warned lawmakers they were on a path to turning “the world for international law into the law of the jungle.” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., last week advised his congressional colleagues against alienating Saudi Arabia at a time when the U.S. needs the kingdom’s support to defeat Islamic State militants. “If you want to lose Saudi Arabia as an ally, be careful what you wish for,” said Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “They’re the heart and soul of the Islamic world.” HOW MANY VOTES ARE NEEDED TO OVERRIDE A VETO? A two-thirds majority of lawmakers present and voting is required in the House and Senate to override a veto. ||||| In a first, Congress rebukes Obama with veto override of 9/11 bill WASHINGTON — The GOP-led Congress has been angling for this moment: the chance to finally deliver President Barack Obama a stinging rebuke with the first veto override since he took office. It may not be exactly the political score many Republicans had envisioned. The timing comes near the end of Obama’s presidency and on a bill — which would let 9/11 families sue the Saudi Arabian government — that some lawmakers concede is problematic. But on Wednesday, the Senate voted 97-1 to override Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. The House swiftly followed with an override vote of 348-77. The override was the first time Congress has successfully challenged the president on a piece of legislation, despite Obama’s 12 other vetoes, including 10 when Republicans were the majority of both houses. In most instances, Congress didn’t even attempt an override. The White House, which made modest gestures to prevent this week’s outcome with tough warnings from its national security team, blasted the vote as “embarrassing,” warning that lawmakers would have to answer to their constituents. A cadre of blue-chip lobby shops was being paid top dollar by the Saudi government to try to derail the action. But the opposition was a long-shot effort that has little chance against the compelling stories of the 9/11 victims’ families and friends who have pressured Congress for almost a decade to pass the legislation. “This rare moment of bipartisanship is a testament to the strength of the 9/11 families,” said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., one of the bill’s lead authors. “Overriding a presidential veto is something we don’t take lightly, but it was important in this case.” After a personal appeal from Obama, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, was the lone vote against the override. Two other senators did not vote because they were on the presidential campaign trail in support of Hillary Clinton — Tim Kaine of Virginia, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The legislation would amend existing law to allow U.S. courts to hear terrorism cases against foreign states, narrowing the scope of immunity now granted to sovereign foreign actors. Supporters say it will allow victims of terrorism their day in court. But opponents, including the administration, warn that it could complicate U.S. relationships abroad, impede national security investigations and open the floodgates to similar suits by foreigners against the U.S. government. The CIA director warned the bill could have “grave implications” for national security, and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said it could be “devastating” to the department and “undermine” counterterrorism efforts abroad. The legislation has bounced around Washington for years, but it was never expected to advance. Schumer, the brash New Yorker who is poised to become the Senate Democratic leader next year, succeeded in passing it through the Senate in spring on a voice vote, without a formal roll call. The House seized the opportunity to corner Obama, and just before the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, approved the measure on a swift voice vote. In the weeks since, the White House and opponents — and even some reluctant lawmakers — have scrambled to play catch-up. Top lobbying firms employing former congressional leaders, including Trent Lott, John Breaux and others, were hired quickly by the Saudi government, some on $100,000-a-month retainers, to fight the override vote. Several key lawmakers have expressed concerns about the legislation, saying they are having second thoughts about supporting the bill. But not enough were ultimately willing to stop it. “The president feels strongly about this. He’s also aware of how challenging the politics are,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday. The override vote not only is a public slap at the president, but a reminder of his often tenuous relationship with Congress. Obama has been criticized for having little experience with Capitol Hill, and even less engagement. He outsourced too much of his legislating to staff, critics said, without investing in the personal relationships needed to bargain with lawmakers. When Republicans became the majority in both houses in 2015, they envisioned turning Obama into a vetoer-in-chief, eager to force the president into the uncomfortable position of rejecting bill after bill from the new Congress. The strategy was seen by former House Speaker John A. Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as a way to fire up their partisan GOP base and show the two parties’ different approaches to legislating. But that never really happened. Faced with their own party infighting, the Republican House and Senate often struggled to find common ground and muster their own votes to send bills to the White House. When they did, Obama easily swatted the bills back with a veto message. On the few occasions when Republicans mounted an override attempt, Democrats sustained the vetoes. The closest Republicans came to a victory was on a bill to expedite construction of the Keystone XL pipeline that many Democrats also supported. But the override fell a few votes short of the 67 needed. Obama even appeared to lament that he didn’t always have true sparring partners in the gridlocked Congress. “I don’t generally even have to veto anything because they can’t get organized enough even to present the cockamamie legislation that they’re interested in passing,” Obama said at a recent New York fundraiser. Officials at the White House are downplaying the significance of this week’s votes, seeing the action as an outlier after nearly two years in which a Republican congressional majority failed to produce much landmark legislation for the president to sign, let alone veto. While adamant that the 9/11 legislation could have far-reaching consequences and potentially hurt U.S. alliances, not only with Saudi Arabia but with other allies, the administration does not appear to have made a full-court effort to stop it. Obama’s Democratic allies on Capitol Hill suggested the override vote was not an affront to the president but rather a difference of opinion based on the roles Obama and Congress play in governing. Obama’s thin veto record is similar to that of his predecessor, President George W. Bush, and a fraction of the 37 that President Bill Clinton dashed off with his veto pen. It’s nowhere near the 250 under President Truman or 635 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Overrides also are rare. During the last administration, Congress was able to override Bush four times, all during his final years when Democrats had control of both chambers. Clinton was overridden twice. Truman and President Gerald Ford experienced the most overrides in the modern era, 12. “That the president hasn’t vetoed that many bills I think is a pretty damning indictment of the effectiveness of Republicans in Congress,” Earnest said. “We haven’t seen Speaker Boehner or Speaker [Paul] Ryan work effectively with Leader McConnell to pass legislation that advances the conservative agenda.” ||||| WASHINGTON - Congress on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to override President Barack Obama’s veto of a bill to allow survivors and families of 9/11 victims to pursue their lawsuit in a U.S. court against Saudi Arabia for alleged complicity in the terrorist attacks. The veto override — the first for Obama — won 97-1 in the Senate and 348-77 with one present in the House despite second-thoughts by some lawmakers and intense lobbying against the legislation by the Obama administration, some foreign relations experts and Saudi Arabia. Family members who fought for the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA, applauded and cheered after the House voted, making possible the prospects they’ll see their trillion dollar lawsuit reinstated eight years after an appellate court in New York sidelined it. Most Democrats chose to support the 9/11 families’ quest to sue Saudi Arabia than back their president, though more in the House than the Senate stood by him, as the vote in both chambers easily passed the threshold of two-thirds of the members. Before the vote, Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford), the House sponsor, urged a veto override. “It’s really essential that the House today stand on the side of justice,” King said. Earlier, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate sponsor, did the same. “Democrat and Republicans don’t agree on much these days,” he said. “But we agree on JASTA. Both parties believe that the families of the 9/11 victims should be able to seek justice.” Despite the lopsided vote, several senators expressed concerns and said they would vote the override only reluctantly because of their sympathy for the 9/11 families, and House members engaged in a debate, with some urging that the veto be sustained. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) broke with Schumer as the lone Senate vote to sustain the veto. Reid’s office later distributed a letter from Obama to him explaining why he vetoed the bill on Friday after both chambers passed it without opposition earlier this month. The White House listed its objections: it turns over national security and foreign policy to the courts; puts U.S. military, diplomats and assets at risk of retaliatory lawsuits by other countries; and threatens important and sensitive relationships with other nations. Key members from both parties in the Senate and the House said they would continue to consider legislation to further narrow JASTA and to mitigate any blowback from other countries. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, urged a vote to sustain the veto during the House debate. “My concern for this legislation is more related to the unintended consequences it may have,” he said, echoing the Obama administration’s caution that the bill weakens the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which protects a country and its official representatives abroad. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) agreed, saying that “this is not the way to go about getting justice.” What if Iraq citizens sued the United States for the 2003 bombings of Baghdad that killed and maimed so many people and won compensation for each one of them, he asked. He said the bill is narrowly drawn and won’t put U.S. military and diplomats at risk. “We must hold justice for the 9/11 families to imagined fears,” he said. ||||| This frame grab from video provided by C-SPAN2, shows the floor of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016, as the Senate acted decisively to override President Barack Obama's veto of Sept. 11 legislation, setting the stage for the contentious bill to become law despite flaws that Obama and top Pentagon officials warn could put U.S. troops and interests at risk. (C-SPAN2 via AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate acted decisively Wednesday to override President Barack Obama's veto of Sept. 11 legislation, setting the stage for the contentious bill to become law despite flaws that Obama and top Pentagon officials warn could put U.S. troops and interests at risk. Five weeks before elections, lawmakers refused to oppose a measure backed by 9/11 families who say they are still seeking justice 15 years after the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. The bill permits them to sue the government of Saudi Arabia for the kingdom's alleged backing of the 19 hijackers who carried out the plot. Saudi Arabia is staunchly opposed to the measure. Senators voted 97-1 to override Obama's veto. The lone "no" vote was Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. A House vote on Obama's veto was expected later in the day Wednesday. If the House also overrides, the bill becomes law. During his nearly two terms in office, Obama has never had a veto overridden by Congress. Despite reversing Obama's decision, several senators said defects in the bill could open a legal Pandora's box, triggering lawsuits from people in other countries seeking redress for injuries or deaths caused by military actions in which the U.S. may have had a role. In a letter Tuesday to Senate leaders, Obama said the bill would erode sovereign immunity principles that prevent foreign litigants "from second-guessing our counterterrorism operations and other actions that we take every day." But one of the bill's leading proponents, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, dismissed Obama's concerns as "unpersuasive." Cornyn, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, and other supporters said the bill is narrowly tailored and applies only to acts of terrorism that occur on U.S. soil. "This bill is about respecting the voices and rights of American victims," Cornyn said. Families of the victims and their attorneys disputed concerns over the legislation as fearmongering aimed at derailing the legislation that they have long urged Congress to pass. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, one of the Democrats who broke with Obama and voted to override, said "the risks of shielding the perpetrators of terrorism from justice are greater than the risks this legislation may pose to America's presence around the world." The legislation gives victims' families the right to sue in U.S. court for any role that elements of the Saudi government may have played in the 2001 attacks. Fifteen of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudi nationals. Courts would be permitted to waive a claim of foreign sovereign immunity when an act of terrorism occurs inside U.S. borders, according to the terms of the bill. Still, a group of national-security minded legislators pledged to discuss how to repair problem areas during the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress. But the fact that legislation could pass both chambers of Congress without closer scrutiny left at least a few senators chiding themselves for not examining more closely the bill's potential ramifications. The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA, moved to the floor of the Senate in May and passed by voice vote. The bill cleared the House earlier this month, also by voice vote. "We didn't pay much attention to this," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee. "And boy is that ever a lesson learned." Obama vetoed the measure last week, telling lawmakers the bill would make the U.S. vulnerable to retaliatory litigation. In his letter to Reid, the president said other countries could attempt to use JASTA to justify similar immunity exceptions to target U.S. policies and activities they oppose. "As a result, our nation and its armed forces, State Department, intelligence officials and others may find themselves subject to lawsuits in foreign courts," Obama wrote. As an example, U.S. troops, including those involved in counterterrorism operations, "would be vulnerable to accusations that their activities contributed to acts that allegedly violated foreign laws," the president said. In a separate letter sent Monday to a senior House member, Defense Secretary Ash Carter described the potential for foreign litigants to seek classified intelligence data and analysis and sensitive operational information to establish their cases in what could be an "intrusive discovery process." If the U.S. were sued overseas, a foreign court would decide whether the information should be protected from disclosure, he said in the letter to Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Paradoxically, the information could be central to a defense against the accusations. "Disclosure could put the United States in the difficult position of choosing between disclosing classified or otherwise sensitive information or suffering adverse rulings and potentially large damage awards for our refusal to do so," Carter wrote. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., voiced his numerous concerns with the bill before the vote but decided to override the president's veto anyway. "I do so understanding that there could be in fact unintended consequences that work against our national interests," said Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Missing the vote were Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Tim Kaine, D-Va. ||||| The Senate voted on Wednesday to override President Obama’s veto of legislation allowing lawsuits against foreign sponsors of terrorism. The House is expected to follow suit within hours, making this the first veto of Obama’s presidency to be overturned by Congress. Last week Obama vetoed the bill explaining that the “Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act” (JASTA) would erode the doctrine of sovereign immunity and expose the US to lawsuits around the world. The bill would have allowed the families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi Arabian government over its alleged support for the terrorists who carried out the attacks. JASTA, which passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate, allows US judges to waive sovereign immunity claims when dealing with acts of terrorism committed on American soil – potentially allowing lawsuits against Saudi Arabia over the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Fifteen of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals. The issue appears to cross party lines, with Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) pushing for a veto override while Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) is concerned it would “end up exporting [US] foreign policy to trial lawyers.” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has argued that allowing JASTA to become law could lead to US being sued in foreign courts and subjected to an “intrusive discovery process.” This could put Washington in the “difficult position of choosing between disclosing classified or otherwise sensitive information or suffering adverse rulings and potentially large damage awards for our refusal to do so,” Carter wrote to House Armed Services Committee chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) earlier this week, according to the Military Times. The House is expected hold a veto override vote later on Wednesday. ||||| US Congress votes overwhelmingly to override the president’s veto, the first such rebuke during his presidency WASHINGTON: The US Congress voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to override Barack Obama’s veto of a bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, the first such rebuke during his eight-year presidency. The Senate overrode the veto in a 97-1 vote, followed a short time later by the House of Representatives, which knocked it down with a 348-77 vote. The rare act of bipartisanship was a blow to Obama, who lobbied hard against the bill, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). Obama called Wednesday’s vote a ‘dangerous precedent.’ “I understand why it happened. Obviously, all of us still carry the scars and trauma of 9/11,” he said on CNN. But he said the decision would harm US national interests by undermining the principle of sovereign immunity, opening up the United States to private lawsuits over its military missions abroad. “Our men and women in uniform around the world could potentially start seeing ourselves subject to reciprocal loss.”’ Some of the lawmakers who voted for the override didn’t know what was in the bill, he said, calling the result ‘basically a political vote.’ White House press secretary Josh Earnest earlier called the Senate vote ‘the single most embarrassing thing’ the legislative body has done in decades. “Ultimately these senators are going to have to answer their own conscience and their constituents as they account for their actions today,” he told reporters traveling with Obama in Richmond, Virginia. Coming in Obama’s last months in office, the vote shows the White House to be much weakened. Obama has issued 12 vetoes during his presidency. None have been overridden until now, a rare feat given Republicans’ longstanding control of Congress. His Republican predecessor George W Bush also issued 12 vetoes, of which four were overridden. The last president to avoid an override was the legendary Democratic congressional dealmaker – and former senator and congressman – Lyndon Johnson. In a letter to Republican and Democratic Senate leaders obtained by AFP, Obama had previously warned of ‘devastating’ consequences for the Pentagon, service members, diplomats and the intelligence services. The 9/11 measure would “neither protect Americans from terrorist attacks, nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks,” he warned. “The United States relies on principles of immunity to prevent foreign litigants and foreign courts from second-guessing our counterterrorism operations and other actions that we take every day.” RNC chair Reince Priebus said Obama’s veto “showed remarkable disregard for the families of 9/11 victims, and the Senate has done the right thing by overwhelmingly overriding his poor decision.” Meanwhile Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio said the override was “about holding anyone who supports terrorists accountable, and getting their victims the justice they deserve.” Families of 9/11 victims have campaigned for the law, convinced the Saudi government had a hand in the attacks that killed almost 3,000 people. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens, but no link to the government has been proven. The Saudi government denies any ties to the plotters. Declassified documents showed US intelligence had multiple suspicions about links between the Saudi government and the attackers. “While in the United States, some of the 9/11 hijackers were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi government,” a finding read. — AFP ||||| WASHINGTON - The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to override President Barack Obama’s veto of a bill to allow survivors and families of 9/11 victims to pursue their lawsuit in a U.S. court against Saudi Arabia for alleged complicity in the terrorist attacks. The veto override — the first for Obama — won 97-1 in a vote that began at around noon, with only Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in opposition despite lobbying against it by the Obama administration, some foreign relations experts and Saudi Arabia. The House was expected also to vote Wednesday on an override, according to Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford), the House sponsor of the measure. “Democrat and Republicans don’t agree on much these days. But we agree on JASTA,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in a floor speech that led up to the vote. “Both parties believe that the families of the 911 victims should be able to seek justice.” Several lawmakers voted for the override despite concerns, and said they would introduce additional legislation if the White House concerns about JASTA come true. Sen Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s top Democrat, said in a floor speech that he’ll closely watch what happens next, especially other countries’ reactions, and would address any risks to U.S. diplomats, troops and assets in additional legislation. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Foreign Relations Committee chairman, said he would vote to override the veto despite concerns about the legislation because of his sympathy for the families of 9/11 victims who had battled for the right to sue Saudi Arabia for so long. ||||| WASHINGTON — Congress on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected President Barack Obama’s veto of legislation allowing relatives of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia, the first veto override of his eight-year presidency. The House of Representatives voted 348-76 against the veto, just hours after the Senate rejected it 97-1, meaning the “Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act” will become law. The vote was a blow to Obama and to Saudi Arabia, one of the United States’ longest-standing allies in the Arab world. Obama’s 11 previous vetoes were all sustained. But this time almost all of his strongest supporters in Congress opposed him in one of their last actions before leaving Washington to campaign for the Nov. 8 election. “Overriding a presidential veto is something we don’t take lightly, but it was important in this case that the families of the victims of 9/11 be allowed to pursue justice, even if that pursuit causes some diplomatic discomforts,” Senator Charles Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said in a statement. Schumer represents New York, the site of the World Trade Center and home to many of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 2001 attacks, attack survivors and families of victims. He led the fight for the legislation in the Senate, with Senator John Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York’s other senator and also a Democrat, cast the 67th “no” vote, the number needed to override the veto in the Senate. Obama had argued that the bill, known as JASTA, could expose U.S. companies, troops and officials to lawsuits, and alienate important allies at a time of global unrest. He called Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and wrote a personal letter to him explaining that he strongly believed enacting JASTA into law would be detrimental to U.S. interests. Reid became the only senator to side with Obama. “This is the single most embarrassing thing this United States Senate has done possibly since 1983,” spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. The Saudi government financed an extensive lobbying campaign against the legislation. Major U.S. corporations including General Electric Co and Dow Chemical Co also opposed it, as did the European Union and other U.S. allies. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter urged lawmakers to sustain the veto, and in an unusual move, CIA Director John Brennan issued a statement before Wednesday’s votes saying the bill had “grave implications” for national security. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate, and Bernie Sanders, an independent and former Democratic White House contender, did not vote.
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The United States Senate and House of Representatives override the veto of President Barack Obama in regards to the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. The act narrows the scope of the legal doctrine of foreign sovereign immunity, specifically, in this instance against the sovereign nation of Saudi Arabia. The action is the first such congressional veto override to Obama.
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A teenager with a handgun opened fire at an elementary school in South Carolina on Wednesday afternoon, not long before authorities say they found his father shot to death in a home nearby. Police said the teenage shooter, who they did not identify, shot two male students and a female teacher at Townville Elementary School, located about 40 miles west of Greenville, S.C., before being quickly taken into custody by authorities. One of the students was shot in the leg and the other in the foot, while the teacher was struck in the shoulder, said Capt. Garland Major of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. All three were taken to hospitals from the scene, he said during a briefing Wednesday. One of the students was reported to be in critical condition. Major said that the shooter was taken into custody in a matter of minutes and that authorities believe that there are no other suspects involved. He emphasized that authorities were in the early hours of the investigation, saying they were still trying to figure out details about where the shooting occurred. The school has no resource officer, the superintendent said Wednesday, but it has security cameras and an airlock system requiring people to be buzzed in. Major also brought up and dismissed potential motives, saying that authorities did not believe there were any racial factors, noting that the suspected shooter and the three injured people were all white. He also said police did not believe terrorism was a factor. The burst of violence at locked down Townville Elementary, a school of about 285 students, sending terrified parents hurrying to a local church to pick up their children and causing officials to cancel classes for the rest of the week. The school’s picture day had originally been scheduled for Friday. “We are heartbroken about this senseless act of violence,” Joanne Avery, the school superintendent, said at the briefing. The school district does training to prepare for active attacks, officials said. [Experts offer tips for what to do to stay safe during active shootings] Authorities say they are still working to determine if any of the people injured at the school were targeted or if any of them were connected to the shooter, but said that they had not found any relationships by Wednesday night. The suspected shooter is home-schooled and not a student in the school district, the sheriff’s office said. In addition, investigators are also looking into what they called a related homicide after they found the Jeffrey D. Osborne, the teenage attacker’s 47-year-old father, dead at a home about two miles from the school. Osborne’s family called 911 a short time after the school shooting, and police arrived and found him dead from a gunshot wound, Greg Shore, the Anderson County coroner, said at the same briefing. Shore said it appeared the man’s son was the shooter who went on to the school, but he did not specifically say if they believe the teenager shot and killed his father first. Shore said the accused shooter’s grandmother said she received a call at 1:44 p.m. from the teenager. She said he was crying and upset and could not understand what he was saying, so she and the boy’s grandfather went to Osborne’s house, expecting to find their grandson as well. That’s when they found their son dead. Police went to the school when a teacher called 911 at about 1:45 p.m. to report an armed attacker on school grounds, said Taylor Jones, Anderson County’s emergency services director. Jones praised the quick response of law enforcement officials, who were able to take the attacker into custody in a matter of minutes and without incident, saying that “lives were saved because of our responders being so well trained.” A firefighter — later identified as Jamie Brock, a 30-year-veteran of the Townville Volunteer Fire Department — apprehended the shooter, police said. Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said in a statement Wednesday that as authorities investigate the shooting, she asked people in the state to join her and her husband “in praying for the entire Townville Elementary School family and those touched by today’s tragedy.” [When even preschoolers must prepare for an active shooter] Parents were told to pick up their children at a nearby church. When some arrived, they did not know what was going on other than seeing first responders and police around the building. “I was really scared and thought something bad had happened to my son,” said Kelli Collins of Townville, who has a son in preschool there. “The feeling was pretty indescribable. This is his first year of school. It was very scary, and my heart was pounding.” Collins said when she eventually got to her son, “I grabbed him and wouldn’t let go.” Tony Walker, a 32-year-old youth pastor at Gethsemane Baptist Church in Starr, S.C., said he spoke with a mother whose child was on the school’s playground and saw the shooter. Walker said the mother told him that her son said, “‘Mommy, as soon as I saw him, I knew he was a bad guy.'” The neighboring Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said that at the request of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, it sent deputies to respond to a reported active shooter situation at the school at around 1:44 p.m. “I have spoken with Sheriff John Skipper in Anderson County and have offered to make available any resources and assistance from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office that he needs as the investigation continues,” Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw said in a statement. In live video feeds of the scene, a number of police cars and law enforcement officials could be seen gathered around the school. Townville Elementary School serves about 280 children from preschool through sixth grade, according to state data. About three-quarters of its students are considered economically disadvantaged, meaning they receive Medicaid, food stamp or welfare benefits, are homeless or migrant students or are in foster care, according to the school’s 2015 state report card. Justin Campbell in Townville and Emma Brown in Washington contributed to this report. [This post, first published at 3:05 p.m., has been updated repeatedly.] ||||| Townville Elementary School pupils on a school bus taking them to Oakdale Baptist Church after a shooting Wednesday at the school. Katie McLean / The Independent-Mail via AP ||||| Official: 2 students, 1 teacher wounded in shooting at South Carolina school; teen in custody Official: 2 students, 1 teacher wounded in shooting at South Carolina school; teen in custody Copyright ��� 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.. ||||| Two students and a teacher have been wounded and flown to hospitals after a shooting at a South Carolina primary school, according to a US law enforcement officer. Speaking on live television, the unidentified officer said all other students at Townville Elementary School were safe following the shooting. The officer added that parents are being told to pick up their children at a nearby church. The school is located near the Georgia state line. ||||| TOWNVILLE, S.C. — A teenager opened fire at a South Carolina elementary school Wednesday, wounding two students and a teacher before the suspect was taken into custody, a law enforcement officer said. Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore told the Anderson Independent Mail that authorities were responding to a death "believed to be related" to the school shooting about 1 ½ miles away. Shore also said the students do not appear to have life-threatening injuries. The unidentified officer who spoke to reporters on live television said all other students at the Townville Elementary School were safe following the shooting and that parents are being told to pick up their children at a nearby church. Television images showed officers swarming the school. Some were on top of the roof while others were walking around the building. Students were driven away on buses accompanied by police officers. The school is in a rural area near Lake Hartwell, which is located near Interstate 85 and the Georgia state line. ||||| TOWNVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A teenager opened fire at a South Carolina elementary school Wednesday, wounding two students and a teacher before the suspect was taken into custody, authorities said. Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore told the Anderson Independent Mail that authorities were responding to a death "believed to be related" to the school shooting about 1 ½ miles away. Shore said the students do not appear to have life-threatening injuries. Anderson County emergency services director Taylor Jones told reporters that all other students at the Townville Elementary School were safe following the shooting. The students were bused to a nearby church and reunited with their parents. They hugged and kissed. Jamie Meredith, a student's mother, said some of the children went into a bathroom during the shooting. "I don't know how they knew to go in the bathroom, but I know her teacher was shaken up. I know all the kids were scared. There was a bunch of kids crying. She didn't talk for about 5 minutes when I got her," she told WYFF. Television images showed officers swarming the school. Some were on top of the roof while others were walking around the building. Students were driven away on buses accompanied by police officers. All of the roads to the school have been blocked off. The school is in a very rural part of the state and surrounded by working farms. Townville Elementary had about 300 students in its pre-kindergarten to sixth-grade classrooms last year, according to its annual state report card last spring. The rural town is located about 110 miles northeast of Atlanta along Interstate 85 near the Georgia-South Carolina state line. ||||| Three people were injured in a shooting on a South Carolina elementary school Wednesday. At approximately 1:44 EST, an unidentified shooter entered Townville Elementary School in Townville, South Carolina. Two elementary students were injured in the shooting, as well as one teacher. All three were taken immediately from the premises, with one airlifted to the Greenville Health System Emergency Trauma Center by helicopter. Armed officers shuttled the remaining children and faculty to a nearby Baptist church off of Highway 24. Details of the shooting are still uncertain. The suspect, a local teenager, has been apprehended by state police. The coroner for Anderson County commented to an NBC affiliate that the shooting may be linked to a murder in a home less than five miles from the school. This has yet to be confirmed. This story is currently ongoing, and more details will be added as they are released. ||||| TOWNVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Authorities: School shooter apparently shot his father to death before rampage; 2 students, teacher wounded . ||||| TOWNVILLE, S.C. — A law enforcement officer says two students and a teacher have been wounded and flown to hospitals after a shooting at a South Carolina elementary school. Speaking on live television, the unidentified officer said all other students at the Townville Elementary School were safe after the shooting Wednesday and that parents are being told to pick up their children at a nearby church. The school is located near the Georgia state line. Check back with Arkansas Online for updates on this developing story. ||||| TOWNVILLE, S.C. — The Latest on the shooting at an elementary school in South Carolina that left two students and a teacher wounded (all times local): A coroner says that the injuries of two students from a shooting at a South Carolina elementary school do not appear to be life-threatening. Coroner Greg Shore gave the information to the Greenville News and Independent Mail. A law enforcement official has said the shooting happened at the Townville Elementary School on Wednesday and that a teen suspect is in custody. He says all other students are safe and have been evacuated to a nearby church. A law enforcement officer says that a shooting at a South Carolina elementary school has left two students and a teacher wounded. The unidentified officer says the shooting took place at the Townville Elementary School in Townville, South Carolina, and that all other students are safe and being evacuated to a nearby church.
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A shooting at an elementary school in Townville, South Carolina, leaves two students and a teacher wounded. Police take the teenage suspect into custody. Authorities find the shooter's father dead. One of the students dies two days later.
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Image copyright Reuters Image caption Jamaicans have been stocking up on supplies at supermarkets in advance of Hurricane Matthew's arrival Hurricane Matthew has weakened slightly as it moves towards Jamaica, but is still packing winds of up to 230km/h (145mph), strong enough to wreck houses, forecasters say. It is now a category four storm, the US National Hurricane Center says, after earlier reaching the top category five on a scale of intensity. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has urged citizens to make all necessary preparations. The storm is due to hit land on Monday. It is expected to reach Jamaica's southern coast first, but is also likely to reach Haiti and Cuba. Cuban President Raul Castro has travelled to the eastern city of Santiago to supervise preparations for the storm. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC Weather's Ben Rich looks at the progression and potential impacts of Hurricane Matthew. Officials have warned the high winds could batter Jamaica's main tourist areas including Montego Bay in the north. With the government on high alert, PM Holness said people should expect the worse. "What we have control over is our ability to prepare," he said. "We hold firm to the view that our preparation can reduce loss of life and damage to property." Image copyright Reuters Image caption Supplies of water are in high demand in Jamaica Local emergency teams as well as the police and army are on standby, while shelters are being set up throughout the island, his office said. As the storm approaches, many Jamaicans have been stocking up on water and food. Tropical storm warnings have also been issued for parts of coastal Colombia and Haiti over the weekend. Haitian authorities say the priority is to protect the southern islands of the country, whose inhabitants they have described as "first at risk", according to AFP news agency. Forecasters said up to 38cm (15 ins) of rain could fall across Jamaica and on southern Haiti. While Jamaica was damaged by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, the last major storm in the region was Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Matthew could be the most powerful storm to hit the island since records began, meteorologist Eric Holthaus said on Twitter. ||||| Hurricanes are unpredictable and although we have come a long way in tracking them and forecasting where they go they are untamed beasts and have a will of their own. Listening to the experts pronounce for days including on Friday that Matthew would not and could not intensify from a Category 2 Hurricane for the next couple of days because it was undergoing dry air and wind shear. Even as the National Hurricane Centre was showing on their website Matthew was increasing in strength to a Category 2 and in minutes was now a Category 4, one of the Miami TV station’s experts was saying it would not intensify until the weekend! It actually then defied everyone again and became a Category 5 storm – the Atlantic’s first in nine years. Can you imagine if this had happened just as Matthew was approaching land in a highly populated area? The very highly respected Jeff Masters, founder of Weather Underground, said in his blog on Saturday (1) morning, “The NHC official forecast and the intensity models failed to predict Matthew’s rapid intensification—though the SHIPS model did give a 12% chance that we would see intensification into a Category 5 hurricane. We don’t have much data over ocean areas to be able to diagnose the detailed flow pattern around the core of a hurricane, and it is likely the shear was actually much lower near Matthew’s center, which allowed the storm to organize more quickly than our models anticipated. The rapid intensification process was also aided by the fact Matthew was moving into a moister atmosphere—the upper-level winds hitting Matthew from the southwest were advecting in air that had high humidity, which did not disrupt the storm like low humidity air would have done. “Another surprise regarding Matthew’s rapid intensification was that the central pressure that supported the Category 5 winds of the storm was relatively high—941 mb. Category 5 storms usually have pressures quite a bit lower. According to meteorologist Sam Lillo, Matthew had the third highest pressure observed in an Atlantic category 5 hurricane. For comparison, Hurricane Andrew had a 933 mb central pressure when it was a Category 5, and Hurricane Felix had a 935 mb central pressure when it achieved Category 5 status. Matthew’s strongest winds have been focused over a relatively narrow region near the core of the storm, which has allowed it to have extreme winds without an extremely low pressure. “An Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft made two passes through the eye of Matthew on Saturday morning, and found that Matthew’s central pressure had risen to 947 mb during their second pass at 8:48 am EDT. Flight-level winds at 10,000 feet hit 135 mph and surface winds measured by their stepped frequency microwave radiometer (SFMR) were as high as 124 mph, which would make Matthew a borderline Category 3/Category 4 storm. Infrared satellite loops on Saturday morning showed that Matthew had weakened some, with the eye less distinct and the cloud tops of the eyewall thunderstorms warmer. At upper levels, high cirrus clouds streaming to the north of Matthew showed the continued presence of a powerful outflow channel, which was helping ventilate the storm and allowing it to fight off the high wind shear of 20 – 30 knots affecting it. Aiding development today were warm ocean waters of 28.5°C (83°F) and 70 – 75% relative humidity at mid-levels of the atmosphere, as analyzed by the SHIPS model. Heavy rains from Matthew were affecting the coast of South America near the Colombia/Venezuela border, as seen on Venezuela radar.” As I write this I am waiting for the right hand turn the experts predict will happen and poor Jamaica and to a lesser extent our Sister Islands are going to get horribly clouted. With the poor call by the experts so far on Monster Matthew I am not placing any money on them being right. By the time you read this you will know one way or the other. ||||| 000 WTNT34 KNHC 240234 TCPAT4 BULLETIN Post-Tropical Cyclone Chantal Advisory Number 13 NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL042019 1100 PM AST Fri Aug 23 2019 ...CHANTAL BECOMES A REMNANT LOW... ...THIS IS THE LAST ADVISORY... SUMMARY OF 1100 PM AST...0300 UTC...INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------- LOCATION...35.6N 40.9W ABOUT 785 MI...1265 KM W OF THE AZORES MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...30 MPH...45 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...S OR 185 DEGREES AT 6 MPH...9 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1014 MB...29.95 INCHES WATCHES AND WARNINGS -------------------- There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect. DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK ---------------------- At 1100 PM AST (0300 UTC), the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Chantal was located near latitude 35.6 North, longitude 40.9 West. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the south near 6 mph (9 km/h). A turn toward the southwest and west is expected over the weekend, followed by a slow motion toward the northwest Sunday night and Monday. Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph (45 km/h) with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is anticipated and Chantal is forecast to dissipate on Monday. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1014 mb (29.95 inches). HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND ---------------------- None. NEXT ADVISORY ------------- This is the last public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on Chantal. Additional information on this system can be found in High Seas Forecasts issued by the National Weather Service, under AWIPS header NFDHSFAT1, WMO header FZNT01 KWBC, and online at ocean.weather.gov/shtml/NFDHSFAT1.php $$ Forecaster Zelinsky ||||| Santo Domingo.- The Ntional Hurricane Center upgraded Matthew to a hurricane around noon Thurs. FILE. The Emergency Operations Center (COE) on Wednesday issued an alert for the south region for Hurricane Matthew, which is headed to the central Caribbean Sea and is expected start affecting that area of the country tomorrow Friday. the National Weather Office (Onamet) said the storm could become a category 1 hurricane and could affect Azua, Peravia, San Cristobal, San José de Ocoa, Pedernales and Barahona. Matthew", with sustained winds of 95 kph, is located around 100 kilometers west of Saint Lucia and 835 kilometers southeast of Isla Saona, Dominican Republic moving rapidly westward at around 30 kph. Onamet said the accumulation of rains associated with the storm could be as much as 150 millimeters. The COE meanwhile also issued a maritime alert throughout the country's coasts, where boats should remain in port. The COE said as part of its contingency plan all government agencies have been linked to a central communication network ||||| In this NOAA handout image, taken by the GOES satellite on Oct. 1, 2016 shows Hurricane Matthew in the Caribbean Sea just south of Cuba and Jamaica. Handout / Getty Images ||||| Cameras outside the International Space Station capture images of Hurricane Matthew as it makes it way towards Jamaica and Haiti. Matthew, which has sustained winds of 140 mph (220kph), is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history and briefly reached the top classification, category 5, becoming the strongest hurricane in the region since Felix in 2007 ||||| Hurricane Matthew, a potentially devastating Category 4 storm, swirled across the Caribbean toward Haiti and Jamaica, where residents frantically stocked up on emergency supplies and authorities urged people to evacuate threatened areas. Matthew is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history and briefly reached the top classification, Category 5, before weakening slightly to a high-end Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph (240 kph). It is the strongest hurricane here since Felix in 2007. While previous forecasts had Matthew passing near or over the eastern tip of Jamaica, the latest projection has it shifting eastward and possibly striking the southwestern tip of Haiti as a Category 3 hurricane on Monday. A hurricane warning has been issued for the impoverished country which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Deforestation has greatly increased the potential for devastating floods and landslides on Haiti, and combined with the ramshackle structure of many homes and building, this means that Matthew could deal a vicious blow to the country. After passing Jamaica and Haiti, Matthew is expected to reach Cuba on Tuesday, potentially making a direct hit on the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay. A mandatory evacuation of non-essential personnel, including about 700 family members of military personnel, was underway at the base and everyone remaining behind was being told to take shelter, said Julie Ann Ripley, a spokeswoman. There are about 5,500 people living on the base, including 61 men held at the detention center. The forecast track would also carry Matthew into the Bahamas, with an outside chance of a brush with Florida, though that would be several days away. "It's too early to rule out what impacts, if any, would occur in the United States and Florida," said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman at the Hurricane Center. In Haiti, civil protection officials broadcast warnings of a coming storm surge and big waves, saying the country would be "highly threatened" from the approaching system, which is expected to start affecting Haiti and Jamaica Sunday night. They urged families to prepare emergency food and water kits. Emergency management authorities banned boating, particularly along the impoverished country's southern coastline. In Jamaica, where there is also a hurricane warning, flooding temporarily closed the road linking the capital to its airport. Carl Ferguson, head of the marine police, said people were starting to heed calls to relocate from small islands and areas near rural waterways. Residents of the capital, Kingston, crowded supermarkets to buy bottled water, canned food and batteries. In the coastal town of Port Royal, officials were urging residents to seek refuge in government shelters once they open up on Sunday. Many Jamaicans also began stocking up for the emergency. At the Azan Super Centre, a supermarket in Kingston, shoppers were scooping up flashlights and gas lamps and other key supplies along with food. The kerosene was already sold out. "It has been chaos from the morning," owner Melain Azan said. Shopper Nardia Powell said she was stocking up because she learned a hard lesson when she was unprepared for Hurricane Ivan in 2004, as were many others. "So, I just want to be on the safe side, right?" she said. Jamaicans are accustomed to intense storms, but Hurricane Matthew looked particularly threatening. At its peak, it was more powerful than Hurricane Gilbert, which made landfall on the island in September 1988 and was the most destructive storm in the country's modern history. As of 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT), the storm was centered about 340 miles (550 kilometers) south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was traveling north-northwest at 7 mph (11 kph). Earlier, Matthew skimmed past the northern tip of South America where there were reports of at least two deaths. But authorities in the area overall breathed a sigh of relief as damage appeared minimal despite flooding in towns along the La Guajira peninsula of Colombia. Some officials were even grateful for the rain after a multi-year drought in the poverty-stricken area. "Families that evacuated are returning to their homes," said La Guajira Gov. Jorge Velez. "The dikes and wells filled up, the earth is moist, and this benefits agriculture in an area where it hasn't rained for five years, benefiting the community." ||||| One of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history roared over the open Caribbean Sea on Saturday on a course that threatened Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba. Matthew briefly reached the top hurricane classification, Category 5, and was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Felix in 2007. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Matthew's winds had slipped slightly from a peak of 160 mph (260 kph) to a still-potentially devastating 150 mph (240 kph), a Category 4 storm. It was expected to near eastern Jamaica and southwestern Haiti on Monday. The latest forecast had Matthew's path passing closer to Haiti than before and the center issued a hurricane warning for Jamaica and "much of Haiti," and said life-threatening rainfall was expected in parts of the impoverished Caribbean nation. The forecast track would also carry Matthew across Cuba and into the Bahamas, with an outside chance of a brush with Florida, though that would be several days away. "It's too early to rule out what impacts, if any, would occur in the United States and Florida," said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman at the Hurricane Center. As Matthew skimmed past the northern tip of South America there were reports of at least one death — the second attributed to the storm. Authorities in the area overall breathed a sigh of relief as the storm triggered heavy flooding in towns along the La Guajira peninsula of Colombia, but damage overall was minimal. Some officials were even grateful for the rain after a multi-year drought in the poverty-stricken area. "Families that evacuated are returning to their homes," said La Guajira Gov. Jorge Velez. "The dikes and wells filled up, the earth is moist, and this benefits agriculture in an area where it hasn't rained for five years, benefiting the community." Authorities say that at least 27 houses were damaged and two roads were washed out. One person, a 67-year indigenous man, was carried away to his death by a flash flood in an area where it hadn't rained for four years. Elsewhere, all across Colombia's Caribbean coastline, authorities have set up emergency shelters, closed access to beaches and urged residents living near the ocean to move inland in preparation for storm surges that they said will reach their most-intense moment sometime Saturday. There's also concern that heavy rain across much of the country this weekend could dampen turnout for a nationwide referendum Sunday on a historic peace accord between the government and leftist rebels. In Jamaica, high surf began pounding the coast and flooding temporarily closed the road linking the capital to its airport. Carl Ferguson, head of the marine police, said people were starting to heed calls to relocate from small islands and areas near rural waterways. Residents of the capital, Kingston, crowded supermarkets to buy bottled water, canned food and batteries, and there was already flooding in the coastal town of Port Royal, where officials were urging residents to seek refuge in government shelters once they open up on Sunday. Many Jamaicans also began stocking up for the emergency. At the Azan Super Centre, a supermarket in Kingston, shoppers were scooping up flashlights and gas lamps and other key supplies along with food. The kerosene was already sold out. "It has been chaos from the morning," owner Melain Azan said. Shopper Nardia Powell said she was stocking up because she learned a hard lesson when she was unprepared for Hurricane Ivan in 2004, as were many others. "So, I just want to be on the safe side, right?" she said. Feltgen said storm force winds and rain will arrive well before the center of the storm. Jamaicans "basically have daylight today, they have tonight and they have daylight tomorrow to take care of what needs to be done," he said. Jamaicans are accustomed to intense storms, but Hurricane Matthew looked particularly threatening. At its peak, it was more powerful than Hurricane Gilbert, which made landfall on the island in September 1988 and was the most destructive storm in the country's modern history. In Haiti, civil protection officials broadcast warnings of a coming storm surge and big waves, saying the country would be "highly threatened" from the approaching system. They urged families to prepare emergency food and water kits. Emergency management authorities banned boating starting Saturday, particularly along the impoverished country's southern coastline. Forecasters said rainfall totals could reach 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 centimeters) with isolated maximum amounts of 25 inches (63 centimeters) in Jamaica and southwestern Haiti. The U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is also potentially in the path of the storm. A mandatory evacuation of non-essential personnel, including about 700 family members of military personnel was underway and everyone remaining behind was being told to take shelter, said Julie Ann Ripley, a spokeswoman. There are about 5,500 people living on the base, including 61 men held at the detention center. As of 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT), the storm was centered about 340 miles (550 kilometers) south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was traveling north-northwest at 7 mph (11 kph).. Matthew caused at least one death when it entered the Caribbean on Wednesday. Officials in St. Vincent reported a 16-year-old boy was crushed by a boulder as he tried to clear a blocked drain. ||||| Vulnerable Haiti braced for flash floods and violent winds from the extremely dangerous Hurricane Matthew as the powerful storm kept on a path early Monday aiming at the hemisphere's poorest country. The eye of the approaching Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 kph) late Sunday, was expected to pass to the east of Jamaica and then cross over or be very close to the southwestern tip of Haiti late Monday or early Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It was predicted to hit the lightly populated eastern tip of Cuba on Tuesday afternoon. Forecasters said as much as 40 inches of rain could fall on some isolated areas of Haiti, raising fears of deadly mudslides and floods in the heavily deforested country where many families live in flimsy houses with corrugated metal roofs. "Some of us will die but I pray it won't be a lot," said Serge Barionette in the southern town of Gressier, where a river recurrently bursts its banks during serious storms. A hurricane warning was in effect for Haiti, and Cuba. Rain was already lashing parts of Jamaica and flooding some homes, but forecasters said the southern Haitian countryside around Jeremie and Les Cayes could see the worst of the rains and punishing winds. "Wherever that center passes close to would see the worst winds and that's what's projected to happen for the western tip of Haiti," said John Cangilosi, a hurricane specialist at the U.S. center. "There is a big concern for rains there and also a big concern for storm surge." Matthew is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history and briefly reached the top classification, Category 5, becoming the strongest hurricane in the region since Felix in 2007. The hurricane center said the storm appeared to be on track to pass east of Florida through the Bahamas, but it was too soon to predict with certainty whether it would threaten any spot on the U.S. East Coast. Officials with Haiti's civil protection agency said there were roughly 1,300 emergency shelters across the country, enough to hold up to 340,000 people. Authorities broadcast warnings over the radio telling people to swiftly heed evacuation warnings, trying to counter a common tendency for people to try to stay in their homes to protect them during natural disasters. In a brief address carried on state radio, interim President Jocelerme Privert urged Haitians to listen closely to official warnings and be ready to move. "To those people living in houses that could collapse, it's necessary that you leave these houses to take refuge in schools and churches," he said. Teams of civil protection officials walked the streets of Les Cayes and other areas urging residents to secure their homes, prepare emergency kits and warn their neighbors. They also evacuated people from some outlying islands. As of 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT), the storm was centered about 325 miles (520 kilometers) south-southwest of Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince. It was moving northwest at 5 mph (7 kph). A hurricane warning was posted for the southeastern Bahamas. A hurricane watch was in effect for the central Bahamas and the Turks and Caico Islands, and a tropical storm warning was issued for parts of the Dominican Republic, where authorities began mandatory evacuations of areas at risk for flooding. The hurricane earlier had been projected to be closer to Jamaica, but still was a danger to the island of less than 3 million inhabitants. "The center of the system is looking more likely that it will pass to the east of Jamaica but it won't miss it by that much, so they are still going to see impacts," Cangilosi said. "The impacts are maybe going to be a little lower there than they would be in Haiti and eastern Cuba." After passing Jamaica and Haiti, Matthew was projected to reach Cuba. The center was expected to pass about 50 miles east of the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, where authorities evacuated about 700 spouses and children of service members on military transport planes to Florida. The U.S. installation has a population of about 5,500, including 61 men held at the detention center for terrorism suspects. Navy Capt. David Culpepper, the base commander, said emergency shelters had been set up and authorities were bracing for 80 mph winds and storm surge and heavy rain that could threaten some low-lying areas, including around the power plant and water desalination facility. "We have no choice but to prepare ourselves for to take a frontal assault if you will," Culpepper said. ||||| One of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history weakened a little on Saturday as it drenched coastal Colombia and roared across the Caribbean on a course that still puts Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba in the path of potentially devastating winds and rain. Matthew briefly reached the top hurricane classification, Category 5, and was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Felix in 2007. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Matthew's winds had slipped from a peak of 160 mph (260 kph) to a still-potentially devastating 140 mph (220 kph) and it was expected to reach the eastern part of Jamaica on Monday. The forecast track would carry it across Cuba and into the Bahamas, with an outside chance of a brush with Florida, though that would be several days away. "It's too early to rule out what impacts, if any, would occur in the United States and Florida," said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman at the Hurricane Center. As Matthew skimmed past the northern tip of South America there were reports of heavy flooding and at least one death — the second attributed to the storm. Authorities said at least 18 houses were damaged along the La Guajira peninsula of Colombia, which has been suffering from a multi-year drought. They said a 67-year-old man was swept away to his death by a flash flood in an area where it hadn't rained for four years. Local TV broadcast images of cars and tree trunks surging though flooded streets in coastal areas. Colombian authorities closed access to beaches and urged residents living near the ocean to move inland in preparation for storm surges that they said would be most intense on Saturday. There was also concern that heavy rain across much of the country could dampen turnout for Sunday's nationwide referendum on a historic peace accord between the government and leftist rebels. In Jamaica, high surf began pounding the coast and flooding temporarily closed the road linking the capital to its airport. Carl Ferguson, head of the marine police, said people were starting to heed calls to relocate from small islands and areas near rural waterways. Many also began stocking up for the emergency. "I left work to pick up a few items, candles, tin stuff, bread," 41-year-old Angella Wage said at a crowded store in the Half Way Tree area of the capital, Kingston. "We can never be too careful." Feltgen said storm force winds and rain will arrive well before the center of the storm. Jamaicans "basically have daylight today, they have tonight and they have daylight tomorrow to take care of what needs to be done," he said. Jamaicans are accustomed to intense storms, but Hurricane Matthew looked particularly threatening. At its peak, it was more powerful than Hurricane Gilbert, which made landfall on the island in September 1988 and was the most destructive storm in the country's modern history. The U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is also potentially in the path of the storm. A mandatory evacuation of non-essential personnel, including family members of military personnel was underway and everyone remaining behind was being told to take shelter, said Julie Ann Ripley, a spokeswoman. There are about 5,500 people living on the base, including 61 men held at the detention center. Forecasters said rainfall totals could reach 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 centimeters) with isolated maximum amounts of 25 inches (63 centimeters) in Jamaica and southwestern Haiti. In Haiti, civil protection officials broadcast warnings of a coming storm surge and big waves, saying the country would be "highly threatened" from the approaching system over the next 72 hours. They urged families to prepare emergency food and water kits. Emergency management authorities banned boating starting Saturday, particularly along the impoverished country's southern coastline, but numerous fishing skiffs could still be seen off the south coast. As of 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), the storm was centered about 380 miles (615 kilometers) southeast of Kingston. It was meandering, moving south at 2 mph (4 kph), but expected to veer north soon. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 30 miles (45 kilometers) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles (335 kilometers). Matthew caused at least one death when it entered the Caribbean on Wednesday. Officials in St. Vincent reported a 16-year-old boy was crushed by a boulder as he tried to clear a blocked drain.
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Hurricane Matthew, at Category 4 strength with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h), temporarily stalls as it heads towards Jamaica and Haiti. Weather forecasters expect tropical storm conditions today with landfall tomorrow. Further, they expect rainfall of 20 inches, with up to 40 inches in some parts of southern Haiti.
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Media playback is not supported on this device Tennis made example of me - Sharapova Tennis players will not be able to plead ignorance if they test positive for banned substances, says the International Tennis Federation. Maria Sharapova had a two-year ban for taking meldonium cut to 15 months after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) ruled she was not told about a change in the drug's status. The Russian tested positive less than a month after meldonium was banned. The ITF said "appropriate steps were taken to publicise any changes". However, it said it would continue to review its processes for "communicating changes to the prohibited list to players with the aim of ensuring that no player can claim that they had not been fully informed". Sharapova can return to action on 26 April next year because her suspension has been backdated to the date of her first positive test. The former world number one tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open on 26 January and again an out-of-competition test on 2 February. She said she had been taking the drug since 2006 for health reasons and was unaware it had been added to World Anti-Doping Agency's (Wada) banned list as she knew it only by the name mildronate. However, Cas said Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam winner, was at fault for not giving her agent "adequate instructions" about Wada's prohibited list and "failing to supervise and control" her agent. Media playback is not supported on this device Sharapova reveals failed drug test Sharapova's lawyer, John Haggerty, called the Cas decision "a stunning repudiation of the ITF". He also said the ITF's decision had been exposed as "pure fiction". He added: "Not only did the tennis anti-doping authorities fail to properly warn Maria, if you compare what the ITF did with how other federations warned athletes of the rule change, it's a night and day difference." Johan Eliasch, chief executive of racquet manufacturer Head, which has stood by Sharapova during her suspension, said "justice had been served" and called the original ITF decision "wholly unfair". Eliasch said "there is no doubt Maria broke a rule" but he claims there are inconsistencies in the anti-doping regime and changes are needed. "This calls into question the revelations about certain Olympic athletes who were granted therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) for substances that could most certainly be considered performance enhancing and have been proven to be performance enhancing under significant clinical testing," added Eliasch. "Meldonium has yet to be proven under any significant clinical testing to have any performance enhancing benefits." Eliasch called for "a wholesale comprehensive review and change to the anti-doping system in identifying performance enhancing drugs". Former Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade said it was "inexcusable" for Sharapova to find herself in this situation. However, speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, the Briton added: "She's 100% right. The ITF should be more clear. "The players need to be much more attentive and you have got to realise that, even if you are trying everything to make yourself feel better, do better, be stronger, that it has to be within the rules." Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon men's champion, said the 15-month ban was "just a little bit on the lenient side", although he believed Sharapova did not know the drug was banned. He also accepted that Sharapova had a "fair point" when it came to the ITF. But the Australian added: "There is no doubt her image has been tarnished. Her reputation will never quite be the same." Analysis BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller "The crux of the matter is that Cas decided it was reasonable for Sharapova to delegate her anti-doping duties to Max Eisenbud and the IMG agency, even if on this occasion those duties were not exercised with remotely enough care. "In the past three years, both Marin Cilic and Viktor Troicki have also successfully argued less blame should be laid at their door. "Cas has repeatedly set a player's bar of responsibility lower than the ITF think it should be - and as a result there must be a concern some players may in future take anti-doping less seriously than they should." ||||| LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Maria Sharapova’s doping ban was reduced from two years to 15 months on Tuesday, meaning the Russian tennis star can come back in April and return to Grand Slam play at the French Open. The Court of Arbitration for Sport cut nine months off the suspension imposed on Sharapova, who tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January. Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, appealed to CAS in June seeking to overturn or reduce the two-year suspension imposed by the International Tennis Federation. The CAS panel found that Sharapova “bore some degree of fault” for the positive test, saying a 15-month sanction was “appropriate.” The ban took effect on Jan. 26 and was originally due to run until Jan. 25, 2018. Now she will be eligible to return nearly a year earlier. “I’ve gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March when I learned about my suspension to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April,” Sharapova said in a statement. “In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me and it will feel really good to have it back,” she added. “Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court.” Steve Simon, CEO of the WTA tour, welcomed the ruling. “We are pleased that the process is now at completion and can look forward to seeing Maria back on court in 2017,” he said. An independent ITF panel had found that Sharapova did not intend to cheat but that she bore “sole responsibility” and “very significant fault” for the positive test. The panel also said the case “inevitably led to the conclusion” that she took the substance “for the purpose of enhancing her performance.” Sharapova acknowledged taking meldonium before each match at the Australian Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams. Sharapova said she was not aware that meldonium, also known as mildronate, had been included on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances from Jan. 1, 2016. The ITF said she also tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition control in Moscow on Feb. 2. The 29-year-old Sharapova missed this year’s French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, as well as the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Sharapova said she was first prescribed the Latvian-made drug, typically used for heart conditions, by her family doctor for various medical issues in 2006. She cited a bout of the flu, possible onset of diabetes and a magnesium deficiency. Meldonium increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles. More than 100 athletes, including many Russians and other eastern Europeans, tested positive for meldonium early in the year. Some escaped with no sanctions because they argued successfully that they stopped taking the drug before Jan. 1 and that traces had lingered in their system. Sharapova, however, acknowledged that she used meldonium after Jan. 1. ||||| LONDON — Maria Sharapova will be eligible to return to competitive tennis in April after her two-year doping ban was reduced to 15 months on Tuesday by a sports court that found the Russian star did not bear “significant fault” for her positive drug test. The Court of Arbitration for Sport cut nine months off the suspension imposed on Sharapova, who tested positive for the banned heart medication meldonium at the Australian Open in January. Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, appealed to CAS in June seeking to overturn or reduce the two-year penalty imposed by the International Tennis Federation. In a 28-page ruling , the CAS panel found that Sharapova bore “some degree of fault” but “less than significant fault” in the case that has sidelined one of the world’s most prominent and wealthy female athletes. “The panel has determined, under the totality of the circumstances, that a sanction of 15 months is appropriate here given her degree of fault,” the three-man arbitration body ruled. While Sharapova did commit a doping violation, “under no circumstances ... can the player be considered to be an ’intentional doper,”’ the panel said. Sharapova’s ban, which took effect on Jan. 26, was originally due to run until Jan. 25, 2018. Now she can return on April 26, 2017, a month ahead of the French Open, a Grand Slam tournament she has won twice. “I’ve gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March when I learned about my suspension to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April,” Sharapova said in a statement. “In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me and it will feel really good to have it back,” she added. “Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court.” The doping suspension kept the 29-year-old Sharapova out of this year’s French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, as well as the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She will also miss the 2017 Australian Open in January. “We are pleased that the process is now at completion and can look forward to seeing Maria back on court in 2017,” he said. Sharapova acknowledged taking meldonium before each match at last year’s Australian Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams. But Sharapova said she was not aware that meldonium, also known as mildronate, had been included on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances from Jan. 1, 2016. The ITF said she also tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition control in Moscow on Feb. 2. Sharapova’s lawyer, John Haggerty, called Tuesday’s ruling a “stunning repudiation” of the ITF, which he said failed to properly notify players of the meldonium ban. “The panel has determined it does not agree with many of the conclusions of the ITF,” Haggerty said in a conference call. “As we demonstrated before CAS, not only did the tennis anti-doping authorities fail to properly warn Maria, if you compare what the ITF did with how other federations warned athletes of the rule change, it’s a night and day difference.” Sharapova said she was first prescribed the Latvian-made drug, typically used for heart conditions, by her family doctor for various medical issues in 2006. She said she took the drug for regular bouts of the flu, possible onset of diabetes and a magnesium deficiency. An independent ITF panel had found that Sharapova did not intend to cheat but bore “sole responsibility” and “very significant fault” for the positive test. The ITF panel also said the case “inevitably led to the conclusion” that she took the substance “for the purpose of enhancing her performance.” Meldonium increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles. More than 100 athletes, including many Russians and other eastern Europeans, tested positive for meldonium early in the year. Some escaped with no sanctions because they argued successfully that they stopped taking the drug before Jan. 1 and that traces had lingered in their system. Sharapova, however, acknowledged that she used meldonium after Jan. 1. A hearing on Sharapova’s appeal was held in New York on Sept. 7-8. The player and her legal team argued that she bore no significant fault or negligence and her ban should be reduced to “time served,” or about eight months. “I have learned from this, and I hope the ITF has as well,” Sharapova said. “I have taken responsibility from the very beginning for not knowing that the over-the-counter supplement I had been taking for the last 10 years was no longer allowed.” ||||| The decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport means the Russian tennis star will be able to return to competition in April, in time for the French Open. The highest court in sports has cut Maria Sharapova’s two-year doping ban to 15 months. The decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport means the Russian tennis star will be able to return to competition in April, in time for the French Open. Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January and received a two-year ban from the International Tennis Federation. She appealed to CAS in June. The arbitration panel says she “bore some degree of fault” for the positive test “for which a sanction of 15 months is appropriate.” ||||| LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The highest court in sports has cut Maria Sharapova’s two-year doping ban to 15 months. The decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport means the Russian tennis star will be able to return to competition in April, in time for the French Open. Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January and received a two-year ban from the International Tennis Federation. She appealed to CAS in June. The arbitration panel says she “bore some degree of fault” for the positive test “for which a sanction of 15 months is appropriate.” Her ban took effect on Jan. 26. ||||| When All England Club committee members sit down in eight months’ time to decide which players will receive wild cards into Wimbledon next summer, one prominent name is likely to feature in their discussions. In most other circumstances the offer of a wild card to a former champion and world No 1 would be all but a foregone conclusion. However, will Wimbledon – or any of the other Grand Slam tournaments for that matter - want to give such support to Maria Sharapova, who remains a drugs offender despite the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to reduce her International Tennis Federation ban from two years to 15 months? Sharapova, who tested positive for Meldonium at this year’s Australian Open, can return to competition next April, but in order to gain direct entry into the Grand Slam events she would need to be ranked in the world’s top 104 six weeks before the start of each tournament. The rankings are based on points accumulated during the previous 12 months, so Sharapova, who will be 30 by the time she returns, will be starting from zero. She will be hard pressed to secure enough ranking points even to secure a place in the US Open at the end of next summer. Sharapova, who has won all four Grand Slam titles, has been one of the world’s most high-profile sportswomen for more than 10 years. With Serena Williams surely approaching the end of her career and a line of succession at the top unclear, the temptation might be to welcome back Sharapova with open arms, but the sport should be wary about how it handles the return of the 2004 Wimbledon champion. Judged by the reactions to the CAS decision of both Sharapova and some of those around her, you might have guessed that the Russian had actually been cleared of drug-taking. Sharapova called it “one of my happiest days”, while Johan Eliasch, the chairman of her racket manufacturer and sponsor, Head, issued a statement in which he said the company would like to “congratulate” the player on the news. Was such language appropriate given the circumstances? While the CAS ruling will have made uncomfortable reading for the ITF, which was said to have failed to give adequate warning to players that Meldonium was being added to the sport’s list of banned substances in 2016, it also made clear that Sharapova bore “some degree of fault”. Her ban for a doping violation remains in place and it is only the length of her suspension that has been changed. Sharapova told the original ITF tribunal that she had first been prescribed Meldonium (or more specifically the trade product Mildronate) in 2006 for a number of medical issues. The drug was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list at the start of this year because of suspicions that it was being used by some athletes to enhance performance. CAS nevertheless ruled that Sharapova could not be regarded as an “intentional doper”, on the basis that she had been prescribed the drug – before it was banned – for medical reasons. However, according to CAS she “bore some degree of fault”, having failed to supervise the work of her agent, Max Eisenbud, whom she had entrusted with ensuring that her medication was within the rules. The secretive nature of Sharapova’s medical regime was revealed at the ITF’s hearing earlier this year, when it emerged that Eisenbud was the only member of her support team who knew she had been taking Meldonium. Sharapova also failed to disclose that she was using the drug - even when it was not banned - when completing drug-testers’ forms. Sharapova said she thought she had to declare only those items she had taken every day in the previous seven days; at Wimbledon last summer she had used the drugs six times in the previous seven days. The ITF tribunal said there had been a lack of medical justification for Sharapova’s use of Meldonium and concluded that she must have been taking the drug “for the purpose of enhancing her performance”. While the CAS ruling clearly rejects that conclusion, cynics might still question Sharapova’s actions. Given that she insisted she was using Meldonium for sound medical reasons, why did she not disclose her use of it to anyone other than Eisenbud? John Haggerty, the head of Sharapova’s legal team, said the CAS judgement was “a stunning repudiation of the ITF”. There can be no doubt that the sport’s governing body needs to take a long look at its anti-doping regime. This is the third time in the last four years that CAS has made significant reductions to drugs bans imposed on players, having cut the suspensions on Marin Cilic, who took a glucose supplement which contained a banned substance, and Viktor Troicki, who refused to take a blood test. Both Cilic and Troicki have made successful returns to competition and nobody will be working harder on her tennis in the months ahead than Sharapova, whose dedication to her sport has always been exemplary. Nevertheless, a return to the very top will be a tall order. Some tournaments will no doubt offer support in the form of wild cards, but whether that help is forthcoming at the highest level is another matter. However, Steve Simon, the head of the Women’s Tennis Association, expects the French Open to be among a number events which will grant her wild cards. “I would be very surprised if there are too many tournaments that wouldn’t extend her that opportunity,” he said. ||||| Maria Sharapova has told fans she is "counting the days" until she returns to tennis next spring after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her two-year doping ban to just 15 months. The 29-year-old Russian tested positive for the heart-boosting drug meldonium in January and was then sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation in June. But CAS, sport's highest court, sliced nine months off her ban in what her lawyer John Haggerty described as a "stunning repudiation of the ITF". In a statement posted on her social media accounts, Sharapova said: "Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court. "I have taken responsibility from the very beginning for not knowing that the over-the-counter supplement I had been taking for the last 10 years was no longer allowed. "But I also learned how much better other federations were at notifying their athletes of the rule change, especially in eastern Europe where Mildronate (its trade name) is commonly taken by millions of people. "Now that this process is over, I hope the ITF and other relevant tennis anti-doping authorities will study what these other federations did, so that no other tennis player will have to go through what I went through." The result is undoubtedly a victory for the world's highest-earning female athlete but it is also a defeat for the ITF and the World Anti-Doping Agency. As both Haggerty and Sharapova pointed out, the three-man panel of CAS experts said it did "not agree with many of the conclusions of the (ITF) tribunal" and the federation has already seen the court reduce recent doping bans for Marin Cilic and Viktor Troicki. The ITF was also chastised by the panel for not properly informing players of changes to WADA's banned list. Sharapova's lawyers had asked for an immediate reinstatement but deep down they will know the nine-month reduction is the most they could have expected as she did not meet all the criteria for a "no significant fault" reduction of 50 per cent. CAS said in a statement: "The panel found that Ms Sharapova committed an anti-doping rule violation and that while it was with 'no significant fault', she bore some degree of fault, for which a sanction of 15 months is appropriate." Sharapova's hopes of complete vindication were holed from the moment her agent Max Eisenbud admitted they failed to check the banned list. Meldonium was added to the list on January 1, having been on WADA's monitoring list for all of 2015, and athletes and their entourages were warned several times by email that it was about to be prohibited - emails Sharapova did not read. There was a hint of censure from the panel for Sharapova in that she did not mention her use of meldonium and two other over-the-counter heart treatments on her doping control forms, but her legal team argued she did not do so because she did not take these products every day and did not see the need to list them as they were legal. Her lawyers also tried to argue that meldonium's very presence on the banned list is a matter of dispute as there is little evidence of its performance-enhancing qualities. CAS did not rule on this but the debate will continue for WADA. Sharapova, a former world number one, may need to rapidly accumulate ranking points to qualify for the French Open and Wimbledon, unless she is handed wild cards. Her first event could be the Prague Open, which begins on May 1, the first Monday after her suspension ends, and tournament director Petra Cernoskova told Press Association Sport they would love to have her. In an email, Cernoskova said: "Great!!!! Yes we are very interested!" ||||| Maria Sharapova has had her doping ban reduced from two years to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The 29-year-old tested positive for the heart-boosting drug meldonium in January at the Australian Open and was given a two-year ban by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in June. But CAS, sport’s highest court, announced it has reduced that by nine months, meaning the five-time grand slam winner will be eligible to play again on April 26, 2017, four weeks before the French Open. Click here for the latest results, fixtures and stats>>> ||||| (CNN) Maria Sharapova always knew her drugs ban would not be the way her tennis career would end. The five-time grand slam champion will return to the sport in April 2017 after serving a 15-month suspension for testing positive for the banned substance meldonium at the Australian Open in January. Sharapova was initially banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the sanction by nine months, saying she bore "no significant fault or negligence." The panel concluded that while she did commit a doping violation, she was not an "intentional doper." "I knew this was never the way I going to finish my career and I was going to do it on my terms... I never doubted that," Sharapova told CNN. The 29-year-old Russian added: "I know who I am and I know how I've played the sport since I was a young girl, with integrity, I've never taken the easy way out, I'm one of the biggest fighters in the game. "I love what I do and I will continue to keep doing it and forming with my legacy." An independent panel appointed by the ITF ruled Sharapova hadn't used meldonium as a vehicle for cheating but stated the former world No. 1 was "the sole author of her misfortune" and handed out the two-year ban. However, Sharapova's legal team argued to CAS that she simply failed to read an email that stated meldonium would be added to the banned list. Her IMG agent Max Eisenbud also failed to check, it said. Sharapova's lawyer, John Haggerty, called Tuesday's ruling a ''stunning repudiation'' of the ITF, which he said failed to properly notify players of the meldonium ban. The International Tennis Federation told CNN in a statement Wednesday: "We have reviewed, and will continue to review, our processes for communicating changes to the Prohibited List to players with the aim of ensuring that no player can claim that they had not been fully informed." The comment drew an adverse reaction on social media, but Head chief executive Johan Eliasch stood by the sentiment. "In this case there is absolutely no evidence that meldonium, which is the substance Maria took, is actually a performance enhancer as highlighted by the fact there was no clinical testing performed by Wada which is weird, to say the least," Sweden's Eliasch told CNN. "No-one likes cheating in sport and that should be eradicated -- people who do that should face very severe consequences -- but in this case it is so abundantly clear it's not about cheating, it is an honest mistake." Eliasch suggested Sharapova's treatment could be part of an anti-Russian reaction. "I would also like to add apparently the substance was banned because of the prevalence of meldonium use by eastern European athletes. Maybe this has a bit of an element of Russia bashing. I don't think politics and sport should be mixed up," he said. WADA is yet to respond to CNN's request for comment on Eliasch's allegation. ||||| London (AP) — Maria Sharapova will be eligible to return to competitive tennis in April after her two-year doping ban was reduced to 15 months on Tuesday by a sports court that found the Russian star bore no “significant fault” for her positive drug test and did not intend to cheat. The Court of Arbitration for Sport cut nine months off the suspension imposed on Sharapova, who tested positive for the banned heart medication meldonium at the Australian Open in January. Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, appealed to CAS in June seeking to overturn or reduce the two-year penalty imposed by the International Tennis Federation. In a 28-page ruling , the CAS panel found that Sharapova bore “some degree of fault” but “less than significant fault” in the case that has sidelined one of the world’s most prominent and wealthy female athletes. “The panel has determined, under the totality of the circumstances, that a sanction of 15 months is appropriate here given her degree of fault,” the three-man arbitration body ruled. While Sharapova did commit a doping violation, “under no circumstances … can the player be considered to be an ‘intentional doper,'” the panel said. Sharapova’s ban, which took effect on Jan. 26, was originally due to run until Jan. 25, 2018. Now she can return on April 26, 2017, a month ahead of the French Open, a Grand Slam tournament she has won twice. “I’ve gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March when I learned about my suspension to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April,” Sharapova said in a statement. “In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me and it will feel really good to have it back,” she added. “Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court.” The doping suspension kept the 29-year-old Sharapova out of this year’s French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, as well as the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She will also miss the 2017 Australian Open in January. “Maria is absolutely one of the stars of the game, so she’s missed when she’s not available to play,” WTA CEO Steve Simon told The Associated Press. “We’re very much looking forward to seeing her come back to the court next spring.” Simon said Sharapova, who will have to rebuild her ranking from scratch, is entitled to “unlimited” wild cards based on her record. He expects her to be granted wild cards as soon as she is eligible, including for the French Open. “I would be very surprised if there are too many tournaments that wouldn’t extend her that opportunity,” Simon said in a telephone interview. “I think she’ll be able to work her way back onto the tour.” Sharapova acknowledged taking meldonium before each match at last year’s Australian Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams. The ITF said she also tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition control in Moscow on Feb. 2. Sharapova said she was not aware that meldonium, also known as mildronate, had been included on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances from Jan. 1, 2016. Sharapova’s lawyer, John Haggerty, called Tuesday’s ruling a “stunning repudiation” of the ITF, which he said failed to properly notify players of the meldonium ban. “The panel has determined it does not agree with many of the conclusions of the ITF,” Haggerty said in a conference call. “As we demonstrated before CAS, not only did the tennis anti-doping authorities fail to properly warn Maria, if you compare what the ITF did with how other federations warned athletes of the rule change, it’s a night and day difference.” WADA acknowledged that CAS “fully scrutinized all available information and evidence” in the case and said it abides by the ruling. Sharapova said she was first prescribed the Latvian-made drug by her family doctor for various medical issues in 2006. She said she took the drug for regular bouts of the flu, possible onset of diabetes and a magnesium deficiency. An independent ITF panel had found that Sharapova did not intend to cheat but bore “sole responsibility” and “very significant fault” for the positive test. The ITF panel also said the case “inevitably led to the conclusion” that she took the substance “for the purpose of enhancing her performance.” Meldonium increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles. More than 100 athletes, including many Russians and other eastern Europeans, tested positive for meldonium early in the year. Some escaped with no sanctions because they argued successfully that they stopped taking the drug before Jan. 1 and that traces had lingered in their system. Sharapova, however, acknowledged that she used meldonium after Jan. 1. A hearing on Sharapova’s appeal was held in New York on Sept. 7-8. The player and her legal team argued that she bore no significant fault or negligence and her ban should be reduced to “time served,” or about eight months. “I have learned from this, and I hope the ITF has as well,” Sharapova said. “I have taken responsibility from the very beginning for not knowing that the over-the-counter supplement I had been taking for the last 10 years was no longer allowed.” Head, Sharapova’s racket supplier, hailed the CAS ruling as “justice being served.” “We are very proud to have stood by Maria for the right reasons throughout these difficult and testing times,” Head CEO Johan Eliasch said, claiming it was “wholly unfair” that that she had been banned at all.
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In an appeals review, the International Tennis Federation states that tennis players will not be able to plead ignorance if they test positive for banned substances. The Court of Arbitration for Sport reduces Maria Sharapova's two-year ban to 15 months. She tested positive for meldonium.
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Image copyright EPA Image caption Six other people were wounded in the attack An Israeli civilian and a policeman have died after a Palestinian gunman opened fire from his car in an attack in East Jerusalem, Israeli police say. Six other people were wounded in the attack that began at Ammunition Hill. The gunman fired at a tram stop, then drove off. He stopped after a police pursuit and opened fire again, killing a policeman before being shot dead. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the "very fast, very determined action of the Israeli police". The militant Islamist group Hamas praised the attack and said the gunman, Musbah Abu Sbaih, was one of its members. Police said 39-year-old Abu Sbaih came from East Jerusalem. The two people killed were identified as Levana Malihi, 60, and policeman Yosef Kirma. Thirty-five Israelis been killed in a wave of knife, gun and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians or Israeli Arabs since October 2015. More than 200 Palestinians - mostly attackers, Israel says - have also been killed in that period. Israel says Palestinian incitement has fuelled the attacks. The Palestinian leadership has blamed frustration rooted in decades of Israeli occupation. ||||| A PALESTINIAN motorist has launched a shooting spree near the Israeli police headquarters in Jerusalem, wounding eight people, two of them seriously, before being shot dead, officials said. The attacker sped towards a busy stop of the city's light rail system and opened fire, seriously wounding a woman waiting there, according to police spokeswoman Luba Samri. He then continued driving and shot another woman who was seated in her car before speeding off towards an Arab neighbourhood in east Jerusalem. Samri said police officers on motorcycles chased the assailant, who eventually stepped out of his vehicle and opened fire at them. A police officer was critically wounded in the shoot-out. A separate police force ultimately shot and killed the attacker, Samri said. She identified him as a 39-year-old man from the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan.
• John Barrowman shares horror at Palm Springs shooting which killed two police officers yards from his home Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said it was treating eight wounded people, of whom two were in a critical condition. Police said they have closed down the area of the shooting. Part of the light rail service was also halted. The attack was an unusual one in the year-long spate of Palestinian assaults since most have been stabbings rather than shootings. The attacks have killed 34 Israelis and two visiting Americans over the past year. About 219 Palestinians have been killed during that period, with Israel saying the vast majority of them are attackers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the potential for violence could rise as the Jewish high holidays approach again and Israel has beefed up its security presence as a result. There has been a recent surge in Palestinian attacks that shattered weeks of relative calm and raised fears of a return to the near-daily attacks often seen throughout the wave. Internal security minister Gilad Erdan said the quick response of security forces on the scene prevented a deadlier result. Israel has blamed the violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites. The Palestinians say it is rooted in nearly 50 years of military occupation and dwindling hopes for independence. Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Gaza's Islamic Hamas leaders, welcomed the attack in a statement saying it was "a natural response".
• Notorious gangland figure at the centre of Soccerworld gun alert ||||| A Palestinian motorist launched a shooting spree near the Israeli police headquarters in Jerusalem Sunday, wounding eight people, two of them seriously, before being shot dead, Israeli police and emergency services said. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the attacker sped toward a busy stop of the city's light rail and opened fire, seriously wounding a woman waiting there. He then continued driving and shot another woman who was seated in her car before speeding off toward an Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem. Samri said police officers on motorcycles chased the assailant, who eventually stepped out of his vehicle and opened fire at them. A police officer was critically wounded in the shootout. A separate police force ultimately shot and killed the attacker, Samri said. Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said it was treating eight wounded people, of which two were in a critical condition. Police said they have closed down the area of the shooting. Part of the light rail service was also halted. A spate of Palestinian assaults, mainly stabbings, has killed 34 Israelis and two visiting Americans since it began just over a year ago, around the Jewish high holidays. About 218 Palestinians have been killed during that period. Israel says the vast majority of them were attackers. Israel blames the violence on a Palestinian campaign of lies and incitement. The Palestinians say it derives from frustration over nearly 50 years of occupation. ||||| JERUSALEM (JTA) — The United States State Department strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Jerusalem that left two people dead. “The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack that took place today in Jerusalem, which resulted in the death of two Israelis and injured several others. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those killed and our hopes for a quick and full recovery for those wounded,” said the statement issued Sunday afternoon by Marc Toner, deputy State Department spokesman. The statement continued: “There is absolutely no justification for the taking of innocent lives. We also condemn the statements glorifying this reprehensible and cowardly attack.” The statement came hours after a Palestinian assailant shot and killed at least one person at the Ammunition Hill light rail station in northern Jerusalem, and then continued his shooting spree as police pursued him, ultimately shooting and killing the assailant. The assailant, a 39-year-old resident of eastern Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood, had been expected to report to an Israeli prison on Sunday at the time of his shooting attack for a conviction on assaulting a police officer in 2013. He reportedly had been known to Israel Police as a suspected terrorist and member of the terrorist Hamas organization for several years. He previously spent a year in jail for incitement in Facebook posts including some which said: “We sacrifice our souls and our blood for you Al-Aqsa,” and, “we sacrifice our children for Al-Aqsa.” He told the Palestinian Maan news agency in an interview Saturday night that he would turn himself into the Israeli Ramla prison at 10 a.m. on Sunday, the time that he started the attack. “Jerusalem is under a serious threat of ‘Judaization’ and is under an unprecedented attack by the Israeli authorities,” he said in the phone interview. The United Nations Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov also condemned the attack in a statement issues Sunday following the attack. “I condemn this morning’s terror attack by a Palestinian perpetrator in occupied East Jerusalem which killed two Israelis and injured six others. Nothing can justify such attacks. My thoughts are with the families and friends of all victims and I hope for a full and speedy recovery of the wounded,” he said in the statement. “It is deplorable and unacceptable that Hamas and others choose to glorify such acts which undermine the possibility of a peaceful future for both Palestinians and Israelis,” he also said. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton also condemned the attack, saying in a tweet: “I strongly condemn today’s attack in Jerusalem and my prayers go to the victims’ families. The terrorists must be brought to justice. -H” ||||| The attack began when a gunman opened fire from his vehicle on civilians at a light rail stop opposite the main police headquarters in Ammunition Hill, Israel Police foreign press spokesman Superintendent Micky Rosenfeld said. Two of the victims, both women, were critically injured, with one later dying of her wounds at Mount Scopus Hospital. The attacker fled in the direction of the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, with police giving chase on motorcycles, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said. When the attacker saw the officers in pursuit, he opened fire in their direction and police shot back, she said. One officer was killed and another wounded in the shootout. The attacker, who has been identified as a 39-year-old Palestinian man from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, was also killed, Rosenfeld said. Police described the shooting as a terrorist attack. Hamas praised the attack, but has not claimed responsibility. Rosenfeld said on Twitter that there was a heightened security presence in the area to prevent further potential attacks. ||||| JERUSALEM — A Palestinian motorist launched a shooting spree near the Israeli police headquarters in Jerusalem Sunday, wounding eight people, two of them seriously, before being shot dead, Israeli police and emergency services said. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the attacker sped toward a busy stop of the city's light rail and opened fire, seriously wounding a woman waiting there. He then continued driving and shot another woman who was seated in her car before speeding off toward an Arab in east Jerusalem. Samri said police officers on motorcycles chased the assailant, who eventually stepped out of his vehicle and opened fire at them. A police officer was critically wounded in the shootout. A separate police force ultimately shot and killed the attacker, Samri said. She identified him as a 39-year-old man from the east Jerusalem of Silwan. Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said it was treating eight wounded people, of whom two were in a critical condition. Police said they have closed down the area of the shooting. Part of the light rail service was also halted. The attack was an unusual one in the yearlong spate of Palestinian assaults since most have been stabbings rather than live fire. The attacks began around last year's Jewish high holidays and have killed 34 Israelis and two visiting Americans over the past year. About 219 Palestinians have been killed during that period, with Israel saying the vast majority of them are attackers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the potential for violence could rise as the Jewish high holidays approach again and Israel has beefed up its security presence as a result. There has been a recent surge in Palestinian attacks that shattered weeks of relative calm and raised fears of a return to the near-daily attacks often seen throughout the wave. Israel has blamed the violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites. The Palestinians say it is rooted in nearly 50 years of military occupation and dwindling hopes for independence. ||||| JERUSALEM — A Palestinian motorist launched a shooting spree near the Israeli police headquarters in Jerusalem Sunday, killing two people and wounding five others before being shot dead, Israeli police and emergency services said. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the attacker sped toward a busy stop of the city's light rail and opened fire, seriously wounding a 60-year-old woman waiting there. He then continued driving and shot another woman who was seated in her car before speeding off toward an Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem. Samri said police officers on motorcycles chased the assailant, who eventually stepped out of his vehicle and opened fire at them. A 30-year-old police officer was critically wounded in the shootout. A separate police force ultimately shot and killed the attacker, Samri said. She identified him as a 39-year-old man from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. Israeli media reported the man had previously served multiple sentences for violent acts and was due to report to prison Sunday for another sentence over assaulting a police officer. Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said it treated seven people for various gunshot injuries, two of whom later died of their wounds. Police cordoned off the area of the shooting and briefly shut down traffic on the light rail. The attack was an unusual one in the yearlong spate of Palestinian assaults since most have been stabbings. Sunday's was the deadliest attack on Israelis since June 8, when two Palestinians opened fire and killed four people at a popular Tel Aviv food market. The Palestinian attacks began around last year's Jewish high holidays and have since killed 36 Israelis and two visiting Americans. About 219 Palestinians have been killed during that period, with Israel saying the vast majority of them were attackers. Israel has warned that the potential for violence could rise as the Jewish high holidays approach once again and has beefed up its security presence. There has been a recent surge in Palestinian attacks that shattered weeks of relative calm and raised fears of a return to the near-daily attacks seen previously. Israel has blamed the violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders, compounded on social media sites. The Palestinians say it is rooted in some 50 years of military occupation and dwindling hopes for independence. Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Gaza's Islamic Hamas leaders, welcomed the attack in a statement saying it was "a natural response." Hamas stopped short of taking responsibility for the attack but identified the assailant as one of its members. Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan said there were no specific warnings of an attack ahead of time and the quick response of security forces on the scene prevented a deadlier result. He repeated his previous criticism of social media sites that allow militants to spread their messages of incitement. "It has an impact. It pushes people out to the streets to commits acts of murder and terror," he said. ||||| JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two people were killed and at least six injured when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on a light rail stop in Jerusalem. The attack mid-Sunday morning occurred at the Ammunition Hill station in northern Jerusalem, which is located next to the Jerusalem Police headquarters. The assailant, a 39-year-old resident of eastern Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood, was shot and killed by police during a brief chase during which he shot other victims. The attacker reportedly had an Israeli identification card. The dead victims have been identified as a 60-year-old woman and a 30-year-old police officer. At least two people were shot at the rail station, the rest were shot as the assailant drove his car from the station to the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The Hamas terrorist organization called the “operation” in Jerusalem “heroic,” and said the attack is a “natural response to the occupation’s crimes and violations at the expense of our people and holy sites.” The attack comes a year after the start of several months of attacks, including car ramming, stabbings and shootings, and at the start of the Jewish High Holiday season, where attacks often rise. The light rail station at Ammunition Hill has been the site of several car ramming and stabbing attacks in the last year. ||||| JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police say there’s been a shooting in Jerusalem near the police headquarters. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says Sunday’s shooting appears to be a terrorist attack and police have closed off the area. Israeli medical officials say four Israelis have been wounded. A spate of Palestinian assaults, mainly stabbings, has killed 34 Israelis and two visiting Americans since it began just over a year ago, around the Jewish high holidays. About 218 Palestinians have been killed during that period. Israel says the vast majority of them were attackers. Israel blames the violence on a Palestinians campaign of lies and incitement. The Palestinians say it derives from frustration over nearly 50 years of occupation. ||||| Israeli authorities have arrested dozens of Palestinians after a shooting rampage in Jerusalem killed two people and wounded five others, police said Monday. The arrests after Sunday’s attack included 31 Palestinians seeking to participate in celebrations in memory of the assailant as well as members of his family in east Jerusalem, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told army radio. Some 15 other Palestinians were arrested for throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at security forces in east Jerusalem, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said. The arrests come after Sunday’s attack in which a 39-year-old Palestinian went on a shooting rampage in Jerusalem, opening fire from a car and again as police chased him. Two Israelis were killed, including a police officer and a 60-year-old woman. The attacker, Misbah Abu Sbeih from the Silwan area of east Jerusalem, was killed by police. Palestinian media said Abu Sbeih was due to begin a four-month prison term on Sunday for attacking an Israeli police officer in 2013. Israeli media reported Monday that he used an M16 rifle issued by the Israeli military in the attack, though that had not been confirmed by authorities. The shooting rampage comes at a time of increased Jewish visitors to the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem for the holidays of Rosh Hashanah, which was last week, and Yom Kippur, which begins Tuesday evening. The same typically occurs for the Jewish Sukkot holiday that takes place next week. Last year’s Jewish high holidays led to clashes and marked the start of an upsurge in Palestinian gun, knife and car-ramming attacks. Violence since October 2015 has killed 232 Palestinians, 36 Israelis, two Americans, one Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese national, according to an AFP count. Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out attacks, according to Israeli authorities. Others were shot dead during protests and clashes, while some were killed in air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
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A shooting takes place in Jerusalem that kills two people, including a police officer, injuring six others. The attack was carried out by a Palestinian gunman who opened fire from a vehicle on people waiting at a train station and then the nearby police headquarters in Jerusalem. Israeli police kill the gunman.
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U.N. peacekeepers from Brazil arrive at the airport after Hurricane Matthew swept through Jeremie, Haiti, on Saturday. Forecasters said North Carolina and Virginia could get even more rain and warned of the danger of life—threatening flooding through Monday night. A deteriorating Matthew was stripped of hurricane status Sunday morning and began making its slow exit to the sea after unloading more than a foot of rain on North Carolina that flooded homes and trapped people in their cars as much as 100 miles inland. What will go down as one of the most potent hurricanes on record in the U.S. was blamed for at least 10 deaths in the U.S. and more than 500 in Haiti. Dozens of people including a woman and her small child had to be rescued from their cars as life—threatening flash floods surprised many in North Carolina. As night fell Saturday, authorities warned people to stay off the roads until the storm had passed, and the full extent of the damage was not expected to become clear until daylight. The unofficial rainfall totals were staggering- 18 inches in Wilmington, 14 inches in Fayetteville and 8 inches in Raleigh. Rivers and creeks overflowing, driving people from their homes. “This is a very, very serious and deadly storm,” Governor Pat McCrory said. Before daybreak on Sunday, the hurricane was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone. As of 8 a.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 60 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, moving out to sea. It still had hurricane—force winds of 75 mph. Forecasters said North Carolina and Virginia could get even more rain and warned of the danger of life—threatening flooding through Monday night. While the crisis was far from over in North Carolina, other places to the South began getting back to normal, with millions relieved that the storm wasn’t the catastrophe that many had been bracing for. In many places along the Southeast coast, the damage consisted mostly of flooded streets, blown—down signs and awnings, flattened trees and power outages. As the skies cleared on Saturday, people started cleaning up, reopening their businesses or hitting the beach. The power started coming back on. And all three major theme parks in Orlando, Florida, including Walt Disney World, were up and running. Along Daytona Beach’s main drag, the Silver Diner had all of its shiny metal siding ripped off the front and sides, leaving only a wood frame exposed. Next door, the window of a souvenir shop had been blown out and the roof and ceiling torn through, leaving pink insulation dangling. David Beasley, president of Insurance Recovery Inc., surveyed the damage and said that although it looked bad, the main strip was hit harder by Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances in 2004. “This is not much compared to those two,” he said. On Saturday, Matthew sideswiped two of the South’s oldest and most historic cities Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina and also brought torrential rain and stiff wind to places like Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. After pounding North Carolina and drenching parts of Virginia, it was expected to veer out to sea, lose steam and loop back around toward the Bahamas and Florida, too feeble to cause any trouble. For nearly its entire run up the coast from Florida, Matthew hung just far enough offshore that communities did not feel the full force of its winds. Its storm center, or eye, finally blew ashore just north of Charleston on Saturday, but only briefly. And by that time, Matthew was just barely a hurricane, with winds of just 75 mph. Matthew’s winds were howling at a terrifying 145 mph when the hurricane struck Haiti, where five days later the full extent of the tragedy was not yet known because some devastated areas were still unreachable. About 100 guests and workers had to be evacuated from a Comfort Inn motel in the North Carolina coastal town of Southport after the hurricane cracked a wall and left the roof in danger of collapse, authorities said. And dramatic video showed Fayetteville police rescuing a woman and her small child from their car as rising waters swallowed it. An estimated 2 million people in the Southeast were ordered to evacuate their homes as Matthew closed in. By hugging the coast, the storm pretty much behaved as forecasters predicted. A shift of just 20 or 30 miles could have meant widespread devastation. While Matthew’s wind speed had dropped considerably by the time it hit the Southeast coast, the storm will still go down as one of the most potent hurricanes on record, based on such factors as wind energy and longevity, and as one of the most long—lived major hurricanes, too. It was a major hurricane that is, with winds of at least 110 mph for just over seven days. Four deaths were blamed on the storm in Florida, three in Georgia and three in North Carolina. The deaths included an elderly Florida couple who died from carbon monoxide fumes while running a generator in their garage and two women who were killed when trees fell on a home and a camper. Property data firm CoreLogic projected the storm would cause $4 billion to $6 billion in insured losses on home and commercial properties. That compares with Hurricane Katrina’s $40 billion and Superstorm Sandy’s $20 billion. ||||| CHARLESTON, S.C./SAVANNAH, Ga.—Matthew was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday, Oct. 9, as it struck North Carolina and Virginia with a diminished yet still potent punch, causing flooding and widespread power outages along the U.S. Atlantic coast after killing hundreds in Haiti. The most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007 unleashed torrential rains and powerful winds as it churned slowly north after pummeling the southeastern coast of the United States, killing at least 11 people in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina since Thursday and leaving more than two million businesses and homes without power. Damage in the United States, however, was much less than in Haiti, where Matthew took nearly 900 lives. At least 13 people on the Caribbean island have also died from outbreaks of cholera since the storm, and around 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said. Matthew continued to threaten coastal communities in North Carolina and Virginia, where flash flood warnings were in effect and gusts of 75 miles per hour were recorded. "The wind is bending the trees to a 90 degree angle in my backyard, I've lost electrical power in my home and the rain is blowing sideways," Frank Gianinni, a 59-year-old occupational therapist, said in an email from his home in Wilmington, North Carolina. Forecasters said widespread flooding was possible from heavy rain - 20 inches was expected to fall in some areas - along with storm surges and high tides. "We are looking at very significant flooding. Almost every road in the city is impassable," Virginia Beach spokeswoman Erin Sutton told the Weather Channel from the city of almost 500,000 people between Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Media showed footage from across the region of motorists and passengers sitting and standing on vehicles stuck in rushing flood waters as crews used swift water boats to rescue the stranded. In Cumberland County, North Carolina alone, more than 500 people were rescued by crews, the Weather Channel reported. At 4:00 a.m. CST on Sunday, the storm was about 50 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. The center of the storm was set to move south of the North Carolina coast early on Sunday and well east of the state later in the day as it weakens. Matthew, which days ago briefly topped out as a ferocious Category 5 storm, made U.S. landfall on Saturday near McClellanville, South Carolina, a village 30 miles north of Charleston that was devastated by a Category 4 hurricane in 1989. The storm was blamed for at least 11 deaths in the United States - five in Florida, three in North Carolina and three in Georgia. More than 2 million households and businesses were without power, most in Florida and South Carolina. The storm-stricken stretch of the Atlantic Coast from Miami to Charleston, a nearly 600-mile drive, encompasses some of the most well-known beaches, resorts and historical towns in the southeastern United States. Parts of Interstate 95, the main north-south thoroughfare on the East Coast, were closed due to flooding and fallen trees, state officials said. Roads in Jackson Beach, Florida, were littered with debris, including chunks from an historic pier dislodged by the storm, and beachfront businesses suffered moderate damage. Streets in downtown Charleston, known for its historic waterfront architecture, were flooded to the tops of tires on some parked cars. The National Weather Service said record-high tides were recorded along the Savannah River at the South Carolina-Georgia border, peaking at 12.6 feet, surpassing those from Hurricane David in 1979. ||||| Now weakened, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007 unleashed torrential rains and powerful winds as it churned slowly north after pummeling the southeastern coast of the United States, killing at least 11 people in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina since Thursday and leaving more than two million businesses and homes without power. Early on Sunday, the storm threatened coastal communities in North Carolina and Virginia, where flash flood warnings were issued and gusts of winds of 75 miles per hour (120 kph) were recorded. “The wind is bending the trees to a 90 degree angle in my backyard, I've lost electrical power in my home and the rain is blowing sideways,” Frank Gianinni, a 59-year-old occupational therapist, said in an email from his home in Wilmington, North Carolina. “Standing outside in my backyard just now, and I’m humbled by the power of nature.” Forecasters warned that widespread flooding was possible from heavy rain - 15 inches (40 cm) was expected to fall in some areas - along with massive storm surges and high tides. "We are looking at very significant flooding. Almost every road in the city is impassable," Virginia Beach spokeswoman Erin Sutton told the Weather Channel on Sunday from the city of almost 500,000 people that sits between Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. On Saturday evening, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory had urged residents to stay off roads and sidewalks to avoid "deadly conditions" caused by severe flooding and debris. Local and national media showed footage from throughout the region of motorists and passengers sitting and standing on vehicles stuck in rushing flood waters as crews used swift water boats to rescue the stranded. In Cumberland County, North Carolina alone, more than 500 people had been rescued by crews as of early on Sunday, the Weather Channel reported. As of 2 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) on Sunday, the storm was about 50 miles (80 km) east of Morehead City, North Carolina, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. The center of the storm was set to move near or south of the North Carolina coast early on Sunday and east of the state later in the day as it weakens. Matthew, which topped out as a ferocious Category 5 storm days before and killed at least 877 people in Haiti, has now been downgraded to Category 1. It made U.S. landfall on Saturday near McClellanville, South Carolina, a village 30 miles (48 km) north of Charleston that was devastated by a Category 4 hurricane in 1989. The storm was blamed for at least 11 deaths in the United States - five in Florida, three in North Carolina and three in Georgia, including two people killed by falling trees in Bulloch County, the county coroner said. Power was reported knocked out for more than 2 million households and businesses in the U.S. Southeast, the bulk of those in Florida and South Carolina. The storm-stricken stretch of the Atlantic Coast from Miami to Charleston, a nearly 600-mile drive, encompasses some of the most well-known beaches, resorts and historical towns in the southeastern United States. Parts of Interstate 95, the main north-south thoroughfare on the East Coast, were closed due to flooding and fallen trees, state officials said. Roads in Jackson Beach, Florida, were littered with debris, including chunks from an historic pier dislodged by the storm, with some intersections clogged by up to a foot of standing water. Beachfront businesses suffered moderate damage. "We rode out the storm. It wasn't this bad at our house, but here there's a lot of damage," said Zowi Cuartas, 18, as he watched bystanders pick up shattered signs near the beach. Florida Governor Rick Scott said more than 6,000 people stayed in shelters overnight, but he appeared relieved that the state had been spared from greater harm. "We're all blessed that Matthew stayed off our coast," he said. He predicted electricity would be restored to most without power by Sunday evening. Streets in downtown Charleston, known for its historic waterfront architecture, were flooded to the tops of tires on some parked cars, and a few residents could be seen wading near the city's sea wall as high tide approached. Some 8 inches (20 cm) of rain fell in the Savannah, Georgia area, downing trees and causing flooding. The National Weather Service said record-high tides were recorded along the Savannah River at the South Carolina-Georgia border, peaking at 12.6 feet, surpassing those from Hurricane David in 1979. Storm damage was far greater in Haiti earlier in the week when Matthew plowed directly into the impoverished Caribbean island nation. Around 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm lashed coastal villages in high surf. ||||| Emergency crews in boats rescued hundreds from floodwaters n North Carolina after former hurricane Matthew flooded much of the U.S. Southeast. Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007, was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday after its rampage through the Caribbean killed nearly 900 people in Haiti and at least 16 people in the United States. ||||| Now weakened, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007 unleashed torrential rains and powerful winds as it churned slowly north after pummeling the southeastern coast of the United States, killing at least 11 people in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina since Thursday and leaving more than two million businesses and homes without power. Early on Sunday, the storm threatened coastal communities in North Carolina and Virginia, where flash flood warnings were issued and gusts of winds of 75 miles per hour (120 kph) were recorded. “The wind is bending the trees to a 90 degree angle in my backyard, I've lost electrical power in my home and the rain is blowing sideways,” Frank Gianinni, a 59-year-old occupational therapist, said in an email from his home in Wilmington, North Carolina. “Standing outside in my backyard just now, and I’m humbled by the power of nature.” Forecasters warned that widespread flooding was possible from heavy rain - 15 inches (40 cm) was expected to fall in some areas - along with massive storm surges and high tides. "We are looking at very significant flooding. Almost every road in the city is impassable," Virginia Beach spokeswoman Erin Sutton told the Weather Channel on Sunday from the city of almost 500,000 people that sits between Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. On Saturday evening, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory had urged residents to stay off roads and sidewalks to avoid "deadly conditions" caused by severe flooding and debris. Local and national media showed footage from throughout the region of motorists and passengers sitting and standing on vehicles stuck in rushing flood waters as crews used swift water boats to rescue the stranded. In Cumberland County, North Carolina alone, more than 500 people had been rescued by crews as of early on Sunday, the Weather Channel reported. As of 2 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) on Sunday, the storm was about 50 miles (80 km) east of Morehead City, North Carolina, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. The center of the storm was set to move near or south of the North Carolina coast early on Sunday and east of the state later in the day as it weakens. Matthew, which topped out as a ferocious Category 5 storm days before and killed at least 877 people in Haiti, has now been downgraded to Category 1. It made U.S. landfall on Saturday near McClellanville, South Carolina, a village 30 miles (48 km) north of Charleston that was devastated by a Category 4 hurricane in 1989. The storm was blamed for at least 11 deaths in the United States - five in Florida, three in North Carolina and three in Georgia, including two people killed by falling trees in Bulloch County, the county coroner said. Power was reported knocked out for more than 2 million households and businesses in the U.S. Southeast, the bulk of those in Florida and South Carolina. The storm-stricken stretch of the Atlantic Coast from Miami to Charleston, a nearly 600-mile drive, encompasses some of the most well-known beaches, resorts and historical towns in the southeastern United States. Parts of Interstate 95, the main north-south thoroughfare on the East Coast, were closed due to flooding and fallen trees, state officials said. Roads in Jackson Beach, Florida, were littered with debris, including chunks from an historic pier dislodged by the storm, with some intersections clogged by up to a foot of standing water. Beachfront businesses suffered moderate damage. "We rode out the storm. It wasn't this bad at our house, but here there's a lot of damage," said Zowi Cuartas, 18, as he watched bystanders pick up shattered signs near the beach. Florida Governor Rick Scott said more than 6,000 people stayed in shelters overnight, but he appeared relieved that the state had been spared from greater harm. "We're all blessed that Matthew stayed off our coast," he said. He predicted electricity would be restored to most without power by Sunday evening. Streets in downtown Charleston, known for its historic waterfront architecture, were flooded to the tops of tires on some parked cars, and a few residents could be seen wading near the city's sea wall as high tide approached. Some 8 inches (20 cm) of rain fell in the Savannah, Georgia area, downing trees and causing flooding. The National Weather Service said record-high tides were recorded along the Savannah River at the South Carolina-Georgia border, peaking at 12.6 feet, surpassing those from Hurricane David in 1979. Storm damage was far greater in Haiti earlier in the week when Matthew plowed directly into the impoverished Caribbean island nation. Around 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm lashed coastal villages in high surf. ||||| Hurricane Matthew had ripped away the deck where tourists had gathered to eat, drink and watch the sun set. It had smashed through the windows and shoved one of the dining booths into the kitchen. "It looks like a war zone," Galasso, 63, said of her restaurant, Matanzas Innlet, located about 15 miles south of St. Augustine. "It's a total loss." Galasso was one of millions of residents of the U.S. southeastern coast returning to homes and businesses hammered by the storm. Matthew was a Category 5 hurricane, the most powerful classification of storm, at its peak but was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday as it headed away from the North Carolina coast. It killed at least 11 people in the United States and close to 900 in Haiti. Officials in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina had urged people along parts of a 600-mile stretch of coast to evacuate. Some 2 million people were without power and streets were darkened miles from the coast. Long lines of cars snaked along the roads leading to Florida's barrier islands, which bore the storm's brunt, after police began to let residents back across. Barry Fauts, 72, came back to find his property in coastal St. Augustine shattered by the storm. "It's heartbreaking," he said as he looked at the jagged mess of shattered wood that had once been a 2,000-square-foot ocean-facing deck attached to his two rental units. Fauts, who is retired, bought the property five years ago to rent to vacationers. "We had people in here when the hurricane came so we refunded their money and they left," Fauts said. "I was looking at coming back with chainsaw and a dump trailer. But this is probably more than I can handle. I guess the next step is call my insurance agent." CoreLogic, a real estate data firm, estimated the storm may have caused up to $800 billion in damage to property along the U.S. coast. Farther south police and National Guard troops still had the main road closed, saying the road was impassable. On St. Augustine Beach, streets were clogged with tree limbs and power lines. Residents trickling back in assessed their homes and began to clear their property. Elyse Deluca, a 30-year-old nurse, said she had evacuated to Tennessee, unable to find a closer hotel room. "We really wanted to get back. We were worried about this house, what we would see," she said after seeing her home for the first time in three days. Tree branches littered her property but the home itself was undamaged. "We had water about halfway across the lawn but none got into the house," she said. ||||| Residents of the southeastern United States ravaged by Hurricane Matthew turned their focus on Monday toward recovery and clean-up, while Haiti started to bury some of its dead. Officials in several US states warned that deadly flooding could continue as rain swollen rivers crest in coming days. Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007, was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday after its rampage through the Caribbean killed 1,000 people in Haiti. In the United States, the death toll rose to at least 19 people. While power was being restored in some areas, 1.6 million people were without power in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Virginia, down Sunday’s peak of 2.2 million. Officials were working to clear streets of downed trees and abandoned vehicles. With five people reported missing and rivers rising, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory said he expected the death toll to rise. Eight people in the state were known to have died so far. McCrory said several swelling rivers were expected to hit record levels and would not crest for days. “Hurricane Matthew is off the map, but it is still with us and it is still deadly,” he said. The National Weather Service said “life-threatening flooding,” will continue Monday over eastern portions of the state. Many coastal and inland communities remained under water, either from coastal storm surge or overrun rivers and creeks. All 2,000 residents of Princeville, the oldest town in the United States incorporated by African Americans, were told on Sunday to evacuate due to flash flood risks. The town lies on the Tar River about 40 km (25 miles) north of Greenville. Several dams have breached in the area around Cumberland County, south of Raleigh, Michael Martin, fire marshal for the city of Fayetteville, said by phone. Swiftwater rescue teams are still on alert and there have been 255 water rescue calls and 701 people rescued. In neighbouring South Carolina, a vehicle trying to cross a flooded roadway in Florence County was swept away by flood waters, killing one person, Governor Nikki Haley said. Jake Williams, a resident of Florence, said on early Monday that his power had been out since Saturday morning. “Trees are down in every neighbourhood on almost every road,” he said, adding “I am no weather man, but would guess that the gusts of wind were near 100 mph (160 km), and with soggy ground a lot trees couldn’t stand up to it.” In Virginia Beach, the city said it had received over 33 cm (13 inches) of rain and 55,000 people remained without power on Sunday night. The city said that some 200 vehicles were abandoned and many roads remained impassable. Norfolk, which declared a state of emergency, said efforts were under way to clear streets of debris and abandoned vehicles with city offices, libraries and recreational centres set to re-open Monday. Haiti started burying some of its dead in mass graves in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, a government official said on Sunday, as cholera spread in the devastated southwest and the death toll from the storm rose to 1,000 people. Authorities had to start burying the dead in mass graves in Jeremie because the bodies were starting to decompose, said Kedner Frenel, the most senior central government official in the Grand’Anse region on Haiti’s western peninsula. Frenel said there was great concern about cholera spreading, and that authorities were focused on getting water, food and medication to the thousands of people living in shelters. Cholera causes severe diarrhoea and can kill within hours if untreated. It is spread through contaminated water and has a short incubation period, which leads to rapid outbreaks. The storm centre was about 320 km (200 miles) off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and heading away from land, according to the National Hurricane Center’s Sunday 9pm Irish time (5pm local time) report. The storm still packed hurricane force winds as far as 150km (90 miles) from the centre and tropical-storm-force winds 390km (240 miles) away. US president Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Georgia and Florida, freeing up federal money to help the states repair damaged infrastructure and remove debris. Mr McCrory said 334 rescue workers risked their lives carrying out 877 rescues overnight. ||||| Now weakened, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007 unleashed torrential rains and powerful winds as it churned slowly north after pummeling the southeastern coast of the United States, killing at least 11 people in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina since Thursday and leaving more than two million businesses and homes without power. Early on Sunday, the storm threatened coastal communities in North Carolina and Virginia, where flash flood warnings were issued and gusts of winds of 75 miles per hour (120 kph) were recorded. “The wind is bending the trees to a 90 degree angle in my backyard, I've lost electrical power in my home and the rain is blowing sideways,” Frank Gianinni, a 59-year-old occupational therapist, said in an email from his home in Wilmington, North Carolina. “Standing outside in my backyard just now, and I’m humbled by the power of nature.” Forecasters warned that widespread flooding was possible from heavy rain - 15 inches (40 cm) was expected to fall in some areas - along with massive storm surges and high tides. "We are looking at very significant flooding. Almost every road in the city is impassable," Virginia Beach spokeswoman Erin Sutton told the Weather Channel on Sunday from the city of almost 500,000 people that sits between Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. On Saturday evening, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory had urged residents to stay off roads and sidewalks to avoid "deadly conditions" caused by severe flooding and debris. Local and national media showed footage from throughout the region of motorists and passengers sitting and standing on vehicles stuck in rushing flood waters as crews used swift water boats to rescue the stranded. In Cumberland County, North Carolina alone, more than 500 people had been rescued by crews as of early on Sunday, the Weather Channel reported. As of 2 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) on Sunday, the storm was about 50 miles (80 km) east of Morehead City, North Carolina, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. The center of the storm was set to move near or south of the North Carolina coast early on Sunday and east of the state later in the day as it weakens. Matthew, which topped out as a ferocious Category 5 storm days before and killed at least 877 people in Haiti, has now been downgraded to Category 1. It made U.S. landfall on Saturday near McClellanville, South Carolina, a village 30 miles (48 km) north of Charleston that was devastated by a Category 4 hurricane in 1989. The storm was blamed for at least 11 deaths in the United States - five in Florida, three in North Carolina and three in Georgia, including two people killed by falling trees in Bulloch County, the county coroner said. Power was reported knocked out for more than 2 million households and businesses in the U.S. Southeast, the bulk of those in Florida and South Carolina. The storm-stricken stretch of the Atlantic Coast from Miami to Charleston, a nearly 600-mile drive, encompasses some of the most well-known beaches, resorts and historical towns in the southeastern United States. Parts of Interstate 95, the main north-south thoroughfare on the East Coast, were closed due to flooding and fallen trees, state officials said. Roads in Jackson Beach, Florida, were littered with debris, including chunks from an historic pier dislodged by the storm, with some intersections clogged by up to a foot of standing water. Beachfront businesses suffered moderate damage. "We rode out the storm. It wasn't this bad at our house, but here there's a lot of damage," said Zowi Cuartas, 18, as he watched bystanders pick up shattered signs near the beach. Florida Governor Rick Scott said more than 6,000 people stayed in shelters overnight, but he appeared relieved that the state had been spared from greater harm. "We're all blessed that Matthew stayed off our coast," he said. He predicted electricity would be restored to most without power by Sunday evening. Streets in downtown Charleston, known for its historic waterfront architecture, were flooded to the tops of tires on some parked cars, and a few residents could be seen wading near the city's sea wall as high tide approached. Some 8 inches (20 cm) of rain fell in the Savannah, Georgia area, downing trees and causing flooding. The National Weather Service said record-high tides were recorded along the Savannah River at the South Carolina-Georgia border, peaking at 12.6 feet, surpassing those from Hurricane David in 1979. Storm damage was far greater in Haiti earlier in the week when Matthew plowed directly into the impoverished Caribbean island nation. Around 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm lashed coastal villages in high surf. ||||| FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – When Hurricane Matthew dumped torrential rains on North Carolina, thousands of people found themselves suddenly trapped in homes and cars. Rescuers in Coast Guard helicopters plucked some of them from rooftops and used military vehicles to reach others, including a woman who held on to a tree for three hours after her car was overrun by flood waters. In another dramatic rescue, a woman with her small child perched on the roof of her car had to be helped to safety as the waters rose around them, underscoring how quickly Matthew wreaked havoc 100 miles or more inland after sparing much of the Southeastern coast the catastrophic damage once feared. The storm killed more than 500 people in Haiti and at least 18 in the U.S. — nearly half of them in North Carolina. Most were swept away by flood waters. Gov. Pat McCrory said authorities were searching for five people and feared they may find more victims. The problems were far from over as all that rain — more than a foot in places — flows into rivers and downstream, likely causing days of major flooding in many of the same places devastated by a similar deluge from Hurricane Floyd in 1999. "Hurricane Matthew is off the map. But it is still with us. And it is still deadly," McCrory said. Princeville, a town of 2,000 that disappeared in the waters of the Tar River during Floyd, was evacuated Sunday as the river was expected to rise to 17 feet above flood stage by late Monday — a level not seen since Floyd. McCrory expected more evacuations as some rivers were predicted to crest next Friday. David Bullock's sister called him as he bought lottery tickets to tell him police were knocking on doors saying they had to go. He rebuilt his home after the 1999 flood. "If I get flooded again, I can't take it. I can't go back and take the expense. If I get flooded again I'm going to say, 'it's yours, I'm gone,'" Bullock said. More than a million people in South Carolina and North Carolina were without power, and at least four separate sections of Interstate 95 — the main artery linking the East Coast from Florida to Maine — were closed in North Carolina. The ferocity of the rain caught people by surprise. Ezekiel Crowe escaped the floods in Fayetteville on Saturday with his parents and seven brothers and sisters when a police boat plucked them from an apartment as the waters rose. "I was scared. I was scared. And I thought, I thought the world was going to end. But it didn't," he said. In Wilson County, rescuers were called when a 63-year-old woman didn't make it home from work. They heard her cries for help while riding on top of a Humvee, and when they couldn't get her with a rope, a National Guard soldier swam to her, staying until a rescue boat arrived, Emergency Management Director Gordon Deno, said. Even animals had to be saved. WRAL-TV showed a dog swimming around floodwaters Saturday. McCrory said he and his wife were riveted by the coverage and relieved to find out from the Coast Guard that the dog managed to get into a tree and rescue it. The rainfall totals were staggering: Nearly 15 inches in Fayetteville and 8 inches in Raleigh. McCrory warned that cities along rivers in eastern North Carolina needed to be prepared for days of flooding. The Lumber River in Lumberton was 4 feet above its record level Sunday afternoon and was forecast to remain there for at least five days. Shortly before daybreak, the hurricane was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone. As of 2 p.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 150 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, moving out to sea. It still had hurricane-force winds of 75 mph. Elsewhere along the Atlantic coast, things were slowly returning to normal. Much of Savannah, which had 17 inches of rain, was still without electricity. About 150 people stood in line for a grocery store to open like it was a Black Friday sale. Debbie Berta said she waited more than an hour to get propane gas for her grill. She also wanted "bread, potatoes, eggs — and a piece of sanity." Matthew killed more than 500 people in Haiti last week, plowing into the desperately poor country at 145 mph. The fearsome storm then sideswiped hundreds of miles of the U.S. coastline from Florida through Georgia and the Carolinas, its eye staying far enough offshore that the damage in many places along the coast was relatively modest, consisting mostly of flooded streets, flattened trees and blown-down signs and awnings. A shift of just 20 or 30 miles could have meant widespread devastation nearer the ocean. An estimated 2 million people in the Southeast were ordered to evacuate their homes as Matthew closed in. In addition to the eight deaths in North Carolina, there were four in Florida and three each in Georgia and South Carolina. Some were killed by falling trees, others by carbon monoxide fumes from a generator. One 66-year-old man near Columbia, South Carolina, died at a nursing facility when he got pinned under his electric wheelchair in water after the heavy rains. "People were hit. They weren't hit as directly as we had feared, but it has left a lot of devastation in in its wake. Lives have been lost, property has been severely damaged and there's still continuing risk of flooding going on," President Barack Obama said at a fundraiser in Chicago. Property data firm CoreLogic projected that insured losses on home and commercial properties would amount to $4 billion to $6 billion, well below Hurricane Katrina's $40 billion and Superstorm Sandy's $20 billion. Waggoner reported from Raleigh, North Carolina; Jonathan Drew in Raleigh; Jeffrey Collins and Jack Jones in Columbia, South Carolina; Russ Bynum in Savannah and Terrance Harris in Daytona Beach, Florida also contributed to this report. ||||| CHARLESTON, S.C./SAVANNAH, Ga.—Matthew was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday, Oct. 9, as it struck North Carolina and Virginia with a diminished yet still potent punch, causing flooding and widespread power outages along the U.S. Atlantic coast after killing hundreds in Haiti. The most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007 unleashed torrential rains and powerful winds as it churned slowly north after pummeling the southeastern coast of the United States, killing at least 11 people in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina since Thursday and leaving more than two million businesses and homes without power. Damage in the United States, however, was much less than in Haiti, where Matthew took nearly 900 lives. At least 13 people on the Caribbean island have also died from outbreaks of cholera since the storm, and around 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said. Matthew continued to threaten coastal communities in North Carolina and Virginia, where flash flood warnings were in effect and gusts of 75 miles per hour were recorded. "The wind is bending the trees to a 90 degree angle in my backyard, I've lost electrical power in my home and the rain is blowing sideways," Frank Gianinni, a 59-year-old occupational therapist, said in an email from his home in Wilmington, North Carolina. Forecasters said widespread flooding was possible from heavy rain - 20 inches was expected to fall in some areas - along with storm surges and high tides. "We are looking at very significant flooding. Almost every road in the city is impassable," Virginia Beach spokeswoman Erin Sutton told the Weather Channel from the city of almost 500,000 people between Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Media showed footage from across the region of motorists and passengers sitting and standing on vehicles stuck in rushing flood waters as crews used swift water boats to rescue the stranded. In Cumberland County, North Carolina alone, more than 500 people were rescued by crews, the Weather Channel reported. At 4:00 a.m. CST on Sunday, the storm was about 50 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. The center of the storm was set to move south of the North Carolina coast early on Sunday and well east of the state later in the day as it weakens. Matthew, which days ago briefly topped out as a ferocious Category 5 storm, made U.S. landfall on Saturday near McClellanville, South Carolina, a village 30 miles north of Charleston that was devastated by a Category 4 hurricane in 1989. The storm was blamed for at least 11 deaths in the United States - five in Florida, three in North Carolina and three in Georgia. More than 2 million households and businesses were without power, most in Florida and South Carolina. The storm-stricken stretch of the Atlantic Coast from Miami to Charleston, a nearly 600-mile drive, encompasses some of the most well-known beaches, resorts and historical towns in the southeastern United States. Parts of Interstate 95, the main north-south thoroughfare on the East Coast, were closed due to flooding and fallen trees, state officials said. Roads in Jackson Beach, Florida, were littered with debris, including chunks from an historic pier dislodged by the storm, and beachfront businesses suffered moderate damage. Streets in downtown Charleston, known for its historic waterfront architecture, were flooded to the tops of tires on some parked cars. The National Weather Service said record-high tides were recorded along the Savannah River at the South Carolina-Georgia border, peaking at 12.6 feet, surpassing those from Hurricane David in 1979.
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The death toll in the United States from Hurricane Matthew rises to 27 with at least five people still missing in North Carolina. Governor Pat McCrory warns that the state's swollen rivers are still rising with flooding continuing to pose threats to life and property this week. The storm, downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone yesterday, moves away from the U.S. coastline on an east-northeast track.
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The content you're looking for is no longer available. ||||| ILAGAN, Philippines: One of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit the Philippines killed at least four people as it destroyed houses, tore roofs off schools and uprooted giant trees yesterday. Super Typhoon Haima struck late on Wednesday night with winds similar to those of catastrophic Haiyan in 2013, which was then the strongest storm to strike the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago and claimed more than 7,350 lives. Haima then roared across mountain and farming communities of the northern regions of the main island of Luzon overnight, causing widespread destruction and killing at least four people who were buried by landslides, authorities said. “The winds were so strong. They blew away our roof,” said Crecy Ramos, 46, a street stall owner in Ilagan, one of the main northern cities with a population of 130,000 people, as she started to repair her ramshackle home yesterday afternoon. “Everyone in our community had their roofs blown away.” Haima hit coastal towns facing the Pacific Ocean with sustained winds of 225 kilometres an hour, and wind gusts of up to 315 kilometres. It weakened overnight as it rammed into giant mountain ranges and by yesterday morning had passed over the western edge of Luzon and into the South China Sea, heading towards southern China. Jefferson Soriano, mayor of Tuguegarao, the capital of Cagayan where Haima made landfall, reported badly damaged schools and gymnasiums where people had sought shelter. “They are calling for help because the roofs have been torn off. The problem is, our rescuers here are unable to go out and help,” Soriano told DZMM radio before dawn while the storm was still raging. President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday night all possible preparations had been made for Haima, with tens of thousands of people evacuated, but he still struck an ominous tone. “We only pray we be spared the destruction such as the previous times, which brought agony and suffering. But we are ready. Everything has been deployed,” Duterte said in Beijing, where he was on a state visit. About 10 million people across the northern parts of Luzon were at risk, the government’s disaster risk management council said on Wednesday. Authorities said two of those killed, aged 16 and 17, were buried in a landslide while sleeping in a house in Ifugao, a mountainous area that is home to stunning stepped rice terraces that are listed by the United Nations as a World Heritage site. — AFP ||||| The basic details of the proposed package are still under discussion. It requires of the United Nations a delicate diplomatic balance — weighing considerations of donors who will pay for it, and of victims who have been demanding justice. The official rollout of the package, expected in the coming.... (hide) ||||| Haima hit Cagayan province on the northeastern end of the archipelago about 11 p.m. local time. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center downgraded it from a super typhoon before it made landfall. Winds of 220 kilometers per hour (137 mph) had put it on par with a Category 4 hurricane, the center said. It's expected to affect as many as 2.7 million people in seven provinces before veering northwest toward the Chinese coast by Friday. It is blasting the Philippines with strong winds and heavy rainfall that could trigger landslides in the mountainous region of the northern island of Luzon. More than 60,000 people have already been affeted by the typhoon, as it traveled across the Philippines, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development , with almost 15,000 people in evacuation centers. Hundreds of thousands of food packs were ready to be deployed by the government early on Thursday morning. At its peak, Haima packed winds of up to 315 kilometers per hour (195 mph), the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale It is the third-strongest typhoon of the season, behind Nepartak and Meranti , both of which lashed Taiwan and China. The storm surge and winds near the center of Haima could be catastrophic. The storm will be much weaker by the time it heads toward China, though flooding could still occur. Typhoon Sarika has caused widespread damage across the Philippines after striking Sunday. According to data going back to 1950 from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, it will be just the third time back-to-back storms with an intensity of Category 4 or higher have hit the Philippines. At least three people were killed Sunday as Sarika crossed the archipelago north of Manila as a Category 4 storm. Almost 10,000 people were displaced, according to aid organization Care International. On Tuesday, that weather system made landfall on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, prompting the government to close schools in the island province and suspend high-speed rail services, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported. About 500,000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm, Xinhua reported. ||||| ||||| The Hong Kong Observatory raised its typhoon 8 signal, one of its highest warnings which rate typhoons up to 10, as Haima crossed the northern part of the South China Sea after lashing the Philippines. "According to the present forecast track, Haima will be closest to Hong Kong around noon, skirting about 100 km (62 miles) to the east of the territory," said the observatory on its website. "This means that winds with mean speeds of 63 kmh (40 mph) or more are expected from the northwest quarter." Flights and train services have been canceled going in and out of the city. When a typhoon 8 signal is in place businesses, government offices and schools stay closed, including banks, port operations and the Hong Kong stock exchange. Haima strikes Hong Kong just as it recovers from a day of torrential rain on Wednesday that caused several minor landslides and localized flooding. ||||| VIGAN, Philippines — At least five people were killed after Super Typhoon Haima smashed into the northern Philippines with ferocious winds and rains overnight, flooding towns and forcing thousands to flee before weakening Thursday and blowing into the South China Sea, officials said. Haima's blinding winds and rain had rekindled fears and memories from the catastrophe wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, but there were no immediate reports of any major damage amid faulty communications and power outages in several villages cut off from government aid and rescue teams by fallen trees, landslide and flood. Nearly 100,000 villagers were evacuated from high-risk communities as the typhoon approached, helping prevent a larger number of casualties. Two construction workers died, however, when a landslide buried their shanty in La Trinidad town in the mountain province of Benguet, officials said, while two villagers drowned in floodwaters and another is missing in Ifugao province, near Benguet. A 70-year-old man died apparently of a heart attack while being brought to an emergency shelter from a flooded neighborhood in Isabela province, officials said. Although storms are a part of life in the country's north, many villagers were still horrified by Haima's fury. "In my age, I'm 60 years old, this is the strongest typhoon I have ever seen," village councilor Willie Cabalteja told The Associated Press in Vigan city in Ilocos Sur province. "We haven't slept. Trees were forced down, houses lost their roofs and fences and metal sheets were flying around all night." The fast-moving Pacific typhoon slammed into shore in northeastern Cagayan province late Wednesday then barreled northwestward before blowing out into the South China Sea with sustained winds of 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 185 kph (115 mph), according to forecasters. Although weakening, the typhoon was expected to blow toward China, Filipino forecasters said. After dawn, the extent of damage in Cagayan — about 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of Manila — and nearby regions became evident, with overturned vans, toppled or leaning electric posts and debris blocking roads. Most stores, their window panes shattered and canopies shredded by the wind, were close. In northern Ilocos Sur province, ricefields resembled brown lakes under waist-high floodwaters, although cleanup operations had started. "Search, rescue and retrieval operations are ongoing," Office of Civil Defense administrator Ricardo Jalad said in a statement. The government's weather agency lowered most of its storm warnings after the typhoon blew out of the main northern Luzon region. Many of the provinces hit by the storm were still recovering from a powerful typhoon that killed two people and displaced tens of thousands of villagers last weekend. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, on a state visit to China, urged people in the typhoon's path to heed orders by disaster agencies. Duterte is to fly home Friday. About 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippines each year, adding to the many burdens in a country that is also threatened by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and considered one of the world's most disaster-prone nations. In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines with ferocious power, leaving more than 7,300 people dead and displacing more than 5 million others after leveling entire villages. Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report. ||||| MANILA: One of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit the Philippines destroyed houses, tore roofs off schools and ripped giant trees out of the ground on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of deaths. Super Typhoon Haima hit the northern province of Cagayan late on Wednesday night with winds almost on a par with catastrophic Haiyan, which was then the strongest storm to strike the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago and claimed more than 7,350 lives in 2013. Haima roared across mountain and farming communities of the northern regions of the main island of Luzon overnight, and by morning a picture was emerging of widescale destruction. “Rice and corn plants as far as the eye can see are flattened,” Villamor Visaya, a university teacher in Ilagan, one of the main northern cities with a population of 130,000 people, told AFP by telephone. “Many houses were destroyed. I saw one school building crushed under a large tree… it was as if our house was being pulled from its foundations. Haima hit coastal towns facing the Pacific Ocean with sustained winds of 225 kilometres (140 miles) an hour, and wind gusts of up to 315 kilometres. It weakened overnight as it rammed into giant mountain ranges and by 9:00 am (0100 GMT) on Thursday was leaving the western edge of Luzon, heading towards southern China. Jefferson Soriano, mayor of Tuguegarao, the capital of Cagayan where Haima made landfall, reported badly damaged schools and gymnasiums where people had sought shelter. “They are calling for help because the roofs have been torn off. The problem is, our rescuers here are unable to go out and help,” Soriana told DZMM radio before dawn while the storm was still raging. President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday night all possible preparations had been made for Haima, with tens of thousands of people evacuated, but he still struck an ominous tone. “We only pray we be spared the destruction such as the previous times, which brought agony and suffering,” Duterte said in Beijing, where he was on a state visit. “But we are ready. Everything has been deployed.” About 10 million people across the northern parts of Luzon were at risk, the government’s disaster risk management agency said on Wednesday. The Philippine islands are often the first major landmass to be hit by storms that generate over the Pacific Ocean. The Southeast Asian archipelago endures about 20 major storms each year, many of them deadly. The most powerful and deadliest was Haiyan, which destroyed entire towns in heavily populated areas of the central Philippines. The capital of Manila is about 350 kilometres south of where Haima struck land. However the city, with about 12 million people, was not affected, hit only by moderate winds overnight and little rain. Haima was the second typhoon to hit the northern Philippines in a week, after Sarika struck on Sunday claiming at least one life and leaving three people missing. – AFP ||||| VIGAN, Philippines (AP) — At least five people were killed after Super Typhoon Haima smashed into the northern Philippines with ferocious winds and rains overnight, flooding towns and forcing thousands to flee before weakening Thursday and blowing into the South China Sea, officials said. Haima’s blinding winds and rain had rekindled fears and memories from the catastrophe wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, but there were no immediate reports of any major damage amid faulty communications and power outages in several villages cut off from government aid and rescue teams by fallen trees, landslide and flood. Nearly 100,000 villagers were evacuated from high-risk communities as the typhoon approached, helping prevent a larger number of casualties. Two construction workers died, however, when a landslide buried their shanty in La Trinidad town in the mountain province of Benguet, officials said, while two villagers drowned in floodwaters and another is missing in Ifugao province, near Benguet. A 70-year-old man died apparently of a heart attack while being brought to an emergency shelter from a flooded neighborhood in Isabela province, officials said. Although storms are a part of life in the country’s north, many villagers were still horrified by Haima’s fury. “In my age, I’m 60 years old, this is the strongest typhoon I have ever seen,” village councilor Willie Cabalteja told The Associated Press in Vigan city in Ilocos Sur province. “We haven’t slept. Trees were forced down, houses lost their roofs and fences and metal sheets were flying around all night.” The fast-moving Pacific typhoon slammed into shore in northeastern Cagayan province late Wednesday then barreled northwestward before blowing out into the South China Sea with sustained winds of 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 185 kph (115 mph), according to forecasters. Although weakening, the typhoon was expected to blow toward China, Filipino forecasters said. After dawn, the extent of damage in Cagayan — about 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of Manila — and nearby regions became evident, with overturned vans, toppled or leaning electric posts and debris blocking roads. Most stores, their window panes shattered and canopies shredded by the wind, were close. In northern Ilocos Sur province, ricefields resembled brown lakes under waist-high floodwaters, although cleanup operations had started. “Search, rescue and retrieval operations are ongoing,” Office of Civil Defense administrator Ricardo Jalad said in a statement. The government’s weather agency lowered most of its storm warnings after the typhoon blew out of the main northern Luzon region. Many of the provinces hit by the storm were still recovering from a powerful typhoon that killed two people and displaced tens of thousands of villagers last weekend. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, on a state visit to China, urged people in the typhoon’s path to heed orders by disaster agencies. Duterte is to fly home Friday. About 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippines each year, adding to the many burdens in a country that is also threatened by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and considered one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations. In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines with ferocious power, leaving more than 7,300 people dead and displacing more than 5 million others after leveling entire villages. Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report. ||||| The Hong Kong Observatory raised its typhoon 8 signal, one of its highest warnings which rate typhoons up to 10, as Haima crossed the northern part of the South China Sea after lashing the Philippines. "According to the present forecast track, Haima will be closest to Hong Kong around noon, skirting about 100 km (62 miles) to the east of the territory," said the observatory on its website. "This means that winds with mean speeds of 63 kmh (40 mph) or more are expected from the northwest quarter." Flights and train services have been canceled going in and out of the city. When a typhoon 8 signal is in place businesses, government offices and schools stay closed, including banks, port operations and the Hong Kong stock exchange. Haima strikes Hong Kong just as it recovers from a day of torrential rain on Wednesday that caused several minor landslides and localized flooding.
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The Philippine government places more than two dozen provinces on alert before Typhoon Haima makes landfall over Luzon. Haima, downgraded by the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System to a Category 4 storm, landfalls Cagayan province in the island's northeast. Weather forecasters expect the storm to impact up to 2.7 million people before veering northwest toward the Chinese coast on October 21.
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South Africa is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday, a move that would take effect one year after notice is formally received by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. A UN spokesman declined to confirm receipt of the document, which is signed by South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and dated October 19. "The Republic of South Africa has found that its obligations with respect to the peaceful resolution of conflicts at times are incompatible with the interpretation given by the International Criminal Court," according to the document. South Africa's foreign affairs department spokesman Clayson Monyela declined to comment, saying the justice minister would hold a news conference on the issue at 0800 GMT. The International Criminal Court, which opened in July 2002 and has 124 member states, is the first legal body with permanent international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Burundi appeared set to become the first state to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty establishing the global court, after its parliament voted last week to leave. President Pierre Nkurunziza signed a decree on Tuesday, but the United Nations has not yet been officially notified. South Africa said a year ago that it planned to leave the ICC after its government was criticised for ignoring a court order to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide and war crimes, when he visited last year. Several African countries have expressed concern that the focus of the Hague-based court has been on Africa rather than elsewhere in the world. "The Republic of South Africa is committed to fight impunity and to bring those who commit atrocities and international crimes to justice and as a founding member of the African Union promotes international human rights and the peaceful resolution of conflicts on the African continent," the document said. "In complex and multi-faceted peace negotiations and sensitive post-conflict situations, peace and justice must be viewed as complementary and not mutually exclusive," the South African document said. ||||| PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa said on Friday it was quitting the International Criminal Court (ICC) because membership conflicted with diplomatic immunity laws, dealing a new blow to the struggling court and angering the political opposition. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir addresses a news conference in Cape Town South Africa, November 7, 2007. Picture taken November 7, 2007. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo Pretoria last year announced its intention to leave after the ICC criticized it for disregarding an ICC order to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide and war crimes, when he visited South Africa. Bashir has denied the accusations. The United Nations on Friday confirmed receipt of South Africa’s withdrawal from the ICC, which will take effect one year from Oct. 19, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, making it the first country to quit the Rome Statute. The instrument of withdrawal document, seen by Reuters on Thursday, has been assessed by the United Nations as bona fide and is being processed, Dujarric said. The announcement puts new pressure on the world’s first permanent war crimes court, which has had to fight off allegations of pursuing a neo-colonial agenda in Africa, where all but one of its 10 investigations have been based. Burundi’s leader this week signed a decree to leave the ICC, and Kenya’s parliament is considering following suit. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States was “concerned” about the South African decision, but he declined to speculate what Kenya and Burundi would do and said it was too early to speak of a “trend” toward African withdrawal from the court. Kirby said the United States, while not a member of the court, believed the ICC had made “valuable contributions in the service of accountability ...and we hope that other countries would share that assessment.” Justice Minister Michael Masutha told reporters in Pretoria that the government would draft a bill to repeal its adoption of the ICC’s Rome Statute to preserve its ability to conduct active diplomatic relations, and had given formal notice. He said the statute conflicted with South Africa’s Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act, which was cited in the decision to ignore the court order to detain Bashir, but that the government remained committed to the fight against impunity. The ICC said it had not formally been notified of South Africa’s intention to leave the Rome Statute. A document seen by Reuters at the United Nations on Thursday showed the move would take effect one year after notice was formally received by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Related Coverage U.N. confirms South Africa withdrawal from war crimes court The document was signed by South African International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and dated Oct. 19. “UNCONSTITUTIONAL” WITHDRAWAL James Selfe, a senior executive at the main opposition Democratic Alliance, said it would file a court application on Friday to set aside the plans “on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, irrational and procedurally flawed”. Former South African judge Richard Goldstone, a respected figure in international justice and former chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, said quitting the ICC was “demeaning” to the country. “From a moral standpoint, it detracts from the inspiring legacy of the administration of President Nelson Mandela that so strongly supported the ICC,” said Goldstone, chairman of the advisory board of the coalition for the ICC, which provides strategic guidance on key issues. Masutha, the justice minister, said Pretoria would drop its appeal to the Constitutional Court against a ruling that the state had made an error in letting Bashir leave the country. In June 2015 Bashir was in Johannesburg for an African Union summit. He was allowed to leave even though the ICC had ordered that he be kept in South Africa until the end of a hearing on whether he should be detained under a global arrest warrant. The High Court ruled Bashir should have been arrested to face genocide charges at the ICC since, as a signatory of the Rome Statute, Pretoria was obliged to implement arrest warrants. The government lost an appeal at the Supreme Court in March and the appeal to the Constitutional Court was its last chance of overturning the ruling. The ICC, which sits in The Hague and has 124 member states, is the first legal body with permanent international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. But it has secured only five substantive verdicts in its 14-year history, all of them on African suspects, and several African countries have expressed concern that the continent is being picked on. In January, the African Union backed a proposal by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta for officials of various member states to “develop a road map” on possible withdrawal from the Rome Statute. The decision was not legally binding as the final decision to leave the ICC would be taken by individual nations. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir attends during signing of agreements ceremony with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (unseen) at the El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt October 5, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh A high-profile ICC attempt to try Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto over post-election violence failed amid diplomatic lobbying and allegations of witness intimidation. Adan Duale, leader of the majority in the Kenyan parliament, said impetus was building there to pass a bill on quitting the ICC that has been slowly making its way through the assembly. ||||| President Uhuru Kenyatta with South African counterpart Jacob Zuma during a past visit to Pretoria, South Africa. South Africa said a year ago that it planned to leave the ICC after it was criticised for ignoring a court order to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. PHOTO | FILE South Africa is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday, a move that would take effect one year after notice is formally received by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. A UN spokesman declined to confirm receipt of the document, which is signed by South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and dated Oct. 19. "The Republic of South Africa has found that its obligations with respect to the peaceful resolution of conflicts at times are incompatible with the interpretation given by the International Criminal Court," according to the document. South Africa's foreign affairs department spokesman Clayson Monyela declined to comment, saying the justice minister would hold a news conference on the issue at 0800 GMT. The International Criminal Court, which opened in July 2002 and has 124 member states, is the first legal body with permanent international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Burundi appeared set to become the first state to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty establishing the global court, after its parliament voted last week to leave. President Pierre Nkurunziza signed a decree on Tuesday, but the United Nations has not yet been officially notified. South Africa said a year ago that it planned to leave the ICC after its government was criticised for ignoring a court order to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide and war crimes, when he visited last year. Several African countries have expressed concern that the focus of the Hague-based court has been on Africa rather than elsewhere in the world. "The Republic of South Africa is committed to fight impunity and to bring those who commit atrocities and international crimes to justice and as a founding member of the African Union promotes international human rights and the peaceful resolution of conflicts on the African continent," the document said. "In complex and multi-faceted peace negotiations and sensitive post-conflict situations, peace and justice must be viewed as complementary and not mutually exclusive," the South African document said. ||||| South Africa has withdrawn from the International Criminal Court (ICC), in the most damaging blow to the 14-year-old institution since the collapse of the war crimes case against Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, which energised the court’s opponents two years ago. Announcing the decision, South Africa’s justice minister, Michael Masutha, maintained that the country’s obligations under the Rome Statute which set up the ICC, to arrest anyone wanted by the court, were fatally at odds with domestic laws giving sitting leaders diplomatic immunity. South Africa did not wish to execute arrest warrants which could lead to “regime change”, Mr Masutha declared. An “instrument of withdrawal” signed by international relations minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, and dated October 19th, has been sent to the United Nations in New York – and takes effect one year after receipt by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon. The abandonment of the Kenyatta case for lack of evidence in 2014, before it even got under way, fuelled accusations among African countries that the ICC has been pursuing a pro-western “neo-colonial agenda” – focusing disproportionately on “hunting” black African leaders. That blow to the credibility of the court was followed in 2015 by South Africa’s embarrassing refusal to arrest Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president wanted by the ICC for genocide in Darfur, when he arrived for an African Union (AU) conference chaired by Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe. The refusal was described as “a betrayal of Nelson Mandela’s legacy” – a view reinforced when the supreme court of appeal upheld a high court ruling that Al-Bashir should indeed have been arrested, describing the ANC government’s conduct as “disgraceful”. The ICC subsequently criticised South Africa for its failure to comply and since then the row has been simmering, with this historic withdrawal – soon to be followed by that of Burundi, whose parliament voted last week to leave – well signalled by Pretoria and simply a matter of time. The South African decision has caused fury among the country’s opposition and international human rights groups, many of whom maintain withdrawal is not possible without parliamentary approval. James Selfe of the main opposition Democratic Alliance, said his party would file a court application to set aside the withdrawal “on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, irrational and procedurally flawed”. Human Rights Watch said the move showed “startling disregard for justice from a country long seen as a global leader in accountability for victims of the gravest crimes”, while Richard Goldstone of the Coalition for the ICC described it as “demeaning” for the parliament and people of South Africa. Whatever happens inside South Africa, the decision to withdraw will give new impetus to calls within the AU for a mass withdrawal from the ICC – possibly replacing it with the African Court for Human and People’s Rights, which allows sitting heads of state immunity from prosecution. Even if that does not happen immediately, one has to wonder how long it will be before the withdrawals of South Africa and Burundi are following by that of Kenya, America’s closest ally in the region – and the drip, drip of the ICC’s receding influence in Africa. ||||| "There is a view in Africa that the ICC in choosing who to prosecute has seemingly preferred to target leaders in Africa," Masutha added to AFP. The ICC, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against Africa and has also struggled with a lack of cooperation, including from the United States which has signed the court's treaty but never ratified it. "We do think that the ICC has made valuable contributions in the service of accountability in a number of situations and we hope that other governments would share that," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters. As an ICC signatory, South Africa's failure to arrest Bashir last year led to a wave of condemnation and an early threat from the government to withdraw from The Hague-based court. Bashir has evaded arrest since his ICC indictment in 2009 for alleged war crimes in Sudan's Darfur conflict in which 300,000 people were killed and two million forced to flee their homes. "The presidency of the republic... calls on African leaders and the people of Africa who are still members of the ICC to take a collective step in withdrawing from the ICC," a presidency statement said. Burundi's foreign minister Alain-Ayme Nyamitwe, meanwhile, said the country expected others to follow, adding that it was important to note that "the ICC is not popular in Africa". South Africa, which delivered a letter to the United Nations on Wednesday to activate its official withdrawal, is likely to complete the process in one year. "South Africa played an important role in developing the ICC and now to see it playing such a destructive role is saddening," he said. The ICC said Friday it had not received any confirmation of the South African position, adding that it relied on "the international community in Africa and outside Africa... to fulfil its mandate." The government was facing a possible defeat in the Constitutional Court next month over the issue, but said that Friday's decision meant its legal battle would be dropped. During the summit, an emergency court order was obtained for Bashir's arrest, though government lawyers admitted he had quickly flown out of the country just before the order was issued. "We were called as a country to arrest and prosecute a sitting head of state and the natural consequence would have been forced regime change in that country by South Africa," Minister Masutha told AFP. Of the ten ICC probes since 2002, nine have been into African countries and one into Georgia, though most ICC cases have been referred to the court by African governments themselves. ||||| In a major blow to the International Criminal Court, the South African government has given formal notice of its intention to withdraw from the beleaguered court. South Africa was one of the strongest early supporters of the international court in 2002, but it has now become the second African country to announce that it is quitting the court’s founding treaty, a move that could encourage other nations to follow in a domino effect. Burundi was the first to announce its plan to withdraw, in a presidential decree earlier this week. Others, including Kenya, could adopt the same tactic. The withdrawals will trigger a crisis in credibility for the court. Many African countries have accused it of unfairly targeting Africans, noting that only Africans have been convicted in the trials in The Hague so far. But until this week, none of the unhappy African governments have formally decided to abandon the court. Supporters of the court have denied that it is biased. They have noted that most of the African prosecutions were referred to the international court by African governments themselves. The African backlash against the court became more furious when several African political leaders – including those of Sudan and Kenya – were indicted by the court. Several African countries – including South Africa – have refused to arrest Sudan president Omar al-Bashir when he travelled to their countries, despite his ICC arrest warrant for war crimes and despite the legal obligation of court members to arrest him. In its formal notice of withdrawal, leaked to local media on Thursday night, South Africa’s foreign minister informed the United Nations Secretary-General that her country would withdraw from the court’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, on the earliest possible date, which is a year after the UN receives the notice. In its one-page notice of withdrawal, South Africa claims that the international court is pitting justice against peace, and it argues that the court’s interpretation of its legal duties is sometimes “incompatible” with the “peaceful resolution of conflicts.” But analysts note that South Africa is facing a potential court defeat of its own. Civil society groups have already hauled the government to court for its failure to arrest Mr. al-Bashir when he visited South Africa last year. The courts, including the Supreme Court of Appeal, have ruled that the government acted unlawfully by failing to arrest the Sudanese president, since the ICC’s founding treaty has been adopted into South Africa’s own domestic laws. The government’s appeal to the highest court, the Constitutional Court, is due to be heard next month. As an early supporter of the international court, and as a country that once held the moral high ground on justice issues because of its anti-apartheid struggle, South Africa’s withdrawal could be the biggest setback for the court so far. The court is already under criticism for obtaining only four convictions in its history, after spending more than $1.4-billion (U.S.) since its creation in 2002. The South African announcement sparked immediate criticism on Thursday night. “This is a sad day for all who believe in the global struggle for justice,” said Simon Adams, executive director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, a group that strives to prevent mass atrocities. He called it a “terrible decision” and a “slap in the face to African victims” in Darfur, Burundi and other violence-torn countries. “This is a victory for impunity and injustice,” he said. There are also legal questions about whether South Africa can withdraw from the court without allowing a full vote on the issue in its parliament. Without this parliamentary approval, its notice to withdraw could be challenged in the courts. ||||| South Africa is pulling out of the international criminal court (ICC) because its obligations are inconsistent with domestic laws giving sitting leaders diplomatic immunity, the country’s justice minister, Michael Masutha, has said. Pretoria said last year it planned to leave the ICC after receiving criticism for ignoring a court order to arrest the visiting Sudanese president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide and war crimes. Bashir has denied the accusations. On Friday at a press conference in the capital, Masutha said: “The implementation of the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court Act 2002 is in conflict and inconsistent with the provisions of the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act 2001.” Any move to leave would take effect one year after notice is formally received by the United Nations secretary general, currently Ban Ki-moon. Earlier on Friday the public broadcaster SABC published a document outlining the withdrawal plan. The document was signed by South Africa’s minister of international relations and cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, and dated 19 October. “The Republic of South Africa has found that its obligations with respect to the peaceful resolution of conflicts at times are incompatible with the interpretation given by the international criminal court,” the document states. The international criminal court opened in July 2002 and has 124 member states. It was the first legal body with permanent international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Burundi appeared set to become first state to withdraw from the Rome statute, the 1998 treaty establishing the global court, after its parliament voted last week to leave. The president, Pierre Nkurunziza, signed a decree on Tuesday, but the UN has not yet been officially notified. Several African countries have expressed concern that the focus of the Hague-based court has been on Africa rather than elsewhere in the world. – online reports ||||| South Africa is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday, a move which would take effect one year after it is formally received by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. A U.N. spokesman declined to confirm receipt of the document, which is signed by South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and dated Oct. 19. ||||| Speaking about the place of opposition in a hostile environment at a global summit on democracy in London, Mr Odinga however, noted that there was increased resilience by opposition in the continent, which he said was good news. Mr Odinga used Kenya as an example to explain democratic gains, saying the current progressive constitution was achieved through hard work by the opposition and civil society. Mr Odinga said Kenyan opposition had been able to successfully challenge government decisions in court, noting that this was a sign of democratic growth. He decried the current extensions of tenure by African leaders as undemocratic citing the recent example of Burundi, Rwanda and DR Congo. The former PM observed that a Burundi constitutional court had ruled to give the incumbent President Nkurunziza a third term in office. In Rwanda, the top court also cleared the way for Kagame’s third term. Mr Odinga, however, noted that democracy was a process and “not an instant coffee which you brew and drink almost at the same.” Raila told the forum covering opposition politics, activism, challenges and expectations globally, that ethnicity is a challenge to democracy in Africa, but mostly “an elites’ disease". He said elites mostly eat the mythical national cake alone, but the moment they are caught stealing, they start lying that their tribesmen are being targeted. Reacting to news that South Africa was planning to leave the International Criminal Court because of a perceived bias against Africa, Mr Odinga said many of the leaders were referred to the court by their own governments. He said despite the move, Africa still needs the court. ||||| Bujumbura. President Pierre Nkurunziza on Tuesday signed legislation enabling Burundi to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC). A copy of the law seen by AFP and dated October 18 allows “the Republic of Burundi’s withdrawal from the Rome statute”, the ICC’s founding treaty. The next step will be for the country to officially notify the United Nations, launching a year-long departure process that will make the country the first ever to quit the tribunal. Burundi’s lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favour of the move on October 12, its latest snub of the international community after the release of a damning UN report in September detailing atrocities and warning of “genocide”. (AFP)
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South Africa will notify the United Nations that the country is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC). This separation would take effect one year from when notice is formally received by the U.N. Secretary-General. Last week, Burundi's parliament voted to leave the ICC, but the required paperwork has not yet reached the U.N.
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FOR LIVE UPDATES: Twitter, Facebook The earthquake, which struck at 2:07 p.m. local time on Friday, was about 8.5 kilometers (5.3 miles) south of the city of Kurayoshi, which is located in Tottori Prefecture. It struck on land and at a depth of just 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), making it a very shallow earthquake. Japan's Earthquake Early Warning System initially put the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.7, but the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) revised the magnitude down to 6.6. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), meanwhile, put the magnitude significantly lower, at 6.2. "This earthquake poses no tsunami risk," JMA said. Tremors were felt across the western part of the island, with Tottori Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture reporting the strongest shaking, but there was no immediate indication that the earthquake had caused serious damage or fatalities. Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that at least 10 people had suffered injuries in the city of Kurayoshi, where emergency services reported minor damage in a number of buildings, including City Hall and a hospital. In addition, at least 48,000 customers in Kurayoshi are without power. Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA) said that a woman had suffered burn injuries in Tottori City as a result of the earthquake, and a rescue helicopter had spotted a collapsed building in Yurihama. It was not immediately known whether anyone was injured in the collapse. Elsewhere, at least two people were injured in the town of Hokuei and a man in his 50s suffered a head injury in the port city of Kure in Hiroshima Prefecture. Japan sits on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin which is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region. In March 2011, an enormous 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan, generating a devastating tsunami that wiped out entire communities and killed at least 15,893 people and left more than 2,500 others missing and presumed dead. This is a breaking news alert. Please check back or follow @BNONews on Twitter as details become available. If you want to receive breaking news alerts by email, click here to sign up. You can also like BNO News on Facebook by clicking here. Click here for reuse options! ||||| Why did this happen? Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy. ||||| TOKYO — A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 shakes western Japan, but there is no danger of a tsunami being caused. The Meteorological Agency said the earthquake occurred Friday at 2:10 p.m. local time in Japan's western prefecture of Tottori, about 700 west of Tokyo, at a depth of 10 underground. ||||| TOKYO: A strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit western Japan on Friday, severely shaking the region and reportedly causing several injuries, damaging power lines and collapsing a house. The quake struck shortly after 2 p.m. (0500 GMT) in Tottori prefecture at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (six miles). There was no tsunami risk. The US Geological Survey initially pegged the quake’s magnitude at 6.6 before downgrading it. Public broadcaster NHK quoted local officials as saying they had received reports that a house collapsed in the town of Yurihama, while fires broke out in another part of the prefecture, without giving details. In Kurayoshi City, the fire department reported receiving seven emergency calls for injuries. “It was a shallow quake. In the past, there were a series of powerful quakes in (this region),” said Takuya Nishimura, associate professor at Kyoto University’s Research Center For Earthquake Prediction. “It’s possible that an aftershock similar to or bigger than this scale will hit the region,” he told NHK. An aftershock at a magnitude of 5.0 struck after the initial quake, Japan’s meteorological agency said. “We felt fairly strong jolts, which I think were the biggest in years,” Suminori Sakinada, a local government official in Tottori, told Agence France-Presse. Bullet train services were suspended in the area, while nearly 40,000 homes were left without electricity as the quake damaged power lines, officials said. Switched-off nuclear reactors in the region were not affected, operators said. Japan sits at the junction of four tectonic plates and experiences a number of relatively violent quakes every year, but rigid building codes and their strict enforcement mean even strong tremors often do little damage. A massive undersea quake however that hit in March 2011 sent a tsunami barrelling into Japan’s northeast coast, leaving more than 18,000 people dead or missing, and sending three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant. In April, two strong earthquakes hit southern Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture followed by more than 1,700 aftershocks, and left at least 50 dead and caused widespread damage. AFP ||||| TOKYO — A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 shakes western Japan, but there is no danger of a tsunami being caused. The Meteorological Agency said the earthquake occurred Friday at 2:10 p.m. in Japan's western prefecture of Tottori, about 430 miles west of Tokyo, at a depth of 6 miles underground. The agency said there was no danger of a tsunami from the inland temblor. There was no immediate report of injuries or damage from the quake. ||||| TOKYO: A strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit western Japan Friday, severely shaking the region and reportedly causing several injuries, damaging power lines and collapsing a house. The quake struck shortly after 2:00 pm (0500 GMT) in Tottori prefecture at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers. There was no tsunami risk. An aftershock at a magnitude of 5.0 struck after the initial quake, Japan’s meteorological agency said. The US Geological Survey initially pegged the quake’s magnitude at 6.6 before downgrading it. Public broadcaster NHK quoted local officials as saying they had received reports that a house collapsed in the town of Yurihama, while fires broke out in another part of the prefecture, without giving details. In Kurayoshi City, the fire department reported receiving seven emergency calls for injuries. “It was a shallow quake. In the past, there were a series of powerful quakes in (this region),” said Takuya Nishimura, associate professor at Kyoto University’s Research Center For Earthquake Prediction. “It’s possible that an aftershock similar to or bigger than this scale will hit the region,” he told NHK. “We felt fairly strong jolts, which I think were the biggest in years,” Suminori Sakinada, a local government official in Tottori, told AFP. Bullet train services were suspended in the area, while nearly 40,000 homes were left without electricity as the quake damaged power lines, officials said. Switched-off nuclear reactors in the region were not affected, operators said. Japan sits at the junction of four tectonic plates and experiences a number of relatively violent quakes every year, but rigid building codes and their strict enforcement mean even strong tremors often do little damage. ||||| A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 shook parts of western Honshu early Friday afternoon, but no tsunami warning was issued. The Meteorological Agency said the earthquake occurred at 2:07 p.m. in central Tottori Prefecture, about 700 km (430 miles) west of Tokyo, at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) underground. It was followed by a weaker aftershock about 30 minutes later. The agency said there was no danger of a tsunami from the inland temblor. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the quake. According to NHK, because of the earthquake West Japan Railway Co. temporarily suspended all services on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line between Shin-Osaka and Hakata stations due to a power outage. The quake registered lower 6 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7 in parts of Tottori Prefecture, and upper 5 in a wide area in Tottori and Okayama prefectures, according to the agency. It caused a blackout which affected nearly 40,000 households in Tottori Prefecture, according to Chugoku Electric Power Co. No abnormalities were detected at the Shimane nuclear plant, which is currently off-line, in nearby Shimane Prefecture, according to the utility. Okayama airport closed its runway to check its safety, airport officials said. According to local officials a house in the town of Yurihama, in central Tottori Prefecture, was destroyed, and a number of dwellings in other parts of the prefecture suffered damage. ||||| TOKYO — A powerful earthquake in western Japan knocked loose roof tiles, toppled store shelves and caused power outages Friday afternoon, but apparently caused no widespread damage. At least seven people were injured, one seriously. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the 6.6-magnitude quake occurred in Tottori, a prefecture on the Sea of Japan about 430 miles west of Tokyo. The epicenter was at a relatively shallow depth of7 miles. Shallow quakes potentially cause more damage, but Friday’s damage appeared to be mostly minor or localized. At least two houses collapsed, and television footage showed roof tiles knocked loose, wall fragments from a sake brewery fallen to the ground, and wine bottles and food items scattered on a store floor. Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said a woman cooking in a restaurant was taken to a hospital after she was splashed with oil. “It shook quite violently and file cabinets fell down, but luckily nobody was injured in this office,” Koji Nakahara, a town hall official in coastal Hokuei, told NHK by telephone. The earthquake caused temporary blackouts at about 32,000 homes, according to Chubu Electric Power Co., a regional utility. The meteorological agency said there was no danger of a tsunami from the inland temblor. ||||| There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage and no irregularities at nuclear plants, but media said roughly 40,000 households were without power. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Tottori prefecture at a depth of 10 km (6 miles), the agency said. The quake occurred at 2:07 p.m. and was followed by a weaker aftershock about 30 minutes later. Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active area. Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. On March 11, 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami. Those events triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier. ||||| The quake, which was 6.3 kilometers in depth, hit near Kurayoshi city, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami warning has been issued. Japan, which sits along the so-called Ring of Fire, is no stranger to earthquakes. That quake triggered a massive tsunami that swallowed entire communities in eastern Japan. It killed about 22,000 people -- almost 20,000 from the initial quake and tsunami, and the rest from health conditions related to the disaster. Developing story - more to come
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A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits Tottori Prefecture in western Japan. Local media report that there are 14 injuries in Kurayoshi. Tottori is Japan's least populous prefecture.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage from Utsunomiya shows fires and burnt out buildings and cars Multiple blasts in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya have killed one person and injured three, emergency services say. Police believe the blasts may be linked to an apparent suicide. The explosions took place almost simultaneously at about 11:30 local time (02:30 GMT) in the city in Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo. Two cars in a nearby parking area also caught fire at the same time, police said. The Japanese broadcaster NHK says police found a suicide note at the scene, and one of the damaged vehicles was owned by a 72-year-old man, believed to be a former member of the Self-Defence Forces. His house in the city of Utsunomiya had been destroyed in a fire shortly before the explosions, the broadcaster said. The blast in the nearby park seriously injured two men, and a 14-year-old boy suffered minor leg injuries. No-one was injured in the car parking area. A festival celebrating traditional culture had been taking place in the park. A man who was there at the time told NHK that he heard "a big sound" and smelled gunpowder. The broadcaster also reported that a video camera at nearby Utsunomiya station recorded the sound of three explosions in quick succession - at 11:31, 11:32, and a third "bigger sound" 15 seconds later. Image copyright AFP Image caption The force of one blast tore apart a park bench in a nearby bicycle parking area Image copyright AFP Image caption Two cars in a nearby parking area caught fire at the same time as the explosions Photographs showed a splintered and broken bench in the area of one of the blasts, while other images posted to social media appeared to show a column of black smoke. Police have cordoned off the area. ||||| 72-year-old may have blown himself up in Utsunomiya park, media reports suggest This article is more than 2 years old This article is more than 2 years old Two apparent explosions have hit the Japanese city of Utsunomiya, killing one person and injuring three others in what police are viewing as a possible suicide. Japanese media reports suggest that the victim, believed to be a 72-year-old former military officer, may have set his house on fire, blown up his car in a public car park and then blown himself up in a nearby park. A note found in the clothing of the badly burnt victim included the name of the former officer, the Japanese broadcaster NHK and other media reported. The name was not disclosed. One of the cars destroyed in a blaze in the car park belonged to the retired military man, and his house burned to the ground earlier on Sunday, the reports said. The tiny distillery making Japan into a whisky superpower Read more The back-to-back loud bangs in the park and parking lot shocked bystanders, many heading to a festival at the park on a sunny autumn day. The apparent blasts occurred at around 11.30am within about 200 metres of each other. The festival was cancelled after the incidents. Two men were seriously injured in the park explosion, and a 14-year-old boy had minor leg injuries. No one was hurt at the small car park. The agency Kyodo News said the burnt body was found after police received a call saying a person was on fire following what sounded like an explosion. Bystanders also reported hearing loud blasts from the car park. Flames and black smoke shot into the air and repeated bangs could be heard on video posted on the Asahi newspaper’s website. Nearby cars also were damaged. Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi prefecture, is a city of about 500,000 people about 60 miles (100km) north of Tokyo. It is near the popular tourist destination of Nikko. ||||| Two explosions have hit a Japanese city, killing one person and injuring three in what police say could be a suicide. The victim, believed to be a 72-year-old former military officer, may have set his house in Utsunomiya on fire, blown up his car in a public car park and then blown himself up in a nearby park. A note found in the clothing of the badly burned victim included the name of the former officer, Japanese broadcaster NHK and other media reported. One of the cars destroyed in the blaze in the car park belonged to the retired military man, the reports said. The back-to-back loud explosions in the park and car park shocked bystanders, many of whom were heading to a festival at the park at the time. The blasts occurred at about 11.30am local time, within about 200m of each other. The festival was cancelled after the incidents. Two men were seriously injured in the park explosion, and a 14-year-old boy suffered minor leg injuries. No one was hurt at the car park. Kyodo News said the burned body was found after police received a call saying a person was on fire following what sounded like an explosion. Bystanders also reported hearing loud blasts from the car park. Flames and black smoke shot into the air and repeated bangs could be heard on video posted on the Asahi newspaper’s website. Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi prefecture, is a city of some 500,000 people about 100km north of Tokyo. It is near the popular tourist destination of Nikko. ||||| Two apparent explosions have hit the Japanese city of Utsunomiya back-to-back, killing one person and injuring three others in what police are viewing as a possible suicide. Japanese media reports suggest that the victim, believed to be a 72-year-old former military officer, may have set his house on fire, blown up his car in a public parking lot and then blown himself up in a nearby park. A note found in the clothing of the badly burned victim included the name of the former officer, Japanese broadcaster NHK and other media reported. The name was not disclosed. One of the cars destroyed in a fiery blaze in the parking lot belonged to the retired military man, and his house burned to the ground earlier, the reports said. One person was killed and at least two injured by two near-simultaneous blasts in a Japanese park today, the local fire department said. The fire department spokesman added: “One person was found dead.” However, he did not elaborate further. The back-to-back loud bangs in the park and parking lot shocked bystanders, many heading to a festival at the park on a sunny autumn day. The apparent blasts occurred around 11:30am yesterday within about 200 meters of each other. The festival was cancelled after the incidents. Two men were seriously injured in the park explosion, and a 14-year-old boy had minor leg injuries. No one was hurt at the small parking lot. Kyodo News agency said the burned body was found after police received a call saying a person was on fire following what sounded like an explosion. Bystanders also reported hearing loud blasts from the parking lot. Flames and black smoke shot into the air and repeated bangs could be heard on video posted on the Asahi newspaper’s website. Nearby cars also were damaged. Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi prefecture, is a city of some 500,000 people about 60 miles north of Tokyo. It is near the popular tourist destination of Nikko. Suicide rates have declined in Japan in recent years, but remain among the highest in the world, with around 30,000 people a year taking their own lives. Experts have pointed to the financial stress of surviving on small pensions for pushing some retired people to end their lives. In 2015, a 71-year-old man set himself on fire on a bullet train in an incident that also claimed the life of a 52-year-old woman travelling in the same carriage. ||||| Two apparent explosions hit the Japanese city of Utsunomiya back-to-back Sunday, killing one person and injuring three others in what police are viewing as a possible suicide. Japanese media reports suggest that the victim, believed to be a 72-year-old former military officer, may have set his house on fire, blown up his car in a public parking lot and then blown himself up in a nearby park. A note found in the clothing of the badly burned victim included the name of the former officer, Japanese broadcaster NHK and other media reported. The name was not disclosed. One of the cars destroyed in a fiery blaze in the parking lot belonged to the retired military man, and his house burned to the ground earlier on Sunday, the reports said. The back-to-back loud bangs in the park and parking lot shocked bystanders, many heading to a festival at the park on a sunny autumn day. The apparent blasts occurred around 11:30 a.m. within about 200 meters (yards) of each other. The festival was canceled after the incidents. Two men were seriously injured in the park explosion, and a 14-year-old boy had minor leg injuries. No one was hurt at the small parking lot. Kyodo News agency said the burned body was found after police received a call saying a person was on fire following what sounded like an explosion. Bystanders also reported hearing loud blasts from the parking lot. Flames and black smoke shot into the air and repeated bangs could be heard on video posted on the Asahi newspaper's website. Nearby cars also were damaged. Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi prefecture, is a city of some 500,000 people about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Tokyo. It is near the popular tourist destination of Nikko. ||||| Public broadcaster NHK said a body badly damaged in the blast was found at a bicycle parking space for the park. One person was killed and at least two injured by two near-simultaneous blasts in a Japanese park on Sunday, the local fire department said. The explosions occurred at a park in Utsunomiya, some 100 kilometres north of Tokyo, shortly after 11:30 am (0230 GMT), a fire department spokesman said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blasts. "One person was found dead," the fire department spokesman told AFP, without elaborating further. Public broadcaster NHK said a body badly damaged in the blast was found at a bicycle parking space for the park. "The sex and ages of the three are not known yet," another local fire department official said, adding one blast hit a car parking lot for the park. NHK footage showed a car completely charred, as fire fighters poured water on it. A man told NHK that he "smelled gunpowder in the area" after the explosions. ||||| Two apparent explosions hit the Japanese city of Utsunomiya back-to-back Sunday, killing one person and injuring three others. The reported blasts occurred before noon at a public park and a nearby parking lot, according to Japanese media reports. It wasn't clear if they were related, and police are investigating the incidents. Kyodo News agency said a burned body was found in the park after police received a call saying a person was engulfed in flames following what sounded like an explosion. Three other people were injured. A few minutes earlier, a car caught on fire in the parking lot. Flames and black smoke shot into the air and repeated bangs could be heard on video posted on the Asahi newspaper's website. Nearby cars were damaged, but no one was hurt. Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi prefecture, is a city of some 500,000 people about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Tokyo. It is near the popular tourist destination of Nikko. ||||| One person is dead and three others injured after two apparent explosions back-to-back in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya (oot-soo-noh-mee-ya). Japanese media say the reported blasts occurred before noon Sunday at a public park and a nearby pay-parking lot. It wasn't clear if they were related, and police are investigating. Kyodo News service says a burned body was found in the park after police received a call saying a person was engulfed in flames following sounds of an explosion. Three others were injured. A few minutes earlier, a car caught on fire in the parking lot. Flames and smoke shot into the air and repeated bangs could be heard on video posted on the Asahi newspaper website. No one was hurt. ||||| One person has died and three others have been injured in two apparent back-to-back explosions in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya. Local media say the blasts occurred on Sunday morning in a public park and a nearby car park. It was not clear if they were related, and police are investigating. Kyodo News service said a burned body was found in the park after police received a call saying a person was engulfed in flames following sounds of an explosion. A few minutes earlier, a vehicle caught fire in the car park. Flames and smoke shot into the air and repeated bangs could be heard on video posted on the Asahi newspaper website. ||||| One person was found dead Sunday after at least two explosions rocked a park in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, local police said. Three other people were injured in the park, where a festival had been underway, authorities said. Cars were found burning in a parking lot at around 11:30 a.m., according to police, but the cause of the blazes was not immediately known. One of the explosions took place at Utsunomiyajoshi Park’s bicycle parking lot, where the body was found, NHK quoted police as saying. The body had been badly damaged in the blast and ensuing fire, it said. The event, which taught traditional culture, was canceled. Photos posted to social media showed columns of black smoke and the charred remains of two vehicles parked next to each other.
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Two explosions in a park in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, kill at least one person and injure three others. Local media report that a 72-year-old ex-military officer is responsible for the blasts. A fire the same day destroyed the suspect's house.
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Iceland’s incumbent Independence party was in pole position to try to form a new government after voters chose continuity in Saturday’s elections and support for the anti-establishment Pirate party, while sharply up, fell below early expectations. The Pirates, founded four years ago by a group of activists, anarchists and former hackers, tripled their share of the vote to 14.5%, and together with an alliance of three left-of-centre parties won a total of 27 seats – five short of a majority in the country’s 63-seat parliament. The centre-right Independence party, however, won almost 30% of the vote and a total of 29 seats with its coalition partner of the past three years, the Progressive party, which was badly hit by this year’s Panama papers scandal and lost more than half its MPs. In a campaign whose early stages were dominated by public anger at Iceland’s traditional elites and a strong desire for political change, the Independence party promised to lower taxes and keep Iceland’s economic recovery on track. “I cannot deny that … it would be natural that we are a leading party in the next government,” said the party’s leader, Bjarni Benediktsson, one of its 21 MPs. “We are gaining new seats in parliament, so we are very happy.” 'Trust can be restored': Icelanders on their parliamentary election Read more The final shape of the government is far from clear, with multiple permutations possible, much horse-trading ahead and disagreement even on which party should be the first to attempt to form a new government. Benediktsson said he expected President Gudni Johannesson to hand his party the mandate to begin negotiations, since it was the largest. He added that he would prefer to form a three-party coalition, but declined to say with whom. But the Pirates, too, said they would be looking to build a five-party coalition, including the newly established, liberal and pro-European Viðreisn (Regeneration) party, whose seven MPs could well prove the kingmakers in Iceland’s new administration. “Epic success! There are a lot of coalition possibilities; lots of work ahead,” tweeted Smari McCarthy, one of the Pirates’ 10 MPs. Of the Pirates’ allies, the Left-Green movement also picked up 10 seats, the Social Democrats three, and the centrist Bright Future four. The party has ruled out working with the two outgoing coalition members. With 30 female MPs, Iceland has now leapfrogged Finland and Sweden to become the parliament with the highest proportion of female parliamentarians – more than 47% – in Europe. The Pirates, riding a wave of public anger at what many voters saw as endemic political corruption laid bare by the 2008 financial crash and April’s Panama papers leaks, had been predicted to win up to 20% of the vote and even become Iceland’s largest party. But the party’s co-founder, Birgitta Jónsdóttir, an activist, poet and former WikiLeaks collaborator, said it was more than satisfied. “Our internal predictions showed 10% to 15%, so this is at the top of the range,” she said. “We are a platform for young people, for progressive people who shape and reshape our society.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest From left, leader of the progress party, Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson; Benedikt Johannesson; founder and chairman of the Vidreisn party, Oddny Hardardottir; Ottarr Olaf Proppé of the Bright Future party; Asta Gudrun Helgadottir of the Pirate party; and Katrin Jakobsdottir, chairman of Left Green party, at a TV debate on Saturday. Photograph: Halldor Kolbeins/AFP/Getty Images Some of the party’s younger voters, though, were upset. “I’m really sad,” said Bylgja Gudjonsdottir, a 22-year-old student. “This is our next generation that is taking the country to the next level. But they keep voting for the criminals we have here.” Opponents argued that the Pirates could scare investors and derail an economy still recovering from the 2008 meltdown, when Iceland’s three main banks collapsed owing 11 times the country’s GDP, and the value of the krona halved. Helped by a tourism boom – 2.4 million visitors, nearly seven times the country’s population, are expected in 2017 – economic growth is forecast to reach 4.3% this year, and unemployment has fallen to just over 3%. The Pirates campaigned for direct democracy, government transparency, individual freedoms and the fight against corruption. The party also favours decriminalising drugs, offering asylum to whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden, and relaxing restrictions on the use of the virtual currency bitcoin. The election was triggered by the resignation of the former Progressive party prime minister, Sigmundur Davið Gunnlaugsson, who became the first major casualty of the Panama papers in April after the leaked legal documents revealed he and his wife had millions stashed offshore. The revelations sparked outrage and some of the largest protests in Iceland’s history, forcing the government to replace Gunnlaugsson with the then agriculture and fisheries minister, Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, and promise fresh elections before the end of the year. Jóhannsson resigned on Sunday, paving the way for the formation of a new government. More than 600 Icelanders – including cabinet ministers, bankers and business leaders – were shown to have holdings hidden in offshore accounts. ||||| Why did this happen? Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy. ||||| Birgitta Jonsdottir, the co-founder of Iceland's Pirate Party, is joined by fellow activists as election results in Reykjavik. HALLDOR KOLBEINS / AFP - Getty Images ||||| Iceland holds a parliamentary election today. Following are some election facts in a nutshell, most of them compiled by RÚV: Most polling stations close at 10 pm, at which time the first results will be published. There are 246,515 registered voters. That’s an increase of 8,780 since the last parliamentary election, in 2013. The number of men and women is about even. Iceland is divided into six voting districts, each with its own number of members of parliament. They are the Northwest, Northeast, South and Southwest districts, in addition to Reykjavík South and Reykjavík North. Most MPs, or 13, come from the Southwest voting district, which consists of municipalities in the vicinity of Reykjavík. The Northwest district has the lowest number of MPs, or 8. Twelve parties are on the ballot, nine of them running in all voter districts. Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, has sixty-three members, all of whom will be elected today. At least 32 MPs are needed for parties to form a majority government. Based on recent polls, there is no chance a two-party government can be formed. Voter turnout seems to be somewhat lower than in the 2013 parliamentary election. In 2013, the voter turnout was 81.5 percent, the lowest ever in a parliamentary election. ||||| REYKJAVIK, Iceland — The radical Pirate Party made gains but not a breakthrough in Iceland's election, as returns Sunday showed that voters the incumbent -right Independence Party over the upstart advocates of direct democracy and digital freedom. No party emerged with a majority of parliament seats from an election dominated by public discontent at the establishment after years of financial crisis and political turmoil. With almost all votes from the balloting Saturday counted, the Independence Party had 29 support and the Pirate Party 14.5 , putting them in third place behind the Left-Green movement at 15.9 . The result should give the Independence Party about 21 seats in Iceland's 63-seat Parliament, the Althingi, with the Left-Greens and Pirates winning 10 each. It's a better performance than expected for the Independents, who have governed in coalition since 2013. The Pirates' result fell short of what some polls had suggested — and what the party's fleet of energetic volunteers and supporters had hoped. Like Spain's Podemos or the movement behind Bernie Sanders in the U.S. presidential race, it drew in throngs of mostly young supporters fed up with the status quo. Pirate lawmaker Birgitta Jonsdottir said the results were in line with the party's own prediction of between 12 and 15 — up from the 5 it secured in 2013. "We're just amazed that we'll possibly maybe triple our following from last time, and it's only three years," Jonsdottir said. The election result looks set to trigger a period of intense political negotiations. It was not immediately clear whether the Independents had the support to assemble a coalition government with other parties of the and right. "These are very positive indicators for us, we are leading in all constituencies, we are gaining new seats in Parliament, so we are very happy," he said. The tax-avoidance scandal outraged many Icelanders, who suffered years of economic upheaval after the country's debt-swollen banks collapsed during the 2008 global financial crisis. The chief victim of voters' wrath was Gunnlaugsson's Progressive Party, which lost more than half its seats in the Althingi. New parties made gains among weary voters. A kingmaker in government negotiations could be Vidreisn, or Renewal, a liberal party formed this year that advocates Iceland joining the European Union. It will take about seven parliament seats. The election was dominated by Iceland's economy — now recovering on the back of a tourism boom, with low unemployment and high growth — and voters' desire for political reform. The Pirates campaigned on promises to introduce direct democracy, subject the workings of government to more scrutiny and place the country's natural resources under public ownership The party also backs tough rules to protect individuals from online intrusion. Jonsdottir, the Pirates' most prominent voice, is a former ally of WikiLeaks who has called on Iceland to offer citizenship to U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. A wind-lashed volcanic island near the Arctic Circle with a population of 320,000, Iceland has become known in recent years for large street protests that ousted one government after the 2008 financial crash and dispatched another in April. It also has strong Scandinavian policies in support of social equality and women's rights. ||||| REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — The radical Pirate Party made gains but not a breakthrough in Iceland’s election, as returns Sunday showed that voters favored the incumbent center-right Independence Party over the upstart advocates of direct democracy and digital freedom. No party emerged with a majority of parliament seats from an election dominated by public discontent at the establishment after years of financial crisis and political turmoil. With almost all votes from the balloting Saturday counted, the Independence Party had 29 percent support and the Pirate Party 14.5 percent, putting them in third place behind the Left-Green movement at 15.9 percent. The result should give the Independence Party about 21 seats in Iceland’s 63-seat Parliament, the Althingi, with the Left-Greens and Pirates winning 10 each. It’s a better performance than expected for the Independents, who have governed in coalition since 2013. The Pirates’ result fell short of what some polls had suggested — and what the party’s fleet of energetic volunteers and supporters had hoped. Founded four years ago by an assortment of hackers, political activists and internet freedom advocates, the Pirate Party drew international attention as its support surged. Like Spain’s Podemos or the movement behind Bernie Sanders in the U.S. presidential race, it drew in throngs of mostly young supporters fed up with the status quo. Pirate lawmaker Birgitta Jonsdottir said the results were in line with the party’s own prediction of between 12 and 15 percent — up from the 5 percent it secured in 2013. “We’re just amazed that we’ll possibly maybe triple our following from last time, and it’s only three years,” Jonsdottir said. The election result looks set to trigger a period of intense political negotiations. It was not immediately clear whether the Independents had the support to assemble a coalition government with other parties of the center and right. As early results came in overnight, Independence Party leader Bjarni Benediktsson said he was pleased. “These are very positive indicators for us, we are leading in all constituencies, we are gaining new seats in Parliament, so we are very happy,” he said. Saturday’s election was called after then-Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned in April during public protests over his offshore holdings, revealed in the Panama Papers leak. The tax-avoidance scandal outraged many Icelanders, who suffered years of economic upheaval after the country’s debt-swollen banks collapsed during the 2008 global financial crisis. The chief victim of voters’ wrath was Gunnlaugsson’s Progressive Party, which lost more than half its seats in the Althingi. New parties made gains among weary voters. A kingmaker in government negotiations could be Vidreisn, or Renewal, a liberal party formed this year that advocates Iceland joining the European Union. It will take about seven parliament seats. The election was dominated by Iceland’s economy — now recovering on the back of a tourism boom, with low unemployment and high growth — and voters’ desire for political reform. The Pirates campaigned on promises to introduce direct democracy, subject the workings of government to more scrutiny and place the country’s natural resources under public ownership The party also backs tough rules to protect individuals from online intrusion. Jonsdottir, the Pirates’ most prominent voice, is a former ally of WikiLeaks who has called on Iceland to offer citizenship to U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. Opponents argued that the inexperienced Pirates could scare off investors and destabilize the economy. A wind-lashed volcanic island near the Arctic Circle with a population of 320,000, Iceland has become known in recent years for large street protests that ousted one government after the 2008 financial crash and dispatched another in April. It also has strong Scandinavian policies in support of social equality and women’s rights. But Icelanders — infused with a spirit of Viking self-sufficiency — also have a strong conservative streak that led many to mistrust the Pirates and stick with the status quo. As scores of Pirate supporters from Iceland and around the world watched the election results come in at a Reykjavik brewpub, the boisterous mood was tinged with disappointment. “I’m really sad and I’m really disappointed in our young generation,” said 22-year-old student Bylgja Gudjonsdottir. “This is our next generation that is taking the country to the next level. But they keep voting for the criminals we have here,” she said. ||||| REYKJAVIK, Iceland — After stormy years for their country and amid stormy weather, Icelanders voted Saturday in a national election that offers a choice between continuity and many shades of change, with the radical Pirate Party seeking to unseat the centre-right government. Founded four years ago by an assortment of hackers, political activists and Internet freedom advocates, the Pirate Party has made big gains among Icelanders fed up with established parties after years of financial turmoil and political scandal. Polls suggest the Pirates are vying with the centre-right Independence Party to become the biggest group in the volcanic island nation’s parliament, the Althingi. They currently hold just three of the 63 seats, and Pirate lawmaker Birgitta Jonsdottir said she could “never have fantasized or dreamed” about its current poll numbers. “If people are ready, we are ready,” Jonsdottir said after casting her vote at a Reykjavik school on a blustery day. The election was called after Prime Minister Sigmunder David Gunnlaugsson resigned in April amid public protests over his offshore holdings, revealed in the Panama Papers leak. The tax-avoidance scandal outraged many Icelanders, who suffered years of economic upheaval after the country’s banks collapsed within a week of one another during the 2008 global financial crisis. “If people are sick of living in this turmoil that we have been having here in Iceland, where you never know what tomorrow is going to bring,” they should put their trust in the Pirates, Jonsdottir said. “Change is beautiful. There’s nothing to worry about,” she said. “We are ready to do whatever people trust us to do.” Individual parties rarely win outright in Iceland’s multiparty system. Saturday’s vote is likely to produce either a centre-right coalition involving the Independence and Progressive parties that have governed since 2013, or a left-of-centre coalition involving the Pirates, the Left Green Movement and others. A wind-lashed volcanic island near the Arctic Circle, Iceland has become known for large street protests that ousted one government after the 2008 financial crash and dispatched another in April. It also has strong policies in support of social equality and women’s rights. But Icelanders — infused with a spirit of Viking self-sufficiency — also have a strong conservative streak that leads some to mistrust the Pirates. “They’ll make chaos,” was the verdict of fishmonger Marselius Gundmundsson. Another unpredictable factor is Vidreisn, or Revival, a new centre-right party founded by former Independence Party members that advocates Iceland joining the European Union. It is performing strongly among conservative voters seeking a change from the old parties. “We want to improve things in Iceland,” said party leader Benedikt Johannesson. “We are a free-trade party, a pro-Western party, an open society party.” Paul Fontaine, news editor of newsmagazine Reykjavik Grapevine, said the 2008 crisis and the wave of popular protest that followed “broke the mould” of Icelandic politics. “Icelanders, like many Europeans and North Americans, have grown pretty weary of establishment politics, whether they’re on the left or the right,” he said. “I think that explains a large share of the Pirate Party’s support.” The election debate has focused on the economy and voters’ desire for political reform. The Pirates promise to introduce direct democracy, subject the workings of government to more scrutiny and place the country’s natural resources under public ownership. The party also seeks tough rules to protect individuals from online intrusion. Jonsdottir, the Pirates’ most prominent voice, is a former ally of WikiLeaks who has called on Iceland to offer citizenship to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. Opponents claim the inexperienced Pirates could scare off investors and destabilize an economy that is now recovering, with low unemployment and high growth. “We’d rather be naive than corrupt,” Jonsdottir said. The Pirates have no experience of government, and some voters seeking change say they are sticking with established parties like the Left Greens or the Social Democrats. Gunnar Andresson, a teacher, said he sympathized with the Pirates but voted Social Democrat. He said the Pirates “believe in a good cause, but I don’t think they are ready yet.” Youth worker Birkir Vidarsson and his partner, Johanna Jonsdottir, decided to gamble on the Pirates. “We are brought up with being afraid of new things,” Vidarsson said. “That’s very Icelandic. “But with the Pirates being the second-biggest right now (in opinion polls) ... I think strategically it’s the right move.” About 245,000 people are eligible to vote in the sparsely populated North Atlantic nation. Polls close at 10 p.m. (2200GMT), with partial results due early Sunday. ||||| Iceland’s anti-establishment Pirate Party have plundered an historic victory in Iceland’s general election and are set to form government as the senior partner in a coalition of alternative parties. The remaining votes are still being counted, but reports suggest Iceland will have a centre-left coalition of the Pirates and three, or possibly four, other non-establishment parties. Governments in Iceland are usually cobbled together coalitions, but the Pirates announced they will not consider working with a mainstream party. Birgitta Jónsdóttir, the Pirates’ parliamentary leader, said her party is willing to form a government with any party that subscribes to its agenda of “fundamental system change”, including the creation of a new, crowdsourced constitution. The extraordinary victory for the Pirates is the latest example of an outsider gatecrashing the establishment, as voters around the world continue to reject traditional politics as unfit for purpose in the 21st century. Founded in 2012 by former hackers, WikiLeaks collaborators, and activists, the Pirate Party won their first seat in the Althingi parliament one year later – and since then their popularity has exploded. “We have managed to catch and capture the spirit of change with so many young people in Iceland,” said Jonsdottir, who describes herself as a “poetician.” “We are very much about modernizing our system, so that people don’t fall through the cracks all the time.” Support for the movement surged to 43% in an April poll after the Panama Papers revealed that former Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson held secret investments in offshore accounts — which led to some of the largest protests the country has ever seen. Named the “Saucepan revolution” due to the making a racket in the streets with pots and pans, the massive protests removed the Prime Minister from office and kickstarted a societal change. Jonsdottir likens Iceland to Sicily in that it has been controlled by a mafia-like handful of elite families. But Icelanders have a deep distrust of the elite, and since the financial crash in 2008 and the Panama Papers revelations last year, the society has vowed enough is enough. Iceland has differed from the rest of Europe and the US by allowing bankers to be prosecuted as criminals, rather than treating them as a protected species. Top bankers were thrown in jail earlier this month after a long running case related to the 2008 crash. Now it seems the purge of the political class has begun. What will Pirates in parliament actually mean? The Pirates are against state surveillance in any form, and Edward Snowden is a national hero in Iceland. A resolution has been put forward to grant him citizenship of the wind-swept North Atlantic island. Are they worried granting a haven to the NSA whistleblower might rile Iceland’s NATO ally in Washington? “Yeah, well we have done things that don’t make other nations happy before,” she said. “Sometimes it’s a case of what’s doing what is right versus what is easy.” The backlash against their bankers knows no bounds. Resentment runs deep, and adopting Bitcoin as the official currency will curtail the ability of banks to scam the people. The cryptocurrency is free, safe, is not inflationary, and a central government will never be able to take it off you. The Pirates want to adopt the “Portuguese solution“. 15 years ago the Portuguese government did something that the United States and most countries around the world would find entirely alien. After many years of waging a fierce war on drugs, they decided to flip their strategy entirely. By decriminalizing all drugs, and treating addicts rather than punishing them, Portugal has drastically reduced the drug abuse in their country. “We do not define ourselves as left or right but rather as a party that focuses on the systems,” Jónsdóttir has said. “In other words, we consider ourselves hackers—so to speak—of our current outdated systems of government.” Did the Pirate Party campaign pushing any major legislation of its own? No, not really, because, according to Fortune magazine, “the official party stance on some of Iceland’s biggest political questions is unclear, in part, because its members believe in deferring to the wishes of voters.” That’s called direct democracy. For the first time in their lives, Icelanders have voted a government into power who will not betray their promises There is a widespread hatred of central authority in Iceland, and the Pirates, with their anti-establishment beliefs and jaunty black-flag logo, are poised to take advantage of the dissident mood. They seem the perfect fit for a self-reliant country with a strong anti-authoritarian streak. “This is a society that is very loosely organized in many ways,” said Asgeir Jonsson, a University of Iceland economist. “We don’t have an army, we never had a king. We hate all central authority.” ||||| Icelandic Prime Minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson has resigned after the opposition Pirate Party beat the ruling Progressive Party and came third in the country’s general election. Johannsson made the announcement on national television, promising to leave his post after his center-right party received only eight seats against last year’s 19 in the 63-seat parliament following Saturday’s snap election. “This was in accordance with the constitution, to hand in my resignation and then be asked to stay in office until a new government has been formed,” Johannsson told reporters. Johannsson took office in April after his predecessor, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, was implicated in a tax-dodging scheme revealed in the Panama Papers scandal and was forced to quit. The Independence Party, which has been in coalition with Johannsson’s party, came in first with 29 percent of votes and 21 seats in the Althing, Iceland’s parliament. The number of seats for the Independence Party has grown since the last elections, when it received 19 seats. Polls had suggested that the Pirate Party was most likely to take the largest share of the vote, but it eventually ended third with 10 seats, behind the Left-Green Party, which also secured 10 seats in parliament. The leader of the Pirate Party, Birgitta Jonsdottir, said she was happy with the election returns. “Whatever happens, we have created a wave of change in Icelandic society,” she said early on Sunday morning. The party, founded in 2012, is overwhelmingly supported by voters that are under 30 years old. It focuses on public transparency, institutional reform and individual freedoms, and takes a strong stance against corruption. The four leftist parties, including the Social Democratic Alliance and Bright Future, won 27 seats in total, while 32 are required to obtain a majority in the Althing. The liberal Regeneration Party has already rejected the idea of joining the coalition of the current ruling parties, which means it could possibly join the left-leaning parties that would then form a new ruling coalition. The shift in political sentiment in Iceland is attributed by many to the Panama Papers leak – the revelations which led to what the media say were the largest anti-government protests in Iceland’s history – as well as the 2008 economic crisis. ||||| It’s a worse result for the Pirate Party than some polls suggested, and a better performance than predicted for the incumbent Independence Party . Iceland looked likely to steer away from a Pirate takeover on Sunday, as voters favoured the incumbent Independence Party over the upstart band of buccaneers advocating direct democracy and Internet freedom. With roughly half of votes counted from Saturday’s election, the Independence Party had about 30 per cent of ballots and the Pirate Party about 14 per cent, putting them in third place behind the Left-Green movement. It’s a worse result for the Pirates than some polls suggested, and a better performance than predicted for the Independents, who have governed in coalition since 2013. Coalition governments are the norm in Iceland’s multi-party system. It was not immediately clear whether the Independents would be able to assemble a coalition with other centrist and right-wing parties or whether the Pirates and other opposition forces would get the numbers to govern. Independence Party leader Bjarni Benediktsson said he was “extremely happy” with the early results. He said that given the party’s strong showing, it would be “extremely hard to not include us” in the next government. Saturday’s election was held amid widespread public discontent with Iceland’s traditional elites, with debate focusing on the economy and voters’ desire for political reform It was called after then-Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned in April during public protests over his offshore holdings, revealed in the Panama Papers leak. The tax-avoidance scandal outraged many Icelanders, who suffered years of economic upheaval after the country’s debt-swollen banks collapsed during the 2008 global financial crisis. The chief victim of voters’ wrath was Mr. Gunnlaugsson’s Progressive Party, which looked set to lose more than half its seats. A kingmaker in government negotiations could be Vidreisn, or Renewal, liberal party formed this year that advocates Iceland joining the European Union. It looks set to gain a handful of parliament seats. The Pirate Party, founded four years ago by an assortment of hackers, political activists and Internet freedom advocates, drew international attention as its support surged among Icelanders fed up with established parties after years of financial turmoil and political scandal. Some polls had given the Pirates the support of a fifth of voters, potentially poised to become the biggest group in the volcanic island nation’s parliament, the Althingi. Pirate lawmaker Birgitta Jonsdottir said the early results were in line with the party’s own prediction of between 12 and 15 per cent up from the 5 per cent it secured in 2013. “If we get more than 15 per cent, we will be deeply thankful,” she said. “We’re just amazed that we’ll possibly maybe triple our following from last time, and it’s only three years.” The Pirates campaigned on promises to introduce direct democracy, subject the workings of government to more scrutiny and place the country’s natural resources under public ownership The party also seeks tough rules to protect individuals from online intrusion. Jonsdottir, the Pirates’ most prominent voice, is a former ally of WikiLeaks who has called on Iceland to offer citizenship to U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. Opponents claim the inexperienced Pirates could scare off investors and destabilise an economy that is now recovering, with low unemployment and high growth. As she cast her ballot on Saturday, Ms. Jonsdottir urged voters to take a chance on her untested party. “Change is beautiful. There’s nothing to worry about,” she said. “We are ready to do whatever people trust us to do.” A wind-lashed volcanic island near the Arctic Circle with a population of 320,000, Iceland has become known in recent years for large street protests that ousted one government after the 2008 financial crash and dispatched another in April. It also has strong Scandinavian policies in support of social equality and women’s rights. But Icelanders infused with a spirit of Viking self-sufficiency also have a strong conservative streak that leads many to mistrust the Pirates. The Pirates have no experience of government, and some voters seeking change said they were sticking with established parties like the Left-Greens or the Social Democrats. As scores of Pirate supporters watched the election results come in at a Reykjavik brewpub, the boisterous mood was tinged with disappointment. “I’m really sad and I’m really disappointed in our young generation,” said 22-year-old student Bylgja Gudjonsdottir. “This is our next generation that is taking the country to the next level. But they keep voting for the criminals we have here,” she said.
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Iceland’s incumbent, centre-right Independence Party surprised pollsters by winning 29 percent of the vote (21 seats), thereby putting leader Bjarni Benediktsson in position to organize another coalition government. The Progressive Party, the current ruling partner, garnered 11.5% and eight positions, a loss of 11 seats. The new Pirate Party didn't perform as predicted with 14.5% of the ballots, though it did get 10 seats, an increase of seven more positions in the 63-seat parliament (Althing).
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CLEVELAND -- Kris Bryant started to smile even before he fielded the ball. And with his throw to first for the final out, the agonizing wait `til next year was over at last. No more Billy Goat, no more Bartman, no more black-cat curses. For a legion of fans who waited a lifetime, fly that W: Your Chicago Cubs are World Series champions. Ending more than a century of flops, futility and frustration, the Cubs won their first title since 1908, outlasting the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 10 innings of a Game 7 thriller early Thursday. They even had to endure an extra-inning rain delay to end the drought. "It happened. It happened. Chicago, it happened," first baseman Anthony Rizzo said after gloving the ball for the final out. "We did it. We're world champions. I tell ya, we're world champions. I can't believe it." Rizzo put that final ball in his pocket as the Cubs piled up in the middle of the diamond, David Ross got carried off the field by his teammates and Bill Murray partied in the clubhouse. And the whole time, blue-clad fans who traveled from Wrigley Field filled nearly the entire lower deck behind the Chicago dugout at Progressive Field, singing "Go, Cubs, Go!" in rain. They held up those white flags with the large blue "W" on a night many of their forebears had waited for in vain. Lovable losers for generations, the Cubs nearly let this one get away, too. All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman blew a 6-3 lead with two outs in the eighth when Rajai Davis hit a tying, two-run homer. But the Cubs, after tormenting their fans one more time, came right back after a 17-minute rain delay before the top of the 10th. Series MVP Ben Zobrist hit an RBI double and Miguel Montero singled home a run to make it 8-6. Davis delivered an RBI single with two outs in the bottom half, but Mike Montgomery closed it out at 12:47 a.m., and the celebration was on. "I think about so many millions of people giving so much love and support to this team for so many years," said owner Tom Ricketts, whose family bought the team in 2009. Manager Joe Maddon's team halted the longest stretch without a title in baseball, becoming the first club to overcome a 3-1 Series deficit since the 1985 Kansas City Royals. "This is an epic game. It's epic. I can't believe we were able to do it -- 108 years in the making," Zobrist said. "We did it." "They never quit, either," Zobrist said. "They kept coming at us." Cleveland was trying to win its first crown since 1948, but manager Terry Francona's club lost the last two games at home. World Series favorites since spring training, Chicago led the majors with 103 wins this season. The Cubs then ended more than a century of misery for their loyal fans -- barely. Bryant, one of Chicago's young stars, began to celebrate even before fielding a grounder by Michael Martinez to third base and throwing it across to Rizzo for the last out. "It's the best rain delay of all-time," Rizzo said. Zobrist got a Series-high 10 hits, a year after he helped the Royals win the championship. Zobrist was among the players brought to the Cubs by Theo Epstein, the baseball guru who added another crown to his collection. He also assembled the Red Sox team that broke Boston's 86-year drought by winning in 2004. From Curse of the Bambino to the Billy Goat Curse, he ended another jinx. "We don't need a plane to fly home," Epstein said. "It's fitting it's got to be done with one of the best games of all time." Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward had called a meeting during the rain delay, talking to his teammates in the weight room. "I just had to remind everybody who we are, what we've overcome to get here," he said. While Cubs fans hugged with delight, there was only despair for the Indians, who now have gone longer than anyone without a crown. In the Indians' previous World Series appearance, they were a double-play grounder from winning the 1997 title before losing Game 7 in 11 innings to the Marlins. "It's going to hurt. It hurts because we care, but they need to walk with their head held high because they left nothing on the field," Francona said. Earlier this year, LeBron James and the Cavaliers ended Cleveland's 52-year championship drought by overcoming a 3-1 deficit to beat Golden State for the NBA title. James and teammates were in a suite, rooting hard, as the Indians absorbed the same blow as the Warriors. After defeating San Francisco and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs, Chicago became the first team to earn a title by winning Games 6 and 7 on the road since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. Dexter Fowler homered on Corey Kluber's fourth pitch of the game, and 23-year-old Javier Baez and the 39-year-old Ross -- set to now retire -- also went deep for the Cubs, who led 5-1 in the fifth inning and 6-3 in the eighth. Chapman wound up with the win, and Montgomery got one out for his first save in the majors. Bryan Shaw, who gave up a leadoff single to Kyle Schwarber in the 10th, took the loss in just the fourth Game 7 that went to extra innings. Albert Almora Jr., pinch-running for Schwarber, alertly took second on Bryant's long fly to center. Rizzo was intentionally walked, and Zobrist slapped an opposite-field double past diving third baseman Jose Ramirez. Montero singled to make it a two-run lead. Then in the bottom half, Carl Edwards Jr. struck out Mike Napoli, Ramirez grounded out, Brandon Guyer walked and Davis hit an RBI single. Montgomery took over, and helped set off a wild celebration on Chicago's North Side. Even a dedicated White Sox fan could appreciate the victory. "It happened: (at)Cubs win World Series. That's change even this South Sider can believe in. Want to come to the White House before I leave?" President Barack Obama tweeted. Twenty-one other teams had won the World Series since the Cubs last were champions. They reached the top again on the 39,466th day after Orval Overall's three-hit shutout won the 1908 finale at Detroit in a game that took 1 hour, 24 minutes -- this latest Game 7 lasted 4:24, not including the rain delay. Back then, Theodore Roosevelt was president, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states, and the first Ford Model T car was two weeks old. The Cubs were last champions when Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance won consecutive titles in 1907-08, until now the only ones in team history. The Cubbies had not even reached the Series since 1945. This one was for Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, Ron Santo and Billy Williams, who never reached the postseason. For Gabby Hartnett, Ryne Sandberg and Greg Maddux, whose October runs fell short. For Lee Elia and the "nickle-dime people" who spent so many wind-swept afternoons in the Friendly Confines watching loss after loss. For Bill Veeck, who planted ivy vines against Wrigley Field's outfield walls. For William Sianis, the Billy Goat Tavern owner said to have proclaimed when he was asked to leave Wrigley with his pet during the `45 Series: "Them Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." For Steve Bartman, whose life was upended when he tried to catch a foul ball as the Cubs came apart in the 2003 playoffs. And for Harry Caray, who promised viewers after the 1991 finale that "sure as God made green apples, someday the Chicago Cubs are going to be in the World Series." Maddon, hired before the 2015 season, won his first Series title after establishing a loose clubhouse that featured at times Warren the pink flamingo, Simon the magician and the motto: "Try not to suck." "It was just an epic battle," Zobrist said. "Just blow for blow, everybody playing their heart out. The Indians never gave up, either, and I can't believe we're finally standing, after 108 years, finally able to hoist the trophy." PEN PALS This was the first World Series in which no starting pitcher got at least one out in the seventh inning, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The only other in which no starter finished at least seven innings was in 2002, when San Francisco's Russ Ortiz threw 6 1/3 innings in Game 6. UP NEXT Cleveland's spring training opener is scheduled for Feb. 26 against the Cubs in Mesa, Arizona. ||||| Chicago Cubs fans celebrate at Progressive Field after Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Cleveland Indians Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. The Cubs won 9-3 to tie the series 3-3. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Cleveland Indians fans watch during the ninth inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Chicago Cubs Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Travis Wood, and catcher Willson Contreras celebrate after their win in Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Cleveland Indians Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. The Cubs won 9-3 to tie the series 3-3. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Chicago Cubs' Ben Zobrist collides with Cleveland Indians catcher Roberto Perez as he scores during the first inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Jamie Squire, Pool) FILE - In this June 2, 2016 file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda, left, poses with actor Joseph Mantegna before Mantegna threw out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and Dodgers in Chicago. The Chicago Cubs are trying to do something that hasn't happened in the lifetime of anyone born in the last 108 years: Win a World Series. Mantegna, 68, is hoping his 101-year-old mother can see a Cubs win this year. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File) FILE - In this May 29, 2009 file photo, actor Joe Mantegna reacts after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs, in Chicago. The Chicago Cubs are trying to do something that hasn't happened in the lifetime of anyone born in the last 108 years: Win a World Series. Mantegna, 68, is hoping his 101-year-old mother can see a Cubs win this year. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File) FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 file photo, the Chicago Cubs celebrate after Game 4 of the National League baseball championship series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles. The Cubs won 10-2 to tie the series 2-2. The Chicago Cubs are trying to do something that hasn't happened in the lifetime of anyone born in the last 108 years: Win a World Series. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) CLEVELAND | Most fans around the country can sit back and savor Game 7. Not so easy for anyone who has spent a lifetime rooting for the Cubs or Indians. All those years of hope and heartbreak collide Wednesday night when Chicago and Cleveland meet one last time this season to decide the World Series. With the Cubs seeking their first championship since 1908 and the Indians trying to stop a drought that dates to 1948, the stakes could hardly be higher. “No one says Game 3 or 5. This is what you want,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor, who leads the Indians with a .364 Series average. Cleveland ace Corey Kluber pitches against Kyle Hendricks, the major league ERA leader. Kluber has a chance to become the first pitcher to win three World Series starts since Detroit’s Mickey Lolich in 1968. “The game has changed,” the 76-year-old Lolich said Tuesday. “It’s a totally different game than what we played back in our days. It just doesn’t happen.” Addison Russell hit a grand slam and tied a Series record with six RBIs in Chicago’s 9-3 win Tuesday night that forced this captivating matchup to the limit. Chicago is trying to become the first club to overcome a 3-1 Series deficit since the 1985 Kansas City Royals and the first to do it by winning Games 6 and 7 on the road since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. Now it’s one night, winner take all. Even after losing two straight, the Indians remain confident. Kluber is 4-1 with a 0.89 ERA in four postseason starts, starting with 16 consecutive scoreless innings against Boston in the Division Series and Toronto in the AL Championship Series. “That’s our guy. That’s our stud,” Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis said. A 30-year-old right-hander, Kluber started on three days’ rest for the first time in his big league career in Game 4 against the Blue Jays. He left after five innings with the Indians trailing 2-1 in a 5-1 defeat, then threw 88 pitches over six innings as Cleveland beat the Cubs 6-0 last Tuesday in the Series opener. He came back on three days’ rest in Game 4, needing 81 pitches for six innings of one-run, five-hit ball in a 7-2 win that gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead. “Obviously, he’s a special guy,” Hendricks said. “You can just see it, the way he takes to the mound. He’s always locked in.” Nine pitchers have won three starts in a single Series, none since Lolich went 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 21 strikeouts while tossing three complete games against the St. Louis Cardinals. “Good players, good pitchers, can do special things. He’s in that category,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “It was kind of an easy decision after talking to him.” The 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner, Kluber was 18-9 with a 3.14 ERA this season as Cleveland won the AL Central for the first time since 2007. His win in the All-Star Game at San Diego in July gave the American League home-field advantage in the Series. “I never connected those dots at that point in time,” he said. Already, he is the first pitcher to win Games 1 and 4 in the Series since Cincinnati’s Jose Rijo in 1990. In addition to Lolich, the only others to win three Series starts were Charles “Deacon” Phillippe of Pittsburgh and Bill Dinneen of the Boston Americans (1903), the New York Giants’ Christy Mathewson (1905), the Philadelphia Athletics’ Jack Coombs (1910), Pittsburgh’s Babe Adams (1909), Cleveland’s Stan Coveleski (1920), Milwaukee’s Lew Burdette (1957) and Bob Gibson (1967). Hendricks, a 28-year-old right-hander, went 16-8 and didn’t get a decision in his Game 3 Series start, when he allowed six hits in 4 1/3 scoreless innings of a 1-0 loss. “This is the ultimate dream,” he said. “When you’re out in your backyard as a kid, playing Little League at the field with your friends, this is the moment you dream about: Game 7, 3-2, two outs, something like that, bottom of the ninth. But it’s always Game 7 of the World Series.” Behind the starters, Chicago closer Aroldis Chapman has thrown 62 pitches in the last three days. Cleveland’s Andrew Miller hasn’t pitched since Saturday and closer Cody Allen has been rested since Sunday. “We’re all ready to go,” Miller said. “Hopefully we’re fresh.” ||||| The Cleveland Indians bench watches during the sixth inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Chicago Cubs on Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) A Cleveland Indians fan reacts during the sixth inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Chicago Cubs on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Cleveland Indians' Jason Kipnis rounds the bases after a home run against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Cleveland Indians' Jason Kipnis runs to second after a double against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Lonnie Chisenhall of the Cleveland Indians catches a fly ball during the second inning against the Chicago Cubs in Game 6 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against Josh Tomlin of the Cleveland Indians in Game 6 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) Ben Zobrist of the Chicago Cubs crashes into Roberto Perez of the Cleveland Indians to score a run in the first inning in Game 6 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Jim Schulz of Elyria shows off his Cleveland Indians mascot painted head outside of Progressive Field prior to Game 6 of the World Series against the Chicago Cubs on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (Justin Merriman/Getty Images) Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians reacts before taking on the Chicago Cubs in Game 6 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (Jason Miller/Getty Images) Addison Russell of the Chicago Cubs celebrates with Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist and Kyle Schwarber after hitting a grand slam home run during the third inning against the Cleveland Indians in Game 6 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) CLEVELAND — The sixth game of the World Series wasn’t even three innings old and everyone’s attention had already shifted to Game 7. At 8:10 p.m. local time, Cleveland Indians starter Josh Tomlin, hoping to help his team to their first championship in 68 years, threw the first pitch of Game 6 on Tuesday night amidst flashbulbs popping all over Progressive Field. At 9:04 p.m., the game was all but over, and the Chicago Cubs were well on their way to a 9-3 win, shovelling themselves out of a 3-1 World Series hole to force a winner-take-all seventh game. One swing of the bat, one monumental brain cramp, and a second swing of the bat were the reasons why. The first swing came with two outs in the first inning, on an 0-2 count to boot, and it was loud. Kris Bryant, the Cubs star third baseman who had already hit an important home run in Game 5 to help extend the series, crushed a hanging curveball 433 feet for an early lead. Back-to-back singles by first baseman Anthony Rizzo and left fielder Ben Zobrist extended the inning, before a miscommunication between Indians centre fielder Tyler Naquin and right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall allowed shortstop Addison Russell’s lazy fly ball to drop in between them, scoring two more for a quick 3-0 advantage. If Bryant’s contact was loud, Russell’s next cut in the third inning was deafening. With the bases loaded and Indians righty Dan Otero in the game in relief of Tomlin, Russell hit a mammoth grand slam to centre field — the first World Series slam in Cubs history — that landed one foot further than Bryant’s estimated blast. The Cubbies bats were banging in a big way. The Indians tried desperately to put up a fight in front of the 38,116 who arrived at the ballpark with a party on their minds, but a fourth-inning rally that had already produced one run fell short when Cubs starter Jake Arrieta struck out Naquin with the bases full. It was a forgettable night for Naquin, a 25-year-old rookie getting his first taste of the post-season. Actually, it was a forgettable night for the Indians as a whole and they’ll now have to deal with the sweaty-palmed thought of losing a Fall Classic that once looked promised after taking two-out-of-three games at Wrigley Field over the weekend. While Tomlin’s night came to an end after giving up six hits and six earned runs — the botched outfield play in the first inning fell untouched and Russell was awarded a double — in just 2 1/3 innings, Arrieta went 5 2/3 innings, giving up three hits, two runs and striking out nine to earn his second win of the series. Cleveland threatened again in the seventh, getting two men on, but Cubs manager Joe Maddon somewhat surprisingly turned to closer Aroldis Chapman, who quickly got Francisco Lindor to ground out to end the inning on a close play at first base that was originally called safe, but was overturned when they went to the video. In total, the Indians stranded eight baserunners. Rizzo added salt to the wound with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, finishing off a huge night that saw the Cubs’ 3-4-5-6 hitters all register at least two hits. Bryant enjoyed a 4-for-5 game, while Rizzo went 3-for-5, and Russell drove in six runs. Chapman ended up throwing 20 pitches in 1 1/3 innings, leaving his availability for Game 7 in doubt. Recent history is not on the side of the Indians, as nine of the past 11 teams to lose Game 6 with a 3-2 lead have gone on to lose the World Series. The Cubs, meanwhile, are trying to become just the seventh team in World Series history to erase a 3-1 series deficit, and first since the Kansas City Royals did it in 1985. Of the six comebacks, only the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, the 1968 Detroit Tigers, and the 1958 New York Yankees have won Game 5 at home and then gone on the road to complete the journey. That Pirates team is one Maddon, a Pennsylvania product, remembers well. “We Are Family, right?” Maddon said of the Sister Sledge song that was used as the Pirates’ theme song that season. “I remember the song. I loved their hats. David Parker was on that team. Me and Parkway got to be good friends. I wasn’t a Pirate fan per se, but I loved their uniforms forever.” In Game 7, Corey Kluber — one of the MVP favourites if the Indians can hang on — will get his third start of the series on short rest for the Indians, while the Cubs will hand the ball to Kyle Hendricks. “This is the ultimate dream,” Hendricks said prior to the win about the prospect of pitching in a Game 7. “You dream of getting to the World Series, winning the World Series. When you’re out in your backyard as a kid, playing Little League at the field with your friends, this is the moment you dream about: Game 7, 3-2, two outs, something like that, bottom of the ninth. But it’s always Game 7 of the World Series.” ||||| CLEVELAND -- The Chicago Cubs ended America's longest sports title drought in dramatic fashion Thursday morning, defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in a 10-inning thriller to capture their first World Series crown since 1908. The Cubs captured Major League Baseball's best-of-seven final 4-3, concluding what had been an iconic 107-year run of failure, frustration and futility. But it came only after they squandered a four-run lead and looked ready several times for another heartbreaking stumble. Ben Zobrist doubled in the go-ahead run and Miguel Montero added a bases-loaded single for an 8-6 Cubs lead in the 10th inning, which followed a 17-minute rain delay after regulation play ended in a 6-6 deadlock. Rajai Davis, whose two-run home run in the eighth equalized for Cleveland, singled in a run in the 10th for the Indians. But Michael Martinez grounded to third for the final out and a celebration more than a century in the making ensued. ||||| The Cubs, powered in part by an Addison Russell grand slam and home runs from Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, have forced a decisive Game 7, winning Game 6 at Progressive Field in Cleveland in a 9-3 blowout. They now have the chance to win the World Series for the first time in 108 years. Cubs starter Jake Arrieta got his second win of the series. He went 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on three hits, walking three and striking out nine. The only damage done on his watch was a fourth-inning Mike Napoli RBI single, driving in Jason Kipnis, as well as by a Kipnis solo home run in the fifth. "Jake was really good," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "On his regular rest he was outstanding. We came out hitting the baseball. We looked more normal. We hit our home runs." Game 7 is Wednesday in Cleveland, with first pitch scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET. Starting for the Indians will be Corey Kluber, who will try to win his third game this series. He'll face Chicago's Kyle Hendricks, who had a no decision in Game 3. The Cubs celebrate after defeating the Indians 9-3 in Game 6 to even the World Series 3-3. Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs hits two-run homer during the ninth inning of Game 6. Aroldis Chapman of the Cubs races Francisco Lindor of the Indians to the bag during the seventh inning in game 6. Addison Russell of the Cubs tosses the ball to Javier Baez (not pictured) for a force out in the sixth inning of Game 6. Jason Kipnis of the Indians rounds the bases after a home run during the fifth inning of Game 6. Jose Ramirez of the Indians makes a catch in the fifth inning in Game 6. Jake Arrieta of the Cubs is in action on the mound during Game 6. Addison Russell of the Cubs celebrates after hitting a grand slam in the third inning of Game 6. Ben Zobrist of the Cubs collides with the Indians' Roberto Perez in the first inning of Game 6. Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall of the Indians are unable to make a play in the first inning of Game 6. Kris Bryant of the Cubs hits a solo home run during the first inning of Game 6. A general view during Game 6 of the 2016 World Series. Dexter Fowler, left, and Anthony Rizzo, right, of the Cubs celebrate after beating the Indians 3-2 in Game 5. Fans celebrate after the Chicago Cubs win in Game 5. Javier Baez, left, Jason Heyward, center, and Kris Bryant of the Cubs celebrate after Game 5. Jason Heyward of the Chicago Cubs steals second base past Jason Kipnis of the Cleveland Indians in the eighth inning in Game 5. Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward catches a fly ball hit by Indians' Trevor Bauer during the third inning of Game 5. The Cubs' Kris Bryant, left, celebrates with Ben Zobrist after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of Game 5. Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer throws during the first inning of Game 5. Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) reaches for a ball bounced off from catcher David Ross who was trying to catch a foul ball hit by Cleveland's Carlos Santana during the second inning of Game 5. Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester throws during the first inning of Game 5. Chicago Cubs fans outside of Wrigley Field before Game 5. Francisco Lindor, left, and Brandon Guyer, right, of the Cleveland Indians celebrate after beating the Chicago Cubs 7-2 in Game 4 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on Saturday, October 29, in Chicago. Chicago Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler can't make the catch on a double hit by Cleveland Indians' Coco Crisp during the seventh inning of Game 4. Cleveland Indians' Carlos Santana wears socks with the team logo before Game 4. Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians hits a single off of John Lackey of the Chicago Cubs in the third inning in Game 4. Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis collides with Chicago Cubs' Jason Heyward as Kipnis turns a double play on a ball hit by the Cubs' Javier Baez during the second inning of Game 4. Cleveland Indians' Carlos Santana hits a home run off Chicago Cubs starting pitcher John Lackey during the second inning of Game 4. Cleveland Indians' Corey Kluber is safe at first as Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo can't make a play on a wild throw by third baseman Kris Bryant during the second inning of Game 4. Cleveland Indians center fielder Rajai Davis can't catch the ball hit by Chicago Cubs' Dexter Fowler during the first inning of Game 4. Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber throws during the first inning of Game 4. Chicago Cubs' Anthony Rizzo hits an RBI single during the first inning of Game 4. Francisco Lindor and Brandon Guyer of the Cleveland Indians celebrate after beating the Chicago Cubs 1-0 in Game 3 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on Friday, October 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Ben Zobrist of the Chicago Cubs reacts after striking out in the ninth inning in Game 3. Bryan Shaw of the Indians throws a pitch during the seventh inning in Game 3. Actor Bill Murray sings "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh inning stretch in Game 3. Michael Martinez of the Cleveland Indians scores a run during the seventh inning in Game 3. Coco Crisp of the Indians breaks his bat hitting an RBI single during the seventh inning in Game 3. Fans cheer in the stands after the fifth inning in Game 3. Justin Grimm of the Cubs reacts after a double play during the fifth inning in Game 3. Addison Russell of the Cubs turns an inning ending double play in the fifth inning in Game 3. Willson Contreras of the Cubs throws to second baseman Javier Baez for an out on a bunt attempt by Indians starting pitcher Josh Tomlin in Game 3. Francisco Lindor of the Indians hits a single in the fourth inning in Game 3. Addison Russell of the Cubs makes a diving catch for an out during the third inning in Game 3. Josh Tomlim of the Indians pitches in the first inning in Game 3. Dexter Fowler of the Cubs celebrates with Jason Heyward after defeating the Cleveland Indians 5-1 in Game 2. Designated hitter Carlos Santana of the Indians reacts after striking out during the seventh inning in Game 2. Jason Kipnis of the Indians is unable to handle the ball as Willson Contreras of the Cubs slides safely into second during the seventh inning in Game 2. Cleveland Indians fans hold up a sign in the stands during the sixth inning in Game 2. Ben Zobrist of the Cubs in action at the plate in Game 2. Relief pitcher Zach McAllister and shortstop Francisco Lindor of the Indians react during fifth inning in Game 2. Jake Arrieta of the Cubs throws a pitch during the fourth inning. He had a no hitter through five innings in Game 2. Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs celebrates scoring a run on an RBI single hit by Kyle Schwarber (not pictured) during the third inning in Game 2. Kyle Schwarber of the Cubs hits an RBI single during the third inning in Game 2. Francisco Lindor of the Indians dives back to first on an attempted pick-off in Game 2. Jake Arrieta of the Cubs throws a pitch during the first inning in Game 2. Kris Bryant of the Cubs hits a single during the first inning in Game 2. Francisco Lindor, left, and Rajai Davis of the Cleveland Indians celebrate after defeating the Chicago Cubs 6-0 in the Game 1. Javier Baez of the Cubs tags out Cleveland's Francisco Lindor as he tries to steal second base in Game 1. Cubs catcher David Ross falls after catching a pop fly by Cleveland's Lonnie Chisenhall in Game 1. Cleveland outfielder Rajai Davis catches a ball hit by the Cubs' Willson Contreras in Game 1. Jon Lester of the Cubs throws a pitch in Game 1. Cleveland Indians fans show their enthusiasm during the first game in Game 1. Addison Russell of the Cubs catches a ball hit by Cleveland's Jason Kipnis in Game 1. Cleveland starting pitcher Corey Kluber throws a pitch. Kluber set a World Series record with eight strikeouts in the first three innings in game 1. Fireworks explode over Progressive Field in Cleveland prior to Game 1. The Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908, the longest drought in baseball. The Indians currently have the second-longest dry spell, last winning in 1948. The 174 combined seasons between titles for the two clubs is the most in World Series history. By the end of Wednesday night, one city will feel pure euphoria. For the other, the misery will continue. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's a really important game tomorrow," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "And we'll be really excited to play." Cleveland starting pitcher Josh Tomlin, who had last pitched in Game 3 and was coming off just three days' rest, got rocked early by the heart of the Cubs' lineup. In the top of the first inning, Bryant homered to left for the first run of the game. It was his second consecutive game with a homer and would finish Tuesday night 4-for-5. The next batter, Rizzo, singled. A Ben Zobrist single advanced Rizzo to third. World Series 2016: Misery soon will end for Cubs or Indians fans And then, a defensive nightmare for Cleveland. Russell hit a shallow fly ball to right-center field that looked playable, but it dropped between center fielder Tyler Naquin and right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall for a double. Rizzo and Zobrist scored, while a Kipnis throwing error sent Russell to third. That made it 3-0. "Lonnie went hard after it, as he should, but it's Naquin's ball," Francona said. "He was playing on that side, and he's the center fielder. And I think at the end there, as Lonnie was kind of pulling off, Naquin was yelling, 'It's yours. You got it.' It's pretty loud anyway. I think we kind of told Nake especially playing on that side, that's his ball. Just take charge and take it. Kind of made it hard on Lonnie because you've got to go hard until you hear something. "That was an unfortunate play, because that we thought we were out of the inning with one, kind of regroup, and instead it's three and JT had to keep pitching." It didn't get any better for Tomlin in the third, as a walk to Kyle Schwarber and base hits from Rizzo and Zobrist loaded the bases. Francona pulled his starter for Dan Otero, but the floodgates already had been opened. On a 2-0 count, Russell launched a 91 mph pitch from Otero to center field for a grand slam and a 7-0 lead. At 22 years old, Russell is the second-youngest player to hit a grand slam in the World Series. Only Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle, who was two weeks shy of his 22nd birthday in 1953, did that at a younger age. Russell also tied the all-time record for RBIs in a single World Series game with six. Tomlin lasted just 2 1/3 innings and was responsible for six runs. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out none. Rizzo went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run in the ninth. Zobrist went 2-for-4 and scored twice. ||||| CLEVELAND — The Chicago Cubs won their first World Series championship since 1908 when Ben Zobrist hit a go-ahead double in the 10th inning, beating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in a thrilling Game 7 delayed by rain early Thursday. Lovable losers for generations, the Cubs nearly let this one get away, too. All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman blew a three-run lead with two outs in the eighth when Rajai Davis hit a tying homer. But the Cubs, after tormenting their fans one more time, came right back after a 17-minute rain delay before the top of the 10th and scored twice. Davis hit an RBI single with two outs in the bottom half, but Mike Montgomery got the final out. Manager Joe Maddon's team halted the longest title drought in baseball, becoming the first club to overcome a 3-1 Series deficit since the 1985 Kansas City Royals. Cleveland was trying to win its first crown since 1948, but lost the last two games at home. World Series favorites since spring training, Chicago led the majors with 103 wins this season. The Cubs then ended more than a century of misery for their loyal fans. ||||| By the end of Wednesday night's World Series Game 7 between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians, one curse will be broken. For the other, the misery will remain. The winner-take-all game is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. The Cubs are trying to become the first team since 1985 to win the World Series after trailing 3-1. But there's a lot more history at stake than that. The Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908, the longest drought in baseball. The Indians currently have the second-longest dry spell, last winning in 1948. The 174 combined seasons between titles for the two clubs is the most in World Series history. "It's been a very well-contested series," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Both sides have played really good baseball. They have been outstanding pitching. They have been outstanding pitching all year. All of a sudden, our offense is having a resurgence, which we need. Again, of course, of course we want to be the group that breaks the string. ...It's just correct and apt that we'd go seven games." Starting for the Indians is ace Corey Kluber, who will try to win his third game this series. Over the last 30 years, only six other pitchers have made three starts in a single Fall Classic, the last being Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. The Cubs celebrate after defeating the Indians 9-3 in Game 6 to even the World Series 3-3. Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs hits two-run homer during the ninth inning of Game 6. Aroldis Chapman of the Cubs races Francisco Lindor of the Indians to the bag during the seventh inning in game 6. Addison Russell of the Cubs tosses the ball to Javier Baez (not pictured) for a force out in the sixth inning of Game 6. Jason Kipnis of the Indians rounds the bases after a home run during the fifth inning of Game 6. Jose Ramirez of the Indians makes a catch in the fifth inning in Game 6. Jake Arrieta of the Cubs is in action on the mound during Game 6. Addison Russell of the Cubs celebrates after hitting a grand slam in the third inning of Game 6. Ben Zobrist of the Cubs collides with the Indians' Roberto Perez in the first inning of Game 6. Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall of the Indians are unable to make a play in the first inning of Game 6. Kris Bryant of the Cubs hits a solo home run during the first inning of Game 6. A general view during Game 6 of the 2016 World Series. Dexter Fowler, left, and Anthony Rizzo, right, of the Cubs celebrate after beating the Indians 3-2 in Game 5. Fans celebrate after the Chicago Cubs win in Game 5. Javier Baez, left, Jason Heyward, center, and Kris Bryant of the Cubs celebrate after Game 5. Jason Heyward of the Chicago Cubs steals second base past Jason Kipnis of the Cleveland Indians in the eighth inning in Game 5. Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward catches a fly ball hit by Indians' Trevor Bauer during the third inning of Game 5. The Cubs' Kris Bryant, left, celebrates with Ben Zobrist after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of Game 5. Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer throws during the first inning of Game 5. Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) reaches for a ball bounced off from catcher David Ross who was trying to catch a foul ball hit by Cleveland's Carlos Santana during the second inning of Game 5. Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester throws during the first inning of Game 5. Chicago Cubs fans outside of Wrigley Field before Game 5. Francisco Lindor, left, and Brandon Guyer, right, of the Cleveland Indians celebrate after beating the Chicago Cubs 7-2 in Game 4 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on Saturday, October 29, in Chicago. Chicago Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler can't make the catch on a double hit by Cleveland Indians' Coco Crisp during the seventh inning of Game 4. Cleveland Indians' Carlos Santana wears socks with the team logo before Game 4. Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians hits a single off of John Lackey of the Chicago Cubs in the third inning in Game 4. Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis collides with Chicago Cubs' Jason Heyward as Kipnis turns a double play on a ball hit by the Cubs' Javier Baez during the second inning of Game 4. Cleveland Indians' Carlos Santana hits a home run off Chicago Cubs starting pitcher John Lackey during the second inning of Game 4. Cleveland Indians' Corey Kluber is safe at first as Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo can't make a play on a wild throw by third baseman Kris Bryant during the second inning of Game 4. Cleveland Indians center fielder Rajai Davis can't catch the ball hit by Chicago Cubs' Dexter Fowler during the first inning of Game 4. Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber throws during the first inning of Game 4. Chicago Cubs' Anthony Rizzo hits an RBI single during the first inning of Game 4. Francisco Lindor and Brandon Guyer of the Cleveland Indians celebrate after beating the Chicago Cubs 1-0 in Game 3 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on Friday, October 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Ben Zobrist of the Chicago Cubs reacts after striking out in the ninth inning in Game 3. Bryan Shaw of the Indians throws a pitch during the seventh inning in Game 3. Actor Bill Murray sings "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh inning stretch in Game 3. Michael Martinez of the Cleveland Indians scores a run during the seventh inning in Game 3. Coco Crisp of the Indians breaks his bat hitting an RBI single during the seventh inning in Game 3. Fans cheer in the stands after the fifth inning in Game 3. Justin Grimm of the Cubs reacts after a double play during the fifth inning in Game 3. Addison Russell of the Cubs turns an inning ending double play in the fifth inning in Game 3. Willson Contreras of the Cubs throws to second baseman Javier Baez for an out on a bunt attempt by Indians starting pitcher Josh Tomlin in Game 3. Francisco Lindor of the Indians hits a single in the fourth inning in Game 3. Addison Russell of the Cubs makes a diving catch for an out during the third inning in Game 3. Josh Tomlim of the Indians pitches in the first inning in Game 3. Dexter Fowler of the Cubs celebrates with Jason Heyward after defeating the Cleveland Indians 5-1 in Game 2. Designated hitter Carlos Santana of the Indians reacts after striking out during the seventh inning in Game 2. Jason Kipnis of the Indians is unable to handle the ball as Willson Contreras of the Cubs slides safely into second during the seventh inning in Game 2. Cleveland Indians fans hold up a sign in the stands during the sixth inning in Game 2. Ben Zobrist of the Cubs in action at the plate in Game 2. Relief pitcher Zach McAllister and shortstop Francisco Lindor of the Indians react during fifth inning in Game 2. Jake Arrieta of the Cubs throws a pitch during the fourth inning. He had a no hitter through five innings in Game 2. Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs celebrates scoring a run on an RBI single hit by Kyle Schwarber (not pictured) during the third inning in Game 2. Kyle Schwarber of the Cubs hits an RBI single during the third inning in Game 2. Francisco Lindor of the Indians dives back to first on an attempted pick-off in Game 2. Jake Arrieta of the Cubs throws a pitch during the first inning in Game 2. Kris Bryant of the Cubs hits a single during the first inning in Game 2. Francisco Lindor, left, and Rajai Davis of the Cleveland Indians celebrate after defeating the Chicago Cubs 6-0 in the Game 1. Javier Baez of the Cubs tags out Cleveland's Francisco Lindor as he tries to steal second base in Game 1. Cubs catcher David Ross falls after catching a pop fly by Cleveland's Lonnie Chisenhall in Game 1. Cleveland outfielder Rajai Davis catches a ball hit by the Cubs' Willson Contreras in Game 1. Jon Lester of the Cubs throws a pitch in Game 1. Cleveland Indians fans show their enthusiasm during the first game in Game 1. Addison Russell of the Cubs catches a ball hit by Cleveland's Jason Kipnis in Game 1. Cleveland starting pitcher Corey Kluber throws a pitch. Kluber set a World Series record with eight strikeouts in the first three innings in game 1. Fireworks explode over Progressive Field in Cleveland prior to Game 1. Kluber will go up against Chicago's Kyle Hendricks, who started Game 3 -- won by the Indians, 1-0 -- but did not factor in the decision. "It's an honor to even be a part of it, and we're going to give it everything we have," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "I can't imagine a better group of guys to go through something like this with. I'm looking forward to it already." This marks the 38th time in a best-of-seven World Series that the Fall Classic has extended to a final game. But clearly this isn't just any Game 7. For the Cubs, it's the second time they will play in a winner-take-all World Series Game 7. The only other time came 71 years ago in 1945 -- the last time they were in the World Series -- when they lost to the Detroit Tigers. That also was the year when the purported billy goat curse was put on the club. On October 6, 1945, a month after the end of World War II, a Chicago tavern owner named William "Billy" Sianis went to Wrigley Field, intending to attend Game 4 of the World Series with his pet goat, Murphy. But, according to the Billy Goat Tavern website , while both had tickets, the goat was denied entry. No animals were allowed in the ballpark, plus Murphy smelled bad. World Series 2016: Misery soon will end for Cubs or Indians fans Sianis, according to legend, threw up his arms and proclaimed, "The Cubs ain't gonna win no more. The Cubs will never win a World Series so long as the goat is not allowed in Wrigley Field." The Indians have been hexed, too, with the not-so-well-known curse of Rocky Colavito . Just before the start of the 1960 season, the Indians traded Colavito, the American League home run leader the previous year, to the Tigers for Harvey Kuenn. What followed were decades of agony. The team was terrible, spawning the 1989 movie "Major League." Can't watch the WS? The Chicago Cubs have your back. This is the second time in franchise history the Indians will play a World Series Game 7. The last time ended in heartbreak, when they lost to the Florida (now Miami) Marlins in 1997. Indians closer Jose Mesa blew the save in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Edgar Renteria won it for the Marlins with a walkoff single in the bottom of the 11th. ||||| The Chicago Cubs shed themselves of the "Curse of the Billy Goat" and ended a 108-year wait for a World Series title by beating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 10 innings on Wednesday in a thrilling Game Seven classic. The triumph of Chicago's beloved Cubbies set off a wild celebration in the streets of the Windy City after more than a century of pent up frustration for fans since their last Major League Baseball championship in 1908. Cubs players held their own euphoric party on the Progressive Field diamond cheered on by boisterous contingent of their fans after earlier squandering a 6-3 lead with four outs left in the game only to bounce back for the precious victory. The victory in the early hours of Thursday morning capped a Chicago comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven, a feat last achieved by the Kansas City Royals in 1985. It was the third World Series crown for the Cubs, while the disconsolate Indians replaced them as the team with the longest current World Series title drought, 68 years and counting. ||||| The Chicago Cubs are World Series champions at long last, winning their first Fall Classic in 108 years, defeating the Cleveland Indians in 10 innings 8-7 in Game 7 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The Indians were down 6-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning, but they got to closer Aroldis Chapman, tying things up with an RBI double from Brandon Guyer and a two-run home run from Rajai Davis. Chapman blew the save, Cleveland had the momentum, but then play was halted by rain before the start of the 10th inning. The delay lasted 17 minutes. When play resumed, Chicago got to work. Kyle Schwarber singled off Bryan Shaw. Albert Almora, Jr., came in to pinch run and advanced to second on a fly out from Kris Bryant. Ben Zobrist's RBI double off Bryan Shaw drove in pinch runner Albert Almora, Jr., and Miguel Montero's single with the bases loaded brought home Anthony Rizzo for what proved the winning run. Zobrist, who went 10-for-28 (a .357 average) with two doubles, a triple, two RBIs and five runs in the series, was named World Series MVP. Schwarber went 3-for-5 and finished the World Series 7-for-17 with a .412 average and two RBIs. Longest drought over at last The Cubs hadn't won a World Series since 1908, which was the longest drought in baseball. They also broke the curse set the last time they got this far 71 years ago. On October 6, 1945, a month after the end of World War II, a Chicago tavern owner named William "Billy" Sianis went to Wrigley Field, intending to attend Game 4 of the World Series with his pet goat, Murphy. But, according to the Billy Goat Tavern website, while both had tickets, the goat was denied entry. No animals were allowed in the ballpark, plus Murphy smelled bad. Sianis, according to legend, threw up his arms and proclaimed, "The Cubs ain't gonna win no more. The Cubs will never win a World Series so long as the goat is not allowed in Wrigley Field." They had not won since. Until now. The Cubs are the first team to come behind from a 3-1 deficit to win the World Series since the Kansas City Royals did it in 1985. Chicago also accomplished that feat by winning the final two games on the road. The last team to do that was the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. With the Cubs' win early Thursday morning, the Indians now have the current longest dry spell between championships, last winning in 1948. This Cubs roster was built by team president Theo Epstein, and he's helped kill a curse before. Epstein's previous job: General manager of the Boston Red Sox. In 2004, the team roster he built won its first World Series since 1918, ending the Curse of the Bambino. "It's fitting it's got to be done with one of the best games of all time," Epstein said with the World Series trophy in his arms, talking to Fox. "It's unbelievable. What a testament to our players, their grit." Epstein said this title isn't just for the current team, and he can't wait to bring the trophy back to Chicago. "Our fans just deserve it so much, and all the former Cubs, everyone, this is for so many people -- (the late) Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams. ... We're bringing the trophy home to you guys. It's been a century in the making." Indians starter Corey Kluber had been dominant this postseason, including getting the win in Games 1 and 4. Entering Game 7, he allowed just three earned runs in 30 1/3 innings this postseason, striking out 35 with an ERA of 0.89. But Kluber struggled, giving up four runs on six hits. It was his first career game (134 starts, five relief appearances) where he failed to record a strikeout. In the top of the first inning, Dexter Fowler hit the first lead-off home run in a winner-take-all Game 7 to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Cleveland answered in the bottom of the third inning, with Carlos Santana driving in Coco Crisp. Chicago, though, wasn't finished. In the top of the fourth, Kris Bryant singled to left for the Cubs. Rizzo was hit by a pitch. Zobrist reached on a fielder's choice to put runners on first and third. An Addison Russell sacrifice fly brought home Bryant to regain the lead. Willson Contreras doubled off the wall in center and drove in Zobrist to make it 3-1. In the top of the fifth, Javier Baez, the final batter Kluber faced, hit a solo home run. It was 5-1. In the bottom of the fifth with two outs, Cubs manager Joe Maddon elected to take out his starter, Kyle Hendricks, with a runner (Santana) on first. In came Jon Lester, coming off two days' rest, and his catcher, David Ross. It didn't go so well for Chicago at first. Jason Kipnis hit a soft grounder. Ross' throw sailed past first base, and Kipnis reached on an infield single. Santana advanced all the way to third while Kipnis went to second on the Ross error. With Francisco Lindor at the plate, a Lester wild pitch bounced off Ross. On heads up base running, Santana and Kipnis scored to make it 5-3. But any second guessing of Ross was erased in the top of the fifth inning, when the 39-year-old connected on a solo home run to center to give Chicago a 6-3 lead. And with that insurance run came history. Ross -- playing in the final game of his career -- is the oldest player to hit a home run in a World Series Game 7, at 39 years, 228 days old, edging Willie Stargell (1979) by three days. ||||| In two World Series starts, Cleveland Indians ace Corey Kluber has been dominant. Now, he needs to do it a third time, and this time as an underdog. Kluber’s challenge will be to cool off Kris Bryant and the Chicago Cubs’ suddenly-hot bats. In what promises to be a monster event for Las Vegas sports books, the Cubs-Indians showdown in Game 7 on Wednesday opened with Cleveland as a minus-110 favorite. The line quickly moved to pick’em, and in less than an hour, the Cubs were bet to minus-115 favorites. The total is 7 (under minus-120). “With these two teams, it will be the biggest handle we’ve ever seen on a single baseball game,” Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito said. “It will be huge, and you’re going to see action on both sides.” The betting public has supported the Cubs throughout the series. Kluber as a home ‘dog is an attractive alternative. In Game 1, Kluber threw six scoreless innings to beat Jon Lester. In Game 4, Kluber allowed one run in six innings to beat John Lackey. Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks went in Game 3 and pitched 4⅓ scoreless innings, but the Indians won 1-0 at Wrigley Field. Hendricks allowed six hits and two walks. Bryant, a Bonanza High School product and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 draft, went 4-for-5 with a first-inning home run Tuesday as the Cubs evened the series with a 9-3 victory at Cleveland. Addison Russell ripped a grand slam, and Anthony Rizzo also homered for the Cubs. “Kluber has been so dominant, but he’s coming back on short rest for the second time,” Esposito said. “I think now that the Cubs have won back-to-back games, the pressure shifts to the Indians. But both teams will have a lot of pressure on them.” The stakes get no higher. The Cubs are chasing their first World Series title since 1908, and the Indians’ championship drought dates to 1948. It’s a game that will define the thrill of victory and agony of defeat. * Here’s how Las Vegas Review-Journal staff members, other media, sports book directors and professional handicappers predicted the series would end in an Oct. 24 poll. Contact sports betting reporter Matt Youmans at [email protected] or 702-387-2907. Follow on Twitter: @mattyoumans247
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In American Major League Baseball, the Chicago Cubs defeat the Cleveland Indians 8–7 in 10 innings, winning the Series 4–3 and claiming their first MLB title since 1908. The Cubs' Ben Zobrist is named series MVP. Cubs win game 7 and the title in the early hours of November 3rd, 2016.
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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan on Thursday named eight Indian diplomats it accuses of espionage and terrorism, as tension mounted between the nuclear-armed rivals following days of artillery duels and skirmishes on the border dividing the disputed Kashmir region. The foreign ministry said six Indian embassy staff worked for New Delhi’s Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency, while two were operatives for the Intelligence Bureau agency. Their names were leaked to Pakistani media overnight. In response, India said it “completely rejected the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations” leveled by Pakistan against officials at its high commission in Islamabad. Rajesh Kumar Agnihotri, a commercial counselor, was named by the Pakistan foreign ministry as RAW’s station chief in Islamabad. The foreign ministry statement gave an eight-point list of the diplomats’ espionage activities. It accused them of fuelling instability in Pakistan’s Sindh and Baluchistan provinces, as well as sabotaging its most vital economic project, the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), involving transport and energy infrastructure projects to link China with Pakistan’s coast on the Arabian Sea. They were also accused of liaising with factions of the Pakistani Taliban and of working to damage Pakistan’s relations with western neighbor Afghanistan. It was not immediately clear if the diplomats would be expelled by Pakistan or withdrawn by India, which condemned the publication of their names and images and called on Pakistan to ensure their safety. Last week, India and Pakistan both expelled one diplomat from each other’s embassies, accusing them of spying. The foreign ministry also said Pakistan had withdrawn six diplomats from its mission in India after Indian media reported they had been involved in spying. Vikas Swarup, spokesman of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, told a news briefing that Islamabad had withdrawn its diplomats after some were named by the Pakistani embassy worker that it had expelled last week. The allegations against the Indian diplomats in Islamabad were “an afterthought and a crude attempt to target these officials for no fault of their own”, said Swarup, adding that Pakistan’s actions added to security risks in the region. India summoned the Pakistani deputy high commissioner on Wednesday to express its “grave concern and strong protest” over the denouncement of its diplomats in Islamabad. On the same day, the press wing of Pakistan’s military said India had violated a 2003 ceasefire in Kashmir 178 times this year, killing 19 civilians. Artillery duels and skirmishing have recently intensified along the disputed frontier running through the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. In July, Indian-administered Kashmir erupted in protests that led to a crackdown by security forces after they killed a young separatist leader. In September, gunmen killed 19 Indian soldiers at an army camp in an attack New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants. Later that month, India said it carried out “surgical strikes” on the Pakistani side of the border, but Islamabad called this a fabrication to distract attention from its continuing crackdown in Kashmir. ||||| ISLAMABAD: Pakistan yesterday named eight Indian diplomats it accuses of espionage and terrorism, as tensions mounted between the nuclear-armed rivals following days of artillery duels and skirmishes on the border dividing the disputed Kashmir region. The foreign ministry said six Indian embassy staff worked for New Delhi’s Research Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency, while two were operatives for the Intelligence Bureau agency. Their names were leaked to Pakistani media overnight. Rajesh Kumar Agnihotri, a commercial counsellor, was named by the Pakistan foreign ministry as RAW’s station chief in Islamabad. The foreign ministry statement gave an eight point list of the diplomats espionage activities. It accused them of fuelling instability in Pakistan’s Sindh and Baluchistan provinces, as well as sabotaging its most vital economic project, the US$46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), involving transport and energy infrastructure projects to link China with Pakistan’s coast on Arabian Sea. They were also accused the men of liaising with factions of the Pakistani Taliban and of working to damage Pakistan’s relations with western neighbour Afghanistan. It was not immediately clear if the diplomats would be expelled by Pakistan or withdrawn by India. India’s foreign ministry was not immediately available to comment. A spokesman was to brief reporters later yesterday during his weekly press event.” Last week, India and Pakistan both expelled one diplomat from each other’s embassies, accusing them of spying. The foreign ministry also said Pakistan has withdrawn six diplomats from its mission in India after Indian media reported that they had been involved in spying. — AFP ||||| India and Pakistan are withdrawing all of their diplomats from each other’s countries as the risk of nuclear war looms. According to Vikas Swarup, the spokesman of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi has withdrawn eight diplomats stationed in Islamabad due to the escalating tensions between the two countries. The Indian official said the main reason for the withdrawal was their identification in the local media as suspected spies. “They have put in the public domain eight names and six of these people went today. We will eventually withdraw all eight,” Swarup said, adding that the diplomats had been “completely compromised” after their names and pictures were put in the public domain. The decision came hours after reports said Pakistan had been planning the expulsion of five Indian diplomats on suspicion of espionage. They said Pakistani authorities had uncovered an alleged “network of Indian spy agencies” working at the Indian embassy in Islamabad and that they were awaiting an approval by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to expel a number of Indian diplomats. Sources in Islamabad and New Delhi said on Wednesday that Pakistan had also withdrawn six of its diplomats from India. Swarup confirmed that the Pakistani diplomats had left the Indian capital earlier in the day, rejecting claims in the media that they were expelled. The diplomatic tension began last week when India ordered one employee of the Pakistani High Commission out of the country, saying he was a suspected spy. Islamabad reacted in a tit-for-tat move and expelled one of India’s envoys. The two countries have also been at odds over the past months regarding the conflict in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The heavily-guarded area saw a protest by the majority Muslim population in July, when a popular pro-independence fighter was killed by Indian forces. India blamed the surge in unrest on Pakistan, saying Islamabad sent militants to the Himalayan region to trigger more violence. Cross-border clashes then unfolded between the two sides, resulting in dozens of casualties. The latest of such clashes beginning last weekend left nearly 20 people dead from the two sides. ||||| Pakistan may expel five Indian diplomats for espionage and has revealed their names, local media said on Wednesday, a move sure to exacerbate a rift between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that has been widening for months. Pakistan declined to comment on the matter ahead of a planned news conference on Thursday, while India said the identity of eight of its diplomats had been revealed by Pakistani media. Vikas Swarup, spokesman of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, declined to comment when asked whether the eight diplomats stationed in Islamabad would be withdrawn. Swarup also said six Pakistani diplomats had left the Indian capital on Wednesday but said they had not been expelled. Last week India ordered one employee of the Pakistani embassy, known as a High Commission, to leave the country on suspicion of espionage, triggering the expulsion of one of its own envoys by Islamabad. The diplomatic spat comes after months of sharply deteriorating relations that began with civil unrest in Indian-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan’s global lobbying against New Delhi’s crackdown on the Kashmiri activists. In September a group of gunmen killed 19 Indian soldiers at an army camp in Kashmir, an attack India blamed on Pakistan-based militants. India said it had carried out “surgical strikes” inside Pakistan as retribution, but Islamabad denied they even took place and accused New Delhi of fabrication to distract attention from its crackdown on the protests in the part of Kashmir it controls. Artillery duels and skirmishing along the disputed frontier that runs through Kashmir have escalated in recent days, leading India to summon the Pakistani deputy high commissioner on Wednesday to express its “grave concern and strong protest”. In a statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs accused Pakistan of violations of a 2003 ceasefire that have caused several fatalities and injuries among its civilians and security forces. New Delhi also protested against the alleged mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier by an attacker who escaped across the Line of Control after “committing this heinous crime”. Both sides typically refute the other’s version of events. On Wednesday the press wing of the Pakistani military said India had committed 178 ceasesfire violations this year, killing 19 civilians and injuring 80 more. ||||| India said on Wednesday that the identities of eight of its diplomats in Pakistan had been revealed in the local media, amid continuing tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors. Vikas Swarup, spokesman of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, declined to comment when asked whether the eight diplomats stationed in Islamabad would be withdrawn. He also said six Pakistani diplomats had left the Indian capital on Wednesday, but that they were not expelled. India ordered one employee of the Pakistani High Commission out of the country last week on suspicion of espionage, triggering a tit-for-tat expulsion of one of its own envoys by Islamabad. ||||| ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani and Indian officials say Pakistan has withdrawn 6 of its diplomats from New Delhi amid increasing tension. ||||| ISLAMABAD (AP) — Two Pakistani officials and an Indian spokesman say Pakistan has withdrawn six of its diplomats working at the Pakistani embassy in New Delhi amid increasing tension between the two countries over the disputed Kashmir territory. The two Pakistani officials said Pakistan has unearthed a “network of Indian spy agencies” working at the Indian embassy in Islamabad. They said authorities have sought Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s approval to expel some Indian diplomats. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue. In New Delhi, Vikas Swarup, the Indian External Affairs Ministry’s spokesman, confirmed that six Pakistani diplomats flew back to Islamabad on Wednesday as after being withdrawn by their government. Last week, each side expelled one of the other government’s diplomats as well. ||||| An Indian municipal worker sweeps the road outside Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. Pakistan has reportedly pulled out six staff members from its High Commission in New Delhi. Troops from the two countries have regularly traded fire since last month, when India said it carried out "surgical strikes" against militants in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir. Pakistan dismissed the claim and called on India to produce evidence to back it up. The tensions have also escalated at the government level, and last week each nation expelled a diplomat. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) ||||| NEW DELHI: India on Thursday blasted Pakistan for leveling fanciful accusations against Indian High Commission’s 8 diplomats, which New Delhi termed against norms of diplomatic practice and courtesy. MEA spokesman Vikas Swarup in his weekly media briefing completely reject “the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations made by Pakistan against certain officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. The Government categorically denies those allegations,” he said. He said it was especially regrettable that Pakistani authorities have chosen to level these allegations after deciding to recall, on their own, six officials of the Pakistan High Commission, some of whom may have been named to Indian authorities by Mehmood Akhtar – the PHC official caught red handed last week while indulging in anti-India activities. The allegations against the Indian officials represent an after-thought and a crude attempt to target these officials for no fault of theirs, the spokesman said. Swarup regretted the fact that Pakistan’s step adds to the risks to peace and security in the region emanating from Pakistan’s support to cross-border terrorism against its neighbours, its complete denial of the problem and deflection of its responsibility by resorting to fanciful accusations. “We also note that the Indian officials falsely implicated were working in the fields of promoting people-to-people and trade and economic contacts between the two countries. Pakistan’s false allegations against them have the potential to adversely affect the corresponding activities of the High Commission,” he said. The Government also protests strongly the manner in which names and photos of the eight Indian officials, – four of them holders of diplomatic passport- have been published. This is against basic norms of diplomatic practice and courtesy, he said. The named diplomats are likely to be pulled out of Islamabad. The MEA spokesman said that the allegations against the Indian official are prejudicial to their safety and security. He demanded Pakistan to take all necessary steps to ensure the security and safety of not only these eight diplomats and officials but all other members of the High Commission and their families while they are in Pakistan. On the question of their return to India, he said this is procedural matter. “Government will take all necessary further steps keeping all aspects of the situation in view,” he said. ||||| India-Pakistan ties hit new low over ‘spying’ allegations, ‘tit for tat’ moves India-Pakistan relations tumbled to a new low as Islamabad on Thursday named eight Indian High Commission officials for alleged spying, which India rejected as “baseless and unsubstantiated” and as part of the neighbours’s “tit for tat” move after a Pakistani official was caught “red-handed” for spying. As the Pakistani media flashed the names and photographs of the eight Indian officials in Islamabad, which the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria confirmed later, in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said India “protests strongly” against Islamabad’s move to publicly name and put up photographs of the officials, four of who are diplomatic passport holders. “This is against basic norms of diplomatic practice and courtesy,” he said. Rejecting Pakistan’s allegations of the men as belonging to Indian intelligence agencies RAW and IB, Swarup said: “We completely reject the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations made by Pakistan against certain officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. The government categorically denies those allegations.” He also said that Mehmood Akhtar, the Pakistan High Commission official who was detained last week for allegedly running a spy network as part of the Inter Services Intelligence, has revealed “sensitive information” about “anti-India activities” being carried out with connivance of Pakistan High Commission officials. Swarup said it was “regrettable” that Pakistani authorities chose to level these allegations against the Indians after deciding to recall, “on their own”, six officials of the Pakistan High Commission. He said some of them “may have been named” by Akhtar, who was caught “red handed last week while indulging in anti-India activities”. Asked about revelations made by Akhtar, Swarup said he has “revealed to us rather sensitive information about the kind of anti-India activities that were going on in this country with the connivance of officials of the Pakistan High Commission and our security agencies are currently seized of the matter and we will get to the bottom of it”. The spokesperson totally rejected the allegations against the Indian officials by Islamabad. “The allegations against the Indian officials represent an after-thought and a crude attempt to target these officials for no fault of theirs,” he said. “We regard this as an unfortunate incident. Pakistan is resorting to tit for tat without any real case against these officials, and we hope that such incidents do not recur in the future.” Asked if the eight officials will be brought back, Swarup said the Indian government will take a decision soon “keeping their safety in mind”. “A decision will be taken by government keeping their safety in mind. It is a procedural issue, and a decision will be taken soon,” he said. The spokesperson added that the officials there were working on promoting peace between India and Pakistan. “We expect the Pakistan government to take all steps to ensure the safety of these officials,” Swarup said. Pakistan said the eight Indian High Commission officials were involved in “coordinating terrorist and subversive activities in Pakistan”, a day after six Pakistani officials of the high commission in New Delhi were called back. Zakaria, in his weekly press briefing, named the Indian officials as Rajesh Kumar Agnihotri, Commerical Counsellor “and RAW station chief”, Anurag Singh, First Commercial Secretary, Amardeep Singh Bhatti, Attache Visa, Dharmendra Sodhi, staff member, Vijay Kumar Verma, staff, Madhavan Nanda Kumar, staff, and “suspected IB operatives”, Balbir Singh, First Secretary – Press and Information and “IB station chief”, Jayabalan Senthil, Assistant Personnel Welfare Officer. “All these eight officials were involved in espionage, subversion and supporting of terrorist activities,” he said. The FO spokesman also said that the Indian diplomatic staff “also handled Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) factions”. Last week, Pakistan had declared Indian High Commission official Surjeet Singh persona non grata and given him 48 hours to leave the country. Singh’s expulsion followed within hours of Mehboob Akhtar’s expulsion. In March, Pakistan said it had arrested a “serving Indian naval intelligence officer” Kulbhushan Jadhav in Balochistan for allegedly working for RAW. India however said that he was no longer in service. Swarup termed the support to terror by Pakistan as the root cause of problems between the two nations. “Root cause of problem between India and Pakistan is Pakistan’s support to cross border terrorism and its promotion as an element of state policy. “It is important for Pakistan to desist from those policies which are failed policies which have led to its diplomatic isolation… Unless that happens relationship between two countries will continue to remain like this,” he said.
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Pakistan accuses eight Indian diplomats of espionage and terrorism amid rising tensions concerning Kashmir. India said it rejects these allegations. The six Pakistani diplomats withdrawn from India last week were reported to have been accused of spying.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was rushed off the stage by Secret Service at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada on Saturday. An unidentified individual yelled “gun” while Trump was speaking, the Secret Service said in a statement. Secret Service agents and Reno police detained the man and after a thorough search, did not find a gun, the statement said. That was very chaotic. Trump was just rushed off stage by Secret Service. Fights started breaking out in the crowd. Not sure why. — Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) November 6, 2016 CBS News producer Arden Farhi said it all happened very quickly, but it appeared their was a commotion near the podium. Trump returned to the stage shortly afterward, and said “nobody said it was going to be easy for us. But we will never be stopped. Never, ever be stopped.” Security scare during Donald Trump campaign event He thanked the Secret Service and then returned to his speech. The Reno rally was a last-minute trip to the swing state. It was his third rally on Saturday in the last, long weekend before Election Day. Trump began speaking just before 5:30 p.m., according to CBS affiliate KTVN. Looking specifically at Reno, Trump said that “Reno and northern Nevada can carry this thing.” He continued to say in regards to Tuesday’s vote, “It’s up to the great people of Washoe County to get this done.” Then he spoke against the man who he called “Crazy Harry”, Senator Harry Reid. However he did not endorse any candidate to take his place. Other talking points included the “rigged system” and the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails. Later on, Trump also spoke about healthcare, saying as president he would begin by “completely repealing and replacing Obamacare”. Switching to international policy, he said he would “suspend the Syrian refugee problem” and keep “radical Islamic terrorists the hell out of our country.” Then began speaking about building the wall, the “great wall” at Mexico’s border, emphasizing that he would let people in legally. He says that the process to become a legalized citizen will be “streamlined” and “efficient.” ||||| Security personnel rush off stage after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was escorted away during a rally at the Reno-Sparks Convention Centre in Reno, Nevada on Saturday. Television footage showed a white male suspect pinioned on the ground by officers and searched, before he was led away. White House hopeful Donald Trump was bundled off stage by security officers on Saturday after a gun scare during a campaign appearance in Reno, Nevada. The 70-year-old Republican tycoon reappeared several minutes later to cheers, declaring: “Nobody said it was going to be easy for us, but we will never be stopped, never ever be stopped. “I want to thank the Secret Service. These guys are fantastic. They don’t get enough credit. They are amazing people.” Just before the fracas, Mr. Trump could be seen shielding his eyes from the lights in order to peer into the crowd as a struggle broke out. There were signs of a fracas in the audience as three agents led Mr. Trump away, shielding his body, but once a suspect was in custody Mr. Trump returned to resume his stump speech. Television footage showed a white male suspect pinioned on the ground by officers and searched, before he was led away by local law enforcement, including an armed response team in tactical dress with rifles. The candidate appeared unrattled by the scuffle and spoke with his usual self-confidence, finishing his planned remarks and accepting the applause of the crowd before returning to his campaign plane safely. “I would like to thank the United States Secret Service and the law enforcement resources in Reno and the state of Nevada for their fast and professional response,” he said in a campaign statement. A CNN reporter at the venue cited unnamed local law enforcement sources as saying there had been a report of a gun in the crowd and a suspect in custody. ||||| Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, spoke during a campaign event Saturday at the Wilmington International Airport in North Carolina. RENO - Donald Trump was rushed off stage Saturday night during a campaign rally here as security officials swarmed, but the candidate emerged back on stage after a few minutes and finished his speech. Some kind of a disturbance had occurred in the front of the room where Trump was speaking. He put his hand above his eyes to peer out into the crowd. As he did so, a security official rushed to Trump's side and escorted him off stage. People near the front of the room suddenly scattered as U.S. Secret Service and uniformed officers jumped the barricades to apprehend an unidentified man. Trump later concluded his rally without further incident. It was not immediately clear what the cause of the disturbance was. CNN, citing "a law enforcement official," reported that no weapon had been found and that no eyewitnesses reported seeing a gun. The GOP presidential nominee later released a statement thanking the Secret Service and local law enforcement for their "fast and professional response," adding that "nothing will stop us - we will make America great again!" Meanwhile, a press bus carrying reporters covering Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen Tim Kaine's stops in Florida was hit at high speed, according to reporters traveling with the senator. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Kaine was several cars ahead of the press bus, according to reporters in his motorcade. Earlier in the day, Hillary Clinton's campaign announced she will campaign in Michigan on Monday, as polls show her once-comfortable lead in the state eroding and as Trump eyes it as a potential way to come from behind in the hunt for electoral votes. That announcement from the Clinton campaign came as Trump also rejiggered his itinerary, making plans for last-minute stops in Virginia, where Clinton has led but Republicans are catching up. The GOP nominee spent Saturday hopscotching the country, rallying with supporters in North Carolina, as well as Florida, Colorado and Nevada - and he announced plans to visit Minnesota, a traditionally Democratic state where polls showing him trailing by about five points. In his speech in Nevada late Saturday, Trump attacked elections officials for allowing a predominantly Hispanic early voting site in the Las Vegas area to stay open for "hours and hours." President Barack Obama will also campaign in Michigan on Monday, suggesting that Democrats see danger signs there. Clinton will be in Grand Rapids, Obama in Ann Arbor. Former president Bill Clinton will make a stop in Lansing on Sunday. "There are just three days left in this most consequential election," Clinton told a cheering crowd of about 10,000 an open-air rally and concert in Philadelphia on Saturday night. Clinton noted the millions of people of have voted early and urged Pennsylvania voters to help "send a message" about American values and ideals. "I believe they are standing up for a hopeful, inclusive vision of America and I'm asking you to stand up for that same vision," Clinton said. Over the last two weeks much of Clinton's focus has been on Florida and North Carolina, as well as Nevada, where early voting is now winding down. But her campaign manager Robby Mook, conceded to reporters on Saturday that "we have seen tightening in the Midwest generally this cycle, and we are taking that seriously." Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri told reporters Saturday that in addition to a previously announced stop in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Sunday night, Clinton will add a rally in Cleveland earlier Sunday. On Monday in addition to Michigan, Clinton will add a midnight rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. Another large evening rally had also been announced for Philadelphia that night. Palmieri said that Khizr Khan will speak at the New Hampshire rally. Khan is the father of fallen soldier Humayun Khan, whose challenge to Trump over the Republican's proposed ban on Muslim immigration was among the most memorable moments of the Democratic convention. Trump's focus on Saturday night was Nevada, where polls show the race tied. Campaigning in Reno, Trump denounced a decision by elections officials to keep open an early voting site "for hours and hours." Early voting totals in Clark County, Nev., which encompasses Las Vegas, topped 57,000, according to local officials. A supermarket doubling as an early-voting site in the county was allowed to stay open for two additional hours on Friday night as thousands of people remained in line to vote. It is customary for state elections officials across the country to authorize keeping a polling site open later if there are long lines at closing time. Regardless, Trump claimed that officials allowed Clinton supporters to "bus and bring Democratic voters in. Folks, it's a rigged system. It's a rigged system and we're going to beat it. We're going to beat it. I've been saying it's a rigged system." Trump continued his emphasis on Clinton's emails controversy throughout the day Saturday, citing the FBI's announcement last week that it would revive an inquiry into her use of a private email server at the State Department. In Reno, he said that if Clinton were elected, her presidency would lead to "an unprecedented constitutional crisis." "We could very well have a sitting president under felony indictment and ultimately a criminal trial. It would grind government to a halt, of course that's what we have right now under Obama anyway," he told the crowd in Reno. "We need a government that can work, and work well from day one for the American people. That would be impossible with Hillary Clinton, the prime suspect in a far-reaching criminal investigation." Trump, Pence and key campaign surrogates also will swing through Virginia this weekend and into Monday. Trump will hold a 10 p.m. rally Sunday at a fairgrounds in the Northern Virginia swing territory of Loudoun County, his campaign announced on Saturday. Pence was scheduled to appear at a suburban Richmond Saturday afternoon and at a rally at George Mason University at 8 p.m. Saturday. Two of Trump's children - Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump - are planning stops in Northern Virginia on Sunday and Monday, respectively. In the closing days of the campaign, polling averages compiled by The Washington Post continue to show a close contest in several battleground states. In Michigan, Clinton now holds just a two-point edge over Trump, 43 to 41 percent. She also holds a slim lead in New Hampshire (43-41), which accounts for the renewed attention there in the closing days. In Colorado, Clinton is up 43 percent to 41 percent. In Arizona, Trump leads by three points (46-43). Clinton is ahead by six points in New Mexico (40-34) and five points in North Carolina (48-43), Pennsylvania (47-42) and Wisconsin (45-40). She's up by four points in Virginia (45-41). Trump holds a five-point lead in Ohio (46-41), where Clinton held a star-studded campaign rally on Friday night with rapper Jay-Z and Beyoncé, his wife. The race remains tick-tock tight in Nevada, where the candidates are tied at 44 percent each. In Florida, Clinton has a one-point, 47 to 46 percent advantage. Trump leads in Georgia (47-45); Iowa (46-41); and Utah (35-28) where third-party candidate Evan McMullin has been polling well. Poll averages calculated by The Washington Post for Clinton and Trump reflect recent polls that also include McMullin, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein where they are on the ballot and where results are available. As the race enters its final stretch, the Clinton campaign continues to push back aggressively against the FBI's decision to revive the inquiry into Clinton's email. Campaigning in Florida on Saturday, Kaine, D-Virginia, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, sharply criticized the FBI and its director, James Comey for the development. In an interview with the Fusion television network, Kaine faulted Comey for breaking agency protocol by discussing a politically sensitive case so close to an election. Comey's decision to alert Congress about his review of the Clinton case "suggests that it's probably more likely explained that [Comey] knew that the FBI is not only a leaky sieve but there were people within the FBI actively working - actively working - to try to help the Trump campaign," Kaine said. "This just absolutely staggering, and it is a massive blow to the integrity of [the FBI]." The Washington Post's John Wagner, Katie Zezima, Robert Barnes and Sarah Parnass in Washington and Laura Vozzella in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report. Gearan reported from Philadelphia and O'Keefe from Washington. ||||| Exclusive : Self-declared Republican who sparked Nevada security scare says he was attacked for silently showing a sign he printed from the web The man whose protest saw Donald Trump rushed off the stage by Secret Service agents has said the Republican nominee’s supporters turned on him when he held up a sign reading: “Republicans against Trump.” The man, who identified himself as Austyn Crites from Reno, told the Guardian he was holding the sign at a rally when Trump supporters wrestled him to the ground. Donald Trump is rushed off stage by Secret Service agents at rally in Nevada Read more The 33-year-old – who says he has been a registered Republican for about six years – said he was kicked, punched and choked, and feared for his life when the crowd turned on him at the gathering in Reno, Nevada. Crites cited Trump’s treatment of Mexicans, Muslims and women as the reason he decided to protest again Trump, who he described as “a textbook version of a dictator and a fascist”. There were panicked scenes at the Trump rally, apparently prompted by shouts from at least one person in the crowd that the protester had a gun. Hundreds of people fled to the the back of the auditorium in panic as Trump was hurriedly rushed from the stage by his security detail. Moments later, Trump reappeared on stage and said: “Nobody said it was going to be easy but we will never be stopped. We will never be stopped.” The US Secret Service later said in a statement that no weapon was found on the subject detained at the rally, who had been released. The Guardian found a bruised and shocked-looking Crites outside the auditorium. He said he was shaken and had pain in the back, but was otherwise uninjured. Crites, who said he was an inventor who works with high-altitude balloons, said the incident occurred after he walked toward the front of the stage to protest silently against Trump. He confirmed witness descriptions of him moving through the crowd toward the front. However, he said he was not barging through but saying: “Can I please come through, can I please come through.” When he was near the front of the crowd, he said he silently held aloft his sign. I had a sign that said ‘Republicans against Trump’. It is a sign that you can just print off online Austyn Crites, protester “I had a sign that said ‘Republicans against Trump.’ It is a sign that you can just print off online.” Initially, there was the expected reaction of people around him booing, he said. “And then all of a sudden people next to me are starting to get violent; they’re grabbing at my arm, trying to rip the sign out of my hand,” he said. He said he could not be sure but “it looked like” Trump was pointing at him, and may have been “instigating something”. Either way, the crowd piled on him, he said, kicking, punching, holding him on the ground and grabbing his testicles. He said he was a wrestler in his youth and used his training to turn his head to the side to maintain an airway open as he was being choked by one man who had him in a headlock. “But there were people wrenching on my neck they could have strangled me to death,” he added. Crites said when he was on the ground he heard someone yell “something about a gun” and he kept telling those on top of him that he had merely been holding a sign. He was unaware, until the Guardian told him, that Trump had been ushered from the stage amid the mayhem. For his part, Crites said he felt relieved when police arrived and placed him in handcuffs, but said officers had to fend off Trump supporters who continued to attack him. “As I was taken from the room, people are just looking at me like I’m a demon,” he said. He said he was taken to the back of the auditorium, searched, subjected to a background check and then swiftly released. Several Trump supporters who witnessed the incident told the Guardian they saw a man wrestled to the ground and, after he was on the ground, heard shouts that he had a weapon, prompting panic. One of those witnesses, a Trump supporter, said he had seen the protester holding a “Republicans against Trump” sign, and assumed it had been misidentified as a weapon. Although he described himself as a Republican and fiscal conservative, Crites said he had canvassed “for a few hours” with the Clinton campaign in Nevada because he wanted to do all he could to prevent a Trump presidency He said he was not fully supportive of Clinton but believed she was the only candidate who could stop Trump from reaching the White House. Crites said he had not formal connection to the Clinton campaign and decided to attend the rally on his own volition. “Evan [Evan] McMullin is someone I also support,” he said of the independent conservative standing for president on many states, and added that he backed Trump’s Republican opponents during the primaries. “John Kasich, for example, was a great candidate.” Crites said he felt Trump supporters were well-meaning but simply misguided by Trump’s demagoguery. “He’s fascist, he’s a dictator,” he said of the Republican nominee, saying such leaders turn normal people “into animals”. While he was surprised at what occurred at the rally, Crites he said he did not blame the crowd for his treatment. “I like these people,” he said. “These are my fellow Americans. I love these people. I understand that they came here because they’re patriotic, they want to do good for their country.” He added: “The people who attacked me – I’m not blaming them. I’m blaming Donald Trump’s hate rhetoric.” “My heart still aches for what this nation could potentially do by electing him,” he added. “That hurts me much more than any of this violence.” “The fact that I got beat up today, that’s just showing what he’s doing to his crowds. But I just want people to understand I’m going to be OK, but now what’s more important is if the country going to be OK? So do your part and vote.” ||||| NEW YORK | Donald Trump puts a premium on loyalty and has proven unable to let a slight go by unchallenged. He touts the facts that he likes — and casts doubts on the ones he doesn’t. While he has a penchant for exaggeration and an often tenuous relationship with truth, the Republican nominee has also shown himself to be a fighter who rarely cedes ground, even in the face of enormous pressure to do so. If the New York billionaire is elected to the White House on Tuesday, it’s reasonable to expect the persona exposed by 18 months as a candidate for president will be the one he brings to the Oval Office. “Early on, Trump was seen as someone who was going to stick to his guns no matter what. He was going to say what was on his mind. And you know he’s going to take the consequences of that no matter what,” said Ed Brookover, a former senior campaign adviser. That remains, Brookover said, the essence of who Trump is today. Trump has often said during the campaign he knows more than academics, generals and other experts, and he has largely forgone the kind of intense study sessions favored by other candidates to learn about domestic and world affairs. He’s stuck by facts repeatedly debunked, the latest being his incorrect assertion that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton wants to admit 650 million immigrants into the country — tripling the U.S. population “in one week.” While he’s received briefings from U.S. intelligence officials, who have concluded Russia is behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee, Trump routinely expresses doubt they were involved. “Our country has no idea,” he said during the third presidential debate. Yet Brookover rejects the idea that Trump is a closed book unwilling to accept new information. He described a meeting this spring in Washington, at which Trump met with members of Congress who suggested he release a list of judges from which he’d select a nominee to the Supreme Court. Trump did so shortly after. “He listens and takes in what people tell him a lot more than people give him credit for,” Brookover said. Trump is also a candidate who appears incapable of ignoring a slight and is all too willing to respond with disproportionate force. The day after accepting the presidential nomination at his party’s convention, he taunted dispatched rival Ted Cruz rather than focus on the general election campaign that had just begun. He’s put his standing among women and military families at risk by doubling down on his replies to the criticisms levied by the parents of a slain Army officer and a Latina beauty queen he shamed for gaining weight. “I’ve been saying during this whole campaign that I’m a counter-puncher,” he once explained to Fox News Channel star Megyn Kelly, among those Trump has tangled with during the campaign. “I’m responding. Now, I then respond times maybe 10. I don’t know. I mean I respond pretty strongly. But in just about all cases, I’ve been responding to what they did to me.” Eric Trump, one of Trump’s sons, cast his father in an interview as David taking on Goliath largely on his own. “He’s had to take on the DNC, take on the corruption, a very, very biased media in so many cases,” Eric Trump said of his father. “He’s done that all by himself and me and quite frankly the American people. … I give him tremendous, tremendous credit because he soldiered so much weight on his own. He shouldered a movement to change this nation.” While the presidential campaign is undoubtedly intense, the patterns of behavior Trump has displayed as the Republican nominee are likely to continue, said Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary to President George W. Bush. “The campaign is a great indication of what will happen in a White House,” he said. While Trump has shown the ability to moderate, Fleischer said his counter-punching instinct could be “a disaster in the Oval Office,” where calm and level-headedness are crucial when something goes wrong. “It would be even worse if he does it with majesty and the power of the presidency on his hands,” he said. But friends and former aides, among them those who have known Trump for years, say the celebrity businessman defined by his boisterous campaign rallies is very different behind closed doors. Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a former rival-turned-supporter, has described “two different Donald Trumps.” “There’s the one you see on the stage and there’s the one who’s very cerebral, sits there and considers things very carefully,” he said during a recent endorsement speech. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another Trump adviser, put it another way. With the risks of Trump saying things that are unwise comes, too, the benefits of a leader who is a “truly a historic figure” able to effectively communicate his ideas to millions of people. “So, it’s a funny paradox,” Gingrich said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” ”On the one hand, he’s one of the most brilliant marketers I’ve ever seen. And on the other hand, for a while there, he was undercutting himself. I suspect if he had not done that, he’d be ahead by ten or 15 points right now.” Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report from Madison, Wisconsin. ||||| NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump puts a premium on loyalty and has proven unable to let a slight go by unchallenged. He touts the facts that he likes — and casts doubts on the ones he doesn’t. While he has a penchant for exaggeration and an often tenuous relationship with truth, the Republican nominee has also shown himself to be a fighter who rarely cedes ground, even in the face of enormous pressure to do so. If the New York billionaire is elected to the White House on Tuesday, it’s reasonable to expect the persona exposed by 18 months as a candidate for president will be the one he brings to the Oval Office. “Early on, Trump was seen as someone who was going to stick to his guns no matter what. He was going to say what was on his mind. And you know he’s going to take the consequences of that no matter what,” said Ed Brookover, a former senior campaign adviser. That remains, Brookover said, the essence of who Trump is today. Trump has often said during the campaign he knows more than academics, generals and other experts, and he has largely forgone the kind of intense study sessions favored by other candidates to learn about domestic and world affairs. He’s stuck by facts repeatedly debunked, the latest being his incorrect assertion that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton wants to admit 650 million immigrants into the country — tripling the U.S. population “in one week.” While he’s received briefings from U.S. intelligence officials, who have concluded Russia is behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee, Trump routinely expresses doubt they were involved. “Our country has no idea,” he said during the third presidential debate. Yet Brookover rejects the idea that Trump is a closed book unwilling to accept new information. He described a meeting this spring in Washington, at which Trump met with members of Congress who suggested he release a list of judges from which he’d select a nominee to the Supreme Court. Trump did so shortly after. “He listens and takes in what people tell him a lot more than people give him credit for,” Brookover said. Trump is also a candidate who appears incapable of ignoring a slight and is all too willing to respond with disproportionate force. The day after accepting the presidential nomination at his party’s convention, he taunted dispatched rival Ted Cruz rather than focus on the general election campaign that had just begun. He’s put his standing among women and military families at risk by doubling down on his replies to the criticisms levied by the parents of a slain Army officer and a Latina beauty queen he shamed for gaining weight. “I’ve been saying during this whole campaign that I’m a counter-puncher,” he once explained to Fox News Channel star Megyn Kelly, among those Trump has tangled with during the campaign. “I’m responding. Now, I then respond times maybe 10. I don’t know. I mean I respond pretty strongly. But in just about all cases, I’ve been responding to what they did to me.” Eric Trump, one of Trump’s sons, cast his father in an interview as David taking on Goliath largely on his own. “He’s had to take on the DNC, take on the corruption, a very, very biased media in so many cases,” Eric Trump said of his father. “He’s done that all by himself and me and quite frankly the American people. … I give him tremendous, tremendous credit because he soldiered so much weight on his own. He shouldered a movement to change this nation.” While the presidential campaign is undoubtedly intense, the patterns of behavior Trump has displayed as the Republican nominee are likely to continue, said Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary to President George W. Bush. “The campaign is a great indication of what will happen in a White House,” he said. While Trump has shown the ability to moderate, Fleischer said his counter-punching instinct could be “a disaster in the Oval Office,” where calm and level-headedness are crucial when something goes wrong. “It would be even worse if he does it with majesty and the power of the presidency on his hands,” he said. But friends and former aides, among them those who have known Trump for years, say the celebrity businessman defined by his boisterous campaign rallies is very different behind closed doors. Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a former rival-turned-supporter, has described “two different Donald Trumps.” “There’s the one you see on the stage and there’s the one who’s very cerebral, sits there and considers things very carefully,” he said during a recent endorsement speech. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another Trump adviser, put it another way. With the risks of Trump saying things that are unwise comes, too, the benefits of a leader who is a “truly a historic figure” able to effectively communicate his ideas to millions of people. “So, it’s a funny paradox,” Gingrich said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” ”On the one hand, he’s one of the most brilliant marketers I’ve ever seen. And on the other hand, for a while there, he was undercutting himself. I suspect if he had not done that, he’d be ahead by ten or 15 points right now.” Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report from Madison, Wisconsin. ||||| Republican Donald Trump was rushed off stage by security agents at a rally in Reno, Nevada, on Saturday night after a perceived security threat as he and Democrat Hillary Clinton swept across states that could prove decisive in Tuesday’s presidential election. Two security agents seized Trump by the shoulders and hustled him backstage as police officers swarmed over a white male in the front of the crowd and held him face down on the ground while they searched him. Moments later, the man was escorted by police away with his hands behind his back. Trump, seemingly unruffled, returned to the stage and continued his campaign speech. “Nobody said it was going to be easy for us,” he said. “But we will never be stopped.” Read more: Election’s final weekend nears as Clinton, Trump try to lock down battleground states Read more: Follow the money to see why Putin wants a Trump victory Analysis: Anxiety mounts in the final days of the U.S. election The Secret Service later said the incident erupted when an unidentified individual in front of the stage shouted “gun.” “Secret Service agents and Reno Police Officers immediately apprehended the subject. Upon a thorough search of the subject and the surrounding area, no weapon was found,” the Secret Service said in a statement. “A thorough investigation is ongoing at this time by the U.S. Secret Service and the Reno Police Department,” it said. The incident began when Trump noticed what he considered a heckler. A few seconds later people near the stage began pointing at someone in the crowd near the front. Then agents took Trump away. In a statement, Trump thanked the Secret Service, Reno and Nevada law enforcement for “their fast and professional response.” The incident occurred as Clinton and Trump make their closing arguments to American voters, crisscrossing the United States in hopes of winning over last-minute undecided voters and rallying their bases to turn out enthusiastically on Election Day. In Philadelphia, pop singer Katy Perry performed at a Clinton rally, the latest in a string of celebrity appearances aimed at getting out the vote among millennials. “When your kids and grandkids ask you what you did in 2016, when it was all on the line, I want you be able to say you voted for a better, stronger, America,” Clinton said. Opinion polls show Clinton still holds advantages in states that could be critical in deciding the election. But her lead has narrowed after a revelation a week ago that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into a new trove of emails as part of its probe into her handling of classified information while she was secretary of state. A McClatchy-Marist opinion poll released on Saturday of voters nationwide showed Clinton leading by 1 percentage point compared to 6 percentage points in September. A Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll on Saturday showed Clinton ahead by 4 percentage points nationally compared to 5 points on Friday. Both candidates spent time in Florida, considered one of the most hotly contested states. The 2000 presidential election was decided in Florida after a dispute over votes and recounting of ballots went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in favour of Republican George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore. The Real Clear Politics average of Florida opinion polls found Clinton with a lead of about 1 percentage point – indicating the race there is a virtual tie. Trump spoke at a rally on Saturday morning in Tampa, Florida, where he continued to criticize Clinton for supporting the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, in the wake of an announcement that premiums are going to rise next year. “It’s not going to matter because if we win I’m throwing it out anyway,” Trump said. Shortly before Clinton took the stage in Pembroke Pines, Florida, rain poured down. People in the crowd waiting for Clinton at the outdoor rally remained in place, taking out umbrellas and fashioning garbage bags into head coverings. “I’m thrilled to be here and boy is this a hardy group, rain or shine you are ready,” Clinton said, her voice cracking with hoarseness. She cut her speech short as she became soaked in rain, saying, “I don’t think I need to tell you all of the wrong things about Donald Trump.” At the JFK library in Hialeah, Florida, people lined up outside for early voting. Nearby, supporters of both candidates waved signs and shouted slogans, urging passing drivers to honk their horns. “We want someone to come in and clean house,” said Cuban-American Ariel Martinez, 42, a Trump supporter. Early voting began in September and the data firm Catalist estimates more than 30 million ballots have been cast in 38 states. There are an estimated 225.8 million eligible U.S. voters. Saturday was the final day for early voting in many Florida counties. Trump and Clinton campaigns adjusted travel schedules for the next two days to states where they saw opportunity. Trump told the crowd in Tampa that there would be a campaign event in Minnesota this weekend, although one had not previously been scheduled. Minnesota has not voted for a Republican since 1984. His campaign confirmed a rally scheduled for Wisconsin on Sunday has been cancelled. Clinton started the day by stopping by the West Miami Community Center, a Cuban American neighbourhood, with telenovela star Jencarlos Canela, a Miami native of Cuban descent. She then visited her campaign’s office in Little Haiti where there is a large concentration of Haitian-American residents. Clinton was joined by Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager who was shot dead in 2012 by a Sanford, Florida neighbourhood watchman, George Zimmerman. While Trump prefers large-scale rallies, Clinton has filled her campaign schedule with targeted appearances meant to court voters in specific demographics. Cuban voters have historically favoured Republicans, but younger generations have shifted toward Democratic Party candidates. In what was seen as an effort to defend typically Democratic turf, Clinton on Monday will campaign in Grand Rapids, Michigan, before returning to Pennsylvania for a rally in Philadelphia with President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, and former President Bill Clinton. Trump is to make stops on Sunday in Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia to try to steal away some states that have gone Democratic in recent presidential elections. ||||| RENO — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was hustled offstage at a rally Saturday evening but returned after a brief, hectic interlude involving someone attending the event. Trump left abruptly after calling out a person he said was a Clinton supporter amid a crowd of a few thousand Trump supporters. Trump was finishing a 30-minute speech when the incident occurred. “We have one of those guys from the Hillary Clinton campaign,” Trump said. “How much are you being paid, $1,500?” The crowd milled around the individual as the incident played out at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. A few seconds later, the press corps traveling with Trump was told to leave to get to the airport for Trump’s departure. But after a hectic few minutes, Trump returned to the stage to finish his remarks. The Republican presidential nominee had been speaking to supporters for a while when the disturbance broke out in the crowd close to the lectern. Two Secret Service agents quickly surrounded Trump and hustled him away. In a statement shortly after the incident, the Secret Service said a person in front of the stage had shouted “Gun!” but that no weapon was found after a search of the person and the immediate area. A man was apprehended, but officials did not identify the person or disclose whether the person had been charged with a crime. The Secret Service’s statement noted that magnetometers are used at presidential campaign sites. “All general public attending these events must go through a magnetometer screening prior to entering a protected area,” the agency said. Paul Lewis, a U.S. West Coast bureau chief for the British newspaper The Guardian, tweeted that the apprehended man was 33-year-old Austyn Crites, who had been carrying a “Republicans Against Trump” sign. Lewis interviewed Crites after he’d been released. Lewis tweeted that Crites said he was terrified by how the crowd responded, saying, “I was in survival mode. I knew I could die at that moment.” The incident is under investigation. After the incident, Trump issued a statement, expressing thanks to the Secret Service and the law enforcement resources in Reno and the state of Nevada “for their fast and professional response.” “I also want to thank the many thousands of people present for their unwavering and unbelievable support,” he said. “Nothing will stop us — we will make America great again!” Earlier in his remarks, Trump predicted a victory for his campaign in Nevada and a GOP return to the White House on Election Day on Tuesday. “You have to vote with your heart,” Trump said. “You have to vote with your soul to make America great again. Real change means restoring honesty to our government.” Trump told the cheering crowd they have two choices on Tuesday: a vote for a government run by special interests and donors who “control crooked Hillary Clinton” or a vote for a government “run by you, the American people.” Polls show a tight race between Trump and Clinton in this battleground state, where Democrats statewide hold an 89,000 advantage over the GOP in active registered voters. But through the end of early voting in Nevada on Friday, Democrats had an edge going into Tuesday’s general election. Nevertheless, Republican speakers at the rally said GOP turnout on Tuesday will make up for the difference and generate six electoral votes for Trump. Trump repeated his common themes at the Reno stop, saying he will repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and stop jobs from leaving the United States and Nevada. The hemorrhaging of jobs will be stopped by reducing the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, he said. It was Trump’s second visit to Nevada in a week. He campaigned in Las Vegas a week ago. His last visit to Reno was in early October, though his vice presidential running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, campaigned in Reno twice within a week’s time late last month. The crowd cheered at nearly everything Trump had to say, including his oft-repeated proposal to build a wall between the United States and Mexico. Trump said Clinton supports open borders and sanctuary cities, and he cited examples of where violent acts were committed by people who are not legally residing in the United States. The Associated Press reported Saturday that Trump accused officials of wrongly keeping polling sites open late in Clark County to boost Democratic early voting turnout. There appears to be no evidence that is the case, the AP added. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Contact Sean Whaley at [email protected] or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter. ||||| The day before the 2016 general election, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will return to where it all started in Florida. On Monday, Trump will hold a rally at Robarts Arena in Sarasota starting at 11 a.m. Sarasota GOP Chairman Joe Gruters, who serves as Trump’s co-chairman in Florida, opened the nominee’s first state field office downtown a year ago. ||||| CLOSE A video from crowdmember Donald Newton of Santa Rosa, Calif., during an incident in Reno when Donald Trump was rushed off stage. GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks Nov. 5, 2016, during a campaign rally in Reno, Nev. (Photo: Evan Vucci, AP) RENO, Nev. — Two Secret Service agents hurried Donald Trump off the stage at a Nevada political rally Saturday night after a disturbance broke out in the crowd not far from where the Republican presidential nominee was speaking. With some attendees at the Reno event recording the incident on their phones, law-enforcement officials quickly brought the situation under control and officers were seen leading one man out of the event. One person at the rally had yelled "gun," but no weapon was found, according to a Trump campaign statement. MSNBC later reported that the protester was let go. Moments after the incident, Trump returned to speak, briefly alluding to the commotion and thanking the Secret Service before going on to prepared remarks. "Nobody said it was going to be easy for us but we will never be stopped. I want to thank the Secret Service. They don’t get enough credit. They’re amazing people," Trump said. @realDonaldTrump retakes stage after scary incident in Reno NV: "No one said it would be easy for us ... we will never be stopped." — Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) November 6, 2016 Donald Newton, 47, of Santa Rosa, Calif., was right next to the bedlam when it happened and took video of the immediate aftermath. Newton said a man holding a sign started going toward the stage. “He had something on his belly. I don’t know what it was,” Newton said. “Somebody yelled 'gun' and everyone jumped on him. My friend put his knee on his head, but he kept getting up.” After Trump returned to the stage, the GOP nominee began talking about political issues. Watch Trump get rushed off stage by Secret Service during rally in Nevada https://t.co/3ZSJDgyhRL — MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 6, 2016 "So, let’s get back to repealing the defense sequester. Right now it doesn’t sound that exciting, but it’s very important," the candidate said. Trump issued a statement through his campaign: I would like to thank the United States Secret Service and the law enforcement resources in Reno and the state of Nevada for their fast and professional response. I also want to thank the many thousands of people present for their unwavering and unbelievable support. Nothing will stop us — we will make America great again! Bill Keveney of USA TODAY reported from Los Angeles. Seth A. Richardson of the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal reported from Reno. Follow them on Twitter: @billkev and @SethARichardson. Here is the man in question, in handcuffs, being searched by officers after he was escorted out of the rally area. pic.twitter.com/pjoMCtM39K — Jacob Rascon (@Jacobnbc) November 6, 2016 Related: Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2frinLU
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A false alarm leads to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump being rushed off stage by United States Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada. A man, reportedly carrying a gun, was escorted out of the venue by security officers shortly following the incident; however, further inspection revealed no weapons on his person. The man was brandishing a "Republicans against Trump" sign.
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Image copyright AFP Downing Street has "wholeheartedly" rejected comments in a memorandum leaked to the press describing cabinet "divisions" over Brexit. The document, compiled by consultancy firm Deloitte and obtained by the Times newspaper, says Whitehall is working on 500 Brexit-related projects and could need 30,000 extra staff. But the prime minister's spokeswoman said the work had been "unsolicited". And Deloitte said there had been no "access" to Number 10 for the report. No "input from any other government departments" had been received, the company added. Prime Minister Theresa May wants to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - beginning the formal two-year process for leaving the EU - by the end of March next year. The government said the leaked memo - entitled "Brexit Update" of 7 November - had been written by a consultant and was not a Cabinet Office document, as reported in earlier versions of this story. The prime minister's spokeswoman added that someone from the accountancy firm Deloitte had produced it and "the individual is not working for the Cabinet Office on this". The person had never been inside 10 Downing Street and had not engaged with officials since Theresa May had become prime minister, the spokeswoman said. The document identifies cabinet splits between Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Brexit Secretary David Davis and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox on one side, and Chancellor Philip Hammond and Business Secretary Greg Clark on the other. It says Mrs May is "acquiring a reputation of drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself" - an approach it describes as being "unlikely to be sustainable". Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to "make a success" of Brexit It says: "Every department has developed a 'bottom-up' plan of what the impact of Brexit could be - and its plan to cope with the 'worst case'. "Although necessary, this falls considerably short of having a 'government plan for Brexit' because it has no prioritisation and no link to the overall negotiation strategy." But the PM's spokeswoman said it was "so far removed from the government's assessment". She also "wholeheartedly" disputed the suggestion in the memo that there was no plan for Brexit. Late on Tuesday afternoon Deloitte issued a statement about the memo saying: "This was a note intended primarily for internal audiences. It was not commissioned by the Cabinet Office, nor any other government department, and represents a view of the task facing Whitehall. "This work was conducted without access to Number 10 or input from any other government departments." Labour 'won't block Article 50' Former Conservative Chancellor Ken Clarke, a prominent supporter of the UK staying in the European Union, told BBC Radio 4's The World at One said of the memo: "I think it's probably entirely accurate. It rings very true." He added: "It's going to take a good six months to work out how to manage the damage [from Brexit]." Meanwhile, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the government's "shambolic" approach to Brexit was failing to equip the UK economy for leaving the EU. In a speech, he described the chancellor as isolated from cabinet colleagues and "too weak" to make Brexit a success. However, Mr McDonnell said Labour would not attempt to block or delay the triggering of Article 50 in Parliament. "To do so would put Labour against the majority will of the British people and on the side of certain corporate elites, who have always had the British people at the back of the queue," he said. Liberal Democrat EU spokesman Nick Clegg said: "The problem is we don't have any decisions from the government. We don't know what it means when it says, 'Brexit means Brexit.'" The government is appealing against a High Court ruling that Parliament should have a say before the UK invokes Article 50. The hearing is due to begin at the Supreme Court on 5 December. ||||| The U.K. government is struggling to formulate a plan for Brexit. That's according to a memo published by The Times newspaper. The leaked memo, written by an external consultant, claims it could take another six months for the government to settle on a strategy for EU exit talks. It also claims that the government is working on 500 Brexit projects that could require it to hire 30,000 officials. The office of Prime Minister Theresa May dismissed the report, saying it was not prepared by the government. "It was produced by an individual from an external accountancy firm," a government spokesman said. "It has no authority and we don't recognize any of the claims it makes. We are getting on with the job of delivering Brexit and making a success of it." The accountancy firm, Deloitte, said the note was intended "primarily for internal audiences" and was compiled without input from the prime minister's office or any other government department. That account was disputed by Times journalist Deborah Haynes, who tweeted that senior officials had worked with Deloitte on the memo. Billed as a "Brexit update," and dated Nov. 7, the memo says that divisions within May's cabinet have slowed the decision making process, and political priorities have trumped economic concerns. "The prime minister is rapidly acquiring the reputation of drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself -- which is unlikely to be sustainable," the memo says. British officials have continued to dodge public questions about the kind of trading relationship they want with the EU after Brexit. They say they don't want to reveal their hand before two years of hard bargaining get underway, probably early next year. There are major unanswered questions related to immigration. The government is also facing an onslaught of legal challenges to Brexit and the possibility of another referendum on Scottish independence from the U.K. The memo suggests that businesses, which are hungry for details, should not expect easy answers. "There will be no clear economic-Brexit strategy any time soon because it is being developed on a case-by-case basis as specific decisions are forced on government," the memo says. ||||| Britain has no overall plan for Brexit and the strategy for leaving the European Union might not be agreed for six months due to divisions in Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, according to a leaked memo seen by the BBC and The Times. The leaked document, prepared for the Cabinet Office by a consultant, said government departments were working on more than 500 Brexit-related projects and might require an additional 30,000 civil servants. May’s office said it did not recognize the claims made in the memo. “This is not a government report and we don’t recognize the claims made in it,” a spokesman for May’s office said. “We are focused on getting on with the job of delivering Brexit and making a success of it.” Titled “Brexit Update” and dated Nov. 7, the memo criticizes May for her tendency of “drawing in decisions and details to settle the matter herself,” the BBC and the Times reported on Tuesday. It said there was no common Brexit strategy because of ministerial divisions with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Trade Minister Liam Fox and Brexit Minister David Davis on one side and finance minister Philip Hammond and Business Secretary Greg Clark on the other. The document also says that “major players” in industry were likely to “point a gun at government’s head” to secure assurances similar to that given to carmaker Nissan that it would not suffer from Brexit. May has promised to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which kicks off two years of talks to leave the EU, by the end of March but she has so far given little away about her plans for Britain’s future relationship with the bloc. ||||| One of the world’s largest consultancy firms has insisted that a leaked memo that claimed there was no government-wide Brexit plan was meant for “internal audiences” and was not commissioned by the Cabinet Office. Deloitte issued a statement after Theresa May’s spokeswoman launched an attack on the reporting of the memo in which she said the story represented a “firm touting for business and aided by the media”. A spokesperson for the company said: “This was a note intended primarily for internal audiences. It was not commissioned by the Cabinet Office, nor any other government department, and represents a view of the task facing Whitehall. This work was conducted without access to No 10 or input from any other government departments.” The memo, which was obtained by the Times, said Whitehall was working on more than 500 projects relating to leaving the EU and might need to hire 30,000 extra civil servants. The report led to a number of groups warning that Whitehall was struggling with the unprecedented scale of the Brexit task. Downing Street called it an “unsolicited document that has had nothing to do with the government at all” – although Theresa May’s spokeswoman admitted David Cameron’s government had used the company to look at issues around Brexit. The union official representing the most senior civil servants warned that leaving the EU posed the single biggest task for the UK’s civil service since the second world war. Dave Penman – general secretary of the FDA, which represents leading public servants including permanent secretaries – said there was “no indication” that May would use next week’s autumn statement to boost funding. But he said that ministers would reap the consequences of “Brexit on the cheap” with other policy priorities being squeezed out. “Whether the memo represents a considered government position or not, it’s clear that unpacking 40 years of EU membership is the single biggest task facing the civil service since the second world war,” he said. “While politicians squabble about hard and soft Brexit, there is a deafening silence from ministers over whether any additional resources will be provided to deliver this momentous task. Brexit on the cheap appears to be the government’s preferred approach, but this will satisfy no one.” He said that while the autumn statement might be used to offer money for two new Brexit departments, there was no suggestion that ministers would plough more money into the work going on in other key areas, such as environment, work and pensions or in the Home Office. “There is no indication that they are considering additional resources to government departments to support the Brexit process,” he said. “This will be ministerial priority – but what is going to give?” ||||| The British government has no overarching plan for Brexit and may take another six months to agree a negotiating strategy, according to a leaked memo today. Civil servants are struggling to cope with more than 500 Brexit-related projects and an extra 30,000 extra staff may be needed to handle the workload, according to the memo published by The Times, reportedly prepared for the government by a consultant. The document, dated November 7 and titled "Brexit update", says "no common strategy has emerged" for leaving the European Union, despite lengthy debate among senior officials. The government of Prime Minister Theresa May denied the claims and said it did not commission the report. "This is not a government report and we don't recognise the claims made in it," a spokesman for May's office said. "We are focused on getting on with the job of delivering Brexit and making a success of it," he said. It could take another six months for the British government to agree on its priorities for Brexit, the memo, also seen by the BBC, suggests. Although each government department has developed plans to cope with the departure, "this falls considerably short of having a 'Government plan for Brexit' because it has no prioritisation and no link to the overall negotiation strategy," the memo reportedly states. It criticises May's approach, accusing her of "drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself". May has promised to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March next year to formally start the process of leaving the EU, but she has so far given few details of her strategy. The leaked memo also says big businesses are expected to "point a gun at the government's head" after the government assured carmaker Nissan that it would not lose out on investment after Britain leaves the EU. May used a key address in the City of London late yesterday to say that Britain will seize on Brexit to become a global leader on free trade and "forge new and dynamic trading agreements". ||||| Prime Minister Theresa May's Government has no Brexit plan and a poor understanding of what leaving the European Union means for industry, according to a leaked memo prepared for the Cabinet Office. The November 7 memo obtained by a national newspaper also suggests that Cabinet splits are delaying the Government's ability to agree a negotiating strategy ahead of its goal to begin the Brexit process by April. Titled "Brexit Update", it criticises the Prime Minister for "drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself", and warns that big companies will "point a gun at the Government's head" after Nissan was given assurances about trading conditions once Britain leaves the EU. According to the newspaper, the memo written by a consultant working for the Cabinet Office, said: "Every department has developed a 'bottom-up' plan of what the impact of Brexit could be - and its plan to cope with the 'worst case'. "Although necessary, this falls considerably short of having a 'Government plan for Brexit' because it has no prioritisation and no link to the overall negotiation strategy." According to the newspaper, it said the Government could take another six months to decide what its priorities are, adding: "Despite extended debate among (department) permanent secretaries, no common strategy has emerged. "It is likely that the senior ranks in the civil service will feel compelled to present potential high level plan(s) to avoid further drift. "Departments are struggling to come up to speed on the potential Brexit effects on industry. "This is due to starting from a relatively low base of insight and also due to fragmentation." The memo also suggested that the Government does not have enough officials to implement Brexit quickly, with departments developing individual plans which have resulted in "well over 500 projects". Responding to the report, a Government spokesman said: "This is not a Government report and we don't recognise the claims made in it. "We are focused on getting on with the job of delivering Brexit and making a success of it." Meanwhile, Mrs May has received a boost to her plan to trigger Article 50 of the EU treaties to begin the process of leaving the bloc by April. Labour has pledged not to block or delay it and called for a "more positive" view of Brexit. In a speech in central London, shadow chancellor John McDonnell will say: "We must not try to re-fight the referendum or push for a second vote. And if Article 50 needs to be triggered in Parliament, we will not seek to block or delay it. "To do so would put Labour against the majority will of the British people and on the side of certain corporate elites, who have always had the British people at the back of the queue." He will say Labour should "embrace the enormous opportunities to reshape our country that Brexit has opened for us", adding: "In that way we can speak again to those who were left behind and offer a positive, ambitious vision instead of leaving the field open to divisive Trump-style politics." Chris Grayling said the report was "not something the Government's commissioned, it is not something we recognise". The Transport Secretary denied claims that an extra 30,000 civil servants are needed to take Britain out of the EU. Mr Grayling, who sits on the Brexit Cabinet committee, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't know what 30,000 people would do in this process." He dismissed suggestions that interim Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who has close links to Donald Trump, should have a formal role in dealing with the president-elect. He said: "Nigel Farage played a significant role in the referendum campaign but we have a team of people on the ground in Washington who have been building ties with the Trump transition team for many months. "We have ministers in the current government who have close ties to senior Republicans, who know people in the Trump transition team. There are normal government to government relations in a period like this and that's what's going to happen." Dave Penman, general secretary of senior public servants' union the FDA, said that Brexit represented "the single biggest task facing the civil service since the Second World War" and warned that ministers appeared to be trying to do it "on the cheap". "Whilst politicians squabble about hard and soft Brexit, there is a deafening silence from ministers over whether any additional resources will be provided to deliver this momentous task," said Mr Penman. "Brexit on the cheap appears to be the Government's preferred approach, but this will satisfy no-one. Next week's Autumn Statement is the Government's opportunity to outline how it will provide the resources the civil service needs to ensure a successful Brexit. "The civil service can deliver a positive outcome for the UK, but to do so it must be given the necessary capacity, capability and clear political direction." Scottish National Party Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins said: "This leaked memo offers a staggering insight into the utter confusion and chaos that dominates the shambolic Tory Party right to the very top, with the Prime Minister. "Theresa May can no longer expect to blindly push the UK to the brink with clouded rhetoric on the Tories' ideological pursuing of a hard-right Brexit." Labour MP Pat McFadden, of the Open Britain campaign, said: "This report shows how totally unprepared the leaders of the Leave campaign were for winning the referendum.They urged the UK to leave without having any real idea of what it would involve. "Now the Government is desperately scrabbling to catch up. There is an urgent need for clarity from Government about priorities, without which this will all be much more difficult and costlier." Liberal Democrat eader Tim Farron said: "This shambles at the heart of government confirms that the only reason Theresa May won't tell us her Brexit plan is because she doesn't have one. "It's time for the Prime Minister to stop being led astray by her warring cabinet. Otherwise her Government is heading for the worst possible outcome - a reckless, destructive Brexit that will do untold damage to British jobs and the economy." ||||| The Government is fending off accusations that it has no clear plans for leaving the EU and lacks the resources to meet self-imposed deadlines, following the leak of a highly critical report into its handling of Brexit. The leaked Deloitte memo claims Cabinet ministers are at loggerheads over negotiating strategies and Whitehall is facing a potential staffing shortage of 30,00 civil servants. The document has been furiously dismissed by Downing Street sources, who argue it has “nothing to do with Government” and lacks any “credence”. But its conclusions have been backed up by the respected thinktank the Institute for Government, which warns Brexit could prove “unsustainable” for some Whiltehall departments. IFG researcher and former Deloitte employee Joe Owen said that while he may not recognise all of the accountancy firm’s figures, some of its claims did chime with the thinktank’s findings. Writing on the IFG website, he said Whitehall has the “technical skills” required to deliver Brexit, but “does not have the capacity” on top of existing commitments. “The work required to deliver Brexit has been described to us as an ‘existential threat’ to how some departments operate,” he said. “Managing this whilst continuing to deliver existing priorities with the smallest civil service in decades is unsustainable. “There is a huge amount of work already under way in both Department for Exiting the European Union and the rest of Whitehall. “[But] failure to reveal the Government’s plan... is eroding confidence among business and investors, and encouraging unhelpful speculation about what the final destination might be.” The assessment by Mr Owen came amid an ongoing row over the Deloitte memo, which came to light on Tuesday after it was leaked to the Times. The document claimed that Cabinet splits are delaying the Government’s ability to agree a Brexit negotiating strategy, and that civil servants are struggling to cope with the workload and timetable. A spokesman for the Prime Minister promptly disowned the memo, claiming it was “unsolicited” and “has nothing to do with the Government at all”. She said Downing Street “[does not] recognise any of the claims it makes” and suggested it was the work of a firm “touting for busines”. Deloitte has since confirmed that the report was not commissioned by any Government department and represents “a view of the task facing Whitehall”. It went on to stress that the work was “intended primarily for internal audiences” and conducted “without access to Number 10”. However, the senior civil servants’ union FDA said the memo appeared to confirm its fears that ministers are trying to implement Brexit “on the cheap”. Chairman Dave Penman said there is a “deafening silence” from ministers over whether any additional resources will be provided to carry out the task. He said: “Brexit on the cheap appears to be the Government’s preferred approach, but this will satisfy noone. “Next week’s Autumn Statement is the Government’s opportunity to outline how it will provide the resources the civil service needs.” Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said the report “is absolutely right” in claiming the Government does not have a plan. SNP Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins said it offered a “staggering insight” into the “utter confusion and chaos” within the the Tory party. But Tory MP Stuart Andrew critcised the document’s use of “questionable figures”. He added: “The allegations of rifts forming in the Cabinet are simply wrong.” ||||| THERESA May's floundering Government has no Brexit plan and a poor understanding of what leaving the European Union means for industry, according to a leaked memo prepared for the Cabinet Office. The November 7 memo obtained by The Times also suggests that Cabinet splits are delaying the Government's ability to agree a negotiating strategy ahead of its goal to begin the Brexit process by April . Titled "Brexit Update", it criticises the Prime Minister for "drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself", and warns that big companies will "point a gun at the Government's head" after Nissan was given assurances about trading conditions once Britain leaves the EU. According to The Times, the memo written by a consultant working for the Cabinet Office, said: "Every department has developed a 'bottom-up' plan of what the impact of Brexit could be - and its plan to cope with the 'worst case'.
• Jeremy Corbyn gives Theresa May ultimatum: Agree to Labour's Brexit terms or I'll force election in spring "Although necessary, this falls considerably short of having a ' Government plan for Brexit ' because it has no prioritisation and no link to the overall negotiation strategy." According to The Times, it said the Government could take another six months to decide what its priorities are, adding: "Despite extended debate among (department) permanent secretaries, no common strategy has emerged. "It is likely that the senior ranks in the civil service will feel compelled to present potential high level plan(s) to avoid further drift. "Departments are struggling to come up to speed on the potential Brexit effects on industry. "This is due to starting from a relatively low base of insight and also due to fragmentation." The memo also suggested that the Government does not have enough officials to implement Brexit quickly, with departments developing individual plans which have resulted in "well over 500 projects". An extra 30,000 civil servants are also said to be needed to help organise the bureaucratic process that will take Britain out of the EU.
• Match made in hell: Nigel Farage becomes first British politician to meet Donald Trump Responding to the report, a Government spokesman said: "This is not a Government report and we don't recognise the claims made in it. "We are focused on getting on with the job of delivering Brexit and making a success of it." Meanwhile, May has received a boost to her plan to trigger Article 50 of the EU treaties to begin the process of leaving the bloc by April. Labour has pledged not to block or delay it and called for a "more positive" view of Brexit. In a speech in central London, shadow chancellor John McDonnell will say: "We must not try to re-fight the referendum or push for a second vote. "And if Article 50 needs to be triggered in Parliament, we will not seek to block or delay it. "To do so would put Labour against the majority will of the British people and on the side of certain corporate elites, who have always had the British people at the back of the queue." He will say Labour should "embrace the enormous opportunities to reshape our country that Brexit has opened for us", adding: "In that way we can speak again to those who were left behind and offer a positive, ambitious vision instead of leaving the field open to divisive Trump-style politics." ||||| A LEAKED memo suggesting that Theresa May’s administration has no plan for Brexit has been disowned by ministers, with a spokesman saying it has “nothing to do with the Government at all”. The document, obtained by The Times, warned that Cabinet splits were delaying the Government’s ability to agree a negotiating strategy, which may not be ready for six months - after Mrs May’s deadline of March 2017 for the launch of withdrawal talks with the EU. According to the newspaper, the memo was written by a consultant working for the Cabinet Office, who had identified “well over 500 projects” being undertaken by Whitehall departments to implement Brexit, creating the need for up to 30,000 extra civil servants. But a Government spokesman said the document was “unsolicited” and had no authority. “This unsolicited document has nothing to do with the Government at all, said the spokesman. “It was produced by an individual from an external accountancy firm. It has no authority and we don’t recognise any of the claims it makes. We are getting on with the job of delivering Brexit and making a success of it.” The row came as reports emerged that Brussels may demand up to 40-60 billion euros (£34-52 billion) as an “exit bill” from the UK, to cover unpaid budget commitments, pension liabilities, loan guarantees and spending on UK-based projects. The Financial Times said the sum - equivalent to around three to five years’ worth of UK contributions to EU budgets - was part of a negotiating position being drawn up by the European Commission ahead of formal talks under Article 50 of the EU treaties, expected to lead to Brexit in 2019. Commission chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier was reported to be pushing for a draft exit deal by mid-2018 under a narrow “divorce-first” negotiating stance, which would defer detailed talks on future trading relations until after the terms of departure are agreed. Under this plan, transitional arrangements could be put in place to cover the period of five or more years until a trade deal is sealed, said the FT. The Times memo, dated November 7 and entitled “Brexit Update”, warns that while each Whitehall department has developed Brexit plans, these fall “considerably short” of a “Government plan for Brexit” because of the lack of prioritisation and an overall negotiation strategy. It criticises Mrs May for “drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself”, and warns that big companies will “point a gun at the Government’s head” after Nissan was given assurances about trading conditions once Britain leaves the EU. And it identifies a split between the “three Brexiteers” - Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox - on one side and Chancellor Philip Hammond and Business Secretary Greg Clark on the other, which it claims is holding back agreement on a plan. Despite extended debate among senior civil servants, “no common strategy has emerged” and “departments are struggling to come up to speed on the potential Brexit effects on industry”, it said. A senior civil servants’ union warned that the memo appeared to confirm ministers were hoping to implement Brexit “on the cheap”. “Whilst politicians squabble about hard and soft Brexit, there is a deafening silence from ministers over whether any additional resources will be provided to deliver this momentous task,” said FDA chairman Dave Penman. “Brexit on the cheap appears to be the Government’s preferred approach, but this will satisfy no-one. Next week’s Autumn Statement is the Government’s opportunity to outline how it will provide the resources the civil service needs to ensure a successful Brexit. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said the memo had exposed a “shambles” at the heart of government, while SNP Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins said it offered a “staggering insight into the utter confusion and chaos” within the upper ranks of the Conservative Party. And Labour MP Pat McFadden, of the Open Britain campaign, said: “This report shows how totally unprepared the leaders of the Leave campaign were for winning the referendum.They urged the UK to leave without having any real idea of what it would involve.” Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, who sits on the Cabinet’s Brexit committee, dismissed suggestions that the civil service would have to recruit tens of thousands to deal with the workload associated with unravelling the UK’s EU membership. “I don’t know what 30,000 people would do in this process,” Mr Grayling told BBC Radio 4’s Today. Meanwhile, Mrs May received a boost, as Labour pledged not to block or delay the invocation of Article 50 and called for a “more positive” view of Brexit. In a speech in central London, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: “We must not try to re-fight the referendum or push for a second vote. And if Article 50 needs to be triggered in Parliament, we will not seek to block or delay it. “To do so would put Labour against the majority will of the British people and on the side of certain corporate elites, who have always had the British people at the back of the queue.” Labour should “embrace the enormous opportunities to reshape our country that Brexit has opened for us”, said the shadow chancellor, adding: “In that way we can speak again to those who were left behind and offer a positive, ambitious vision instead of leaving the field open to divisive Trump-style politics.” Mr McDonnell said it is a “dereliction of duty” that the Government has not hired enough Whitehall staff to deal with Brexit just months away from triggering Article 50. Answering questions after a central London speech, the shadow chancellor said: “If we need the staff we need to employ them, whether it’s 30,000 or below. “I just find it staggering that we have a Government facing a momentous decision on the implementation of negotiations and they haven’t even staffed up. He also criticised ministers for putting their careers ahead of the interests of the country. “It isn’t just about staffing, the memo is confirming what we knew, which is ministers arguing amongst themselves all the time, no common view of the way forward and no shared vision of the future for our country,” he said. “It’s just dismal what’s happening at the moment, to actually start putting their individual careers or their individual ideologies before the interests of the country is unacceptable.” ||||| Britain has no overall plan for Brexit and the strategy for leaving the European Union might not be agreed for six months due to divisions in prime minister Theresa May’s government, according to a leaked memo seen by the BBC and The Times. The leaked document, prepared for the Cabinet Office by a consultant, said government departments were working on more than 500 Brexit-related projects and might require an additional 30,000 civil servants. The memo, titled “Brexit Update”, criticises Ms May for her tendency of “drawing in decisions and details to settle the matter herself,” the BBC and the Times said on Tuesday. “This is not a government report and we don’t recognise the claims made in it,” a spokesman for Ms May’s office said. “We are focused on getting on with the job of delivering Brexit and making a success of it.” Meanwhile, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said “significant uncertainty” remains over the UK’s future relationship with the European Union. Christine Lagarde refused to comment directly on whether she believed Brexit would damage the UK economy. Ms Lagarde told the Press Association: “We’ll see how it goes. Certainly what we have at the moment, still, is significant uncertainty as to what the terms and conditions of the relationship will be between Europe and the United Kingdom. “We’ve been partners for a long time and I hope it continues.” IMF managing director Ms Lagarde was speaking at Glamour’s Women of the Year Awards in Los Angeles, where she received a lifetime achievement honour. Before the referendum, the IMF forecast that withdrawal from the EU could force the UK into recession in 2017 and deliver a 5.6 per cent hit to national income by the end of the decade. Ms Lagarde had rated the consequences of leaving the EU between “pretty bad to very, very bad” for the UK. After the referendum result in June, she said: “We urge the authorities in the UK and Europe to work collaboratively to ensure a smooth transition to a new economic relationship between the UK and the EU, including by clarifying the procedures and broad objectives that will guide the process.”
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There is no plan for Brexit, according to a critical leaked memo from the consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. The document indicates Whitehall is working on 500 Brexit-related projects. Both Deloitte and the British Government confirm the document is an internal working document from Deloitte that was compiled without government approval or assistance.
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Through her addresses to the nation on Oct. 25 and Nov. 4, the president admitted to handing over some of her speech drafts to Choi to get her advice, and claimed that her role in raising funds for the two foundations was based on "pure motives" to benefit the country. ||||| Story highlights President Park will be the first sitting South Korean leader to be investigated A confidante and two former aides of Park's face corruption charges (CNN) South Korean President Park Geun-hye will be investigated "as a suspect" in a growing political corruption scandal, prosecutors said on Sunday, as three people with ties to Park were officially indicted. But whatever their findings, Park will not be charged due to a law that makes the president immune from prosecution. South Korean prosecutors announced Sunday there was enough evidence charge Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the president, and former aides An Chong-bum and Chung Ho-sung. Lee Young-ryol, the prosecutor who led the corruption probe, said Choi and An are being charged with abuse of power, fraud and coercion. Chung faces charges related to leaking classified documents to Choi through email, phone and fax. "Park cannot be charged with any 'crime' as a sitting president in accordance with Korean constitution but prosecutors will continue to investigate Park Geun-hye," Lee said. Read More ||||| Three people with ties to South Korean President Park Geun-hye have been indicted for their role in a political corruption scandal. Park, however, will not be charged because of a law that makes the president immune from prosecution. South Korean prosecutors announced Saturday there was enough evidence charge Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the president, and former aides An Chong-bum and Chung Ho-sung. Lee Young-ryol, the prosecutor who led the corruption probe, said Choi and An are being charged with abuse of power, fraud and coercion. Chung faces charges related to leaking classified documents to Choi through email, phone and fax. "Park cannot be charged with any 'crime' as a sitting president in accordance with Korean constitution but prosecutors will continue to investigate Park Geun-hye," Lee said. According to the South Korean constitution, the president cannot be charged with a crime while holding office except for insurrection or treason. ||||| South Korea: President Park to be investigated as three indicted ||||| South Korean prosecutors said on Sunday they had indicted a friend of President Park Geun-hye and two former aides in a corruption scandal engulfing her administration, in a heavy setback to her fight for political survival. Choi Soon-sil, Park’s friend, and former presidential aide An Chong-bum are charged with abuse of power in pressuring conglomerates to contribute funds to foundations at the center of the scandal, said Lee Young-ryeol, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Lee said that his team believed Park had an accomplice role in the case but added that she cannot be indicted because she has constitutional immunity. “We will continue to investigate the president,” Lee told reporters, declining to give further details. Under the constitution, a sitting president cannot be indicted unless on charges of treason, but the conclusion by the prosecutors that Park was involved in the case prompted fresh calls from opposition parties for her to step down. The main opposition Democratic Party and the centrist People’s Party said Park she will face impeachment proceedings if she refuses to resign. But they stopped short of saying they would immediately initiate such a move. Analysts said the prosecutors’ conclusion about the president’s involvement increased the prospect that she would face impeachment. “It provided a legal basis for impeachment proceedings, not only her moral and political liabilities,” said Kim Jun-seok, a political science professor at Dongguk University in Seoul. Park is unlikely to voluntarily step down because she would lose immunity against prosecution, Kim said. “Then, the only option that is left for politicians given the worsening public sentiment is impeachment,” he said. South Korea’s presidential Blue House did not have an immediate comment. Lee did not say when the prosecutors will question Park. The indictments had been expected. Choi has been accused of conspiring with An to exert improper pressure on dozens of the country’s biggest conglomerates to help raise 77.4 billion won ($65.59-million) on behalf of two non-profit foundations she controlled, according to the prosecutors. Park’s presidency has been rocked by allegations that Choi used her ties to the president to meddle in state affairs and wield improper influence, but she has resisted calls to resign. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Seoul on Saturday in the fourth straight weekend of protests against her. Prosecutors also indicted a second former presidential aide, Jeong Ho-seong, with leaking classified information to Choi. An and Jeong both stepped down late last month as the crisis deepened. Park has pledged to co-operate in the investigation but pushed back on the prosecutors’ plan to question her last week. South Korea’s parliament has approved a bill to appoint a special prosecutor, who will take over from state prosecutors and conduct a separate and a more wide reaching probe. The special prosecutor is expected to begin work next month. ||||| South Korean prosecutors on Sunday said they believe President Park Geun-hye conspired in criminal activities of a secretive confidante who allegedly manipulated government affairs and exploited her presidential ties to amass an illicit fortune — a damning revelation that may convince opposition parties to push for her impeachment. Prosecutors are planning to soon question Park, who has immunity but can be investigated, said Lee Young-ryeol, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office. Prosecutors on Sunday formally charged Park’s longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, on suspicion of interfering with state affairs and bullying companies into giving tens of millions of dollars to foundations she controlled. In a televised news conference, Lee said that based on the evidence, “the president was involved as a conspirator in a considerable part of the criminal activities by suspects Choi Soon-sil, Ahn Jong-beom and Jung Ho-sung.” He was referring to two presidential aides who also were formally charged Sunday for allegedly helping Choi. “However, because of the president’s impunity from prosecution stated in Article 84 of the Constitution, we cannot indict the president. The special investigation headquarters will continue to push for an investigation of the president based on this judgment,” Lee said. Park is facing growing calls to resign over the scandal critics say has undermined the country’s democracy. Emboldened by huge protests in recent weeks, opposition parties have been stepping up pressure on Park to quit. Opposition parties have so far refrained from seriously pushing for Park’s impeachment over fears of triggering a backlash from conservative voters and negatively impacting next year’s presidential election. However, there are growing voices within the opposition saying that an impeachment attempt is inevitable because it’s unlikely Park will resign and give up her immunity. Ahn Jong-beom, Park’s former senior secretary for policy coordination, has been under suspicion of pressuring companies into making large donations to foundations Choi controlled. Jung Ho-sung, another former presidential aide who was also indicted, has been accused of passing on classified presidential documents to Choi, including information on ministerial candidates. Prosecutors are also seeking to indict Cha Eun-taek, a famous music video director who allegedly used his close relationships with Choi to win lucrative government culture projects, and former vice sports minister Kim Chong, suspected of providing business favors to sports organizations controlled by Choi. Kim is also under suspicion of influencing the ministry’s decision to financially support a sports foundation run by Choi’s niece, who prosecutors detained Friday. On Saturday, police said about 170,000 people turned out for the latest anti-Park protest in streets near City Hall and a boulevard fronting an old palace gate in Seoul. Demonstrators also marched in streets near the presidential offices, carrying candles and illuminating cellphones, and shouting “Park Geun-hye step down” and “Arrest Park Geun-hye.” Park’s term lasts until Feb. 24, 2018. If she steps down before the presidential vote on Dec. 20, 2017, an election must be held within 60 days. ||||| South Korea’s political crisis is deepening after prosecutors accused President Park Geun-hye of collusion in a corruption and influence-peddling case involving a close confidante dubbed her “shaman adviser”. Although she cannot be charged because of presidential immunity except in cases of insurrection or treason, opposition rivals are calling for her impeachment and nearly one million Koreans rallied in Seoul calling for her to step down for a fourth successive weekend. A special investigation team appointed by public prosecutors said that Ms Park’s confidante Choi Soon-sil was indicted on charges of abuse of power, coercion, attempted coercion and attempted fraud, while two senior former aides An Chong-bum and Chung Ho-sung were also formally charged. “We have booked the president as a suspect, believing that she had been an accomplice with (Choi and her aides),” Lee Young-ryeol, chief of the Seoul central district prosecutor’s office, said in a televised news conference. Prosecutors had not been allowed to question the president face-to-face despite repeated requests, he said. “We still decided to press charges against the three suspects, who are in pre-trial detention, based on the vast evidence we have investigated so far, including testimonies, a work memo book and records of conservations from mobile phones,” said Mr Lee. Ms Choi was Ms Park’s spiritual adviser for many years. She succeeded her father Choi Tae-min as head of the shadowy Church of Eternal Life. Her father was seen as playing a Rasputin-like role in the life of the young Park Geun-hye in the 1970s, claiming he could talk to her dead mother Yook Young-soo, who was assassinated in 1974. Ms Park’s father, the dictator Park Chung-hee, was killed in 1979. Ms Choi was arrested in November, accused of using her relationship with Park to acquire 77.4 billion won (€62 million) in donations for her foundations by putting pressure on some of South Korea’s biggest “chaebols” or industrial conglomerates, including carmaker Hyundai, retail giant Lotte, steelmaker Posco and telecom giant KT. Shortly before her arrest Ms Choi apologised and said she had committed a “deadly sin”. The presidential Blue House has strenuously denied the allegations, describing them as a “house of cards”. “The results announced by the prosecutors’ office are not true at all and are based on speculation and imagination,” Park’s spokesman Jung Youn-kuk told a briefing on Sunday. Her lawyer Yoo Yeong-ha has rejected calls for her to undergo questioning, telling the Yonhap news agency he will prepare for the interrogation so it can take place sometime this week. Park’s approval rating remained at an all-time low of five per cent last week, according to local pollster Gallup Korea. The Korea Joongang Daily said the prosecution’s decision to label Park a co-conspirator offered legal grounds for lawmakers to move ahead with a presidential impeachment motion. Moon Jae-in, who is seen as a popular contender for the presidency and former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, said at a meeting of eight opposition presidential candidates that the case for impeachment was strong. “If the president declared that she would resign, we would help her leave the office with dignity,” he said. ||||| (CNN) South Korean President Park Geun-hye will be investigated "as a suspect" in a growing political corruption scandal, prosecutors said on Sunday, as three people with ties to Park were officially indicted. But whatever their findings, Park will not be charged due to a law that makes the president immune from prosecution. South Korean prosecutors announced Sunday there was enough evidence charge Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the president, and former aides An Chong-bum and Chung Ho-sung. Lee Young-ryol, the prosecutor who led the corruption probe, said Choi and An are being charged with abuse of power, fraud and coercion. Chung faces charges related to leaking classified documents to Choi through email, phone and fax. "Park cannot be charged with any 'crime' as a sitting president in accordance with Korean constitution but prosecutors will continue to investigate Park Geun-hye," Lee said. Park will become the nation's first sitting president to be investigated as a suspect, CNN's Paula Hancocks said. According to the South Korean constitution, the president cannot be charged with a crime while holding office except for insurrection or treason. A spokesperson for the Blue House blasted the investigation as one that has "ignored fairness." "Her rights of getting a fair chance of due legal process has been taken away," the Blue House spokesperson said. When Choi's father died, she succeeded him as leader of the Eternal Life Church. For years, she has given Park spiritual guidance. Choi, who was arrested in early November, faced accusations that she used her relationship with Park to acquire millions of dollars in donations for her foundations. Prior to her arrest, Choi had issued an apology and said that she had "committed a deadly sin," according to CNN affiliate YTN. "My apologies to the public," she said at the time. "Please forgive me." Park has apologized multiple times for her role in the scandal. Park has ordered the resignation of 10 of her senior secretaries -- aides who coordinate policy -- as political turmoil gripped the country. Multiple aides to President Park have resigned in the wake of the scandal, including four senior secretaries responsible for political affairs and policy coordination. Park also sacked the country's prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, replacing him with Kim Byong-joon, a professor at Seoul's Kookmin University. Massive demonstrations have taken place across South Korea to demand Park's resignation, according to the country's Yonhap news agency. Earlier this month, protesters gathered around the presidential compound in the South Korean capital of Seoul to vent their anger at President Park. It was one of the biggest anti-government protests the country has seen in decades, according to Hancocks Following that demonstration, Park's spokesman said the President had "heard the voices of the people yesterday with gravity and deeply realizes the seriousness of the current situation." He added that Park was considering ways to "normalize the state of affairs and fulfill her responsibility as President." In a statement, a spokesperson from the Blue House called the prosecutor's remarks "regrettable," given the perception that the president has committed a crime. "What the Prosecutors' office have said today is not true and that they have ignored the facts and it is only based on speculation and imagination," the spokesperson said. Nevertheless, Park still planned to cooperate with prosecutors for questions this week to order to "prove her innocence." During the scandal, the spokesperson noted the likelihood of the president getting a fair chance of due legal process has been taken away. ||||| FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2016, file photo, protesters wearing masks of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, left and Choi Soon-sil, Park's longtime friend, in Seoul, South Korea. South Korean prosecutors on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016, said they believe Park conspired in criminal activities of a secretive confidante who allegedly manipulated government affairs and exploited her presidential ties to amass an illicit fortune - a damning revelation that may convince opposition parties to push for her impeachment. The placards held by the protesters read: "Park Geun-hye should step down." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors on Sunday said they believe President Park Geun-hye conspired in criminal activities of a secretive confidante who allegedly manipulated government affairs and exploited her presidential ties to amass an illicit fortune — a damning revelation that may convince opposition parties to push for her impeachment. Prosecutors are planning to soon question Park, who has immunity but can be investigated, said Lee Young-ryeol, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Prosecutors on Sunday formally charged Park's longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, on suspicion of interfering with state affairs and bullying companies into giving tens of millions of dollars to foundations and businesses she controlled. In a televised news conference, Lee said that based on the evidence, "the president was involved as a conspirator in a considerable part of the criminal activities by suspects Choi Soon-sil, Ahn Jong-beom and Jung Ho-sung." He was referring to two presidential aides who also were formally charged Sunday for allegedly helping Choi. "However, because of the president's impunity from prosecution stated in Article 84 of the constitution, we cannot indict the president. The special investigation headquarters will continue to push for an investigation of the president based on this judgment," Lee said. Park's office had no immediate comment Sunday. Park is facing growing calls to resign over the scandal critics say has undermined the country's democracy. Although emboldened by a wave of mass protests, opposition parties have so far refrained from seriously pushing for Park's impeachment over fears of triggering a backlash from conservative voters and negatively impacting next year's presidential election. However, there are growing voices within the opposition saying that an impeachment attempt is inevitable because it's unlikely Park will resign and give up her immunity. Ahn Jong-beom, Park's former senior secretary for policy coordination, was charged with abuse of authority, coercion and attempted coercion over allegations that he pressured companies into making large donations to foundations and companies Choi controlled. Jung Ho-sung, the other former aide who was indicted, was accused of passing on classified presidential documents to Choi, including information on ministerial candidates. According to Lee, Choi and Ahn conspired to pressure companies into giving a combined 77.4 billion won ($65.5 million) to the Mir and K-Sports foundations, two nonprofits that were under Choi's control. The companies couldn't refuse because they feared doing so would result in business disadvantages, such as difficulties in gaining government approval for projects or being targeted in tax investigations, Lee said. Additionally, Choi and Ahn pressured the Lotte Group into giving 7 billion won ($5.9 million) to the K Sports foundation to finance the construction of a sports facility in the city of Hanam, which was to be operated by The Blue K, a company established by Choi, Lee said. Auto giant Hyundai and telecommunications company KT were forced to contract 13 billion won ($11 million) worth of their advertisements to Playground, an ad agency virtually run by Choi, Lee said. Hyundai was also forced to buy 1.1 billion won ($931,000) worth of supplies from an auto parts maker run by Choi's friend. Ahn and Choi also tried but failed to take over the shares of an advertisement company previously owned by steelmaker POSCO, Lee said. Prosecutors are also seeking to indict Cha Eun-taek, a famous music video director who allegedly used his close relationship with Choi to win lucrative government culture projects, and former vice sports minister Kim Chong, suspected of providing business favors to sports organizations controlled by Choi. Kim is also under suspicion of influencing the ministry's decision to financially support a sports foundation run by Choi's niece, who prosecutors detained on Friday. On Saturday, police said about 170,000 people turned out for the latest anti-Park protest in streets near City Hall and a boulevard fronting an old palace gate in Seoul. Demonstrators also marched in streets near the presidential offices, carrying candles and illuminating cellphones, and shouting "Park Geun-hye step down" and "Arrest Park Geun-hye." Park's term lasts until Feb. 24, 2018. If she steps down before the presidential vote on Dec. 20, 2017, an election must be held within 60 days. ||||| South Korean president Park Geun-hye colluded with her close confidante in a major influence-peddling scandal that has engulfed her government, prosecutors said on Sunday, as they laid out charges against Park’s longtime ally and two former presidential aides. The scandal, which has become known as Choi-gate, sparked fury across the nation with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets to call for Park’s resignation. “The president played a collusive role in a considerable portion of the criminal activities involving the [three] people,” said Lee Young-Ryeol, who is leading a probe into the scandal. Park’s ally Choi Soon-sil and one of the president’s former aides were arrested earlier this month on charges of fraud, coercion and abuse of power. Another presidential aide was arrested for leaking confidential state documents. Choi, 60, has been accused of using her personal ties with Park to meddle in state affairs and coerce local firms to “donate” tens of millions of dollars to non-profit foundations she then used for personal gain. Park faces allegations that she helped Choi extract money from the firms and ordered her aides to leak state documents to Choi, who has no official title or security clearance. Under South Korea’s constitution, the incumbent president cannot be charged with a criminal offence except insurrection or treason but she can still be probed by prosecutors and potentially charged after leaving office. Lee acknowledged that prosecutors could not formally charge Park for now but vowed to continue to investigate her. Park earlier promised to answer prosecutors’ questions – making her the first South Korean president to be quizzed by prosecutors while in office. More than 50 local firms including Samsung and Hyundai were forced to donate a total of $65.5m to the two foundations controlled by Choi. Many made the donations due to fear of political reprisals, such as harsh tax audits or difficulties getting regulatory approvals for their businesses, Lee said. Choi also pressured major firms including the country’s largest carmaker Hyundai and the top steelmaker Posco to award lucrative contracts to firms linked to Choi, he added. One of the aides leaked 180 confidential documents to Choi, which included papers on foreign policy and nominations of top officials and cabinet members, according to prosecutors. Choi is known to have wielded huge influence on the country’s sports sector, including the nomination of officials and even preparations for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Kim Chong, who served as vice sports minister for three years until last month, has also accused of helping Choi’s foundations win lucrative state contracts. Prosecutors are investigating whether Kim played a role in a recent decision by his ministry to provide a cash subsidy to a winter sports foundation run by Choi’s niece, who is widely seen as her key aide. The scandal has sent Park’s public approval rating plunging to five per cent – the lowest for any sitting South Korean president. Choi is a daughter of a religious figure who was a longtime mentor to Park until his death in 1994. He is known to have befriended Park after the assassination of her first lady mother in 1974.
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An interim report by South Korean prosecutors implicates President Park Geun-hye in a political scandal involving her close friend Choi Soon-sil. Three people have been indicted in relation to the scandal. President Park cannot be indicted due to a constitutional provision preventing a sitting President being indicted except for treason or insurrection.
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WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Russia's deployment of its S-400 air missile defense system and ballistic Iskander missile in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad "is destabilizing to European security," the U.S. State Department said on Monday in response to reports citing the head of the defense committee in Russia's upper house of parliament. "Russia has made threats to move its Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad for the past decade in response to a variety of developments in Europe, none of which demand such a military response," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters. "We call on Russia to refrain from words or deeds that are inconsistent with the goal of promoting security and stability," he added. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) ||||| BRUSSELS — NATO is criticizing Russia's deployment of anti-ship missiles in its westernmost Baltic region as "aggressive military posturing," and is urging dialogue to cool escalating tensions. NATO said in a statement Tuesday that the missile deployment near the alliance's borders "does not help to lower tensions or restore predictability to our relations." NATO called for more transparency on military activities "to avoid incidents and the risk of misunderstandings." Moscow has vigorously objected to the deployment of NATO's military units near Russia's borders, and is now reportedly installing Bastian missile-launchers in the Kaliningrad exclave, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania. President Vladimir Putin said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies Monday night that Moscow would target NATO sites if it thinks they threaten Russia. ||||| MOSCOW -- The Kremlin on Tuesday brushed off Western criticism of the deployment of state-of-the-art missiles in Russia's Baltic Sea region, describing it as an equivalent response to NATO's military buildup near its borders. The Russian military has reportedly stationed anti-ship missiles in the nation's westernmost Kaliningrad province, and a senior lawmaker also has announced the deployment of other missile systems. The U.S. State Department and NATO have voiced concern, describing the Russian move as destabilizing. President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that the Russian military needs to respond to what he described as NATO's aggressive moves. "Russia is doing what is necessary to protect itself amid NATO's expansion toward its borders," Peskov said. "The alliance is a truly aggressive bloc, so Russia does what it has to do. It has every sovereign right to take necessary measures throughout the territory of the Russian Federation." The Interfax news agency reported Monday that the Russian military has put Bastion missile launchers on duty in the Kaliningrad exclave, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania. The Russian Defense Ministry said over the weekend that the Baltic Fleet was rearming itself with new missile launchers, but didn't provide specifics. Separately, Viktor Ozerov, the head of the defense affairs committee in the Russian parliament's upper house, told RIA Novosti news agency Monday that Russia also would deploy Iskander tactical ballistic missiles and S-400 air defense missile systems to Kaliningrad in response to U.S. missile defense plans. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby warned Monday that the deployment of Iskander and S-400 missiles to Kaliningrad is "destabilizing to European security" and urged Russia to "refrain from words or deeds that are inconsistent with the goal of promoting security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region." The Kremlin long has warned that the development of NATO's U.S.-led missile defense system poses a danger to Russia's security and vowed to take countermeasures. In an interview with U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone included in a documentary about the Ukrainian crisis broadcast in Russia late Monday, Putin warned that Russia would target NATO sites if it thinks they threaten Russia. "We have to take countermeasures, targeting the facilities that we perceive as a threat with our missile systems," Putin said. ||||| MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Tuesday brushed off Western criticism of the deployment of state-of-the art missiles in Russia's Baltic Sea region, describing it as an equivalent response to NATO's military buildup near its borders. The Russian military has reportedly stationed anti-shipping missiles in the nation's westernmost Kaliningrad exclave, and a senior lawmaker also has announced the deployment of other missile systems. President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that the Russian military needs to response to what he described as NATO's aggressive moves. "Russia is doing what is necessary to protect itself amid NATO's expansion toward its borders," Peskov said. "The alliance is a truly aggressive bloc, so Russia does what it has to do. It has every sovereign right to take necessary measures throughout the territory of the Russian Federation." The Interfax news agency reported Monday that the Russian military has put Bastion missile-launchers on duty in the Kaliningrad region, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania. The Russian Ministry said over the weekend that the Baltic Fleet was rearming itself with new missile-launchers, but didn't provide specifics. It had no immediate comment on the Interfax report. Separately, Viktor Ozerov, the head of the affairs committee in the Russian parliament's upper house, told RIA Novosti news agency Monday that Russia would also deploy Iskander tactical ballistic missiles and S-400 air missile systems to Kaliningrad in response to the U.S. missile plans. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby warned Monday that the deployment of Iskander and S-400 missiles to Kaliningrad is "destabilizing to European security" and urged Moscow to "refrain from words or deeds that are inconsistent with the goal of promoting security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region." NATO said in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday that the missile deployment near the alliance's borders "does not help to lower tensions or restore predictability to our relations." NATO called for more transparency on military activities "to avoid incidents and the risk of misunderstandings." "Russia isn't a source of security threat now. It's the buildup of weapons and servicemen from outside Europe," he said pointing at U.S. missile sites in Europe and the planned buildup of U.S. troops in Poland and the Baltics. The Kremlin long has warned that the development of NATO's U.S.-led missile system poses a danger to Russia's security and vowed to take countermeasures. Moscow also has complained strongly against the deployment of NATO's military units near Russia's borders. In an interview with American filmmaker Oliver Stone included in a documentary about the Ukrainian crisis broadcast in Russia late Monday, Putin warned that Russia would target NATO sites if it thinks they threaten Russia. ||||| MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to take "countermeasures" in response to NATO expansion, a report said Monday, pointing to possible critical tests for the Western alliance and President-elect Donald Trump's calls for outreach to Moscow. No details were given on possible Russian action, but Russia announced Monday it has bolstered its defensive missile strength in the Eastern European enclave of Kaliningrad. The Kremlin has voiced concerns about the membership in NATO of former Soviet republics and countries from the former East Bloc. NATO, meanwhile, has moved to strengthen its presence along its eastern flanks, including the Baltic states. But a major wild card has been introduced by the election victory of Trump, who has suggested that his administration will seek to improve relations with Russia. "Why are we reacting to NATO expansion so emotionally? We are concerned by NATO's decision-making," Putin was quoted as saying in an interview to be broadcast on Russian TV later on Monday. The advance text was carried by the state-run RIA news agency. Hours before the broadcast, Russia said it had deployed mobile coastal defense missiles to Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave wedged between Lithuania and Poland. In October, Putin stationed nuclear-capable cruise missiles in Kaliningrad, further arming a region already bristling with weaponry on both sides. Putin has expressed optimism that the election of Trump, who has questioned the U.S. commitment to NATO allies, might improve relations with the United States, currently at a post-Cold War low. On Sunday, Putin told reporters in Lima, Peru, that "the U.S. president-elect confirmed his intention to normalize U.S.-Russia relations." Putin also met for what was probably the last time with President Barack Obama, whose relationship with the Russian leader soured over Moscow's annexation of Crimea, its proxy war in Ukraine, and its aerial and missile bombardment in Syria of forces opposed to President Bashar Assad. "I said both of us always treated each other's positions with respect, although the dialogue between our two countries was rather complicated and sometimes it was difficult to work with each other," Putin told reporters at an economic summit in Lima. "I thanked him for the years of joint work and said we would be glad to see him in Russia anytime if he found it possible or necessary or had a wish to go there." ||||| In response to the U.S.-NATO installation of an air defense shield in May, Russia will install new systems in Kaliningrad near Poland. Russia intends to increase its air and missile defense in the Baltic Region, where strikes could reach major European cities, in response to the U.S. and NATO’s new missile defense system deployed earlier this year, a top Russian lawmaker said Monday. "To counter these threats, we will be forced to strengthen our air and missile defenses in the western vector and to deploy additional means to defend the relevant command-and-control infrastructure," Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, told RIA News agency in an interview, according to Reuters. Ozerov, who heads the top defense committee in the upper house of Russia’s parliament, said the military will roll out its S-400 air missile defense system and ballistic Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad enclave to strengthen its western borders. Kaliningrad, which was annexed by the then-Soviet Union from Germany following World War II, sits between Lithuania and Poland in the southeast of the Baltic Sea, a key military stronghold that would allow the missiles to reach major European cities. With a 300-mile range, the S-400 is capable of hitting targets from both short and long distances, putting cities like Berlin, as well as Poland and Sweden in danger if fired. Though Russia and the US have seen diplomatic relations erode over the last year for various reasons – the Syrian civil war and alleged meddling by Russia in this month’s U.S. presidential election – the fresh deployment of air and missile defense systems is technically a delayed response considering the U.S. and NATO launched the Aegis ashore system in May. That system was announced almost a decade ago, and the U.S. has said it's strictly been installed to protect itself and allies from countries like Iran, not Russia. Developed by contractor Lockheed Martin, the Aegis system, under NATO’s command and capable of simultaneously hitting targets on land, at sea and other ships, is located in Deveselu, Romania. Construction began on another facility in Poland a day after the Romanian installation was announced.
• Russian Aircraft Carrier To Get An Upgrade ||||| MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military has deployed state-of-the art anti-shipping missiles in the nation's westernmost Baltic region, the Interfax news agency reported Monday, a move that comes amid spiraling tensions in Russia-West ties. Interfax said Monday that the military has put Bastion missile-launchers on duty in the Kaliningrad exclave that borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania. The Russian Defense Ministry said over the weekend that the Baltic Fleet was rearming itself with new missile-launchers, but didn't provide specifics. The ministry had no immediate comment on the Interfax report. The Bastion fires supersonic Oniks cruise missiles, which have a range of up to 450 kilometers (280 miles) and can be used against ships as well as ground targets. Last week, it made its combat debut in Syria where the Russian military used it against militants. Separately, Viktor Ozerov, the head of the defense affairs committee in the Russian parliament's upper house, told RIA Novosti news agency Monday that Russia would also deploy Iskander tactical ballistic missiles and S-400 air defense missile systems to Kaliningrad in response to the U.S. missile defense plans. "We are facing two main tasks — to penetrate air defenses and ensure protection from possible strikes," Ozerov said. The S-400, which Russia has used to protect its air base in Syria, is a sophisticated system that can simultaneously track and strike multiple aerial targets at ranges of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles). Based in the Kaliningrad region, the S-400s will be capable of targeting NATO aircraft and missiles over most of the Baltic region. Iskander has a range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) and high precision, allowing it to target facilities in several NATO member nations neighboring Russia with pinpoint accuracy. It can be fitted with a conventional or a nuclear warhead. Last month, the deployment of Iskander missiles to the Kaliningrad region worried Russia's neighbors. The Russian military said the move was part of regular training, but didn't specify whether the missiles were sent there temporarily or deployed on a permanent basis. The Kremlin long has warned that the development of NATO's U.S.-led missile defense system poses a danger to Russia's security and vowed to take countermeasures. Moscow also has complained strongly against the deployment of NATO's military units near Russia's borders. "To counter these threats, we will be forced to strengthen our air and missile defenses in the western vector and to deploy additional means to defend the relevant command-and-control infrastructure," Ozerov told RIA Novosti. ||||| MOSCOW — The Interfax news agency says the military has deployed state-of-the art anti-shipping missiles in Russia's westernmost Baltic region, a move that comes amid tensions in Russia-West ties. The agency reported Monday that the military has put the Bastion missile launchers on duty in the Kaliningrad exclave that borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania. The Bastion made its combat debut in Syria earlier this month. The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that the Baltic Fleet was rearming itself with new missile launchers, but didn't provide specifics. Separately, Viktor Ozerov, the head of the defense affairs committee in the Russian parliament's upper house, also told RIA Novosti news agency Monday that Russia would deploy Iskander missiles and S-400 air defense missiles to Kaliningrad in response to the U.S. missile defense plans. ||||| Nato and the Kremlin have traded accusations over the Russian deployment of state-of-the-art missiles in its Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad. Nato on Tuesday accused Russia of “aggressive military posturing”, while Vladimir Putin shot back that Russia was merely responding to Nato aggression. The rhetoric comes as Europe waits with trepidation to see how a Donald Trump presidency will affect the continent’s security arrangements. Trump said in an interview during his election campaign he would be willing to tell Nato allies, “Congratulations, you will be defending yourself” if he felt they were not contributing enough financially to the alliance. The UK prime minister, Theresa May, is due to meet Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg at Downing Street on Wednesday and is expected to say he must persuade European countries to meet the Nato commitment to spend 2% of national income on defence. The European parliament on Tuesday voted 369 to 255 in favour of a plan to deepen defence coordination between member states, in part prompted by Trump’s words. “Our union is not equipped to face overwhelming defence challenges,” said MEP Urmas Paet, a former foreign minister of Estonia who drafted the resolution. “Europe continues to rely heavily on Nato capabilities and on US solidarity.” Trump also described Nato as obsolete during the campaign and suggested a military alliance with Russia over Syria could be possible, something which has been cautiously welcomed in Moscow and greeted with horror in many European capitals, particularly in the three Baltic nations, which share a border with Russia. The Russian military has reportedly stationed Bastion anti-ship missiles in Kaliningrad, a piece of Russian territory between Poland and Lithuania, while a senator, Viktor Ozerov, said on Monday that Russia would deploy Iskander ballistic missiles and S-400 missile-defence systems in Kaliningrad. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Tuesday that moving the missiles to Kaliningrad was a logical response to a hostile west: “Russia is doing everything necessary to ensure its security in the face of expansion by Nato towards its borders. The alliance really is an aggressive bloc, therefore Russia must do everything it can, and in this case it has the sovereign right to take necessary measures across its whole territory.” Peskov declined to answer whether the systems were already in place and whether they would be based in Kaliningrad permanently. Russia said last October that it was moving the Iskander missiles into the exclave for a training drill. Russia has long expressed displeasure with the idea of a US missile defence system in Europe, and on Monday, Putin even raised the possibility that it could carry out preventive strikes against such infrastructure. “When a country becomes a Nato member, it’s very difficult for it to resist pressure from such a big country leading Nato, the US. And then you can get whatever they want there: missile defence systems, or new bases, and, if required, new missile systems. “What should we do? Well in this case we should take counter measures, to use our missile systems to hit those targets that have started to threaten us. The situation is worrying,” said Putin, during an interview in a documentary film about Ukraine directed by Oliver Stone and broadcast on Russian television on Monday. Asked whether May and Stoltenberg would discuss Trump’s approach to Nato when they met on Wednesday, the prime minister’s deputy official spokesman said: “Part of the discussion will clearly centre on Nato funding and 2% pledge but it will be a wide-ranging conversation on Nato issues.” “On the issue of 2%, clearly we have been driving this issue since we hosted the Nato summit in Wales a few years ago. We are clear in our view that other countries should do the same and we have seen some countries move towards it. We are clear we think that 2% commitment is important.” ||||| Russia has successfully tested intercontinental ballistic missiles intended for its "nuclear trains" program. Tests on missiles for the Barguzin "railway-based combat rocket system" were carried out at the Plesetsk cosmodrome two weeks ago, the state-owned Interfax news agency reports. "They were fully successful," a military source told the agency, "paving the way for further flight tests." The mobile weapons platform, made up of several train carriages designed to conceal the launchers of six Yars or Yars-M thermonuclear ICBMs and their command units, are expected to enter service between 2018 and 2020. Lieutenant-General Sergai Karakayev, who commands Russia's strategic missile forces, said the Barguzin would be superior to the Soviet-era Molodets nuclear trains in accuracy and range. He expects them to be in service until 2040. The Soviet Union had 12 Molodets trains in total, each of which were equipped with three nuclear missiles. Known by the Nato designation Scalpel, they were disposed of between 2003 and 2005. Russia's latest advancement in its nuclear weapons technology comes as a senior MP announced the deployment of nuclear-capable missiles to the Kaliningrad exclave. Moscow will deploy S-400 surface-to-air missiles and nuclear-capable Iskander missiles to the exclave, which borders Poland and Lithuania. The Kremlin has brushed off Western criticism of the deployment of state-of-the art missiles in the Baltic Sea region, describing it as an equivalent response to Nato's military build-up near its borders. On Monday, US State Department spokesman John Kirby warned the deployment of Iskander and S-400 missiles to Kaliningrad is "destabilising to European security" and urged Moscow to "refrain from words or deeds that are inconsistent with the goal of promoting security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region". President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that the Russian military needs to respond to what he described as Nato's aggressive moves. "Russia is doing what is necessary to protect itself amid Nato's expansion toward its borders," Mr Peskov said. "The alliance is a truly aggressive bloc, so Russia does what it has to do. It has every sovereign right to take necessary measures throughout the territory of the Russian Federation." Moscow has also deployed new anti-ship missiles on Pacific islands controlled by Russia but also claimed by Japan. Bal and Bastion missile systems have been stationed on the islands, called the southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan, the Boyevaya Vakhta (Combat Duty) newspaper of Russia's Pacific Fleet reports. The disagreement over the islands, seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II, has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their wartime hostilities.
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Russia deploys its S-400 missile system in Kaliningrad, an exclave between Poland and Lithuania, in response to "NATO expansion" near its borders. The United States criticizes the move as "destabilizing" to Europe. Russia announced the planned deployment over a decade ago.
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Henry Burris's 18-yard TD strike to Ernest Jackson earned the Ottawa Redblack an epic 39-33 overtime Grey Cup win over the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday night. Burris, the game MVP, found Jackson — who bobbled the pass — on the first overtime possession. But the veteran quarterback couldn't hit a wide-open Khalil Paden for the two-point convert. "I didn't even know E.J. kind of bobbled it," Burris said. "I didn't even know it was a completed pass, because it hit is hands and all of a sudden I see it bounce and I was thinking 'Awww,' "Then all of a sudden I hear everyone go crazy and I was like 'Did it just happen? Did we just score?' "I think little plays like that just showed you that this was our moment." Calgary needed to match Ottawa's six points but went three-and-out on its possession. Bo Levi Mitchell's third-down pass went off Bakari Grant's hands to give Ottawa one of the biggest upset victories in Grey Cup history. Burris was stellar, throwing three TD passes and running for two more on a night he wasn't even sure he was going to start. He left the field during warmups with an apparent knee injury but returned to outduel Mitchell. Burris threw for 461 yards and three passing TDs, while running for two TDs. 0:31 "I knew I wasn't going to be the typical running guy that I usually am, but as long as I could come out here and make good, quick decisions and get the ball out of my hand ... maybe I could do enough to help put our team in a position to be successful," Burris said. It was the third game in Grey Cup history to go to overtime and first since 2005 when Edmonton beat Montreal 38-35 at B.C. Place Stadium. "If you don't like ups and downs and all that kind of stuff, then football's not a good profession to be in," Ottawa coach Rick Campbell said. "But I think that's why everybody loves it." Rene Paredes' 10-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining forced overtime as Calgary impressively rallied from a 27-7 third-quarter deficit. DaVaris Daniels scored on a 19-yard TD run on third-and-two at 13:22 of the fourth to cut Ottawa's lead to 33-30 before Glenn Love recovered Rob Maver's onside kick at Calgary's 49-yard line with 1:36 remaining. "We had a lot of heart, a lot of fight to get back," Calgary coach Dave Dickenson said. "Big hill to climb, almost made it. We were right there knocking. Just didn't get it done." Sinopoli named top Canadian Burris opened the third hitting Brad Sinopoli, the game's top Canadian, on a nine-yard TD strike at 3:21 to cap an impressive 69-yard, six-play drive. But after a Paredes 32-yard field goal at 7:40, Mitchell hit Lemar Durant on a 34-yard TD strike at 11:01, cutting Ottawa's lead to 27-17. Then Andrew Buckley's one-yard TD run at 1:25 of the fourth pulled Calgary to within 27-23 as Paredes missed the convert. The game could be the last of Burris's illustrious 17-year CFL career. The 41-year-old said this week he'll take the off-season to ponder his future. If Burris retires, he'll certainly leave on a huge high, completing 35-of-46 passes for 461 yards en route to his third Grey Cup title. And he did a nice job of distributing the ball, using eight different receivers in the game. Before a capacity crowd of 33,421, Ottawa was a staggering underdog after finishing atop the East Division with an 8-9-1 mark — the first team in CFL history take first in a conference with a losing record. Calgary was a league-best 15-2-1 and was coming off a 42-15 West Division final win over B.C. And on Thursday, five Stampeders were honoured at the CFL awards banquet, including Mitchell, who received the league's outstanding player honour. Calgary was looking to finish its banner season with a Grey Cup victory to garner support as the best team in history to capture a championship. Calgary was also playing to win for Mylan Hicks, a practice-roster player who was shot to death in September. His mother, Renee Hill, attended the game wearing her son's No. 31 jersey and huddled with the defensive backs prior to the contest. But Burris, last year's outstanding player, stole the show in leading an Ottawa team to a Grey Cup win for the first time since 1976 and avenging the franchise's loss to Edmonton in the 2015 CFL title game. Burris's apparent injury provided plenty of pre-game drama, and Burris wasn't with the Redblacks when they took to the field. But he rejoined his teammates after undergoing treatment that reportedly included having the joint frozen and capped an impressive 65-yard, 10-play drive opening with a one-yard TD run at 6:46 to open the scoring. "They did some things, gave me some happy pills, to make sure I didn't feel much pain," Burris said. Calgary effectively countered with a four-play, 79-yard march Mitchell capped with a seven-yard TD strike to Jerome Messam at 9:14. After Ray Early's 37-yard field goal put Ottawa ahead 10-7 at 13:03, the Stampeders lost leading receiver Marquay McDaniel to a shoulder injury late in the quarter. On mobile and can't view the live blog? Click here. ||||| Video: Henry Burris says he will enjoy Redblacks Grey Cup win 'forever' The Ottawa Redblacks scored a touchdown in overtime to win the Grey Cup over the Calgary Stampeders. Quarterback Henry Burris says the team was determined to make up for last year's Grey Cup loss. ||||| Henry Burris threw three touchdowns, including one in overtime, and ran in two others as the Ottawa Redblacks stunned the Calgary Stampeders 39-33 to win the 104th Grey Cup in one of the biggest upsets in Canadian Football League history on Sunday. Burris, 41, was named Most Valuable Player after completing 35 of 46 passes, none bigger than the 11-yard strike to Ernest Jackson in overtime that gave Ottawa their first Grey Cup in 40 years, back when the team were known as the Rough Riders. Burris, who also had touchdown passes to Brad Sinopoli and Patrick Lavoie and threw for a total of 461 yards, became the oldest quarterback to lead his team to a Grey Cup. The Redblacks' victory over the heavily favored Stampeders also erased the disappointment of losing to the Edmonton Eskimos in last year's Grey Cup. ||||| Ja'Gared Davis of the Calgary Stampeders before the start of the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Michael Peake/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Greg Ellingson and Forrest Hightower at the end of the game as Ottawa beat Calgary 39-33 with the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Michael Peake/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Henry Burris of the Ottawa Redblacks wins MOP and defeated Calgary 39-33the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Michael Peake/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Coach Rick Campbell of the Ottawa Redblacks with the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Michael Peake/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network OneRepublic performs during the Half-time show during the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Ottawa Redblacks wide receiver Ernest Jackson (9) slides in to pick up fumble to keep drive alive during CFL Grey Cup action in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Calgary Stampeders running back Jerome Messam (33) takes it all in during CFL Grey Cup action in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Kienan Lafrance of the Ottawa Redblacks oruns for a gain at the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Michael Peake/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network OneRepublic performs during the Half-time show during the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Patrick Lavoie of the Ottawa Redblacks celebrates a touchdown against of the Calgary Stampeders during the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Cleyon Laing of the Ottawa Redblacks tries to block Bo Levi Mitchell of the Calgary Stampeders during the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Marquay McDaniel of the Calgary Stampeders runs the ball against the Ottawa Redblacks during the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Bo Levi Mitchell of the Calgary Stampeders is sacked at the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Michael Peake/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network TORONTO — Throughout his two decades of professional football, there have been many ways to describe Henry Burris. Good Hank, Bad Hank, and Smilin’ Hank are a few of the favourites. As of today, there’s only one valid description: Three-time Grey Cup champion. The expectation throughout the world of three-down football was that Sunday night would provide a memorable finish to a historic season for the Calgary Stampeders. Memorable it was, but for all the wrong reasons, and no one informed the Ottawa RedBlacks that playing spoiler wasn’t part of the original script. Coming into the 104th Grey Cup as big favourites on the heels of a 15-2-1 season, the Stamps were four quarters of football away from capping one of the most dominant campaigns in CFL history. Instead, it was the Burris and the Redblacks doing the unimaginable, pulling off one of the biggest upsets in Grey Cup lore inside BMO Field, with the 41-year-old quarterback brilliantly penning a storybook finish with 461 passing yards to lead his team to a stunning 39-33 overtime win. Not only did Burris come up with a virtuoso performance in what could be his CFL swansong, he also helped the Redblacks become just the sixth team in league history to win the Grey Cup despite having a losing record during the regular season at 8-9-1. Burris hit on 35 of 46 passes to pile up 461 yards with five total touchdowns and become the first quarterback to surpass the 400-yard mark in a Grey Cup since Danny McManus did it in 1996 and win the first finale that needed overtime since the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos needed free football to decide the season back in 2005. Burris was named the Grey Cup MVP, while receiver Brad Sinopoli took home top Canadian honours. On the other side, just disappointment for Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who threw three interceptions and couldn’t equal Burris’ deciding 18-yard touchdown pass to Ernest Jackson in overtime. It was a terrible first half that did in the West Division champions, as they dug a hole too big to climb out of. Returner Roy Finch fumbled away a punt, while Mitchell was picked off twice. Those three turnovers led to 10 points for the Redblacks, allowing them to jump out to a 20-7 halftime lead that was aided by a terrific first 30 minutes for Burris, who picked apart the Stamps to the tune of 20-of-25 passing for 266 yards and a touchdown. In the second half, the Stamps would slowly close the gap, all the way to 33-30 with 1:38 to go, but they couldn’t complete the comeback and were forced to settle for a field goal late, one that gave them another chance in overtime, where they couldn’t get it done. The drama started long before the opening kickoff when Burris limped off the field at the end of warmups after tweaking his left knee. Amidst reports that Burris could sit and backup Trevor Harris would start, the 41-year-old trotted out on to the field late and didn’t miss a snap. It was a good thing, too, as Burris led the Redblacks on a 10-play scoring drive, finishing it off himself on a one-yard plunge to draw first blood. Receiver Greg Ellingson was a busy man on the touchdown march, hauling in four receptions for 60 yards, not including the pass interference penalty he drew in the endzone on Stampeders defensive back Jamar Wall, one that Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell was forced to challenge, setting up Burris’ touchdown on the very next snap. With Renee Hill, the mother of murdered defensive back Mylan Hicks, greeting Stampeders players as they ran out of the tunnel prior to the 104th Grey Cup, it was a motivated Calgary team looking to finish off their second championship in three seasons in the name of their fallen teammate. It didn’t take long for the Stampeders vaunted offence, one that produced a league-best 586 points this season, to answer. On the second play of the ensuing possession, Mitchell found Marquay McDaniel streaking down the seam and hit him for a 51-yard gain down to the Redblacks 20-yard line. Unfortunately for the Stamps, it was the last they’d see of McDaniel, who led the team with 83 receptions this season, as the 32-year-old slotback got up pointing at his shoulder and didn’t return to the game. Two plays later, running back Jerome Messam leaked out of the backfield for a seven-yard touchdown reception to quickly erase the early deficit midway through the first quarter. After the Redblacks responded with a 37-yard field goal off the right leg of kicker Ray Early near the end of the first quarter, another mistake by the Stampeders allowed the East Division champions to start building upon their early lead. Burris & Co., stalled five minutes into the second quarter, but they were quickly handed another opportunity when Finch fumbled the punt away, allowing the RedBlacks to take over in Calgary territory. Five plays later, Burris dumped off a six-yard touchdown pass to fullback Patrick Lavoie for a 17-7 lead. On the final play of the first half, Early tacked on a 29-yard field goal to make it a 13-point advantage for the Redblacks, woh were 9.5-point underdogs. As they romped their way to Sunday’s finale, the Stamps had trailed just four times at the half, earning a 2-1-1 record in that situation this season. The downtime in the locker-room didn’t change much for Stamps defensive co-ordinator DeVone Claybrooks and charges, as Burris came out throwing on the first possession of the second half, finishing off yet another impressive drive with a nine-yard touchdown strike to Sinopoli, a one-time Stamps receiver. Stamps receiver Lemar Durant would help cut the deficit when he slid between two Redblacks defenders, and with both players thinking the Stampeders receiver was down, the Simon Fraser University product got up and scampered into the endzone to make it a 27-17 game heading into the final quarter. It didn’t take long for the Stamps to close the gap even further, as Mitchell put together another impressive drive, helped out by a pass interference penalty on Redblacks Jonathan Rose at the goalline, which gave quarterback Andrew Buckley a chance to scamper off the right edge for a one-yard touchdown. Rene Paredes sailed the extra-point attempt wide to help the RedBlacks maintain a 27-23 lead early in the fourth quarter. After the Redblacks looked to have sealed it with a one-yard touchdown run by Burris — he ran for a pair and threw for three touchdowns — the Stampeders came, oh, so close to completing what would have been a monumental comeback. Instead, the season came crashing down with a monumental thud. ||||| TORONTO — It was Kirk Gibson limping around the bases after hitting an unlikely game-winning World Series home run. It was Michael Jordan in the Flu Game, Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, so sick, dehydrated and exhausted and suffering from flu-like symptoms, he willed himself to 38 points against the Utah Jazz. This was all of that and in some ways more. It was The Miracle at BMO. It was Happily Ever After — a storybook ending, with an improbable performance by a quarterback who has been disrespected and doubted. It will go down as magic, a Grey Cup triumph football fans in Ottawa and the players who worked so hard to make it happen will never, ever forget. What Henry Burris did on Sunday night, in a 39-33 overtime win over the Calgary Stampeders, was Jordan-like. It was Gibson-like, with a bit of Roy Hobbs thrown in. It was a 41-year-old man limping off the field, wincing in pain, moments before kickoff in a game that decides a national championship. With his backup quarterback Trevor Harris putting his helmet on and scurrying to get himself ready, The Old Man ran onto the field just in time to play. Oh, and did he play. This was not just Good Hank, it was Great Hank — 35-for-46 completions for 461 yards. It was unbelievable, made-for-TV wounded warrior stuff. "I was jogging back to the huddle and all of a sudden, I felt a grind and a pop in my knee," explained Burris later. "It felt like cartilage was kind of caught in my knee. It freaked me out, I was scared. "It was hard to be able to extend the knee. They had to adjust my brace so I couldn't do so. And they gave me some good happy medicine to keep the pain down. The feeling that I have right now, it hurts so good. This is a feeling I'll be able to enjoy forever. This is another obstacle I had to overcome, fight through it and get the job done." Burris will go down as the oldest starting quarterback to win a Grey Cup. Previously, Damon Allen was the only 40-plus QB to do it. Burris is 61 days older. "I felt almost like Willis Reed of the New York Knicks when he limped onto the court," said Burris, who, in the first half alone, completed 20-of-25 passes for 266 yards. The total rose past 300 early in the second half, then 400 in the fourth quarter. He also ran for two touchdowns. There's not much left to prove on a football field for the husband of Nicole, the father of Armand and Barron. If he walks away to spend more time with his family, we will understand. Over the next few days, weeks and maybe months, Burris will have a difficult decision to make. Does he return to Ottawa, at age 42, and play second fiddle to Harris? Or does he end his Hall-of-Fame legacy with three Grey Cups and two Most Outstanding Player awards? The naysayers snickered at Burris, a guy who started the year as Ottawa's quarterback, got injured, came back and lost his job, won his job back, then refused to quit on Sunday, a near-flawless effort, with the only blemishes being an interception into the arms of Calgary defensive back Ciante Evans and an overthrown two-point convert pass to Khalil Paden. One word. Wow. "Hank's Superman, he can do anything," said Redblacks defensive back Jerrell Gavins. "I never doubt him." "He came out there slinging it like he always does," said Redblacks receiver Ernest Jackson, who caught the game-winning pass in overtime, bobbling it once, twice, three times before pulling it into his body and crossing the end zone. "That's why he's the MVP." Years ago, powerful words came out of the mouth of actor Al Pacino in his role as a football coach in Any Given Sunday. Words that packed a punch. Words that inspired. The speech included this: "You find out that life is just a game of inches. So is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half step too late or to early, you don't quite make it. One half second too slow or too fast and you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us.They are in ever break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our finger nails for that inch. Because we know when we add up all those inches, that's going to make the f-----g difference between winning and losing, between living and dying." On Sunday night, Burris made those inches count, every one of them. He's a champion and so are the Ottawa Redblacks. They earned it, inch by inch. REDBLACKS GO FROM WORST TO FIRST It’s been an amazing ride for the Ottawa Redblacks. Year 1 of the franchise’s existence, it was a 2-16 finish. Last place. Things turned around in Year 2, a 12-6 regular-season record into the playoffs and an East final win over Hamilton before a tough 26-20 loss to Edmonton in the Grey Cup. All the while, all through his career, 41-year-old quarterback Henry Burris has battled for respect. Said Burris following the Redblacks’ 39-33 Grey Cup overtime win over the Calgary Stampeders Sunday at BMO Field: “For all those that say, Good Hank, Bad Hank, what’s bad about winning a championship? The team we beat tonight, the business of the game came between what I had in Calgary. Hamilton told me I wasn’t good enough anymore, they cut me. I signed with Ottawa. Everybody’s like, ‘He’s with Ottawa, they’re not going to be very good.' Yeah, we struggled through that first year, but Year 2 and Year 3, it only got sweeter.” Will Burris call it a career, will he step away before 2017, when Ottawa will host a Grey Cup? “I’m still riding this rollercoaster,” said Burris. “I’m still focused on enjoying this moment. We’re going to party it up over the next few weeks. I’m going to focus on my family and enjoy the holidays.” ||||| Ottawa Redblacks wide receiver Ernest Jackson (9) slides in to pick up fumble to keep drive alive during CFL Grey Cup action in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Kienan Lafrance of the Ottawa Redblacks oruns for a gain at the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Michael Peake/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Patrick Lavoie of the Ottawa Redblacks celebrates a touchdown against of the Calgary Stampeders during the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Cleyon Laing of the Ottawa Redblacks tries to block Bo Levi Mitchell of the Calgary Stampeders during the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Marquay McDaniel of the Calgary Stampeders runs the ball against the Ottawa Redblacks during the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Bo Levi Mitchell of the Calgary Stampeders is sacked at the 104th Grey Cup at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday November 27, 2016. Michael Peake/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network TORONTO — Would he or wouldn’t he? That was the question when the Ottawa Redblacks ran onto the field to begin the 104th Grey Cup. Henry Burris, the veteran quarterback, likely in his last CFL game, injured his knee in warmup and it wasn’t certain he would be ready or able to start for the Redblacks. Even as Burris semi-limped his way back to the field, it didn’t seem apparent that he would be able to start the game. He did. And boy did he start it. And then finished it. And dominated it. The good Hank came out to play Sunday night at BMO Field, picking apart the Calgary Stampeders with short precision passes and taking the underdog Redblacks out to a commanding 20-7 lead at halftime, and plowing through for a rather stunning 39-33 overtime Grey Cup victory. Burris ran in for a first-quarter touchdown, threw a second-quarter touchdown pass to fullback Patrick Lavoie, ran for a fourth-quarter score, threw a touchdown pass in overtime and moved the Redblacks down the field in the final minute of the first half, which resulted in a field goal. Burris ended the first half with a miraculous 266 yards passing on 20 completions. Yes, he’s 41 years old. Yes, he passed for 461 yards. No, he shouldn’t retire yet. The almost perfect threw an interception in the fourth quarter that Ciante Evans didn’t have to move to catch. It was right to him in the flat. Calgary took over the ball with 10:43 to play and trailing by four. Stamps couldn’t take advantage by punting back to Ottawa three plays later. Bo Levi Mitchell carries a certain self confidence about him as the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player and as the quarterback of one of the best regular-season teams in CFL history. There was nothing about his demeanour all week long that led anyone to believe the Stampeders wouldn’t win. And it would probably be easy. And then the 104th Grey Cup began. And he didn’t look right. And he didn’t look confident. And it seemed to get worse when his favourite target, Marquay McDaniel went out for the game with a shoulder injury. McDaniel had 83 catches in the regular season. Without him, Mitchell threw two first-half interceptions, both on slopping long passes to receivers who weren’t open. It almost seemed like Mitchell was forcing passes long because he had no other answer while Ottawa was taking the slow, easy approach. The second half didn’t start a whole lot better for Mitchell, who fumbled the ball on a near sack by Ottawa, which resulted in the scramble for the football. Calgary recovered but had to punt from deep in its own zone. For reasons not completely understood, Mitchell kept attempting long passes that seemed to give him almost no hope of completion. Ottawa even won the battle of the coach’s challenges in the first half. But Calgary won a big one when it mattered most. In the fourth quarter, with the Stampeders trailing by 10, a pass to Kamar Jorden went incomplete. The Stamps challenged pass interference or defensive holding. Their challenge was held up. Calgary scored on the next play, making the score 27-23 Ottawa. The Stamps did end up missing the extra point. The touchdown by Andrew Buckley, from one yard out, was the first touchdown by a Canadian quarterback since Russ Jackson scored in the Grey Cup in 1968. Earlier in the game, with the Redblacks moving the ball on their first drive of the game — with Burris throwing almost exclusively to Greg Ellingson — a throw was made to the end zone that Ellingson didn’t catch. There was no pass interference called on the play but coach Rick Campbell challenged for pass interference and one play later, Burris was in the score. Calgary challenged one call in the first half, believing there was roughing on their quarterback. The replay officials held up the original call. Calgary punted the ball away. THIS AND THAT What a terrific start for Ellingson, the veteran receiver. He caught six passes for 79 yards in the first half and maybe more important than that, was responsible for the first four Ottawa first downs ... Ernest Jackson became famous around the CFL all year for going through a season and not dropping a pass. Not sayin he dropped one Sunday night, but he didn’t come down with a difficult catch. His best play may have been a fumble recovery off a Lavoie catch and eventually drop ... The great Calgary defence wasn’t so great in the first half, getting almost no pressure on Burris and seemingly unable to cover the Ottawa receivers. It looked like a Rich Stubler bend-but-not-break defence, bending and getting broken. The defence never looked like it could dominate ... This you don’t see often: There was huge celebration among the Ottawa coaches on the sidelines when the Redblacks went ahead 7-0. Almost like they didn’t expect it. You don’t often see coaches get this emotional this early in a game ... The Redblacks went to gadget plays with their first play of the second half, attempting the flea flicker against Calgary. The receiver was open. Burris overthrew him. Then Burris completed two sharp passes right after the large gamble and completed the drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Brad Sinopoli, the one-time Calgary quarterback. Redblacks led 27-7 early in third quarter ... The last team with a losing regular-season record to win the Grey Cup was the 2001 Stampeders. Redblacks are the third team in CFL history to win the Grey Cup with a losing regular-season record ... Burris became the first quarterback in 20 years to pass for more than 400 yards in a Grey Cup game. The last one was Danny McManus of Edmonton in 1996 ... The Grey Cup may not be as alive in Toronto as it is anywhere else in Canada, but you wouldn’t have known that on Sunday afternoon. Within four hours of kickoff, the tailgate area at Ontario Place was hopping, full of fans and music and people dressed in all CFL colours and smoke coming from the barbecues .. ...Maybe not all the tickets were sold and maybe not all of them were sold at the prices intended, but the in-stadium atmosphere for a mostly full BMO was the best it has ever been for a football game ... You couldn’t ask for better weather for a CFL championship night. In the second half, the temperature was a very comfortable 7 C. It was not at all uncomfortable for outdoor football. ||||| Henry Burris wound up sitting on top of the Canadian Football League on Sunday night and it was all Smiling Hank, all good – no more of those other detested nicknames, Good Hank-Bad Hank, that too often were used to describe his playoff career. Burris is riding high after one of the most dramatic Grey Cup games ever and what may be the biggest upset in league history, with the Ottawa RedBlacks surviving a second-half stumble to beat the Calgary Stampeders 39-33 in overtime at BMO Field. The record now shows Burris, 41, is not only the oldest quarterback to lead his team to the CFL championship, he now has two Grey Cup rings after four meaningful appearances in the game, cementing his legacy as a champion, not someone who could not win the big game. “I just hope for those people who start talking again about what I can and cannot do, all this Good Hank and Bad Hank, they sit back and look at the facts,” Burris said. “There’s teams decades into their [history] not winning championships and here we are, three short years, going to back-to-back championships and we win on number two.” That was the incredible upset part. The RedBlacks are a third-year expansion team and managed quite a feat in simply making it to the Grey Cup in 2015 in their second year. They did it again this year but no one gave them a chance, considering their 8-9-1 regular-season record and that the Stampeders went 15-2-1 and were preparing to assume the mantle of greatest CFL team ever with what was expected to be an easy win. Instead, after the RedBlacks made it to overtime after coughing up a 27-7 lead and Burris hit Ernest Jackson for the winning touchdown, they brought the Grey Cup to Ottawa for the first time in 40 years. The last one also came in Toronto, in 1976 at old Exhibition Stadium with the long-gone Rough Riders. “We always believed. We never stopped believing,” said Burris, picked as the game’s most-outstanding player by The Football Reporters of Canada. “Everybody picked Calgary to win. It was like damn, why are we even here? We heard what people were saying. We’re the team nobody showed respect but all we did was win.” Burris finished the game with 461 yards passing (fourth-highest in Cup history) on 35 completions in 46 attempts and three touchdowns. He also scored two majors himself on one-yard plunges, a remarkable feat considering a knee injury in the warmup almost kept him out of the game. Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who had a long, long day, still threw for 391 yards with the combined passing yardage of 852 setting a Grey Cup record. Just as sweet for Burris was that the win came against Calgary, the team he played seven seasons for, only to be traded in 2012 when its rebuilding program started to pay off. “This was a perfect setting to go out there and prove to everybody who you are,” Burris said. But he almost didn’t get the chance. During the pregame warmup, Burris was jogging back to the huddle when his left knee locked up. His status as the starter was in doubt until Ottawa’s first series of the game, as backup Trevor Harris looked set to start, but some intensive treatments and painkillers saw Burris make it out for the team’s first series. “It scared the heck out of me because there was a chance I couldn’t play,” Burris said. “Our medical staff went to work on me. This knee better put it in, after 20 some years of pro football experience it better give me three more hours and it did.” Burris and the RedBlacks had to sweat out Calgary’s corresponding drive in overtime but Mitchell could not find a receiver in three tries and one of the greatest upsets in CFL history was in the books. A few minutes earlier, Ottawa defensive back Abdul Kanneh was the one sweating most during the last minute of the fourth quarter after first making one of the worst mistakes of the night, followed by a play that saved the RedBlacks for overtime. First, he grabbed a towel in the belt of Calgary receiver Kamar Jorden for a pass-interference penalty that gave the Stampeders a first down and goal-to-go on the Ottawa eight-yard line. Then, after backup quarterback Andrew Buckley was sent in to try and run in his second touchdown of the game, Kanneh tripped him, forcing Calgary to settle for a 10-yard field goal with nine seconds to play that forced overtime and gave Ottawa another life. This resulted in more second-guessing of Stamps head coach Dave Dickinson. He decided to take a second short-yardage shot with Buckley, who scored from the one in the third quarter to become the first Canadian quarterback to get a touchdown since Russ Jackson in 1968, rather than pound away with monster running back Jerome Messam, voted the league’s top Canadian this season. Kanneh just managed to get a hand on Buckley’s heel, which sent him tumbling to the turf and forced the field goal. “I knew I messed up but I know football, it’s ups and downs all the time,” Kanneh said. “I know my boys got me. Even though I messed up, I know my boys got me. “It was the greatest thing in the world. All we wanted to do, we wanted to do it for Henry [Burris]. I talked to him last year after the Grey Cup and I told him we’re going to get you one, baby.” Dickinson, who looked stunned after the game, said he had “some regret” about not going with Messam. He wasn’t quite as regretful about the overall game plan, which saw Mitchell often on a different page than his receivers and facing pressure from the Ottawa pass rush. “We called the game we figured was best for our team,” Dickinson said. “It just didn’t work out.” After Burris opened the third quarter by directing another scoring drive that ended with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Brad Sinopoli, who was voted the game’s best Canadian, it looked like there was an easy path to one of the CFL’s great upsets. But the Stampeders somehow collected themselves and it was the RedBlacks who started making mistakes that ate into their 27-7 lead. The comeback started with a 32-yard Rene Paredes field goal. Then Mitchell, who had a horrendous first half, finally started hitting his receivers with Lemar Durant catching a 33-yard touchdown pass. The big mistake on that one was committed by Ottawa defensive back Antoine Pruneau. He somehow did not touch Durant after the latter fell after making the catch, allowing Durant to get up and run for the major. A video review let the touchdown stand. Buckley’s touchdown, which cut Ottawa’s lead to four points, tightened a lot of collars among Ottawa fans but Burris wasn’t finished. The old guy went back out for yet another scoring drive, ending it at 6:03 of the fourth quarter with a one-yard plunge for his second rushing touchdown. RedBlacks defensive back Forrest Hightower gave his team some breathing room with his second interception of the game, stopping a Calgary drive with 3:21 left in the fourth quarter. But Mitchell and the Stampeders came back a minute later, working their way into Ottawa territory where DaVaris Daniels, on third-down and two yards, ran an end-around 19 yards for a touchdown with 1:38 left in the fourth quarter. The convert cut Ottawa’s lead to 33-30, setting up Glenn Love’s recovery of an on-side kick for Calgary that started the heart-stopping final 90 seconds of play. Now that he and the RedBlacks survived that 90 seconds, people are wondering if Burris will take the opportunity to retire as a champion. He sounded all week like someone who wants to keep playing but, standing in the end zone with his parents, wife, children and a group of friends in the middle of a loud celebration, Burris had other things on his mind. “I’m so focused on enjoying this moment,” Burris said. “I want to find out what’s going on with this knee and enjoy my family. I’m just going to focus on my family, teammates, this city. Man, we’re going to party it up. Right now, I’m not even thinking about that.” ||||| Brad Sinopoli was welling up at the Welcome Home party. “It usually sinks in when you go to sleep and wake up and you can really think about it,” the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees quarterback-turned-Ottawa Redblacks receiver said moments after the Grey Cup champion squad touched down at the airport late Monday morning. “But I don’t think a lot of guys slept (Sunday night). It still feels hard to explain it all, but coming to Ottawa, seeing the people, I’m so excited.” Sinopoli, of course, was smack dab in the middle of the wild, wacky win over the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday night in Toronto. With time ticking down in regulation, he was high in the air with the game in his hands, but the Stampeders ripped the ball out to recover the onside kick. Calgary appeared en route to the game-winning touchdown, riding the wave of momentum and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell’s arm. But after the curious, ultimately unsuccessful, decision by Stampeders coach Dave Dickenson to have backup quarterback Andrew Buckley attempt to score the winning points, Calgary was forced to settle for a game-tying field goal. After the Redblacks secured the overtime victory, Sinopoli was honoured as top Canadian, catching six passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. “To deliver is the biggest thing,” said Sinopoli, who served as the Stampeders’ third string quarterback during the 2012 Grey Cup. “It takes every single person, everybody steps up to do their part. It’s all kind of special, all part of the journey. I’m so lucky to be back in Ottawa, playing in front of family and friends. We’re just happy we can bring it back to them.” Fellow receiver Ernest Jackson, who put himself in the company of 1976 Grey Cup star Tony Gabriel with his circus-like overtime touchdown catch to finish off the scoring, echoed Sinopoli’s words. “It means a lot for the organization,” he said, while talking on the tarmac. “We’ve been through so much during the year and everybody putting us as the underdog. It’s everything for the fans. They come out and we sell out all our games and we get to bring (the Cup) home to them. It’s wonderful.” As extra time began, Jackson says the Redblacks were confident, having lived through the overtime experience four times during the regular season. “I was thinking of all the adversity we’ve been through and also that we had been through those situations and we knew how to handle it,” he said. “We knew we had to execute.” At various points during the long night and early morning of celebrations that followed, Jackson saw replays of The Catch. Running through the middle of the field at full speed, he had his hands on the pass from Henry Burris, but couldn’t get immediate control. Somehow, he maintained his attention, popping the ball in the air several times before finally securing it and diving into the end zone. On Monday, the CFL’s most sure-handed receiver and the Eastern Conference finalist for the most outstanding player award was laughing at himself for turning a routine reception into the type of catch that will go down as one of the most electrifying in Grey Cup history. “I’ve seen it again and it was just the way I thought it was (on the field),” said Jackson. “I was coming around, I had a little slant, I saw the hole (between defenders). I got excited. I tried to run up field before I caught the ball and I didn’t completely have it in my hand. I bobbled it three times, then caught it over my shoulder.” It was, he said, the biggest catch of his career. “It’s great to put all the doubters to rest. Even up to the championship game, no one had the idea of us to win. For us to finalize that win is everything. It’s incredible, breathtaking, to be the winner. To be victorious in overtime is amazing.” Jackson was full of praise for Burris, who took the train — not the team plane — back to Ottawa. “Who, Hank?,” Jackson said with a smile when asked about the Redblacks quarterback taking his own route home. “I’m not surprised. He’s the MVP. He shouldn’t have made the flight.” Redblacks coach Rick Campbell believes the team benefited from being at the Grey Cup a year ago, giving them a sharp focus during key moments — opening and finishing strong. Come Monday, though, he says the players were all anxious to get back to Ottawa to enjoy the experience with the fans. “All our guys on the plane kept talking about getting back and celebrating with fans,” Campbell said. “And for the people who stayed overnight, it was like Ottawa had taken over Toronto. It was awesome.” The coach, who carried the Cup off the plane, says he didn’t sleep much. “A little bit, not enough,” he said. “That’s OK. It’s a good tired. It was a big night.” ||||| TORONTO — It’s mind-boggling how often this happens. Here in 1989 Toronto played host to one of the most shabby Grey Cups in history. Saskatchewan fans poured in from all over the country only to find there was no Grey Cup hoopla here. But on the Sunday they went to Skydome and watched their team win arguably the greatest game in Grey Cup history. Seven years later in Hamilton, at a hosting where they were giving tickets away with a Cup of coffee on game day, Doug Flutie won a snow bowl memory maker settled by Jake’s Mistake, a brutal call by referee Jake Ireland, it was the same story with the added bonus of the winter wonderland scene. Here this year, where they had to cut prices in half, where tickets were given away with a pair of pizzas and where there were hundreds of empty seats for Grey Cup 104, there was another November to remember Grey Cup game. And it was not only another classic, it was only the third Grey Cup OT in history, the most recent being Edmonton over Montreal in 2005. But this one had the added bonus of being historically significant on both sides of the ball. Coaching a third-year expansion team, underdogs by 9½ points, on the same property where his dad Hugh won three of his five Grey Cups in a row, Rick Campbell coached the Ottawa Redblacks to a 39-33 OT win. “I’m extremely proud of all the Redblacks and all of the fans. When I had the opportunity to interview, I’m glad my instincts were correct,” said Campbell after the game. “It’s unbelievable. It’s nice to know we don’t have to get ready for practice Tuesday. “It was great we were in the Grey Cup last year. We were capable of winning this game. It’s not a miracle when we play well. So good on our guys. We got it done. When it came down to it our guys rose to the occasion and got it done.” On the flip side of that, a Calgary Stampeders team that won 14 in a row and would have ended up with a record 16-1-1 season if they hadn’t rested their star players in the last game, gagged on the game and came up empty on their latest attempt to create an era. After winning a Cup in 2008, the Stampeders went 104-32-2 in the last eight years and only have won one other — in 2014. “It’s touch to be on the wrong side of it,” said CFL Coach of the Year Dave Dickenson. “I know it hurts. I can’t ask more out of these guys. I still consider this season a success. “I want our guys to still have some pride in what that accomplished.” The game was “memorable” before it began. Forty-one year-old Henry Burris, the only member of the Redblacks who was alive when Ottawa won their most recent Grey Cup, limped off the field after warm-up. With a half hour break for pre-game entertainment and ceremonies, reports broke that last year’s CFL Most Outstanding Player had damaged a knee and would be out for the game. “There was almost a situation where I was almost unable to play today,” said Burris. “My knee locked up on me before the game and, I mean I wouldn’t have been able to accept that. But you know what, for all those haters out there, there are organizations that haven’t won a Grey Cup in decades. But ours? Here we are. Grey Cup champions!” Had a player ever injured himself in warm-up and took himself out of a championship game of any sport before. When the players were introduced, Burris was not one of them. Back-up Trevor Harris was throwing, with his helmet on. But then, during the coin flip, Burris came charging out of the dressing room and onto the field, helmet on, and ready to play. And it was Good Henry who showed up this day. And boy did he have a day. Including overtime, Burris completed 35 of 46 passes for 461 yards to win Grey Cup MVP honours. For Calgary, Bo Levi Mitchell, this year’s CFL most outstanding player, grabbed the game back with a touchdown featuring a 51-yard pass to Marquay McDaniel. When McDaniel left the game with an injured shoulder early, Mitchell seemed to come unglued. He got it together to get his team to OT on a successful short kickoff in the final minute. But the wheels never fell of Burris who led Ottawa to a TD while Mitchell was 0-for-3 in the overtime. Burris had Ottawa up 20-7 at the half 20 of 25 for 266 yards, converting 15 of 17 on second downs in a half in which the Stampeders committed three turnovers. Last year Ottawa had Edmonton down early but couldn’t put them away and Mike Reilly ended up Grey Cup MVP. ||||| TORONTO — Don’t tell Mike Sutherland the Redblacks (8-9-1) have no chance on Sunday. He knows that’s not true. All too painfully well. When the Redblacks square off against the Calgary Stampeders (15-2-1), they will attempt to become only the third team to win the Grey Cup after finishing the regular season with a losing record, sharing the distinction with the 2000 B.C. Lions (8-10) and the 2001 Stampeders (8-10). And Sutherland, who is now the P.A. announcer at TD Place as well as the emcee at Redblacks functions and a self proclaimed “general hanger on” with the club, was on the two teams those Lions and those Stamps defeated in the big game — the Montreal Alouettes and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. “If Redblacks fans are looking for something to latch on to, if they’re saying how are we going to possibly win this game, is there any bloody hope in hell that the Redblacks are going to come away with a win, I always say, just think about 2000,” Sutherland, an offensive linemen on four teams in his 10-year CFL career, said Saturday. “We finished the season 12-6. We were loaded. There’s no way we were going to lose this game. We were heavy favoured against a team that squeaked their way in and just started playing well at the end of the year. “Next thing you know, we come up short. We lose the Grey Cup.” The final score was 28-26. The Alouettes trailed by eight with 1:25 left, but narrowed the gap when Anthony Calvillo teamed up with Ben Cahoon for a 59-yard TD. However, they failed on a two-point convert and again with an onside kick. Sutherland, who was a backup on that Alouettes team, signed with the Blue Bombers in the off-season and became a starter. Little did he know that in Winnipeg, he would find out how Bill Murray’s character Phil Connors felt in Groundhog Day. “We went 14-4, with Khari Jones, Charles Roberts, Milt Stegall, Mike Sellers, Doug Brown … we were an unstoppable force,” said Sutherland. “We ran over everybody in the regular season. It wasn’t even fair. We swept the awards (like Calgary did Thursday). We were playing against a team that somehow just managed to get into the freaking playoffs at 8-10. We were heavily favoured. There’s no way we’re going to lose this game. And we come up short again.” Led by quarterback Marcus Crandell, the Stamps scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter and 10 more in the fourth to win 27-19. Those would be the only Grey Cup games Sutherland played in. “I should be wearing two (rings) right now,” said Sutherland, who hopes to put an order in for one after Sunday. “This is exactly the same scenario, if you think about it. I will say this: records are great, galas are great, individual awards are great, and all that stuff. It all points in a certain direction. But at the end of the day, it’s going to be played on Sunday. All of that other stuff, it doesn’t mean anything. Because anything can happen. You don’t know. A missed field goal, a fumble on a return, it could be anything. It’s whoever ends up playing their best on that day. For that second, on that play. “I’ve been on the losing end, twice. In this exact scenario. Where there’s no way we’re going to lose. Where we’re so loaded up with talent, it’s not even fair. How did they even make it into the bloody game? They don’t even really deserve to be here. “So if you think there’s no hope in hell that (the Redblacks) are going to win (Sunday), you’re absolutely wrong.” Even ESPN giant Chris Berman likes the Stamps. Swami Sez Calgary wins, 35-20 … Redblacks offensive line coach Bryan Chiu also was on the Alouettes team that lost to the 8-10 Lions in 2000 … Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell was asked about the natural grass at BMO Field on Saturday. “We had to explain to some of the young guys that was actual grass, and that it’s a living plant that grows on the earth,” he said. “Seriously, some of these guys have never played on grass. It’s a great field, though. To me, it feels like a perfect CFL stadium.” … Campbell’s message to fans making their way to the game from the nation’s capital: “Be loud when Calgary is on offence,” he said. Added quarterback Henry Burris: “We knew Plaid nation would be making its way down here. We’re expecting our fans to be loud. Hopefully we can turn this place into TD Place South.” … The Redblacks sent out a release Saturday offering fans a 105-hour opportunity to “jump the line” and buy tickets for the 105th Grey Cup game in Ottawa. A $50 deposit is required. The offer, which is available on the team’s website, expires Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. Despite a valiant effort, I couldn’t get a prediction from Ottawa safety Antoine Pruneau, who said the 2015 Redblacks would win 12 games at training camp — and they did. “We’re going to show up to win,” said Pruneau. “I’ve got no prediction. They don’t want me to make predictions anymore.” … Pruneau is paying no regard to the spread that has Calgary a heavy favourite. “The spread doesn’t matter for us,” he said. “We’ve got to play the game, we’re going to play it physical, and it’s going to be a good challenge for them if they want to go through the Ottawa Redblacks. It’s not going to take a miracle for the Ottawa Redblacks to win this game. We’ve just got to play our game. We’ve got a great quarterback, a great core of receivers, good defence and we’re ready to go.” … Ex-CFL great Ken Evraire is here shooting and doing interviews for his new social media venture, The Pregame. Says Evraire: “It’s been a lot of fun. It’s taking me back to my videographer days with the new ’RO.” … By Wild Bill Pierce, the executive producer of Postmedia Sports and Toronto Sun sports editor, we are reminded that some things do, in fact, happen in threes. Perhaps a Redblacks win after the Chicago Cubs and Donald Trump both staged miracle victories earlier this year? … By Young Mike Koreen, the Postmedia East Region sports editor, we are reminded that there was an Ottawa connection in the New York Giants’ stunning upset of the New England Patriots in the 2007 Super Bowl. Lawrence Tynes kicked for the Giants and the Ottawa Renegades. TORONTO —The MVP of the 2015 Grey Cup game would pass on any friendly wagers he might be offered Sunday. He wouldn’t take points, nor would he give them. “The Grey Cup is never a game I would feel comfortable putting money on, because it can go either way,” Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly (inset) said in between signing autographs and posing for photos at the Shaw Media Tent on Saturday. “It just depends on that given day who comes out and is ready to play ball.” Reilly’s team was defeated three times by the Redblacks in 2016, twice in the regular season and again in the Eastern final. So it’s no surprise that he says Ottawa, which oddsmakers set as a 9 1/2 point underdog last week, could actually win the game. “I think they’ve got a great chance,” Reilly said of the Redblacks. “At the end of the day, Calgary is a great team that’s had a great season, but the Grey Cup is kind of a whole different beast. “But Ottawa is in the Grey Cup for a reason, too. Because they play well in the big games. Obviously they beat us to get to the Grey Cup. So when it comes down to it, whoever comes out and just executes better that day is going to win the game. “It’s not any secret about how to win a Grey Cup. You’ve got to come out and you’ve got to play good football.” The Eskimos fell behind 13-0 to the Redblacks in last year’s Grey Cup game before Reilly rallied them to a 26-20 victory. “We came out and didn’t play great in the first quarter and we were almost buried too deep in the hole to get out,” he said. “If Ottawa comes out and starts off well, like they did against us, then they have a great chance to win the football game.” Reilly said the Eskimos lost to the Redblacks last Sunday because they didn’t play well in the first half. “We didn’t adjust to the conditions near as quickly as they did,” he said. “But it’s one of those situations, regardless of the weather, they played a better football game than us and they deserved to win that game because of it. Like I said, they’re in the Grey Cup for a reason. They deserve to be here and they played good football when it mattered most.” TORONTO — Last-minute game preparations for the Redblacks on Saturday included a lot of food and plenty of rest. “You’ve just got to treat it the same way,” said defensive lineman Moton Hopkins. “It is a big game, but at the same time you can’t overhype it or overthink it. Just do the same routine. I get a good meal in, usually go to The Keg, get into bed by 9 p.m. and watch some Netflix.” “Get a massive breakfast, light lunch, and just get ready for the game,” said Hopkins. Henry Burris’ Saturday night plan was to see his parents, who arrived earlier in the day, then have dinner with “everybody.” He was also going to go over the game plan, watch some more film on Calgary and then turn on the TV to “watch the Temple Owls kick some butt.” During the hours leading up to the game on Sunday, Burris said his teammates would be doing a lot of communicating with each other. “I’m pretty sure the guys that are in our fantasy football league will be texting each other, and beaking each other,” said Burris, laughing. “The focus still continues,” he added. “Making sure you’re well rested and get the right foods in you, stay hydrated and those types of things. “But more so it’s staying off your feet. We’ll have some meetings and stuff tomorrow before just to make sure everybody is ready to go, we’ll go over some last minute details. When we burst out of the hotel and here to BMO and on to that field, we’re a bunch of well rested and focused guys.”
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In Canadian football, the Ottawa Redblacks defeat the Calgary Stampeders 39–33. It is the first Grey Cup won by the Redblacks in franchise history. Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris is MVP and becomes the oldest player to win the MVP award in a Grey Cup.
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A spokesman for Ohio State University says a suspect in an attack on campus that injured at least eight people has been shot and killed. Ben Johnson also said Monday that injuries in the attack included stab wounds and being struck by a vehicle. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the suspect is believed to have initially struck people with a car before beginning to stab victims. There was no indication that the suspect shot anyone. The official wasn't authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. The details started to emerge after a morning of confusion and conflicting reports that began with the university issuing tweets warning students that there was an "active shooter" on campus near the engineering building and that they should "run, hide, fight." COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Eight people were sent to hospitals Monday morning with non-life-threatening injuries after an attack on the Ohio State University campus, fire and hospital officials said after the school sent a series of tweets telling students to shelter in place and to "Run Hide Fight." Some of the victims had been stabbed and others were hit by a vehicle, said Ben Johnson, a university spokesman. Some of the other injuries were being evaluated, he said. "Our top priority remains the safety and security of our campus community," he said. The eight patients were split among OSU Wexner Medical Center, OhioHealth Grant Medical Center and OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. Cassidie Baker, an Ohio State senior, said she saw police or paramedics helping one person on the ground outside Watts Hall. "No one really knows what is happening, other than there's an active shooter," she said. Ohio State said about an hour and a half after sending out a series of tweets about an active shooter on campus that a shelter-in-place warning had been lifted and the scene was secure. The university tweeted that all classes would be canceled for the rest of the day. Around 10 a.m., the university's emergency management department tweeted "Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College." Watts Hall is a materials science and engineering building. "Run, hide, fight" is standard protocol for active shooter situations. It means: Run, evacuate if possible; hide, get silently out of view; or fight, as a last resort, take action to disrupt or incapacitate the shooter if your life is in imminent danger. The university followed up with another tweet: "Continue to shelter in place in north campus area. Follow directions of Police on scene." The university asked for anyone with information to call police. Many police vehicles were at the scene. Police also blocked off roads around the perimeter of the campus, clogging area traffic. With nearly 60,000 students at its main Columbus campus, Ohio State is one of the nation's largest universities. ||||| Hang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like. Close An active shooter has been reported on Ohio State University’s campus, with at least seven people taken to the hospital, according to the authorities. It is not clear the conditions of the victims or the severity of the injuries. People are urged to take shelter and to avoid the area. OSU Emergency Management tweeted this morning, “Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College.” Anthony Falzarano, 22-year-old senior was in class the time of the shooting. “We heard a lot of sirens. I was in class and everyone got a text message at the same time for the emergency alert,” he told CNN. “Someone said they heard popping right before we got the alert, but I didn’t hear it. We are in a shelter-in-place right now in the building next door. ” Wyatt Crosher, 19-year-old sophomore said, “”My roommate and I heard about three or four gunshots from across the street, and soon after we heard a bunch of police and ambulances pull up across the street.” Students were removed from the scene as police continue to investigate. “As you may have heard, our friends at The Ohio State University are experiencing an active shooter on their campus,” WSU president David Hopkins released in an e-mail statement. “Please keep them in your thoughts as we watch these events unfold. Also, please be ever vigilant about your own environment. We will keep you updated with any information you may need for your own safety. And please visit http://www.wright.edu/police/emergency-preparedness to familiarize yourself with our emergency procedures.” ||||| Police respond to reports of an active shooter on campus at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio on Monday Many police vehicles were at the scene. No other information was immediately available. A shooting at Ohio State University sent seven people to the hospital Monday morning, the Columbus Fire Department said shortly after the school sent a series of tweets telling students to shelter in place and to “Run Hide Fight.” Two of those people are in stable condition, the department said. It had no information on the other five people. It was not immediately clear whether the shooting was still in progress. Around 10 a.m., the university’s emergency management department tweeted “Buckeye Alert- Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College.” Watts Hall is a materials science and engineering building. “Run, hide, fight” is standard protocol for active shooter situations. It means- Run, evacuate if possible; hide, get silently out of view; or fight, as a last resort, take action to disrupt or incapacitate the shooter if your life is in imminent danger. The university followed up with another tweet- “Continue to shelter in place in north campus area. Follow directions of Police on scene.” The university asked for anyone with information to call police. Many police vehicles were at the scene. No other information was immediately available. With nearly 60,000 students at its main Columbus campus, Ohio State is one of the nation’s largest universities. ||||| (CNN) The Ohio State University student who carried out a knife attack on campus Monday said in a Facebook post he was "sick and tired" of seeing fellow Muslims "killed and tortured," according to federal law enforcement officials. Investigators are examining Abdul Razak Ali Artan's Facebook page to determine whether the attack was terrorism, though law enforcement officials said it will take time to ascertain motive. In a Facebook post shortly before the Monday morning rampage, the Somali immigrant urged America "to stop interfering with other countries, especially the Muslim Ummah," a term for Muslim people at large. "By Allah, we will not let you sleep unless you give peace to the Muslims. You will not celebrate or enjoy any holiday." Artan rammed his car into a group of people on the Columbus campus before exiting the car and charged at others with a knife. Eleven people were hospitalized as a result of the attack. Ohio State Police Officer Alan Horujko shot Artan after he failed to obey orders to stop. Authorities investigate the scene of the attack, where the assailant struck people with his vehicle and then cut them with a butcher knife. In a news conference Monday, Ohio State President Dr. Michael V. Drake cautioned against jumping to conclusions when asked if the incident was terror-related or had anything to do with Ohio's Somali community, the second-largest in the country. "We all know when things like this happen that there's a tendency sometimes for people to put people together and create other kinds of theories. We don't know anything that would link this to any community. We certainly don't have any evidence that would say that's the case," Drake said. "What we want to do is really unify together and support each other; do our best to support those who were injured in their recovery, and then allow the investigation to take place." What we know about the attacker Artan was profiled in the school's student-run newspaper 's "Humans of Ohio State" series in August. He had just transferred from Columbus State and said he was struggling to find a place to pray in peace on the large campus. "I wanted to pray in the open, but I was scared with everything going on in the media. I'm a Muslim, it's not what the media portrays me to be. If people look at me, a Muslim praying, I don't know what they're going to think, what's going to happen. Abdul Razak Ali Artan A community member who spoke to the attacker's family described them as shocked. The community member described Artan as a good kid. She confirmed Artan had just finished community college before starting this semester at Ohio State. Artan was a legal permanent resident originally from Somalia, a US official said. He came to the country in 2014 with his family via Pakistan, a federal law enforcement official and a US official told CNN. Artan left Somalia in 2007 with his family for Pakistan and they were admitted as refugees as part of a minority sect of Somalis, a senior administration official told CNN. Seven members of the family applied for refugee status in the United States and were admitted in 2014. Today, they are all legal permanent residents and green card holders. Neighbor Stephanie Leper told CNN Artan's family occupies four units. Law enforcement vehicles arrived at the town homes sometime after 10 a.m. and took people away in "paddy wagons," she said. Artan said reports of human rights abuses in Myanmar pushed him to a "boiling point." The United States, which suspended its last sanctions against the former military dictatorship this year, said it had expressed concerns about the treatment of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims. "I can't take it anymore," he said in the post. How it happened Artan's rampage ended in less than two minutes thanks to Officer Horujko's quick response, officials said. "We owe him a debt of gratitude," said Monica Moll, director of Ohio State public safety. "He did a fabulous job today." At 9:52 a.m., he drove over a curb and struck people near Watts Hall. CNN Map Horujko called in the car at 9:52 a.m. A few seconds later, he called in to say he had engaged with the suspect. At 9:53 a.m., he radioed in again to say he had shot the suspect. Student Jacob Bower, 20, said he saw the attacker outside between the Koffolt Laboratories and Watts Hall. "He pulled a large knife and started chasing people around, trying to attack them," Bower told CNN, adding that he did not see anyone get stabbed. "Luckily there were so many people, he couldn't focus on one target," he said. Cops putting up tape, wearing vests and grabbing their guns pic.twitter.com/dVmztKBeq6 — Anthony Falzarano (@_falzarano) November 28, 2016 It took Horujko three shots to take Artan down, Bower said. "He waited 'til everyone was clear, and the stabber clearly wasn't stopping." Throughout the attack, the assailant didn't yell or say anything, Bower said. "He was completely silent, which was very creepy. Not even when he was shot," the student said. "The cop that subdued the guy with the knife saved so many lives today." Investigators used surveillance camera footage to track Artan's car before he arrived on campus, University Police Chief Craig Stone said. By tracing his movements, investigators were able to conclude he was alone in the vehicle and acted alone. Gov. John Kasich praised the response, saying it showed "how much practice, how much training, how much expertise, how much coordination" existed among local law enforcement agencies. "We are a strong, tough, resilient community," he said. 'Run, hide, fight' Drake and others credited the school's active shooter training and the campus alert system for helping the community maintain order while the scene was secured. Ohio State's Columbus campus is one of the largest in the United States, with 59,482 registered students attending classes on the sprawling urban campus. At 9:55 a.m., the school sent out a campus alert reporting an active shooter incident. "Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight . Watts Hall. 19th and College," Ohio State Emergency Management tweeted at 9:56 a.m. Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College. — OSU Emergency Mngmnt (@OSU_EMFP) November 28, 2016 While students waited to hear word on the attacker's movements, some piled chairs against a door to block him from getting in. Ohio State students barricade themselves to try to stay safe from the attacker. "I'm safe in a barricaded room," Harrison Roth tweeted . "If you're on campus, get in a room and stay safe." In 911 calls to police, several students described the chaotic scene. "I think this is some type of terrorist attack," said one caller, according to CNN affiliate WCMH . "Because the guy ran a car through a crowd of students. The guy did it purposefully." About 90 minutes after the first call came in, the lockdown was lifted, Drake said. Students had just returned to class Monday after the Thanksgiving break -- and after the OSU football team's big win Saturday over the school's biggest rival, the University of Michigan. Stay safe, Buckeyes. — Michigan Athletics (@UMichAthletics) November 28, 2016 Overall, it was "one of those days you're grateful for good training and great people across the board," Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said. ||||| A Buckeye alert went out Monday morning warning of an emergency on campus. UPDATE: 12:44 p.m. EST — An attack on the Ohio State University campus Monday resulted in stab wounds and a victim being hit by a car, a school spokesman told the Associated Press. It was unclear who carried out the attack or why. Up to 10 people were injured, CNN reported. UPDATE: 12:04 p.m. EST — Although Ohio State University lifted its shelter-in-place warning motivated by an active shooter situation Monday, police officers said people should continue to avoid the Lane Avenue garage on campus, according to the Lantern. Authorities confirmed to NBC-4 that the suspect was dead and eight people were hospitalized. UPDATE: 11:42 a.m. EST — Ohio State University lifted its lockdown after about an hour and a half after it first alerted students to reports of an active shooter on campus Monday. "Scene is now secure," it wrote on Twitter. Buildings closed included Watts, Fontana, Smith, Celeste, Evans, Arps, Ramsmeyer and MacQuigg, according to the update. UPDATE: 11:32 a.m. EST — Lawmakers near to and far from Ohio State University took to social media Monday to react to news of an active shooter situation that reportedly wounded at least seven people. UPDATE: 11:24 a.m. EST — As an active shooter situation continued to develop Monday, Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center issued a statement to NBC-4 that it was "collaborating with local authorities to understand what has happened and to manage the situation." The center remained open as usual despite a lockdown on campus. "Law enforcement will continue to have a visible presence on campus," Ohio State's department of public safety wrote on its webpage. "All academic classes on the Columbus campus have been canceled for the remainder of Monday, November 28, 2016." UPDATE: 11:14 a.m. EST — Highway exits near Ohio State University were closed Monday after the school issued an alert about a shooting that sent at least seven people to local hospitals, 10TV reported. Police have handcuffed two people on the Columbus campus but have not sent out any updated information on social media. UPDATE: 11:05 a.m. EST — One suspect in the active shooter situation Monday at Ohio State University has died, according to NBC-4. UPDATE: 11:04 a.m. EST — Schools in the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington were on lockdown Monday as police investigated reports of an active shooter at the nearby Ohio State University, Superintendent Paul Imhoff tweeted. Concerned parents could call the school district for more details. UPDATE: 10:59 a.m. EST — If confirmed, the active shooter situation at Ohio State University Monday would be the first campus shooting since Nov. 17, according to Everytown. The last incident occurred at a St. Paul, Minnesota elementary school. In that case, a gun was discharged, but nobody was wounded. UPDATE: 10:51 a.m. EST — Two of the seven people reportedly transported to the hospital in wake of an active shooter situation at Ohio State University were stable, the Associated Press reported Monday. The FBI was on the scene. You can see a live stream of coverage from Ohio State University's campus here. UPDATE: 10:45 a.m. EST — Fire department officials confirmed to NBC-4 Monday that seven people have been taken to the hospital after an active shooter situation at Ohio State University. The Ohio State police department tweeted that students and staff should continue to shelter in place and contact them only with information about the incident. UPDATE: 10:39 a.m. EST — Police at Ohio State University were converging Monday around Watts Hall, home of the materials science and engineering department, in light of an active shooter situation. WSYX ABC 6 reported that three people were shot. An unidentified Ohio State professor told NBC-4 that one of his peers was "slashed with a machete." UPDATE: 10:30 a.m. EST — Ohio State University put out a second emergency alert Monday as its active shooter situation continued to unfold. At 10:20 a.m. EST, the school told students and staff to "continue to shelter in place in north campus area" and to "follow directions of police on scene." Shortly afterward, Ohio Gov. John Kasich tweeted that he was praying for the college community. No reports of shots fired or injuries have been verified. UPDATE: 10:27 a.m. EST — At least one person appears to have been injured Monday in Ohio State University's active shooter situation. Student newspaper the Lantern tweeted that its reporters saw "at least one body bag" on campus, while WSYX ABC 6 reported "at least three people were shot." No injuries have been confirmed. The school is still on lockdown. UPDATE: 10:19 a.m. EST — Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, tweeted Monday that he was closely monitoring reports of an active shooter on campus at Ohio State University. After issuing a Buckeye Alert just before 10 a.m. EST, police began sweeping the area near Watts Hall, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Ohio State University issued an emergency alert Monday morning warning of an active shooter on campus. "Run Hide Fight," it wrote on its website. "Watts Hall. 19th and College." No shots were confirmed to have been fired, though unverified reports were rolling in on Twitter: Ohio State, which has its main campus in Columbus, has more than 60,000 students. In September 2015, the campus police released an active shooter response training video on YouTube. In it, students are urged to "scatter and run" and then call 911, letting the dispatchers know they're on Ohio State's campus.. This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates. ||||| One suspect is dead and at least nine people have been taken to the hospital after school officials reported an active shooter on campus at Ohio State University on Monday. Linda So reports. ||||| (CNN) Investigators are searching for a motive behind an Ohio State University student's knife attack on campus Monday morning that wounded 11 people. In a Facebook post shortly before the rampage, the Somali immigrant urged America "to stop interfering with other countries, especially the Muslim Ummah," a term for Muslim people at large. "By Allah, we will not let you sleep unless you give peace to the Muslims," he wrote. "You will not celebrate or enjoy any holiday." Artan rammed his car into a group of people on the Columbus campus. He then exited the car and charged at passersby with a knife. What we know about the attacker "I wanted to pray in the open, but I was scared with everything going on in the media," he told the paper. Artan, who was originally from Somalia, left his native country with his family in 2007. They headed to Pakistan, where they were admitted as refugees as part of a minority sect of Somalis, a senior administration official told CNN. Seven members of the family applied for refugee status in the United States and were admitted in 2014. Today, they are all legal permanent residents and green card holders. A community member, who described Artan as a good kid, said the attacker's family sounded shocked during a conversation. Neighbor Stephanie Leper told CNN that Artan's family lives in four town home units. Law enforcement vehicles arrived there sometime after 10 a.m. and took people away in "paddy wagons," she said. "I can't take it anymore," he said in the post. Three calls, three shots, one dead At 9:52 a.m. Monday, Artan drove over a curb and struck people near Watts Hall. Jacob Bower, a 20-year-old student, said he saw the attacker outside between the Koffolt Laboratories and Watts Hall. "He pulled a large knife and started chasing people around, trying to attack them," Bower told CNN, adding that he did not see anyone get stabbed. Throughout the attack, the assailant didn't yell or say anything, Bower said. "He was completely silent, which was very creepy. Not even when he was shot," the student said. Artan's rampage ended in less than two minutes thanks to Officer Horujko's quick response, officials said. Horujko called in the car at 9:52 a.m. A few seconds later, he called again to say he had engaged with the suspect. At 9:53 a.m., he called a third time to say he had shot the suspect. It took Horujko three shots to kill Artan, Bower said. "The cop that subdued the guy with the knife saved so many lives today." Investigators used surveillance camera footage to track Artan's car before he arrived on campus, University Police Chief Craig Stone said. By tracing his movements, investigators were able to conclude he was alone in the vehicle and acted alone. Gov. John Kasich praised the response, saying it showed "how much practice, how much training, how much expertise, how much coordination" existed among local law enforcement agencies. "We are a strong, tough, resilient community," he said. Ohio State President Dr. Michael V. Drake and others credited the school's active shooter training and the campus alert system for helping the community maintain order while the scene was secured. Ohio State's Columbus campus is one of the largest in the United States. Nearly 60,000 registered students attend classes on the sprawling urban campus. At 9:55 a.m., three minutes after Horujko's first call, the school sent out a campus alert reporting an active shooter incident. Some students piled chairs against a door to block him from getting in as they awaited word on the attacker's movements. In 911 calls to police, several students described the chaotic scene. About 90 minutes after the first call came in, the lockdown was lifted, Drake said. Students had just returned to class Monday after Thanksgiving break -- and after the OSU football team's big win Saturday over the school's biggest rival, the University of Michigan. Overall, it was "one of those days you're grateful for good training and great people across the board," Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said. In a news conference Monday, Drake cautioned against jumping to conclusions when asked if the incident was terror-related or had anything to do with Ohio's Somali community, the second-largest in the country. "We certainly don't have any evidence that would say that's the case," Drake said. "What we want to do is really unify together and support each other; do our best to support those who were injured in their recovery, and then allow the investigation to take place." ||||| A student drove a car into a crowd of pedestrians at Ohio State University on Monday morning and then jumped out and stabbed several people with a butcher knife, injuring 11 people, before a police officer shot and killed the attacker, officials said. Abdul Razak Ali Artan was shot and killed within minutes after plowing into the group by a police officer with less than two years on the force, said Monica Moll, director of public safety for Ohio State University. "It frankly took a piece out of everybody here at our beautiful Ohio State University that this could have happened here," Ohio Governor John Kasich said at a news conference. A U.S. government official confirmed the assailant was from Somalia, 18 years old and a lawful permanent resident of the United States. A second government source said investigators had reason to believe the attacker at the campus in Columbus was a Somali refugee. Columbus, the state capital, has a large Somali population. U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said intelligence agencies were assisting in the investigation. "It bears the all of the hallmarks of a terror attack carried out by someone who may have been self-radicalized," Schiff said in a statement. Another U.S. official told Reuters U.S. agencies are investigating the Columbus attacker's background and motivations, but cannot clearly say yet whether he had any ties to suspected militant cells or groups. The attack at the Columbus campus, which was initially reported by the university on Twitter as involving an "active shooter," drew a massive response of heavily armed police. The suspect jumped the curb and used the vehicle to strike pedestrians in front of Watts Hall, Moll said. The suspect left the vehicle armed with the knife and stabbed several others, Ohio State University Police Chief Craig Stone said. "This was done on purpose," Stone said. Less than 2 minutes elapsed between the first call for help at 9:52 a.m. local time and the shots fired by campus police officer Alan Horujko, 28, Moll said. The incident follows a stabbing attack in September at the Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where a man whose family came to the United States from Somalia wounded 10 people with a knife before he was shot to death by an off-duty police officer. Authorities last month indicated the Minnesota attacker showed signs of radicalization and a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent said his actions appeared to be "consistent with the philosophies of violent radical Islamic groups." One person was critically injured in Monday's incident, Columbus fire officials said. Eleven people were treated at area hospitals, including 10 taken by ambulance. Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center treated six victims, said Dr. Andrew Thomas, the chief medical officer. They included two with stab wounds and three others who had injuries from being hit with the vehicle. Two other hospitals received five patients, who suffered from lacerations and injuries caused by the vehicle, Thomas said. With nearly 60,000 students, the Columbus campus is the state's flagship public university. CNN aired an image from a room at the university where students had barricaded a door with stacked chairs. Columbus and university police continued their investigation with assistance from the FBI. The attack prompted university officials to warn students on Twitter to shelter in place. The university campus remained open, although classes were canceled for the day. President Barack Obama was briefed on the incident by Lisa Monaco, his homeland security adviser, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. (Reporting by Kim Palmer in Cleveland, Laila Kearney and Franklin Paul in New York, Mark Hosenball and Ayesha Rascoe in Washington and Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif.; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Matthew Lewis) ||||| COLUMBUS: A Somali-born Ohio State University student plowed his car into a group of pedestrians on campus and then got out and began stabbing people with a butcher knife Monday before he was shot to death by an officer. Police said they are investigating whether it was a terrorist attack. ||||| Attacker who wounded 11 at Ohio State University was a student The man who drove a car into a crowd of students at Ohio State University on Monday and then attacked bystanders with a butcher knife, injuring at least 11, has been identified as a student at the university. The suspect, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, who authorities said was about 20 years old, was shot and killed by a university police officer who arrived and brought down the attacker within a minute, officials said. “This happened right before his eyes,” campus Police Chief Craig Stone said of Officer Alan Horujko, 28, who had been in the area on another call. In a previous news conference, Stone said Artan had not “followed” the officer’s commands, and “the officer did what he had to do to end the threat.” Local officials have not suggested a motive for Artan’s actions, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich urged caution while the investigation unfolds. “It’s our job to let the investigation take its due course, and at the end of the day we’ll find out what happened,” Kasich said. “We may never find out (why), but we’re going to have a lot more information. … Right now we have to have patience.” After receiving a briefing on the attack, U.S. Rep. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the incident “bears all of the hallmarks of a terror attack carried out by someone who may have been self-radicalized.” His office declined to release more information on how he reached that conclusion. “The intelligence community is providing all necessary information and support to law enforcement as they investigate this individual’s motivations and background, and we hope to know much more very soon,” Schiff said in a statement. An anonymous U.S. official told The Associated Press that Artan was born in Somalia and was a permanent U.S. resident. In an interview given to the Lantern campus newspaper in August, Artan said he was a Muslim and a new transfer student. Citing negative portrayals of Muslims in the media, he said he was confused and “scared” about where to pray on campus. “I just transferred from Columbus State. We had prayer rooms, like actual rooms where we could go to pray because we Muslims have to pray five times a day,” Artan told the Lantern. “I wanted to pray in the open, but I was kind of scared with everything going on in the media,” Artan said. “I’m a Muslim, it’s not what the media portrays me to be. If people look at me, a Muslim praying, I don’t know what they’re going to think, what’s going to happen.” Artan said he decided to pray in a corner. At least 11 people were treated for injuries at three hospitals, but none of the victims’ injuries was considered life-threatening, said Andrew Thomas, the chief medical officer for the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. The victims were primarily undergraduate and graduate students, and one was a faculty member, Thomas said. The injuries appeared to be evenly split between victims who had been hit by the car and those who had been injured by knife. One victim came forward later because she had been “hiding in place,” Thomas said. She had been comforted by other students as they hid, university President Michael V. Drake said, and another victim had been driven to the hospital by another student, a stranger who had decided to help. Footage published by the Lantern showed a young woman walking toward an ambulance with a pair of medical officials, holding what appeared to be an injured arm in the air. The attack happened at 9:52 a.m., and less than five minutes later, university officials sent out a warning to students on campus: “Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight.” Police later said the attacker did not appear to have a gun and that he appeared to have acted alone. “The guy ended up just coming and hopping the curb with his car and trying to mow down a couple people,” Jerry Kovacich, a third-year student in welding engineering, told the Lantern. “He lost control, and I think he ended up hitting three people, and then people were around the car. Somebody asked him if he was OK and the guy just hopped out of the car with a butcher knife and starting chasing people around.” Horujko, who joined the campus Police Department in January 2015, was on the scene “in less than a minute and ended the situation in less than a minute,” Stone said. “We believe injuries were minimized as a result of that,” said Monica Moll, the university’s public safety director. The attack prompted a campus lockdown as police searched the area for possible other suspects, but the shelter-in-place order was lifted less than two hours later. Officials said they were still waiting on a warrant to search a property associated with Artan. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with the investigation.
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Eleven people are hospitalized, one in critical condition, after a suspect rammed his car into a crowd, and then stabbed numerous people on Ohio State's Columbus campus. Police have declared the scene secure. The suspect, a refugee from Somalia, and a student at the university, is shot and killed by a police officer after he failed to obey orders to stop.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage shows the devastation following the crash near Medellin in Colombia A plane carrying 77 people, including a top Brazilian football team, has crashed on its approach to the city of Medellin in Colombia. Colombia's civil aviation body says only six people survived the crash, blamed on an electrical fault. The chartered aircraft, flying from Brazil via Bolivia, was carrying members of the Chapecoense team. The team had been due to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana, against Medellin team Atletico Nacional. Organisers say Atletico Nacional has asked for Chapecoense to be awarded the cup. Brazilian clubs have offered to lend players to them for free for the next year. Colombian aviation officials said there were 21 journalists on board. What happened? The plane lost contact with ground controllers as it approached Medellin at about 22:15 (03:45 GMT), after the pilot reported an electrical fault. It came down in a mountainous area. At least two of the survivors are footballers. They were confirmed to be defender Alan Ruschel and reserve goalkeeper Jackson Follman. Image copyright AP Image caption The plane was travelling from Brazil via Bolivia Some reports suggest another defender, Helio Neto, was also rescued. Goalkeeper Marcos Padilha, also known as Danilo, was pulled alive from the wreckage but a spokesman said he later died in hospital. The sports network Telemundo Deportes tweeted (in Spanish) that Ruschel was in shock but conscious and talking, and had asked to keep his wedding ring and to see his family. Who are Chapecoense? - Luis Barrucho, BBC Brasil Image copyright AFP Image caption The team were due to play in the first leg of the final of the Copa Sudamericana Shortly before boarding in Sao Paulo, Chapecoense manager Cadu Gaucho, 36, appeared in a video posted on the team's Facebook site [in Portuguese] describing the trip to Medellin as "the club's most important to date". Playing in the final of the Copa Sudamericana was to be the highlight of a glorious season for the team from a small city of less than 200,000 inhabitants in the state of Santa Catarina. Founded in 1973, the team has been playing in Brazil's Serie A since only 2014 but is currently ninth ahead of much more famous and established teams such as Sao Paulo, Fluminense and Cruzeiro. Last week, it became the first Brazilian team in three years to make it to the final of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's second most important club competition, after beating Argentine side San Lorenzo. One of the founders of the club, Alvadir Pelisser, told BBC Brasil the tragedy had put an "end to everyone's dream". "We were a family, I'm shocked," he added. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Rescuers are working in cold, hilly terrain with only hand torches for light Read our coverage in Spanish and in Portuguese What is the reaction? Brazilian President Michel Temer announced three days of national mourning, and top Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona held a minute's silence at the beginning of their practice sessions. Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption Bodies from the crash site were removed at daylight on Tuesday Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption A young boy mourns the team at their stadium in Chapeco - many more have gathered outside Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sports journalist Ricardo Setyon knew some of those on board Chapecoense's vice-president, Ivan Tozzo, told cable channel SporTV: "There are a lot of people crying in our city. We could never imagine this. Chapecoense is the biggest reason for joy here." Goalkeeping coach Marcelo De Quadros Kunst stayed in Brazil with players who did not travel to Colombia. He told the BBC: "We see wives fainting, ambulances taking them to the hospital, family members holding on to football boots left behind." Argentine forward Alejandro Martinuccio was one of those who had to stay behind. "I was saved because I got injured," he told Argentina's La Red radio. "I feel profound sadness. The only thing I can ask is prayers for the companions who were on the flight." Image copyright Twitter/Chapecoense Image caption The Chapecoense badge has changed from green to black on the club's social media account as a mark of respect Other sporting plane crashes September 2011 : 36 players, coaches and officials from Russian ice hockey team Lokomotiv die in a crash north-east of Moscow; : 36 players, coaches and officials from Russian ice hockey team Lokomotiv die in a crash north-east of Moscow; April 1993 : A crash in Libreville, Gabon, kills 18 players from Zambia's male national football team; : A crash in Libreville, Gabon, kills 18 players from Zambia's male national football team; October 1972 : Members of a Uruguyan rugby club were among 29 people who died in a crash in the Andes and in the subsequent freezing conditions; : Members of a Uruguyan rugby club were among 29 people who died in a crash in the Andes and in the subsequent freezing conditions; February 1958: Eight players from English champions Manchester United are among the 29 victims of a crash in Munich Are you in the area? Did you witness the crash or the rescue? Let us know about your experiences. Email [email protected] with your stories. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: ·WhatsApp: +44 7525 900971 ·Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay ·Upload your photos or videos here ·Send an SMS or MMS to +44 7624 800 100 ||||| Officials say six survivors have been rescued from the wreckage of a chartered plane carrying 81 people, including the squad of a top Brazilian football team, which crashed outside the Colombian city of Medellin. Latest updates: Plane carrying 81 crashes in the mountains Plane was carrying team of Chapecoense Real 75 people have been killed Six people survived Authorities investigating whether plane crashed due to electrical failure or ran out of fuel We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras. Please allow a moment for the live blog to load The crash occurred amid poor weather conditions as the plane was on its way to the city's international airport, and the country's civil aviation authority said ambulances and emergency workers had arrived at the scene. Local authorities said there appeared to be survivors, and confirmed the plane was a chartered flight carrying the team of Chapecoense Real for the final of a regional tournament. Shape Created with Sketch. Medellin Plane Crash Show all 17 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Medellin Plane Crash 1/17 Logo of Brazilian football team Chapecoense at the site of the plane crash in a mountainous area outside the Colombian city of Medellin. Plane carrying Brazilian football team Chapecoense crashes in Colombia Rex 2/17 Rescue workers carry the body of a survivor of a plane that crashed in La Union, a mountainous area outside Medellin, Colombia AP 3/17 Rescue workers carry the body of a man from a plane that crashed outside Medellin, Colombia. The plane was carrying the Brazilian first division soccer club Chapecoense team that was on it's way for a Copa Sudamericana final match against Colombia's Atletico Nacional AP 4/17 Medical staff waiting for survivors of the crashed plane carrying the Brazilian football team Chapecoense, at San Juan de Dios La Ceja Hospital, in La Ceja municipality, near Medellin Rex 5/17 Medical staff from the San Juan de Dios hospital transfer 27-year-old Brazilian soccer player Alan Ruschel as he arrives to La Ceja in Colombia Rex 6/17 81 people, including the players of the Brazilian soccer club Chapecoense, crashed in a mountainous area outside Medellin as it was approaching the Jose Maria Cordoba airport EPA 7/17 Medical staff from the San Juan de Dios hospital transfer Brazilian journalist Rafael Henze as he arrives at La Ceja in Colombia after surviving a plane crash EPA 8/17 razil's Chapecoense player Helio Neto is helped by paramedics at the San Juan de Dios clinic in La Ceja. Traveling on the doomed airliner that crashed in Colombia overnight were the players and staff of a Brazilian football club about to complete a fairytale journey from unknowns to would-be South American champions Getty 9/17 Rescue workers search at the wreckage site of a chartered airplane that crashed outside Medellin, Colombia AP 10/17 A charter plane carrying the Chapocoense Real football team crashed in the mountains in Colombia late Monday, killing as many as 75 people, officials said Getty 11/17 Rescuers gesture near the wreckage of the LAMIA airlines charter plane carrying members of the Chapecoense Real football team that crashed in the mountains of Cerro Gordo, municipality of La Union Getty 12/17 Supporters of the Chapcoense FC gathering at the club in Chapeco, Brazil EPA 13/17 Supporters of the Chapcoense FC gathering at the club in Chapeco, Brazil EPA 14/17 People pay tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real who were killed in a plane accident in the Colombian mountains, at the club's Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco Getty 15/17 Fans pay tribute to members of the Chapecoense team in front of the club headquarters, in the city of Chapeco Getty 16/17 People pay tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real who were killed in a plane accident in the Colombian mountains, at the club's Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco Getty 17/17 People pay tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real who were killed in a plane accident in the Colombian mountains, at the club's Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina Getty 1/17 Logo of Brazilian football team Chapecoense at the site of the plane crash in a mountainous area outside the Colombian city of Medellin. Plane carrying Brazilian football team Chapecoense crashes in Colombia Rex 2/17 Rescue workers carry the body of a survivor of a plane that crashed in La Union, a mountainous area outside Medellin, Colombia AP 3/17 Rescue workers carry the body of a man from a plane that crashed outside Medellin, Colombia. The plane was carrying the Brazilian first division soccer club Chapecoense team that was on it's way for a Copa Sudamericana final match against Colombia's Atletico Nacional AP 4/17 Medical staff waiting for survivors of the crashed plane carrying the Brazilian football team Chapecoense, at San Juan de Dios La Ceja Hospital, in La Ceja municipality, near Medellin Rex 5/17 Medical staff from the San Juan de Dios hospital transfer 27-year-old Brazilian soccer player Alan Ruschel as he arrives to La Ceja in Colombia Rex 6/17 81 people, including the players of the Brazilian soccer club Chapecoense, crashed in a mountainous area outside Medellin as it was approaching the Jose Maria Cordoba airport EPA 7/17 Medical staff from the San Juan de Dios hospital transfer Brazilian journalist Rafael Henze as he arrives at La Ceja in Colombia after surviving a plane crash EPA 8/17 razil's Chapecoense player Helio Neto is helped by paramedics at the San Juan de Dios clinic in La Ceja. Traveling on the doomed airliner that crashed in Colombia overnight were the players and staff of a Brazilian football club about to complete a fairytale journey from unknowns to would-be South American champions Getty 9/17 Rescue workers search at the wreckage site of a chartered airplane that crashed outside Medellin, Colombia AP 10/17 A charter plane carrying the Chapocoense Real football team crashed in the mountains in Colombia late Monday, killing as many as 75 people, officials said Getty 11/17 Rescuers gesture near the wreckage of the LAMIA airlines charter plane carrying members of the Chapecoense Real football team that crashed in the mountains of Cerro Gordo, municipality of La Union Getty 12/17 Supporters of the Chapcoense FC gathering at the club in Chapeco, Brazil EPA 13/17 Supporters of the Chapcoense FC gathering at the club in Chapeco, Brazil EPA 14/17 People pay tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real who were killed in a plane accident in the Colombian mountains, at the club's Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco Getty 15/17 Fans pay tribute to members of the Chapecoense team in front of the club headquarters, in the city of Chapeco Getty 16/17 People pay tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real who were killed in a plane accident in the Colombian mountains, at the club's Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco Getty 17/17 People pay tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real who were killed in a plane accident in the Colombian mountains, at the club's Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina Getty The British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane, operated by a charter airline named LaMia, declared an emergency at 10pm Monday (0300 GMT) because of an electrical failure. "It's a tragedy of huge proportions," Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez told Blu Radio on his way to the site in a mountainous area outside the city where aircraft crashed. The aircraft, which made a stop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was transporting the first division Chapecoense soccer team from southern Brazil. The team was scheduled to play Wednesday in the first of a two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin. "May God accompany our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests traveling with our delegation," the club said in a brief statement on its Facebook page. South America's soccer federation extended its condolences to the entire Chapecoense community and said its president, Luis Dominguez, was on his way to Medellin. All soccer activities were suspended until further notice, the organisation said in a statement. ||||| Fuerza a los jugadores de Chapecoense, sus familias y sus seguidores. El Fútbol está de luto. pic.twitter.com/0tA0pmRYTf — Andres Felipe Arcos (@AndresFelipe) November 29, 2016 Dozens of rescuers working through the night were initially heartened after pulling three passengers alive from the wreckage. But as the hours passed, and heavy rainfall and low visibility grounded helicopters and complicated efforts to reach the mountainside crash site, the mood soured to the point that authorities had to freeze until dusk what was by then a body recovery operation. Images broadcast on local television showed three passengers arriving to a local hospital in ambulances on stretchers and covered in blankets connected to an IV. Among the survivors was a Chapecoense defender named Alan Ruschel, who doctors said suffered spinal injuries. Two goalkeepers, Danilo and Jackson Follmann, as well as a member of the team's delegation and a Bolivian flight attendant, were found alive in the wreckage. But Danilo later died while receiving hospital treatment, team spokesman Andrei Copetti told The Associated Press. The plane was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members, aviation authorities said in a statement. Local radio said the same aircraft transported Argentina's national squad for a match earlier this month in Brazil, and previously had transported Venezuela's national team. British Aerospace, which is now known as BAE Systems, says that the first 146-model plane took off in 1981 and that just under 400 — including the successor Avro RJ — were built in total in the U.K. through 2003. It says around 220 of are still in service in a variety of roles, including aerial firefighting and overnight freight services. Alfredo Bocanegra, the head of Colombia's aviation authority, said initial reports suggest the aircraft was suffering electrical problems although investigators were also looking into an account from one of the survivors that the plane had run out of fuel about 5 minutes from its expected landing at Jose Maria Cordova airport outside Medellin. A video published on the team's Facebook page showed the team readying for the flight earlier Monday in Sao Paulo's Guarulhos international airport. It wasn't immediately clear if the team switched planes in Bolivia or just made a stopover with the same plane. The team, from the small city of Chapeco, was in the middle of a fairy tale season. It joined Brazil's first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and made it last week to the Copa Sudamericana finals — the equivalent of the UEFA Europa League tournament — after defeating two of Argentina's fiercest squads, San Lorenzo and Independiente, as well as Colombia's Junior. "This morning I said goodbye to them and they told me they were going after the dream, turning that dream into reality," Chapecoense board member told TV Globo. "The dream was over early this morning." The team is so modest that its 22,000-seat arena was ruled by tournament organizers too small to host the final match, which was instead moved to a stadium 300 miles (480 kilometers) to the north in the city of Curitiba. "This is unbelievable, I am walking on the grass of the stadium and I feel like I am floating," Copetti told the AP. "No one understands how a story that was so amazing could suffer such a devastating reversal. For many people here reality has still not struck." ||||| The chartered aircraft, flying from Bolivia, crashed on its approach to the city of Medellin’s international airport. The flight was carrying members of the Chapecoense football team, airport officials said. Ambulances and rescuers were on their way to the crash site and it is possible there are survivors, the city’s mayor Federico Gutierrez said. The plane crashed in a mountainous area outside the city shortly before midnight local time (5am GMT), according to reports. "It's a tragedy of huge proportions," Mr Gutierrez told Blu Radio as he made his way to the site. It is not clear what caused the crash of the aircraft, a British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane, but Colombia had been hit by heavy rains and thunderstorms in recent hours. The plane was initially reported to be carrying 81 people on board, although it was not known if that figure included the crew. The first division Chapecoense football team, from southern Brazil, were on their way to Colombia for a regional tournament final. They were scheduled to play in the first of a two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin on Wednesday. In a statement on its Facebook page, Chapecoense said: "May God accompany our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests traveling with our delegation." The team said it would refrain from any further statements until it had fully evaluated the extent of the crash. A video published on the team's Facebook page showed the team readying for the flight earlier Monday in Sao Paulo's Guarulhos international airport. The team, from the small city of Chapeco, joined Brazil's first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and made it to the Copa Sudamericana finals last week by defeating Argentina's legendary San Lorenzo squad. ||||| A chartered aircraft with 81 people on board, including a Brazilian first division football team heading to Colombia for a regional tournament final, has crashed on its way to Medellin’s international airport. Aviation authorities said there are reports of at least six survivors. Aviation authorities said there are reports of at least six survivors. “It’s a tragedy of huge proportions,” Medellin’s Mayor Federico Gutierrez Gutierrez told Blu Radio on his way to the site in a mountainous area outside the city where aircraft crashed. Aviation authorities said the aircraft, a British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane operated by a Bolivian charter airline named Lamia, declared an emergency at 10 p.m. Monday (0300 GMT) due to an electrical failure. Authorities and rescuers were immediately activated but an air force helicopter had to turn back due to low visibility. The aircraft, which made a stop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was transporting the first division Chapecoense soccer team from southern Brazil. The team was scheduled to play Wednesday in the first of a two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin. The plane was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members, aviation authorities said in a statement. Local radio said the same aircraft transported Argentina’s national squad for a match earlier this month in Brazil. A video published on the team’s Facebook page showed the team readying for the flight earlier Monday in Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport. The team, from the small city of Chapeco, joined Brazil’s first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and made it to the Copa Sudamericana finals last week by defeating Argentina’s legendary San Lorenzo squad. The South American soccer federation has canceled all activities until further notice as a result of today’s crash. The CONMEBOL federation said in a statement that its president, Alejandro Dominguez, is on his way to Medellin. The first of the two-game Copa Sudamericana final was scheduled to be played Wednesday in Medellin between Chapecoense and Atletico Nacional. ||||| A plane carrying 81 people, including members from Brazil’s Chapecoense football team, has crashed in Colombia. There were 72 passengers and nine crew on board. Some people are reported to have survived, including goalkeeper Alan Ruschel. The team was scheduled to play a Copa Sudamericana finals match against Atlético Nacional in Medellin on Wednesday. Photograph: @AndresFelipe/Twitter
• Brazilian team Chapecoense on board plane that crashed over Colombia – latest
• Who are Chapecoense, the football team involved in the Colombia plane crash? – video ||||| A plane carrying 72 people, including a Brazilian football team, has crashed on its approach to the city of Medellin in Colombia. Details are unclear but some reports say there are survivors. The chartered plane, flying from Bolivia, was carrying members of the Chapecoense football team, airport officials said. The team was due to play in the final of the South American club cup against Medellin team Atletico Nacional. The final has now been suspended. Reports say the plane crashed in a mountainous area outside the city shortly before midnight local time (05:00 GMT). Medellin's Mayor Federico Gutierrez described it as "a tragedy of huge proportions", but added it was possible there were survivors. The Jose Maria Cordova de Rionegro airport, which serves Medellin, posted on its Twitter account: "Confirmed, the aircraft licence number CP2933 was carrying the team @ChapecoenseReal. Apparently there are survivors." ||||| Among the 72 passengers and nine crew were members of Chapecoense Real, a Brazilian football club that was supposed to play against Colombia's Atletico Nacional Wednesday in the South American Cup finals. A plane carrying 81 people, including members of a Brazilian football team, crashed late Monday near the Colombian city of Medellin, officials said. The airport that serves Medellin said that among the 72 passengers and nine crew were members of Chapecoense Real, a Brazilian football club that was supposed to play against Colombia's Atletico Nacional Wednesday in the South American Cup finals. "Confirmed, the aircraft license number CP2933 was carrying the team @ChapecoenseReal. Apparently there are survivors," the Jose Maria Cordova de Rionegro airport said on its Twitter account. The LAMIA aircraft was flying from Bolivia to Medellin when it crashed in an area called Cerro Gordo about 50 kilometers from the city, Colombia's second largest. "It appears that the plane ran out of fuel," Elkin Ospina, the mayor of the nearby town of La Ceja, told AFP. He said authorities were on the scene and hospitals and medical centres were preparing to receive the injured. On its Twitter account, the Medellin airport said the crash site could only be reached overland because of bad weather in the area. Colombia's civil aeronautics agency said it had a team at the airport in response to the crash. ||||| A chartered aircraft with 81 on board, including a Brazilian football team heading to Colombia for a regional tournament final, has crashed on its way to Medellin’s international airport. Officials from the airport reported only six survivors in a statement. The plane had declared an emergency due to power failure before losing contact with the control tower. Colombia has been hit by heavy storms which are hampering rescue efforts. “The site of the accident is only accessible by land due to climatic conditions and low visibility,” a statement from the airport said. “The Colombian Air Force deployed a search and rescue helicopter which had to cancel the mission due to the adverse conditions. “According to the authorities the police are mobilising all possible help since they are reporting six survivors.” Officials said the plane was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members. Medellin’s airport confirmed that the aircraft, which made a stop in Bolivia, was taking the first division Chapecoense football team from southern Brazil. The team was due to play on Wednesday in the first of a two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin. The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) expressed its alarm as details of the crash emerged. Its statement noted that different information was emerging through various sources, and said: “Chapecoense Football Club, through its vice-president Ivan Tozzo, reserves the right to wait for the official announcement from the Colombian air authority, in order to issue any official note about the accident. “God be with our athletes, management, journalists and other guests who are with the delegation.” Newspaper El Colombiano reported the plane went missing at around 10pm local time on Monday (3am Irish time on Tuesday). The same newspaper said one footballer was among the survivors and had been taken to hospital. “It’s a tragedy of huge proportions,” Medellin’s mayor Federico Gutierrez told Blu Radio on his way to the site in a mountainous area outside the city where the chartered aircraft has crashed. A video published on the team’s Facebook page showed players readying for the flight earlier on Monday in Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport. The team, from the small city of Chapeco, joined Brazil’s first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and made it to the Copa Sudamericana finals last week by defeating Argentina’s legendary San Lorenzo squad. ||||| BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A chartered aircraft with 81 people on board, including a Brazilian first division soccer team heading to Colombia for a regional tournament final, has crashed on its way to Medellin’s international airport. Aviation authorities said there are reports of at least six survivors. “It’s a tragedy of huge proportions,” Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez told Blu Radio on his way to the site in a mountainous area outside the city where aircraft crashed. Aviation authorities said the British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane, operated by a Bolivian charter airline named Lamia, declared an emergency at 10 p.m. Monday (0300 GMT) due to an electrical failure. Authorities and rescuers were immediately activated but an air force helicopter had to turn back because of low visibility. They urged journalists to stay away from the hard-to-access zone and stay off the roads to facilitate the entry of ambulances and rescuers. The area has been hit by heavy rains in recent days. An ambulance transporting a male passenger with oxygen and covered in a blanket arrived on a stretcher to a local hospital, Blu Radio reported. He was apparently alive. The aircraft, which made a stop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was transporting the first division Chapecoense soccer team from southern Brazil. The team was scheduled to play Wednesday in the first of a two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin. The plane was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members, aviation authorities said in a statement. Local radio said the same aircraft transported Argentina’s national squad for a match earlier this month in Brazil, and previously had transported Venezuela’s national team. A video published on the team’s Facebook page showed the team readying for the flight earlier Monday in Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport. The team, from the small city of Chapeco, was in the middle of a fairy tale season. It joined Brazil’s first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and made it last week to the Copa Sudamericana finals — the equivalent of the UEFA Europa League tournament — after defeating Argentina’s San Lorenzo squad.
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A chartered Avro RJ85 plane carrying at least 81 people, including the Chapecoense football team, crashes near Medellín, Colombia. Rescuers report at least six survivors have been found in the wreckage. The 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals are suspended.
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After months of wrangling, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Wednesday decided to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels a day. Here's a recap of MarketWatch's live blog of the OPEC meeting and the market reaction. 11:34 am | It's official - OPEC agrees to production cut It’s official now — OPEC has agreed to cut daily production by 1.2 million barrels a day to 32.5 million. That confirms previous media reports that the cartel was taking steps to limit production. Speaking at a press conference in Vienna after Wednesday’s meeting, Qatar energy minister and president of the OPEC Conference, Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada called the decision a “historic moment” and a “great success”. The cut will come into effect in January. OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia will tak thee biggest output reduction at about 486,000 barrels a day, according to Al-Sada. On top of the 1.2 million-barrels-a-day OPEC cut, key non-OPEC producers have agreed to scale back their production by 600,000 barrels a day, with Russia taking on half of that cut. Al-Sada also confirmed that Indonesia, which had rejoined OPEC as a member less than a year ago after a suspension in 2009, has asked OPEC to suspend its membership. Indonesia expressed difficulty in participating in the deal because it is a net importer of oil, he said. Oil prices jumped to fresh intraday highs after Al-Sada’s comments. Crude oil for January surged by as much as 9.2% to $49.37 a barrel, while Brent for February logged a 9.6% gain to $51.84. OPEC press conference finally underway!#OOTT#OPECpic.twitter.com/isNLuO30Ks — Sara Sjölin (@sarasjolin) November 30, 2016 10:43 am | Inventories fall And in non-OPEC related oil news today, the latest U.S. inventory figures are in. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said domestic crude supplies in the week ended Nov. 25 fell by 900,000 barrels. That was a bigger fall than the drop of 250,000 barrels expected by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts. Oil prices held to gains after the data, with crude up 7.1% to $48.45 a barrel. Such a gain would be the biggest for a front-runner contract since February. Oil is holding to gain as we wait for the OPEC press conference and the final details of the output deal. https://t.co/Cl1ZyMdWMZpic.twitter.com/s5kJqDEgbT — Sara Sjölin (@sarasjolin) November 30, 2016 10:26 am | Managing expectations As we wait for the list of country quotas and final details of the OPEC output deal to emerge, analysts have started to question how bullish this agreement really is for the oil market. James Williams, energy economist at WTRG Economics, points out that if the reported 1.2 million-barrel reduction per day includes the exclusion of Indonesia, then the cut is really only about 500,000 barrels a day. “The loss of Indonesia in and of itself is a non event. If they are counting its exit as part of the 1.2 million cut, then the agreement is not very bullish,” he said. Tyler Richey, co-editor of the 7:00’s Report, also pointed out that Indonesia’s output won’t just disappear. “But rather it will be added to the ‘non-OPEC’ production figures, which will balance out in the broad global oil supply and demand equation,” he said. Oil prices have come off their intraday highs ahead of the news conference, but are still showing solid gains. WTI crude oil is up 7.3% at $48.54 a barrel, while Brent is 7.7% higher at $49.93. 10:02 am | The Indonesia surprise One of the big surprises from today’s OPEC meeting was that Indonesia was booted from the cartel. The country’s output quota is said to have been redistributed to some of the remaining OPEC members. “Indonesia is irrelevant to OPEC and really should not have been admitted back in. It used to be a net exporter of crude oil and while it produces 722,000 barrels per day of oil and does export some, it is a net importer of petroleum. It consumes twice as much as it produces,” said James Williams, energy economist at WTRG Economics. “Until about 2003 it produced more than it consumed. Since it is a net importer, it really wants lower not higher oil prices and just does not belong in OPEC.” 9:56 am | Waiting for press conference | by Sara Sjolin The closely watched OPEC meeting in Vienna has now concluded for the delegates to have lunch and a statement is expected later this afternoon. A press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. Eastern/3 p.m. London) and can be watched live here. The group has reportedly agreed to cut daily production to 32.5 million barrels, with Saudi Arabia taking a “big hit” and Iran allowed to ramp up production to presanction levels. 9:33 am | Latest news from meeting | by Sara Sjolin Reuters is now also reporting that OPEC has agreed to cut output, but gives no details on the actual amount. The deal was sealed as Saudi Arabia said it was prepared to take “a big hit” on its production and agree to let rival Iran increase production to presanction levels, according to the newswire. In other headlines out of Vienna just now, according to reports: - Saudi Arabia will cut output to 10.06 million barrels a day. The nation produced 10.55 million barrels a day in November, according to Vienna-based JBC Energy - Iranian output will be capped at 3.797 million barrels a day, enough to allow the country to return to presanction levels - The output deal will be effective in January and will last for six months, but can be extended - Indonesia is said to have been suspended from OPEC, with some of the remaining member states snapping up the country’s quota Reports: #OPEC has removed Indonesia’s membership, giving it 740k b/d of wiggle room. Sort of like cutting off your arm to lose weight #OOTT — Sam Wilkin (@MrSamWilkin) November 30, 2016 8:55 am | Don't expect oil to top $55 even with OPEC deal | by William Watts Even if OPEC does finalize a deal today, the oil market is still likely to see a “sizeable oversupply” in 2017, write analysts at Vienna-based JBC Energy. That’s because non-OPEC producers, particularly U.S. shale players, are “ready to step in and compensate for any significant cut that temporarily spurs prices,” they said. That means it’s unlikely OPEC will offer a plan “decisive enough to target a longer term upside to prices and consequently do not expect to see prices move sustainably above $55 per barrel next year.” The analysts offer OPEC some advice, however, saying the cartel would be more likley to succeed if it aimed to defend the downside to prices at, for example, an OPEC basket price of $40 a barrel. “To do this some sort of conditional cut mechanism could be created that would be triggered if the price undershoots the floor level for longer than a predefined period,” they wrote. “Ultimately, however, such a mechanism would be prone to the same difficult questions, i.e. who cuts; by how much; and according to which statistics.” 8:49 am | OPEC agrees to cut output, Bloomberg says | by Sara Sjolin The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has agreed to cut oil production for the first time in eight years. The cartel will reduce its total supply by 1.2 million barrels a day to 32.5 million barrels a day, according to Bloomberg, citing a delegate to the group. That’s slightly lower than rumors earlier in the day that said OPEC was ready to cut production by 1.4 million barrels a day. Security gathering outside Opec HQ in Vienna. Could be a sign that ministers are about to emerge. #oott — OlegT (@Oleg_T1980) November 30, 2016 Oil prices held on to their sharp gains, with WTI crude up 7.5% at $48.69 a barrel and Brent oil 8.1% higher at $50.13. “This is certainly the best present traders could have for Christmas – a supply cut from OPEC. The cartel has shown united front and this is what matters the most. There have been so many doubts over the year if they have the ability to deliver anything and today they have,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK, in a note. 8:20 am | Canadian dollar sees delayed boost on OPEC hopes | by William Watts Oil's been soaring on expectations for an OPEC deal, but the Canadian dollar saw something of a delayed reaction, with the U.S. dollar "belatedly" dipping below C$1.34 earlier this morning, wrote Jeremy Stretch, macro strategist at CIBC, in a note. Stretch remains skeptical of a sustained rally by the loonie barring a much more aggressive OPEC deal than currently anticipated. He writes: Despite the breach of the 1.34 threshold we remain well away from strong support, in line with the 50-day MAV, currently 1.3319. While hopes for a somewhat larger production cut, taking output towards the lower end of the Algiers range are increasingly being discounted even this may not be enough to encourage WTI to rally beyond recent highs at USD49.20p/b. Thus unless oil rallies more aggressively than expected we would look to buy USD CAD dips back towards support. 7:48 am | If there is no deal? | by Sara Sjolin Oil prices are surging on the prospect of an OPEC deal, but what if there is no agreement to cut production today? Analysts at Commerzbank said in a note out earlier this morning that the oil market would be "significantly oversupplied" without an output reduction. "If no agreement is reached, the oil price is likely to plunge back towards the $40 per barrel mark," they said. What happens if there is no OPEC production deal today? Prices could crash to $40, Commerzbank says #OOTT#OPECpic.twitter.com/ZiqrK0BEQG — Sara Sjölin (@sarasjolin) November 30, 2016 7:31 am | Oil price stats | by Sara Sjolin The sharp rallies in oil prices today are by no means unusual for an OPEC meeting. As this chart below shows, prices have moved sharply higher following other key summits this year, including the April meeting in Doha and the Algiers gathering in September. AN UPDATE ON THE PRICE ACTION AFTER EACH OF THE MAJOR #OPEC MEETINGS THIS YEAR. #OOTTpic.twitter.com/na5eKSh6mX — Samir (Sam) Madani (@Samir_Madani) November 30, 2016 Samir Madani is the culprit behind the #OOTT, the hashtag for the Organization of Oil-Trading Tweeters 7:20 am | Russia ruble rallies | by Sara Sjolin The ruble is one of the big winners today as the OPEC output deal gets closer. The Russian currency jumped 1.7% against to the dollar. The greenback was buying 64.035 rubles, compared with 65.110 late Tuesday in New York. Russia is said to consider cutting production beyond the expected OPEC output agreement. The cartel has proposed that non-OPEC members should reduce production by a total of 600,000 million barrels a day, with 400,000 of those coming from Russia. However, an energy source from the country called that number “a bit excessive”. *RUSSIA SAID TO CONSIDER 200K B/D OIL CUT IF THERE’S OPEC DEAL. BBG. #OOTT — Lee Saks (@Lee_Saks) November 30, 2016 7:08 am | U.S. energy stocks rally premarket | by Sara Sjolin The positive noises out of the OPEC meeting in Vienna is helping lift U.S. oil majors premarket this morning. Energy stocks are the S&P 500’s biggest premarket gainers as hopes rise that OPEC will make a deal $XLEhttps://t.co/WEUC6ZimCZpic.twitter.com/8Wm4rsZsgT — Victor Reklaitis (@vicrek) November 30, 2016 The Velocity Shares 3x Crude Oil ETF, or UWTI, surged 24% ahead of the bell as well. U.S. stock-index futures were also higher. 7:04 am | Deal getting closer | by Sara Sjolin OPEC delegates meeting in Vienna are very close to reaching a deal to curb oil output, according to reports. *OPEC VERY CLOSE TO A DEAL TO CUT SUPPLY BY 1.4M B/D: DELEGATE *OPEC ALSO CLOSE TO SECURING 600K B/D NON-OPEC CUT: DELEGATE — Nour E. Al-Hammoury (@NourHammoury) November 30, 2016 A deal to cut supply by 1.4 million barrels a day would be larger than the 1.2 million reported earlier on Wednesday. January Brent oil broke above $50 a barrel after the news, up 8.1%. WTI oil jumped 7.8% to $48.75. 6:50 am | Saudis to accept Iran output | by Sara Sjolin Saudi Arabia is said to accept Iran pumping 3.9 million barrels of oil a day within a broader OPEC deal on total cartel production. According to both Bloomberg and Energy Intelligence, the OPEC kingpin is willing to let its rival boost output to around its pre-sanctions level, which was 3.975 million barrels a day. Such a move would clear one of the major hurdles in reaching a deal in Vienna today, as Iran has repeatedly insisted it would not agree to any cuts or freeze until it was back at normal levels. #OPEC delegates tell @energyintel that saudi is willing to accept 3.9 for #Iran as we reported before #OOTT — Amena Bakr (@Amena__Bakr) November 30, 2016 6:32 am | 4 possible outcomes | by Sara Sjolin As the OPEC delegates head into their closed meeting, here’s a recap of the four possible outcomes of today’s meeting, as sketched out by our commodities guru Myra Saefong. 1) OPEC members agree to cut production 2) OPEC fails to reach a collective agreement on output 3) OPEC freezes output at record levels 4) OPEC postpones an agreement Initial comments from OPEC delegates suggest they are determined to reach a deal today, although some — including Indonesia’s oil minister — have said there are still issues that needs to be resolved. 6:18 am | Russia pushes back | by Sara Sjolin Russia is now pushing back against OPEC’s proposed output cuts by non-cartel members. According to Reuters, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries wanted non-OPEC producers to slash production by 600,000 barrels a day, with 400,000 of those coming from Russia. However, an energy source from the country calls that number “a bit excessive”. #Russia energy source says 400K bpd cut in #oil output floated by #OPEC might be “a bit excessive” – sounds almost British… pic.twitter.com/4dhcNfDGoN — Amanda Cooper (@a_coops1) November 30, 2016 The comments have dond little to temper the rally in oil prices. January WTI is still up 6.5% at $48.15 a barrel, while Brent for the same month is 7% higher at $49.67. 6:06 am | Size of cuts | by Sara Sjolin The latest reports out of Vienna suggest OPEC is considering a larger-than-expected output cut. Reuters is reporting that the cartel is considering cutting by 1.4 million barrels a day, up from the 1.2 million barrels initially expected. [BREAKING] Output production cut seen at 1.4mbpd up from 1.2mbpd – Reuters sources — Livesquawk (@Livesquawk) November 30, 2016 There are also reports that non-OPEC countries might cut output by 600,000 barrels a day, with Russia accounting for 400,000 of those. OMG!!!! #OPEC#OOTThttps://t.co/watWXQwG1s — Amena Bakr (@Amena__Bakr) November 30, 2016 Oil prices rallied to new intraday highs after those reports, with crude for January now up 6.3% to $48.07 a barrel. Such a move is the biggest for a front-runner contract since April. However, a deal on Wednesday could still be derailed. Indonesian oil minister Ignasius Jonan said there are still issues to resolve and that wouldn’t be easy to do, according to The Wall Street Journal. 5:30 am | Brent climbs above $50 Brent for February has jumped back above the $50-a-barrel handle this morning after several OPEC delegates struck an optimistic tone that an output deal can be reached later today. The contract briefly jumped as much as 6% to an intra-day high of $50.15 a barrel, before slipping back to $49.81. But that's still a 5.3% rise on Tuesday's settlement of $47.32, according to FactSet data. The Brent January contract, which expires at the end of trade on Wednesday, was up 5.6% at $48.98 a barrel. Analysts at Goldman Sachs said earlier this week that "if the proposed OPEC production cut to 32.5 million barrels a day is agreed to, we would expect prices to rally to the low $50s a barrel." Brent oil for February has moved above the $50 mark after positive noises from the OPEC meeting. #OOTT#OPEChttps://t.co/Cl1ZyMdWMZpic.twitter.com/n5weMgcylA — Sara Sjölin (@sarasjolin) November 30, 2016 5:14 am | Opening statement in full Here's the opening address from the OPEC summit by Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar's Minister of Energy and Industry and President of the OPEC Conference. Highlights include: "OPEC fully appreciates the importance of bringing forward the rebalancing of the fundamentals and returning sustainable stability to the market. This will be beneficial to our economies, the global oil market and the world economy as a whole." "The past month or so has shown that price volatility is still a significant concern." "[The] persistent stock overhang, as well as the recent price volatility, has sharpened our minds. All producers now understand the gravity of the situation. And I should add that all consumers should comprehend the gravity of the situation too." "We need to ask ourselves whether the situation that has evolved over the past two years or so is putting this future at risk. Global spending on exploration and production investments fell in both 2015 and 2016, and some are now even talking about this continuing. A third year of investment falls would be unprecedented for the industry." 5:07 am | Boost to Europe's oil giants Oil producers and energy-related companies in Europe are also getting a boost from the optimism in Vienna. Shares of Tullow Oil are up 5.2%, Galp Energia has jumped 3.9%, BP is up 2.3% and Royal Dutch Shell has risen 2.9%. The moves have helped lift the Stoxx Europe 600 oil and gas index this morning, trading up 1.4%. 4:54 am | Saudi Arabia hints deal could come today Saudi Arabia says there is a “good chance” the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will agree on a deal to curb oil production. Speaking ahead of the closed session, the country’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih said he hopes an agreement will come later today and that Iran will be allowed to ramp-up production to pre-sanctions levels. He also said he hopes non-OPEC countries will follow suit and cut output. The Saudi oil boss, however, sought to manage expectations, adding that fundamentals are moving in the right direction and that oil markets would survive without a deal. LATEST: “I hope we will have a deal” on OPEC output, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister says https://t.co/XSF13iEApzpic.twitter.com/6Uvo7Ja2TT Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zanganeh also struck an upbeat tone, saying there is no finalized deal yet, but that he is optimistic about the outcome. Whether or not Iran would back an agreement to limit OPEC production has been one of major obstacles in completing the output plan. The country is still boosting output after sanctions were lifted in January, and the oil minister had repeatedly said Iran would not agree to any cuts before its production was back to normal. Oil prices rallied after the comments from the oil ministers, with West Texas Intermediate up 4.9% at $47.44 a barrel. Brent rose 5.2% to $48.80. 4:23 am | U.S. premarket winners | by Victor Reklaitis As crude prices jump, energy-related stocks are the S&P 500's biggest premarket winners, helping S&P futures rise modestly. Transocean is up 4%, Chesapeake is tacking on 3%, and Valero is gaining 2%. 4:21 am All of the OPEC ministers have now arrived at the meeting in Vienna, and we are waiting for the opening statement before the closed session starts at noon Austria time. The initial comments from various delegates, including Iraq, Algeria, Iran, the UAE and OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo indicate the 14 members are getting closer to reaching a deal on how to limit output. According to The Wall Street Journal, an agreement that would ask 10 OPEC members to cut 4.5% of output has been circulated in Vienna. The deal would exempt Libya and Nigeria because they are still ramping up production after armed conflicts and civil unrest in those countries. "There are a few scenarios which can be played out today when it comes to the OPEC meeting. Our base case scenario is that there will be a deal, and the cartel will deliver some positive news," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets, in a note. "The expectations are that we may get a supply cut of one million b/d, but we believe that is way too much optimistic. We contemplate that the cut will be between 0.5-0.8 million b/d," he added. 3:54 am | Oil rallies on upbeat OPEC comments Oil prices are leaping higher after reports OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said a deal to balance the struggling market will be done today. Crude oil has jumped 3.8% to $46.92 a barrel, while Brent is up 4.1% at $48.25. There have also been positive noises coming from Algeria and Nigeria, with both saying a deal to curb production will be hammered out at the meeting in Vienna, according to Reuters. Additionally, Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zanganeh, who has insisted his country won’t limit its production, said he has “good expectations” of an agreement on output cuts after receiving proposals that were acceptable to Iran. We are still waiting to hear from OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia. Wow - oil now up almost 4% on positive noises from OPEC ministers that a deal can be agreed today #OOTT#OPEChttps://t.co/Mc2hc9GnKmpic.twitter.com/tUWQiABbRg — Sara Sjölin (@sarasjolin) November 30, 2016 3:25 am | Key times to watch | by Sara Sjolin We expect lots of chatter and rumors throughout the day, but here are the key official times to watch for the OPEC meeting: 9:20 a.m. Vienna time (3:20 a.m. Eastern/8:20 a.m. London) OPEC has said it would offer a live webcast of the events, including interviews, starting at about this time. You can find the link here. 10 a.m. Vienna time (4 a.m. Eastern/9 a.m. London): Opening session The tentative program shows that the opening address will be presented at this time by the president of the OPEC Conference, Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada, who is also Qatar’s minister of energy and industry. Noon Vienna time (6 a.m. Eastern, 11 a.m. London): Closed session OPEC heads of delegation, Secretary-General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, and Chairman of Board of Governors Mohamed Hamel, will convene behind closed doors. For the next four hours, their discussions will include attempts to come to a compromise on production levels to help boost oil prices. 4 p.m. Vienna time (10 a.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. London): Press conference President of the Conference al-Sada and Secretary-General Barkindo will hold a press conference announcing the outcome of the meeting. OPEC will offer the text of the conclusion speech on its website shortly afterward. 3:24 am | Deal or no deal? Good morning. It's a big day for oil markets. The OPEC meeting in Vienna that traders and analysts have keenly been discussing, fretting over and awaiting for months is finally kicking off this morning. The issue is simple: Will the 14 cartel members agree on measures to freeze or cut oil production in a bid to stabilize the struggling market? The organization in late September agreed on an accord to target production between 32.5 million and 33 million barrels a day, effectively pointing to a production cut from current levels around 33.83 million barrels a day in October. The finals details and implementation plans are what's supposed to be hashed out today. The process to get there, however, is not as simple. While there seems to be broad consensus that some action is needed, a potential deal is being hobbled by political issues and disputes over country quotas. Read: The 4 most likely outcomes, and market reactions, ahead of the OPEC meeting Iran, for example, insists it won't curb production as it ramps up supply following years of sanctions from the U.S. and Europe. Meanwhile, OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia stands firm that there won't be any output plan without Tehran playing a meaningful role. In early Wednesday trade, crude oil prices were up 1.7% at $46 a barrel, while Brent was up 2% at $47.29 a barrel. ||||| Oil futures rallied Wednesday to settle at their highest level since late October after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced its first agreement in eight years to cut its crude production. January West Texas Intermediate crude CLF27, -49.47% rose $4.21, or 9.3%, to settle at $49.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Oct. 27 and prices scored their strongest one-day percentage gain since February, according to FactSet data. It gained about 5.5% for the month, based on the most-active contracts. ||||| The oil cartel finalized an agreement on Wednesday to cut its overall production by 1.2 million barrels a day. Crude prices boomed by almost 9% to $49.20 per barrel as investors cheered the long-awaited deal. The agreement will set OPEC's new production ceiling at 32.5 million barrels a day starting in January. That's down from the 33.6 million barrels a day the group pumped in October. "We have been able to reach an agreement," said Qatar's oil minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada. "This agreement is out of the sense of responsibility for OPEC member countries, for non-OPEC countries, for the general well-being and the health of the world economy." Indonesia had decided to suspend its membership of OPEC because it could not agree to the production cut, he added. The agreement will see most OPEC countries cut their production by around 4.6%. Saudi Arabia, the group's biggest producer, will see its output decline by almost 500,000 barrels a day. The agreement hinges on the cooperation of major non-OPEC producers, who must also cut their production by a combined 600,000 barrels a day. Al-Sada, who is also OPEC's president, said that Russia had agreed to slash its production by 300,000 barrels a day. The idea is that a production cut will help boost crude prices, which have already risen from $26 per barrel in February. The meeting, which was held in Vienna, caps months of fraught negotiations that pitted the cartel's de-facto leader Saudi Arabia against its regional rival Iran. Iran's production level was a key sticking point in negotiations. Tehran had insisted on keeping its production near 4 million barrels a day, which is the amount it was pumping before sanctions were imposed. The agreement reached Wednesday allows Iran to ramp up production by 90,000 barrels a day to just below 3.8 million barrels a day. That's a daily boost of 1 million barrels over its 2015 average. Libya and Nigeria have also been granted an exemption from the cut. Both countries had seen their production drop because of of armed conflict. Related: It's OPEC vs. Trump on oil In September, producers achieved a breakthrough and preliminarily agreed to trim output for the first time since 2008. The tentative agreement sent crude soaring above $50 a barrel -- but the lack of agreement on final details caused investors to worry that the deal may fall through. Al-Sada as asked during a press conference to address whether OPEC was still a vital organization. "OPEC is still OPEC," he said. "Today's unity is a very explicit sign about the position of OPEC." ||||| VIENNA -- OPEC ministers agreed Wednesday to cut crude-oil output, scrapping a strategy to squeeze U.S. competition through high supply that had backfired by gutting prices and draining the cartel's own economies. It was the first agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel to reduce output since 2008. The reduction of 1.2 million barrels a day is significant, leaving OPEC's daily output at 32.5 million barrels. And OPEC President Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada said non-OPEC nations are expected to pare an additional 600,000 barrels a day off their production. "The economics of this deal made so much sense for everybody," Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said on Bloomberg TV. "All the parties involved should view this as successful." The combined cut will result, at least in the short term, in somewhat more pricey oil -- and, by extension, gasoline, heating and electricity. The price for Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, jumped 8.3 percent, or $3.86, to $50.24 on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery rose $4.21, or 9.3 percent, to $49.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The average price for a gallon of gasoline nationally rose 2 cents Wednesday to $2.15, up from a $2.04 a year ago, according to auto club AAA. In Arkansas, gasoline cost $1.91 a gallon Wednesday, up from $1.87 a year ago. In the longer term, analysts say it's unlikely that oil will return to the highs of around $100 a barrel last seen two years ago. That's partly because President-elect Donald Trump has promised to free up more oil drilling in the U.S., which would increase global supply. Demand is also not recovering as the world economy sags. Calling the agreement "a historic moment," Al-Sada said Wednesday's move "will definitely balance the market and help [in] reducing the stock overhang." Al-Sada said the OPEC cutback is to take effect Jan. 1, with consultations planned on the exact timing of the non-OPEC reductions. Russia alone is committed to taking 300,000 barrels a day off the market. A barrel of oil contains 42 gallons. With the production cut, OPEC will not only benefit from gaining more dollars per barrel, but it can also lay claim once again to playing a part in influencing world prices. And analysts said OPEC's tentative alliance with Russia and other non-OPEC nations may give it -- and them -- additional clout in future competition for market share with U.S. producers, which are sure to return in increasing numbers if crude prices move upward. Wednesday's decision was a departure from years of infighting among members refusing to give up their market share and a resulting series of inconclusive meetings. In another reflection of newfound discipline within the cartel, Al-Sada said Indonesia's membership had been suspended after it refused to accept its share of proposed output cuts, reducing the number of OPEC countries to 13. Part of the focus after Wednesday's decision is how well it holds. OPEC gave up assigning quotas in part because members have ignored them in their quest for petrodollars. But officials were displaying new confidence. In comments addressed to people who question his organization's relevance, Al-Sada said its decision "means the weight of OPEC and the resiliency of OPEC is still there and it will continue to be there." "Today's unity is a very explicit sign about the position of OPEC," he said. Meetings to turn the planned non-OPEC cuts into reality are planned next month in Doha, Qatar. From Moscow, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak confirmed his country's readiness to pare 300,000 barrels from its output, adding that it would happen gradually "within a short period of time based on technical capacity." Al-Sada said the OPEC cutbacks are in effect for six months with the option of renewal after a review by a five-nation committee set up to monitor compliance. Still, analysts suggested price upswings would be relatively moderate -- and the fallout minimal, at least for the United States. Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said oil should rise to an average $53 a barrel next year. For the U.S. economy, that's "a sweet spot ... a high-enough price to spur investment in the energy industry but not enough to seriously drain purchasing power" of consumers, he said. "The losers are Europe and Japan -- oil-importing regions of the world" with barely growing economies, said Guatieri. Some of the best performers in U.S. stock markets Wednesday were those hardest hit by the downturn in oil prices that started in mid-2014 and accelerated five months later when OPEC declined to reduce output. California Resources Corp. and Oasis Petroleum Inc. were among the day's biggest gainers, posting advances of more than 25 percent each. Continental Resources Inc., whose majority owner Harold Hamm predicted as far back as 2014 that OPEC would crack before U.S. shale drillers, surged 25 percent. "Assuming OPEC makes good on an apparent production-cut deal, U.S. oil production growth is all but guaranteed to return in 2017," said Joseph Triepke, founder of Infill Thinking, a Dallas-based oil research firm, and a former analyst at Citadel LLC's Surveyor Capital unit. "All U.S. [shale] plays will benefit, but none more than the Permian, where we estimate as many as 150 rigs could be reactivated next year if the OPEC deal holds." Shares of rig operators and the companies that help explorers fracture and perform other technical tasks involved in pumping crude from the ground jumped the most in seven years, mirroring the gains for oil producers buoyed by the OPEC deal. While an OPEC cut would be encouraging, investors should avoid "sharp recovery hype" and be selective, oil-field services analyst Matt Marietta told clients in a research note Wednesday. "We reiterate our view that structurally oversupplied crude markets will take more time to balance," wrote Marietta, a Stephens Inc. analyst in Houston. "The math suggests an ongoing imbalance is likely to persist well into 2017, even with an OPEC cut, and no U.S. growth." One of the biggest hurdles to Wednesday's deal had been a rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose struggle for dominance in the Mideast is also playing out in OPEC. The Saudis had long been hesitant to shoulder the lion's share of a cut, while Iran had resisted reducing its own production. It argued that it has yet to recover its output levels hit by years of sanctions and that the onus was on the desert kingdom to pare the most. Reflecting their compromise, documents from the meeting showed the Saudis committed to chopping 486,000 barrels off the 10.544 million barrels they were pumping as of October. Iran's quota was set at 3.797 million barrels a day, down 90,000 barrels from October. All other members cut as well, ranging from tiny Gabon's 9,000-barrel reduction to an Iraqi drop of a daily 210,000 barrels. Nonmember Russia was producing over 11 million barrels a day in October. Information for this article was contributed by George Jahn, Kiyoko Metzler, Paul Wiseman and Vladimir Isachenkov of The Associated Press and by Joe Carroll, Alex Nussbaum, Alix Steel, Mark Shenk and David Wethe of Bloomberg News. ||||| The first oil supply cut decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since 2008 led to further gains in the stocks of domestic upstream oil and gas companies apart from companies providing offshore oil & gas drilling service and equipment suppliers for offshore drilling. Sustaining the overnight gains made on Wednesday after OPEC agreed to cut crude oil production from January 1, international crude oil futures traded around $50 per barrel at 7 pm on Thursday with WTI crude futures priced at $50.40 per barrel while Brent crude futures priced at 50.47 per barrel. The current crude oil futures price is almost double of $26.05 per barrel that it had slumped to on February 11, 2016 leading to a negative impact on economies of oil producing countries worldwide like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Brazil, Norway The gainers among the upstream oil and gas companies on Thursday included GAIL (3.51 per cent), Oil India (2.25 per cent), ONGC (1.11 per cent) while Cairn India fell 1.05 per cent on profit taking after the stock price rose in early trade. Companies providing offshore service, equipments for oil & gas drilling have gained more in the past two sessions. On Thursday the gainers were Aban Offshore (4.01 per cent), GOL Offshore (8.82 per cent), Dolphin Offshore (6.19 per cent), Hindustan Oil Exploration Company(5.03 per cent) while Alphageo India closed 0.40 per cent lower as there was some profit taking on the counter towards the close of the trade for the day. Speciality chemicals maker for oil drilling Vikas WSP rose 7.43 per cent. However, shares of oil refining and marketing companies had mixed results with HPCL down 4.90 per cent, BPCL down 2.20 per cent per cent and Indian Oil Corporation was down 2.60 per cent while Reliance Industries was up 0.45 per cent. OPEC member countries for the first time in 8 years agreed to curtail crude oil production by 1.2 million barrel per day to 32.5 million barrels per day (mn b/d) from January 1, 2017 to balance global crude supply and demand. OPEC’s agreement is apparently contingent on a reduction in supply by major non-OPEC producers to the extent of 0.6 mn b/d, including 0.3 mn b/d from Russia; OPEC is scheduled to meet key non-OPEC countries on December 9. After an initial rise in the crude oil price in the past two days, analysts expect the rice recovery not sustainable beyond USD 60-65 per barrel due to subsequent price driven growth in US production, rising production from Brazil, recovery in production in Canada and commissioning of the giant Kashagan field in Kazakhstan, said a report by Kotak Institutional Equities Research. The current crude oil futures price of $50 per barrel is almost double of $26.05 per barrel that it had gradually slumped to on February 11, leading to a negative impact on economies heavily dependent on oil production such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela, Brazil and Norway. Tarun Lakhotia, analyst, Kotak Institutional Equities Research said, “Operating costs (including levies) of the US shale companies and international oil majors have fallen significantly over the past two years, driven by deflation in costs and improvement in efficiencies. In our view, low operating costs, quicker time-to-market of US shale oil and resilient production from other non-OPEC countries will restrain OPEC’s ability to manage oil prices.” “The likely stabilisation and subsequent price-driven growth in US production over the next 12 months and the recent increase in deployment of rigs in the US shale regions will translate into higher production in about five-to-six months,” Lakhotia said. “The proposed production cut by OPEC includes 0.49 mn b/d by Saudi Arabia, 0.21 mn b/d by Iraq, 0.14 mn b/d by UAE, 0.13 mn b/d by Kuwait and 0.1 mn b/d by Venezuela,” an analyst from Kotak Institutional Equities Research said. Iran, Libya and Nigeria are likely to be exempted from production cuts, given country-specific issues of past sanctions, civil unrest and militancy. Also OPEC’s agreement is apparently contingent on a reduction in supply by major non-OPEC producers to the extent of 0.6 mn b/d, including 0.3 mn b/d from Russia; OPEC is scheduled to meet key non-OPEC countries on December 9. [email protected] ||||| VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC has agreed its first oil output cuts since 2008 after Saudi Arabia accepted "a big hit" on its production and dropped its demand on arch-rival Iran to slash output, pushing up crude prices by around 10 percent. Fast-growing producer Iraq also agreed to curtail its booming output, while non-OPEC Russia will join output cuts for the first time in 15 years to help the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries prop up oil prices. "OPEC has proved to the skeptics that it is not dead. The move will speed up market rebalancing and erosion of the global oil glut," said OPEC watcher Amrita Sen from consultancy Energy Aspects. The cut did not come without a casualty, however. Indonesia, the producer group's only East Asian member, said it would suspend its membership after rejoining only this year as it was not willing to comply with the output cuts sought. Following news of the deal, the price for Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, surged to settle up nearly 9 percent. They eased slightly in early Asian trading on concerns that other producers, especially U.S. shale drillers, could fill any gap. The agreement came despite huge political hurdles. Iran and Russia are effectively fighting two proxy wars against Saudi Arabia, in Yemen and Syria, and many skeptics had said the countries would struggle to find a compromise. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said ahead of the meeting that the kingdom was prepared to accept "a big hit" on production to get a deal done. "I think it is a good day for the oil markets, it is a good day for the industry and ... it should be a good day for the global economy. I think it will be a boost to global economic growth," he told reporters after the decision. Some observers were more cautious. "This is an agreement to cap production levels, not export levels," British bank Barclays said in a note. "The outcome is consistent with ... what OPEC production levels were expected to be in 2017, irrespective of the deal reached." Despite Wednesday's price surge, oil prices are still only at levels last seen in September and October, when plans for a cut were first announced, and are at less than half their levels of mid-2014, when the glut started. OPEC produces a third of global oil, or around 33.6 million barrels per day, and under the Wednesday deal it would reduce output by around 1.2 million bpd from January 2017. That would take its output to January 2016 levels, when prices fell to over 10 year lows. Saudi Arabia will take the lion's share of cuts by reducing output by almost 0.5 million bpd to 10.06 million bpd. Its Gulf OPEC allies - the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar - would cut by a total 0.3 million bpd. Iraq, which had insisted on higher output quotas to fund its fight against Islamic State militants, unexpectedly agreed to reduce production - by 0.2 million bpd. Iran was allowed to boost production slightly from its October level - a victory for Tehran, which has long argued it needs to regain market share lost under Western sanctions. Falih had long insisted OPEC would limit output only if non-OPEC producers contributed. OPEC president Qatar said non-OPEC producers had agreed to reduce output by a further 0.6 million bpd, of which Russia would contribute some 0.3 million. Russia had previously resisted participating and instead pushed production to new records in recent months. "Russia will gradually cut output in the first half of 2017 by up to 300,000 barrels per day, on a tight schedule as technical capabilities allow," Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said from Moscow. Novak, who spoke an hour after OPEC announced its deal, did not say from which output levels Russia would cut. Non-OPEC Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have said they might also cut. "With the deal agreed to in principle and country level quotas established, focus will now shift to implementation," Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients. OPEC will hold talks with non-OPEC producers on Dec. 9. The organization will also have its next meeting on May 25 to monitor the deal and could extend it for six months, Qatar said. Indonesia, the cartel's only Asian member, said it would suspend its membership as it wasn't willing to cut its production as agreed by OPEC. "The meeting... requested for Indonesia to cut around 5 percent of its production or around 37,000 barrels per day... As a net oil importing country, a cut to production capacity would not benefit Indonesia," the country's Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said in a statement. Indonesia has a patchy OPEC membership history. After first joining in 1962, it left in 2009 as dwindling production meant that Southeast Asia's most populous country had become a net importer of crude oil, which is against OPEC's statute for full membership. Despite this, it re-joined OPEC in early 2016. Indonesia's suspension will not affect OPEC's overall reduction as its share of cuts will be redistributed among other members. ||||| OPEC, which for decades controlled global oil production, appeared to be losing its grip ahead of Wednesday’s scheduled meeting in Vienna to freeze or reduce output and prop up prices. Some members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have been trying to convince the rest to cut production to boost oil prices, which are half of what they were in 2014, currently hovering in the mid-$40 a barrel, the result of an oil glut. Current price levels are good news for airlines, truckers and drivers but bad news for alternative energy startups, shale oil and gas operations, and economies dependent on oil prices to fund their budgets. Any price increase, however, could come at the cost of market share as Asian buyers, who use a third of the world’s supply, look elsewhere, Reuters reported. "For us, the current price levels look to be appropriate for both sides [buyers and producers]," said Eiichiro Kitahara, executive officer at Japanese refinery TonenGeneral Sekiyu. "Our company aims to avoid depending highly on certain suppliers, and we may seek new [supply] opportunities." Russia already has become China’s top oil supplier, displacing Saudi Arabia, Reuters said. Algeria has been working hard to convince Iran, which is trying to make up for years of sanctions to cut its oil income, and Russia, a nonmember of the oil cartel invited to participate, to agree to a production deal, Bloomberg reported. Russia, however, isn’t even planning to attend Wednesday’s meeting. “At current prices we won’t be able to survive two years [if prices don’t rise],” Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa told Bloomberg. “There are some billions in foreign reserves but they risk to melt like snow in eight to 10 months if the price of the barrel stays as it is.” OPEC hasn’t been able to hold the line on production for years. Its last successful deal to cut production was eight years ago. The target Wednesday is to cut output by 1.2 million barrels a day from October levels, to bring production down to 32.5 million to 33 million barrels a day. The oil ministers could impose production quotas on each member nation and cut deals for exemptions to keep participants happy enough to sign on. They also could fail to reach any deal, sending oil prices plummeting to less than $40 a barrel, or just postpone a decision. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar said Tuesday his country isn’t willing to cut production while Saudi Arabia, which currently is producing a record 10.6 million barrels a day, has indicated it won’t agree to cuts unless all OPEC members, except Libya and Nigeria, cooperate, Bloomberg reported. Venezuela, where the economic situation has reached catastrophic proportions, and Iraq, which is battling the Islamic State group, also have asked for special consideration. Platts reported Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani agreed to coordinate with each other. Putin said last month he would like to see production levels frozen rather than cut. Saudi Arabia has been slow to come to the idea of a production cut, given its vast cash reserves. The position has created pressure on other producers without the wherewithal to ride out low prices. The nationalism and anti-colonial sentiments that led to OPEC’s birth in the 1960s have waned, and the cartel has been unable to mount a successful campaign since the 1970s, Oilprice.com noted. "What I hear is kind of crazy. The fear in town is it's Doha redux. Everybody's worst nightmare," Helima Croft, head of global commodities strategy at RBC, told CNBC, referring to the meeting in Doha, Qatar, in April that failed to produce a freeze agreement when Saudi Arabia and Iran started feuding. "Once again, it seems [Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] has decided Iranian participation in a cut is mandated. If he sticks to that position, it doesn't lift off [Wednesday]. I think a cut was never on the table for Iran. Is this just a hard-line tactic? Are they trying to get the maximum concession?" Croft said. Iran reportedly is demanding Saudi production be cut back to 9.5 million barrels a day, but the Saudis are balking. Reaching a deal may not be the answer, however. "If prices are pushed up towards $60 we will see within nine months a strong response from U.S. shale production putting oil in the market," Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told Reuters. ||||| VIENNA — Breaking with years of inaction, OPEC agreed Wednesday to cut its oil output for the first time since 2008. The move effectively scraps its strategy of trying to squeeze U.S. competition through high supply — a strategy that backfired by lowering prices and draining the cartel's own economies. The reduction of 1.2 million barrels a day is significant, leaving OPEC's daily output at 32.5 million barrels. And OPEC President Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada said non-OPEC nations are expected to pare an additional 600,000 barrels a day off their production. The combined cut will result, at least in the short term, in somewhat-more-pricey oil — and, by extension, gasoline, heating and electricity. The international benchmark for crude jumped 8.3 percent, or $3.86, to $50.24 on Wednesday. In the longer term, however, analysts say it's highly unlikely that oil will return to the highs of around $100 a barrel last seen two years ago. That's partly due to the fact that President-elect Donald Trump has promised to free up more oil drilling in the U.S., which would increase global supply. Demand is also not recovering as the world economy sags. Playing tribute to "a historic moment," Al-Sada said Wednesday's move "will definitely balance the market and help (in) reducing the stock overhang." Al-Sada said the OPEC cutback is to take effect Jan. 1, with consultations planned on the exact timing of the non-OPEC reductions. Russia alone is committed to taking 300,000 barrels a day off the market. With the production cut, OPEC will not only benefit from gaining more dollars per barrel; it can also lay claim once again to playing a part in influencing world prices. And its tentative alliance with Russia and other non-OPEC nations may give it — and them — more clout in future competition for market share with U.S. producers, which are sure to return in increasing numbers if crude prices move upward. Wednesday's decision was a departure from years of infighting among members refusing to give up their market share and a resulting series of inconclusive meetings. In another reflection of new-found discipline within the cartel, Al-Sada said Indonesia's membership had been suspended after it refused to accept its share of proposed output cuts, reducing the number of OPEC countries to 13. Part of the focus following Wednesday's decision is how well it holds. OPEC gave up assigning quotas in part because members have ignored them in their quest for petrodollars. But officials were displaying new confidence. In comments addressed to nay-sayers about his organization's relevance, Al-Sada said its decision "means the weight of OPEC and the resiliency of OPEC is still there and it will continue to be there." "Today's unity is a very explicit sign about the position of OPEC," he added. Meetings to turn the planned non-OPEC cuts into reality are planned next month in Doha. From Moscow, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak confirmed his country's readiness to pare 300,000 barrels from its output, adding that it would happen gradually "within a short period of time based on technical capacity." Al-Sada said the OPEC cutbacks are in effect for six months with the option of renewal after a review by a five-nation committee set up to monitor compliance. Still, analysts suggested price upswings would be relatively moderate — and the fallout minimal, at least for the United States. Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said oil should rise to an average $53 a barrel next year. For the U.S. economy, that's "a sweet spot ... a high-enough price to spur investment in the energy industry but not enough to seriously drain purchasing power" of consumers, he said. "The losers are Europe and Japan — oil-importing regions of the world" with barely growing ecomonies, said Guatieri. One of the biggest hurdles to Wednesday's deal had been a rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose struggle for dominance in the Mideast is also playing out in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The Saudis had long been hesitant to shoulder the lion's share of a cut, while Iran had resisted reducing its own production. It argued that it has yet to recover its output levels hit by years of sanctions and that the onus was on the desert kingdom to pare back the most. Reflecting their compromise, documents from the meeting showed the Saudis committed to chopping 486,000 barrels off the 10.544 million barrels they were pumping as of October. Iran's quota was set at 3.797 million barrels a day, down 90,000 barrels from October. All other members cut as well, ranging from tiny Gabon's 9,000 barrel reduction to an Iraqi drop of a daily 210,000 barrels. Non-member Russia was producing over 11 million barrels a day in October. ||||| WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With traders reacting to news of OPEC's agreement to cut production, the price of crude oil moved sharply higher during trading on Wednesday. Crude oil for January delivery spiked $4.21 to $49.44 a barrel after plummeting $1.85 to $45.23 a barrel in the previous session. The substantial increase by the price of crude oil came as OPEC ministers revealed the cartel has agreed to reduce production by about 1.2 million barrels to 32.5 million barrels a day. The agreement marks the first time since 2008 that OPEC has agreed to curtail production and comes as a supply glut has weighed on prices. OPEC said the agreement, which will be effective from January 1, 2017, will accelerate the ongoing drawdown of the stock overhang and bring the oil market rebalancing forward. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX ||||| OIL ministers at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) agreed to cut production of crude for the first time in eight years on Wednesday, a move that may produce ripple effects from global financial markets to the US economy, and all the way to the corner gas station. “I think it is a good day for the oil markets, it is a good day for the industry and…it should be a good day for the global economy,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters, after the announcement was made at Opec headquarters in Vienna, Austria. “I think, it will be a boost to global economic growth.” Under the plan, the cartel will cut production by roughly 1.2 million barrels a day. Opec’s dominant member, Saudi Arabia, will absorb the biggest hit by cutting about 500,000 barrels a day. The deal also extends to some non-Opec countries, such as Russia, which is slated to reduce production by 300,000 barrels a day. But the agreement is a tenuous one. The long-standing rivalry between the Saudis and Iran, a country looking to boost its revenue from oil after years of international sanctions, nearly derailed Wednesday’s meeting and the agreement with non-Opec countries won’t be formally addressed until a meeting on December 9. Analysts at Barclays expressed skepticism about the deal, sending out a report, titled “Show Me the Cuts”, and describing its outlook as “too good to be true.” Nonetheless, oil prices surged within moments of initial reports of a deal being struck. At the close of trading on Wednesday, the price of Brent crude—the benchmark price for global oil—was up $4.09, finishing at $50.47 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate —the recognized price for most North American producers—closed at $49.44 a barrel, a one-day jump of $4.21. The last time Opec countries cut production was in December 2008, when the price of Brent crude was trading at $40 a barrel. The projected cut comes as oil prices have experienced a sustained two-year slide. In November 2014 Opec surprised energy analysts by keeping production levels high, instead of cutting supplies to bolster prices. Prices plunged from more than $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014 to as low as $26 a barrel in February. The price drop has been good news for motorists, as gasoline prices have remained low, but it proved disastrous for many Opec countries that depend on oil revenue to keep their economies afloat. North American producers also suffered, reversing the many of the gains they made in shale-oil formations in recent years, resulting in an estimated 200,000 layoffs and dozens of bankruptcies that affected the larger US economy. “I would argue one of the reasons we have reported very sluggish economic growth over the last two years is because of the drop in the investment in oil and gas companies,” said Bernard Weinstein, associate director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University. In California, for example, the number of active oil rigs plummeted from 44 in the fall of 2014 to just four earlier this year, according to the oil-field services company Baker Hughes. That’s the lowest number for the state since Baker Hughes began compiling figures in 1992. The November rig count for the state stands at six. Opec controls about one-third of the world’s oil supply, and a number of energy analysts on Wednesday said they expect prices to reach the $55-to-$60-per- barrel range in fairly short order. “Most of the shale guys would be very happy at 55-60,” Weinstein said. That’s because during the downturn, many US producers proved very resilient, finding cheaper and more efficient ways to extract oil and gas. MCT
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OPEC agrees to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels a day. Key non-OPEC producers most notably Russia have also agreed to cut their production. Oil futures have risen by 9%.
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Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi held onto her job leading House Democrats today as her caucus re-elected her to the position -- despite rumblings from inside and outside the caucus that change and fresh ideas may be needed after a disappointing November election. Interested in Democratic Party? Add Democratic Party as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Democratic Party news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest The Democratic caucus voted 134-63 in favor of Pelosi. Pelosi was challenged by Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who has argued that younger members with a vision for expanding the party's economic message and geographical outreach is key to future electoral and legislative success. After the vote, Ryan said the Democratic caucus needs to come together. The party's new leadership was chosen today in a private meeting using secret ballots. Current leaders decided to push back the voting amid the rumblings from some members that a pause, and possibly new leaders, could be good for their caucus. Members elected a new Democratic leader, caucus chair, whip, and caucus vice chair, though only the leader and vice chair positions were currently contested. Pelosi has led the House Democrats for 13 years. She was the first female speaker of the House, from 2007 to 2011, and she served as whip before then. In 2010, she defeated former Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) to keep her seat after a wave of Tea Party members elected cost her party the majority in the House. Rep. Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA) won vice-chair of the caucus; she is the first minority woman elected to House leadership. Sánchez is also chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Reps. Linda Sánchez and Barbara Lee had faced off for caucus vice chair -- both women of color and from California. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) ran unopposed to keep his position as Democratic whip and Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) was chosen as the caucus chair after having served as vice chair. After the November 8 election, about two dozen members signed a letter asking Pelosi to bump back the caucus’s leadership election. Even more grumbled that rushing into it looked tone deaf. Pelosi conceded that point, but was quick to announce that she enjoyed two-thirds of the caucus support. She also rolled out endorsements from MoveOn and other progressive groups. Ryan said repeatedly that he thought Pelosi was inflating her support. Eleven members came out publicly to back him. Just this week, Pelosi announced that she would include a representative from the freshmen class to serve as part of the House Democratic leadership, but she also renamed Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) to serve as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee again, despite the fact that Democrats only picked up six seats this go-around and many in the party suggested it should be an elected position. Several staff and members on the Hill rolled their eyes at the move, as the position could have been potentially an easy place for Pelosi to signal she is willing to make some changes. Earlier this month, Ryan told ABC News, "Donald Trump is the president, that is how bad we are out of touch, that the backbone of our party went and voted for Donald Trump. And I say that’s our fault." He signaled a desire to reach out specifically to working class and blue collar voters in the Rust Belt. "This election is not going to be won at fundraisers on the coasts," the Ohio Democrat told The Wall Street Journal last week. "It’s going to be won in union halls in the industrial Midwest and fish fries in the Midwest and the South." His staff said he spent much of the Thanksgiving break making calls to his colleagues and they believed it would be a close race. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who backed Ryan, wrote in a statement, "At this critical juncture, we face a choice –- will we preserve a broken status quo or will we set our party on a new course?" After the vote, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), one of the first to publicly back her Ohio colleague, said, "We did not lose today. We won. We have a caucus, we have leadership that has to listen to us." Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) expressed frustration over the selection of Pelosi. "I am worried we just signed Democrats death certificate for next eight years," he said. The White House has not formally weighed in. But, President Obama has praised Pelosi since the election, saying last week, "I cannot speak highly enough of Nancy Pelosi. She combines strong, progressive values with just extraordinary political skill." ||||| House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday won the race to lead the Democratic caucus for an eighth term, prevailing in a contest that became a vote of confidence in her continued stewardship and an early proxy battle over the future of the Democratic Party. The Californian easily toppled Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, a seven-term lawmaker who launched an upstart bid to lead House Democrats two weeks ago in response to the party's disappointing November election results. But Pelosi's margin of victory, 134 votes to 63 for Ryan, signaled a large degree of discontent with her continued leadership after 14 years atop the caucus and, more broadly, with the Democratic policy agenda that many lawmakers feel has grown stale. While she cleared her self-declared margin of victory, a two-thirds majority, many Democrats were stunned that almost a third of the caucus was willing to vote for a back-bench lawmaker with no major policy or political experience. Many were left wondering whether a more seasoned Democrat could have actually toppled Pelosi, with several privately suggesting this would have to be Pelosi's last term as leader. Ryan's 63 votes marked the largest number of opposition votes Pelosi has faced in any leadership race since winning a deputy leadership position 15 years ago that set her on a course to become the first female House speaker. Though they came up well short, Ryan and his band of supporters declared a symbolic victory in prompting Pelosi to make a series of proposals to elevate junior lawmakers and lead a more inclusive leadership table. They also declared that the party's economic agenda, at times ignored by their presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, and other Democrats, would move to the front and center to appeal across the country alongside the cultural issues that dominated the campaign. "We're going to win as Democrats if we have an economic message that resonates in every part of the country," Ryan told reporters after his defeat. "We are disappointed because I like to win . . . But the party is better off," he added. An hour later, Pelosi appeared and publicly congratulated Ryan on running a good race. But, she said, "I think we're at a time that is well beyond politics. It's about the character of America. After gaining just six seats in the November elections -- after Pelosi publicly and privately suggested a gain of more than 20 -- there will be 194 members of the House Democratic caucus. Four nonvoting delegates, including Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., were allowed to vote in Wednesday's caucus elections. Pelosi had set the expectations bar high by publicly declaring she has "more than two-thirds" of the votes locked up. She cleared that threshold on Wednesday, but Ryan's tally will not go unnoticed. His supporters believed that the closer Ryan got to between 60 and 80 votes, the more direct the signal to Pelosi that the rank-and-file is ready for her to develop a transition-of-power plan. At 76, she's one of three septuagenarians leading the caucus, followed by 77-year-old Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the minority whip; and 76-year-old Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., the assistant to the leader. Hoyer and Clyburn were unchallenged on Wednesday. Republicans, who have vilified Pelosi in the past, believing that her West Coast liberalism does not translate into political victories. Party leaders were so gleeful that the National Republican Congressional Committee immediately hung a "Congrats Nancy!" poster atop a "Hire Pelosi" banner that has been affixed to Republican National Committee headquarters this week. Pelosi tried to placate some of the angst among junior lawmakers by offering a series of new or modified positions, including the new position of "vice-ranking member" on the more than 20 standing House committees and reserving it for lawmakers who served four terms or less. A policy leadership position would be divided into three co-chairmen and reserved for those who have served five terms or less. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, credited Ryan's challenge with forcing Pelosi to take the unrest among colleagues more seriously. "That's partly a response to the competition in the caucus for votes, and that's a healthy thing," he said. Others remain upset at Pelosi's control of the House campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She has proposed leaving Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., as DCCC chairman for another term, despite 2016 elections that saw just a six-seat gain after Pelosi personally predicted a gain of more than 20 seats. "We should have been recruiting earlier, we should have better targeting. I think our messaging was off," Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said in an interview on Tuesday. "I think we are focused so much still on TV instead of looking at new methods of communications and/or even old methods of communication - canvassing and digital buys." A 37-year old former Marine corporal, Gallego was especially critical of what he considered the DCCC's staff work trying to please Pelosi, calling them "bureaucratic in nature." Some Democrats want the position to be contested rather than be a rubber stamp of whoever top Democrats select. Pelosi's backers reminded detractors that House Democrats are now in a "comeback situation" without a Democratic president in office - a dynamic similar to 2000 when Bush took office after a fiercely partisan, closely contested election. Over six years, Pelosi served as Bush's main partisan foil and ultimately led a campaign that regained House control. Supporters also acknowledged, however, that after 14 years atop the party, Pelosi is nearing her political twilight. "This is probably her last go," said one member who requested anonymity to speak frankly about caucus dynamics. "She's coming to terms with the idea that people want her to move on. The opposition is so public now, and I only see that growing, not diminishing." The prospect of Pelosi's departure and the likely exit of Hoyer and Clyburn, would create an incredible leadership vacuum. But in a few years, "I don't see an 80-year old new minority leader," the member said. The Washington Post's Mike DeBonis contributed to this report. ||||| WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday won the race to lead the Democratic caucus for an eighth term, prevailing in a contest that became a vote of confidence in her continued stewardship and an early proxy battle over the future of the Democratic Party. The Californian easily toppled Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, a seven-term lawmaker who launched an upstart bid to lead House Democrats two weeks ago in response to the party’s disappointing November election results. After 14 undistinguished years in Congress, Ryan emerged from the backbench — he literally sits in the last bench in the chamber — as a vessel of discontent and forced Pelosi to fight for the top spot like never before. It’s prompted her to offer structural changes to leadership and more opportunity to the burgeoning crop of junior lawmakers who have never served in the majority. Pelosi vowed to expand the number of seats at the leadership table to stave off defections and leave her firmly in charge of a caucus ruled by an “iron fist,” as Senate counterpart, Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, once described her leadership style. There are 194 members of the House Democratic caucus, and four nonvoting delegates are allowed to vote in caucus elections. On Wednesday, 197 of the 198 members showed up. Pelosi won with 134 votes, compared to 63 votes for Ryan in a secret-ballot election held in the august committee room of the House Ways and Means Committee. “We got the message out that we wanted to get out. … We’re going to win as Democrats if we have an economic message that resonates in every part of the country,” Ryan told reporters after his defeat. “We disappointed because I like to win. … But the party is better off,” he added. Ryan was flanked by some of his closest supporters, Reps. Sean Moulton, D-Massachusetts, Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, Stephen Lynch, D-Massachusetts, Ed Perlmutter, D-Colorado, Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, and Dan Lipinski, D-Illinois. Another Ryan supporter, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, said she was “disappointed” that House Democrats “decided to double down on its failed strategy of recent years.” “This should be a time of critical reflection and clear-eyed change, not a time to rubber stamp the failed strategy of the past,” she said in a statement. Pelosi was expected to address reporters later on Wednesday. She had set the expectations bar high by publicly declaring she has “more than two-thirds” of the votes locked up. She cleared that threshold on Wednesday, but Ryan’s 63 votes was the highest margin of rejection Pelosi has ever faced. His supporters believed that the closer Ryan got to between 60 and 80 votes, the more direct the signal to Pelosi that the rank-and-file is ready for her to develop a transition-of-power plan. At 76, she’s one of three septuagenarians leading the caucus, followed by 77-year-old Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, the minority whip; and 76-year-old Rep. James Clyburn, D-South Carolina, the assistant to the leader. Hoyer and Clyburn were unchallenged Wednesday and are expected to be easily re-elected. In the days before the vote, Ryan railed against Pelosi and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign for failing to connect with voters in economically distressed parts of the country. Pelosi tried to placate some of the angst among junior lawmakers by offering a series of new or modified positions, including the new position of “vice-ranking member” on the more than 20 standing House committees and reserving it for lawmakers who served four terms or less. A policy leadership position would be divided into three co-chairmen and reserved for those who have served five terms or less. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, credited Ryan’s challenge with forcing Pelosi to take the unrest among colleagues more seriously. “That’s partly a response to the competition in the caucus for votes, and that’s a healthy thing,” he said. Others remain upset at Pelosi’s control of the House campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She has proposed leaving Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-New Mexico, as DCCC chairman for another term, despite 2016 elections that saw just a six-seat gain after Pelosi personally predicted a gain of more than 20 seats. “We should have been recruiting earlier, we should have better targeting. I think our messaging was off,” Gallego said in an interview on Tuesday. “I think we are focused so much still on TV instead of looking at new methods of communications and/or even old methods of communication — canvassing and digital buys.” A 37-year old former Marine corporal, Gallego was especially critical of what he considered the DCCC’s staff work trying to please Pelosi, calling them “bureaucratic in nature.” Some Democrats want the position to be contested rather than rubber stamp of whoever top Democrats select. Pelosi’s backers reminded detractors that House Democrats are now in a “comeback situation” without a Democratic president in office — a dynamic similar to 2000 when Bush took office after a fiercely partisan, closely contested election. Over six years, Pelosi served as Bush’s main partisan foil and ultimately led a campaign that regained House control. Supporters also acknowledged, however, that after 14 years atop the party, Pelosi is nearing her political twilight. “This is probably her last go,” said one member who requested anonymity to speak frankly about caucus dynamics. “She’s coming to terms with the idea that people want her to move on. The opposition is so public now and I only see that growing, not diminishing.” The prospect of Pelosi’s departure and the likely demise of Hoyer and Clyburn, would create an incredible leadership vacuum. But in a few years, “I don’t see an 80-year old new minority leader,” the member said. The Washington Post’s Mike DeBonis contributed to this report. ||||| WASHINGTON — House Democrats have re-elected Nancy Pelosi as their leader. The California lawmaker, who has led the party since 2002, turned back a challenge from Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan on Wednesday. Her win came despite disenchantment among some in the Democratic caucus over the party’s disappointing performance in the elections earlier this month. Democrats will remain in the minority in the House and Senate next year and won’t have the presidency as a bulwark against Republicans. Democrats were also choosing other leaders during the closed-door session that was expected to take several hours. ||||| WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Republican Party has criticized Nancy Pelosi's re-election as House Minority Leader. 'The American people have been trying to send the Democrat Party a message by selecting historic numbers of Republicans for office at nearly every level of government but Nancy Pelosi's re-election shows Democrats aren't listening,' Republican National Committee (RNC) Co-Chair Sharon Day said in a statement Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Pelosi, a Representative from California, was re-elected after fending off a challenge from Tim Ryan, D-Ohio. House Democrats voted 134 to 63 to keep Pelosi as leader of the caucus, a position she has held since 2003. Day noted, 'Tim Ryan was able to peel off over 60 Democrats in his campaign for Minority Leader reveals Democrats have no unified vision for our country and are content to once again entrust leadership to someone who has led their party into total irrelevance in the House.' Pelosi previously claimed the support of over two-thirds of the Democratic caucus, but the votes for Ryan represent the largest defection she has faced. Ryan had argued that a new voice was needed in a time of fear and disillusionment after the elections earlier this month, which gave Republicans control of the House, the Senate, and the White House. 'Despite Nancy Pelosi keeping her caucus firmly in the minority for six years, Democrats inexplicably keep rewarding her track record of failed leadership with successive terms as House Minority Leader,' the GOP alleged. Voters have repeatedly rejected Pelosi's liberal agenda of higher taxes, weak border enforcement, and government-run healthcare, yet out-of-touch congressional Democrats have chosen to side with Washington insiders to pursue more of the same, the statement added. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX ||||| WASHINGTON — Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi faces a challenge to her job as frustrated House Democrats meet to select a new slate of leaders. Pelosi is likely to be re-elected easily Wednesday despite disenchantment among some in the Democratic caucus she has led since 2002. Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan is challenging her for the job, arguing that newer lawmakers need a bigger voice in a caucus that’s been led for years by the same aging slate of leaders and committee chairmen. Leadership elections were originally scheduled to be held before Thanksgiving but were delayed to give Democrats more time to discuss and process the election results and consider a path forward. Many are discouraged after losing the White House and making smaller than expected gains in both chambers of Congress. “I believe we must do more than simply paper over the cracks,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, one of a handful of House Democrats to endorse Ryan. “We can’t just say the right things — we must take concrete steps to move our party in the right direction.” The 76-year-old Pelosi has been promising some changes to assuage concerns in her caucus, including adding a member of the freshmen class to her leadership team. But her proposals do little to ensure new blood at the very top or change the seniority system that has key committees led by lawmakers in their 80s at a moment when the party needs to be defending President Barack Obama’s health care law and other initiatives. Nonetheless Pelosi projected confidence heading into the vote. Known for her vote-counting skills, the Californian asserted she had support of two-thirds of Democrats locked up. “Leader Pelosi is honored to receive the overwhelming support of her colleagues,” said spokesman Drew Hammill. “That so many members are so enthusiastic and eager to take active roles in the caucus is music to her ears.” Other top leadership posts are uncontested, with Steny Hoyer of Maryland expected to stay in the No. 2 job of whip, and Jim Clyburn of South Carolina in the No. 3 position of assistant leader. The position of conference chairman is term-limited, and Xavier Becerra of California is expected to be replaced by Joe Crowley of New York. There is a contest for the position of conference vice chair between two California Democrats, Linda Sanchez and Barbara Lee. Either would become the first minority woman in leadership. On the eve of the House leadership elections, 85-year-old Rep. Sander Levin, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said he will not seek re-election to the panel post, clearing the way for a younger lawmaker to move into the spot on the powerful committee. Becerra and Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts told House Democrats they are interested in the position. Republicans are on track to hold at least 240 seats in the House next year. Democrats, who had high hopes of significant gains in the election, picked up just six seats on Election Day earlier this month and remain in the minority with 194 seats. ||||| U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi was re-elected to her post on Wednesday despite a challenge from a Rust Belt congressman who said the party needed new leadership after a disappointing showing in elections this month. Ms. Pelosi (76), a Californian who has been in Congress for 30 years and led the party in the House for 14 of them, defeated Tim Ryan (43), a seven-term representative from the Youngstown area of northeastern Ohio in a 134-63 vote, aides said. Mr. Ryan, in challenging Ms. Pelosi for the leadership job, said the party needed to do a better job of reaching out to the working-class voters who backed Mr. Trump in large numbers, and complaining about the Democrats’ track record under her guidance. Mr. Ryan said the Democrats have only been in the majority in the House of Representatives for four of the past 18 years. Mr. Ryan and other Democrats are angry the Democrats did not do better on Nov. 8. — Reuters ||||| YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan has lost his bid to unseat Nancy Pelosi as the leader of Democrats in the House of Representatives. Ryan received 63 votes to Pelosi’s , according to news accounts. If that total is correct, Pelosi succeeded in winning support of two thirds of the Democratic caucus, which she predicted she would. In seeking to become minority leader, and provide new leadership for the party, Ryan focused on the Democratic Party’s failure to deliver blue-collar voters to Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8th, and to congressional candidates who lost their contests. He also proposed a number of changes in the structure of the House Democratic Caucus le, which would provide openings for younger members to work into leadership positions. The Mahoning Valley congressman has scheduled a conference call with local reporters for 2 p.m. today. ||||| Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi speaks onstage at the 2016 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park to end extreme poverty by 2030 (AFP Photo/ANGELA WEISS) Washington (AFP) - Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday swept aside a challenge to her Democratic leadership in the US House of Representatives by a congressman from a blue-collar district who warned the party has lost touch with working-class Americans. Pelosi, 76, retained her post as minority leader after an anxious closed-door vote in which she survived a challenge from congressman Tim Ryan of Youngstown, Ohio to extend her 13-year grip on party control in the chamber. "Honored to be elected by my colleagues to serve as Democratic Leader. Let's get to work," Pelosi said on Twitter after winning the internal party vote 134 to 63. Ryan, 43, had drawn support from Democrats discouraged by their party's loss in the November 8 presidential election and their failure to gain back many seats in Congress. A seven-term lawmaker, Ryan put himself forward as a new-generation leader of a party caucus that stands accused of having forgotten working-class voters, many of whom helped elect the anti-establishment billionaire Donald Trump to the White House. Pelosi, who backed Democrat Hillary Clinton in the presidential race, remains a powerful figure, having made history in 2007 by becoming the first female speaker of the House. But the tally of 63 defectors voting against her suggests her grip on the leadership is weakening. Ryan said he was "disappointed" by the result but felt optimistic that his message connected with colleagues. "As Democrats, we need to talk about the economy. It's the issue that unites us," he said after the vote. "I believe it in my heart that if we're going to win as Democrats, we need to have an economic message that resonates in every corner of this country." Pelosi appeared to acknowledge the growing sense that her party has lost its connection to working men and women across large swathes of the country, where millions of struggling Democrats and undecided voters turned to Trump's populist anti-establishment message. It is vital for Democrats to prove, she said, that "never again will we have an election where there's any doubt in anyone's mind where the Democrats are when it comes to America's working families." Republicans have long mocked Pelosi for pushing her party into what they call "irrelevance," a message they repeated Wednesday. "This year voters went to the polls and made a bold statement for change in Washington, but House Democrats just doubled down on the status quo," Republican National Committee co-chair Sharon Day said in a statement. Democratic Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, a Ryan supporter, said she believed Pelosi understood from the vote that "change has to come." "The message is that we are not going to continue to be a top-down-run caucus," she told reporters. "It is our caucus, it's not the leadership's caucus." She also said it is imperative for Democratic lawmakers to engage more at ground-level with voters to earn back their trust and support, and to focus especially on economic issues, something she said the Clinton camp had forgotten. In her largely Democratic Ohio district, she outpaced support for Clinton in the election, proof that her message connected more with working-class voters than the party's barrage of messaging about rights, race and inclusion. "I talk to people about pocketbook issues, not social issues," Fudge said. Pelosi defenders argue that she has been a bulwark against Republican efforts to privatize Medicare and shrink other entitlement programs that have serve as a safety net for millions of Americans. House Democrat Elijah Cummings said Tim Ryan had "a very strong pitch" to lawmakers, many of whom wanted new blood at the top of their party, which has lost nearly 60 House seats to Republicans since President Barack Obama took office eight years ago. "But this is a time when we need, I think, someone who has been battle-tested," he told reporters. "And there is no stronger battle-tested person than Nancy Pelosi." The congresswoman from San Francisco remains a tenacious vote-getter. She carried Obama's Affordable Care Act across the finish line in the House and wrangled enough votes for the 2008 financial bailout when many Republicans balked. ||||| FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2016, file photo, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Pelosi faces a challenge to her job as frustrated House Democrats meet to select a new slate of leaders. Pelosi is likely to be re-elected easily Nov. 30 despite disenchantment among the Democratic caucus she has led since 2002. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, file)
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In Democratic Party congressional leadership elections, U.S. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi is re-elected, holding off the challenge by Tim Ryan. Democratic whip Steny Hoyer is also re-elected. Current caucus vice chair Joseph Crowley takes the caucus chairmanship. Linda Sánchez, in a three-way race, is elected the new vice chair.
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Protesters hold signs that read "Arrest Park Geun-hye" and "Park Geun-hye to step down" as they march toward the presidential house during a rally in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. SEOUL, South Korea — The previous time South Korea's parliament voted to impeach a president, ruling party lawmakers bawled and hurled ballot boxes, a man set himself on fire in front of the National Assembly, and thousands glumly held candlelight vigils night after night to save late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun. Twelve years later, the mood couldn't have been more different, with massive crowds returning to Seoul's streets on Saturday, a day after lawmakers voted in favor of removing disgraced President Park Geun-hye. The vote for impeachment left protesters basking in pride, believing that they had repaired a damaged democracy with their weekly demonstrations. Thousands of people marched near streets close to the presidential palace where the notoriously aloof Park will remain mostly alone for up to six months until the Constitutional Court rules whether she must step down permanently. Carrying signs, flags and yellow balloons, they gleefully shouted for her to quit immediately rather than weather the court process. The demonstrators waved their arms to the beat of gongs and drums and followed an effigy of Park dressed in prison clothes and tied with rope into a narrow alley near the presidential offices and residence, known as the Blue House. "Park Geun-hye, get out of the house! Get out of the house now!" the marchers chanted. "Come down and go to jail!" Seemingly, tens of thousands of demonstrators packed a large nearby boulevard, which was the center of massive protests in recent weeks. "We got off to a good first step (on Friday). It was a day when we all realized how strong we can collectively be," said Kim Hye-in, 51, an out-of-towner who spent her sixth consecutive Saturday in Seoul protesting against Park. "But we aren't there just yet. We need to keep gathering strength and protest until the court officially removes her from office." On Friday, the opposition-controlled parliament passed an impeachment motion against Park, which stripped her of her presidential duties and pushed Prime Minster Hwang Kyo-ahn into the role as government caretaker until the court rules on Park's fate. The impeachment came after millions of people demonstrated for weeks demanding the removal of Park, who state prosecutors accuse of colluding with a longtime friend to extort money and favors from South Korea's biggest companies and to give that confidante extraordinary sway over government decisions. Park has apologized for putting trust into her friend, Choi Soon-sil, but has denied any legal wrongdoing. In 2004, the Constitutional Court reinstated Roh after two months, saying that minor election law violations and accusations of incompetence weren't enough to justify his unseating as president. The chances of the court restoring Park's powers are considered low because her charges are much graver, although some believe the court will need more than a couple of months to decide because her case is more complicated than Roh's. Park will be formally removed from office if at least six of the court's nine justices support her impeachment, and the country would then hold a presidential election within 60 days. While the historically large protests that helped push lawmakers to vote to impeach Park have been peaceful, the festive atmosphere kicked up a notch on Saturday as demonstrators let out relief that the president they so desperately want removed was finally halfway out the door. "We accomplished a peaceful revolution," said Park Seong-su, a frequent anti-Park protester who faces a court trial for throwing what he said was dog feces at a Seoul prosecution office on Oct. 31 as Choi, Park's now arrested longtime friend, arrived for questioning. "For long, people were told by politicians what to do, but on Friday, it was the will of people that forced politicians what to do." Others weren't as comfortable, saying that protesters should continue to rally every weekend to apply pressure on the court until it decides to formally remove the president. Kim Hyeong-seok, another protester, said that the weekly rallies may turn violent if the court decides to reinstate Park. "Then the candles will turn into torches," he said. There was tension Saturday hours before the large demonstration when thousands of Park supporters, most of them in their 60s or older, rallied in nearby streets, waving the country's flags and shouting for Park's "demagoguery impeachment" to be nullified. Some of them exchanged bitter diatribes with anti-Park protesters. Similar scenes played out on Friday when scuffles broke out between angry anti-Park farmers, some of whom had driven tractors to the National Assembly, and police. When the impeachment happened, many of those gathered — some 10,000, according to organizers — raised their hands in the air and leapt about, cheering and laughing. On Saturday, Hwang, as the acting president, held a meeting with Cabinet ministers at a government building near the presidential Blue House to discuss issues related to national security, foreign relations and financial markets. The handover of power prompted the prime minister on Friday to order South Korea's defense minister to put the military on a state of heightened readiness to brace for any potential provocation by North Korea. No suspicious movements by the North were reported. The impeachment is a remarkable fall for Park, who convincingly beat her liberal opponent in 2012. Park's single, five-year term was originally set to end Feb. 24, 2018. The political turmoil around Park comes after years of frustration over a leadership style that inspired comparisons to her father, slain military dictator Park Chung-hee. Critics saw in Park an unwillingness to tolerate dissent as her government cracked down on press freedom, pushed to dissolve a leftist party and allowed aggressive police suppression of anti-government protests, which saw the death of an activist in September. She also was heavily criticized over her government's handling of a 2014 ferry sinking that killed more than 300 people, mostly school students, and was partially blamed on official incompetence and corruption. ||||| South Korea's Parliament approved a motion Friday to impeach President Park Geun-hye, suspending her from office pending a Constitutional Court decision. Motoko Rich, The Times's Tokyo bureau chief, reporting from Seoul, describes the scandal that led to the vote. ||||| South Korean President Park Geun-hye's powers were suspended at 7:03 p.m. on Friday after parliament voted to impeach her, her office said. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn took over as acting president and told a cabinet meeting he would do his best to ensure stable government continued to function. South Korea's parliament voted on Friday to impeach President Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal, suspending her powers. The country’s Constitutional Court will have up to 180 days to determine whether to formally end Park’s presidency. During that time Park would be suspended as president but not removed, with her duties, including commander in chief of South Korea’s 630,000—member military, temporarily transferred to the prime minister until the court reaches a decision on whether her impeachment is constitutional. As more than 1,500 protesters massed in front of the National Assembly building, lawmakers inside, some of them taking selfies as they waited, lined up to enter curtained voting rooms, where they recorded their anonymous votes and then emerged and put their folded ballots in boxes. Park’s confidante, Choi Soon—sil, and two former presidential aides allegedly linked to the scandal have been indicted. Park, who has immunity from prosecution while in office, has refused to meet with prosecutors investigating the scandal. Park, South Korea’s first female president, would be the country’s second leader to face an impeachment vote. In 2004, lawmakers impeached then President Roh Moo—hyun on allegations of incompetence and election law violations. But the impeachment led to a big public backlash, and the Constitutional Court reinstated Roh two months later. Roh left office in early 2008 after serving out his single five—year term. In 2009, he killed himself amid a high—profile corruption investigation of his family. Park has publicly apologized over the scandal three times and acknowledged that she received help from Choi in editing her speeches and with unspecified “public relations” matters. But she denies involvement in Choi’s alleged criminal activities. About 160 lawmakers affiliated with the two main opposition parties said Thursday that they would resign en masse if parliament does not approve Park’s impeachment, but that might be just symbolic because the parliamentary speaker won’t likely approve the resignations out of worries about further political chaos. Park’s father, Park Chung—hee, ruled the country for 18 years until his 1979 assassination. Choi is a daughter of Choi Tae—min, a purported cult leader who served as a mentor for Park Geun—hye until his death in 1994. Park, whose mother was assassinated in 1974, described Choi Soon—sil as someone “who helped me when I had difficulties” in the past. Park’s ties with Choi Tae—min, who was mired in corruption scandals, have long dogged her political career. Many here criticize her for maintaining ties with the Choi family and for what’s seen as a lack of transparency on the key decisions she has made. Park, whose term is to end in early 2018, tried to fend off impeachment by saying she would stand down if parliament arranges a stable power transfer. Her liberal opponents called the overture a stalling tactic to buy time and find ways to survive the scandal. ||||| SEOUL, South Korea — For her nearly four years in office, President Park Geun-hye of South Korea cooperated closely with the United States, particularly when it came to dealing with her volatile neighbor, North Korea. A vote on Friday to impeach her now throws both her country and American policy in the region into deep uncertainty, as the North’s nuclear program advances and the incoming administration of Donald J. Trump deliberates over whether to adjust Washington’s stance on how to best contain North Korean aggression. Ms. Park, a conservative, had adopted a tough approach toward the North, focusing on stronger sanctions. Her administration had also agreed to deploy an American advanced missile defense system that infuriated the Chinese. Yet her deep unpopularity — the result of a scandal over influence-peddling that led members of her own party to want to oust her — increases the odds that the next election will be won by an advocate of friendlier relations with China. ||||| SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — South Korean President Park Geun-hye entered what could be her last day in power Friday, as lawmakers geared up for what's widely expected to be a successful impeachment vote amid a corruption scandal that has left her isolated and loathed. Just ahead of the vote, opposition members of parliament sat on the floor and chanted "Impeach" with raised fists. They're confident that they'll get what they want Friday, the last day of the current parliamentary session, because dozens of members of Park's ruling party have said they'll vote against the woman who was once their standard bearer. It's possible that the vote could be delayed or fail, but lawmakers from both parties face huge pressure to act against Park, the daughter of a military dictator still revered by many conservatives for lifting the country from poverty in the 1960s and 1970s. Lawmakers arriving to vote were met by hundreds of protesters, some of whom spent the night on the streets after from other cities, who rallied in front of the National Assembly's main gate and urged impeachment. A group of anti-Park farmers who tried to roll into the capital on tractors and trucks scuffled with police overnight in Suwon, just south of Seoul, before they left most of the vehicles behind and headed to Seoul on buses. Some of the farmers, including two who were riding tractors, made it to the parliament building before getting into shoving matches with police there. Once called the "Queen of Elections" for her ability to pull off wins for her party, Park has been surrounded in the presidential Blue House in recent weeks by millions of South Koreans who have taken to the streets in protest. They are furious over what prosecutors say was collusion by Park with a longtime friend to extort money from companies and to give that confidante extraordinary sway over government decisions. Her approval ratings have plunged to 4 , the lowest among South Korean leaders since democracy came in the late 1980s, and even elderly conservatives who once made up her political base have distanced themselves from her. An opinion survey released Thursday showed about 78 of respondents supported Park's impeachment. If the impeachment vote happens Friday and passes, the country's Court will have up to 180 days to determine whether to formally end Park's presidency. During that time Park would be suspended as president but not removed, with her duties, including commander in chief of South Korea's 630,000-member military, temporarily transferred to the prime minister until the court reaches a decision on whether her impeachment is . Park's confidante, Choi Soon-sil, and two former presidential aides allegedly linked to the scandal have been indicted. Park, who has immunity from prosecution while in office, has refused to meet with prosecutors investigating the scandal. Park, South Korea's first female president, would be the country's second leader to face an impeachment vote. In 2004, lawmakers impeached then President Roh Moo-hyun on allegations of incompetence and election law violations. But the impeachment led to a big public backlash, and the Court reinstated Roh two months later. Roh left office in early 2008 after serving out his single five-year term. In 2009, he killed himself amid a high-profile corruption investigation of his family. Park has publicly apologized over the scandal three times and acknowledged that she received help from Choi in editing her speeches and with unspecified "public relations" matters. But she denies involvement in Choi's alleged criminal activities. About 160 lawmakers affiliated with the two main opposition parties said Thursday that they would resign en masse if parliament does not approve Park's impeachment, but that might be just symbolic because the parliamentary speaker won't likely approve the resignations out of worries about further political chaos. Park's father, Park Chung-hee, ruled the country for 18 years until his 1979 assassination. Choi is a daughter of Choi Tae-min, a purported cult leader who served as a mentor for Park Geun-hye until his death in 1994. Park, whose mother was assassinated in 1974, described Choi Soon-sil as someone "who helped me when I had difficulties" in the past. Park's ties with Choi Tae-min, who was mired in corruption scandals, have long dogged her political career. Many here criticize her for maintaining ties with the Choi family and for what's seen as a lack of transparency on the key decisions she has made. ||||| SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment Friday strips her of power — but not the perks. Even as her prime minister governs in her stead, Park gets to keep living at the presidential Blue House, using her official car and plane, collecting the same monthly salary (about $15,000 reportedly) and receiving round-the-clock security. She also holds onto the title “President.” But with nothing officially to do, it’s uncertain how she’ll spend her days during the up-to-six months the country’s Constitutional Court has to decide whether to accept the impeachment and formally end her presidency. In 2004, when President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached by lawmakers, he spent his time at the Blue House reading books and newspapers and mountain-climbing with journalists, according to South Korean media. The bureaucratic machinery that suspended Park and transferred her powers to Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn began churning as soon as the impeachment motion passed Friday. National Assembly Speaker Chung Se-kyun ordered the chairman of the assembly’s legislation and judiciary committee to convey the original version of the motion to the Constitutional Court. Upon receiving the motion, the court will begin its deliberations. Chung also sent parliamentary officials to deliver copies of the impeachment motion and an official document on the motion’s passage to both the Blue House and the Constitutional Court. Technically, the president’s powers are transferred to the prime minister the moment one of the president’s aides receives the papers. Hwang will handle the president’s duties until the Constitutional Court rules on Park’s fate. If the court removes her, he would continue to serve that role until a presidential election is held; that vote would have to take place within 60 days of Park’s removal. Through it all, his title will remain prime minister. Park loses her powers as commander-in-chief of South Korea’s 630,000-member military, and her ability to appoint officials, sign treaties with foreign countries and carry out special pardons of inmates. Park also cannot preside over meetings of presidential secretaries. With Park allowed to stay at the Blue House, Hwang is to govern the country from his Seoul office. ||||| SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — For many South Korean business owners, President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment Friday was a moment to celebrate — with a sale. A hotel in the harbor city of Busan put a banner outside that all of its rooms were free Friday to mark Park’s suspension as president, pending a court ruling on whether to remove her from office. Mom-and-pop restaurants, a hotel near a famous beach, a music shop and a clothing store were among businesses offering discounts. One South Korean who runs a restaurant selling $2 rice rolls known as gimbap in western Seoul said she will sell them a quarter cheaper until Saturday to celebrate. As the influence-peddling scandal involving Park and a longtime confidante unfolded, South Korean consumer sentiment hit its lowest level in seven years in November. ||||| SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — South Korean lawmakers on Friday impeached President Park Geun-hye, a stunning and swift fall for the country’s first female leader amid protests that drew millions into the streets in united fury. After the vote, parliamentary officials hand-delivered formal documents to the presidential Blue House that stripped Park of her power and allowed the country’s No. 2 official, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, to assume leadership until the constitutional Court rules on whether Park must permanently step down. The court has up to six months to decide. “I’d like to say that I’m deeply sorry to the people because the nation has to experience this turmoil because of my negligence and lack of virtue at a time when our security and economy both face difficulties,” Park said after the vote, before a closed-door meeting with her Cabinet where she and other aides reportedly broke down in tears. Hwang separately said that he wanted “the ruling and opposition political parties and the parliament to gather strength and wisdom so that we can return stability to the country and people as soon as possible.” Once called the “Queen of Elections” for her ability to pull off wins for her party, Park has been surrounded in the Blue House in recent weeks by millions of South Koreans who have taken to the streets in protest. They are furious over what prosecutors say was collusion by Park with a longtime friend to extort money from companies and to give that confidante extraordinary sway over government decisions. Organizers said about 10,000 people gathered in front of the National Assembly to demand that lawmakers pass the impeachment motion. Some had spent the night on the streets after travelling from other cities. Scuffles broke out between angry anti-Park farmers, some of whom had driven tractors to the assembly from their farms, and police. When impeachment happened, many of those gathered raised their hands in the air and leapt about, cheering and laughing. “Can you hear the roar of the people in front of the National Assembly?” Kim Kwan-young, an opposition lawmaker said ahead of the vote, referring to South Korea’s formal name. “Our great people have already opened the way. Let’s make it so we can stand honourably in front of history and our descendants.” The handover of power prompted the prime minister to order South Korea’s defence minister to put the military on a state of heightened readiness to brace for any potential provocation by North Korea. No suspicious movements by the North were reported, however. Park will be formally removed from office if at least six of the constitutional Court’s nine justices support her impeachment, and the country would then hold a presidential election within 60 days. National Assembly speaker Chung Sye-kyun said the bill on Park’s impeachment was passed by a vote of 234 for and 56 opposed, with seven invalid votes and two abstentions. That well surpassed the necessary two-thirds vote needed in the 300-seat assembly, with the opposition getting strong support from members of Park’s party. Present for the vote were relatives of the victims of a 2014 ferry disaster that killed more than 300 and was blamed in part on government incompetence and corruption; they cheered and clapped after the impeachment was announced. Most lawmakers left the hall quietly, though some could be seen taking selfies as they waited to vote. Lawmakers from both parties faced huge pressure to act against Park, the daughter of a military dictator still revered by many conservatives for lifting the country from poverty in the 1960s and 1970s. Her approval ratings had plunged to 4%, the lowest among South Korean leaders since democracy came in the late 1980s, and even elderly conservatives who once made up her political base have distanced themselves from her. An opinion survey released earlier Friday showed 81% of respondents supported Park’s impeachment. South Korean lawmakers last voted to impeach a president in 2004, when they accused late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun of minor election law violations and incompetence. The constitutional Court restored Roh’s powers about two months later, ruling that his wrongdoings weren’t serious enough to justify his unseating. The chances of the court reinstating Park are considered low because her charges are much graver. Some legal experts say the court might need more than a couple of months to decide. This is because Park’s case is much more complicated than Roh’s, and because her lawyers will likely press the court not to uphold the impeachment unless the suspicions against her are proven. Hundreds gathered Friday night at a boulevard in front of an old palace gate in downtown Seoul, which has been the centre of demonstrations in recent weeks calling for Park’s removal. Protesters planned to march close to the Blue House. The impeachment is a remarkable fall for Park, who convincingly beat her liberal opponent in 2012. Park’s single, five-year term was originally set to end Feb. 24, 2018. The political turmoil around Park comes after years of frustration over a leadership style that inspired comparisons to her father, Park Chung-hee. Critics saw in Park an unwillingness to tolerate dissent as her government cracked down on press freedom, pushed to dissolve a leftist party and allowed aggressive police suppression of anti-government protests, which saw the death of an activist in 2016. She also was heavily criticized over her government’s handling of the 2014 ferry sinking; most of those victims were school kids. Park has repeatedly apologized over the public anger caused by the latest scandal, but has denied any legal wrongdoing. She attempted to avoid impeachment last month by making a conditional offer to step down if parliament could come up with a stable power-transfer plan, but the overture was dismissed by opposition lawmakers as a stalling ploy. In indicting Park’s longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, and two former presidential aides last month, state prosecutors said they believed the president was “collusively involved” in criminal activities by the suspects. Choi and the two former aides were accused of bullying large companies into providing tens of millions of dollars and favours to foundations and businesses Choi controlled, and enabling Choi to interfere with state affairs. Park first met Choi in the 1970s, around the time Park was acting as first lady after her mother was killed during a 1974 assassination attempt on her father. Choi’s father, a shadowy figure named Choi Tae-min who was a Buddhist monk, a religious cult leader and a Christian pastor at different times, emerged as Park’s mentor. The Choi clan has long been suspected of building a fortune by using their connections with Park to extort companies and government organizations. Choi’s ex-husband is also a former close aide of Park’s. ||||| South Korean lawmakers voted to impeach President Park Geun-Hye, stripping away her executive powers over a corruption scandal and opening a new period of uncertainty. The National Assembly immediately transferred Park’s authority to the prime minister, pending a ruling by the constitutional court on whether to ratify the decision and permanently remove the president from office. A ruling could take up to six months, during which Park would remain in the presidential Blue House — a leader in name only. The situation leaves South Korea facing an extended stretch of political anxiety and policy paralysis at a time of slowing economic growth, rising unemployment and military tensions with North Korea. “I am sorry for all South Koreans that I created this national chaos with my carelessness,” Park said in a televised statement after the vote. “But we should not let our guard down for a minute, given the grave situation we face at home and abroad from our economy to the national defence. The motion to impeach was adopted by 234 votes to 56, securing the required two-thirds majority in the 300-seat chamber and triggering celebrations among hundreds of anti-Park activists gathered outside the national assembly. It was a startling fall from grace for a politician who had run for the Blue House as an incorruptible candidate, declaring herself beholden to nobody and “married to the nation”. After just under four years in power, she now faces the prospect of going down in history as the first democratically-elected South Korean president to be kicked out of office. ||||| South Korean politicians yesterday impeached president Park Geun-hye, a swift fall for the country’s first female leader amid protests that drew millions into the streets in united fury. After the vote, parliamentary officials hand-delivered formal documents to the presidential Blue House that stripped Ms Park of her power and allowed the country’s number two official, prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, to assume leadership until the Constitutional Court rules on whether Ms Park must permanently step down. The court has up to six months to decide. “I’d like to say that I’m deeply sorry to the people because the nation has to experience this turmoil because of my negligence and lack of virtue at a time when our security and economy both face difficulties,” Ms Park said after the vote, before a closed-door meeting with her Cabinet where she and other aides reportedly broke down in tears. Mr Hwang separately said that he wanted “the ruling and opposition political parties and the parliament to gather strength and wisdom so that we can return stability to the country and people as soon as possible”. Once called the “Queen of Elections” for her ability to pull off wins for her party, Ms Park has been surrounded in the Blue House in recent weeks by millions of South Koreans who have taken to the streets in protest. They are furious over what prosecutors say was collusion by Ms Park with a long-time friend to extort money from companies and to give that confidante extraordinary sway over government decisions. Organisers said about 10,000 people gathered in front of the National Assembly to demand that politicians pass the impeachment motion. Some had spent the night on the streets after travelling from other cities. Scuffles broke out between angry anti-Park farmers, some of whom had driven tractors to the assembly from their farms, and police. When the impeachment happened, many of those gathered raised their hands in the air and leapt about, cheering and laughing. “Can you hear the roar of the people in front of the National Assembly?” Kim Kwan-young, an opposition politician said ahead of the vote, referring to South Korea’s formal name. “Our great people have already opened the way. Let’s make it so we can stand honourably in front of history and our descendants.” The handover of power prompted the prime minister to order his defence minister to put the military on a state of heightened readiness to brace for any potential provocation by North Korea. No suspicious movements by the North were reported, however. Ms Park will be formally removed from office if at least six of the Constitutional Court’s nine justices support her impeachment, and the country would hold a presidential election within 60 days. National Assembly speaker Chung Sye-kyun said the bill on Ms Park’s impeachment was passed by a vote of 234 for and 56 opposed. That well surpassed the necessary two-thirds vote needed in the 300-seat assembly, with the opposition getting strong support from members of Ms Park’s party. Present for the vote were relatives of the victims of a 2014 ferry disaster that killed more than 300 and was blamed in part on government incompetence and corruption; they cheered and clapped after the impeachment was announced. Most politicians left the hall quietly, though some could be seen taking selfies as they waited to vote. Politicians from both parties faced huge pressure to act against Ms Park, the daughter of a military dictator still revered by many conservatives for lifting the country from poverty in the 1960s-70s.
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South Korean lawmakers impeach President Park Geun-hye by a 234–56 vote. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, a staunch defender of Ms. Park, will serve as acting president. South Korea's Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to render a final decision.
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While the Seattle Sounders celebrated with the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy after the MLS Cup final, numb Toronto FC players tried to process what had just happened. There are few more painful ways to lose a championship game than by penalty shootout. But there is salt in the wound when you hold the opposition to no shots on goal in a 0-0 tie over 120 minutes, only to lose the ensuing shootout 5-4 on a bone-chilling night on home soil. "It can be a cruel game sometimes," said a despondent Toronto captain Michael Bradley, who sat in his locker-room stall looking like he had been hit by a truck. "It's not easy," added striker Jozy Altidore. "It's a really crappy feeling obviously." "It all happened so quickly and it's over," said goalkeeper Clint Irwin, who looked like a ghost. "You don't really know what to feel or what to do. It's just over. There's no words to describe it." It took Toronto FC 10 seasons, nine coaches, 324 regular-season and six playoff games to finally get to the championship game. Some 3.49 million fans went through the turnstiles before the 36,045 lucky ones Saturday night. Frei wins MVP Toronto got there having set an MLS record 17 goals in these playoffs. But they could not beat Stefan Frei, named MLS Cup MVP. The former Toronto FC 'keeper made a brilliant save in the 108th minute, using his left hand to claw away a looping Altidore header from the top corner. Frei somehow extended himself like Inspector Gadget to preserve the tie. "He made a great save, kept his team in the game," said Altidore. "It was going to take something special, either to win or in that case to keep them alive and they got that play." Frei was modest about his miraculous stop. "Sometimes you throw technique out the window and just make the save," he said. Frei, who spent five seasons in Toronto where he lost his starting job mostly to injury, credited Seattle's coaches for believing in him. Altidore, Benoit Cheyrou, Will Johnson and Drew Moor scored in the shootout for Toronto. Frei stopped Bradley on Toronto's second attempt and Justin Morrow hit the underside of the crossbar with Toronto's sixth attempt. Defender Roman Torres then stepped up and beat Irwin to end the drama. Brad Evans, Andreas Ivanschitz, Joevin Jones and Nicolas Lodeiro scored earlier in the shootout for Seattle. Irwin stopped Alvaro Fernandez on Seattle's third penalty. It was a bitter pill for Toronto to swallow after a game where the tension was ratcheted up as the night wore on, with Toronto turning the screws. The shots were 19-3 in Toronto's favour (7-0 in shots on target) after 120 minutes but Seattle defended stoutly. Sebastian Giovinco faced tough defence all night from Seattle, not being able to find much room. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press) The Sounders' zero shots on target and three total shots were both MLS Cup records. And it was the first 0-0 MLS Cup final in regulation time. "We were the better team but at the same time, Seattle, their game plan was to be unspectacular, to just kind of absorb pressure and try to stay in the game as long as they could," said Altidore. "Credit to them, they did. And we just weren't able to find a way." Both teams' star men had quiet nights. Striker Sebastian Giovinco was treated like a pinata by Seattle defenders. Uruguayan playmaker Lodeiro was kept in check by Toronto. "We can only thank every person in this city for their support and for the passion and the emotion and the energy that they put into this together with us," said Bradley. "I'm sick to my stomach that we couldn't reward them with the biggest trophy tonight." ||||| Taline McPhedran, CTVNews.ca Toronto FC will finally get their shot at becoming MLS champions on Saturday night as they take on the Seattle Sounders in a winner-takes-all game. Hosting the MLS final is a first for Toronto since the team started playing in 2007. Tickets for the championship game sold out in just three minutes after going on sale, with 36,000 people expected to take in the game at BMO field Saturday night. This will also be the first time that both Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders play for the MLS championship title. Toronto FC failed to qualify for the playoffs from 2007 to 2014 before making it to the first ‘knockout round’ in 2014. A nail-biting win against Montreal Impact propelled the team to the finals this year. “The buzz in Canada these last few weeks has been incredible, it’s been unprecedented,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber during a news conference. The Seattle Sounders have had better luck, making the playoffs every year since their inception in 2009. The team has played in five conference semifinals and two conference finals but have never moved on to the final before this year. The two teams will make history just as the game itself could make history. This final will be the latest MLS final ever held, the previous record being Dec. 7 in 2013 and 2014. And if Toronto’s forecast is any indication, it also has the potential to be the coldest final ever held, with temperatures expected to be at -4 C (feeling more like -9 C) at the start of the game. But none of that matters to members of Toronto’s squad. “We’re excited to compete, we’re excited to play,” said Clint Irwin, goalkeeper for FC. “This is what Toronto sports are all about.” Kickoff is at 8 p.m. ET. ||||| The Sounders are looking for their first MLS Cup title as they battle Toronto FC at BMO Field in Toronto. Follow along live for full coverage, photos and reaction. At long last, it’s time for the MLS Cup final. The Sounders’ remarkable 2016 resurgence has reached its final chapter. Without star forward Clint Dempsey, Seattle has rallied behind rookie Jordan Morris to steamroll through the final stretch of the season and all the way into the MLS Cup, where they will meet Toronto FC. Will Seattle capture its elusive first title? Follow along live all evening as the Sounders face Toronto FC in the MLS Cup » [ Using our mobile app? Switch to browser » ]
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• Keys to 2016 MLS Cup: How will the Sounders defend Jozy Altidore?
• How Nicolas Lodeiro’s Uruguayan roots define him and his play for Sounders ||||| The Seattle Sounders claimed their first Major League Soccer Cup by beating Toronto FC 5-4 on penalties after their title game ended 0-0 after extra-time on Saturday. After Toronto’s Justin Morrow hit the crossbar, Seattle defender Roman Torres coolly hammered home the decider as the Sounders finally celebrated victory following seven seasons of near misses. With zero shots on goal after 120 minutes it looked as if the Sounders, who have reached the playoffs in each of their eight years in the league, would come up short yet again but found the target when it mattered most. Brad Evans, Andreas Ivanshitz, Joevin Jones and Nicolas Lodeiro also scored in the shootout for Seattle while Sounders goalkeeper capped an evening of spectacular saves by denying Morrow and Toronto captain Michael Bradley. Frei, who spent five seasons with TFC, returned to torment his former team mates earning MLS Cup most valuable player honors after shutting out a high-powered Toronto attack that had produced 17 goals in five playoff contests. The Seattle keeper’s biggest save, however, did not come in the shootout but deep into extra time when the Swiss dove across the net at full stretch and with his left hand tipped away a looping header from Jozy Altidore. “It looked like it was going to go in and then all of a sudden here comes this paw and he gets a hold of it,” praised Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer. “It was a tremendous save but there were a couple of other times I thought the ball might have gone in.” For TFC and their fans it was a crushing result to a contest they had dominated for 120 minutes but could not breach a Seattle defense that had conceded just three goals in five playoff matches. “They always had numbers around the goal and in the box,” lamented Toronto coach Greg Vanney. “Whenever we got into those areas there were times we just couldn’t get that final pass to someone who could finish. “The few times we hit the goal Frei picks things out.” It was perfect ice hockey weather at BMO Field, which in three weeks will host the NHL’s Centennial Classic outdoor game, but the bone-chilling temperatures did little to cool down a fired up capacity crowd of close to 36,000. Toronto made a lively start and enjoyed the run of play in a scrappy opening half. The Reds’ best scoring chance came early when Altidore squeezed a shot from inside the area that sliced by the post and a diving Frei in the second minute. After the break it was Sebastian Giovinco, the other half of Toronto’s strike partnership, finally finding space down the left wing coming close when he ripped a shot that just missed the near post. Toronto nearly ended the drama with an injury time winner when Bradley sent in a corner that Frei narrowly punched clear just before a diving Altidore could get his head on the ball. But it was Frei’s save on Altidore in the 108th minute that Vanney believes robbed his team of a title. “That was one of the great saves that I have seen in a big moment because that goal to me ends the game,” said Vanney. “We win if we do that. He saved the game for them.” ||||| TORONTO — Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei came back to haunt his former team as the Sounders beat Toronto 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the MLS Cup on a chilly Saturday night. It was 0-0 after regulation, with Frei keeping Seattle in the game with a marvellous save in extra time. Jozy Altidore, Benoit Cheyrou, Will Johnson and Drew Moor scored in the shootout for Toronto. Frei stopped captain Michael Bradley and Justin Morrow hit the underside of the crossbar with Toronto’s sixth attempt. Defender Roman Torres then stepped up and beat Clint Irwin to end the drama. Brad Evans, Andreas Ivanshitz, Joevin Jones and Nicolas Lodeiro also scored in the shootout for Seattle. Clint Irwin stopped Alvaro Fernandez. It was a bitter pill for Toronto to swallow after a game where the tension was ratcheted up as the night wore on, with Toronto turning the screws. The shots were 19-3 in Toronto’s favour (7-0 in shots on target) after 120 minutes but Seattle defended stoutly. The Sounders’ zero shots on target and three total shots were both MLS Cup records. And it was the first 0-0 MLS Cup final in regulation time. Seattle, which was mired near the bottom of the league in mid-July, becomes the 11th team in league history to win the championship. Nine of the previous 20 finals had also required overtime with three of those going to penalty kicks. Toronto had chances in extra time. Substitute Tosaint Ricketts shot just wide early in the second half with Frei rooted to the spot. The former Toronto FC ‘keeper then made a brilliant save in the 108th minute, using his left hand to claw away a looping Altidore header from the top corner. Frei somehow extended himself like Inspector Gadget to preserve the tie. Torres then had a chance at the back post, but could not sort his feet out. Toronto had the better chances in the first half but could not break down a well-organized Seattle side. Toronto captain Bradley and Seattle counterpart Osvaldo Alonso both stood out, breaking up plays and sending the ball the other way. It was a tense second half, with both teams knowing one mistake could cost them the Cup. As the clock wound down on regulation time, Toronto had outshot Seattle 12-3 (3-0 in shots on target). Two of the Sounders shots were off-target and the third was blocked. It was almost decided in second-half stoppage time but Frei got to a bouncing ball off a Bradley corner just before Altidore did. Frei paid the price, running into the burly forward. Both teams’ star men had quiet nights. Striker Sebastian Giovinco was treated like a pinata by Seattle defenders. Uruguayan playmaker Lodeiro was kept in check by Toronto. Giovinco came out in the 103rd minute, replaced by Ricketts. He exited late in the last playoff game too, slowed by cramps. It was minus 4 Celsius at kickoff, but felt like minus 9. It didn’t bother Bradley, who wore short sleeves and no gloves. None of the Toronto starters wore tuques in the warmup. Some of the Sounders, in contrast, looked like they had dressed for the ski lodge. The championship game, only 15 days before Christmas, was the latest ever on the MLS calendar. The previous latest was Dec. 7, in 2015 and 2013. The temperature at the 2103 final in Kansas City hovered around minus 6 Celsius at kickoff, making it the coldest match since 2003 when the league first started recording game-time temperatures. At the other end of the spectrum, the 2004 Cup final was a warm 27 degrees on Nov. 14 in Carson, Calif. Not this night. You could see the players’ breath and feel for the kilt-wearing flag-bearers during the anthems. Most of the record capacity crowd of 36,045 at BMO Field stood during the match, probably to keep their feet moving. The travelling Seattle fans likely needed an air traffic controller to find their seats high in the corner of the East Stand. It was physical from the get-go. Giovinco was floored in the third minute and Moor went down after taking an accidental boot in the groin from Nelson Valdez in the sixth. Toronto’s Armando Cooper then ran over Jordan Morris. The early chances went to Toronto with an Altidore shot deflected wide in the second minute and then Frei getting down to stop a weak shot from Jonathan Osorio in the 15th. Seattle had its moments but could not convert them into scoring chances. In the 26th minute, Torres took a Giovinco shot to the face. But the big Panamanian was soon back up. Altidore came close with a header in the 30th off a Morrow cross. Giovinco had two bites at the apple from free kicks in the first half but could not work his magic. Seattle, looking to strike on the counter-attack, failed to put a shot on target in the first half. Toronto managed three. Giovinco shot wide in the 49th minute, missing a fine opportunity. Minutes later he was bulldozed into the turf by Alonso with no foul called. Toronto built the shot count to 10-0 (3-0 in shots on target) after 60 minutes. Valdez limped off in the 73rd minute, replaced by Ivanschitz. Morris moved to the tip of the Seattle offence. Giovinco was taken down in the 76th minute, caught in a Sounders sandwich, but again got no call from referee Alan Kelly — much to the Italian’s disgust. Torres, who was immense on the night, and veteran centre-back partner Chad Marshall did not yield an inch. Saturday’s game pitted two championship-hungry franchise with heavyweight fan followings. Seattle, which joined the MLS fold in 2009, led the league in attendance averaging 42,636 per game at CenturyLink Field. Toronto, which came on board in 2007, was third — behind Orlando — at 26,583. Saturday’s big crowd was made possible by temporary seats left over from the Grey Cup. Pre-game social media messages of support for the home side came from all quarters, from Drake to the prime minister. “At #BMOField in my long underwear,” tweeted TV personality Drew Carey, a minority owner in the Sounders. The teams each made one change in their midfield from Game 2 of their respective conference finals. Osorio returned at the expense of Johnson for Toronto and Erik Friberg came in for Ivanschitz for Seattle. There were five points separating the sides during the regular season with Toronto (14-9-11) third in the East and Seattle (14-14-6) fourth in the West. The Sounders’ season turned on July 26 when assistant coach Brian Schmetzer replaced Sigi Schmid, the team’s only head coach. Seattle, ninth in the West with a 6-12-2 record at the time off the coaching change, went 12-3-4 since en route to the final. Toronto also arrived on a roll, having lost just three times since mid-July (12-3-5). The year had a hard start, with Toronto playing the first eight games of the season away due to stadium renovations. A crowd of 21,700 took in the only other MLS Cup in Toronto in 2010, when the league used to hold the championship at a neutral venue. Colorado, with current Toronto defender Moor in the lineup, beat Dallas 2-1 in overtime. Temperature at kickoff that night was 6. ||||| TORONTO — There was nothing right about Saturday night. The Seattle Sounders, standing atop a stage at midfield, lifting the MLS Cup having not produced a shot on target over 120 minutes. Seattle’s first attempt on goal didn’t arrive until the match was close to three hours old — when Brad Evans converted his penalty kick. Six spot kicks later, after Toronto FC’s Michael Bradley and Justin Morrow missed their attempts, Seattle’s Roman Torres converted to Clint Irwin’s right to give the Rave Green their first title. It was the moment when Toronto’s dream season ended; The last kick of Major League Soccer’s 21st season. But the final kick in the gut might have been watching ex-TFC goalkeeper Stefan Frei claim player-of-the-game honours after saving Bradley’s penalty. It had to be gut-wrenching for TFC’s captain, who didn’t hit his attempt with enough pace or direction. There will be questions as to whether it was his last kick in a TFC kit amid speculation there’s interest in Europe. “I know Michael will be disappointed,” TFC coach Greg Vanney said. “At the end of the day, it’s a penalty. Those things happen. I thought he was fantastic for the whole game. “He gave us a great chance to win the game. I would never beat somebody up for missing a PK. That happens. I’m sure he’s disappointed, but our guys gave everything they had to the game.” Morrow had an opportunity to save TFC’s MLS Cup dream, only to see his spot kick come back off the crossbar to the delight of the 1,500 Sounders fans tucked neatly in the northeast corner of BMO Field. Then came Torres, the most unlikely of penalty kick heroes. The Sounders’ Panamanian defender banged home his sudden-death penalty to stun fans who braved sub-zero conditions. All Toronto can do now is regret all the missed opportunities. The Reds outshot their opponent 19-3 through 90 minutes of regulation and a half-hour more of extra time. They didn’t deserve to win Saturday night, but the Reds put in maybe one of the most dominating performances in MLS Cup history only to come away with nothing. “A game like that needs a goal to loosen up one of the teams defensively,” Vanney added post-game. “The longer it went on, the longer they were protecting their goal and looking for moments.” The Sounders might have been looking, but they didn’t find any. Sometimes soccer teams survive on the road. The Sounders didn’t just survive. There was only one team on the field in terms of chances and quality opportunities. The visitors didn’t have an attempt at goal before the game was 80 minutes old. They’re the only team in MLS history to not produce an attempt on goal during a final. The Reds, on the other hand, were dominant in a first half that saw them outshoot Seattle 7-0. “I thought we played like the team that wanted to win the championship,” Vanney added. “(My players’) heads are down now, but they’ll come back fighting when we come back for pre-season.” Jozy Altidore, the hero during the second half of TFC’s season, the scorer of big goals throughout these playoffs, nearly produced a dream start for Toronto in front of 36,045 fans. The U.S. international raced in along the left edge of the penalty area minutes into the match before watching his left-footed low drive deflected just wide of the back post. Jonathan Osorio had Toronto’s next best opportunity, when on 15 minutes, the Canadian latched onto laid-off pass from Altidore before turning from inside 10 metres and hitting his open look directly into Frei’s arms. All the while, the Sounders were heroic in their defending of Sebastian Giovinco. The Atomic Ant was bottled up almost from start to finish by Torres and Chad Marshall. The Italian, who didn’t look 100% in certain moments during these playoffs, was made to look like a fraction of the player he was during the regular season. Altidore had another chance to put the Reds up on the half-hour mark when he skied above the Rave Green’s Joevin Jones to meet Morrow’s cross only to see Frei dive to his left to deny the attempt. The Sounders, meanwhile, couldn’t conjure up anything the other way. Bradley was immense in shutting down Uruguayan playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro, who was a non-factor throughout regulation. Anchored by stalwart Drew Moor, TFC’s back three didn’t give an inch to strikers Jordan Morris and Nelson Valdez. The Sounders were holding on for dear life during portions of this final. Giovinco’s lack of sharpness on Toronto FC’s most important night shown minutes after halftime when Osorio played him in along the right side of the box. But the Atomic Ant put his open look from an angle into the netting. As the game grew older, things began to tighten. The Reds failed to connect passes amid miss-touches that saw them struggle to create any quality opportunities. The Reds had one final chance in second-half stoppage time when a corner was headed down to the back post, where Altidore was lurking to potentially score the MLS Cup-winning goal. But there was Frei, quick off his line to sacrifice his body in a big collision that saw him deny Altidore’s diving header attempt to send the game into extra time. Toronto’s Benoit Cheyrou, the hero in last week’s semifinal win over Montreal, produced Toronto FC’s best chance in the first-half of extra time. The Frenchman burst through midfield in the 95th minute before lining up a right-footed grass-cutter that again called Frei into action. Shots were 16-3 at that time. After replacing Giovinco in extra time, Toronto’s Tosaint Ricketts had the game on his foot in the 107th minute only to see his volley from the penalty spot skip tantalizingly wide of the right post. Minutes later, Toronto’s former ’keeper produced one of the great saves in MLS Cup history when he sprawled across the goal line to get a hand to another Altidore header. “I thought that ball had eyes for the corner,” Vanney said. “I thought (Frei) was maybe caught in the middle of the goal. But it was looping. It gave him enough time to set his feet and get across the goal. “It was one of the great saves that I’ve seen in a big moment.” ||||| After years trying to find its way back to a major championship game, the city of Toronto has rediscovered another keen sports feeling – crushing disappointment. Toronto FC lost the MLS Cup on Saturday night in the most painful possible way. They dominated through 120 minutes of game play and added-extra time. How dominant? Their opponents, the Seattle Sounders, did not manage a single shot on goal. That had never before happened in the history of Major League Soccer finals. It went to penalty kicks. It was then tied through the regulation five kicks. Toronto’s sixth taker, Justin Morrow, beat the ‘keeper, but his shot caromed back off the underside of the crossbar. He quite literally missed it by an inch. Seattle’s Roman Torres finished it with the next kick. The Sounders most valuable player was probably ‘keeper Stefan Frei. A close second was referee Alan Kelly. He allowed a game of remarkable permissiveness and brutality. Since Toronto was the only team going forward with regularity, that tended to punish them more. The key victim was Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco. He wasn’t there by the time penalties rolled around. After nearly two hours of serial battery, Giovinco left the game limping in the 103rd minute. Toronto had two gilt-edged chances to seal it in the second half of added-extra time. Tosaint Rickets sent a scuffed shot inches wide of the post. Jozy Altidore had a point-blank header spectacularly saved by former TFC ‘keeper Frei. You could sense after that shot that everything was beginning to slip away. Once it did, Toronto FC’s players fled the field immediately. By the time the Sounders got around to the trophy presentation, BMO Field was nearly deserted. Regulation was largely a game of Red Rover played in sub-zero temps. Seattle’s Nelson Valdez set the early tone when, moving at full-speed, he planted an outstretched foot in Drew Moor’s sensitive parts. That play was book-ended by a flying hip-check delivered in the final minute of regulation by Toronto’s Michael Bradley. As referee Alan Kelly extended a card in Bradley’s direction, he blurted out a baffled “What?” Given the way things had gone, he was right to be confused. In between, Toronto had all the chances. And I mean every single one. Seattle did not manage a single shot on goal over the course of the entire game. Nonetheless, they’d come with an effective plan – string things out, turtle in your own end and hit Giovinco every time he got the ball. Kelly, apparently the best of MLS’s notoriously awful officials corps, was an enthusiastic abettor of that strategy. At times, you wondered if he’d forgotten his whistle in the dressing room as he came out for the second half. In one instance, two trailing Seattle men pulled Giovinco down in full flight. No call. Hence, the paucity of goals and – for long stretches – any real vim to an otherwise vigorous contest. ||||| Toronto FC captain Michael Bradley said that soccer can be a "cruel game," after losing the MLS Cup final to the Seattle Sounders in a penalty shootout on Saturday. Toronto Coach Greg Vanney said he's proud of the squad. ||||| It might have taken Toronto FC nine seasons to win a playoff game in Major League Soccer. But off the field, MLS commissioner Don Garber says, the franchise set the league standard with its passionate fan base from Day 1. Toronto battles the Seattle Sounders for the MLS Cup on Saturday, and Garber praised both young franchises in his annual state of the league address on the eve of the game. Read more: The passion, pain and joy of being a Toronto FC fan Read more: Toronto FC, ready for battle, hope for winning weather Garber said both finalists had helped, in their own way, set the standard for the league. “I think what Toronto did when they came in in 2007 is showed the North American market in many ways what an environment of passionate soccer supporters can be,” Garber said. “And how having a downtown stadium that was supported by the Red Patch Boys, and a whole bunch of other travelling passionate flag-waving fans, that environment became sort of a brand statement – this is what we think MLS can be and you see that being replicated in many other markets. “We’ve had lots of passionate supporters [in other cities]. But there was something about how the supporter movement – downtown stadium, small stadium, great brand – all came together to tell a very good story.” Both franchises know how to draw fans through the turnstiles. Seattle led the league in attendance this season, averaging 42,636 a game, while Toronto was third (behind Orlando) at 26,583. Garber said Toronto’s ownership group, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, didn’t treat its soccer team as the younger sibling, and that was key. “When the leadership of that organization says our team is going to be treated the same as the Maple Leafs, the same as the Raptors, our stadium is going to be no different than Air Canada Centre, I think that was a pretty big talisman that they held and had many other clubs say: We ought to do that,” Garber said. The Sounders, who share CenturyLink Field with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, followed Toronto’s lead. “A lot of that came from this idea that MLSE treated all of their brands equally and proudly and we see that now with every one of our clubs,” Garber said. On the field however, the Sounders found success right out of the gate. They’re the first team in history to make the playoffs in all eight of their seasons since they entered the league in 2009. Toronto made its first playoff appearance last year, but was dispatched by the Montreal Impact in one game. Since neither team has played for the Cup, a new champion will be crowned Saturday, one of numerous firsts that Garber highlighted during his hour-long session with the media.
• It’s the first championship game in Canada;
• It’s both the first time the game will be broadcast live on network TV in the United States on Fox, and it’s the first time the MLS Cup will be offered in virtual reality. The game will be shown in a 170 countries in more than 90 different languages – both records;
• The game sold out in less than four minutes and it will be the highest attended MLS Cup (36,000) since the league moved to its new playoff format;
• The Eastern Conference final between Toronto and Montreal set viewership records on TSN and RDS and more than 100,000 fans packed Olympic Stadium and BMO Field; Garber was at the conference final nail-biter at BMO Field and said it epitomized what the league had hoped for when it expanded into Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. “It was one of the great games in our league’s young history,” Garber said. “As I was sitting in those stands, hoping to have something memorable happen, to see it happen on the field and give us something that I think will create lifetime memories for all the people who are fans of this team, memories for the fans of the Montreal Impact, it’s going to provide us with a very solid future for the sport and Major League Soccer here in this country.” Garber also announced several changes for next season, including expanding the target allocation program, which provides clubs cash to spend strategically to improve their rosters. All 21 teams, he said, will receive $1.2-million (U.S.) – an increase of $400,000 per club. And they hope to implement VAR – video-assisted refereeing – by the second half of 2017 MLS season. ||||| TORONTO — On a night of cold, and ultimately frustration, Sebastian Giovinco’s arms were in the air in defiance, his moment of personal protest. Not his only moment. He was knocked to the ground, to the frozen grass, the tiny Toronto FC superstar was pushed and prodded and pulled and angered and he seemed to get no respect from the officials at the MLS Cup and too much regard and physical presence from the Seattle Sounders. And ultimately, the most exciting player in Major League Soccer, was pulled from the championship game in extra time on Saturday night — clearly a reflection more about his health than his ineffective play. Pulled after trying to do too much and coming away with too little. This wasn’t what you would want from Soccer Night In Canada, with a stadium full and a country watching and a city consumed by the atmosphere and the possibility of a championship. You wanted more from Giovinco, hurt or not. You wanted better than this. You wanted Giovinco on fire, not chopped up by the Sounders like kindling. You want your stars to be your stars. You wanted to see some kind of scoring for Toronto, for the country, for soccer dammit. You didn’t want a goalless stereotype You wanted something to warm up and excite a well-dressed soldout crowd at BMO Field. You wanted a parade. But the ending was oh so Toronto. There will be no parade. The ending was another reminder of almost winning something. The city motto. When you don’t score, you don’t get the opportunity to celebrate on the field. You can have all the possession you want — and take that Corsi fans — finishing still matters. Toronto FC in the end was finished because it couldn’t finish. And soccer won and lost this week. Won by the atmosphere. Won with the interest. Won in a big-picture MLS way. Lost when the home team couldn’t find a way. All they needed was a goal. A lead. Something. Was it too much to ask from 126 minutes of soccer? One bloody goal. Giovinco didn’t finish the game on the field, wasn’t around for penalty kicks, wasn’t the difference maker he is paid to be. It was that kind of disappointing. For him. For anyone wanting a different kind of ending. This was not Leon McQuay fumbling. This was not a where were you, remember this for the rest of your life, tears in your eyes defeat, Jim Sundberg. This was Toronto being Toronto. And sometimes being that just hurts. Giovinco has the kind of talent that can not only light up a stadium but warm up a frozen crowd. He can be that special. He can be that different. And on the MLS equivalent of Super Bowl Sunday, you expect Tom Brady to be great, you expect Joe Montana to throw to Jerry Rice, and you expect Giovinco and yes, Jozy Altidore, to combine their ridiculous skills and personal differences in size to provide Toronto FC with two ways of scoring. Giovinco is small and quick and with moves that take your breath away. Altidore is part LeBron James, part Jim Brown, bigger, more powerful, more physical than anyone who plays at this level. But like Giovinco, he couldn’t find much room against Seattle and when he did he was pounded, which isn’t an easy thing to do, and he had attempts to alter the outcome before extra time came and wasn’t able to finish. Those who know soccer better — which is basically the entire planet — called the championship game sloppy. It was not what the soccer people would call efficient. Seattle, playing for a championship, didn’t have a shot on goal. Not one. They won a bloody championship without a shot on goal. Imagine that. And what’s more Toronto than that? Seattle did the George Foreman thing most of the night and I don’t mean selling grills. Toronto played the part of Michael Moorer. The Sounders waited and waited and waited some more, like Foreman did in the ring before knocking out Moorer for the heavyweight championship of the world, and TFC threw quick jabs accomplishing little. The Sounders waited for the one quick stab — but it never came. And then the worst way to determine any championship, any sport. Just a few weeks ago, the Grey Cup went to overtime in this very park. The ending at least brought some excitement to the stadium and to a national television audience. This game was a challenge, to stick through, to watch to the end, to stay engaged. Championships should never be won on penalty kicks. And there it went Saturday night. With the crowd of 36,045, largest attendance ever at BMO Field, with a crowd livelier than the game for the most part trying to inspire their players, rather than their players inspiring the crowd. When it came to penalty kicks to decide the championship, Sebastian Giovinco, leading point-getter in the MLS, was watching from the sidelines. A championship lost on bloody penalty kicks. A game more memorable for its wondrous atmosphere than its final result.
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In association football, Toronto FC play Seattle Sounders FC in the MLS Cup final held at Toronto's BMO Field. The Sounders win 5–4 in a penalty shootout after the game ended scoreless after extra time. It is the Sounders' first MLS title.
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Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Reuters/Pascal Lauener More than 1 billion Yahoo user accounts — including phone numbers, birthdates, and security questions — may have been stolen by hackers during an attack that took place in August 2013, the company revealed on Wednesday. The announcement of what could represent the largest hack of all time is a separate incident than the one Yahoo disclosed back in September. In that hack, Yahoo said that at least 500 million user accounts were compromised. "The company has not been able to identify the intrusion associated with this theft," Yahoo said on Wednesday about the new incident. News of the breach sent Yahoo shares sliding about 2.5% in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The revelation of the hack could have implications for the $4.8 billion sale of Yahoo to Verizon, which has yet to close. Yahoo disclosed the previous hack to Verizon only after agreeing to the deal, and Verizon has since said that it considers the hack a material event that could affect the terms and price of the acquisition. "As we've said all along, we will evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation," Verizon told CNBC on Wednesday, regarding the latest hack. Forged cookies With a billion accounts at risk, that would make this the biggest breach of ever — bigger than the Myspace breach of 360 million user accounts and 427 million passwords. Yahoo said that payment-card data and bank-account information were not stored on the system the company "believes" was affected. But the hackers may have collected a trove of other valuable personal information, such as user names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords, and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. Yahoo said that it now believes an "unauthorized third party accessed the company's proprietary code to learn how to forge cookies." It was not clear which incident the forged cookies related to. But Yahoo said that "the company has connected some of this activity to the same state-sponsored actor believed to be responsible for the data theft the company disclosed on September 22, 2016." Here's the entire message from Yahoo: ||||| SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo, already reeling from its September disclosure that 500 million user accounts had been hacked in 2014, disclosed Wednesday that a different attack in 2013 compromised more than 1 billion accounts. The two attacks are the largest known security breaches of one company’s computer network. The newly disclosed 2013 attack involved sensitive user information, including names, telephone numbers, dates of birth, encrypted passwords and unencrypted security questions that could be used to reset a password. Yahoo said it is forcing all of the affected users to change their passwords and it is invalidating unencrypted security questions — steps that it declined to take in September. It is unclear how many Yahoo users were affected by both attacks. The internet company has more than 1 billion active users, but it is not clear how many inactive accounts were hacked. ||||| The latest Yahoo hack exposed personal details from more than 1 billion user accounts, the largest known data breach in history. Despite the size of the break-in, which apparently dates back to August 2013, attackers don't appear to have accessed obviously sensitive information such as financial data or Social Security numbers. Here's how the Yahoo attack revealed today stacks up against other recent major hacks. Yahoo disclosed in September that hackers swiped personal information from at least 500 million Yahoo accounts. At the time, that hack was believed to be the biggest digital break-in at an email provider. That breach dated back to late 2014. Yahoo said it believes the 2014 hack was distinct from the 2013 breach it announced today. The company later revealed in a regulatory filing that it had detected evidence that a hacker had broken into its computer network at least 18 months before it launched the investigation that discovered the breach. ||||| Internet giant Yahoo has said it believes hackers stole personal data from more than one billion user accounts as part of a cyber attack that occurred in 2013. The technology giant said it believes the attack is "distinct" from another cyber attack the company reported in September this year, which involved around 500 million accounts and was said to have been carried out by a "state-sponsored actor" in late 2014. Yahoo says this personal data affected included "names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords", as well as security questions and answers, but the company claimed financial information had not been compromised. "Yahoo has identified data security issues concerning certain Yahoo user accounts," the firm said in a statement. "Yahoo has taken steps to secure user accounts and is working closely with law enforcement. "As Yahoo previously disclosed in November, law enforcement provided the company with data files that a third party claimed was Yahoo user data. The company analysed this data with the assistance of outside forensic experts and found that it appears to be Yahoo user data. "Based on further analysis of this data by the forensic experts, Yahoo believes an unauthorised third party, in August 2013, stole data associated with more than one billion user accounts." The company also said it analysis has led it to believe the same state-sponsored hackers were involved in this newly-disclosed attack. "Yahoo encourages users to review all of their online accounts for suspicious activity and to change their passwords and security questions and answers for any other accounts on which they use the same or similar information used for their Yahoo account," the statement said. "The company further recommends that users avoid clicking links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails and that they be cautious of unsolicited communications that ask for personal information." The firm, which is currently being taken over by Verizon, said it was continuing to work with law enforcement authorities. ||||| NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - ahoo! Inc. (YHOO) disclosed another major security breach that may have affected more than 1 billion user accounts, another blow to the company's reputation as it nears the sale of its main web businesses to Verizon Communications Inc.(VZ) YHOO closed Wednesday's regular trading at $40.91, down $0.56 or 1.35 percent. In the after-hours, the stock further dropped $0.92 or 2.25 percent. Yahoo said Wednesday that it hasn't been able to identify the 'intrusion' associated with this theft by a third party in August 2013. The event was unearthed by forensic experts after law enforcement investigators warned the company about a potential breach. Yahoo believes this incident is likely distinct from the incident the company disclosed on September 22, 2016. In September, Yahoo said the personal information of at least 500 million accounts was stolen in a 2014 attack on its accounts. The attacker was a 'state-sponsored actor,' and stolen information may have included names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, encrypted passwords and, in some cases, unencrypted security questions and answers, Yahoo said. In November, Yahoo gave an update to investors on its internal review of the hack, saying an independent board committee is investigating how many employees at Yahoo knew about the breach. Yahoo said last month the $4.8 billion sale of its web portal still is expected to close in the first quarter of next year. 'As we've said all along, we will evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation,' Verizon said. 'We will review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions.' If the investigation shows significant harm to the business and Yahoo customers, Verizon would consider options like reducing the deal price or walking away, reports said Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter. The acquisition still makes strategic sense for Verizon. In the 2013 hack disclosed Wednesday, Yahoo said the stolen user account information may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (using MD5) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. The investigation indicated that the stolen information did not include passwords in clear text, payment card data, or bank account information. Payment card data and bank account information are not stored in the system the company believes was affected. Yahoo is notifying potentially affected users and has taken steps to secure their accounts, including requiring users to change their passwords. Yahoo has also invalidated unencrypted security questions and answers so that they cannot be used to access an account. Yahoo previously disclosed that its outside forensic experts were investigating the creation of forged cookies that could allow an intruder to access users' accounts without a password. Based on the ongoing investigation, the company believes an unauthorized third party accessed the company's proprietary code to learn how to forge cookies. The outside forensic experts have identified user accounts for which they believe forged cookieswere taken or used. Yahoo is notifying the affected account holders, and has invalidated the forged cookies. The company has connected some of this activity to the same state-sponsored actor believed to be responsible for the data theft the company disclosed on September 22, 2016. Yahoo recommended using 'Yahoo Account Key', a simple authentication tool that eliminates the need to use a password on Yahoo altogether. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX ||||| Just when you think Yahoo's security issues can't get any worse, the company proves you wrong. Yahoo (YHOO, Tech30) disclosed a new security breach on Wednesday that may have affected more than one billion accounts. The breach dates back to 2013 and is thought to be separate from a massive cybersecurity incident announced in September. Yahoo now believes an "unauthorized third party" stole user data from more than one billion accounts in August 2013. That data may have included names, email addresses and passwords, but not financial information. The company will notify users who may be affected and has begun requiring users to change their passwords. The security incident, likely one of the largest cybersecurity breaches ever, comes less than three months after Yahoo admitted data from at least 500 million accounts had been stolen. Related: Got a hacked Yahoo account? Here's what you should do That earlier breach, which Yahoo has attributed to a "state-sponsored actor," is likely unrelated to the newly disclosed breach, according to the company. "We believe this incident is likely distinct from the incident we disclosed on September 22, 2016," Bob Lord, Yahoo's chief information security officer, wrote in a blog post. The second cybersecurity breach raises more concerns about whether Yahoo took enough precautions. As one former employee told CNNMoney after the first breach was disclosed, "Security was pushed to the back end" behind "other priorities." The original breach was initially viewed as a threat to Verizon's (VZ, Tech30) $4.8 billion deal to buy Yahoo, given the potential impact on Yahoo's brand and user retention. Verizon learned about the breach after agreeing to the acquisition and later said it could have a meaningful financial impact on the deal. AOL CEO Tim Armstrong said earlier this month he was "cautiously optimistic" the deal would go through -- but the second massive breach could change that. "As we've said all along, we will continue to evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation," Verizon said in a statement Wednesday. "We will review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions." Yahoo's stock fell 2.5% in after hours trading Wednesday following the disclosure. ||||| Yahoo Inc said on Wednesday that it has identified a new system breach that occurred in August 2013 and involved data associated with more than one billion user accounts. The company said it believed this incident is likely distinct from the breach it disclosed in September, when information associated with at least 500 million user accounts was stolen from its network in 2014. Yahoo, which is being acquired by Verizon, said an unauthorized third party had stolen the data in the latest breach and that it was working closely with law enforcement. Yahoo said the stolen user account information may have included names, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. Payment card data and bank account information were not stored in the system believed to be affected, the company said. ||||| Yahoo Inc. revealed new security issues affecting more than a billion users’ data, a theft that is separate and twice as large as the hack it disclosed earlier this year. On Wednesday, Yahoo said an unauthorized third party stole data associated with more than 1 billion user accounts in August 2013. In September, Yahoo blamed “state-sponsored” hackers for stealing data on 500 million user accounts, which at the time was the largest theft of personal user data ever disclosed. Yahoo, which has agreed to sell its core business to Verizon Communications, said it has connected some of the activity disclosed Wednesday to the same state-sponsored actor believed to be responsible for the data theft disclosed in September. On Wednesday, Verizon said it would review the impact of the new breach. Yahoo said it has taken steps to secure user accounts and is working closely with law enforcement. In November, Yahoo disclosed law enforcement gave the company data files that a third party claimed was Yahoo user data. On Wednesday, the company confirmed it appears to be Yahoo user data. Yahoo said it hasn’t identified the intrusion associated with the theft but believes it is likely distinct from the incident the company disclosed in September. The stolen data in both cases may have included names, email addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers and encrypted passwords, Yahoo said. The company urged users to review all of their online accounts and to change their passwords and security questions and answers for any other accounts on which they use the same or similar information used for their Yahoo account. It also recommended users avoid clicking links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails and remain cautious of unsolicited communication asking for personal information. Separately, Yahoo, which had previously disclosed that its outside forensic experts were investigating the creation of forged cookies that could allow an intruder to access users’ accounts without a password, said Wednesday it believes an unauthorized third party accessed the company’s proprietary code to learn how to forge cookies. Yahoo is notifying affected account holders, and has invalidated the forged cookies. ||||| Yahoo said Wednesday that 1 billion user accounts — meaning most of the Internet giant’s customers worldwide — were hacked by a “state-sponsored” attacker in 2013, leading to the release of user names, telephone numbers, dates of birth and other personal information. Report of the hack, coming after the announcement of a separate hack affecting 500 million accounts in September, means that Yahoo has been the victim of two of the biggest data breaches in history, both of which have been announced since Yahoo agreed to sell its core businesses to telecommunications giant Verizon in July for $4.8 billion. The incident raised new questions among analysts regarding the viability of that deal and whether the valuation will need to be changed, especially if the series of hacks triggers litigation against the company. “The fact that we now have two breaches implies that Yahoo security measures were inadequate. So it is more likely there will be future breaches uncovered,” said analyst Laura Martin, senior analyst entertainment and Internet at Needham Equity Research. In the 2013 incident, Yahoo said that credit card and bank account numbers, which are stored separately, were not affected. The company is requiring customers who were affected to change their passwords. Yahoo also reported a separate incident Wednesday in which hackers used what the company called “forged cookies” to gain access to some accounts, though it did not give the number. That incident, the company said, appeared to have links to the one announced in September. “Yahoo encourages users to review all of their online accounts for suspicious activity and to change their passwords and security questions and answers for any other accounts on which they use the same or similar information used for their Yahoo account,” the company said in a statement. “The company further recommends that users avoid clicking links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails and that they be cautious of unsolicited communications that ask for personal information.” Verizon spokesman Bob Varettoni said, “As we’ve said all along, we will evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation. We will review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions.” Regarding the deal, Yahoo said in a statement, “We are confident in Yahoo’s value and we continue to work towards integration with Verizon.” ||||| Yahoo said it discovered the breach while reviewing data provided to the company by law enforcement. (Photo: AP) Yahoo warned on Wednesday that it had uncovered yet another massive cyber attack, saying data from more than 1 billion user accounts was compromised in August 2013, making it the largest breach in history. The number of affected accounts was double the number implicated in a 2014 breach that the internet company disclosed in September and blamed on hackers working on behalf of a government. News of that attack, which affected at least 500 million accounts, prompted Verizon Communication Inc to say in October that it might withdraw from an agreement to buy Yahoo's core internet business for $4.83 billion. Following the latest disclosure, Verizon said, "We will review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions." A Yahoo spokesman told Reuters that the company has been in communication with Verizon during its investigation into the breach and that it is confident the incident will not affect the pending acquisition. Yahoo required all of its customers to reset their passwords - a stronger measure than it took after the previous breach was discovered, when it only recommended a password reset. Yahoo also said Wednesday that it believes hackers responsible for the previous breach had also accessed the company’s proprietary code to learn how to forge "cookies" that would allow hackers to access an account without a password. "Yahoo badly screwed up," said Bruce Schneier, a cryptologist and one of the world's most respected security experts. "They weren't taking security seriously and that's now very clear. I would have trouble trusting Yahoo going forward." Yahoo was tentative in its description of new problems, saying the incident was "likely" distinct from the one it reported in September and that stolen information "may have included" names, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. It said it had not yet identified the intrusion that led to the massive data theft and noted that payment-card data and bank account information were not stored in the system the company believes was affected. Yahoo said it discovered the breach while reviewing data provided to the company by law enforcement. FireEye Mandiant unit and Aon Plc's Stroz Friedberg are assisting in the investigation, the Yahoo spokesman told Reuters. The breach is the latest setback for Yahoo, an internet pioneer that has fallen on hard times in recent years after being eclipsed by younger, fast-growing rivals including Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook. Hours before it announced the breach on Wednesday, executives with Google, Facebook and other large US technology companies met with President-elect Donald Trump in New York. Reflecting its diminished stature, Yahoo was not invited to the summit, according to people familiar with the meeting. The Yahoo spokesman said Chief Executive Marissa Mayer was at the company's Sunnyvale, California headquarters to assist in addressing the new breach. Yahoo shares were down 2.4 per cent to $39.91 in extended trading. Verizon shares were little changed from their close at $51.63.
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Yahoo! announces that ID information about more than 1 billion accounts may have been hacked in August 2013. This is separate from the company's earlier disclosure of a data breach of 500,000 accounts in 2014.
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Authorities have regained control of one of the country’s biggest jails after a major disturbance involving hundreds of inmates. Specialist riot squads were deployed to HMP Birmingham to tackle the disorder that lasted more than 12 hours on Friday. Trouble spread across four wings of the privately run facility, with reports of prisoners setting fire to stairwells, breaking a security chain and destroying paper records. Specially trained prison guards, known as “Tornado” squads, from other parts of the country were backed up by about 25 riot police as they moved into the G4S-run jail, which has a capacity of 1,450 prisoners. The trouble started at about 9am on Friday and spread from two to four wings by the evening, according to sources, with reports of prisoners burning and destroying their files. It is understood that about 260 prisoners were involved. One prisoner is understood to have received a broken jaw during the disturbances. Jeering and shouting could be heard into the evening from inside the jail, with smoke rising from the roof, apparently from fires lit inside the building. Prisoners caught in the middle of the disturbance spoke of their fear they might be attacked by the other prisoners. One prisoner said others had tried unsuccessfully to force their way on to his wing. Speaking through his solicitor, the prisoner, who is on the jail’s G wing, known as the protected wing for inmates accused or convicted of sex offences, said: “The others have been trying to get in here. We’re terrified.” All prison officers have been accounted for and none was injured, a Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said. Earlier on Friday evening, the managing director for G4S custodial and detention services, Jerry Petherick, said: “Our teams withdrew following a disturbance and sealed two wings, which include some administrative offices. The disturbance has since spread to two further wings. It took years of Tory cuts and wild policy swings to create this prisons crisis | Phil Wheatley Read more “Additional officers have arrived on site and we have deployed canine units within the prison. West Midlands police helicopter is also in attendance. We are working with colleagues across the service to bring this disturbance to a safe conclusion.” The situation, in which keys giving access to residential prison areas were taken from an officer, will be investigated thoroughly, the justice secretary said. Liz Truss said: “I want to pay tribute to the bravery and dedication of the prison officers who resolved this disturbance … Violence in our prisons will not be tolerated and those responsible will face the full force of the law.” Prison affairs academic and blogger Alex Cavendish said an “inside informant” told him the trouble started with lights being broken and prisoners controlling fire hoses. “The officers were then, as they are instructed to do, trying to get as many prisoners locked in their cells as possible to contain it,” he said. “While one of the officers was putting a prisoner in the cell, he was threatened with what appeared to be a used syringe.” Cavendish said that while this officer was distracted by the threat, “another inmate came up behind, snatched the keys from his belt and snapped the security chain”. He said that once prisoners have control of the keys, protocol tells the officers to “withdraw to a place of safety” and said they “abandoned the wing” where the incident started. A spokesman for the Prison Governors’ Association said: “It would appear, on the face of it, that the private sector has now been infected with the same disease that has had such a debilitating impact on the running of public sector prisons: an erosion of respect and a disregard for authority which has emboldened prisoners across both the public and private sector. Any suggestion that this riot is evidence that the staffing levels in public sector prisons are not a factor, or an insignificant one, is too simplistic.” The national chairman of the POA prison officers’ union, Mike Rolfe, said the incident was “another stark warning to the Ministry of Justice that the service is in crisis”. POA members held protests outside jails around the country in November over health and safety concerns. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Canine units were deployed within the prison. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA The shadow justice secretary, Richard Burgon, had said that the disturbances at the Birmingham jail were “hugely concerning”. The Labour MP said: “It must be hoped that order can be swiftly and peacefully restored. This is only the latest in a number of disturbances across the prison estate. The justice secretary is failing to get this crisis under control.” The Victorian category B jail, which was built in 1849 and is close to the city centre, can hold 1,450 adult remand and sentenced male prisoners. A spokesman for the West Midlands ambulance service said it was called to the prison at 12.23pm. A hazardous area response team was in attendance, together with an ambulance and paramedic area support officer. A former prisoner who was released in January told the Press Association that drugs were rife in the jail and there was a lack of respect between some staff and prisoners. The man, who declined to give his name, said each of the jail’s wings was arranged over four floors, with more than 100 prisoners per wing. It is the third disturbance in English prisons in less than two months. On 6 November, a riot at the category B Bedford prison caused chaos when up to 200 prisoners flooded the jail’s gangways. On 29 October, a national response unit had to be brought in to control prisoners during an incident at HMP Lewes in East Sussex. There has been a string of warnings about safety behind bars after statistics revealed soaring levels of violence in jails in England and Wales, with assaults on staff up by 43% in the year to June. Last month, the justice secretary, Liz Truss, unveiled her plans for prison reform, with measures including a recruitment drive to add 2,500 officers to the frontline and “no-fly zones” to stop drones dropping drugs and other contraband into prisons. ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption Police officers in riot gear stand outside HMP Birmingham, run by security firm G4S Authorities have regained control of a prison after more than 12 hours of rioting described as the worst since the Strangeways jail riot 26 years ago. The Ministry of Justice said riot teams restored order to all four wings of HMP Birmingham just after 22:30 on Friday. They were deployed to tackle the disorder, which is understood to have involved up to 600 inmates. Justice Secretary Liz Truss said violence in prisons "will not be tolerated". The BBC understands that one prisoner was hurt during the riot and taken to hospital with a fractured jaw and broken eye socket. Prison wings are now being inspected to assess the scale of the damage after prisoners took control of the category B prison on Friday morning. Image copyright Other Image caption An unverified photo appears to show debris and damage caused during the disturbance Mike Rolfe, national chairman of the Prison Officers Association, said more than 30 staff had left the Winson Green prison in recent weeks and compared the trouble to the notorious Strangeways riot in 1990. He said: "This prison is a tough place to work, it serves a very big area, it serves a large, dangerous population of prisoners but it's not unlike many other prisons up and down the country, ones that have very similar inmates. "And we've been warning for a long time about the crisis in prisons and what we are seeing at Birmingham is not unique to Birmingham, but it certainly would seem that this is the most recent worst incident since the 1990 Strangeways riot." Rodger Lawrence, chairman of the Birmingham prison Independent Monitoring Board, said his members had not seen anything of concern during a visit earlier this week, but said the riot "didn't come as a complete shock" as there had been "a build up of frustration" over prison conditions. Trouble flared at the Birmingham prison, which is run by G4S, after an officer was "rushed" by inmates at around 09:00. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Riot officers entered the prison to regain control after disturbances broke out Violence quickly escalated and due to the scale of the disturbances the Prison Service took over the incident and specialist Tornado units were deployed to regain control. Prison units from across the country were also drafted in to assist. Ms Truss thanked prison staff and emergency services for their help during the disorder. She said: "I want to pay tribute to the bravery and dedication of the prison officers who resolved this disturbance. "This was a serious situation and a thorough investigation will now be carried out. Violence in our prisons will not be tolerated and those responsible will face the full force of the law." 'Callous disregard for safety' During the disturbance the BBC was contacted by several men claiming to be prisoners at the jail, who said poor conditions were behind the disturbance. The men, who said they were calling from inside HMP Birmingham, cited inadequate staff numbers, poor healthcare and nutrition. They said being on "lockdown" in their cells all day was a major factor that contributed to the trouble. Image copyright Other Image caption Another unverified photo circulated online purporting to show scenes from inside the prison Jerry Petherick, managing director for G4S custodial and detention, said the prisoners behind the trouble "showed a callous disregard for the safety of prisoners and staff". He said: "This disturbance will rightly be subject to scrutiny and we will work openly and transparently with the Ministry of Justice and other relevant authorities to understand the cause of today's disorder." ||||| Inmates behind the worst prison riot in 25 years have been heard chanting "we want food" as thick plumes of smoke emerge over the prison walls. Rampaging prisoners could be heard chanting from outside Winson Green Prison in Birmingham - which was taken over by criminals this morning. Officers were forced to flee at around 9am this morning after inmates threatened a officer with a syringe and stole his keys. The incident sparked the takeover of at least four wings of the Category B prison by around 400 criminals - including the gym, pharmacy and security equipment store. Dramatic pictures taken inside the jail show scenes of chaos as inmates pose in stolen security gear and wings can be seen scattered with debris. Private security firm G4S dramatically handed control of the jail back to the Prison Service - effectively accepting they are unable to reclaim the wings. A special Tornado team of prison riot officers and armed police have been called in to try and wrestle the situation back under control. All staff are believed to have been accounted for after being evacuated in accordance with prison guidelines to avoid a potential hostage situation. Angry inmates called the Birmingham Mail from inside the prison, claiming drug debt "scores are being settled" inside the jail. One prisoner said the disorder started with seven inmates inside N-wing because there "has been no TV to watch and the gym is closed". He said: “There are people dealing with issues in here at the moment. Lots of scores are being settled because all of the doors are open. “They are walking onto wings and dealing with people who are in debt because of Mamba. Some of these people rely on prisoner officers and cell doors to hide behind. That protection is not there at the moment. “The people who are in the most danger are the ones who owe big debts because of drugs. If people are spotting others who owe them a lot of money they are being dealt with. “Some people are staying in big groups for protection and others are following the group. Some are just staying in their cells and keeping their heads down. “One has had his head bust up, one has been stabbed and others have been beat up and rushed." It is believed to be the worst prison riot since the Strangeways Riot in Manchester in 1990, which developed into a 25-day rooftop stand-off. Distraught loved-ones of offenders say they have received phonecalls from inside the prison and could hear scenes of carnage in the background. One relative said: "He (the prisoner) had to run and barricade himself under his bed. He said it’s crazy in there. “I was listening on the phone and all I could hear was shouting, screaming and banging. It’s absolutely disgusting. I’m worried about what will happen to him. “I know that he didn’t tell me everything about what was happening because he didn’t want to worry me.” One inmate, speaking through a relative, said: “I have been in riots before and this is, by far, the worst I’ve come across. “There are now three wings involved and the whole prison is surrounded." The prisoner claimed the trouble was sparked by the death of an inmate two weeks ago, and believed the man committed suicide. Former inmate Stefan Parszko, 60, from Stoke had just been released after a four-and-a-half month sentence. He said: “There has been lots of anger over the last few days as we have been locked in a lot as there has been a lack of staff. "It's chaos in there." Last month it was revealed an inmate died after taking a cocktail of drugs at the prison - while in the rehabilitation wing. Shoplifter Dean Boland, 30, had taken the former illegal high Black Mamba and had taken five other drugs which were not prescribed to him. A prison insider previously spoke to the Birmingham Mail about alleged problems at the prison, including drug smuggling. He claimed: “Before G4S took over there were lots of experienced staff who were paid good money. Now they’ve got new less experienced staff in who can’t cope. “Threats, drugs - it’s almost constant. Drones are buzzing all over Winson Green.” HMP Birmingham, better known locally as Winson Green, has been a feature in Birmingham since Victorian times – and was the scene of dozens of executions. Winson Green, built in 1849, holds as many as 1,450 inmates and is the first publicly run prison to be transferred to a private firm after G4S was awarded a 15 year contract in 2011. ||||| A disturbance by prisoners at HMP Birmingham has spread from two to four wings of the prison, according to sources. A specialist riot squad known as the Tornado Team has been deployed to quell the trouble, which started at the prison – formerly known as Winson Green – at about 9am. All prison officers have been accounted for at the jail, which is privately run by G4S. There were reports of a badly injured prisoner, and inmates burning and destroying their files. As a police helicopter hovered overhead, a steady stream of prison officers in black overalls carrying riot shields and equipment arrived on foot and in vans on Friday afternoon. One of the specially trained units of up to 15 officers had arrived from HMP Long Lartin near Evesham, Worcestershire. The managing director for G4S custodial and detention services, Jerry Petherick, said: “Our teams withdrew following a disturbance and sealed two wings, which include some administrative offices. The disturbance has since spread to two further wings. All staff have been accounted for. “Additional officers have arrived on site and we have deployed canine units within the prison. West Midlands police helicopter is also in attendance. We are working with colleagues across the service to bring this disturbance to a safe conclusion.” A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The Prison Service is managing the ongoing incident at HMP Birmingham. The situation is contained, the perimeter is secure and there is no risk to public. We are absolutely clear that prisoners who behave in this way will be punished and could spend significantly longer behind bars.” Prison affairs academic and blogger Alex Cavendish told the Press Association an “inside informant” told him the trouble started with lights being broken and inmates controlling fire hoses. “The officers were then, as they are instructed to do, trying to get as many prisoners locked in their cells as possible to contain it,” he said. “While one of the officers was putting a prisoner in the cell he was threatened with what appeared to be a used syringe.” Cavendish said while this officer was distracted by the threat, “another inmate came up behind, snatched the keys from his belt and snapped the security chain”. He said that once prisoners had control of the keys, protocol tells the officers to “withdraw to a place of safety” and said they “abandoned the wing” where the incident started. A spokesman for the Prison Governors’ Association said: “It would appear, on the face of it, that the private sector has now been infected with the same disease that has had such a debilitating impact on the running of public sector prisons: an erosion of respect and a disregard for authority which has emboldened prisoners across both the public and private sector. Any suggestion that this riot is evidence that the staffing levels in public sector prisons are not a factor, or an insignificant one, is too simplistic.” The national chairman of the POA, Mike Rolfe, said the incident was “another stark warning to the Ministry of Justice that the service is in crisis”. “The whole facts surrounding the incident at HMP Birmingham are not known,” he said. “National resources have been deployed to deal with this incident involving approximately 300 prisoners within two prison wings. No staff injuries have been reported and staff are currently monitoring the situation and awaiting national support, through mutual aid.” POA members held protests outside jails around the country in November over health and safety concerns. Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said the disturbances at the Birmingham jail are “hugely concerning”. The Labour MP said: “It must be hoped that order can be swiftly and peacefully restored. This is only the latest in a number of disturbances across the prison estate. The justice secretary is failing to get this crisis under control.” The Victorian category-B jail, which was built in 1849 and is close to the city centre, can hold 1,450 adult remand and sentenced male prisoners. A spokesman for the West Midlands ambulance service said it was called to the prison at 12.23pm. A hazardous area response team was in attendance, together with an ambulance and paramedic area support officer, but no details were available about any casualties or injuries suffered. It is the third disturbance in English prisons in less than two months. On 6 November a riot at the category-B Bedford prison caused chaos when up to 200 prisoners flooded the jail’s gangways. On 29 October, a national response unit had to be brought in to control prisoners during an incident at HMP Lewes in East Sussex. There has been a string of warnings about safety behind bars after statistics revealed soaring levels of violence in jails in England and Wales, with assaults on staff up by 43% in the year to June. Last month, the justice secretary, Liz Truss, unveiled her plans for prison reform, with measures including a recruitment drive to add 2,500 officers to the frontline and “no-fly zones” to stop drones dropping drugs and other contraband into prisons. ||||| Some 240 prisoners were being moved out of HMP Birmingham yesterday after a riot at one of the country’s biggest jails. Hundreds of inmates were caught up in the disorder and four wings at the privately run jail were damaged during the disturbances on Friday, which lasted for more than 12 hours. Riot squads were deployed to the category-B prison run by G4S after reports of prisoners setting fire to stairwells and destroying paper records. A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: “Two hundred and forty prisoners are being transferred out of HMP Birmingham following a serious disturbance. “The prison remains calm and ordered with additional staff on site to offer support. The Prison Service will continue to work closely with G4S to manage the prison safely over the coming days. “A full assessment of the damage is under way. Initial reports indicate that two wings suffered superficial damage, with more serious damage to a further two wings. “A limited regime is being offered to those who were not involved in the disturbance and staff continue to work closely with West Midlands Police. A thorough investigation into the disturbance is under way.” The city centre jail, formerly known as Winson Green, can hold up to 1,450 inmates, but it is understood around 260 prisoners were caught up in the incident. Specially trained prison guards, known as “Tornado” squads, from other parts of the country were backed up by about 25 riot police as they moved into the facility late on Friday. One man, believed to be in his 20s, was taken to hospital with a facial injury as well as cuts and bruises. No prison staff were injured. Rodger Lawrence, chairman of the Birmingham Prison independent monitoring board, said its last report to the government had recommended a review of the number of staff needed for the contract. It followed comments from Mike Rolfe, national chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association, who previously protested over safety concerns and told BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight that more than 30 staff had left the jail in recent weeks. Lawrence told the BBC: “We believe things have significantly changed since the contract was drawn up, and they do actually need more staff in prisons.” He said the violence did not “come as a complete shock”. Michael Spurr, chief executive of the National Offender Management Service, said gang-related violence and disorder fuelled by drugs had “really changed the dynamic” in prisons but promised to “turn it around”. G4S has run the prison since 2011 when it became the first public-sector jail to be privatised. ||||| About 240 inmates involved in a 12-hour riot at one of Britain’s biggest prisons are being moved out of the jail, the Ministry of Justice has said. The disorder involved as many as 600 of the 1,450 inmates and spread across all four wings of the privately operated HMP Birmingham, formerly known as Winson Green, on Friday. Specially trained prison guards, known as “Tornado” squads, were backed up by about 25 riot police officers as they moved into the Victorian facility. Order was not restored until late on Friday night. One prisoner is understood to have sustained a broken jaw during the disturbances but no prison officers were injured. A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said the prison remained “calm and ordered” on Saturday and additional staff remained on site. “The Prison Service will continue to work closely with G4S to manage the prison safely over the coming days. A full assessment of the damage is under way. Initial reports indicate that two wings suffered superficial damage, with more serious damage to a further two wings,” she said. “A limited regime is being offered to those who were not involved in the disturbance and staff continue to work closely with West Midlands police. A thorough investigation into the disturbance is under way.” The ministry did not say where the prisoners were being transferred the day after the disturbance, which was the third in a prison in England in less than two months. Mike Rolfe, the national chairman of the Prison Officers Association, said more than 30 staff had left the jail in recent weeks. “This prison is a tough place to work, it serves a very big area, it serves a large, dangerous population of prisoners, but it’s not unlike many other prisons up and down the country – ones that have very similar inmates,” he told the BBC. “We’ve been warning for a long time about the crisis in prisons, and what we are seeing at Birmingham is not unique to Birmingham, but it certainly would seem that this is the most recent worst incident since the 1990 Strangeways riot.” The justice secretary, Liz Truss, said the situation, in which keys giving access to residential prison areas were taken from an officer and inmates occupied some blocks and exercise facilities, would be investigated thoroughly. “Violence in our prisons will not be tolerated and those responsible will face the full force of the law,” she said. Jerry Petherick, a G4S executive, said the prisoners behind the trouble displayed a callous disregard for the safety of other inmates and staff. “This disturbance will rightly be subject to scrutiny and we will work openly and transparently with the Ministry of Justice and other relevant authorities to understand the cause of [Friday’s] disorder.” The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, told Channel 4 News that “private companies should not be involved in taking away people’s liberty. Actually, it’s clear that G4S don’t have the quality of staff to manage a crisis like this.” Robert Neill, the Conservative chairman of the Commons justice committee, told the programme that the MPs on his committee had warned the government that a “time bomb was ticking” because prisons were in crisis. Asked if this had been the worst prison riot in years, Neill replied: “This is a problem which has happened both in privately and publicly run systems, so it applies across the piece. I think that does indicate that we have got a situation where, if people are locked down 22, 23 hours a day, as we have discovered, that breeds tension, that breeds violence, and, as you rightly say, we are not actually keeping prisons secure enough to stop contraband getting in.” ||||| Authorities have regained control of one of the country’s biggest jails after trouble described as the worst since the infamous 1990 Strangeways Prison riot. Hundreds of inmates were caught up in disorder after disturbances erupted across four wings of HMP Birmingham, lasting more than 12 hours. Riot squads were deployed to the category B jail to restore order after reports of prisoners setting fire to stairwells, breaking a security chain and destroying paper records. Specially-trained prison guards, known as “Tornado” squads from other parts of the country were backed up by around 25 riot police as they moved into the privately-run facility late on Friday. Police had earlier closed the road and established a secure cordon around the main gate of the prison. One prisoner is understood to have received a broken jaw and eye socket during the disturbances, while no prison staff were injured. Broken windows and damaged walls were described as being left in the aftermath of the disruption, but sources said it had been “superficial”. Mike Rolfe, national chairman of the Prison Officers Association, who last month protested over safety concerns, said more than 30 staff had left the prison in recent weeks and compared the trouble to the notorious Strangeways riot 26 years ago. “This prison is a tough place to work, it serves a very big area, it serves a large, dangerous population of prisoners but it’s not unlike many other prisons up and down the country - ones that have very similar inmates,” he told BBC Radio Four’s The World Tonight. “And we’ve been warning for a long time about the crisis in prisons and what we are seeing at Birmingham is not unique to Birmingham, but it certainly would seem that this is the most recent worst incident since the 1990 Strangeways riot.” Mr Rolfe accused the Government of not funding the prison system properly and said such disturbances are becoming more frequent as a result. The situation, in which keys giving access to residential prison areas were taken from an officer and inmates occupied some blocks and exercise facilities, will be investigated thoroughly, the Justice Secretary said. Liz Truss said: “I want to pay tribute to the bravery and dedication of the prison officers who resolved this disturbance. “I also want to give my thanks to West Midlands Police, who supported G4S and the Prison Service throughout the day, ambulance crews and the fire service who also provided assistance. “This was a serious situation and a thorough investigation will now be carried out. Violence in our prisons will not be tolerated and those responsible will face the full force of the law.” The city centre jail formerly known as Winson Green and run by G4S can hold up to 1,450 inmates, but it is understood around 260 prisoners were caught up in the incident. Jerry Petherick, managing director for G4S custodial and detention, said the prisoners behind the trouble “showed a callous disregard for the safety of prisoners and staff”. He added: “This disturbance will rightly be subject to scrutiny and we will work openly and transparently with the Ministry of Justice and other relevant authorities to understand the cause of today’s disorder.” Former inmates at the jail where serial murderer Fred West hanged himself in 1995 have said they are not surprised at the disturbances, describing it as something that was “bound to happen”. The latest disturbance is the third in English prisons in less than two months. On November 6 a riot at category B Bedford Prison saw up to 200 inmates go on the rampage, flooding the jail’s gangways in chaotic scenes. Just days earlier, on October 29, a national response unit had to be brought in to control prisoners during an incident at HMP Lewes in East Sussex. A spokesman from the Prison Governors Association said the disturbance at the Birmingham jail “comes at a very difficult time for Noms (National Offender Management Service) on the back of recent riots and at a time when the prison estate is already bursting at the seams”. Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said the disturbances at the Birmingham jail were “hugely concerning” and claimed the Justice Secretary was “failing to get this crisis under control”. Tory chairman of the Commons Justice Committee, Robert Neill, told Channel Four News the Government had been warned by his watchdog group of MPs that a “time bomb was ticking” as prisons were in “crisis”. When it was suggested this could be the worst prison riot in years, Mr Neill said: “Certainly looking that way, yeah, and this is a problem which has happened both in privately and publicly-run systems, so it applies across the piece. “I think that does indicate that we have got a situation where if people are locked down 22/23 hours a day, as we have discovered, that breeds tension, that breeds violence, and, as you rightly say, we are not actually keeping prisons secure enough to stop contraband getting in.” Labour’s shadow home secretary Diane Abbott told Channel Four News “private companies should not be involved in taking away people’s liberty. Actually, it’s clear that G4S don’t have the quality of staff to manage a crisis like this”. ||||| This is the moment two grinning inmates wearing stolen riot gear triumphantly raised a middle finger at the prison system amid one of its worst riots in decades. Officers were forced to flee Winson Green prison in Birmingham this morning after inmates threatened a officer with a syringe and stole his keys. The incident sparked the takeover of at least four wings of the Category B prison by around 400 criminals. Dramatic pictures appearing to have been taken inside the jail show scenes of chaos as inmates poses with officers' keys and wings are strewn with debris. There are also reports that one prisoner has been stabbed and of other inmates burning and destroying their files. A special Tornado team of prison riot officers and armed police have been called in to try and wrestle the situation back under control. All staff are believed to have been accounted for after being evacuated in accordance with prison guidelines to avoid a potential hostage situation. Angry inmates called the Birmingham Mail from inside the prison, claiming drug debt "scores are being settled" inside the jail. One prisoner said the disorder started with seven inmates inside N-wing because there "has been no TV to watch and the gym is closed". He said: “There are people dealing with issues in here at the moment. Lots of scores are being settled because all of the doors are open. “They are walking onto wings and dealing with people who are in debt because of Mamba. Some of these people rely on prisoner officers and cell doors to hide behind. That protection is not there at the moment. “The people who are in the most danger are the ones who owe big debts because of drugs. If people are spotting others who owe them a lot of money they are being dealt with. “Some people are staying in big groups for protection and others are following the group. Some are just staying in their cells and keeping their heads down. “One has had his head bust up, one has been stabbed and others have been beat up and rushed." It is believed to be the worst prison riot since the Strangeways Riot in Manchester in 1990, which developed into a 25-day rooftop stand-off. Distraught loved-ones of offenders say they have received phonecalls from inside the prison and could hear scenes of carnage in the background. One relative said: "He (the prisoner) had to run and barricade himself under his bed. He said it’s crazy in there. “I was listening on the phone and all I could hear was shouting, screaming and banging. It’s absolutely disgusting. I’m worried about what will happen to him. “I know that he didn’t tell me everything about what was happening because he didn’t want to worry me.” One inmate, speaking through a relative, said: “I have been in riots before and this is, by far, the worst I’ve come across. “There are now three wings involved and the whole prison is surrounded." The prisoner claimed the trouble was sparked by the death of an inmate two weeks ago, and believed the man committed suicide. A relative of an inmate at the prison said: “It’s still happening now. He said it all started over there no being enough hot water in the shower or something like that. “There are no officers on the wing now. They have abandoned it. There is major damage to the wing. It was obviously frightening, but that’s prison isn’t it.” Managing Director for G4S custodial and detention services, Jerry Petherick, said: “We continue to respond to an ongoing incident at HMP Birmingham which began just after 9am this morning. “Our teams withdrew following a disturbance and sealed two wings, which include some administrative offices. The disturbance has since spread to two further wings. “All staff have been accounted for. Additional officers have arrived on site and we have deployed canine units within the prison. West Midlands Police helicopter is also in attendance. “We are working with colleagues across the service to bring this disturbance to a safe conclusion.” There were conflicting reports about what sparked the disturbance - with claims that it was due to anything from TV or gym access to the recent death of an inmate to inmates not receiving medication to there not being enough hot water in the showers. The tearful wife of a guard said her husband expressed fears that a riot could break out "all the time" in conversations with her. She said: "Every day my husband goes to work and i am worried sick i will never see him again." She claimed conditions inside the prison are dangerous for workers because of severe staffing shortages. Inmates said they were upset with conditions inside the prison and claimed "the guards have completely lost control". Former inmate Stefan Parszko, 60, from Stoke had just been released after a four-and-a-half month sentence. He said: “There has been lots of anger over the last few days as we have been locked in a lot as there has been a lack of staff. "It's chaos in there." Blogger and former prisoner Alex Cavendish, of Prison UK, said he had been told by an "inside informant" that inmates had breached wings and had entered exercise yards after starting fires, destroying files and throwing computers from windows in the offender management unit. He said there were claims that a prisoner's neck had been slashed and another was beaten by fellow inmates. He was told the riot started on N wing and spread to other wings as inmates smashed lights and controlled fire hoses, leading to water being cut off. He added: "The officers were then, as they are instructed to do, trying to get as many prisoners locked in their cells as possible to contain it. “While one of the officers was putting a prisoner in the cell he was threatened with what appeared to be a used syringe.” Mr Cavendish, 53, said while this officer was distracted by the threat, "another inmate came up behind, snatched the keys from his belt and snapped the security chain". He added once prisoners have control of keys, protocol tells the officers to "withdraw to a place of safety" and said they "abandoned the wing" where the incident started. He said: "It is a very serious situation and I think the fact they have now accessed the key offices like the offender management unit - that is where all the offender records are. "If they destroy all of those records it is going to take months or even years to rebuild the information." He said his informant told him that G wing, the vulnerable prisoners unit, had been secured. West Midlands Ambulance Service has confirmed that they are in attendance at Winson Green Prison. A spokesman said that paramedics were called to the scene at 12.23pm along with the Hazardous Area Response Team. Last month it was revealed an inmate died after taking a cocktail of drugs at the prison - while in the rehabilitation wing. Shoplifter Dean Boland, 30, had taken the former illegal high Black Mamba and had taken five other drugs which were not prescribed to him. A prison insider previously spoke to the Birmingham Mail about alleged problems at the prison, including drug smuggling. He claimed: “Before G4S took over there were lots of experienced staff who were paid good money. Now they’ve got new less experienced staff in who can’t cope. “Threats, drugs - it’s almost constant. Drones are buzzing all over Winson Green.” HMP Birmingham, better known locally as Winson Green, has been a feature in Birmingham since Victorian times – and was the scene of dozens of executions. Winson Green, built in 1849, holds as many as 1,450 inmates and is the first publicly run prison to be transferred to a private firm after G4S was awarded a 15 year contract in 2011. ||||| LONDON — Security firm G4S has deployed a specialist riot squad to a prison the English city of Birmingham after disturbances by inmates spread to four wings of the facility. G4S is a private company which runs the prison. The disturbance began at about 9 a.m. GMT (0400 a.m. EST) Friday. The unrest comes at a time that Britain's prisons are under intense pressure. Members of the Prison Officers Association say violence and inmate suicides are rising. Some 200 prisoners rioted last month at Bedford Prison in southern England and guards also staged a walkout before courts ordered them to return to work. The prison officers union says "the service is in meltdown," with poor morale making it hard to retain staff. ||||| LONDON — Security firm G4S sent a specialist riot squad Friday to a prison in the English city of Birmingham after inmates took control of several wings of the medium-security facility. G4S is a private company that runs the prison. There were no reported injuries among prison staff during the disturbance, which began at about 9 a.m. and continued hours later. Jerry Petherick, G4S managing director for custodial and detention services, said the disturbance involved four wings and "some administrative offices" at the prison, 120 miles north of London. The Ministry of Justice said "the situation is contained, the perimeter is secure and there is no risk to public." The unrest comes at a time when Britain's prisons are under intense pressure from growing inmate numbers and staffing cuts. The prison staff union said violence and inmate suicides are rising. Some 200 prisoners rioted last month at Bedford Prison in southern England, and guards staged a nationwide walkout before courts ordered them to return to work. Prison Officers Association National Chair Mike Rolfe said the Birmingham incident was "another stark warning to the Ministry of Justice that the service is in crisis."
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A riot breaks out inside the G4S-run HM Prison Birmingham in Winson Green, Birmingham, United Kingdom. At least one inmate has been badly injured. The Ministry of Justice says riot police have regained control of the prison.
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WARSAW (Reuters) - Police early Saturday forcefully broke up an hours-long blockade of exits from the Polish parliament by protesters who said ruling party lawmakers violated the constitution by illegally passing the budget for next year. The passage sparked the biggest political standoff in years in European Union member Poland and the sharpest escalation of the conflict between the opposition and the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party since it came to power in October 2015. The head of the PiS party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, left parliament in the early hours of Saturday after police used force to remove protesters blocking the exit from parliament, television footage showed. “PiS has crossed a certain line and nothing will be the same again,” Tomasz Siemoniak, deputy leader of the biggest opposition party Civic Platform told local media outside parliament. Opposition party lawmaker Jerzy Meysztowicz told television network TVN24 that police used tear gas to disperse the protesters who tried to prevent the convoy of cars carrying Kaczynski and Prime Minister Beata Szydlo from leaving. Warsaw police spokesman Mariusz Mrozek denied use of tear gas, but confirmed physical force was used to remove protesters. Mrozek said the gathering before the parliament has been declared illegal starting from midnight. By 0237 GMT, many protesters had left, but some remained. Several opposition lawmakers said they would spend the night in parliament. CRISIS Polish opposition parties accused PiS of violating the constitution after Speaker Marek Kuchcinski moved a key vote on next year’s budget outside of the main chamber of parliament and blocked the media from recording the vote. It was the first time since Poland’s transition from communism in 1989 that a sitting of the lower chamber of parliament and a budget vote were held outside of the main chamber. “The ‘sitting’ was illegal. Period. This is a constitutional crisis,” Civic Platform head Grzegorz Schetyna said on social media. Kuchcinski transferred the sitting after opposition lawmakers occupied the parliamentary podium protesting against a plan to curb media access and Kuchcinski’s decision to exclude one opposition lawmaker. Demonstrators hold banners "Free Parliamnent, Free Media, Free Poles" during a protest in Gdansk, Poland December 17, 2016. REUTERS/Bartosz Banka/Agencja Gazeta PiS earlier this week announced a plan to curb access of the media to the parliament, spurring widespread protests by non-state media and the opposition amid concern the right-wing government is intent on curtailing freedom of press. The opposition said the budget vote was illegal as it was impossible to confirm that the required number of lawmakers was present. “There is no proof that a quorum of lawmakers was present. We suspect that people who were not allowed to vote took part,” leader of the opposition Nowoczesna party Ryszard Petru said. Before leaving parliament, Kaczynski said the vote was legal and involved the required number of MPs. Other PiS lawmakers echoed his comments. “What the opposition did was a scandal. And we were working,” said PiS lawmaker Jaroslaw Zielinski. AFTERMATH Since coming to power, PiS has passed laws that made it more difficult for the constitutional court to pass rulings, a move that led the European Commission to say democracy and rule of law were threatened in Poland. The nationalist-minded, eurosceptic PiS party has also tightened control over public news media and state prosecution. The party has approved legislation that human rights groups said would curtail freedom of assembly. PiS is the first party since Poland’s transition to democracy to hold an outright majority in parliament. Civic Platform lawmakers said they had difficulties accessing the hall where PiS lawmakers voted. “I was able to enter the hall only after pushing aside guards,” Civic Platform (PO) lawmaker Slawomir Nitras told Reuters. “The access routes to microphones were blocked by chairs.” Direct access for media to the hall was denied, with reporters only able to observe an official camera feed. Opposition parties Civic Platform, Nowoczesna together with the PSL party said the speaker violated the constitution and demanded parliament continue its sitting next week. Slideshow (6 Images) Commentators warned that further escalation of the conflict might lead to violence, like in Ukraine during anti-government protests in 2013 and 2014. “It may lead to a nation-wide tragedy. We have to be aware of this,” former head of the constitutional court Jerzy Stepien told local media. ||||| WARSAW (Reuters) - A protest by opposition lawmakers against a plan to curb media access to the Polish parliament brought the chamber to a halt and forced the postponement of a key budget vote on Friday. Polish opposition parliamentarians protest against the rules proposed by the head office of the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, that would ban all recording of parliamentary sessions except by five selected television stations and limits the number of journalists allowed in the building, in the Parliament in Warsaw, Poland December 16, 2016. Slawomir Kaminski/Agencja Gazeta/via REUTERS The demonstration began when a lone opposition MP ascended the parliamentary podium with a placard reading “free media” and was excluded from further debate or votes by speaker Marek Kuchcinski, who is from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. Other opposition members then joined MP Michal Szczerba on the podium, chanting “free media” and “no censorship”, in the first such protest in the chamber for a decade. As their occupation continued on Friday afternoon, the head of the PiS, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, told reporters those taking part would face consequences. “We will not be terrorized. With utmost certainty we will pass the budget,” Kaczynski said. Szczerba is from the centrist Civic Platform party, which lost power to PiS in elections in October 2015. Rules proposed by the head office of the Sejm, the lower house, would ban all recording of parliamentary sessions except by five selected television stations and limit the number of journalists allowed in the building. They are due to take effect next year. “This restriction, first of all, does not hit journalists, but the rights of citizens to be fully informed about what people elected by them to the parliament do,” said a statement signed by Poland’s largest independent news outlets on Friday. Since coming to power, the PiS has tightened its control over public news media and state prosecution and moved to weaken the country’s highest court. “I don’t believe there is anything wrong here, I don’t believe this restricts the rights of journalists,” Beata Mazurek, a spokeswoman for the party, was quoted by Polish media as saying on Thursday. “INSPIRED BY EU” The Sejm’s office said the proposals were partly “inspired” by how journalists were regulated in the European Parliament and other countries’ assemblies. According to a document published on the Sejm website, 300 permanent and 200 temporary media accreditations have been issued this year, and when the Sejm is in session up to 300 daily passes are granted. “The changes will not only increase the safety and professionalism for both journalists and politicians, but will also improve the image of Sejm and Senat (the upper house),” the document says. “The Polish parliament has been very open to journalists for 27 years (since the first democratic election),” the leader of the opposition Polish Peasant Party, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, told Polskie Radio 24 on Friday. “It has served the development of democracy in Poland, it has served to ask tough questions. Now, there will be one message. This is not good for the public opinion.” ||||| Agnieszka Pomaska, posłanka Platformy Obywatelskiej, opublikowała w sieci nagranie z Sejmu. "Panie prezesie, jak panu nie wstyd? Co pan robi z naszym krajem?" - pyta na nim przechodzącego sejmowym korytarzem Jarosława Kaczyńskiego. Po chwili słychać trzask. Jak mówi posłanka PO, Kaczyński wyrwał jej telefon. Od wczoraj w Sejmie sytuacja jest napięta. Reklama Posłowie opozycji przez kilka godzin blokowali mównicę sejmową oraz fotel marszałka podczas piątkowego posiedzenia Sejmu. Domagali się przywrócenia do udziału w obradach wykluczonego wcześniej przez marszałka posła PO Michała Szczerby, protestowali też przeciwko zmianom sejmowego regulaminu, ograniczającym pracę dziennikarzy. Posiedzenie Sejmu przeniesiono do Sali Kolumnowej, gdzie m.in. uchwalono przyszłoroczny budżet. Przed gmachem zebrali się protestujący. Dziennikarzy wyproszono z Sejmu. Nagranie Agnieszki Pomaski: Protest KOD przed Sejmem 1 / 14 Protest KOD przed Sejmem Źródło: PAP Autor: Bartłomiej Zborowski udostępnij Posiedzenie Sejmu w Sali Kolumnowej 1 / 12 Posiedzenie Sejmu w Sali Kolumnowej Źródło: PAP Autor: Tomasz Gzell udostępnij Blokada mównicy sejmowej 1 / 14 Blokada mównicy sejmowej Źródło: PAP Autor: Marcin Obara udostępnij ||||| Police have demanded that thousands of protesters blocking the Polish parliament building in Warsaw disperse, warning that otherwise force may be used. The opposition initially blockaded the parliament building in protest at new media restrictions on covering its work. The protests were triggered by new proposals put forward by the ruling Law and Justice party to limit media access to parliamentary debates. According to the new rules, only five TV stations will be permitted to cover the sessions. The proposal also envisaged limiting the number of reporters allowed in the premises. The move has drawn strong criticism from independent media and opposition MPs, who attempted to block the key vote on budget by occupying the parliamentary podium in protest against what they see as a clampdown on the media. The statement issued by Poland’s independent news outlets argued that the restrictions “do not hit journalists, but the rights of citizens to be fully informed about what people elected by them to the parliament do,” as cited by Reuters. However, Law and Justice party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski was unmoved by the accusations, saying that the party “will not be terrorized,” as cited by TVN24, while labeling demonstrators against the rules “hooligans.” Police forcefully pulled away protesters and reportedly used tear gas to clear the way for Kaczynski and several other senior members of parliament, who left the scene in a vehicle. Kaczynski’s car was seen leaving the building secured by a convoy together with the car of Prime Minister Beata Szydlo. The use of tear gas was reported by opposition MP Jerzy Meysztowicz, who spoke with TVN24. Earlier, the protesters demanded that Kaczynski personally come to listen to the crowd’s grievances. The Civic Platform along with other opposition parties, liberal Nowsczesna (Modern) and the Polish People’s Party (PSL) issued a joint statement, accusing parliament speaker Marek Kuchcinski of violating the Constitution with his decision to hold the vote in another place. “The [vote] was illegal, period. This is a constitutional crisis,” Grzegorz Schetyna, head of the main opposition center-right party, Civic Platform, said on Twitter. “Everybody sees that Law and Justice has crossed a certain line and nothing will be the same anymore,” Tomasz Siemoniak, Civic Platform’s deputy leader, told journalists speaking outside the parliament’s building. The Law and Justice party insists that moving the vote to another chamber was in line with the law and that it should be considered legally binding. “What the opposition did was a scandal. And we were working,” Jaroslaw Zielinski, a Law and Justice party MP, told Reuters. The hashtag #WolneMediawSejmie (Free Media in Sejm), which has become the slogan of the protesters, is trending on Polish-speaking Twitter feeds, with thousands supporting the action. Warsaw police spokesman Mariusz Mrozek subsequently denied reports that police had deployed tear gas against protesters, claiming that what might have looked like tear gas in fact was smoke from fireworks thrown by demonstrators, according to Gazeta Wyborcza. He also said that after midnight the rally was treated by police as an illegal gathering. In the meantime, the majority of protesters left the area, with only small groups of young people remaining near the building as of early Saturday morning. Gazeta Wyborsza reported that some opposition MPs followed up on their promise to stay up all night in Parliament, refusing to recognize the decision by Kuchcinski, who they argue unlawfully interrupted the parliament’s session. The opposition parties earlier called on the speaker to convene the parliament again on December 20, arguing that the quorum was not observed on Friday. They claim it was not clear who had actually voted as there were some people present during the voting procedure who were not MPs. "There is no proof that a quorum of lawmakers was present. We suspect that people who were not allowed to vote took part," Reuters cited Ryszard Petru, leader of the Nowoczesna party as saying. Earlier, it was reported that the EU Parliament might strip Poland of voting rights due to its government’s encroachment on another civil right, the freedom of assembly. READ MORE: EU MPs debate stripping Poland of voting rights after new law restricts public meetings The legislation, which was proposed by the ruling Law and Justice party and already passed by the Polish Senate, envisages that some rallies that the authorities deem “nationally important” can be prioritized over other rallies. The law also stipulates that any group will be entitled to “book” a place to stage “periodical” rallies for up to three years, subject to the consent of local authorities. Any other rallies, organized by other groups at that time and place would be considered illegal. The legislation was blasted by the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and scores of non-governmental organizations. The Polish Supreme Court opposed the bill, while some 200 Polish human rights groups and NGOs called on President Andrzej Duda to impose a veto on the legislation, which is pending his approval. ||||| The protest marked the biggest political standoff in years in European Union member Poland and the sharpest escalation of the conflict between the opposition and the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party since it came to power in October last year. The police attempted in the early hours of Saturday to remove protesters by grabbing them and pulling them aside, but later ceased in their efforts as new protesters arrived at the scene, a Reuters witness said. The police also called on protesters blocking the parliament to disperse, saying on loudspeakers that they might otherwise use force. "Everybody sees that PiS has crossed a certain line and nothing will be the same anymore," Tomasz Siemoniak, deputy leader of the biggest opposition party Civic Platform told local media outside parliament. The parliament was surrounded by hundreds of policemen, some of whom were carrying rubber bullet guns. Police reinforcements were arriving at the parliament as well. The protesters chanted that lawmakers will remain blocked and called on the head of PiS, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, to come out and face them. It was unclear how many lawmakers and staffers were inside waiting for the exits to be unblocked. Some opposition lawmakers said they would spend the night in parliament. Polish opposition parties accused PiS earlier on Friday of violating the constitution after Speaker Marek Kuchcinski moved a key vote on next year's budget outside of the main chamber of parliament and blocked the media from recording the vote. It was the first time since Poland's transition from communism in 1989 that a sitting of the lower chamber of parliament was conducted outside of the main chamber. "The 'sitting' was illegal. Period. This is a constitutional crisis," Civic Platform head Grzegorz Schetyna said on social media. Kuchcinski decided to transfer the sitting and the budget vote outside the main chamber after opposition lawmakers occupied the parliamentary podium protesting against a plan to curb media access and against Kuchcinski's decision to exclude one lawmaker. Ruling party lawmakers said the transfer of the vote was legal and the vote itself was valid. "What the opposition did was a scandal. And we were working," said PiS lawmaker Jaroslaw Zielinski, who took part in the budget vote. Opposition parties Civic Platform and Nowoczesna together with the PSL party said in a statement that the speaker has violated the constitution. Opposition lawmakers also said they had problems in accessing the budget vote. The parties demanded that the parliament sitting be held once again next week. Since coming to power last year, the nationalist-minded, eurosceptic PiS has tightened its control over public news media and state prosecution and moved to weaken the country's highest court. PiS is the first party since Poland's transition to democracy to hold an outright majority in parliament. (Writing Marcin Goettig; Editing by Mary Milliken) ||||| Polish opposition leaders called on Saturday for days of anti-government protests and vowed to maintain a blockade of parliament’s main hall that the ruling party condemned as an illegal attempt to seize power. About two dozen members of the opposition Civic Platform (PO) took turns to sit in the legislature’s plenary hall through the night and the party’s leader said they would remain there for the next few days. “We will be on the streets until they are done destroying the country,” Mateusz Kijowski, the leader of the Committee for the Defence of Democracy movement, told protesters. Several thousand people protested in Warsaw and other cities after police broke up a blockade of the entrances of the parliament building in Warsaw in the early hours. Poland’s biggest political standoff in years began on Friday when opposition lawmakers objecting to plans by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party to curb media access to parliament blocked the plenary hall podium ahead of a budget vote. PiS lawmakers later moved voting to another area without media access, prompting accusations they had passed the 2017 budget illegally, breaching the constitution. The clash with the opposition has highlighted a growing divide in eastern Europe’s largest economy, with some Poles increasingly angry over the PiS government’s efforts to assert more control over state institutions. “If it becomes clear that it is impossible to talk to (PiS lawmakers), we should have early elections,” Ryszard Petru, head of the liberal Nowoczesna grouping, told protesters at parliament. A snap election is unlikely, however, as PiS holds an outright majority in parliament and would be able to overrule any vote of no confidence. Poland’s Western allies have also expressed concerns over a push by the government to reform the constitutional court, saying it contravened democratic standards. But despite criticism at home and abroad, the euroskeptic PiS enjoys steady support among many Poles eager to hear its message of higher welfare, more Catholic values in public life and less dependence on foreign capital. European Union Council President Donald Tusk, former head of the PO – Poland’s largest opposition party – urged authorities to respect the constitution and warned about the risks of disregarding “the European model of democracy.” “I appeal to those who have real power to respect and regard the people, constitutional principles and morals,” Tusk, who has a long-standing feud with PiS head Jaroslaw Kaczynski, told a cultural conference in Poland’s western city of Wroclaw. “Those who undermine the European model of democracy, attack the constitution and good customs, expose all of us to strategic risks. By throwing away the spirit of freedom and community, they write the next act of Poland’s solitude,” he added. Government officials deny behaving undemocratically and have accused opposition leaders of fomenting dissent. Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the opposition blockade of parliament was an “illegal attempt to seize power,” while Prime Minister Beata Szydlo accused opposition lawmakers of being focused on “brawls”. Later in the day, however, Kaczynski told the speaker of the upper house of parliament to organize a meeting with media outlets on Sunday to discuss the new plan for journalists’ access, PAP news agency reported, citing government sources. Meanwhile, Polish President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, called on all sides to calm down. “I am ready to mediate in this matter,” he said in a statement. A Reuters correspondent in Warsaw and other journalists were not allowed to enter parliament on Saturday, which PO leader Grzegorz Schetyna called unacceptable. “Parliament cannot be governed by censorship,” he told a news conference. “It cannot be without journalists.” ||||| Warsaw, Poland (CNN) A bitter political crisis in Poland worsened over the weekend with heated protests both in and outside the nation's parliament and a swirl of allegations of attempted coups and threats to democracy. In Poland's lower house of parliament, opposition lawmakers formed a phalanx around the podium, effectively halting proceedings in the chamber in protest over an alleged government attack on press freedoms. Outside, in freezing temperatures, angry anti-government demonstrators besieged the parliament, preventing politicians from the ruling Law and Justice party from leaving, before police dragged them off the roads. "In my opinion, yesterday's events were an illegal attempt to seize power," Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Saturday morning, in reference to the protests in parliament. Addressing the nation in televised statement Saturday evening, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo placed the blame at the door of her opponents. "The move by the opposition to ignite extreme political emotions ... has nothing to do with the actual condition of the country," she said. "On the contrary, it is due to the helplessness, the frustration, of those who have lost the power and who have no idea how to convince Poles of their views." Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the president of the governing party who is regarded as the man with the real power in Polish politics, said Saturday, "We must not let others terrorize us." He also spoke of "drawing our conclusions about those who have abused their office," which some have interpreted as veiled threat to the opposition members of parliament who took part in the protest. The spark for the parliamentary unrest was a government plan to limit media access to the Polish Parliament. Since the country's return to democracy 27 years ago, journalists have had almost unrestricted access to the corridors of power, catching politicians unaware and harassing them with questions. To many in Poland, this access was regarded as a fine example of Polish democracy -- but to the country's government, which has never had an easy relationship with the media, it was an unwanted privilege that the press, they claimed, had abused. To solve the problem, the government proposed slashing the number of journalists with parliamentary accreditation and creating a media center where politicians could meet the press on their own terms. This triggered outrage in the Polish media and prompted accusations that the government was trying to silence the press. It also led to the protests in the parliament by opposition lawmakers that, in turn, led to the parliamentary speaker hastily arranging a meeting of Law and Justice politicians in another room, where they then voted through next year's state budget with a show of hands. The informal nature of the vote sparked claims from opposition lawmakers that they had been prevented from attending the meeting. It also drew prompt condemnation from furious opposition leaders who claimed having a parliamentary vote outside the chamber was both illegal and a violation of the Polish constitution. Grzegorz Schetyna, leader of Civic Platform, Poland's main opposition party, said Saturday he had reported the vote to the Warsaw prosecutor's office, saying that "all those who broke the law should answer for it." It was also the first time since Poland shed communist rule in 1989 that a parliamentary sitting had been held outside the chamber of the lower house. The political fighting over media access and the budget vote is the latest controversy to hit the Polish government. Since coming into power a little more than a year ago, the socially conservative Law and Justice government has launched root-and-branch overhauls of the country's highest court, publically run media, the armed forces and the civil service in a campaign it claims is necessary to modernize the institutions and rid them of bias and corruption. But to its critics, the campaign's real goal is to undermine the basic principles of democracy and try to turn the Central European country into a one-party state once again. The policies have also deepened and widened a bitter political divide in Poland that, at the moment, appears beyond any hope of reconciliation. Protesters have vowed to take to the streets again to keep the pressure on the government. "We will be on the streets until they are done destroying the country," Mateusz Kijowski, the leader of the Committee for the Defense of Democracy -- the movement that has spearheaded protests since Law and Justice came to power -- told demonstrators Saturday. But while the government's opponents were quick to claim that the events of Friday and Saturday morning were a turning point in Polish politics, how they will affect the government is unclear. Since coming to power, Law and Justice has come under an almost constant bombardment of criticism over its apparent lack of commitment to democratic rights but at the same time has retained its popularity. Generous social welfare programs and promises to clamp down on corruption and look after the people left behind by the country's economic progress have appealed to many Poles, giving Law and Justice a powerful position. The party also enjoys an outright majority in the Polish parliament, so it is free to do what it wants and enact any legislation it deems necessary. ||||| WARSAW, Poland (AP) — European Council President Donald Tusk on Saturday urged Poland's ruling party to respect the country's constitution, its people and democratic practices in politics as two days of anti-government protests spread from Warsaw to two other cities. Government opponents protested outside the presidential palace and the parliament building for a second day Saturday over a government plan to restrict journalists' access to lawmakers in parliament. The protests came amid rising political tensions over the ruling conservative Law and Justice party's policies under chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski and followed a large spontaneous demonstration Friday outside parliament. Tusk, Poland's former prime minister, invoked the word "dictatorship" and reminded his audience of protests held in Poland under communism that ended in bloodshed. "I appeal to those who hold real power in our country to respect the people, the principles and values of the constitution, the standing procedures and good practices," Tusk said in Wroclaw, southwest Poland, where he was attending a cultural event. He warned that whoever was undermining the "European model of democracy" in Poland was "exposing us all to strategic risks." The crowd of a few thousand in Warsaw chanted "Freedom! Equality! Democracy!" and waved Polish and European Union flags, a reflection of the pro-European views of many liberal, urban Poles who oppose the ruling party. "This conflict is entering a new, more aggressive phase," said Szymon Roginski, a photographer who joined the protest with his two young sons. "Every day we hear news that makes us understand that we are further and further away from democracy. People have had enough." President Andrzej Duda, who is allied with the ruling party, expressed deep concern and declared a readiness to mediate in the dispute. Prime Minister Beata Szydlo was to make a televised address later Saturday night. The ruling party, which has increased welfare spending, still remains popular with many Poles, particularly those outside of the cities and on modest incomes. Some protesters Saturday held up copies of the constitution. They also chanted "Solidarity!" reflecting how many link today's protests to the anti-communist opposition of the past. A large police presence guarded the Parliament building. The protests were organized by the civic group Committee for the Defense of Democracy and two opposition parties, Civic Platform and Modern. Ryszard Petru, head of Modern, told the crowd in Warsaw that Poles would not accept the "dictators" who are trying to restrict the access of journalists to parliament. In the biggest parliamentary crisis in years, opposition lawmakers protested that government plan Friday, blocking a vote on the budget. Governing party members then voted in another hall, but the opposition says the vote was flawed and illegal. Opposition lawmakers are now demanding a repeat vote on Tuesday and some are occupying the session hall to demand that. Kaczynski on Saturday sought a meeting with media representatives. On Friday he called the obstruction of parliament "hooliganism" and threatened protesters with consequences. ||||| In the early hours of Saturday, police had forcefully broken up a blockade of exits from the legislature's building in central Warsaw, set up by protesters who said ruling party lawmakers had violated the constitution by illegally passing the 2017 budget law on Friday. A spokesman for the Civil Platform (PO) party, the largest opposition grouping in parliament, said about 20-30 members of the party had been taking turns to sit in the plenary hall. "The whole PO parliamentary club is in the Sejm," Jan Grabiec told Reuters. About 30 protesters remained in front of the Sejm, according to a Reuters correspondent. The crisis started on Friday when opposition lawmakers protested against plans by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party to curb media access to the parliament, by blocking access to the plenary hall podium ahead of the budget vote. The budget passed with voting taking place in a nearby hall, escalating the conflict between the opposition and PiS, which within a year of assuming power extended its authority by tightening control over public media and weakening the country's highest court. "In my opinion, yesterday's events were an illegal attempt to seize power," Blaszczak told RMF FM private radio. Ryszard Petru, leader of the opposition Nowoczesna party, said the next protest was planned for 1100 GMT in front of the Presidential Palace, in Warsaw's center. "If the situation which is taking place, in which ... PiS has lost the trust of the people, if the situation continues, early elections will be necessary," Petru told the TVN 24 private news channel. (Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz, Pawel Sobczak and Justyna Pawlak; Writing by Justyna Pawlak and Lidia Kelly; Editing by Dale Hudson) ||||| WARSAW, Poland — Thousands of Warsaw residents joined in a spontaneous protest in front of Poland's parliament against a plan by the conservative ruling party to limit reporters' access to legislators. Mobilized by the civic movement, the Committee for the Defense of Democracy, or KOD, the crowd on Friday waved white-and-red national flags and chanted "Free media!" in cold winter weather. Radek Sikorski, a former foreign minister, was among the government critics who addressed the protest, harshly denouncing Poland's political direction under Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the powerful chairman of the ruling Law and Justice party that is introducing many sweeping changes. Earlier Friday, inside the parliament's session hall, a large group of liberal opposition lawmakers protested the new media rules by standing on and around the speaker's podium for several hours. They blocked a vote on the 2017 state budget. The budget vote was eventually taken by the ruling party's lawmakers in another hall, but the opposition questioned its legality. It was the most serious crisis in Poland's parliament in many years. "The political crisis has grown more aggravated," Law and Justice lawmaker Tadeusz Cymanski said. The crowd blocked lawmakers' cars, preventing them from leaving the parliament area. After a few hours, police had to make way for them, as the crowd chanted "We will win!" A new protest was called for Saturday noon in front of the Presidential Palace. At the heart of the issue was free access to information. In the 27 years of Poland's democracy, journalists have been a constant presence in the parliament's halls. Banned from the main assembly room, they can grab politicians for interviews in the halls. The ruling party, which is under European Union scrutiny for policies deemed anti-democratic by opponents, plans new rules starting Jan. 1 that would drastically limit reporters' access in parliament. Ruling party leader Kaczynski denounced the obstruction of parliament as "hooliganism" and threatened protesters with consequences. "We will not allow ourselves to be terrorized," he said. He said the proposed changes to media access are no different from those in many other European nations. Respected journalist Seweryn Blumsztajn, a dissident under communism, called the plan a "return to communist-era practices." Monika Olejnik of TVN acknowledged that journalists have gone too far sometimes, such as trying to accost politicians heading to the toilet. But she, too, denounced the planned new rules, saying ruling party lawmakers want "to protect themselves from uncomfortable questions by journalists." "But this is in violation of the constitution and of parliament rules," Olejnik said.
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Crowds blocked all Polish parliament exits protesting the Polish ruling Law and Justice Party's allegedly illegal 2017 budget that was approved in a vote outside of the assembly's main chamber. Earlier, the opposition Civic Platform Party stopped parliamentary proceedings on the budget because of new rules on media access. Police have beaten several protesters. According to opposition Civic Platform MP Agnieszka Pomaska, ruling party Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński snatched her phone.
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A gunman who killed the Russian ambassador to Turkey at a photo exhibition in Ankara. The man then yelled: “Stand back! Stand back! Only death will take me out of here. Anyone who has a role in this oppression will die one by one.” Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov was several minutes into a speech at the embassy-sponsored exhibition when he was shot. The gunman also shouted “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for “God is great.” Police later killed the gunman, according to reports. The attack comes a day before a meeting of Russian, Turkish and Iranian foreign and defence ministers in Moscow to discuss Syria. Russia and Iran have backed Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Turkey has supported Assad’s foes. ||||| The video will start in 8 Cancel Get the biggest politics stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Russia's ambassador to Turkey has been assassinated by an off-duty police officer in front of terrified witnesses allegedly in retaliation for the crisis in Aleppo. The gunman - smartly dressed in a black suit and tie - reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" and said in Turkish "We die in Aleppo, you die here" after shooting Ambassador Andrei Karlov in the back. The attacker was fatally shot by police after killing Mr Karlov and wounding three others in what Russia's Foreign Ministry has called "an act of terrorism". Mr Karlov, 62, was delivering a speech at an art gallery in the capital of Ankara when he was shot from behind in an attack caught on camera, and then shot at least once more at close range as he lay on the floor. (Image: AFP) (Image: Anadolu) The gunman - identified by Turkish officials as Mevlut Mert Altıntas - was a police officer who used police identification to enter Ankara's Centre for Contemporary Arts. The 22-year-old had been a member of Ankara's elite anti-riot police for two-and-a-half years. After killing the ambassador he reportedly shouted: "Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria! As long as our brothers are not safe, you will not enjoy safety. "Whoever has a share in this oppression will pay for it one-by-one. "Only death will take me away from here." Prosecutors said authorities raided an address linked to the shooter and his family, and Turkish media said the gunman's father, mother and sister had been detained for questioning. A senior security official told Reuters there are "very strong signs" that the gunman belonged to the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who was accused of orchestrating a failed coup in July. The unnamed official said the current investigation was focused on the gunman's links to the network. One of Gulen's advisors strongly denied the allegations. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now (Image: Anadolu) (Image: REUTERS) In a televised address Russian President Vladimir Putin, the most powerful ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said the assassination was a "provocation" aimed at undermining the "peace process" in Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a staunch opponent of Assad, also spoke on TV and said the attack was an attempt to disrupt Turkey-Russia relations. Both revealed they have agreed to strengthen ties and launch a joint investigation into the assassination to determine if the gunman was following orders. Turkey and Russia have backed opposite sides in the Syrian war. Russia's air strikes were instrumental in helping Syrian forces end rebel resistance in war-torn Aleppo this month. The assassination and aftermath were captured on camera, with horrific footage showing Mr Karlov speaking at a podium before falling to the floor as gunshots were heard. Photos showed the attacker standing behind Mr Karlov with his hands clasped before pulling out a handgun in his right hand and opening fire. The gunman extended his right arm and pointed the gun at Mr Karlov, and then gestured with his left index finger pointed into the air after shooting the ambassador multiple times. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now (Image: REUTERS) (Image: REUTERS) Witnesses were heard screaming in terror as they ran out of the art gallery, and the gunman was heard shouting slogans as he pointed his finger in the air and pointed his gun towards the fleeing crowd. He also smashed framed photographs hanging on the art gallery's walls. Photos and video published online by Turkish media showed Mr Karlov and a second person on the floor after being shot at the opening of a photography exhibition called "Russia in the Eyes of Turks". The event was sponsored by the Russian Embassy in Ankara. Three others were wounded as the shooting continued and people fled for their lives. A witness told Reuters: "He took out his gun and shot the ambassador from behind. "We saw him lying on the floor and then we ran out." Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said the gunman was killed in a 15 minute shootout with police after he made his way to the second floor of the art gallery. The Kremlin said Putin was holding an emergency meeting in the wake of the assassination. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now (Image: Anadolu) (Image: REUTERS) He spoke to Erdogan by telephone within hours of the attack. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "We regard this as a terrorist act. "Terrorism will not win and we will fight against it decisively." The shooting occurred a day before Russia was set to host a foreign ministers' meeting on the crisis in Syria with Turkey and Iran. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavusoglu was travelling to Moscow at the time of the shooting, and the trilateral meeting is still scheduled to go ahead as planned. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said it will not allow the shooting to "cast a shadow" over Turkey-Russia relations, expressing sadness and condemning the "lowly terrorist attack". (Image: Getty Images Europe) (Image: REUTERS) Mr Karlov, who was married and had a son, had been Russia's ambassador to Turkey since 2013 and previously served as ambassador to North Korea from 2001 to 2006. He is the first foreign diplomat to be murdered in Turkey since 1971, when Israeli consul-general in Istanbul, Efraim Elrom, was kidnapped and shot dead by militants. Shortly after Mr Karlov's death was announced governments around the world condemned the attack. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Twitter: "Shocked to hear of despicable murder of Russia's Ambassador to Turkey. "My thoughts are with his family. I condemn this cowardly attack." In a statement, the White House said: “The United States strongly condemns the assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, in Ankara today, which reportedly also left others wounded. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of Ambassador Karlov and the other victims, and we offer our condolences to the Russian people and Government. “The heinous attack on a member of the diplomatic corps is unacceptable, and we stand united with Russia and Turkey in our determination to confront terrorism in all of its forms.” The US State Department issued a warning to American tourists in or travelling to Ankara, tweeting: "Reports of shooting near US Embassy Ankara - US citizens advised to avoid Embassy area until further notice." The travel warning referenced the shooting at the art gallery, which is near the US Embassy, not a second incident, the @TravelGov Twitter account later clarified. In a statement published by state media Syria condemned the killing as a "cowardly" attack and offered condolences to Mr Karlov's family and the Russian people. Russia is Syria's most powerful ally and has played a major role in the Syrian government's attempts to eradicate rebel groups across the country. In recent weeks pro-government forces have made rapid advances on rebel-held territory in the devastated city of Aleppo, leaving many people dead or wounded. (Image: REUTERS) (Image: Collect Unknown) After rebels were driven into an enclave in eastern Aleppo after heavy bombing a ceasefire was brokered by Russian and Turkish officials. The deal included the ongoing evacuation of thousands of rebels and civilians, including women and children, from Aleppo to rebel-held territory in Idlib province in north-western Syria. Turkey's relationship with Russia has been strained in recent years amid the crisis in Syria and after Turkish forces downed a Russian fighter jet along the border with Syria in November last year. Russia denied Turkey's accusation that the fighter jet had entered Turkish air space. Since late June efforts have been underway to repair the relationship, with Putin and Erdogan meeting a number of times. (Image: Getty) Turkey has struggled with a string of attacks by Islamist and Kurdish militants but the killing of a Russian envoy is expected to resonate through the region. Since a failed coup in July, Erdogan has been purging the police of supporters of Gulen, an exiled cleric and former ally, whom he characterises as the chief terrorist threat to Turkey. The government says Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the US state of Pennsylvania since 1999, created a "parallel network" in the police, military, judiciary and civil service aimed at overthrowing the state. The cleric denies this. Related video: Bomb blast rocks governor's office in southern Turkey ||||| The Kremlin said on Wednesday it was too early to say who stood behind the murder of Russia's ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, who was shot dead by a gunman at an Ankara art gallery on Monday. Turkey's foreign minister has told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Ankara and Moscow believe followers of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen were behind the killing, ministry sources said on Tuesday. But when Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the Turkish foreign minister's comments on Wednesday, he said it was too early to draw any conclusions about who may have orchestrated the murder. "We need to wait for the results of the joint investigative group," Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "It is really not worth rushing to any conclusions." Ankara has also accused Gulen of orchestrating a failed coup in July, a charge the cleric denies. ||||| ISTANBUL — Russia’s ambassador to Turkey was assassinated at an Ankara art exhibit on Monday evening by a lone Turkish gunman shouting “God is great!” and “don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria!” in what the leaders of Turkey and Russia called a provocative terrorist attack. The gunman, described by Turkish officials as a 22-year-old off-duty police officer, also wounded at least three others in the assault on the envoy, Andrey G. Karlov, which was captured on video. Turkish officials said the assailant was killed by other officers in a shootout. The assassination, an embarrassing security failure in the Turkish capital, forced Turkey and Russia to confront a new crisis tied directly to the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year. The longer-term implications for the Russia-Turkey relationship, which had been warming recently after plunging a year ago, were not immediately clear. But some analysts played down the notion that the assassination would lead to a new rupture, saying it could conversely bring the countries closer together in a shared fight against terrorism. ||||| A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed the death of envoy Andrei Karlov, which marked one of the most serious spillovers of the Syria conflict into Turkey. Russia is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its air strikes were instrumental in helping Syrian forces end rebel resistance last week in the northern city of Aleppo. The Anadolu news agency said the gunman had been "neutralized" soon after the attack, Relations between Moscow and Ankara have long been fraught over the conflict, with the two supporting opposing sides. The attacker was smartly dressed in black suit and tie, and standing behind the ambassador as he made a speech at the art exhibition, a person at the scene told Reuters. "He took out his gun and shot the ambassador from behind. We saw him lying on the floor and then we ran out," said the witness, who asked not to be identified. A Reuters cameraman at the scene said gunfire rang out for some time after the attack. As screams rang out, the gunman could then be seen pacing about and shouting as he held the gun in one hand and waved the other in the air. Another photograph showed four people including what appeared to be the ambassador lying on the floor. Russia and Turkey have both been involved in the conflict in Syria, which borders Turkey. Turkey has been a staunch opponent of Assad, while Russia has deployed troops and its air force in support of the Syrian leader. The U.S. State Department, involved in diplomatic contacts with Russia in an attempt to resolve a refugee crisis unfolding around the city of Aleppo, condemned the attack. Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as Russian-backed Syrian forces have fought for control of the eastern part of the city of Aleppo, triggering a stream of refugees. It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack. Islamic State militants have been active in Turkey and carried out several bomb attacks on Turkish targets over the last year. ||||| The Turkish policeman who assassinated Russia’s ambassador was unlikely to have acted alone, a senior Turkish government official said Tuesday, as investigators from both countries hunted for clues as to who might have been behind the killing. Russian investigators on Tuesday inspected the art gallery in the Turkish capital of Ankara where Ambassador Andrei Karlov was shot dead Monday evening by Mevlut Mert Altintas. The 22-year-old gunman, a member of Ankara’s riot police squad, had shouted slogans about the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo as he killed the envoy. Russia’s entrance into Syria’s war helped turn the tide of the conflict and heralded a series of victories for government forces. Up until a few months ago, the Russian military was bombing rebel positions in Aleppo. Read more: Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov assassinated in Ankara Read more: Who was Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov? The senior government official described the killing as “fully professional, not a one-man action” and said the attack was well-planned. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because he was not authorized to release details to the press. Turkish authorities have not publicly released any information on the investigation or on a possible motive for the policeman. Still, Turkish police have detained seven people in connection with the gunman: his parents, sister, three other relatives and his roommate in Ankara, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported. According to the news agency, Altintas took leave from work and on Dec. 14 made a hotel reservation near the art exhibition centre. He arrived at the hotel on Monday. Police searched his hotel room, which was later sealed. Karlov’s body was flown home to Moscow on Tuesday afternoon after an emotional ceremony at Ankara Airport attended by Turkish government officials and diplomats. Karlov’s wife, Marina Karlova, wept as her husband’s flag-draped coffin was carried by a Turkish honour guard. She laid two red carnations on the coffin before it was loaded onto the aircraft. “Ambassador Karlov has become the eternal symbol of Turkish-Russian friendship,” Deputy Prime Minister Tugrul Turkes said at the ceremony. Turkey and Russia, which have backed opposing sides in the Syrian war, vowed not to let the killing disrupt efforts to repair their ties. “Strong relations will continue, no one has the strength to destroy the relationship” between the two countries, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said during a speech in Istanbul for the opening of a tunnel highway under the Bosporus. “We will continue to carry out every kind of effort to overcome the instability in the region.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he spoke by phone Monday night, were “in agreement that this was an open provocation.” A joint investigation was being conducted into the ambassador’s death, he said. “Together with Mr. Putin, we have an understanding that our co-operation, especially in Syria, will not be affected by this attack.” Karlov’s assassination came after days of protests by Turks angry over Moscow’s support for Syrian President Bashar Assad and Russia’s role in the bombardment and destruction of rebel parts of Aleppo. “Don’t forget Aleppo! Don’t forget Syria!” Altintas shouted during the attack, shooting Karlov as he delivered a speech at a photo exhibition in the Turkish capital. The attacker was later killed by police in a different part of the building. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking at a previously scheduled meeting on Syria in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and their Iranian counterpart, said Turkey and Russia would work together to determine who was behind the “heinous terror attack.” “Turkey and Russia have shown the world what they can achieve when they co-operate,” Cavusoglu said, referring to the cease-fire deal that paved the way for the evacuation of thousands of people from east Aleppo. Both foreign ministers lay flowers in front of a photograph of the ambassador at the Russian Foreign Ministry mansion where talks were taking place. Cavusoglu said a street where the Russian Embassy in Ankara is located would be renamed for Karlov. On Monday evening, an Associated Press photographer and others at the art gallery watched in horror as Altintas, who was wearing a dark suit and tie, fired at least eight shots, at one point walking around the ambassador as he lay motionless and shooting him again at close range. A team of 18 Russian investigators and foreign ministry officials went to Ankara to investigate the killing, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Also Tuesday, Turkish police detained a man who fired a shotgun in front of the U.S. Embassy, which is across the street from the building where the Russian ambassador was killed. It was not immediately known if the two incidents were connected. No one was hurt. The man fired around eight shots in the air before embassy security guards apparently overpowered him, Anadolu said. The U.S. Embassy said its missions in Ankara, Istanbul and the southern city of Adana were closed Tuesday. Authorities increased security outside the Russian Embassy, and the Iranian Embassy was closed Tuesday as a precaution. Russia warned citizens against travelling to Turkey, citing attacks that have hit the country over the past 18 months. ||||| (CNN) The Associated Press photographer who captured viral images of Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov's assassination at an art exhibition in Ankara has recalled the terrifying moment the gunman opened fire. "It took me a few seconds to realize what had happened: A man had died in front of me; a life had disappeared before my eyes," Burhan Ozbilici wrote on APNews.com "The gunshots, at least eight of them, were loud in the pristine art gallery. Pandemonium erupted. People screamed, hid behind columns and under tables and lay on the floor. I was afraid and confused, but found partial cover behind a wall and did my job: taking photographs." A man identified as Mevlut Mert Altintas stands over Andrei Karlov, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, after shooting him at a photo gallery in Ankara, Turkey on December 19, 2016. Ozbilici had never intended on attending the new photo exhibition in the Turkish capital but made a snap decision to stop in on his way home from the office. With Russia-Turkey relations appearing to thaw in recent weeks, the AP photographer thought some images of Karlov speaking at the gallery might be useful in the near future. I'm here. Even if I get hit and injured, or killed, I'm a journalist. I have to do my work." "He was speaking softly and -- from what I could tell -- lovingly about his homeland, stopping occasionally to allow the translator to relay his words in Turkish. I remember thinking how calm and humble he seemed." 'I'm a journalist. I have to do my work' But in the blink of an eye, the tranquil scene in the gallery was shattered. Gunshots rang out and people scattered as a blind panic hung in the air. Ozbilici scrambled to the back of the showroom, finding partial refuge behind a wall. He watched as the gunman walked around the ambassador's body, describing him as "agitated" as he struck several of the photographs on display. "This is what I was thinking: 'I'm here. Even if I get hit and injured, or killed, I'm a journalist. I have to do my work. I could run away without making any photos ... But I wouldn't have a proper answer if people later ask me: 'Why didn't you take pictures?'" He added: "I even thought about friends and colleagues who have died while taking photographs in conflict zones over the years." All the while, Ozbilici continued working, documenting the political assassination from a perspective that would lead news outlets across the globe within hours. "As my mind raced, I saw that the man was agitated -- and yet, he was, strangely, in control of himself. He shouted at everyone to stand back. Security guards ordered us to vacate the hall and we left." It wasn't until Ozbilici began editing his photos that he truly comprehended the premeditation behind the shooter's "calculated" attack. He wrote: "When I returned to the office to edit my photos, I was shocked to see that the shooter was actually standing behind the ambassador as he spoke. Like a friend, or a bodyguard." Within minutes of their release, Ozbilici's photographs spread like wildfire through social networks. Photographers and journalists the world over praised the AP photographer for his composure in the face of terror. ||||| A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed the death of envoy Andrei Karlov, which marked one of the most serious spillovers of the Syria conflict into Turkey. Russia is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its air strikes were instrumental in helping Syrian forces end rebel resistance last week in the northern city of Aleppo. The Anadolu news agency said the gunman had been "neutralized" soon after the attack, Relations between Moscow and Ankara have long been fraught over the conflict, with the two supporting opposing sides.
• No immediate claim of responsibility The attacker was smartly dressed in black suit and tie, and standing behind the ambassador as he made a speech at the art exhibition, a person at the scene told Reuters. "He took out his gun and shot the ambassador from behind. We saw him lying on the floor and then we ran out," said the witness, who asked not to be identified. A Reuters cameraman at the scene said gunfire rang out for some time after the attack. As screams rang out, the gunman could then be seen pacing about and shouting as he held the gun in one hand and waved the other in the air. Another photograph showed four people including what appeared to be the ambassador lying on the floor. Russia and Turkey have both been involved in the conflict in Syria, which borders Turkey. Turkey has been a staunch opponent of Assad, while Russia has deployed troops and its air force in support of the Syrian leader. The U.S. State Department, involved in diplomatic contacts with Russia in an attempt to resolve a refugee crisis unfolding around the city of Aleppo, condemned the attack. Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as Russian-backed Syrian forces have fought for control of the eastern part of the city of Aleppo, triggering a stream of refugees. It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack. Islamic State militants have been active in Turkey and carried out several bomb attacks on Turkish targets over the last year. ||||| ANKARA — The Russian ambassador to Ankara was shot in an attack at an art gallery in the Turkish capital on Monday and the Russian RIA news agency said he had died of his wounds. The Anadolu news agency said the gunman had been “neutralized” soon after the attack, which appeared to mark one of the most serious spillovers of the Syria conflict in Turkey. Relations between Moscow and Ankara have long been fraught over the conflict, the two supporting opposing sides. The Russian foreign ministry confirmed the attack mounted as Ambassador Andrei Karlov made a speech at the opening of a photographic exhibition. Hurriyet newspaper said Turkish special forces had surrounded the building. NTV said three other people were wounded. A Reuters witness said that while gunfire rang out for some time after the attack, it had now stopped. A Hurriyet newspaper reporter said the attacker chanted Islamist slogans. Russia and Turkey have been involved in conflict in Syria across the border from where over two million Syrian refugees have settled. Turkey has been a staunch opponent of President Bashar al-Assad while Russia has deployed troops and its air force in support of the Syrian leader. Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as Russian-backed Syrian forces have fought for control of the eastern part of the city of Aleppo, triggering a stream of refugees. It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack. Islamic State militants have been active in Turkey and carried out several bomb attacks on Turkish targets. A photograph posted on Twitter showed a man in a black suit holding a pistol, standing close to a podium in the gallery, its walls hung with pictures. Four people including what appeared to be the ambassador lay on the floor. ||||| (CNN) Russia has warned it will not make "concessions to terrorists" a day after its ambassador was gunned down in the Turkish capital Ankara. Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said his country remained "determined to fight terrorism" after a meeting with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts Tuesday. The meeting, which had been arranged to discuss the situation in Aleppo before Andrey Karlov was gunned down at the opening of an art exhibition in Ankara, comes on the same day as an 18-strong investigative team of Russia's special agencies arrived in Turkey to help authorities with their inquiries. Turkey's official Anadolu news agency reported that the gunman had been neutralized. But it was not immediately clear whether the attacker was killed or captured by police. Turkey's official Anadolu news agency reported that the gunman had been neutralized. But it was not immediately clear whether the attacker was killed or captured by police. The gunman stands near the body of Karlov. "Only death will remove me from here. Everyone who has taken part in this oppression will one by one pay for it," he said in the video. The gunman stands near the body of Karlov. "Only death will remove me from here. Everyone who has taken part in this oppression will one by one pay for it," he said in the video. People cower after Karlov was shot. "Get back! Get back!" the gunman could be heard shouting in Turkish. People cower after Karlov was shot. "Get back! Get back!" the gunman could be heard shouting in Turkish. The gunman gestures near the body of Karlov. In a video circulating on social media, the shooter is heard shouting, "Allahu akbar (God is greatest). Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria! Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria!" Russia has been instrumental in helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in its push to retake the eastern sector of Aleppo, which had been held by rebels for nearly four years. Russia is also the most powerful ally of Assad's regime and has carried out airstrikes since September 2015 to prop up the embattled leader. The gunman gestures near the body of Karlov. In a video circulating on social media, the shooter is heard shouting, "Allahu akbar (God is greatest). Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria! Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria!" Russia has been instrumental in helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in its push to retake the eastern sector of Aleppo, which had been held by rebels for nearly four years. Russia is also the most powerful ally of Assad's regime and has carried out airstrikes since September 2015 to prop up the embattled leader. Karlov's body lies on the floor as the gunman stands nearby. Karlov's body lies on the floor as the gunman stands nearby. The man holds his gun up after shooting Karlov. The attack occurred at the Cagdas Sanat Merkezi modern arts center in Ankara. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in a news conference that the gunman was Mevlut Mert Altintas, a Turkish police officer. The man holds his gun up after shooting Karlov. The attack occurred at the Cagdas Sanat Merkezi modern arts center in Ankara. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in a news conference that the gunman was Mevlut Mert Altintas, a Turkish police officer. Andrey Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, speaks at the opening ceremony of a photo exhibit in Ankara, Turkey, on Monday, December 19. Moments later, he was fatally shot. Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici was at the event and watched the assassination unfold. Andrey Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, speaks at the opening ceremony of a photo exhibit in Ankara, Turkey, on Monday, December 19. Moments later, he was fatally shot. Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici was at the event and watched the assassination unfold. "This tragedy makes all of us more determined to fight terrorism and makes this meeting even more useful," Russian news agency Sputnik quoted Lavrov as saying. He said he hoped the talks would "create conditions for a more efficient delivery of humanitarian aid without making any concessions to terrorists." "It is necessary to establish all the circumstances of the organization and [the] execution of the terrorist act as soon as possible." Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the attack was intended to "harm our relations and destroy all the achievements we have made together recently." He welcomed the investigative team from Russia, insisting the two countries would work together to "uncover who is behind this vile and treacherous terror attack." "Turkey and Russia have recently proven what they can achieve when they co-operate, not only to their own people but to the whole world," he said. "We will maintain this co-operation in Syria in order to reach a political resolution and also extend the co-operation to other areas." He also announced that the street which houses the Russian embassy in Ankara will be renamed in Karlov's honor. Six people have been taken in for questioning in relation to the shooting, including five members of the gunman's family and one flatmate, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu. The assassination came at a time of thawing relations between Russia and Turkey and at a pivotal moment in Syria where Russia has been instrumental in President Bashar al-Assad's push to retake rebel-held areas. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the killing was clear "provocation" aimed at undermining not just the normalization of Russian-Turkish relations but the "peace process in Syria" promoted by Russia, Turkey, Iran and other countries. "The only response we should offer to this murder is stepping up our fight against terror, and the criminals will feel the heat," Putin said in televised remarks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan echoed Putin's sentiments, saying "the Russian government and the Turkish republic have the will to not fall into that provocation." Russia has been denounced by human rights groups and several countries over its backing of the Syrian president. It is the most powerful ally of Assad's regime and has carried out airstrikes since September 2015 to prop up the embattled leader. As one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia has also used its veto powers to block a political solution to end the war. Turkey's involvement in Syria is complicated. On one hand, the Turks are eager to help eradicate ISIS. On the other hand, Ankara has worked to drive Kurdish fighters from the Syrian side of the border. Meanwhile, the United States supports Kurdish groups in both Syria and Iraq as critical partners in the battle against ISIS. All US embassy and consulates in Turkey were to be closed Tuesday following a separate incident, hours after the assassination. Turkish police arrested a man who fired into the air with a shotgun outside the US Embassy in Ankara, Anadolu reported. Video fed by Turkish video news agency IHA showed a handcuffed man being led by security officers into an unmarked police car as he shouted "I swear to God. Don't play with us," in Turkish. No one was injured.
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The Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov is killed in a gun attack at an art gallery in Ankara. Russia calls the assassin, 22-year old police officer, Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, a "terrorist". Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu goes to Moscow for a planned trilateral meeting on Syria, saying "the incident will not impact relations between Turkey and Russia".
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Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, was negligent in her handling of a long-running fraud case, a French court has ruled. A special court made up of members of parliament and magistrates announced the guilty verdict on Monday in Paris. But it also said Lagarde won't be fined, serve any jail time, or receive a criminal record. Speaking on French TV, Lagarde's lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve described the unusual ruling and absence of a sentence as a partial acquittal, but said she may appeal. The IMF's executive board, which has been supportive of Lagarde throughout the case, stood by her in the wake of the verdict. The board said in a statement Monday that it "reaffirms its full confidence in the managing director's ability to continue to effectively carry out her duties." The IMF is in charge of maintaining financial stability around the world. Lagarde has played a pivotal role in IMF-backed rescues of countries on the brink of collapse, including Greece and Ukraine. Lagarde had been accused of giving preferential treatment to businessman-turned-politician Bernard Tapie as he pursued a legal challenge against the French government. At the time, Lagarde was the French economy minister. Tapie eventually won his case and was awarded €293 million ($306 million), plus interest. Lagarde was found to be negligent for not challenging the award of such a large sum of taxpayers' money. She was not in court for the verdict. Her lawyer said she was in Washington for work. Related: Trump paid $12.5 million to his own businesses during campaign Lagarde is the third IMF managing director in a row to face legal proceedings. Her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, resigned from the IMF in 2011 after sexual assault charges were brought in the U.S. (They were subsequently dropped.) And Rodrigo Rato, who preceded him in the job, is currently on trial on corruption charges in Spain. Unraveling the case The case has its roots in the early 1990s when Tapie joined the French government and sold his stake in Adidas (ADDYY) to avoid accusations of a conflict of interest. He instructed Credit Lyonnais to handle the sale for him. The bank sold Adidas for just under €318 million ($332 million) the following year to a group of buyers, including a subsidiary of Credit Lyonnais. A year later, Adidas was sold again, this time for €533 million, netting the bank a large profit. Tapie sued, claiming he'd been defrauded. By the time the case came to court, Credit Lyonnais was collapsing and the French state had taken over its liabilities. So Tapie pursued his claim against the government for a decade until a court awarded him €135 million in damages. That ruling was overturned on appeal. But rather than leave Tapie to fight on in court, Lagarde decided to refer the matter to arbitration. A special panel of judges awarded Tapie €293 million, plus interest, just months later. -- Jim Bittermann and Océane Cornevin contributed reporting. ||||| Christine Lagarde looked to be safe in her role as the International Monetary Fund’s managing director on Monday night after its board gave her its backing, just hours after she was convicted of “negligence” over a huge payout to a business tycoon while she was French finance minister. The IMF board praised the “wide respect and trust” for Mrs Lagarde’s leadership as it expressed its “full confidence” in her ability to continue in the role at the upper echelons of international finance. France’s Court of Justice of the Republic, a special tribunal for ministers, earlier chose not to punish Mrs Lagarde or give her a criminal record. She had faced a one-year term and a €15,000 (£13,000) fine, threatening to derail her career. Mrs Lagarde, who has maintained her innocence throughout the process, said she was “not satisfied” with the verdict but would not appeal against the decision. “There is a point in time when one has to just stop, turn the page and move on, and continue to work with those who have put their trust in me,” she said. The ruling came after a week-long trial in which she received a rough ride. Ms Lagarde had maintained her innocence, and the prosecutor had asked for an acquittal over the "very weak" case after advising against bringing it to court in the first place. Proceedings centred on Ms Lagarde's 2007 decision to allow a dispute over flamboyant magnate Bernard Tapie's sale of the Adidas sports brand to Credit Lyonnais bank to be resolved by a rarely-used private arbitration panel, instead of through the courts. ||||| “She has been a very effective leader,” said Edwin M. Truman, a specialist in international finance formerly at the Federal Reserve and the United States Treasury. “Yes, there are big questions about the fund’s future. But for her to have to step down now — well, that would be complicated.” Jacob J. Lew, the Treasury secretary, expressed the Obama administration’s support for Ms. Lagarde, saying that “she is a strong leader of the I.M.F., and we have every confidence in her ability to guide the fund at a critical time for the global economy.” For the Trump administration, “I don’t think this kind of ethical question is likely to be the highest priority,” Mr. Truman said. While the I.M.F. and other global institutions did not figure in the presidential debate, Mr. Trump repeatedly criticized a “global power structure” that fixed the economy against workers. “At bottom, it’s all about French politics,” Mr. Truman said. Members of the I.M.F. board were well aware that Ms. Lagarde was facing trial in her native France over allegations that occurred when she was the finance minister in the administration of Nicolas Sarkozy. The consensus among the directors was that Ms. Lagarde’s transgressions occurred when she was not at the fund — in contrast to those of her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn — and since taking charge in 2011, she had proved to be a leader capable of presenting a softer side of the fund while fighting hard to bolster its legitimacy in the aftermath of the financial crisis. More so than her predecessors, Ms. Lagarde has pushed the fund to be more aggressive in taking up the cause of women and focusing attention on growing issues of inequality around the world. Over the last year and a half, she has also led a forceful public critique of Europe’s refusal to offer Greece debt relief in return for the difficult economic changes the country has been making. ||||| The International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde kept her job and escaped punishment on Monday despite a conviction on negligence charges by French judges over a state payout made while she served as France’s finance minister in 2008. The Washington-based IMF executive board reaffirmed its full confidence in Lagarde’s abilities to perform her duties leading the Fund, hours after the verdict was issued in Paris. “The Executive Board looks forward to continuing to work with the Managing Director to address the difficult challenges facing the global economy,” the board said in a statement. In Monday’s ruling, the judges did not find negligence in Lagarde’s decision to seek an out-of-court settlement with tycoon Bernard Tapie. But they said her failure to contest the award to him of about 400 million euros ($417 million) was negligent and led to a misuse of public funds. “The context of the global financial crisis in which Madame Lagarde found herself in should be taken into account,” Martine Ract Madoux, the main judge on the case, said in explaining the absence of any sentence. She also cited Lagarde’s good reputation and international standing as reasons why the court did not order a punishment. The charge against Lagarde could have carried a sentence of up to a year in prison. Lagarde, whom IMF members reappointed in February, has won respect from global finance leaders for pushing governments to do more to boost economic growth and helping to include China’s yuan in the fund’s currency basket. Lagarde’s lawyer, Patrick Maisonneuve, said immediately after the ruling that his team would look into appealing the decision. Though an appeal could clear her name, it could also turn out worse for Lagarde. “Since Madame Lagarde was not sentenced, I wonder about whether to appeal or not to the highest court,” Maisonneuve told reporters outside the court. Lagarde, who described the case as a five-year ordeal, argued in the trial last week that she had acted in good faith, and with the public interest in mind. She said she had signed off on the arbitration – against the advice of some Finance Ministry officials – to end a costly 15-year-old legal battle between the government and Tapie, a supporter of then-President Nicolas Sarkozy. The case dates back to when Tapie sued the French state for compensation after selling his stake in sports company Adidas to then state-owned Credit Lyonnais in 1993. He accused the bank of defrauding him after it resold its stake for a much higher price. With the case stuck in the courts, the two sides agreed to a private settlement and Tapie was awarded a 403 million euro payout, including interest and damages. The case was only the fifth ever heard by a special French court created in 1993 to try government ministers. The court of 15 judges, including 12 lawmakers, has never handed down a firm prison sentence. ||||| International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde makes a statement after the IMF's Executive Board reaffirmed it's full confidence in her, in Washington on Monday. A special French court has declared Ms. Lagarde guilty of criminal negligence in a long-running arbitration case. | Photo Credit: AP The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it retains “full confidence” in Christine Lagarde's ability to continue to lead the organization, despite her conviction for negligence in a French court. The Fund's Board met in the wake of the court decision finding her guilty in a 2008 case dating back to her tenure as French Finance Minister. It took into account all factors including her “outstanding leadership of the Fund and the wide respect and trust for her leadership globally.” “In this context, the Executive Board reaffirms its full confidence in the Managing Director's ability to continue to effectively carry out her duties,” the board said in a statement. “The Executive Board looks forward to continuing to work with the Managing Director to address the difficult challenges facing the global economy.” Ms. Lagarde told reporters shortly after the IMF statement that while she was not satisfied with the court decision, she would not appeal. “There comes a point in time when one just has to stop, turn the page, and move on and continue to work with those who have put their trust in me,” Ms. Lagarde said. “I will put all my energies and enthusiasm into this role.” She also thanked the board and IMF staff for their support during a “painful” process. The French government earlier on Monday expressed its confidence in Ms. Lagarde continuing at the helm of the IMF, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew issued a statement of support immediately after the Board decision. “The United States joins the IMF Executive Board in reaffirming our full support of Managing Director Lagarde,” Mr. Lew said. “She is a strong leader of the IMF, and we have every confidence in her ability to guide the Fund at a critical time for the global economy.” The French court found Ms. Lagarde guilty of negligence over a massive payout to the tycoon Bernard Tapie in 2008, but she will not be fined or face prison, nor will the decision create a criminal record. The case stemmed from Ms. Lagarde's decision in 2007 to allow a dispute over sale of the Adidas sports brand to the state-owned Credit Lyonnais bank to be resolved by a private arbitration panel, and then failing to challenge the result. The court cleared her of negligence over her decision to refer the matter to arbitration but upheld the charge over her failure to contest the award. She noted that the public prosecutor had sought to have the charges dismissed. The case was another instance of controversy surrounding an IMF Managing Director. Ms. Lagarde was named to lead the organization in July 2011 after her predecessor Dominique Strauss-Kahn, also a former French Finance Minister, was forced to resign amid a sex scandal. And his predecessor, former Spanish Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato, is facing prosecution in Spain for embezzlement during his time as a banker. The first woman to head the IMF, Ms. Lagarde presided over some of the worst of the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis and is in her second term as Managing Director. She was reappointed in February, despite the ongoing legal troubles. ||||| Update: The IMF says in a statement following the Lagarde news that its board will meet shortly to consider the conviction. “The executive board has met on previous occasions to consider developments related to the legal proceedings in France,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice says in e-mail, and adds that “It is expected that the board will meet again shortly to consider the most recent developments”: International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde was found guilty of one count of negligence by a French court today, according to Bloomberg News. She was accused of failing to prevent a massive government payout to businessman Bernard Tapie eight years ago, while serving as France’s finance minister, but most surprising, she will face no fine or jail sentence. Ms. Lagarde was on trial on allegations of negligence stemming from her role nearly 10 years ago settling a dispute between the French state and business tycoon Bernard Tapie. The verdict is a blow to the IMF chief who had said Friday that the trial would end a five-year “ordeal” for her family and former colleagues. The conviction places both Ms. Lagarde and the IMF in a bind after the fund approved a second term for her as managing director earlier this year. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean the IMF will have to eject Ms. Lagarde from her post, where she has won broad international support among both the fund’s largest shareholders, and its smaller members. Some more details from Bloomberg: International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde convicted of one count of negligence by Paris court over her handling of a multi-million dispute when she was France’s finance minister.
• 60-year-old IMF managing director convicted at the Cour de Justice de la Republique, over events that occurred nearly a decade ago
• Lagarde was negligent in 2008 decision not to appeal arbitration, judge says
• Lagarde decided in mid-2008 not to appeal a 285 million-euro ($303-million) arbitration award for businessman Bernard Tapie that led to a massive government payout
• Lagarde was cleared of second count related to her 2007 decision to take Tapie dispute to arbitration
• Case stems from former state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais’s disagreement with Tapie over the 1993 sale of Adidas AG, which he owned The IMF has just issued a brief statement: Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time that an IMF head has been “sacrificed” for the greater good: recall the impressive framing of Lagarde’s predecessor Dominique Strauss-Khan, who from frontrunning French presidential candidate, suffered a political and career trainwreck overnight when he allegedly raped a maid at a NYC hotel. ||||| IMF head Christine Lagarde was on Monday found guilty of negligence by a French court over a massive payout to a tycoon when she was finance minister, but will not be fined or face prison. Ms Lagarde was found to be at fault for failing to challenge a 404-million-euro ($422 million) compensation payout to businessman Bernard Tapie over the sale of the Adidas sports brand to Credit Lyonnais bank. Ms Lagarde, who was France’s finance minister between 2007 and 2011, was not in the Paris court to hear the decision because she is in Washington, where the International Monetary Fund is based, her lawyer said. The 60-year-old was tried by the Court of Justice of the Republic, a tribunal staffed by judges and members of parliament that hears cases against French ministers accused of wrongdoing in office. In Washington, an IMF spokesman said the agency’s board would meet shortly to discuss the verdict. ||||| Christine Lagarde is a high-flying former lawyer who rose to become the first woman to lead the International Monetary Fund but who may find her stellar career blemished by a conviction for negligence. She started a second five-year term as the organisation's managing director in February and has won plaudits for her handling of the Greek financial crisis. But her conviction in Paris Monday for failing to challenge a 404-million-euro ($422 million) award to flamboyant French businessman Bernard Tapie in 2008 over the sale of sportswear brand Adidas is a setback. However, in what might prove crucial for Lagarde's IMF future, the court ruled she will not be fined or face a jail sentence. Her woes strike at the core of another of her tasks: restoring morale at the institution after both of her predecessors suffered legal problems. Before the trial, Lagarde, usually impeccably dressed in luxury French brands, dismissed the prosecution over the case of Tapie as "political". The court that tried her is staffed by judges and parliamentarians and hears the cases of former or serving French ministers. The case is a stain on an otherwise stellar international career in business, government and finance that has seen her break through barriers as a woman. She was the first female chairman of a major global law firm — the US-based Baker and McKenzie — and was France's first woman economy minister when named by then president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. The divorced mother of two sons, who is in a relationship with entrepreneur Xavier Giocanti, took over the reins of the IMF in 2011, overseeing the giant organisation which lends money to stricken countries and monitors the international financial system. Economist Desmond Lachman, a former IMF official, recalls that "there are many instances of Ms. Lagarde's courageous truth-telling" — often as the only women in the room. This once included scolding her successor as French finance minister, Pierre Moscovici, who fell asleep during one of many crisis meetings on her watch at the IMF. The stamina of the former synchronised swimmer, who represented France as a schoolgirl, is legendary and she says she gave up drinking alcohol 15 years ago to improve her performance. When not attending international summits, negotiating bailout programmes for bankrupt countries or crunching data at the IMF headquarters, she likes to relax on a farm she owns in northern France. Born to middle-class teacher parents, she went to school in the northern port city of Le Havre before going on to study at universities in France and the US. During her time at the IMF, Lagarde has worked to increase the influence of emerging countries, particularly China, and has taken part in bailout talks for Greece and Ukraine. She is a staunch defender of the international trade system and has spoken out about the dangers of rising nationalism and a "populist backlash" around the world. She said in September that globalisation "has to benefit all, not a few", but argued that the fruits of a connected world were severely undersold by politicians. ||||| Christine Lagarde will remain head of the International Monetary Fund despite being convicted of negligence in a case dating to her tenure as France’s finance minister. The IMF’s executive board said it had “full confidence” in Lagarde’s ability to carry out her duties at the head of the Washington-based international lending agency. After a week-long trial, France’s Court of Justice of the Republic on Monday found Lagarde guilty of one count of negligence but spared her jail time and a criminal record. The 60-year-old IMF leader had potentially faced a year of imprisonment and a fine for not seeking to block a fraudulent 2008 arbitration award to a politically connected tycoon when she was finance minister. Lagarde thanked the board for the vote of confidence “in my ability to do my job”. She said she would not appeal against the French court’s decision. “I am not satisfied with it, but there’s a point in time when one must stop, turn the page and move on,” she said. Lagarde, a lawyer, became France’s first female finance minister in 2007, overseeing the country’s response to the financial crisis that rocked the global economy from 2008. She is also the first woman to head the IMF. “She is a strong leader,” US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said after the board’s decision. “And we have every confidence in her ability to guide the fund at a critical time for the global economy.” The Court of Justice of the Republic is a special tribunal to hear cases of alleged criminality by ministers in office and is made up of three judges and 12 parliamentarians. It ruled that Lagarde’s negligence in her management of a long-running arbitration case involving tycoon Bernard Tapie helped open the door for the fraudulent misappropriation of public funds. Lagarde herself was not accused of fraud. The case revolves around a 403 million-euro (£337 million) arbitration award given to Mr Tapie in 2008 over the botched sale of sportswear giant Adidas in the 1990s. Civil courts have since quashed the unusually generous award, declared the arbitration process and deal fraudulent and ordered Mr Tapie to refund the money. The special court’s presiding judge, in reading the verdict, said Lagarde should have asked her aides and others for more information about the “shocking arbitration award”. In deciding not to sentence Lagarde, the court noted that the award to Mr Tapie has since been annulled, sparing damage to the public purse. It also noted that Lagarde was busy at the time with the global economic crisis. Lagarde’s “personality and national and international reputation” also counted in her favor in the decision not to punish her, the court ruled. Lagarde, who was not present for the verdict, maintained her innocence through the trial. The prosecutor had asked for an acquittal in the case, which began in 2011. The special court acquitted Lagarde of negligence in her original decision to put the Tapie case to arbitration. But it found her guilty in a subsequent decision not to contest the amount of the arbitration award. The legal battle between Mr Tapie and Credit Lyonnais over the public bank’s sale of his Adidas stake was still unresolved when Lagarde took over at the Finance Ministry in 2007. Lagarde ordered that the dispute be settled through a private arbitration panel, instead of regular courts. The massive award raised questions about whether Mr Tapie benefited from his political connections, including with then-President Nicolas Sarkozy, Lagarde’s boss when she was his finance minister. ||||| Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was found guilty yesterday of criminal charges linked to the misuse of public funds during her time as France’s finance minister, a verdict that could force her out of her post, reported the New York Times. Ms. Lagarde, who began her second five-year term at the IMF in February, faces a fine of up to 15,000 euros, or $15,700, and up to one year in jail. The scandal has overshadowed her work at the fund, to which she was appointed in 2011, after Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as managing director when he was accused of having sexually assaulted a maid in a New York City hotel. The move is likely to destabilise the IMF while it faces a host of thorny issues, including questions over its participation in a multibillion-dollar bailout for Greece and uncertainty about the United States’ role in the organisation once Donald J. Trump becomes president in January. The IMF board had also been preparing for a possible conviction with people close to major shareholders, saying that in the absence of a prison term — and with continuing support from the French government — Ms Lagarde would probably be able to stay in her position. The IMF said in a statement after the verdict that the board, which has met previously to consider the case, was expected to “meet again shortly to consider the most recent developments”.
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A court in Paris finds International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde guilty of negligence in a 404 million euro "misuse of public funds" case. The court ruled that Lagarde won't be fined, won't serve any jail time, or receive a criminal record. The IMF Executive Board "looks forward to continuing to work with" her.
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WASHINGTON — There were many protesters but few faithless electors as Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote Monday — ensuring he will become America’s 45th president. An effort by anti-Trump forces to persuade Republican electors to abandon the president-elect came to practically nothing and the process unfolded largely according to its traditions. Trump’s polarizing victory Nov. 8 and the fact Democrat Hillary Clinton had won the national popular vote had stirred an intense lobbying effort, but to no avail. Even one of Trump’s fiercest Republican rivals, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said it was time to get behind the president-elect.
• Minnesota electors vote for Clinton, after one goes rogue “We want unity, we want love,” Kasich said as Ohio’s electors voted to back Trump at a statehouse ceremony. Kasich refused to endorse or even vote for Trump in the election. With Hawaii still to vote, Trump had 304 votes and Clinton had 224. It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. Texas put Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors casting protest votes. Befitting an election filled with acrimony, thousands of protesters converged on state capitols across the country Monday, urging Republican electors to abandon their party’s winning candidate. More than 200 demonstrators braved freezing temperatures at Pennsylvania’s capitol, chanting, “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” and “No treason, no Trump!” In Madison, Wisconsin, protesters shouted, cried and sang “Silent Night.” In Augusta, Maine, they banged on drums and held signs that said, “Don’t let Putin Pick Our President,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite the noise outside state Capitols, inside, the voting went pretty much as planned. In Nashville, Tennessee, one audience member tried to read out some Scripture before the ballots were cast, but was told he could not speak. “We certainly appreciate the Scripture,” State Election Coordinator Mark Goins said from the podium. “The answer is no.” With all Republican states reporting, Trump lost only the two electors in Texas. One voted for Kasich, the Ohio governor; the other voted for former Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Clinton lost four electors in Washington state — three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell and one voted for Native American tribal leader Faith Spotted Eagle. Several Democratic electors in other states tried to vote for protest candidates but they either changed their votes to Clinton or were replaced. The Electoral College has 538 members, with the number allocated to each state based on how many representatives it has in the House plus one for each senator. The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress. Republican electors were deluged with emails, phone calls and letters urging them not to support Trump. Many of the emails are part of coordinated campaigns. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, elector Charlie Buckels reached out to Trump’s opponents after the New York businessman got all of the state’s eight votes. “For those of you who wished it had gone another way, I thank you for being here,” said Buckels, the state GOP finance chairman. “I thank you for your passion for our country.” There is no constitutional provision or federal law that requires electors to vote for the candidate who won their state — though some states require their electors to vote for the winning candidate. Those laws, however, are rarely tested. More than 99 percent of electors through U.S. history have voted for the candidate who won their state. Of those who refused, none has ever been prosecuted, according to the National Archives. Some Democrats have argued that the Electoral College is undemocratic because it gives more weight to less populated states. That is how Clinton, who got more than 2.8 million more votes nationwide, lost the election to Trump. Some have also tried to dissuade Trump voters by arguing that he is unsuited to the job. Others cite the CIA’s assessment that Russia engaged in computer hacking to sway the election in favor of the Republican. “When the founders of our country created (the Electoral College) 200-plus years ago, they didn’t have confidence in the average white man who had property, because that’s who got to vote,” said Shawn Terris, a Democratic elector from Ventura, California. “It just seems so undemocratic to me that people other than the voters get to choose who leads the country.” A joint session of Congress is scheduled for Jan. 6 to certify the results of the Electoral College vote, with Vice President Joe Biden presiding as president of the Senate. Once the result is certified, the winner — almost certainly Trump — will be sworn in on Jan. 20. ||||| President-elect Donald Trump officially secured the White House on Monday evening, and Texas electors were the ones who put his Electoral College count over the top. Despite the hopes of those who gathered outside state capitols across the country, protesting and urging electors to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, or, well, anyone other than President-elect Trump, the 538 members of the Electoral College convened and cast their ballots more or less as they were expected to. For most of the day the only "faithless electors" to pop out of the woodwork showed up in states that Clinton won. A Maine elector voted for Bernie Sanders while a Minnesota elector stated he couldn't vote for Clinton, and was replaced by someone who could. In Washington, four Democratic electors opted for other candidates — three voted for Colin Powell and one voted for Faith Spotted Eagle, one of the leaders of the Dakota pipeline protests. Protesters were outside the capitol building in Austin by 8 a.m., long before the electors were slated to arrive. They held signs and urged electors to vote for anyone but Trump, according to USA Today. The protesters also submitted a petition with more than 265,000 signatures asking the electors not to support Trump. Inside the capitol, the process of casting votes was slow and was about as interesting as watching paint dry. (The state Legislature's Christmas tree and decorations did at least give those watching streaming video of the proceedings something more than just the electors and company to look at.) The shouts of protesters stationed outside the capitol since early that morning grew louder until their cries — calling the electors by name and urging them to save our democracy — reverberated in the state House chamber. When the vote was finally held, it was done by secret ballot. In the end, 36 of the state's electoral votes went for Trump, while one person voted for Ohio Gov. John Kasich and another voted for former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul. It's pretty obvious one of the "faithless voters" was Chris Suprun, the Dallas-based elector who penned an op-ed in the New York Times earlier this month announcing that he could not in good conscience support Trump, a move that got him death threats, as we've recently reported. But it's not clear who decided to go rogue and support Paul. Either way, Texas electors were the last of the states Trump carried to vote and they brought him over the 270-mark. Ultimately, Trump won the Electoral College with just 304 electoral votes, one of the smallest margins of victory in a presidential election in U.S. history. On January 6 Congress will convene in a joint session and certify the votes. Texas lawmakers are already intent on preventing the "Suprun situation" from ever happening again. A bill has already been filed in the Texas House to fine a “faithless elector” $5,000. If the bill makes it through the state legislative session, anyone who decides to vote their conscience in the future will have to pay for it. There's no word yet on whether state lawmakers now want to do away with the secret ballot system as well. ||||| Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted signs certificates validating the vote of the Electoral College in Columbus, Ohio, Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. All 18 of Ohio's Electoral College members voted Monday for Republican Donald Trump despite opposition by protesters outside the state capitol building. WASHINGTON — There were many protesters but few faithless electors as Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote Monday ensuring he will become America's 45th president. An effort by anti-Trump forces to persuade Republican electors to abandon the president-elect came to practically nothing and the process unfolded largely according to its traditions. Trump's polarizing victory Nov. 8 and the fact Democrat Hillary Clinton had won the national popular vote had stirred an intense lobbying effort, but to no avail. "We did it!" Trump tweeted Monday evening. "Thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election (despite all of the distorted and inaccurate media)." He later issued a statement saying: "With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the President of all Americans." Even one of Trump's fiercest Republican rivals, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said it was time to get behind the president-elect. "We want unity, we want love," Kasich said as Ohio's electors voted to back Trump at a statehouse ceremony. Kasich refused to endorse or even vote for Trump in the election. With all states voting, Trump finished with 304 votes and Clinton had 227. It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. Texas put Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors casting protest votes. Befitting an election filled with acrimony, thousands of protesters converged on state capitols across the country Monday, urging Republican electors to abandon their party's winning candidate. More than 200 demonstrators braved freezing temperatures at Pennsylvania's capitol, chanting, "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!" and "No treason, no Trump!" In Madison, Wisconsin, protesters shouted, cried and sang "Silent Night." In Augusta, Maine, they banged on drums and held signs that said, "Don't let Putin Pick Our President," referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite the noise outside state Capitols, inside, the voting went pretty much as planned. In Nashville, Tennessee, one audience member tried to read out some Scripture before the ballots were cast, but was told he could not speak. "We certainly appreciate the Scripture," State Election Coordinator Mark Goins said from the podium. "The answer is no." With all Republican states reporting, Trump lost only the two electors in Texas. One voted for Kasich, the Ohio governor; the other voted for former Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Clinton lost four electors in Washington state three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell and one voted for Native American tribal leader Faith Spotted Eagle. She also lost an elector in Hawaii to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Clinton beat Sanders in the Democratic primaries. Several Democratic electors in other states tried to vote for protest candidates but they either changed their votes to Clinton or were replaced. The Electoral College has 538 members, with the number allocated to each state based on how many representatives it has in the House plus one for each senator. The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress. Republican electors were deluged with emails, phone calls and letters urging them not to support Trump. Many of the emails are part of coordinated campaigns. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, elector Charlie Buckels reached out to Trump's opponents after the New York businessman got all of the state's eight votes. "For those of you who wished it had gone another way, I thank you for being here," said Buckels, the state GOP finance chairman. "I thank you for your passion for our country." There is no constitutional provision or federal law that requires electors to vote for the candidate who won their state though some states require their electors to vote for the winning candidate. Those laws, however, are rarely tested. More than 99 percent of electors through U.S. history have voted for the candidate who won their state. Of those who refused, none has ever been prosecuted, according to the National Archives. Some Democrats have argued that the Electoral College is undemocratic because it gives more weight to less populated states. That is how Clinton, who got more than 2.8 million more votes nationwide, lost the election to Trump. Some have also tried to dissuade Trump voters by arguing that he is unsuited to the job. Others cite the CIA's assessment that Russia engaged in computer hacking to sway the election in favor of the Republican. "When the founders of our country created (the Electoral College) 200-plus years ago, they didn't have confidence in the average white man who had property, because that's who got to vote," said Shawn Terris, a Democratic elector from Ventura, California. "It just seems so undemocratic to me that people other than the voters get to choose who leads the country." A joint session of Congress is scheduled for Jan. 6 to certify the results of the Electoral College vote, with Vice President Joe Biden presiding as president of the Senate. Once the result is certified, the winner almost certainly Trump will be sworn in on Jan. 20. Associated Press writers Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Erik Schelzig and Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, Kathleen Floody and Alex Sanz in Atlanta, Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Marina Villeneuve reported from Augusta, Maine, Rachel La Corte in Olympia, Washington, and Juliet A. Williams in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report. ||||| WASHINGTON -- There were many protesters but few faithless electors as Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote Monday -- ensuring he will become America's 45th president. An effort by anti-Trump forces to persuade Republican electors to abandon the president-elect came to practically nothing, and the process unfolded largely according to its traditions. Trump's victory Nov. 8 and the fact Democrat Hillary Clinton had won the national popular vote had stirred an intense lobbying effort, but to no avail. The effort injected more anger and partisanship into the already divisive 2016 presidential campaign. "We did it!" Trump tweeted Monday evening. "Thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election (despite all of the distorted and inaccurate media)." [TRUMP: Timeline of president-elect’s career + list of appointments so far] Even one of Trump's fiercest Republican rivals, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said it was time to get behind the president-elect. "We want unity, we want love," Kasich said as Ohio's electors voted to back Trump at a Statehouse ceremony. Kasich refused to endorse or vote for Trump in the election. Trump had 304 votes and Clinton had 227. It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. Texas put Trump over the top despite two Republican electors casting protest votes. Befitting an election filled with acrimony, thousands of protesters converged on state capitols across the country Monday, urging Republican electors to abandon their party's winning candidate. More than 200 demonstrators braved freezing temperatures at Pennsylvania's Capitol, chanting, "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!" and "No treason, no Trump!" In Madison, Wis., protesters shouted, cried and sang "Silent Night." In Augusta, Maine, they banged on drums and held signs that said, "Don't let Putin Pick Our President," referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In Harrisburg, Pa., Ray-Ellen Kavey, 68, said he had driven from neighboring New York state to try to persuade Pennsylvania's electors to switch allegiance. "I think the Constitution charges the electors with preventing exactly what is happening here -- a hostile takeover of our government by a bigot who has been supported by Russia," Kavey said. "I know nothing will come of this, but my conscience won't let me do any less." Despite the noise outside state capitols, inside, the voting went mostly as planned. In Nashville, Tenn., one audience member tried to read out some Scripture before the ballots were cast, but was told that he could not speak. "We certainly appreciate the Scripture," state Election Coordinator Mark Goins said from the podium. "The answer is no." With all Republican states reporting, Trump lost only the two electors in Texas. One voted for Kasich, the Ohio governor; the other voted for former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. Clinton lost four electors in Washington state -- three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell and one voted for American Indian tribal leader Faith Spotted Eagle. She also lost an elector in Hawaii to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Clinton beat Sanders in the Democratic primaries. Several Democratic electors in other states tried to vote for protest candidates but they either changed their votes to Clinton or were replaced. In Albany, N.Y., former President Bill Clinton sat in the state Senate chamber as an elector and cast one of the Empire State's 29 electoral votes for his wife. "I've never cast a vote I was prouder of," he told reporters after the meeting. In a statement, Trump called the vote "a historic electoral landslide," though his percentage of the Electoral College would rank the victory only 46th out of the 58 U.S. presidential elections. The Electoral College has 538 members, with the number allocated to each state based on how many representatives it has in the House plus one for each senator. The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress. Republican electors were deluged with emails, phone calls and letters urging them not to support Trump. Many of the emails were part of coordinated campaigns. In Baton Rouge, elector Charlie Buckels reached out to Trump's opponents after the New York businessman got all of the state's eight votes. "For those of you who wished it had gone another way, I thank you for being here," said Buckels, the state GOP finance chairman. "I thank you for your passion for our country." There is no constitutional provision or federal law that requires electors to vote for the candidate who won their state -- though some states require their electors to vote for the winning candidate. Those laws, however, are rarely tested. More than 99 percent of electors through U.S. history have voted for the candidate who won their state. Of those who refused, none has ever been prosecuted, according to the National Archives. Some people have argued that the Electoral College is undemocratic because it gives more weight to less populated states. That is how Clinton, who got more than 2.8 million more votes nationwide, lost the election to Trump. "It just seems so undemocratic to me that people other than the voters get to choose who leads the country," said Shawn Terris, a Democratic elector from Ventura, Calif. Some have also tried to dissuade Trump voters by arguing that he is unsuited to the job. Others cite the CIA's assessment that Russia engaged in computer hacking to sway the election in favor of the Republican. A joint session of Congress is scheduled Jan. 6 to certify the results of the Electoral College vote, with Vice President Joe Biden presiding as president of the Senate. Once the result is certified, the winner -- almost certainly Trump -- will be sworn in Jan. 20. Information for this article was contributed by Stephen Ohlemacher, Paul Weber, Julie Carr Smyth, Marc Levy, Scott Bauer, Erik Schelzig, Jonathan Mattise, Kathleen Floody, Alex Sanz, Melinda Deslatte, Marina Villeneuve and Juliet A. Williams of The Associated Press; by John McCormick of Bloomberg News; and by Ed O'Keefe of The Washington Post. ||||| WASHINGTON: America’s Electoral College on Monday confirmed Donald Trump’s election as the 45th president of the United States, unswayed by a desperate bid by die-hard opponents to bar the Republican’s path to the White House. Six weeks after his upset victory over the Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump sailed as expected past the 270 votes needed to make his victory official according to US media, clearing the way for him to succeed Barack Obama on January 20. “We did it!” the 70-year-old billionaire tweeted after the results came in. “Thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election (despite all of the distorted and inaccurate media).” In a statement released by his team, the president-elect welcomed the “overwhelming vote” in his favor, while reaching out to the Democrats who sought against the odds to block him. “With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead,” he said. “I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans.” Under normal circumstances, the college vote is a little-watched, rubber stamp formality in which electors — most of them party members — officially cast ballots for the candidate that won the popular tally in their state. This time, however, the divisive nature of the campaign, Trump’s provocative personality, and Clinton’s lead of nearly three million votes in the popular tally combined to raise the stakes. The Electoral College vote works like this: when US voters cast ballots on November 8, they did not directly elect the president but rather 538 electors charged with translating their wishes into reality. Democratic activists casting the Republican as a threat to the nation staged a vocal, weeks-long campaign urging electors to break ranks and refuse to vote for him. To bar Trump’s road to the White House, they needed to convince at least 37 Republican electors to abandon their candidate. The odds of that happening were considered next to none. According to a New York Times tally, a total of seven so-called “faithless” electors defected for someone else than their party’s nominee, the biggest number ever. In Washington state, three of the state’s 12 electoral votes went to former Republican secretary of state Colin Powell and a fourth went to Faith Spotted Eagle, a Native American leader who helped block the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. An elector in Hawaii cast a vote for Senator Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s opponent in the Democratic primaries. Two Texas Republican electors defected, one voting for former representative Ron Paul and another for Ohio Governor John Kasich. One Texas Republican elector, Christopher Suprun, had publicly said he would not vote for Trump, arguing he is unqualified to be president for reasons including conflicts of interest created by his vast overseas business holdings. Suprun says he received death threats as a result. An online petition urging electors to reject Trump collected some five million supporters. Hollywood stars including Martin Sheen recently released a video to goad electors to dump Trump. Undeterred by their outside chance of success, protesters rallied Monday at statehouses from Pennsylvania to Texas to Utah as electors gathered across the country to cast their votes. In Wisconsin, where Trump carried a thin margin that was key to propelling him into the Oval Office, a few protesters chanted “Shame!” as the state’s 10 electoral votes for Trump were announced, the Times reported. “I feel the fate of our nation is at stake here,” protester Ray-Ellen Kavey, 68, told The Washington Post outside the capitol building of the Rust Belt state of Pennsylvania. “I know nothing will come of this, but my conscience won’t let me do any less.” In New York, former president Bill Clinton cast one of the state’s 29 electoral votes for his wife. “I’ve never cast a vote I was prouder of,” he was quoted as saying by the Post. The Republican National Committee welcomed the result — and urged Democrats to accept Trump’s victory once and for all. “This historic election is now officially over,” RNC co-chair Sharon Day said in a statement. “For the good of the country, Democrats must stop their cynical attempts to undermine the legitimacy of this election.” The anti-Trump movement gained further momentum in recent days amid the uproar over allegations of Russian hacking aimed at swaying the vote in favor of the Republican. Even in the unlikely event that Trump had lost the Electoral College vote, it would have been up to the House of Representatives — controlled by Republicans — to designate the successor to President Barack Obama. The final vote result will be formally announced in the US Congress on January 6, two weeks before the next president is to be inaugurated. AFP ||||| WASHINGTON – There were many protesters but few faithless electors as Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote Monday, ensuring he will become America’s 45th president. An effort by anti-Trump forces to persuade Republican electors to abandon the president-elect came to practically nothing, and the process unfolded largely according to its traditions. Trump’s polarizing victory Nov. 8 and the fact Democrat Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote by more than 2.8 million votes had stirred an intense lobbying effort, but to no avail. “We did it!” Trump tweeted Monday evening. “Thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election (despite all of the distorted and inaccurate media).” He later issued a statement saying: “With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the President of all Americans.” Even one of Trump’s fiercest Republican rivals, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said it was time to get behind the president-elect. “We want unity, we want love,” Kasich said as Ohio’s electors voted to back Trump at a statehouse ceremony. Kasich refused to endorse or even vote for Trump in the election. With all states voting, Trump finished with 304 votes and Clinton had 227. It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. Texas put Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors casting protest votes. Befitting an election filled with acrimony, thousands of protesters converged on state capitols across the country Monday, urging Republican electors to abandon their party’s winning candidate. More than 200 demonstrators braved freezing temperatures at Pennsylvania’s capitol, chanting, “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” and “No treason, no Trump!” In Madison, Wisconsin, protesters shouted, cried and sang “Silent Night.” In Augusta, Maine, they banged on drums and held signs that said, “Don’t let Putin Pick Our President,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. And yet, with all Republican states reporting, Trump lost only the two electors in Texas. One voted for Kasich; the other voted for former Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Clinton, on the other hand, lost four electors in Washington state – three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell and one voted for Native American tribal leader Faith Spotted Eagle. She also lost an elector in Hawaii to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Clinton beat Sanders in the Democratic primaries. There is no constitutional provision or federal law that requires electors to vote for the candidate who won their state – though some states require their electors to vote for the winning candidate. More than 99 percent of electors through U.S. history have voted for the candidate who won their state. ||||| Trump, who is set to take office on Jan. 20, garnered more than the 270 electoral votes required to win, even as at least half a dozen U.S. electors broke with tradition to vote against their own state’s directives, the largest number of “faithless electors” seen in more than a century. The Electoral College vote is normally a formality but took on extra prominence this year after a group of Democratic activists sought to persuade Republicans to cross lines and vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. She won the nationwide popular vote even as she failed to win enough state-by-state votes in the acrimonious Nov. 8 election. Protesters briefly disrupted Wisconsin's Electoral College balloting. In Austin, Texas, about 100 people chanting: “Dump Trump” and waving signs reading: “The Eyes of Texas are Upon You” gathered at the state capitol trying to sway electors. In the end, however, more Democrats than Republicans went rogue, underscoring deep divisions within their party. At least four Democratic electors voted for someone other than Clinton, while two Republicans turned their backs on Trump. With nearly all votes counted, Trump had clinched 304 electoral votes to Clinton's 227, according to an Associated Press tally of the voting by 538 electors across the country. "I will work hard to unite our country and be the President of all Americans," Trump said in a statement responding to the results. The Electoral College assigns each state electors equal to its number of representatives and senators in Congress. The District of Columbia also has three electoral votes. The votes will be officially counted during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6. When voters go to the polls to cast a ballot for president, they are actually choosing a presidential candidate's preferred slate of electors for their state. The "faithless electors" as they are known represent a rare break from the tradition of casting an Electoral College ballot as directed by the outcome of that state's popular election. The most recent instance of a "faithless elector" was in 2004, according to the Congressional Research Service. The practice has been very rare in modern times, with only eight such electors since 1900, each in a different election. The two Republican breaks on Monday came from Texas, where the voting is by secret ballot. One Republican elector voted for Ron Paul, a favorite among Libertarians and former Republican congressman, and another for Ohio Governor John Kasich, who challenged Trump in the race for the Republican nomination. Republican elector Christopher Suprun from Texas had said he would not vote for Trump, explaining in an op-ed in the New York Times that he had concerns about Trump's foreign policy experience and business conflicts. On the Democratic side, it appeared to be the largest number of electors not supporting their party's nominee since 1872, when 63 Democratic electors did not vote for party nominee Horace Greeley, who had died after the election but before the Electoral College convened, according to Fairvote.org. Republican Ulysses S. Grant had won re-election in a landslide. Four of the 12 Democratic electors in Washington state broke ranks, with three voting for Colin Powell, a former Republican secretary of state, and one for Faith Spotted Eagle, a Native American elder who has protested oil pipeline projects in the Dakotas. Bret Chiafalo, 38, of Everett, Washington, was one of three votes for Powell. He said he knew Clinton would not win but believed Powell was better suited for the job than Trump. The founding fathers "said the electoral college was not to elect a demagogue, was not to elect someone influenced by foreign powers, was not to elect someone who is unfit for office. Trump fails on all three counts, unlike any candidate we’ve ever seen in American history," Chiafalo said in an interview. Washington's Democratic governor, Jay Inslee, said after the vote that the Electoral College system should be abolished. "This was a very difficult decision made this year. There is great angst abroad in the land,” Inslee said. Twenty-four states have laws trying to prevent electors - most of whom have close ties to their parties - from breaking ranks. In Maine, Democratic elector David Bright first cast his vote for Clinton's rival for the party nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who carried the state in the party nominating contest. His vote was rejected, and he voted for Clinton on a second ballot. In Hawaii, one of the state’s four Democratic electors cast a ballot for Sanders in defiance of state law binding electors to the state’s Election Day outcome, according to reports from the Los Angeles Times and Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspapers. In Colorado, where a state law requires electors to cast their ballots for the winner of the state's popular vote, elector Michael Baca tried to vote for Kasich - but was replaced with another elector. In Minnesota, one of the state’s 10 electors would not cast his vote for Clinton as required under state law, prompting his dismissal and an alternate to be sworn in. All 10 of the state’s electoral votes were then cast for her. ||||| Donald Trump has won the electoral college vote despite protests across the US - ensuring he will become America’s 45th president. An effort by anti-Trump forces to persuade Republican electors to abandon the president-elect came to practically nothing and the process unfolded largely according to its traditions. Mr Trump’s polarising victory on November 8th and the fact Democrat Hillary Clinton had won the national popular vote had stirred an intense lobbying effort, but to no avail. The tycoon tweeted on Monday evening: “We did it!” He added: “Thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election (despite all of the distorted and inaccurate media).” He later issued a statement saying: “With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans.” Even one of Mr Trump’s fiercest Republican rivals, Ohio governor John Kasich, said it was time to get behind the president-elect. “We want unity, we want love,” Mr Kasich said as Ohio’s electors voted to back Mr Trump at a statehouse ceremony. Mr Kasich refused to endorse or even vote for Mr Trump in the election. With all states voting, Mr Trump finished with 304 votes and Ms Clinton had 227. It takes 270 electoral college votes to win the presidency. Texas put Mr Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors casting protest votes. Befitting an election filled with acrimony, thousands of protesters converged on state capitols across the country on Monday, urging Republican electors to abandon their party’s winning candidate. More than 200 demonstrators braved freezing temperatures at Pennsylvania’s capitol, chanting: “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” In Madison, Wisconsin, protesters shouted, cried and sang Silent Night. In Augusta, Maine, they banged on drums and held signs that said “Don’t let Putin Pick Our President,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite the noise outside state Capitols, inside, the voting went pretty much as planned. With all Republican states reporting, Mr Trump lost only the two electors in Texas. One voted for Mr Kasich and the other for veteran Texan politician Ron Paul. Ms Clinton lost four electors in Washington state — three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell and one for Native American tribal leader Faith Spotted Eagle. She also lost an elector in Hawaii to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who she beat in the Democratic primaries. Several Democratic electors in other states tried to vote for protest candidates but they either changed their votes to Ms Clinton or were replaced. The electoral college has 538 members, with the number allocated to each state based on how many representatives it has in the House plus one for each senator. The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress. Republican electors were deluged with emails, phone calls and letters urging them not to support Mr Trump. Many of the emails are part of co-ordinated campaigns. There is no constitutional provision or federal law that requires electors to vote for the candidate who won their state — though some states require their electors to vote for the winning candidate. Those laws, however, are rarely tested. More than 99 per cent of electors through US history have voted for the candidate who won their state. Of those who refused, none has ever been prosecuted, according to the National Archives. Some Democrats have argued that the electoral college is undemocratic because it gives more weight to less populated states. That is how Ms Clinton, who got more than 2.8 million more votes nationwide, lost the election to Mr Trump. Some have also tried to dissuade Trump voters by arguing that he is unsuited to the job. Others cite the CIA’s assessment that Russia engaged in computer hacking to sway the election in favour of the Republican. “When the founders of our country created (the electoral college) 200-plus years ago, they didn’t have confidence in the average white man who had property, because that’s who got to vote,” said Shawn Terris, a Democratic elector from Ventura, California. “It just seems so undemocratic to me that people other than the voters get to choose who leads the country.” A joint session of Congress is scheduled for January 6th to certify the results of the electoral college vote, with vice president Joe Biden presiding as president of the Senate. Once the result is certified, the winner — almost certainly Mr Trump — will be sworn in on January 20th. ||||| In the end, there wasn't much drama in Monday's electoral college vote. Electors across the United States, despite showing a bit more independence than they usually do, ratified the coming presidency of Donald Trump, confirming that the New York real estate developer will take the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2017. At the Texas state capitol in Austin, more than three hours of procedural maneuvering ended with a bit of a surprise. Two electors pledged to Donald Trump chose not to vote for the president-elect, instead casting ballots for John Kasich and former Texas congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul. Despite the votes being cast by secret ballot, the vote for Kasich almost certainly came from Dallas-based elector Chris Suprun, who pledged to vote for the Ohio governor and former Trump rival earlier this month. "Fifteen years ago, I swore an oath to defend my country and Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. On Dec. 19, I will do it again," Suprun said in a New York Times op-ed explaining that he would not vote for Trump and that he would encourage other electors to do the same. Despite the pleas from Suprun and the more than 265,000 who signed a petition dropped off by protesters at the Texas Secretary of State's office on Monday, only one of Suprun's colleagues joined him in breaking with tradition and refusing to vote for the candidate chosen by Texas voters. Four additional electors resigned their posts and were replaced by Trump-supporting electors, but only one of those who resigned, Art Sisneros, admitted to doing so because he didn't want to vote for Trump. The Texas Democratic Party expressed disappointment that Texas electors and those around the country upheld the longstanding American institution. "The Electoral College has failed American democracy. An unfit, unworthy man will assume the presidency. It is now up to Democrats to protect our families and communities," Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said. "We applaud the handful of Republican patriots that rejected Donald Trump, either refusing to vote for him or resigning their post. Unfortunately, it was too little and too late. " After electors finished casting their vice-presidential ballots — Mike Pence got 37 votes and Carly Fiorina got one — Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted support for binding delegates to the winner of Texas' popular vote. ||||| (CNN) Donald Trump surpassed the necessary 270 votes in the Electoral College on Monday, taking the next step in the official process to become President. Trump received 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton's 227. Seven "faithless" electors voted for other candidates, costing Trump two votes and Clinton four. Hawaii's votes -- three for Clinton and one breaking from the state's results and supporting Bernie Sanders -- were the last to be counted. The results mean Trump -- who lost the popular vote by more than 2 percentage points to Clinton -- easily staved off a long-shot bid by opponents to turn Republican electors against him. The Electoral College results will be officially certified January 6 during a joint session of Congress. "This election represents a movement that millions of hard working men and women all across the country stood behind and made possible. With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans. Together, we will make America great again," Trump said in a statement. He also claimed his win was "a historic electoral landslide victory in our nation's democracy," though Clinton actually won the popular vote by about 3 million ballots nationwide making Trump the worst-performing winner in the popular vote since 1876. Trump was put over the top by electors in Texas. Thirty-six of the state's 38 went for Trump, while two ignored the state's Election Day results. One voted for Ohio Gov. John Kasich and one backed former Texas Rep. Ron Paul. The first response from Trump's camp came from Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who tweeted: "Congratulations to @RealDonaldTrump; officially elected President of the United States today by the Electoral College!" Pence also wrote, "I'm honored & humbled to be officially elected today as the next Vice President of the United States of America by the Electoral College." In Washington state, four electors opted for other candidates, instead of backing Hillary Clinton. Three cast ballots for former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and one backed Faith Spotted Eagle, a Native American activist who's been involved in the North Dakota pipeline fight. Those Washington electors also picked a mixed bag for the vice presidency. One voted for home-state Sen. Maria Cantwell. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine each got votes, as well. And one went to activist Winona LaDuke, Ralph Nader's running mate as the 2000 Green Party nominee for vice president. This is the first US presidential election since 1872 with more than one "faithless elector." Former President Bill Clinton cast his ballot for his wife as an elector in the state of New York. "As an elector from my home state of New York, I've never been more proud to cast a vote than my vote today for @HillaryClinton," he tweeted. When all the votes were counted in November, the President-elect won 306 electoral votes to Clinton's 232. Some have since called on electors to vote against their state results, after Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million ballots nationwide. The 538 men and women voted primarily in accordance with the results from November in their state. The electors, chosen by state parties of the candidate who carried each state, convened in all 50 state capitals and the District of Columbia. While electors are technically chosen to independently cast their ballots for president, both precedent and, in most cases, state laws require them to abide by the people's vote in each state. After a fraught election, some have called on electors to vote against their state results. In Minnesota, one elector was disqualified after declaring he would vote for someone other than his state's winner, Clinton. Under state law, he was replaced, and the alternate voted for Clinton. Protests had popped up around the country Monday as frustrated Americans sought one last opportunity to stop the candidate they opposed. But mass defections of electors was always extremely unlikely. Thirty-seven of Trump's pledged 306 electors would have had to vote against him, becoming so-called "faithless electors," to keep him under the 270 threshold to become President. If Clinton were to reach 270 in that far-fetched scenario, she could have become President. If no candidate reached 270, the House of Representatives would have held a vote when Congress reconvenes in January. There have been a handful faithless electors in past cycles, though never enough to change the outcome of the race. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, whose state was won by Trump, tweeted a picture of the ballot for electors in his state. It featured a ballot for Trump as President and Mike Pence as vice president. Elsewhere in the country, Americans protested near electoral voting sites in a last-ditch plea to stop Trump's election, despite the high unlikelihood of success. In Tallahassee, Florida, protestors began gathering before 10 a.m. outside of the Senate Chamber entrance on the fourth floor of the Florida State Capitol. Asked if he actually expected any outcome other than 29 votes for Trump, Democracy Spring's Maxwell Frost sighed. "I'm hoping for the best," he said. "We'll see what happens." While Trump has claimed he won in a landslide victory, that description is inaccurate. He is expected to garner just 56.9% of the electoral vote, assuming all electors vote according to their states' results. That will give Trump the 44th-largest share of the electoral vote out of 54 presidential elections since the modern system started in 1804. The electoral votes will be officially counted on January 6, when Congress returns. Vice President Joe Biden will preside over the count. Lawmakers can technically object -- in writing, with objections signed by at least one House and one Senate member -- to individual electoral votes or entire states' results. If the House and Senate support that objection, the vote or votes in question are thrown out. But that has never happened. Trump will be officially set for his inauguration at noon on January 20 once all the electoral votes are counted.
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A record number of electors break ranks and do not vote for their assigned candidate. Two electors from Texas vote for John Kasich and Ron Paul. Some of the electors from Washington cast three votes for Colin Powell and one vote for Faith Spotted Eagle. One elector from Hawaii votes for Bernie Sanders.
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Five people have been killed in a shooting attack on the house of a member of parliament in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul. An Afghan police official said three gunmen attacked the house of Mir Wali, a lawmaker from the volatile southern province of Helmand, on Wednesday. The official confirmed that at least three security guards and two members of Wali's family were killed in the assault. Local Afghan media reports said among the dead are two of the lawmaker's grandchildren. A number of Wali’s family members and friends have been taken hostage by the gunmen. Wais Samimi, the former Uruzgan police chief, has also reportedly been wounded in the attack. The Taliban said in a statement that their members had raided the house to disrupt an "important gathering of security officials." The gunmen are still believed to be inside the house. Local news station Tolo News quoted residents as saying that the sound of gunfire and explosions could be heard. Kabul and several other major Afghan cities have seen repeated bombings and shooting attacks in recent months. Helmand province, one of the strongholds of Taliban, has fallen increasingly under militant control over the past two years. The people of Afghanistan have been suffering from violence and insecurity since the United States and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror in 2001. Taliban lost its grip over Afghanistan in the US-led military invasion, but security has not been delivered to the country despite the presence of foreign boots on Afghan soil. ||||| KABUL (Reuters) - Tha Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on the house of an Afghan member of parliament on Wednesday night that officials said killed at least five people and wounded a number of others. A security official said one attacker blew himself up at the house of Mir Wali, a member of parliament from the volatile southern province of Helmand, killing three security guards and allowing two other gunmen to get into the compound, where a meeting was underway. Mir Wali was wounded by shattered glass and other guests were also hurt in the attack, in which at least two civilians were killed. Among the dead was Hafiz Barakzai, son of another prominent member of parliament, who was shot and killed while helping people to escape from the compound, his brother told Reuters. The incident underlined the fragile security situation in Kabul, which has seen repeated attacks by suicide bombers and gunmen in recent months. Helmand, one of the strongholds of the Taliban and source of much of the world’s opium, has fallen increasingly under insurgent control over the past two years. The main Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s incident. He said “an important military meeting” of officials from Helmand was underway when the attack took place. Officials said police special forces were at the scene and were concentrating on evacuating people from the house and nearby areas. The surviving gunmen were still believed to be inside the house, with local news station Tolo News quoting local residents as saying the sound of gunfire and explosions could be heard. ||||| KABUL: Gunmen attacked the house of an Afghan member of parliament in the capital Kabul on Wednesday night, killing as many as five people, officials said. One police official said three gunmen attacked the house of Mir Wali, a member of parliament from the volatile southern province of Helmand and killed three security guards and two members of the MP's family. The incident underlined the fragile security situation in Kabul, which has seen repeated attacks by suicide bombers and gunmen in recent months. Helmand, one of the strongholds of the Taliban and source of much of the world's opium, has fallen increasingly under insurgent control over the past two years. Officials said police special forces were at the scene of the attack and were concentrating on evacuating people from the house and nearby areas. The gunmen were still believed to be inside the house, with local news station Tolo News quoting local residents as saying the sound of gunfire and explosions could be heard. ||||| An Afghan police officer inspects the house of an Afghan member of parliament which was attacked by Taliban last night in Kabul on Wednesday. (Source: Reuters) An Afghan police officer inspects the house of an Afghan member of parliament which was attacked by Taliban last night in Kabul on Wednesday. (Source: Reuters) Afghan police say gunmen have stormed the home of a lawmaker in the capital, killing eight people and leaving the parliamentarian wounded after he jumped from the roof to escape. The Taliban claimed the attack, which began late Wednesday, saying they targeted a meeting of military officials. Police officer Sadiq Muradi says the gunmen attacked the house of Mir Wali, a lawmaker from the restive southern Helmand province. They battled his guards for several hours, eventually killing eight people, including family members, friends and members of his security detail. Three attackers were killed. ||||| Afghan police and security officials combed through the wreckage of a member of parliament's house in Kabul on Thursday after an attack by Taliban gunmen in which at least seven people were killed. Broken glass and spent bullet cartridges lay on the bloodstained ground of the heavily fortified house in the district of Khushal Khan belonging to Mir Wali, a member of parliament from the volatile southern province of Helmand. Police special forces units sealed off the house following the attack on Wednesday night but gunfire and explosions could be heard for several hours. "It was a really terrifying situation here in the night," said neighbour Matihullah, who like many Afghans goes by one name. "There were explosions and firing. It was really horrible and we couldn't sleep whole the night." The Taliban said 20 people, including senior security officials from Helmand, had been killed in the attack but government officials put the death toll at seven. Two Taliban gunmen had also been killed, they said. The attack underlined the fragile security situation in Kabul which has seen a series of kidnappings, suicide bombings and other insurgent attacks on targets connected to the Western-backed government. The Taliban said the attack targeted a meeting of security officials who had been invited to discuss Helmand, a major opium-producing region which has fallen increasingly under insurgent control over the past two years. ||||| Afghan police say gunmen have stormed the home of a lawmaker in the capital, killing eight people and leaving the parliamentarian wounded after he jumped from the roof to escape. The Taliban claimed the attack, which began late Wednesday, saying they targeted a meeting of military officials. Police officer Sadiq Muradi says the gunmen attacked the house of Mir Wali, a lawmaker from the restive southern Helmand province. They battled his guards for several hours, eventually killing eight people, including two of his grandsons, friends and members of his security detail. Three attackers were killed. The Taliban in a statement said their suicide bombers raided the house to disrupt an “important gathering of officials” to address the deteriorating security situation in the lawmaker’s southern opium-rich province. “President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemns the attack on the residence of Helmand MP Mir Wali, which killed two members of his family, a number of his bodyguards and the son of another MP from Uruzgan, Obaidullah Barakzai,” the presidential palace said in a statement. “President Ghani termed the attack as an unforgivable crime. Attacking the residence of national personalities cannot be justified in any religion and is against Islamic values.” In all eight civilians and officials were killed, said Fraidoon Obaidi, chief of Kabul police’s Criminal Investigation Department. Mir Wali was hospitalised after he jumped from his roof to escape the attack, he added. Sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard from the house early Thursday as Afghan forces cordoned off the property to launch a clearance operation. “The coordinated attack was carried out by three suicide bombers. They were gunned down by Afghan forces,” Obaidi told reporters. The brazen attack underscores the worsening security situation in Afghanistan and highlights how the Taliban are stepping up targeted attacks on high-level officials. The militants are escalating their nationwide insurgency despite the onset of winter, when fighting usually ebbs, even as international efforts intensify to restart stalled peace talks. Fifteen years and hundreds of billions of dollars since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the security situation in the country remains fraught and Afghan forces are struggling to contain the conflict. ||||| Afghan police say gunmen have stormed the home of a lawmaker in the capital, killing eight people and leaving the parliamentarian wounded after he jumped from the roof to escape. The Taliban claimed the attack, which began late Wednesday, saying they targeted a meeting of military officials. Police officer Sadiq Muradi says the gunmen attacked the house of Mir Wali, a lawmaker from the restive southern Helmand province. They battled his guards for several hours, eventually killing eight people, including family members, friends and members of his security detail. Three attackers were killed. ||||| Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on the house of a lawmaker in Afghanistan that killed five people on Wednesday night, 21 December. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman of the terrorist outfit, said in a statement that "an important military meeting" of officials from Helmand was underway when the attack took place, Reuters reports. According to a security official, the assault took place at the house of the Helmand Member of Parliament, Mir Wali, when one attacker blew himself up, allowing two other gunmen enter the compound. Reports suggested that the lawmaker was wounded in the attack but has survived. Two of his grandchildren, however, succumbed to injuries. Among the dead were Hafiz Barakzai, son Kandahar MP Obaidullah Barikzai, and two other security force members. Barakzai was reportedly shot at while he was helping people escape the attack, BBC reports. Officials confirmed that the gunmen have held hostages, including friends and relatives of Wali. The MP reportedly escaped the attackers through the house of a neighbor. Police Special Forces are now trying to evacuate people from the house and surrounding areas, Reuters reports. Taliban have made sweeping gains in Helmand since international coalition forces withdrew from Kabul in 2014. A number of strikes by suicide bombers and gunmen in the recent months have exposed the instability in Afghanistan. Helmand, which is a source of opium, remains a stronghold of the Taliban. ||||| Eight people were killed when Taliban suicide bombers stormed the residence of an Afghan lawmaker in the capital Kabul, officials said after the attackers were gunned down early Thursday following a nearly 10-hour siege. Helmand MP Mir Wali survived the assault with injuries but two of his grandsons and bodyguards were among those killed in the attack, which began on Wednesday evening following a recent lull in violence in Kabul. The Taliban in a statement said their suicide bombers raided the house to disrupt an "important gathering of officials" to address the deteriorating security situation in the lawmaker's southern opium-rich province. "President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemns the attack on the residence of Helmand MP Mir Wali, which killed two members of his family, a number of his bodyguards and the son of another MP from Uruzgan, Obaidullah Barakzai," the presidential palace said in a statement. "President Ghani termed the attack as an unforgivable crime. Attacking the residence of national personalities cannot be justified in any religion and is against Islamic values." In all eight civilians and officials were killed, said Fraidoon Obaidi, chief of Kabul police's Criminal Investigation Department. Mir Wali was hospitalised after he jumped from his roof to escape the attack, he added. Sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard from the house early Thursday as Afghan forces cordoned off the property to launch a clearance operation. "The coordinated attack was carried out by three suicide bombers. They were gunned down by Afghan forces," Obaidi told reporters. The brazen attack underscores the worsening security situation in Afghanistan and highlights how the Taliban are stepping up targeted attacks on high-level officials. The militants are escalating their nationwide insurgency despite the onset of winter, when fighting usually ebbs, even as international efforts intensify to restart stalled peace talks. Fifteen years and hundreds of billions of dollars since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the security situation in the country remains fraught and Afghan forces are struggling to contain the conflict. ||||| Afghan authorities say an overnight Taliban assault targeting the home of a lawmaker in the capital, Kabul, left at least eight people dead and many wounded. The 13-hour siege ended early Thursday when a gunfight with Afghan special forces left all the assailants dead, police told reporters. Malim Mer Wali, a parliamentarian from the southern Helmand province, was injured after he jumped from the roof to escape. Residents also heard two loud explosions during the siege. Local media reported at least one of the assailants detonated explosives strapped to his body when the attack began. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility, saying two heavily armed suicide bombers stormed the building Wednesday evening when a security meeting, with senior military officials from Helmand in attendance, was underway there. He asserted that the raid killed at least 20 “important” personalities and wounded many more. The Taliban often releases inflated casualty figures for such attacks. Helmand is the largest of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, and many of its districts have fallen to the Taliban in recent months while its capital, Lashkargah, remains under pressure from the insurgents.
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Five people are killed in a Taliban attack on Afghan Member of Parliament Mir Wali's home in Helmand Province. At least three security guards and two civilians were killed in the assault; Wali and others were injured. The gunmen are holding a number of occupants hostage.
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More than 3,000 personnel join search for victims after Syria-bound military jet with 92 aboard crashes into Black Sea. Backed by ships, helicopters and drones, rescue teams have been searching for victims after a Russian plane carrying 92 people to Syria crashed into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff. Investigators said on Sunday they were looking into every possible cause for the crash of the Soviet-built Tu-154 plane. All 84 passengers and eight crew members on board the plane operated by the Russian military are believed to have died when it crashed two minutes after taking off at 5:25am local time (02:25 GMT) in good weather from the southern Russian city of Sochi. Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, in charge of a state probe into the crash, said on state television that investigators were looking into a "whole spectrum" of theories on the cause of the crash. When asked if a "terror attack" could have been behind the crash, Sokolov said: "It is premature to speak of this." He added that the aircraft's black boxes had yet to be found. More than 3,000 people - including over 100 divers flown in from across Russia - worked from 32 ships and several helicopters to search the crash site, the defence ministry said. Drones and submersibles were also being used to help spot bodies and debris. Powerful spotlights were brought in so the search could continue around the clock. Emergency crews found fragments of the plane about 1.5km from shore. By Sunday evening, rescue teams had recovered 11 bodies and Sokolov, the transport minister, said fragments of other bodies were also found. The plane belonging to the defence ministry was taking its famed choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble, to a New Year's concert at Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia. Those on board also included nine Russian journalists and a Russian doctor famous for her work in war zones. Yelizaveta Glinka has won wide acclaim for her charity work, which has included missions to war zones in eastern Ukraine and Syria. Her foundation said Glinka was accompanying a shipment of medicine for a hospital in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin went on television to declare Monday a nationwide day of mourning. "We will conduct a thorough investigation into the reasons and will do everything to support the victims' families," Putin said. The Black Sea search area - which covered 10 square kilometres - was made more difficult by underwater currents that carried debris and body fragments into the open sea. Transport Minister Sokolov said the plane's flight recorders did not have the radio beacons common in more modern aircraft, so locating them on the seabed was going to be challenging. The Tu-154 is a Soviet-built three-engine airliner designed in the late 1960s. More than 1,000 have been built, and they have been used extensively in Russia and worldwide. The plane that crashed on Sunday was built in 1983, and underwent factory check-ups and maintenance in 2014 and earlier this year, according to the defence ministry. Investigators are exploring a number of possible causes to the crash, "including a catastrophic malfunction, a pilot error or a bird flying into the engine", said Al Jazeera's Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from Moscow. Russian planes have been brought down previously by attacks. In October 2015, a Russian plane carrying mostly Russian tourists back from vacation in Egypt was brought down by a bomb over the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people aboard. The local affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group claimed responsibility. Syrian President Bashar Assad was among numerous foreign leaders who sent a condolence note to Putin, saying he received the news "with deep grief and sadness". In recent years, Russian airlines have replaced their Tu-154s with more modern planes, but the military and other government agencies in Russia have continued to use them. While noisy and fuel-guzzling, the plane is popular with crews that appreciate its maneuverability and ruggedness. Still, since 1994 there have been 17 major plane crashes involving the Tu-154 that have killed over 1,760 people. Most resulted from human error. ||||| A Russian plane headed to an air base in Syria with 92 people aboard, including members of a well-known military choir, crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday minutes after taking off from the resort city of Sochi, Russia's Defense Ministry said. There was no indication anyone survived the crash of the Tu-154, which belonged to the Defense Ministry and was taking the Alexandrov Ensemble to a New Year's concert at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia. Crews recovered several bodies and ships, helicopters and drones were searching the area for more. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said 10 bodies had been recovered so far. "No survivors are seen," Konashenkov said. Magomed Tolboyev, a decorated Russian test pilot, said the circumstances of the crash indicated that all people on board have died. A total of 84 passengers and eight crew members were on the plane when it disappeared from radars two minutes after taking off in good weather. Emergency crews found fragments about 1.5 kilometers (less than one mile) from shore. There was no immediate word on the cause. Viktor Ozerov, head of the defense affairs committee at the upper house of Russian parliament, said the crash could have been caused by a technical malfunction or a crew error, but he believes it could not have been terrorism because the plane was operated by the military. "I totally exclude" the idea of an attack bringing down the plane, he said in remarks carried by state RIA Novosti news agency. The passenger list released by the Defense Ministry included 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, among them its leader, Valery Khalilov. The ensemble is the official choir of the Russian military and also includes a band and a dance company. The military has repeatedly flown groups of Russian singers and artists to perform at Hemeimeem, which serves as the main hub for the Russian air campaign in Syria conducted since September 2015. New Year's is the main holiday for most Russians, and the Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7 is also widely celebrated. Also on board was Yelizaveta Glinka, a Russian doctor who has won wide acclaim for her charity work that included missions to war zones in eastern Ukraine and Syria. Her foundation said that Glinka was accompanying a shipment of medicines for a hospital in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin presented Glinka with an award earlier this month. "We never feel sure that we will come back alive," she said at the Kremlin award ceremony. "But we are sure that kindness, compassion and charity are stronger than any weapon." Nine Russian journalists from three Russian television stations were also among the passengers. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was personally coordinating the rescue efforts, and President Vladimir Putin has received official reports on the incident. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev described the crash as a "terrible tragedy." The Tu-154 is a Soviet-built three-engine airliner designed in the late 1960s. More than 1,000 have been built, and they have been used extensively by carriers in Russia and worldwide. In recent years, Russian airlines have replaced their Tu-154s with more modern planes, but the military and some other government agencies in Russia have continued to use them. While noisy and fuel-guzzling by modern standards, the plane has been popular with crews that appreciate its maneuverability and ruggedness. "It's an excellent plane, which has proven its reliability during decades of service," veteran pilot Oleg Smirnov said in televised remarks. The plane that crashed was built in 1983, and underwent repairs in 2014, according to the Defense Ministry. In April 2010, a Tu-154 carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others crashed while trying to land in bad weather at a sporadically used military airport in Smolensk in western Russia, killing everyone on board. Investigations by both Polish and Russian experts blamed pilot error in bad weather conditions, but Polish authorities have launched a new probe. ||||| A pilot error or possible technical fault most likely caused the Russian military plane to crash into the Black Sea on Sunday, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said on Monday, emphasising that authorities were not looking at terrorism as a cause, AP reported. The flight was heading to Latakia, Syria, after making a brief stop at Sochi for refuelling. It crashed into the sea minutes after taking off with 92 people on board, who are all feared dead. While Sokolov said Russia did not see the need to up security measures at airports despite the Syrian connection to the crash, aviation experts have highlighted factors that suggest a terror attack. “Possible malfunctions...certainly would not have prevented the crew from reporting them,” Vitaly Andreyev, a former senior Russian air traffic controller, told news agency RIA Novosti. The fact that the debris of the Defense Ministry’s Tu-154 plane was scattered over a wide area in the sea was another noted factor indicating a terror strike. Rescue teams, including 139 divers, recovered 11 bodies and “154 fragments” of bodies by Monday morning, said Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesperson for the Defence Ministry, BBC reported. The bodies have been flown to Moscow to be identified. Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered an investigation into the crash and also declared Monday a nationwide day of mourning. The hunt is on to recover the flight recorders, but the Russian transport minister said it would be a challenge to locate them as the devices did not have radio beacons. Authorities are combing an area of 10 sq km in the Black Sea to find fragments of the aircraft and the bodies of those who were on board, which included Russia’s world famous military choir. ||||| A Russian Tupolev Tu-154 airliner with 92 passengers on board crashed in the Black Sea at 5:25’ a.m. local time (2:40’ GMT). The airplane took off from Adler near Sochi and it was on its way to the Russian Hmeymim airbase in Latakia, Syria, carrying the famous Alexandrov Ensamble (a.k.a. Red Army Choir) for a concert ahead of New Year’s Eve. The Tu-154 was built in 1983 and it had gone through scheduled maintenance last September. According to the information available so far, the pilot was very experienced. An investigation has been ordered by Vladimir Putin is order to shed light into the reason of the crash. So far, the possibility of bad weather or a terrorist attack seem to be ruled out, and the investigation is focusing on the safety procedures prior to take off and the possibility of human error. According to Interfax, the pilots did not make any distress call of any kind. On board the flight were also journalists and TV crew from three Russian TV stations, Channel One Russia, NTV, και Zvezda. There is a huge salvage operation going on at the moment on the crash site, that includes six Russian Navy ships, four SAR vessels, four helicopters, one airplane, a number of UAVs and more than 100 divers. The 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensamble were traveling without the orchestra, since the concert would have recorded music on the background. ||||| (bbc.com) A Russian military plane with 92 people on board has crashed into the Black Sea, Russia’s defence ministry says. The plane disappeared from radar two minutes after taking off from the resort of Sochi at 05:25 (02:25 GMT). Debris and one body have been found, with no reports of any survivors. The defence ministry said the Tu-154 was carrying soldiers, 64 members of the famed Alexandrov military music ensemble, and nine reporters. It was flying to Latakia in Syria. The flight originated in Moscow and had landed at Adler airport in Sochi for refuelling. The defence ministry said in a statement: “Fragments of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian defence ministry were found 1.5km (one mile) from the Black Sea coast of the city of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70m (165-230ft).” An audio recording played on Russian media and said to be of the final conversation between air traffic controllers and the plane reveals no sign of any difficulties being faced by the crew. Voices remain calm until the plane disappears and the controllers try in vain to re-establish contact. Reports from the area said flying conditions were favourable. President Vladimir Putin has ordered a state commission to look into the crash and sent his condolences to the families and friends of the victims. The defence ministry has published a passenger list (in Russian), showing that 64 of those on board were from the Alexandrov Ensemble, including its director, Valery Khalilov. There were nine journalists, eight soldiers, two civil servants and eight crew members. Also on board was Elizaveta Glinka, known as Dr Liza, the executive director of the Fair Aid charity and the inaugural winner of Russia’s state prize for achievements in human rights. Mr Konashenkov said the plane was carrying passengers to a New Year’s performance for Russian troops deployed in Syria. The performance was scheduled to take place at Russia’s Hmeimim air base, near Latakia. Russia has been carrying out air strikes in support of Syrian government forces who are battling rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In April 2010, a Tu-154 plane crashed in Smolensk, western Russia, killing all 96 people on board, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski. A Tu-154, operated by Siberian Airlines, was shot down over the Black Sea in October 2001, killing 78 people. The plane was travelling from Tel Aviv in Israel to Novosibirsk in Russia, and most of the passengers were Israeli. The Ukrainian military initially denied involvement but officials later admitted the plane could have been hit accidentally during a training exercise.(bbc.com) ||||| MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian passenger plane with 92 people aboard, including a well-known military band, crashed into the Black Sea on its way to Syria on Sunday minutes after takeoff from the resort city of Sochi, the Defense Ministry said. The Tu-154, which belonged to the Defense Ministry, was taking the Alexandrov choir to a concert at the Russian air base in Syria. A total of 84 passengers and eight crew members were on board the plane when it dropped off of radars minutes after taking off in good weather. Emergency services found fragments about 1.5 kilometers (less than one mile) from shore at a depth of 50 to 70 meters (165 to 230 feet.) The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known. Rescuers already have found one body and personal documents belonging to some of those on board. There was no word of survivors. Nine Russian journalists, including a TV crew from Channel One, were also among the passengers. The plane was headed to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was personally coordinating the rescue efforts, and President Vladimir Putin has received official reports on the incident. The Tu-154 is a Soviet-built three-engine airliner designed in the late 1960s. More than 1,000 have been built, and they have been used extensively by carriers in Russia and worldwide. In recent years, Russian airlines have replaced their Tu-154s with more modern planes, but the military and some other government agencies in Russia have continued to use them. ||||| MOSCOW -- The Latest on the crash of a Russian aircraft with 92 people on board en route to Russia's air base in Syria (all times local): A Russian official says the crash of a Russian military passenger plane into the Black Sea could have been caused by a technical malfunction or a crew error, but he believes it could not have been terrorism because the plane was operated by the military. Viktor Ozerov, head of the defense affairs committee at the upper house of Russian parliament, says in remarks carried by the state news agency RIA Novosti that he "totally excludes" terrorism as a possible cause of the crash. The plane was en route to Russia's air base in Syria with 92 people on board when it crashed shortly after taking off from the resort town of Sochi. At least one body has been found and there is no word on whether anyone survived. The Defense Ministry has released a list of the passengers. They include 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, among them its leader, Valery Khalilov. The Alexandrov Ensemble is the official choir of the Russian military, and it also includes a band and a dancing company. The Russian Defense Ministry says rescuers have found fragments of the Tu-154 plane that was carrying 92 people en route to the Russian military base in Syria. The ministry said earlier that the plane disappeared from radars shortly after takeoff from the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Sunday. It carried members of the world-famous Alexandrov military choir. The ministry says rescue teams found fragments of the plane less than a mile from shore at a depth of 50-70 meters. ||||| Passengers on the flight that crashed into the Black Sea moments after takeoff Sunday included 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian military choir, who were traveling to Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base in Syria to serenade Russian personnel on New Year’s Eve. SOCHI, Russia — A Russian aircraft bound for Syria carrying a famed military band to entertain Russia’s forces there crashed into the Black Sea moments after takeoff Sunday, and authorities said all 92 people aboard were believed dead. The cause of the crash is under investigation, although initial Russian news media reports indicated it was a technical failure rather than terrorism. The Russian military has had only minor casualties throughout its deployment in Syria, but the country has experienced a series of setbacks in recent days. On Dec. 19, the Russian ambassador to Turkey was assassinated at an art exhibit in Ankara, with the killer yelling “don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria!” That came not long after forces from the Islamic State recaptured the storied city of Palmyra, forcing the Russian garrison that had been stationed there since helping to take the city last spring to flee. The military plane, a Russian-made Tupolev Tu-154, disappeared from radar two minutes after taking off from the resort town of Sochi. Russia’s official weather forecast agency said that conditions near the airport were “normal, easy,” the Interfax news agency reported. The airplane was technically fit, the Defense Ministry said. Wreckage of the plane, which was carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members, was found in the sea, most of it about one mile from shore, the Russian Defense Ministry said. No survivors have been found at the crash site, Russian officials said. Passengers on the flight, which originated in Moscow and stopped in Sochi to refuel, included 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian military choir, who were traveling to Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base in Syria. The band planned to serenade Russian personnel in Syria on New Year’s Eve. President Vladimir Putin of Russia deployed Russian armed forces in Syria in September 2015, ostensibly to fight terrorism but primarily to prop up President Bashar Assad of Syria, the leader of the lone remaining Russian ally in the region, whose forces have been fighting an insurgency for nearly six years. Russian forces have been instrumental in helping the Damascus government regain the initiative, with the final rebels expelled from the besieged city of Aleppo on Thursday. Three journalists from Channel One, Russia’s main television station, were on the plane, as were journalists from the Zvezda and NTV television networks, news reports said. Yelizaveta P. Glinka, a prominent Russian philanthropist and a member of the presidential council on human rights and civil society, was also on the list of people on board. Putin recently honored Glinka with a state award for her human rights and charity work. Valery V. Khalilov, the ensemble’s artistic director, was also on the plane, according to the list of passengers. Putin expressed his condolences to relatives of the victims, and he declared Monday a national day of mourning. (Christmas is not celebrated as an official holiday in Russia on Dec. 25, because the Russian Orthodox Church observes it on Jan. 7.) “First of all, I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families of our citizens, who died today, as a result of an aviation catastrophe over the Black Sea this morning,” Putin said in St. Petersburg, according to remarks published on the Kremlin’s website. He also ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to establish a state commission, headed by the transportation minister, Maxim Sokolov, to investigate the crash. The Defense Ministry said that 11 bodies had been recovered as search efforts continued, Russian news agencies reported. A makeshift memorial was installed inside the Sochi airport, and people brought candles and flowers. Relatives of the victims were whisked away by authorities to a specially designated zone, where they were treated by psychiatrists. Sokolov told journalists inside the terminal building that the rescue effort would not stop at night. “It is premature to say anything about the causes of this tragedy,” he told reporters. More than 30 vessels were deployed in the recovery operation, Sokolov said, and the Defense Ministry said more than 100 divers had been sent to the crash site. Founded in the Soviet era, the Alexandrov Ensemble, which had performed in Syria earlier this year, is the official band of the Russian armed forces. It consists of an orchestra, a choir and a dance ensemble, and is one of the two Russian orchestras allowed to use the title “Red Army Choir.” The ensemble was founded by Alexander Alexandrov, a prominent Soviet composer and author of the music of the Russian anthem, and his grandson Yevgeny told Meduza, a Russian news website, that “the best members of the ensemble died.” “All the best soloists, the whole choir,” he said. “Everything will collapse now. The best ones are gone.” Several independent news outlets in Russia reported that the Alexandrov Ensemble planned to give a concert in Aleppo. In May, the Russian military had flown a symphony orchestra led by one of its best known conductors, Valery Gergiev, to mark the reclaiming of Palmyra. Until recently, the Tu-154, which was designed in the 1960s, was one of the most widely used civilian aircraft in Russian aviation. The plane that crashed on Sunday was made in 1983, underwent planned maintenance work in the fall, and was operated by an experienced pilot, the Defense Ministry said. Russian airlines have mostly replaced outdated Soviet planes with new ones in recent years and have vastly improved the overall safety record. Many government agencies continue to fly the Tu-154 and other old Soviet aircraft, however. The age and reputation of the Tu-154, as well as the fact that the aircraft had flown out of secure military airfields, meant most senior officials speaking publicly ruled out the possibility that an attack had caused the crash. But there was speculation by a few aviation experts, echoed by some officials, that terrorism could not be ruled out given the suddenness with which the plane disappeared and the size of the debris field. “For us the worst version is an act of terrorism, because if this is the case, this will mean that we have paid another bill for Aleppo,” Vadim Lukashevich, an aviation expert, told Dozhd, an independent television station. In one of Russia’s most recent air disasters, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for planting a bomb onboard a Russian civilian Airbus that crashed in Egypt in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board in a flight from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik to St. Petersburg. Another Russian-made military plane crashed in eastern Siberia on Dec. 19, seriously injuring 16 of the 39 people on board, and aviation authorities recently grounded the country’s newest civilian airliner, the Sukhoi Superjet 100, because of concerns about metal fatigue. ||||| A Russian defence force Tu-154 aircraft carrying 92 people has crashed into the Black Sea, according to reports. The Russian defence ministry said that the plane carrying musicians from the famous Alexandrov military choir to a New Year concert for troops in Syria went missing soon after taking off from the resort of Sochi on Sunday. A total of 84 passengers and eight crew were on board when the plane dropped off radar shortly after take-off at 5:40am local time (0240 GMT). The ministry later said fragments of the plane, a Soviet-designed three-engine airliner, had been found by rescuers about 1.5km from the shore in water around 50-70 metres deep. There were no reports of survivors. Russia’s RIA news agency, citing an unidentified security source, said preliminary data indicated the plane had crashed because of a technical malfunction, Reuters reported. Those on board included Russian servicemen and artists from the Russian military’s official choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble, who were on their way to celebrate the upcoming New Year with air force personnel at the Khmeimim air base near Latakia in western Syria, the defence source told RIA. Nine Russian journalists were also on board, it said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies that Vladimir Putin had been informed of the situation and was being kept abreast of the search operations. A criminal investigation had been launched to determine whether safety breaches had led to the crash. Tu-154 aircraft have been involved in a number of accidents in the past. In April 2010 many high-ranking Polish officials, including then president Lech Kaczynski, were killed when a Tu-154 airliner went down in thick fog while approaching the Smolensk airport in western Russia. Moscow has been conducting a bombing campaign in Syria in support of long-time ally president Bashar al-Assad since September 2015 and has taken steps to boost its presence in the country. Putin in October approved a law ratifying Moscow’s deal with Damascus to deploy its forces in the country indefinitely, firming Russia’s long-term presence in the country. Russian warplanes have flown out of the Khmeimim base to conduct air strikes in Syria, and the base is also home to an S-400 air defence system. ||||| SOCHI, Russia — Backed by ships, helicopters and drones, Russian rescue teams searched Sunday for victims after a Russian plane carrying 92 people to Syria crashed into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff. Investigators said they are looking into every possible cause for the crash, including a terror attack. All 84 passengers and eight crew members on board the Soviet-built Tu-154 plane operated by the Russian military are believed to have died when it crashed two minutes after taking off at 5:25 a.m. in good weather from the southern Russian city of Sochi. More than 3,000 people — including over 100 divers flown in from across Russia — worked from 32 ships and several helicopters to search the crash site, the Defence Ministry said. Drones and submersibles were also being used to help spot bodies and debris. Powerful spotlights were brought in so the search could continue around the clock. Emergency crews found fragments of the plane about 1.5 kilometres from shore. By Sunday evening, rescue teams had recovered 11 bodies and Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said fragments of other bodies were also found. Asked if a terror attack was a possibility, Sokolov said investigators were looking into every possible reason for the crash. The plane belonging to the Defence Ministry was taking its world famous choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble, to a New Year’s concert at Hemeimeem air base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia. Those on board also included nine Russian journalists and a Russian doctor famous for her work in war zones. Russian President Vladimir Putin went on television to declare Monday a nationwide day of mourning. “We will conduct a thorough investigation into the reasons and will do everything to support the victims’ families,” Putin said. The Black Sea search area — which covered 10 square kilometres — was made more difficult by underwater currents that carried debris and body fragments into the open sea. Sokolov said the plane’s flight recorders did not have the radio beacons common in more modern aircraft, so locating them on the seabed was going to be challenging. The Tu-154 is a Soviet-built three-engine airliner designed in the late 1960s. More than 1,000 have been built, and they have been used extensively in Russia and worldwide. The plane that crashed Sunday was built in 1983, and underwent factory check-ups and maintenance in 2014 and earlier this year, according to the Defence Ministry. Magomed Tolboyev, a decorated Russian test pilot, said the circumstances of the crash indicated that all on board had died. “There is no chance to survive in such situation,” he said, according to the Interfax news agency. Before Sokolov spoke to reporters in Sochi, senior Russian lawmakers had ruled out a terror attack, arguing that the military plane was tightly secured. Security is particularly tight in Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Winter Games and is regularly visited by Putin, who has a residence there. But some experts noted that the crew’s failure to report a malfunction pointed at a possible terror attack. “Possible malfunctions ... certainly wouldn’t have prevented the crew from reporting them,” Vitaly Andreyev, a former senior Russian air traffic controller, told RIA Novosti, adding that it points at an “external impact.” Russian planes have been brought down previously by terror attacks. In October 2015, a Russian plane carrying mostly Russian tourists back from vacation in Egypt was brought down by a bomb over the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people aboard. Officials said the explosive device was planted in the plane’s luggage compartment. The local affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility. In August 2004, two Russian planes were blown up in the skies over Russia on the same day by suicide bombers, killing 89 people. A Chechen warlord claimed responsibility for the twin attacks. In the last year, the Russian military has repeatedly flown Russian singers and artists to perform at Hemeimeem, which serves as the main hub for the Russian air campaign in Syria. This plane was carrying performers for New Year’s, the main holiday for most Russians. The passenger list for the Sochi plane released by the Defence Ministry included 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, including its leader, Valery Khalilov. The ensemble is the official choir of the Russian military and also includes a band and a dance company. The choir sang Get Lucky at the opening of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, becoming an instant online sensation. The damage to the choir was reported to be devastating. Viktor Yeliseyev, head of the rival choir of the Russian National Guard, said “most singers of the choir have died.” Also on board was Yelizaveta Glinka, a Russian doctor who has won wide acclaim for her charity work, which has included missions to war zones in eastern Ukraine and Syria. Her foundation said Glinka was accompanying a shipment of medicine for a hospital in Syria. “We never feel sure that we will come back alive,” she said when Putin presented her with an award earlier this month. “But we are sure that kindness, compassion and charity are stronger than any weapon.” Syrian President Bashar Assad was among numerous foreign leaders who sent a condolence note to Putin, saying he received the news “with deep grief and sadness.” In recent years, Russian airlines have replaced their Tu-154s with more modern planes, but the military and other government agencies in Russia have continued to use them. While noisy and fuel-guzzling, the plane is popular with crews that appreciate its manoeuvrability and ruggedness. “It’s an excellent plane, which has proven its reliability during decades of service,” veteran pilot Oleg Smirnov said in televised remarks. Still, since 1994 there have been 17 major plane crashes involving the Tu-154 that have killed over 1,760 people. Most resulted from human error. In the latest previous deadly crash of a Tu-154, a plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others crashed in April 2010 while trying to land at a military airport in Smolensk in western Russia, killing everyone on board. Investigations by both Polish and Russian experts blamed pilot error in bad weather, but Polish authorities have launched a new probe. Isachenkov reported from Moscow. Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report.
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A Russian Tu-154 military passenger airplane carrying 92 people including the Alexandrov Ensemble crashes into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff from Sochi. The airplane was headed towards Khmeimim, Syria. The Russian Armed Forces are actively involved in the Syrian Civil War.
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Pregnancy changes nearly everything about an expectant mother’s life. That includes her brain. Pregnancy selectively shrinks gray matter to make a mom’s brain more responsive to her baby, and those changes last for years, scientists report online December 19 in Nature Neuroscience. “This study, coupled with others, suggests that a woman’s reproductive history can have long-lasting, possibly permanent changes to her brain health,” says neuroscientist Liisa Galea of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, who was not involved in the study. Researchers performed detailed anatomy scans of the brains of 25 women who wanted to get pregnant with their first child. More scans were performed about two months after the women gave birth. Pregnancy left signatures so strong that researchers could predict whether women had been pregnant based on the changes in their brains. The women who had carried a child and given birth had less gray matter in certain regions of their brains compared with 20 women who had not been pregnant, 19 first-time fathers and 17 childless men. These changes were still evident two years after pregnancy. A shrinking brain sounds bad, but “reductions in gray matter are not necessarily a bad thing,” says study coauthor Elseline Hoekzema, a neuroscientist at Leiden University in the Netherlands. A similar reduction happens during adolescence, a refinement that is “essential for a normal cognitive and emotional development,” says Hoekzema, who, along with colleagues, did most of the work at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Following those important teenage years, pregnancy could be thought of almost as a second stage of brain maturing, she says. Sign Up For the Latest from Science News Headlines and summaries of the latest Science News articles, delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays E-mail* Go Further experiments suggested that pregnancy sculpts the brains of mothers in a very specific way, making women more responsive to their helpless infants. The regions that shrunk the most — parts of the frontal and temporal cortices as well as the midline — are thought to be involved in taking other people’s mental perspectives. Such selective shrinkage may indicate that these regions become more specialized as a result of pregnancy, an efficiency that may help a new mother better care for a baby. Brain regions that changed the most also showed large responses to pictures of the women’s infants. What’s more, women whose brains changed the most scored higher on a questionnaire about their attachment to their baby. First-time fathers showed no such brain changes, a result that suggests the effects on mothers’ brains are not caused by the seismic social upheaval of becoming a parent. “It’s not just having a baby to look after that makes the changes in the brain,” says neuroendocrinologist John Russell of the University of Edinburgh, who didn’t participate in the research. Instead, the brain changes may be caused by pregnancy hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. “Pregnancy is a time of exposure to massive amounts of hormones that get into the brain,” Russell says. But he points out that because the study didn’t actually study brains during pregnancy, just before and after, “we don’t actually know when this change is coming on.” The extreme hormonal drop that comes during birth may also reshape the brain. ||||| We acknowledge the participants for their contribution to this study. We thank A. Bulbena for supporting the project, and M. López, G. Pons, R. Martínez, L. González, E. Castaño, N. Mallorquí-Bagué, J. Fauquet and C. Pretus for helping with the data collection and scoring of the cognitive tests. In addition, we thank C. Phillips and J.D. Gispert for advice on the multivariate analyses, E. Marinetto and C. Falcón for advice on the FreeSurfer analyses, and J. van Hemmen and J. Bakker for discussions of the project and results. E.H. was supported by a Formación de Profesorado Universitario (FPU) grant by the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Spanish government, and is now supported by an Innovational Research Incentives Scheme grant (Veni, 451-14-036) of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), E.B.-M. by a grant from the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico, S.C. by the Consejería de Educación, Juventud y Deporte of Comunidad de Madrid and the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under REA grant agreement 291820, and M.P. by an FI grant of the Agencia de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris de Recerca, Generalitat de Catalunya. ||||| Pregnancy causes “long-lasting” physical changes to a woman’s brain, with significant, but seemingly beneficial, grey matter loss in parts of the crucial organ, a study said. Some alterations lasted at least two years, they reported, but did not appear to erode memory or other mental processes. The changes “concern brain areas associated with functions necessary to manage the challenges of motherhood,” study co-author Erika Barba-Muller of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) said in a statement. The radical hormone surges and physical changes of pregnancy have long been known and studied, but its effects on the brain have been little understood. The new study, published in Nature Neuroscience, claims to provide the first evidence “that pregnancy confers long-lasting changes in a woman’s brain.” It compared pre- and post-pregnancy brain scans of 25 first-time mothers. They researchers also looked at the brains of first-time fathers, as well as men and women with no children. It found “pronounced and long-lasting GM (grey matter) volume reductions in a woman’s brain” in pregnancy, in regions involved in social processes. In later tests, these same regions lit up most on scans measuring the women’s responses to their babies. The brain changes were likely an adaptation for motherhood — boosting the ability to recognise the needs and emotional state of a baby and decode potential threats to its health and safety, said the researchers. Grey matter is found in the brain’s wrinkly outer layer called the cerebral cortex, which houses the processes of learning and memory, motor function, social skills, language and problem solving. The good news: the researchers “did not observe any changes in memory or other cognitive functions during the pregnancies and therefore believe that the loss of grey matter does not imply any cognitive defects,” said a UAB statement. The study tested the women up to two years after pregnancy, so it is not clear how long the changes last. The study pointed to a process called “synaptic pruning” which happens to humans in adolescence to remove rarely-used synapses — connections between brain cells. This is done to make way, after childhood, for more efficient and specialised synapses and boost the network’s overall efficiency. A similar process may be at play in pregnancy, the researchers speculated. The post Pregnancy changes a woman’s brain: study appeared first on The Independent Uganda:. This post was syndicated from The Independent Uganda:. Click here to read the full text on the original website. Also, Like us on facebook ||||| An article from KTLA reports pregnancy alters the size and structure of brain regions involved in understanding the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and intentions of others. According to a study published in Nature Neuroscience, many changes in the brain can last approximately two years after giving birth. Elseline Hoekzema, the co-lead author of the study and a senior brain scientist at Leiden University in the Netherlands, stated that Hoekzema followed the participants in her study for two years only. Hoekzema and Erika Barba-Müller, co-lead author and a psychologist, began the study while working together at Autonomous University of Barcelona. They had 25 women who became mothers for the first time and 19 of their male partners undergo MRI brain scans. After completing their pregnancies, these same participants were re-scanned. To compare, 20 women who had never given birth and 17 of their male partners were also scanned at the same time intervals. The results of the MRI scans revealed that the new mothers showed a loss of gray matter in several brain areas that are associated with social cognition, a form of emotional intelligence. The researchers clarified that while the changes were clear, how to interpret them is not. “Loss of volume does not necessarily translate to loss of function,” stated Hoekzema, “Sometimes less is more.” She explained further that the loss of gray matter could “represent a fine-tuning of synapses into more efficient neural networks.” Reduction in gray matter occurred in various regions of the brains of pregnant women, including the prefrontal and temporal cortex. Dr. Kim Yonkers, a professor in psychiatry and obstetrics and gynecology at Yale School of Medicine who was not involved in the new study, suggested that changes in these areas may help women forget the pain or difficulty of pregnancy. “At this point the results are associative,” said Yonkers. It remains unknown whether changes last beyond two years, she added, and that “we don’t know what happens with multiple pregnancies.” ||||| Pregnancy affects not only a woman's body: It changes parts of her brain too, a new study says. When researchers compared brain scans of women before and after pregnancy, they spotted some differences in 11 locations. They also found hints that the alterations help women prepare for motherhood. For example, they might help a mother understand the needs of her infant, Elseline Hoekzema, a study author, explained via email. Hoekzema is a neuroscientist at Leiden University in the Netherlands who began working on the study while at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain. She and colleagues present the results in a paper released Monday by the journal Nature Neuroscience. It includes data on 25 Spanish women scanned before and after their first pregnancies, along with 20 women who didn't get pregnant during the study. The brain changes in the pregnancy group emerged from comparisons of those two groups. The results were consistent: A computer program could tell which women had gotten pregnant just by looking at results of the MRI scans. And the changes, first documented an average of 10 weeks after giving birth, were mostly still present two years after childbirth. That's based on follow-up with 11 study participants. Further work showed they're a motherhood thing: No brain changes were seen in first-time fathers. The women showed no declines on tests of memory. Based on prior research findings, the researchers think the brain changes happened during pregnancy rather than after childbirth. What's going on? Hoekzema and colleagues think the differences result from sex hormones that flood the brain of a pregnant woman. In the 11 places, the MRI data indicate reductions in volume of the brain's gray matter, but it's not clear what that means. For example, it could reflect loss of brain cells or a pruning of the places where brain cells communicate, called synapses. Losing some synapses is not necessarily a bad thing. It happens during a hormonal surge in adolescence, producing more specialized and efficient brain circuits. The researchers suspect that could be happening in the pregnant women. Some study results hint that such upgrades may prepare a woman for motherhood. One analysis linked brain changes to how strongly a woman felt emotionally attached to her infant. And when women viewed pictures of their babies, several brain regions that reacted the most were ones that showed pregnancy-related change. In addition, the affected brain areas overlapped with circuitry that's involved in figuring out what another person is thinking and feeling. That's a handy ability for a mother tending to an infant. The idea of synapses being pruned in pregnancy makes a lot of sense, commented Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University in New York, who studies hormonal effects on the brain but didn't participate in what he called a terrific study. "The brain is being shaped all the time," he said, and "sex hormones are part of the whole orchestra of processes that change the brain structurally." ||||| We’ve all heard of “mom brain,” but now a new study confirms that pregnancy really does alter the organ. Research published by the Nature Neuroscience journal on Monday looked at brain scans of 25 women before they conceived and after they gave birth to their first child. The study found that there was a loss of gray matter in areas of the brain that help “register and consider how other people perceive things.” Dr. Jen Ashton, ABC News’ chief women’s health correspondent, says that these alterations in the brain make women better mothers. “[The study] actually found changes in parts of the structure and size of the brain,” she said. “The theory here is that those changes occurred to help streamline the moms’ brains to prepare for more nurturing, vigilance and teaching. We all know women who say, ‘You know, I wasn't that maternal until I had my own child, and then something clicked,’ or we become multitaskers.” Watch the video above to learn more. Researcher Elseline Hoekzema, who was pregnant with her first child during the study and is now expecting her second, said that she definitely noticed the change in herself after giving birth. “I have to say honestly that at first I was a little intimidated by these changes,” she said. “However, having actually experienced this once, I indeed have the impression that pregnancy and motherhood has changed me, but in subtle ways. I am still me, but a bit of a different version.” While researchers “suspect that the changes may be permanent,” they maintain that it is “pure speculation at this point.” ||||| Pregnancy alters the size and structure of brain regions involved in understanding the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and intentions of others, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Mothers with the greatest degree of overall brain change scored higher than others when tested on the strength of their maternal bonds, the researchers discovered. Start the conversation, or Read more at WHBF-TV Rock Island. ||||| BUILDING a realistic model of the human brain is a crucial part of understanding brain development, as well as neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Using human stem cells, researchers have created a 3-D model of the human brain – and new research investigates how similar it is to a real brain. A new study assesses the functionality of a 3-D brain model, shown here in a fluorescent cross-section. Currently, scientists typically use 2-D brain models. Latest developments in brain modeling, however, include creating functional 3-D brain-like tissue and entire “mini-brains” from human stem cells. New research investigates such a 3-D mini-brain model and examines its advantages over a 2-D brain model. The study was carried out by scientists at the Salk Institute, and the findings were published in the journal Cell Reports. The ability to grow a brain entirely out of human cells is not new, but it is quite recent and has been hailed by the authors of this new study as “a real breakthrough.” Salk Institute researchers cite the 2013 European study, in which scientists grew a cerebral organoid (CO) model in vitro from embryonic and adult stem cells. Researchers then placed the cells in a 3-D gel, where they developed into realistic layers that reflected an actual human brain. Before that, embryonic stem cells had been transformed into single-layered brain cells inside a petri dish, but this had the obvious limitation of being 2-D instead of the 3-D real brain. Limited 2-D brain models are widely used today, but Salk Institute researchers point to the advantages of 3-D CO models. “Being able to grow human brain cells as miniature three-dimensional organs was a real breakthrough,” says Joseph Ecker, the senior author of the new study, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and professor and director of Salk’s Genomic Analysis Laboratory. “Now that we have a structurally realistic model, we can start to ask whether it is also functionally realistic, by looking at its genetic and epigenetic features.” Assessing genetic and epigenetic features of mini-brains led by Ecker compared early development COs with real brain tissue at the same early developmental stage. The team created COs for their analysis using a human embryonic cell line called H9. They chemically induced the cells into a neurodevelopmental pathway for 60 days. Then, researchers analyzed the mini-brains’ epigenetics, looking at the patterns of chemical markers that are responsible for activating or silencing genes. ||||| Early attempts won’t quite resemble telepathy as we often imagine it. Our brains work in unique ways, and the way each of us thinks about a concept is influenced by our experiences and memories. This results in different patterns of brain activity, but if neuroscientists can learn one individual’s patterns, they may be able to trigger certain thoughts in that person’s brain. In theory, they could then use someone else’s brain activity to trigger these thoughts.Researchers have managed to get two people, sitting in different rooms, to play a game of 20 questions on a computer. The participants transmitted “yes” or “no” answers, thanks to EEG caps that monitored brain activity, with a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation triggering an electrical current in the other person’s brain. By pushing this further, it may be possible to, including the decisions they make. ||||| Move Your Eyes To Stimulate Your Brain Here’s a handy trick from Gib on how to kick your brain into high gear. Find more great intel at IFYLonDemand.com
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Medical research reveals shrinkage in women’s brains as a result of pregnancy. Loss of gray matter in certain regions of the brain may make the brain more efficient and specialized for child-rearing. There is also evidence of links to long-term changes in brain.
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Putin also expressed satisfaction with the start of normalization of Russian-Turkish relations implying revival of the whole complex of cooperation in political, economic, humanitarian, scientific and other spheres. "The Russian head of state expressed confidence that basing on the achieved results the countries will continue productive joint work on boosting bilateral ties, actively cooperate in solving urgent issues on the regional and international agenda in the interests of the two countries and in line with ensuring security and stability on the Eurasian continent," the statement said. Russian-Turkish relations have deteriorated following the downing of a Russian Su-24 bomber over Syria by the Turkish Air Force. At the beginning of 2016, Russia imposed a number of restrictive measures, including a ban on charter flights, food and flowers imports. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Syrian government and armed opposition groups reached an agreement on a ceasefire on Syrian territory, taking effect at 00:00 on Friday. Russia and Turkey took the role of the ceasefire guarantors, but other countries may also be invited, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. ||||| France has called on Russia to stop military action in Syria and respect a fragile ceasefire agreement brokered by Moscow and Turkey to end almost six years of war. The truce deal, which was welcomed unanimously by the United Nations Security Council, has been repeatedly violated since it began, with warring sides trading the blame. On Saturday, Syria rebels warned they would abandon the ceasefire if government forces continued to violate it, asking the Russians, who support President Bashar al-Assad, to rein in army and militia attacks in the valley by 8 pm. French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said: "We resolutely condemn everything Russia could do in Syria that would contribute to a continuation of fighting. "We hope talks between separate Syrian forces will continue so the ceasefire can hold. We ask the Russians to stop taking part in military operations which are deadly operations." However he did not specify which actions in particular he was referring to. ||||| MOSCOW. – Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Russia “reserves the right” to retaliate for the US expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats but that Moscow did not plan on expelling US envoys in return. Putin said Russia would respond to the new US sanctions but would first consider the policies of President-elect Donald Trump. “Reserving the right to retaliatory measures, we. . .will be planning our next steps in restoring the US-Russian relations based on the policies pursued by the administration of President Donald Trump,” Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin. But he denied media reports that Russia was planning to expel US diplomats. “We will not expel anyone,” Putin said in a statement on the Kremlin’s website. He dismissed the new US sanctions announced on Thursday as a “provocation aimed at further undermining Russian-American relations”. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier yesterday that he had suggested that Russia expel 35 US envoys in return for the US measures. He also said that allegations that Russia had interfered in the November US election were baseless. US President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and intelligence officers and imposed sanctions on two intelligence agencies, marking a new post-Cold War low in US-Russia ties. The moves came in response to US intelligence reports that Russia hacked officials from the Democratic National Committee and leaked their emails in the weeks before the November 8 election. They add to existing US sanctions over Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The punitive measures announced by Obama were the strongest his administration has taken to date in response to the alleged Russian cyber-attacks targeting US officials, and are more comprehensive than last year’s sanctions on North Korea after it hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment. “All Americans should be alarmed by Russia’s actions. Such activities have consequences,” said Obama, who is holidaying in Hawaii. He added that Washington could take further, covert action – a thinly veiled reference to a counterstrike in cyberspace that the US has reportedly been considering. US relations with Russia have suffered during Obama’s years in office as he and Putin clashed over Ukraine, whistleblower Edward Snowden and Russia’s support for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. It is unlikely the new sanctions, while symbolically significant, would have a major impact on Russian spy operations. The sanctions freeze any US assets held by the 35 Russians and block Americans from doing business with them. But Russian law bars the spy agencies from maintaining assets in the United States, and any activities they undertake would likely be covert and hard to identify. Indeed, senior Obama administration officials said that even with the penalties, they had reason to believe Russia would keep launching cyber-attacks with the aim of influencing other nations’ elections and might well try again during US polls in 2018 or 2020. Though the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint report on “Russian malicious cyber activity” – replete with examples of malware code used by the Russians – it still has not released a broader report that Obama has promised that would detail Russia’s efforts to interfere with US elections. The report has been eagerly anticipated by those hoping to make it politically untenable for President-elect Donald Trump to continue dismissing allegations that Russia was involved in hacking Democratic officials. Indeed, Obama’s sanctions pile the pressure on Trump, who has so far brushed off the allegations that Russian hacking helped him win the presidential election. Trump will have to decide whether to roll back the measures once in office. But US officials suggest that building up their case against Russia now could make it harder for Trump to justify easing the restrictions later. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s retaliation would take into account the fact that Trump will soon replace Obama as it drafts counter-measures. Trump’s position has also put him at odds with the Republican-controlled Congress. US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said Russia “has consistently sought to undermine” US interests and called the sanctions overdue. Republican senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham on Thursday said they intended to lead effort in Congress to “impose stronger sanctions on Russia”. But in a sign that Trump was no longer able to ignore the allegations, he said he planned to meet with US intelligence leaders next week to learn more. US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia was trying to help Trump when hackers connected to the Kremlin breached Democratic Party computers and stole tens of thousands of emails that were then posted on WikiLeaks, some containing embarrassing information about Democratic infighting. Clinton aide John Podesta’s emails were also stolen and released publicly in the final weeks of the campaign. - France24/AFP/Reuters. ||||| The Syrian regime has signed a truce deal with rebels, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin leader also said the ceasefire agreement, to begin from midnight and guaranteed by Russia and Turkey's governments, will be followed by peace talks between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu says the truce will include 62,000 rebel fighters across the country. The Russian military has reportedly set up a hotline with its Turkish counterpart to monitor compliance. Mr Putin's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also said that President-elect Donald Trump's administration will be invited to the Syrian peace process once he takes office. If true, and if the truce deal is respected, it could end a six-year civil war that has killed potentially more than 430,000 and forced around 11 million from their homes. The Syrian military has also said it will down its weapons as part of the nationwide ceasefire from midnight. ||||| BEIRUT (Reuters) - Clashes, shelling and air raids in western Syria marred a Russian- and Turkish-backed ceasefire that aims to end nearly six years of war and lead to peace talks between rebels and a government emboldened by recent battlefield success. Russian President Vladimir Putin, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, announced the ceasefire on Thursday after forging the agreement with Turkey, a longtime backer of the opposition. The truce went into force at midnight but monitors and rebels reported almost immediate clashes, and violence appeared to escalate later on Friday as warplanes bombed areas in the country’s northwest, they said. Asaad Hanna, a political officer in the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a loose alliance of insurgent groups, told Reuters violence had reduced but had not stopped. “We cannot be optimistic about someone like the Russians who used to kill us for six years ... they are not angels. But we are happy because we are reducing the violence and working to find a solution for the current situation,” said Hanna. The ceasefire is meant as a first step toward fresh peace talks, after several failed international efforts this year to halt the conflict, which began as a peaceful uprising and descended into war in 2011. It has resulted in more than 300,000 deaths, displaced more than 11 million people and drawn in the military involvement of world and regional powers, including Moscow and Ankara. The agreement brokered by Russia and Turkey, which said they will guarantee the truce, is the first of three ceasefire deals this year not to involve the United States or United Nations. Moscow is keen to push ahead with peace talks, hosted by its ally Kazakhstan. But the first challenge will be maintaining the truce, which looked shaky on Friday. WARPLANES AND HELICOPTERS Syrian government warplanes carried out nearly 20 raids against rebels in several towns along the provincial boundary between Idlib and Hama, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Clashes between rebel groups and government forces took place overnight in the area, the Observatory and rebel officials said. Warplanes and helicopters also struck northwest of Damascus in the rebel-held Wadi Barada valley, where government troops and allied forces clashed with rebels, the British-based Observatory reported. A military media unit run by Damascus’s ally Hezbollah denied any Syrian government air strikes on the area. An official from the Nour al-Din al-Zinki rebel group said government forces had also tried to advance in southern Aleppo province. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military on Friday’s clashes. Residents of several rebel-held areas, including towns and cities in Idlib province, used the relative calm to hold street protests against the Syrian government on Friday, the Observatory said. A number of rebel groups have signed the new agreement, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday. Several rebel officials acknowledged the deal, and a FSA spokesman said it would abide by the truce. Hanna, the FSA political officer, said late on Friday rebels were not yet responding to attacks by pro-government forces and had asked Turkey to make sure the attacks stop. “If the breaks come again, we will reply to all the sources of fire. We are monitoring the fighting but our weapons are ready,” he said. PREVIOUS COLLAPSES The previous two Syria ceasefires, brokered by Washington and Moscow, took effect in February and September but both collapsed within weeks as warring sides accused each other of truce violations and fighting intensified. Putin said the parties were prepared to start peace talks intended to take place in Astana. Syrian state media said late on Thursday those talks would take place “soon”. The Syrian government will be negotiating from a strong position after its army and their allies, including Shi’ite militias supported by Iran, along with Russian air power, routed rebels in their last major urban stronghold of Aleppo this month. Moscow’s air campaign since September last year has turned the war in Assad’s favor, and the last rebels left Aleppo for areas that are still under rebel control to the west of the city, including the province of Idlib. A man rides a bicycle near damaged buildings in the rebel held besieged city of Douma, in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria December 30, 2016. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh On Friday the Russian ambassador to the United Nations said Moscow had circulated a proposed resolution at the U.N. Security Council that would endorse the ceasefire, and said he hoped the council would vote on the resolution on Saturday. In another sign that the latest truce could be as challenging to maintain as its predecessors, there was confusion over which rebel groups would be covered by the ceasefire. The Syrian army said the agreement did not include the radical Islamist group Islamic State, fighters from al-Qaeda’s former branch the Nusra Front, or any factions linked to those jihadist groups. But several rebel officials said on Thursday that the agreement did include the former Nusra Front - now known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham - which announced in July that it was severing ties with al Qaeda. A spokesman for Jabhat Fateh al-Sham criticized the ceasefire for not mentioning Assad’s fate, and said the political solution under this agreement would “reproduce the criminal regime”. “The solution is to topple the criminal regime militarily,” he said in a statement on Friday. The powerful Islamist insurgent group Ahrar al-Sham said it had not signed the ceasefire agreement because of “reservations” but did not elaborate. RUSSIA-TURKEY DETENTE The deal follows a thaw in ties between Russia and Turkey. Ankara backs rebels fighting against Islamic State, which has made enemies of all other sides involved in the conflict. In a sign of the detente, the Turkish armed forces said on Friday Russian aircraft had carried out three air strikes against Islamic State in the area of al-Bab in northern Syria. Ankara has insisted on the departure of Assad but his removal has become a secondary concern to fighting the expansion of Kurdish influence in northern Syria. The chances of Assad’s opponents forcing him from power now seem more remote than at any point in the war. Turkish demands that fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah movement leave Syria may not please Iran, another major Assad supporter. Hezbollah has been fighting alongside Syrian government forces against rebels. Slideshow (9 Images) On Thursday a senior Hezbollah official said the party’s military wing would remain in Syria. The United States, in the waning days of U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, has been sidelined in recent negotiations and is not due take part in the Kazakhstan talks. Russia has said the United States could join a fresh peace process once President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. It also wants Egypt to join, together with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan and the United Nations. Trump has said he would cooperate more closely with Russia to fight terrorism but it was unclear what that policy would look like, given resistance from the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community to closer cooperation with Russia on Syria. ||||| Moscow: Russia President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a nationwide ceasefire deal to come into effect across Syria from midnight and that the warring parties had agreed to sit down for peace talks. The deal brokered by Russia and Turkey could represent a major breakthrough in nearly 6 years of war in Syria and comes a week after rebel resistance was crushed in the second city of Aleppo. Although on opposing sides in the conflict, Turkey and Russia have been working intensively to find a ceasefire after the fall of Aleppo, in a process that conspicuously does not include the United States. Putin said in televised comments that Damascus and the "main forces of the armed opposition" had inked the truce agreement and a document expressing a readiness to start peace talks. "Several hours ago, the event occurred that we have not only been waiting for but been working so much to hasten," Putin said in a meeting with his defence and foreign ministers. After the Kremlin announcement, Syria's army said it would halt all military operations from midnight, and the opposition National Coalition also said it backed the truce. Putin also said he would reduce Moscow's military contingent in Syria, which has been flying a bombing campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad since 2015. The Kremlin strongman, however, said that Russia would continue to fight "terrorism" in the war-torn country and maintain its support for the government in Damascus. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the seven opposition groups, including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham, that have signed up to the agreements after months of talks comprise some 62,000 fighters and control a large portion of territory in central and northern Syria. He warned that any groups that did not abide by the ceasefire would be considered "terrorists" alongside the Islamic State group and the former Al-Qaeda affiliate previously known as Al-Nusra Front, now rebranded the Fateh al-Sham Front. Putin's announcement of the deal came hours after Turkey's foreign minister said the potential truce could start by New Year. The nationwide ceasefire follows the deal brokered by Turkey and Russia for Aleppo which allowed the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians. Moscow and Ankara are now pushing for peace talks between Damascus and the rebels to start soon in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana. "Now we need to do everything for these agreements to come into force, for them to work, so that the negotiating teams that have been or are being formed promptly and as soon as possible arrive in Astana," Putin said. Russia and Turkey have both said that the peace talks they will supervise are meant to supplement UN-backed peace efforts, rather than replace them entirely. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia, Turkey and Iran were currently organising for the talks to begin in Astana and pressing for other key international players to get involved. Lavrov said Moscow would invite Egypt before trying to attract other regional powers such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and Jordan. In a clear snub to US President Barack Obama, Russia's top diplomat said Moscow would look to get the team of President-elect Donald Trump in the mix when he takes power next month. As its cooperation tightened with Moscow, Turkey stood conspicuously quiet as the regime, supported by Russia, took control last week of Aleppo, handing the rebels their biggest defeat in the civil war so far. The victory was also a boost for Putin, who sent forces to Syria last year to bolster Assad in an unprecedented intervention. Syria's conflict began with a 2011 uprising against Assad but quickly morphed into a complicated civil war that has now killed more than 310,000 people and forced millions more from their homes. The conflict continued to rage as civilians were killed in regime strikes on Thursday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP in Beirut. The observatory said At least 15 civilians, including six children, were killed on Thursday in airstrikes and artillery fire on rebel-held territory near Syria's capital Damascus. ||||| Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday the Syrian government and rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad have reached a ceasefire to end the fighting in the more-than-five-year civil war. Here’s what we know so far about the agreement—and its potential implications: The Syrian government and, according to Russia’s defense minister, seven armed groups who command about 60,000 fighters. The Defense Ministry named the groups as Feilak al-Sham (4,000 fighters), Ahrar al-Sham (16,000), Jaysh al-Islam (12,000), Thuwar al-Sham (2,500), Jaysh al-Mujahideen (8,000), Jaysh Idlib (6,000), Jabhat al-Shamiyah (3,000). When will it go into effect? December 30 at midnight, according to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry. Who will ensure the truce isn’t broken? The Turkish Foreign Ministry says Turkey and Russia will jointly monitor the ceasefire; Russian President Vladimir Putin included Iran on that list. Russia and Iran support Assad; Turkey supports some rebel groups. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said Jabhat al-Nusra (the group now known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham), ISIS, and affiliated groups are excluded. The agreement that is reached will be submitted to the UN Security Council later Thursday, the Russian foreign minister said. Both Turkey and Russia said representatives of the Syrian government and the rebels will meet soon in Astana, the Kazakh capital. Turkey added that they will be accompanied by the guarantor countries. Putin said the agreement was detailed in three documents. He said the first was signed by the Syrian government and the opposition to stop hostilities; the second to control the ceasefire; and the third “a declaration of intention for Syrian settlement.” No other details of the content of those documents have been released. No rebel commanders have yet publicly commented on the ceasefire. But Ahmad Ramadan, a spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition, a major opposition group, told the AP that the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a coalition of rebel groups, will abide by the truce, but will retaliate to violations by Syrian forces and their allies. Separately, Al Jazeera reported that on Wednesday the negotiating arm of the largest group of rebels fighting under the banner of the FSA “said they had yet to be in contact with anyone and had not been invited to participate in talks.” The Syrian civil war has dragged on for more than five years. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed and millions more displaced. In the early days of the fighting, it appeared as if Assad would go the way of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, but Russia became involved in November 2015. Since that time, Assad, backed by Russian airstrikes and Iranian fighters, as well as members of Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah, made steady gains. Earlier this month, government forces captured all of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city that was divided since 2012. The recapture of the city means Assad now controls the overwhelming majority of Syria’s population centers. Rebels still control territory, including Idlib province, but are on the defensive. Assad is likely to stay in power for now and Russia can scale back its military involvement in Syria—as Putin himself acknowledged Thursday. Assad and his allies can also turn their attention to ISIS, al-Nusra, which was previously linked to al-Qaeda, and other groups it deems as terrorists. Short answer: It’s anyone’s guess, but past attempts at a ceasefire have failed, and Putin himself acknowledged that conditions are “fragile.” It’s unclear if Assad has the incentive not to target other rebel groups, though he is believed to be weak without Russian support. It’s also unclear if all the rebel groups will abide by a truce—or whether the guarantors of the ceasefire—Russia, Turkey, and Iran—agree on which of the rebels are terrorist organizations, and, consequently, can be targeted. Indeed, commentators pointed out Russia had labeled two of the groups included in the ceasefire list—Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam—as terrorists last month. ||||| DAMASCUS: Syria’s army said Thursday it would halt all military operations from midnight under a truce deal brokered by Russia and Turkey and supported by a leading Syrian opposition body. The agreement was announced earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin who said the Syrian regime and “main forces of the armed opposition” had signed on. “The general command of the armed forces announces a complete halt to all hostilities on Syrian territory from the zero hour of December 30th,” Syria’s army said in a statement carried on state television. It said that the ceasefire excluded the Islamic State group and the former Al-Qaeda affiliate previously known as Al-Nusra Front, now rebranded the Fateh al-Sham Front. The National Coalition, a leading Syrian political opposition group based in Turkey, confirmed its backing for the truce. “The National Coalition expresses support for the agreement and urges all parties to abide by it,” spokesman Ahmed Ramadan told AFP. He said key rebel groups including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham and Army of Islam factions had signed the ceasefire deal, though there was no immediate confirmation from rebel representatives. “The agreement includes a ceasefire in all areas held by the moderate opposition, or by the moderate opposition and elements from Fateh al-Sham, such as Idlib province,” he told AFP. Idlib, in northwest Syria, is controlled by an alliance of rebel groups led by Fateh al-Sham. The group, in its previous incarnation as Al-Nusra, was designated a “terrorist” organisation by countries including the United States, as well as the United Nations. The ceasefire agreement follows the recapture by Syria’s government of the country’s second city Aleppo from rebels, in the worst blow to opposition forces since the war began. It will be the first nationwide halt in fighting since a week-long truce from September 12-19 that collapsed after several incidents of violence. A previous truce was implemented in February. Both of those deals were organised by Russia and the United States. The latest agreement is the first nationwide ceasefire brokered with the involvement of Turkey, a backer of the Syrian opposition. Russia is a key supporter of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and began a military intervention in support of his government in September 2015. Despite backing opposing sides in the conflict, and a souring of relations after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane last year, Ankara and Moscow have worked increasingly closely on Syria. They jointly brokered a ceasefire for Aleppo this month that allowed the last remaining rebels and civilians in the city’s east to leave to opposition territory elsewhere. More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with protests against Assad’s government. Successive bids to reach a peace deal to end the conflict have failed, but Moscow has said it is planning to convene new negotiations in Kazakhstan. And the army statement said the ceasefire was intended to “create conditions to support the political track” in resolving the conflict.—Agencies ||||| A nationwide ceasefire in Syria brokered by Russia and Turkey was in effect early on Friday, a potentially major breakthrough in the nearly 6-year conflict, despite reports of isolated clashes. While the truce was standing in most parts of the country, some fighting broke out near a Christian town in central Hama province between rebels and Syrian government, according to a monitoring group. “Fierce clashes took place between the two sides pushing regime forces to withdraw from a hill near Maharda,” Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP news agency. “Small rebel groups and armed loyalists are seeking to destroy the truce because it puts an end to their presence,” he said. In a report on Thursday, the monitor said major provinces witnessed “a calm atmosphere” in the first hours of the ceasefire. Elsewhere, the Turkish military said on Friday that Russia carried out three air strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group near al-Bab, killing at least 12 ISIL fighters. At least one Turkish soldier was killed in an attack on ISIL in northern Syria, Turkey’s army added, claiming that its air strikes killed another 26 ISIL fighters in al-Bab and Daglabash. ISIL is excluded from the ceasefire. The ceasefire agreement, hailed by Syria’s government as a “real opportunity” to find a political solution to the war, comes a week after government forces recaptured the city of Aleppo in a major blow to rebel forces. Russia and Turkey back opposing sides in the conflict, and the ceasefire does not involve the US, which has negotiated previous ceasefires with Moscow. A statement carried on Thursday by Syria’s state news agency SANA said the truce, as well as excluding ISIL, also leaves out fighters from Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, and “groups linked to them”. Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Gaziantep on the Turkish border with Syria, said “there are high hopes that this [truce] might work, but there are huge potential problems with it. The biggest seems to be this group – Jabhat Fateh al-Sham”. “There are fears that if there are air strikes targeting” Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which has often fought alongside a number of signatories to the agreement, “then there may be some casualties” among those factions as well. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said seven opposition groups, including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham, had signed the deal and those who failed to adhere would be considered “terrorists”. Usama Abu Zeyd, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) spokesman, said that the rebels had held no direct talks with the Syrian government or Iran during the truce talks and insisted that President Bashar al-Assad would have no place in the future of Syria. “The ceasefire covers all the territories of Syria and it extends to include all the groups fighting under the Syrian armed opposition,” he said, adding that the rebels had agreed to start peace talks. The agreement comes after Turkey and Russia also brokered a deal to allow the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians and rebel fighters from Aleppo. “Now we need to do everything for these agreements to come into force, for them to work, so that the negotiating teams that have been or are being formed promptly and as soon as possible arrive in Astana,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said. UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura said he hoped the agreement would “pave the way for productive talks” in Kazakhstan, but also reiterated he wants negotiations mediated by his office to continue early next year. Turkey has long backed Syria’s opposition, and its relations with Russia soured last year after Ankara shot down a Russian warplane. ||||| (CNN) Call it a pop-up alliance. After spending much of this year berating each other after Turkey shot down a Russian jet over the Syrian-Turkish border , the two governments are suddenly the "honest brokers" of a ceasefire in Syria -- one that is designed to lead to political negotiations. The United States, which has long championed the stuttering diplomatic process on resolving the Syrian conflict, is nowhere to be seen. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the ceasefire was only the first step, with other documents signed on enforcing the truce and beginning peace talks. The Syrian military promised to cease operations nationwide at midnight Thursday. Here's how the deal looks. Russian and Turkey are now driving what had been a UN-led political process. Each is responsible for bringing its own allies into the process: the Russians will bring the Assad regime on board and the Turks as many moderate factions as they can coax or cajole. Both sides envisage a rapid timeline, with the Turkish Foreign Ministry saying the Assad regime and opposition would meet soon in Kazakhstan, according to Turkish state media. Plenty can still go wrong, and recent history gives little cause for optimism. Putin acknowledged that "all the agreements reached are very fragile." Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoğlu said Thursday that details on how to monitor the ceasefire and apply sanctions against those who breached it were still being worked out. And he insisted there would be no direct negotiations between Turkey and the Syrian government. But the intent is clear: peel off moderate rebel groups from the tacit alliances they have formed with radical Islamist groups in parts of Syria. Then crush the militant groups excluded from the process. And this is where, inevitably, things get complicated. One source in Ahrar al-Sham, which receives extensive support from Turkey, acknowledged that it is involved in the negotiations. But late Thursday the group said on its Twitter feed that it "has reservations about the proposed agreement" and had not yet signed. Its ultimate decision will be important. If Ahrar does sign up, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham will be isolated and vulnerable. The timing of the deal is critical. The Russian-Turkish entente has exploited the political transition in Washington, ignoring the Obama administration in its dying days and betting that the Trump administration will accept a process already under way. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has already issued the invitation. "I would like to express the hope that as soon as the administration of Donald Trump takes office, they will also be able to join these efforts," he said during a meeting with Putin in Moscow. The President-elect has expressed doubts about the reliability of moderate groups previously supported by the Obama administration and suggested his administration would consider joining Russia in the battle against ISIS in Syria. Vladimir Putin held all the best cards, and it seems that Ankara decided to cash in its chips. It was not abandoning its allies among the Syrian factions, but refocusing its efforts on creating a "Turkey-friendly" region in northern Syria. In the process President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to kill two birds with one stone. Turkey has long been exasperated by US support for the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the YPG. "Up to now, the US has given weapons to the YPG, full stop," Cavusoğlu said Thursday. Washington sees the YPG as its battering ram against ISIS in northern Syria. Turkey sees it as a terror organization intimately linked to its own Kurdish insurgents, the PKK. A CNN team inside northern Syria earlier this year saw plenty of evidence of those links, including large posters of the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in many Kurdish-dominated towns. The United States has denied supplying the YPG with weapons but says it provides tactical support to the Syrian Democratic Forces, the umbrella group in which the YPG is the main component. One sign of the new cooperation between Russia and Turkey is the introduction of Russian air power this week to help groups allied to Turkey rid the strategic town of Al Bab in northern Syria of ISIS fighters. Another is the establishment of a hotline to monitor breaches of the new ceasefire. The Russia-Turkey axis may be a marriage of convenience, and there are some major hurdles to overcome. Turkey wants the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah -- a key military supporter of the Assad regime -- out of Syria. That will not sit well with Iran, which is also sponsoring the ceasefire process. Nor has Turkey abandoned its long-term goal that President Bashar al Assad must step down. That also remains the position of the Free Syrian Army, whose representative Abu Zeid said Thursday: "The fact that the negotiations are based on Geneva 1 [the UN-sponsored peace process] means that there is no place for Assad in Syria's future." In addition, some fighters with Islamist groups -- especially in Ahrar al-Sham -- may opt to join the resistance rather than lay down their arms. And the Gulf states -- especially Qatar and Saudi Arabia -- may decide to double down on their support for groups opposed to negotiations. Abu Zeid, who took part in the negotiations on behalf of the opposition, insisted Thursday: "Our message to the Syrian population is that our fingers will remain on the trigger." But the truth is that armed and political opposition to the Syrian regime, shorn of its support from Ankara, has rarely been weaker since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad began five years ago. And the most influential actors on the ground in Syria -- Russia, Turkey, Iran and the Syrian regime -- are, for now, all on the same page.
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Russian president Vladimir Putin says a ceasefire has been brokered between the Syrian government and rebel forces. The ceasefire is said to be guaranteed by Russia and Turkey and would exclude UN-denominated terror organizations such as ISIL and al-Nusra. The FSA says it would abide by the truce, while Ahrar al-Sham expresses "reservations".
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Rio de Janeiro investigators suspect that Greece's ambassador to Brazil was murdered at the behest of his wife and a police officer with whom she was romantically involved, Globo TV reported on Friday, citing police sources. Greek Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis, 59, had been missing since Monday night. His Brazilian wife, Françoise, reported him missing to police on Wednesday. The pair have a 10-year-old daughter. Police also confirmed to Globo TV that the body has been identified as being Amiridis. Investigators told Globo TV they believe Amiridis' wife and the police officer, Sergio Moreira, arranged and possibly carried out the murder in a home where the diplomat and his wife were staying in a northern Rio suburb. Both Amiridis' wife and the police officer were in police custody, and it was not known if they had retained lawyers. The Greek embassy in Brasilia declined to comment. Police and Rio state security officials along with Greek officials declined to comment to Reuters on the television report, nor would they provide any other details. In Athens, Greek foreign ministry spokesman Stratos Efthymiou said the government had no comment about the case. Two other suspects were in custody, but they were not identified, Globo reported. The O Globo newspaper earlier reported that blood was found on a couch inside the home. Globo TV on Friday afternoon showed police carrying a sofa into police headquarters. A burned corpse was found Thursday evening inside the car that Amiridis and his wife had rented. It was parked under a highway overpass in the area where the couple had been staying. On Thursday, police confirmed that the ambassador had been missing since Monday night, when he was last seen leaving the home of his wife's family. The incident is another blow to Rio's image, just four months after it hosted the Summer Olympics. The neighborhood where the car was found is dominated by powerful and politically connected armed groups mostly comprised of off-duty or retired police and firefighters who control vast areas. They are believed to often extort residents in exchange for keeping drug gangs from taking over the areas. The armed groups have grown in strength in Rio for several years, and often curry favor with local politicians by promising to deliver votes from entire neighborhoods as long as authorities allow them to carry out their crimes. Crime in Rio has been rising and the state is deeply indebted, often unable to pay police and other salaries on time, if at all. Amiridis served as Greece's consul general in Rio from 2001 to 2004. He was Greece's ambassador to Libya from 2012 until he took the top Brazil post at the beginning of 2016. ||||| The body found in a burned-out car in Rio de Janeiro may be Kyriakos Amiridis, Greece’s missing ambassador to Brazil. The BBC reports Amiridis’s charred rental vehicle was found in Nova Iguacu, under a flyover on one of the main access roads to Rio. Police don’t believe he was kidnapped, as no one has reached out to his family with a ransom demand. Kyriakos Amiridis was last seen Monday night, the police said in a statement. A police spokeswoman later told The Associated Press that a family member reported him missing in Nova Iguacu, 40 kilometres north of Rio. Greece’s Foreign Ministry said he had been on vacation in the Rio area. The Greek ministry issued a statement saying it had “requested the full mobilization of Brazilian authorities,” but gave no details. According to the Greek Embassy website in Brazil, Amiridis started his career as diplomat in 1985 in Athens and became Greece’s top diplomat in Brazil in 2016. He earlier was Greece’s ambassador to Libya and worked as consul in Rio from 2001 and 2004. Brazilian news website G1 reported that Amiridis’ wife has an apartment in Nova Iguacu. The Greek foreign ministry said the embassy in Brasilia was informed Wednesday (sic) by people close to the ambassador that they have been unable to communicate with him since Monday. With files from Nicholas Paphitis and the National Post ||||| RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Police officials in Rio de Janeiro say that the Greek ambassador to Brazil, Kyriakos Amiridis, may have been a victim of a crime of passion and suspect the diplomat was killed at the home of his wife’s relatives and later put into a car which was burned. The diplomat was reported missing on Tuesday by his wife after leaving family and friends on Monday night. Police confirmed that the burned car found in the metropolitan region was the one rented by the missing diplomat and that the charred body found inside the vehicle was taken to the medical examiners’ office to be identified. “We’re now going to do the technical procedures to find out if the body was the ambassador’s,” said sheriff Evaristo Pontes, of the Baixada Fluminense Homicide Police force in Nova Iguaçu on Thursday night. According to local news reports Amiridis’s wife, Françoise, who is Brazilian, was having an affair with a military police officer. The reports also say that blood was found on a sofa inside the house in Nova Iguaçu and that the furniture was taken by officers for further analysis. According to Globo, the police officer in question arrived at the police station at dawn on Friday with a lawyer for questioning. Amiridis currently works in Brasilia as head of the Greek embassy and went on vacation in Rio de Janeiro, where he was the European country’s general counsel from 2001 to 2004. The Greek embassy in Brasilia issued a statement on Thursday, stating that ‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Greek Embassy in Brasilia are monitoring the case closely and, in close cooperation with the Brazilian authorities, are taking all appropriate actions’. ||||| Police in Rio de Janeiro are questioning the wife of Greece's ambassador to Brazil in connection with his disappearance. Kyriakos Amiridis went missing on Monday in the city of Nova Iguacu, 25 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. Greece's embassy in Brasilia said he had been on holiday near Rio. The ambassador's wife, Francoise Amiridis, has now arrived at a police station in the Rio area for questioning. The Greek embassy website in Brazil said Mr Amiridis started his career as diplomat in 1985 in Athens and became Greece's top diplomat in Brazil in 2016. He was previously Greece's ambassador to Libya and worked as consul in Rio from 2001-2004. ||||| Brazilian police suspect a body discovered inside a charred vehicle in Rio de Janeiro is Greece's ambassador to Brazil who went missing three days ago, television channel Globo reported on Thursday. A police spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment. Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis, 59, was last seen Monday evening leaving the home of friends of his Brazilian wife in a poor and violent suburb of Rio's metropolitan area, police had said earlier on Thursday. A Rio state police official said the ambassador's wife reported him as missing on Wednesday. Globo showed images of the burned-out white car in the Nova Iguacu neighhourhood where the ambassador went missing. The station reported that the licence plates on the car matched those of Amiridis' rental vehicle. An official at the Greek Embassy in Brasilia would not confirm the ambassador was missing, saying only that he was on holiday in Rio and expected to return to Brasilia on Jan. 9. Rio police inspector Evaristo Pontes had earlier told the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper that he did not believe the ambassador was kidnapped. "We're following some leads, but not that one. If it had been (a kidnapping), those who took him would have made contact by now," he said. Mr Amiridis previously served as Greece's consul general in Rio from 2001 to 2004. More recently he was Greece's ambassador to Libya from 2012 until he took the top Brazil post at the beginning of 2016. Brazil's Foreign Ministry said it had no comment on the case, other than to say it was being fully pursued by police. In Athens, Greece's Foreign Ministry had no comment. ||||| RIO DE JANEIRO: The discovery of a burned-out car in Rio state on Thursday (Dec 29) with a body inside have sparked fears that it might be that of the Greek ambassador to Brazil, missing since Monday. Rio police were examining the corpse and scene but could not say whether it was that of the envoy, 59-year-old Kyriakos Amiridis. "The information that we can confirm right now is that we have found a car in (the district of) Nova Iguacu with a body and it is being investigated," a source in the homicide squad told AFP. The source would not say whether the license plate of the car was from the rental the ambassador was using, nor when DNA results on the body would be back. Amiridis had been on vacation with his family in Rio de Janeiro's northern Nova Iguacu area since December 21. He was due to fly back to Brasilia on January 9, a Greek embassy official told AFP. But he went missing on Monday night, after going out of the apartment they were renting and taking the car, according to Brazilian media. His Brazilian wife formally declared him missing on Wednesday. The Brazilian news website published photos of the burned car found on the slope of a busy suburban thoroughfare. It reported that police "suspected" the body inside to be that of the ambassador. The Greek foreign ministry had earlier issued a statement saying that after Amiridis was declared missing, "the full mobilization of all the competent Brazilian authorities was requested." Amiridis was named ambassador this year. He had previously served as Greece's consul general in Rio from 2001 to 2004. He served as Greece's ambassador to Libya from 2012 to 2016. He is married and has a daughter, according to the embassy in Brasilia. ||||| RIO DE JANEIRO — Authorities believe that Greece’s missing ambassador to Brazil was killed at the home that his wife kept in the Rio de Janeiro area, a police investigator said Friday. Kyriakos Amiridis went missing on Monday in the city of Nova Iguacu, 25 miles (41 kilometres) north of Rio de Janeiro. Greece’s Embassy in Brasilia said the ambassador had been on vacation near Rio. The couple lived most of the time in Brasilia, the country’s capital. Rio de Janeiro police investigator Giniton Lages told The Associated Press that blood spots believed to be those of the ambassador were found on a sofa inside the home of his Brazilian wife, Francoise Amiridis. Lages named the wife, along with another woman and two men, as suspects in the case. A news conference was scheduled for later in the day. The wife was being interrogated at a police station on Friday in connection with her husband’s disappearance. Authorities believe she had been having an extramarital affair with a police officer. Another police investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he didn’t want to be quoted giving details about the case before the news conference is held, said the ambassador and his wife fought three days before Christmas. A third investigator, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said that a police officer had acknowledged participating in the ambassador’s killing. Lages said authorities believe the ambassador’s body was taken from the house to a car that he had rented on Dec. 21. A burned vehicle matching the description of the rented car was found with a body inside it in Nova Iguacu, but forensics experts have not yet identified the dead person. The Greek Embassy website in Brazil says Amiridis started his career as diplomat in 1985 in Athens and became Greece’s top diplomat in Brazil in 2016. He earlier was Greece’s ambassador to Libya and worked as consul in Rio from 2001-2004. ||||| RIO DE JANEIRO: Rio de Janeiro investigators suspect that Greece's ambassador to Brazil was murdered at the behest of his wife and a police officer with whom she was romantically involved, Globo TV reported on Friday, citing police sources. Greek Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis, 59, had been missing since Monday night. His Brazilian wife, Françoise, reported him missing to police on Wednesday. The pair have a 10-year-old daughter. Police also confirmed to Globo TV that the body has been identified as being Amiridis. Investigators told Globo TV they believe Amiridis' wife and the police officer, Sergio Moreira, arranged and possibly carried out the murder in a home where the diplomat and his wife were staying in a northern Rio suburb. Police and Rio state security officials along with Greek officials declined to comment to Reuters on the television report, nor would they provide any other details. In Athens, Greek foreign ministry spokesman Stratos Efthymiou said the government had no comment about the case. Two other suspects were in custody, but they were not identified, Globo reported. The O Globo newspaper earlier reported that blood was found on a couch inside the home. Globo TV on Friday afternoon showed police carrying a sofa into police headquarters. A burned corpse was found Thursday evening inside the car that Amiridis and his wife had rented. It was parked under a highway overpass in the area where the couple had been staying. On Thursday, police confirmed that the ambassador had been missing since Monday night, when he was last seen leaving the home of his wife's family. The incident is another blow to Rio's image, just four months after it hosted the Summer Olympics. The neighbourhood where the car was found is dominated by powerful and politically connected armed groups mostly comprised of off-duty or retired police and firefighters who control vast areas. They are believed to often extort residents in exchange for keeping drug gangs from taking over the areas. The armed groups have grown in strength in Rio for several years, and often curry favour with local politicians by promising to deliver votes from entire neighbourhoods as long as authorities allow them to carry out their crimes. Crime in Rio has been rising and the state is deeply indebted, often unable to pay police and other salaries on time, if at all. Amiridis served as Greece's consul general in Rio from 2001 to 2004. He was Greece's ambassador to Libya from 2012 until he took the top Brazil post at the beginning of 2016. ||||| RIO DE JANEIRO — Authorities believe that Greece’s missing ambassador to Brazil was killed at the home that his wife kept in the Rio de Janeiro area, a police investigator said Friday. Kyriakos Amiridis went missing on Monday in the city of Nova Iguacu, 25 miles (41 kilometres) north of Rio de Janeiro. Greece’s Embassy in Brasilia said the ambassador had been on vacation near Rio. The couple lived most of the time in Brasilia, the country’s capital. Rio de Janeiro police investigator Giniton Lages told The Associated Press that blood spots believed to be those of the ambassador were found on a sofa inside the home of his Brazilian wife, Francoise Amiridis. Lages named the wife, along with another woman and two men, as suspects in the case. A news conference was scheduled for later in the day. The wife was being interrogated at a police station on Friday in connection with her husband’s disappearance. Authorities believe she had been having an extramarital affair with a police officer. Another police investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he didn’t want to be quoted giving details about the case before the news conference is held, said the ambassador and his wife fought three days before Christmas. A third investigator, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said that a police officer had acknowledged participating in the ambassador’s killing. Lages said authorities believe the ambassador’s body was taken from the house to a car that he had rented on Dec. 21. A burned vehicle matching the description of the rented car was found with a body inside it in Nova Iguacu, but forensics experts have not yet identified the dead person. The Greek Embassy website in Brazil says Amiridis started his career as diplomat in 1985 in Athens and became Greece’s top diplomat in Brazil in 2016. He earlier was Greece’s ambassador to Libya and worked as consul in Rio from 2001-2004. ||||| RIO De JANEIRO – Brazilian police said they believe a body found in a burned-out car is likely Greek Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis, 59, who has been missing three days. The TV channel Globo made the report. Amiridis, 59, was last seen on Dec. 26 leaving the home of friends of his Brazilian wife in a suburb of Rio’s metropolitan area, police had said earlier. A state police official said the ambassador’s wife reported him as missing only two days later, on Dec. 28. Globo showed images of the charred white car in the Nova Iguaçu neighbourhood where the Ambassador went missing and reported that the licence plates on the car matched those of Amiridis’s rental vehicle. An official at the Greek embassy in Brasília would not confirm the Ambassador was missing, saying only that he was on vacation in Rio and expected to return to the capital on Jan. 9. Rio police inspector Evaristo Pontes had earlier told the Folha de São Paulo newspaper that he did not believe the Ambassador was kidnapped. “We’re following some leads, but not that one,” he said. “If it had been (a kidnapping,), those who took him would have made contact by now.” Amiridis was experienced in Brazil, having served as Consul General in Rio from 2001-04. He was Ambassador to Libya from 2012 until getting the top job in Brazil at the beginning of 2016. Neither Brazil’s Foreign Ministry nor Greece’s would comment on the case.
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A body found in a burnt-out vehicle north of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro is confirmed to be that of missing Greek Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis. A military police officer who had an affair with the ambassador's wife confesses to the murder. The wife and a second man are also detained.
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BAGHDAD — A pair of suicide bombings minutes apart hit a central Baghdad market on Saturday, killing 28 people and wounding at least 54, prompting security forces to ban traffic from key streets at the centre of the Iraqi capital, police and hospital officials said. The twin attacks hit al-Sinak, a busy market selling car accessories, food and clothes as well as agricultural seeds and machinery. Minutes after the first suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden belt, the second one struck amid the crowd that gathered, according to the officials. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks in al-Sanak in a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, confirming that the blasts came from a pair of suicide bombers. Later on Saturday, three separate attacks in and around Baghdad killed eight people and wounded 17. Those killed included one policeman. ||||| BAGHDAD -- A pair of suicide bombings minutes apart hit a central Baghdad market on Saturday, killing 28 people and wounding at least 54, prompting security forces to ban traffic from key streets at the centre of the Iraqi capital, police and hospital officials said. The twin attacks hit al-Sinak, a busy market selling car accessories, food and clothes as well as agricultural seeds and machinery. Minutes after the first suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden belt, the second one struck amid the crowd that gathered, according to the officials. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks in al-Sanak in a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, confirming that the blasts came from a pair of suicide bombers. Later on Saturday, three separate attacks in and around Baghdad killed eight people and wounded 17. Those killed included one policeman. ||||| BAGHDAD — A pair of suicide bombings minutes apart hit a central Baghdad market on Saturday, killing 28 people and wounding at least 54, prompting security forces to ban traffic from key streets at the centre of the Iraqi capital, police and hospital officials said. The twin attacks hit al-Sinak, a busy market selling car accessories, food and clothes as well as agricultural seeds and machinery. Minutes after the first suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden belt, the second one struck amid the crowd that gathered, according to the officials. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks in al-Sanak in a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, confirming that the blasts came from a pair of suicide bombers. Later on Saturday, three separate attacks in and around Baghdad killed eight people and wounded 17. Those killed included one policeman. ||||| BAGHDAD — A pair of suicide bombings minutes apart hit a central Baghdad market on Saturday, killing 28 people and wounding at least 54, prompting security forces to ban traffic from key streets at the centre of the Iraqi capital, police and hospital officials said. The twin attacks hit al-Sinak, a busy market selling car accessories, food and clothes as well as agricultural seeds and machinery. Minutes after the first suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden belt, the second one struck amid the crowd that gathered, according to the officials. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks in al-Sanak in a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, confirming that the blasts came from a pair of suicide bombers. Later on Saturday, three separate attacks in and around Baghdad killed eight people and wounded 17. Those killed included one policeman. ||||| BAGHDAD — A pair of suicide bombings minutes apart hit a central Baghdad market on Saturday, killing 28 people and wounding at least 54, prompting security forces to ban traffic from key streets at the centre of the Iraqi capital, police and hospital officials said. The twin attacks hit al-Sinak, a busy market selling car accessories, food and clothes as well as agricultural seeds and machinery. Minutes after the first suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden belt, the second one struck amid the crowd that gathered, according to the officials. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks in al-Sanak in a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, confirming that the blasts came from a pair of suicide bombers. Later on Saturday, three separate attacks in and around Baghdad killed eight people and wounded 17. Those killed included one policeman. ||||| Local media reported that the incident took place in Qadisiyah district on Sunday, with both security forces and civilians believed to be among the casualties. Separately, gunmen raided a checkpoint in Najaf’s al-Meshkhab area, but the number of possible casualties remains unclear, Press TV reported. Meanwhile, local sources have reported several mortar attacks around Najaf Province. The Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terror group has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack. The terrorists have in recent months increased their acts of violence across Iraq in revenge for the blows they have been taking from Iraqi armed forces in the battle for the liberation of Mosul. On Saturday, the capital Baghdad also witnessed bloodshed. At least 28 people lost their lives in a bomb explosion at a crowded market. The attack was later claimed by Daesh. In another development on Saturday, an improvised explosive device went off in the district of Yarmuk in western Baghdad, leaving a civilian wounded. Two more people were also injured after a magnetic bomb exploded on al-Qanat Highway in eastern Baghdad Meanwhile, Baghdad Operations Command spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan said that five booby-traps had exploded in northwestern Baghdad, killing one person and hurting six others. Data from monthly reports issued by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) shows that acts of terrorism killed a total of 12,038 Iraqis and injured 14,411 others in 2016. Iraqi forces advance on Mosul, kill Takfiris On Saturday, Iraqi forces made fresh gains against Takfiri militants in their push to liberate the northern city of Mosul, the last Daesh stronghold in the country, killing some 200 terrorists. The commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, said a unit of the Iraqi army had hoisted the national flag over buildings in the village of Arkub, situated in the north of Hudaba neighborhood. The Arabic-language al-Forat news agency also reported that members of the Popular Mobilization Units, backed by federal police forces, retook the village of Shukran after engaging terrorists and killing a large number of them. Meanwhile, Iraq’s War Media Cell said policemen had clashed with Daesh elements in Mosul’s southeast, releasing several trapped locals. Separately, Iraq’s Defense Ministry reported that two militant mortar firing positions and six vehicles had been destroyed in Arkub. Some 55 militants died on the northern front of the Mosul battle. On the eastern front, two explosives-laden vehicles were destroyed and 45 militants were killed in clashes with Iraqi army soldiers. In southern Mosul, federal police forces got rid of seven explosives-packed vehicles and killed 86 Daesh terrorists. Iraqi army troops and allied fighters launched a long-awaited operation to recapture Mosul on October 17. Defeating Daesh in the city would be a major blow to the Takfiri outfit that began its campaign of terror in northern and western Iraq more than two years ago. Earlier this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said it would take three months to rid the country of Daesh. ||||| BAGHDAD — A pair of suicide bombings minutes apart hit a central Baghdad market on Saturday, killing 28 people and wounding at least 54, prompting security forces to ban traffic from key streets at the centre of the Iraqi capital, police and hospital officials said. The twin attacks hit al-Sinak, a busy market selling car accessories, food and clothes as well as agricultural seeds and machinery. Minutes after the first suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden belt, the second one struck amid the crowd that gathered, according to the officials. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks in al-Sanak in a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, confirming that the blasts came from a pair of suicide bombers. Later on Saturday, three separate attacks in and around Baghdad killed eight people and wounded 17. Those killed included one policeman. ||||| BAGHDAD — A pair of suicide bombings minutes apart hit a central Baghdad market on Saturday, killing 28 people and wounding at least 54, prompting security forces to ban traffic from key streets at the centre of the Iraqi capital, police and hospital officials said. The twin attacks hit al-Sinak, a busy market selling car accessories, food and clothes as well as agricultural seeds and machinery. Minutes after the first suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden belt, the second one struck amid the crowd that gathered, according to the officials. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks in al-Sanak in a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, confirming that the blasts came from a pair of suicide bombers. Later on Saturday, three separate attacks in and around Baghdad killed eight people and wounded 17. Those killed included one policeman. ||||| ISIS: Terror group claims attack in southern Iraq kills at least seven Jihadist attacks in the overwhelmingly Shiite south of Iraq are rare but there have been infiltrations from the western desert of Anbar in recent months. An attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a police checkpoint in southern Iraq left at least seven people dead on Sunday, officials said. Gunmen wearing suicide vests and driving an explosives-laden vehicle opened fire on the checkpoint near the town of Qadisiyah, which lies around 180 kilometres (110 miles) south of Baghdad. "The security forces fought back, killing the attackers and blowing up the car," an interior ministry statement said. "They were planning to head to Najaf to blow themselves up there," interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said, referring to a holy Shiite city around 40 kilometres (25 miles) to the north. Maan said seven people were killed by the attackers and 15 wounded. He said five policemen were among the dead. The military commander for the area, Major General Qais al-Rahaima, gave the same death toll and said at least 11 were wounded. Jihadist attacks in the overwhelmingly Shiite south of Iraq are rare but there have been infiltrations from the western desert of Anbar in recent months. Najaf is considered a religious capital for Iraq’s Shiite majority and has always been seen as a major potential target for IS, which views Shiites as heretics. The jihadist group claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack in a statement that said five of its suicide attackers had been killed and putting the number of victims killed and wounded at 100. The group had also claimed twin bombings at a market area in central Baghdad on Saturday that left at least 27 people dead and more than 50 wounded. This post was syndicated from pulse.ng - Nigeria's entertainment & lifestyle platform online. Click here to read the full text on the original website. Also, Like us on facebook ||||| A suicide car bomb killed at least 18 people when it exploded Monday in a busy market area of Baghdad, Iraqi officials said, hours after the arrival of French President François Hollande. A suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden vehicle Monday in a bustling market area in Baghdad, killing at least 18 people, Iraqi officials said, hours after the arrival of French President Francois Hollande to the country and amid a fierce fight against the Islamic State group. The bomber driving a pickup truck attacked an outdoor fruit and vegetable market, daily laborers and a police checkpoint in Baghdad's eastern Sadr City district, a police officer said. Up to 25 other people were wounded in that attack, he said, adding that the death toll was expected to rise. Two medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information. No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but it had all the hallmarks of the IS group, which has staged multiple similar attacks in the past. The group claimed responsibility for Saturday's suicide attack in a central Baghdad market, which killed at least 28 people, and Sunday's suicide bombing at a checkpoint south of Baghdad that killed at least nine people. Iraq witnesses near-daily attacks, including in Baghdad, which have been frequently claimed by IS. Late last month, Iraqi authorities started removing some of the security checkpoints in Baghdad, mainly on its eastern side, in a bid to ease traffic for the capital's approximately 6 million residents. The attack came Hollande started an official visit to Iraq to meet officials and French troops. During his one-day visit, Hollande met with Iraqi President Fuad Masum and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in the capital, Baghdad. Later, he'll travel to the country's self-governing northern Kurdish region to meet French troops and local officials. Iraqi troops, backed by a U.S.-led coalition, are fighting IS in a massive operation to retake the northern city of Mosul. Iraqi state TV said Holland will discuss "increasing support to Iraq and the latest developments in the fight against Daesh," the Arabic acronym for IS. In quotes published by the Elysee official Twitter account, Holland promised that France would remain a long-term ally of Iraq and called for coordination between intelligence services "in a spirit of great responsibility." France is part of the U.S.-led international coalition formed in late 2014 to fight IS after the extremist group seized large areas in Iraq and neighboring Syria and declared an Islamic "caliphate." France has suffered multiple terrorist attacks claimed by IS. Hollande, on Twitter, said Iraq was in a precarious position two years ago, when IS made its blitz. But now the tide has turned. "The results are there: Daesh is in retreat and the battle of Mosul is engaged." Since the Mosul operation started on Oct. 17, Iraqi forces have seized around a quarter of the city. Last week, the troops resumed fighting after a two-week lull due to stiff resistance by the militants, bad weather and thousands of civilians trapped in their houses. In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, the senior U.S. military commander, Brig. Gen. Rick Uribe, praised the Iraqi forces fighting mainly on the eastern side of the city, saying they were "at their peak." Uribe agreed with al-Abadi's assessment that it would take another three months to liberate Mosul. He predicted the troops would face a different fight when they cross to the west bank of the Tigris River, saying it will mostly be a "dismounted" battle fought in part on narrow streets, some of which were not wide enough for a vehicle to pass. Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city is located about 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad. While the Syrian city of Raqqa is considered the caliphate's de facto capital, Mosul is the largest city under its control. It is the last major IS urban stronghold in Iraq.
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A suicide car bomb explosion and gunmen attack in Iraqi al-Qadisiya town situated in west of Najaf, kills at least 7 people and injures more than 17 others. Yesterday, 29 people were killed in a bomb explosion at a busy market in Iraq’s capital Baghdad. ISIS claims responsibility.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chief executive of Digital Radio UK tells the Today programme that digital-only is the future of radio Norway is the first country in the world to start switching off its analogue radio signals. The Nordic nation will start turning off the FM signal at 11:11 local time (10:11 GMT) on Wednesday, in favour of Digital Audio Broadcasting, or DAB. The digital signal gives better quality and coverage than analogue - and for about an eighth of the cost. But there are some who are concerned about the switch-off's potential impact on the elderly and motorists. According to a December poll published in the Dagbladet daily newspaper, two-thirds of Norwegians think the government is moving too quickly. By the end of the year, national networks will only be available on DAB, while local stations have five years to make the switch. And despite 70% of Norway's listeners already using DAB to tune into their favourite stations, critics say too many people will be forced to make expensive upgrades to their equipment. A new car radio, for example, costs in the region of NOK4,000 ($468; £382). Image copyright AFP Image caption Judith Haaland, 98, pictured in her home in Stavanger, remembers listening to the radio from London during the Second World War "Norway is not prepared for this. There are millions of radios in homes, cottages and boats that won't work anymore and only around 25% of cars in Norway have digital radios or adapters,'' said Svein Larsen, of the Norwegian Local Radio Association. Others, however, want to cling onto FM - invented in the US in 1933 - for the memories. Marius Lillelien, head of radio at the national broadcaster NRK, said: "Of course there is a lot of nostalgia in radio. That's one of the reasons this switch is so controversial. "But that means people love radio and nostalgia is an asset to us whether we are broadcasting in analogue or on DAB." Ministers remain undaunted by the change, and countries like Switzerland and Britain - both considering a switch to digital networks - will no doubt be closely watching how the switch goes over the next few months. ||||| Unhappiness over the airwaves Christophe Boulze/plainpicture Norway will be the first country to start turning off FM radio. Over the course of 2017, the FM radio network will slowly be switched off, with listeners only able to listen to digital programmes instead. The northern county of Nordland will cease to broadcast FM radio from tomorrow, with other regions following suit throughout the year. Many countries have toyed with the idea of parting company with FM, but a combination of ageing equipment and geography mean Norway is particularly keen to replace its analogue FM system with digital audio broadcasting (DAB). Advertisement “Norway has many mountains and valleys that the robust nature of DAB can help with,” says Stephen Lax at the University of Leeds, UK. This terrain can distort FM signals. “Additionally, its FM radio infrastructure was coming to the end of its life, so they would’ve needed to either replace it or fully commit to DAB anyway.” Digital signals are also more efficient. “DAB can run at lower power levels so the infrastructure electricity bills are lower. Also the sound quality is better,” says Lax. Packing in the stations By dropping the FM system, the Norwegian government believes it will save 200 million Norwegian krone (£19 million) a year. The move will also allow it to expand the number of radio stations on offer, as DAB has greater capacity than FM. Norway currently has five national FM radio stations. With DAB, it will be able to have around 40. Although the switch is expected to save money, it is likely to end up costing the general public in the short term. Digital Radio Norway estimates that 7.9 million radio sets will be affected, and that only 20 per cent of car radios in Norway can pick up DAB. Although DAB radios are not much more expensive than FM radios, converting a car radio can cost around 1500 krone (£140). As a result, around two-thirds of people oppose the switch and just 16 per cent support it, according to a poll by Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet. No other nations have yet announced official dates to turn off their own FM networks, but Switzerland is expected to be next, says Lax. “In many countries, it’ll still be a long time before digital radios are popular enough for a switch not to antagonise a lot of people.” ||||| A driver adjusts an FM radio inside a car in Oslo on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Norway began to phase out analog signals in favor of digital broadcasting. [NTB Scanpix via AP] OSLO, Norway — Norway opened a chapter in telecommunications history Wednesday, becoming the first country to cease FM radio broadcasting. The switch, to digital broadcasting, is intended to save money, but critics are worried about the effect on drivers and listeners of small radio stations. The move to "radio digitization" was decided by parliament in 2011, and a timetable was announced in 2015. At 11:11 a.m. — a time chosen because it was easy to remember, according to the national broadcaster, NRK — nationwide radio channels began stopping FM broadcasts, switching to a system known as digital audio broadcasting that proponents say offers a wider range of broadcasting options and greater sound quality. The change is occurring county by county, starting with Nordland, in the north of Norway. Oslo, the capital, will turn off FM broadcasting in September, and the process will be completed nationwide by Dec. 13. Norway's Culture Ministry estimated that it would save 180 million kroner a year ($25 million). FM broadcasting originated in the United States in the 1930s and arrived in Norway in the 1950s. Other countries have considered dropping FM broadcasting, including Britain, Switzerland and Denmark, but no decision has been made; Sweden considered the switch but abandoned the idea. Some Norwegians, like Benjamin Stage Storm, a hospital doctor living in Bodo, in Nordland, said the change was no big deal for him and his family. "We don't listen much to radio, and in the car we have a SD card reader," which lets users play prerecorded music stored on tiny digital cards, he said in a phone interview, "so we listen to music on that, almost old-time mix tapes." He added: "We do listen to radio shows, but we get them from podcasts or off the SD cards." Stage Storm said, however, that the government and NRK were spending a "vast amount of resources on shutting down a functional system and at the same time pushing lots of people into scrapping their otherwise well-working radios." The change is good news for radio sellers, however. Camilla Tully, a spokeswoman for the retail chain Clas Ohlson, said the demand for digital radios had grown steadily since parliament's vote in 2011. "The sale of DAB radios exploded before Christmas, and the sales tripled over the last couple of months," she said in a phone interview. "Before Christmas, we were sold out of several models. These days the demand is particularly high in Nordland, both for DAB radio and DAB adapters for car stereos." Oyvind Vasaasen, an official at NRK who is overseeing the change, said that Norway had been an "early mover" in digital radio, introducing internet radio broadcasting as far back as 1995. Given the size of the country — with its mountains and fjords — and its small population, it is particularly expensive to offer both FM and digital audio broadcasting, he said. "The costs of maintaining an upgraded FM system would in the long run affect the quality of programs we can offer the listeners," he said. "Digitizing the radio media is part of the modernization of Norway." Aage Sveum, a radio collector, expressed fears that the change would put drivers at risk. "What is the purpose of having a mandatory emergency alert system if no one has radios in their cars anymore?" he asked. Nils Sodal, a spokesman for the Norwegian Automobile Federation, echoed that concern, noting that about 2 million cars in Norway still did not have digital radios. He said the association did not oppose the switch, but was worried that many motorists would not switch to the digital radios. A new car radio costs about 2,000 kroner ($230). Thor Magnar Thorsen, the vice president of the Association of Local Radio Stations in Norway, told the newspaper Dagbladet last year that the change might come "at the expense of smaller radio stations." Stephen Lax, a senior lecturer in communication technology at the University of Leeds in England, said he was not certain that Norway's switch would portend a trend. "Norway has a small and relatively affluent population that can be convinced into making the transition, in spite of the costs for the consumers," he said. "Norway's switch could prove a symbolic moment in the history of radio broadcasting, but not a significant one, in the sense that it's not going to start a snowball rolling." He added: "Closing down the FM is not even on the horizon for the United States, where FM will be around for a long, long time." In addition, he said, digital audio broadcasting is mostly used in Europe, whereas many Americans who use digital radio have opted for HD radio, which broadcasts a digital signal over traditional radio frequencies. Marko Ala-Fossi, an adjunct professor at the School of Communication, Media and Theater at the University of Tampere in Finland, added a cautionary note. "Norway is now conducting a massive experiment with the future of radio on a national scale with no guarantee of success," he said. "You can lose older listeners without any prospect of recruiting younger listeners." Switching to digital broadcasting "might speed up a process where radio can become socially irrelevant, at a time where other medias are growing and converging," Ala-Fossi said. But, he added, the country would find it hard to retreat from its decision, as it had become "a matter of national prestige." ||||| Norway began shutting down analogue radio technology Wednesday as the Scandinavian country becomes the first in the world to phase out the FM signal for national and some regional broadcasting. The FM signal was switched off in the Arctic Nordland district in favor of digital audio broadcasting, or DAB. READ MORE: Norway to shut down FM radio in favour of digital in bold move The switchover was performed by radio listener Bertih Pauline Olderskog who moved a lever to drum rolls and a countdown from the audience at a public library in Bodoe, northern Norway. Olderskog said she had been listening to FM radio for more than 70 years. Graham Dixon, head of the European Broadcasting Union’s radio unit who took part in the event that was webcasted, said the switchover shows that “media can be renewed for the contemporary world.” The head of the public Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, Thor Gjermund Eriksen, called it a “historic moment.” Norway’s gradual switch to digital and the shutdown process is due to be completed by Dec. 13. According to critics, the switch to digital could leave millions of vehicles without DAB capability without radio. Some have said the change could put motorists at risk, saying drivers could miss important announcements, including emergencies or road condition updates. The Norwegian government has cited its landscape with deep fjords, high mountains and scattered communities for making it expensive to operate FM networks. Norway’s parliament made the decision in May 2011. An estimated US $23.4 million will be saved, according to official figures. ||||| Norway first world country to turn off analogue FM radio in digital move Norway on Wednesday began turning off analogue FM radio, making it the first country in the world to fully transition to digital audio broadcasting (DAB), broadcasting officials said. At 11.11 am (1011 GMT), the analogue FM broadcasting system in the northern county of Nordland was shut down, as public broadcaster NRK and other commercial broadcasters switched over to the DAB standard. “It was a historic moment,” NRK broadcasting Chief Thor Gjermnund Eriksen said, noting that Norway was the first country in the world to make such a transition on a nationwide basis. The move will ultimately see both state and commercial broadcasters leave FM radio for DAB, which is said to be more robust and use less power to operate, while offering more channels and better audio quality than Norway’s ageing FM broadcast equipment. Norway’s topography with many small communities spread across mountains and valleys, difficult to reach with FM radio, has also been cited for the switch. Eriksen observed that “for the first time everyone in Norway will have an equal offering from NRK,” regardless if they live in the capital Oslo or the municipality of Rost that is part of the Lofoten archipelago off northern Norway. Parliament approved the transition in 2011, and the government said the transition was to be completed by December 13 in the country of about 4.2 million. Listeners will need a DAB radio set, smartphone or computer to listen to DAB broadcasts, and many motorists will need to convert their car radios. The post Norway first world country to turn off analogue FM radio in digital move appeared first on Vanguard News. This post was syndicated from Vanguard News. Click here to read the full text on the original website. Also, Like us on facebook ||||| Norway has become the first country in the world to begin shutting down its FM radio service. The Scandinavian country will leave only digital radio channels operating, on ‘DAB’ radios. The switchover in the Arctic Nordland district was performed by wireless listener Bertih Pauline Olderskog who moved a lever to drum rolls and a countdown from the audience at a public library in Bodoe, northern Norway. Miss Olderskog said she had been listening to FM radio for more than 70 years. The head of the public Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, Thor Gjermund Eriksen, called it a ‘historic moment’. The switchover process is due to be completed by December 13. The Norwegian government has cited its landscape with deep fjords, high mountains and scattered communities for making it expensive to operate FM networks. However, it has led some criticism because millions of cars, in particular, are fitted only with FM radios which will become obsolete. ||||| Norway is set to become the first nation to start switching off its FM radio network next week, in a risky and unpopular leap to digital technology that will be closely watched by other countries considering whether to follow suit. Critics say the government is rushing the move and many people may miss warnings on emergencies that have until now been broadcast via the radio. Of particular concern are the 2 million cars on Norway’s roads that are not equipped with Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) receivers, they say. Sixty-six percent of Norwegians oppose switching off FM, with just 17 percent in favour and the rest undecided, according to an opinion poll published by the daily Dagbladet last month. Nevertheless, parliament gave the final go-ahead for the move last month, swayed by the fact that digital networks can carry more radio channels. Switzerland plans a similar shift from 2020, and Britain and Denmark are among those also considering such a switch. A smooth transition to DAB, which is already beamed across Norway, could encourage these countries to move ahead. The shutdown of the FM (Frequency Modulation) network, introduced in the 1950s, will begin in the northern city of Bodoe on Jan. 11. By the end of the year, all national FM broadcasts will be closed in favour of DAB, which backers say carries less hiss and clearer sound throughout the large nation of 5 million people cut by fjords and mountains. “We’re the first country to switch off FM but there are several countries going in the same direction,” said Ole Joergen Torvmark, head of Digital Radio Norway, which is owned by national broadcasters NRK and P4 to help the transition. Torvmark said cars were the “biggest challenge” – a good digital adapter for an FM car radio costs 1,500 Norwegian crowns ($174.70), he said. One member of the ruling coalition was scathing, however, voicing concerns similar to those expressed by thousands of elderly and drivers in surveys and elsewhere. “We are simply not ready for this yet,” Ib Thomsen, an MP from the Progress Party, a partner in the Conservative-led government, told Reuters. “There are 2 million cars on Norwegian roads that don’t have DAB receivers, and millions of radios in Norwegian homes will stop working when the FM net is switched off. So there is definitely a safety concern,” he said. For the same cost, digital radio in Norway allows eight times more radio stations than FM. The current system of parallel FM and digital networks, each of which cost about 250 million crowns ($29 million), saps investments in programmes. Among other nations, Britain plans to review the need for a switchover once digital listening reaches 50 percent. That could be reached by the end of 2017 on current trends, Digital Radio UK spokeswoman Yvette Dore said. ||||| In this handout photo provided by Disney Parks, A general view of the Disney Magic cruise arriving in Geiranger, Norway on June 10, 2015 in Geiranger, Norway.(Photo : Disneyland Parks via Getty Images/Matt Stroshane) Mountains are reflected in a still section of water on the morning of Midsummer on June 21, 2008 in Longyearbyen, Norway.(Photo : Getty Images/Chris Jackson) Residents of the northern county of Nordland in Norway will say goodbye to their beloved FM radio programming starting tomorrow. An all-digital radio format will replace aging FM radio broadcasts and reports say that digital would have better sound quality and will cost less as well. Nordland, located in the middle of fjords, mountains and forests, is the first to official sign off FM and the rest of the country is expected to follow suit. Norway will be the first country to completely stop FM broadcasts and embrace digital radio broadcasts; Switzerland is expected to follow. Independent reported on Norway's all-digital switch and said that the Norwegian government plans to start digital-only radio throughout the year. Norway's capital, Oslo is expected to save around 200 million Norwegian krone a year once the switch is made. It has become more difficult to transmit FM radios over the region with mountain ranges, fjords and forests blocking the air waves. The New Scientist mentioned that the country's geography in particular, has made analog radio transmission very difficult. Digital radio would be able to reach more people, would have better sound quality and would be able to run at lower power. Norway's FM radio infrastructure is also ageing and committing to a full-digital broadcast would happen anyway. While the government is expected to save a lot of money from the switch, ordinary people are not quite impressed. Only 70% of the country has digital receivers while most cars on the road do not have digital radio yet. People rely on FM not just for entertainment but also for weather reports, traffic updates and news; cutting off FM radio could be dangerous for some homes and motorists. Converting from an analog radio to digital radio could also cost more. An adapter to convert FM radio to digital radio costs around 1,500 Norwegian krone. But despite all these set backs, the government is optimistic about the change. Around 40 digital radio channels are also expected to replace 5 FM radio stations. After Norway, Switzerland will cease FM transmission by 2020. U.K. will also phase out FM once the number of people using digital radio has reached 50%. ||||| Norway: Country becomes first to turn off FM radio The government said the transition was to be completed by Dec. 13, 2016 in the country of about 4.2 million. Norway on Wednesday began turning off analogue FM radio, making it the first country in the world to fully transition to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB). Thor Eriksen, NRK Broadcasting Chief, in Stockholm, said it was an historic moment, at 11.11 a.m. (1011 GMT), when the analogue FM broadcasting system in the northern county of Nordland was shut down and other commercial broadcasters switched over to the DAB standard. “Norway was the first country in the world to make such a transition on a nationwide basis,’’ he said. He said that the move would ultimately see both state and commercial broadcasters leave FM radio for DAB. Eriksen noted that DAB was said to be more robust and use less power to operate, while offering more channels and better audio quality than Norway’s ageing FM broadcast equipment. “Norway’s topography with many small communities spread across mountains and valleys, difficult to reach with FM radio, has also been cited for the switch,’’ he said. Eriksen observed that “for the first time everyone in Norway will have an equal offering from NRK, regardless if they live in the capital Oslo or the municipality of Rost that is part of the Lofoten archipelago off northern Norway.’’ “Listeners will need a DAB radio set, Smartphone or computer to listen to DAB broadcasts, and many motorists will need to convert their car radios." The parliament approved the transition in 2011. The government said the transition was to be completed by Dec. 13, 2016 in the country of about 4.2 million. This post was syndicated from pulse.ng - Nigeria's entertainment & lifestyle platform online. Click here to read the full text on the original website. Also, Like us on facebook ||||| Norway on Wednesday began turning off analogue FM radio, making it the first country in the world to fully transition to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB). Thor Eriksen, NRK Broadcasting Chief, in Stockholm, said it was an historic moment, at 11.11 a.m. (1011 GMT), when the analogue FM broadcasting system in the northern county of Nordland was shut down and other commercial broadcasters switched over to the DAB standard. “Norway was the first country in the world to make such a transition on a nationwide basis,” he said. He said that the move would ultimately see both state and commercial broadcasters leave FM radio for DAB. Mr. Eriksen noted that DAB was said to be more robust and use less power to operate, while offering more channels and better audio quality than Norway’s ageing FM broadcast equipment. “Norway’s topography with many small communities spread across mountains and valleys, difficult to reach with FM radio, has also been cited for the switch,” he said. Mr. Eriksen observed that “for the first time everyone in Norway will have an equal offering from NRK, regardless if they live in the capital Oslo or the municipality of Rost that is part of the Lofoten archipelago off northern Norway.” “Listeners will need a DAB radio set, Smartphone or computer to listen to DAB broadcasts, and many motorists will need to convert their car radios. The parliament approved the transition in 2011. The government said the transition was to be completed by December 13, 2016 in the country of about 4.2 million.
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Norway becomes the first country to start a complete switch-off of national FM radio stations. The change, from the analogue FM system to digital audio broadcasting, is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Some, such as the Norwegian Local Radio Association, are concerned about the impact on motorists and the elderly.
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At least six survivors, including children, have been found inside the rubble of a ski hotel in central Italy that was engulfed by an avalanche on Wednesday. Several of the survivors have been extricated from the remains of Hotel Rigopiano. But around two dozen people remain missing, Christopher Livesay reports for NPR from Rome, while four others have been confirmed dead. The death toll is expected to rise. Tourists staying at the hotel had checked out and were waiting for roads to be cleared when an avalanche, possibly triggered by earthquakes on Wednesday, swept over and into the hotel. Two men, outside the building when the avalanche began, were located alive — but until Friday morning, there had been no sign of life inside the snow-covered resort. Rescuers were overheard by The Associated Press saying over the radio that they had found people alive. The number of survivors located Friday might be as high as eight, according to some Italian news outlets. After talking with the trapped people, firefighters and other rescuers worked to free them from the snow and debris. The ANSA news agency says rescue operations proceeded in two stages, with six people being extracted — including two children — and then two more people. The AP reports that the "incredible" discovery boosted the spirits of rescue crews: From very early on, rescue crews knew that at least some people had survived the initial disaster — a few people buried alive sent text messages, according to reports in Italian media on Thursday. "Italian daily La Repubblica reports that one of those texts read, 'Help, help, we're freezing to death,' " Livesay says. But rescue operations have been challenging. Those inside the hotel were trapped by 17 feet of snow as well as by the rubble, the AP reports. Walls were collapsed by the force of the avalanche, and entire one wing of the hotel was pushed downhill. Transport has also been hampered by the narrow, snow-covered roads in the region. The first rescue teams arrived on skis; the next wave, by helicopter. Attempts to reach the region by vehicle have been slow, according to the AP, with snow piled 10 feet high and a 5.5-mile stretch of road able to take only one-way traffic. "By late Thursday, only 25 vehicles had arrived, along with 135 rescue workers, and civil protection authorities said part of the night was spent trying to widen the road," the AP writes. Rescuers are also fighting against the clock, Livesay reported earlier. "Chances of survival are waning amid nightfall and plunging temperatures," he says. Meanwhile, even as rescue operations are ongoing, Italian media and officials are already considering the question of responsibility. "State prosecutors have launched an investigation to find out if the disaster could have been averted," Livesay reports. "An avalanche warning had already been in effect, so the question is: Why wasn't the hotel evacuated before the avalanche, when it's at the base of a snowy mountain in an area that's prone to earthquakes?" ||||| An avalanche in central Italy has buried a ski resort, leaving 30 people missing and prompting a frantic rescue effort. The avalanche appeared to be triggered by four earthquakes that shook the Abruzzo region on Wednesday, says Christopher Livesay, reporting for NPR from Rome. The disaster struck in the same mountainous region where a powerful earthquake last summer killed nearly 300 people. "The wall of snow blasted the Hotel Rigopiano ski resort as roughly 30 guests and employees slept," Livesay reports. "The civil protection agency told Italian news agency ANSA that there were 'many dead' beneath the snow and rubble, in the central Italian town of Farindola. "Narrow mountain roads and icy weather are hampering rescue efforts," he says. The first rescuers to reach the hotel traveled on skis, ANSA reports, while more teams followed by helicopter. Footage of the hotel's interior showed hallways filled with snow, skylights cracking beneath the weight of the snow above and walls that had been smashed through by the force of the avalanche. Italian media are reporting that some guests at the Hotel Rigopiano managed to send text messages after the avalanche trapped them inside the hotel. One message, according to local media reports, came from a couple who said, "Help, we're dying of cold." One survivor, according to ANSA, told rescuers he was spared by the avalanche because he stepped outside to get something from his car, but that his wife and children were trapped inside. The AP notes that there are other rescue efforts active in the region, which "has been pummeled by more than a meter (three feet) of snow in recent days": "[Storms] have knocked out power and phone lines and blocked roads, isolating towns and hamlets. " 'We have been abandoned by everyone!' marveled one resident from the province of Teramo, Daiana Nguyen, on Sky TG24. 'They talk about sending in the army: Thirty to 40 men came with shovels. We need heavy machinery.' "Nguyen said people have been stuck in their homes for days." Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has urged the authorities to "multiply their efforts" and work to reach trapped people — both in the hotel and in the neighboring hamlets — as quickly as possible. ||||| An avalanche in central Italy has buried a ski resort, leaving 30 people missing and prompting a frantic rescue effort. The avalanche appeared to be triggered by four earthquakes that shook the Abruzzo region on Wednesday, says Christopher Livesay, reporting for NPR from Rome. The disaster struck in the same mountainous region where a powerful earthquake last summer killed nearly 300 people. "The wall of snow blasted the Hotel Rigopiano ski resort as roughly 30 guests and employees slept," Livesay reports. "The civil protection agency told Italian news agency ANSA that there were 'many dead' beneath the snow and rubble, in the central Italian town of Farindola. "Narrow mountain roads and icy weather are hampering rescue efforts," he says. The first rescuers to reach the hotel traveled on skis, ANSA reports, while more teams followed by helicopter. Footage of the hotel's interior showed hallways filled with snow, skylights cracking beneath the weight of the snow above and walls that had been smashed through by the force of the avalanche. Italian media are reporting that some guests at the Hotel Rigopiano managed to send text messages after the avalanche trapped them inside the hotel. One message, according to local media reports, came from a couple who said, "Help, we're dying of cold." One survivor, according to ANSA, told rescuers he was spared by the avalanche because he stepped outside to get something from his car, but that his wife and children were trapped inside. The AP notes that there are other rescue efforts active in the region, which "has been pummeled by more than a meter (three feet) of snow in recent days": "[Storms] have knocked out power and phone lines and blocked roads, isolating towns and hamlets. " 'We have been abandoned by everyone!' marveled one resident from the province of Teramo, Daiana Nguyen, on Sky TG24. 'They talk about sending in the army: Thirty to 40 men came with shovels. We need heavy machinery.' "Nguyen said people have been stuck in their homes for days." Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has urged the authorities to "multiply their efforts" and work to reach trapped people — both in the hotel and in the neighboring hamlets — as quickly as possible. ||||| PENNE, Italy (CNN) -- Rescuers are working in freezing conditions to find as many as 30 people feared trapped in a hotel in central Italy, more than a day after it was buried by an avalanche. Two people were killed when the four-star Hotel Rigopiano, at the foot of the Gran Sasso mountain about (135 kilometers) 85 miles northeast of Rome, was swallowed by snow after a series of earthquakes. "There are many dead," Alpine rescuer Antonio Crocetta told Italian state media ANSA Thursday. Officials say some could have survived in air pockets within the building, however rescuers so far have found no signs of life. "We are calling out but no one is answering," one searcher told ANSA. Officials based estimates of the missing on guest registration and staff numbers. The hotel has 43 rooms, according to website TripAdvisor. Italian fire department spokesman Luca Cari, who was at the scene, told CNN that the hotel had been "completely slammed" in the avalanche and debris was scattered as far as 100 meters from the hotel structure, making the search area large. Two people were rescued from the site of the hotel, Civil Protection Department chief Fabrizio Curcio told journalists. One man, vacationing with his wife and two children, 6 and 8, said he missed being caught in the destruction only because he had walked to his car just before the avalanche hit. "The avalanche came down and I was buried in snow, but I managed to get out. The car was not buried so I waited there for the rescuers to come," Giampiero Parete was reported to have said. The whereabouts of his wife and children were unknown Thursday. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said the country hadn't seen this much snowfall in decades. The deep snow combined with the earthquake created a perfect storm of sorts, exacerbating the aftermath of the temblor. "For the weather, you tell people to stay in their homes, while for the earthquake, citizens must be brought outside. Putting together these two elements is extremely complicated," Curcio said. Access to the hotel been difficult, but road crews cleared much of the snow and fallen trees by nighttime Thursday, finally allowing heavy rescue equipment to reach the hotel. Snow machines and helicopters had earlier taken searchers, including dogs, up the mountain. Rescuers battled blizzards and strong winds to reach the site, some having to ski for several kilometers in the darkness to get there because some roads were impassable. When they arrived, they found only the building's top story and roof visible above the snow, Italy's Mountain Rescue Service said on social media. It also posted a picture of rescuers digging for survivors. Video recorded by rescue teams showed what appears to be a smashed wall or window in the hotel's lobby, with tree branches, snow and other debris piled on the floor. The heavy snowfall in the 24 hour-period after the quake means that the risk of more avalanches is still high high, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said. Central Italy was rocked by more than 10 earthquakes Wednesday, four of them above magnitude 5, according to the US Geological Survey. Rescuers were still trying to get to other areas isolated by the avalanche, Gentiloni said, and authorities were hoping to bring power back to as many as 90,000 people who were left in darkness overnight from the extreme weather. An initial 5.3-magnitude quake hit in the morning near the town of of Amatrice, which was devastated by powerful earthquakes in August. The tremors continued for more than six hours, with one as strong as magnitude 5.7. While the epicenter was 90 kilometers (about 55 miles) northeast of Rome, the quake was felt in the capital. CNN's Barbie Nadeau reported from Rome, while CNN's Angela Dewan reported and wrote from London. CNN's Milena Veselinovic, Joshua Berlinger and Brandon Miller contributed to this report. ||||| Rescue workers in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, fearful about plummeting night-time temperatures, were in a race against time Thursday searching for survivors after an avalanche of snow, ice and mud flattened a resort hotel with up to 30 guests and staff members inside. Three bodies were recovered in the piles of debris, but hopes of finding people alive were hampered by the agonizingly slow process of getting heavy equipment to the scene. "The sun is starting to set here and the temperatures are dropping," said Giovanni Bianchi, a commander with Italy's civil protection. "The worry is that if there's a survivor we haven't found yet, they could risk freezing." As the recovery effort dragged on and no sounds were heard from the pile of snow and rubble, Abruzzo Alpine rescuer Antonio Crocetta told the Italian news agency ANSA that "there are many dead." The Hotel Rigopiano in the town of Farindola was ripped from its foundation and almost completely covered by a wall of snow and debris up to 35 feet tall, triggered by a series of earthquakes that shook the region Wednesday. Heavy snowfall kept ambulances from approaching within 5 miles of the property. Some rescue workers arrived by foot, snowmobile and helicopter, local media reported. Workers were able to access parts of the structure and documented hallways crammed with snow, ice and debris, along with the remnants of festive decorations. One rescue worker who spoke on local TV station RAI said there was no sign of life in the decimated hotel. Antonio Di Marco, president of the provincial government, said on social media that two people were found alive. One of them, Giampaolo Parete, a 38-year-old tourist, said he was saved because he left the hotel to retrieve something from his car parked outside. His wife and two children were inside the building, he said. Premier Paolo Gentiloni urged authorities to redouble rescue efforts as he sought to deflect criticism. He told reporters Thursday that the priority is to reach all isolated towns and hamlets buried under snowfall for days before being jolted by the powerful quakes Wednesday. Residents have been complaining of being left without electricity because of what Gentiloni called a “record snowfall.” Criticism has also come in about the response time to reach the buried hotel. "We have been abandoned by everyone!” marveled one resident from the province of Teramo, Daiana Nguyen, on Sky TG24. “They talk about sending in the army: Thirty to 40 men came with shovels. We need heavy machinery.” Nguyen said people have been stuck in their homes for days. “Help, we’re dying of cold,” one couple wrote rescuers, according to the ANSA news agency. Another man, identified by news reports as Fabio Salzetta, sent a text message saying he escaped with a maintenance worker, but that others were trapped inside. Corriere della Sera quoted the message as saying: “Some walls were knocked down.” And: “I’m outside with a maintenance worker but you can’t see anything of the hotel, there’s only a wall of snow in front of me.” Wednesday’s earthquakes did not directly impact Farindola, but the temblors apparently unsettled snow on the slopes of the majestic Gran Sasso, a 9,554-foot-tall peak that dominates the region. Because of its proximity to Rome, Italy’s capital and largest city, the area around the Gran Sasso is popular with tourists on day trips or overnight excursions. The weather in the area had been particularly good for skiing in recent days — cold and crisp with heavy snowfall. Before the avalanche, staff members at the four-star hotel tweeted: “A dream Tuesday at Rigopiano … the snow is giving us a spectacular panorama.” Gilberto Petrucci, municipal assessor for the nearby town of Penne, said the entire region is suffering. “We’re on our knees in the communities around here, we can’t take much more,” Petrucci said. He added that heavy snow has isolated Penne’s 13,000 residents from other cities. Authorities in the area closed schools and most non-essential business until at least Monday in the wake of the earthquakes and the avalanche. Freezing temperatures and snowfall are forecast until the weekend. Wednesday’s earthquakes — at least a dozen that measured between magnitude 5.1 and 5.7 — were the third round of temblors in Abruzzo in five months. The region is still recovering from a series of earthquakes in August that killed more than 200 people. In Amatrice, close to the epicenter of the latest quakes, the Renaissance-era bell tower at the church of Sant-Agostino collapsed after being severely damaged in last year’s disaster. The latest quakes left several hundred people homeless and cut electricity to more than 100,000 homes in the region. ||||| Earthquake Triggers Avalanche at Spa in Italian Mountains An avalanche buried a four-star spa hotel in a mountainous earthquake-hit region of central Italy, leaving at least 30 people missing, authorities said on Thursday. Footage from rescuers showed the destruction inside the Hotel Rigopiano. (Published Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017) Rescuers found eight people alive inside a Italian hotel that was buried under an avalanche, Italy's Civil Protection Agency confirmed to NBC News Friday. It was wasn't immediately clear whether the survivors had been removed from the Hotel Rigopiano in Farindola. They had been trapped for more than 40 hours. “We always hoped to find someone alive. The fact we found people alive after so many hours give us even more hope," said Titti Postiglione of the Civil Protection Agency. Up to 30 people, including an unspecified number of children, were reported missing after an avalanche buried the four-star hotel on Wednesday. ||||| Rescue workers in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, fearful about plummeting night-time temperatures, were in a race against time Thursday searching for survivors after an avalanche of snow, ice and mud flattened a resort hotel with up to 30 guests and staff members inside. Three bodies were recovered in the piles of debris, but hopes of finding people alive were hampered by the agonizingly slow process of getting heavy equipment to the scene. "The sun is starting to set here and the temperatures are dropping," said Giovanni Bianchi, a commander with Italy's civil protection. "The worry is that if there's a survivor we haven't found yet, they could risk freezing." As the recovery effort dragged on and no sounds were heard from the pile of snow and rubble, Abruzzo Alpine rescuer Antonio Crocetta told the Italian news agency ANSA that "there are many dead." The Hotel Rigopiano in the town of Farindola was ripped from its foundation and almost completely covered by a wall of snow and debris up to 35 feet tall, triggered by a series of earthquakes that shook the region Wednesday. Heavy snowfall kept ambulances from approaching within 5 miles of the property. Some rescue workers arrived by foot, snowmobile and helicopter, local media reported. Workers were able to access parts of the structure and documented hallways crammed with snow, ice and debris, along with the remnants of festive decorations. One rescue worker who spoke on local TV station RAI said there was no sign of life in the decimated hotel. Antonio Di Marco, president of the provincial government, said on social media that two people were found alive. One of them, Giampaolo Parete, a 38-year-old tourist, said he was saved because he left the hotel to retrieve something from his car parked outside. His wife and two children were inside the building, he said. Premier Paolo Gentiloni urged authorities to redouble rescue efforts as he sought to deflect criticism. He told reporters Thursday that the priority is to reach all isolated towns and hamlets buried under snowfall for days before being jolted by the powerful quakes Wednesday. Residents have been complaining of being left without electricity because of what Gentiloni called a “record snowfall.” Criticism has also come in about the response time to reach the buried hotel. "We have been abandoned by everyone!” marveled one resident from the province of Teramo, Daiana Nguyen, on Sky TG24. “They talk about sending in the army: Thirty to 40 men came with shovels. We need heavy machinery.” Nguyen said people have been stuck in their homes for days. “Help, we’re dying of cold,” one couple wrote rescuers, according to the ANSA news agency. Another man, identified by news reports as Fabio Salzetta, sent a text message saying he escaped with a maintenance worker, but that others were trapped inside. Corriere della Sera quoted the message as saying: “Some walls were knocked down.” And: “I’m outside with a maintenance worker but you can’t see anything of the hotel, there’s only a wall of snow in front of me.” Wednesday’s earthquakes did not directly impact Farindola, but the temblors apparently unsettled snow on the slopes of the majestic Gran Sasso, a 9,554-foot-tall peak that dominates the region. Because of its proximity to Rome, Italy’s capital and largest city, the area around the Gran Sasso is popular with tourists on day trips or overnight excursions. The weather in the area had been particularly good for skiing in recent days — cold and crisp with heavy snowfall. Before the avalanche, staff members at the four-star hotel tweeted: “A dream Tuesday at Rigopiano … the snow is giving us a spectacular panorama.” Gilberto Petrucci, municipal assessor for the nearby town of Penne, said the entire region is suffering. “We’re on our knees in the communities around here, we can’t take much more,” Petrucci said. He added that heavy snow has isolated Penne’s 13,000 residents from other cities. Authorities in the area closed schools and most non-essential business until at least Monday in the wake of the earthquakes and the avalanche. Freezing temperatures and snowfall are forecast until the weekend. Wednesday’s earthquakes — at least a dozen that measured between magnitude 5.1 and 5.7 — were the third round of temblors in Abruzzo in five months. The region is still recovering from a series of earthquakes in August that killed more than 200 people. In Amatrice, close to the epicenter of the latest quakes, the Renaissance-era bell tower at the church of Sant-Agostino collapsed after being severely damaged in last year’s disaster. The latest quakes left several hundred people homeless and cut electricity to more than 100,000 homes in the region. ||||| An avalanche hit a popular mountain hotel in central Italy after a series of strong earthquakes had rattled the area, and up to 30 people might be buried under the snow, officials said on Wednesday. “Around 30 people are unaccounted for, between guests and workers at the Hotel Rigopiano in Farindola,” Fabrizio Curcio, head of Italy‘s civil protection department, told reporters. Other officials said it was too early to say if anyone might have died, with the rescue operation hampered by up to 5 metres (16.4 ft) of snow which has fallen on the Gran Sasso mountain range in the central Abruzzo region in recent days. The avalanche collapsed part of the four-storey hotel, which is some 1,200 metres (4,000 ft) above sea level, and moved it some 10 metres (30 ft) according to media reports. A wall of snow and debris hit the hotel on Wednesday evening, just hours after four strong earthquakes had shaken central Italy, sparking fears about possible avalanches. Two men who were outside the building at the time of the disaster and raised the alarm. “I am alive because I went to get something from my car,” one of the two, Giampiero Parete, told medical staff, according to la Repubblica website. Blocked roads in the area meant the first rescuers only arrived at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT) after they had skied through a heavy snow storm to reach the site. After dawn broke, emergency services sent in helicopters. “We’re dropping our rescue units down by helicopter and they are starting to dig,” said Luca Cari, spokesman for the national fire brigades. A base camp for rescue workers was set up in the town of Penne, some 10 km (6 miles) away from the Rigopiano hotel, which was a popular 4-star spa resort with 43 rooms. An aerial shot of the hotel released by the fire brigade showed just the last floor and the roof visible above a thick blanket of snow. Initial television pictures showed that mounds of snow and debris had smashed through a hotel wall into the lobby. Italian media had earlier reported that “many dead” had been found inside the hotel. However officials in the area denied the report. ||||| An avalanche in central Italy has buried a ski resort, leaving 30 people missing and prompting a frantic rescue effort. The avalanche appeared to be triggered by four earthquakes that shook the Abruzzo region on Wednesday, says Christopher Livesay, reporting for NPR from Rome. The disaster struck in the same mountainous region where a powerful earthquake last summer killed nearly 300 people. "The wall of snow blasted the Hotel Rigopiano ski resort as roughly 30 guests and employees slept," Livesay reports. "The civil protection agency told Italian news agency ANSA that there were 'many dead' beneath the snow and rubble, in the central Italian town of Farindola. "Narrow mountain roads and icy weather are hampering rescue efforts," he says. The first rescuers to reach the hotel traveled on skis, ANSA reports, while more teams followed by helicopter. Footage of the hotel's interior showed hallways filled with snow, skylights cracking beneath the weight of the snow above and walls that had been smashed through by the force of the avalanche. Italian media are reporting that some guests at the Hotel Rigopiano managed to send text messages after the avalanche trapped them inside the hotel. One message, according to local media reports, came from a couple who said, "Help, we're dying of cold." One survivor, according to ANSA, told rescuers he was spared by the avalanche because he stepped outside to get something from his car, but that his wife and children were trapped inside. The AP notes that there are other rescue efforts active in the region, which "has been pummeled by more than a meter (three feet) of snow in recent days": "[Storms] have knocked out power and phone lines and blocked roads, isolating towns and hamlets. " 'We have been abandoned by everyone!' marveled one resident from the province of Teramo, Daiana Nguyen, on Sky TG24. 'They talk about sending in the army: Thirty to 40 men came with shovels. We need heavy machinery.' "Nguyen said people have been stuck in their homes for days." Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has urged the authorities to "multiply their efforts" and work to reach trapped people — both in the hotel and in the neighboring hamlets — as quickly as possible. ||||| Hopes of finding survivors dwindled on Thursday more than 24 hours after an avalanche struck a luxury mountain hotel in Italy burying up to 30 people under tonnes of snow and debris. The Civil Protection department said just two bodies had been recovered but its chief said the search for victims and possible survivors would continue through the night. "There is always hope, if there were no hope the rescuers wouldn't give everything they've got," Fabrizio Curcio told reporters. He said his teams would "continue to do everything possible during the night," even though conditions were far more difficult than in daytime. The disaster struck hours after four earthquakes with a magnitude above 5 hit central Italy. Titti Postiglione, head of the department's emergency office, said more snow could fall from peaks in the Gran Sasso mountain range in the central Abruzzo region because the temperature was rising, while further quakes were possible. "This is an enormously complex rescue operation," she said. The gabled peaks of parts of the roof and a row of windows were the only sections of the four-storey Hotel Rigopiano visible after the wall of snow smashed into the four-star spa resort on Wednesday evening. "This is a tragedy of enormous proportions," said Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin. Local authorities said about 30 people had been in the building at the time, including two children. The only survivors found were two men who had been outside when the disaster struck. "The hotel is almost completely destroyed. We've called out but we've heard no replies, no voices," said Antonio Crocetta, a member of the Alpine Rescue squad. "We're digging and looking for people," he told Reuters by phone from the isolated location. Rescue workers entered what appeared to be a lobby decorated with oil paintings and plants, where a landslide had torn through a wall, television footage showed. Mattresses and furniture were spotted dozens of meters (yards) away and sniffer dogs were helping with the search. "I am alive because I went to get something from my car," Giampiero Parete told medical staff. Italian media said he had been on holiday with his wife and two children, who are missing. Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni called for national unity, saying Italy was caught in an "unprecedented vice" of earthquakes and heavy snows. The rescue operation was hampered by deep snow which has fallen on the Gran Sasso in recent days. Drifts made snow as deep as five meters (16 feet) in some places and snow ploughs struggled to cut a path up winding mountain roads. The first rescuers arrived at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT) after having to ski through a blizzard to reach the site. After dawn broke, emergency services sent in helicopters. A base camp for rescue workers was set up in the town of Penne, some 10 km (6 miles) away, where ambulances waited. The avalanche shunted the 43-room hotel, which is 1,200 meters (4,000 ft) above sea level, about 10 meters down the hill, according to media reports. Italian media said guests at the hotel had checked out and were waiting for a snow plough to arrive to open up the road and let them down the mountain when the avalanche struck.
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An Italian rescue official says a number of people have been killed by an avalanche, possibly connected to Wednesday's earthquakes, that buried a ski resort on a slope of the Gran Sasso mountain in Italy's Abruzzo region. About 30 guests and staff were at the hotel. The only survivors are two men who had been outside when the disaster struck.
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The man who allegedly drove into pedestrians in Melbourne's CBD yesterday, killing four and leaving more than 30 injured, is expected to be charged by police today. A 10-year-old girl, a 25-year-old man and 32-year-old woman were killed at the scene and a 33-year-old man died in hospital last night after a Holden Commodore allegedly driven by 26-year-old Dimitrious "Jimmy" Gargasoulas mowed down people in the Bourke Street pedestrian mall just after 1.30pm. The driver is believed to be Dimitrious "Jimmy" Gargasoulas. (Facebook) () A further 31 people were injured in the rampage, and an infant is among five people still fighting for life. Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Andrew Crisp said police hoped to interview and charge Mr Gargasoulas as soon as today. "We're certainly hoping we can interview the male today," Deputy Commissioner Crisp told Weekend Today this morning. "He did receive a gunshot wound to the arm, it's certainly not life threatening and we're hoping we can interview and charge later today." Deputy Commissioner Crisp said the incident had been traumatic for emergency services. "Words really can't explain how horrific this particular situation has been for victims, for families, for police and other emergency services and the broader community," he said. It’s also alleged Mr Gargasoulas stabbed his brother in the hours before the CBD incident. Detectives believe the Bourke Street attack is linked to the stabbing of Mr Gargasoulas' brother Angelo, who is fighting for life in hospital. Mr Gargasoulas allegedly stabbed his brother repeatedly during an argument at a property in Raleigh Street in Windsor. Mr Gargasoulas fled but later appeared in the background of 9NEWS reporter Neary Ty's live cross from the scene, waving and swearing at the camera. Following the stabbing, it is alleged Mr Gargasoulas took a woman, who is known to him, hostage in his car. She managed to escape on the Bolte Bridge before the car was driven into the Melbourne CBD. Mr Gargasoulas was seen doing burn-outs near Flinders Street Station before he turned onto Swanston Street at around 1.45pm and turned left into the busy Bourke Street pedestrian mall. Police shot Mr Gargasoulas, who was the only person in the car at the time. He was arrested near the corner of Bourke and William Streets, and was seen handcuffed on the ground, shirtless and wearing a pair of red underwear. Premier Daniel Andrews has labelled the attack an "evil criminal act" and pledged the governments support for those affected. "A terrible criminal act was committed in the CBD of our great city," Mr Andrews said this afternoon. "Our hearts are breaking. "This is a heart-breaking incident and one that has torn families apart." Read more: Melbourne man allegedly stabs brother multiple times in overnight row Witnesses reported hearing at least five gunshots before the man was arrested. "There's someone on the middle of the ground and there's blood all over the street," Rishi Hathiramani, a CBD shopkeeper, said. A number of CBD businesses were placed into lockdown, while others were evacuated. "A heap of people ran into my store, it was horrible. Half of my staff are in tears," a Strandbags manager said. City office worker William Mulholland said he came out of a laneway and saw a number of people lying on the pavement receiving CPR from police and emergency workers. The car believed to have been involved. (9NEWS) () Read more: Traffic and public transport diverted as police lock down Melbourne CBD Victoria Police is urging witnesses and victims requiring support to call the Victim's Support Helpline on 1800 819 817. Heavily armed police patrol the area after the crash. (9NEWS) () Paramedics bring a victim to an ambulance for treatment. (9NEWS) () A woman needed assistance after suffering a panic attack at the scene. (9NEWS) () ||||| Tony Mundine has stolen the show at the weigh-in for son Anthony's rematch with Danny Green after getting a little too close to proceedings. ||||| One person was killed and 20 injured when a car hit pedestrians in the centre of Australia’s second-largest city Melbourne on Friday, police and emergency services said. [SYDNEY] A man deliberately drove into pedestrians, killing three and injuring at least 20 in the centre of Australia’s second largest city Melbourne on Friday, but police said the lunch-time incident was not terror-related. Video footage from a witness showed a maroon coloured car driving around in circles in an intersection outside Flinders St railway station in the city’s central business district, with the driver hanging his arm out the window. Two people approached the car, apparently trying to stop it. “He was half hanging outside the car...he was just so reckless...he just didn’t care,” witness Laura Pollson told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. The man then drove up a pedestrian mall, deliberately ploughing into people, Victoria state police said. A shop video showed several people diving into a convenience store as the car sped along the footpath. “A male deliberately drove into pedestrians in the Bourke Street mall, and we currently have three deceased and at least 20 injuries,” Victoria Police acting commander Stuart Bateson told reporters. “We have the offender in custody. There is no further threat to the public at this stage. I can also confirm that this is not a CT (counter-terrorism) related incident.” The incident was believed to be related to an overnight stabbing in the city, Commander Bateson added. Photographs published by local media showed a stationary, badly damaged car with a nearby man in red underwear pinned to the ground by police. Witness Maria Kitjapanon told Melbourne’s The Age newspaper that the car was rammed by a police car and that police fired shots into the car before pulling the driver out. “There were probably 10 police surrounding that guy’s car, with guns drawn, and they fired into the car. Then they dragged someone out via the passengers side, then all 10 of them sat on top of him,” she said. Police have locked down the city and suspended tram services. Melbourne is currently hosting the Australian Open tennis grand slam and is packed with thousands of extra tourists, only a few blocks from where the incident occurred. Police said the tennis tournament continued to operate as normal. Australia, a staunch US ally, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals since 2014 and authorities have said they have thwarted a number of plots. There have been several “lone wolf” assaults, including a 2014 cafe siege in Sydney that left two hostages and the gunman dead. ||||| SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian police said three people were killed and at least 20 injured after a man deliberately drove a car into pedestrians in the center of Melbourne. ||||| UPDATED: This article now contains a statement from the Royal Children’s Hospital. Three people are confirmed dead and 20 have been injured after a man drove through the Melbourne CBD in Australia today. Officials have confirmed to Sky News that this incident is not a terrorist attack but related to an earlier stabbing. At 1.30 p.m. local time, a man was seen doing burnouts in the intersection outside the iconic Flinders Street Station in Melbourne before he drove along Swanston Street and entered the pedestrian only section of Bourke Street Mall. He was seen to be traveling at high speed and then deliberately drove into crowds, hitting many people. One child in a pram was struck, and, as yet unsubstantiated reports by Sky News indicate this child died at the scene. The man was eventually stopped and detained on William Street. Eyewitnesses reported hearing gun shots. It was later confirmed by Victoria Police the suspect had been shot and now in hospital “under police guard.” According to a press conference given at 3 p.m. local time, police confirmed three people had died as a result of the incident. It was also confirmed a further twenty people, of which four are children, have been injured. Some of those injured were children with Sky News claiming a source from one of the hospitals confirming one of the deceased was a child who died at the scene after being struck by the vehicle. Of the patients we have received from the Bourke St incident, one is critical and three are in a serious condition — RCH Melbourne (@RCHMelbourne) January 20, 2017 According to ABC News, the man driving has been arrested, the incident has been contained and people need not be concerned any further events like this will unfold in the Melbourne CBD. Acting Commander Stuart Bateson from Victoria Police released the following statement about the incident. “We have the offender in custody. There is no further threat to the public at this stage. We believe this male did some donuts at Flinders Street and Swanston Street, turned left into the Bourke Street Mall and deliberately drove into the crowd, continued along the footpath colliding with further pedestrians.” Bateson also implored people stay away from the Melbourne CBD while they process this horrific incident. “It is going to take us a really long time to process this scene. Our priority at the moment is with the injured, and it must be that we give them our attention. We ask members of the public that perhaps witnessed the incident, if they’ve left the city, please log your details with Crime Stoppers.” UPDATE: Three people killed after man deliberately drove into pedestrians in Melbourne’s CBD https://t.co/gZZ942Mu3B pic.twitter.com/dbhJjIrlum — Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) January 20, 2017 This incident has been confirmed as linked to a stabbing that occurred earlier in the suburb of Windsor. According to ABC News, police were called to Raleigh Street in Windsor at 2.15 a.m. A man involved in this incident took himself to hospital with stab wounds. He is listed as being in a stable condition. It has been reported by ABC Radio Melbourne‘s Raf Epstein that the man involved in the Melbourne CBD incident is a relative of the stabbed man. Unsubstantiated eye witness reports indicate a woman may have traveled with the suspect in the car for some time before he reached Swanston Street. This reports suggest the woman was detained as a hostage in the car. Sky News reports that Australia’s Herald Sun indicate this incident could have occurred as a result of a domestic violence incident. The Royal Children’s Hospital released details via a news conference in regard to the condition of the children taken there after the Melbourne CBD incident. It was confirmed five patients were received at the RCH. A three month-old is currently in surgery, a two year old is in intensive care, a nine year-old with “limb injuries” has been sent to the ward, a 12 year-old currently be assessed in the ED and a 23 year-old was also treated for limb injuries. Media conference: Bourke Street incident https://t.co/2mw5rlHUTa — RCH Melbourne (@RCHMelbourne) January 20, 2017 Officials will release further information shortly from Victoria Police. This article will be updated once further details are available. People who were in the Melbourne CBD and witnessed the event as it unfolded are asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. [Image by ] ||||| UPDATED: This article now contains a statement from the Royal Children’s Hospital. Three people are confirmed dead and up to 20 have been injured after a man drove through the Melbourne CBD in Australia today. Officials have confirmed to Sky News that this incident is not a terrorist attack but related to an earlier stabbing. At 1:30 p.m. local time, a man was seen doing burnouts in the intersection outside the iconic Flinders Street Station in Melbourne before he drove along Swanston Street and entered the pedestrian-only section of Bourke Street Mall. He was seen to be traveling at high speed and then deliberately drove into crowds, hitting many people. One child in a pram was struck, and, as yet unsubstantiated reports by Sky News indicate, this child died at the scene. The man was eventually stopped and detained on William Street. Eyewitnesses reported hearing gun shots. It was later confirmed by Victoria Police the suspect had been shot and was now in hospital “under police guard.” According to a press conference given at 3 p.m. local time, police confirmed three people had died as a result of the incident. It was also confirmed a further 20 people, of which four are children, had been injured. Sky News claimed a source from one of the hospitals confirmed one of the deceased was a child who died at the scene after being struck by the vehicle. According to ABC News, the driver has been arrested, the incident has been contained, and people need not be concerned any further events like this will unfold in the Melbourne CBD. Acting Commander Stuart Bateson, from Victoria Police, released the following statement about the incident. Bateson also implored people to stay away from the Melbourne CBD while they process this horrific incident. This incident has been confirmed as linked to a stabbing that occurred earlier in the suburb of Windsor. According to ABC News, police were called to Raleigh Street in Windsor at 2:15 a.m. A man involved in this incident took himself to the hospital with stab wounds. He is listed as being in a stable condition. It has been reported by ABC Radio Melbourne‘s Raf Epstein that the man involved in the Melbourne CBD incident is a relative of the stabbed man. Unsubstantiated eye witness reports indicate a woman may have traveled with the suspect in the car for some time before he reached Swanston Street. This reports suggests the woman was detained as a hostage in the car. Sky News reports that Australia’s Herald Sun indicated this incident could have occurred as a result of a domestic violence incident. The Royal Children’s Hospital released details via a news conference in regard to the condition of the children taken there after the Melbourne CBD incident. It was confirmed five patients were received at the RCH. A 3-month-old is currently in surgery, a 2-year-old is in intensive care, a 9-year-old with “limb injuries” has been sent to the ward, a 12-year-old currently be assessed in the ED, and a 23-year-old was also treated for limb injuries. Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton confirmed in a press conference that the suspect was shot in the arm by police during the Melbourne CBD incident. The 26-year-old man has killed three people as a result of this incident, including a man, a woman in her 30s, and a young child. Those killed are not believed to have been related. Of the 15 people he reported as injured during the incident, five are in a critical injured. One of those is listed as an infant child. The police confirm they do know a lot about the individual, including the fact he has come to their attention in the past in relation to domestic violence, drug and mental health issues. More recently, he was involved in assault incidents. It was also confirmed that a woman was present in the car with the suspect prior to the incident in the CBD. She was released at some point and the police are now talking to her. It was also confirmed the man injured in the earlier incident at Windsor was the suspect’s brother. The Red Cross Notification Network is available for those who want information about loved ones that may have been involved in the Melbourne CBD incident are urged to call 1800 727 077. The Chief Commissioner urged witnesses to also step forward and contact Crime Stoppers in relation to the event. Victoria Police’s Facebook page has also been set up to accept video footage in relation to the incident. People who were in the Melbourne CBD and witnessed the event as it unfolded are asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. ||||| UPDATED: This article now contains a statement from the Royal Children’s Hospital. Three people are confirmed dead and 20 have been injured after a man drove through the Melbourne CBD in Australia today. Officials have confirmed to Sky News that this incident is not a terrorist attack but related to an earlier stabbing. At 1.30 p.m. local time, a man was seen doing burnouts in the intersection outside the iconic Flinders Street Station in Melbourne before he drove along Swanston Street and entered the pedestrian only section of Bourke Street Mall. He was seen to be traveling at high speed and then deliberately drove into crowds, hitting many people. One child in a pram was struck, and, as yet unsubstantiated reports by Sky News indicate this child died at the scene. The man was eventually stopped and detained on William Street. Eyewitnesses reported hearing gun shots. It was later confirmed by Victoria Police the suspect had been shot and now in hospital “under police guard.” According to a press conference given at 3 p.m. local time, police confirmed three people had died as a result of the incident. It was also confirmed a further twenty people, of which four are children, have been injured. Some of those injured were children with Sky News claiming a source from one of the hospitals confirming one of the deceased was a child who died at the scene after being struck by the vehicle. According to ABC News, the man driving has been arrested, the incident has been contained and people need not be concerned any further events like this will unfold in the Melbourne CBD. Acting Commander Stuart Bateson from Victoria Police released the following statement about the incident. Bateson also implored people stay away from the Melbourne CBD while they process this horrific incident. This incident has been confirmed as linked to a stabbing that occurred earlier in the suburb of Windsor. According to ABC News, police were called to Raleigh Street in Windsor at 2.15 a.m. A man involved in this incident took himself to hospital with stab wounds. He is listed as being in a stable condition. It has been reported by ABC Radio Melbourne‘s Raf Epstein that the man involved in the Melbourne CBD incident is a relative of the stabbed man. Unsubstantiated eye witness reports indicate a woman may have traveled with the suspect in the car for some time before he reached Swanston Street. This reports suggest the woman was detained as a hostage in the car. Sky News reports that Australia’s Herald Sun indicate this incident could have occurred as a result of a domestic violence incident. The Royal Children’s Hospital released details via a news conference in regard to the condition of the children taken there after the Melbourne CBD incident. It was confirmed five patients were received at the RCH. A three month-old is currently in surgery, a two year old is in intensive care, a nine year-old with “limb injuries” has been sent to the ward, a 12 year-old currently be assessed in the ED and a 23 year-old was also treated for limb injuries. Officials will release further information shortly from Victoria Police. This article will be updated once further details are available. People who were in the Melbourne CBD and witnessed the event as it unfolded are asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. ||||| At least four people were killed and 20 more injured when a man deliberately drove his car into a crowd of pedestrians at a mall in Melbourne, Australia, according to officials. In a statement released Friday, Victoria state police said a young child was among the dead. "The incident is not terrorism related," the department added. The man was seen driving erratically in circles outside the mall, leaning out his widow and shouting at passersby, before police say he accelerated into the pedestrians in the middle of the afternoon. "We witnessed about half a dozen people that ricocheted off the car one way or another," one witness tells Reuters. "I saw one person fly up almost roof level of the car as they got thrown up against one of the retail stores." Officers shot the driver and placed him in custody, "where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries," police say. Mike O'Brien, the head surgeon at Royal Children's Hospital, tells The New York Times that four children have been hospitalized, including a 3-month-old in critical condition. At a news conference, Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said the 26-year-old suspect had "an extensive family violence history. He has come to our attention on many occasions in the past. We have mental health and drug-related issues in the background of this particular person," according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Authorities have not yet released his name. Police say they had been pursuing the suspect in connection with a stabbing early Friday. According to authorities, the man also allegedly abducted a woman he knows and held her hostage in his car — though she managed to escape before it plowed into the crowd. The incident comes at a particularly busy time for the city. It is hosting tourists from around the world for the Australian Open tennis tournament, which got underway earlier this month. ||||| Three persons were killed and 20 injured when a car hit pedestrians in the centre of Australia's second-largest city Melbourne on Friday, police and emergency services said. Australian media reported that the car was driving erratically before the incident, which occurred during the city's busy lunchtime, and at least one shot was fired. Police have locked down the city and suspended tram services after the incident in the heart of the popular Bourke Street shopping mall area. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals since 2014 and authorities have said they have thwarted a number of plots. There have been several "lone wolf" assaults, including a 2014 cafe siege in Sydney that left two hostages and the gunman dead. "At this stage it is believed a man driving a vehicle has struck a number of pedestrians in Bourke and Queen St just before 2 pm," Victoria state police said in a statement posted on their official twitter account. Police confirmed that one person was dead and that a man had been arrested. Emergency services are treating the incident as a "mass casualty event" and hospitals have been put on "Code Red" to accept casualties. Melbourne is currently hosting the Australian Open tennis grand slam and is packed with thousands of extra tourists, only a few blocks from where the incident occurred. Victoria police said that the tennis tournament was open and operating normally. ||||| A man deliberately drove into pedestrians, killing three — possibly including a young child — and injuring at least 20 on a busy street in central Melbourne on Friday. Video footage from a witness showed a maroon car driving around in circles in an intersection outside Flinders Street Railway Station in the central business district, with the driver hanging his arm out the window. Two people approached the car, apparently trying to stop it. “He was half hanging outside the car. … He was just so reckless. … He just didn’t care,” witness Laura Pollson told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. The driver was doing burnouts and driving erratically and at an “unbelievable” speed, according to witnesses. The man then drove up a pedestrian mall, deliberately hitting people, Victoria state police said. A shop video camera showed several people diving into a convenience store as the car sped along the sidewalk. Four children were taken to nearby Royal Children’s Hospital. One of them is believed to be a baby or toddler who was in a pram hit by the driver. Police shot the 26-year-old male driver — who has a history of family violence, mental health and drug issues — in the arm and arrested him. “We have the offender in custody. There is no further threat to the public at this stage. I can also confirm that this is not a CT (counterterrorism)-related incident,” said Stuart Bateson, acting commander of the Victoria Police. He said the incident is believed to be related to an overnight stabbing in Windsor, 30 minutes from the station. Three people were killed at different locations on Bourke Street: a man and a woman in their 30s and a child whose age was not given for privacy reasons, said Graham Ashton, chief commissioner for the state of Victoria. Photographs published by local media showed a stationary, badly damaged car on Bourke Street with a man nearby in red underwear pinned to the ground by police. “We can see blood on the street from our office window,” said Paul McQueen, a witness who works in a nearby office building. The streets around the incident were shut down, and tram services near the area were suspended until police confirmed the man was arrested at the scene. Melbourne is currently hosting the Australian Open tennis grand slam and is packed with thousands of extra tourists only a few blocks from where the incident occurred. Tournament officials and state police said the tennis tournament will continue to operate as normal.
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Three people are killed and twenty injured after a man drove a car into the Bourke Street Mall in the CBD of the Australian city Melbourne. A man has been arrested and Victoria Police say the incident is not terror related. In the next few weeks, the death toll would rise to six.
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Six police officers suffered minor injuries and 217 protesters were arrested after they smashed windows, damaged cars and threw rocks at police near Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony on Friday in Washington, D.C.D.C. Metro police used smoke and pepper grenades as well as small flash bang bombs as they tried to retake certain streets in northwest Washington Friday afternoon. So far, the inaugural parade and the new president and vice president have been untouched by the violence blocks away.Several vehicles were damaged or torched, including a limousine set ablaze by demonstrators as authorities tried to disperse the violent crowds using pepper spray and flash bang grenades. Donald Trump's signature hats were used as kindling by protesters to start some street fires.A Bank of America and a Starbucks were vandalized and several vehicles were damaged or torched, including a limousine set ablaze by demonstrators as authorities tried to disperse the violent crowds using pepper spray and flash bang grenades. Donald Trump's signature hats were used as kindling by protesters to start some street fires.Some of the violent protesters covered their faces and wore dark clothes in the style of the black block anarchist group that caused a ruckus in Chicago during the 2012 NATO Summit.Chicago entrepreneur Genevieve Thiers, who runs the Rise movement and is leading a group to DC for Saturday's Women's March on Washington, spoke with the I-Team from Washington on Friday afternoon."The city is kind of tearing itself apart...There's a lot of smoke in the air, people knocked over two trash cans and lit them on fire. People are in the trees and on top of the bus stations. At one point, people started running, which was really scary. I learned later that a guy had smashed out a window of a car and tried to drive it into a crowd, so the National Guard kind of came in," Thiers said.After what Thiers witnessed Friday, she said she is frightened for Saturday's march. Her Rise movement - an economic action group - has more than 100 people coming on buses from Chicago to take part in the march."All of a sudden everyone starts to run and there's smoke and you don't really know what you're breathing or you know, why you're running. It's a little bit nuts," Thiers said.There also were anti-Trump protests around the world, including in London, Hong Kong and Berlin -- where demonstrators held a sign that read, "Walls divide." In the West Bank, Palestinians protested against Israeli settlements and Trump's plan to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.In New York, seven people were arrested at a demonstration outside of Trump Tower, according to the New York Police Department. ||||| WASHINGTON — Six police officers were injured and 217 protesters arrested after they smashed windows, damaged cars and threw rocks at police near Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Friday in Washington. At least two DC police officers and one other person were taken to the hospital for undetermined injuries after run-ins with protesters, DC Fire Spokesman Vito Maggiolo told CNN. Acting DC Police Chief Peter Newsham said all of the injuries to police officers are considered minor and non-life threatening but three of those officers were injured in the head. After the swearing-in ceremony, demonstrators near 12th and K streets threw rocks and bottles at police, who were clad in riot gear and attempting to disperse the crowd. A large number of police were on scene and used smoke and flash-bang devices to try to scatter the protesters. Newsham told CNN that there were several hundred protesters who were confronting police, while he praised the thousands of other demonstrators who behaved in a peaceful fashion to get their point across. “We have been pointing out all along that this is a very isolated incident and by and large everything is going peacefully and a lot of folks have come to the city to enjoy this historic day, not only the Capitol but walking all around the city,” Newsham said. In a statement earlier, the DC police said protesters “acting in a concerted effort engaged in acts of vandalism and several instances of destruction of property. More specifically, the group damaged vehicles, destroyed the property of multiple businesses, and ignited smaller isolated fires while armed with crowbars, hammers, and asps.” Newsham said there had been 217 arrests as of 6 p.m. ET. “Pepper spray and other control devices were used to control the criminal actors and protect persons and property,” police said. Throughout the day, demonstrators, some wearing masks and dressed in black, shattered building windows, vandalized police cars and other vehicles, setting some on fire — including a limousine — and toppled news kiosks. At one point, police used pepper spray as a group of protesters ran down 13th Street. “I think Donald Trump is a fascist, and it’s very easy for people, especially people who are in pain, to slip into fascism,” said protester Lysander Reid-Powell, a 20-year-old student from New Mexico. Ashley Link, 37, said she was frustrated by the violence of some demonstrators but understood why it was happening. “I’m all about peaceful protesting, practicing nonviolence, but at the same time, I understand why people are so frustrated,” she said. “They are so upset about so many things in our country right now that to make a poster? There’s not a poster big enough to cover all the things that people are frustrated about.” At one checkpoint, about 50 protesters sat down in the street in an attempt to block Trump supporters from entering a secure area to watch the swearing-in ceremony and speech. Not far away, a group of immigration backers staged a “pop-up” protest near another check point. “We’re here to take a stand against the ideas that Trump spouted throughout the course of this campaign — sexism, Islamophobia, his bigotry, and nationalism,” said protester Jed Holtz, from New York City. In a series of coordinated demonstrations designed to cut off spectator access, protesters blocked or caused bottlenecks in front of at least a half-dozen security checkpoints outside the National Mall in the hours ahead of the swearing in. Three women were chained together at the neck on 10th Street, and more than 150 demonstrators organized by the DisruptJ20 coalition surrounded an entrance near the Canadian embassy. “This checkpoint is closed,” they chanted, forcing Trump supporters to turn back and walk along Indiana Avenue in search of a clearer path. As Trump was being sworn in, a half-dozen protesters, each wearing a letter of the word “RESIST,” stood up from just behind the VIP area and began to recite the preamble of the US Constitution as Trump recited the oath of office. “The only source of light on this miserable day is the massive, multi-racial, multi-generational progressive resistance movement led by women and people of color that’s already emerging to confront Donald Trump’s agenda of hate and growing stronger every single day,” said Democracy for America Executive Director Charles Chamberlain. There also were anti-Trump protests around the world, including in London, Hong Kong and Berlin — where demonstrators held a sign that read, “Walls divide.” In the West Bank, Palestinians protested against Israeli settlements and Trump’s plan to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. In New York, seven people were arrested at a demonstration outside of Trump Tower, according to the New York Police Department. On Thursday night in Washington, protesters gathered on 14th Street outside the National Press Club to demonstrate against “DeploraBall,” an event organized by some of Trump’s most fervent supporters. The name riffs off the campaign description of some Trump backers by his defeated opponent, Hillary Clinton, as a “basket of deplorables.” As attendees — some of whom were clad in suits and red hats, others dressed in gowns — entered the event, demonstrators chanted “Shame” and “Nazis go home” behind a phalanx of police. Some held signs that read “No Alt Reich” and “No Nazi USA.” The Women’s March gets ready for prime time On Saturday, the Women’s March on Washington could attract a quarter million participants, organizers said. “We’re really trying to set a tone of resistance for the coming years,” Lacy MacAuley, a DisruptJ20 organizer, told CNN. “Donald Trump represents a shift in our politics in a dangerous, harmful, exclusionary direction. We oppose those policies of hate.” According to Department of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson, as many as 900,000 spectators may attend inaugural ceremonies. Johnson told reporters last week that 28,000 security personnel from dozens of agencies, including local and out-of-town police officers, will be fanned out across the city on Inauguration Day and into the weekend. Organizers of the march, which begins near Capitol Hill at 10 a.m. ET, now say internal divisions, many of them stemming from a divisive Democratic primary fight, are being put aside in the name of solidarity. “We have already proven that Hillary and Bernie Sanders supporters can work together against fascism, xenophobia, and racism,” Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American Muslim activist from Brooklyn, told CNN. The march, which began with a modest Facebook call in the aftermath of the election, has grown in to what could be one of the larger political demonstrations ever in DC. There are more than 600 “sister marches” planned around the country and fundraising for the event has largely come in chunks of $20 and $30 online donations. “It really reminds me of the Sanders campaign,” Sarsour said. “A very grassroots, very grass-powered movement.” CNN’s Brian Todd, Sarah Ganim, Noah Gray, Dugald McConnell, Pallavi Reddy, Jeremy Diamond, Betsy Klein and Chris Welch contributed to this report. ||||| Six police officers were injured and 217 protesters arrested Friday after a morning of peaceful protests and coordinated disruptions of Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony gave way to ugly street clashes in downtown Washington. At least two DC police officers and one other person were taken to the hospital after run-ins with protesters, DC Fire Spokesman Vito Maggiolo told CNN. Start the conversation, or Read more at GantDaily.com. ||||| Washington (CNN)A pair of police officers were injured and 95 protesters arrested after they smashed windows, damaged cars and threw rocks at police near Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Friday in Washington, D.C. Two DC police officers and one other person were taken to the hospital for undetermined injuries after run-ins with protesters, DC Fire Spokesman Vito Maggiolo told CNN. The injuries are non-life threatening. Protesters “acting in a concerted effort engaged in acts of vandalism and several instances of destruction of property,” the police said in a statement. “More specifically, the group damaged vehicles, destroyed the property of multiple businesses, and ignited smaller isolated fires while armed with crowbars, hammers, and asps.” ||||| Protesters outside the "Deploraball" have been hit with pepper spray grenades ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. RT America is on the scene in Washington, DC."There are explosions," Rubinstein saidSome people leaving the Deploraball, the pre-inaugural party to celebrate Trump's election, were targeted by protesters, who threw projectiles.A protester was also seen lighting a fire in the street.Another fire was seen smoldering in a trash can. Plants along the street were also ripped out and thrown.Police sprayed protesters with an unconfirmed substance, possibly pepper spray or mace, at a high pressure.The Deploraball is a pre-inaugural party to celebrate Trump's election. About a thousand so-called "deplorables" are expected to attend the event at the National Press Club. ||||| Six police officers were injured and 217 protesters arrested after they smashed windows, damaged cars and threw rocks at police near Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony on Friday in Washington. At least two DC police officers and one other person were taken to the hospital for undetermined injuries after run-ins with protesters, DC Fire Spokesman Vito Maggiolo told CNN. Start the conversation, or Read more at WTVR Richmond. ||||| Six police officers were injured and 217 protesters arrested after they smashed windows, damaged cars and threw rocks at security personnel near US President Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony on Friday in Washington D.C. At least two police officers and one other person were taken to the hospital for undetermined injuries after run-ins with protesters, DC Fire Spokesman Vito Maggiolo told CNN. After the swearing-in ceremony, demonstrators near 12th and K streets threw rocks and bottles at police, who were clad in riot gear and attempting to disperse the crowd. A large number of police were on scene and used smoke and flash-bang devices to try to scatter the protesters. Acting D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham told CNN that there were several hundred protesters who were confronting police, while he praised the thousands of other demonstrators who behaved in a peaceful fashion to get their point across. "We have been pointing out all along that this is a very isolated incident and by and large everything is going peacefully and a lot of folks have come to the city to enjoy this historic day, not only the Capitol but walking all around the city," Newsham said. Throughout Friday, demonstrators, some wearing masks and dressed in black, shattered building windows, vandalized police cars and other vehicles, setting some on fire -- including a limousine -- and toppled news kiosks. "Pepper spray and other control devices were used to control the criminal actors and protect persons and property," the police said. Protester Lysander Reid-Powell, a 20-year-old student from New Mexico told CNN: "I think Donald Trump is a fascist, and it's very easy for people, especially people who are in pain, to slip into fascism." At one checkpoint, about 50 protesters sat down in the street in an attempt to block Trump supporters from entering a secure area to watch the swearing-in ceremony and speech. Not far away, a group of immigration backers staged a "pop up" protest near another check point. "We're here to take a stand against the ideas that Trump spouted throughout the course of this campaign -- sexism, Islamophobia, his bigotry and nationalism," said protester Jed Holtz, from New York City. There also were anti-Trump protests around the world, including London, Hong Kong and Berlin -- where demonstrators held a sign that read, "Walls divide", CNN reported. In the West Bank, Palestinians protested against Israeli settlements and Trump's plan to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. In New York, seven people were arrested at a demonstration outside of Trump Tower, according to the New York Police Department. On Saturday, the Women's March on Washington could attract a quarter million participants, organisers said. "We're really trying to set a tone of resistance for the coming years," Lacy MacAuley, a DisruptJ20 organizer, told CNN. "Donald Trump represents a shift in our politics in a dangerous, harmful, exclusionary direction. We oppose those policies of hate." According to Department of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson, as many as 900,000 spectators were slated to attend inaugural ceremonies. ||||| Not far from the placid crowds celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on the National Mall, a series of protests broke out across the streets of D.C. As Donald Trump ascended to the presidency and the inaugural parade commenced, demonstrators, reporters, two llamas, and hundreds of police officers clashed against a backdrop of Rihanna songs, broken limousine windows and pepper spray. ABC reports protesters are now taking selfies inside the smashed limo. The protests, though violent and loud, are reportedly not visible from the Inaugural parade, which is set to begin as soon as Donald Trump finishes eating lunch. Police have already arrested more than 95 people, and are currently deploying pepper spray and flash bombs around Metro Center, where the protests appear to be centralized. DC police say at least three officers were injured in the clash by protesters throwing bottles, bricks and rocks. But according to one MSNBC reporter on the ground, only a small group comprised of 50 of the thousands of protesters are actually throwing things. Some reporters appear to have been caught up in the melee—there’s video of Washington Post reporter Dalton Bennett being thrown to the ground by riot police, and MSNBC’s audio technician was pepper sprayed by police. Even Larry King’s driver was “rattled” after protesters “smashed the windows of my hired SUV & many other cars,” the octogenarian tweeted. The reported violence appears to be tied to demonstrators on both sides of the issue; there are reports of both anti-Trump protesters smashing windows and Trump supporters smashing protesters. And more on the protests from reporters on the scene: This is a breaking news post and will be updated. ||||| Protesters registered their rage against the new president Friday in a chaotic confrontation with police who used pepper spray and stun grenades in a melee just blocks from Donald Trump's inaugural parade. At least 217 people were arrested for rioting while a burning limousine sent clouds of black smoke into the sky during Trump's procession.Several spirited demonstrations unfolded peacefully at various security checkpoints near the Capitol as police helped ticket-holders get through to the inaugural ceremony. Signs read, "Resist Trump Climate Justice Now," ''Let Freedom Ring" and "Free Palestine."But about a mile from the National Mall, police gave chase to a group of about 100 protesters who smashed the windows of downtown businesses including a Starbucks, a Bank of America and a McDonald's as they denounced capitalism and Trump. Police in riot gear used pepper spray from large canisters and eventually cordoned off protesters at 12th and L streets in northwest Washington."They began to destroy property, throw objects at people, through windows. A large percentage of this small group was armed with crowbars and hammers," said the city's interim police chief, Peter Newsham.Six officers suffered minor injuries, he said.The confrontation began an hour before Trump took the oath of office and escalated several hours later as the crowd of protesters swelled to more than 1,000, some wearing gas masks and with arms chained together inside PVC pipe. One said the demonstrators were "bringing in the cavalry."When some crossed police lines, taunting, "Put the pigs in the ground," police charged with batons and pepper spray, as well as stun grenades, which are used to shock and disperse crowds. Loud booms echoed through the streets about six blocks from where Trump would soon hold his inaugural parade.Some protesters picked up bricks and concrete from the sidewalk and hurled them at police lines. Some rolled large, metal trash cans at police.The limousine was attacked on the perimeter of the secured zone. As Trump and his parade of celebrants moved along Pennsylvania Avenue, the vehicle was ablaze, tainting the air for blocks and sending protesters and passers-by moving swiftly away.As night fell, young protesters ignited a large bonfire blocks from the White House in McPherson Square. They carried signs like "Hail to the Thief" and hung an upside-down American flag as women in gowns and men in tuxedos passed by, presumably en route to one of the inaugural balls.Police said protesters damaged vehicles, destroyed property and set small fires while armed with crowbars and hammers. All 217 people arrested were charged with rioting, said Newsham, noting that the group caused "significant damage" along a number of blocks.Before Inauguration Day, the DisruptJ20 coalition, named after the date of the inauguration, had promised that people participating in its actions in Washington would attempt to shut down the celebrations, risking arrest when necessary.Trump supporter Brett Ecker said the protesters were frustrating but weren't going to put a damper on his day."They're just here to stir up trouble," said the 36-year-old public school teacher. "It upsets me a little bit that people choose to do this, but yet again, it's one of the things I love about this country."At one checkpoint, protesters wore orange jumpsuits with black hoods over their faces to represent prisoners in U.S. detention at Guantanamo Bay. Eleanor Goldfield, who helped organize the DisruptJ20 protest, said protesters wanted to show Trump and his "misguided, misinformed or just plain dangerous" supporters that they won't be silent.Black Lives Matter and feminist groups also made their voices heard. Outside the International Spy Museum, protesters in Russian hats ridiculed Trump's praise of President Vladimir Putin, marching with signs calling Trump "Putin's Puppet" and "Kremlin employee of the month."Friday's protests spread across the nation.In San Francisco, thousands formed a human chain on the Golden Gate Bridge and chanted "Love Trumps hate." In the city's financial district, a few hundred protesters blocked traffic outside an office building partly owned by Trump.In Atlanta, protests converged at City Hall and a few hundred people chanted and waved signs protesting Trump, denouncing racism and police brutality and expressing support for immigrants, Muslims and the Black Lives Matter movement.And in Nashville, half a dozen protesters chained themselves to the doors of the Tennessee Capitol. Hundreds also sat in a 10-minute silent protest at a park while Trump took the oath of office. Organizers led a prayer, sang patriotic songs and read the Declaration of Independence aloud.The demonstrations won't end when Trump takes up residence in the White House.A massive Women's March on Washington is planned for Saturday. Christopher Geldart, the District of Columbia's homeland security director, has said 1,800 buses have registered to park in the city Saturday, which could mean nearly 100,000 people coming in just by bus.___Associated Press writers contributing to this report were: Steve Peoples, Alan Suderman, Matthew Barakat, Alanna Durkin Richer and Luis Alonso Lugo, in Washington; Kate Brumback in Atlanta; Jonathan Mattise and Erik Schelzig in Nashville; and Janie Har and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco. ||||| WASHINGTON (CNN) — Six police officers were injured and 217 protesters arrested after they smashed windows, damaged cars and threw rocks at police near Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Friday in Washington. At least two DC police officers and one other person were taken to the hospital for undetermined injuries after run-ins with protesters, DC Fire Spokesman Vito Maggiolo told CNN. Acting DC Police Chief Peter Newsham said all of the injuries to police officers are considered minor and non-life threatening but three of those officers were injured in the head. After the swearing-in ceremony, demonstrators near 12th and K streets threw rocks and bottles at police, who were clad in riot gear and attempting to disperse the crowd. A large number of police were on scene and used smoke and flash-bang devices to try to scatter the protesters. Newsham told CNN that there were several hundred protesters who were confronting police, while he praised the thousands of other demonstrators who behaved in a peaceful fashion to get their point across. “We have been pointing out all along that this is a very isolated incident and by and large everything is going peacefully and a lot of folks have come to the city to enjoy this historic day, not only the Capitol but walking all around the city,” Newsham said. In a statement earlier, the DC police said protesters “acting in a concerted effort engaged in acts of vandalism and several instances of destruction of property. More specifically, the group damaged vehicles, destroyed the property of multiple businesses, and ignited smaller isolated fires while armed with crowbars, hammers, and asps.” Newsham said there had been 217 arrests as of 6 p.m. ET. “Pepper spray and other control devices were used to control the criminal actors and protect persons and property,” police said. Throughout the day, demonstrators, some wearing masks and dressed in black, shattered building windows, vandalized police cars and other vehicles, setting some on fire — including a limousine — and toppled news kiosks. At one point, police used pepper spray as a group of protesters ran down 13th Street. “I think Donald Trump is a fascist, and it’s very easy for people, especially people who are in pain, to slip into fascism,” said protester Lysander Reid-Powell, a 20-year-old student from New Mexico. Ashley Link, 37, said she was frustrated by the violence of some demonstrators but understood why it was happening. “I’m all about peaceful protesting, practicing nonviolence, but at the same time, I understand why people are so frustrated,” she said. “They are so upset about so many things in our country right now that to make a poster? There’s not a poster big enough to cover all the things that people are frustrated about.” At one checkpoint, about 50 protesters sat down in the street in an attempt to block Trump supporters from entering a secure area to watch the swearing-in ceremony and speech. Not far away, a group of immigration backers staged a “pop up” protest near another check point. “We’re here to take a stand against the ideas that Trump spouted throughout the course of this campaign — sexism, Islamophobia, his bigotry and nationalism,” said protester Jed Holtz, from New York City. In a series of coordinated demonstrations designed to cut off spectator access, protesters blocked or caused bottlenecks in front of at least a half dozen security checkpoints outside the National Mall in the hours ahead of the swearing in. Three women were chained together at the neck on 10th Street, and more than 150 demonstrators organized by the DisruptJ20 coalition surrounded an entrance near the Canadian embassy. “This checkpoint is closed,” they chanted, forcing Trump supporters to turn back and walk along Indiana Avenue in search of a clearer path. As Trump was being sworn in, a half-dozen protesters, each wearing a letter of the word “RESIST,” stood up from just behind the VIP area and began to recite the preamble of the US Constitution as Trump recited the oath of office. “The only source of light on this miserable day is the massive, multi-racial, multi-generational progressive resistance movement led by women and people of color that’s already emerging to confront Donald Trump’s agenda of hate and growing stronger every single day,” said Democracy for America Executive Director Charles Chamberlain. There also were anti-Trump protests around the world, including in London, Hong Kong and Berlin — where demonstrators held a sign that read, “Walls divide.” In the West Bank, Palestinians protested against Israeli settlements and Trump’s plan to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. In New York, seven people were arrested at a demonstration outside of Trump Tower, according to the New York Police Department. On Thursday night in Washington, protesters gathered on 14th Street outside the National Press Club to demonstrate against “DeploraBall,” an event organized by some of Trump’s most fervent supporters. The name riffs off the campaign description of some Trump backers by his defeated opponent, Hillary Clinton, as a “basket of deplorables.” As attendees — some of whom were clad in suits and red hats, others dressed in gowns — entered the event, demonstrators chanted “Shame” and “Nazis go home” behind a phalanx of police. Some held signs that read “No Alt Reich” and “No Nazi USA.” The Women’s March gets ready for prime time On Saturday, the Women’s March on Washington could attract a quarter million participants, organizers said. “We’re really trying to set a tone of resistance for the coming years,” Lacy MacAuley, a DisruptJ20 organizer, told CNN. “Donald Trump represents a shift in our politics in a dangerous, harmful, exclusionary direction. We oppose those policies of hate.” According to Department of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson, as many as 900,000 spectators may attend inaugural ceremonies. Johnson told reporters last week that 28,000 security personnel from dozens of agencies, including local and out-of-town police officers, will be fanned out across the city on Inauguration Day and into the weekend. Organizers of the march, which begins near Capitol Hill at 10 a.m. ET, now say internal divisions, many of them stemming from a divisive Democratic primary fight, are being put aside in the name of solidarity. “We have already proven that Hillary and Bernie Sanders supporters can work together against fascism, xenophobia, and racism,” Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American Muslim activist from Brooklyn, told CNN. The march, which began with a modest Facebook call in the aftermath of the election, has grown in to what could be one of the larger political demonstrations ever in DC. There are more than 600 “sister marches” planned around the country and fundraising for the event has largely come in chunks of $20 and $30 online donations. “It really reminds me of the Sanders campaign,” Sarsour said. “A very grassroots, very grass-powered movement.”
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Some protesters of the inauguration smash windows, damage cars, and clash with the police. Six police officers and at least one civilian are injured. DC police say 217 protesters have been arrested.
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A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea Sunday, shaking homes and sparking a tsunami alert, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. The tsunami warning for the Pacific island nation and its neighbours was later cancelled. The tremor struck 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Panguna on Papua New Guinea's Bougainville island at a depth of 153 kilometres at 3:30 pm local time (0430 GMT), the US Geological Survey said. No reports of damage or injuries have emerged so far, said the PNG Geophysical Observatory in the capital Port Moresby. "But we know that given such a depth at which the earthquake happened, the chances of any major damage or casualties are not highly likely," spokesman Mathew Moihoi told AFP. "Had there been any major disturbances or damage, we would have known by now," he said, adding that the area where the quake struck was sparsely populated. USGS's preliminary assessment was that light to moderate damage was possible on Bougainville island. The quake was revised down from 8.0-magnitude to 7.9. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of between 0.3 and one metre (1-3 feet) above tide level were possible for some coastal areas of PNG and the neighbouring Solomon Islands. The center issued another statement about an hour later to say that threat had passed. "Even though it is quite deep at 150 kilometres, because it is such a large earthquake, it will produce shaking on the surface," Geoscience Australia seismologist Spiro Spiliopoulos told AFP earlier. He added that some damage was possible. Aid group Save the Children has a office on Buka island next to the main Bougainville island. Its PNG country director Jennifer El-Sibai described the quake as "really powerful" but said no reports of damage had been received so far. Connie Wihongi-Stevens posted on Facebook that her husband, who is working in Arawa some 46 kilometres west of where the quake struck, was safe but shaken. "The home he was in shook terribly and people were running everywhere cars rocking to and fro not nice hoping to hear from him when the power comes back on," she wrote. Story continues A 7.9-magnitude quake struck off Papua New Guinea in mid-December, but no casualties were reported and an initial tsunami threat was later deemed to have passed. Earthquakes are common near Papua New Guinea, which lies on the 4,000-kilometre-long Pacific Australia plate. It forms part of the "Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates. In 2013 the Solomon Islands were hit by a devastating tsunami after an 8.0-magnitude earthquake rattled the region. That tsunami left at least 10 people dead, destroyed hundreds of homes and left thousands of people homeless. ||||| Papua New Guinea earthquake: Tsunami threat passes after magnitude-7.9 tremor near Bougainville Updated A magnitude-7.9 earthquake has struck off the coast of Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea, causing damage and blackouts but no tsunami. The quake struck at 3:30pm (AEDT) at a depth of 136 kilometres, the United States Geological Survey said. It was initially reported to be of magnitude 8.0. No casualties were reported, but there was damage in parts of central Bougainville and the major town of Arawa, Aloysius Laukai, manager of New Dawn FM Bougainville radio station, said in an email. The provincial capital of Buka was blacked out and residents of the southern town of Buin were moved to higher ground as a precaution against a potential tsunami, Mr Laukai said, but all tsunami warnings were later lifted. An initial tsunami alert for several Pacific islands was wound back to cover just PNG and the neighbouring Solomon Islands, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre later said the tsunami threat had passed safely for those countries. The Bureau of Meteorology also confirmed that there was no tsunami threat to Australia. The greatest tsunami threat had been to Bougainville and that threat had passed without any report of a tsunami, said Chris McKee, assistant director at PNG's Geophysical Observatory Office in Port Moresby. "I suspect that because of the great depth of the earthquake, there was probably no significant tsunami," Mr McKee said. Solomon Islands government official George Herming said he was not aware of any major tremors being felt in his country or any tsunami. Earthquakes are common in PNG, which sits on the Pacific's 'Ring of Fire', a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates. Bougainville Island is one of the islands that make up the Autonomous Region of Bougainville within PNG which is home to around 300,000 people. Reuters/AP Topics: earthquake, disasters-and-accidents, papua-new-guinea, pacific First posted ||||| ||||| A magnitude 8.0 earthquake has hit the Solomon Islands, the US Geological Survey has reported. The quake hit at a depth of 153km at 5.30pm NZ time. New Zealand Civil Defence has said that there is no tsunami threat to New Zealand following the earthquake. ||||| FOR LIVE UPDATES: Twitter The earthquake, which struck at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, was centered about 37 kilometers (23 miles) northwest of Panguna, a town on Bougainville Island that is located northeast of mainland Papua New Guinea and is geographically part of the Solomon Islands archipelago.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which put the preliminary magnitude at 8.4, said the earthquake struck at a depth of 168 kilometers (104 miles), making it a relatively deep quake. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) put the preliminary magnitude at 8.0. As a result, a tsunami alert has been issued for Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Nauru, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Vanuatu, and Chuuk. "Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.There was no immediate word about damage, casualties, or whether a tsunami had in fact been generated.There is no tsunami threat to the Philippines, Hawaii, or the coastlines of the mainland of the United States and Canada.The Solomon Islands are on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. The Solomon Islands arc as a whole experiences a very high level of earthquake activity, and many tremors of magnitude 7 and larger have been recorded since the early decades of the twentieth century.On April 2, 2007, a massive 8.1-magnitude earthquake struck close to the New Georgia Islands of the Solomon Islands. It unleashed a regional tsunami, killing 52 people and destroying more than 300 homes, schools and a hospital at Sasamunga. Two people were killed as a result of landslides, which were triggered by the earthquake. ||||| A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea (PNG) on Sunday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage after a potential tsunami did not occur. The United States Geological Survey downgraded the quake from an initial measurement of magnitude 8. It struck some 47 kms west of Arawa on the north coast of Bougainville Island at a depth of 154 km, the USGS reported. An initial tsunami alert for several Pacific islands was wound back to cover just PNG and the neighboring Solomon Islands and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later said the tsunami threat had passed safely for those countries. READ MORE: Earthquakes in Canada: The impact of climate change on seismic activity Quakes are common in Papua New Guinea, which sits on the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire”, a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates. Loti Yates, the director of the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office, said people had been told to move to higher ground in Choiseul and Western Province. Chris McKee, assistant director at PNG’s Geophysical Observatory Office in Port Moresby, said there were no initial reports of damage or casualties from near the epicenter of the quake, which is sparsely populated. Australia and New Zealand both said they had assessed the threat and there was no danger to their coastlines. Bougainville Island is one of the islands that make up the Autonomous Region of Bougainville within Papua New Guinea (PNG) which is home to around 300,000 people. ||||| SYDNEY: A major 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, and a tsunami warning was issued for nearby countries. The tremor struck 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Panguna in Papua New Guinea at a depth of 153 kilometres at 3:30pm local time (0430 GMT), the USGS said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre warned hazardous waves could hit coastal areas of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Nauru, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and others within the next three hours. ||||| A powerful magnitude 8 earthquake hit the Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands Sunday, but no tsunami was reported hours after the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert for nearby islands. The quake struck at a depth of 167 kilometers (103 miles) under Papua New Guinea’s most eastern province of Bougainville, where the two South Pacific countries meet in a continuous archipelago, said Chris McKee, assistant director of Papua New Guinea Geophysical Observatory in Port Moresby. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The greatest tsunami threat had been to Bougainville and that threat had passed without any report of a tsunami, McKee said. “I suspect that because of the great depth of the earthquake, there was probably no significant tsunami,” McKee said. Solomons government official George Herming said he was not aware of any major tremors being felt in his country or any tsunami. The countries are in the Pacific’s geologically active “Ring of Fire.” ||||| A 7.9 magnitude earthquake has struck off the east coast of Papua New Guinea near the Solomon Islands. The quake struck the Papua New Guinean island of Bougainville on the border with the Solomon Islands at around 4:30am local time at a depth of 131 miles. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that waves of up to a metre above tide level could strike several coasts along the islands but it said the threat has now passed. An additional warning was issued to Australia, Samoa, New Zealand, Indonesia, Tonga, New Caledonia and several smaller surrounding islands for smaller waves of up to 0.3 metres above tide level. The size of the quake was also downgraded to 7.9 magnitude following initially reports of 8.0 and there were no reports of injury or damage. The greatest tsunami threat had been to Bougainville and that threat had passed without any report of a tsunami, Chris McKee, the assistant director of the Papua New Guinea Geophysical Observatory, said. "I suspect that because of the great depth of the earthquake, there was probably no significant tsunami," Mr McKee said. He added that the area in which the earthquake struck was sparsely populated. Solomons government official George Herming said he was not aware of any major tremors being felt in his country or any tsunami. The countries are located in the Pacific's geologically active "Ring of Fire" – where large amounts of seismic activity occurs due to friction between tectonic plates. Loti Yates, the director of the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office, said people had been told to move to higher ground in Choiseul and Western Province. "That isn't the only fear we have," Yates told Reuters by phone from the capital of Honiara, adding that his office was trying to contact communities closest to the quake's epicentre. "We are also worried about damage from the earthquake." Chris McKee, assistant director at PNG's Geophysical Observatory Office in Port Moresby, said there were no initial reports of damage from near the epicentre of the quake, which is sparsely populated. "Because of the great depth of the earthquake it is unlikely that there will be any significant tsunami activity," McKee told Reuters. Australia and New Zealand both said they had assessed the threat and there was no danger to their coastlines. Bougainville Island is one of the islands that make up the Autonomous Region of Bougainville within Papua New Guinea(PNG) which is home to around 300,000 people. ||||| Port Moresby: A powerful magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit the Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Solomon Islands on Sunday, but a tsunami alert intially issued for the Pacific island nation and its neighbours was later cancelled. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the quake; some 47 km west of Arawa on the north Coast of Bougainville Island, and the depth was put at 154 km. Earthquakes of such magnitude are common in Papua New Guinea, which sits on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates. There were no reports of damage from the epicentre of the quake yet sources said. Notably, in 2013 the Solomon Islands were hit by a devastating tsunami after an 8.0-magnitude earthquake rattled the region. That tsunami left at least 10 people dead, destroyed hundreds of homes and left thousands of people homeless.
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A 7.9 magnitude earthquake hits west of Panguna, Papua New Guinea, beneath Bougainville Island. No immediate reports of casualties or major damage. Tsunami alert for Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands is rescinded.
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Image copyright Twitter US authorities have seized $20m (£16m) in cash discovered in a bed frame under a mattress in a Massachusetts flat. The cash is believed to be linked to a $1bn pyramid scheme involving TelexFree, a company that claimed to provide internet phone services. Investigators uncovered the cash while following a Brazilian man, who was charged in connection to the haul. Federal prosecutors say the defunct company swindled almost a million people worldwide out of about $1bn. The US attorney's office in Massachusetts tweeted a photo of the windfall of cash, which was found at the flat of Brazilian national Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, 28, in Westborough, Massachusetts. Mr Rocha was arrested and charged with conspiring to commit money laundering. A judge on Monday ruled that Mr Rocha was a flight risk and held him without bail. Prosecutors argue Mr Rocha was part of the scheme, transferring millions of dollars to Brazil by laundering the cash through Hong Kong. TelexFree, which purported to sell Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, allegedly made most of its revenue from people buying into the company scheme with the promise of payouts for posting online ads, according to federal prosecutors. Those investors were then compensated with money from new recruits, who were often friends and family members. "TelexFree purported to aggressively market its VoIP service by recruiting thousands of 'promoters' to post ads for the product on the Internet," the Department of Justice said in a statement on its website. ||||| Here is someone who took hiding money under the mattress to the extreme after police in the United States found $20 million (£16m) in cash at an apartment. The huge pile of banknotes were uncovered inside a wooden bed frame, the US Attorney's Office in Massachusetts said, sharing a photo of the cash seizure on Twitter. ||||| - A Brazilian man, arrested in connection with the discovery of about $20 million in cash hidden inside a box spring in a Massachusetts apartment, has been held without bail. A judge on Monday ruled that 28-year-old Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha is a flight risk and held him on a charge of conspiring to commit money laundering. Rocha was arrested this month when the money was discovered in a Westborough apartment. Photos shared by the U.S. Attorney's Office showed the box spring with its top pulled back, exposing pile upon pile of bills. Prosecutors say Rocha was part of a scheme to transfer millions of dollars to Brazil by laundering the cash through Hong Kong. The money was from TelexFree, a defunct internet phone company authorities say was a massive pyramid scheme. The Boston Herald reports that Rocha's lawyer argued that his client had no criminal record and should be granted bail with GPS monitoring. ||||| BOSTON (CBSMiami/AP) – We’ve all heard about stashing money in the mattress for a rainy day. Well it must have been pouring when police found $20 million stuffed in a bed’s box spring in a Westborough, Massachusetts apartment. Investigators said the money was connected to a pyramid scheme involving TelexFree, a Marlborough-based company that purportedly sold VOIP telephone service. The cash was found earlier this month by investigators who had tailed a Brazilian man from New York. That man, Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, 28, was charged with conspiring to commit money laundering. TelexFree had few customers and made most of its revenue from people buying into the company with a promise of payouts for posting online ads for it, prosecutors have said. They were paid with money from new recruits, often friends and family of earlier investors. Although initially aimed at Brazilian immigrants to Massachusetts, authorities allege almost 1 million people worldwide were swindled out of nearly $1.8 billion. ||||| BOSTON — A Brazilian man arrested in connection with the discovery of about $20 million in cash hidden inside a box spring in a Massachusetts apartment has been held without bail. A judge on Monday ruled that 28-year-old Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha is a flight risk and held him on a charge of conspiring to commit money laundering in what authorities have said was a billion-dollar pyramid scheme. Rocha was arrested this month when the money was discovered in an apartment in Westborough, Massachusetts. The approximate $20 million in cash that was hidden inside a box spring in a Massachusetts apartment was seized as part of a wide-ranging investigation into an internet telecom company that authorities said was actually a massive international pyramid scheme, federal prosecutors said. Prosecutors said Rocha was part of a scheme to transfer millions of dollars to Brazil by laundering the cash through Hong Kong. The money was from TelexFree, a defunct internet phone company authorities said was a massive pyramid scheme. The Boston Herald reported that Rocha's lawyer argued that his client had no criminal record and should be granted bail with GPS monitoring. The cash was found on Jan. 5 by investigators who had tailed Rocha from New York. TelexFree had few customers and made most of its revenue from people buying into the company with a promise of payouts for posting online ads for it, prosecutors have said. They were paid with money from new recruits, often friends and family of earlier investors. Although initially aimed at Brazilian immigrants in Massachusetts, authorities allege almost 1 million people worldwide were swindled out of nearly $1.8 billion. TelexFree filed for bankruptcy in 2014, its assets were frozen, and its two principals were indicted on federal charges of wire fraud and conspiracy. One of them, former chief executive James Merrill, pleaded guilty in October and awaits sentencing on Feb. 2. The other, Carlos Wanzeler, fled to his native Brazil where he remains, U.S. prosecutors said. According to court documents, Rocha, acting as a courier for Wanzeler's nephew, flew from Brazil to New York City a few days ago. Rocha then met with a cooperating witness at a restaurant in Hudson, Massachusetts, and gave him a suitcase containing $2.2 million. ||||| A Brazilian man has been arrested after $20 million (£16m) in cash was found hidden under a mattress. Police in the United States made the discovery after arresting 28-year-old Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha at an apartment in the Westborough district of Massachusetts earlier this month. Mr Rocha has been accused of being part of TelexFree Inc - a defunct internet phone company - and was arrested on conspiracy to commit money laundering. ||||| United States one dollar bills are seen on a light table at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington November 14, 2014. — Reuters pic NEW YORK, Jan 25 — A Brazilian money laundering suspect has been denied bail in the United States after authorities found nearly US$20 million (RM88.70 million) in cash stuffed under a mattress in Massachusetts. The US attorney’s office in the northeastern state on Monday tweeted a photograph showing the bank notes crammed into the box spring. The cash was initially impounded on January 4. Cleber Rocha, charged with conspiring to commit money laundering, was denied bail in a Massachusetts federal court on Monday. US prosecutors say he was a courier for the nephew of a Brazilian fugitive indicted over a multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme. Carlos Wanzeler fled to Brazil via Canada and avoided arrest, while co-defendant James Merrill pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing. US prosecutors say Wanzeler used intermediaries to try to transfer money still hidden in the greater Boston area. Rocha faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted. — AFP ||||| BOSTON (AP) — A Brazilian man arrested in connection with the discovery of about $20 million in cash hidden inside a box spring in a Massachusetts apartment has been held without bail. A judge on Monday ruled that 28-year-old Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha is a flight risk and held him on a charge of conspiring to commit money laundering. Rocha was arrested this month when the money was discovered in a Westborough apartment. Prosecutors say Rocha was part of a scheme to transfer millions of dollars to Brazil by laundering the cash through Hong Kong. The money was from TelexFree, a defunct internet phone company authorities say was a massive pyramid scheme. The Boston Herald reports that Rocha’s lawyer argued that his client had no criminal record and should be granted bail with GPS monitoring. >>Our sister station WDTN first reported this story ||||| The US Attorney’s Office released a photo of the money on Monday following the arrest of a Brazilian national charged with conspiring to launder proceeds from a pyramid scheme. Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, 28, was charged with one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, the Department of Justice said in a press release. He was arrested on Jan. 4 after allegedly giving a cooperating witness $2.2 million in a suitcase at a restaurant in Hudson, Massachusetts. Agents then followed Rocha to an apartment complex in Westborough where they arrested him and seized the massive stockpile of cash hidden in a box spring. Rocha was allegedly involved in the pyramid scheme by TelexFree, a Massachusetts-based company claiming to provide Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone services. However, authorities alleged that it was actually a $1-billion pyramid scheme operating between January 2012 and March 2014. TelexFree made 99% of its revenue from “promoters” who were required to buy into the company at a certain price with the promise of being compensated for posting online ads about it, the DOJ said. TelexFree was allegedly only able to pay the returns it had promised to its existing promoters by bringing in money from newly recruited promoters, prosecutors said. TelexFree’s co-founder, Carlos Wanzeler, allegedly fled to his native Brazil in April 2014 where he remains a fugitive. Another co-founder, James Merrill, pleaded guilty to charges of operating TelexFree as a pyramid scheme last October and is awaiting sentencing. ||||| It might have been the first place they looked. When federal authorities raided an apartment in Westborough, Mass., earlier this month, they found money hidden under the mattress — approximately $20 million. Photos show a box spring stuffed with bricks of cash that were seized during a Homeland Security investigation linked to a pyramid scheme involving a company called TelexFree. Agents found the money after they arrested a Brazilian national named Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, who was charged with one count of conspiring to commit money laundering. The 28-year-old admitted to federal agents that he was in the U.S. to facilitate a money transfer to a founder of the company, court documents state. TelexFree, which sold voice-over-Internet phone service, "was really a massive pyramid scheme," according to court documents. "It make little or no money from selling VOIP, but took in millions of dollars from people signing up to receive financial bonuses from advertising and recruiting." Federal authorities executed search warrants against the company in 2014 — and court records state that "about 965,225 people lost money when TelexFree collapsed, their losses totaling about $1,755,927,755." One of the founders fled to Brazil; another pleaded guilty and admitted the company was a pyramid scheme. In the aftermath of the Massachusetts company's collapse, TelexFree executives in Brazil allegedly plotted to retrieve money left behind. Rocha is said to be one of those people, sent from Brazil. He traveled to the U.S. in January and June 2016, but money hand-offs were cancelled both times, according to court records. On New Year's Eve, Rocha arrived in New York, allegedly for another attempt. He was arrested in Massachusetts on Jan. 4 after he met a "cooperating witness at a restaurant in Hudson, Mass., and allegedly gave him $2.2 million in a suitcase," according to the Department of Justice. Later that day, agents found the cash in an apartment Rocha had visited. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. On Monday, a federal magistrate judge said he posed a flight risk and ordered him detained pending trial. "There is no incentive for him to remain in the United States, and every incentive for him to flee given the strength of the case against him," she wrote.
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Police discover US$20 million in a bed frame under a mattress at a Massachusetts home. The cash is believed to be linked to Telexfree, a pyramid scheme disguised as a company that claimed to provide internet phone services. A Brazilian man that police were following was charged in connection to the money.
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Officials in Toronto are offering their condolences to the victims of a deadly mosque attack in Quebec City that claimed the lives of six people and injured eight others Sunday night. Mayor John Tory released a statement on Monday calling the attack an “unspeakable tragedy” and urge everyone to “reject all acts of fear, hatred and violence.” “Islamophobia and acts of hatred and violence against any group have no place in Toronto, and I ask the people of Toronto to come together to support our Muslim citizens and Canadians of all faiths and backgrounds,” Tory said. “I have communicated with Régis Labeaume, the Mayor of Quebec City, to express my condolences on behalf of the people of Toronto. I have also spoken with the Office of the Toronto Police Chief this morning to make sure all steps are being taken to keep our citizens safe.” Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne expressed her sadness over the shooting saying that “no one should ever fear worshiping their God in Canada.” Law enforcement agencies in the Greater Toronto Area also took notice of the attack. Peel Regional Police Chief Jennifer Evans issued a statement on Monday calling the act of violence “reprehensible” and reassured members of the public that their safety is of the utmost importance. “In light of this tragic event, we want to assure the citizens of Peel Region, and in particular those of Muslim faith, that our officers will remain vigilant and attentive when conducting patrols around mosques and Islamic centres,” Evans said. “It is during these times that we must pull together and work to defend the values that are core to our society, diversity and religious freedom among many.” Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders also offered his thoughts and prayers to the families affected by the shooting. Six people ranging in age from 35 to about 70 were killed and eight more injured, including several children, during the attack at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec. READ MORE: Canadian leaders express outrage and shock at Quebec mosque attack Official said 39 people survived the shooting. Quebec provincial police confirm two men were arrested in connection to the incident. ||||| The lone suspect in the shooting at the Quebec City mosque Sunday night is believed to be Alexandre Bissonnette, a 27-year-old student at Universite Laval who was studying anthropology before switching to political science. The Surete du Quebec will not confirm the identity of the suspect, who is expected to be arraigned at the Quebec City courthouse Monday afternoon. Several media reports say Bissonnette is the suspect. But according to real-estate records, Bissonnette’s parents own a home on Tracel St. in the Cap-Rouge district of Quebec City where police conducted a search on Monday. Bissonnette’s father is listed in the sales deed as an investigator. According to Bissonnette’s Facebook page — which has since been taken offline — his grandfather was a decorated war hero. As for the suspected shooter himself, his Facebook page does not reveal a great deal about his possible motivations. His musical tastes appear to range from Katy Perry to Megadeth. The young man, who dressed up as the Grim Reaper for Halloween, also “liked” Donald Trump, French Front National leader Marine Le Pen and Mathieu Bock-Cóté, a Quebec City columnist known for his pro-nationalist and anti-multicultural views. A refugee welcome group in the capital city, however, said Bissonnette’s name and photograph were already familiar to them. In a post on Facebook, Bienvenu aux refugies said they learned “with sadness and anger about the identity of the terrorist Alexandre Bissonnette, unfortunately known by several militants in Quebec City for his viewpoints that were pro-LePen and anti-feminist, as expressed in social media and at Universite Laval.” ||||| Quebec provincial police now say only one of the two men arrested Sunday night following the deadly shooting at a Quebec City mosque is a suspect in the attack. The suspect, Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, appeared in court late Monday afternoon and was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder while using a restricted firearm. He is expected back in court Feb. 21. La SQ confirme qu’un seul des individus arrêté hier soir en lien avec l’<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/attentat?src=hash">#attentat</a> de <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Qu%C3%A9bec?src=hash">#Québec</a> est considéré comme suspect. —@sureteduquebec In a pair of tweets sent shortly after noon, the Sûreté du Québec confirmed one of the men arrested is now considered a witness. Six men died in the shooting, which began shortly before 8 p.m., during evening prayers at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec (Islamic cultural centre of Quebec). Nineteen people were also wounded. Police said it's too early to know the motive. Witness mistakenly arrested One of the men was arrested outside the mosque within minutes of the shooting. He was later released as a witness. He spoke to CBC's French-language network, Radio-Canada, under the condition of anonymity and said he was outside the mosque, shovelling its steps, when he heard shooting. After the shooting stopped, he went inside and called 911. "I found [a victim] near the door. I didn't know if he was alive or dead," he said. "When I gave him my jacket to keep warm, I saw the image of someone with a firearm, I didn't know it was police. I thought it was a shooter who'd returned." He fled the scene but was arrested. He wasn't released until Monday. At a police briefing Monday morning, Quebec City police Insp. Denis Turcotte said another man called 911 at 8:10 p.m. Sunday — 25 minutes after the shooting. That man told them he was armed and had been involved in the shooting. "He seemed to want to co-operate," Turcotte said. The man told police he was parked near the bridge on Île d'Orléans, where he was arrested without incident. Police Sgt. Christine Coulombe said the men who were killed ranged in age from 35 to 70. Five people are still in hospital. Two will need more surgery, while the other three are stable and may be discharged soon. Another 14 people have been released, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Thirty-nine people escaped the mosque without injuries. An act of terrorism, premier says Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard called the shooting an act of terrorism. "It's a murderous act directed at a specific community," he said at a news conference. "I think the majority of citizens — not just in Quebec, but elsewhere — would describe it that way." Couillard also shared a message of solidarity with Quebec's Muslim community. "We are with you. You are at home. And you are welcome at home," he said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the shooting as a "terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge." "Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country," said Trudeau in a statement. Late Monday morning, Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume and Couillard held a news conference and invited several leaders from the Muslim community to speak. Many had trouble getting through their prepared remarks, breaking down at the thought of the lives lost and the show of support they say their community has received since Sunday night. Attack on the ground floor Police said prayers were underway at the mosque when shots were fired just before 8 p.m. Men were praying on the ground floor of the building, while women and children were upstairs. Quebec City police said they are working with the RCMP and the Quebec provincial police following the shooting at a Quebec City mosque that left six people dead and 19 wounded. (Mathieu Belanger/Reuters) Quebec City police deployed all available officers, Turcotte said. Some of the wounded were in critical condition. (Mathieu Belanger/Reuters) By 10:40 p.m., police said the situation was under control. "The building is secure and the occupants evacuated. The investigation continues," tweeted Quebec City police, who are working with the RCMP and provincial police. Police patrolled the perimeter near the mosque after the shooting. (Mathieu Belanger/Reuters) Suspect a Laval student The suspected shooter, Bissonnette, studied anthropology and political science at Laval University, according to his Facebook page, which was taken down on Monday. Police stepped up patrols at the university, as well as at other mosques in Quebec City and elsewhere in Quebec. Police erected perimeters and road blocks in other areas of Quebec City as part of their investigation. A search was also underway at a home in Sainte-Foy. 'A Québécois accent' Last night, shortly after the shooting, a witness who asked to remain anonymous told Radio-Canada that two masked individuals entered the mosque. "It seemed to me that they had a Québécois accent. They started to fire, and as they shot, they yelled, 'Allahu akbar!' The bullets hit people that were praying. People who were praying lost their lives. A bullet passed right over my head. "There were even kids. There was even a three-year-old who was with his father," the witness said. The latest information from provincial police, however, is that there was only one shooter. A few dozen people were inside the Islamic cultural centre of Quebec in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood when the shooting began just after 8 p.m. (Canadian Press) Call for solidarity with Muslims Mayor Labeaume fought back tears during a news conference early Monday, saying the city is in mourning. "To the Muslim community, our neighbours, our co-citizens, who count on our support and solidarity, I want to say, 'We love you,'" he said. People outside the mosque paid their respects. Martin St. Louis holds a sign that reads, 'La paix non la guerre,' which means 'peace, not war.' (Francis Vachon/Canadian Press) Politicians around the world also denounced the attack. A message on the Facebook page of the mosque's administration said: "Thank you for the hundreds of compassionate messages coming from everywhere." Politicians and community leaders will attend a vigil in Quebec City on Monday evening. Other ceremonies have been planned across the country. According to Quebec City police, the shooting began just before 8 p.m. ET. (Maxime Corneau/Radio-Canada) The mosque was previously the target of vandals. Last June, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a pig's head was left on its doorstep. Quebec City police Chief Robert Pigeon said Monday that police had not established any link between the pig's head incident and Sunday night's shooting. Authorities are asking anyone with information into Sunday's attack to contact Quebec provincial police at 1-800-659-4264. ||||| At least three gunmen reportedly entered a mosque in Quebec in Canada and opened fired at around 40 people who were there for evening prayers on Sunday, local time. While five of them were killed, several of the other victims have sustained serious injuries, leading to fears that the death toll might rise. Also read: Trump signs orders on 'extreme vetting,' bars refugee entry from 7 Muslim countries It is not known yet whether this was a hate crime. The shooting comes barely a day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada. [sic]" The incident took place at the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre. "There are many victims ... there are deaths," a Quebec police spokesman has been quoted by reporters at saying. The police, as well as medical and paramedical personnel, rushed to the spot after the incident. Two of the three gunmen were reportedly arrested after the incident, and are being interrogated. A witness told French-language radio channel Radio Canada: "It seemed to me that they had a Quebecois accent. They started to fire, and when they shot they yelled, 'Allahu akbar!' The bullets hit people that were praying. People who were praying lost their lives. A bullet passed right over my head." Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale took to Twitter to say that he is "deeply saddened" by the incident. Mosque president Mohamed Yangui, who was not present at the evening prayers, said he had received several calls from those inside about the shooting. He was quoted by agencies as saying that the injured had been taken to several hospitals across Quebec City. "Why is this happening here? This is barbaric," he said. Incidentally, a pig's head had been left in front of the cultural centre in mid-2016, in what was considered an incident fuelled by hate. Muslims consider pig and pig meat unclean, and therefore shun it. |||||
• Five people still in critical condition after being operated overnight; Twelve others treated and released
• Victims, all men, were aged 39-60. Police added that 39 others who were in the mosque at the time of the shooting were unharmed.
• After initially saying there were two suspects, police later said there is one suspect and one witness. Both men are previously unknown to police.
• Alexandre Bissonnette is the suspect. He was expected to be arraigned Monday afternoon.
• Police surveillance stepped up at mosques across Quebec and Ontario, Premier Couillard says A quiet college student has become the focus of police attention after a mass shooting Sunday night at a mosque in Quebec City that killed six people and wounded several more in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned as “a terrorist attack on Muslims." After initially saying there were two suspects, police from the Sureté du Québec confirmed around noon Monday that there was only one and that he was in custody. The other is being considered a witness. Primary attention now centres on Alexandre Bissonnette, a 20-something resident of Quebec City suburb of Cap-Rouge. He is expected to be arraigned later Monday. Related: Quebec City shooting was act of terror against Canada, Trudeau says In photos: Quebec City mosque shooting kills six people at prayer Also: Trump, other world leaders express condolences after Quebec attack The man who court officials had named as another man involved is now considered a witness. The TVA network said Mr. Bissonnette was the only suspect. "Six of our brothers... were were assassinated [by shots to] the back while they were praying," said Ben Abdallah, a local muslim community leader in Quebec City, speaking at an emotional news conference with Quebec lawmakers Monday. "They've left orphans. Please spare a thought for them. For the children and for their wives." Among the men who died was a university professor and a shopkeeper, another community leader said, adding these were men who made key contributions to society. "Each one is a father. I want this humanity [to be expressed]." Representatives of the Muslim community who spoke at the news conference said they did not know the perpetrator of the crime. Two history students who said they went to Cegep with Mr. Bissonnette described him as quiet and unassuming, adding he belonged to the school's chess club. "It's just really surprising," said one, who declined to give his name. "It's scary that it would happen here," said the other, Antoine Cabanac. A home where Mr. Bissonnette resided in the Quebec City suburb of Cap-Rouge was searched Monday morning, neighbours confirmed. The white and grey two-story house sits on a small crescent just a few dozen metres from the St. Lawrence river. Shortly after noon, a large SUV pulled up and crime scene investigators carried equipment inside. Police descended on that site as well as others around Quebec City hunting for information in what they described as a large and ongoing investigation. Surveillance of mosques around Quebec and Ontario has been stepped up, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said. At a separate news conference earlier Monday morning, police confirmed the number of casualties in the attack on the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec. The victims were all men and aged 39 to 60, police said, adding that 39 people who were in the mosque at the time of the shooting were unharmed. Many of the witnesses spent the night at a sports centre near the mosque where they were questioned. Of those taken to hospital, two remained in "very serious" condition that will require significant treatment going forward, hospital officials said. Three others have relatively minor injuries and should recover quickly, they said. "Two patients have very serious injuries, mostly to the abdomen, and with gunshot fragments elsewhere on their body," said Dr. Julien Clément, medical director of the traumatology department at the CHU de Québec. "They will need other operations in the future." Investigators do not believe there was anyone involved beyond the two men they had in initial custody. They would not comment on identity of the attackers, motives or methods. Initially, police said the suspects are in their late 20s and early 30s. "This is an extensive investigation," said superintendent Martin Plante of the RCMP, noting four police forces are working together on the ongoing probe. "In a terrorism investigation, there are ideological, religious or political motivations at play," Sup. Plante said. "There are activities pursued by individuals that want to cause worry to the public through a violent act." Police appeared to be in close contact with Quebec City's nearby Laval University but university officials would not confirm unverified information that the attacker was among the students there. "We are profoundly distributed by these terrorist acts," said Denis Brière, Laval's rector. "I am without words in the face of these cruel events. These are heinous and inhuman acts. Terrorist attacks that we condemn strongly at Laval University. These are acts that should not happen anywhere, ever." Details of the shooting itself were not clear. Worshippers were at Quebec City's mosque for the evening prayers when the attack occurred. Early reports indicated that two assailants dressed in black and wearing ski masks walked into the mosque and started shooting. Frantic worshippers started calling 911 at 7:55 p.m., according to police. One witness, who did not want to give his name, said he was in the mosque after the evening prayer when a man walked in and started shooting “everything that was moving.” “It was someone who mastered weapons because it was calm,” the man said. “He killed and he killed. It was really horrible.” He said he lay on his stomach near the front of the mosque as the man emptied his weapon. Then, he said, the gunman just stopped and left. “I’m shocked,” he said. “We thought that here, we were in a safe city, a safe country. But unfortunately that's not the case.” Police said they intercepted one of the men initially labelled a suspect near the mosque shortly after receiving the first emergency phone calls and arrested him. The other man initially labelled a suspect fled the scene by car and called 911 around 8:10 p.m. to say he was involved. He stopped his vehicle on the ramp leading to the Ile d'Orleans bridge to wait for police, authorities said. "He said he was armed and told us about what he had done," said Turcotte. "He seems to want to co-operate." Ali Hamadi had said goodbye to a good friend and left minutes before the gunfire broke out. He was just home when he started getting phone calls telling him that the mosque had come under attack. One of his good friends was killed. “He was my friend, my colleague. We worked together in the civil service for the Quebec government. Had I not left early I could have been among the victims,” Mr. Hamadi said. When Mr. Hamadi went to the hospital and identified his friend's body all he could think about was the grief his friend’s wife and three young daughters will suffer in the days to come. “Such a tragic event. How can his children ever come to grasp how their father could have been murdered while praying in a mosque?” Mr. Hamadi said. Quebec’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, consisting of investigators from the RCMP, the Sûreté du Québec and the Montreal police service, took over the investigation around 10 p.m. Sunday, when the shooting was determined to be an act of terror. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume held a joint news conference at 1:30 a.m. Monday where they added no details about the attack but expressed condolences and solidarity. “I want to say a few words to our Québécois compatriots of the Muslim confession. We’re with you. You are home, you are welcome in your home. We’re all Québécois,” said Mr. Couillard. Mr. Labeaume, usually known for his self-confidence and boisterous nature, was shattered. “Quebec City is in mourning, this magnificent city,” he said, his voice drifting off. “I’ve often said that despite the peace we live, we are not immune to the fates.” Hours after the shooting, the Centre sportif Sainte Foy acted as a hub where concerned community members gathered. Small groups huddled and exchanged information about their missing friends. Gazi Hamrouni had spent six hours looking for a friend of 20 years. “He was the first I called when I heard the news,” said Mr. Hamrouni. “His phone didn't pick up, now it's dead and I've been to every hospital in the city, several times.” He said none were able to provide information about his friend, who wasn't on the injured list. “He doesn't work Sunday nights so this is the place he would be (the mosque) -- he lives five minutes away from it.” Abder Dhakkar and four other men standing in the parking lot were frustrated at the lack of communication to the families of victims. “Shouldn't there be someone we can go to know what's going on?” Mr. Dhakkar said. Others at the centre were there, they said, because they felt they had to be. At around 4:30 a.m., the final group of people gathered at the sports centre began to leave, some of them getting into the back of police cars sobbing. “Out of solidarity,” said Lehachie Hakim, a 54-year-old father who was with his two sons when he heard of the shooting. “My youngest is completely traumatized. He was crying. It's shocking; I never thought this would happen.” Mohammed Yangui, the mosque president, said 60 to 100 people are usually at the mosque for evening prayers. He was not present for the shooting but spoke to several witnesses. “A mass shooting. In Quebec City. I can’t believe it,” he said. “We’ve never done anything to provoke anyone, and we’ve never cultivated hatred for anyone. I’m just beside myself.” Mr. Trudeau said he was being briefed on the attack and was in contact with Mr. Couillard. “We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge,” Mr. Trudeau said in a statement. “Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country. Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance.” Condemnations poured in from around the world as word of the attack spread. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the NYPD was beefing up security around mosques in the wake of the attack. “All New Yorkers should be vigilant. If you see something, say something,” he wrote on Twitter. “Our prayers tonight are with the people of Quebec City as they deal with a terrible attack on a mosque. We must stand together.” French President Francois Hollande has condemned the “odious attack” on a Quebec mosque and offered support for Canada’s leaders. Hollande, whose country has suffered a string of Islamic extremist attacks, said in a statement that “it was the Québécois spirit of peace and openness that the terrorists wanted to harm” in Sunday’s attack. The mosque, also known as La Grande mosquée in the west end of the city, has been the target of vandalism in the past. Last June during Ramadan, a pig’s head was left outside the mosque. The head was wrapped in paper and accompanied by a note that said “Bonne appetit [sic].” In the middle of the night the mosque posted a message on its Facebook page: “All our thoughts for children to whom we must announce the deaths of their dads. May Allah lend them patience and endurance.” Vigils are planned in Montreal and Quebec City on Monday. ||||| Six people have been killed and eight others were injured after at least two gunmen opened fire in a Quebec City mosque Sunday night. Premier Philippe Couillard described it as a terrorist attack. At a press conference early Monday morning, a Sûreté du Québec spokesperson said two suspects were arrested – one near the mosque, and another near Île d'Orléans, east of Quebec City. Police said nothing leads them to believe that other people were involved. The victims ranged in age from 35 to 60, police said. There were 39 people at the mosque who were not injured. The president of the mosque told the Montreal Gazette he received a call around 8 p.m. saying there had been a shooting. He said people were at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec for regular evening prayers. "This is a terrible event," Mohamed Yangui said. "We're in a state of shock, I can't find words to describe it." Yangui said five people were killed and many others injured. He said men, women and children attend evening prayers. The mosque has about 5,000 members and is one of six in the Quebec City region. Last June, worshippers at the same mosque discovered the severed head of a pig left in front of one of the doors, wrapped in cellophane with bows and ribbon, and a card that said “bonne appétit.” Three weeks later, an Islamophobic letter titled "What is the most serious: a pig's head or a genocide" was distributed in the vicinity. But Yangui said the mosque had not received any threats recently. "We have a very good relationship with the neighbours, with the community," he said. "There's mutual respect — and now today we have this dramatic event." The mosque has several video cameras and Yangui said their footage might be able to help with the police investigation. A man who said he was a witness to the attack told Radio-Canada two masked suspects entered the mosque. The man said the men appeared to have thick Québécois accents and shouted "Allahu akbar" as they began shooting. He said the bullets struck people who were praying. Quebec City police spokesperson Étienne Doyon told reporters that police received a first call around 7:55 p.m. on Sunday, stating shots had been heard at the mosque. Friends and bystanders around the security parameter stood huddled in the cold, incredulous, unable to believe such violence could occur in Quebec City, a city with a notoriously low crime rate. Ben Abdallah, who often prays at the Ste-Foy mosque, described the event as "catastrophic. We never thought ... but given the hateful speeches all around the planet, it can happen," he said. Hamid Nadji had friends who were inside the mosque at the time of the shooting. He spoke to them afterward, and described the scene as "a carnage." "From what we heard over the phone, one person had a weapon discharged in his face because he had wanted to jump on the man to stop him. And the three others died because they wanted to catch the man." He said the assailant went into the mosque a first time, then left to recharge his weapon and came back a second, then a third time. "Many of the people who lived through this fled their home countries to avoid such situations, because they lived through trauma and didn't want the same for their children." A non-profit group that fights Islamophobia in Quebec said it has been asking authorities "for years" to deal with threats and attacks on Quebec mosques. The Collectif Canadien Anti-Islamophobie said on Twitter Sunday night that the Quebec City attack was preventable but nothing was done. The Islamic Centre of Quebec said: 'This attack on a sanctuary where innocent people, including children, gather has shaken us deeply. It runs against the core values we hold as Canadians." It urged "the Muslim community to remain calm, united and know that the Canadian people stand with us in solidarity. We have faith that the great people of this country will stand and work together during this difficult time." The shooting came two days after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an American travel ban that has barred citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States. Montreal police chief Philippe Pichet said the department will be more visible at certain locations, is in contact with the Muslim community and will meet with community leaders Monday morning. A vigil has already been planned in Montreal on Monday. On Twitter, several hashtags emerged, including #JeSuisQuébec, #IAmQuebec and #PrayForQuebec. Witnesses say about a dozen people were wounded and some reports state two of three suspected gunmen have been arrested. A live video feed on a Facebook page of a mosque showed images of multiple police vehicles and yellow police tape. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard described it as "barbaric violence" and saying "the government is mobilized to ensure the security of the Quebec population." Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume said his city stands with the families of the victims and members of the mosque, and will support them through this "terrible ordeal that defies reason." New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo denounced the attack. Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin said police in his city have increased patrols around mosques in the city. More to come. ||||| QUEBEC CITY (AP) – A Quebec court clerk has confirmed the names of the suspects in the attack on a Canadian mosque in which six people died. Court clerk Isabelle Ferland identified Alexandre Bissonnette and Mohamed el Khadir as the suspects. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard says the attack is an attack on all Quebecers. ||||| Police say six people have been killed and eight wounded in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque that Canada’s prime minister described as a terrorist act. The shooting at the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre in the provincial capital happened during evening prayers on Sunday. Two arrests have been made. Prime minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec premier Philippe Couillard characterised the shooting as a terrorist act, which came amid heightened tensions worldwide over US president Donald Trump’s travel ban on some Muslim countries. Mosque president Mohamed Yangui reported the number of dead late in a telephone call from Quebec City, the provincial capital. He said the shooting happened in the men’s section of the mosque and feared some victims were children. He said he was not at the centre when the attack occurred, but obtained some details from people on the scene. Mr Yangui said about 60-100 people would have been there at the time of the shooting. “We are sad for the families,” he said. In a statement, Mr Trudeau said: “We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge. “It is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. “Diversity is our strength and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear. “Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country. “Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance.” Quebec City police spokesman Constable Pierre Poirier said two suspects were arrested. Police said the mosque had been evacuated and things were under control. Mr Trudeau said on Twitter that he spoke to Mr Couillard and was being briefed by officials. The prime minister said the government had offered “any & all assistance needed”. Mr Trudeau had earlier reacted to Mr Trump’s visa ban for people from certain Muslim-majority countries by tweeting on Saturday: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.” He also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto’s airport in late 2015. Mr Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected. Mr Couillard described the Sunday mosque attack as “barbaric violence” and expressed solidarity with the victims’ families. The mayor of Gatineau, Quebec, near Canada’s capital of Ottawa, said there would be increased police presence at mosques around his city and in the US, the New York Police Department said it was stepping up patrols at mosques and other places of worship. New York City Mayor Bill Blasio said on Twitter: “NYPD is providing additional protection for mosques in the city. “All New Yorkers should be vigilant. If you see something, say something.” ||||| Quebec, Jan 30: Six people were reportedly killed and several injured after three gunmen opened fire at a mosque here, the mosque's president Mohamed Yangui has said. The shooting was carried out while prayers were being conducted in the mosque. Two people have been arrested so far and the area around the mosque has been cordoned off. The scene of the crime. Photo courtsey: Screengrab The same mosque, had last year, received a pig's head gift wrapped with a note stating 'bon apetite.' The mosque's president said that he was receiving frantic calls from people during the evening prayer. Yangui, who was not at the moque at the time of the shooting said that he didn't know how many people were injured. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter to express his grief."My thoughts are with victims and their families," he wrote. Tonight, Canadians grieve for those killed in a cowardly attack on a mosque in Quebec City. My thoughts are with victims & their families. — Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 30, 2017 ||||| OTTAWA (CNN) -- Six people are dead after a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City, according to Quebec Provincial Police. Eight people were injured. The attack, which took place at the city's Quebec Islamic Cultural Center, is being investigated as an act of terrorism by police. In what was described as a coordinated attack, witnesses say at least two gunmen wearing black fired indiscriminately into the dozens of worshipers -- including families -- in the mosque. Thirty-nine people who were at the mosque during shooting were unharmed, Christine Coulombe, spokeswoman of National Police of Quebec, said. Of the eight injured, six are described as being in critical condition. Two people have been arrested, a police press conference confirmed. The Canadian province's premier, Philippe Couillard, called the shooting a terrorist act on Twitter. He added that he would ask the National Assembly to fly the Quebec flag at half-staff. Police said in a later tweet that the situation was under control. "The site is secure and the occupants (of the mosque) were evacuated. The investigation continues." Police are not ruling out the existence of accomplices. "Please wait for preliminary results (of the investigation) before circulating rumors," it says. "The situation is very critical. May Allah give us endurance." Another post showed the center's gratitude for the "hundreds of messages of compassion coming from all over." At least two vigils, in Quebec City and in Montreal, are planned for Monday. At least five of those injured in the incident were receiving treatment at the University Hospital of Quebec. Other victims are in hospitals throughout the city, hospital spokesman Richard Fournier tells CNN. Canada has taken in tens of thousands of refugees, especially from Syria, in the last few months. Last year, the cultural center received a wrapped pig head and a magazine with a pig on its cover, saying "Bonne Appetit," according to a post on its Facebook page. The post reads: "We just learned that a gesture of hate towards our Great Mosque took place Sunday morning (14 Ramadan) around Salat Al-Fajr! Police was made aware and opened an investigation! We will keep you updated as soon as we have news..." Under the Quran, pork is prohibited and pigs considered unclean. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his condolences in both French and English. "Tonight, Canadians grieve for those killed in a cowardly attack on a mosque in Quebec City. My thoughts are with victims & their families." Later, in a statement on his official site, Trudeau wrote: "It is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear. "Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country. Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance." "Let's unite against violence," the post reads. "We stand in solidarity with the Muslim people of Quebec." Security beefed up in other cities South of the Canadian border, the New York Police Department said that it was monitoring the situation in Quebec and has directed that "special attention" would be given to all New York City mosques and other houses of worship, according to a statement. "Critical Response Command (CRC) personnel have been assigned to extended tour coverage at certain mosque locations," the statement reads. The city is one of the focal points of protests against President Trump's travel ban, which seeks to exclude any travel from a number of Muslim-majority countries. The city's mayor, Bill de Blasio, sent out a series of tweets related to the Quebec City attack. "Our prayers tonight are with the people of Quebec City as they deal with a terrible attack on a mosque," he wrote in one. "We must stand together." In another he reiterated that his police department would be providing additional protection for New York's mosques, and in a third attempted to reassure the city's Muslim residents. "To my fellow New Yorkers who are Muslim: New York City will protect you. The NYPD will protect you. We will fight all hatred and bias." He also referenced a fire at a mosque in Victoria, Texas, over the weekend, drawing connections between the two incidents -- even though police and fire officials have not said there is a connection. "The awful attack in Quebec is not an outlier," he said. "Today, a mosque in Texas was burned to the ground. We must stop those who seek to divide us." The Victoria police have yet to reach any conclusions as to the cause of the fire which they are investigating. CNN's Tony Marco, Julia Jones and Deanna Hackney contributed to this report.
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A gunman opens fire at a mosque in Quebec City, Canada, during evening prayers. At least five people were killed. Two suspects were apprehended; one was later released.
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Pakistani police have placed Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the alleged mastermind of coordinated attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008 that killed more than 160 people, under house arrest in the eastern city of Lahore. Saeed was taken into custody at the headquarters for Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the religious charity he heads, late on Monday, a spokesman said. "He has been arrested, and he is being taken in police custody to his home," Nadeem Awan told Al Jazeera. Awan added that dozens of JuD supporters were accompanying the police convoy to Saeed's home. "We have received the detention orders from the government of Pakistan, and I believe that this is not aimed at me, but is an international conspiracy aimed at sabotaging the Kashmir struggle," Saeed told reporters, referring to the disputed Indian-controlled territory of Kashmir, before he was escorted by police to his residence. "This is the wish of [Indian PM Narendra] Modi, at the prompting of [US President Donald] Trump, and the government's helplessness." The two countries have fought three wars over Kashmir, which both claim in full but control in parts. In 2012, the United States placed a $10m bounty for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Saeed, who is also the founder of the armed group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Saeed has long since distanced himself from LeT, which has claimed responsibility for several attacks on Indian security forces and civilians, saying he now only runs JuD as a charity. The United Nations and the United States, however, list JuD as a front for LeT. Both organisations, as well as Saeed as an individual, remain under international sanctions. Saeed has been accused by both the US and India of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which killed 166 people in attacks across India's largest city. READ MORE: US blacklists Pakistan's Jamaat-ud-Dawa LeT has been banned as a "terrorist" organisation by Pakistan since 2002. In 2008, JuD was listed by Pakistan under a list of organisations subject to UN sanctions, including an assets freeze, arms embargo and international travel ban. The group continues to work openly across Pakistan, however, running a network of seminaries, releasing several publications and carrying out widespread humanitarian aid work. "We have never broken any laws of this country. If they have a legal order, then we will follow the law, and the doors of the court are available to us to seek justice," said Awan, shortly before Saeed's detention. Four other men - Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz - are also to be held under the government's detention orders, local media reported, citing copies and footage of the detention orders. The men are being detained under Section 11-EEE of Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act, which gives the government the power to arrest or detain "terrorism" suspects for up to 12 months. ||||| Story highlights Hafiz Saeed has been arrested in Pakistan, along with four other suspects Saeed can be detained for up to 12 months under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act (CNN) The alleged mastermind of the 2008 terror attacks that left 164 people dead in Mumbai, India, has been placed under house arrest in Pakistan. Hafiz Mohammed Saeed -- the leader of Pakistan's Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) -- was detained in Punjab, Pakistan's largest province, according to a government statement released late Sunday. Saeed is under detention in the town of Lahore. Four other men -- Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz -- have also been placed under house arrest in other towns around Punjab. The arrests come in conjunction with the placing of two organizations -- JUD and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation -- on a watch list under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997. All the men were detained for being active members of the organizations and are being held under Section 11-EEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act, which gives the government the power to arrest or detain suspects for up to 12 months. Read More ||||| MUMBAI TERROR attacks mastermind, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder and Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief, Hafiz Saeed, has been placed under “house arrest”, Pakistan media reported Monday, quoting sources in Punjab’s provincial government. In a video message issued before his arrest, Saeed blamed the bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump for the latest action. He also asked his followers to raise the issue of Kashmir during Kashmir Solidarity Day, observed every year in Pakistan on February 5, and said that he was not afraid of being arrested. The video message was shared by the JuD’s media cell and appeared to have been recorded inside a moving car. Saeed says in the message that his arrest was the result of pressure from India given his advocacy of the Kashmir issue and Balochistan. Watch What Else Is making News What also added to the pressure on Pakistan, he suggested, was the “deep friendship” that Trump wanted to forge with Modi. JuD spokesperson Yahya Mujahid was quoted by Reuters as saying that Pakistan’s Punjab police arrived at the organisation’s headquarters in Lahore with orders to place Saeed under house arrest. “These steps are being taken to please India,” claimed Mujahid. There was no official confirmation from Pakistan on his arrest, but Indian government sources said they were monitoring the development. “Our diplomats in Islamabad will be sending us a report on the issue,” government sources told The Indian Express, adding that Saeed had been arrested at least twice in the last 10 years but let off subsequently. JuD, a self-proclaimed charity organisation, is believed to be a front for the banned LeT and Saeed was declared a globally designated terrorist by the United Nations. In 2012, the US announced a $10 million bounty on Saeed. Quoting sources, Geo News, Pakistan’s largest TV news channel, said that Saeed has been placed under house arrest at Jamia Qadsia Chauburji in Lahore. According to a purported letter titled ‘Action against Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation and Jamaat ud Dawa’ issued by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry and posted by Geo News on its website, Saeed has been placed under “preventive detention”, along with four others. The four were identified as Abdullah Ubaid (Faisalabad), Zafar Iqbal (Muridkay, Markaz-e-Taiba), Abdur Rehman Abid (Muridkay, Markaz-e-Taiba) and Qazi Kashif Niaz (Multan, presently in Lahore). According to Geo News, the Ministry of Interior had included their names on a Watch List as per UNSC norms. According to the letter, the Ministry has “placed Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) on the Watch List and have listed these organizations in the Second Schedule of the ATA 1997 (as amended)”. “Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz are reportedly active members of the aforementioned organizations… As such, they must be placed under preventive detention,” states the letter. It asks the Punjab Home Secretary to “kindly direct the concerned agencies to move and take necessary action” as the matter “is most urgent”. Earlier Monday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had said that the PML-N government was taking steps to “fulfill our obligations”. “The organisation [JuD] has been ‘under observation’ since 2010-11. Since it has also been listed by the UN Security Council [Sanctions Committee], we are bound to take some steps. We are taking those steps to fulfill our obligations,” he told reporters after inaugurating a passport office in Islamabad, according to a report in Express Tribune. According to a report published in The News newspaper Monday, the US had warned Pakistan of sanctions if it did not declare JuD “defunct”. “Consultations are going on whether to declare JuD as defunct or not. However, the final decision will be taken after consultations between the civilians and military authorities,” The News quoted an official as saying. The News report claimed that United States assistant secretary of state had raised the issue during a meeting with Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, on January 11. ||||| After the authorities in Pakistan put Islamist leader Hafiz Muhammad Saeed under house arrest in Lahore on Tuesday (31 January), his supporters have now vowed to protest against his detention. Saeed, the chief of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group, is accused of planning the 2008 Mumbai attacks that claimed the lives of 166 people, including commuters, foreigners and some of India's wealthy elite. However, Saeed and his supporters have denied his role behind the attacks. His allies accused Islamabad of agreeing to the wishes of the United States, which has announced a $10mn (£7.99mn) reward for information leading to Saeed's arrest, and India. He was detained by the police at the Lahore headquarters of his charity, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), on Monday night and shortly before dawn he was taken to his house, where he was put under arrest. Police has also set up a perimeter around his house, Reuters reported. "This government has buckled under the pressure," JuD spokesman Nadeem Awan said; while, another spokesman, Farooq Azam, announced protests in Karachi by "different religious and Kashmir leaders". According to a senior Pakistani defence ministry official, Islamabad has not yet contacted the new US administration under President Donald Trump but had been feeling the pressure of Washington on the issue. "Trump is taking hard decisions against Muslim countries; there is open talk of actions against Pakistan also. So yes, this was a consideration," the official said. While, some reports claimed that as India has pushed a broader diplomatic campaign to isolate Pakistan, so Islamabad has taken this step. Saeed was earlier put under house arrest soon after the attack, but was released about six months later in June 2009. ||||| 'Charade', noun, refers to an absurd pretence intended to create a pleasant or respectable appearance. 'Dumb charade' is a game in which one player uses pantomime to act out a phrase or words for other players to guess. 'Dumbest charade' (not in dictionary) is to carry out an absurd pretence and then expect the world to believe it. No prizes for guessing the category in which Pakistan's latest move to place UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed under 'house arrest' falls. The two-act drama, staged by The Royal Pakistan Company, has bypassed its sell-by date and is now running at empty global theatres after countless reruns. The script is hackneyed and the ending obvious. To have an idea of the 'severity' of the 'preventive detention' under which Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) frontman and Mumbai attacks mastermind Saeed has been held along with his four accomplices — Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niazi of Multan — take a look at what TheNew York Times had reported back in December 2008 when this play was enacted for the first time. Just as now, Saeed had then been 'confined' by Lahore police in his residence after the United Nations Security Council had declared JuD as a terrorist organisation and a front group for the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. NYT's Richard A Oppel Jr and Salman Masood, in this 2008 report under the headline: 'With House Arrest Pakistan Curbs, Lightly, a Leader Tied to Mumbai Attackers', wrote: "In Mr. Saeed’s leafy neighborhood, it was a decidedly more relaxed scene. Several dozen policemen ringed the area around his home, standing casually with rifles and enforcing a house arrest that seemed more of a forced vacation. Two heavily bearded workers from Jamaat-ud Dawa arrived with food, and the police raised the barricades and allowed them through, choosing not to inspect their Suzuki truck." The report goes on to state how one policeman rushed at them when the NYT journalists arrived at the spot to claim that "Saeed was confined in his home" and has been "banned" from stepping outside. "Almost on cue," says the report, Saeed emerged from a "mosque across the street" and strolled back home. The cop tried to first blatantly deny that it was the JuD chief, and then gave in. And if anyone had even the slightest of doubts about Pakistan's real intention, Saeed — who roams around with the US government bounty of $10 million on his head for numerous terror attacks on Indian soil, including the 26/11 attacks — was promptly let off in June 2009 just six months after the 'house arrest' by a Pakistan high court citing "lack of evidence". The case against him was suspended. Under the US pressure, Pakistan's federal and provincial governments did make half-hearted appeals a year later against the terrorist's release but the Supreme Court dismissed these appeals due to "lack of proof" despite several Indian dossiers. Media reports from Pakistan indicate a large police contingent apparently gheraoed JuD headquarters in Lahore's Chauburji Chowk where Saeed was busy in a meeting with his aides. Citing an order from Pakistan's federal interior ministry, cops took him and four others into 'protective custody'. Pakistan-based newspaper Dawn, quoting a handout, reported that Hafiz and his associated have been 'arrested' for three months while The JuD and its affiliate Falah-i-Insaaniat Foundation "have been included in the second schedule and will be placed on the government’s watch list for six months under Section (1) 11EEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997." Interestingly, for a man about to be detained, Saeed still found enough time to organise an 'impromptu' news conference outside a mosque and accused Pakistan government of acting at the behest of India. "I have received the (detention) orders of the government of Pakistan. I believe this is not against me but is an attempt to sabotage the freedom movement of Kashmir. This (action) is part of the international conspiracy. The government is helpless before the pressure of Trump and Modi… (It’s on) Modi’s insistence and Trump’s instigation," Pakistan-based newspaper The Nation has reported. Notwithstanding these machinations of mountebanks, the question that arises is why did the Nawaz Sharif government (or more specifically the GHQ at Rawalpindi) feel compelled to re-enact the sordid drama? There is a feeling, betrayed by Pakistan interior ministry's reaction to Saeed's arrest, that Islamabad is feeling a little hot under the collar ever since Trump administration slapped a ban on immigration of citizens from seven countries. Pakistan isn't part of the 'blacklist' yet but White House has hinted that an extension in the future may include Pakistan. In an interview to CBS on 29 January, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said the list of countries apart from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen "could grow". "You can point to other countries that have similar problems like Pakistan and others — perhaps we need to take it further,” he said. “But for now, immediate steps, pulling the Band-Aid off, is to do further vetting for people traveling in and out of those countries." Almost on cue, Pakistan's interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan suddenly remembered that the government must fulfill some "obligations" to JuD. “The organisation (JuD) has been ‘under observation’ since 2010-11. Since it has also been listed by the UN Security Council (Sanctions Committee), we are bound to take some steps. We are taking those steps to fulfill our obligations,” he said on Monday. Quoting a "security analyst in Islamabad," Hindustan Times reports that "Apart from the pressure publicly exerted by Washington, Beijing, too, has been quietly pushing Islamabad to act against these people" and that Monday's action is the result of these pressures. It is interesting that China would urge Pakistan to take action against the JuD chief even as it repeatedly stonewalls New Delhi's efforts to blacklist Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Masood Azhar. Be that as it may, India should have no illusions about the nature of this comedy show. At best, it may provide a small opportunity for a thaw in India-Pakistan relationship which showed some positive signs following Rawalpindi's decision to release Chandu Babulal Chavan this month, the Indian jawan who had inadvertently crossed over to the Pakistan side of the LoC. This is not a victory in the fight against terror, not even a small consolation. It is Pakistan's move to release some international pressure. Expect Hafiz to be reinstated in full glory shortly. ||||| ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan on Monday ordered Hafiz Saeed, accused by the United States and India of masterminding the 2008 attacks on the Indian financial capital Mumbai that killed 166 people, placed under house arrest, a spokesman for Saeed's organization said. The move comes after years of pressure on Pakistan to put Saeed on trial and could ease recently escalating tensions with neighbor and arch-foe India. The United States has offered $10 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Saeed, who heads Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). U.S. officials say JuD is a front for the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). "A large police team arrived (at JuD headquarters) and told us that Hafiz would be placed under house arrest," Nadeem Awan, Secretary of Information for JuD, told Reuters. Awan said the police tole them they had an arrest warrant for Saeed and five others at JuD headquarters in the eastern city of Lahore. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Saeed has repeatedly denied involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Saeed's continued freedom has been a source of continuing friction between nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India as well as the United States. Awan said the Pakistani government had been under pressure from the United States to take action against Saeed or face sanctions. "This government has buckled under the pressure," Awan said. ||||| Hafiz Mohammed Saeed -- the leader of Pakistan's Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) -- was detained in Punjab, Pakistan's largest province, according to a government statement released late Sunday. Saeed is under detention in the town of Lahore. Four other men -- Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz -- have also been placed under house arrest in other towns around Punjab. The arrests come in conjunction with the placing of two organizations -- JUD and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation -- on a watch list under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. All the men were detained for being active members of the organizations and are being held under Section 11-EEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act, which gives the government the power to arrest or detain suspects for up to 12 months. US blamed for pressuring Pakistan to make arrests In a video statement released by the JUD, Hafiz Saeed said the decision to arrest him had been made due to "foreign pressure." "Trump is the new president of the United States who wants to have good relations with Modi," said Saeed. JUD spokesman, Hafiz Khalid Waleed, also blamed the United States for "putting pressure" on Pakistan to get Saeed arrested, threatening court action as well as street rallies. "We are going to take this matter to the courts and to the streets. We are planning further rallies across the country in protest of this action," Waleed said, adding that Saeed's house arrest is for 19 days. Hafiz Saeed addresses demonstrators during a protest against the printing of satirical sketches of the Prophet Muhammad by French magazine Charlie Hebdo, in Lahore on January 18, 2015. Neither Washington nor India have commented on the accusations, but security analyst and director of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, Amir Rana, says it's more likely the decision was an internal one. "This arrest was a long time coming," he says, adding that Hafiz Saeed has been put under house arrest on two previous occasions, once in 2001 and again in 2003. "This appears to be a genuine effort by Pakistan authorities to combat non-state actors within its borders," Rana told CNN. India has long called for Hafiz Saeed's arrest, for what it says is his involvement in a number of terror attacks on Indian soil. In the past, India says it has provided irrefutable proof of Saeed's involvement in the Mumbai attacks. Activists burn an effigie of Hafiz Saeed during a protest in New Delhi on December 21, 2014. Saeed is accused by both India and the US of being responsible for the deadly attacks that struck different locations across Mumbai nearly a decade ago, when a group of gunmen went on a three day rampage, using automatic weapons and grenades to strike hotels, cafes, a railway station and a cinema. Outlawed group, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, meaning "army of the pure," was widely thought to be responsible . According to the UN Security Council, Saeed's JUD organisation is synonymous with the terrorist group and supportive of al Qaeda and the Taliban. Saeed himself has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Mumbai killings or support for terrorist activities. "Those people who are carrying out violent attacks or are involved in militants activities ... are giving the mujahadeen and jihad a bad name," he said in an interview with CNN in 2012 "I condemn this attack and the innocent lives that have been lost." Mumbai attack suspect wants to help U.S. Mumbai attack suspect wants to help U.S. He also highlighted Jamaat-Ud-Dawa's charitable activities and extended an offer of aid to the US in the wake of Superstorm Sandy -- an offer that was quickly rejected by Washington. The US State Department describes JUD's mission as the establishment of Islamist rule in India and Pakistan and has in the past offered as much as $10,000,000 for any information that might lead to his arrest or conviction. ||||| Islamabad: In a surprise move, the Pakistan's military on Tuesday said that the house arrest of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the founder of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, was decided keeping the decision of national interest in mind. "This is a policy decision that the state took in national interest. The decision to place Hafiz Saeed under house arrest was taken collectively by all state institutions," said Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations, the army's media arm. Interestingly, while Maj Gen Ghafoor denied that Saeed was arrested due to any foreign pressure, the Jamat-ud-Dawa chief himself said, "My detention order has come from Washington and not Islamabad." Ghafoor said, "I'd be able to elaborate on the matter as time passes," indicating there was no plan to relax restrictions on Saeed any time soon. Saeed had been roaming free despite spewing venom against India for years. Saeed's supporters said President Donald Trump was leaning on Islamabad to please the current right-wing BJP government in India. Some observers also claimed that Islamabad had not been contacted by the new US administration on the issue but the decisions that Trump took against Muslim countries pushed Pakistan to act against Saeed. ||||| (CNN) The alleged mastermind of the 2008 terror attacks that left 164 people dead in Mumbai, India, has been placed under house arrest in Pakistan. Hafiz Mohammed Saeed -- the leader of Pakistan's Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) -- was detained in Punjab, Pakistan's largest province, according to a government statement released late Sunday. Saeed is under detention in the town of Lahore. Four other men -- Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz -- have also been placed under house arrest in other towns around Punjab. The arrests come in conjunction with the placing of two organizations -- JUD and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation -- on a watch list under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997. All the men were detained for being active members of the organizations and are being held under Section 11-EEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act, which gives the government the power to arrest or detain suspects for up to 12 months. Speaking after the arrests, a spokesman for India's Ministry of External Affairs greeted the news with caution. "Exercises such as yesterday's orders against Hafiz Saeed and others have been carried out by Pakistan in the past also," he said in a statement. "Only a credible crackdown on the mastermind of the Mumbai terrorist attack and terrorist organizations involved in cross border terrorism would be proof of Pakistan's sincerity." US blamed for pressuring Pakistan to make arrests In a video statement released by the JUD, Saeed said the decision to arrest him had been made due to "foreign pressure." "(Donald) Trump is the new president of the United States who wants to have good relations with (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi," said Saeed. JUD spokesman Hafiz Khalid Waleed also blamed the US for "putting pressure" on Pakistan to get Saeed arrested, threatening court action as well as street rallies. "We are going to take this matter to the courts and to the streets. We are planning further rallies across the country in protest of this action," Waleed said, adding that Saeed's house arrest is for 19 days. Neither Washington nor India have commented on the accusations, but security analyst and director of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, Amir Rana, says it's more likely the decision was an internal one. "This arrest was a long time coming," he says, adding that Saeed has been put under house arrest on two previous occasions, once in 2001 and again in 2003. "This appears to be a genuine effort by Pakistan authorities to combat non-state actors within its borders," Rana told CNN. India has long called for Saeed's arrest, for what it says is his involvement in a number of terror attacks on Indian soil. In the past, India says it has provided irrefutable proof of Saeed's involvement in the Mumbai attacks. Saeed is accused by both India and the US of being responsible for the deadly attacks that struck different locations across Mumbai nearly a decade ago, when a group of gunmen went on a three day rampage, using automatic weapons and grenades to strike hotels, cafes, a railway station and a cinema. Saeed has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Mumbai killings or support for terrorist activities. "Those people who are carrying out violent attacks or are involved in militants activities ... are giving the mujahadeen and jihad a bad name," he said in an interview with CNN in 2012 "I condemn this attack and the innocent lives that have been lost." He also highlighted Jamaat-Ud-Dawa's charitable activities and extended an offer of aid to the US in the wake of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 -- an offer that was quickly rejected by Washington. ||||| Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and four aides were placed in house arrest by Pakistani authorities ahead of a financial task force’s deadline that would have had implications on the country’s financial sector if it was ignored. The Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), the group led by Saeed, and its front organisation, the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) were included in the interior ministry’s “watch list” but they were not banned, according to orders issued to the Punjab home department. “A large police team arrived (at the JuD headquarters in Chowburji area of Lahore) on Monday night and told us that Hafiz Saeed would be placed under house arrest,” Nadeem Awan, the JuD’s information secretary, said in a statement. Awan said police told them they had an arrest warrant for Saeed and four others. The others detained with the JuD chief are Abdullah Ubaid, Kashif Niaz, who is responsible for the JuD’s publications, and Zafar Iqbal and Abdur Rehman Abid, both from the group’s main base at Muridke on the outskirts of Lahore.
• None Pressure from US, China may have led to LeT founder Hafiz Saeed’s house arrest
• None Pak could be included in Trump’s immigration ban list in future: White House Media reports said the government decided to put JuD and FIF on the watch list and approved the freezing of their assets and cancelling passports and arms licenses of their leaders to comply with the conditions of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Pakistan is bound to take these actions under UN Security Council Resolution 1267. Pakistan is set to submit its compliance report on implementing money laundering laws to FATF on Tuesday, a pre-requisite for ensuring the country remains in the FATF’s “white list”, The News daily reported. In case of non-compliance, Pakistan could have slipped into the FATF’s negative list for failing to counter terrorism financing. Saeed, who was present at the JuD centre at Jamia Masjid al-Qadsia at Chowburji on Monday, was quick to blame pressure from India and Pakistan for the action against him. He claimed India was also angered by his support for the Kashmir issue. “We declared 2017 the year of Kashmir and I held a press conference with Hurriyat leaders from Kashmir in Islamabad. India made a lot of noise about that and I was expecting there will be some pressure,” he told the media before he was detained. “I say with regret that this order for my house arrest has not come from Islamabad – this order has come here from Delhi and Washington.” He added, “Our crime is that we are standing for Kashmir…Just as the Kashmiris are in the field, Pakistan must stand with Kashmir.” Contingents of police and other law enforcing agencies surrounded the mosque at Chowburji. Saeed will be shifted to his residence in Johar Town, which will be declared a sub-jail. Pakistani national flags were hoisted at JuD offices in Lahore, instead of the group’s black-and-white flags, on the directives of the Punjab home department and police started removing the banners of JuD from the roads of the city. However, JuD offices in other cities were not affected by the latest developments. The move came hours after interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told reporters that his government had to fulfill its international obligations regarding groups such as JuD. He said the JuD was under the observation of the UN Security Council since 2010. Officials have said consultations are being held on whether the JuD should be banned. A final decision will be taken after consultations between the civilian and military authorities, media reports said. Observers said the move followed US pressure on the Nawaz Sharif government to act against terrorists. “There is mounting pressure on fears that America may take punitive action against Pakistan for its stance on organisations like the JuD,” said analyst Hasan Askari Zaidi. JuD activists held demonstrations in Islamabad and Lahore to protest against a possible ban. Spokesman Yahya Mujahid said the JuD is consulting its legal team to challenge the government’s decision. This is not the first time Saeed has been placed under house arrest. Soon after the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, Pakistani authorities cracked down on the JuD and detained Saeed. Within six months, he was freed on the orders of the orders of the Lahore high court.
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Pakistan detains Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the suspected mastermind of the 2008 attacks in the Indian city. Saeed, co-founder of the active terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, is being held under house arrest in Lahore in Pakistan's Punjab Province. Four other men are also under house arrest in the area.
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Some diplomats said they joined the dissent by sending an email saying “I’m in” or “Please add my name as a signer” along with their full name, title, position and post. The letter was apparently circulated through informal networks of diplomats and not through any State Department-wide email list. One diplomat on vacation in the United States said he received the letter from a colleague in another part of the world who was not connected to the drafters and was simply passing it along. The diplomat predicted that hundreds of other diplomats would be eager to sign it if they could, but because of the complications of figuring out where the dissent memo originally came from, he was not sure how many would actually sign it. Most people in the State Department have never seen anything like this, the diplomat said. He said dissent memos were reserved for major policy issues, not for little grumbles like bad food in the embassy cafeteria. That diplomat also requested anonymity, saying that Foreign Service officers were not supposed to criticize American policy publicly and that he did not want to open himself up to accusations that he had violated the rules. That could threaten his job, he said, especially in such a polarized environment. This is exactly what the dissent channel, as it is called, was intended for. Starting in 1971 during the Vietnam War, the channel encourages department officials to voice their criticisms internally through a process of sending a memo or a cable to the secretary of state expressing their concerns and suggesting solutions. The final part of the visa ban memo lays out detailed alternatives, including increased vetting for specific nationalities. State Department rules are supposed to protect dissenters from being retaliated against, and last year several dozen diplomats signed a dissent memo criticizing American policy on Syria. ||||| Just a few days after agencies scrambled to enforce President Donald Trump’s executive order that barred refugees and citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from coming to the United States, State Department employees are reportedly coming out against the travel ban en masse. At least 200 State Department employees have signed onto internal memos harshly criticizing Trump’s order. According to Foreign Policy, there are a few different versions of the memo but all share a similar theme — that contrary to the White House’s assertion that the new rules are about protecting the United States, this ban “will increase anti-American sentiment” and “not achieve its stated aim of to [sic] protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nations.” The memo added that the policy “runs counter to core American values of nondiscrimination, fair play and extending a warm welcome to foreign visitors and immigrants.” (A full draft of at least one of the reported memos is available here.) Right now, this document is just floating around Foggy Bottom, but it will likely become a “dissent” cable, a formal process — begun during the Vietnam War — that State Department employees use to register opposition to a White House policy, which gets turned over to the secretary of State. This particular memo is a big deal for a few reasons, starting with the number of people who are registering their opposition. It’s also taken Trump less than two weeks to rile his cadre of diplomats — so early into his term that the secretary of State isn’t yet in place to receive the “dissent” cable once it’s filed. Rex Tillerson, likely to be confirmed by the Senate this week, will have to start his post with a restless agency, and figure out how to respond. (Last year, more than 50 State Department diplomats and bureaucrats caused a stir when they gave top diplomat John Kerry a “dissent” cable over former President Barack Obama’s Syria policies.) The State Department confirmed that such a memo existed, and that it will “respect it,” according to the Washington Post. Acting secretary of State Thomas Shannon will probably end up receiving the cable. But it doesn’t appear, right now, that the dissent cable will do much to change the minds within Trumpworld — especially since world leaders, former high-ranking intelligence officials, and our allies on the front lines fighting ISIS don’t seem to be getting through to the administration. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, conceding that such a memo existed, told reporters those in disagreement needed to “either get with the program or they can go.” “He’s been clear on it since taking office, that he’s going to put this safety of this country first. He is going to implement things that are in the best interest of the safety of this country prospectively, not re-actively,” Spicer continued. “And if somebody has a problem with that agenda then that does call into question whether or not they should continue in that post or not.” ||||| WASHINGTON — The White House clashed Monday with a large group of American diplomats who are voicing dissent with Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim majority countries, challenging them to resign if they aren’t on board. “They should either get with the program or they can go,” Sean Spicer, Trump’s press secretary, said. In startling language, Spicer dismissed the criticism from what he called “career bureaucrats.” While he later said Trump appreciates the work of public servants, Spicer said they should respect the desires of the American people and the importance Trump places on protecting the country. “If somebody has a problem with that agenda, that does call into question whether they should continue in that post or not,” Spicer said. “This is about the safety of America.” The comments came after diplomats circulated a memo arguing that the executive order Trump signed last week will not make the U.S. safe, runs counter to American values and will fuel anti-American sentiment around the world. “A policy which closes our doors to over 200 million legitimate travelers in the hopes of preventing a small number of travelers who intend to harm Americans from using the visa system to enter the United States will not achieve its aim of making our country safer,” the diplomats wrote in a so-called “dissent cable” being drafted for State Department leadership. “This ban stands in opposition to the core American and constitutional values that we, as federal employees, took an oath to uphold,” a draft of the cable said. U.S. officials said at least several hundred diplomats indicated they would sign the memo and that it was expected to be formally submitted later Monday. The final number of signatories will not be available until it is submitted, the officials said. The officials disclosed internal discussions on condition they not be quoted by name, in part because they feared retaliation. Dissent channel cables are a mechanism for U.S. diplomats to register disagreement internally about U.S. policies. It was established during the Vietnam War and was most recently used by diplomats to criticize the Obama administration’s approach to Syria. Spicer defended the executive order and said its impact had been “blown way out of proportion and exaggerated.” The State Department’s official response was less confrontational. “The Dissent Channel is a longstanding official vehicle for State Department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues,” department spokesman Mark Toner said. “This is an important process that the acting secretary, and the department as a whole, value and respect. It allows State employees to express divergent policy views candidly and privately to senior leadership.” A Republican senator is criticizing the Trump administration for failing to mention Jews in a statement remembering the Holocaust. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said over Twitter that “The Administration’s omission of the Jewish people in a Holocaust remembrance statement is an historical mistake.” Trump administration officials have defended their statement, saying that it appropriately recognized the horrors of the Holocaust, which killed millions of people in addition to Jews. Spicer accused critics of nitpicking and noted that the statement was written with the help of a person who is both Jewish and the descendant of Holocaust Survivors. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is both. Nonetheless critics have said that omitting specific reference to Jews or anti-Semitism can be a form of Holocaust denial. The Nazis specifically set out to exterminate all the Jews of Europe. Spicer says the director of the CIA will be added to the White House National Security Council. Spicer says the president has decided to amend his recent memo restructuring the council to add CIA Director Mike Pompeo to the top circle of national security advisers. The restructuring also added White House senior adviser Steve Bannon to the council’s principals committee, which includes the secretaries of state and defense. Trump’s move also directed the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to attend only when “issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed.” But Spicer says those individuals will be welcome to attend the meetings. He disputed that the reorganization was a significant change from past administrations. Trump will welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States next month. Spicer said that Netanyahu will visit on Feb. 15. He said Trump looks forward to “discussing continued strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation.” Trump has signaled strong support for Israel. Netanyahu on Sunday said that the American embassy in Israel should be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, endorsing one of Trump’s campaign promises. ||||| WASHINGTON – Hundreds of American diplomats defied a White House warning on Tuesday, sending a memo to the State Department’s leadership that criticizes President Donald Trump‘s temporary travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries. It is believed to be one of the most popularly supported statements of dissent in the department’s history. READ MORE: Justin Trudeau accused of letting Donald Trump get away with racism and hatred A State Department official said the cable was received just a day after White House spokesman Sean Spicer suggested those disagreeing with Trump’s new policy should resign. The official did not have an exact number of signatories, but said more than 800 indicated they would sign after drafts of the cable circulated over the weekend. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and demanded anonymity. The document argues that the executive order Trump signed last week runs counter to American values and will fuel anti-American sentiment around the world. “A policy which closes our doors to over 200 million legitimate travellers in the hopes of preventing a small number of travellers who intend to harm Americans from using the visa system to enter the United States will not achieve its aim of making our country safer,” the diplomats wrote in the so-called “dissent cable.” “This ban stands in opposition to the core American and constitutional values that we, as federal employees, took an oath to uphold,” a draft of the cable said. The final version wasn’t immediately available. Dissent channel cables are a mechanism for U.S. diplomats to register disagreement internally about U.S. policies. It was established during the Vietnam War and was most recently used by diplomats to criticize the Obama administration’s approach to Syria. In that case, former Secretary of State John Kerry met with signers of the cable to discuss their concerns. Trump’s secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson is still awaiting Senate confirmation and it was unclear how we would respond to the memo. In response to reports of the cable Monday, Spicer said of the diplomats: “They should either get with the program or they can go.” He dismissed the criticism from what he called “career bureaucrats.” While he later said Trump appreciates the work of public servants, Spicer said they should respect the desires of the American people and the importance Trump places on protecting the country. Signers of dissent cables are supposed to be protected from retribution from superiors. WATCH: NDP’s Mulcair slams Justin Trudeau for not denouncing U.S. travel ban on Muslim majority countries The department, along with other agencies entrusted with implementing Trump’s order, has been confused about the details, offering several contradictory instructions to embassies and consulates on how it plans to do so. As word of the executive order began to circulate last week, diplomats at some embassies began to prioritize visa applications from citizens of countries they suspected might be affected, according to officials. On Friday, before the order was signed, workers at one embassy dumped bins of hundreds of approved passports on the floor to pull those from the affected countries and affix visas in them, officials said. That effort stopped when the order was signed, they said. READ MORE: Arnold Schwarzenegger says Trump’s travel ban makes U.S. look ‘stupid’ ||||| The White House clashed Monday with a large group of American diplomats who are voicing dissent with Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, challenging them to resign if they aren’t on board. “They should either get with the program or they can go,” said Sean Spicer, Trump’s press secretary. In startling language, Spicer dismissed the criticism from what he called “career bureaucrats.” While he later said Trump appreciates the work of public servants, Spicer said they should respect the desires of the American people and the importance Trump places on protecting the country. “If somebody has a problem with that agenda, that does call into question whether they should continue in that post or not,” Spicer said. “This is about the safety of America.” Spicer’s comments came after career diplomats circulated several drafts of a memo arguing that the executive order Trump signed last week will not make the U.S. safe, runs counter to American values and will fuel anti-American sentiment around the world. “A policy which closes our doors to over 200 million legitimate travelers in the hopes of preventing a small number of travelers who intend to harm Americans from using the visa system to enter the United States will not achieve its aim of making our country safer,” the diplomats wrote in a so-called “dissent cable” being drafted for State Department leadership. “This ban stands in opposition to the core American and constitutional values that we, as federal employees, took an oath to uphold,” a draft of the cable said. U.S. officials said at least several hundred diplomats indicated they would sign the memo and that it was expected to be formally submitted Monday or Tuesday, pending edits to several drafts that were circulating. The final number of signatories will not be available until it is submitted, the officials said. The officials disclosed internal discussions on condition they not be quoted by name, in part because they feared retaliation. Dissent channel cables are a mechanism for U.S. diplomats to register disagreement internally about U.S. policies. It was established during the Vietnam War and was most recently used by diplomats to criticize the Obama administration’s approach to Syria. In that case, former Secretary of State John Kerry met with signers of the cable to discuss their concerns. Trump’s secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson is still awaiting Senate confirmation and it was unclear how we would respond to the memo. Spicer, however, was not sympathetic and defended the executive order. He said its impact had been “blown way out of proportion and exaggerated.” Signers of dissent cables are protected from retribution from superiors and the State Department’s official response to the draft memo was less confrontational. “The Dissent Channel is a long-standing official vehicle for State Department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues,” department spokesman Mark Toner said. “This is an important process that the acting secretary, and the department as a whole, value and respect. It allows State employees to express divergent policy views candidly and privately to senior leadership.” The department, along with other agencies that must implement Trump’s order, has been confused about its details and offered several contradictory instructions to embassies and consulates on how to do so, including how to handle dual citizens. As word of the executive order began to circulate last week, diplomats at some embassies began to prioritize visa applications from citizens of countries they suspected might be affected, according to officials. On Friday before the order was signed, workers at one embassy dumped bins of hundreds of approved passports on the floor to pull those from the affected countries and affix visas in them, the officials said. That effort stopped when the order was signed, they said. ||||| STATE DEPARTMENT - A large number of foreign service officers and civil service personnel of the U.S. State Department signed a dissent document that was formally submitted Tuesday. The State Department confirms to VOA that the memo in opposition to the president's executive order on immigration was received. But officials will not reveal the total number nor the ranks of those signing. Sources tell VOA the number is nearly 1,000. The number of signatures, if it does total about 1,000, is “unprecedented” and about 20 times the number of dissenters for last year's memo from diplomats sharply criticizing the Obama administration's Syria policy, said former U.S. Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford. The huge numbers for the immigration memo and its early leaking “are clear indicators of the widespread concern within the department over this specific policy step and unease over the broad direction of foreign policy,” said Laura Kennedy, former deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs. “These are extraordinary times,” she added. White House spokesman Sean Spicer holds up documen White House spokesman Sean Spicer holds up documents comparing the makeup of the National Security Council (NSC) in the Trump and Obama administrations during his press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 2017. White House spokesman Sean Spicer holds up documents comparing the makeup of the National Security Council (NSC) in the Trump and Obama administrations during his press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 2017. Spicer rejects criticism The Trump administration argues that the new measures are necessary to “ensure the safety and security of the American people.” In a statement last weekend, it said the executive order “affects a minor portion of international travelers, and is the first step towards reestablishing control over America's borders and national security.” But the Dissent Channel memo, a draft of which has been seen by VOA, says the order “will not achieve its aims and will likely be counterproductive.” White House spokesman Sean Spicer rejected the criticism on Monday, telling reporters that those at the State Department who oppose President Donald Trump's immigration order “should either get with the program or they can go.” Former diplomats comment Former diplomats bristled at what is being perceived as a implicit threat against the foreign service community. “The Dissent Channel is an entirely appropriate means of expressing opposition to the top leadership of the Department of State,” Ford told VOA. “The Trump people shouldn't take it so personally.” “I was appalled by (Spicer's) comment,” said Kennedy, also a former ambassador to Turkmenistan, told VOA. “It either implied a complete misunderstanding of the dissent channel or the legal protections there are, or it's intended to send a signal that dissent, whether private or public, will not be tolerated.” “The time-honored tradition of respectful dissent at State is supported by the very American and constitutional values that this cable honors and that the executive order tramples,” Yale University Law School professor Harold Hongju Koh, a former assistant secretary of state and State Department legal adviser, told VOA. FILE - President Donald Trump signs an executive o US President Donald Trump signs an executive order to impose tighter vetting of travelers entering the United States, at the Pentagon in Washington, Jan. 27, 2017. US President Donald Trump signs an executive order to impose tighter vetting of travelers entering the United States, at the Pentagon in Washington, Jan. 27, 2017. 'The safety of Americans' President Trump last Friday signed an executive order prohibiting entry to refugees and people from seven Muslim majority countries. The order includes a 120-day suspension of refugee admissions and a 90-day entry ban for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Spicer added from the podium Monday the order is “about the safety of Americans” and the steps the president ordered are “common sense." The draft of the dissent memo that was leaked expresses grave concerns that the travel ban will not achieve its goal "to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States." It also warns that the action will "immediately sour relations" with key allies in the fight against terrorism, given many of the nations whose citizens are now restricted from traveling to U.S. soil. The memo suggests alternatives, including improving visa and immigration screening. Channel started in 1971 The Dissent Channel was established in 1971, amid disputes about Vietnam War policies, to allow U.S. diplomats to speak freely about foreign policy matters. Typically four to five Dissent Channel messages are received each year, according to the State Department. Last year's Syria Dissent Channel memo had 51 signatures, according to diplomats. When State Department or U.S. Agency for International Development employees believe their voices are not heard by supervisors, they may use the Dissent Channel. At the State Department, the policy planning staff is supposed to review it, circulate it to authorized people and reply in substance to the dissenters within 60 days. Channel users protected Those utilizing the Dissent Channel are protected from reprisals, disciplinary action or unauthorized disclosure of its use, according to the government's Foreign Affairs Manual. Ford, who was a career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, predicted that if the White House tries to retaliate “they'll end up with lawsuits.” But Ford added that after expressing their opinion through the proper channels, foreign service officers are obligated to implement administration policy. “It is their job to implement what the president and his team decide," explained Ford. " If they can't implement it then, frankly, they should think whether they should be in a government job." Ford, currently a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, acknowledged the challenge of U.S. diplomats in Baghdad having to explain “why this policy is a good policy” to their counterparts who fought alongside U.S. forces against terrorist elements. “I can't imagine anything more difficult,” Ford said. Without proper guidance from Washington “they have to wing it which is even harder.” Embassies sound off Officials on Monday also revealed that the State Department is receiving multiple cables from its embassies about foreign anger concerning the restrictions on travel to the U.S. from the predominately Muslim countries in the executive order. “As is standard, the State Department remains in contact with its embassies around the world on foreign policy issues,” a department official, speaking on condition of not being named, told VOA when asked about the cable. “We will not comment on internal communications.” The president's nominee to be secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. A vote on Tillerson, a recently retired oil and gas company executive, is expected this week. ||||| The article you have been looking for has expired and is not longer available on our system. This is due to newswire licensing terms. ||||| Just a few days after agencies scrambled to enforce President Donald Trump’s executive order that barred refugees and citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from coming to the United States, State Department employees are reportedly coming out against the travel ban en masse. At least 200 State Department employees have signed onto internal memos harshly criticizing Trump’s order. According to Foreign Policy, there are a few different versions of the memo but all share a similar theme — that contrary to the White House’s assertion that the new rules are about protecting the United States, this ban “will increase anti-American sentiment” and “not achieve its stated aim of to [sic] protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nations.” The memo added that the policy “runs counter to core American values of nondiscrimination, fair play and extending a warm welcome to foreign visitors and immigrants.” (A full draft of at least one of the reported memos is available here.) Right now, this document is just floating around Foggy Bottom, but it will likely become a “dissent” cable, a formal process — begun during the Vietnam War — that State Department employees use to register opposition to a White House policy, which gets turned over to the secretary of State. This particular memo is a big deal for a few reasons, starting with the number of people who are registering their opposition. It’s also taken Trump less than two weeks to rile his cadre of diplomats — so early into his term that the secretary of State isn’t yet in place to receive the “dissent” cable once it’s filed. Rex Tillerson, likely to be confirmed by the Senate this week, will have to start his post with a restless agency, and figure out how to respond. (Last year, more than 50 State Department diplomats and bureaucrats caused a stir when they gave top diplomat John Kerry a “dissent” cable over former President Barack Obama’s Syria policies.) The State Department confirmed that such a memo existed, and that it will “respect it,” according to the Washington Post. Acting secretary of State Thomas Shannon will probably end up receiving the cable. But it doesn’t appear, right now, that the dissent cable will do much to change the minds within Trumpworld — especially since world leaders, former high-ranking intelligence officials, and our allies on the front lines fighting ISIS don’t seem to be getting through to the administration. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, conceding that such a memo existed, told reporters those in disagreement needed to “either get with the program or they can go.” “He’s been clear on it since taking office, that he’s going to put this safety of this country first. He is going to implement things that are in the best interest of the safety of this country prospectively, not re-actively,” Spicer continued. “And if somebody has a problem with that agenda then that does call into question whether or not they should continue in that post or not.” ||||| On January 30, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer delivered a thinly veiled threat to the State Department officials who drafted a dissent memo against President Donald Trump’s executive order halting the refugee program and barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. “Those career bureaucrats have a problem with it? They should either get with the program or they can go,” Spicer said, just days after the White House purged several senior officials who held administrative positions in the State Department. With these words, the Trump regime escalated its attack on the federal agencies that dare to disagree with its fiats.1 The five-page memo, which was signed by some 1,000 Foreign Service officers and submitted to Acting Secretary of State Tom Shannon yesterday, is a classic expression of the liberal internationalism that has characterized the State Department since the end of World War II. It blends a pragmatic defense of the US national interest with a principled argument on behalf of American values. “A policy which closes our doors to over 200 million legitimate travelers in the hopes of preventing a small number of travelers who intend to harm Americans from using the visa system to enter the United States will not achieve its aim of making our country safer,” the memo reads. “Moreover, such a policy runs counter to core American values of nondiscrimination, fair play, and extending a warm welcome to foreign visitors and immigrants.”2 In many respects, the memo is extraordinary. With approximately 1,000 signatures, it is by far the biggest dissent message in the history of the State Department. The second-biggest dissent message in the department, written in response to Obama’s Syria policy, had 51 signatories. It is also part of a growing trend in which State Department dissenters have leaked their internal memos to the press. The first State Department officer to do so was Brady Kiesling, who resigned from the department in protest of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.3 At the same time, the massive protest against Trump’s executive order belongs to a long tradition of dissent in the diplomatic establishment. I wrote about the culture of dissent in the State Department in my book, The Dissent Paper: The Voices of Diplomats in the Cold War and Beyond. So embedded is the culture of dissent among career diplomats that the State Department has an official Dissent Channel. Created in 1971 during the Vietnam War, this mechanism allows rank-and-file Foreign Service officers to express their disagreements with the reigning policy directly to senior policymakers. The secretary of state is obliged to read and respond to all Dissent Channel messages within 90 days. To this day, the Dissent Channel has no parallel in other agencies of the federal government. It is a unique experiment in the management of bureaucratic dissent.4 Democracy Wins One as a Federal Court Strikes a Big Blow Against Gerrymandering Republicans Stole a Supreme Court Seat From Obama—and Are Putting Another Scalia In It Trump’s Crony Cabinet May Look Strong, but They Are Scared The People Are Leading the Politicians in the Fight Against Trump The history of the Dissent Channel is anything but a story of friendly relations between rank-and-file diplomats and high-level policy-makers. Rather it is a testament to the perennial power struggles that take place between bureaucrats and elected officials. During the Second World War, the diplomatic service began to transform from a backwater of conservative, striped-pants aristocrats to more of a middle-class meritocracy that tended to attract liberals. That is partly why it was a central object of McCarthyist attacks in the 1950s. The Dissent Channel emerged in response to the heightened influence of the antiwar movement in the State Department beginning in the late 1960s. In April 1970, 20 Foreign Service officers wrote a letter to Secretary of State William Rogers condemning the invasion of Cambodia. Nixon privately seethed about the unruly bureaucrats at Foggy Bottom. “We have no discipline in the bureaucracy,” he complained to Kissinger. “We never fire anybody. We always promote the sons of bitches that kick us in the ass.… When a bureaucrat deliberately thumbs his nose, we’re going to get him.… The little boys over in State particularly, that are against us, we will do it.”5 The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox. Although Nixon privately fantasized about firing dissenting diplomats, his administration ended up adopting a different approach. Rather than condemn the expression of dissent, it took the lead in implementing the Dissent Channel and celebrating it publicly. As plugging leaks increasingly became a priority, the channel promised to contain the potential flood. “The right of dissent is very important. And no one’s been pushing for it harder than I,” said Undersecretary of State William Macomber, “But we want to keep it in the house.”6 Since its creation, hundreds of memos have been submitted through the Dissent Channel. Few of these have had a direct impact on the policies they have protested. Most State Department officers have accepted this reality. Thomas Boyatt, a Foreign Service officer who delivered a prescient dissent memo on Cyprus in 1974, which was ignored by Kissinger, said that the Dissent Channel “helps to defuse the inevitable tensions policy disagreements generate.” Over the decades, the Dissent Channel has came to serve as a tool for achieving a certain détente between dissenting diplomats and presidents who might otherwise feel threatened by them. It gave State Department officers a regulated space to voice their views. It gave the secretary of state and White House an opportunity to quell and contain dissent.7 Although some users of the Dissent Channel were transferred from their geographic regions of expertise, remarkably few were dismissed. And many were promoted to senior positions in the department. There are even awards given out by the American Foreign Service Association for constructive dissent. Boyatt, a recipient of this award, became ambassador to Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and Colombia. When the dissent memo about Syria leaked to the press last June, Secretary of State John Kerry expressed support for career diplomats’ right to disagree with the administration’s policy.8 This working arrangement between dissenting diplomats and the White House has come to an abrupt end. In addition to risking the lives of thousands of refugees, students, scholars, and green-card holders, the Trump administration is threatening to destroy the careers of dozens of individuals who have devoted their lives to advancing US diplomacy around the world. This will no doubt send chills down the spines of the thousands of people who work for the State Department. In effect, Trump is emptying out and silencing the State Department from top to bottom. If the administration continues this crackdown, we may soon find out what a nation without career diplomats looks like. The only silver lining to this petty and dangerous war on bureaucrats in the State Department, as well as on careerists in the Environmental Protection Agency and National Parks Service, is that the public is coming to appreciate the value of bureaucracy—and dissent.9 ||||| New York Times: “Within hours, a State Department dissent cable, asserting that President Trump’s executive order to temporarily bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries would not make the nation safer, traveled like a chain letter — or a viral video.” “The cable wended its way through dozens of American embassies around the world, quickly emerging as one of the broadest protests by American officials against their president’s policies. And it is not over yet.” “By 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the letter had attracted around 1,000 signatures, State Department officials said, far more than any dissent cable in recent years. It was being delivered to management, and department officials said more diplomats wanted to add their names to it.”
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The State Department memorandum about concerns with this travel ban is submitted to acting Secretary of State Tom Shannon through the federal government's Dissent Channel. This protest memo had between 900-1,000 signatures. Department officials said these signatures are far more than any dissent cable in recent years, adding more diplomats want to add their names to it.
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Senior staff at the White House Kellyanne Conway, Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon (L-R) applaud before being sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence in Washington, DC January 22, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria BET EL, West Bank (Reuters) - For many in the Israeli settlement of Bet El, deep in the occupied West Bank, Donald Trump's choice of Jared Kushner as his senior adviser on the Middle East is a sign of politics shifting in their favor. They regard Kushner, whose family's charitable foundation has donated tens of thousands of dollars to their settlement, as part of a diplomatic rebalancing after what they view as eight years of anti-Israel bias under the U.S. administration of Barack Obama. "He will stand up for our interests. I suppose he will lean in our favor," said Avi Lavi, 46, who has lived in Bet El for more than 40 years. "He'll be fair, as opposed to Obama, whose policy leaned always towards the Arabs." New U.S. President Trump says his son-in-law Kushner, 36, is capable of brokering the "ultimate deal" to deliver peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Roi Margalit, manager of the Bet El Yeshiva, a seminary complex with around 400 students, said Kushner, an Orthodox Jewish father of three, understood the position of Israeli settlers better than previous envoys. "At least now we have someone who knows us," the 43-year-old added. "He will now have to study the other side (the Palestinians) and see if there is any common ground." Trump's pick for Israeli ambassador has sparked particular enthusiasm in the community: David Friedman, who chairs the American Friends of Bet El Institutions fundraising group. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Kushner and Friedman. Kushner, a businessman who built his career on real estate and publishing, has said little about his views about one of the world's most intractable conflicts, either during the campaign or since Trump took office. The big question for the Palestinians is whether he can be an impartial actor given his family foundation's past financial ties to Bet El. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been careful to say he looks forward to working with the Trump administration, but others are less optimistic. Wasel Abu Youssef, a senior official at the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the main Palestinian political umbrella body, said Kushner could not be a neutral envoy if he was supportive of Israeli settlements. Hani al-Masri, a political scientist and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies, said Kushner would be a representative of Israel rather than of the United States. "If he attempts to resume negotiations, he will seek to hold them at a lower level than previous negotiations. It will be more biased to the Israeli position in an era where Israel is more extreme." Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israel has built about 120 settlements in the West Bank. About 350,000 settlers live there and a further 200,000 in East Jerusalem, among about 2.6 million Palestinians. Most countries consider the settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians need for a viable state. Israel disagrees, citing biblical, historical and political connections to the land and security interests. Bet El, a community of 1,300 families perched on a hillside where many believe God promised Jacob the land, has been financed in part by donations from American backers. Among its donors have been the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which gave $10,000 in 2003, and the foundation of Charles and Seryl Kushner, the parents of Jared, which gave $38,000 in 2013, U.S. tax records show. The New York-based American Friends of Bet El Institutions hosts dinners to raise funds for the settlement, which overlooks the Palestinian city Ramallah. Kushner has left it up to his father-in-law to comment on what role he might play. "Jared is such a good kid and he'll make a deal with Israel that no one else can," Trump told The Times of London newspaper last month. "He's a natural dealmaker - everyone likes him." Middle East analysts say the settlement donations by Kushner's family foundation are not necessarily deal-breakers. After decades of failed negotiations, the real test is whether he is prepared to rethink the way the Middle East peace process is conducted, said Hugh Lovatt, a fellow of the European Council on Foreign Relations. "If he reverts to pushing for a process for the sake of process and diplomatic prestige, then he will prove no more successful than his predecessors," Lovatt told Reuters. "If he acquiesces to Israeli territorial demands and gives a green light to more settlement activity, he could even do irreparable damage to the prospects of long-term peace." A key diplomatic factor will be whether the Trump administration commits itself to a two-state solution - Israel and an independent Palestinian state living side-by-side. This remains firmly the goal for the Palestinians and, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israelis. But some of Kushner's supporters in Bet El appear to be heading in a different direction - and the political voice of hardliners could prove a significant obstacle should peace talks resume. "The two-state solution is a scam," said Shai Alon, the head of the local council, who describes himself as optimistic about the "Trump era". "It's not going to happen." ||||| Israeli officials have approved the construction of 3,000 new settlement units in the West Bank as part of a massive expansion policy in occupied Palestinian territory. "[Israeli] Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have decided to authorize the construction of 3,000 new housing units," the defense ministry said in a statement. According to the statement, 2,000 of the units are ready to be put on the market, while the rest are in various stages of planning. "We're in a new era where life in Judaea and Samaria (the West Bank) is returning to its natural course," said Lieberman, who himself has long lived in a West Bank settlement. Since Trump took office with top aides sympathetic to the settlement enterprise, the government has announced a string of new projects that will add more than 6,000 homes for Jewish settlers. On Jan. 22, Jerusalem's municipality approved the construction of 566 new settlement units in east Jerusalem. The plans, approved by Netanyahu and Lieberman, mark the largest recent announcement of settlement building by Israel. "We are building and will continue to build," Netanyahu said in the statement. On Jan. 24, Netanyahu approved the construction of 2,500 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank, according to a statement issued by his Office. Two days later on Jan. 26, Israeli officials gave the final approval for 153 settler homes in east Jerusalem. "I'm going to deliver permits for thousands of homes in Jerusalem in the coming months," Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Meir had said at the time. Meanwhile, Trump has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahu's government has moved quickly to take advantage. The prime minister has said he sees the Trump presidency as offering "significant opportunities" after facing "huge pressures" from Barack Obama. The accelerated settlement expansion has deeply concerned those seeking to salvage a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The former Obama administration despaired of Israel's accelerating settlement expansion and, in a sharp break with longstanding policy, withheld its veto on a critical U.N. Security Council resolution in its final days. The international community considers all Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land as illegal and regards their construction as the biggest obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the conflict. But in a significant break with the Obama administration, Trump's White House has not condemned any of the four settlement expansions announced by Israel since he took office. The Palestinians want the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 war, as part of their hoped-for state. The Palestinians want these areas, along with the Gaza Strip, for the establishment of a future Palestinian state. International law views the West Bank and east Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity on the land as illegal. Roughly 500,000 Israelis now live in more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built since Israel occupied the Palestinian West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967. ||||| Israel announced plans on Tuesday for 3,000 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the third such declaration in eleven days since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Trump has signaled he could be more accommodating toward such projects than his predecessor Barack Obama. A statement from the Israeli Defence Ministry, which administers lands Israel captured in a 1967 war, said the decision was meant to fulfill demand for housing and "return to life as usual". The announcement came close to midnight as preparations began for the eviction of 330 settlers from an outpost in the West Bank. The Supreme Court had ruled that the Amona outpost must be evacuated by Feb 8. because it was built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are due to meet in Washington on Feb. 15. The president's chief spokesman said last week the two leaders would discuss settlement building. The muted response from the Trump White House so far on Israel's settlement announcements has been a clear departure from Obama, whose aides routinely criticized settlement construction plans. An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more homes in the West Bank drew rebuke from the Palestinians and from the EU. It followed approval of more than 560 new homes in East Jerusalem days before. Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Most countries consider settlements illegal and an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians need for a viable state. Israel disagrees, citing biblical, historical and political connections to the land - which the Palestinians also assert - as well as security interests. ||||| Israeli policemen remove a pro-settlement activist during an operation by Israeli forces to evict settlers from the illegal outpost of Amona in the occupied West Bank February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Baz Ratner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Thursday Israel's building of new settlements or expansion of existing ones in occupied territories may not be helpful in achieving peace with Palestinians, adopting a more measured tone than its previous pro-Israel announcements. In a statement issued two weeks before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit U.S. President Donald Trump, the White House said the administration "has not taken an official position on settlement activity." Trump, a Republican, has signaled he could be more accommodating toward settlement projects than his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. The latest statement reflects slightly more nuanced language on how the new administration views settlement activity. "While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal," the White House said in a statement. The statement could disappoint Israel's far-right which had hoped Trump would give an unqualified green light on rapid settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem - areas Israel captured in the 1967 war. Former president Obama routinely criticized settlement construction plans and his administration often described settlement activity as lacking legitimacy and impeding peace. The White House statement came as Israel has ratcheted up settlement activity. On Wednesday, it said it would establish a new settlement in the occupied West Bank, the first since the late 1990s. It also announced plans for 3,000 more settlement homes in the West Bank, the third such declaration in less than two weeks since Trump took office. An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more dwellings in the West Bank, territory captured in the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war and where Palestinians now seek statehood, drew rebukes from the Palestinians and the European Union. ||||| Israel announced plans on Tuesday for 3,000 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the third such declaration in eleven days since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Trump has signalled he could be more accommodating toward such projects than his predecessor Barack Obama. A statement from the Israeli Defence Ministry, which administers lands Israel captured in a 1967 war, said the decision was meant to fulfill demand for housing and “return to life as usual”. The announcement came close to midnight as preparations began for the eviction of 330 settlers from an outpost in the West Bank. The Supreme Court had ruled that the Amona outpost must be evacuated by Feb 8. because it was built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are due to meet in Washington on Feb. 15. The president’s chief spokesman said last week the two leaders would discuss settlement building. The muted response from the Trump White House so far on Israel’s settlement announcements has been a clear departure from Obama, whose aides routinely criticized settlement construction plans. An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more homes in the West Bank drew rebuke from the Palestinians and from the EU. It followed approval of more than 560 new homes in East Jerusalem days before. Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Most countries consider settlements illegal and an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians need for a viable state. Israel disagrees, citing biblical, historical and political connections to the land – which the Palestinians also assert – as well as security interests. ||||| Rightist protesters scuffled with Israeli police carrying out a court order to evict settlers from an illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, hours after the government announced more construction in larger settlements. Around 330 Israeli settlers live in Amona, the largest of scores of outposts built in the West Bank without official authorisation. The Supreme Court ruled in November, after a lengthy legal battle, that settlers had to leave Amona because their homes were built on privately owned Palestinian land. With no weapons visible, but wearing backpacks, hundreds of police walked past burning tyres and pushed back against scores of nationalist Israeli youths who flocked to Amona in support of the settlers. Working into the night the forces made slow progress, with three or four policemen at a time lifting each of the protesters out of dwellings in which they had holed up, and carrying them away onto buses. By dark police said only 22 of Amona’s 40 families had left. Thirteen protesters were detained by police during the scuffles and there were a few instances of stone-throwing. A police spokesmen said at least 20 officers were injured slightly by rocks and caustic liquid thrown at them. The Amona settlers themselves stayed largely put inside their homes after erecting makeshift barriers in front of their doors and vowing passive resistance to eviction. “We won’t leave our homes on our own. Pull us out, and we’ll go,” one settler told reporters. “It is a black day for Zionism.” On a nearby hilltop, Issa Zayed, a Palestinian who said he was one of the owners of the land on which Amona was built, watched the scene through binoculars. “With God’s help, it will be evacuated and our land will return to us,” he said. Most countries consider all Israeli settlements to be illegal. Israel disagrees, citing historical and political links to the land - which the Palestinians also assert - as well as security interests. Earlier, Israel announced plans for 3,000 more settlement homes in the West Bank, the third such declaration in 11 days since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Trump, a Republican, has signalled he could be more accommodating toward such projects than his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more dwellings in the West Bank, territory captured in a 1967 Middle East war and where Palestinians now seek statehood, drew rebukes from the Palestinians and the European Union. It followed approval a few days before of over 560 new homes in East Jerusalem, also taken by Israel in 1967. “The decision ... will place obstacles in the path of any effort to start a peace process that will lead to security and peace,” said Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from Gaza in 2005. In 2006 Amona saw a violent partial eviction, with nine shacks torn down by authorities. Police were confronted by thousands of settlers and more than 200 people were injured. The Amona issue had caused tension within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government. But it eased after he got behind a law proposed by the Jewish Home party, a far-right political ally, to retroactively legalise dozens of outposts. This would not apply to Amona because of the existing court decision. “We have lost the battle over Amona but we are winning the campaign for the Land of Israel,” cabinet minister and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett tweeted after the evacuation began. The legislation is expected to be passed in parliament next week. It is opposed, however, by Israel’s attorney-general and legal experts predict it eventually would be overturned in court. ||||| Israeli police dragged nationalist youths out of a barricaded synagogue on Thursday, completing the forced evacuation of an illegal outpost in the West Bank even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to build evicted families a new settlement. Some 100 youngsters protesting against the removal of some 300 settlers from Amona, an outpost built without Israeli government authorisation, kicked at police who used a high-pressure hose and a wooden pole to batter down sheet metal and furniture blocking the entrances to the synagogue. The teenagers painted a Nazi swastika on a synagogue wall next to a slogan denouncing the police. The evacuation began on Wednesday, when most of the families that settled in Amona were removed. But the youths holed up in the synagogue overnight. Police, announcing that Amona had been cleared, said some 60 officers were slightly hurt in the two-day operation. Hospitals reported that at least four protesters had been treated for injuries. Amona, built in 1995, was the largest of scores of outposts erected in the West Bank without formal approval. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled last November that it must be evacuated because it stands on privately-owned Palestinian land. In a statement late on Wednesday and again in a speech in the West Bank on Thursday, Netanyahu said a new settlement would be built for Amona’s families and that a committee would be set up to locate a site. “We will work to have it happen as soon as possible,” he said, speaking in the West Bank settlement of Ariel. Once constructed, it will be the first new settlement built in the West Bank since 1999. Construction in existing settlements has raised to 350,000 the number of Israelis living in the territory, which was captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Another 200,000 Israelis live in East Jerusalem, also seized in that conflict. Most countries consider all Israeli settlements to be illegal. Israel disagrees, citing historical and political links to the land – which the Palestinians also assert – as well as security interests. Since Donald Trump took office as US president on Jan 20, Israel has announced plans for almost 6,000 more settlement homes in the West Bank, drawing European and Palestinian condemnation but no criticism from the White House. Trump, a Republican, has signalled he could be more accommodating toward settlements than his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, which Israeli forces and settlers left in 2005, with East Jerusalem as its capital. ||||| Alwaght- Israeli regime has approved plans to build 3,000 more settlements on the occupied lands of West Bank despite global condemnation. The regime’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and his minister for military affairs, Avigdor Lieberman have approved the projects that were announced through a statement on Tuesday. Emboldened by January 20 inauguration of Trump, Tel Aviv launched its major settlement expansion drive. Just a few days after Trump's swearing-in, Israeli regime announced some 2,500 settler units in the West Bank and around 500 more in al-Quds. Last week, Netanyahu said that Israel’s settlement approval is just a “taste” of new measures, which will be taken now that Barack Obama is no longer the US president. Over 230 illegal settlements have been constructed since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. The illegal structures have hampered attempts to establish peace in the West Asia. In December 2016, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2334 that denounced the Israeli settlements as a "flagrant violation of international law." ||||| JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's parliament has postponed a vote that would allow it to appropriate hundreds of hectares of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, the parliament's website said on Tuesday (Jan 31). The Knesset, or parliament, on Monday (Jan 30) began to consider the Bill ahead of second and third parliamentary readings due to take place this week. Voting will now take place next week, the Knesset website said, with Feb 6 the earliest the Bill can be passed. Presented by the pro-settlement lobby, the Bill would retroactively legalise nearly 4,000 Jewish homes in the occupied West Bank built in contravention of Israeli law, according to the anti-settlement organisation Peace Now. More than 800 hectares of Palestinian land would be expropriated, the organisation said. The Palestinian owners of the land would be compensated financially or with land elsewhere. It would be the first time Israel has applied its own civil law to land it recognises as Palestinian-owned in the West Bank, critics say. The Bill is backed by Israel's right-wing government but has alarmed the international community and supporters of an independent Palestinian state. The Palestine Liberation Organisation has called it a "declaration of war". Israel's opposition leader Isaac Herzog says the law would pose a danger to Israel and could amount to annexation of parts of the West Bank, the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in 1967. The opposition had initially demanded that debates on the Bill be spread out over 38 days, but this period was shortened, the Knesset website said. The delay means the vote could now come in the same week as the Feb 8 deadline for the evacuation of the "outpost" settlement of Amona. The fate of Amona, which an Israeli court demanded be demolished as it is built on private Palestinian land, was one of the key factors driving the right wing's push for the Bill. However, Amona is not included among the 54 outposts that would be legalised, according to Peace Now. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, with much of the international community seeing them as a major obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians. ||||| U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon sharply criticized a decision by Israel to advance plans to build hundreds of units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem just days after world powers called on Israel to stop its settlement policy, his spokesman said on Tuesday. "This raises legitimate questions about Israel's long-term intentions, which are compounded by continuing statements of some Israeli ministers calling for the annexation of the West Bank," Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. Ban was "deeply disappointed" that Israel's announcement followed the release of a report on Friday by the "Quartet" sponsoring the stalled Middle East peace process - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. The long-awaited report said Israel should stop building settlements, denying Palestinian development and designating land for exclusive Israeli use that Palestinians seek for a future state. The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in a 1967 war. The last round of peace talks broke down in April 2014 and Israeli-Palestinian violence has surged in recent months. The Quartet report said at least 570,000 Israelis are living in the settlements. Ban "reiterates that settlements are illegal under international law and urges the Government of Israel to halt and reverse such decisions in the interest of peace and a just final status agreement," Dujarric said. Diplomats said the Quartet report was not as hard-hitting as expected after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set out to ensure the document was softened.
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Israel announces it will build an entirely new settlement in the West Bank for the first time in about twenty years. Many in the international community believe that such settlements are illegal but Israel disputes that. The settlement program is illegal under international law.
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PARIS (Reuters) - A fire caused an explosion at the Flamanville nuclear power plant in northwest France on Thursday, leading the operator EDF to take a reactor offline, but there was no risk to the reactor, EDF and a local official said on Thursday. The state-owned firm said a fire in the turbine hall caused the explosion in a “non-nuclear” part of the power station. The fire was brought under control, and reactor number 1 was disconnected from the grid, EDF said, adding that although there were no injuries, five people had been affected by fumes. The Flamanville 1 and 2 reactors, which each have a electricity generating capacity of 1,300 megawatts, were built in the 1980s. CONTROVERSY Industry experts said fires of this nature happened fairly frequently and that there was unlikely to have been any release of radiation, but Flamanville is at the centre of a deep controversy in France over the future of its nuclear industry and the degree to which its engineering can be trusted. Atomic power accounted for over 70 percent of the country’s power generation in 2015, and reactors made by another state-controlled firm, Areva, have been installed around the world. Areva and EDF are building the prototype for a new generation of reactor at the Flamanville site on the Normandy coast in the hope it can be the first of many and extricate them from financial difficulty. Areva is close to bankruptcy due to a lack of orders, disputes with existing customers, and an investigation into document falsification and is undergoing a restructuring that involves EDF buying a part of the business. ||||| An explosion has occurred at Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant, in France’s north-west, officials told local media, adding that several people were slightly injured after inhaling the fumes, though there is no nuclear risk. The incident occurred at 9:45 local time (08:45 GMT) in an engine room, Électricité de France (EDF) said in a statement. The power at Reactor №1 was “disconnected automatically” after the blaze started in an engine room in the non-nuclear part of the facility. At least five people have been slightly injured inhaling the fumes caused by the blast, AFP reports citing authorities. There is no contamination risk to locals, authorities said. According to AFP, the Unit 1 reactor will still temporarily be shut down, however. “It is a significant technical failure but it is not a nuclear accident” because the explosion occurred “outside the nuclear zone,” Olivier Marmion, director of the prefect’s office, told AFP. The nuclear plant located in the Flamanville commune has two pressurized water reactors that produce 1.3 GWe (gigawatt electrical) each. The reactors were built in 1986 and 1987. A third reactor will be completed by 2018. The plant is owned by Électricité de France (EDF), a French electric utility company, headquartered in Paris. This article (Explosion at Flamanville nuclear power plant in France, no risk of contamination) was originally published on RT News and syndicated by The Event Chronicle. ||||| Several people are being treated for smoke inhalation after an explosion at a nuclear power plant in France. Authorities said there was "no nuclear risk" following the blast in Flamanville around 10am local time (9am GMT) on Thursday. "It is a significant technical issue but does not constitute a nuclear accident," Olivier Marmion, director of the prefect's office, told AFP, adding that the explosion occurred outside the nuclear zone. Officials said the blast took place in the plant's machine room and confirmed there was no radioactive leak. Five people were treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation, with no serious injuries immediately reported. Emergency services were at the scene, where a fire was burning according to Ouest France. EDF Energy, which runs the plant, did not immediately respond to The Independent's request for information. The Flamanville nuclear power plant, located on the Cotentin Peninsula in La Manche, houses two pressurised water reactors built in the 1980s, and a third reactor that remains under construction after a series of delays. Hundreds have joined protests against the reactor, which is due to be turned on in 2018 after costing an estimated €10.5bn (£9bn). A radioactive leak occurred in 2012 from reactor one, which was at a standstill at that time. ||||| Some injuries are feared at a nuclear power plant in Manche city of France. The explosion occurred at EDF's Flamanville Reactor but there is no nuclear risk, Ouest a French newspaper reported. ||||| An explosion at the compound of the Flamanville nuclear power plant was "a significant technical event but it is not a nuclear accident," an official tells local media. A fire that was also reported in the engine room where the explosion hit is now reportedly under control. The plant has two reactors; the fire and explosion took place in the engine room of reactor No. 1, which was automatically shut down, France Info reports. The outlet adds that while there were no serious injuries, five people suffered slight intoxication, evidently from the fumes. The explosion hit around 10 a.m. local time at the nuclear power generating facility along the English Channel, according to news site Ouest France. Citing Olivier Marmion, Chief of Staff of the prefect, Ouest France says the trouble occurred outside the plant's nuclear zone. EDF, the electric utility that operates the plant said Thursday that there was "no victim and no consequences for safety and the environment." ||||| A fire caused an explosion at EDF's Flamanville nuclear power plant in northern France on Thursday, leading the utility to take a reactor offline, but there was no associated nuclear risk, EDF and a local government official said on Thursday. State-owned EDF said in a statement a fire in a machine room caused the explosion in a "non-nuclear" part of the power station. It added that the fire had been brought under control by its team there and that reactor number 1 had been disconnected from the grid. It said there were no injuries but five people had been affected by fumes. The Flamanville 1 and 2 reactors, which each have a electricity generating capacity of 1,300 megawatts, were built in the 1980s. A new reactor is being built at the site but the explosion was not there, a spokeswoman said. The nuclear safety authority ASN said it had no information and could not immediately comment. ||||| A fire caused an explosion at the Flamanville nuclear power plant in northwest France on Thursday, leading the operator EDF to take a reactor offline, but there was no risk to the reactor, EDF and a local official said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO A general view shows France's oldest Electricite de France nuclear power station, outside the eastern French village of Fessenheim, near Colmar, France, September 5, 2012. Start the conversation, or Read more at Channelnewsasia.com. ||||| PARIS—A fire and a blast forced French state-controlled power utility Electricite de France SA, or EDF, to halt its Flamanville nuclear power plant Thursday morning, the company said. The fire and subsequent explosion happened in the “non-nuclear zone” of the plant, in northern France, and no one was hurt. The incident hasn’t done harm to the... ||||| An explosion at a nuclear power plant in northern France on Thursday caused minor injuries but took place outside the plant's nuclear zone and posed no risk of contamination, the authorities said. "It is a significant technical event but it is not a nuclear accident," senior local official Olivier Marmion told AFP following the blast at the Flamanville plant 25 kilometres (15 miles) west of Cherbourg. The cause of the explosion at the power station, which has been in operation since the 1980s, was not immediately known. Marmion said five people had reported feeling unwell but that there were no serious injuries, adding that rescue services were at the site. One of the plant's two reactors was shut down after the explosion and the incident was declared over at 1100 GMT, the authorities said. ||||| PARIS — French authorities say there has been an explosion in a nuclear power plant's machine room but that there is no leak of radiation. No injuries have been reported. The local government for the Manche region says that the blast at the Flamanville plant on France's northwest coast has been contained and managed. Operator EDF said that there were no injuries and that a fire led to a blast in the machine room of one of the two nuclear reactors at Flamanville. EDF says that the fire was "immediately" brought under control. EDF said that the No. 1 reactor was disconnected from the grid.
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A fire at the Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant in northwest France caused an explosion in a "non-nuclear" part of the station. One reactor was taken offline and five people were affected by fumes. The accident did not cause a radioactive leak.
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Adele performs her song "Hello" at the start of the Grammy Awards show on Sunday, February 12. It won song of the year, record of the year and best solo pop performance. Adele also won album of the year for "25." Chance the Rapper accepts the Grammy Award for best new artist. He also won best rap album for "Coloring Book" and best rap performance for "No Problem." Chance the Rapper accepts the Grammy Award for best new artist. He also won best rap album for "Coloring Book" and best rap performance for "No Problem." Photos: Grammys 2017: The winners Josh Dun, left, and Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots took off their pants before accepting the award for best pop duo/group performance ("Stressed Out"). Joseph explained that as aspiring musicians years ago, they had watched the Grammys at his house in their underwear. They told each other that if they ever won a Grammy, they would receive it in their undies. ||||| Beyoncé may be the queen but it's Adele who was awarded the royal blessings at the 59th Grammy Awards. The British singer won five awards Sunday night, including song and record of the year for her hit Hello and album of the year for 25. In addition to running her lifetime Grammy total to 15 , Adele became the first person to sweep album, record and song of the year twice — she last did it with 21 and Rolling in the Deep — and second female artist to win album of the year twice (after Taylor Swift). Other honorees of note: Chance the Rapper took home three Grammys, including best new artist and best rap album, Beyoncé's groundbreaking Lemonade snagged best urban contemporary album, and David Bowie posthumously swept his five nominated categories, including best rock song for Blackstar. Here is a minute-by-minute breakdown (ET) of the Grammy festivities: 12:16: Adele surprised journalists by stopping backstage without her Grammy hardware and talking about her victorious night. "America has always been very kind to me, I don't know why," she says. Adele discusses the long journey to making the album following the birth of her child. "I didn’t think anyone would care. I thought no one would know it was me. I thought it was going to be a very expensive disaster." And once again, Adele gave props to Beyonce. "Like I said in my speech, my album of the year (was) Lemonade. I was completely rooting for her, voting for her." Adele has been a fan of Beyonce since falling "in love" with the singer at age 11. "It was her time to win. It was like, what the (expletive) has she got to do to win album of the year?" Even though Grammy voters are very traditional, "I thought this was the year that they would go with the tide. Of course, I am very grateful having won. But I felt the need to tell her, because I love her. And she was more than worthy." 11:38: "Hi, everyone." Adele returns to the stage to accept the award for album of the year for 25. "It took an army to make me strong and willing again," she says. Five years ago at the Grammys, she was pregnant and didn't know "and that was the biggest blessing of my life, and in my pregnancy and through becoming a mother, I lost a lot of myself. I still do struggle but tonight winning this kind of feels full circle and like a bit of me has come full circle." Again, she pays tribute to Beyoncé, calling Lemonade "monumental" and the singer "the artist of my life." Addressing Beyoncé, Adele says, "You are our light and the way you make me and my friends feel, the way you make my black friends feel, is empowering and you make them stand up for themselves. I love you and I always will." 11:35: Record of the year goes to Adele for Hello, and she first gripes at the Grammy folks for cutting off producer Greg Kurstin. Adele then calls Beyoncé her "idol," adding "I want you to be my mommy." 11:23: John Legend and Cynthia Erivo duet on the Beach Boys' God Only Knows for the Grammys "In Memoriam" segment. 11:20: Backstage, Maren Morris is still basking in her Grammy win: "I’m still processing, but it feels amazing. To walk away with this is really validating." 11:09: Chance the Rapper joins gospel musicians Kirk Franklin and Tamela Mann for a choir-driven medley of How Great and All We Got. 10:52: The Prince tribute kicks off with The Time getting the crowd on its feet with dance jams Jungle Love and The Bird, then Bruno Mars — clad in full purple Prince regalia — takes over with Let's Go Crazy. 10:39: A Tribe Called Quest unleashes a funky medley of Movin' Backwards, We the People and Award Tour for a politically charged performance with Busta Rhymes and Anderson .Paak. 10:37: Adele bests Beyoncé for song of the year and wins for Hello, which she calls "my favorite song I’ve ever done." She also apologizes again for swearing during the George Michael tribute: "I’m really sorry if I offended anyone anywhere." 10:24: The Millennials in the crowd get a lesson in '70s disco with an all-star tribute to the Bee Gees: Demi Lovato belts Stayin' Alive, Tori Kelly busts out Tragedy, Little Big Town slows it down for How Deep Is Your Love? and Andra Day croons Night Fever. 10:13: Sturgill Simpson brings a brassy gospel touch to his tune All Around You with the help of the Dap-Kings. 10:07: Metallica joins a headbanging Lady Gaga for a rendition of the band's new song Moth Into Flame. James Hetfield's mic doesn't work so he shares one with the Gaga because she's a helpful pop singer. Also, while Kirk Hammett shreds on his guitar, Gaga stage-dives into the audience. 10:04: Chance the Rapper makes it 3-for-3 by winning best rap album for Coloring Book. "I didn’t think we were going to get this one so I don’t have anything to say this time," he says. 9:50: The Grammys pay tribute to the late George Michael with Adele doing a new, slowed-down orchestral arrangement of his song Fastlove. After a snafu, Adele stops the performance and starts again to get it right: "I'm sorry, I can't mess this up for him." 9:45: Newly minted Grammy winner Maren Morris joins Alicia Keys on a performance of the country singer's Once. 9:36: Beyoncé's Lemonade is awarded best urban contemporary album, and the singer thanks the Grammys for honoring a work that captured "the profundity of deep Southern culture. We all experience pain and loss and often we become inaudible. My intention for the film and album was to create a body of work that would give a voice to our pain, our struggles, our darkness and our history (and) to confront issues that make us uncomfortable." 9:33: Ace blues men William Bell and Gary Clark Jr. share the stage for a cover of Albert King's Born Under a Bad Sign. 9:25: Little Big Town does an a cappella version of Teenage Dream to present Katy Perry, who performs her new single Chained to the Rhythm with dancers and a large fence. It then explodes and forms a large wall with an unsubtle "We the People" message. 9:16:Mars arrives for a performance of That's What I Like. 9:13: Corden breaks out a faux car for "Cardboard Karaoke" with John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, Faith Hill Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and, yes, Neil Diamond. Song of choice? Sweet Caroline, of course. Blue Ivy even shows up for an appearance before the end. 9:11: Best country solo performance goes to Nashville rookie Maren Morris and her song My Church. "This is so crazy," says Morris. "To the fans, thank you for giving me the most incredible year of my life." 8:54: The moment everyone's been waiting for: Beyoncé's mom introduces her performance. The pregnant singer looks shimmering and regal for her medley of Love Drought and Sandcastles, which also seems to be a tribute to maternity. 8:52: Youngsters Lukas Graham and Kelsea Ballerini perform a mashup of their respective hits 7 Years and Peter Pan. 8:44: Best rock song goes to David Bowie's Blackstar. That makes five total posthumous Grammys for the legend. 8:38: Not to be outdone, Corden returns from a commercial break in his underwear, too, to introduce Ed Sheeran performing Shape of You all by his lonesome thanks to some looping skills. 8:31: Twenty One Pilots wins best pop duo/group and come up without their pants on, apparently the result of a promise made years ago. "Anyone from anywhere can do anything, and this is that," says singer Tyler Joseph. 8:25: John Travolta comes out bedecked in a lot of bling but can't seem to read the Teleprompter. Thank goodness for cards! He introduces country stars Urban and Carrie Underwood doing the lively duet The Fighter. 8:16: Paris Jackson introduces The Weeknd, who performs with Daft Punk on a lights-laden medley of Starboy and I Feel It Coming. 8:13: Chance the Rapper is named best new artist — his second Grammy of the day. "I claim this victory in the name of the Lord," he says, dedicating the award to many, including his hometown of Chicago. 8:12:Lopez comes out to present best new artist, though she gets political, too. "At this particular point in history, our voices are needed more than ever," she says, then quotes Toni Morrison: "This is the time when artists go to work." 8:06:Corden comes out for hosting duties but gets "stuck" in the riser and then falls down a number of steps. He's totally OK though and hoofs it with a number of dancers. "This is a disaster! What has happened, people?" Corden says, jokingly taking his dancers to task before beginning an epic opening rap that doesn't take long before tapping into the political climate: "With President Trump, we don't know what comes next." 8:00: Time for the main event. Adele kicks off the production very simply by belting her big hit Hello. 6:45: Backstage with press, Lori McKenna calls her Grammy-winning country tune for Tim McGraw, Humble and Kind, "a school day song": "I dropped my kids off in the morning and sat in my yoga pants and wrote. It’s a very simple song, talking about things I want my kids to know. And I tried to make sure I had a line to apply to each of my kids." 6:25: Cage the Elephant's Tell Me I'm Pretty is named best rock album, Bowie's Blackstar gets a fourth Grammy of the night for best alternative album, Adele wins best pop solo for Hello and pop vocal album for 25, Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin snags traditional pop vocal album, and Greg Kurstin — who's worked with Adele, Sia and Gwen Stefani, among others — is named producer of the year (non-classical) to bring the preshow awards to a close. 6:23: Megadeth wins its first Grammy ever — for best metal performance for Dystopia. "It took 12 tries to get this," says frontman Dave Mustaine. 6:21: Bowie's Blackstar garners its third win of the night, this time for best rock performance. Band member Donny McCaslin calls Bowie an "artistic genius, kind man and a funny-as-hell guy." 6:15: Chance the Rapper is shaking with nerves and letting expletives fly when accepting his best rap performance Grammy for No Problem. And Drake's Hotline Bling takes best rap/sung performance as well as best rap song. 6:11: Beyonce isn't the only one in the Knowles family taking Grammys: Her sister Solange wins best R&B performance for Cranes in the Sky. Lalah Hathaway gets best traditional R&B performance for Angel and best R&B album for Lalah Hathaway Live — plus gives a shoutout to the late Al Jarreau — while Hod David & Musze win best R&B song for Maxwell's Lake by the Ocean. 6:08: Patton Oswalt takes best comedy album for Talking for Clapping. "I reached my Fitbit goal running down here, it's great," he jokes when accepting his trophy. "This has not been a fun year for me or a lot of people but I'm going to be as goofy and obnoxious as I can to help." 6:05: Reggae master Ziggy Marley hits the stage to croon a horn-driven rendition of his song Amen. Just a few minutes later, he wins best reggae album for last year's self-titled sixth solo effort. "Music can change the world and we must use that power wisely and use it now ... to benefit humankind," says Marley. 5:58: Sarah Jarosz wins her second Grammy of the night, best folk album for Undercurrent. Then Kalani Pe'a sings "You are so beautiful to me" to his Grammy after his regional roots music album win for his debut E Walea. "I had a speech impediment at 4 years old and my mom introduced music to me. Music saved my life." 5:56: Fantastic Negrito wins top contemporary blues album for The Last Days of Oakland. "We did this right from our living room with a lot of heart and a lot of soul and I'm so glad it resonated with a lot of people," says Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, aka Fantastic Negrito. 5:52: The O'Connor Band with Mark O'Connor snags best bluegrass album for Coming Home, and best traditional blues album goes to Bobby Rush's Porcupine Meat. "This is my 374th record and ... finally," says the 83-year-old Rush. 5:46: Jarosz, who was just presenting awards not long ago, wins best American roots performance for House of Mercy. Vince Gill gets best American roots song for the Time Jumpers' Kid Sister, and William Bell's This is Where I Live is named best Americana album. "This is quite a surprise and I'm very humbled by it," says Bell. 5:42: Jesse & Joy's Un Besito Mas snags best Latin pop album, iLe's iLevitable gets best Latin rock album, Vicente Fernández wins best regional Mexican music album for Un Azteca En El Azteca, Vol. 1 (En Vivo), and the Jose Lugo & Guasábara Combo's Donde Están? takes best tropical Latin album. 5:36: Backstage, the producers of the Grammy-winning music video Formation had nothing but good things to say about Queen Bey. "There’s never a bad day with Beyonce," says Juliette Larthe. And Nathan Scherrer adds he was surprised by "how hard she works. It’s insane. She’s like the queen. She works harder than anyone." 5:33: Sturgill Simpson takes best country album for A Sailor's Guide to Earth. He dedicates the award to his family and adds, "I guess the revolution won't be televised." Plus, Lori McKenna wins best country song for Tim McGraw's Humble and Kind. 5:29: Pentatonix and Dolly Parton win best country duo/group performance for Jolene. It's Pentatonix's third Grammy, Parton's eighth. 5:26: Chucho Valdés wins best Latin jazz album for Tribute To Irakere: Live In Marciac, followed by the trophy for roots gospel album going to Joey+Rory's Hymns. 5:22: Guitarist John Scofield wins two Grammys — best improvised jazz solo for I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry and jazz instrumental album for Country For Old Men — while Gregory Porter's Take Me to the Alley gets best jazz vocal album and the Ted Nash Big Band wins its second honor, for large jazz ensemble for Presidential Suite. 5:13: Judy Collins is on stage and behind a piano for a performance of Leonard Cohen's Suzanne. 5:08: The Chainsmokers take best dance recording for Don't Let Me Down, and dance/electronic album goes to Flume's Skin. 5:04: Michael Daugherty wins two more Grammys for Tales Of Hemingway: contemporary classical composition and classical compendium. 5:03: First Grammy tie of the year! Schumann & Berg and Shakespeare Songs both take best classical solo vocal album. 5:02: Cellist Zuill Bailey wins best classical instrumental solo for Daugherty: Tales Of Hemingway. "They don't teach you what it feels like to be in this position," says Bailey. 4:59:Penderecki Conducts Penderecki, Volume 1 gets best choral performance, and Third Coast Percussion's Steve Reich wins for best chamber music/small ensemble performance. 4:55: David Frost takes home producer of the year (classical), Boston Symphony wins orchestral performance for Shostakovich: Under Stalin's Shadow - Symphonies Nos. 5, 8 & 9, and best opera recording goes to Corigliano: The Ghosts Of Versailles — giving a second Grammy of the day to the Los Angeles Opera's album. 4:53: Corigliano: The Ghosts Of Versailles garners honors for best engineered classical album. 4:42: Director Ron Howard's The Beatles: Eight Days A Week The Touring Years is named best music film. 4:41: Beyonce garners her first Grammy of the day, taking best music video for Formation. 4:39: Comedy legend Carol Burnett's In Such Good Company: Eleven Years Of Laughter, Mayhem, And Fun In The Sandbox wins best spoken word album. 4:37: "Kid-hop" musician Secret Agent 23 Skidoo gets best children's album for Infinity Plus One. 4:33: Sing Me Home wins best world music album for legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. 4:30: Kirk Franklin's back to pick up another Grammy for best gospel album Losing My Religion, while Hillary Scott's back on stage to accept contemporary Christian album for Love Remains. 4:27: Thy Will, a tune by Hillary Scott and the Scott Family, wins for contemporary Christian performance/song. 4:23: Tamela Mann's God Provides, penned by Franklin, wins best gospel performance/song. "This is gospel so hallelujah!" a teary Mann says. "This is amazing. My mom would be so happy right now." 4:21: White Sun grabs best new age album for White Sun II. "We just want our music to make something better for somebody somewhere," says singer Gurujas. 4:16: Are you ready for some bluegrass? The O'Connor Band takes the stage for a little Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man? 4:11:Tearing Me Up gets best remixed non-classical recording, followed by best surround sound album going to the Seattle Symphony's Dutilleux: Sur Le Même Accord; Les Citations; Mystère De L'instant & Timbres, Espace, Mouvement. 4:08: Edith Piaf 1915-2015 is awarded best limited-edition package, and Blackstar takes its second Grammy for best engineered non-classical album. 4:03: The late Bowie's final album Blackstar wins for best recording package. 3:58: Jacob Collier's You and I takes best instrumental arrangement. "There's never been a better time to be a young creative person than in 2017," he says. He then wins his second Grammy, for instrumental and vocal arrangement, for Flintstones. 3:55: Ted Nash Big Band wins for instrumental composition for Spoken at Midnight from Presidential Suite: Eight Variations On Freedom, a piece commissioned by Wynton Marsalis. "This album is very, very personal for me," Nash says. "It's about the nonviolent struggle for freedom." 3:53: Justin Timberlake snags his first Grammy of 2017: The Trolls song Can't Stop the Feeling is named best song written for visual media. 3:51: John Williams' music for Star Wars: The Force Awakens wins best soundtrack for visual media. That makes 23 Grammys for the iconic composer. 3:49: Miles Ahead, Don Cheadle's directorial feature where he also starred as Miles Davis, takes top compilation soundtrack for visual media. 3:46: The Broadway show The Color Purple takes the first Grammy of the day, for best musical theater album. Of her fellow cast members, star Cynthia Erivo says, "Those voices are something very special." 3:42: Margaret Cho hosts the preshow ceremony, which will dole out 75 Grammys. She decided to wear a wig resembling "Weird Al" Yankovic's hair because they're both up for best comedy album and he's not here. "I think I’m going to win with his hair." ||||| British singer Adele swept the 2017 Grammy awards on Sunday, winning Album of the Year for 25. Her single Hello won for Best Pop Solo Performance, and was also declared Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Beyoncé, who had the highest number of nominations at nine, won Best Music Video for Formation. The 59th edition of popular music awards was hosted by The Late Late Show’s James Corden at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. But even as Beyoncé and Adele competed in most of the top categories, posthumous awards celebrated two superstars of the years past, with David Bowie winning Best Alternative Album for Blackstar and three other awards, and The Beatles winning Best Music Film for The Beatles: Eight Days a Week the Touring Years, which was directed by Ron Howard. Chicago-based Chance the Rapper won two Grammys awards – Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance for No Problem, while Canadian rapper Drake’s earworm Hotline Bling won in the in the Best Rap/Sung Performance category. Other winning entries included Solange Knowles Cranes in the Sky (Best R&B Performance) Willie Nelson’s Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin (Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album) Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth (Best Country Album), Jesse & Joy’s Un Besito Mas (Best Latin Pop Album) and Patton Oswalt’s Talking for Clapping (Best Comedy Album). ||||| Hello singer Adele has won five Grammys on a record-breaking night for the British star, but she was left "devastated" after fluffing her musical tribute to George Michael. The 28-year-old singer won album of the year for 25 and record and song of the year for Hello, beating her "idol" Beyonce to the three top awards. A tearful Adele dedicated her album award to Beyonce, who missed out with her celebrated visual record Lemonade. "I can't possibly accept this award," she said. "I'm very humble and I'm grateful and gracious but my artist of my life is Beyonce and the Lemonade album was just so monumental - Beyonce, it was so monumental - and so well thought out and so beautiful and soul-bearing. "All us artists here, we f****** adore you. "The way you make me and my friends feel. The way you make my black friends feel is empowering. You make them stand up for themselves and I love you and I always have." She added: "My idol is Queen Bey and I adore you." Adele also won best pop vocal album for 25 and best pop solo performance for Hello, taking her total number of Grammy wins to 15. She is the first artist to win song, record and album of the year in the same year twice following her success in 2012 with her album 21 and single Rolling In The Deep. Adele had earlier been left in tears during the star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles after she restarted her rendition of Michael's song Fast Love. She swore as she called a halt to her performance, telling the audience: "I'm sorry, I can't mess this up for him." Backstage, Adele said she was "devastated" about restarting the song - a year after she struggled with sound problems during her performance at the 2016 Grammys. There was more British success as David Bowie won four posthumous Grammys following his death from cancer last year. Bowie, who died in January 2016 aged 69, won best alternative music album, best rock performance and best engineered non-classical album for his last release, Blackstar. He also won best rock song for his single Blackstar, while the Blackstar album won another Grammy when Jonathan Barnbrook took home best recording package for his artwork on the record. Bowie's awards were his first music Grammys after previously winning best music video in 1985 for Jazzin' For Blue Jean and a lifetime achievement award in 2006. Beyonce made her first public performance since announcing she is pregnant with twins as she performed two songs from her hit album Lemonade. Her husband Jay Z and their daughter Blue Ivy were in the audience as she won best urban contemporary album and best music video for Formation. On stage, Beyonce said the album was made to "give a voice to our pain" and to "confront issues that make us uncomfortable". Chance The Rapper won best new artist, best rap album and best rap performance after becoming the first artist to be nominated for a streaming-only album following the release of Coloring Book. Described by organisers as music's biggest night, stars including Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Drake - who won two awards for Hotline Bling - did not attend the ceremony. Rapper Busta Rhymes took aim at US president Donald Trump as he performed with A Tribe Called Quest. On stage, he said: "I just want to thank President Agent Orange for perpetuating all of the evil that you've been perpetuating throughout the United States. "I want to thank President Agent Orange for his unsuccessful attempt at the Muslim ban." The two members of Twenty One Pilots removed their trousers as they took to the stage to collect the award for best pop duo/group performance. Lead singer Tyler Joseph said his bandmate Josh Dun had suggested the stunt while they watched the Grammys years before they were famous. There were more sound problems during the ceremony as Metallica and Lady Gaga performed Moth Into Flame together. The microphone used by the band's frontman James Hetfield was not working at the start of the performance, forcing him to share Gaga's microphone. Bruno Mars performed Let's Go Crazy in a tribute to Prince, following his sudden death in April last year Bee Gees star Barry Gibb was in audience as singers including Demi Lovato and Tori Kelly performed a medley of the band's hits to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. British comedian James Corden hosted the awards show and recreated his popular Carpool Karaoke sketch, singing Sweet Caroline with a host of famous singers. Here is the list of winners in the main categories at the 2017 Grammy Awards. The Chainsmokers featuring Daya - Don't Let Me Down Cage The Elephant - Tell Me I'm Pretty The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years ||||| Adele accepts the award for album of the year for "25" at the 59th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP) Along with the heavy emphasis on female power players Beyoncé and Adele, a veteran rocker commanded the 59th annual Grammy Awards. David Bowie, who died in January 2016 of liver cancer, finally received vindication by sweeping his five nominated categories. But Adele collected an armful of Grammys by the end of the night, also taking every one of her five categories, including the big three: album of the year (“25”) and song and record of the year (“Hello”). She is the first artist to win those top three categories twice. A sobbing Adele appeared to feel guilty for besting Beyoncé for album of the year. “The artist of my life is Beyoncé. The ‘Lemonade’ album is so monumental and so well-thought-out and so soul-baring,” Adele said as a teary-eyed Beyoncé graciously beamed. “All us artists here, we [expletive] adore you. You are our light.” “Hello” also won best pop solo performance, while “25” nabbed best pop vocal album. Backstage, Adele made a rare appearance and reiterated her affection for Beyoncé. “The Grammys mean a lot to me. It’s the award show, and I feel very lucky to have achieved (the feat of winning the top three awards). But my album of the year was ‘Lemonade,’ and a piece of me did die inside. I voted for her. (But) I am incredibly humbled by this. America has always been very kind to me,” she said, adding with a laugh, “I don’t know why.” >> WATCH: Adele dedicates Grammy for Album of the Year to Beyoncé “Blackstar,” the final album on Bowie’s resume — released two days prior to his death — garnered best rock song and best alternative album among his posthumous accolades. Bowie’s only previous Grammy came in 1985 for the “Jazzin’ for Blue Jean” video. Viewers of the Sunday night ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles saw plenty of this year’s leading ladies. Beyoncé led the nominations with nine and went home with two. Adele, who joined the blonde bandwagon with Katy Perry, opened the show with her slow-burn monster hit, “Hello,” and mock-wiped her brow at the song’s end in reference to the audio blip that marred her 2016 Grammy performance. The British songbird was also tapped to perform the tribute to George Michael, a haunting rendition of “Fastlove,” which provided her with another agonizing Grammy moment when she stopped midway through the song — she was clearly in the wrong key — and told the orchestra to start the song over. “I can’t mess this up for him,” she said, ending the song in tears even as the audience gave her a standing ovation. While backstage after the show, Adele said she was “devastated” by the do-over and said her earliest memory of Michael was seeing the “Fastlove” video. “I was blown away by how [expletive] hot he was,” she said. Beyoncé, still wearing the gold-beaded outfit she donned during her laborious, yet colorful, performance of “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles,” read her acceptance speech when “Lemonade” was named best urban contemporary album (she also won for best music video for “Formation”). “Thank you for everyone who worked so hard to capture the profundity of deep Southern culture,” she said. “It’s important to create a body of work that will give voice to our pain.” A sincere Chance the Rapper made Grammy history with his two wins from his “Coloring Book” release; it’s the first time a streaming-only album has been eligible. Before landing his win for best new artist, Chance, who was nominated for seven awards and won three, picked up an early trophy for best rap performance (“No Problem”), which features Lil Wayne and Atlanta’s 2 Chainz. The win earned the College Park native his first Grammy after four previous nominations. After five years of LL Cool J steering the 3 ½-hour Grammy production, late-night TV host James Corden proved a fizzy replacement — adding pratfalls, a starry “Carpool Karaoke” with Neil Diamond, Jennifer Lopez, Faith Hill and others, and a light dash of politics to the night. A medley featuring A Tribe Called Quest and Anderson .Paak expressed the most pointed political moment when Q-Tip ended the performance – which was also a tribute to Phife Dawg – by chanting “Resist! Resist! Resist!” Twenty One Pilots’ Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun opted for humor by accepting their first Grammy for best pop duo/group performance for “Stressed Out” in their underwear, which is how they said they watched a previous Grammy ceremony at home in Ohio. The show touted as “music’s biggest night” is renowned for spotlighting performances and idiosyncratic pairings and this year yielded mixed results. Ed Sheeran soared by accentuating the simplicity of “Shape of You”; Lukas Graham veered off-key during a mash-up of “Peter Pan” and “7 Years” with Kelsea Ballerini; and a quite pregnant Beyoncé, introduced by her mother Tina Knowles, eventually showed up after a ponderous video introduction. Donning a metallic headpiece possibly tossed away after the last Cher tour, she whisper-sung “Love Drought” and the more elegant “Sandcastles.” Maren Morris, the winner for best country solo performance (“My Church”), wore an unusually slinky outfit and slayed her duet with Alicia Keys on “Once,” while Sharon Jones received a warm mention before the horn section of her Dap-Kings backed Sturgil Simpson on “All Around You.” But not much compared to Lady Gaga’s riff-tastic, stage-diving romp with Metallica, which not even a faulty microphone could tame as the team roared through “Moth Into Flame.” Well, perhaps the zippy Prince tribute showcasing Morris Day and the Time and Bruno Mars, a natural showman in purple sequins as he gyrated through “Let’s Go Crazy.” Stax mainstay William Bell, long an Atlanta resident, scored his inaugural Grammy for “This is Where I Live” (best Americana album) during the 3 ½-hour pre-show. >> Adele has technical issue, asks that Grammys George Michael tribute be started over While accepting his award, the 77-year-old musician, who performed “Born Under a Bad Sign” with Gary Clark Jr. on the live telecast, seemed genuinely surprised at winning. “I am glad to be here after all these years and still viable in the industry,” Bell said. “I’m back at Stax (Records) after 40 years … it’s always good to come home.” The Grammys are voted on by the members of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. The eligibility period for the 2017 ceremony was Oct. 1, 2015, through Sept. 30, 2016. ||||| Chicago’s Chance the Rapper won his first Grammy Sunday afternoon, winning in the category of best rap performance for “No Problem” with 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne. The performer is also nominated in the best new artist and best rap album categories. He called his early, pre-televised Grammy win “crazy.” The rapper was nominated for seven awards, including the history-making nomination for “Coloring Book,” the first streaming-only album to nominated for a Grammy Award. On the Red Carpet, Chance gave a shout-out to his family “watching back in Chicago,” singling out his 16-month-old daughter, Kensli. The win came during the pre-telecast awards ceremony in Los Angeles in which Adele’s “25” won for best pop vocal album. David Bowie’s “Blackstar” won for best alternative music album. Chicago winners also included Layla Hathaway, who picked up Grammy wins for best traditional R&B performance for “Angel,” and best R&B album for “Layla Hathaway Live,” beating out fellow Chicagoan BJ the Chicago Kid, who was nominated in the same categories. Jennifer Hudson was among the ensemble win for best musical theater album for the Broadway cast recording of “The Color Purple.” Third Coast Percussion picked up a win for best chamber music/best ensemble performance. ||||| LOS ANGELES (NYTimes) - Adele swept the 59th annual Grammy Awards for her album 25, an enormous hit around the world, in a night that shut out Beyonce from the major awards and also featured reverent tributes and, at times, pointed political commentary. Adele won five awards, including album of the year for 25 and both record and song of the year for the hit song Hello - a historic sweep that Adele accomplished five years ago with her last album, 21. She is the only artist to win album, record and song of the year twice. And in an acknowledgment of the music industry's rapidly shifting business model, three Grammys, including best new artist, went to Chance the Rapper, a gospel-influenced rapper from Chicago whose music was released independently and was available only on streaming services. The night had been seen as a contest between Adele and Beyonce, megastars who were up against each other in all major categories. In her acceptance speech for album of the year, Adele paid tearful tribute to her rival, and told her, "I adore you and I want you to be my mommy," after winning record of the year. Her comment was a reference to Beyonce's showstopping performance, which along with Adele's showed two sides of divahood. Beyonce appeared as a goddess of femininity, while Adele endeared herself to the crowd with her humanity, flaws included. Both stole the show. Adele opened the show singing her hit Hello, in a performance that was somewhat shaky at first but still showed her power as a vocalist. Later, in a tribute to the late George Michael, she started to sing his song Fastlove but stopped it abruptly, cursing into the microphone and apologising that she needed to start over to get it right. (CBS bleeped the profanity.) After finishing, she teared up as the celebrities in the front row applauded her in support. Then there was Beyonce, who offered a jaw-dropping, multimedia homage to motherhood in a segment that stunned the celebrities in attendance and immediately set social media on fire. After an affectionate introduction by her own mother, Tina Knowles, Beyonce appeared as a crowned fertility goddess with her pregnant belly highlighted for the camera; at one point, her five-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, ran around her. Surrounded by dancers, and with projected images of herself in saffron robes, she performed the songs Love Drought and Sandcastles from her album Lemonade. When she accepted the award minutes later for best urban contemporary album, she read a prepared statement that sounded like a manifesto. Explaining her ambitions of Lemonade, an album and film, she said, "It is important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty," so they would "have no doubt that they are beautiful, intelligent and capable." She added, "This is something I want for every child of every race." The singer, who had been nominated for nine awards this year, more than any other artist, in the end won only two: best urban contemporary album for Lemonade and a music video prize for the song Formation. The night included political statements, some more overt than others. Katy Perry performed her new single Chained To The Rhythm in a white pantsuit and a sparkling armband that said "Persist," an apparent reference to Senator Elizabeth Warren. Her number concluded in front of a projection of the Constitution. But by far the fiercest was by the veteran hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, whose members accused "President Agent Orange" of "perpetuating evil" throughout the country, before dancers broke through a prop wall behind them and women in Islamic garb took the stage. At the end of the segment, the group and its company raised their right fists in the air in the black power salute, while the band member Q-Tip repeatedly shouted, "Resist!" Jennifer Lopez, before awarding the best new artist prize, quoted Toni Morrison: "This is precisely the time when artists go to work," she said. "There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear." Besides Adele's homage to George Michael, the show also included a purple-hued tribute to Prince with the Time, the longtime Minneapolis funk group that often performed with Prince, and with Bruno Mars, who impersonated Prince from his makeup and performance style to the shape of his guitar. The Prince tribute also came on the same day that much of Prince's music was released widely on streaming music service, a result of a series of deals reached with Prince's estate; during his life, Prince closely policed his music online, and pulled his songs down from all services but Tidal. Not all tributes were to the dead, but a medley of Bee Gees songs was almost as reverent. Demi Lovato, Tori Kelly, Little Big Town and Andra Day played Stayin' Alive, How Deep Is Your Love and others from the Bee Gees' classic soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, 40 years after its release. Later, John Legend and Cynthia Erivo from The Color Purple on Broadway sang the Beach Boys' God Only Knows during an "in memoriam" segment that noted the deaths over the past year of Leonard Cohen, Sharon Jones, Ralph Stanley, Merle Haggard, Debbie Reynolds and others. In another form of memorial, the Grammys showered David Bowie with four awards for Blackstar, the album released shortly before his death in January 2016. Bowie won best rock performance, rock song, alternative album and an engineering prize. These were Bowie's first musical Grammys; largely passed over during his life, he had won a video award in 1985 and a lifetime achievement citation in 2006. (Blackstar also won for best art direction.) Seventy-five of this year's 84 total Grammys were handed out by the Recording Academy before the television coverage began. James Corden, star of The Late Late Show and the new host of the Grammys, made quite an entrance, falling down a flight of stairs on the stage after a comic bit revolving around technical difficulties involving a hydraulic lift. The show had other moments of levity. When Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots won best pop duo/group performance, they immediately stripped out of their pants and walked to the stage in their underwear. Joseph explained that before they were famous, the two had watched the Grammy Awards in their skivvies and pledged that if they ever won, "we should receive it just like this." After the commercial break, Corden appeared pantless too. Later, in a tongue-in-cheek exploitation of his popular Carpool Karaoke skits, Corden stood in the aisle of the Staples Center with a makeshift car frame around him, and, in a moment reminiscent of the selfie at the 2014 Oscars, gathered celebrities around him. Jennifer Lopez, John Legend, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Neil Diamond sang Diamond's Sweet Caroline, with the entire arena shouting along. ||||| (AP) — Even though Adele flubbed during her live performance at the Grammys, she walked away the belle of the ball: She took home five awards Sunday night, including album, record and song of the year. She beat Beyonce in the top three categories with her comeback album “25,” and repeated her accomplishments from 2012, when the British star also won album, song and record of the year at the Grammys. She used her speech to honor Beyonce and her groundbreaking “Lemonade” album, which was also nominated. “The way you make my friends feel, the way you make my black friends feel is empowering,” Adele said at the Staples Center in Los Angeles when accepting album of the year. “I adore you. You move my soul everyday … I adore you and I want you to be my mommy,” Adele said to a very pregnant Beyonce just minutes before picking up song of the year for “Hello.” The night for Adele wasn’t all good though: The singer, who had trouble with her live performance at last year’s Grammys, asked to restart her tribute to George Michael, telling the audience: “I can’t mess this up for him.” She stopped and used an expletive after singing some of a new arrangement of Michael’s “Fastlove,” as videos and photos of Michael played in the background. She re-sang the song and earned applause and support from the crowd, though Adele was teary eyed. Michael died on Christmas Day. At last year’s show, the British singer had a hiccup after a microphone inside a piano fell onto the instrument’s strings. A number of other icons were honored, including Prince: Bruno Mars — rocking a glittery, Prince-like purple blazer, worked the guitar like a pro while singing the icon’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” The Time — who worked closely with the Prince — brought the audience to its feet with funky performances of “Jungle Love” and “The Bird.” Mars was also a winner Sunday — he won for his producing work on Adele’s album. Adele’s other wins included best pop vocal album and pop solo performance. Until Adele’s abrupt restart, Beyonce was the talk of the show. In glittery gown, gilded crown and gold choker, a pregnant Beyonce took the Grammy stage in a lengthy performance of two songs from her critically acclaimed album “Lemonade.” She was introduced by her mother and former stylist, Tina Knowles: “Ladies and gentlemen, with my mother’s pride, my daughter, Beyonce.” Beyonce sang on top of a long table, even leaning back on a chair while singing “Love Drought.” She later sang “Sandcastles” while sitting down in a chair that tilted alarmingly backward, hitting high notes. She earned a loud applause from the audience, including daughter Blue Ivy and husband Jay Z. Beyonce, who walked into the show with nine nominations, won two: best music video (“Formation”) and urban contemporary album (“Lemonade”). “My intention for the film and album is to create a body of work that would give voice to our pain, our struggles, our doubts, and our history, to confront issues that make us uncomfortable. It’s important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty, so they can grow in a world, where they look in the mirror, first with their own families as well as in the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the White House and the Grammys and see themselves,” said Beyonce, reading from a card. “This is something that I want for every child of every race, and I feel that it’s vital that we learn from the past and recognize our tendencies to repeat our mistakes.” Beyonce’s speech wasn’t the only political moment: A Tribe Called Quest, along with Anderson .Paak and Busta Rhymes, gave a rousing performance and shouted “resist, resist” at their end of the performance, which featured a number of people onstage, including women in hijabs. David Bowie, who died last year from cancer, won all four awards he was nominated for. “Blackstar,” his final album released days after he died, won best alternative music album and engineered album, non-classical (Bowie is listed as one of the engineers on “Blackstar.”) In the latter category, he beat out Prince, who also died last year. The title track won best rock song and rock performance. Adele and Mars worked overtime onstage, performing twice. Adele kicked off the show with “Hello” and Mars and his groovy band gave a memorable performance of “That’s What I Like” — as Jennifer Lopez, Faith Hill, Rihanna and even some of the men in the audience watched closely, looking impressed. Chance the Rapper won the first award in the live telecast for best new artist. He also won best rap album — the first streaming-only album to do so — and bested Drake and Kanye West. “I didn’t think we were gonna get this one,” said Chance, who also won best rap performance. Twenty one pilots won best pop duo/group performance for the hit “Stressed Out.” They removed their pants when accepting the award in homage to their earlier days when they watched the Grammys at home in their boxers. In the pre-telecast, Beyonce’s younger sister, critical R&B darling Solange, won her first Grammy for best R&B performance (it was her first-ever nomination). Drake, who didn’t attend the live show, won best rap song and rap/sung performance for the smash hit, “Hotline Bling.” Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” — which is nominated for an Oscar — won best song written for visual media. Best new artist nominees The Chainsmokers won best dance recording for the pop hit “Don’t Let Me Down,” while Simpson, an album of the year nominee, won best country album for “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth.” The country music rebel thanked his wife, who he said told him to quit his job on the railroad years ago and move to Nashville. Joey + Rory won best roots gospel album for “Hymns,” and Rory Feek was emotional onstage as he remembered his wife Joey, who died last year from cancer. Some actors won Grammys, too: Don Cheadle picked up best compilation soundtrack for visual media for “Miles Ahead,” where he is credited as a compilation producer, and Carol Burnett won the best spoken word album Grammy. “The Color Purple” won best musical theater album, giving Jennifer Hudson her second Grammy and earning Tony winner Cynthia Erivo and “Orange Is the New Black” actress Danielle Brooks their first Grammys. ||||| LOS ANGELES (AP) — David Bowie’s final album, released days after he died of cancer last year, earned him three Grammy Awards on Sunday, while Beyonce and Adele also picked up early awards. “Blackstar” won best alternative music album, rock performance — where Bowie beat Beyonce and Jack White — and engineered album, non-classical, where Bowie won over Prince (Bowie is listed as one of the engineers on “Blackstar.”) Bowie was nominated for four Grammys, and his final category — best rock song — will be announced in the live telecast, which begins at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS. Adele won best pop vocal album (“25”) and pop solo performance (“Hello”) in the pre-telecast ceremony in Los Angeles. Beyonce was also an early winner: She became a 21-time Grammy winner after picking up best music video for the hit “Formation.” She lost best music film (“Lemonade”) to the Ron Howard-directed “The Beatles: Eight Days A Week The Touring Years.” Beyonce’s younger sister, critical R&B darling Solange, won her first Grammy for best R&B performance (it was her first-ever nomination). Drake, who isn’t attending the live show, won best rap song and rap/sung performance for the smash hit, “Hotline Bling.” Chance the Rapper, nominated for seven awards, won best rap performance for “No Problem,” also earning Grammys for Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz. Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” — which is nominated for an Oscar — won best song written for visual media. His No.1 hit is from the “Trolls” soundtrack. Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott won two Grammys in the Christian category for the album she recorded with her family. Scott, who has won seven Grammys with Lady A, cried onstage both times when accepting the wins. “We’ve been crying since this project started,” her father, Lang Scott, said. Best new artist nominees The Chainsmokers won best dance recording for the pop hit “Don’t Let Me Down,” while album of the year nominee Sturgill Simpson won best country album for “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth.” The country music rebel thanked his wife, who he said told him to quit his job on the railroad years ago and move to Nashville. Joey + Rory won best roots gospel album for “Hymns,” and Rory Feek was emotional onstage as he remembered his wife Joey, who died last year from cancer. “My wife’s dream was to make a hymns album. She didn’t have the chance to do it until she’d been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, so she’d sing in hotel rooms while she did chemotherapy and radiation,” said Rory, who added that his wife said if they were nominated he had to attend the Grammys. “She got a big smile on her face and she said, `Remember, if we win, I’ll know before you will.” Some actors won Grammys, too: Don Cheadle picked up best compilation soundtrack for visual media for “Miles Ahead,” where he is credited as a compilation producer, and Carol Burnett won the best spoken word album Grammy. “The Color Purple” won best musical theater album, giving Jennifer Hudson her second Grammy and earning Tony winner Cynthia Erivo and “Orange Is the New Black” actress Danielle Brooks their first Grammys. Beyonce was the overall top nominee with nine. There are few things the pop diva has not conquered, and the Grammy for album of the year is one of them. For the third time, Beyonce is nominated for the coveted trophy, an award given to few R&B-based performers and only two hip-hop acts in the Grammy’s 59-year history. She was nominated for the top prize in 2010 with “I Am … Sasha Fierce” (losing to Taylor Swift) and in 2015 with “Beyonce” (Beck was the surprise winner). Her “Lemonade” album is competing Sunday, along with its hit “Formation” for record and song of the year. Beyonce has lost record of the year four times, and she’s marking her third nomination for song of the year (she won in 2010 with “Single Ladies”). Beyonce’s main competition is Adele, who won album, song and record of the year in 2012 with “21” and “Rolling In the Deep.” While some critics argued that Beyonce’s “Lemonade” was more artistic and had a stronger impact on culture, Adele’s “25” marked her comeback and became a multiplatinum juggernaut, setting a record when it sold over 3 million units in its first week. Their competition for album of the year aside from Simpson includes Drake’s multihit “Views” and Justin Bieber’s redemption album “Purpose.” Nominees battling “Formation” and “Hello” for record of the year include Rihanna and Drake’s “Work,” twenty one pilots’ “Stressed Out” and Lukas Graham’s “7 Years.” Song of the year nominees are “Formation,” “Hello,” “7 Years,” Mike Posner’s “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” and Bieber’s “Love Yourself,” shared with co-writer Ed Sheeran. The Chainsmokers, who have dominated the pop charts, will compete with Chance the Rapper, Maren Morris, Anderson .Paak and Kelsea Ballerini for best new artist. Beyonce and Adele will perform at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, as will Simpson, Lukas Graham, Sheeran, Bruno Mars and Katy Perry. Collaborative performances include Lady Gaga and Metallica, the Weeknd and Daft Punk, Alicia Keys and Maren Morris, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban, and A Tribe Called Quest and Anderson .Paak. Chance the Rapper will perform with Kirk Franklin, who won two awards, including best gospel album and gospel performance/song for writing “God Provides” for Tamela Mann. Tributes for Prince and George Michael will take place, while Demi Lovato, Andra Day and Tori Kelly will honor the Bee Gees and the 40th anniversary of “Saturday Night Fever.” Behind Beyonce for top nominations is Rihanna, who is up for eight awards, including best urban contemporary album (“Anti”), pop duo/group performance (“Work”) and R&B song (“Kiss It Better”). Drake and Kanye West are also up for eight awards, including best rap album. The 2017 Grammy Awards will be hosted by “Late Late Show” host James Corden. Other performers include Kelsea Ballerini, Cynthia Erivo, John Legend, William Bell and Gary Clark Jr. ||||| Adele won the Album of the Year Grammy last night and many, including Adele herself, believe that Beyoncé should have won for Lemonade. Backstage in the press room, Adele expanded on her heartbreak that Beyoncé didn’t win. “Like I said in my speech, my Album of the Year is Lemonade,” she told reporters. “So, a piece of me did die inside, as a Beyoncé stan—not going to lie. I was completely rooting for her, I voted for her.” Still on the topic of Beyoncé, the singer continued, “It’s her time to win. My view is kind of what the f*** does she have to do to win album of the year? I felt this album showed another side to her that we haven’t seen and I felt blessed to be brought into that situation.” Accepting her award in tears earlier that evening, Adele thanked the academy and talked about reclaiming a bit of herself after having difficulties with motherhood. Then she addressed Beyoncé, praising Lemonade as monumental, beautiful and soul-baring. The Hello singer refused to accept the award on stage. “My life is Beyoncé, and the album to me, the Lemonade album, Beyoncé, was so monumental, and so well thought out,” she told Beyoncé and the crowd. “And so beautiful and soul bearing and we all got to see another side of you that you don’t always let us see, and we appreciate that. All us artists adore you. You are our light.” Beyoncé standing beside husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy, listened from the audience and was visibly touched by Adele’s words. Adele revealed she spoke to Beyoncé before and after winning. “I spoke to her before just to let her know how honoured and privileged I felt to be nominated alongside her, and we spoke afterward as well and she was very gracious and humble, as always, as we’ve come to expect, And the reason I felt the need to say something is because my album of the year is Lemonade. She is my icon of my whole life.” Adele wore a lemon brooch at the ceremony to show her support for Lemonade. Beyoncé did take home two wins for Urban Contemporary Album and Music Video of the Year. READ MORE: Katy Perry called out for insensitive Britney Spears comment on Grammys red carpet In recent years, the Academy Awards have been accused of slighting actors of colour and the Grammys had avoided viral campaigns like #OscarsSoWhite, which began after not one African-American actor landed an acting nod two years in a row. The Grammys featured memorable performances by the likes of Bruno Mars and A Tribe Called Quest, big victories by Chance the Rapper and David Bowie on Sunday, but they were overshadowed by Adele’s triumph and how she responded. The Recording Academy did nothing to calm criticism that black artists are overshadowed in major awards by more conservative white musicians. WATCH BELOW: 2017 Grammys: Who’s Going, Who’s Not? This year marks the third time Beyoncé has lost Album of the Year. First, she lost to Taylor Swift’s Fearless in 2010, then in 2015 to Beck’s Morning Phase and now to Adele’s 25. The last time a black artists won Album of the Year was Herbie Hancock in 2008, for a jazz cover album of Joni Mitchell songs. Singer Frank Ocean, who boycotted the Grammy Awards this year by not submitting his name for consideration, called the Grammy Awards broadcast’s producer Ken Ehrlich and writer David Wild “old” and said that “winning a TV award” doesn’t make him successful, in a new tumblr post. He also criticized the Grammy producers for giving Swift Best Album over Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. “I’ve actually been tuning into CBS around this time of year for a while to see who gets the top honor,” Ocean wrote. “And you know what’s really not ‘great TV,’ guys? 1989 getting Album of the Year over To Pimp a Butterfly. Hands down one of the most faulty TV moments I’ve seen. Believe the people.” He ended his note with: “And if you’re up for a discussion about the cultural bias and general nerve damage the show you produce suffers from, then I’m all for it.” Ocean previously said that the Grammys were “dated” and out of touch with young black artists. Ehrlich responded to the two-time Grammy winner’s criticism by saying artists like Ocean should show up and perform in order to better represent themselves and their community. WATCH BELOW: ‘I haven’t shaved my head yet’: Katy Perry takes a jab at Britney Spears He noted that he had invited Drake, Kanye West and Justin Bieber to perform on this year’s show. “If they’re concerned about the representation of hip hop on the show,” he said, “they need to respond and say ‘Yeah, of course I want to do it.’ They’ve all done it in the past. Without overstating it, I think we were very instrumental in the growth of Kanye West’s career.” Beyoncé’s sister, Solange Knowles, tweeted a link to Ocean’s recent Grammy takedown on tumblr and added, “wuddup frank.” With files from The Associated Press
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Adele wins the Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Hello" and Album of the Year for 25. Chance the Rapper wins the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. David Bowie wins four posthumous awards, two for his final studio album Blackstar and two for its title track.
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Image copyright EPA/PA Image caption Emma Stone and Dev Patel were two of the main winners of the night La La Land has dominated the Baftas, taking five trophies - including best film and best actress for Emma Stone. There were also awards for Lion, including best supporting actor for Dev Patel, and Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake, which was named outstanding British film at the London ceremony. Patel said the win was "overwhelming". Casey Affleck was named best actor for Manchester by the Sea and Viola Davis won the best supporting actress prize for Fences. She is also nominated for an Oscar for her role in Fences, based on the August Wilson stage play of the same name. Manchester by the Sea also won the best original screenplay, for the text by its director Kenneth Lonergan. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Highlights from the 2017 Bafta film awards You may well be tired of hearing about La La Land, but its winning streak shows no signs of slowing down. The recognition by Bafta is a good sign for the musical - also starring Ryan Gosling - coming just weeks before the Oscars. It had been nominated for 11 Baftas in all and is in contention for 14 Academy Awards. La La Land has already smashed the record for the most Golden Globes, winning seven prizes last month. Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Viola Davis praised playwright August Wilson in her speech Stone was among the winners to make an oblique reference to world affairs, although the new US President Donald Trump was not explicitly mentioned during the acceptance speeches. After thanking La La Land's director Damien Chazelle, who took home the best director statuette, Stone told the audience: "This country - and the US, and the world - seems to be going through a bit of a time, just a bit. "In a time that's so divisive, I think it's so special we were able to come together tonight thanks to Bafta, to celebrate the positive gift of creativity and how it can transcend borders and how it can help people to feel a little less alone." She beat Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Natalie Portman, and is also in the running for an Academy Award. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The stars hit the red carpet at the Baftas Affleck, who plays a grieving handyman in gritty drama Manchester by the Sea, seemed taken aback by his win, saying: "The room looks very different from here. My heart is beating." After the awards, he said he had spoken to Meryl Streep backstage about her recent Donald Trump speech. Affleck said: "I told her how much her speech at the Golden Globes meant to all of us and how grateful I was that she did it and kicked in the door a little bit, and said it's OK to talk about these things and said it doesn't matter if we are actors, we have been given a microphone and we can speak out. "She said, 'I think there is hope around the corner'." Image copyright PA Image caption Kenneth Lonergan (L), director of Manchester by the Sea, and Casey Affleck with two of the film's awards Arrival and Nocturnal Animals were nominated for nine Baftas each, but just won one award between them. That went to sci-fi epic Arrival, starring Amy Adams, for best sound - leaving Tom Ford's latest movie, in which the actress also makes an appearance, empty handed. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were guests of honour at the star-studded ceremony, held at London's Royal Albert Hall. The duke was there as president of Bafta to award the fellowship to veteran actor and comedian Mel Brooks. 'Out-of-body experience' Patel, 26, was greeted with a round of applause as he accepted the prize for best supporting actor for family drama Lion, about a man who was adopted as a child and is trying to find his family in India. He is nominated in the same category at the Oscars. The former Skins star initially appeared speechless, saying: "Wow, that just happened", before describing the win as "so overwhelming". He stars with Nicole Kidman in Lion, which he said is "about a love that transcends borders, race, colour, anything". Backstage, the Briton said his family was with him for the ceremony, adding: "I used to watch this with them, in Rayners Lane on the end of the Piccadilly Line. It's an out-of-body experience." He promised to share the award with Sunny Pawar, the young boy who plays Patel's character Saroo Brierley as a child. Lion also won the best adapted screenplay. Image copyright EPA Image caption (L-R) I, Daniel Blake star Dave Johns with director Ken Loach, producer Rebecca O'Brien and writer Paul Laverty Ken Loach, director of I, Daniel Blake - about the struggles of living in the UK benefits system - condemned the government as he accepted the award for outstanding British film - the first of the night to be handed out. He apologised for making a political speech so early on, but said: "Thank you to the academy for endorsing the truths of what the film says, which hundreds and thousands of people in this country know. "The most vulnerable and poorest are treated by the government with a callous brutality that is disgraceful, a brutality that extends to keeping out refugee children we promised to help and that's a disgrace too." 'Stories deserve to be told' Viola Davis paid tribute to her late father, who worked as a janitor and horse groomer, in her speech. "When he took his last breath, one of the most devastating things that went through my mind is: Did his life matter?" she said. "August [Wilson] answers that question so brilliantly, because what he did is he said that our lives mattered as African-Americans. Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Tom Holland seemed delighted with his award "The horse groomer, the sanitation worker, the people who grew up under the heavy boot of Jim Crow, the people who did not make it into history books - but they have a story, and those stories deserve to be told, because they lived." EE's Rising Star award - the only to be voted for by the public - was won by Spider-Man: Homecoming star Tom Holland. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. ||||| Musical “La La Land” won big at Britain’s main film awards on Sunday as it scooped the prize for best film, while Emma Stone and Damien Chazelle picked up awards for best actress and best director respectively. Dev Patel won the best supporting actor award for Lion at British Academy Film Awards 2017. More from the world of Entertainment: La La Land won five gongs in total to keep its hot streak in the movie awards season going before the Oscars later this month, as it also picked up awards for cinematography and original music. Amid the awards there were also veiled references to new US President Donald Trump, who has caused controversy with his plans to build a wall on the Mexican border and his restrictions on migration. “In a time that’s so divisive I think it’s really special that we were able to come together… to celebrate the positive gift of creativity and how it can transcend borders and how it can help people to feel a little less alone,” Emma Stone said in her acceptance speech. “La La Land”, a throwback musical about an aspiring actress and a jazz pianist who are trying to make their way in Hollywood, had been nominated for 11 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards. Its success follows on from the Golden Globes, where it picked up seven awards. It has a joint-record 14 nominations for the Academy Awards on February 26, Hollywood’s highlight of the awards season. Justin Hurwitz, who won the award for the film’s music, said that he hoped the success of the film might prompt a renaissance in the genre. “I love to go the theatre and see musicals. So if this can help any more musicals get green-lit, that would be amazing,” he told Reuters ahead of the ceremony. While Stone triumphed, co-star Ryan Gosling lost out in the best actor category to Casey Affleck, for his performance in family drama “Manchester by the Sea”. Gosling was also notable by his absence, with the film’s producers saying he had a family matter to attend to. “Manchester by the Sea” picked up two awards in total, with Kenneth Lonergan’s picking up an award for original screenplay. A popular pick among the audience in the Royal Albert Hall, Londoner Dev Patel, 26, won best supporting actor for his performance in “Lion”, which charts the real-life story of an Indian boy adopted by an Australian couple. The film also won an award for best-adapted screenplay. Viola Davis took home the prize for best supporting actress for her performance in “Fences”, an adaption of a Pulitzer Prize-winning play about the life of a black family in 1950s Pennsylvania. She alluded to issues with race relations in the United States in her acceptance speech, and defended Meryl Streep, who was criticised by Trump after the Golden Globes. “Anyone who labels Meryl Streep ‘an overrated actress’ obviously doesn’t know anything about acting,” she told reporters. “That’s not even just directed towards Donald Trump, that’s directed towards anyone.” Outspoken director Ken Loach turned his ire onto British politicians, lambasting the “callous brutality” of the government as he accepted the award for “I, Daniel Blake”, an unflinching depiction of a man’s struggles while on benefits. However, some of the political interventions were more light-hearted. American director Mel Brooks, who wrote and directed “The Producers”, a 1968 comedy about the producers of a musical about Nazi Germany, also made light of the current political situation. “I’m not afraid of Trump, not at all,” Brooks told reporters, after he won an award for contribution to film, known as the Fellowship. “I think he’s mostly an entertainer.” ||||| Hollywood romantic musical "La La Land" on Sunday won five awards out of its eleven nominations at the 70th Awards. The ceremony, where Indian-origin British actor bagged the Best Supporting Actor honour for "Lion", also saw celebrities making political statements uninhibitedly. "La La Land", a feel-good movie exuding an old world charm, clinched the Best Film title, along with a Best Director for Damien Chazelle, Best Leading Actress for Emma Stone, Best Cinematography for Linus Sandgren and Best Original Music for Justin Hurwitz. The movie's lead star missed out on the Best Actor going to Casey Affleck for "Manchester by the Sea" and Chazelle was pipped to the Best Original Screenplay prize by Kenneth Lonergan for the same film. But largely, the awards at the historic Royal Albert Hall were spread widely. Movies like "Manchester by the Sea", "Fences", "Lion", "Arrival", "Hacksaw Ridge", "Jackie" and "Florence Foster Jenkins" won, while "Moonlight" seemed to have been eclipsed by them all at the gala, attended by Duke of Cambridge Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton. Prince William awarded the Fellowship to 90-year-old comedian and filmmaker Mel Brooks, who said it was "mighty nice" of the heads to choose an American for the prestigious honour. In the Supporting Actor category, Dev Patel's act in "Lion" — which also won the Best Adapted Screenplay title for Luke Davies — won among the men, and among the women, Viola Davis took home the honour. Davis commented on the anomaly that the awards season has diverse nominees this year, telegraph.co.uk reported. She also took a dig at US President Donald Trump, saying, "Anyone who labels Meryl Streep 'overrated' doesn't know anything about acting". It was earlier reported that heads had fears that this year's ceremony will be full of celebrities vocalising their political standpoint. And as expected, many of them spoke out. Lonergan told the audience how his 15-year-old daughter had woken in tears after Donald Trump was elected US President, but had since been on five protest marches since, theguardian.com reported. "I'm very, very proud of her," he added. Before the official start of the ceremony itself, chair Jane Lush commented on diversity issues within the industry. Lush said it was shocking that in the 21st Century "your gender, race, and background can still hold you back". Lush also remarked on the success of British talent in US films, commenting that she feared "someone might build a wall across the Atlantic to keep us out", reported variety.com. Also, Stephen Fry, who was hosting the gala for the 12th time, took a swipe at Trump. While welcoming veteran actress Meryl Streep to the ceremony, he said Streep was "one of the greatest actresses of all-time. Only a blithering idiot would think otherwise." Ken Loach, whose gritty movie "I, Daniel Blake" won the Outstanding British Film award, spoke passionately about endorsing a truth "that the most vulnerable and poorest people are treated by this (British) government with a contempt and a callous brutality that is disgraceful". Other award winners — "Jackie" won the Best Costume Design Award, "Arrival" won Best Sound, "Hacksaw Ridge" won Best Editing, and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" got Best Production Design. Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes's "Son of Saul" won the Best Film Not in the English Language, while "Kubo and the Two Strings" emerged as a surprise winner in the Animated Film category, and "The Jungle Book" won for special visual effects. Now with "La La Land" registering maximum wins at Awards, all eyes are on the Oscars — to be held on Februay in Los Angeles — where the film has 14 nominations. ||||| Oscar’s sibling from across the pond has spoken, as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts has peppered individual accolades across several of 2016’s awards circuit mainstays. La La Land — the current favorite to win the best picture Oscar — scored a staggering 11 BAFTA nods last month; at the corresponding ceremony, held Sunday at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the film captured five of those nominations, including best original music, best cinematography, best director (Damien Chazelle), best actress (Emma Stone) and best film. The box office juggernaut has amassed a whopping $294.3 million worldwide thus far, $30.2 million of which came from ticket sales in the U.K. In the past decade, BAFTA’s best film honoree has gone on to win the best picture Oscar six times, with 2006’s The Queen, 2007’s Atonement, 2014’s Boyhood, 2015’s The Revenant being the exceptions. Stone’s victory cements her front-runner status in the Academy’s best actress race, giving the film’s star a prime publicity boost one day before final Oscar balloting is set to begin. She beat out stiff competition from the likes of Amy Adams (Arrival), Emily Blunt (The Girl on the Train), and fellow Oscar nominees Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins), and Natalie Portman (Jackie). Isabelle Huppert’s Academy Award-nominated turn in Elle was ineligible for BAFTA consideration, as its British release date (March 10) falls after the BAFTA deadline. Ruth Negga, also nominated for an Oscar for her work in Jeff Nichols’ Loving, received a BAFTA nomination in the EE Rising Star category. Kenneth Lonergan’s weepy drama Manchester by the Sea also took multiple BAFTAs Sunday night, winning two total; one for Casey Affleck’s lead performance and the other for Lonergan’s original screenplay. (Affleck, who lost best actor at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last month to Denzel Washington did not face the Fences star in his BAFTA category on Sunday.) The 2016 critical favorite Moonlight failed to drum up much attention from BAFTA voters despite receiving eight Oscar nods in January. The Barry Jenkins-directed film, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney’s unproduced stage play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, received zero awards despite tallying four overall nominations. As expected, Viola Davis continued her dominance in the supporting actress race at large, taking the BAFTA trophy on the road toward her first Oscar victory. Her performance opposite Denzel Washington in the August Wilson adaptation previously won similar awards at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. In the supporting actor category, Lion star Dev Patel pulled off a surprise win over critical favorite Mahershala Ali. The pair previously squared off at the SAG Awards, though Ali emerged as the guild’s victor. Prior to the BAFTA ceremony, however, Ali had taken multiple high profile awards from critics organizations, namely from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle; though he and Patel were nominated by the journalist-driven Hollywood Foreign Press Association, they ultimately lost the group’s Golden Globe award to Nocturnal Animals star Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Also earning statuettes from BAFTA this year were the Jacqueline Kennedy film Jackie (best costume design), sci-fi drama Arrival (best sound), Mel Gibson’s directorial comeback Hacksaw Ridge (best editing), Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated feature 13th (best documentary), Disney’s box office hit The Jungle Book (best special visual effects), Kubo and the Two Strings (best animated film), and the Cannes Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake (outstanding British film). BAFTA’s eclectic membership, representing roughly 6,500 entertainment industry professionals, votes on the best films released on British screens across the respective calendar year. Membership largely crosses over with Oscar’s, meaning several surprise winners (like Patel) could end up repeating during the Academy’s Feb. 26 telecast. Per The Guardian, the 2017 BAFTA Award winners are: American Honey Denial Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them WINNER: I, Daniel Blake Notes on Blindness Under the Shadow Allied Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Florence Foster Jenkins WINNER: Jackie La La Land WINNER: Arrival Deepwater Horizon Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Doctor Strange WINNER: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Hail, Caesar! La La Land Nocturnal Animals WINNER: 13th The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years The Eagle Huntress Notes on Blindness Weiner Best film not in the English language Finding Dory WINNER: Kubo and the Two Strings Moana Zootropolis Arrival Doctor Strange Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them WINNER: The Jungle Book Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Best debut by a British writer, director or producer The Girl With All the Gifts – Mike Carey (writer), Camille Gatin (producer) The Hard Stop – George Amponsah (writer/director/producer), Dionne Walker (writer/producer) Notes on Blindness – Peter Middleton (writer/director/producer), James Spinney (writer/director), Jo-Jo Ellison (producer) The Pass – John Donnelly (writer), Ben A Williams (director) WINNER: Under the Shadow – Babak Anvari (writer/director), Emily Leo, Oliver Roskill, Lucan Toh (producers) Hell or High Water I, Daniel Blake La La Land WINNER: Manchester By the Sea Moonlight Amy Adams (Arrival) Emily Blunt (The Girl on the Train) WINNER: Emma Stone (La La Land) Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins) Natalie Portman (Jackie) ||||| Hollywood musical about a struggling actress and a jazz musician tipped for host of awards. The musical La La Land about a struggling actress and a jazz musician is expected to pick up a host of prizes at the British Academy Film Awards. The film, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone about young dreamers who sing and dance their way around Los Angeles, is the most nominated film with 11 nods. Both Gosling and Stone have both received best actor and actress nods at the awards which take place at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Sunday. La La Land has already made Oscar history, tying the record for the most nominations ever with 14, and become the most nominated musical of all time. Ken Loach's gritty drama about life in the UK benefits system I, Daniel Blake, has secured five nominations and will compete with La La Land for best film. Sci-fi movie Arrival, American coming-of-age story Moonlight and drama Manchester By The Sea are also challenging the category. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will share the spotlight at the star-studded event alongside nominees including Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. During the ceremony they will meet representatives of Bafta and William and present the fellowship award to comedian Mel Brooks. The Duke has been president of the academy since February 2010, and this is the first time they will attend the awards ceremony together. Other nominees confirmed to attend include Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling, Casey Affleck, Amy Adams, Dev Patel, Emily Blunt, Emma Stone, Michelle Williams, Viola Davis and Naomie Harris. The ceremony be hosted by Stephen Fry and broadcast on BBC One at 9pm.
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• The full nominations list for the British Academy Film Awards 2017 ||||| Glittery Hollywood musical La La Land will battle gritty British drama I, Daniel Blake for the top prize at the EE British Academy Film Awards on Sunday. Emily Blunt, Andrew Garfield and Hugh Grant are among the UK stars hoping to walk away with Bafta acting gongs. Emily Blunt in The Girl on The Train Emily has received a leading actress nod for her role in The Girl On The Train, while Andrew is nominated for leading actor for playing a US Army medic in Mel Gibson’s film Hacksaw Ridge. While Andrew’s performance has won critical praise, he faces stiff competition from Casey Affleck, who has already won a Golden Globe for his performance in Manchester By The Sea. Casey Affleck in Manchester By The Sea They will both compete against La La Land’s Ryan Gosling, who also scored a Golden Globe, Jake Gyllenhaal for Nocturnal Animals and Viggo Mortensen for Captain Fantastic. Emily will go head-to-head with Meryl Streep for the film Florence Foster Jenkins, Amy Adams for Arrival, Golden Globe winner Emma Stone for La La Land and Natalie Portman for her portrayal of former first lady Jackie Kennedy in Jackie. Hugh received a supporting actor nod for his role opposite Meryl in Florence Foster Jenkins and will compete against fellow Brits Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is nominated for Nocturnal Animals, and Dev Patel, who got a nod for Lion. They will take on American stars Mahershala Ali and Jeff Bridges, for Moonlight and Hell Or High Water respectively. Dave Johns and Hayley Squires in I, Daniel Blake (PA/Entertainment One) Skyfall star Naomie Harris is nominated in the supporting actress category for playing a drug-addicted mother alongside Ali in Moonlight, while I, Daniel Blake star Hayley Squires is nominated in the same category for her role as a young woman scraping by in the welfare system. They will compete with Manchester By The Sea’s Michelle Williams, Lion star Nicole Kidman and perceived frontrunner Viola Davis for Fences. Philosophical sci-fi Arrival and Tom Ford’s noir thriller Nocturnal Animals both received nine nominations while Manchester By The Sea had six. I, Daniel Blake, the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, as well as Hacksaw Ridge and Lion will compete for five awards. The statuettes will be handed out at a star-studded ceremony hosted by Stephen Fry at the Royal Albert Hall. ||||| (LONDON) — Glamour was shot through with grit at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday. Frothy musical "La La Land" took five prizes including best picture, but major awards also went to tough welfare-state drama "I, Daniel Blake" and fractured-family stories "Lion" and "Manchester by the Sea." In keeping with an awards season that has coincided with a wrenching change of government in the United States, even "La La Land's" prizes came with a political tinge. Accepting the best-actress trophy, Emma Stone said that in a divided world, it was vital to celebrate "the positive gift of creativity and how we can transcend borders and how we help people to feel a little less alone." "La La Land" also took home prizes for director Damien Chazelle, original screenplay, music and cinematography. Casey Affleck was named best actor for playing a grieving handyman in "Manchester by the Sea." Affleck, who is also Oscar-nominated for the role, thanked writer-director Kenneth Lonergan for creating a film that "dignifies everyday lives and their struggles with great compassion." The wintry New England drama also won Lonergan the prize for best original screenplay. British actor Dev Patel pulled off an upset, beating favorite Mahershala Ali, from "Moonlight," to the best supporting actor trophy for "Lion." The London-born Patel expressed shock at being a winner at a ceremony he used to watch on TV with his family. He said "Lion," which co-stars Nicole Kidman is "a film, about family, about a love that transcends borders, race, color, anything." He thanked his "amazing team, who had the insane task of trying to get this Indian dude, this noodle with wonky teeth and a lazy eye and floppy hair, work in this industry." "Lion" also took the BAFTA for best adapted screenplay. Loach's "I, Daniel Blake" was named best British film. The 80-year-old director used his acceptance speech to lambast the country's Conservative government. Loach said his docudrama about a carpenter trying to get welfare after a heart attack shows that "the most vulnerable and the poorest people are treated by this government with a callous brutality that is disgraceful." He was cheered by an audience at London's Royal Albert Hall that included Prince William, his wife, Kate, and nominees including Meryl Streep, Casey Affleck, Emma Stone and Nicole Kidman. Both William and Kate wore black and white — he a tuxedo, she an off-the-shoulder Alexander McQueen gown and glittering chandelier earrings. The U.K. awards, known as BAFTAs, are often seen as an indicator of who will win at Hollywood's Academy Awards, held two weeks later. "La La Land" already is a dominant force at the Oscars, with 14 nominations. It also has won seven Golden Globes. But while the luscious musical was an academy favorite, academy voters also rewarded less escapist fare. Viola Davis won the supporting actress BAFTA for "Fences," Denzel Washington's adaptation of August Wilson's stage drama about an African-American family. A visibly moved Davis praised Wilson's play for showing "that our lives mattered as African Americans." "The horse groomer, the sanitation worker, the people who grew up under the heavy boot of Jim Crow," she said. "The people who did not make it into history books, but they have a story — and those stories deserve to be told." Ada DuVernay's film about mass incarceration in America, "The 13th," was named best documentary, and Laszlo Nemes' unbearably powerful Holocaust drama "Son of Saul" took the trophy for best foreign-language film. The stars brought a dose of glamour to gray, wintry London, as hundreds of fans lined the red carpet outside the domed concert hall beside London's Hyde Park. Many of those attending expected politics to make a guest appearance at the ceremony, as it has so often this awards season. Streep is among the stars who have used the awards stage to criticize President Donald Trump. Master of ceremonies Stephen Fry joked about Trump's dismissal of Streep as overrated, declaring from the stage: "I look down on row after row of the most overrated people on the planet." Prince William, who is also president of Britain's film academy, presented the academy's lifetime-achievement honor to veteran comedian Mel Brooks during Sunday's ceremony. The 90-year-old entertainer said he would treasure the award. "This is one of the awards you will not see on eBay ," he said. ||||| In what is likely to be the deal at our Academy Awards, “La La Land” has swept the British BAFTAs. Damien Chazelle has won Best Director, Emma Stone has Best Actress, and the movie’s music has won as well. “La La Land” is Best Picture as well. Best Actor went to Casey Affleck, Supporting Actress went to Viola Davis for “Fences,” and in a nice surprise, Dev Patel won Best Supporting Actor for “Lion.” Kenneth Lonergan won Best Original Screenplay for “Manchester.” “Lion” won Best Adapted Screenplay. Ava Duvernay’s “13th” won Best Documentary. “I Daniel Blake” was Best British Film. ||||| LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the British Academy Film Awards (all times local): Dev Patel has won the best supporting actor prize at the British Academy Film Awards for playing a young man in search of his lost family in “Lion.” It’s was the film’s second prize of the evening at Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars. “Lion” also won for adapted screenplay. The London-born Patel expressed shock at being a winner at a ceremony he used to watch on television with his family. He said “Lion,” which co-stars Nicole Kidman, is “a film about family, about a love that transcends race, borders, color, anything.” Viola Davis has won the British Academy Film Award for best supporting actress for her performance in “Fences,” Denzel Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s stage drama about an African-American family. A visibly moved Davis praised Wilson’s play for showing “that our lives mattered as African Americans.” She said: “The horse groomer, the sanitation worker, the people who grew up under the heavy boot of Jim Crow. The people who did not make it into history books, but they have a story – and those stories deserve to be told.” The awards are Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars. Ada DuVernay’s film about mass incarceration in America, “The 13th,” has been named best documentary at the British Academy Film Awards. DuVernay’s feature film follow-up to her Oscar-nominated civil rights epic “Selma” explores the historic roots of the United States’ high incarceration rate. It takes its name from the section of the U.S. Constitution that abolished slavery “except as a punishment for crime.” The awards are taking place Sunday in London. “I, Daniel Blake,” director Ken Loach’s hard-hitting drama about a man caught in the U.K.’s labyrinthine welfare system, has been named best British picture at the British Academy Film Awards. The 80-year-old director used his speech to lambast Britain’s Conservative government, saying his gritty drama shows that “the most vulnerable and the poorest people are treated by this government with a callous brutality that is disgraceful.” Loach also branded the government’s decision to end a program bringing child refugees to Britain “a disgrace.” The best British picture prize was the first handed out Sunday at Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars. The musical “La La Land” has 11 nominations and is favored to win several awards. Viola Davis says being nominated for a best supporting actress award in Britain shows that playwright August Wilson “told a universal story of the everyman and American history” with “Fences.” Davis was seen as the favorite to win the British Academy Film Award in that category for Denzel Washington’s screen adaptation of Wilson’s stage drama about an African-American family. The U.K. awards, known as BAFTAs, are seen as an indicator of who will win at Hollywood’s Academy Awards, held two weeks later. Prince William and his wife, Kate, were due on the red carpet, along with other nominees, including Meryl Streep, Casey Affleck and Nicole Kidman. The stars brought a dose of glamor to gray, wintry London, as hundreds of fans lined the red carpet at Royal Albert Hall. Hollywood stars will mingle with British royalty at the British Academy Film Awards, where “La La Land” is favored to dance away with multiple trophies. Prince William and his wife Kate are expected on the red carpet at London’s Royal Albert Hall, along with nominees including Meryl Streep, Casey Affleck and Nicole Kidman. “La La Land,” an effervescent musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, has 11 nominations, including best picture, best actor and best actress. The U.K. awards are often an indicator of who will win at Hollywood’s Academy Awards, held two weeks later. Prince William is due to present the British academy’s fellowship to veteran comedian Mel Brooks during Sunday’s ceremony. Hollywood stars mingled with British royalty on Sunday at the British Academy Film Awards, where “La La Land” was favored to dance away with multiple trophies. Prince William and his wife Kate were due on the red carpet at London’s Royal Albert Hall, along with nominees including Meryl Streep, Casey Affleck and Nicole Kidman. “La La Land,” an effervescent musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, has 11 nominations, including best picture, best actor and best actress. The U.K. awards, known as BAFTAs, are often seen as an indicator of who will win at Hollywood’s Academy Awards, held two weeks later. “La La Land” already is a dominant force at the Oscars, with 14 nominations. It also has won seven Golden Globes. Viola Davis was seen as the favorite to win the best supporting actress BAFTA for “Fences,” Denzel Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s stage drama about an African-American family. Davis said being recognized in Britain was proof that Wilson “has told a universal story of the everyman and American history.” The stars brought a dose of glamor to gray, wintry London, as hundreds of fans lined the red carpet outside a domed concert hall beside London’s Hyde Park. Many of those attending expected politics to make a guest appearance at the ceremony, as it has so often this awards season. Streep is among the stars who have used the awards stage to criticize President Donald Trump. Barry Jenkins, director of best-picture nominee “Moonlight,” said, “People ought to speak from their heart. If there’s something you’ve got to say, then say it.” Prince William, who is also president of Britain’s film academy, was to present the academy’s lifetime-achievement honor to veteran comedian Mel Brooks during Sunday’s ceremony. And while the luscious “La La Land” was the favorite, academy voters could choose to reward less escapist fare. The philosophical sci-fi yarn “Arrival” and the psychological thriller “Nocturnal Animals” have nine BAFTA nominations each. Director Ken Loach’s gritty “I, Daniel Blake,” a stinging critique of Britain’s welfare system, was up for five awards. Best-picture contenders are “Arrival,” ”I, Daniel Blake,” ”La La Land,” the wrenching New England drama “Manchester By The Sea” and the Miami-set coming-of-age story “Moonlight.” The BAFTAs differ from their U.S. counterpart in having a separate category for best British film. Nominees in that category include “I, Daniel Blake”; the raucous road trip “American Honey”; the courtroom drama “Denial”; the wizarding adventure “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”; the documentary “Notes on Blindness”; and the Iran-set horror film “Under the Shadow.” Gosling’s rivals in the best actor race were Andrew Garfield for “Hacksaw Ridge”; Casey Affleck for “Manchester by the Sea”; Jake Gyllenhaal for “Nocturnal Animals”; and Viggo Mortensen for “Captain Fantastic.” Best-actress contenders were Stone; Amy Adams for “Arrival”; Emily Blunt for “The Girl on the Train”; Meryl Streep for “Florence Foster Jenkins”; and Natalie Portman for “Jackie.” ||||| LONDON: Hollywood musical "La La Land" picked up five British Bafta film awards on Sunday (Feb 12), including best director and actress, paving the way for Oscar success later this month. The dreamy tribute to the heyday of Hollywood musicals was named best film, while also picking up gongs for cinematography and original music, in the ceremony at London's Royal Albert Hall. Accepting the award for best director - beating off competition from the likes of Ken Loach and Tom Ford - Damien Chazelle said it was an "incredible honour" and a pleasure to be there along with those behind the film. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) award for leading actress went to Emma Stone, who plays an aspiring actress in "La La Land" and took on a political tone in her acceptance speech. "In a time that is so divisive I think it's really special we were all able to come together tonight, thanks to Bafta, and to celebrate the positive," she said. A throwback to Hollywood's Golden Age, "La La Land" took home seven Golden Globes in January and has been nominated for 14 Oscars. The best actor Bafta award went to Casey Affleck, for his role in the drama "Manchester By The Sea", beating Ryan Gosling who was nominated for "La La Land". Affleck said he learnt to act while attending therapy sessions for children of alcoholics. Kenneth Lonergan's "Manchester" also won the original screenplay award, which the director said he was "overwhelmed" to accept. Flying the flag for UK filmmaking was Ken Loach's "I, Daniel Blake", which won the outstanding British film but lost out in four other categories. Set in Newcastle, northeast England, the film tells of one man's battle against the bureaucracy of Britain's social welfare system. Accepting the award for outstanding British film, 80-year-old Loach said filmmakers stand "with the people" and took aim at the government. "The most unvulnerable and poorest are treated by the government with a callous brutality that is disgraceful," he said. Ahead of the awards ceremony, he urged the public to become active in politics. "You should know which side you're on and why and get in and take part in politics. There is no time now to sit on the fence," he told AFP. The glamorous ceremony was woven with political messages, beginning with host Stephen Fry making a jibe at US President Donald Trump who recently described veteran actress Meryl Streep as "overrated". "I look at row after row of the most overrated people in the audience," quipped the actor, after stepping out at the end of an opening performance by Canadian-based Cirque du Soleil. Anticipating the ceremony would be peppered with references to Washington and Westminster, actress Viola Davis said she supported filmmakers taking a stand. "I especially like it in a profession that could be considered narcissistic. But also I think that's what we do as artists. We do, we're rebels, we make political statements," she told AFP, before picking up the best supporting actress award for "Fences". Dev Patel, who was named best supporting actor for his role in "Lion", said he was already a winner before the ceremony. "I already just feel so happy to be here. It sounds like a real cliché but I've got my whole family with me. I'm here on home turf at the Baftas wearing a tuxedo walking this red carpet. I feel like a winner," he told AFP outside the Royal Albert Hall. Other guests braving the cold to walk the red carpet included Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate, whose London home Kensington Palace is close to the Royal Albert Hall.
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La La Land wins five awards. I, Daniel Blake wins Best British Film. Emma Stone, Casey Affleck, Viola Davis and Dev Patel win in their respective acting categories.
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Health insurer Cigna announced Tuesday that it will unilaterally terminate its $54 billion merger agreement with Anthem after the deal was rejected by a federal judge. The news came shortly after insurance giants Aetna and Humana announced a mutual decision to abandon their $37 billion merger agreement earlier in the day. An Anthem spokeswoman said the company is still committed to closing its deal with Cigna, signaling the breakup could be messy. In a news release, Cigna announced it had filed a lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court against Anthem seeking a judgment that the merger agreement had been terminated lawfully and seeking a $1.85 billion termination fee, along with an additional $13 billion in damages.
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• UMN doctors, Fairview look to improve upon partnership “These additional damages include the amount of premium that Cigna shareholders did not realize as a result of the failed merger process,” the company said in its release. “The company believes strongly in the merits of its case and hopes that this matter is rapidly resolved.” Anthem spokeswoman Jill Becher said that Cigna’s action was invalid and said the company “does not have a right to terminate the agreement.” “Anthem will continue to enforce its rights under the merger agreement,” Becher wrote. The dissolution of the Aetna-Humana is proceeding more smoothly. Last month, a federal judge upheld the Justice Department’s decision to block that deal. Aetna will pay Humana a $1 billion breakup fee, the companies said, which will amount to about $630 million after taxes. Humana will update its financial outlook for the coming year this afternoon. “While we continue to believe that a combined company would create greater value for health care consumers through improved affordability and quality, the current environment makes it too challenging to continue pursuing the transaction,” Aetna chief executive Mark Bertolini said in a statement. “We are disappointed to take this course of action after 19 months of planning, but both companies need to move forward with their respective strategies in order to continue to meet member expectations.” Thomas Noland, a spokesman for Humana, said in an email that the company had always known that the deal might not go through. “We have therefore planned carefully for it, and are fully prepared to continue to go forward as an independent company,” Noland said. The two mergers were first proposed in 2015 and could have reshaped the health insurance landscape in the United States by consolidating the four of the largest insurers into two companies. Both deals were blocked by the Justice Department on antitrust grounds, and two different federal judges upheld those decisions in the last few weeks. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the Anthem-Cigna deal would raise prices and eliminate competition between the two insurers for large national accounts — employers buying health plans for more than 5,000 employees. U.S. District Judge John Bates said the Aetna-Humana deal would have been anticompetitive and raised prices for consumers, specifically in the business of selling private Medicare plans in hundreds of counties and in the health insurance exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act in three counties in Florida. The formal conclusion of the Aetna-Humana deal did not come as a surprise; analysts had expected that Aetna and Humana would not appeal the decision. Scott Fidel, an analyst at Credit Suisse, wrote in a research note that after a trip to Aetna last week, “we came away from the meeting viewing the likelihood of an appeal of Judge Bates’ adverse ruling as extremely low, as management conceded that an appeal would likely face a very high hurdle to success.” Ana Gupte, an analyst with Leerink Partners wrote the deal was viewed “as completely dead at this point” in a note last week. Analysts have speculated that Humana, which is strong in the Medicare Advantage business of selling private Medicare plans, could now be targeted in a future deal, by either Anthem or Cigna. ||||| Cigna says it is rejecting Anthem's proposed $48 billion acquisition bid and suing the Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer. The announcement comes hours after another major insurer, Aetna, said it was abandoning its planned $34 billion purchase of Medicare Advantage provider Humana. The Department of Justice sued last summer to stop the deals due to concerns about how they would affect prices and consumer choices. Federal judges rejected both deals in separate rulings earlier this year. Anthem Inc. had filed paperwork Monday to appeal its case. Cigna Corp. says it is seeking a $1.85 billion termination fee from Anthem and more than $13 billion in damages caused by what it says were Anthem's breaches of the merger agreement. An Anthem spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment. ||||| Health insurer Cigna said Tuesday it filed suit against Anthem claiming billions of dollars in breakup fees and damages after a federal court blocked their proposed merger on antitrust concerns. Cigna said it filed suit against Anthem demanding a $1.85 billion breakup fee, plus more than $13 billion in additional damages following the February 8 US court decision blocking the proposed $50 billion merger. Anthem rejected the claim, calling Cigna's "purported" termination of the deal "invalid." The back-and-forth came hours after two other insurers, Aetna and Humana, formally abandoned their own merger plan following a similarly unfavorable antitrust ruling last month. Both proposed mergers were blocked by federal judges, who agreed with Justice Department antitrust regulators that reducing the number of major US insurers from five to three could harm consumers. The judicial crackdown comes as Congress moves to revise former president Barack Obama's Affordable Car Act, known as Obamacare, partly due to concerns about the lack of choice for consumers seeking health insurance plans. Cigna said it was disappointed in the outcome, but that it had met its obligations under its agreement with Anthem. "Anthem contracted for and assumed full responsibility to lead the federal and state regulatory approval process, as well as the litigation strategy, under the merger agreement," Cigna said in a press release. "Cigna fulfilled all of its contractual obligations and Anthem throughout the fully cooperated with approval process." An Anthem spokeswoman said the company extended the merger agreement through April 30, meaning "Cigna does not have a right to terminate the agreement." "Anthem will continue to enforce its rights under the Merger Agreement and remains committed to closing the transaction," Anthem said. Earlier Tuesday, Aetna and Humana each released statements saying they mutually agreed to end their merger agreement and that Aetna would pay Humana a $1 billion breakup fee as set by the agreement. ||||| Just days after a federal judge shut down a $54 billion merger between health insurers Anthem and Cigna on anti-competitive grounds, a Valentine’s Day move by Connecticut’s Cigna seeks to dump the Indianapolis-based company once and for all. Cigna officials announced Tuesday they had sued Anthem in a Delaware court seeking a judge’s affirmation that the company had lawfully ducked out of the merger agreement, and that Anthem couldn’t extend the merger’s expiration date. As expected, Cigna is hoping to collect from Anthem a large “breakup” fee -- a kind of corporate prenuptial agreement -- that stipulates Anthem will pay Cigna $1.8 billion if the merger doesn’t go through. Additionally, Cigna says Indianapolis-based Anthem is on the hook for another $13 billion in damages owed to shareholders as a result of the failed deal. Anthem lawyers call Cigna’s action’s “invalid.” They announced last week the company planned to file a speedy appeal of the federal court’s decision. In January, the companies agreed to extend the merger’s deadline until the end of April. Two other health insurers also parted ways this week, citing irreconcilable differences. Aetna and Humana decided to part ways after a similar federal ruling shut down their planned merger. But in sharp contrast to the Anthem-Cigna fallout, Aetna and Humana leaders announced Tuesday they were disappointed they couldn’t consummate their relationship, but thought the time had come to see other companies. Aetna has agreed to pay Humana its own billion-dollar termination fee. ||||| Cigna says it is rejecting Anthem's proposed $48 billion acquisition bid and suing the Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer. The announcement comes hours after another major insurer, Aetna, said it was abandoning its planned $34 billion purchase of Medicare Advantage provider Humana. The Department of Justice sued last summer to stop the deals due to concerns about how they would affect prices and consumer choices. Federal judges rejected both deals in separate rulings earlier this year. Anthem Inc. had filed paperwork Monday to appeal its case. Cigna Corp. says it is seeking a $1.85 billion termination fee from Anthem and more than $13 billion in damages caused by what it says were Anthem's breaches of the merger agreement. An Anthem spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment. ||||| Cigna said Tuesday in a lawsuit that it is looking to terminate its merger agreement with Anthem, and seeks a $1.85 billion break-up fee and additional damages exceeding $13 billion. Cigna's suit comes in the wake of a federal court's decision blocking the planned $54 billion merger between the two insurers — a deal Cigna argues is effectively dead. "In light of the Court's ruling, Cigna believes that the transaction cannot and will not achieve regulatory approval and that terminating the agreement is in the best interest of Cigna's shareholders," the Connecticut-based insurer said in a statement. Cigna added it filed its suit in the Delaware Court of Chancery to seek a judgment that it "has lawfully terminated the merger agreement and that Anthem is not permitted to extend the termination date." Shares of Anthem closed down slightly at $163.32, while Cigna shares edged modestly higher to close at $146.68. Anthem is the nation's largest Blue Cross insurer, and Cigna claims that Anthem put the interests of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association ahead of their deal, and as a result Cigna shareholders lost out during the prolonged merger process. Anthem and Cigna's relationship has been contentious since they began having merger discussions early in 2015. During their antitrust review, attorneys from the Department of Justice introduced correspondence between the insurers accusing one another of not living up to their merger agreement. The federal judge who ruled against the companies' merger, noted that testimony by Cigna executives during their antitrust trial was at odds with Anthem's arguments in the case, and called their clear animosity during the proceedings "the elephant in the courtroom." In response to Cigna's suit, an Anthem spokeswoman said that their merger agreement remains in effect for another 2 ½ months. "On January 18, 2017 Anthem extended its Merger Agreement with Cigna through April 30, 2017. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, Cigna does not have a right to terminate the agreement," said Anthem spokeswoman Bonnie Jacobs, in a statement. "Therefore, Cigna's purported termination of the Merger Agreement is invalid. Anthem will continue to enforce its rights under the Merger Agreement and remains committed to closing the transaction." After last week's ruling, Anthem said it would pursue an expedited appeal of the judge's decision to block the merger. The acrimonious break-up notice from Cigna came hours after Aetna and Humana agreed to mutually terminate their $34 billion merger agreement, after their deal was also blocked in federal court. Aetna has agreed to pay Humana the $1 billion break-up fee stipulated in their agreement, saying that after 19 months of trying to gain approval it was in the best interest for the two to move on. ||||| Cigna Officially Gives Up On Merger With Anthem, Sues Anthem For $13 Billion Instead After more than a year of review and another six months in court, only to lose, it looks like health insurer Anthem’s plan to buy rival Cigna is truly dead in the water. Cigna announced today that it’s terminating the agreement to merge, but this breakup is far from mutual. Instead of simply going off their separate ways, Cigna is now suing Anthem, seeking billions in damages. Anthem announced its intention to buy Cigna for $54 billion in July, 2015, just after Aetna and Humana announced their plans to merge. After a year of review, however, the federal government and nine attorneys general sued to block both mergers, saying that reducing the marketplace from four national insurers to two would have enormous harms on competition. Judges, clearly, agreed. One ruled against the Aetna/Humana deal in January, and a few weeks later that was chased by another judge blocking the Anthem/Cigna deal as well. However, while Aetna and Humana sadly agreed to part ways earlier today, Cigna has come out swinging. “In light of the Court’s ruling,” Cigna writes, it “believes that the transaction cannot and will not achieve regulatory approval and that terminating the agreement is in the best interest of Cigna’s shareholders.” So far, so good; that’s how these things go. Cigna is seeking a $1.85 billion reverse termination fee from Anthem, which is par for the course when a merger fails. However, Cigna is going further and also asking for “additional damages in an amount exceeding $13 billion.” Why so much? Cigna isn’t looking to recoup money it lost, exactly; instead, it’s seeking to recoup potential money it never made. “These additional damages include the amount of premium that Cigna shareholders did not realize as a result of the failed merger process. This action is necessary to enforce and preserve Cigna’s rights and protect the interests of its shareholders,” as Cigna puts it. Cigna also expresses its disappointment that the merger failed, saying that it, “believed from the outset that the merger of the two companies had the potential to expand choice, improve affordability and quality and further accelerate value-based care.” But don’t point the finger at us for this, the statement implies: It was Anthem that was in charge of the “full responsibility to lead the federal and state regulatory approval process, as well as the litigation strategy,” so you can feel free to blame Anthem. Cigna certainly seems to. ||||| NEW YORK – Two health care mega mergers appeared to have died in one day. Aetna and Humana said Tuesday morning that they’re calling off their $34 billion merger, and just hours later Cigna said it’s calling off its $54 billion deal with Anthem. Both deals were targeted by the Justice Department and were recently blocked by federal judges, citing antitrust concerns. Aetna said Tuesday it will pay Humana a $1 billion breakup fee. Anthem will owe Cigna a $1.85 billion breakup fee, according to their agreement terms. Cigna is also seeking damages from Anthem in an amount totaling more than $13 billion, according to a public filing filing issued Tuesday. The filing states that damages “includes the lost premium value to Cigna’s shareholders caused by Anthem’s willful breaches of the Merger Agreement.” Anthem, however, insists the deal is not dead. The company said in a statement Tuesday that Cigna “does not have a right to terminate the agreement. Therefore, Cigna’s purported termination of the Merger Agreement is invalid.” Cigna said in its public filing Tuesday that it “notified Anthem that it has terminated the Agreement and Plan of Merger.” Cigna also said it filed a suit against Anthem in a Delaware court to ensure Anthem is not permitted to extend the kill date of their merger agreement. Anthem claims the termination date has already been extended to April 30, 2017. That deal has been rocked by infighting between the companies. Cigna has long hinted it was searching for a way out of the takeover. Anthem vowed to fight the federal judge’s decision to block the deal, but Cigna said it did not intend to move forward. When then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch sued all four companies last year to block the two mergers, she said the combinations ran the risk of “drastically constricting competition” in health care. The two mergers would have left the health insurance industry dominated by only three giant insurers. The third company is UnitedHealth. ||||| Why did this happen? Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy. ||||| (AP) – Cigna says it is rejecting Anthem’s proposed $48 billion acquisition bid and suing the Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer. The announcement comes hours after another major insurer, Aetna, said it was abandoning its planned $34 billion purchase of Medicare Advantage provider Humana. The Department of Justice sued last summer to stop the deals due to concerns about how they would affect prices and consumer choices. Federal judges rejected both deals in separate rulings earlier this year. Anthem Inc. had filed paperwork Monday to appeal its case. Cigna Corp. says it is seeking a $1.85 billion termination fee from Anthem and more than $13 billion in damages caused by what it says were Anthem’s breaches of the merger agreement. An Anthem spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
• See also: Aetna, Humana call off $34 billion deal
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Cigna announces that it has terminated its merger with Anthem, a deal that was blocked by a U.S. federal judge last week. In addition, Cigna sues Anthem for the $1.85 billion reverse termination fee, and for more than $13 billion in additional damages. Anthem says Cigna has no right to terminate the merger, a deal which in January was extended to April 30, 2017.
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Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 others wounded after a bomb tore through a crowded Sufi shrine in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday. The blast was triggered by an Islamic State suicide bomber, according to a claim by the Sunni militant group's semi-official Amaq news agency. Reports on the exact death toll have varied — with The Associated Press reporting that at least 75 people died, while the Pakistani newspaper Dawn put the number at 70. A number of women and children reportedly were among the dead. The Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, which has stood in the town of Sehwan for some 800 years, is a center of Sufi life and worship in the region. Worshippers had converged on the shrine for dhamaal, a ritual that packed the area with people — thousands of people, by CNN's account. Immediately following the explosion, Pakistan's chief of army staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, issued a blistering statement through the military's spokesman. "Each drop of nation's blood shall be revenged, and revenged immediately," Bajwa said. "No more restraint for anyone." In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also struck a defiant tone: "Such cowardly acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation to stand against terrorism and our government is committed to root out this menace." As The Washington Post notes, the shrine blast is the latest incident in what has been a particularly deadly week for Pakistan, which has been buffeted by attacks not only from ISIS, but also Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Taliban splinter group which has promised a campaign of violence against government buildings. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for a bombing that tore through a rally in the city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more. In the wake of that attack, Bajwa pledged that "terrorists of all hue and colour, their masters, financiers, planners and abettors including from outside will be hunted across the country." The Post reports that Pakistan "formally complained" to its neighbor Afghanistan on Wednesday, "charging that the militants were operating from sanctuaries across the border." In response to Thursday's attack, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, blamed "hostile powers" and "sanctuaries in Afghanistan." He tweeted that Pakistan would be immediately closing its border with Afghanistan "till further orders due to security reasons." The Islamic State has waged a campaign of violence against Shiite Muslims as well as Sufis, who take a mystical approach to Islam and prize a direct relationship with the divine. The AP reports that Thursday's shrine attack was the deadliest in Pakistan since 2014, when an assault on a school killed 154 people. ||||| Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 others wounded after a bomb tore through a crowded Sufi shrine in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday. The blast was triggered by an Islamic State suicide bomber, according to a claim by the Sunni militant group's semi-official Amaq news agency. Reports on the exact death toll have varied — with The Associated Press reporting that at least 75 people died, while the Pakistani newspaper Dawn put the number at 70. A number of women and children reportedly were among the dead. The Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, which has stood in the town of Sehwan for some 800 years, is a center of Sufi life and worship in the region. Worshippers had converged on the shrine for dhamaal, a ritual that packed the area with people — thousands of people, by CNN's account. Immediately following the explosion, Pakistan's chief of army staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, issued a blistering statement through the military's spokesman. "Each drop of nation's blood shall be revenged, and revenged immediately," Bajwa said. "No more restraint for anyone." In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also struck a defiant tone: "Such cowardly acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation to stand against terrorism and our government is committed to root out this menace." As The Washington Post notes, the shrine blast is the latest incident in what has been a particularly deadly week for Pakistan, which has been buffeted by attacks not only from ISIS, but also Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Taliban splinter group which has promised a campaign of violence against government buildings. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for a bombing that tore through a rally in the city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more. In the wake of that attack, Bajwa pledged that "terrorists of all hue and colour, their masters, financiers, planners and abettors including from outside will be hunted across the country." The Post reports that Pakistan "formally complained" to its neighbor Afghanistan on Wednesday, "charging that the militants were operating from sanctuaries across the border." In response to Thursday's attack, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, blamed "hostile powers" and "sanctuaries in Afghanistan." He tweeted that Pakistan would be immediately closing its border with Afghanistan "till further orders due to security reasons." The Islamic State has waged a campaign of violence against Shiite Muslims as well as Sufis, who take a mystical approach to Islam and prize a direct relationship with the divine. The AP reports that Thursday's shrine attack was the deadliest in Pakistan since 2014, when an assault on a school killed 154 people. ||||| Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 others wounded after a bomb tore through a crowded Sufi shrine in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday. The blast was triggered by an Islamic State suicide bomber, according to a claim by the Sunni militant group's semi-official Amaq news agency. Reports on the exact death toll have varied — with The Associated Press reporting that at least 75 people died, while the Pakistani newspaper Dawn put the number at 70. A number of women and children reportedly were among the dead. The Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, which has stood in the town of Sehwan for some 800 years, is a center of Sufi life and worship in the region. Worshippers had converged on the shrine for dhamaal, a ritual that packed the area with people — thousands of people, by CNN's account. Immediately following the explosion, Pakistan's chief of army staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, issued a blistering statement through the military's spokesman. "Each drop of nation's blood shall be revenged, and revenged immediately," Bajwa said. "No more restraint for anyone." In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also struck a defiant tone: "Such cowardly acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation to stand against terrorism and our government is committed to root out this menace." As The Washington Post notes, the shrine blast is the latest incident in what has been a particularly deadly week for Pakistan, which has been buffeted by attacks not only from ISIS, but also Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Taliban splinter group which has promised a campaign of violence against government buildings. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for a bombing that tore through a rally in the city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more. In the wake of that attack, Bajwa pledged that "terrorists of all hue and colour, their masters, financiers, planners and abettors including from outside will be hunted across the country." The Post reports that Pakistan "formally complained" to its neighbor Afghanistan on Wednesday, "charging that the militants were operating from sanctuaries across the border." In response to Thursday's attack, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, blamed "hostile powers" and "sanctuaries in Afghanistan." He tweeted that Pakistan would be immediately closing its border with Afghanistan "till further orders due to security reasons." The Islamic State has waged a campaign of violence against Shiite Muslims as well as Sufis, who take a mystical approach to Islam and prize a direct relationship with the divine. The AP reports that Thursday's shrine attack was the deadliest in Pakistan since 2014, when an assault on a school killed 154 people. ||||| KARACHI: At least 70 people died on Thursday (Feb 16) when a bomb ripped through a crowded Sufi shrine in Pakistan, police said, in the deadliest attack to hit the militancy-plagued country so far in 2017. The Islamic State group claimed the attack in a statement carried by the Amaq propaganda agency linked to the Sunni Muslim militant group. Pakistan's leaders vowed revenge for the attack on the shrine in the town of Sehwan in Sindh province, some 200 kilometres northeast of the provincial capital Karachi, which came after a bloody week of exremist assaults shook the country's growing sense of security. A police source said a suicide bomber had entered the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, a 13th century Muslim saint, and blown himself up among the devotees. The shrine had been crowded on a Thursday, considered a sacred day for prayers. "So far 70 people have been killed and more than 150 wounded," Inspector General of Police for Sindh province A.D. Khawaja told AFP. "Many wounded people are in critical condition and they will be shifted to Karachi as soon as Navy helicopters and C-130 plane reach nearest airport." Emergency services are basic in Sehwan, with the nearest main hospital some 130 kilometres away. Provincial health minister doctor Sikandar Maindro said an emergency had been declared in Karachi hospitals. Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif swiftly issued a statement saying an attack on Sufis was considered a "direct threat". Military chief General Qamer Javed Bajwa warned: "Each drop of (the) nation's blood shall be revenged, and revenged immediately. No more restraint for anyone." Pakistan has seen a dramatic improvement in security in the past two years, but a series of attacks this week - most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban - has shaken the growing sense of optimism. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban said it had carried out a suicide bombing in Lahore which killed 13 people and wounded dozens more on Monday, days after the group had vowed to launch a fresh offensive. Four suicide bombers struck northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six people and unnerving civilians further. "The past few days have been hard, and my heart is with the victims. But we can't let these events divide us, or scare us," Sharif said in his statement. "We have faced tougher circumstances, and still persevered." The attacks underscore Pakistan's struggle to stamp out extremism, which was stepped up after the country's deadliest ever attack, a Pakistani Taliban assault on a school in Peshawar in 2014 which left more than 150 people dead - mostly children. The army intensified a long-awaited operation in the semi-autonomous tribal areas, where militants had previously operated with impunity, and the government launched a vaunted National Action Plan against extremism. Emboldened Pakistanis are once again attending public gatherings and the growing confidence is palpable after more than a decade of militant attacks. But critics have repeatedly warned that the crackdown does not address the root causes of extremism, and groups like the Pakistani Taliban - and, increasingly, Islamic State - can still carry out spectacular assaults. ||||| Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 others wounded after a bomb tore through a crowded Sufi shrine in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday. The blast was triggered by an Islamic State suicide bomber, according to a claim by the Sunni militant group's semi-official Amaq news agency. Reports on the exact death toll have varied — with The Associated Press reporting that at least 75 people died, while the Pakistani newspaper Dawn put the number at 70. A number of women and children reportedly were among the dead. The Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, which has stood in the town of Sehwan for some 800 years, is a center of Sufi life and worship in the region. Worshippers had converged on the shrine for dhamaal, a ritual that packed the area with people — thousands of people, by CNN's account. Immediately following the explosion, Pakistan's chief of army staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, issued a blistering statement through the military's spokesman. "Each drop of nation's blood shall be revenged, and revenged immediately," Bajwa said. "No more restraint for anyone." In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also struck a defiant tone: "Such cowardly acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation to stand against terrorism and our government is committed to root out this menace." As The Washington Post notes, the shrine blast is the latest incident in what has been a particularly deadly week for Pakistan, which has been buffeted by attacks not only from ISIS, but also Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Taliban splinter group which has promised a campaign of violence against government buildings. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for a bombing that tore through a rally in the city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more. In the wake of that attack, Bajwa pledged that "terrorists of all hue and colour, their masters, financiers, planners and abettors including from outside will be hunted across the country." The Post reports that Pakistan "formally complained" to its neighbor Afghanistan on Wednesday, "charging that the militants were operating from sanctuaries across the border." In response to Thursday's attack, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, blamed "hostile powers" and "sanctuaries in Afghanistan." He tweeted that Pakistan would be immediately closing its border with Afghanistan "till further orders due to security reasons." The Islamic State has waged a campaign of violence against Shiite Muslims as well as Sufis, who take a mystical approach to Islam and prize a direct relationship with the divine. The AP reports that Thursday's shrine attack was the deadliest in Pakistan since 2014, when an assault on a school killed 154 people. ||||| Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 others wounded after a bomb tore through a crowded Sufi shrine in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday. The blast was triggered by an Islamic State suicide bomber, according to a claim by the Sunni militant group's semi-official Amaq news agency. Reports on the exact death toll have varied — with The Associated Press reporting that at least 75 people died, while the Pakistani newspaper Dawn put the number at 70. A number of women and children reportedly were among the dead. The Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, which has stood in the town of Sehwan for some 800 years, is a center of Sufi life and worship in the region. Worshippers had converged on the shrine for dhamaal, a ritual that packed the area with people — thousands of people, by CNN's account. Immediately following the explosion, Pakistan's chief of army staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, issued a blistering statement through the military's spokesman. "Each drop of nation's blood shall be revenged, and revenged immediately," Bajwa said. "No more restraint for anyone." In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also struck a defiant tone: "Such cowardly acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation to stand against terrorism and our government is committed to root out this menace." As The Washington Post notes, the shrine blast is the latest incident in what has been a particularly deadly week for Pakistan, which has been buffeted by attacks not only from ISIS, but also Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Taliban splinter group which has promised a campaign of violence against government buildings. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for a bombing that tore through a rally in the city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more. In the wake of that attack, Bajwa pledged that "terrorists of all hue and colour, their masters, financiers, planners and abettors including from outside will be hunted across the country." The Post reports that Pakistan "formally complained" to its neighbor Afghanistan on Wednesday, "charging that the militants were operating from sanctuaries across the border." In response to Thursday's attack, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, blamed "hostile powers" and "sanctuaries in Afghanistan." He tweeted that Pakistan would be immediately closing its border with Afghanistan "till further orders due to security reasons." The Islamic State has waged a campaign of violence against Shiite Muslims as well as Sufis, who take a mystical approach to Islam and prize a direct relationship with the divine. The AP reports that Thursday's shrine attack was the deadliest in Pakistan since 2014, when an assault on a school killed 154 people. ||||| Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 others wounded after a bomb tore through a crowded Sufi shrine in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday. The blast was triggered by an Islamic State suicide bomber, according to a claim by the Sunni militant group's semi-official Amaq news agency. Reports on the exact death toll have varied — with The Associated Press reporting that at least 75 people died, while the Pakistani newspaper Dawn put the number at 70. A number of women and children reportedly were among the dead. The Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, which has stood in the town of Sehwan for some 800 years, is a center of Sufi life and worship in the region. Worshippers had converged on the shrine for dhamaal, a ritual that packed the area with people — thousands of people, by CNN's account. Immediately following the explosion, Pakistan's chief of army staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, issued a blistering statement through the military's spokesman. "Each drop of nation's blood shall be revenged, and revenged immediately," Bajwa said. "No more restraint for anyone." In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also struck a defiant tone: "Such cowardly acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation to stand against terrorism and our government is committed to root out this menace." As The Washington Post notes, the shrine blast is the latest incident in what has been a particularly deadly week for Pakistan, which has been buffeted by attacks not only from ISIS, but also Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Taliban splinter group which has promised a campaign of violence against government buildings. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for a bombing that tore through a rally in the city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more. In the wake of that attack, Bajwa pledged that "terrorists of all hue and colour, their masters, financiers, planners and abettors including from outside will be hunted across the country." The Post reports that Pakistan "formally complained" to its neighbor Afghanistan on Wednesday, "charging that the militants were operating from sanctuaries across the border." In response to Thursday's attack, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, blamed "hostile powers" and "sanctuaries in Afghanistan." He tweeted that Pakistan would be immediately closing its border with Afghanistan "till further orders due to security reasons." The Islamic State has waged a campaign of violence against Shiite Muslims as well as Sufis, who take a mystical approach to Islam and prize a direct relationship with the divine. The AP reports that Thursday's shrine attack was the deadliest in Pakistan since 2014, when an assault on a school killed 154 people. ||||| Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 others wounded after a bomb tore through a crowded Sufi shrine in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday. The blast was triggered by an Islamic State suicide bomber, according to a claim by the Sunni militant group's semi-official Amaq news agency. Reports on the exact death toll have varied — with The Associated Press reporting that at least 75 people died, while the Pakistani newspaper Dawn put the number at 70. A number of women and children reportedly were among the dead. The Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, which has stood in the town of Sehwan for some 800 years, is a center of Sufi life and worship in the region. Worshippers had converged on the shrine for dhamaal, a ritual that packed the area with people — thousands of people, by CNN's account. Immediately following the explosion, Pakistan's chief of army staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, issued a blistering statement through the military's spokesman. "Each drop of nation's blood shall be revenged, and revenged immediately," Bajwa said. "No more restraint for anyone." In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also struck a defiant tone: "Such cowardly acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation to stand against terrorism and our government is committed to root out this menace." As The Washington Post notes, the shrine blast is the latest incident in what has been a particularly deadly week for Pakistan, which has been buffeted by attacks not only from ISIS, but also Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Taliban splinter group which has promised a campaign of violence against government buildings. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for a bombing that tore through a rally in the city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more. In the wake of that attack, Bajwa pledged that "terrorists of all hue and colour, their masters, financiers, planners and abettors including from outside will be hunted across the country." The Post reports that Pakistan "formally complained" to its neighbor Afghanistan on Wednesday, "charging that the militants were operating from sanctuaries across the border." In response to Thursday's attack, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, blamed "hostile powers" and "sanctuaries in Afghanistan." He tweeted that Pakistan would be immediately closing its border with Afghanistan "till further orders due to security reasons." The Islamic State has waged a campaign of violence against Shiite Muslims as well as Sufis, who take a mystical approach to Islam and prize a direct relationship with the divine. The AP reports that Thursday's shrine attack was the deadliest in Pakistan since 2014, when an assault on a school killed 154 people. ||||| Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 others wounded after a bomb tore through a crowded Sufi shrine in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday. The blast was triggered by an Islamic State suicide bomber, according to a claim by the Sunni militant group's semi-official Amaq news agency. Reports on the exact death toll have varied — with The Associated Press reporting that at least 75 people died, while the Pakistani newspaper Dawn put the number at 70. A number of women and children reportedly were among the dead. The Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, which has stood in the town of Sehwan for some 800 years, is a center of Sufi life and worship in the region. Worshippers had converged on the shrine for dhamaal, a ritual that packed the area with people — thousands of people, by CNN's account. Immediately following the explosion, Pakistan's chief of army staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, issued a blistering statement through the military's spokesman. "Each drop of nation's blood shall be revenged, and revenged immediately," Bajwa said. "No more restraint for anyone." In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also struck a defiant tone: "Such cowardly acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation to stand against terrorism and our government is committed to root out this menace." As The Washington Post notes, the shrine blast is the latest incident in what has been a particularly deadly week for Pakistan, which has been buffeted by attacks not only from ISIS, but also Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Taliban splinter group which has promised a campaign of violence against government buildings. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for a bombing that tore through a rally in the city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more. In the wake of that attack, Bajwa pledged that "terrorists of all hue and colour, their masters, financiers, planners and abettors including from outside will be hunted across the country." The Post reports that Pakistan "formally complained" to its neighbor Afghanistan on Wednesday, "charging that the militants were operating from sanctuaries across the border." In response to Thursday's attack, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, blamed "hostile powers" and "sanctuaries in Afghanistan." He tweeted that Pakistan would be immediately closing its border with Afghanistan "till further orders due to security reasons." The Islamic State has waged a campaign of violence against Shiite Muslims as well as Sufis, who take a mystical approach to Islam and prize a direct relationship with the divine. The AP reports that Thursday's shrine attack was the deadliest in Pakistan since 2014, when an assault on a school killed 154 people. ||||| Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 others wounded after a bomb tore through a crowded Sufi shrine in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday. The blast was triggered by an Islamic State suicide bomber, according to a claim by the Sunni militant group's semi-official Amaq news agency. Reports on the exact death toll have varied — with The Associated Press reporting that at least 75 people died, while the Pakistani newspaper Dawn put the number at 70. A number of women and children reportedly were among the dead. The Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, which has stood in the town of Sehwan for some 800 years, is a center of Sufi life and worship in the region. Worshippers had converged on the shrine for dhamaal, a ritual that packed the area with people — thousands of people, by CNN's account. Immediately following the explosion, Pakistan's chief of army staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, issued a blistering statement through the military's spokesman. "Each drop of nation's blood shall be revenged, and revenged immediately," Bajwa said. "No more restraint for anyone." In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also struck a defiant tone: "Such cowardly acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation to stand against terrorism and our government is committed to root out this menace." As The Washington Post notes, the shrine blast is the latest incident in what has been a particularly deadly week for Pakistan, which has been buffeted by attacks not only from ISIS, but also Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Taliban splinter group which has promised a campaign of violence against government buildings. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for a bombing that tore through a rally in the city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more. In the wake of that attack, Bajwa pledged that "terrorists of all hue and colour, their masters, financiers, planners and abettors including from outside will be hunted across the country." The Post reports that Pakistan "formally complained" to its neighbor Afghanistan on Wednesday, "charging that the militants were operating from sanctuaries across the border." In response to Thursday's attack, the military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, blamed "hostile powers" and "sanctuaries in Afghanistan." He tweeted that Pakistan would be immediately closing its border with Afghanistan "till further orders due to security reasons." The Islamic State has waged a campaign of violence against Shiite Muslims as well as Sufis, who take a mystical approach to Islam and prize a direct relationship with the divine. The AP reports that Thursday's shrine attack was the deadliest in Pakistan since 2014, when an assault on a school killed 154 people.
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Two separate bombings take place in Pakistan, killing at least seven people. A suicide bomber kills five people at the administrative headquarters in the Mohmand Agency tribal district while the other kills two people at a hospital in Peshawar. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claims responsibility for the first attack.
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A truce between Russia-backed separatists and the Ukrainian army will come into force on Monday in eastern Ukraine, according to Russia's foreign minister. The deal was brokered on Saturday at the Munich security conference with the participation of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France. "It is positive that the contact group [of foreign ministers of the four countries] agreed once again for the start of a ceasefire on February 20," Sergey Lavrov said. INTERACTIVE: Ukraine divided - stories from warring sides The agreement also concerns "the start of the withdrawal of heavy arms" in eastern Ukraine. The Munich meeting "examined where we were with the implementation of accords reached" by the presidents of the four countries in Berlin in October, Lavrov said. "We observed that there hasn't been major progress in terms of results of the decisions taken in Berlin," he said. Jean-Marc Ayrault, French foreign minister, said neither Russia nor Ukraine had offered any alternatives to the Minsk process. "The meeting showed that Russians and Ukrainians had no other option but to respect Minsk. They have no alternatives," he said. "We agree to meet quickly, perhaps in three weeks, to see if we can advance on the ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons and exchange of prisoners. We need a lot of patience, because we can see a lack of will on either side." Fighting has recently intensified in the conflict, killing nearly 30 people at the start of February. Major development The news of the deal overshadowed a major development announced in Russia. President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian authorities on Saturday to temporarily recognise civil registration documents issued in separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine, indirectly recognising the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The move will enable people from the conflict-hit region to travel, work or study in Russia. The new legislation will be in place until a "political settlement of the situation" in these regions based on the Minsk peace accords, the Kremlin said. READ MORE: Foreign students face uncertain future in east Ukraine Ukrainian authorities sharply criticised Putin's decision, saying Russia had violated the Minsk peace process. "For me, this is another proof of Russian occupation as well as Russian violation of international law," Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said in Munich. Oleksander Turchynov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, which is headed by Poroshenko, said: "This step completely negates the Minsk process." Almost three years of fighting between government forces and Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine have killed nearly 10,000 people. ||||| (CNN) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Saturday that a ceasefire will go into effect for eastern Ukraine on Monday. His comments followed a meeting with the foreign ministers for Ukraine, Germany and France in Munich, according to Russian state television. Eastern Ukraine has seen a spike in violence in recent months between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian armed forces as efforts to enforce previous ceasefires in the three-year-old conflict have failed. Lavrov called it positive that the foreign ministers "agreed once again for the state of a ceasefire on February 20." He said the agreement also concerns "the start of the withdrawal of heavy arms" in eastern Ukraine, a key element in the Minsk agreement, which was negotiated two years ago but never fully implemented. It also called for the withdrawal of foreign troops, local elections and full control of the border by Ukraine. It's probably too soon for people to be optimistic about the latest ceasefire agreement, according to CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson, but "what you have here are the ingredients to reinvigorate the Minsk agreement," he said. Earlier this month, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, made it clea r that any lifting of Russian sanctions would be tied to a withdrawal from Crimea. European leaders won't lift sanctions until full implementation of the Minsk agreement. "What we seem to be seeing here is Sergei Lavrov perhaps taking a step further to make that happen," Robertson said. Also Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an executive order recognizing official documents of Ukrainians living in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, according to a Kremlin statement. It allows "Ukrainian citizens and stateless persons permanently residing in certain districts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions can enter and leave the Russian Federation without applying for visas," according to the statement. 'Violation of international law' Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko slammed Putin's order. "For me, it is another evidence of Russian occupation and violation of international law. It is very symbolical and cynical that it happened during the Munich Security Conference," he said in a statement. Later Saturday, the Ukrainian leader met with US Vice President Mike Pence and "informed him on that decision of Russian President Putin," according to Poroshenko's office. "We have once again received a powerful signal that the USA stands with Ukraine, that Ukraine is among the top priorities for the new US administration," Poroshenko said after the meeting. "The issue of Crimea and decisive struggle for the liberation of Crimea also remain among priorities." ||||| MUNICH, Germany -- Russia's decision to recognize identification documents issued by separatists in eastern Ukraine will hurt the chances for a cease-fire to take hold, the head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) told RFE/RL on February 19. The abrupt Russian move is also a setback for efforts to end the war that has killed more than 9,750 people since April 2014, a goal that already seems “a long way” off, OSCE Secretary-General Lamberto Zannier said in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Meeting in Munich on February 18, the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, and mediators Germany and France agreed to a new push to implement a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, to begin on February 20. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order authorizing the recognition of documents issued by the separatist-led, self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic. “The steps taken last night by Russia to recognize these documents are making implementation more difficult,” Zannier said of the agreement known as Minsk II, a much-violated February 2015 accord that imposed a cease-fire and set out a plan for resolving the conflict. The Russian move “implies…recognition of those who issue the documents, of course,” Zannier said. “This makes us think of Abkhazia-like situations,” he said, referring to one of two breakaway Georgian regions that Russia recognized as independent countries after fighting a brief war against Georgia in 2008. Russia has not formally recognized the self-proclaimed separatist entities in Ukraine as independent, and Moscow’s stated position is that they should be part of Ukraine. Analysts say Russia hopes to continue to use them as long as it can to destabilize Ukraine and maintain pressure on its pro-Western government. Speaking to reporters in Munich after meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on February 18, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Putin’s order was "more evidence of the Russian occupation and Russia's violation of international law." In a post on Twitter on February 19, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said the Russian decision was “alarming and incompatible with the agreed-on goals of the Minsk peace process.” After a Moscow-friendly Ukrainian president was pushed from power by protests in February 2014, Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Kyiv’s control and fomented separatism in the country’s east and south, where many people speak Russian. Russia denies involvement in the war in eastern Ukraine, despite what Kyiv and Western nations say is overwhelming evidence that it has sent substantial numbers of troops and weapons across the border to support separatist forces. Russia’s interference in Ukraine has badly strained its ties with the West, prompting the United States, the European Union, and other nations to impose sanctions. Speaking at the Munich conference on February 18, hours before Putin’s order was announced, Pence said that the United States would “hold Russia accountable” for its actions even as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks “common ground” with Moscow. Like Western leaders who spoke at the three-day conference, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Zannier said there is no alternative to the Minsk agreements -- the 2015 pact and an initial agreement reached in September 2014 -- for ending the war. “I remain convinced that the Minsk agreements are the best -- and the only, in fact -- path to get out of this.” Minsk II was supposed to be implemented in full by the end of 2015. But Zannier said that more than a year later, even elections in the separatist-held areas -- which are just one step in the plan -- seem like a distant prospect. “The concept is not agreed, and the conditions for holding them are not there,” he said. “So it’s really a long way away.” ||||| Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered authorities to temporarily recognise passports and civil registration documents issued in rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine. The decision, condemned by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, will reportedly allow people from the conflict-torn area to travel, work and study in Russia. The order recognises documents like diplomas, birth and marriage certificates, identity documents and vehicle registration plates on a temporary basis from the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Poroshenko said while speaking to reporters in Munich, Germany: "For me, this is another proof of Russian occupation as well as Russian violation of international law." Oleksander Turchynov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, said: "The Minsk process provides for the de-occupation of eastern Ukraine and its restitution to the legal force of the state. "By signing this decree, Putin has legally recognised the quasi-state terrorist groups which cover Russia's occupation of part of Donbas." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, however, said it was humanitarian decision. He also said that heavy military hardware would be withdrawn from the area. The fighting in eastern Ukraine has once again escalated tensions between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian army. The Minsk agreement signed in February 2015 has been broken at frequent intervals by fighting that Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of instigating. The latest truce began on 23 December, 2016. Around 9,700 people have been killed in the conflict that began in 2014 following the Russian annexation of Crimea. Russia-backed separatists later launched an insurgency in the east. ||||| The Russian president has signed an executive order granting visa-free travel to anyone living in self-declared separatist republics in eastern Ukraine and recognising all documents issued by militias. It gives birth, marriage and death certificates, identification, qualification, vehicle registration certificates and other documents issued by pro-Russian rebel “authorities” official recognition in Russia. There is concern in Ukraine and the West that the Russian move may be followed by the annexation of the Donbass Republic , just like it annexed Crimea. Many analysts expect the EU to issue red lines on this issue which took place hours after US Vice President vowed to ‘hold Russia to account’ in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has signed an executive order granting visa-free travel to anyone living in self-declared separatist republics in eastern Ukraine and recognising all documents issued by militias. A Kremlin statement said the order was “guided by universally recognised principles and standards of international humanitarian law and in order to protect the rights and freedoms of individuals”. It gives birth, marriage and death certificates, identification, qualification, vehicle registration certificates and other documents issued by pro-Russian rebel “authorities” official recognition in Russia. Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, claimed the recognition was afforded so “Donbass residents” can enter Russia legally, with thousands already fleeing over the border as asylum seekers. Mr Putin’s order was released hours after the American Vice President told an international conference the US would “hold Russia accountable” for its actions. Donald Trump made a series of warm statements towards Mr Putin during his campaign and has dismissed allegations of Russian interference in the election, but has adopted a more combative tone in recent days following international pressure over Ukraine. The President accused Russia of using force to “take” Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, last week amid a fresh round of allegations over links between his administration and the Kremlin. The Russian foreign ministry responded by calling the Black Sea peninsula “our territory” and declaring that it would not be returned. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, warned against any move to “appease” Russia on the issue. “I hear increasingly obsessive calls for at least some degree of appeasement toward Russia’s appetite,” he said. “To move in that direction would be naive, wrong and dangerous — not only for Ukraine, but also for Europe and for the world.” Mike Pence claims there was no contact between Russia and Trump campaign Mr Putin’s latest order will be seen as another sign to the world that despite its repeated denials of backing Ukrainian rebels, it will not lessen its political support. A Kremlin statement said it related to “certain districts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk”, without specifically referring to the so-called People’s Republics installed on the Russian border during the Ukrainian civil war. They emerged after months of fighting between separatist rebels and the Ukrainian government following the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych, an ally of Mr Putin’s. Russia has denied persistent allegations by Nato and the US and EU of arming rebels and sending its troops over the border, but has made no secret of its political backing for the Donbass “republics”. They were created after referendums held in May 2014 that claimed to show strong support for independence in Donetsk and Luhansk, although no government officially recognised the result amid evidence of widespread fraud and voter intimidation. The ongoing conflict, which has intensified in recent weeks, was a hot topic at the annual Munich Security Conference yesterday. Mike Pence said the Trump administration would demand that Russia honours a 2015 peace deal agreed in Minsk, in efforts to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, which has been repeatedly violated by both sides. “Know this: The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground, which as you know President Trump believes can be found,” the Vice President said. The Russian foreign minister hit back by accusing Nato of Cold War-era expansionism and blaming the alliance for rising tensions and military deployments in Europe. He later announced a fresh ceasefire brokered by Russian, Ukrainian, German and French negotiators to halt fighting between Kiev’s army and rebels from 20 February. “On 20 February the ceasefire regime will start, and withdrawal of heavy military hardware will also start…failure should not be allowed to take place,” Mr Lavrov told reporters. But the Ukrainian foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, said he was “not at all” happy with the result of talks. Ukraine’s government has raised concern over an upsurge in fighting over the past month, seeing heavy artillery banned under the Minsk agreements hit residential areas including the frontline city of Avdiivka. Thousands of people were left without electricity and water because of the battles, which saw rockets kill civilians attempting to shelter in their homes The Ukrainian embassy in London describes rebels as “Russian terrorist forces”, while the separatists and Russian media frequently refer to government troops as “Nazis”. Both sides accuse each other of ceasefire violations and war crimes in the conflict, which has killed more than 9,800 people since April 2014. ||||| MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed an executive order recognizing passports and other documents issued by Russian-backed separatists in southeast Ukraine, a controversial step that brings Moscow closer to de facto recognition of the breakaway republics. The move triggered protests from Kiev and will provide an early test of the Trump administration’s ability to manage the three-year-old conflict as it seeks to reassure allies that it will continue to counterbalance Russian influence in Eastern Europe. The executive order, which was posted Saturday on the Kremlin’s website, said that those living in areas of southeast Ukraine outside of Kiev’s control “can enter and leave the Russian Federation without applying for visas upon showing identification documents (birth certificates for children under the age of 16), issued by the corresponding authorities which are valid in the said districts.” Those authorities are the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, the heavily militarized separatist governments that appeared in 2014 after a revolution in Kiev and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The West has accused them of serving as Russian proxies and Moscow of supplying them with Russian soldiers and arms. Like Crimea, they held controversial referendums and sought to join Russia formally, but Moscow demurred. Since then, they have been locked in a grinding conflict with Kiev that has killed more than 10,000, according to the United Nations. A peace process called the Minsk Agreement, agreed upon in 2015, provides steps out of the conflict, but it has largely gone unfulfilled. “This step by Kremlin completely destroys the Minsk process and is equal to Russia’s statement about an exit from that,” Oleksandr Turchynov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said in a statement. Moscow said it was motivated by humanitarian concerns, saying the decision would give residents of east Ukraine access to Russian public services and air and rail travel. Russia had previously denied quietly allowing the use of documents from the separatist republics, although an investigation earlier last year by the RBC television station showed that the documents were often accepted instead of Russian passports. The executive order also covers license plates, marriage and divorce certificates, and university diplomas issued in southeast Ukraine. The United States has previously punished Russia with sanctions for taking steps to integrate Crimea into mainland Russia. Banks and other companies doing business in Crimea have also been targeted. The decision came just hours after a highly anticipated speech by Vice President Mike Pence in Munich, where he reassured European allies that the United States would urge Russia to respect the Minsk Agreement. “Know this: The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground, which as you know President Trump believes can be found,” Pence said. ||||| Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Saturday that a ceasefire will go into effect for Eastern Ukraine on Monday. His comments followed a meeting with the foreign ministers for Ukraine, Germany and France in Munich, according to Russian state television. Eastern Ukraine has seen a spike in violence in recent months between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian armed forces as efforts to enforce previous ceasefires in the three-year-old conflict have failed. Lavrov called it positive that the foreign ministers “agreed once again for the state of a ceasefire on February 20.” He said the agreement also concerns “the start of the withdrawal of heavy arms” in eastern Ukraine, a key element in the Minsk agreement, which was negotiated two years ago but never fully implemented. It also called for the withdrawal of foreign troops, local elections and full control of the border by Ukraine. It’s probably too soon for people to be optimistic about the latest ceasefire agreement, according to CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson, but “what you have here are the ingredients to reinvigorate the Minsk agreement,” he said. Earlier this month, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, made it clear that any lifting of Russian sanctions would be tied to a withdrawal from Crimea. European leaders won’t lift sanctions until full implementation of the Minsk agreement. “What we seem to be seeing here is Sergei Lavrov perhaps taking a step further to make that happen,” Robertson said. Also Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an executive order recognizing official documents of Ukrainians living in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, according to a Kremlin statement. It allows “Ukrainian citizens and stateless persons permanently residing in certain districts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions can enter and leave the Russian Federation without applying for visas,” according to the statement. ||||| Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree temporarily recognizing identification documents issued in separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine. The decision will allow people from the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk to travel, work, or study in Russia. According to Putin's decree, Moscow will temporarily recognize identity documents, diplomas, birth and marriage certificates, and vehicle registration plates issued in the two Ukrainian regions. The decree said the new regulation will be in place until a "political settlement of the situation" in these regions based on the Minsk peace agreements. According to the decree, Putin signed it "to protect human rights and freedoms" in accordance with "the widely recognized principles of international humanitarian law." The signing of the decree came amid tougher talk on Russia by the United States. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on February 18 that the United States would "hold Russia accountable" for its interference in Ukraine. During his campaign, Trump voiced admiration for Putin and suggested he might scrap sanctions imposed on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine. Based on reporting by The Moscow Times and Reuters ||||| The U.S Embassy in Kyiv has said Russia’s decision to temporarily recognize documents issued by Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine is incompatible with the Minsk process on regulating the conflict. The embassy posted on Twitter on February 19 that the decision was “alarming and incompatible with the agreed-on goals of the Minsk peace process.” The embassy also urged Russia and the separatists to remove heavy weaponry from the line of contact in order to ensure a sustainable cease-fire. On February 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order authorizing the recognition of documents issued by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, entities created in the areas of Ukraine controlled by Russia-back separatists. The same day, the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France met in Munich and agreed to a new cease-fire in eastern Ukraine to begin on February 20. With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and Interfax ||||| European powers are backing a new ceasefire agreement announced Saturday for embattled eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have been locked in conflict for three years. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the deal, set to begin Monday, was settled with input from his German and French counterparts, and comes after two other internationally-brokered ceasefires have fizzled in a region where the fighting has only raised tensions between Russia and the West. "On Feb. 20, the ceasefire regime will start, and withdrawal of heavy military hardware will also start to the places where they are supposed to be," Lavrov said Saturday after the talks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, which was attended by various world leaders. "We have actively supported this decision and obviously expressed a conviction that this time, failure should not be allowed to take place," he said. It was unclear whose "military hardware" Lavrov was talking about — Ukraine's or that belonging to the Russian-backed separatists — and what territory they would be moved to, as the Russian and Ukrainian governments dispute the territorial lines. Related: Ukraine Fears That Putin Will 'Step Forward' if Trump Pulls Back While the specifics of the deal remain murky, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin told reporters minutes before Lavrov's statement that he was "not at all" pleased with the conclusion of Saturday's meeting, Reuters reported. He added that the so-called Normandy Format — which consists of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France — formed no "powerful results." In a separate event in Munich, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about the long conflict in Ukraine and lamented that the Minsk Protocol — brokered in September 2014 to halt the armed conflict in the Donbass region — had not been followed by the Russian-backed separatists. The agreement aimed to end fighting in the disputed area of Ukraine. "The Minsk agreement is the only channel we have to bring a solution to this conflict," Merkel said. "The Minsk agreement started on the assumption that there was a road map, but when it was enacted there was no continuous ceasefire." NATO allies laid the consequences of the conflicts at the feet of Russia, which has claimed no responsibility for the separatist activities, although it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014. Most nations, including European Union members and the United States, do not recognize Crimea as a part of the Russian state. A Ukrainian hacker group named Cyber Hunta also published a gigabyte's worth of emails from the office of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's top aides that shows conclusive evidence that Russia was actively engaged in supporting the separatist movement in Ukraine. Since then, European nations have grown increasingly alarmed by Russia's use of force along its western border. "We have seen a more assertive Russia," NATO Secretary General Jens Soltenberg told CNBC at the Munich Security Conference. "We have seen a Russia that has invested heavily in new military capabilities, which has tripled spending on defense over the last years, and — most importantly — which has been willing to use military force against neighbors in Georgia and Ukraine. And that's exactly why NATO is responding in a measured defensive way." Stoltenberg said NATO will invest in defense upgrades for any new conflicts, whether that's on the ground or in cyberspace. "We have to be agile. We have to be prepared for the unforeseen," he added. "And that's exactly what we are doing when we are increasing the readiness of our forces, when we are increasing the presence of our forces in the eastern part of the alliance — and we are." President Donald Trump has flip-flopped on his support for NATO. After the November election, he told the Times of London that the 28-state alliance is obsolete, but then earlier this month said "we strongly support NATO." Meanwhile, he has refused to criticize Russia, recently stating that the United States is morally equivalent to Putin.
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At the Munich Security Conference, a truce between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian army, per the Minsk Protocol, takes effect Monday. Pending a permanent political agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin orders that civil registration documents issued in separatist-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine be temporarily recognized. Ukrainian authorities say this violates provisions in the Minsk agreement. This is the third such agreement because the previous two in 2014 and 2015 were violated. Low-level fighting and artillery fire never fully stopped.
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BOGOTA (Reuters) - An explosion near Bogota’s bullring injured at least 26 people, most of them police officers as they prepared for anti-bullfighting protests in Colombia’s capital on Sunday, the police said, but no one was killed. Earlier, the police said one of its officers had been killed in the blast. Details of the cause of the blast were not immediately available, but media images showed a police officer in a shredded uniform walking with support from his colleagues, as well as debris in the road, broken glass and damage to apartment buildings close by. “The national police rejects and condemns these acts of barbarism that affect the integrity of our police and other citizens, as well as the tranquility and coexistence of the country’s capital,” the police said in statement. Hundreds of protesters have gathered weekly to demonstrate against bullfighting in Bogota, which resumed last month for the first time in four years. The ban was lifted by the constitutional court which said it was part of the national heritage, prompting weekly clashes with police. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Bogota explosion: Footage shows police clean-up Dozens of people have been injured in an explosion in the Colombian capital Bogota, the mayor's office has said. The explosion happened near the bullring, where animal rights activists were preparing to hold a march. Bogota authorities said at least 40 people were injured, including 28 men and 12 women. Many are believed to be officers deployed ahead of the protest. It is unclear if the blast was linked to the protests, which began after the city reinstated bullfighting this year. Gareth Lewis, a British traveller staying in a hostel in La Macarena, on the corner where the explosion took place, told the BBC: "I was sitting in my room in the hostel, the windows just came in, there was glass everywhere. "Quite a few police have been hurt, they're now sweeping up. They used tear gas and there's quite a bit of blood." Image copyright EPA Image caption It happened as police prepared for protests in the city Mr Lewis, who has been advised to stay inside the hostel by officers, said he had witnessed protests "all week" and that "armed police have been everywhere". The protests began after a decision by the constitutional court, which ruled bullfighting was part of the country's heritage and therefore could be reinstated. The move angered animal rights activists, who have clashed with police during protests against the reopening. In January, demonstrators were arrested and officers fired tear gas to control groups physically attacking spectators. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Two people were left with serious injuries after the explosion, which shattered nearby windows But the explosion was not necessarily linked to the protests. Jorge Restrepo, director of Colombia's Conflict Analysis Resource Center (Cerac), said the attack may have been targeting the police, taking advantage of the fact that many officers were gathered together due to the bullfight. He told the BBC it was possibly linked to a series of attacks against security forces in the capital that have taken place in recent months. Image copyright EPA Image caption Bogota Mayor Enrique Penalosa vowed to capture the people behind the explosion Meanwhile, Bogota mayor Enrique Penalosa, who attended the scene, has announced he was convening a security council meeting for Sunday afternoon. "The terrorists won't intimidate us," Mr Penalosa said on Twitter. "We are going to do all that's necessary to capture them." He earlier tweeted one police officer had been killed, but has since removed the post. It has now been reported there were no fatalities. Two of the injured were said to be in a serious condition. ||||| ||||| A police officer was killed and 30 other people were injured during a blast in Colombia's capital on Sunday before a bullfighting event where protests had been expected, authorities and local media reported. Bogotá Mayor Enrique Peñalosa described the explosion as a "criminal terrorist attack" and vowed to capture those behind it, although no additional details were immediately provided. The blast comes amid ongoing — and sometimes violent — protests over bullfighting in Bogotá. The sport was outlawed in 2012, but three years later the country's highest court ended the ban, calling bullfighting a cultural heritage. The sport resumed last month to large protests and a police response that included pepper spray and tear gas, The Guardian reported. A witness told NBC News that Sunday's blast, in the city's Macarena neighborhood, was strong enough to shatter glass on the 17th floor of a building across the street. Reuters reported that most of the injured were police officers. In a Twitter post from a hospital, Peñalosa said four of them lost an eye. ||||| A terrifying explosion near a bullring in Colombia killed one and injured at least 30 people. Most of the victims were police officers, hit by the blast as they prepared for anti-bullfighting protests in the capital, Bogota, on Sunday. According to the mayor's office, police are now ' pursuing terrorists '. Details of the cause of the blast were not immediately available, but media images showed a police officer in a shredded uniform walking with support from his colleagues, as well as debris in the road, broken glass and damage to apartment buildings close by. Another person was gravely injured, the mayor's office said on its Twitter account. "It was horrible. We were a half block away and it was tremendous. The apartment on the second floor shook," said witness Cecilia Gomez Bogota's mayor, Enrique Penalosa, said the police would go after the perpetrators. "It is a message to reject terrorism. We are going to pursue terrorism, we are going to do everything we can to capture them. "I can tell you that we have the whole sector of La Macarena [sector where the blast occurred] secured. "In a few minutes we are going to make way. We have people who are injured," he said. After the attack, hundreds of residents gathered at La Santamaria plaza for a minute of silence. Protesters have gathered weekly to demonstrate against bullfighting in Bogota, which resumed last month for the first time in four years. The ban was lifted by the constitutional court which said it was part of the national heritage, prompting weekly clashes with police. ||||| A police officer was killed and 30 other people were injured in a blast in Colombia’s capital on Sunday before a bullfighting event where protests had been expected, authorities and local media reported. Bogotá Mayor Enrique Peñalosa described the explosion as a “criminal terrorist attack” aimed at police and vowed to capture those behind it, although no additional details were immediately provided. Twenty-six of the wounded were officers, the district secretary for Security, Coexistence and Justice said in a statement. In a Twitter post from a hospital, Peñalosa said four of them lost an eye. ||||| The explosion was the second in Colombia's capital in as many days. At least one person is dead and about 30 injured, most of them police officers, in an explosion Sunday near the Plaza de Toros in central Bogota, Colombia, as police prepared for an anti-bullfighting protest. Reuters reported most of the victims were police officers but el Tiempo reported the 29 injured included 10 soldiers and 19 others, most of them foreigners in a nearby restaurant. Images showed an officer in a shredded uniform being helped by colleagues along a road littered with debris near La Santamaria bullring. Nearby apartment buildings were damaged. Protesters have been gathering weekly to protest bullfighting, which resumed in Bogota last month for the first time in four years after the constitutional court lifted a ban that had been in effect since 2012. Sunday’s bullfight was to be the last of the season. Bogota Police Cmdr. Hoover Penilla said the event would go on as scheduled. TeleSur said explosives-sniffing dogs were dispatched to the area, which has been cordoned off, to determine whether any other devices had been planted. Noticias said the type of explosive used in the 10:36 a.m. blast had yet to be determined. Firefighters, along with health officials and the Red Cross, were at the scene. Streets in the area have been closed. Sunday’s explosion followed a blast Saturday in a restaurant in Bogota. One person was injured in that incident. Anti-bullfighting activists, who argue the spectacle is a brutal blood sport, have been clashing with police in recent weeks. Bullfighting originated in Spain but is also practiced in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, parts of southern France and Portugal. The website stopbullfighting.com says bulls are abused for two days before they get into the ring with a matador, who is aided by men on horseback, armed with picas that are used to cut into the animal’s neck to weaken it before the matador moves in for the kill.
• Bloody End Near For Two Spanish Traditions? ||||| Authorities search for evidence Sunday at the site of an explosion in Bogota, Colombia. Arwa Gunja The blast comes amid ongoing — and sometimes violent — protests over bullfighting in Bogotá. The sport was outlawed in 2012, but three years later the country’s highest court ended the ban, calling bullfighting a cultural heritage. The sport resumed last month to large protests and a police response that included pepper spray and tear gas, A witness told NBC News that Sunday’s blast, in the city’s Macarena neighborhood, was strong enough to shatter glass on the 17th floor of a building across the street. Reuters reported that most of the injured were police officers. In a Twitter post from a hospital, Peñalosa said four of them lost an eye. ||||| An explosion Sunday near the Santamaria bullfighting ring in downtown Bogota, Colombia, injured at least 31 people, many of them policemen, according to reports. Two of the 31 were seriously injured, Mayor Enrique Peñalosa tweeted. At least 10 police officers were hurt, according to the Bogota police press office. A dozen suspects were taken into custody, the press office said. “The terrorists won’t intimidate us. And we’re going to do everything necessary to capture them,” Peñalosa said in another tweet. Footage aired by Medellin-based Cable Noticias showed dozens of police in fluorescent yellow jackets converging at the base of a highrise near the plaza, blocking off streets and directing pedestrians away from the scene. The stadium is located in the La Macarena neighborhood of the Colombian capital. It was not clear who was behind Sunday’s blast. Bullfighting has long been a contentious issue in Colombia. On one side are Colombians who say the events are art, part of the country’s culture and tradition. Opponents call it animal abuse, and say they want the city-owned bullring to be converted into a space for cultural and educational events. In 2012, then-Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro essentially banned bullfighting by suspending the city’s contract with the Bullfighting Corporation of Bogota. But the constitutional court overturned Petro’s decision, siding with those who say bullfighting is a form of artistic expression. Bullfights are held on Sundays in January and February in Colombia. Bogota held its first bullfight in four years in January, and hundreds of protesters converged on the Santamaria bullring, with various media reporting the demonstrators hurled obscenities, spit at attendees and called them “torturers.” Riot police had to intervene. Peñalosa has said he opposes bullfighting but is bound by the constitutional court’s decision to allow it. After the explosion, he tweeted that the area was secure and it was safe to attend the event. According to Humane Society International, about 250,000 bulls are killed during these events annually. Colombia is one of eight countries — joining Spain, France, Portugal, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador — where bullfighting is legal, the organization reports. A change.org petition aimed at persuading the constitutional court to overturn its ruling and end bullfighting in Colombia garnered almost 52,000 signatures. ||||| BOGOTA: An explosion near Bogota's bullring killed one and injured at least 30 people, most of them police officers as they prepared for anti-bullfighting protests in Colombia's capital on Sunday, the mayor's office said. Details of the cause of the blast were not immediately available, but media images showed a police officer in a shredded uniform walking with support from his colleagues, as well as debris in the road, broken glass and damage to apartment buildings close by. Another person was gravely injured, the mayor's office said on its Twitter account. Hundreds of protesters have gathered weekly to demonstrate against bullfighting in Bogota, which resumed last month for the first time in four years. The ban was lifted by the constitutional court which said it was part of the national heritage, prompting weekly clashes with police.
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An explosion kills one and injures at least 30 people, mostly police officers preparing for the weekly anti-bullfighting protests in Bogotá, Colombia. Bullfighting resumed last month after a four-year lull, per a Supreme Court order. Responsibility has not been determined.
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Calling the charge of pro-Palestinian bias “outrageous,” Ms. Bashi pointed to several recent reports criticizing the leadership of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. “If we are engaging in Palestinian propaganda, we are doing a lousy job,” she said. The only other countries that have denied the group such access, she said, are Cuba, North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Venezuela. Rights groups have complained that the Israeli government of Mr. Netanyahu has been increasingly hostile, with groups like B’Tselem and Peace Now, which monitor Israeli settlements and the conditions of Palestinians, coming under particular criticism. Last year, Israel passed a law imposing reporting requirements on groups that receive more than half their funding from foreign governments. Advocacy groups said the legislation amounted to intimidation, while supporters of the move said it was meant to prevent foreign meddling in Israeli affairs. Also on Friday, the United Nations criticized as too lenient the 18-month prison sentence given on Tuesday to Sgt. Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter for shooting an immobilized Palestinian attacker in the head in March 2016. The soldier had faced a maximum term of 20 years. Sergeant Azaria is the only member of the Israeli security forces to have been brought to trial on charges of killing a Palestinian, although more than 200 Palestinians have been killed since a surge of violence began in September 2015, according to the office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. “While the prosecution and conviction are very welcome steps towards accountability, the punishment — which is excessively lenient — is difficult to reconcile with the intentional killing of an unarmed and prone individual,” Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the commissioner, said in a statement. “It also stands in contrast to the sentences handed down by other Israeli courts for other less serious offenses, notably the sentencing of Palestinian children to more than three years’ imprisonment for throwing stones at cars,” she added. “This case risks undermining confidence in the justice system and reinforcing the culture of impunity.” ||||| Jerusalem (CNN) Israel has rejected a work permit application for Human Rights Watch's Israel and Palestine director on the grounds the organization "engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda." According to Human Rights Watch, a letter dated February 20 from the Israeli Interior Ministry denied a work permit for US citizen Omar Shakir -- a Human Rights Watch employee. The Ministry of Interior said it had taken advice from the Foreign Ministry, and stated that HRW insisted on "falsely raising the banner of 'human rights'". HRW says the denial is a sign that Israel is seeking to "limit the space for local and international human rights groups to operate in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories." "This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel's commitment to basic democratic values," said Iain Levine, Human Rights Watch's deputy executive director, in a statement. "It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda." 'Hostile, extremist agenda' Emmanuel Nahshon, Spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision was made "due to the hostile, extremist, and anti-Israel agenda of the organization." He said HRW has "placed itself at the disposal of Palestinian propaganda, [and] is acting clearly and unequivocally against the State of Israel in a completely biased manner. "This is the reason we have decided we are no longer willing to turn the other cheek, and we will not grant work visas to an individual and organization with the clear goal of harming Israel and its good name." Nashon told CNN that representatives of HRW could still enter Israel with tourists' visas. He added: "Regarding work visas, the issue will be re-examined by the relevant authorities if the original decision will be appealed." US criticizes decision The decision was condemned by the US, with Acting State Department Spokesperson Mark Toner rejecting Israel's stance on HRW. "We are aware of reports that a Human Rights Watch employee was denied a work permit by Israeli authorities on the grounds that HRW is not a 'real' human rights organization," he said. "I would note that every country sets its own immigration and visa laws. That said, we strongly disagree with that characterization of HRW," he said. "HRW is a credible human rights organization and even though we do not agree with all of their assertions or conclusions, given the seriousness of their efforts, we support the importance of the work they do." Foreign NGO debate The move comes at a time of great debate over the influence of foreign-funded NGOs in Israel. Last July, the Knesset passed a law forcing human rights groups which receive more than 50% of their funding from foreign governments or bodies such as the European Union to disclose such information. The law's detractors say that it impacts those advocacy groups which speak out against the right-wing government's policies, particularly on Palestinian issues. Its supporters say it prevents foreign powers from meddling in Israel's domestic affairs. HRW plans to appeal HRW, which monitors 90 countries across the world, says it will challenge the decision before an Israeli district court. The group added that the criticism leveled at it by the Israeli government was unfair and says its wider work in the region shows that. Last year, it highlighted the detention of journalists and activists by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas as well as reporting on free expression in the West Bank and Gaza where HRW said, at the time, "both Palestinian governments, operating independently, have apparently arrived at similar methods of harassment, intimidation and physical abuse of anyone who dares criticize them." "The Israeli government is hardly the only one to disagree with our well-researched findings, but efforts to stifle the messenger signal that it has no appetite for serious scrutiny of its human rights record," Levine added. "We hope the Israeli authorities will reverse this decision and allow both international and domestic human rights groups to work freely." ||||| Israel has become one of a small number of countries — including North Korea and Cuba — to deny access to Human Rights Watch, the independent human rights organization. HRW's Israel and Palestine Country Director Omar Shakir, an American citizen, was denied a visa by the Israeli government on Monday, HRW announced early Friday morning. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited "propaganda" as a reason for its decision, alleging HRW has "engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of 'human rights'..." Echoing its rejection letter, a foreign ministry spokesperson described the organization as "not a real human rights group", with a "hostile agenda," Al Jazeera reports. "This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel's commitment to basic democratic values," Iain Levine, HRW deputy executive program director, said in its press release. "It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda." Other HRW staff members, such as executive director Kenneth Roth and senior legal advisor Clive Baldwin, expressed their disapproval via Twitter. "Israeli government says the only purpose of HRW is to 'besmirch' Israel," Baldwin wrote early Friday morning. "Our purpose is to expose human rights abuses." The group, which shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for its work to ban landmines, said it was surprised by the application rejection as it frequently communicates and meets with the foreign ministry, the Israeli military and police, along with other government officials. And, in 2016, the government requested HRW assist a case in which victims of human rights abuses were Israelis. Shakir's visa rejection is a departure from the last thirty years, during which time the organization has had " access without impediments" to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories, with the exception of Gaza since 2010. HRW intends on challenging the decision, which came more than seven months after the application was filed, despite interior ministry regulations stipulating an applicant should receive a decision within 60 days. "We have little relations with governments in North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Cuba and Venezuela where there is zero appetite for human rights engagement," said , a Stanford law graduate with a masters degree from Georgetown University, according to the Guardian. "With this decision, Israel is joining the list." ||||| Israel has refused to issue visas to staff from Human Rights Watch (HRW), one of the world's most renowned human rights NGOs, accusing the group of having an "extreme, hostile and anti-Israel agenda" - a move the organization has described as "ominous," and a sign the state "has no appetite" for serious scrutiny of its human rights record.The policy was revealed when authorities turned down a visa for HRW's new Israel and Palestine director Omar Shakir, a US citizen, at the request of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a letter , rejecting Shakir's application, Israel accused HRW of being "engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of 'human rights.' "Confirming the decision, Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said HRW was "not a real human rights group," and had demonstrated "time and again it is a fundamentally biased and anti-Israeli organization with a clear hostile agenda."Nahshon said the group was not banned and its Israeli and Palestinian employees were still permitted to work in Israel, but questioned why Israel "should give working visas to people whose only purpose" was to "besmirch and attack" the country. Furthermore, he suggested other organizations such as Amnesty International could also be subject to visa denials, and applications from similar organizations would be assessed on a case by case basis. In a statement , HRW countered that its work in Israel had also included numerous reports of human rights abuses in Palestine, such as the detention of journalists by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, an extrajudicial execution carried out by Hamas' military wing, and executions by Hamas in Gaza "This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel's commitment to basic democratic values. It is disappointing the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda," said Iain Levine, HRW Deputy Executive Director for Program.While the decision was deemed "ominous" by HRW, the organization has had its ability to investigate human rights abuses in the West Bank sharply truncated ever since 2010, with Israel refusing HRW staff access to the area without impediments — save for a single visit in 2016.Moreover, it comes at a time when Israel is increasingly cracking down on human rights groups' operations in the country; a law passed by the Knesset in July 2016 targets human right groups, imposing onerous reporting requirements that burden their activities. While the law's wording does not specifically refer to any organization, pro-Israel NGOs are not impacted by its requirements.In August, five US activists aiming to investigate living conditions for Palestinians in Israeli-occupied areas were arrested, detained and then deported, as well as being banned from ever returning.In December, Israel detained African theologian Isabel Phiri over claims the organization for which she works, World Council of Churches, supported sanctions against Israel.Palestinian rights defenders have also received anonymous death threats , been subject to travel restrictions and even arrested and charged on questionable grounds On Twitter, Shakir noted that while Israel was far from unique in contesting HRW's findings, it was almost alone in blocking the organization from entering the country — only states such as North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Venezuela "where there is zero appetite for human rights engagement" had done the same to date. ||||| Israel has denied a visa to an investigator from Human Rights Watch (HRW), accusing the group of engaging “in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda”. Human rights groups expressed shock at the decision and said it was the latest in a series of steps taken by the Israeli government against NGOs which criticise its record on human rights. Israel said the decision was not a blanket ban on HRW and insisted it had no broader plan to crack down on international human rights groups. HRW applied for an Israeli work visa in July for Omar Shakir, an Iraqi-born investigator who would be based in the area and cover both Israel and the Palestinian territories. ||||| Israel has denied a senior director from Human Rights Watch (HRW) a work permit, accusing the watchdog of promoting "Palestinian propaganda" and adopting an "anti-Israel agenda." US citizen Omar Shakir, HRW Israel-Palestine director, has been refused entry to the country over criticism that the human rights organisation is biased towards Palestine. His application for a work permit was rejected on 20 February, months after it was submitted. In a letter from the Israeli interior ministry, Shakir was told: "For some time now this organisation's public activities and reports have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of 'human rights'. Therefore your client's application to employ Mr Omar Shakir has been denied." Human Rights Watch, which operates in 90 countries, expressed shock at the decision. The denial comes as – according to the organisation – the Israeli government seeks to limit the space for human rights organisations to operate in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. "This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel's commitment to basic democratic values," HRW deputy executive director Iain Levine said. "It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda," he commented. Shakir said he was "genuinely shocked" by the decision. "We work in over 90 countries across the world. Many governments don't like our well-researched findings but their response is not to stifle the messenger," he said. Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesperson for the Israeli foreign ministry, denied that the group was banned and said Israeli and Palestinian employees would still be granted work permits, but questioned why visas should be given "to people whose only purpose is to besmirch us and to attack us?" according to AFP. "This organization has put itself at the disposal of Palestinian propaganda [and] is acting clearly and unequivocally against the State of Israel, in a totally biased manner," Nahshon told Israeli newspaper Haaretz. This is not the first time the Israeli government has denied an individual a visa. Christian theologian Isabel Phiri was barred from entering Israel in December 2016 for allegedly supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The global BDS campaign claims to be a non-violent protest against Israel's occupation of Palestinian land, but is viewed by the Israeli government as a serious threat. ||||| Israeli authorities reject Human Rights Watch request for work permit, accusing it of having a 'pro-Palestinian' agenda. Israeli has refused to issue a visa for a senior Human Rights Watch staff member, accusing the US-based rights group of pro-Palestinian bias and saying it will no longer grant visas to its staff. HRW said on Friday that its Israel and Palestine Director Omar Shakir, a US citizen, had received a rejection letter on February 20, months after an application for the permit was submitted by the group on his behalf. The Israeli foreign ministry said that the organisation was "not a real human rights group", with a foreign ministry spokesman calling it "fundamentally biased" with a "hostile agenda". New York-based HRW, which operates in 90 countries, said it has documented violations considered illegal under international humanitarian law by all sides in the conflict, including the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs the Gaza Strip. The Israeli interior ministry cited a recommendation received by the foreign ministry, which said that HRW's "public activities and reports have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of 'human rights'". In a statement, HRW said the decision came as authorities sought "to limit the space for local and international human rights groups to operate in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories". Emmanuel Nahshon, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, told the AFP news agency that the group was not banned, and any Israeli and Palestinian employees would still be allowed to operate in Israel, but said: "Why should we give working visas to people whose only purpose is to besmirch us and to attack us?" Speaking to local media, Nahshon said Israel was "fed up with them [HRW] coming here every time and taking advantage of their stay here. They don't do anything but look for an anti-Israel agenda." Iain Levine, HRW's deputy executive director of programme, said: "This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel’s commitment to basic democratic values." "It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda." In response to the decision to refuse his visa, Shakir said: "We are genuinely shocked. We work in over 90 countries across the world. Many governments don't like our well-researched findings but their response is not to stifle the messenger." According to Shakir, Israeli authorities said they would also refuse visas to other non-Israeli or Palestininan HRW staff. Last year, HRW issued a report, "Occupation Inc.", in which it accused foreign and Israeli firms operating in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank of contributing to human rights abuses. In July 2016, Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed a law targeting human rights groups and NGOs that receive foreign funding. The law, applicable to about 25 organisations, compels them to declare funds in official reports, and according to HRW, imposes "onerous reporting requirements that burden their advocacy". It is not the first time the organisation has faced criticism and resistance from governments. "We have little relations with governments in North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Cuba and Venezuela where there is zero appetite for human rights engagement," Shakir said. "With this decision, Israel is joining the list." ||||| Israeli authorities have rejected a request from Human Rights Watch to grant a work permit to its regional director, accusing the group of engaging in Palestinian "propaganda," the group said Friday. The decision was Israel's latest step against human rights groups and other advocacy organizations that it accuses of bias against the Jewish state. Israel's Interior Ministry issued its ruling this week, some six months after Human Rights Watch asked for permission for its New York-based Israel and Palestine director, Omar Shakir, to be able to work in the country. In a letter dated Monday, the ministry said the group's reports "have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of "human rights." The decision, it said, was based on a recommendation from Israel's Foreign Ministry. Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon called Human Rights Watch a "blatantly hostile anti-Israeli organization whose reports have the sole purpose of harming Israel with no consideration whatsoever for the truth or reality." He said "there is no reason" to give a visa to a person or organization that wants to hurt the country. "We are not masochists and there is no reason we should keep doing that," he said. He said the decision was connected solely to the group's activities and had nothing to do with the ethnicity of Shakir, a U.S. citizen of Iraqi descent. Shakir, a Stanford-educated lawyer, has also done work on human rights in Egypt, Pakistan and at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, according to his biography. The New York-based group monitors human rights in over 90 countries, including nations throughout the Middle East. It said it has direct access to most of these countries, but said a small number of them, including Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Uzbekistan and Venezuela, have blocked access to its staff. "The denial letter came as a shock, given that we have had regular access to Israel and the West Bank for nearly three decades and regularly engage Israeli authorities," Shakir said in an email. "Branding us as propagandists and fake human rights advocates puts Israel in the company of heavily repressive states like North Korea, Iran and Sudan that have blocked access for Human Rights Watch staff members." Nahshon said the group's local staff could continue to operate and publish reports. In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. did not agree with Israel's characterization of Human Rights Watch. "HRW is a credible human rights organization and even though we do not agree with all of their assertions or conclusions, given the seriousness of their efforts, we support the importance of the work they do," Toner said. Human Rights Watch has published a series of reports that were highly critical of Israel, especially after wars or periods of heightened violence with Palestinian militants. For instance, it accused Israel of committing war crimes during fighting with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014. Israel harshly rejected the findings of that report. The group has also issued reports critical of the Palestinians. For instance, last year it accused the internationally backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the rival Hamas militant group in Gaza of arbitrarily detaining journalists and activists. It also has criticized executions carried out by Hamas. But Israel has long accused the group, as well as other human rights groups, of focusing excessively and unfairly on it. The nationalist government last year passed a law that increased regulation on rights groups that receive foreign funding. It also has taken aim at Israeli rights groups that criticize military and government policies overseas. Critics accuse the government of trying to stifle dissent. "The Israeli government is hardly the only one to disagree with our well researched findings, but efforts to stifle the messenger signal that it has no appetite for serious scrutiny of its human rights record," Levine said. "We hope the Israeli authorities will reverse this decision and allow both international and domestic human rights groups to work freely." ||||| Israel has denied a visa for a Human Rights Watch researcher while accusing the group of spreading “Palestinian propaganda”. A work permit request was filed for Omar Shakir, the group’s director for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in July but the refusal did not come for more than seven months. A letter from Israel’s immigration authority said the application had been declined following a review, because of a recommendation by the country’s foreign ministry. An English translation of the letter seen by The Independent said it “noted that, for some time now, this organisation’s public activities and reports have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of ‘human rights’”. Mr Shakir, an American citizen, said dismissing HRW’s extensive research “put Israel in a group with the most repressive states” it covers, including North Korea, Sudan, North Korea and Cuba, who have all blocked access. Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesperson for the Israeli foreign ministry, called HRW a “blatantly hostile anti-Israeli organisation whose reports have the sole purpose of harming Israel with no consideration whatsoever for the truth or reality”. "Why should we give working visas to people whose only purpose is to besmirch us and to attack us?” he asked. "We are not masochists and there is no reason we should keep doing that.” But Mr Nashon said the decision was connected solely to the group's activities and had nothing to do with the ethnicity of Mr Shakir, who is of Iraqi descent. There were fears the move signalled a wider policy against NRW and other organisations like Amnesty International, who Mr Nashon said would be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Mr Shakir said the letter was a “shock” as HRW staff have been given regular access to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories for almost three decades and frequently engage with Israeli authorities, including the military, police and foreign ministry. The Stanford-educated lawyer has also done work on human rights in Egypt, Pakistan and at Guantanamo Bay detention camp, according to his biography. HRW condemned claims it was “not a real human rights group”, saying the permit denial was the latest move to constrain the work of local and international human rights groups in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. “This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel’s commitment to basic democratic values,” said Iain Levine, the group’s deputy executive director of programme. “It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda.” Mark Toner, a spokesperson for the US State Department, said American authorities did not agree with Israel's assessment. “HRW is a credible human rights organisation and even though we do not agree with all of their assertions or conclusions, given the seriousness of their efforts, we support the importance of the work they do,” he added. Donald Trump has provoked controversy with his stance towards Israel, vowing to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, which both Israelis and Palestinians claim as their capital, and appointing a pro-settlement ambassador to Israel. The New York-based group monitors human rights in over 90 countries, including nations throughout the Middle East and vowed to continue its work in Israel. It has published a series of critical reports on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which has swung dramatically to the right in recent years with the addition of ultra-nationalists from the pro-settlement Jewish Home party to cabinet. HRW’s world report accuses Israel of imposing “severe and discriminatory restrictions on Palestinians’ human rights” and facilitating the transfer of Israeli civilians to the occupied West Bank in a possible violation of international law. It said the response to a wave of Palestinian stabbings, car rammings and shootings, as well as the killing of several demonstrators, constituted the excessive use of force and said Israel committed war crimes while bombing the Gaza Strip during the 2014 war. But HRW also frequently highlights abuses by Palestinians, accusing internationally backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the rival Hamas militant group in Gaza of arbitrarily detaining journalists and activists and torturing detainees. It also has criticised executions carried out by Hamas and rocket attacks on Israel by the group and other militant factions. Israel has long accused the group, as well as other human rights organisations, of focusing excessively and unfairly on it and failing to adequately recognise terrorist threats. Last year, the government passed a Transparency Law requiring groups that receive more than half their funding from abroad to declare it and Israeli authorities have been accused of doing little to help human rights researchers receiving death threats from nationalists. ||||| Israeli authorities have denied Human Rights Watch's (HRW) work permit application for its Israel and the Palestinian territories director, saying the NGO is biased and "falsely raising the banner of 'human rights'". This week, Israel's Ministry of Interior wrote to HRW's Omar Shakir advising him he would not be granted a visa because the ministry believed HRW's "public activities and reports have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda". The respected human rights NGO highlights alleged human rights and international law violations committed by all sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last year, in addition to criticising violations by the Israeli Government, HRW reported on arbitrary detention of journalists and activists by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. It also reported on an extrajudicial execution carried out by Hamas' military wing, a Jerusalem bus bombing by an apparent member of Hamas and executions by Hamas authorities in Gaza. "This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel's commitment to basic democratic values," Iain Levine, the HRW's deputy executive director of programs, said. "It is disappointing that the Israeli Government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda." HRW said the decision was particularly surprising given the organisation regularly met and corresponded with Israeli Government officials — including representatives of the military, the police, and the Foreign Ministry. The NGO also said last year the Israeli Foreign Ministry asked the NGO to intervene in a case involving Israeli victims of human rights abuses. Israel now joins countries such as Cuba, Egypt, Syria, Sudan and Venezuela that have blocked access for HRW's staff members. "The Israeli Government is hardly the only one to disagree with our well-researched findings, but efforts to stifle the messenger signal that it has no appetite for serious scrutiny of its human rights record," Mr Levine said. "We hope the Israeli authorities will reverse this decision and allow both international and domestic human rights groups to work freely." Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz the decision was due to HRW's "extreme, hostile and anti-Israel agenda". "This is why we have decided that we are no longer willing to turn the other cheek and we will not grant work visas to a person that comes with the clear goal of harming the State of Israel and its good name," Mr Nachshon was reported as saying.
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Israel denies entry to Omar Shakir, a researcher for Human Rights Watch and an American citizen, because the organization engages in so-called Palestinian propaganda. HRW's Sari Bashi said, "This Israeli government has been narrowing the space for democratic activity," by closing the country off to critics. Later, the Israel government would grant Mr. Shakir a tourist visa while considering HRW's appeal on the work visa.
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(AP) — News organizations including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CNN and Politico were blocked from joining an informal, on the record White House press briefing on Friday. The Associated Press chose not to participate in the gaggle following the move by White House press secretary Sean Spicer. “The AP believes the public should have as much access to the president as possible,” Lauren Easton, the AP’s director of media relations, said in a statement. Several news organizations were allowed in, including the conservative website Breitbart News. The site’s former executive chairman, Steve Bannon, is chief strategist to President Donald Trump. The White House defended the decision not to include some news organizations. “We invited the pool so everyone was represented. We decided to add a couple of additional people beyond the pool. Nothing more than that,” said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. Earlier Friday in a speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference, President Donald Trump railed against the media. “Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties. We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organizations. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest,” Dean Baquet, the Times’ executive editor, said in a statement. “This is an unacceptable development by the Trump White House. Apparently this is how they retaliate when you report facts they don’t like. We’ll keep reporting regardless,” CNN said in a statement. ||||| Donald Trump’s war against media is escalating with each passing day, and it seems there will be no end to it in the foreseeable future. Is he purposely escalating the “fake media” war as a part of some larger strategy? President Trump further intensified his attack on journalists via a speech at Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday. He slammed the media outlets for creating fake stories. Trump clarified his earlier tweet and blamed the media for misrepresenting the facts. He said that he had called the “fake news” as “the enemy of the people,” and not the entire press. But the recent incident at White House has taken Donald Trump’s war against media to a different level. As reported by Politico, White House excluded reporters from media outlets it did not like, from a press conference held on Friday. Customarily, the news briefing is open to all news organizations and is a televised coverage of the White House. As per his original schedule, Spicer was supposed to do the usual press briefing. However, White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer decided to do the press conference off camera and with only a selected few news outlets. The New York Times, Buzzfeed, Politico, CNN, The Hill, and LA Times were blocked from entering the press conference. On the other hand, right-leaning Breitbart, One America News, and Washington Times were all allowed. Donald Trump’s ranting against “fake media” is one thing but the actual blocking of free press from attending a White House press conference was totally unexpected and is being perceived by many as an attack on democracy. Dean Baquet, executive editor of New York Times, said in a statement, “nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history.” While a statement by CNN said, “Apparently this is how they retaliate when you report facts they don’t like. We’ll keep reporting regardless.” While, David Frum, Senior Editor at The Atlantic wrote, Notwithstanding what people associated with media outlets that were blocked from the news conference said about the unfortunate incident, Sean Spicer himself had criticized the blocking of the free press in the past. Donald Trump had revoked credentials of several reputable media outlets during his campaign. Defending the move back then, Spicer had made it clear that they would never do such as thing when they form the government. He had further added, Donald Trump has time and again tried to cast himself as the people’s champion in the war against establishments. It is believed that the media outlets banned from the press conference had reported negative coverage of the White House. The New York Times had reported a story indicating repeated contacts between Russian intelligence officials and Trump’s campaign members. Similarly, Buzzfeed had posted dossier on alleged Donald Trump-Russia ties. Donald Trump also lashed out at the anonymous sources used by media organizations, during his speech at the CPAC conference. He reiterated the fact that he was against “fake media” who make up sources and stories, as reported by Telegraph. Trump added that media outlets should not be allowed to use sources unless they name them. He further added, “Let their name be out there, Let there be no more sources (anonymous).” While Donald Trump continues his fight against media, it is worth noting that his first month in the White House shows dismal performance. There was no significant achievement for him as his biggest accomplishment, the travel and immigration order is still in courts. To add to his woes, there have been several leaks from within his government, and several scandals have emerged implicating his associates. With no opposition to attack, Donald Trump is trying to shift the focus by attacking the media. According to the latest poll released by Quinnipiac University poll, 76 percent of the Republican voters believe that Trump is telling the truth about the media, whereas 86 percent Democratic voters trust the media. This large variation between the Republicans and Democratic voters is baffling. It appears that Donald Trump is trying to eradicate the credibility of the media by constantly attacking them and calling them “fake news.” But, the latest move of blocking non-friendly media outlets from a press conference is going too far in the strategy of attacking the media. Is blocking the free press the first sign of tyranny? Let us know your views in the comments section below. ||||| President Donald Trump announced this evening that he will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this year. The annual dinner, a tradition since it began in 1920, is organized by the journalists who cover the White House and has been attended by the past 15 presidents, Republicans and Democrats. (Ronald Reagan, recuperating from an assassination attempt in 1981, delivered his remarks by phone ). Former President Barack Obama attended all eight dinners during his two-term presidency, memorably using the opportunity to both demonstrate his sense of humor and his ability to take a joke at his own expense. The event—an increasingly glitzy chance for celebrities, politicians, and the people who orbit them to rub shoulders—has come under some strain this year, considering the Trump administration’s current fraught relationship with the press: The President’s advisers call the media “the opposition party”; the President has called it the enemy of the American people. On Friday, in an unprecedented turn of events, CNN, The New York Times , The Los Angeles Times , and Politico were blocked from attending White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s briefing. Journalists from conservative outlets such as Breitbart News and Fox News were allowed inside. “I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year,” the President wrote on his personal Twitter account . “Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!” Looks like there’s going to be a lot more RSVP’s for Samantha Bee’s party , “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” funds from which are going to—what else?—the Committee to Protect Journalists . ||||| United States President Donald Trump has said he will not attend the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, a high-profile event that draws celebrities, politicians and journalists. His announcement came a day after the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) President said they were "protesting strongly" against the White House's decision to exclude several major news outlets from an informal press briefing. Reporters for CNN, The New York Times, Politico, the Los Angeles Times and BuzzFeed were not allowed into the session in the office of the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer. Mr Trump has had a strained relationship with the press, calling journalists "the enemy of the people" and frequently criticising outlets and individual reporters whose coverage he does not like. The annual WHCA dinner will be held on April 29 in Washington. Some news outlets such as Bloomberg News and The New Yorker, which typically host lavish after-parties, have said they are backing out this year. Critics say the event, which usually features a humorous speech by the sitting president, encourages journalists to cosy up to politicians they should cover aggressively. The event occasionally makes news: in 2011, President Barack Obama delivered a scathing evisceration of Mr Trump, joking that the mogul, who sat stone-faced in the audience, would move on from questioning Mr Obama's citizenship to figuring out "did we fake the moon landing". ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video WASHINGTON-- CNN and other news outlets were blocked on Friday from attending an off-camera White House press briefing that other reporters were hand-picked to attend, raising alarm among media organizations and First Amendment watchdogs. The decision struck veteran White House journalists as unprecedented in the modern era, and escalated tensions in the already fraught relationship between the Trump administration and the press. The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Politico, BuzzFeed, the BBC and the Guardian were also among those excluded from the meeting, which was held in White House press secretary Sean Spicer's office. The meeting, which is known as a gaggle, was held in lieu of the daily televised Q-and-A session in the White House briefing room. When reporters from these news organizations tried to enter Spicer's office for the gaggle, they were told they could not attend because they were not on the list of attendees. In a brief statement defending the move, administration spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the White House "had the pool there so everyone would be represented and get an update from us today." The White House press pool usually includes representatives from one television outlet, one radio outlet and one print outlet, as well as reporters from a few wire services. In this case, four of the five major television networks -- NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox News -- were invited and attended the meeting, while only CNN was blocked. And while The New York Times was kept out, conservative media organizations Breitbart News, The Washington Times and One America News Network were also allowed in. "This is an unacceptable development by the Trump White House," CNN said in a statement. "Apparently this is how they retaliate when you report facts they don't like. We'll keep reporting regardless." New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet wrote, "Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties. We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organizations. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest." The White House press office had informed reporters earlier that the traditional, on-camera press briefing would be replaced by a gaggle in Spicer's office, reporters in attendance said. Asked about the move by the White House Correspondents Association, the White House said it would take the press pool and invite others as well. The WHCA protested that decision on the grounds that it would unfairly exclude certain news organizations, the reporters said. The White House did not budge, and when reporters arrived at Spicer's office, White House communications officials only allowed in reporters from specific media outlets. CNN reporters attempted to access the gaggle when it began at about 1:45 p.m. ET. As they walked with a large group of fellow journalists from the White House briefing room toward Spicer's office, an administration official turned them around, informing them CNN wasn't on the list of attendees. Reporters from The Associated Press, Time magazine and USA Today decided in the moment to boycott the briefing because of how it was handled. Asked during the gaggle whether CNN and The New York Times were blocked because the administration was unhappy with their reporting, Spicer responded: "We had it as pool, and then we expanded it, and we added some folks to come cover it. It was my decision to expand the pool." Several news outlets spoke out against the White House's decision. "The Wall Street Journal strongly objects to the White House's decision to bar certain media outlets from today's gaggle," a Journal spokesman said. "Had we known at the time, we would not have participated and we will not participate in such closed briefings in the future." The White House move was called "appalling" by Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron, who said the Trump administration is on "an undemocratic path." Politico editor-in-chief John Harris said that "selectively excluding news organizations from White House briefings is misguided." Said BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith: "While we strongly object to the White House's apparent attempt to punish news outlets whose coverage it does not like, we won't let these latest antics distract us from continuing to cover this administration fairly and aggressively." The Associated Press said it "believes the public should have as much access to the president as possible." The White House Correspondents Association also protested the move. "The WHCA board is protesting strongly against how today's gaggle is being handled by the White House," it said in a statement. "We encourage the organizations that were allowed in to share the material with others in the press corps who were not. The board will be discussing this further with White House staff." Hours earlier, at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, President Trump mocked and disparaged the news media. He said that much of the press represents "the enemy of the people." "They are the enemy of the people because they have no sources," Trump said. "They just make them up when there are none." He also said reporters "shouldn't be allowed" to use unnamed sources. ||||| News organizations including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CNN and Politico were blocked from joining an informal, on the record White House press briefing on Friday. The Associated Press chose not to participate in the gaggle following the move by White House press secretary Sean Spicer. "The AP believes the public should have as much access to the president as possible," Lauren Easton, the AP's director of media relations, said in a statement. Several news organizations were allowed in, including the conservative Breitbart News. The site's former executive chairman, Steve Bannon, is chief strategist to President Donald Trump. The White House defended the decision not to include some news organizations. "We invited the pool so everyone was represented. We decided to add a couple of additional people beyond the pool. Nothing more than that," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. Earlier Friday in a speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference, President Donald Trump railed against the media. "Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties. We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organizations. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest," Dean Baquet, the Times' executive editor, said in a statement. "This is an unacceptable development by the Trump White House. Apparently this is how they retaliate when you report facts they don't like. We'll keep reporting regardless," CNN said in a statement. ||||| WASHINGTON — CNN and other news outlets were blocked on Friday from attending an off-camera White House press briefing that other reporters were hand-picked to attend, raising alarm among media organizations and First Amendment watchdogs. The decision struck veteran White House journalists as unprecedented in the modern era, and escalated tensions in the already fraught relationship between the Trump administration and the press. The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Politico and BuzzFeed were also among those excluded from the meeting, which was held in White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s office. The meeting, which is known as a gaggle, was held in lieu of the daily televised Q-and-A session in the White House briefing room. When reporters from these news organizations tried to enter Spicer’s office for the gaggle, they were told they could not attend because they were not on the list of attendees. In a brief statement defending the move, administration spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the White House “had the pool there so everyone would be represented and get an update from us today.” The White House press pool usually includes representatives from one television outlet, one radio outlet and one print outlet, as well as reporters from a few wire services. In this case, four of the five major television networks — NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox News — were invited and attended the meeting, while only CNN was blocked. And while The New York Times was kept out, conservative media organizations Breitbart News, The Washington Times and One America News Network were also allowed in. “This is an unacceptable development by the Trump White House,” CNN said in a statement. Apparently this is how they retaliate when you report facts they don’t like. We’ll keep reporting regardless.” New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet wrote, “Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties. We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organizations. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest.” The White House press office had informed reporters earlier that the traditional, on-camera press briefing would be replaced by a gaggle in Spicer’s office, reporters in attendance said. Asked about the move by the White House Correspondents Association, the White House said it would take the press pool and invite others as well. The WHCA protested that decision on the grounds that it would unfairly exclude certain news organizations, the reporters said. The White House did not budge, and when reporters arrived at Spicer’s office, White House communications officials only allowed in reporters from specific media outlets. CNN reporters attempted to access the gaggle when it began at about 1:45 p.m. ET. As they walked with a large group of fellow journalists from the White House briefing room toward Spicer’s office, an administration official turned them around, informing them CNN wasn’t on the list of attendees. Reporters from The Associated Press, Time magazine and USA Today decided in the moment to boycott the briefing because of how it was handled. Asked during the gaggle whether CNN and The New York Times were blocked because the administration was unhappy with their reporting, Spicer responded: “We had it as pool, and then we expanded it, and we added some folks to come cover it. It was my decision to expand the pool.” Several news outlets spoke out against the White House’s decision. “The Wall Street Journal strongly objects to the White House’s decision to bar certain media outlets from today’s gaggle,” a Journal spokesman said. “Had we known at the time, we would not have participated and we will not participate in such closed briefings in the future.” “Selectively excluding news organizations from White House briefings is misguided and our expectation is that this action will not be repeated,” said Politico editor-in-chief John Harris. “While we strongly object to the White House’s apparent attempt to punish news outlets whose coverage it does not like, we won’t let these latest antics distract us from continuing to cover this administration fairly and aggressively,” said BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith. The Associated Press said it “believes the public should have as much access to the president as possible.” The White House Correspondents Association also protested the move. “The WHCA board is protesting strongly against how today’s gaggle is being handled by the White House,” it said in a statement. “We encourage the organizations that were allowed in to share the material with others in the press corps who were not. The board will be discussing this further with White House staff.” Hours earlier, at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, President Trump mocked and disparaged the news media. He said that much of the press represents “the enemy of the people.” “They are the enemy of the people because they have no sources,” Trump said. “They just make them up when there are none.” He also said reporters “shouldn’t be allowed” to use unnamed sources. ||||| Donald Trump tweeted Saturday that he is skipping the White House Correspondents Association dinner amid the most tense relationship between a sitting president and the press corps since the Nixon era. Trump, who in the past few weeks has taken to calling media outlets who write pieces critical of his administration the “enemy of the American people” added, “please wish everyone well and have a great evening!” The annual, celebrity-studded WHCA dinner has long been criticized as a display of too-cozy relations between the media and people they are supposed to cover fairly and critically. It usually involves a comedian or master of ceremonies roasting the president, and then president responding in kind. The proceeds go to scholarships. (Some outlets, choose not to attend the event. For example, the New York Times stopped going in 2007 and BuzzFeed News does not go.) This year’s dinner posed a particularly sticky situation for both the White House and the media. Trump, while on the campaign trail, would condone chants of “CNN sucks!” at his rallies and sometimes called out specific reporters. That later developed into Trump adopting and using the term “fake news” for any article — generally published in the mainstream media — he didn’t like. That only intensified when he entered office. He began calling some outlets — namely, The New York Times, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News and CNN — “the enemy of the American people,” which is unprecedented vitriol. Earlier this month, the New Yorker, canceled its kickoff party and Vanity Fair said it was dropping out of sponsoring its exclusive after-party. This week, Bloomberg, Vanity Fair’s co-host, also dropped out. And on Friday BuzzFeed News reported that CNN was considering skipping the dinner all together. ||||| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House excluded several major U.S. news organizations, including some it has criticized, from an off-camera briefing held by the White House press secretary on Friday. Journalists leave after several major news organizations including CNN, The New York Times and Politico were excluded from an off camera "gaggle" meeting with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer in his office that was held in place of the regular daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas Reporters for CNN, The New York Times, Politico, The Los Angeles Times and BuzzFeed were not allowed into the session in the office of press secretary Sean Spicer. Spicer’s off-camera briefing, or “gaggle,” replaced the usual televised daily news briefing in the White House briefing room. He did not say why those particular news organizations were excluded, a decision which drew strong protests. Reuters was included in the session, along with about 10 other news organizations, including Bloomberg and CBS. President Donald Trump has regularly attacked the media and at a gathering of conservative activists on Friday he criticized news organizations that he said provide “fake news”, calling them the “enemy” of the American people. Spicer said his team decided to have a gaggle in his office on Friday instead of a full briefing in the larger White House briefing room and argued that “we don’t need to do everything on camera every day.” Reporters at the Associated Press and Time magazine walked out of the briefing when hearing that others had been barred from the session. Off-camera gaggles are not unusual. The White House often invites handpicked outlets in for briefings, typically for specific topics. But briefings and gaggles in the White House are usually open to all outlets and they are free to ask anything. A pool reporter from Hearst Newspapers was included in the gaggle on Friday and gave full details to the entire press corps. Media outlets allowed into the gaggle also shared their audio with others. PROTESTS Spicer’s decision drew a sharp response from some of the media outlets that were excluded. “Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties,” Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times, said in a statement. “We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organizations. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest.” The White House Correspondents Association, or WHCA, also protested. “The WHCA board is protesting strongly against how today’s gaggle is being handled by the White House,” said Jeff Mason, president of the association and a Reuters reporter. During the election campaign last year, Trump’s team banned a few news organizations, including The Washington Post and BuzzFeed, from covering his campaign rallies for a period of time to protest their coverage. CNN posted a Twitter message on Friday afternoon saying: “This is an unacceptable development by the Trump White House. Apparently this is how they retaliate when you report facts they don’t like. We’ll keep reporting regardless.” Slideshow (2 Images) Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News, said in a statement: “While we strongly object to the White House’s apparent attempt to punish news outlets whose coverage it does not like, we won’t let these latest antics distract us from continuing to cover this administration fairly and aggressively.” On Friday, Spicer said the White House plans to fight against what it says is unfair coverage. “I think we’re going to aggressively push back,” he said. “We’re just not going to sit back and let false narratives, false stories, inaccurate facts get out there.” ||||| NEW YORK — CNN and other news organizations were blocked Friday from a White House press briefing. There was no immediate explanation from the White House. The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Politico were also excluded from the meeting, known as a gaggle. The Associated Press and Time magazine boycotted the briefing because of how it was handled. The White House Correspondents Association is protesting. The conservative media organizations Breitbart News, The Washington Times and One America News Network were allowed in. Hours earlier, at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, President Trump mocked and disparaged the news media. He said that much of the press represents “the enemy of the people.” “They are the enemy of the people because they have no sources,” Trump said. “They just make them up when there are none.” He also said reporters “shouldn’t be allowed” to use unnamed sources.
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The Trump White House bars The New York Times, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Daily News, The Hill, the Daily Mail, BBC, Politico, and BuzzFeed from a Friday press "gaggle." Generally conservative, mostly new, outlets were permitted entry, such as Breitbart News, One America News Network, and The Washington Times. Also allowed in were ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and Fox News. Time magazine and the Associated Press could have attended but chose not to in protest. The White House Correspondents’ Association, which represents the press corps, quickly rebuked the White House’s actions.
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Azerbaijan and the separatists controlling the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region have traded accusations over armed clashes along the heavily militarized line of contact that caused casualties. The separatist military said on February 25 that its troops repelled attacks by Azerbaijani armed forces in the southeastern and eastern sections of the front line. The ethnic Armenian military leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh said its troops “timely spotted and repulsed” attacks by Azerbaijani forces and that several Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in the fighting, while the Armenian side suffered no casualties. “There are several bodies [of Azerbaijani soldiers] in the neutral zone. The Armenian side suffered no dead or wounded,” Karabakh’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry confirmed the overnight clashes, but insisted that they were triggered by the separatist forces. It also admitted casualties, without specifying a number, and said the Karabakh forces had launched an unsuccessful offensive for the purpose of "improving their positions." It said the ethnic Armenian forces had been rebuffed but continued to shell Azerbaijani positions with heavy artillery. Meanwhile, the Karabakh military leadership quoted “reliable data” in reporting movements of Azerbaijani troops and materiel in the eastern direction of the line of contact. The Armenian Defense Ministry issued a statement warning Azerbaijan's military and political leadership against further escalation of the situation in the conflict zone. The Armenian military insisted it is “committed to the cease-fire regime.” Armenia-backed separatists seized control of the mainly ethnic-Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh during a war in the early 1990s that killed some 30,000 people. Diplomatic efforts to settle the conflict have brought little progress. Sporadic Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes have become particularly frequent in recent years. Four days of heavy fighting in April 2016 reportedly killed dozens on both sides. ||||| Azerbaijan says several of its soldiers have been killed during fighting in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region as Armenia and Azerbaijan blame each other for an outbreak of violence. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday that its forces had "suffered losses" when its positions were assaulted by Armenian troops early Saturday. The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry said in a statement that Armenian forces did not suffer any casualties in the clashes and that the Azerbaijani soldiers were killed when they launched an attack. Nagorno-Karabakh is in Azerbaijan, but since a separatist war ended in 1994 it has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces and the Armenian military. An outbreak of fighting in April killed about 75 soldiers from the two sides. ||||| MOSCOW — Several Azerbaijani soldiers have been killed during fighting in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan said Saturday as it and neighboring Armenia traded blame for an outbreak of violence. The clashes were some of the heaviest in the region since fighting last year saw about 75 soldiers from both sides killed. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday that its forces had "suffered losses" when its positions were attacked by Armenian troops early Saturday. It did not give a precise number for those killed or wounded. The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry said in a statement, also released Saturday, that Armenian forces did not suffer any casualties and that Azerbaijani soldiers were killed when they launched an attack. Both sides claimed they inflicted losses on each other. Azerbaijan said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies that it had shot down an Armenian drone and destroyed an Armenian firing position. Armenian media quoted Nagorno-Karabakh officials saying that Azerbaijan had deployed tanks in the skirmish. Nagorno-Karabakh is in Azerbaijan, but since a separatist war ended in 1994 it has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces and the Armenian military. Armenian forces also occupy several areas outside the Karabakh region. Fighting between the two sides in April was the worst in 20 years and an uneasy peace was only restored following a Russian-brokered cease-fire agreement. ||||| Alwaght- Deadly clashes have erupted in Nagorno-Karabakh region t between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. "Losses have been reported during the armed clash.", Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry reported. "During the night from the 24th to the 25th of February, units of the Armenian Armed Forces attempted an attack on Azerbaijan’s positions at various parts of the front line," the defense ministry said. "Losses have been reported during the armed clash." Armenia’s Defense Ministry also reported an armed clash was registered night to Saturday in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict area. "On February, 25, at about 03:00-04:00 local time, at two directions - north-eastern (Martuni) and eastern (Agdam) - was an attempt to break through the engagement line," the defense authority said. In the response measures by the Karabakh side, "the enemy had new losses - killed and hurt servicemen," Armenia’s ministry said. No losses were reported by the Karabakh side. The former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a lingering conflict over the disputed region and frequent exchanges of fire nearly spiraled into an all-out war last year. In April 2016, at least 110 people on both sides were killed as simmering tensions flared into the worst skirmishes in decades over the region. A Russian-brokered truce ended the four days of fierce clashes in April but attempts to re-launch the stalled peace process since then have not been successful. Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but it is governed by the self-proclaimed Karabakh republic backed by Armenia. Baku and Yerevan have quarreled over the region since Armenian separatists captured the territory in a war that claimed nearly 30,000 lives in the early 1990s and ended in a fragile 1994 ceasefire deal. The two sides, however, never signed a solid peace pact. ||||| "Today, at about 3 a.m. [23:00 GMT] and 4 a.m. [00:00 GMT] on south-eastern direction and eastern direction of Karabakh-Azerbaijani line of contact, the Azerbaijani forces attempted to launch an offensive, using mine clearing vehicles and special devices," the NKR's Defense Ministry said in a statement. According to the ministry, Azerbaijani forces suffered losses and retreated, while Nagorno-Karabakh side reportedly sustained no casualties. Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said that the Armenian units tried to seize strategic heights in the area, but the attack was repelled, with both sides suffering losses. ||||| Bloody clashes erupted Saturday between Azerbaijani forces and Armenian separatists over the breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region, claiming the lives of several Azerbaijani servicemen, Baku and rebel officials said. Ex-Soviet Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a protracted conflict over the disputed region, and frequent exchanges of fire nearly spiralled into all-out war last year. Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said “Armenian forces attempted an intrusion into Azerbaijani territory along the Karabakh frontline” in the early hours of Saturday. Watch what else is making news: “Fierce clashes erupted at the frontline’s Khojavend-Fizuli sector,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that Azerbaijani military “suffered losses in manpower as they courageously repelled the enemy’s attack.” “The enemy continues shelling Azerbaijani positions from heavy artillery,” it said. Armenia’s defence ministry, for its part, accused Baku of attacking Karabakh army positions along the south-eastern and eastern sectors of the frontline. “Azerbaijan’s political and military leadership is increasing tensions at the frontline and spreads disinformation,” the ministry said. “Armenia is committed to the ceasefire and calls on the Azerbaijani side to refrain from steps that would further escalate the situation.” The rebel defence ministry in Karabakh said its forces have “repelled the enemy who suffered losses. Several corpses of Azerbaijani soldiers remain at the neutral territory.” The latest clash came after three Armenian soldiers were killed in fighting with Azerbaijani troops on December 29. In April last year, at least 110 people from both sides were killed as simmering violence flared into the worst clashes in decades over the region. A Russian-brokered ceasefire ended the four days of fierce fighting in April but attempts to relaunch the stalled peace process since then have failed. Baku and Yerevan have feuded over the Nagorny Karabakh region since Armenian separatists seized the territory in a war that claimed some 30,000 lives in the early 1990s and ended in a fragile 1994 truce. The two sides never signed a firm peace deal. Energy-rich Azerbaijan, whose military spending exceeds Armenia’s entire state budget, has repeatedly threatened to take back the breakaway region by force. But Moscow-allied Armenia has vowed to crush any military offensive. ||||| American The Daily Caller has published an article headlined “The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is anything but frozen”. Written by Justin Amler, a noted writer and commentator on international issues with special emphases on the Middle East, Eurasia and the former Soviet Union, the article says: “The Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) conflict, often referred to as a ‘frozen conflict,’ is anything but frozen. Running though the NK region of Azerbaijan, occupied by Armenia for the last quarter century, lies a long thin, deadly line, known as the ‘line of contact.’ This ‘line of contact,’ separating the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and the Armenian army, is one of the most militarized zones in the world, running through a beautiful landscape like a jagged-edged scar. Few conflicts have the potential to ignite the surrounding regions like this powder keg. In many ways, if a new Cold War were to start, its line would lie directly through this region. This lies in direct contrast to Azerbaijan, which has strategically positioned itself with the West, including providing energy security to Europe through its Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline and the network of gas pipelines known as the Southern Energy Corridor. Azerbaijan also maintains a strong economic and military relationship with Israel. It is alarming that this conflict lies unresolved, for time has not dulled nor dampened the wick on which this conflict burns. Just last December, Armenian forces attempted to violate the actual Armenian-Azerbaijan state border, but were repelled by superior Azerbaijani forces. This conflict reportedly inflicted heavy casualties, but not without loss themselves, including the death of an Azerbaijani serviceman whose body was illegally held and just returned this month. This came about only after intervention from the Council of Europe and the OSCE Minsk-Group for Armenia. These flagrant violations of international law by Armenia have been recognized by many world bodies who refuse to condemn Azerbaijani military actions to the frustration of the Armenians. International law is clearly on the side of Azerbaijan, and today, there exists no less than 4 UN Security Council Resolutions calling on Armenia to withdraw its military forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts it currently occupies. Armenia would be wise to remember that the Azerbaijan they fought in the early 1990s is a very different animal than the one they are facing now. During the last three decades, Azerbaijan has developed a strong economy, a vibrant society with world class educational and cultural facilities, as well as a professionally trained, well-equipped modern army, complete with state of the art command and control systems, advanced weapons and technology that gives Azerbaijan the ability to best the lesser Armenian side. This was evidenced in the April 2016 outbreak of hostilities, started by Armenia, but finished by the better trained and equipped Azerbaijanis. Azerbaijan liberated a large swath of land and strategic highlands routing out the Armenians. One of the liberated villages, Jojug Marjanli, was recently visited by the Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan, Dan Stav, along with other foreign diplomats and heads of international organizations. Ambassador Stav commented how saddened he was to see the level of destruction in the village, but also expressed hope that people would soon be able to return to the village and cultivate the surrounding fertile land. He also backed the efforts of the international community for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. A window of opportunity exists right now for that peaceful resolution to take place, and despite the often-bleak assessment of the situation and the constant ceasefire violations, the foreign ministers of both Azerbaijan and Armenia met recently in Munich, which can only be seen as a positive sign. With an economy that is in deep decline, diminishing foreign investments, a palpable brain drain and a lack of international allies, Armenia must examine the isolation it has suffered due to its bad behaviour, i.e., Armenia’s absence from involvement in the plethora of economic development and integration projects, and the region’s vast and lucrative energy projects. It is in Armenia’s interests to settle this conflict now—for all the many and dire economic reasons. A resolution will provide Armenians with better and more prosperous lives. It will allow Armenia entrée into the vastly lucrative economic development projects of the region. Also, do Armenians really want to needlessly face the Azerbaijanis on the battlefield—alone? Prosperity brings peace and, likewise, peace brings prosperity. This opportunity should be seized, because windows of opportunity, by their very nature, will eventually close.” The Daily Caller: The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is anything but frozen ||||| Deadly clashes have broken out between Azerbaijani troops and Armenian separatists over the breakaway Karabakh region, authorities on both sides said. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that Armenian forces “attempted an intrusion into Azerbaijani territory along the Karabakh frontline” in the early hours of Saturday. “Fierce clashes erupted at the frontline’s Khojavend-Fizuli sector,” the statement said, adding the Azerbaijani military “suffered losses in manpower as they courageously repelled the enemy’s attack.” “The enemy continues shelling Azerbaijani positions from heavy artillery,” the official statement added. Armenian officials reported their own version of the clashes, accusing Azerbaijani forces of attacking separatist positions along the south-eastern and eastern sectors of the frontline. They accused “Azerbaijan’s political and military leadership” of increasing tensions at the frontline and spreading disinformation. “Armenia is committed to the ceasefire and calls on the Azerbaijani side to refrain from steps that would further escalate the situation,” a Defense Ministry statement said. The latest fighting came after three Armenian soldiers were killed in clashes with Azerbaijani forces on December 29, 2016. The former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a lingering conflict over the disputed region and frequent exchanges of fire nearly spiraled into an all-out war last year. In April 2016, at least 110 people on both sides were killed as simmering tensions flared into the worst skirmishes in decades over the region. A Russian-brokered truce ended the four days of fierce clashes in April but attempts to re-launch the stalled peace process since then have not been successful.—Agencies ||||| Deadly clashes have broken out between Azerbaijani troops and Armenian separatists over the breakaway Karabakh region, authorities on both sides say. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said in a statement that Armenian forces "attempted an intrusion into Azerbaijani territory along the Karabakh frontline" in the early hours of Saturday. "Fierce clashes erupted at the frontline's Khojavend-Fizuli sector," the statement said, adding the Azerbaijani military "suffered losses in manpower as they courageously repelled the enemy's attack." "The enemy continues shelling Azerbaijani positions from heavy artillery," the official statement added. Armenian officials reported their own version of the clashes, accusing Azerbaijani forces of attacking separatist positions along the south-eastern and eastern sectors of the frontline. They accused "Azerbaijan's political and military leadership" of increasing tensions at the frontline and spreading disinformation. "Armenia is committed to the ceasefire and calls on the Azerbaijani side to refrain from steps that would further escalate the situation," a Defense Ministry statement said. The latest fighting came after three Armenian soldiers were killed in clashes with Azerbaijani forces on December 29, 2016. The former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a lingering conflict over the disputed region and frequent exchanges of fire nearly spiraled into an all-out war last year. In April 2016, at least 110 people on both sides were killed as simmering tensions flared into the worst skirmishes in decades over the region. A Russian-brokered truce ended the four days of fierce clashes in April but attempts to re-launch the stalled peace process since then have not been successful. Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but it is governed by the self-proclaimed Karabakh republic backed by Armenia. Baku and Yerevan have quarreled over the region since Armenian separatists captured the territory in a war that claimed nearly 30,000 lives in the early 1990s and ended in a fragile 1994 ceasefire deal. The two sides, however, never signed a solid peace pact. ||||| Editing Director at France-based Center for the Analysis of Foreign Affairs (CAPE) Didier Chaudet has noted the unacceptability of the status quo in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The status quo is unacceptable for Azerbaijan and the situation cannot continue this way, he told a conference organized at the Cultural Center of Azerbaijan`s Embassy in Paris. Chaudet said last April`s four-day war in Karabakh clearly showed Azerbaijan`s might. He said Azerbaijan is capable of liberating its occupied territories at any time. The French expert said it is important that superpowers put pressure on Yerevan.
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Clashes erupt between Nagorno-Karabakh separatists and Azerbaijani forces in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense confirmed casualties on its side while the separatist forces claim to have no casualties. Both sides blame each other for the flareup in fighting.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A passer-by filmed the moment police shot the attacker A man has died and two other people were hurt after a man drove into a pedestrian area in Heidelberg, Germany. The attacker, said to have been armed with a knife, was shot, injured and arrested by police in a brief standoff after fleeing the scene on foot. His motives are unclear, but there are no indications this was a terrorist attack, police say. In December an Islamist attacker drove a lorry into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people and injuring 49. In Heidelberg the attacker, described by police as a 35-year-old German "without a migration background", drove what is thought to be a rental car into pedestrians in one of the city's central squares, injuring three people. One of them, a 73-year-old German man, later died in hospital. Image copyright AP Image caption The motives for the attack are unclear, police say The attacker then left the car but was tracked down, shot and seriously injured by police. Police were unable to confirm local media reports that the attacker was mentally disturbed. He is thought to have acted alone. The two injured people were a 32-year-old Austrian national and a 29-year-old Bosnian woman, police said. Their injuries are said to be minor and they have been discharged from hospital. ||||| HEIDELBERG, Germany (Reuters) - A man died and two other people were injured after a 35-year-old German man drove into a crowd standing near a bakery in the southwestern town of Heidelberg on Saturday, but the authorities said there were no indications that it was a terrorist attack. The 73-year-old man who died in hospital from his injuries was also German. The two other people injured, a 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman from Bosnia and Herzegovina, also received hospital treatment but were then discharged, police and prosecutors said in a statement. “Based on investigations so far, there are no signs of a terrorist motive,” they said. According to the statement, the suspect was seen getting out of the car with a knife and was later tracked down to an old swimming pool. He was taken to a hospital in Heidelberg having been shot by police while being arrested, leaving him seriously injured. He has since been operated on but nothing further is known about the current state of his health, the police and prosecutors said. Regional newspaper Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung said the suspect was not fit to be questioned. Police spokesman Heiko Kranz said experts were gathering evidence such as DNA traces and fingerprints and examining the contents of the car, adding that the suspect would be interviewed if he was fit to be questioned. Investigations by the public prosecutors’ office in Heidelberg and the town’s criminal police were continuing, police said. The Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung newspaper said the suspect had stopped at a red traffic light and when it turned green put his foot down before hitting the group of people at high speed and smashing into a pillar. The German authorities are on high alert after a failed Tunisian asylum-seeker drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin on Dec. 19, killing 12 people. ||||| A 73-year-old German man died from his injuries after he was run over by a car in a central square in Heidelberg, a city in southwest Germany on Saturday evening. The vehicle rammed into a pedestrian zone, injuring the man fatally and slightly injuring two other people, a 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman from Bosnia-Herzegovina. The driver fled the scene and was shot by police while trying to make his escape. He was seriously injured and brought to a nearby hospital. According to local newspaper "Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung," the man is currently not fit to be questioned. Police secured the crime scene after a man hit several pedestrians with a car in front of a bakery in downtown Heidelberg Police identified him as a 35-year old German. "There are no indications of a terrorist background," police spokesman David Faulhaber told reporters. He said that he could not comment on possible motives for the attack. On Twitter, the police responded to speculations that the driver was an immigrant, writing: "And again, for everyone: #Suspect: German with NO immigrant background!" In an interview with broadcaster n-tv, police officer Norbert Schaetzle said that the man was believed to be carrying a knife. Schaetzle did not confirm whether the man was mentally disturbed, but said that that the perpetrator likely acted alone. The vehicle the man used was a rental car. The man fled from his rental car after injuring three people The "Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung" cited police as saying that the suspect had stopped at a red traffic light, but then accelerated after the light turned green without stopping, leading his car to smash into a group of people. The site of the initial incident was a square usually buzzing with foot traffic, located near several public transportation stations and at the entrance to a popular shopping district in Heidelberg. The city is primarily known as a university town - about a quarter of its 150,000 residents are students. Heidelberg is home to Germany's oldest university and several reputable research institutions. Attacks with vehicles are a sensitive topic to many Germans. The country has been on high alert since a 24-year old man with suspected ties to the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) drove a stolen truck into a crowded Christmas Market in downtown Berlin in December last year, killing 12 people. In July 2016, a similar attack in Nice, France, left 86 people dead. Police tracked the man down to a location a few hundred meters from the scene of the crime "A man drove into a group of people, three persons hurt, suspect captured and shot," local police wrote on Twitter, using the Hashtag #Bismarckplatz, the name of the square where the man drove the car. Police also shared a photo of investigators at the crime scene with the caption "our colleagues are investigating." rs/mb/jm/cl (AFP, dpa, Reuters) ||||| HEIDELBERG, Germany — A man armed with a knife was shot and injured by police Saturday after he drove a car into a group of pedestrians in Heidelberg, Germany, local police said. Three people were injured, one seriously, Mannheim police said. After driving his car into the group, the suspect tried to flee the scene and was then shot by officers. The suspect was seriously injured and taken to the hospital. No motive is known. ||||| BERLIN -- A man drove a car into pedestrians in a central square in the German city of Heidelberg on Saturday, injuring three people, then fled and was shot after being tracked down by officers, police said. One of the victims later died. The man, who was driving a rental car, hit three people outside a bakery on Saturday afternoon. A 73-year-old German man died of his injuries in the evening at a local hospital. A 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman from Bosnia were lightly injured. The driver, who is believed to have been carrying a knife, then got out of his car, police said. A short time later, he was intercepted by a police patrol and shot by an officer following a short standoff. The suspect, a 35-year-old German whose identity wasn't released, was taken to a hospital and underwent an operation. There was no immediate word on the man's possible motives, where he came from or his condition in the hospital. ||||| A 73-year-old man died from his injury on Saturday after being attacked by a man who rammed his car into a group of pedestrians in the German city of Heidelberg. The identity of the attacker was not disclosed and the police said the man had no indication of terrorist background. Start the conversation, or Read more at Xinhuanet. ||||| A car stands in front of a store, guarded by police in Heidelberg, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. A man apparently drove a car into pedestrians in a central square in the city of Heidelberg, injuring three people, then fled and was shot after being tracked down by officers, police said. (R. Priebe/PR-Video/dpa via AP) BERLIN (AP) — A man drove a car into pedestrians in a central square in the German city of Heidelberg on Saturday, injuring three people, then fled and was shot after being tracked down by officers, police said. One of the victims later died. The man, who was driving a rental car, hit three people outside a bakery on Saturday afternoon. A 73-year-old German man died of his injuries in the evening at a local hospital. A 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman from Bosnia were lightly injured. The driver, who is believed to have been carrying a knife, then got out of his car, police said. A short time later, he was intercepted by a police patrol and shot by an officer following a short standoff. The suspect, a 35-year-old German whose identity wasn't released, was taken to a hospital and underwent an operation. There was no immediate word on the man's possible motives, where he came from or his condition in the hospital. Police and prosecutors said that there are no indications of any terrorist background and the man appears to have acted alone. ||||| A 73-year-old man has died and two others injured after an attacker ploughed his car into pedestrians in a busy square in the German city of Heidelberg. A 35-year-old suspect, who was believed to be carrying a knife, was shot by police outside a bakery after a stand-off with officers. The incident, which took place on Saturday 25 February, left the alleged attacker needing an operation in a nearby hospital. Police say the suspect is a German national who they believe acted alone and have subsequently ruled out terrorism. The two injured victims, a 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old Bosnian woman, remain in hospital after the incident in the south-west of the country. Authorities say that an attacker drove a car into a crowd in a pedestrian area of the city's Bismarckplatz area, at around 4pm local time with the alleged attacker fleeing on foot after the crash. He was then tracked by police to near an area close to an old swimming pool where he was shot and seriously injured. Heidelberg 24 reported that police opened fire after he allegedly ignored orders to drop a knife. "There are no indications of a terrorist background," police spokesman David Faulhaber said according to Deutsche Welle. Unverified footage posted online purportedly shows officers shouting at the suspect before one shot was fired. And one image circulated online purportedly shows a man carrying a knife before he was shot. Local media reported the assailant was mentally disturbed, although this has not been confirmed by officials. The Police Mannheim account took to Twitter to nullify rumours surrounding the alleged attacker's racial background, telling followers the man was: "German without a migration background!". Mannheim police said in a statement: "Shortly before 4pm, a suspect drove into a group of people in Bismarckplatz in Heidelberg in front of a local bakery branch. "This injured three people, one of them seriously. Afterwards, the suspect climbed out of the vehicle and moved away on foot, armed with a knife, towards Bergheimer Strasse. "In front of the local indoor swimming pool, he was identified by a police patrol on the advice of passersby. During the arrest, the police officers used firearms." Later in the evening, police added: "The person who was initially seriously injured died at 6pm in a Heidelberg clinic. He was a 73-year-old German national." Germany has been on high alert since a 24-year old man with ties to Isis drove a stolen truck into a crowded Christmas Market in downtown Berlin in December last year. ||||| Man in Heidelberg, Germany hits 3 with car and flees, is shot by police A car stands in front of a store, guarded by police in Heidelberg, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, after a man apparently drove a car into pedestrians in a central square of the city. BERLIN — A man apparently drove a car into pedestrians in a central square in the German city of Heidelberg on Saturday, injuring three people, then fled and was shot after being tracked down by officers, police said. One of the three people hit outside a bakery on Saturday afternoon was seriously injured, police spokeswoman Anne Baas said. The man, who is believed to have been carrying a knife, then got out of his rental car, another police spokesman, Norbert Schaetzle, told n-tv television. He was intercepted by a police patrol and shot by an officer following a short standoff. He has been taken to a hospital. There was no immediate word on the man's possible motives, where he came from or his condition in the hospital. Schaetzle said he couldn't confirm local media reports that the man was mentally disturbed, but said a terrorist background is not suspected and the man appears to have acted alone. ||||| A man apparently drove a car into pedestrians in a central square in the German city of Heidelberg on Saturday, injuring three people, then fled and was shot after being tracked down by officers, police said. One of the three people hit outside a bakery on Saturday afternoon was seriously injured, police spokeswoman Anne Baas said. The man, who is believed to have been carrying a knife, then got out of his rental car, another police spokesman, Norbert Schaetzle, told n-tv television. He was intercepted by a police patrol and shot by an officer following a short standoff. He has been taken to a hospital. There was no immediate word on the man's possible motives or where he came from. Mr Schaetzle said he couldn't confirm local media reports that the man was mentally disturbed, but said a terrorist background is not suspected and the man appears to have acted alone.
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German police shoot a man, who was trying to escape after apparently driving into a group of pedestrians in a central square in Heidelberg. A 73-year-old man was killed and two other people injured. Police do not believe terrorism is involved.
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The Iranian director boycotting this weekend's Oscars over Donald Trump's travel ban will address a London screening of his nominated film hours before the ceremony kicks off in Los Angeles. Asghar Farhadi, who won an Academy Award in 2012, has said he will not attend the awards show even if he is granted permission to enter the country following the ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. London Mayor Sadiq Khan and actors Keira Knightley, Dominic West, and Lily Cole have organised a free screening of Farhadi's The Salesman in Trafalgar Square on Sunday in a bid to show solidarity with the filmmaker's boycott. The director will not be present at the premiere in London but said he would be there "in spirit" adding: "Thank you all from the bottom of my heart." A video message from him will be played ahead of the screening while Mr Khan, Cole and director Mike Leigh will all address attendees. The Salesman is up for best foreign language film at the star-studded ceremony in California. Knightley said the event would be a "celebration of our diversity" at a time when "largely racist and nationalistic rhetoric is becoming political policy". Sunday's Oscars ceremony is expected to be dominated by political speeches about President Trump and his controversial travel ban, while comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who will host the show, has said the US president will be a target for jibes. Musical La La Land could make history at the 89th Academy Awards, taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The glittering love letter to Los Angeles has been nominated for 14 prizes, tying the record set by All About Eve and Titanic, and could become the most decorated film of all time. It is favourite to strike gold in the best picture and best director categories while Emma Stone is expected to claim the best actress award at 1/6 according to bookies' Ladbrokes. Natalie Portman, who is nominated for best actress for her role in Jackie, has announced she will miss the ceremony because she is heavily pregnant. Stone's co-star Ryan Gosling looks to miss out on the best actor gong with Casey Affleck the bookies' favourite for his role in Manchester By The Sea at 4/6. In the best supporting actress and actor categories, Viola Davis is expected to be awarded for her performance in Fences and Moonlight's Mahershala Ali is favourite beat Brit Dev Patel. :: The free screening of The Salesman will begin at 3pm in Trafalgar Square. ||||| The Iranian director boycotting this weekend’s Oscars over Donald Trump’s travel ban will address a London screening of his nominated film hours before the ceremony kicks off in Los Angeles. Asghar Farhadi, who won an Academy Award in 2012, has said he will not attend the ceremony even if he is granted permission to enter the country following the ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries entering the United States. London Mayor Sadiq Khan and actors Keira Knightley, Dominic West and Lily Cole have organised a free screening of Farhadi’s The Salesman in Trafalgar Square on Sunday in a bid to show solidarity with the filmmaker’s boycott. The director will not be present at the premiere in London but said he would be there “in spirit”, adding: “Thank-you all from the bottom of my heart.” A video message from him will be played ahead of the screening while the mayor, Lily and director Mike Leigh will address attendees. The Salesman is up for best foreign language film at the star-studded ceremony in California. Keira said the event would be a “celebration of our diversity” at a time when “largely racist and nationalistic rhetoric is becoming political policy”. Sunday’s Oscars ceremony is expected to be dominated by political speeches about Trump and his controversial travel ban, while comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who will host the show, has said the US president will be a target for jibes. Musical La La Land could make history at the 89th Academy Awards, taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The glittering love letter to Los Angeles has been nominated for 14 prizes, tying the record set by All About Eve and Titanic, and could become the most decorated film of all time. It is favourite to strike gold in the best picture and best director categories, while Emma Stone is expected to claim the best actress award at 1/6, according to bookies’ Ladbrokes. However, Emma’s co-star Ryan Gosling looks set to miss out on the best actor gong with Casey Affleck the bookies’ favourite for his role in Manchester By The Sea at 4/6. In the best supporting actress and actor categories, Viola Davis is expected to be awarded for her performance in Fences and Moonlight’s Mahershala Ali is favourite beat Brit Dev Patel. The free screening of The Salesman will begin at 3pm in Trafalgar Square. ||||| Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has won the best foreign language Oscar in Los Angeles, for a second time, for domestic drama The Salesman. Farhadi, 44, did not attend the ceremony because he said that the conditions that would be attached to a potential entry visa were unacceptable. The director had originally planned to travel to Hollywood for the prize-giving to highlight “the unjust circumstances that have arisen for the immigrants and travellers of several countries to the United States”. The surge in votes for his film was thought by some to be a registration by Oscar voters of a protest against Donald Trump’s travel ban, which aimed to prevent people coming to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries. On Sunday evening in London, a free screening of The Salesman was introduced by London mayor Sadiq Khan. Solidarity is key to resisting Trump, says Oscar-nominated Iranian director Read more Until the ramifications of the ban for film-makers such as Farhadi became clear, Germany’s Toni Erdmann had been the strong favourite to take the prize. The other nominees were Land of Mine (Denmark), Tanna (Australia) and A Man Called Ove (Sweden). The Salesman premiered at Cannes last May, where it won best actor for Shahab Hosseini and best screenplay for Farhadi – despite moderate notices from critics. The film follows a couple in Tehran involved in an amateur dramatic production of Arthur Miller’s The Salesman, who are forced to move apartments following an earthquake. But the flat into which they move has an unhappy history, compounded by an unwelcome intruder. Farhadi won Iran’s first Oscar for his film A Separation in 2012. This second award puts him in an elite category of double-winners in the category, including Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman. Iran’s first person in space, Anousheh Ansari, read out a statement from Farhadi at the podium: “ My absence is out of respect for the people of my country, and those of the other six nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the US.” ||||| The Salesman, a film by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, won the Oscar for the best foreign-language picture at the Academy Awards ceremony. Farhadi refused to attend the February 26 Oscars in protest of U.S. President Donald Trump's now-suspended executive order temporarily banning visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, from entering the United States. In a statement read on his behalf, Farhadi said he was boycotting the ceremony "out of respect for the people of my country and those of the other six nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S." "Dividing the world into 'us' and 'our enemies' categories creates fear, a deceitful justification for aggression and war," the statement said. Trump's immigration crackdown was halted by a U.S. federal judge. He has said his team is writing a new order to be revealed soon. The Salesman is drama about a married couple's struggles to cope in Tehran after the wife is attacked in her apartment. Farhadi won the Oscar for the best foreign language film in 2012 for A Separation. Meanwhile, Syrian war documentary The White Helmets won the Oscar for the best short documentary. The film produced by Netflix is about rescue workers, some who have lost their lives, who struggle to save Syrians affected by the six-year civil war. Based on reporting by AP, dpa, Reuters, and AFP ||||| Asghar Farhadi’s actions predicted that the 2017 Oscars would turn into the President Donald Trump bashing show and he was correct. Mr. Trump’s ears must be ringing tonight. Many celebrities slammed the president at the 2017 Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday in Hollywood, California. However, it was a speech given on behalf of Iranian director Asghar Farhadi that is making headlines. Farhadi was absent from the 2017 Academy Awards because he decided to boycott the event. The talented filmmaker’s The Salesman won Best Foreign Language Film, but he stayed in his country, and so did the stars of the movie. He took that decision because of Trump’s attempts to ban travelers and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering America. While the executive order is tied up in the courts, Farhadi refused to change his mind in solidarity with those affected. Farhadi was asked to be represented by Anousheh Ansari and Firouz Naderi, two Iranian-Americans, both of whom are experts in the field of space exploration. Naderi, a former director at NASA, read from a statement written by Farhadi: “It’s a great honor to be receiving this valuable award for the second time. I would like to thank the members of the Academy, my crew in Iran,” and others involved in the film, The Salesman.” Naderi continued: “I’m sorry I’m not with you tonight. My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations whom have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S. Dividing the world into the ‘us’ and ‘our enemies’ categories creates fear. A deceitful justification for aggression and war. These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression. Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions. They create empathy between us and others. An empathy which we need today more than ever. Thank you on behalf of Mr. Farhadi.” The good news is that Trump has opted not to watch the Oscars, otherwise he would have been slamming celebrities on Twitter. ||||| LOS ANGELES: Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has chosen an Iranian-American female engineer and a former NASA scientist to represent his film "The Salesman" at Sunday's Oscar ceremony, which he is boycotting in protest over U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration. Farhadi, who has given no interviews since Trump in January banned travel from seven majority Muslim nations, planned to address a rally in Beverly Hills on Friday via video from Tehran, rally organizers said. The rally, organised by the United Talent Agency, which represents Farhadi in Hollywood, is being held instead of the agency's traditional pre-Oscar party. It will protest policies of exclusion and division and speakers will include actors Jodie Foster, Michael J. Fox and Keegan-Michael Key. "The Salesman," a family drama set in Tehran, is one of the front runners to take home the Oscar for foreign language film on Sunday. If it wins, it would mark Farhadi and Iran's second Oscar after "A Separation" won in 2012. Farhadi and the film's lead actress, Taraneh Alidoosti, both said last month they would not travel to Los Angeles to represent the film because of Trump's ban, even if they were exempted. The ban was later overturned by U.S. courts but the administration is working on a new executive travel order. In a statement to Hollywood trade publication Variety on Friday, Farhadi's publicist said that engineer Anousheh Ansari, who was the first female space tourist, and Firouz Naderi, a former director of NASA's Solar System Exploration program, would take Farhadi's place at the Oscars and represent him on stage should the film win. Ansari moved to the United States from Iran in 1984 as a teenager and made headlines as the first Iranian and first Muslim woman in space in 2006. Naderi left Iran for the United States in 1964 and worked for some 30 years in positions with the U.S. space agency. ||||| LOS ANGELES (AP) — A political context larger than that of films themselves swept Iran’s “The Salesman” into the limelight and effectively solidified its win in the best foreign-language category at the Oscars on Sunday. Iranian astronaut Anousheh Ansari accepted the award on behalf of director Asghar Farhadi, who was absent from the ceremony in protest of Donald Trump’s travel ban. “I’m sorry I’m not with you tonight,” Ansari read in a statement. “My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S.” Firouz Naderi, a former NASA director, and an Iranian, stood beside Ansari as she read Farhadi’s words. It’s the second Oscar for director Farhadi, and Iran, who previously won in the same category for “A Separation” in 2012, but the context surrounding this win is stunningly different. Farhadi’s film, about a couple performing Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” was barely even in the conversation a few months ago, overshadowed by Maren Ade’s popular German comedy “Toni Erdmann,” but became a rallying cry for immigrant rights after President Donald Trump’s seven country travel ban. The ban not only led to Farhadi announcing that he would not attend the awards in protest of the ban, targeted toward predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran, but also to an unprecedented show of solidary between the six nominated directors in the foreign language category. Two days before the Oscars, the six directors issued a joint statement decrying the climate of “fanaticism” in the United States. They said that no matter who won, the award would be dedicated to people working to foster “unity and understanding.” “Dividing the world into ‘us’ and ‘enemies’ categories creates fear,” Ansari continued in Farhadi’s statement, which concluded with a passionate defense of the power of film to create empathy “between us and others, an empathy that we need today.” Backstage, Naderi said that Farhadi could have chosen any number of prominent Iranians to represent him at the Oscars, but that he chose two scientists who focus on space because, “if you go away from the earth and look back at the earth you don’t see the borders and the lines.” “The Salesman” won over the early favorite, “Toni Erdmann,” which in already in the early stages of development for an English language remake starring Jack Nicholson and Kristen Wii, Sweden’s “A Man Called Ove,” Denmark’s “Land of Mine,” and Australia’s “Tanna.” ||||| Director Asghar Farhadi won the Academy Award for foreign-language film Sunday night for “The Salesman,” his psychological tale about a young couple weathering the effects of a violent assault. But Farhadi wasn’t present to accept the Oscar. The director, who hails from Iran, boycotted the ceremony in protest of the travel ban implemented by President Trump in late January targeting travelers from seven countries, including Iran. Anousheh Ansari, the first Iranian in space, accepted the award for Farhadi and read a short statement from the director. “My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of six other nations whom have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S.,” Farhadi’s statement said. The audience inside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood greeted the statement with enthusiastic applause. “Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions,” Ansari continued. “They create empathy between us and others. An empathy which we need today more than ever.” In most years, the foreign-language film category at the Oscars can be a sleepy one — Hollywood’s obligatory nod to the large body of cinematic work produced globally. The most notable foreign-language Oscar moments in recent years include Roberto Benigni’s dramatic traipse to the stage after winning the award for “Life Is Beautiful,” and Pedro Almodóvar’s deliriously incomprehensible acceptance speech for “All About My Mother” in 2000. But this year, the category became a fraught locus of politics after the implementation of Trump’s travel ban. Farhadi announced that he would not attend the awards ceremony — even if he were granted an exemption from the ban. In a statement, he condemned “the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of America.” On Friday, the five directors nominated in the foreign-language film category — Denmark’s Martin Zandvliet (“Land of Mine”), Sweden’s Hannes Holm (“A Man Called Ove”), Germany’s Maren Ade (“Toni Erdmann”) and Australia’s Martin Butler and Bentley Dean (“Tanna”) — issued a joint statement that expressed their “unanimous and emphatic disapproval of the climate of fanaticism and nationalism we see today in the U.S.” and dedicated the award to all the “people, artists, journalists and activists who are working to foster unity and understanding.” Regardless of who wins the Academy Award for best foreign-language film, “we refuse to think in terms of borders,” the statement said. “We believe there is no best country, best gender, best religion or best color.” Though the travel ban was later halted by a federal judge, Farhadi nonetheless stood by his decision to boycott the ceremony. He sent two prominent Iranian Americans in his place: Ansari and Firouz Naderi, a former NASA director for solar system exploration. He made a remote video appearance in London via video link just hours before the Oscars ceremony at an outdoor screening of “The Salesman,” organized by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and filmmaker Mike Leigh. The screening, a gesture of solidarity with the Iranian director, drew 10,000 people. In the message delivered to the crowd, Farhadi said: “I hope this movement will continue and spread, for it has within itself the power to stand up to fascism, be victorious in the face of extremism and say no to oppressive political powers everywhere.” Backstage at the Oscars on Sunday, Naderi was asked why he thought Farhadi had chosen Ansari and him to accept the Oscar. "She's an astronaut. I work for NASA. If you go away from the Earth and look back, you don’t see any of the borders,” he said, adding later: “I think he chose the both of us to say 'come together.' " Contributing to this report was Times staff writer Tre’vell Anderson. Sign up for our weekly Essential Arts & Culture newsletter » ||||| The award comes in the wake of a show of solidarity among all of the nominated directors in this year's category. In a decisive choice to cap a tumultuous awards season among foreign films, Asghar Farhadi and “The Salesman” won for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards on Sunday night in Hollywood, California. The award has garnered increased attention in recent weeks, with increased restrictions on international travel to the United States. Nominee Asghar Farhadi announced at the end of January that he would not be attending the ceremony. In a show of solidarity, the directors of all five nominated films released a joint statement, condemning a global uptick in nationalist ideals and reaffirming cinema as a safe place to express common humanity. “Dividing the world into the ‘us and our enemies’ categories creates fear, a deceitful justification for aggression and war. These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression,” Farhadi said via a prepared statement. Word came earlier this morning that, had Farhadi and “The Salesman” won, Iranian-Americans Anousheh Ansari and Firouz Naderi were prepared to accept the award on his behalf. Other nominees in this year’s category included Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann,” Martin Butler and Bentley Dean’s “Tanna,” Martin Zandvliet’s “Land of Mine” and Hannes Holm’s “A Man Called Ove.” Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. ||||| Iranians on Monday cheered the choice of one of their own for the best foreign film Oscar, lauding director Asghar Farhadi’s boycott of the Hollywood ceremony for his film The Salesman as an act of defiance against the Trump administration. Farhadi refused to attend the Academy Awards, announcing after the temporary U.S. travel ban was initially imposed last month for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries that he would not attend the ceremony, even if an exception was made for him. Iran was one of the seven countries affected by the measure, which has since been blocked from being carried out by a federal court ruling. The Salesman -about a couple performing Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” and their attempts to find peace and justice after the wife is attacked at their Tehran apartment- had become a rallying cry for immigrant rights after the travel ban. The six nominated directors in the foreign language category had put out a joint statement ahead of the award decrying what they called the climate of “fanaticism” in the United States and dedicating the award to the promotion of “unity and understanding” regardless of who won. Film critic Esmaeil Mihandoost, who wrote a book about Farhadi, told The Associated Press that thanks to the boycott, the film director has now “more influence on public opinion than a politician.” “It created an exceptional opportunity for criticism” of Trump’s policy, he added. The award was the second Oscar for Farhadi, after his film A Separation won in the same category for 2012. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he saw the prize as taking a stance against Trump’s executive order. “Proud of Cast and Crew of The Salesman for Oscar and stance against (hash)MuslimBan. Iranians have represented culture and civilization for millennia,” he tweeted in English. Vice President Ishaq Jahangiri praised Farhadi both for the award and for boycotting the ceremony, calling it a “priceless action.” State radio and television briefly reported on Farhadi’s Oscar, while Tehran film daily Banifilm ran an op-ed saying that Trump had “probably never imagined what contribution the travel ban would have for Farhadi’s film.” The trade paper said the executive order had likely propelled The Salesman to victory. Trump’s victory has prompted concern among many in Iran, particularly in the wake of a 2015 nuclear deal with the U.S. and other world powers that led to the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. The Trump administration earlier this month said it was putting Iran “on notice” after it test-fired a ballistic missile. Many Iranians learned of the Oscar win from social media. “I am proud of this,” said Mahbod Shirvani, a 19-year-old music student said outside the campus of Tehran University. “It shattered the U.S president’s stance on Muslim nations. It showed that American people and artists are against Trump’s policies.” Davood Kazemi, 21, who studies painting, said the “award showed Trump cannot stop international figures and he cannot thwart artists’ solidarity that has formed, regardless of race, nationality and religion.” Also Read: Oscar 2017 shocker: Moonlight vs La La Land, what explains the surprise win? Iranian news websites published cartoonist Bozorgmehr Hosseinpour’s sketch depicting Farhadi playing chess and using a small Oscar statue to knock out an unseen’s opponent’s last chess piece, a figure resembling Trump.In a statement read out at the Oscars ceremony on his behalf by Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian-American astronaut, Farhadi said the empathy filmmakers can foster is needed today more than ever. Ansari was joined onstage by another accomplished Iranian-American, Firouz Naderi, a former NASA director. “I’m sorry I’m not with you tonight,” Farhadi’s statement read. “My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S.””Dividing the world into the `us’ and `our enemies’ categories creates fear,” it said.
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The Salesman directed by Asghar Farhadi won Best Foreign Language Film. Farhadi and other film crew did not attend the ceremony in protest of Donald Trump's visa ban. First Iranian in space Anousheh Ansari and scienist Firouz Naderi attended in place of Farhadi.
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AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan executed 15 people on Saturday, including 10 convicted on terrorism charges ranging from an attack a decade ago on Western tourists to the slaying of a writer in the largest mass execution in the country’s recent history. Government spokesman Mohammad al Momani told state media those executed included one man who was convicted of an attack last year on an intelligence compound near a Palestinian camp that killed five security personnel. Another five were involved in an assault by security forces on a militant hideout by suspected Islamic State militants in Irbid city in the same year that led to the death of seven militants and one police officer. The rest related to separate incidents that go back as far as 2003. It was the largest number of executions in one day in Jordan’s recent history, said a senior judicial source who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and requested anonymity. At least one hundred detainees have been sentenced to death in recent years, many on charges related to membership of militant Islamist groups, who could face capital punishment. Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement the death penalty was not a deterrence, citing a spike in militant attacks since last year. “Whatever image of strength Jordan wishes to project, the death penalty will never deter terror attacks and murder, or make the citizens of Jordan safer,” Whitson said. “Just the terror attacks of the last two years shows that reinstating the death penalty in Jordan has done nothing to reduce the incidents of such violent attacks.” Several security incidents over the past year have jolted the Arab kingdom, which has been relatively unscathed by the uprisings, civil wars and Islamist militancy that have swept the Middle East since 2011. However, Jordan is among the few Arab states that have taken part in a U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State militants holding territory in Syria and Iraq Human rights group Amnesty International condemned the executions by hanging, saying they had been carried out in “secrecy and without transparency.” “The scale of today’s mass executions is shocking and it’s a big step backwards on human rights protection in Jordan,” Samah Hadid, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Beirut regional office, told Reuters. Hadid said the death penalty was “problematic because in some cases confessions in Jordan were extracted under torture or duress”, echoing widespread complaints by human rights activists. Amnesty said in a statement earlier: “Jordan had for years been a leading example in a region where recourse to the death penalty is all too frequent.” Jordan in the past refrained from executing political detainees and either reduced or suspended death sentences handed to fundamentalist Islamists on terror-related charges. International human rights activists say militants are put on trial in military courts that are unconstitutional and lack proper legal safeguards, adding that there are growing cases of mistreatment and of extracting confessions under duress. The government denies it tortures prisoners or mistreats detainees, saying its courts abide by human rights laws. Another judicial source said the authorities also executed a man who last year shot dead outside a court a Christian writer who was standing trial for contempt of religion after sharing on social media a caricature insulting Islam. Also among the 10 was a gunman convicted of firing at a group of Western tourists near the Roman amphitheatre in downtown Amman in 2006, killing one Briton and injuring five other people, the source said on condition of anonymity. The five other executions were for rape and sexual assault. Jordan restored the death sentence by hanging in 2014 after a moratorium on capital punishment between 2006 and 2014. ||||| Jordan executed 15 people on Saturday, including 10 convicted on terrorism charges, government spokesman Mohammad al Momani said. Momani said those executed included one man who was convicted of an attack last year on an intelligence compound that killed five security personnel. Another five were involved in an assault by security forces on a militant hideout in Irbid city in the same year that led to the death of seven militants and one police officer, while the rest related to separate incidents that go back as far as 2003. The five other executions were for rape and sexual assault. Jordan restored the death sentence by hanging in 2014 after a moratorium on capital punishment between 2006 and 2014. ||||| AMMAN, March 4 (Reuters) - Jordan executed 15 people on Saturday including 10 convicted on terrorism charges ranging from an attack a decade ago on Western tourists to the slaying of a writer, a judicial source and the government spokesman Mohammad al Momani said on Saturday. Al Momani said those executed included one man who was convicted of an attack last year on an intelligence compound that killed five security personnel. Another five were involved in an assault by security forces on a militant hideout in Irbid city in the same year that led to the death of seven militants and one police officer, while the rest related to separate incidents that go back as far as 2003. It was the largest number of people executed in one day in Jordan's recent history, according to a senior judicial source. Human rights group Amnesty International condemned the executions by hanging saying they were carried out in "secrecy and without transparency". "The scale of today's mass executions is shocking and it's a big step backwards on human rights protection in Jordan," Samah Hadid, deputy director of Amnesty International's Beirut regional office, told Reuters. Hadid said the death penalty was "problematic because in some cases confessions in Jordan were extracted under torture or duress", echoing widespread complaints by human rights activists. Amnesty said in a statement earlier; "Jordan had for years been a leading example in a region where recourse to the death penalty is all too frequent." Jordan in the past refrained from executing political detainees and either reduced or suspended death sentences handed to fundamentalist Islamists on terror-related charges. International human rights activists say militants are put on trial in military courts that are unconstitutional and lack proper legal safeguards, adding that there are growing cases of mistreatment and of extracting confessions under duress. The government denies it tortures prisoners or mistreats detainees, saying its courts abide by human rights laws. A judicial source said the authorities also executed a gunman who last year shot dead outside a court a Christian writer who was standing trial for contempt of religion after sharing on social media a caricature insulting Islam. Also among the 10 was a gunman convicted of firing at a group of Western tourists near the Roman amphitheatre in downtown Amman in 2006, killing one Briton and injuring five other people, the judicial source added. The five other executions were for rape and sexual assault. Jordan restored the death sentence by hanging in 2014 after a moratorium on capital punishment between 2006 and 2014. ||||| The prisoners, all Jordanian, were hanged at the Suaga prison near the country's capital, Amman. Jordan lifted a 2006 moratorium on the death penalty in 2014. A government spokesman said those executed for terrorism offences had been involved in five incidents: the 2003 bombing attack on the country's embassy in Iraq, the 2006 shooting of writer and political activist Nahed Hattar in Amman, the 2006 shooting attack on tourists in Amman that killed a British man, a 2016 attack on security forces in Irbid city, and an attack on intelligence officers in the Baqaa refugee camp in the same year, according to the Petra news agency. The five not involved in terrorism had been convicted of sexual assaults. Jordan's King Abdullah II told a UN Security Council Summit in September 2014 that the world must enact a "zero-tolerance policy" on any country, individual or organization found to facilitate, support or foster terrorist groups. A year ago, Daesh released a video of militants burning alive a Jordanian pilot who had been captured after his plane went down in Syria during a strike against the group. Jordan executed two Al Qaeda prisoners shortly after the video was released. Samah Hadid, deputy director of Amnesty International's Beirut regional office, called "the horrific scale and secrecy" around the most recent executions "shocking" in a statement on the executions. "This is a major step backwards for both Jordan and efforts to end the death penalty — a senseless and ineffective means of administering justice. Jordan had for years been a leading example in a region where recourse to the death penalty is all too frequent. There is no evidence that the death penalty address violent crime, including terrorist-related acts. Hanging people will not improve public security." Jordan has long been accused of looking the other way when confronted with accusations of torture by its security and police services. ||||| A gunman convicted of firing at a group of Western tourists in Amman in 2006, killing one Briton is among 15 people executed on Saturday by Jordan. Christopher Stokes, from Littleborough near Rochdale, was killed in September 2006 when gunman Nabeel Ahmed Issa al-Jaourah opened fire in a Roman amphitheatre in Amman. A total of 15 people were executed on Saturday including 10 convicted on terrorism charges ranging from the attack a decade ago to the slaying of a writer, a judicial source and the government spokesman Mohammad al Momani said on Saturday. Al Momani said those executed included one man who was convicted of an attack last year on an intelligence compound that killed five security personnel. Another five were involved in an assault by security forces on a militant hideout in Irbid city in the same year that led to the death of seven militants and one police officer, while the rest related to separate incidents that go back as far as 2003. It was the largest number of people executed in one day in Jordan's recent history, according to a senior judicial source. The prisoners were hanged at dawn Saturday at Swaqa Prison, about 47 miles (75 km) south of the capital of Amman, said government spokesman Mohammed Momani. All had links to Islamic militant groups, he said. Human rights group Amnesty International condemned the executions by hanging saying they were carried out in 'secrecy and without transparency'. 'The scale of today's mass executions is shocking and it's a big step backwards on human rights protection in Jordan,' said Samah Hadid, deputy director of Amnesty International's Beirut regional office. Hadid said the death penalty was 'problematic because in some cases confessions in Jordan were extracted under torture or duress', echoing widespread complaints by human rights activists. Amnesty said in a statement earlier: 'Jordan had for years been a leading example in a region where recourse to the death penalty is all too frequent.' Jordan in the past refrained from executing political detainees and either reduced or suspended death sentences handed to fundamentalist Islamists on terror-related charges. International human rights activists say militants are put on trial in military courts that are unconstitutional and lack proper legal safeguards, adding that there are growing cases of mistreatment and of extracting confessions under duress. The government denies it tortures prisoners or mistreats detainees, saying its courts abide by human rights laws. A judicial source said the authorities also executed a gunman who last year shot dead outside a court a Christian writer who was standing trial for contempt of religion after sharing on social media a caricature insulting Islam. Also among the 10 was a gunman convicted of firing at a group of Western tourists near the Roman amphitheatre in downtown Amman in 2006, killing one Briton and injuring five other people, the judicial source added. The five other executions were for rape and sexual assault. Jordan restored the death sentence by hanging in 2014 after a moratorium on capital punishment between 2006 and 2014. ||||| Jordan on Saturday executed 10 men convicted of terrorism charges, including deadly attacks on tourists, Jordanian security forces and a local writer, the government spokesman said. It was the largest round of executions since pro-Western Jordan launched a crackdown on Islamic extremists two years ago, following the killing of a captured Jordanian fighter pilot by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). Jordan is a part of a US-led military coalition against Isil, which holds territory in Syria and Iraq. The men were hanged at dawn Saturday at Swaqa Prison in central Jordan, government spokesman Mohammed Momani said in a statement carried by the state news agency Petra. Five others were executed for other crimes, including rape, he said. “The horrific scale and secrecy around these executions is shocking," Samah Hadid, Deputy Director at Amnesty International’s Beirut regional office, said. “This is a major step backwards for both Jordan and efforts to end the death penalty – a senseless and ineffective means of administering justice. "Jordan had for years been a leading example in a region where recourse to the death penalty is all too frequent." Mr Momani said the assailants executed Saturday for terror convictions had been involved in five different incidents, from a 2003 bombing attack on Jordan's embassy in Iraq to the September 2016 shooting of outspoken writer Nahed Hattar in the Jordanian capital of Amman. Also listed was a 2006 shooting attack on a group of tourists at a Roman theatre in the center of Amman. A British man was killed in the attack. ||||| AMMAN — Fifteen men, including 10 convicted of terrorism, were executed by authorities on Saturday, official sources said. “We have carried out the execution of 15 men who were convicted of acts of terrorism that led to the death of individuals as well as heinous murders and sexual assaults against men, women and children,” Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani told The Jordan Times. Momani, also minister of state for media affairs, added: “This is an attempt to bring justice to the victims of those terrorists who threatened our national security. Anyone who will dare engage in terrorist activities against Jordan will face the same destiny.” The largest in the country’s history, Saturday’s executions were carried out after a long wait since Jordan executed two convicted Iraqi terrorists, Sajida Rishawi and Ziad Al Karboli in February 2015. The two inmates were hanged a day after the release of a video showing the killing of Jordanian pilot Muath Kasasbeh by the Daesh terror group. Rishawi, who was 44 when she was executed, was convicted by the State Security Court in September 2006 of plotting terror attacks against three hotels in Amman in November 2005, which had left more than 60 people dead and around 90 injured. Karboli’s death sentence was upheld by the Cassation Court in June 2008 after he was convicted of killing a Jordanian truck driver in Iraq in September 2005, possessing explosives as well as belonging to an illegal organisation, called Tawhid and Jihad, an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq. In December 2014, 11 men were executed in a move seen by many as a sign of reinstating the death penalty in the Kingdom. The capital punishment had been frozen in Jordan since March 2006. Saturday’s executions, carried out at Swaqa Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre started at 4am and ended at 7:45am, said a senior official source, who was part of a government team attending the executions. “The majority of the executed, clad in red uniforms, were calm, with one asking to pray before being executed and another asking his family to pay his debt,” added the source, who preferred anonymity. The hangings were carried out without trouble, according to the source. “We did not face any issues with the convicted or the procedure itself,” he told The Jordan Times. “The executions are carried out after the Cassation Court upholds the State Security Court’s and Criminal Court’s rulings. Afterwards, the file is sent to the Cabinet for endorsement. Finally, a Royal Decree has to be issued to approve the execution,” the source explained. Before any execution is carried out, “the attorney general reviews the files for one last time to make sure procedures are correct, and that there has been no last minute settlement between the victims’ families and the defendant”, which automatically leads to cancelling the death punishment and replacing it with a prison term. Asked by The Jordan Times if more executions were scheduled, Momani declined to comment but stated that “justice will eventually prevail on those who commit murders and terrorist acts”. Less than 100 people, including around 10 women, are currently on death row in Jordan, according to the minister. The issue of capital punishment has drawn a heated debate in Jordan between activists who oppose the death penalty, and officials and lawyers who believe it should stay, supported by a broad section of the public opinion. Saturday’s executions were met with strong objection and dismay by international organisations. Human rights group Amnesty International described the executions in a statement as “horrific and shocking”. “The horrific scale of these executions and secrecy around them are shocking,” said Samah Hadid, deputy director at Amnesty’s Beirut regional office. “This is a major step backwards for both Jordan and efforts to end the death penalty — a senseless and ineffective way of administering justice. Jordan had for years been a leading example in a region where recourse to the death penalty is all too frequent,” the Amnesty statement said. “There is no evidence that the death penalty addresses violent crimes, including terrorist-related acts. Hanging people will not improve public security,” the statement added. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty at all times and regardless of who is accused, the nature of the crime, guilt or innocence or the method of execution, the statement said. Meanwhile, many Jordanians hailed the executions on social media. Munir Issa commented on Facebook following the execution, saying it was “well-deserved”. Dua Hanafieh also praised the executions on Facebook, saying it was the right thing to do for anyone who would kill a man, woman or a child and “threaten the safety and security of our society”. ||||| Jordan on Saturday (4 March) executed 10 men convicted of terrorism-related offences in one of the biggest rounds of executions carried out since the country launched a major crackdown against Islamic extremists more than two years ago. Another five people were also executed on the same day for other crimes, including rape, government spokesman Mohammed Momani said in a statement carried by the state news agency Petra. Death penalty was restored in Jordan after a moratorium on it ended in 2014. Momani said that the men were hanged at Swaqa Prison in central Jordan. He added that the convictions of the 10 men were related to five terrorist incidents that took place in the country – one was a 2003 bombing attack on Jordan's embassy in Iraq. The latest was the shooting of a high-profile writer in the Jordanian capital of Amman in September 2016. A shooting attack in 2006 on a group of tourists at a Roman theatre in the centre of Amman and the killing of a British man were two other incidents connected to the convictions and subsequent executions, the Associated Press wrote. Jordan is one of the active members of the US-led coalition group that is currently taking part in the fight against terror outfit Isis in Iraq and Syria. The coalition is assisting local ground forces in the two Middle East nations to drive out the militants from their countries. ||||| AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan hanged 15 inmates at dawn Saturday, including 10 who were convicted of terrorism, in what officials are calling one of the largest executions since the country reinstated the death penalty two years ago. The other five prisoners were found guilty of major criminal offenses, including incest and rape, government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani told state-run Petra news agency. Among those executed were five prisoners charged in last year’s assault on a Jordanian intelligence agency office in the Baqaa refugee camp that left five dead and in an attack against security forces in the northern city of Irbid. The other convicted inmates were responsible for separate attacks and bombings dating to 2003, Petra news agency reported. Samah Hadid, deputy director at Amnesty International’s Beirut regional office, said, “The horrific scale and secrecy around these executions is shocking.” “There is no evidence that the death penalty addresses violent crime, including terrorism-related offenses.” The men were hanged at a correctional center south of Amman. Jordan had previously imposed a nine-year moratorium on the death penalty. It was lifted in January 2015. The government says it has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to terrorism or even perceived sympathy for terrorist groups — even voicing support for such groups is an offense punishable with jail time. ||||| Jordan hanged 15 death row prisoners including convicted “terrorists” at dawn on Saturday, its information minister said, in a further break with a moratorium on executions it observed between 2006 and 2014. Ten of those put to death had been convicted of terrorism offences and five of “heinous” crimes including rape, Mahmud al-Momani told the official Petra news agency. The attorney general for Amman district, Ziad al-Dmour, said the executions represented “a clear message to anyone who tries to undermines the security of the nation”. Amnesty International, however, expressed shock at the hangings of 15 prisoners — the largest number to be put to death on a single day in Jordan. “The horrific scale and secrecy around these executions is shocking,” said Amnesty’s deputy director at the group’s Beirut regional office, Samah Hadid. Momani said all those executed were Jordanians and were hanged in Swaqa prison, south of the capital Amman. Among the terrorism offences were a 2006 attack on tourists at Amman’s Roman amphitheatre that killed a Briton and a June 2016 attack on an intelligence service base north of the capital that left five agents dead. They also included the September 2016 murder of Christian writer Nahed Hattar as he stood trial for publishing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam. King Abdullah II had said in 2005 that Jordan aimed to become the first Middle Eastern country to halt executions in line with most European nations. Courts continued to hand down death sentences but they were not carried out. However, public opinion blamed a rise in crime on the policy and in December 2014 Jordan hanged 11 men convicted of murder, drawing criticism from human rights groups. Opinion hardened after the murder by the Islamic State (IS) group of captured Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh whose plane had crashed in a jihadist-held region of Syria in December 2014 while serving with a US-led coalition. Grisly footage posted in February the following year of him being burnt alive in a cage outraged the public. Swiftly afterwards, Jordan hanged two people convicted of terrorism offences, one of them Sajida al-Rishawi. She had taken part in a 2005 suicide attack on luxury hotels in Amman organised by IS’s forebear, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, but her explosives failed to detonate. According to judicial sources, 94 people remain on death row in Jordan, most of them convicted of murder or rape, following Saturday’s executions. Dmour, the Amman attorney general, said executions were “the fate of all those who carry out criminal offences”. But Amnesty International warned that the death penalty was not the way to improve security. “This is a major step backwards for both Jordan and efforts to end the death penalty – a senseless and ineffective means of administering justice,” Hadid said in a statement. “Jordan had for years been a leading example in a region where recourse to the death penalty is all too frequent… Hanging people will not improve public security,” Hadid added. Jordan, which hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees from the conflict in Syria, carries out air strikes on IS in both Syria and Iraq as a member of the US-led coalition. The pro-Western kingdom fears a spillover of the jihadist threat and closely monitors thousands of Jordanians suspected of being IS or Al-Qaeda sympathisers. In June 2016, a car bomb at a crossing from Syria, claimed by IS, killed seven Jordanian security personnel. Amman has responded by sealing the border.
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Jordan says the country executed 15 people today, including 10 who were convicted on terrorism charges with others related to incidents that go back as far as 2003. Amnesty International protests the executions which were carried out in "secrecy and without transparency." Jordan restored the death sentence by hanging in 2014.
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HONOLULU/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Just hours before President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban was set to go into effect, a U.S. federal judge in Hawaii on Wednesday issued an emergency halt to the order’s implementation. The action was the latest legal blow to the administration’s efforts to temporarily ban refugees as well as travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries, which the President has said is needed for national security. Trump lashed out at the judge’s ruling, saying it “makes us look weak.” Trump signed the new ban on March 6 in a bid to overcome legal problems with a January executive order that caused chaos at airports and sparked mass protests before a Washington judge stopped its enforcement in February. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson put an emergency stop to the new order in response to a lawsuit filed by the state of Hawaii, which argued that the order discriminated against Muslims in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Judge Watson concluded in his ruling that while the order did not mention Islam by name, “a reasonable, objective observer ... would conclude that the Executive Order was issued with a purpose to disfavor a particular religion.” Watson was appointed to the bench by former Democratic President Barack Obama. Speaking at a rally in Nashville, Trump called his revised executive order a “watered-down version” of his first. “I think we ought to go back to the first one and go all the way, which is what I wanted to do in the first place,” Trump said. Trump called the judge’s block “unprecedented judicial overreach” and said he will take the case “as far as it needs to go,” including to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Department of Justice called the ruling “flawed both in reasoning and in scope,” adding that the president has broad authority in national security matters. “The Department will continue to defend this Executive Order in the courts,” it said a statement. The nation’s highest court is currently split 4-4 between liberals and conservatives with Trump’s pick - appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch - still awaiting confirmation. Paul Ryan, the Republican Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, said the ban was needed to improve vetting of people entering the United States in order to prevent attacks and said he had no doubt that it would be upheld by higher courts. REBUKE Watson’s order is only temporary until the broader arguments in the case can be heard. He set an expedited hearing schedule to determine if his ruling should be extended. Trump’s first travel order was more sweeping than the second revised order. Like the current one, it barred citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the country for 90 days, but it also included Iraq, which was subsequently taken off the list. Refugees were blocked from entering the country for 120 days in both orders, but an indefinite ban on all refugees from Syria was dropped in the new one. Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin (L) arrives at the U.S. District Court Ninth Circuit to present his arguments after filing an amended lawsuit against President Donald Trump's new travel ban in Honolulu, Hawaii, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Hugh Gentry The revised ban also excluded legal permanent residents and existing visa holders. It provided a series of waivers for various categories of immigrants with ties to the United States. Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claimed that the motivation behind it was Trump’s campaign promise of “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” The government, in its court filings cautioned the court against looking for secret motives in the executive order and against performing “judicial psychoanalysis of a drafter’s heart of heart.” Watson said he did not need to do that, because evidence of motive could be found in the president’s public statements. He said he did not give credence to the government’s argument that the order was not anti-Muslim because it targeted only a small percentage of Muslim-majority countries. “The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed,” the judge wrote. SEVERAL CASES The case was one of several moving through U.S. courts on Wednesday that were brought by states’ attorneys general and immigrant advocacy groups. In Maryland, refugee resettlement agencies represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center argued in court for a restraining order. In Washington state, a group of plaintiffs applying for immigrant visas asked U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle - who suspended the first ban - to stop the new order. Robart was appointed to the bench by Republican former President George W. Bush. Both Judge Robart and U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland said they would issue written rulings in their cases, but did not specify a time line. Washington state, joined by California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon, said in court filings they supported the plaintiffs in Seattle. If more judges side with Watson, the government’s case may be harder to make at higher courts. The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld Robart’s ruling against the first ban and Watson referenced that decision in his order. Various groups and companies said they would be harmed by the travel restrictions. A group of 58 technology companies, including Airbnb Inc, Lyft Inc and Dropbox Inc, filed a “friend of the court” brief in the case saying the order hurt their ability to recruit the best talent from around the world. Slideshow (3 Images) A longer list of companies, including Apple Inc , Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google - filed a brief opposing the first ban in a different court challenge brought by Washington state, which is ongoing. It was not immediately clear why fewer tech companies signed on to the brief this time around. ||||| UPDATE: 3 p.m. President Donald Trump says a federal judge in Hawaii demonstrated “unprecedented judicial overreach” when he ordered a temporary halt to Trump’s revised travel ban earlier today. The president, speaking at a rally in Nashville, said his administration would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. “We’re going to win,” he said. “We’re going to keep our citizens safe. The danger is clear. The law is clear. The need for my executive order is clear.” After hearing arguments this morning in a Honolulu federal courtroom, U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson granted the state’s motion for a nationwide temporary restraining order on the revised travel ban, saying Trump’s order violates the religious establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. “The illogic of the government’s contentions is palpable,” Watson wrote. “The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed.” UPDATE: 1:45 p.m. A federal court judge in Honolulu today granted Hawaii’s request to block President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban a day before it was schedule to go into effect. In awarding a nationwide temporary restraining order, U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson found that Trump’s order violates the religious establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. Watson said that while the new order is more narrowly focused, he can’t ignore what Trump said on the campaign trail, including in a March 2016 interview in which he said, “I think Islam hates us,” and an October interview in which he said the Muslim ban has morphed into extreme vetting. Watson issued his 43-page ruling early this afternoon after hearing arguments from both sides this morning. He said the state “preliminarily demonstrated” that its universities will suffer monetary damages and intangible harms and the state’s economy is likely to suffer a loss of revenue due to a decline in tourism because of the order. Watson, who was appointed to the court by former President Barack Obama, said he intends to set an expedited hearing to determine whether the temporary restraining order should be extended. Hawaii was the first state to challenge the president’s revised executive order, which replaced the original Jan. 27 edict that barred the residents of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. That order was blocked by a federal appeals court. The new order, issued March 6, prohibits individuals from six countries if they lack valid U.S. visas. Other tweaks were made in an effort to make it pass legal muster, including the removal of language offering preferential status to persecuted religious minorities. Attorneys representing the state said the revised order is just as discriminatory against Muslims as the first one and that it still violates both the U.S. constitution and federal laws. They said the order will hurt Hawaii’s tourism as well as its universities and and businesses that rely on international recruiting of students and employees. Ultimately, they said, it will hurt the state’s economy. But government attorneys said it is mere speculation the order will hurt the state’s tourism industry and universities. The order, they said, was modified with a religion-neutral text that does not discriminate and also includes a waiver process to help reduce any undue hardship. Government attorneys argued that the president’s action is consistent with the executive’s constitutional authority over foreign affairs and national security. But state attorneys said the order flies in the face of Hawaii’s and the nation’s values. They said an injunction would merely retain the status quo while the court fully considers the issue. UPDATE: 1 p.m. A federal judge in Hawaii has put President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban on hold. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson issued his ruling today after hearing arguments on Hawaii’s request for a temporary restraining order involving the ban. His ruling prevents the executive order from going into effect Thursday. More than half a dozen states are trying to stop the ban, and federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments today about whether it should be put into practice. Hawaii argued that the ban discriminates on the basis of nationality and would prevent Hawaii residents from receiving visits from relatives in the six mostly Muslim countries covered by the ban. The state also says the ban would harm its tourism industry and the ability to recruit foreign students and workers. ——— Associated Press UPDATE: 11:05 a.m. A federal court judge in Honolulu heard arguments this morning in Hawaii’s case to block President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban but did not make a ruling from the bench. U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson said he would issue a ruling on the proposed temporary restraining order before 6 p.m., which is midnight Eastern Time. The executive order is schedule to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Hawaii was the first state to challenge the president’s revised executive order, which replaced the original Jan. 27 edict that barred the residents of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. That order was blocked by a federal appeals court. The new order, issued March 6, prohibits individuals from six countries if they lack valid U.S. visas. Other tweaks were made in an effort to make it pass legal muster, including the removal of language offering preferential status to persecuted religious minorities. Attorneys representing the state said the revised order is just as discriminatory against Muslims as the first one and that it still violates both the U.S. Constitution and federal laws. They said the order will hurt Hawaii’s tourism as well as its universities and and businesses that rely on international recruiting of students and employees. Ultimately, they said, it will hurt the state’s economy. But government attorneys said it is mere speculation the order will hurt the state’s tourism industry and universities. The order, they said, was modified with a religion-neutral text that does not discriminate and also includes a waiver process to help reduce any undue hardship. Government attorneys argued that the president’s action is consistent with the executive’s constitutional authority over foreign affairs and national security. But state attorneys said the order flies in the face of Hawaii’s and the nation’s values. They said an injunction would merely retain the status quo while the court fully considers the issue. PREVIOUS COVERAGE U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu is hearing arguments this morning for and against the state of Hawaii’s request to temporarily block President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban. The hearing on the proposed temporary restraining order is being held in Honolulu on the day before the ban is scheduled to go into effect. State Attorney General Douglas Chin arrived at the Honolulu federal courtroom today after filing the challenge last week, claiming that the ban will harm Hawaii by highlighting the state’s dependence on international travelers, its ethnic diversity and its welcoming reputation as the Aloha State. Hawaii was the first state to challenge the president’s revised executive order, which replaced the original Jan. 27 edict that barred the residents of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. That order was blocked by a federal appeals court. The new order, issued March 6, prohibits individuals from six countries if they lack valid U.S. visas. Other tweaks were made in an effort to make it pass legal muster, including the removal of language offering preferential status to persecuted religious minorities. Attorneys representing the state said the order is just as discriminatory against Muslims as the first one and that it still violates both the U.S. constitution and federal laws. They said the order will hurt Hawaii’s tourism as well as its universities and and businesses that rely on international recruiting of students and employees. Ultimately, they said, it will hurt the state’s economy. But federal government attorneys said it is mere speculation the order will hurt the state’s tourism industry and universities. The order, they said, was modified with a religion-neutral text that does not discriminate and also has a waiver process to help reduce any undue hardship. U.S. government attorneys argue that the president’s action is consistent with the executive’s constitutional authority over foreign affairs and national security. State attorneys said the order flies in the face of Hawaii’s and the nation’s values. They said an injunction would merely retain the status quo while the court fully considers the issue. Hawaii’s lawsuit includes a Muslim plaintiff, Ismail Elshikh, the imam of a Honolulu mosque. He says the ban prevents his mother-in-law, who lives in Syria, from visiting family in Hawaii. It’s not clear when Watson will rule on the state’s request for a temporary restraining order. Attorneys from the Washington, D.C., law firm Hawaii has hired will participate by phone. Justice Department attorneys are also phoning in for the hearing. Fourteen state attorneys general and 58 technology companies have filed amicus briefs supporting Hawaii’s challenge. The attorneys general argue that the revised ban retains the unconstitutional components of the original order, including a broad ban on entry by nationals from six predominantly Muslim countries and a suspension of the refugee program. Hawaii is one of several states where the travel ban is being challenged before its planned implementation Thursday. In Maryland today, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang said he will issue a ruling in another lawsuit challenging the travel ban, but he did not promise that he would rule before the ban takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. He also said he may issue a narrow ruling that does not address the ban nationwide. The lawsuit in Maryland was filed by the ACLU and other groups representing immigrants and refugees, as well as some individual plaintiffs. They argue banning travel from six majority-Muslim countries is unconstitutional discrimination on the basis of religion. They also say it’s illegal for Trump to reduce the number of refugees allowed into the United States this year by more than half. Government lawyers argued the ban was revised significantly to address legal concerns and no longer singles out Muslims. In Seattle, U.S. District Judge James Robart will hear arguments today in the lawsuit brought by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. The group says the new version of the travel ban discriminates against Muslims and raises the same legal issues as the original. Robart also is overseeing the legal challenge brought by Washington state. He also issued the order halting nationwide implementation of the first ban. Among the plaintiffs in the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project case is a legal permanent resident who has been trying to bring her 16-year-old son from war-torn Syria. ——— The Associated Press contributed to this report. Back to top Temporary restraining order by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd ||||| Hours before it was to take effect, President Donald Trump's revised travel ban was put on hold Wednesday by a federal judge in Hawaii who questioned the government's argument that the measure was motivated by national security concerns. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson also said Hawaii would suffer financially if the executive order blocks the flow of students and tourists to the state and concluded that Hawaii is likely to succeed on a claim that the ban violates First Amendment protections against religious discrimination. Watson issued his 43-page ruling less than two hours after hearing Hawaii's request for a temporary restraining order to stop the ban from being put into practice. The ruling came as opponents renewed their legal challenges across the country, asking judges in three states to block the executive order that targets people from six predominantly Muslim countries. More than half a dozen states are trying to stop the ban. Federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments about whether it should be allowed to take effect early Thursday. Watson was nominated to the federal bench by President Barack Obama in 2012 and is currently the only Native Hawaiian judge serving on the federal bench and the fourth in U.S. history. He received his law degree from Harvard in 1991. In Maryland, attorneys told a federal judge that the measure still discriminates against Muslims. Government attorneys argued that the ban was revised substantially to address legal concerns, including the removal of an exemption for religious minorities from the affected countries. "It doesn't say anything about religion. It doesn't draw any religious distinctions," said Jeffrey Wall, who argued for the Justice Department. Attorneys for the ACLU and other groups said that Trump's statements on the campaign trail and statements from his advisers since he took office make clear that the intent of the ban is to ban Muslims. Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller has said the revised order was designed to have "the same basic policy outcome" as the first. The new version of the ban details more of a national security rationale. It is narrower and eases some concerns about violating the due-process rights of travelers. It applies only to new visas from Somalia, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Yemen and temporarily shuts down the U.S. refugee program. It does not apply to travelers who already have visas. "Generally, courts defer on national security to the government," said U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang. "Do I need to conclude that the national security purpose is a sham and false?" In response, ACLU attorney Omar Jadwat pointed to Miller's statement and said the government had put out misleading and contradictory information about whether banning travel from six specific countries would make the nation safer. The Maryland lawsuit also argues that it's against federal law for the Trump administration to reduce the number of refugees allowed into the United States this year by more than half, from 110,000 to 50,000. Attorneys argued that if that aspect of the ban takes effect, 60,000 people would be stranded in war-torn countries with nowhere else to go. In the Hawaii case, the federal government said there was no need to issue an emergency restraining order because Hawaii officials offered only "generalized allegations" of harm. Jeffrey Wall of the Office of the Solicitor General challenged Hawaii's claim that the order violates due-process rights of Ismail Elshikh as a U.S. citizen who wants his mother-in-law to visit his family from Syria. He says courts have not extended due-process rights outside of a spousal relationship. Neal Katyal, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing Hawaii, called the story of Elshiskh, an Egyptian immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen, "the story of America." Wall told the judge that if he is inclined to issue an injunction, it should be tailored specifically to Hawaii and not nationwide. In Washington state, U.S. District Judge James Robart — who halted the original ban last month — heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, which is making arguments similar to the ACLU's in the Maryland case. Robart said he is most interested in two questions presented by the group's challenge to the ban: whether the ban violates federal immigration law, and whether the affected immigrants would be "irreparably harmed" should the ban go into effect. He spent much of Wednesday afternoon's hearing grilling the lawyers about two seeming conflicting federal laws on immigration — one which gives the president the authority to keep "any class of aliens" out of the country, and another that forbids the government from discriminating on the basis of nationality when it comes to issuing immigrant visas. Robart said he would issue a written order, but he did not say when. He is also overseeing the challenge brought by Washington state. Attorney General Bob Ferguson argues that the new order harms residents, universities and businesses, especially tech companies such as Washington state-based Microsoft and Amazon, which rely on foreign workers. California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon have joined the claim. Washington and Hawaii say the order also violates the First Amendment, which bars the government from favoring or disfavoring any religion. On that point, they say, the new ban is no different than the old. The states' First Amendment claim has not been resolved. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the original ban but did not rule on the discrimination claim. Johnson reported from Seattle. Associated Press Writer Ben Nuckols in Greenbelt, Maryland, also contributed to this report. ||||| A federal judge in Hawaii has put President Donald Trump's revised travel ban on hold.U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson issued his ruling Wednesday after hearing arguments on Hawaii's request for a temporary restraining order involving the ban.His ruling prevents the executive order from going into effect Thursday.More than half a dozen states are trying to stop the ban, and federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments Wednesday about whether it should be put into practice.Hawaii argued that the ban discriminates on the basis of nationality and would prevent Hawaii residents from receiving visits from relatives in the six mostly Muslim countries covered by the ban.The state also says the ban would harm its tourism industry and the ability to recruit foreign students and workers. ||||| HONOLULU — Hours before it was to take effect, President Donald Trump's revised travel ban was put on hold Wednesday by a federal judge in Hawaii who questioned the government's argument that the measure was motivated by national security concerns. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson also said Hawaii would suffer financially if the executive order blocks the flow of students and tourists to the state and concluded that Hawaii is likely to succeed on a claim that the ban violates First Amendment protections against religious discrimination. Watson issued his 43-page ruling less than two hours after hearing Hawaii's request for a temporary restraining order to stop the ban from being put into practice. The ruling came as opponents renewed their legal challenges across the country, asking judges in three states to block the executive order that targets people from six predominantly Muslim countries. More than half a dozen states are trying to stop the ban. Federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments about whether it should be allowed to take effect early Thursday. Watson was nominated to the federal bench by President Barack Obama in 2012 and is currently the only Native Hawaiian judge serving on the federal bench and the fourth in U.S. history. He received his law degree from Harvard in 1991. In Maryland, attorneys told a federal judge that the measure still discriminates against Muslims. Government attorneys argued that the ban was revised substantially to address legal concerns, including the removal of an exemption for religious minorities from the affected countries. "It doesn't say anything about religion. It doesn't draw any religious distinctions," said Jeffrey Wall, who argued for the Justice Department. Attorneys for the ACLU and other groups said that Trump's statements on the campaign trail and statements from his advisers since he took office make clear that the intent of the ban is to ban Muslims. Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller has said the revised order was designed to have "the same basic policy outcome" as the first. The new version of the ban details more of a national security rationale. It is narrower and eases some concerns about violating the due-process rights of travelers. It applies only to new visas from Somalia, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Yemen and temporarily shuts down the U.S. refugee program. It does not apply to travelers who already have visas. "Generally, courts defer on national security to the government," said U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang. "Do I need to conclude that the national security purpose is a sham and false?" In response, ACLU attorney Omar Jadwat pointed to Miller's statement and said the government had put out misleading and contradictory information about whether banning travel from six specific countries would make the nation safer. The Maryland lawsuit also argues that it's against federal law for the Trump administration to reduce the number of refugees allowed into the United States this year by more than half, from 110,000 to 50,000. Attorneys argued that if that aspect of the ban takes effect, 60,000 people would be stranded in war-torn countries with nowhere else to go. In the Hawaii case, the federal government said there was no need to issue an emergency restraining order because Hawaii officials offered only "generalized allegations" of harm. ||||| United States President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban order was blocked by yet another federal judge on Thursday, reported AP. After a Hawaii judge put a stay on the order even before it could be implemented on Wednesday, a Maryland judge followed suit. The second order placed restrictions on people from six Muslim-majority countries, after the first order was also suspended by the judiciary. The American Civil Liberities Union and other advocacy groups that work for immigrants and refugees had moved the Maryland court. The petitioners had held that the ban was discriminatory, even as the Trump administration said that it was meant to stop letting terrorists into the country. Even though the government said the revised order was a watered down version of the first one, it failed to convince the Maryland judge. “Despite these changes, the history of public statements continues to provide a convincing case that the purpose of the Second Executive Order remains the realisation of the long-envisioned Muslim ban,” said Judge Theodore Chuang. The judge has granted a preliminary injunction on the order that is applicable for the whole country. Trump had defended the first order and repeatedly said it was “not a Muslim ban”, but the restrictions brought in by his move had wreaked havoc on immigrant families, especially those with valid visas. Protests had been launched across the country, including at airports, against the travel ban. His executive order had also been criticised by politicians, activists, immigration advocates and even United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. ||||| A federal judge in Hawaii blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s revised executive order on entry into the United States on Wednesday, just hours before it was to have taken effect. The ruling, granting a request for a temporary restraining order by the state of Hawaii and Ismail Elshikh, stalls the president’s second attempt to suspend admission of nearly all refugees for 120 days and to restrict visas for nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson, who said the restraining order applies nationwide, said Trump’s travel order was religiously discriminatory. Watson, whom President Barack Obama appointed to the district court in 2013, didn’t formally rule on the constitutionality of Trump’s order itself. Critics, including Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin, have called it a thinly veiled unconstitutional “Muslim ban,” which Trump has denied. But Watson wrote that he believed Hawaii had a “strong likelihood of success on the merits” in its attempt to overturn Trump’s order on religious grounds. The court record, according to Watson, shows “significant and unrebutted evidence of religious animus driving the promulgation of the Executive Order,” in violation of the Constitution. Watson cited public statements by Trump that he said established that the order was targeted at Muslims — including his comments after he signed the first executive order in January that he was “establishing a new vetting measure to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America” because “we don’t want them here.” Watson also cited remarks by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a prominent Trump supporter, who said in January: “When he [Trump] first announced it, he said, ‘Muslim ban.’ He called me up. He said, ‘Put a commission together. Show me the right way to do it legally.'” “A reasonable, objective observer — enlightened by the specific historical context, contemporaneous public statements, and specific sequence of events leading to its issuance — would conclude that the Executive Order was issued with a purpose to disfavor a particular religion,” Watson wrote. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the Trump administration had no immediate comment. In addition to Honolulu, hearings on similar requests were held Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Bethesda, Maryland, and in Seattle, where judges didn’t immediately issue any rulings. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose office challenged the initial executive in a lawsuit that resulted in its being blocked, called the Hawaii ruling “fantastic news” on Twitter. Elshikh, Hawaii’s co-plaintiff, is a legal U.S. resident, but his mother-in-law, who is Syrian, would have been barred from legally entering the United States under the president’s order. He and the state argued that Trump’s order would discriminate on the basis of nationality and would harm tourism and recruitment of foreign workers. In the Maryland hearing, refugees’ advocates and civil liberties groups also argued that the order would discriminate against Muslims, “stigmatizing and demeaning one religious group.” Trump’s first order in late January caused chaos at airports, with students, professors and green card holders among those reporting that they were turned away or detained and were subjected to lengthy travel delays and questioning. The federal judge in Seattle, James Robart, blocked the order in a Feb. 3 ruling, and an appeals court refused to reinstate it. Trump issued the order on March 6. It removed Iraq from the list of affected countries and exempted lawful permanent residents and green card holders. It also dropped a provision that would have indefinitely suspended admission to the United States of refugees from Syria. Trump has said the restrictions were necessary to protect Americans from terrorism. ||||| A federal judge in Hawaii blocked President Donald Trump’s new travel ban on Wednesday afternoon, hours before the ban was set to go into effect. The ruling — which applies nationwide — means that travelers from six Muslim-majority countries and refugees will be able to travel to the US. The Trump administration took over a month to rewrite the travel ban order after multiple federal courts blocked its implementation last month. Unlike the previous executive order, the new one removed Iraq from the list of banned countries, exempted those with green cards and visas, and removed a provision that arguably prioritizes certain religious minorities. US District Court Judge Derrick Watson concluded that the new executive order still failed to pass legal muster. “The illogic of the Government’s contentions is palpable. The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed,” Watson wrote. “Equally flawed is the notion that the Executive Order cannot be found to have targeted Islam because it applies to all individuals in the six referenced countries,” Watson added. “It is undisputed, using the primary source upon which the Government itself relies, that these six countries have overwhelmingly Muslim populations that range from 90.7% to 99.8%.” “It would therefore be no paradigmatic leap to conclude that targeting these countries likewise targets Islam,” Watson added. “Certainly, it would be inappropriate to conclude, as the Government does, that it does not.” Several states and immigration advocates say the new order still suffers from legal flaws and asked federal judges to weigh in by issuing temporary restraining orders blocking the ban before Thursday. Federal judges in Maryland and Washington state may also issue rulings Wednesday. The new ban was announced earlier this month and set to take effect Thursday. It would ban people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days. The White House did not immediately comment on Watson’s ruling, but the Trump administration argues the ban is necessary to protect the nation’s security. “We cannot compromise our nation’s security by allowing visitors entry when their own governments are unable or unwilling to provide the information we need to vet them responsibly, or when those governments actively support terrorism,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said March 6. ||||| GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge in Greenbelt, Maryland, has blocked President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban targeting six predominantly Muslim countries. Judge Theodore Chuang ruled Thursday in a case brought near the nation’s capital by the ACLU and other groups representing immigrants, refugees and their families. The groups argued that the underlying rationale of the ban was to discriminate against Muslims, making it unconstitutional. Chuang granted a preliminary injunction nationwide basis. Government lawyers argued that the ban was substantially revised from an earlier version signed in January that was later blocked by a federal judge in Washington state. They said the ban was ordered in the interest of national security to protect the U.S. from “radical Islamic terrorism.” The Maryland plaintiffs also argued the ban illegally reduces the number of refugees authorized to enter the U.S. this year. Chuang granted the preliminary injunction nationwide basis pending further orders from this court. He declined to stay the ruling should an emergency appeal be filed. It was the latest ruling against Trump’s revised travel ban. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Hawaii blocked the ban, rejecting the government’s claims that the revised travel ban is about national security, not discrimination. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson also said Hawaii would suffer financially if the executive order constricted the flow of students and tourists to the state. His ruling prevented the executive order, announced March 6, from going into effect Thursday. Trump responded to the Hawaii ruling Wednesday at a campaign-style rally in Nashville, Tennessee. He said the ruling was “unprecedented judicial overreach” that “makes us look weak.” ||||| A defiant Donald Trump has pledged to appeal against a federal judge’s order placing an immediate halt on his revised travel ban, describing the ruling as judicial overreach that made the United States look weak. In granting the temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit by the state of Hawaii, U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson found on Wednesday that “a reasonable, objective observer ... would conclude that the executive order was issued with a purpose to disfavor a particular religion.” Early on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang issued a nationwide preliminary injunction in a similar case in Maryland brought by refugee resettlement agencies represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center. Chuang ruled that the agencies were likely to succeed in proving that the travel ban portion of the executive order was intended to be a ban on Muslims and, as a result, violates the U.S. Constitution’s religious freedom protection. Explainer: Trump’s immigration ban, Part II: What we know so far “To avoid sowing seeds of division in our nation, upholding this fundamental constitutional principle at the core of our nation’s identity plainly serves a significant public interest,” Chuang wrote in his ruling. The actions were the latest legal blow to the administration’s efforts to temporarily ban refugees as well as travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries. The president has said the ban is needed for national security. However, the orders, while a victory for the plaintiffs, are only a first step and the government could ultimately win its underlying case. Watson and Chuang were appointed to the bench by former Democratic President Barack Obama. Trump, speaking after the Hawaii ruling at a rally in Nashville, called his revised executive order a “watered-down version” of his first. The president said he would take the case “as far as it needs to go,” including to the Supreme Court, in order to get a ruling that the ban is legal. The likely next stop if the administration decides to contest the Hawaii judge’s ruling would be the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Three judges on the Ninth Circuit upheld a restraining order on the first travel ban issued by a Washington state judge. At that point, the government’s legal options were to ask for a hearing by a larger panel of judges or petition the Supreme Court to hear the case. Instead, the administration withdrew the ban, promising to retool it in ways that would address the legal issues. If the Ninth Circuit were to uphold the Hawaii court’s ruling, an appeal to the Supreme Court would be complicated by its current makeup of four conservative and four liberal judges, with no ninth justice since the death of Antonin Scalia more than a year ago. The travel ban has deeply divided the country on liberal and conservative lines, and it is unlikely that a ninth Supreme Court justice would be seated in time to hear an appeal in this case. Trump signed the new ban on March 6 in a bid to overcome legal problems with his January executive order, which caused chaos at airports and sparked mass protests before a Washington judge stopped its enforcement in February. Watson’s order is only temporary until the broader arguments in the case can be heard. He set an expedited hearing schedule to determine if his ruling should be extended. Trump’s first travel order was more sweeping than the second revised order. Like the current one, it barred citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days, but it also included Iraq, which was subsequently taken off the list. The revised ban also excluded legal permanent residents and existing visa holders and provided waivers for various categories of immigrants with ties to the United States. Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claimed that the motivation behind it was Trump’s campaign promise of “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” In Washington state, a group of plaintiffs applying for immigrant visas asked U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle - who suspended the first ban - to stop the new order. Robart was appointed to the bench by Republican former President George W. Bush. Judge Robart said he would issue a written ruling, but did not specify a time line.
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A U.S. federal judge in Hawaii, finding the revised federal immigration/refugee executive order violates the U.S. Constitution's religious establishment clause, grants the state of Hawaii's motion for a nationwide temporary restraining order on these rules that were set to become effective at midnight. President Donald Trump vows to appeal this ruling. Two other federal courts held hearings on similar requests filed by the states of Maryland and Washington; neither of these judges issued a ruling.
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Jerusalem (CNN) In the most serious clash between Israeli and Syrian forces since the start of the Syrian conflict six year ago, Israeli aircraft struck several targets in Syria overnight, the Israeli military said Friday. Israel targeted a military site near the ancient city of Palmyra , the Syrian military said,in what would be one of its deepest airstrikes inside Syrian territory since the civil war began there. Palmyra, once held by ISIS and retaken by the Syrian government, is strategically important to both the regime and its opponents. Most of Israel's reported strikes have been around the capital of Damascus, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights In response, Syrian forces fired anti-aircraft missiles at the Israeli jets, saying they downed one aircraft and hit another. Israeli vehemently denied the assertions, calling them "absolutely not true." 🔴 Overnight, IAF conducted strikes against several targets in #Syria. Anti-aircraft missiles launched at the aircraft were intercepted. — Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) March 17, 2017 "At no point was the safety of Israeli civilians or the IAF aircraft compromised," a statement from the Israel Defense Forces said. The statement is unusual in that Israel rarely comments on airstrikes in Syria. The intercept triggered alarm sirens in the Jordan Valley. Shrapnel from the explosion, which was heard as far south as Jerusalem, landed in western Jordan, the Jordanian military said. JUST WATCHED Israel denies Syrian claim it downed Israeli plane Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Israel denies Syrian claim it downed Israeli plane 02:32 Syria's latest claims are reminiscent of its statement in September about downing an Israeli aircraft near Quneitra, close to the Golan Heights. Israel seized parts of that region from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War The Israeli military said then that Syria fired two anti-aircraft missiles at its jets targeting artillery positions, but both missiles missed. They were fired long after Israeli jets left the area, the military added. Arrow missile defense One of the missiles overnight was intercepted by Israel's Arrow missile defense system , marking its first operational use. Arrow, Israel's ballistic missile defense system and the long-range version of its Iron Dome , is designed to intercept missiles outside the atmosphere. The use came more than a year after the first successful Arrow-3 intercept test was carried out in December 2015. At that time, Israeli officials would not say when the missile would become operational. The Israeli military would not explain why Arrow was used against an anti-aircraft missile, fueling speculation that Israel was either testing the Arrow missile or that its Iron Dome missile defense system wasn't within range of downing the anti-aircraft missile. Taking aim at weapons smuggling Israel has long focused on stopping the transfer of weapons from Syria to terror groups. In December, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman told a delegation of European Union envoys that Israel will "prevent the smuggling of sophisticated weapons, military equipment and weapons of mass destruction from Syria to Hezbollah." JUST WATCHED McCain: 'More latitude' for commanders in Syria Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH McCain: 'More latitude' for commanders in Syria 07:57 It was another acknowledgement of Israel's ongoing operations in Syria. Last April, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel has struck Syria "dozens of times," breaking with the policy of remaining quiet about involvement in its war-torn northern neighbor. Netanyahu returned last week from Moscow, where he reaffirmed Israel's military coordination with Russia in the skies over Syria. The two countries established the coordination last year to avoid conflicts in Syrian airspace, ostensibly to allow both countries to operate freely. Netanyahu also expressed his concerns about a growing Iranian presence in Syria. Repeated incursions Israel has attempted to stay out of Syria's civil war but has reportedly struck the country multiple times in the past, often taking aim at weapons shipments intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon. As recently as late February, Syrian media reported that Israeli jets hit military positions and weapons convoys near Damascus. In November 2012, Israel fired warning shots toward Syria after a mortar shell hit an Israeli military post, the first time Israel had fired on Syria across the Golan Heights since the 1973 Yom Kippur War Israeli jets have been hitting targets in Syria since at least 2013, when US officials told CNN they believed IDF jets had struck nside Syrian territory. In 2014, the Syrian government and an opposition group both said an IDF strike had hit Damascus' suburbs and airport JUST WATCHED Israel wary of Russian military buildup in Syria Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Israel wary of Russian military buildup in Syria 01:55 The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency characterized those strikes as "a flagrant attack on Syria, targeting two safe areas in (the) Damascus countryside in Dimas and near Damascus International Airport." Israeli strikes have also gone after ISIS fighters inside Syria. Late last year, IDF troops operating in the disputed Golan region came under fire from militants of the ISIS affiliate Khalid ibn al-Walid Army, Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said. ||||| Al-jineh: The US said it carried out an air strike in Syria against an al-Qaeda meeting but denied deliberately targeting a mosque where a monitor said on Friday 46 people were killed. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of the dead in the Thursday evening raid on Al-Jineh, in the northern province of Aleppo, were civilians. The US-led coalition has been bombing jihadist groups in war-torn Syria since 2014, with hundreds of civilians unintentionally killed in the country and in neighbouring Iraq. "We did not target a mosque, but the building that we did target -- which was where the meeting took place -- is about 50 feet (15 metres) from a mosque that is still standing," said Colonel John J. Thomas, spokesman for US Central Command. According to a Centcom statement: "US forces conducted an air strike on an Al-Qaeda in Syria meeting location March 16 in Idlib, Syria, killing several terrorists." The Centcom spokesman later clarified that the precise location of the strike was unclear -- but that it was the same one widely reported to have hit the village mosque in Al-Jineh, in Aleppo province. "We are going to look into any allegations of civilian casualties in relation to this strike," he added. An AFP correspondent saw rescue workers in white helmets working under spotlights with picks and shovels late on Thursday to dig people out of the rubble. Much of the building, identified by a black placard outside as a mosque, had been flattened. The empty prayer hall was covered in debris, and rescue workers stepped through it carefully, deliberating how to break down a wall to search for more survivors. Rescuers had earlier left the wreckage site but were forced to double back when they heard moaning coming from the rubble. "More than 100 people were wounded," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said on Thursday, adding that many were still trapped under the collapsed mosque in the village of Al-Jineh, just over 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of Aleppo. The village is held by Islamist groups, but the Observatory said no jihadist factions are present. Abu Muhammed, a village resident, told AFP that he "heard powerful explosions when the mosque was hit. It was right after prayers at a time when there are usually religious lessons for men in it. "I saw 15 bodies and lots of body parts in the debris when I arrived. We couldn't even recognise some of the bodies," he added. More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-government protests six years ago. A ceasefire between government forces and non-jihadist rebel groups was brokered by rebel backer Turkey and regime ally Russia in December, but violence has continued. The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its information, says it determines whose planes carry out raids according to type, location, flight patterns and munitions used. But the skies over Aleppo province are busy, with Syrian regime and Russian warplanes as well as US-led coalition aircraft carrying out strikes. Russia began a military intervention in Syria in September 2015, and in the past has dismissed allegations of civilian deaths in its strikes. The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group said earlier this month that its raids in Iraq and Syria had unintentionally killed at least 220 civilians since 2014. Critics say the real number is much higher. Israel has also carried out air strikes elsewhere in Syria. Before dawn on Friday, its warplanes hit several targets near the famed desert city of Palmyra, prompting retaliatory missiles launches, in the most serious incident between the two countries since the Syrian civil war started in 2011. The Syrian army said it had downed one Israeli plane and hit another but the Israeli military insisted the safety of its aircraft had not been compromised. Israel said it intercepted one missile. Jordanian military sources said missile shrapnel struck in the north of the kingdom without causing any casualties. ||||| Syria and Israel engaged in the most serious incident between the two countries since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war six years ago overnight on Thursday, as Israeli Air Force Planes struck several targets in Syria. The General Command of the Army and the Armed Forced announced on Friday that the Syrian air defense downed one of four Israeli warplanes that violated the Syrian airspace and targeted a military site in the eastern countryside of Homs. According to a statement by the Command, the four Israeli aircrafts violated the Syrian airspace in al-Breij area through the Lebanese territories at 2:40 am. The Israeli warplanes targeted a military site near Palmyra in the eastern countryside of Homs, said the Army’s Command, confirming that the Syria air defense forces confronted the enemy’s aircrafts and shot down one of them inside the occupied territories, hit another and forced the other two to withdraw. The Israeli army said that none of the missiles struck the jets, though in Syria, the military claimed Friday that one Israeli jet had been shot down and another damaged. The Israeli army said the rocket fired toward Israel was not among Syria’s most advanced and the incident was the first confirmed instance of operational use of the Arrow system – meant to challenge the threat of ballistic missiles – despite being first delivered to the army in the late 90s. According to the Israeli army, the aircraft had already returned to Israeli airspace when Syrian launched its air-defense rockets. There were no Israeli casualties in the incident, and the IOF military spokesperson’s unit confirmed Israel struck targets in Syria in an exceptionally rare statement. There have been several reports over the past five years that Israel has targeted weapons convoys in Syria headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon, but until now Israel has not officially addressed these claims. Earlier in the night, the IOF confirmed sirens sounded in the Jordan Valley in eastern Israel. Less than a month ago, on February 22, Lebanese reports indicated that Israeli forces had struck an arms convoy outside of Damascus in an attacked carried out from Lebanese airspace. One month before that, on January 13, the Syrian government warned of repercussions to what it called a “flagrant” attack after the army told state media that Israeli missiles had struck a military airport west of Damascus. ||||| JERUSALEM — Syria fired missiles at Israeli warplanes early Friday after a series of Israeli airstrikes inside Syria — a rare military exchange between the two hostile neighbors that was confirmed by both sides. The Israeli military said its aircraft struck several targets in Syria and were back in Israeli-controlled airspace when several anti-aircraft missiles were launched from Syria toward the Israeli jets. Israeli aerial defense systems intercepted one of the missiles, the army said, without elaborating. It would not say whether any other missiles struck Israeli-held territory, but said the safety of Israeli civilians and Israeli aircraft was “not compromised.” (Washington Post) All sorts of wild rumors were flying about after this exchange this morning. Most of them, if not all of them, are not true. Even the U.S. is downplaying the whole affair. A DOD spokesman said this in a briefing. "I do not have any particular reaction for you. We are certainly aware of it. This is a matter between Israel and Syria and not something we were a party to.” The best explanation I’ve seen for this is offered by Elijah J. Magnier over his twitter account. 1. What happen between Israel and Syria today in Palmyra? Israel tried to break "redlines", attacking inside the "allowed zones & targets. 2. There are no targets for Iran or Hezbollah (weapons traveling to Lebanon or the Golan heights) in Palmyra but an attempt to push ROE. 3. The targets Israel hit today are close to the T4 and are involved in the war in Syria, a red line for Russia who approved a "warning" 4. Russia doesn't want to see an Israeli jet hit over its operational theatre (in Syria) unless Israel pushed the boundaries. 5. This explains why Syria didn't use its S-300 but limited itself to already existing anti-air missiles and a "warning to Israel". 6. As long as Israel hits targets in Damascus airport or warehouses on the way to Lebanon (not inland like today) Russia won't intervene. 7. The recent visit of Netanyahu to Moscow failed to reach its objectives in convincing Russia to switch against Iran and Hezbollah. 8. Israel tried to "test the ground" today but will "close the incident" and accept the message behind it, aware Syria is Russia’s playground. (@EjmAlrai) I agree with Magnier. If Bibi didn’t receive the message during his pilgrimage to Moscow last week, I would think he got it loud and clear this morning. Vladimir Vladimirovich is calling the shots now in this part of the Mediterranean... and he wants a quiet, orderly neighborhood. ||||| Israel has denied a claim by Syria that it shot down an Israeli plane carrying out pre-dawn raids on a military target near Palmyra (AFP Photo/) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli warplanes struck several targets in Syria early Friday, prompting retaliatory missiles launches, in the most serious incident between the two countries since the Syrian civil war began six years ago. Syria's military said it had downed an Israeli plane and hit another as they were carrying out pre-dawn strikes near the famed desert city of Palmyra that it recaptured from jihadists this month. "Our air defence engaged them and shot down one warplane over occupied territory, hit another one, and forced the rest to flee," the army said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA. The Israeli army denied any planes had been struck and the Syrian government has made similar unfounded claims in the past. "The safety of Israeli civilians or the Israeli air force aircraft was at no point compromised," army spokesman Peter Lerner told AFP. The Israeli air force said earlier that it had carried out several strikes on Syria overnight, but that none of the ground-to-air missiles fired by Syrian forces in response had hit Israeli aircraft. It was an unusual confirmation by the Jewish state of air raids inside Syria. "Overnight... aircraft targeted several targets in Syria," an Israeli army statement said. "Several anti-aircraft missiles were launched from Syria following the mission and (army) aerial defence systems intercepted one of the missiles." None of the missiles fired from Syria hit their targets, the army added. One missile was intercepted north of Jerusalem by Israel's Arrow air defence system, Israeli media reported. It would be one of the first times the system has been used. A Jordanian military source said shrapnel from one missile struck in the north of the kingdom without causing any casualties. Both Israeli and foreign media have reported a number of Israeli air strikes inside Syria targeting arms convoys of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which fought a devastating 2006 war with Israel and is now fighting alongside the Damascus regime. The Jewish state does not usually confirm or deny each raid but may have been led to do so this time by the circumstances of the incident. The missile fire prompted air raid sirens to go off in the Jordan Valley during the night, the Israeli army said. In April 2016, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted for the first time that Israel had attacked dozens of convoys transporting weapons in Syria destined for Hezbollah. Israel and Syria are still technically at war, though the border had remained largely quiet for decades until 2011 when the Syrian conflict broke out. Iranian-backed Hezbollah has been fighting inside Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad against the rebels. While there has been periodic stray fire into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that has prompted retaliatory strikes, Israel has largely avoided getting sucked into the conflict directly. Witnesses cited by the press also reported two explosions that could have been caused by the launch of the anti-missile system. The Arrow 3 interceptor, designed to shoot down ballistic missiles, was handed to air force bases in Israel in January after successful testing by Israel and the United States. Israel seized most of the Golan Hights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and annexed it in 1981 in a move never recognised by the international community. Israel pays close attention to developments in the Syrian conflict for fear that it could be exploited by its arch-rival Iran to install allies close to the armistice line on the Golan and Israel's borders. In the summer of 2006, Israel and Hezbollah fought a devastating war that killed nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, most of them civilians, and about 160 Israelis, most of them troops. ||||| Jerusalem (CNN) In the most serious clash between Israeli and Syrian forces since the start of the Syrian conflict six year ago, Israeli aircraft struck several targets in Syria overnight, the Israeli military said Friday. Israel targeted a military site near the ancient city of Palmyra , the Syrian military said,in what would be one of its deepest airstrikes inside Syrian territory since the civil war began there. Palmyra, once held by ISIS and retaken by the Syrian government, is strategically important to both the regime and its opponents. Most of Israel's reported strikes have been around the capital of Damascus, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights In response, Syrian forces fired anti-aircraft missiles at the Israeli jets, saying they downed one aircraft and hit another. Israeli vehemently denied the assertions, calling them "absolutely not true." "At no point was the safety of Israeli civilians or the IAF aircraft compromised," a statement from the Israel Defense Forces said. The statement is unusual in that Israel rarely comments on airstrikes in Syria. The intercept triggered alarm sirens in the Jordan Valley. Shrapnel from the explosion, which was heard as far south as Jerusalem, landed in western Jordan, the Jordanian military said. The Israeli military said then that Syria fired two anti-aircraft missiles at its jets targeting artillery positions, but both missiles missed. They were fired long after Israeli jets left the area, the military added. The use came more than a year after the first successful Arrow-3 intercept test was carried out in December 2015. At that time, Israeli officials would not say when the missile would become operational. The Israeli military would not explain why Arrow was used against an anti-aircraft missile, fueling speculation that Israel was either testing the Arrow missile or that its Iron Dome missile defense system wasn't within range of downing the anti-aircraft missile. Israel has long focused on stopping the transfer of weapons from Syria to terror groups. It was another acknowledgement of Israel's ongoing operations in Syria. Last April, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel has struck Syria "dozens of times," breaking with the policy of remaining quiet about involvement in its war-torn northern neighbor. Israel has attempted to stay out of Syria's civil war but has reportedly struck the country multiple times in the past, often taking aim at weapons shipments intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon. As recently as late February, Syrian media reported that Israeli jets hit military positions and weapons convoys near Damascus. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency characterized those strikes as "a flagrant attack on Syria, targeting two safe areas in (the) Damascus countryside in Dimas and near Damascus International Airport." Israeli strikes have also gone after ISIS fighters inside Syria. Late last year, IDF troops operating in the disputed Golan region came under fire from militants of the ISIS affiliate Khalid ibn al-Walid Army, Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said. ||||| An Israeli fighter jet was downed by Syrian anti-aircraft systems as a squadron of warplanes violated the Syrian airspace. “At 2:40 a.m. this morning, a squadron of four Israeli warplanes violated the Syrian airspace through Lebanon near Al-Bureij area, and targeted an Army position near Palmyra in Homs eastern countryside,” said the official statement issued by the Syrian Army’s General Command. “The Syrian Army’s air defence systems responded and managed to shoot down a fighter jet, damage another one, thus forcing them to withdraw,” the statement continued. The escalation was also reported by Avijaa Adraei, spokesman of the Israeli Army, who tweeted that “while targeting several objectives in Syria, the Israeli warplanes were targeted by anti-aircraft missiles fired by the Syrian Army.” Adraei pointed out that one of the missiles was intercepted by the Iron Dome and crashed in an area to the north of Jerusalem. Israeli fighter jets have conducted several airstrikes inside the Syrian territories during the Syrian war. The airstrikes killed several prominent anti-Israeli figures from both Hezbollah and the Syrian resistance, and destroyed weapons destined for Hezbollah according to Israeli claims. ||||| The Syrian army said Israeli jets breached the war torn country’s airspace in the early hours of Friday morning and attacked a “military target” near Palmyra. The jets were then reportedly targeted by Syrian anti-aircraft missiles. According to a statement from the Syrian Army, a total of four Israeli jets breached Syrian airspace on Friday morning. Syria’s air defenses shot down one of the jets over “occupied ground” and damaged another. The Israeli Army confirmed it had conducted airstrikes on several targets in Syria, but the IDF claim that none of the jets were damaged. Israeli warplanes “penetrated our airspace at 2:40 a.m. (0040 GMT) via Lebanese territory and hit a military target on the way to Palmyra,” said an army statement carried by state news agency SANA. “Our air defense engaged them and shot down one warplane over occupied territory, hit another one, and forced the rest to flee,” the army said, apparently referring to the Golan Heights. The Syrian army also slammed Tel Aviv’s strikes as “an act of aggression” meant to assist the Takfiri Daesh terror group. Israel’s aerial assaults are “a desperate attempt to raise their (Daesh terrorists’) deteriorating morale and divert attention away from the victories which Syrian Arab Army is making in the face of the terrorist organizations,” the statement read. The Syrian army recaptured Palmyra from Daesh on March 2. In January, the army accused Israel of carrying out missile strikes on the Mazzeh air base near Damascus. The Syria army underlined its resolve to repel any future Israeli attack by “all possible means.” Israel has carried out air raids against Syrian-based targets on many occasions, but it rarely acknowledges the attacks. On Friday, however, the Israeli military acknowledged that its jets bombed several targets in Syria. In a statement, the military said the Syrian air force fired numerous anti-aircraft missiles at the warplanes and the Israeli air force “intercepted one of the missiles.” The explosion caused by the incident set off sirens in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank and the blast was heard as far as Jerusalem al-Quds, according to the Israeli military statement. The Israeli military later said in a separate statement that its aircraft were unharmed in the operation. Israel and Syria are technically at war due to Tel Aviv’s continued occupation of the latter’s Golan Heights since 1967. Tel Aviv has also been supporting the militants operating to topple the Syrian government. Some of the attacks have reportedly struck targets belonging to the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah, which has been assisting the Syrian military in the face of the militancy. ||||| JERUSALEM (AP) — Syria fired missiles at Israeli warplanes early Friday after a series of Israeli airstrikes inside Syria — a rare military exchange between the two hostile neighbors that was confirmed by both sides. The Israeli military said its aircraft struck several targets in Syria and were back in Israeli-controlled airspace when several anti-aircraft missiles were launched from Syria toward the Israeli jets. Israeli aerial defense systems intercepted one of the missiles, the army said, without elaborating. It would not say whether any other missiles struck Israeli-held territory, but said the safety of Israeli civilians and Israeli aircraft was “not compromised.” The army said the incident set off sirens in Jewish settlement communities in the Jordan Valley, part of the West Bank. The firing of missiles from Syria toward Israeli aircraft is extremely rare, though Israeli military officials reported a shoulder-fired missile a few months ago. A Syrian military statement said four Israeli warplanes violated Syrian airspace — flying into Syria through Lebanese territory — and targeted a military position in central Syria. Damascus said Syrian anti-aircraft systems confronted the planes and claimed one of the jets was shot down in Israeli- controlled territory and that another was hit. The Israeli military denied the allegation and there was no sign that any of the jets had been hit or downed. The Syrian statement, in line with typical anti-Western rhetoric from Damascus, said the “blatant aggression” was an attempt by Israel to support “terrorist gangs” of the Islamic State group inside Syria and “deflect from the victories” of the Syrian army in the country’s civil war, which this week entered its seventh year. Israeli Channel 10 TV reported that Israel deployed its Arrow defense system for the first time against a real threat and hit an incoming missile, intercepting it before it exploded in Israel. The station said the Israeli military had been on a mission to destroy a weapons convoy destined for the Lebanese Hezbollah group, which is backed by Iran and fights alongside Syrian government forces. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. Jordan, which borders both Israel and Syria, said parts of the missiles fell in its rural northern areas, including the Irbid district. The military said the debris was the result of the Israeli interception of missiles fired from Syria toward Israeli positions and bases. Radwan Otoum, the Irbid governor, told the state news agency Petra that the missile parts caused only minor damage. A chunk of missile crashed into the courtyard of a home in the community of Inbeh in northern Jordan, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Syrian border. Umm Bilal al-Khatib, a local resident, said she heard an explosion and initially thought a gas cylinder had exploded. When she went outside she found a small crater and a 3-meter-long (10-foot) cylinder. She said her husband contacted Jordanian authorities, who removed the debris. The Haaretz daily said the interception took place north of Jerusalem. However, the Arrow is designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles high in the stratosphere, so it remained unclear why the system would have been used in this particular incident. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the reports. The Arrow is part of what Israel calls its “multilayer missile defense” comprised of different systems meant to protect against short and long-range threats, including the thousands of missiles possessed by Hezbollah in Lebanon and rockets used by Hamas and other Islamic militant groups in Gaza. Israel has been largely unaffected by the Syrian civil war raging next door, suffering mostly sporadic incidents of spillover fire that Israel has generally dismissed as tactical errors by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces. Israel has responded with limited reprisals on Syrian positions in response to the errant fire. The Syrian conflict, which began in March 2011 as a popular uprising against Assad, eventually descended into a full-blown civil war with Syrian government forces fighting an array of rebel groups. The chaos has allowed al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria and the Islamic State group to expand their reach. The skies over Syria are now crowded, with Russian and Syrian aircraft backing Assad’s forces and a U.S.-led coalition striking Islamic State and al-Qaida targets. Israel is widely believed to have carried out airstrikes on advanced weapons systems in Syria — including Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles and Iranian-made missiles — as well as Hezbollah positions, but it rarely confirms such operations. Hezbollah is pledged to Israel’s destruction and fought a monthlong war with the Jewish state in 2006. ||||| Israeli warplanes struck several targets in Syria early Friday, prompting retaliatory missile launches, in the most serious incident between the two countries since the Syrian civil war began six years ago. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes targeted weapons bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah, and that the Jewish State would do the same again if necessary. Syria's military said it had downed an Israeli plane and hit another as they were carrying out pre-dawn strikes near the famed desert city of Palmyra that it recaptured from jihadists this month. The Israeli military denied that any planes had been hit. The Syrian government has made similar unfounded claims in the past. "The safety of Israeli civilians or the Israeli air force aircraft was at no point compromised," Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner told AFP. Netanyahu said in footage aired on Israel's major television networks: "When we identify attempts to transfer advanced weapons to Hezbollah and we have intelligence and it is operationally feasible, we act to prevent it. "That's how it was yesterday and that's how we shall continue to act," he added. "We are fully determined and the evidence of that it that we are acting. Everybody must take that into account -- everybody." The Israeli air force said earlier that it had carried out several strikes on Syria overnight, but that none of the ground-to-air missiles fired by Syrian forces in response had hit Israeli aircraft. It was an unusual confirmation by the Jewish state of air raids inside Syria. "Overnight... aircraft targeted several targets in Syria," an Israeli army statement said. "Several anti-aircraft missiles were launched from Syria following the mission and (Israeli) aerial defence systems intercepted one of the missiles," it said. None of the missiles fired from Syria hit their targets, the army added. One missile was intercepted by Israel's Arrow air defence system, Israeli media reported. It would be one of the first times the system has been used. A Jordanian military source said shrapnel from one missile fell in the north of the kingdom without causing any casualties. In April 2016, Netanyahu admitted for the first time that Israel had attacked dozens of convoys transporting weapons in Syria destined for Hezbollah, which fought a devastating 2006 war with Israel and is now fighting alongside the Damascus regime. Israel does not usually confirm or deny each individual raid, but it may have been led to do so this time by the circumstances of the incident. The missile fired from Syria prompted air raid sirens to sound in the Jordan Valley during the night, the Israeli army said. Israel and Syria are still technically at war, though the border had remained largely quiet for decades until 2011 when the Syrian conflict began. Assaf Orion, senior research fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, said Syria's response was a "significant" shift. Until now, he said, when Israel attacked Hezbollah convoys there, it "usually went without a response or with an insignificant response from the Syrian side". "(With this attack) the Syrian regime is trying to tell Israel it can't stand it any more and those actions will not be free of charge." President Bashar al-Assad's position has been strengthened in recent months with his forces reclaiming all of Syria's second city Aleppo, as well as enjoying continuing Russian support. Orion said the Syrian leader was feeling emboldened. "He is saying: 'Don´t push me. I am not as weak as I used to be.'" Yaakov Amidror, a former head of Israel's National Security Council, said weapons convoys of the Iran-backed Hezbollah remained a "red line" and that Israel would continue to attack them when deemed necessary. The Arrow 3 interceptor, designed to shoot down ballistic missiles, was deployed to Israeli air force ground crews in January after successful testing by Israel and the United States. Israel seized most of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981, in a move never recognised by the international community. Israel pays close attention to developments in the Syrian conflict for fear that it could be exploited by its arch-rival Iran to instal allies close to the armistice line on the Golan and Israel's borders.
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The Israeli Air Force launches several airstrikes on targets inside Syria, and for the first time, publicly claims responsibility. Syrian air defenses responded by launching missiles at the aircraft, and thereupon Israeli Arrow 3 missiles were launched in response to the counter-offensive. Israel stated that it was targeting suspected weapons shipments to Hezbollah in Lebanon, adding that the Israeli military will keep intervening until they believe such shipments have ceased. According to the Syrian Army, four Israeli jets entered its airspace and struck targets near Palmyra.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "The attacker was holding the soldier by her neck" French security forces have shot dead a gunman as he attacked a patrol at Orly airport south of Paris. Ziyed Ben Belgacem was killed after putting a gun to a female soldier's head saying he wanted to "die by Allah", officials say. Earlier on Saturday the 39-year-old had been involved in a shooting and then a carjacking in the Paris area. Belgacem had been reported as radicalised in the past, and was on a police watch-list. His criminal record included convictions for armed robbery and drugs offences, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters. He fell under the influence of Islamist radicals was while serving prison time. The attack comes at a sensitive time. France has presidential elections starting next month and remains under a state of emergency. The soldiers at Orly were part of Operation Sentinel - involving thousands of soldiers deployed to provide back-up to the police after the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015 and the Paris attacks of November 2015. The sequence of events Early on Saturday morning, Belgacem was stopped at a checkpoint in Garges-les-Gonesse, north of Paris, where he lives. He fired at police with a pellet gun before escaping in a car that was later found abandoned. Police say he then stole a car at gunpoint from a woman at Vitry, south of Paris. That car was later found at Orly airport. Belgacem arrived at the airport and attacked the military patrol in the south terminal. He tried to seize the servicewoman's automatic weapon, put his gun to her head and said: "I'm here to die by Allah. In any case, people are going to die." He was then shot dead by two other soldiers. Image copyright EPA Image caption A huge security operation is under way at the airport A copy of the Koran was found on his body, Mr Molins added. Intelligence agents searched his home in Garges-les-Gonesse for evidence of Islamist sympathies, but reportedly found nothing. However, traces of cocaine were discovered during the search. The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says the picture is building up of a man on the criminal fringes of society, who also consorted with Islamist radicals. Travel disruption Orly - located 13km (8 miles) south of Paris - is the capital's second-largest airport. Image copyright AFP Image caption Travellers were evacuated from the airport Image copyright AP Image caption There were huge traffic jams outside the airport soon after the shooting incident Image copyright AFP Image caption Police were quick to secure the airport after the shooting Both the west and the south terminals were closed during the security operation. An estimated 3,000 passengers were evacuated. Many flights were suspended, with some arrivals diverted to Charles de Gaulle airport. But the terminals reopened later in the day and normal flight operations were said to be resuming. Terrified witnesses Ellie Guttetter, 18, from the US said: "We were sitting in Hall Three when all of a sudden people started running and telling us to run with them. "The people running were passengers and flight attendants. It was pretty chaotic and everyone was panicking - it was scary." Image copyright AP Image caption The shooting traumatised some passengers Another eyewitness, Meredith Dixon, described seeing panicked airline personnel, with no security or police personnel to usher people outside the airport complex. "It was complete chaos," she told the BBC. "There were no alarms. No overhead announcements. No organised evacuation. People just began running." ||||| PARIS — A man who tried to seize a soldier’s gun at Paris Orly Airport was involved in a carjacking and another shooting at a traffic stop, French authorities said Saturday. Security forces opened fire, killing the man during the morning attack at the airport. The attacker was known to police and intelligence services, and was involved in a shooting at a police traffic stop north of Paris that morning, Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said at a news conference. He fled the scene. A police officer injured during the traffic stop incident is undergoing treatment but is not seriously injured, he said. The anti-terror prosecutor has opened an investigation, said Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre, spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office. At the airport, the attacker tried to tackle a female soldier and take her weapon, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. He was shot dead by two of the soldier’s colleagues, who were on patrol with her. They responded with “great professionalism,” he said. This was the fourth attack against security forces deployed as part of France’s Operation Sentinel, Le Drian said. The national security operation was launched following the Paris terror attacks in January 2015. Le Roux praised the swift response of security forces at the airport. No one else was injured in the airport incident, interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said. The traffic stop where his identity papers were checked was in Garges-lès-Gonesse, north of Paris, Thibault-Lecuivre said. The man later stole another vehicle at gunpoint in Vitry-sur-Seine, she said, on the southern outskirts of Paris near the airport. He was born in 1978 and was known to police for armed robbery and drug trafficking, she added. The airport was evacuated as an elite operations unit and bomb squad officers rushed to the scene. Local authorities said the bomb squad had finished its search for explosives. Air traffic at both Orly South and Orly West remains suspended, the president of Paris Airports Augustin de Romanet said, adding that he discouraged people from coming to the scene. The police also urged the public to avoid the airport, follow instructions and not to cross the security perimeter. With roads around the airport closed off, some travelers earlier tried to make their way to the airport on foot with their baggage. Air traffic has been suspended at the airport, with some flights rerouted to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport. Paris Orly Airport is France’s second-busiest airport, with international and domestic air traffic. ||||| A man was reportedly shot dead by French soldiers after he tried to grab a soldier's gun at Paris Orly Airport, French officials said on Saturday. Parts of the airport have been evacuated. Passengers were also not allowed to disembark after gunshots were heard at the airport, BBC reported. A security operation is currently underway and bomb disposal experts have already reached at the spot. Police have warned people to stay away from the security cordon put in place by the officials. The Interior Ministry has confirmed that the man was shot dead after he tried to seize a weapon from a French soldier. "We confirm that the man, who tried to seize a weapon from a soldier, has been neutralized," the Ministry said. The identity of the deceased is still not known. The Orly Airport is the second largest airport in Paris. ||||| PARIS — The father of the man shot dead at Orly airport in Paris on Saturday after attacking a French solider has insisted his son was “not a terrorist.” Ziyed Ben Belgacem held a gun on a female soldier while shouting: “I am here to die in the name of Allah … There will be deaths,” before two of the soldier’s comrades shot the attacker dead, a prosecutor told reporters. But speaking to France’s Europe 1 radio Sunday, the father of Belgacem denied his son was a terrorist and instead blamed his actions on drugs and alcohol. “My son was not a terrorist. He never prayed and he drank,” the father, who is not being named by French authorities, said. “This is what happens under the influence of drink and cannabis.” Belgacem was also accused of shooting a police officer earlier in the day when he stole the officer’s weapon. That officer has non-life-threatening wounds, officials said. According to Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins, the suspect had been imprisoned several times on violence and theft convictions, including one five-year stint that began in 2009. French terrorism investigators will lead the inquiry into the attacks, Molins said. The father, who was released by police Sunday after being taken into custody, described how his son had called him after the shooting. He described his son as being “very angry” and that he asked for forgiveness. “He said to me: ‘Daddy, please forgive me. I’ve screwed up with a police officer,'” the father said. “I said I didn’t forgive him ‘because you hurt a policeman.'” While the father has been released by authorities, Belgacem’s brother and a cousin are still being questioned. When Belgacem got to Orly Airport in the southern outskirts of Paris, he went to the South Terminal, carrying a weapon and a can of gas in his rucksack, Molins said. He grabbed the female soldier and used her as a shield. They struggled over her weapon, the prosecutor said. With the soldier down on her knees, the suspect rose enough for the other two soldiers to shoot him several times. The whole scene unfolded in just a couple of minutes, Molins said. According to Molins, Belgacem’s plans were unclear, adding that an investigation will determine whether he acted as a “lone wolf.” An autopsy on Belgacem will go ahead on Sunday, including a toxicology examination to detect whether he was intoxicated with alcohol or drugs. Molins said Belgacem was involved in several incidents before heading to the airport.
• 6:55 a.m.: Shoots police officer after being stopped for speeding and driving with headlights turned off near Stains, in northern suburbs of Paris.
• Time not given: Goes to a bar in Vitry-sur-Seine where he had been until 3 a.m. and fires four shots with gun stolen from police officer. No one is wounded.
• Short time later: Drives from bar (where he leaves cell phone), carjacks a new vehicle About 16 minutes later, Belgacem assaulted the soldier. Hours after the airport incident, police launched an operation in the same northern Paris suburb where the officer was shot, the National Police tweeted. The agency did not specify the reason for the operation. Belgacem, who was born in 1978, was under supervision by authorities, Molins said, echoing Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux’s earlier comments that Belgacem was known to intelligence services. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian commended the soldiers who responded to the airport threat. They responded with “remarkable professionalism and self-control” to protect their colleague and the public, he said. This was the fourth attack against security forces deployed as part of France’s Operation Sentinel, Le Drian said. The national security operation was launched following the Paris terror attacks in January 2015; France has been under a state of emergency since November that year. Le Roux also praised the swift response of security forces at the airport. President François Hollande said the incident demonstrated that the ongoing national security operation — which has placed extra security forces at airports, train stations and other public places — is “absolutely essential” to keep people safe. “I want to salute the courage and the exceptional behavior of the security forces who managed to put away the individual and to do so in an extremely complex situation because this occurred in Orly Airport,” he said at a news conference. The anti-terrorism prosecutor is investigating the motives and circumstances of Saturday’s attack and the existence of any accomplices, according to a presidential statement. French presidential candidates, who are campaigning ahead of next month’s first round of voting, took to Twitter to pay tribute to the response by the police and the military. Emmanuel Macron, an independent centrist, said the military “once again showed their professionalism this morning in Orly.” François Fillon, of the centre-right Republican party, said: “Tribute to the men and women of Sentinel who work for our security and once again displayed courage and efficiency.” Marine Le Pen, presidential candidate for the far-right Front National party, said: “France brimming over with violence, a consequence of the lax successive governments. But there is the bravery of our soldiers!” The airport was evacuated as an elite operations unit and bomb squad officers rushed to the scene. More than 450 officers were involved in the operation to secure the airport and search for evidence, France’s National Police said. Paris Airports, the group that manages the city’s airports, said both Orly terminals were reopening Saturday afternoon after a suspension of several hours. Travelers should check with their airlines before heading to the airport, it added. Some earlier flights were rerouted to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport. Travel for about 2,000 people had been severely disrupted, the president of Paris Airports, Augustin de Romanet, told CNN. “It has been very disruptive, because we could fear many, many things, but all the police forces and the army have been very effective, so everything is OK now,” he said. With roads around the airport closed off by police as the security operation unfolded, travelers had earlier tried to make their way to the airport on foot with their baggage. Paris Orly Airport is France’s second-busiest airport, with international and domestic air traffic. ||||| A man who tried to seize a soldier's gun at Paris Orly Airport on Saturday, March 18, was shot and killed by security forces. The man had been involved just hours earlier in a carjacking and a shooting at a police traffic checkpoint, French authorities said. ||||| PARIS — The Latest on incident at Orly Airport in Paris where a man was shot to death after attempting to seize a soldier’s weapon (all times local): French president Francois Hollande has praised the courage and efficiency of troops and police following the incidents at Orly Airport and in a northern Paris suburb. In a written statement, Hollande reaffirms the state’s “determination to act without respite to fight terrorism, defend our compatriots’ security and ensure the protection of the territory.” He says the Sentinelle operation —about 7,500 troops patrolling on the country’s streets and sensitive sites— has proved useful in addition to police forces. The Paris prosecutors office says the suspected attacker killed at Orly Airport after trying to wrestle away a soldier’s weapon was 39 years old and was known to police for robbery and drug offenses. Prosecutors did not disclose the man’s name but said he was born in 1978 and nine unspecified infractions on his criminal record. A spokesman for the military force that patrols public sites in France says the soldier attacked at Orly Airport was “shocked” but uninjured after the “very violent aggression” by a man who was quickly shot dead by two of her fellow patrolmen. The spokesman, Benoit Brulon, was speaking to BFM television. The Paris prosecutors office, which has taken over the investigation of the Orly Airport attack, says the suspected attacker who was shot dead was not listed on the government’s database of terrorist suspects. France maintains a database, known as the “S” list, of people considered a potential threat to national security, which includes people suspected of plotting terrorist acts. The prosecutors office says the man shot at Orly Airport was not in the database. The head of the Paris airports company says searches of Orly Airport are complete and passengers who had been blocked aboard 13 flights are being unloaded. Passengers aboard flights that landed at Orly as the drama was unfolding were prevented from immediately disembarking. But Augustin de Romanet, president of the ADP airport authority, says they are now being allowed off the flights. He told BFM television that 15 other flights were diverted to Paris’ other main airport, Charles de Gaulle, because of the attack. French authorities have established a rudimentary timeline for the attack on Saturday at Orly Airport: —6:50 a.m.: The suspected attacker fires birdshot at police officers, wounding one in the face, when stopped for a traffic check. Flees, using a weapon to threaten a motorist and steal her car, later found at Orly Airport. —8:30 a.m.: Attacker assaults patrol of three soldiers, all from French air force. Wrestles one soldier, a woman, to the ground, tries to take her weapon. The investigation into the attack on soldiers guarding Paris’ Orly Airport, as well as a shooting 90 minutes earlier that targeted police north of Paris, has been taken over by anti-terrorism investigators. The Paris prosecutors’ office confirms that its anti-terrorism section has taken over the investigation. The French defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, says the Orly Airport attacker assaulted a patrol of three soldiers, all from the air force, including a woman. He says the attacker wrestled the woman to the floor and tried to take her weapon, but she managed to keep hold of it. The minister says the two other patrolmen opened fire “to protect her” and the public in the airport. French Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux says the man shot dead at airport is the same as the one who “is linked with car hijacking” earlier in the morning in a Paris suburb. Le Roux says the man who was not identified, earlier shot a police officer at a traffic stop before stealing the woman’s car at gunpoint. Le Roux said the gunman was known by police and intelligence French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to the French troops securing streets and sensitive sites in the country after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks. Macron, an independent centrist, said in a speech on defense in Paris that the soldiers of the Sentinelle operation who were attacked in Orly Airport “have demonstrated one more time calm, control and professionalism.” France’s Interior Ministry says no one else was injured at Paris’ Orly Airport when a man was shot to death after seizing a soldier’s weapon. The ministry tweeted that “the events this morning at the airport caused no injuries.” Explosives experts have finished checking the site, according to a tweet from the regional administration. The interior minister and defense minister are en route to Orly, according to the national police. Thousands of people are being evacuated and flights are being redirected. Paris police are investigating whether an attack on a soldier at Orly Airport is linked to a shooting earlier Saturday north of Paris. The Paris police office says a man fired at police officers with a gun that fired birdshot, wounding one in the face, when stopped for a police traffic check early Saturday morning. The man then fled, threatening a motorist with a weapon to steal her car. Police say that car was later found close to the Orly Airport. The traffic stop was at 6:55 a.m., shortly before the attack at Orly. French national police say that only one man was involved in an attack on soldiers at Paris’ Orly Airport and reports of a possible second attacker are false. A national police official said that about 3,000 people are being evacuated from Orly after the attack, in which the assailant was shot and killed. Meanwhile, Paris police say a police officer was shot and injured during a road check in the town of Stains northeast of Paris on Saturday. The national police official says so far there is no sign of any link between the Orly incident and the Stains shooting. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because neither was authorized to be publicly named. Passengers at Paris’ Orly Airport describe gunshots and panic when a man was killed after seizing a weapon from a soldier guarding the site. A witness identified only as Dominque said on BFM television: “The soldiers took aim at the man, who in turn pointed the gun he had seized at the two soldiers.” Another man says on BFM that there was a group of three soldiers targeted, and they tried to calm the man who seized the weapon. Then the man said he heard two gunshots. Another witness, identified as Patrick, said he was at the check-in counter when he saw someone come in from outside and the incident began. A French journalist on a flight that landed from Nice told France-Info radio passengers are being kept on the plane and aren’t being allowed to disembark. The Paris airport authority says Orly Airport is being entirely evacuated and all flights redirected after a man was shot dead after seizing a weapon from a soldier guarding the site. An airport authority official says flights to and from Orly are being redirected to Charles de Gaulle airport. The official said thousands of people are being evacuated from Orly. A national police official says operations to check for explosives are underway at Orly after the Saturday incident. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because neither was authorized to be publicly named. French media reports said the man seized the weapon and tried to flee before being shot. French police say a man was shot to death after trying to seize the weapon of a soldier guarding Paris’ Orly Airport. A national police official said the incident occurred Saturday morning at Orly, and the soldier is part of the Sentinelle special force installed around France to protect sensitive sites after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks. No information about the slain man or any other injuries was available. The official was not authorized to be publicly named. Police evacuated part of the airport and warned visitors in a tweet to avoid the airport while the police operation was underway. The shooting came after a similar incident last month at the Louvre Museum. France remains under a state of emergency ||||| French policemen evacuate Paris' Orly airport on March 18, 2017 following the shooting of a man by French security forces. (BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP/Getty Images) French policemen secure the area at the Paris' Orly airport on March 18, 2017 following the shooting of a man by French security forces. (BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP/Getty Images) Firefighters secure the area at the Paris' Orly airport on March 18, 2017 following the shooting of a man by French security forces. (BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP/Getty Images) A police officer stand near members of the RAID police unit officers outside the Paris' Orly airport on March 18, 2017 following the shooting of a man by French security forces. (BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP/Getty Images) A picture taken on March 18, 2017 shows tents used as the operational control center outside the Paris' Orly airport following the shooting of a man by French security forces. (BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP/Getty Images) Military officers secure the area at the Paris' Orly airport on March 18, 2017 following the shooting of a man by French security forces. (BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP/Getty Images) People wait outside the Paris' Orly airport after it was evacuated on March 18, 2017 following the shooting of a man by French security forces. (BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP/Getty Images) RAID police unit officers secure the area at the Paris' Orly airport on March 18, 2017 following the shooting of a man by French security forces. (BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP/Getty Images) Travellers are walking back to Orly airport, south of Paris, as flights are gradually resuming, Saturday, March, 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu) Travellers are walking back to Orly airport, south of Paris, as flights are gradually resuming, Saturday, March, 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu) Travellers are walking back to Orly airport, south of Paris, as flights are gradually resuming, Saturday, March, 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu) ORLY, France — Soldiers at Paris’ busy Orly Aiport shot and killed a man who wrestled one of their colleagues to the ground and tried to steal her rifle Saturday, officials said. Thousands of travellers were evacuated and at least 15 flights were diverted to the city’s other airport, Charles de Gaulle. No one else was hurt. Police did not immediately provide a motive or identify the attacker, though the Paris prosecutor’s office said he was 39 and had a record of robbery and drug offences. The office said he did not appear in a French government database of people considered potential threats to national security. Earlier Saturday, he fired birdshot at officers during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb, wounding one in the face. Then, Paris police said, he stole a woman’s car at gunpoint. It was found near Orly. The prosecutor’s office said its anti-terrorism division was handling the investigation and had taken the attacker’s father and brother into custody for questioning. A French official connected to the investigation confirms media reports identifying the Orly Airport attacker as Ziyed Ben Belgacem, a 39-year-old born in France. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the suspected attacker’s identity. France Info radio, on its website, identified him as Ziyed Ben Belgacem, which the official confirmed to the AP. Le Parisien newspaper named him only as Ziyed B. and said he was born in Paris. The incident further rattled France, which remains under a state of emergency after attacks over the past two years that have killed 235 people. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the attacker, whom he did not identify, assaulted three Air Force soldiers who were patrolling the airport. He said the soldier who was attacked managed to hold on to her rifle and the two soldiers she was with opened fire to protect her and the public. A spokesman for the force later said she was shocked but not hurt. It happened around 8:30 a.m. Paris time (0730 GMT) in a public area of the airport’s South Terminal, before passengers must show tickets or go through security. Officials said about 3,000 people were evacuated from Orly, where passengers told of gunshots and panic. Traffic was jammed near the airport and people wheeled suitcases down the road. People on 13 flights that landed around the time the drama was unfolding had to stay on planes for several hours. Augustin de Romanet, president of the ADP airport authority, said they were allowed off around noon, once a search of the airport was complete. A witness identified only as Dominque told BFM Television that the attacker held the soldier by the throat and held her arm and her weapon. “We saw it was a serious situation so we escaped,” he said. “We went down the stairs and right after we heard two gunshots.” Taxi driver Youssef Mouhajra was picking up passengers at Orly when he heard shots, which he first thought were just a warning. “We have become accustomed to this kind of warning and to having the soldiers there,” he said. Then he said he saw people rushing out of the terminal. “I told (the passengers) let’s get out of here,” he said. As he drove away, he saw soldiers and police rushing toward the airport. The soldier who was attacked is part of the Sentinelle special force installed around France to protect sensitive sites after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks. The force includes 7,500 soldiers, half deployed in the Paris region and half in the provinces. Saturday was at least the fourth time that Sentinelle soldiers have been targeted since the force was created. It was set up after the attack January 2015 attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and reinforced after the assaults that left 130 people dead in Paris in November of that year. Orly is Paris’ second-biggest airport, behind Charles de Gaulle. It has both domestic and international flights, notably to destinations in Europe and Africa. The shooting comes after a similar incident last month at the Louvre Museum in which an Egyptian man attacked soldiers guarding the site and was shot and wounded. It also comes just days before the first anniversary of attacks on the Brussels airport and subway that killed 32 people and wounded hundreds of others. Leicester reported from Paris. Associated Press Writers Angela Charlton in Paris and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen contributed. ||||| An unidentified man has been shot and killed at Paris’ Orly Airport after wrestling a soldier to the ground and attempting to take her rifle on Saturday morning. According to a report from The Globe And Mail, nobody else was harmed, but thousands were evacuated from the airport and flights were diverted to other airports in the city. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the man attacked three Air Force soldiers who were on duty, patrolling the airport. The man tackled one of them and forced her to the ground, but she was able to hold onto her rifle, and her colleagues opened fire on the attacker, killing him instantly. According to a report from Global News, the attacker was already a person of interest to French intelligence and Paris police. Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said that the man had been linked to a carjacking earlier in the morning in a northern Paris suburb. Allegedly, he fired birdshot at police officers who stopped him for a traffic stop, causing a facial wound to one of them, then fled the scene, stealing a running car by threatening the driver with a weapon. Later, that car was found near Orly Airport. An anonymous police source alleged that the man as a radicalized Muslim, but did not give his name. After his attempt on the Air Force soldiers, police and special forces evacuated some 3,000 people from Orly amidst panic caused by the gunshots, then swept the airport for bombs, primarily on suspicion that the man might have been wearing a suicide belt. No explosives were found. This story is still developing and The Inquisitr will continue to update as more information becomes available. ||||| Security forces shot dead a man who seized a soldier’s gun at Paris Orly airport in France on Saturday soon after the same man shot and wounded a police officer during a routine police check, the interior minister said. The man was known to police and intelligence services, Interior Minister Bruno le Roux told reporters. A police source described him as a radicalized Muslim but did not identify him by name. READ MORE: 1 injured after letter bomb explodes at Paris IMF office The busy Orly airport south of Paris was evacuated and security forces swept the area for bombs to make sure the dead man was not wearing an explosive belt, but nothing was found, interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told Reuters. Noone else was injured at the airport. Flights were suspended from both terminals of the airport and some flights were diverted to Charles de Gaulle airport north of the capital, airport operator ADP said. Earlier, a police officer was shot and wounded by the same man during a routine traffic check in Stains, north of Paris. The incidents came five weeks before France holds presidential elections in which national security is a key issue. The country remains on high alert after attacks by Islamic State militants killed scores of people in the last two years -including coordinated bombings and shootings in Paris in November 2015 in which 130 people were killed. A state of emergency is in place until at least the end of July. READ MORE: High school students in Paris stage mass protest against police violence The attacks would have no impact on a trip to Paris by Prince William, second-in-line to the British throne, and his wife Kate, who are due to end a two-day visit to the French capital on Saturday, a British spokesman said. The soldier whose gun the man tried to seize was a member of the army’s “Sentinelle” operation responsible for patrolling airports and other key sites since January 2015 when Islamist attackers killed 12 people at the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. It was reinforced after the Paris attacks. Around 3,000 passengers were evacuated from the airport, the second busiest in the country. In March 2016, Islamic State claimed responsibility for suicide bomb attacks on Brussels airport and a rush-hour metro train in the Belgian capital which killed 35 people, including three suicide bombers. ||||| Man killed after trying to grab soldier's gun at Paris airport No one else in the busy terminal at Paris’s Orly Airport was hurt, but thousands of travellers were evacuated and flights were diverted to the city’s other airport.
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French security forces shoot suspect Ziyed Ben Belgacem dead in Paris' Orly Airport after he put the pellet gun to her head and took away an assault rifle from one of three soldiers from "Sentinelle" operation patrolling the airport. Belgacem had earlier shot a police officer with a pellet gun. Later, he had threatened a bar and then carjacked another vehicle to the airport.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Why are gadgets banned but mobiles ok? Daniel Sandford explains The US and UK are banning laptops from cabin baggage on flights from certain countries in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Turkey. The US ban on electronic devices larger than a smartphone is being imposed as an anti-terrorist precaution. It covers inbound flights on nine airlines operating out of 10 airports. Phones are not affected. The British ban, announced hours after the American measure, is similar but applies to different airlines. Downing Street said airline passengers on 14 carriers would not be able to carry laptops in cabin luggage on inbound direct flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. The Turkish government said the US ban was wrong and should be reversed. Large electronic devices will still be allowed on board in checked baggage. Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau said his country was also considering restrictions on electronics in the cabins of planes. Which flights are affected? British Airways and EasyJet are among the airlines affected by the UK ban. The nine airlines affected by the US ban are Royal Jordanian, EgyptAir, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways. The 10 airports affected are: Mohammed V International, Casablanca, Morocco Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, Turkey Cairo International Airport, Egypt Queen Alia International, Amman, Jordan King Abdulaziz International, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia King Khalid International, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Kuwait International Airport Hamad International, Doha, Qatar Abu Dhabi International, United Arab Emirates Dubai International, United Arab Emirates The airlines included in the US decision have been given a deadline of 07:00 GMT on Saturday to impose the ban, officials said, adding that the restriction had no end date. However, an Emirates spokeswoman told Reuters news agency the airline understood that the US directive would come into effect on 25 March and remain valid until 14 October 2017. Image caption The UK ban applies to direct inbound flights from six countries; the US ban lists eight countries Why now? The restriction is based, we are told, on "evaluated intelligence", BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner writes. That means that US intelligence has either intercepted discussion of a possible extremist plot or has been passed word of one by a human informant. The Middle Eastern and North African airports affected are nearly all ones with close, friendly relations with Washington, so this will be seen by some as a drastic and unpopular measure. Wealthy Gulf Arab business leaders flying to the US, for example, will no longer be able to work on their laptops mid-flight. But aviation security experts were alarmed by an incident in Somalia last year when the insurgent group al-Shabaab smuggled an explosive-filled laptop on a flight out of Mogadishu, blowing a hole in the side of the plane. The aircraft was still low enough that the pilot was able to land the plane safely. How is the ban being justified? In a statement, the DHS cited attacks on planes and airports over the past two years. Bombs, it said, had been hidden in such items as a soft drink can, in the downing of a Russian airliner over Egypt in October 2015 with the loss of 224 lives, and the laptop used in the unsuccessful Somali attack last year. "Terrorists have historically tried to hide explosives in shoes in 2001, use liquid explosives in 2006, and conceal explosives in printers in 2010 and suicide devices in underwear in 2009 and 2012," it noted. Image copyright AP Image caption So-called Islamic State said it bombed the Russian plane over Egypt "Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items," the DHS said. A British Government spokesperson said: "The additional security measures may cause some disruption for passengers and flights, and we understand the frustration that will cause, but our top priority will always be to maintain the safety of British nationals." Will the ban be effective? Turkish Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan told reporters the ban was "not a right move". Image copyright Reuters Image caption Ataturk Airport, which has stringent security checks in place, was attacked last year "We particularly emphasise how this will not benefit the passenger and that reverse steps or a softening should be adopted," he added. Philip Baum, editor in chief of Aviation Security magazine, told the BBC: "If we cannot, in 2017, distinguish between a laptop that contains an IED [improvised explosive device] and one that does not, then our screening process is completely flawed. "And encouraging people to check laptops, and other such items, into the luggage hold simply makes the challenge even harder. Cabin baggage can, at least, be inspected piece by piece and the accompanying passenger questioned." Simon Calder, travel editor of the UK's Independent newspaper, suggested the British ban would affect travellers differently because it included budget flights. "It's easy for the Americans, they don't have as many flights as us coming in and furthermore they don't have things like low-cost flights where I'm not going to pay to check in a bag," he told the BBC. "And suddenly I've got my laptop, I'm going to have to put that in a little bag and hand it in. Oh, and by the way, good news for petty thieves all over the airports of the world because lots of rich pickings are going to be around." Is this linked to the Trump travel ban? Officials quoted by Reuters news agency said the new measure was not connected to US President Donald Trump's efforts to ban travellers from six Muslim-majority states. Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning ||||| The U.S. and U.K. on Tuesday banned people flying from much of the Middle East and North Africa from carrying laptops, tablets and other large electronic devices in the airplane cabin because of concerns about terrorism. New security restrictions from the Trump administration require nine airlines based in the region to prevent people flying from eight countries from bringing any device bigger than a smartphone on board. Those devices will have to be checked into the luggage hold. The U.S. ban will affect more than 50 flights a day from 10 airports in the mainly Muslim countries, including major hubs such as Dubai and Istanbul, according to senior administration officials. The nine airlines affected were notified of the procedures by the U.S. at 3 a.m. ET Tuesday and must comply within 96 hours. The U.K. ban affects six countries, including two not on the U.S. list -- Tunisia and Lebanon. Top international carriers -- such as Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways, British Airways and Turkish Airlines -- are among those that will have to implement new restrictions. Are you impacted by the electronics ban? WhatsApp or iMessage us at +1-347-322-0415 Related: Airline electronics ban: What you need to know The U.S. officials said intelligence "indicates terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation" by "smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items." The officials declined to provide specific information on the threat or why these particular airports were selected. "Just evaluating all the intelligence, we believe that the threat is still prominent against aircraft and airports," an official said. The British government said the new security measures were agreed early on Tuesday. "We have been in close touch with the Americans to fully understand their position," it said in a statement. U.S. airlines not affected The 10 international airports covered by the U.S. ban are in Cairo, Egypt; Dubai and Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.; Istanbul, Turkey; Doha, Qatar; Amman, Jordan; Kuwait City; Casablanca, Morocco; and Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The nine airlines are Egyptair, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish Airlines. The officials said U.S. carriers are not affected because none of them fly from the airports in question to the U.S. The U.K. restrictions apply to flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia on 14 airlines, including some based in Britain. Related: Gulf airlines worry electronics ban will hurt them The bans involve some of the widest reaching aviation security measures taken since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. It means all laptops, cameras, tablets, e-readers, portable DVD players, electronic gaming devices and travel printers or scanners will have to be kept in the cargo hold for the duration of the flight. Medical devices needed on board are still allowed. Concerns over airport screening If the airlines don't comply with the order within the 96 hour time frame, "we will work with the FAA to pull their certificate and they will not be allowed to fly to the United States," one senior U.S. official said. Another official, speaking separately from the senior administration officials, said there's no specific plot authorities are aware of, but the U.S. has been considering such a ban for some time. The official said the move is partly based on intelligence that they believe indicates Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is close to being able to hide explosives with little or no metal content in electronic devices in order to target commercial aircraft. It's a particular concern at these airports because of screening issues and the possibility of terrorists infiltrating the ranks of authorized airport personnel, the official said. Flight and cabin crews are not covered by these new restrictions. In February 2016, a bomb hidden inside a laptop detonated aboard a Daallo Airlines flight out of Mogadishu, Somalia. The bomber was killed and a hole was blown in the side of the fuselage. The aircraft landed safely. Global hubs affected The new ban affects some of the largest airlines at the busiest hubs in the world: Implementing a ban on most electronics in the cabin will fall to the airlines to figure out. Lithium battery concern Under the new restrictions, the electronic devices -- many of which have lithium ion batteries -- will now be carried in the belly cargo deck of the airplane, underneath the passenger cabin. Aviation safety experts and regulatory agencies have long warned about that batteries shipped in bulk could cause a fire and spark a chain reaction that could bring down an aircraft. The International Civil Aviation Organization advised global regulators last year to ban carrying bulk shipments of such batteries in the cargo holds of passenger jets. Related: Lithium-ion batteries banned as cargo on passenger planes Two Boeing 747 crashes -- a UPS freighter in 2010 and an Asiana Cargo plane in 2011 -- happened after fires broke out in the cargo holds. Those were traced to palettes of lithium ion batteries the planes were carrying. But electronics spread out across a person's luggage pose far less of a threat than palettes of lithium batteries, according to a U.S. aviation official. The Trump administration has worked with the FAA to distribute best practices to the airlines to safely handle the electronics, an official said. A State Department official said embassy officials spent Monday notifying relevant countries and airlines. -- Rene Marsh, Evan Perez, Deborah Bloom, Barbara Starr and Gregory Wallace contributed to this story. ||||| The UK has followed the lead of the United States and is now starting to ban passengers from carrying electronic devices like their laptops and cameras onto planes to and from specific Middle Eastern countries. The list of countries that will be affected by the U.S. ban includes Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Authorities in the United States have told airline companies privately that they must forbid passengers from carrying electronic devices other than their phones onto planes. The Guardian reports that TSA (the US Transportation Safety Administration) are the specific authorities behind this recent ban on electronic devices on planes from the Middle East and that the specific details of the ban were found inside a confidential email. Electronic devices that would be banned in flights from the Middle East to the United States include Kindles, iPads, laptops, and any cameras that are larger in size than phones. The airlines which will be the most affected by this ban include Turkish Airlines, Saudi Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Egyptair, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Morocco, Emirates, and Etihad. While this new rule banning electronic devices is not an “official” regulation, it is nevertheless something that the American government is expecting airlines to comply with in the next 96 hours and it will affect travelers both to and from the Middle East. An agent from one of the Middle Eastern airlines that is affected by this new ban has explained that from this day forward, passengers will be forced to put their laptops and other electronic devices into their checked baggage. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement explaining the American government’s reasoning behind the new laptop travel ban. Now that the United States has banned electronic devices on Middle Eastern flights, the UK has also decided to place their own ban on them as well. The countries which will be affected are Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia. This means that if you are flying in or out of one of these countries on a UK flight, you will not be allowed to carry anything electronic inside the cabin of the plane besides your phone. As well as eight foreign carriers, The Guardian says that six British airlines will be affected by the new electronic devices ban. These include British Airways, Thomas Cook, Thomson, EasyJet, Monarch, and Jet2. Many are questioning the UK’s decision to enact a ban on electronic devices to and from the Middle East and question whether this is in some way connected with Donald Trump’s recent travel ban. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has stressed that this is not the case but did admit that the UK had been speaking with government officials in the U.S. to learn more about their recent electronic device ban. This recent UK ban on laptops is also not reported to be due to elevated levels of threats from terrorists in the Middle East. Rather, it is alleged to be in response to general worries over the evolving technological prowess of terrorists. Prime Minister Theresa May has so far conducted several meetings to determine what the UK’s response should be to air security in the future, and this resulted in Tuesday’s ban on all large electronic devices to and from the Middle East. Do you think the US and UK ban on electronic devices on flights to and from Middle Eastern countries is a good or bad idea and why? ||||| The US announced a ban on electronic devices from cabin baggage on passenger flights from eight Muslim majority countries. The DHS have claimed that the ban is to prevent an attack from happening given the various attacks in the past; this is seen simply as a preventive measure. But to what end? They stated extremists were seeking “innovative methods” to bring down jets. It also went further to discuss how bombs could be hidden in laptops, tablets, cameras, DVD players and electronic games. This ban will affect nine airlines operating out of 10 airports. Electronic devices will only be allowed on board in checked baggage. Phones are exempt from the new rules. The nine airlines affected are: US officials said the airlines had been given 96 hours, beginning at 07:00 GMT on Tuesday, to ban devices bigger than a mobile phone or smartphone from cabins. The ban has no date of when it would be over. An analyst from Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent had a question, he stated “the restriction is based we are told, on evaluated intelligence.” That means that US intelligence has either intercepted discussion of a possible extremist plot or has been passed word of one by a human informant. The Middle Eastern and North African airports affected are nearly all ones with close, friendly relations with Washington, so this will be seen by some as a drastic and unpopular measure. Wealthy Gulf Arab business leaders flying to the US, for example, will no longer be able to work on their laptops mid-flight. But aviation security experts were alarmed by an incident in Somalia last year when the insurgent group al-Shabaab smuggled an explosive-filled laptop on a flight out of Mogadishu, blowing a hole in the side of the plane. The aircraft was still low enough that the pilot was able to land the plane safely. In a statement, the DHS said: “The US government is concerned about terrorists’ ongoing interest in targeting commercial aviation, including transportation hubs over the past two years, as evidenced by the 2015 airliner downing in Egypt; the 2016 attempted airliner downing in Somalia; and the 2016 armed attacks against airports in Brussels and Istanbul. “Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items.” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly called members of Congress over the weekend to explain the security issues behind the ban, congressional aides said. The restrictions are said to have been under consideration for several weeks. ||||| MIAMI — Royal Jordanian has just announced that upon request from US authorities, it will ban electronic devices from the list of allowed carry on items on board. According to a statement issued by the airline, passengers will be allowed to take “cellular phones and medical devices needed during the flight,” but everything else, including laptops, tablets, cameras, etc., will have to be checked to the final destination. The measure would enter into effect tomorrow, Tuesday March 21. While the reason behind the ban is still unclear — as is the US departments behind the decision — recent incidents have caused concerns about the use of devices powered by lithium-ion batteries on flights. Just last year, cell phones, including the Samsung Note 7, caused repeated problems, while earlier last week, ATSB reported a case in which a passenger’s headphones caught fire on board. ||||| The U.K. is joining the U.S. in its ban restricting passengers from bringing some electronic devices onto flights from the Middle East. Phones, laptops, and tablets that are larger than 16 cm (6.3 inches) in length and wider than 9.3 cm will no longer be allowed in the cabin on select flights coming from several Middle Eastern countries, the U.K.'s department of transportation said on Tuesday. The U.K. said it was in "close contact" with the U.S. since the country announced its own ban on Monday. However, the U.K. made no mention of any specific risk, only that it faces "evolving" terrorism threats. The six countries included in the ban are Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Tunisia. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a similar action that will apply to flights from 10 airports in the Middle East and Africa starting later this week. It also bans consumer devices larger than a smartphone. Terrorist groups "are aggressively pursuing innovative methods to undertake their attacks, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items,” the DHS said. However, the electronics ban reportedly stems from no "specific, newly discovered threat," but instead general caution. Last year, a bomb built into a laptop slipped past an airport security check and exploded on a Somali passenger flight, injuring two and killing the suspected terrorist. A Somali terrorist group with ties to Al-Qaeda reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack. The U.K.'s transportation department didn't say how long its restriction might last. "We understand the frustration that these measures may cause and we are working with the aviation industry to minimize any impact," it said. However, the new regulations from the U.S. and U.K. only apply to electronics brought into airplane cabins and doesn't appear to affect any devices checked in baggage. That's raising some questions over the efficacy of the bans. "If there is a threat, you need a much, much wider, universal ban -- and explain why iPads & Kindles, but not phablets," tweeted Zeynep Tufekci, a professor at the University of North Carolina who studies technology. ||||| Electronic devices larger than mobile phones to be banned from carry-on luggage on flights from certain countries. The US is set to ban large electronic devices such as laptops and cameras in the cabin on flights from eight Middle Eastern countries, according to two airlines in the region and media reports. A tweet from Saudi Airlines and one - subsequently deleted - by Royal Jordanian airlines on Monday informed their customers of an imminent cabin ban on electronic devices larger than a mobile phone. Royal Jordanian said all such devices - including laptops, tablets, cameras, DVD players and electronic games - would need to be checked in under new US government rules coming into force on Tuesday. Only mobile phones and medical devices needed in flight would be excluded from the ban, it said. The tweet was later removed amid suggestions the airline had released the information prematurely. An official announcement from the US Department of Homeland Security was expected. US officials speaking on condition of anonymity said the ban was to be implemented in response to an unspecified threat the US government learned of several weeks ago. The move comes a week after President Donald Trump's second bid to curb travel from a group of Muslim-majority nations was blocked by the courts. ||||| LONDON: Britain is set to ban passengers from carrying most electronic devices on flights from certain countries in the Middle East, Sky News reported on Tuesday, following similar measures introduced in the United States. The United States imposed restrictions on carry-on electronic devices bigger than cellphones on planes coming from 10 airports in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa on Tuesday, in response to unspecified security threats. Sky News said the details of the British ban, which might differ from the U.S. measures, would possibly be confirmed later on Tuesday, according to security sources. ||||| Following the US government’s ban, Britain is now set to ban passengers from carrying most electronic devices on flights from certain countries in the Middle East, reported Sky News Tuesday. The US government temporarily barred passengers from bringing devices other than mobile phones on planes coming in from 10 airports in eight Muslim-majority countries of the Middle East and North Africa. The US ban, which was in response to unspecified threats, said that laptops, iPads, cameras and other electronic devices would not be allowed as carry-on luggage. Sky News reported that security sources have said the details of the UK ban might differ from the US government’s measures, and would be confirmed later in the day. The reason for the US government’s ban was not immediately clear and US security officials would not comment. The ban was revealed Monday through statements from Royal Jordanian Airlines and the official news agency of Saudi Arabia. A US official told AP that the ban would apply to non-stop flights to the US from 10 international airports in Cairo, Egypt; Amman, Jordon; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Casablanca, Morocco; Doha, Qatar; Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Istanbul, Turkey; and Abu Dhabi and Dubai, UAE. The ban would affect nine airlines in total, another US official said, adding that the Transportation Security Administration would inform the affected airlines at 3 am, ET Monday. Royal Jordanian said cellphones and medical devices were excluded from the ban. Everything else, the airline said, would need to be packed in checked luggage. Royal Jordanian said the electronics ban affects its flights to New York, Chicago, Detroit and Montreal. Brian Jenkins, an aviation-security expert at the Rand Corp, said the nature of the security measure suggested that it was driven by intelligence of a possible attack. He added that there could be concern about inadequate passenger screening or even conspiracies involving insiders – airport or airline employees – in some countries. For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now ||||| Travelers are trying to figure out how to deal with new government rules placing an indefinite ban on electronic devices larger than smartphones from the cabins of commercial aircraft flying to both the United States and the United Kingdom from certain countries. Canada is also considering joining the electronics ban for flights, the Globe and Mail reports. In the United States, the ban covers nine airlines (Royal Jordanian, EgyptAir, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabia Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Qatar Airways, Emirates Air and Etihad Airways) and direct flights to the U.S. from 10 specific airports listed here. In the United Kingdom, the ban covers inbound flights from six countries: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. "The ban means there is probably intelligence indicating a terrorist group or individual has been planning to detonate a device on board a commercial airplane, using an electronic to either hide an explosive, or as a triggering device for an explosive," said aviation safety and security expert Jeff Price. How to Protect Your Valuables? The ban also means that, for the foreseeable future, travelers booked on more than 125 affected flights a day to the U.S. and U.K. will have to put devices such as tablets, e-readers, cameras, laptops, portable DVD players, and video games in checked baggage. Travelers are concerned not only about how they will spend their time during flights, but the fate of the devices checked in airplane holds. "Am I seriously going to check a $5,000 camera? Not a chance," said Washington, D.C.-based writer and photographer Emily Troutman, via Twitter. As the bans begin to go into effect, experts are sharing advice and tips for those currently booked — or about to be booked — on the affected flights. "Back up all your data and save it to the cloud, arrive at the airport early, bring your phone charger or buy one at the airport, and bring some good material," suggests travel pro Johnny Jet. Try switching to connecting instead of a direct flight from one of the affected airports. "If you're booked on the Emirate non-stop from Dubai to the U.S., see if they'll move you to one of their one-stops through Milan or Athens," he said. Other travel experts suggest loading work files, books, games and other entertainment onto phones and purchasing or bringing along an external keyboard to make typing and accessing the information easier. "Upgrading to a larger memory phone might be in order," said Farecompare CEO Rick Seaney, whose research shows the ban will initially affect over 40,000 potentially inconvenienced fliers. Families traveling with children, who have come to rely on movie and game-filled tablets for entertainment, should make sure to pack "some good old-fashioned unplugged entertainment, such as books, puzzle books, and coloring pads," said Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, family travel expert at About.com. And this may be a good time to explore the offerings on the affected airlines' in-flight entertainment, some of which is quite extensive. Not long after the ban was announced, Middle East carrier Emirates posted a "Who Needs Tablets and Laptops Anyway?" tweet with a reminder that the airline offers "Over 2500 channels of the latest, movies, box sets, live sport, and kids TV." While in-flight entertainment on a long flight is helpful, it won't replace laptops for many travelers. The ban "is simply unworkable for most business travelers. They need to be productive during their trips," said the Business Travel Coalition in a statement. "Many business travelers do not check luggage, even on long flights as it slows them down upon arrival at baggage claim. Now they will have to check their electronics with many paying for the privilege." For those concerned about gear getting lost or stolen, insurance coverage from the airlines, travel insurance providers and certain credit cards may be helpful. "The primary concern for most business travelers regarding the theft of electronic devices isn't the value of the device itself, it's the value/sensitivity of the data stored on the device," said Max Leitschuh, iJET International Airline Safety Analyst. Another option? Not checking electronic devices at all. "My recommendation is to ship your electronics to your destination," said aviation security and safety expert Jeff Price, "There's no way I'd put my laptop in checked baggage. And those little locks they sell can be defeated in about 15 seconds with a good paperclip."
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Citing security concerns because of recent terrorist activity, the American and British governments impose a ban affecting inbound-passengers flying from much of the Middle East and North Africa. The ban includes airplane cabin passenger-accessible items such as laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices which are larger than a smartphone. Larger such electronic devices will still be allowed on board in checked baggage which is thus more closely screened and passenger-inaccessible.
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(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday put new restrictions on presidential powers, limiting a president’s authority to staff certain top government posts in a case involving an appointment to the National Labor Relations Board. The U.S. Supreme Court building seen in Washington May 20, 2009. REUTERS/Molly Riley The court decided 6-2 to uphold a lower court’s ruling that then-President Barack Obama exceeded his legal authority with his temporary appointment of an NLRB general counsel in 2011. In an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court said that under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, a person cannot serve as the acting head of a federal agency once the president nominates him or her to permanently serve in the role if it is a position that requires U.S. Senate confirmation. SW General Inc, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based private ambulance company and a subsidiary of Envision Healthcare Holdings Inc EVHC.N, had challenged the makeup of the NLRB as it sought to invalidate a board ruling that said it violated federal labor law by discontinuing bonus payments for longtime employees. The NLRB had argued that the law’s restriction applied only to politically appointed “first assistants” who are first in line for acting positions when the heads of agencies leave office, and not to other officials. The ruling will give President Donald Trump and future presidents less flexibility in filling jobs that require Senate confirmation. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented, saying the court ignored the fact that since the law governing vacancies was adopted in 1998, more than 100 people have served in acting roles while the U.S. Senate considered their nominations for permanent jobs. The case focused on Obama’s appointment of Lafe Solomon as the NLRB’s acting general counsel to fill a vacancy in the job. The position requires Senate confirmation. Obama nominated Solomon to fill the position permanently but also named him to fill in for former general counsel Ronald Meisburg, who resigned in 2010, in the interim while awaiting Senate action. Obama eventually withdrew Solomon’s nomination after it stalled for more than two years. The Senate ultimately confirmed Richard Griffin to the post in 2013. SW General argued that Solomon should not have continued to fill the position on a temporary basis pending Senate confirmation, and the Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed. The case is National Labor Relations Board v. SW General Inc, U.S. Supreme Court No. 15–1251. ||||| One of my readers recently told me in an email, Such is the painful paralysis of making life decisions in the modern age. Gone are the days when you just took over your dad’s business; if you did that now you’d be “settling.” Gone is the era of believing that, as one traditionalist said in David Mitchell’s novel Cloud Atlas, “no matter what you do it will never amount to anything more than a single drop in a limitless ocean”; today’s parents tell us that the world is our oyster. These days, fulfilling our greatest potential – not finding a suitable partner – is the most important thing. We welcome this newfound opportunity, but we also suffer from it. We fear making the wrong decisions so much that, ironically, we often compromise our potential in the process. When overwhelmed with options, we tend to regret our decisions, obsess over foregone alternatives or simply not choose at all. Endless articles tell us how to make the most of our lives. But if we don’t learn how to be satisfied with our decisions, we’ll lead full but regret-laden lives. Modern psychology offers three ways to make peace with your decisions: Sometimes we feel guilty about relying on gut decisions. One hiring manager conceded, “I hate to say this, but a lot of it is gut feeling.” But trusting your gut has perks – though maybe not for the reason you think. Have you ever tried that exercise where you sit, close your eyes and think of an important, impending decision? You ask “Should I do this?” and, supposedly, if you lean back or feel compelled backward, the answer is no. If you lean forward, the answer is yes. I recently tried this when debating whether to accept an unpaid speaking engagement in New York City. I leaned back, so I decided to decline the invitation. That’s embarrassing to admit, but I have no regrets. It’s impossible to know whether leaning back is actually your intuition talking, but here’s what matters: thinking your intuition is talking. In one study, consumers viewed their purchases more positively when “decisions had been made in the absence of attentive deliberation.” The authors sum, “Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not always advantageous to engage in thorough conscious deliberation before choosing.” In other words, we like our decisions better when we didn’t consciously, painstakingly choose them. We prefer decisions that feel subliminal. In short, decision satisfaction hinges not so much on listening to your gut but, rather, blaming it. Once you’ve explored your options and what you want – a critical step for satisfied and sound decisions – make the decision as if it’s final. In one study, participants were asked to pick a piece of art to take home. Individuals told they could later exchange the piece for another experienced less appreciation for their chosen artwork than people who had no such option. Interestingly, participants didn't anticipate this effect, instead assuming that more choice was better. In short, even if you do backtrack, don’t tell yourself that you can “always change your mind” when you’re making a decision. This could make the same decision less satisfying. Moreover, some research suggests that changing your mind at all can be risky. We continue evaluating choices even after they’ve passed through our field of vision or conscious awareness. When we change our minds based on evidence processed after making a decision, we often make worse choices. There was a little-known third cofounder of Apple named Ronald Wayne. Two weeks after Apple was incorporated in 1976, Wayne left and sold his 10% stake in the company for $800. Now 84, Wayne lives off his social security check outside Las Vegas. Today, his shares would be worth $63 billion. Wayne’s explanation for his decision to sell his Apple stock may have saved him a lifetime of angst: “If I stayed at Apple I would have probably ended up the richest man in the cemetery,” he told CNN. His rationalization might sound wishful, or even dishonest. Maybe it is. But it’s also an adaptive mechanism for coping with regret to preserve wellbeing and future performance. Nietzsche called this “amor fati” — loving one’s fate. “One wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity,” Nietzsche wrote in his final book. Being satisfied with your decisions has less to do with your actual decisions and more to do with how you see and rationalize them. When we blame our intuition, commit to our choices and rationalize our decisions, we can maximize not just our potential but also our fulfillment. Caroline Beaton is a workplace psychology journalist. Sign up for her newsletter to get her latest articles delivered to your inbox. ||||| Editor’s note: This is the second of eight columns provided to The Press in lead-up to the Battle of Ridgefield re-enactment Saturday, April 29. As the American Colony began to separate itself from the British Crown, the Village of Ridgefield had a decision to make: remain loyal to the crown or support the Continental Congress. A special town meeting was called Jan. 30, 1775, to decide who they would support. Nathan Olmstead, a Loyalist, was chosen to moderate. The freemen resolved to acknowledge King George III as the rightful sovereign, and avowed their allegiance to him, the House of Commons, and the House of Lords. They felt it was too dangerous for Ridgefield to support the Continental Congress. Nine freemen voted against the resolutions. Why would Ridgefield take this stand? Perhaps the issue of “taxation without representation” was not an issue for the village. It had representation. Connecticut was granted a direct charter from the king in 1662, under which its governor was selected by the freeholders and not the crown. Each chartered town sent two locally elected representatives to the State Assembly. Connecticut already had a government by the people. Not all Ridgefield’s freemen were satisfied with the decision of the January Town Meeting. So another meeting was called for March 7, 1775. The decision was postponed until April 10, 1775. At the April meeting it was resolved not to discuss the decision of the January Town Meeting. At the Annual Town Meeting, Dec. 17, 1775, with Colonel Philip Burr Bradley, a Patriot, as moderator, the freemen of the Village of Ridgefield did resolve to “adopt and approve of the Continental Congress for securing and defending the Rights, and Liberty of ye American Colonies.” The Village of Ridgefield was now in the Patriot Camp, or at least the majority of the freemen were. There were still those who would remain loyal to the British Crown. Support the battle by learning more at www.battleofridgefield.org or at www.SupportTheBattle.org More information may be found by calling 203-403-7065, emailing [email protected] or stopping by Jerusalem 49 Masonic Lodge next to Town Hall. ||||| Professional networking leader GLG has produced a new series of videos focused on decision making in the business world. As part of the series, GLG has interviewed a number of business leaders to ask about what considerations go into making important decisions. Start the conversation, or Read more at Benzinga. ||||| The storm was coming. All the weathermen had their sleeves rolled up-- so you knew that winter storm Stella was going to be ferocious. That is, of course, if you believe the weatherpeople. Every time I try and plan business around weather, I fail. When the news predicts a huge snowstorm, it's usually a muted case of the flurries. When nothing is predicted-- bad weather can come as a surprise and stop me in my tracks. Such was the case when the news was preparing New York City for an epic snowstorm named Stella. She was set to carry over 24 inches of white powder. As an entrepreneur, I know firsthand how weather can kill a small businesses day to day operations. As an entrepreneur who has recently been on a non-stop travel binge for work-- it would absolutely ruin everything. I was setting out to speak on a customer panel for my bank, Capital One at their annual sales conference. I LOVE my bank, and would do anything for them. And, in 2017, they became my client. So I was doing this last leg of an eight week travel marathon because I loved them, and because it was important to me to have face time at this large conference. I was scheduled to leave late Monday-- heading to Dallas and returning to New York on Tuesday night after speaking. I had the questions, and was fully prepared. But everywhere I turned, there was a weather man, with those damn rolled sleeves and excited glare, talking about the storm of the century. I desperately wanted to go to the conference, and I was terrified of disappointing them. As I sat with my family on Saturday, I debated over and over in my mind what to do. This is common for me-- I'll sit and think and think all day, and wait too long to make a decision. Maybe it was the back to back client travel leading to pure exhaustion-- but I just didn't have the strength anymore. It turns out, not making decisions is exhausting. I called the Capital One team. I said I would not be going to the conference. I would instead take Monday and record answers to their questions for the panel. Maybe they could use them, instead. I held my breath while I waited for their response. They were disappointed I wasn't coming but completely understood. The decision had been made. Off I went. I recorded each answer to the panel questions separately and saved them as separate files and sent them. At , there was no snow outside at all. My flight was supposed to take off in an hour. I wondered, had I made a mistake? As each half hour passed and I watched my phone ping with delays from the flight, I felt a tremendous sense of relief. At the flight was finally cancelled. It turns out, I had made the right decision even if the videos didn't work. Hooray! I got a call the next day from the head of sales-- not only did the videos work-- they spoke to the digital nature of my company and Capital One's core values! They were thrilled. Again, right decision. The snow fell, but not anywhere near to the predicted levels. And yet, all air travel stopped. My flight home was cancelled too, and rerouted in an entirely different direction for the rebooked flights. Again, I felt great. But what if it hadn't snowed? What if my videos didn't play properly? What if my flights were on time? What if my decision had been wrong? The answer? So what. Making decisions saves time and tons of mental energy. Sometimes they're right. Sometimes they're wrong. But the ability to be decisive is what separates good leaders from great ones. I have spent the last 4 years as a CEO learning to be more decisive. The thing I learned is that right or wrong, it always, always pays off. Carrie Kerpen is the CEO of Likeable Media, a social media agency. She is passionate about social media, and connecting women in digital via her podcast, All The Social Ladies. Tweet her @carriekerpen ||||| We all know that our emotions affect our decisions. In fact, scientists have found that without emotions we become completely ineffective at making decisions. Emotions also impact teamwork. That’s a big reason why recent research shows emotional intelligence is one of the strongest predictors of success at work. And the biggest problems arise when team decision making and emotions collide. When it comes decision making, a little emotion is good, even if the emotions seem inherently unpleasant or unproductive. Feeling a little fear, sadness or irritation can help to spark motivation or broaden the search for alternatives. On the flip side, a little too much emotion is generally bad, even if the emotions seem pleasant and productive. When an entire team of people is feeling curious, excited or confident, they are more likely to spend too much time admiring the view in their matching rose colored glasses, or happily make a decision to drive right off a cliff. So, when you are working with your team to make a decision, it is critical to be aware of how the emotional state of people around the table affects the team’s approach to the decision. This is especially true when emotions are running high, or when everyone in the group is feeling the same way. Use this list to keep perspective when emotions arise in team decision-making discussions at your company. It’s based on the most common emotions experienced by business decision-making teams, according to thousands of team decisions recorded in the Cloverpop business decision database. These emotions feel good. Individually, they keep us going. The problem is not how they feel, but how they can affect decision-making behavior in groups. On the one hand, these emotions can create a sort of “fabulousness paralysis” where everyone is happily exploring different directions without moving the decision forward. On the other hand, if the right catalyzing person or event strikes a spark the group may rush forward, brushing off real risks, failing to consider other options and ultimately making decisions that fall short of expectations. These emotions feel bad. But that is the source of their power when it comes to business decision making. Except in extreme circumstances, these emotions motivate us to make a change, and they do a great job helping us come up with more alternatives. They are the source of proverbial wisdom, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” If your team isn’t feeling at least a bit stressed or unsure about a decision, chances are you aren’t trying hard enough to find a better way. Another set of feel good vibes, and another mixed bag when it comes to decision making. On the plus side, these emotions help build teams that stick together, which is a great asset when things go south. However, these emotions can really put a damper on good decision making. A confident and satisfied team not only considers fewer alternatives, but they also do a worse job analyzing the options in front of them. And the longer a team feels this way, the worse it gets. Irritated, Angry - The Seeds of Dismissal and Discontent There’s not much good to say here. These emotions feel bad, and don’t do much good. Anger causes us to dismiss each other’s opinions and narrow our view of the world to match our feelings. This results in discontent even when everyone is angry together, since different people are angered by different things. Angry teams are easily distracted by unimportant information and leap to short-sighted solutions. Angry teams make bad decisions. What To Do? Involve Other People and Write Things Down When it comes to decision making, there are two approaches almost always drive better results: ask other people for their perspectives, and write things down. Emotions are no different. Here's what to do. Our research shows that inviting 5 or so other people to weigh in on decisions helps create a more diverse and balanced emotional climate. The more people are involved, the less likely they’ll all be wearing rose colored glasses. This is one of the many ways diversity drives better decision making. At the same time, neuroimaging shows that when you write emotions down, you lessen their intensity. This not only mellows your own emotions, but also tempers your reaction to other people’s emotions. That’s perfect for better decision making, since too much emotion is bad, but a little is good. Here’s how to take advantage of this neuroscience insight: Good: Start small - just write down your own most intense 3 to 5 emotions. You’ll suddenly be a calmer, wiser version of yourself and make a better decision. Better: Write down your own 3 to 5 emotions to mellow their impact. Then write down your guesses at how the emotions stirred up in other people. If you do this in real time during a meeting, it will tamp down your own reactions to their short-sighted irritation or unfocused curiosity. Best: Have everyone write down their top 3 to 5 emotions, and share the results anonymously with the group. This is hard to do in a meeting, so try to do it before the meeting. This strategy combines the best of both worlds - it reduces emotional intensity for each person, and gives everyone a shared perspective. For bonus points, keep track over time, and take action if the team’s emotional climate takes a bad turn. Erik Larson is the CEO and founder of Cloverpop, an online platform for managing and measuring team decision making. He explores how the decision revolution is changing business leadership. ||||| The deferral of a decision on an incinerator in Cork Harbour was to allow waste management company Indaver to address concerns over helicopter flights nearby, The Irish Times has learned. An Bord Pleanála’s deferral of the decision on the €160 million facility was to allow Indaver to provide more information on the impact it would have on helicopters entering and leaving Haulbowline Naval Base. An Bord Pleanála was due to give a decision on the 240,000-tonne capacity municipal and hazardous waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy on Wednesday, but a decision was taken earlier this month to defer a decision for the fourth time and seek more information from Indaver. The planning authority wrote to Indaver on Monday, pointing out “the issue of helicopter navigation safety at Haulbowline Naval Base has been brought to the attention of An Bord Pleanála in submissions by the Dept of Defence to the oral hearing” on the project held last April and May. It has invited Indaver to respond to concerns on how emissions from the incinerator chimney stack might impact on local climatic conditions and helicopters landing and taking off from Haulbowline, and whether there might be a need for an exclusion zone around the naval base. During the oral hearing, Cmdt David Browne of the Irish Air Corps said construction of the incinerator so close to Haulbowline would “create a flight safety hazard to Air Corps helicopter operations” and impact on its ability to operate helicopters into Haulbowline. Cmdt Browne also criticised the use of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) standards by British-based consultants hired by Indaver when assessing the impact of the development, pointing out that the Irish Air Corps, like the RAF in the UK, operate to military aviation standards and not CAA ones. Counsel for Indaver, Rory Mulcahy SC, said in his closing statement at the hearing that Indaver had sought to address Air Corps concerns and environmental consultant Dr Edward Porter had testified the plume from the stack does not pose a risk to any helicopter more than 50 metres from it. He pointed out that an aviation consultant, retired Cmdr Shane Savage (Royal Navy), had testified he could see no difficulty for the Air Corps in avoiding the small zone of influence of the exhaust plume, irrespective of the weather conditions in the area. The Irish Times understands An Bord Pleanála’s decision to seek more information from Indaver on the impact of the incinerator on helicopter traffic was taken earlier this month, several days prior to the Rescue 116 tragedy off the Co Mayo coast on March 14th. Meanwhile, Indaver said it would respond to the An Bord Pleanála request for additional information on the impact on helicopter operations by the May 15th deadline set by the board and it looked forward to the board’s decision in due course after that date. Linda Fitzpatrick of Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE), said if An Bord Pleanála needs additional information on the impact on helicopter movements, it should ask the Department of Defence, as Indaver had “neither the authority nor the expertise to answer its queries”. ||||| Urgent Matters Judge of Beirut Jad Maalouf issued on March 18, 2017, a new decision ordering the construction works of Eden Rock project to be halted under penalty of paying a fine of LBP 150 million for each day of violation. The decision was delivered on Monday to the company’s attorney Bahij Abou Moujahed, while a copy of the decision was attached in a visible place on the worksite. The decision was issued upon the request of Green Line Association in an attempt to impose the implementation of the two previous decision issued by the state’s Shura Council to stop the construction works. ||||| Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch was thrust on the defensive on Tuesday over a case that Democrats said showed him to be insufficiently sensitive when a man faced a life-or-death decision. Al Franken of Minnesota asked Gorsuch during his hearing before the Judiciary Committee to defend his decision in a case in which a trucker was fired for abandoning his broken-down trailer in freezing temperatures to seek safety. The trucker, Alphonse Maddin, filed a complaint asserting that his firing violated a federal safety law. In a 2-1 decision, the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Maddin’s favor. “I don’t think you’d want to be on the road with him, would you judge?” Franken asked. “You would or not? It’s a really easy: ‘Yes’ or ‘no?'” he pressed. Gorsuch dissented in the decision: “It might be fair to ask whether TransAm’s decision was a wise or kind one,” he wrote. “But it’s not our job to answer questions like that. Our only task is to decide whether the decision was an illegal one.” “It is absurd to say this company is in its rights to fire him because he made the choice of possibly dying from freezing to death or causing other people to die possibly by driving an unsafe vehicle,” said the former “Saturday Night Live” star. “Now, I had a career in identifying absurdity, and I know it when I see it and it makes me question your judgment.” “I would’ve done exactly what he did, and I think everybody here would’ve done exactly what he did,” Franken said. ||||| MDKA President Michael Kleinberg discusses the decision to move offices from Southfield Ave. to Shippan Landing in Stamford, Conn. on MDKA President Michael Kleinberg discusses the decision to move offices from Southfield Ave. to Shippan Landing in Stamford, Conn. Start the conversation, or Read more at Fairfield Citizen-News.
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In a 6–2 decision (NLRB v. SW General, Inc), the U.S. Supreme Court puts new restrictions on presidential powers, limiting a president's authority to staff certain top government posts in a case involving an appointment to the National Labor Relations Board saying that under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, a person cannot serve as the acting head of a federal agency once the president nominates him or her to permanently serve in the role if it is a position that requires U.S. Senate confirmation. The court upholds a lower court's ruling that then-President Barack Obama exceeded his legal authority with his temporary appointment of an NLRB general counsel in 2011. The ruling will give President Donald Trump and future presidents less flexibility in filling jobs that require Senate confirmation.
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Former Russian Lawmaker And Putin Critic Killed In Ukraine A former Russian parliamentarian who fled the country last year was shot and killed in Kiev, Ukraine on Thursday. Ukraine's president quickly labeled it an act of Russian "state terrorism." Someone murdered a former member of the Russian Parliament yesterday. He once backed President Vladimir Putin. He stopped doing so and was living in the capital of Ukraine, which is where he was killed. NPR's Lucian Kim reports from Kiev that the murder has shocked Russians who sought safety there. LUCIAN KIM, BYLINE: I'm standing on the street corner where Denis Voronenkov was killed in broad daylight Thursday. He was shot in front of the Premier Palace Hotel, where Kiev's movers and shakers like to meet. A few hours later, there's not a trace of the crime. People hurry by as Kiev's rush hour traffic roars past. Reporters at the Kyiv Post, the city's English-language newspaper, were working in their offices next door when they heard the shots ring out. Within minutes of the gunfire, Brian Bonner, the paper's editor, was at the crime scene. BRIAN BONNER: I didn't recognize the dead man. There was no police, no tape. He was just laying there in a pool of blood, obviously dead. KIM: The killer was fatally injured by Voronenkov's bodyguard. And officials later identified the man as a Ukrainian citizen who was working as a Russian agent. Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, said the murder was, quote, "an act of state terrorism by Russia." The Kremlin called the accusations absurd. KIM: Russian state television suggested murky business disputes could be behind the murder or perhaps Ukrainian nationalists upset about Voronenkov's earlier support for the annexation of Crimea. Voronenkov and his wife, the opera singer Maria Maksakova, used to be members of the Russian Parliament and ardent supporters of President Putin's policies. Then last fall, the couple defected to Kiev, where Voronenkov made a U-turn and compared Putin's Russia with Nazi Germany. He took Ukrainian citizenship and promised to reveal new information about the Maidan, the 2014 People Power Revolution that led to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russian prosecutors opened a corruption case against Voronenkov. A month ago, a Ukrainian TV journalist asked him if he felt he was in danger. KIM: "Of course," he said, recalling a prominent muckraking journalist who was killed in a car bombing in central Kiev last July. Russians who moved to Kiev thinking they would enjoy greater political freedom are concerned. I met Yuliya Arkhipova in a bohemian Kiev bar on the night of Voronenkov's killing. YULIYA ARKHIPOVA: Somebody wants us to be frightened. Somebody wants us to think that Ukraine is not a safe place for Russians. And I don't like it at all. KIM: Arkhipova moved to Kiev because she was inspired by the Maidan revolution and felt limited in the human rights work she could do in Moscow. Now, the 23-year-old runs an NGO that supports Russians seeking exile in Ukraine. ARKHIPOVA: The truth is in Ukraine it's OK to be Russian and to speak Russian and to stay here being Russian. KIM: She says given the level of anti-Ukrainian propaganda on Russian state media, any Russian who comes to Kiev is already making a political statement. Lucian Kim, NPR News, Kiev. ||||| A former Russian lawmaker Denis Voronenkov was shot and killed in Kiev Thursday in what the Ukrainian president described as an "act of state terrorism" by Russia, an accusation that has been quickly rejected by the Kremlin. President Petro Poroshenko said Voronenkov's killing "clearly shows the handwriting of Russian special services shown repeatedly in various European capitals in the past." In a statement released by his spokesman, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, Poroshenko described the victim as a key witness who gave testimony about "Russian aggression" to the Ukrainian authorities. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, dismissed the claim of Russian involvement in the killing as "absurd" in a statement carried by Russian news agencies. Voronenkov, 45, a former member of the communist faction in the lower house of Russian parliament, had moved to Ukraine last fall and had been granted Ukrainian citizenship. He testified to Ukrainian investigators as part of their probe into the activities of the nation's former Russia-friendly president, Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted by massive protests in February 2014. Voronenkov, who had obediently toed the Kremlin line while serving as lawmaker, became a vociferous critic of Russian policies after his move to Kiev. Ukrainian police said Voronenkov was shot dead by an unidentified gunman near the entrance of an upscale hotel in the Ukrainian capital. The assailant also wounded Voronenkov's bodyguard, who fired back and wounded the gunman. Police said they were both hospitalized. Voronenkov left Russia with his wife, singer Maria Maksakova, who was also a lawmaker. He said he had to leave Russia because of persecution by Russian security agencies and had renounced Russian citizenship. After Voronenkov's move to Ukraine, Russian investigators have filed fraud charges against Voronenkov in connection with his business activities. Members of the Russian parliament were quick to reject Ukrainian allegations that Voronenkov could have been killed over any betrayal of Russia. Nikolai Kovalyov, the former Russian security chief who is a lawmaker, told Russian state television that the killing could have been rooted in a business dispute. Peskov said that Putin was informed about Voronenkov's killing and voiced hope that Ukrainian authorities would solve the crime. He added that Voronenkov's widow was welcome to return to Russia. ||||| A Russian politician and prominent critic of Vladimir Putin, Denis Voronenkov, was killed in the streets of Kiev on Wednesday, having fled Russia last October in fear of his life. Voronenkov – a former Russian MP who had previously testified against the pro-Russian former Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, and criticized Vladimir Putin’s policies – was shot three times with a 9mm handgun in broad daylight in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. His bodyguard, a Ukranian security agent, was also shot and remains in the hospital but managed to return fire and fatally wound the gunman, who has not yet been identified. Voronenkov and his wife Maria Maksakova fled Russia in October last year, citing the ‘schizophrenic’ Russian government as their reason. The couple recently had a son, whose first birthday will be in April. Following the incident, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko described it as “an act of state terrorism” undertaken by the Kremlin. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refuted the claims, stating that “all falsehoods that can already be heard about much-hyped Russian involvement are absurd.” The murder was quickly denounced as an act of Russian violence, with Ukranian MP Volodymyr Ariev accusing Putin of “spreading fear all over the world”: Meanwhile, Ilya Ponomarev, another former Russian MP exiled in Ukraine and fellow critic of Putin, confirmed he had been on his way to meet Voronenkov before hearing news of his murder. “There are no words,” he wrote: It will likely heighten tensions existent between Russia and the Ukraine since Putin illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. In his final interview with Radio Free Europe last month, Voronenkov compared Russia to “Nazi Germany” while denouncing the annexation of Crimea as “illegal” and a “mistake.” “In Russia, there is a system of total fear,” Voronenkov said in the interview. “Like in George Orwell’s book [1984], right now these are times of total lies, when speaking the truth is [labeled] extremism.” Voronenkov’s murder is one of a number of unexplained deaths of Russian dissidents in recent years. In February, thousands marched in the city of Moscow to commemorate the death of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was murdered outside the Kremlin two years ago. Other influential Russian figures have also died in mysterious circumstances during recent years, including former Putin adviser Mikhail Lesin, businessman Alexander Perepilichny, and FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko. All figures appeared to pose a threat to Russian governmental interests. You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at [email protected]. ||||| According to Meduza , Voronenkov was leaving the hotel with his bodyguard when he was shot. The bodyguard returned fire and wounded the shooter. The alleged assassin was subsequently taken to a Kiev hospital. The bodyguard also sustained injuries in the shootout. Denis Voronenkov, formerly a Communist Party lawmaker in the State Duma, was killed outside Kiev's Premier Palace hotel March 23, according to multiple sources. Kiev Police Chief Andrei Krishchenko said the murder was likely a contract killing, the Meduza news site reported. A former Russian parliamentarian who fled to Ukraine and harshly criticized the Russian authorities has been shot dead in Kiev. Ilya Ponomaryov, another former Russian lawmaker and Kremlin critic living in exile in Kiev, wrote on Facebook that Voronenkov was killed at 11:25 a.m. while heading to a meeting with him. Voronenkov was "an investigator who was deadly dangerous for the [Russian] security agencies," Ponomaryov wrote. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the killing an "act of terrorism by Russia" that displayed the "signature of the Russian special services, as repeatedly seen in different European capitals." Voronenkov served in the State Duma until October 2016, when he lost his seat in parliamentary elections. Having lost parliamentary immunity, he fled a corruption investigation, escaping to Kiev with his wife, former United Russia lawmaker Maria Maksakova. In December 2016, Voronenkov received Ukrainian citizenship. The next month, he testified against ousted former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych before the country's Prosecutor General. In February, Russia launched large-scale fraud charges against the former parliamentarian after he gave a provocative interview to the Ukrainian media outlet Censor.net.ua. During the interview, he said that Russia was in the grip of a "pseudo-patriotic frenzy” similar to Nazi Germany, and claimed that it was a “mistake” for Russia to annex the Crimean peninsula. ||||| A former Russian politician and critic of Vladimir Putin has been shot dead in Kiev after fleeing his homeland last year, Ukrainian police said. Denis Voronenkov was shot by a gunman at the entrance of an upmarket hotel in the Ukrainian capital, Ukrainian police said. Kiev police chief Andriy Kryshchenko told the television channel 112 that Voronenkov was killed around noon (10.00am GMT) and his bodyguard was also injured in the attack. Mr Voronenkov, 45, had moved to Ukraine last autumn fearing for his life after being a critic of Putin . He is a former member of the communist faction in the lower house of Russian parliament. Mr Voronenkov left Russia with his wife, the singer Maria Maksakova. He had been granted Ukrainian citizenship. She was also a member of parliament. He said he had to leave Russia because of persecution by Russian security agencies. He also renounced his Russian citizenship. ||||| Denis Voronenkov, a former Russian lawmaker who fled the country last year and has harshly criticized president Vladimir Putin, was gunned down outside of a Kiev hotel Thursday in what Ukraine’s president is calling an “act of Russian state terrorism.” A critic of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Voronenkov was helping prosecutors build a treason case against ex-Ukrainian president and Putin ally Viktor Yanukovych, who has lived in exile in Russia since early 2014. Another former Russian parliament member and Putin critic, Ilya Ponomarev, said Voronenkov was on his way to meeting with him when he was killed. Ukraine’s General Prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko called the shooting a “cynical murder of one of the witnesses involved in the state’s case against ex-president Yanukovych.” He also referred to it as a “typical show execution of a witness by the Kremlin.” Not long after the killing, the Kremlin dismissed any suggestion that it was involved. “We believe that all speculations about a Russian connection are absurd,” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “We hope that the killer and those behind the murder will be exposed.” ||||| Denis Voronenkov was shot dead outside his hotel in Kiev Denis Voronenkov was killed in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev at noon today, the city's police chief Andriy Kryshchenko said. His bodyguard was injured in the attack, as was another person. The former Russian MP and father-of-one was shot dead outside the Kyiv Premier Palace Hotel. He was in Kiev to testify against former Ukrainian President Yanukovych, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr Voronenkov, who was previously a staunch Putin supporter, fled Russia last October and renounced his citizenship after defecting to Ukraine. He revealed earlier this year he was helping Ukrainian prosecutors building a treason case against Mr Yanukovych, who fled to Russia during unrest in Ukraine in February 2014. The ex-Ukraine president is suspected of ordering the killings of more than 100 protesters in Kyiv. Mr Voronenkov and his wife, renowned opera singer Maria Maksakova, who was also a Russian lawmaker, feared they would be killed after defecting. In February, he told journalist Christopher Miller Russia today is like "Nazi Germany" and the 2014 annexation of Crimea was a "mistake and illegal". He claimed Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) - which replaced the KGB, of which Mr Putin was an operative - "hounded" him out of Russia. He said he felt relatively safe in Kyiv, despite raising concerns about the FSB. Please refresh or return for updates... ||||| A Russian lawmaker and critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin who defected to Ukraine late last year was shot dead in Kiev at around noon local time on Thursday, multiple media outlets have reported. Denis Voronenkov, a former member of the Russian state Duma, or parliament, had obtained Ukrainian citizenship in October in exchange for agreeing to testify against former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych was ousted in early 2014 amid violent protests and fled to Russia, where he is now living under the protection of the Kremlin. Voronenkov told RFERL's Chris Miller in February that he had told Ukrainian prosecutors "some details of what was going on" with Yanukovych when he fled to Russia, "and I will give testimony in open court in the course of judicial inquiry held in Ukraine." "I will talk about criminal deeds of the former president, which led to the ongoing bloodshed in [the eastern Ukrainian] Donetsk and Luhansk regions," Voronenkov told Miller last month. Voronenko had been walking to meet with Ilya Ponomarev, another former member of the Russian Duma who was the only lawmaker to vote against the annexation of Crimea in 2014. "Denis Voronenkov was killed at 11:25 at the Premier Palace," Ponomarev, who also defected to Ukraine, wrote on Facebook on Thursday. "He was coming to meet with me. No words. The guard managed to wound the attacker. The theory is obvious — I said that Voronenkov was not a crook/cheater/phoney, but an investigator, who was fatally dangerous to Russian siloviki [security services]. My deepest condolences to [Voronenko's wife] Maria Makasakova." Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, confirmed in a statement on Thursday that " Voronenkov was one of the main witnesses of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and, in particular, the role of Yanukovich regarding the deployment of Russian troops to Ukraine." Voronenkov was also on Russia's federal "wanted" list, Russian news agency Interfax reported last month. Poroshenko added that he was treating the attack as "an act of Russian state terrorism," although police have still not determined who was behind the assassination. The attacker, who has not been named, was shot and injured by police and has since died from his wounds, Ukrainian media has reported. Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Yuri Lutsenko, called the attack “the usual kind of Kremlin retribution," according to The Guardian. "Putin respects enemies, but he has no time for traitors," Russian-born journalist Julia Ioffe tweeted on Thursday. Voronenkov has his own enemies in Ukraine, especially because he is believed to have voted in favor of annexing Crimea in 2014. He called the annexation "a mistake" and "illegal" in his February interview with Miller, and denied that he had voted for it. Voronenkov's death is the second suspicious incident this week involving critics of Vladimir Putin. Nikolai Gorokhov, the lawyer who had been investigating the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky — who died in prison in 2009 after claiming that the Kremlin conspired with Russian criminals to launder $230 million — was thrown from the window of his fourth-floor Moscow apartment on Tuesday. Russian state media reported that Gorokhov, who has been hospitalized with serious head injuries, had fallen while trying to move a bathtub into his apartment, but the circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear. ||||| KIEV — A former Russian member of parliament who defected to Ukraine and began sharply criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin was gunned down Thursday in downtown Kiev in an apparent contract killing. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the murder of Denis Voronenkov, a former member of Russia’s Communist Party who fled to Kiev in October 2016, an “act of state terrorism by Russia.” A suspected assailant was arrested after Voronenkov was shot twice in the head, dying on the spot. The suspect’s identity or other details were not immediately made public. In Moscow, a Kremlin spokesman denied Russian involvement in the killing. But Russia’s critics were likely to draw parallels between the slaying and the deaths of other Putin foes. It also raises further alarm in Washington, where Russia has come under scrutiny for allegedly trying to influence the presidential election to aid Donald Trump. In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday evening — less than 72 hours before his death — Voronenkov complained about anonymous threats against him and his wife, Maria Maksakova, a former member of the United Russia party founded by Putin, with whom he fled to Kiev last year. After receiving Ukrainian citizenship in December, he testified in the case against Viktor Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian leader who was toppled in 2014 revolution after dozens of protestors were killed in shooting in downtown Kiev. Before fleeing Russia, Voronenkov was the target of a fraud investigation. He was formally charged in February after a high-profile interview where he compared the patriotic fervor in Russia to Nazi Germany. Voronenkov said the charges against him over a corporate raiding case had been fabricated by his political enemies. On Tuesday, he called the Russian state under Putin “totalitarian,” said he had always opposed Russia’s annexation of Crimea despite having voted for it in 2014 in parliament. He said he planned to live in Kiev for the foreseeable future, where he had friends in the pro-Western bureaucracy from his time in the Soviet army. He could likely return to Russia only after Putin’s death, he said. In the three years since Ukraine’s revolution, Kiev has become something of a meeting point for Russian opponents of the Kremlin. The city has taken on the role of a modern Casablanca just 500 miles southwest of Moscow, where members of Russia’s liberal, leftist and nationalist opposition — as well as those seeking to escape a tightly controlled political landscape in Moscow — have congregated in relative safety. ||||| The former Russian MP Denis Voronenkov has been shot and killed in Kiev. Police said an unidentified gunman had shot Voronenkov dead at the entrance of an upmarket hotel in the Ukrainian capital. Voronenkov, 45, a former member of the Communist faction in the lower house of the Russian parliament, had moved to Ukraine last autumn and had been granted Ukrainian citizenship. He left Russia with his wife, the singer Maria Maksakova, who was also an MP. He said he had to leave the country because the Russian security agencies were persecuting him, and he renounced his Russian citizenship. Voronenkov gave a number of interviews after his defection that was sharply critical of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Kremlin policy in Ukraine. However, the decision to grant him citizenship after he had taken part in the parliamentary vote to annex Crimea was strongly criticised in Ukraine. Voronenkov was on his way to meet Ilya Ponomarev, also a former Russian MP who fled the country, when he was shot, according to Ponomarev. The Premier Palace hotel is in the very centre of Kiev, and is popular with local businessmen and visiting dignitaries. Ponomarev wrote on Facebook: “I have no words. The security guard was able to injure the attacker. The potential theory is obvious. Voronenko was not a crook, but an investigator who was fatally dangerous to Russian authorities.” Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, summoned the head of the security services to brief him on the killing. Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Yuri Lutsenko, wrote on Facebook that the killing was “the usual kind of Kremlin retribution”.
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A former Ukrainian soldier assassinates former Russian Duma deputy Denis Voronenkov in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. In December 2016, he received Ukrainian citizenship. Ilya Ponomarev says Voronenkov was heading to a meeting with him.
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Three people, including a teenager, were injured after a gunman opened fire outside a metro station in the city of Lille in northern France. Three people, including a teenager, were injured after a gunman opened fire outside a metro station in the city of Lille in northern France. Three people - including teen - injured in metro station shooting in France Witnesses described how a gunman began shooting outside the station on Friday night before he fled the scene, according to Sky News. The teen reportedly was shot in the leg while another person took a bullet to the neck. Local news outlet La Voix du Nord has reported that a third person has been taken to hospital. None of the injuries sustained are life-threatening. Police are now hunting for the gunman who is still on the run. The attacker's motive is also still unknown, but it is not believed to be terror-related. Local media reported the shooting may have been gangland-related. However, France remains on high alert with a state of emergency still in place following a series of terror attacks. The most recent attack occurred at Orly Airport in Paris when a radicalised Muslim, who was on an official watch-list, shot a policewoman in the head at a road check before attacking a soldier. The attacker, named as Ziyed B, was shot dead by troops. More to follow Online Editors ||||| Three people have been injured in a shooting in the northern French city of Lille, police have said. Witnesses saw an unidentified gunman opened fire near a metro station on Friday night before fleeing, according to two Lille police officials. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said one of those shot is a minor, and none of the injuries is life-threatening. The reason for the shooting is unclear. It comes as France is under a state of emergency after deadly extremist attacks. Newspaper La Voix du Nord and radio France Bleu Nord reported that the Lille shooting may have been a settling of scores among local criminals. ||||| Police say three people have been injured in a shooting in the northern French city of Lille. Witnesses told police that an unidentified assailant opened fire near a metro station last night before fleeing, according to two Lille police officials. The officials said one of those shot is a minor, and none of the injuries is life-threatening. The officials were not authorised to be publicly named. The reason for the shooting is unclear. It comes as France is under a state of emergency after deadly extremist attacks. Newspaper La Voix du Nord and radio France Bleu Nord reported that the Lille shooting may have been a settling of scores among local criminals. While firearms are less common in France than the US, gang-related shootings occur sporadically in poor French neighbourhoods. For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App now ||||| Emergency services at the scene of the shooting in Lille, France Armed police have rushed to the scene, located near Porte d'Arras metro station in the south of the city. The shots are believed to have fired at Jacques Febvrier square, a few metres from the metro station, according to reports. Witnesses reported at least three injuries, including a boy, thought to be aged 14. The 14-year-old boy is believed to have been shot in the leg and another is said to have received neck injuries, say local media. Two of the wounded were found at the scene, while the third made their way to a nearby hospital. ||||| Part of the city of Lille is currently on lock down, local media outlets reported. The incident began at the Porte d'Arras metro stop near the southern part of the city, the Daily Mail reports. Several people have been injured, including a 14 year-old boy. It is not clear whether any casualties have been suffered. Local media report that residents say it could've been an armed dispute between local teens, but this has not been confirmed by police units. Other reports suggest the shooting could be a product of gang violence. Armed police are on the scene. According to a local journalist, three young people are injured but not in critical condition, adding that the violence stemmed from a confrontation between drug dealers in a relatively violent area. The 14-year-old was shot in the leg, while one of the other injured individuals was injured in the neck. The third person who had been shot was rushed to the Saint Vincent de Paul hospital, La Voix du Nord reported. According Teleport.org, "a gun death occurs once every 26 days, 22 hours, 29 minutes and 33 seconds," in Lille, France. ||||| A 14-year-old boy was shot in the leg, while a second victim was hit in the neck and was described as more seriously injured. The gunman is said to be still on the run following the attack in a car park in the city of Lille. A third wounded person was also taken to hospital following the shooting in the south of the city. None of the injuries are thought to be life-threatening, according to French news website La Voix Du Nord. The motive for the attack has not been confirmed but there is speculation that it could be a "settling of accounts" by the gunman. Media reports, citing police, said the shooting was not terror-related. France is on high alert with a state of emergency still in place following a series of terror attacks in recent months and years. Last weekend, a radicalised Muslim on a crime watchlist shot a policewoman in the head at a road check before attacking a soldier at Orly airport in Paris. In the terminal the attacker, known as Ziyed B, assaulted a patrol of three counter-terrorism soldiers, and wrestled one of them to the floor, trying to take her gun. The man was shot dead by patrol officers. ||||| At least three people have been injured after a gunman opened fire in the French city of Lille. Authorities have closed off roads near the city centre with armed police swarming to the centre of the city. Reports in France have suggested that say there were several shots fired near the Porte d'Arras metro station at around 9.50pm local time. It has been reported that at least three people were injured, including a 14-year-old. It is not clear whether an active shooter is still in the area. It comes as Europe remains in a high state of alert following terror attacks in London, Paris and Antwerp over the last week. Those injured received bullet wounds all over their bodies, claims French news site La Voix Du Nord. ||||| The shooter or shooters may currently be at large. The incident occurred close to a train station in the city of Lille, near the Belgian border. Part of the city of Lille is currently on lock down, local media outlets reported. The incident began at the Porte d’Arras metro stop near the southern part of the city, the Daily Mail reports. Several people have been injured, including a 14 year-old boy. It is not clear whether any casualties have been suffered. ||||| Paris: At least three people were injured after a gunman opened fire outside a metro station in the city of Lille in northern France, days after the attack in London. Armed police rushed to the scene and sealed off streets near the Porte d'Arras Metro station at around 9.45 p.m. on Friday night, the Mirror reported. Start the conversation, or Read more at Mid-Day Mumbai. ||||| PARIS– While Cannes recently announced the creation of a drama festival, on top of the Paris-set high-profile Series Mania festival (now in its eight year), the French government has decided to back the launch of a third international fest dedicated to series in Lille, a large city in Northern France. The decision to host a new festival in Lille was taken by the committee specially appointed by the French government and overseen by Audrey Azoulay, the president of the CNC (National Film Board). Lille won over Paris, the host city of Series Mania, a festival which has already gained international recognition and drew 40,000 spectators and 1,300 industry professionals in 2016. The upcoming edition of Series Mania will feature world premieres of anticipated shows such as Jim Carrey’s”I’m Dying Up Here,” Adam Price’s “Ride Upon the Storm” and Jimmy McGovern’s “Broken.” Meanwhile, the mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, announced the launch of Cannes International Series Festival upon hearing that his city hadn’t been shortlisted by the committee in February. Lisnard subsequently enlisted two partners: Reed Midem, the organizer of Mipcom and MipTV, and Canal Plus. The first Cannes series fest edition will take place in 2018 and will run alongside MipTV. Both Cannes International Series Festival and Series Mania will take place in April. The timing of Lille festival has been unveiled. The new festival in Lille will be backed by France’s Socialist government via the CNC, the Hauts-de-France region, and the city of Lille, which is ran by Martine Aubry, a prominent figure of the Socialist party.
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On Friday night a man begins to shoot in a Lille Metro station in Lille, France. Three people are injured, including being shot in the leg and neck. The gunman is not thought to be a terrorist, and is still on the run.
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Getty Images With plenty of momentum building toward a vote that would allow the Raiders to move to Las Vegas, the league apparently plans to cram the proposal through quickly. Before anyone realizes that dropping a franchise into a city synonymous with gambling: (1) could create real temptations, problems, and consequences for players who find themselves living in and around casinos; (2) is inconsitent with the league’s opposition to sports betting; and (3) could — will — invite speculation about corruption when officiating and/or player and/or coaching errors occur. Via Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Daily, the ballots are expected to be cast by 3:00 p.m. ET on Monday. The approval would be conditioned upon the Raiders getting a lease and finding a developer for the new stadium in Nevada. Following the vote, Commissioner Roger Goodell, Raiders owner Mark Davis, Texans owner Bob McNair, the chairman of the league’s finance commitee, and Steelers President Art Rooney II, the chairman of the league’s stadium committee, will speak to the media. Which underscores the widespread expectation that there won’t be nine “no” votes in the room. ||||| Which Premier League and Football League stadiums have the largest capacity? Wembley Stadium can host a whopping 90,000 when packed to the rafters, but Premier League and Football League clubs understandably have much more modest crowds on matchdays. Swansea City's home is smaller than several Championship stadiums, while there are some giant grounds in League One belonging to former top-flight sides. Scroll through the gallery above to find out the capacity of your favourite club's stadium, and where it ranks among the biggest grounds in the Premier League and Football League. ||||| In an email addressed to the fans on Wednesday, Goodell wrote that the NFL will make a series of changes that will help improve "the flow and pace of the game, and commercialization and the number of necessary disruptions to the game on the field." Goodell promised in the email that the league will tweak in-game timing and replay reviews, with next season to feature starting of a clock after a player goes out of bounds and the duration of halftime. A play clock also will be instituted after extra points. NFL owners could vote next week at the league meetings on the Oakland Raiders' proposed move to Las Vegas. The league meetings begin Sunday in Phoenix and run through March 29. The Raiders need the approval of 24 of 32 owners to relocate to Las Vegas. Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones will not face a felony charge in an alleged spitting incident at the Hamilton County Jail. Jones still faces charges of assault, obstruction of official business and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors. The Miami Dolphins restructured linebacker Koa Misi's contract for the 2017 season, allowing him to stay with the team, according to multiple reports. Misi was scheduled to earn $4.1 million this season with a salary-cap hit of $4.8 million. The Jacksonville Jaguars may have found their replacement for Julius Thomas by signing fellow tight end Mychal Rivera to a contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team for Rivera, but Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reported it's a one-year deal with a team option for a second season. ||||| NEW YORK — The NFL is coming to Las Vegas. NFL owners voted Monday to approve the Raiders’ move from Oakland to Las Vegas, the league announced. “My father always said, ‘the greatness of the Raiders is in its future,’ and the opportunity to build a world-class stadium in the entertainment capital of the world is a significant step toward achieving that greatness. I would like to thank Commissioner Goodell, the National Football League and my 31 partners. I would also like to thank Governor Brian Sandoval and the Nevada Legislature for their commitment. Finally, I would like to thank Sheldon Adelson for his vision and leadership, without which this project never would have become a reality. The Raiders were born in Oakland and Oakland will always be part of our DNA. We know that some fans will be disappointed and even angry, but we hope that they do no direct that frustration to the players, coaches and staff. We plan to play at the Coliseum in 2017 and 2018, and hope to stay there as the Oakland Raiders until the new stadium opens. We would love nothing more than to bring a championship back to the Bay Area,” a statement from Raiders owner Mark Davis read. The move had been anticipated for months. The Raiders received about $750 million from Nevada taxpayers last year to build a stadium in Las Vegas, and team owner Mark Davis is putting up $500 million. Bank of America has committed to financing the rest. The stadium, expected to cost $1.9 billion, is planned for 2020. The Raiders are expected to stay in Oakland in the meantime. It’s the third NFL franchise to move in recent years. The Rams moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, and the former San Diego Chargers will move to Los Angeles for the 2017 season. The city of Oakland presented a last-minute proposal on Friday for a $1.3 billion stadium in hopes of keeping the team. But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was not impressed. He wrote back that the plan wasn’t “clear and specific” or “actionable in a reasonable timeframe.” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf sent another letter Sunday to make the case. “The NFL is more than a business,” the mayor wrote. “You have an obligation to recognize that professional football teams are the lifeblood, culture and identity of the places where they play.” The Raiders needed to get 24 votes from league owners, a three-quarters majority, to move. It originally looked like a long shot. The NFL is known for being conservative, especially on gambling, which is legal in Las Vegas. The league has refused to run Super Bowl ads from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. But with Oakland unable to secure taxpayer financing, relocation to Vegas has began to look more likely. The move bolsters efforts by Las Vegas to become a destination for professional sports. An NHL expansion franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, will begin play next season. And Vegas has long been a host of big-name boxing bouts and UFC matches. ||||| ||||| National striker Myron Samuel scored six goals as Avenues United defeated Greggs FC 7-4 yesterday in the National Premier Division of the 2017 National Club Football Championships at Victoria Park Anthony Sam scored the other goal for Avenues United. Greggs FC goals were scored by Valdo Anderson (3) and Romario Dennie (1). System Three beat Pride and Joy 3-nil, while Sharpes FC thumped Bequia 3-nil. Earlier in the Women’s Division, System Three beat Volcanoes 1-nil, through a goal scored from the penalty spot Kyla Ottley. On Saturday, Roxdale lost 3-1 to Parkside Rollers, Tony Store Jugglers defeated Roseans 1-nil, Volcanoes beat Richmond Hill 3-2, Hope International and System Three drew 1-1, and United Strikers beat the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police 2-1. Meanhwile, Biabou FC defeated Brighton 3-2 yesterday afternoon in the Hairoun Biabou Football League at the Biabou Playing Field. Jadon Jacobs scored two of goals for Biabou FC and the other was scored by Elani Williams. Darion Antoine and Sylvester Frederick scored a goal each for Brighton. Tomorrow at 4:30 pm, SV United Georgetown will meet Greggs FC also at the Biabou Playing Field. ||||| Lander Valley High School Head Football Coach John Rounds is tackling a new endevour with young kids. He's starting up a Tiger Junior Flag Football League for kids in 2nd - 5th grades which will run between April 4 - May 4 every Tuesday and Thursday from 7 - 8 p.m. "I believe it is instrumental for Lander to develop a stronger youth football program," said Rounds. Start the conversation, or Read more at County 10 News. ||||| NFL team owners granted conditional approval on Monday to allow the Oakland Raiders to move to Las Vegas, the league announced, setting up the third franchise relocation in 14 months. An NFL Twitter posting featured a Raiders helmet beneath the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada" sign with the caption "The Las Vegas Raiders". No vote total was released but the team needed support from at least 24 of 32 club owners to make the move, which follows the St. Louis Rams return to Los Angeles in January 2016 and the San Diego Chargers move to Los Angeles this past January. Raiders owner Mark Davis said the team would play the 2017 and 2018 seasons in Oakland to complete its stadium lease deal ahead of the expected 2020 opening of a new $1.9 billion (1.75bn euros) domed stadium near the Las Vegas Strip. "The Raiders were born in Oakland and Oakland will always be part of our DNA," Davis said. "We know that some fans will be disappointed and even angry, but we hope that they do not direct that frustration to the players, coaches and staff. "We plan to play at the Coliseum in 2017 and 2018 and hope to stay there as the Oakland Raiders until the new stadium opens. We would love nothing more than to bring a championship back to the Bay Area." But that history and affection was not enough to convince him to stay, even with a last-minute revamped stadium pitch from Oakland city leaders that had pleaded for owners to delay a vote and negotiate with Oakland about staying. "My father (ex-Raiders owner Al Davis) always said, 'the greatness of the Raiders is in its future,' and the opportunity to build a world-class stadium in the entertainment capital of the world is a significant step toward achieving that greatness," Davis said. The Raiders were founded in Oakland in 1960, moved to Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994, then went back to Oakland and now become the second major sports team in the US gambling haven. Where concerns over gambling ties once shied away pro sports clubs, the allure of new venues and rich sponsors has the NFL following the National Hockey League's expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who begin play next October in a new arena. "It truly is an exciting time to be from Las Vegas," said Knights chairman Bill Foley. "Las Vegas has always been one of the most popular destination cities in the world and it is now emerging as a premier location for major league professional sports." The Chargers departed San Diego for lack of a new stadium and the Raiders did the same, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell calling Oakland's proposal not "a viable solution". Nevada lawmakers will put $750 million in taxpayer funding toward the new stadium with the NFL and Raiders chipping in $500. Bank of America stepped in to provide the remainder of the funding after casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and Goldman Sachs pulled out of the project. - 'I don't know how we should feel' - The Raiders went 12-4 last season, sparked by new quarterback Derek Carr, after 13 consecutive campaigns without a winning record, but lost to Houston in the first round of the playoffs. "I am overwhelmed with emotion," Carr said in a Twitter message. "I don't know how we should feel. I feel the pain of our fans in Oakland. I also see the joy on the faces of our new fans in Las Vegas. As players, we will show up and give everything we have, we will compete and we will do our best to bring a championship to the entire Raider Nation. "So Las Vegas, you can count on us bringing a piece of Oakland with us and you are getting a tough, loyal and competitive fan base and team. When the time comes, I hope you are ready. For now, it's about 2017 and our diehards in Oakland." ||||| PHOENIX — As expected, NFL owners gave Las Vegas its blessing to host one of the league’s most storied franchises on Monday. The owners’ historic decision allows the Raiders and owner Mark Davis to uproot for the third time in 35 years — much to the dismay of diehard East Bay fans. Davis scored a major victory at the NFL’s annual owners meetings in Arizona, some 300 miles from where he plans to erect a $1.9 billion domed-roof stadium near the famous Las Vegas Strip. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the vote was 31-1 in favor, with only Miami voting against relocation.
• Read: Open letter from Oakland Raiders fan groups to Mark Davis, all NFL owners
• Purdy: At long last, Mark Davis and the Raiders have the NFL’s full attention Before the move can become official, Davis and his chief executives have much to do. Owners stipulated that the Raiders still need to agree to terms for a lease with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority as well as secure a property where to build the proposed 65,000-seat stadium Owners determined Las Vegas was the team’s best option after 25 years in Oakland in the now-outdated Coliseum that is shared with baseball’s Athletics. They supported Davis’ ambitions 14 months after rejecting a proposed joint move to Carson with the former San Diego Chargers. For the third time in the past year, the league approved a relocation by bunching three teams in close proximity. The Rams and Chargers eventually will share a new stadium in Inglewood while the Raiders hope to turn America’s Playground into an NFL jewel. Owners were willing to accept a smaller relocation fee — reported to be between $300 million and $375 million — than the $650 million tagged to the Rams and Chargers. Las Vegas’ money and enthusiasm were enough to persuade owners to vacant the country’s sixth-largest media market for a desert metropolis of 2.2 million residents. Owners cited the $750 million public investment in southern Nevada as one of the attractions to planting the NFL flag in a city once off limits because of its association with gambling. But professional leagues no longer worry about such connections as the NHL awarded the city its first expansion team since 2000. The Las Vegas Golden Knights will make their debut next season. If all goes smoothly, the Raiders will join the pro sports agenda by 2020. The Raiders have secured a $650 million loan from Bank of America and plan to contribute $500 million that will come from personal seat license sales, naming rights and a $200 million loan from the NFL through its stadium upgrade program. Although sports economists have questioned the soundness of the financing package, NFL owners are satisfied the deal will succeed. Now the Raiders must agree to a 30-year lease with the stadium authority, the public oversight group that would own but not operate the stadium. The Raiders are steadfast they want to build on a 63-acre site across from the southern end of the Strip near McCarran International Airport. The area would need major roadwork, some part of a Nevada Department of Transportation plan for the next decade. But perhaps another $200 million would have to be spent specifically to accommodate a stadium. Davis and others also have talked about building a pedestrian bridge over Interstate 15 to connect the Strip to the stadium on Russell Road. Furthermore, the Raiders will need to figure out where to play until the stadium and all the attendant roadwork is finished. The current plan is to stay in Oakland for two years while figuring out a solution for 2019. One possibility is sharing Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers. Another is playing at UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium on the outskirts of town. The austere facility would need to add about 5,000 more seats as well as other enhancements to come close to the NFL’s barest of standards. Remaining in the Bay Area, however, could turn into a nightmare if the Black Hole faithful stop supporting the team as it leaves Oakland again. Al Davis moved the Raiders to Los Angeles in 1982 before returning 13 years later. Davis and NFL executives have summarily dismissed a proposed solution in Oakland by Hall of Fame player Ronnie Lott and New York hedge fund Fortress Investment Group. The investors, working with Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf and East Bay lawmakers, offered a $1.3 billion stadium plan that included a mixed-use development on the current site of the Coliseum, the smallest and third-oldest permanent NFL facility. Schaaf revealed last week that one of the plan’s sticking points involved the Athletics sharing the Coliseum for a few years while the new football stadium was built. Davis and the NFL didn’t want to continue the arrangement with Oakland’s baseball team even in the short term. NFL executives were not moved by Oakland investors saying they could start building a new football stadium almost immediately. Although the plan to stay in East Bay would have been far less expensive, the Raiders never engaged in serious discussions with the Lott group. By the time investors entered the scene Davis already had considered moves to Los Angeles and San Antonio before settling on Las Vegas. ||||| March 28 (Reuters) - The Europa League offers Manchester United a great alternative route into next season's Champions League as they battle for a top four slot in the Premier League, former manager Alex Ferguson has said. A top four Premier League place is needed for access to the Champions League but United are currently only fifth, four points behind fourth-placed Liverpool albeit with two games in hand. However, United can also guarantee a place in next season's Champions League by winning the Europa League. United are in the last eight of the Europa League. "They're in the Europa League and I think they have a great chance there," Ferguson, who won more than 30 trophies during his 26-year spell at Old Trafford, told United States radio channel SiriusXM. "In the Premier League at the moment, there is a real fight for the positions... It's not going to be easy to get into the top four," Ferguson added. "They could do it. But I look at the Europa League as a great chance." United, who have never won the Europa League, travel to Belgian side Anderlecht for the first leg of their quarter-final tie on April 13. Since Ferguson's retirement in 2013, United have managed just two major pieces of silverware -- the FA Cup last season and the League Cup in February. They missed out on the Champions League this season and another absence would be costly in terms of lost revenue. "I get on well with Jose and I think he's doing a really good job," Ferguson said. "He's been a bit unlucky because they've been absolutely brilliant in most of their home games and drawn (seven of) them. If they had got the wins they would be challenging for the league, no doubt about that." United's run of nine games in April begins on Saturday when they host eighth-placed West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford. (Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; Editing by Keith Weir)
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The National Football League (NFL) owners approve, by a 31–1 vote, the move of the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the 2019 or 2020 season. The Las Vegas Raiders will become the second top-level professional sports franchise in the city, following the National Hockey League's Vegas Golden Knights, which will begin play in October 2017. The move now awaits completion of a new Raiders stadium, until which time the Raiders will continue playing home games in Oakland. Bank of America has issued the Raiders $650 million in credit to purchase land and build the new stadium in Clark County.
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ATLANTA (CNN) — A massive fireball collapsed a portion of Interstate 85 in Atlanta, sending motorists driving through billowing black smoke before the city shut down that section of the highway indefinitely. The fire started underneath part of the highway on Thursday evening. At about 7 p.m., an elevated section of the northbound interstate collapsed, forcing frantic motorists to seek alternative routes. An estimated 250,000 cars per day drive through that stretch of the interstate — a major thoroughfare for traffic heading north and south through Atlanta. While the highway is normally jammed with cars around that time, there were no fatalities, Mayor Kasim Reed said. Social media users posted surreal images showing drivers vanishing into the black smoke on the highway as the fire burned beneath them. CNN’s Eliott C. McLaughlin was driving north on I-85 during evening rush hour when he saw smoke rising from underneath the elevated highway. Many cars on the left side of the five-lane section barreled through the thick black smoke. They disappeared into the darkness as they drove, he said. McLaughlin slowly followed the taillights of an SUV through the smoke. Cortez Stafford, a spokesman with the Atlanta Fire Department, said the blaze was massive. “There was a 40-feet or higher wall of fire. Power lines were falling and arcing heavily and falling in the streets,” Stafford told CNN. As concrete began falling from under the bridge, firefighters were asked to step back, Stafford said. “Not even two minutes later, the highway fell with a big ‘kaboom.’ (It) knocked our guys back.” Interstate traffic was stopped and turned around, creating jams that extended 5 miles or more. While that’s not long by Atlanta standards, many drivers were stuck in the area for hours. As word of the incident spread, so did the speculation. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed did not provide details on what caused the collapse, but said it is not linked to terrorism and an investigation is underway. “We’ve spoken to the special agent in charge of FBI, there is no evidence this is related to terrorism,” he said Thursday night. Gov. Nathan Deal said he heard speculation it was caused by some “PVC products that caught fire.” In an unusual move, two fire trucks from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in south Atlanta rushed to the scene and sprayed foam on the fallen section and flames. ‘It’s going to take some time’ Authorities worked through the night to access the bridge and ensure the risks from the collapse are contained. “There is a possibility you could have a further collapse,” Reed said. “We still have personnel at the sight making sure there is no hotspots. We won’t know the area of vulnerability for the bridge until tomorrow.” All five lanes of the highway in each direction will be closed for the foreseeable future, officials said. That prospect sent shudders through metro Atlanta commuters, who already contend with heavy traffic. Officials scrambled to come up with alternate routes and encouraged commuters to use public transit. Transportation authorities are trying to put together a traffic and detour plan for drivers. Deal told reporters the company that originally built the elevated highway would assess the damage. “It’s going to take some time to get it repaired and to get it back in service,” he said, without offering a time frame for reopening. MARTA, Atlanta’s rail and bus system, will offer extended service through the weekend. One school district, in nearby DeKalb County, canceled classes for Friday. Schools in Atlanta will be open, Reed said, and city and state offices won’t open until 10 a.m. The collapse happened at a crucial time. The Atlanta Braves will play the Yankees at a 7:35 p.m. home game, and next week is spring break for many schools in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Reginald DesRoches, a professor at Georgia Tech, said most structural materials lose strength when subjected to high temperature, meaning the concrete could have been compromised by the heat. He said it is too early to say how long it will take to repair the highway. “It certainly can take anywhere from several weeks to several months,” he said. “The surrounding sections of the highway will be evaluated to determine if any damage was sustained from the heat. It is probably prudent to check both sides of the adjacent sections (northbound and south bound).” ||||| Several roads have shut down in northeast Atlanta after a large fire caused an overpass on Interstate 85 to collapse. WSB-TV reported that PVC piping underneath the interstate may be burning, but the Georgia Department of Transportation has yet to identify the cause to the public. Start the conversation, or Read more at Sunherald.com. ||||| ATLANTA – Three people are in custody after a fire that led to the Interstate 85 bridge collapse in Atlanta, according to several media outlets. Citing the state fire marshal's office, Atlanta's WSB-TV reports that one man has been charged with criminal damage to property and two others with criminal trespass. Drivers in one of the nation’s most congested cities faced a jarring new reality Friday as they were forced to game out how to get around a collapsed portion of Atlanta’s Interstate 85 — one of the Southeast’s major north-south arteries. A mysterious fire collapsed part of I-85 northbound Thursday evening — injuring no one — and also damaged the southbound portion, forcing the closure of all five lanes in each direction for the foreseeable future. The shutdown likely sets the city up for traffic headaches for months after creating navigation hell Thursday with jams that extended five miles or more and stranded motorists for hours. The closure comes at a sensitive time for a city accustomed to gridlock — with hordes of spring break vacationers poised to drive though the regional hub and the Atlanta Braves set to play a preseason game Friday night in their new stadium northwest of the city. “I think it’s as serious a transportation crisis as we could have,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said Thursday evening. ||||| Three people were arrested Friday in connection with a raging fire that collapsed an elevated portion of Interstate 85 in Atlanta and shut down the heavily traveled route through the heart of the city. Deputy Insurance Commissioner Jay Florence said Basil Eleby faces a charge of criminal damage to property, and Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas each were charged with criminal trespass. "We believe they were together when the fire was set and Eleby is the one who set the fire," Florence told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Florence would not discuss how the fire was started or why, saying those details would be released as the investigation progresses. Traffic was bumper to bumper on streets near the shut-down portion of the interstate as drivers were forced to take a detour the day after the blaze. The collapse took place a few miles north of downtown, and the effects could fall most heavily on commuters from Atlanta's densely populated northern suburbs. They will have to find other routes to work or ride mass transit. Connie Bailey-Blake, of Dacula, 37 miles northeast of Atlanta, waited for a MARTA commuter train to reach her job downtown. She typically drives, often by way of the interstate. "I'm supposed to be at work at 9 a.m. and it's 9:15 a.m.," Bailey-Blake said. "The first few days are going to be difficult. This will be my new life." Amelia Ford picked a new route to work by car and said it took her 45 minutes to travel 3 miles from her Atlanta home to the nearest open on-ramp to the interstate. Georgia Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said 350 feet of highway will need to be replaced in both directions on I-85, which carries about 400,000 cars a day through the city and is one of the South's most important north-south routes. He said repairs will take months but declined to be more specific. The collapse effectively "puts a cork in the bottle," Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said. The fire broke out Thursday afternoon in an area used to store state-owned construction materials and equipment, sending flames and smoke high into the air. Fire authorities said they had not determined how the blaze started. McMurry said his department stored coils of plastic conduit used in fiber optic networks beneath the span but insisted they were noncombustible. No injuries were reported from the fire and collapse. Firefighters shut down the section of highway before it gave way, and made it to safety themselves after hearing the road cracking and seeing concrete go flying, authorities said. In the meantime, MARTA increased rail service and said additional staff would be on hand to help passengers figure out how to get where they're going. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao promptly released $10 million for the initial repair work, and the Federal Highway Administration promised more in emergency repair funds. Officials gave no estimate of how much the job would cost. Built in 1953 and renovated in 1985, the span scored high in its most recent inspection, receiving a rating of 94.6 out of 100 in 2015, said Natalie Dale, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Transportation Department. Lauren Stewart, director of the Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, said intense heat can compromise even steel-reinforced concrete. "With fires, especially fires that burn for long periods and with high heat, you can see structures, anything from buildings to bridges, can have their material properties degrade," Stewart said. It's happened before. In 1996, a fire in a big pile of tires beneath I-95 in Philadelphia left a span too weak to handle cars, forcing authorities to shut down 4 miles of the busy East Coast route for repairs. Andy Herrmann, a retired partner with the New York-based engineering firm Hardesty & Hanover, said there have also been a few instances of gasoline trucks crashing and causing intense heat that damaged overpasses. In one example, a tanker carrying 8,600 gallons (32,550 liters) of gasoline ignited after crashing into a guardrail on an interchange connecting Interstate 80 to Interstate 880 in Oakland, California. Heat from the flames exceeded 2,750 degrees and caused the steel beams holding up the overpass to buckle and bolts holding the structure together to melt, officials said at the time. Herrmann said concrete will undergo severe cracking at about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and start disintegrating at higher temperatures. Building roads to withstand such heat would be prohibitively expensive, he said. "We have limited dollars for maintaining our bridges," Herrmann said. "This is such a rare thing to occur." AP writers Alex Sanz in Atlanta; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; and Kevin McGill and Rebecca Santana in New Orleans contributed to this report. ||||| ATLANTA (AP) — Commuters in some of Atlanta’s densely populated northern suburbs will have to find alternate routes or ride public transit for the foreseeable future after a massive fire caused a bridge on Interstate 85 to collapse, completely shutting down the heavily traveled highway. Georgia’s top transportation official said there’s no way to tell when the highway, which carries 250,000 cars a day, can be safely reopened to traffic in either direction following the collapse, which happened Thursday afternoon during rush hour. “We will have to continue to evaluate the situation and adjust as we do,” Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said. “This incident — make no bones about it — will have a tremendous impact on travel.” The interstate is a major artery for the U.S. South and a thoroughfare for traffic heading north and south through Atlanta. The bridge collapse effectively “puts a cork in the bottle,” Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency, saying the state is mobilizing resource to try to keep traffic disruption to a minimum while emergency work continues. It began with a fire that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (http://on-ajc.com/2nl88ef) burned for more than an hour under I-85 northbound near Piedmont Road, spewing clouds of black smoke skyward. The interstate has been closed indefinitely and the Department of Transportation warned all motorists to stay off I-85. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper on nearby surface streets Thursday night as people scrambled to find alternate routes. Officials said no one was hurt despite dramatic images of towering flames and plumes of smoke.”This is about as serious a transportation crisis as we can imagine,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said. Rose Diggs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she lives less than a mile from the fire site but couldn’t get home because of blocked surface streets. She said she was told to walk despite being disabled, “but it’s raining and dark.” Capt. Mark Perry of the Georgia State Patrol told the newspaper the agency doesn’t know what started the fire beneath the bridge but terrorism is not suspected. Gov. Deal told reporters that some PVC plastic materials in a vehicle may have caught fire. “I do not know why they did or what the source of their transport was,” Deal said Thursday. “But those are questions that will hopefully be answered at least by tomorrow morning.” Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said no cars were on the overpass when it fell. “Our guys got here quickly and shut down the interstate and said, ‘No one else is driving over this bridge,'” he said. Firefighters noticed chunks of concrete falling from the bridge and got out of the way just minutes before it collapsed, Stafford said. Deal said inspectors were at the scene and they’ve contacted the original company that built the bridge to come in and assess the extent of the damage. “We’re trying to determine everything we can about how quickly can we repair it and get it back in service,” Deal said. “I can assure you we will do everything to expedite the repair and replacement of that section of the bridge.” ||||| ATLANTA (AP) — Three people were arrested Friday in connection with a raging fire that collapsed an elevated portion of Interstate 85 in Atlanta and shut down the heavily traveled route through the heart of the city. Deputy Insurance Commissioner Jay Florence said Basil Eleby faces a charge of criminal damage to property, and Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas each were charged with criminal trespass. “We believe they were together when the fire was set and Eleby is the one who set the fire,” Florence told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Florence would not discuss how the fire was started or why, saying those details would be released as the investigation progresses. Traffic was bumper to bumper on streets near the shut-down portion of the interstate as drivers were forced to take a detour the day after the blaze. The collapse took place a few miles north of downtown, and the effects could fall most heavily on commuters from Atlanta’s densely populated northern suburbs. They will have to find other routes to work or ride mass transit. Connie Bailey-Blake, of Dacula, 37 miles northeast of Atlanta, waited for a MARTA commuter train to reach her job downtown. She typically drives, often by way of the interstate. “I’m supposed to be at work at 9 a.m. and it’s 9:15 a.m.,” Bailey-Blake said. “The first few days are going to be difficult. This will be my new life.” Amelia Ford picked a new route to work by car and said it took her 45 minutes to travel 3 miles from her Atlanta home to the nearest open on-ramp to the interstate. Georgia Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said 350 feet of highway will need to be replaced in both directions on I-85, which carries about 400,000 cars a day through the city and is one of the South’s most important north-south routes. He said repairs will take months but declined to be more specific. The collapse effectively “puts a cork in the bottle,” Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said. The fire broke out Thursday afternoon in an area used to store state-owned construction materials and equipment, sending flames and smoke high into the air. Fire authorities said they had not determined how the blaze started. McMurry said his department stored coils of plastic conduit used in fiber optic networks beneath the span but insisted they were noncombustible. No injuries were reported from the fire and collapse. Firefighters shut down the section of highway before it gave way, and made it to safety themselves after hearing the road cracking and seeing concrete go flying, authorities said. In the meantime, MARTA increased rail service and said additional staff would be on hand to help passengers figure out how to get where they’re going. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao promptly released $10 million for the initial repair work, and the Federal Highway Administration promised more in emergency repair funds. Officials gave no estimate of how much the job would cost. Built in 1953 and renovated in 1985, the span scored high in its most recent inspection, receiving a rating of 94.6 out of 100 in 2015, said Natalie Dale, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Transportation Department. Lauren Stewart, director of the Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, said intense heat can compromise even steel-reinforced concrete. “With fires, especially fires that burn for long periods and with high heat, you can see structures, anything from buildings to bridges, can have their material properties degrade,” Stewart said. It’s happened before. In 1996, a fire in a big pile of tires beneath I-95 in Philadelphia left a span too weak to handle cars, forcing authorities to shut down 4 miles of the busy East Coast route for repairs. Andy Herrmann, a retired partner with the New York-based engineering firm Hardesty & Hanover, said there have also been a few instances of gasoline trucks crashing and causing intense heat that damaged overpasses. In one example, a tanker carrying 8,600 gallons (32,550 liters) of gasoline ignited after crashing into a guardrail on an interchange connecting Interstate 80 to Interstate 880 in Oakland, California. Heat from the flames exceeded 2,750 degrees and caused the steel beams holding up the overpass to buckle and bolts holding the structure together to melt, officials said at the time. Herrmann said concrete will undergo severe cracking at about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and start disintegrating at higher temperatures. Building roads to withstand such heat would be prohibitively expensive, he said. “We have limited dollars for maintaining our bridges,” Herrmann said. “This is such a rare thing to occur.” ||||| ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta's notoriously tangled commutes were thrown into disarray Friday after a bridge on Interstate 85 collapsed amid a massive fire, shutting down the heavily traveled highway through the heart of the city. Traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby streets as people scrambled to find alternate routes after the fire broke out during rush hour Thursday afternoon. However, officials said no one was hurt despite towering flames and plumes of smoke captured in dramatic video footage. "This is about as serious a transportation crisis as we can imagine," Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said. Because of the damage to the key interstate, many commuters in some of Atlanta's densely populated northern suburbs will likely be forced to find alternate routes or ride public transit for weeks or even months. Georgia's top transportation official said there's no way to tell when the highway, which carries 250,000 cars a day, can be safely reopened to traffic in either direction following the collapse in the northbound lanes leading out of the city. "We will have to continue to evaluate the situation and adjust as we do," Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said. "This incident — make no bones about it — will have a tremendous impact on travel." McMurry said Friday in a news release that bridge inspectors have determined the southbound lanes of I-85, adjacent to the section that collapsed, also were damaged by the fire and will need to remain closed for the near future. He said the fire started in an area used to store construction materials, equipment and supplies. Authorities were still working to determine how the fire started. Bobby Barnhart, who works for a financial technology company near the interstate, said he and his colleagues watched the bridge collapse from about 60 yards away as the fire raged Thursday afternoon. He said he heard several explosions beneath the bridge, followed by a slow rumbling. "It was a big sound. You could feel the vibrations," Barnhart said. With the interstate closed, Barnhart said his Friday morning commute was much more jammed than usual, taking him about 30 minutes rather than the normal 10 to 15. The interstate is a major artery for the U.S. South and a thoroughfare for traffic heading north and south through Atlanta. The bridge collapse effectively "puts a cork in the bottle," Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said. For some motorists, Thursday's snarl brought back nightmares from a winter storm in January 2014 that left drivers stranded on interstates and highways overnight and children trapped on school buses. During that storm, many abandoned their cars and slept in convenience stores or restaurants that opened their doors to commuters seeking shelter. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency after the interstate collapse, saying the state is mobilizing resources to minimize traffic disruption while emergency work continues. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, or MARTA, increased rail service Friday and will have additional staff on hand to help passengers figure out how to get where they're going. Thursday's fire burned for more than an hour under I-85 northbound, spewing clouds of black smoke skyward. The interstate was shut down and the Department of Transportation warned all motorists to stay off I-85. Rose Diggs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she lives less than a mile from the fire site but couldn't get home because of blocked surface streets. She said she was told to walk despite being disabled, "but it's raining and dark." Capt. Mark Perry of the Georgia State Patrol told the newspaper terrorism is not suspected. Gov. Deal told reporters PVC plastic materials in a vehicle may have caught fire. Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said no cars were on the overpass when it fell. "Our guys got here quickly and shut down the interstate and said, 'No one else is driving over this bridge,'" he said. This story has been corrected to show the name of the person who lives near the fire is Rose Diggs, not All Rose Diggs. ||||| ATLANTA (AP) - The Latest on the collapse of a section of an interstate in Atlanta (all times local): Surface streets in Atlanta were clogged with traffic Friday morning after a massive fire caused a section of Interstate 85 to collapse, closing the major artery for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, or MARTA, added extra trains to accommodate additional passengers who may try to avoid the roads altogether. MARTA CEO Keith Parker told The Associated Press the transit system was seeing strong crowds but that everything was going well. He urged people to remember that trains can get people from the system's northernmost points to downtown in about 20 minutes and that a trip between downtown and the airport takes about 15 minutes. The collapse happened during the afternoon rush hour on Thursday and officials have said there's no way to tell when the highway can be safely reopened to traffic in either direction. Atlanta's rapid transit system is increasing service to accommodate increased ridership expected after a massive fire caused a section of Interstate 85 to collapse. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, or MARTA, says it's increasing rail services and will have additional staff on hand to help passengers. The fire and subsequent collapse happened during the Thursday afternoon rush hour. Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry says there's no way to tell when the highway can be safely reopened to traffic in either direction. The interstate, which carries 250,000 cars a day, is a major thoroughfare for traffic heading north and south through Atlanta. Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough says the bridge collapse effectively "puts a cork in the bottle." A major effect on traffic in a city already known for gridlock is expected after a massive fire caused a bridge on Interstate 85 to collapse in Atlanta. Georgia's top transportation official says there's no way to tell when the highway can be safely reopened to traffic in either direction following the collapse, which happened Thursday afternoon during rush hour. Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry says the collapse "will have a tremendous impact on travel." The interstate is a major artery for the U.S. South and a thoroughfare for traffic heading north and south through Atlanta. Traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby streets Thursday night as people scrambled to find alternate routes. However, officials say no one was hurt despite dramatic images of towering flames and smoke. ||||| ATLANTA (AP) — A massive fire caused an interstate bridge to collapse during rush hour Thursday in Atlanta, just minutes after witnesses said police halted traffic and turned cars away from the crumbling overpass. However, officials said no one was hurt despite dramatic images of towering flames and plumes of smoke. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the fire burned for more than an hour under I-85 northbound near Piedmont Road, spewing large clouds of black smoke skyward. The interstate — a major artery for the U.S. South that runs through the heart of Atlanta — was closed indefinitely. The impact on traffic long-term was not immediately known, but traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby surface streets Thursday night as people scrambled to find alternate routes. The Department of Transportation warned all motorists to stay off I-85. “This is about as serious a transportation crisis as we can imagine,” Mayor Kasim Reed said. All Rose Diggs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she lives less than a mile from the fire site but couldn’t get home because of blocked surface streets. She said she was told to walk despite being disabled, “but it’s raining and dark.” The state’s top transportation official said there’s no way to tell when the highway, which carries 250,000 cars per day, can be safely reopened to traffic in either direction. “We will have to continue to evaluate the situation and adjust as we do,” Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said. “This incident — make no bones about it — will have a tremendous impact on travel.” The interstate is a major thoroughfare for traffic heading north and south through Atlanta. The bridge collapse effectively “puts a cork in the bottle,” Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said. Capt. Mark Perry of the Georgia State Patrol told the Journal-Constitution that the agency doesn’t know what started the fire beneath the bridge but that terrorism is not suspected. Gov. Nathan Deal told reporters that some PVC plastic materials in a vehicle may have caught fire. “I do not know why they did or what the source of their transport was,” Deal said. “But those are questions that will hopefully be answered at least by tomorrow morning.” Deal added that “to my knowledge we have not had any injuries as a result of this fire on the bridge.” Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said no cars were on the overpass when it fell. “Our guys got here quickly and shut down the interstate and said, “No one else is driving over this bridge,” he said. Firefighters noticed chunks of concrete falling from the bridge and got out of the way just minutes before it collapsed, Stafford said. Deal said inspectors were at the scene and they’ve contacted the original company that built the bridge to come in and assess the extent of the damage. “We’re trying to determine everything we can about how quickly can we repair it and get it back in service,” Deal said. “I can assure you we will do everything to expedite the repair and replacement of that section of the bridge.” Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| ATLANTA — A massive fire caused an interstate bridge to collapse during rush hour Thursday in Atlanta, just minutes after witnesses said police halted traffic and turned cars away from the crumbling overpass. However, officials said no one was hurt despite dramatic images of towering flames and plumes of smoke. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the fire burned for more than an hour under I-85 northbound near Piedmont Road, spewing large clouds of black smoke skyward. The interstate — a major artery for the U.S. South that runs through the heart of Atlanta — was closed indefinitely. The impact on traffic long-term was not immediately known, but traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby surface streets Thursday night as people scrambled to find alternate routes. The Department of Transportation warned all motorists to stay off I-85. “This is about as serious a transportation crisis as we can imagine,” Mayor Kasim Reed said. Rose Diggs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she lives less than a mile from the fire site but couldn’t get home because of blocked surface streets. She said she was told to walk despite being disabled, “but it’s raining and dark.” The state’s top transportation official said there’s no way to tell when the highway, which carries 250,000 cars per day, can be safely reopened to traffic in either direction. “We will have to continue to evaluate the situation and adjust as we do,” Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said. “This incident — make no bones about it — will have a tremendous impact on travel.” The interstate is a major thoroughfare for traffic heading north and south through Atlanta. The bridge collapse effectively “puts a cork in the bottle,” Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said. Capt. Mark Perry of the Georgia State Patrol told the Journal-Constitution that the agency doesn’t know what started the fire beneath the bridge but that terrorism is not suspected. Gov. Nathan Deal told reporters that some PVC plastic materials in a vehicle may have caught fire. “I do not know why they did or what the source of their transport was,” Deal said. “But those are questions that will hopefully be answered at least by tomorrow morning.” Deal added that “to my knowledge we have not had any injuries as a result of this fire on the bridge.” Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said no cars were on the overpass when it fell. “Our guys got here quickly and shut down the interstate and said, “No one else is driving over this bridge,” he said. Firefighters noticed chunks of concrete falling from the bridge and got out of the way just minutes before it collapsed, Stafford said. Deal said inspectors were at the scene and they’ve contacted the original company that built the bridge to come in and assess the extent of the damage. “We’re trying to determine everything we can about how quickly can we repair it and get it back in service,” Deal said. “I can assure you we will do everything to expedite the repair and replacement of that section of the bridge.”
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A fire results in the collapse of a bridge on Interstate 85 in Atlanta, Georgia, during rush hour, stranding motorists and resulting in a state of emergency. Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed calls the situation a "transportation crisis" that could close the affected stretch of highway for days or weeks. A 2015 report stated that the highway carried nearly a quarter-million vehicles a day.
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SpaceX launched a commercial satellite into space on Thursday with the boost of a partly used rocket, a feat that may open an era of cheaper space travel. A Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX — formally Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, based in Hawthorne, Calif. — lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to deposit the payload, a telecommunications satellite that will service Latin America, in the proper orbit. What was noteworthy was that the first stage, or booster, of the rocket had already flown once before. It could conceivably launch again, since it returned in one piece, landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic. “It did this mission perfectly,” Mr. Musk said during a SpaceX broadcast of the launch. “It dropped off the second stage, came back and landed on the drone ship. Right in the bulls-eye.” ||||| SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket successfully delivered the SES-10 communications satellite Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The first stage of the rocket then successfully landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic. The historic mission marked the first re-use of a rocket. Falcon 9’s first stage for the SES-10 mission previously supported the successful CRS-8 mission in April 2016. SES-10, which was built by Airbus Defence and Space and is based on the Eurostar E3000 platform, features a Ku-band payload of 55 36MHz transponder equivalents, of which 27 are incremental. The satellite is wholly dedicated to providing service to Latin America, replacing capacity currently provided by other SES satellites at 67 degrees West, as well as bring additional capacity to Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The satellite will operate as the Andean Community’s Simón Bolivar 2 providing satellite capacity for each Andean Member State. ||||| Stage 1 of the Falcon 9 rocket that launched today was first used to boost a Dragon vehicle on a supply run to the International Space Station. The same rocket was also the first to successfully land on SpaceX's drone barge. The first stage represents about 80 percent of the cost of a rocket launch, so when Musk describes the next era in space exploration, he is referring to the new opportunities that will come with the significant cost savings. Meanwhile, the SES-10 vehicle that topped today's rocket launch will go on to a geostationary orbit where it will deliver direct-to-home broadcasting, broadband and mobile services in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. ||||| SpaceX is poised to make history on Thursday with the first relaunch of a used Falcon 9 rocket into space from Launch Complex 39A at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The space-transportation company is scheduled to launch SES-10, a commercial communications satellite for the Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES, into orbit at 6:27 PM EST (11:27 PM BST). The rocket's lower section - first stage - has already been the space and back in the CRS-8 mission when it was sent cargo to the International Space Station for Nasa in April 2016. The booster was then successfully landed on a floating platform in the Atlantic. This launch will mark the first time SpaceX has attempted to reuse one of its rockets in a major milestone for the company attempting to reuse rockets and considerably lower launch costs. Until now, rocket stages are typically discarded. The first stage and clamshell of the Falcon 9 rocket are new. SpaceX will again attempt to land the first stage on the "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship in the Atlantic Ocean after takeoff, which means the vehicle could see more flight time going forward as well. The company has successfully landed and recovered eight rockets to date. "We're at the edge of quite a significant bit of history here," Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer at SES said in a statement. "We've been through this thing with a fine-toothed comb. SpaceX have been through this with a fine-toothed comb. This booster is a really good booster, and we're confident." SES is also getting a discount for launching the SES 10 satellite on a rocket with a previously flown first stage. New Falcon 9 rockets are usually advertised at around $62m (£49.8m) each. Halliwell said the reusability factor is not just "an issue about money." "Will re-usability lead to cheaper prices? I hope so, but for us it's also about having a route to space," Halliwell told BBC News. "We've been waiting for six months now to fly SES-10, and that's because there was no other alternative opportunity. "If we can start getting the rocket companies looking toward re-usability and going down this path, we should have much more flexibility in being able to launch our various different missions." SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also long touted the concept of "full and rapid reusability" to revolutionise and reduce the cost of space access. With a backlog of 70 missions worth over $10m, the company plans to launch its Falcon 9 rockets every two to three weeks this year from the new launch pad at the Kennedy Space Centre. "I think this is a really good milestone for the future of space flight," Musk said after the rocket booster's successful landing last year. "I think it's another step towards the stars. In order for us to really open up access to space, we've got to achieve full and rapid reusability. And being able to do that for the primary rocket booster is going to have a huge impact on cost." The two and a half hour launch window is scheduled to open at 6:27PM EST on 30 March with the satellite deploying about 32 minutes after liftoff. It will be livestreamed on SpaceX's hosted webcast on YouTube. ||||| SpaceX Falcon 9's recycled first stage lands on drone ship after launch The launch was the first attempt by SpaceX at sending the well-known Falcon 9 rocket back to space — and since, it's already been there back in April 2016, when it delivered necessary supplies to the crew of the International Space Station (ISS), it's been labeled as "recycled." "Falcon 9 first stage has landed on Of Course I Still Love You [drone ship] — world’s first reflight of an orbital class rocket," SpaceX wrote on its official Twitter page on Thursday, minutes after it announced the liftoff of Falcon 9, Sputnik reported. The SpaceX project has been four years in the making, while Elon Musk, who heads the California-based company, has been trying to refine the technology. Over recent months SpaceX has suffered a series of delays. In January, they confirmed that Falcon 9 would not launch after the rocket was involved in an accident. ||||| Just before 6:30 pm ET, SpaceX -- run by Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk -- launched a used rocket. It marked the first time in the history of spaceflight that the same rocket has been used on two separate missions to orbit. After successfully launching a satellite toward geosynchronous orbit -- 22,000 miles into space -- the rocket then returned to Earth and landed on a remotely piloted platform, known as a droneship, in the Atlantic Ocean. It marks the company's sixth successful landing on a seaborne platform. The SpaceX video showed the empty droneship, named Of Course I Still Love You, awaiting the return of the rocket, set against a deep blue ocean background. The video feed cut out momentarily and then came back on to show the rocket standing upright on the platform. The landing took place about eight minutes after launch. "It shows you can fly and refly an orbit-class booster, which is the most expensive part of the rocket," Musk said on a SpaceX webcast. "This is ultimately a huge revolution in spaceflight." Related: SpaceX to fly two space tourists around the moon in 2018 The launch was a huge step for SpaceX. Reusing rockets is essential for companies like SpaceX that want to drive down the cost of space travel. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket costs about $62 million. Using it more than once can drastically bring down the price of a single launch. The company confirmed to CNNMoney in August that its client for this trip received a discount on the Falcon 9 sticker price, but it declined to say by how much. COO Gwynne Shotwell said in an interview that aired on SpaceX's webcast of the flight that reusable rockets are also a huge leap forward for SpaceX's plans to travel to Mars. "Given the goals of SpaceX are to provide space transportation to other planets, we want to make sure whoever we take can come back," she said. Obviously, she said, that requires developing rockets that can launch more than once. SpaceX has been working toward its goal of using recycled rockets for more than a year. It's made 14 attempts to recover the first stage of its Falcon 9 rockets, and so far nine have been successful. The rocket that SpaceX used during Thursday's mission was previously used in an April 2016 mission to the International Space Station. After launch, it was guided to a landing on the same droneship. Related: SpaceX successfully tests Raptor engine it plans to send to Mars That same droneship, named Of Course I Still Love You, also recaptured the first-stage rocket on Thursday. But recapturing the rocket was a secondary concern for SpaceX. The primary goal was to deliver a communications satellite into geosynchronous orbit for the company that commissioned this launch, SES. The satellite -- called SES-10 -- is intended to provide improved TV, radio, telephone and internet coverage for South America. SES says SES-10 will also have "the ability to support off-shore oil and gas exploration." SpaceX announced about 32 minutes after takeoff that the satellite had been successfully deployed. ||||| As well as successfully launching the payload, SpaceX was also able to recover the Falcon 9’s first stage for a second time. Today’s successful landing of the refurbished Falcon 9 marks the second time the rocket has seen use. Previously, SpaceX had launched and landed its rockets some 13 times. On Monday, SpaceX said it test-fired the entire rocket, including the recycled booster, on the launch pad. There have been no reports if the Luxembourg-based SES Corp. got a big discount on this launch, testing the reused rocket. Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer at SES has refused to discuss the cost of the Falcon 9 flight, however he stressed that the launch will be historic. SpaceX is hoping the boosters can be re-used as many as 10 or 15 times. Currently, millions of dollars worth of rocket parts are jettisoned after each launch. This is a huge accomplishment because it already did this once before – with the same rocket, on the same barge, when it landed a year ago following a successful launch during a resupply mission to the International Space Station. According to information released by SpaceX, the SES-10 satellite was placed in a geostationary transfer orbit with no apparent problems. The SES mission will hoist a commercial satellite to serve communications in Latin America. Its tall, columnar portion known as the first stage, or booster, had already propelled the unmanned Dragon cargo ship to space in April 2016. If it can be used a few times, SpaceX can drastically bring down the price of a single launch. “It’s really a great day not just for SpaceX but the space industry as a whole, and proving that something can be done that many said was impossible”. “This is going to be ultimately a huge revolution in spaceflight”, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said after the successful mission, calling it an “amazing day” for the space industry. SES officials preferred the words “flight-proven” to used. During the space shuttle program, the twin booster rockets dropped away two minutes into flight and parachuted into the Atlantic for recovery. “If one can figure out how to effectively reuse rockets just like airplanes, the cost of access to space will be reduced by as much as a factor of a hundred”, said Musk on the SpaceX website. Four previous SpaceX at-sea landing attempts failed. The company is getting pretty good at returning rockets to Earth: After 13 attempts in recent years, the company has stuck eight of them. ||||| Elon Musk's SpaceX is set to make history this evening by sending its first recycled rocket back into space. In what could be a 'revolutionary' achievement for space technology, the firm is reusing a booster that previously sent food and supplies to astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The launch of the Dragon cargo ship is scheduled from Cape Canaveral for 6:27 pm eastern time today (11:27 pm BST). Reusable rockets would cut costs and waste in the space industry, which currently loses millions of dollars in jettisoned machinery after each launch. Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency are also developing similar technology and are in testing stages. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com and owner of The Washington Post newspaper, said last month that Blue Origin expects to begin crewed test flights of the New Shepard, the company's flagship rocket, next year and begin flying paying passengers as early as 2018. The Indian space agency also hopes to develop its own frugal shuttle, as it seeks to cash in on a huge and lucrative demand from other countries to send up their satellites, after a successful test launch last month. Standing tall at the Nasa launchpad, the white Falcon 9 rocket contains the tall, column-like booster stage of the vessel. This propelled the unmanned Dragon cargo ship to the ISS last year, before returning to an upright landing on an ocean platform. SpaceX is hoping to repeat this success and prove the long-term viability of reusable rockets - which could dramatically costs and waste in the space industry. The firm plans to launch during a 2.5 hour window that begins at 6pm local time. Its goal is to send the SES-10 satellite - built by Airbus Defence and Space - into orbit around the planet. The satellite will be used to provide direct-to-home television and high-speed data services across Latin America and the Caribbean. SES was an early supporter of SpaceX, the rocket builder's first commercial customer and the first to sign up for a ride on a 'flight proven' booster. 'Having been the first commercial satellite operator to launch with SpaceX back in 2013, we are excited to once again be the first customer to launch on SpaceX's first ever mission using a flight-proven rocket,' Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer at SES, said. 'We believe reusable rockets will open up a new era of spaceflight, and make access to space more efficient in terms of cost and manifest management.' The Dragon, which was first launched on April 8, 2016, was the first the firm managed to land on a droneship. After recovery, it was taken back to Port Canaveral and subjected to a detailed post flight inspection. It was then refurbished, tested again and prepared for its second launch. On Monday, the firm test fired the nine first-stage engines of the previously flown Falcon 9 booster stage in the final pre-flight test in anticipation of today's launch. 'Static fire test complete. Targeting Thursday, March 30 for Falcon 9 launch of SES-10,' the firm tweeted following the tests. In the test, the rocket's nine Merlin 1D engines roared to life at 2 p.m. EDT (GMT-5) for three seconds at pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Known as a 'hot-fire' test, it is a routine pre-flight procedure for SpaceX to help engineers verify the rocket is ready for launch. SpaceX has made 13 attempts to recover first stages after launch, successfully bringing back eight boosters to date. The first stage assigned to the SES-10 mission was first launched on April 7, 2016, helping boost a SpaceX cargo ship into orbit to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. The first stage completed SpaceX’s second successful landing, its first on a droneship. After recovery, the stage was hauled back to Port Canaveral and subjected to a detailed post flight inspection. It was then refurbished, tested again and prepared for its second launch. It was the fifth attempt at landing the rocket upright - a feat that could pave the way for cheaper space travel. SpaceX has succeeded in landing its Falcon 9 rocket on a barge in the Atlantic ocean. It was the firm's fifth attempt at landing the rocket upright It follows four failed landings by SpaceX on an autonomous barge, and one successful landing on solid ground in December. Before coming back down to Earth, the rocket launched nearly 7,000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station, including an inflatable 'space house'. Elon Musk hailed the landing as 'another step to the stars,' at a Nasa press conference. He revealed the firm plans to relaunch the same rocket. 'We're going to wash it down, fill it with fuel, and launch it again,' he said. 'The plan is to bring it to port, pick it up with a crane and fold the legs up and put it on a truck to bring it back to Pad 39A. 'We'll do ten test firings, and if that goes well and we think we'll be comfortable with an orbital flight.' Musk revealed how tough the landing was, saying there were winds of 50mph at sea above the drone ship. 'The craft tilted into the wind as it descended due to 50mph wind,' he said. He said future landings were expected to be half on ground and half at sea. Five of those landed on off-shore drone ships while three returned to landings at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Last month amazing video shows the historic moment the first stage of the Falcon 9 touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on the launch pad. The SpaceX rocket descended through the clouds before landing right in the middle of the pad, a perfect landing after a rocky start. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk captioned the video on Instagram: 'Baby came back' The rocket has landed five other times successfully on sea platforms but this is the first time on land. This is the first SpaceX mission to take off from the pad, and the first in Florida since last September. One of the company's rockets exploded on another Cape Canaveral pad, severely damaging it. It is also the third SpaceX rocket to land on solid ground. The moment indicates that NASA's moonshot pad is back in business. The rocket, which was sent up from the same spot from which astronauts flew to the moon 48 years ago, carried a Dragon supply ship containing food and other goods for the six astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The pad - at Launch Complex 39A - has been leased by SpaceX for the next six years. It was last used for NASA's final shuttle mission nearly six years ago. After it had launched from Launch Complex 39A and made the payload, the booster rocket was returned safely to earth at a different part of Cape Canaveral. That made it the third SpaceX rocket to be successfully landed on solid ground, and the first to do so in daylight. Five other successful landings have been made on sea-based platforms. ||||| The company made history yesterday when it launched a used rocket into space for a second time and brought the “most expensive part” safely back to earth. The first-stage booster - which was previously launched into space last year - detached itself after the launch and landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. "I think it's an amazing day for space," said Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX. "It means you can fly and re-fly an orbit class booster, which is the most expensive part of the rocket. “This is going to be, hopefully, a huge revolution in spaceflight." The successful launch, from Cape Canaveral in Florida, puts the company miles ahead of any space agency or private corporation to date. Founded in 2003, SpaceX has quickly grown to become a pioneer in the development of reusable space rockets. The company designs and manufactures rockets that sends satellites into orbit around Earth - and one day it hopes to send people into space. SpaceX is the only private company ever to bring back a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit. This feat was first accomplished in December 2010. Today the company is under a $1.6 billion (£1.2 billion) contract with NASA to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with cargo. Elon Musk, the genius billionaire behind SpaceX, believes humanity has to progress into a space-faring civilisation in the future. At the 67th International Astronautical Congress, Elon Musk said: “History is going to bifurcate on two paths. “One path is people will stay on Earth forever and there will be some eventual extinction event. “The alternative is to become a space-faring civilisation and a multi-planet species.” This belief has driven SpaceX to set the goal of reaching Mars with a robotic vessel by 2020. The Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket model designed to allow the transportation of satellites and cargo into orbit. The successful launch yesterday marked the first time that a rocket’s first-stage booster was reused and sent back into space again. In 2012 the Falcon 9s became the private vessels to deliver cargo to supply the ISS with resources. ||||| The countdown is on. SpaceX is set to launch a recycled rocket to space for the first time. Liftoff is scheduled for Thursday at 6:27 p.m. ET at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch will mark the first time SpaceX -- the private space venture headed by Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk -- will use a first-stage rocket booster that was previously flown to space and returned safely to Earth. The company said on Twitter around noon that the rocket is on the launch pad. There's a backup launch window on April 1, according to SpaceX, in case the flight needs to be postponed due to bad weather or issues with the rocket. Related: A first for SpaceX: Sending a used rocket into space The launch is a big step for SpaceX. Reusing rockets is essential for companies like SpaceX that want to drive down the cost of space travel. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket costs about $62 million. If it can be used more than once, SpaceX can drastically bring down the price of a single launch. SpaceX confirmed to CNNMoney in August that its client for this trip will get a discount on the Falcon 9 sticker price, but it declined to say by how much. The rocket that SpaceX will use Thursday was previously used in an April 2016 mission to the International Space Station. After launch, it was guided to a landing on a seaborne platform, called a droneship. After its launch Thursday evening, SpaceX will again attempt to guide the first-stage rocket booster onto a droneship. Related: SpaceX to fly two space tourists around the moon in 2018 But recapturing the rocket is a secondary concern for SpaceX. The primary goal is to deliver a communications satellite into geosynchronous orbit -- about 22,000 miles from Earth -- for the company that commissioned this launch, SES. The satellite -- called SES-10 -- is intended to provide TV, radio, telephone and internet coverage for South America. SES says SES-10 will also have "the ability to support off-shore oil and gas exploration."
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SpaceX successfully places the SES-10 telecommunications satellite on a geostationary transfer orbit. The event is notable because of the implied economic cost savings of reusing, for the first time, a used Falcon 9 first stage which had previously been recovered. That first stage had previously launched a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station and landed on an autonomous drone ship during the CRS-8 mission.
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Venezuela’s chavista-friendly Supreme Court issued a ruling Wednesday declaring itself the legislative body of the federal government, annulling the opposition-ruled National Assembly for showing “contempt” towards the socialist government. Latin American media have labeled the move an autogolpe (“self-coup”), recalling the dissolution of Congress by Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori in 1992. With the notable exception of Russia, the international community has demanded President Nicolás Maduro and the Supreme Court undo the unconstitutional power grab and return lawmaking authority to the popularly-elected legislature. Late Wednesday night, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling stating that the National Assembly was in “contempt” of the socialist government. “While the contempt scenario persists and the National Assembly remains invalid, this institution will guarantee that the parliamentary duties be executed directly by this institution or whatever institution it wishes,” the statement read. The Supreme Court had previously ruled that the National Assembly did not have lawmaking powers, claiming that three anti-socialist legislators elected in December 2015 – the election that turned the Venezuelan Socialist Party (PSUV) into the minority in the legislature for the first time in the Chávez era – had committed fraud. “Legally, the National Assembly does not exist,” then-vice-president Aristobulo Isturiz said last year. The Assembly persisted, however, continued to be internationally recognized as the lawmaking body of Venezuela. Maduro himself had also tried to usurp the Assembly’s power by creating a “Communal Parliament,” but this move was rapidly dismissed as unconstitutional and, by the lawmakers it attempted to silence, as “nonsense.” Previous attempts to silence the legislature did not account for the power vacuum that dissolving the lawmaking body would leave. Now, however, the Supreme Court has granted itself all legislative powers, solving that issue for Maduro. While consistently dismissing the legislature as invalid, Maduro himself has disregarded his own unconstitutional presence in the presidential palace. The legislature organized a recall vote against Maduro, as permitted by the Venezuelan constitution, and submitted a legal recall petition to the government in late 2016. Maduro’s electoral commission rejected the recall bid unconstitutionally, eliminating Maduro’s authority as president. On Thursday, the leadership of the anti-Maduro opposition in the Assembly responded to the decree. National Assembly President Julio Borges tore the Supreme Court ruling up and tossed it on the floor of the steps of the assembly. “This ruling is garbage,” he told reporters. “We do not recognize it. It is a coup d’etat.” “This ruling gives Maduro all the power to make whatever laws he wants, sign whatever contracts he wants, indebt the country however he wants, and persecute Venezuelans however he wants. It is a coup d’etat in its pure form, it is a dctatorship and the world needs to help Venezuela in its decision to change this dictatorship with a vote,” Borges added. Much of the world has responded. “The United States condemns the Venezuelan Supreme Court’s March 29 decision to usurp the power of the democratically elected National Assembly,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement Thursday. “We call for the government of Venezuela to permit the democratically-elected National Assembly to perform its constitutional functions, hold elections as soon as possible and to release all political prisoners.” “The continued restrictions on freedom of movement, association, expression, and peaceful protest are not only profoundly concerning, but counterproductive in an extremely polarized country that suffers an economic and social crisis,” UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement. “I firmly encourage the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision.” “Unfortunately, what we had warned has now come to pass,” Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro said in response to the ruling. “The Secretary General of the OAS denounces the self-inflicted coup d’état perpetrated by the Venezuelan regime against the National Assembly, the last branch of government to be legitimized by the will of the people of Venezuela,” the organization said in a statement. Even the Liberal Party government of Canada – run by a family friend of longtime Venezuelan allies, the Castro family – condemned the move. “Canada is deeply concerned by Venezuela Supreme Court’s decision to suspend legislative powers of democratically elected National Assembly,” the government said on Twitter. With the exception of longtime Maduro allies – the propaganda outlet Telesur, the government of Cuba – only one major international player abstained from criticizing the Venezuelan Supreme Court: Russia. “External forces should not add fuel to the fire to the conflict inside Venezuela,” the Russian government asserted in a statement Friday. “We are confident in the principle of non-interference in internal affairs.” ||||| (CNN) Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz on Friday strongly criticized a ruling by the country's Supreme Court to take over the National Assembly's legislative powers , essentially dissolving it. "It constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order," the attorney general said, raising a pocket-size copy of the Venezuelan Constitution in her left hand and standing in front of the Venezuelan flag. Ortega made the statement during her annual State of the Attorney General's Office address in Caracas. The statement is significant because it breaks with the government's official position. Venezuelan's opposition has long perceived the attorney general as being loyal to the socialist government of President Nicolás Maduro "It is my obligation to express in front of the country my deep concern about this event (the ruling)" Ortega added. In a surprising move late Wednesday, the Venezuela's high court stripped the National Assembly of its powers. The court ruled that all powers vested under the legislative body will be transferred to the Supreme Court, which is stacked with government loyalists. The argument behind the rule was that the assembly was in contempt of law for ignoring a court order preventing the swearing-in of three legislators from Amazonas state whose elections the court had deemed invalid. The court's move effectively means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party. The opposition has been taken out of the picture. Maduro spoke about the ruling in a message broadcast live Thursday on the government's TV network. "They're giving me and authorizing me, enabling special powers that stem out of the state of emergency clauses in our constitution. This is an order by the Supreme Court. It's a historic ruling," Maduro said. Opposition leaders said the ruling amounts to a coup, and they are already calling the Maduro government "a dictatorship." "Nicolás Maduro has staged a coup d'état," National Assembly President Julio Borges said Thursday. "What this ruling means is that, for the first time, Nicolás Maduro has all the power to enact laws, assign contracts, incur foreign debt and persecute fellow Venezuelans." CNN contributor and Latin American analyst Carlos Alberto Montaner said the attorney general's statement is not only significant but also revealing. "I think this is a breakup of the (Venezuelan) top leadership, and it's centered precisely within the judicial power," Montaner said. "This step taken by Luisa Ortega is crucial because she represents one of the most powerful families in the country. She's not an isolated person but has relations and connections and has been the attorney general for a long time." Also Friday, a group of anti-government protesters, mainly college students, clashed with the Venezuelan National Guard during a demonstration outside the Supreme Court building. Images captured by CNN affiliate Vivo Play shows a member of the guard hitting one of the students in the head. Three journalists were also attacked, including a Colombian reporter and two photographers whose cameras were destroyed, according to a report by CNN en Español. There had been similar clashes Thursday afternoon when opposition legislators tried to storm the court's facilities and the guard blocked access. The Venezuelan political crisis is being closely watched by the international community. The Russian government urged other nations Friday to avoid intervening in Venezuela. "External forces should not stoke the fire by issuing statements and taking actions pertaining to the internal conflict in Venezuela," Russian government spokeswoman Maria Zajarova said. ||||| Image copyright EPA Image caption The court's original ruling had sparked new protests against the government The Venezuelan Supreme Court has reversed its ruling to strip congress of its legislative powers. It made the decision after the government of President Nicolas Maduro urged it to review the ruling "to maintain institutional stability". The initial decision - announced on Wednesday - had been denounced as a "coup" by the opposition, which dominates the National Assembly. Anti-government protesters have staged daily protests against the move. The supreme court announced the reversal on its website. A day earlier, chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega, an ally of President Nicolas Maduro, became the first high-ranking official to criticise the judges. Speaking live on TV, she expressed "great concern" about a measure which, she said, violated the constitution. Image copyright Reuters Image caption The opposition says Mr Maduro is turning Venezuela into a dictatorship Promising dialogue to end the crisis, Mr Maduro had convened a late-night meeting of the state security council. Afterwards Vice-President Tareck El Aissami said: "We urge the supreme court to review the decisions... in order to maintain institutional stability and the balance of powers." Mr Maduro said: "This controversy has been overcome, showing the power of dialogue." How did the dispute start? In its original ruling, the supreme court had annulled the powers of the assembly, allowing the judges to write laws. The court had accused lawmakers of "contempt" after allegations of irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections. The court has backed the leftist president in his ongoing struggles with the legislature. On Tuesday it removed parliamentary immunity from the assembly's members. There has been widespread international condemnation, with the Organisation of American States talking of the "final blow to democracy" in Venezuela. Why the reversal? By Will Grant, BBC News, Havana It seems that a combination of internal and external pressures forced President Maduro's hand. Inside Venezuela, the opposition's outcry was to be expected. However the sight of the normally loyal Attorney General, Luisa Ortega, openly criticising the move as unconstitutional was for many observers a turning point, and perhaps evidence of a wider split within "Chavismo". Externally too, the response was very robust. Cuba, arguably Venezuela's staunchest ally, has been unwavering in its support. The Organization of American States held a special meeting in which other allies of Venezuela also lent their support to Mr Maduro. However, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and others called for cooler heads to prevail and for a return to the democratic order. In the end, it seems President Maduro may have decided that the supreme court's move was a step too far politically and hoped to avoid a repeat of the massive street protests which have led to violence in the past. Perhaps even the election this weekend in Ecuador played a role. The race in the Andean nation is very tight and it can't have helped President Rafael Correa, as a close friend to Venezuela, to have to support a move that was being billed by some as a "self-coup" in the days before a presidential election. Tensions have been high in Venezuela because the country has been engulfed in a severe economic crisis. It has the world's highest inflation rate, which the International Monetary Fund predicts could reach 1,660% next year. Long queues, power cuts and shortages of basic goods are common. Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Maduro blames the difficulties on an "economic war" waged by his rivals The government and opposition blame each other for the country's problems, made worse by the falling price of oil, Venezuela's main export product. President Maduro has become increasingly unpopular and the opposition has called for his removal. Correction 25 April 2017: This article has been amended to clarify that the OAS held a special, rather than an emergency, meeting and that Cuba's support was unrelated to that meeting. ||||| Venezuelan Supreme Court closes Legislative gives all power to Maduro: world condemnation The Venezuelan Supreme Court's decision late Wednesday to take control of the opposition-controlled legislature has set off a wave of outrage, with some hemispheric neighbors, including the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Argentina, denouncing the measure as a threat to democracy. The Organization of American States' secretary general, Luis Almagro, accused the government led by socialist Nicolas Maduro of attempting a self-inflicted coup d'etat against its parliament. He called for an emergency meeting of the organization's Permanent Council, just two days after presiding at an extraordinary meeting in Washington about Venezuela. In a statement, the U.S. State Department condemned the court for its decision to usurp the powers of the democratically elected National Assembly. … We consider it a serious setback for democracy. Peru pulled its ambassador Thursday in protest, and countries including Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Chile also denounced Venezuela's high court. In a wide-ranging ruling, the court criticized the National Assembly for what it called disrespect and invalidity of its proceedings. It said as long as that persisted, this Constitutional Chamber will ensure that the parliamentary powers are exercised directly by this chamber or by the body it has in place to ensure the rule of law. Maduro is now the National Assembly,'' assembly leader Julio Borges said. It's one thing to try to build a dictatorship and another to complete the circuit. The court decision followed Tuesday's rare meeting of the OAS, which brought diplomats to Washington to debate how to resolve the South American country's years-long political and humanitarian crisis. Almagro — who detailed the country's problems in a 74-page report issued in mid-March — had recommended suspending Venezuela's membership in the group unless it quickly released political prisoners and scheduled long-delayed elections, but the United States urged giving the country another chance to cooperate on re-establishing democratic norms. The U.S. was one of 20 member states that committed to taking as-yet-uncertain steps in guiding Venezuela toward that goal. A constitutional expert said Wednesday's ruling enables the government to suspend elections, detain deputies and withdraw Venezuela from the OAS. This is not an ordinary sentence, said Luis Salamanca, a political scientist at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas. He told El Nacional newspaper that the ruling gives Maduro the power to practically handle everything without any respect for the rules set out in the charter. The National Mesa Bureau, an opposition group, condemned the court's decision as a flagrant violation of the constitution. The bureau said in a statement that the government had resorted to desperate measures. It said that through legal aberration, the Constitutional Chamber urges the president to review criminal and even military laws under the state of emergency,” allowing him to more directly attack the democratically elected National Assembly and its leaders. ||||| (CNN) Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz on Friday strongly criticized a ruling by the country's Supreme Court to take over the National Assembly's legislative powers , essentially dissolving it. "It constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order," the attorney general said, raising a pocket-size copy of the Venezuelan Constitution in her left hand and standing in front of the Venezuelan flag. Ortega made the statement during her annual State of the Attorney General's Office address in Caracas. The statement is significant because it breaks with the government's official position. Venezuelan's opposition has long perceived the attorney general as being loyal to the socialist government of President Nicolás Maduro "It is my obligation to express in front of the country my deep concern about this event (the ruling)" Ortega added. In a surprising move late Wednesday, the Venezuela's high court stripped the National Assembly of its powers. The court ruled that all powers vested under the legislative body will be transferred to the Supreme Court, which is stacked with government loyalists. The argument behind the rule was that the assembly was in contempt of law for ignoring a court order preventing the swearing-in of three legislators from Amazonas state whose elections the court had deemed invalid. The court's move effectively means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party. The opposition has been taken out of the picture. Maduro spoke about the ruling in a message broadcast live Thursday on the government's TV network. "They're giving me and authorizing me, enabling special powers that stem out of the state of emergency clauses in our constitution. This is an order by the Supreme Court. It's a historic ruling," Maduro said. Opposition leaders said the ruling amounts to a coup, and they are already calling the Maduro government "a dictatorship." "Nicolás Maduro has staged a coup d'état," National Assembly President Julio Borges said Thursday. "What this ruling means is that, for the first time, Nicolás Maduro has all the power to enact laws, assign contracts, incur foreign debt and persecute fellow Venezuelans." CNN contributor and Latin American analyst Carlos Alberto Montaner said the attorney general's statement is not only significant but also revealing. "I think this is a breakup of the (Venezuelan) top leadership, and it's centered precisely within the judicial power," Montaner said. "This step taken by Luisa Ortega is crucial because she represents one of the most powerful families in the country. She's not an isolated person but has relations and connections and has been the attorney general for a long time." Also Friday, a group of anti-government protesters, mainly college students, clashed with the Venezuelan National Guard during a demonstration outside the Supreme Court building. Images captured by CNN affiliate Vivo Play shows a member of the guard hitting one of the students in the head. Three journalists were also attacked, including a Colombian reporter and two photographers whose cameras were destroyed, according to a report by CNN en Español. There had been similar clashes Thursday afternoon when opposition legislators tried to storm the court's facilities and the guard blocked access. The Venezuelan political crisis is being closely watched by the international community. The Russian government urged other nations Friday to avoid intervening in Venezuela. "External forces should not stoke the fire by issuing statements and taking actions pertaining to the internal conflict in Venezuela," Russian government spokeswoman Maria Zajarova said. ||||| In a move critics are calling the point of no return toward a dictatorship, Venezuela's Supreme Court took over the opposition-controlled Congress. The court ruled Congress "in contempt' and said it would take over all "parliamentary capacities." In Venezuela, the supreme court has effectively shut down the congress, and the congress was the only branch of government not controlled by the ruling Socialist Party. Critics are calling this a major blow to democracy. Reporter John Otis has more. JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: In a ruling late Wednesday night, the supreme court declared that the National Assembly, the name for Venezuela's congress, was in contempt and that the court would assume legislative functions. That decision puts even more power in the hands of Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, because, according to many analysts, the supreme court answers to him. Opposition lawmakers were quick to react. OTIS: In front of TV cameras, Julia Borges, president of the National Assembly, ripped up a copy of the supreme court's decision and called it garbage. Critics decried the court's move as the latest sign of Maduro's authoritarian shift. His government is holding more than 100 political prisoners. It has canceled elections and cracked down on the media. The opposition won control of the National Assembly in elections in 2015, but the supreme court has annulled nearly every decision it has taken. The court's ruling to take over legislative functions stems from accusations of voter fraud in the election of three opposition lawmakers. Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director for Human Rights Watch, says that's just an excuse for Maduro to seize even more power. JOSE MIGUEL VIVANCO: That's why we are facing a turning point, and Venezuela cannot be called any longer a democratic government. And it's a - in plain language, a dictatorship. OTIS: This political crisis, as well as the country's ongoing economic meltdown, prompted the Organization of American States, known as the OAS, to hold a special meeting Tuesday to discuss Venezuela. OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said that elections are the democratic solution for Venezuela, but Diosdado Cabello, a top Venezuelan official, disagreed. OTIS: He accused the OAS of paving the way for a foreign invasion. For NPR News, I'm John Otis. ||||| DORAL (CBSMiami) – Dozens gathered in Doral Friday night to rally against Venezuela’s president and the supreme court’s decision to seize power from the legislature. Venezuelans protested in front of the country’s supreme court building, making sure their government knows they are not happy. Venezuelans in South Florida did the same. They held a rally in Doral – dozens gathering in united anger after Thursday night’s decision. Venezuela’s supreme court awarded itself legislative powers, stripping the national assembly of them. The decision effectively means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party under President Nicolas Maduro. There is fear growing that Maduro is turning into a dictator. “Nicolas Maduro is using all the power that he can to keep himself ruling in Venezuela,” said Pedro Vazquez. “And the last thing he did was utilizing the justice department to take over what would be here like the Congress or the Senate.” After the ruling, Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted an article about the decision and wrote, “Venezuela now officially a dictatorship after supreme court assumes powers of opposition-controlled congress.” That kind of reaction is what the people at Friday’s rally were hoping for, that leaders within the U.S. would get behind them and against Maduro. Venezuela is already in economic despair, which has led to shortages of food and medicine. “We have food, we have everything. They don’t have anything. They don’t have medicine. My mother is 94 – I have to send her medicine from here,” said Ernesto Ackerman. The tensions are high in the country. A journalist reporting on Venezuela’s political crisis for a Colombian radio station was roughed up by that country’s national guard soldier. The video has gone viral. Venezuelans in South Florida are hoping their cries are heard around the world. “For us, it is very hard even though we know what are responsibilities are – which is to take it to international community with what is happening in Vevenzuela,” said Vazquez. “Do you think Presdient Maduro is a dictator?” CBS4’s Vanessa Borge asked him. In response to these rallies, Maduro said dialogue between the government and the opposition is the only way to resolve the crisis. ||||| (CNN) Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz on Friday strongly criticized a ruling by the country's Supreme Court to take over the National Assembly's legislative powers , essentially dissolving it. "It constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order," the attorney general said, raising a pocket-size copy of the Venezuelan Constitution in her left hand and standing in front of the Venezuelan flag. Ortega made the statement during her annual State of the Attorney General's Office address in Caracas. The statement is significant because it breaks with the government's official position. Venezuelan's opposition has long perceived the attorney general as being loyal to the socialist government of President Nicolás Maduro "It is my obligation to express in front of the country my deep concern about this event (the ruling)" Ortega added. In a surprising move late Wednesday, the Venezuela's high court stripped the National Assembly of its powers. The court ruled that all powers vested under the legislative body will be transferred to the Supreme Court, which is stacked with government loyalists. The argument behind the rule was that the assembly was in contempt of law for ignoring a court order preventing the swearing-in of three legislators from Amazonas state whose elections the court had deemed invalid. The court's move effectively means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party. The opposition has been taken out of the picture. Maduro spoke about the ruling in a message broadcast live Thursday on the government's TV network. "They're giving me and authorizing me, enabling special powers that stem out of the state of emergency clauses in our constitution. This is an order by the Supreme Court. It's a historic ruling," Maduro said. Opposition leaders said the ruling amounts to a coup, and they are already calling the Maduro government "a dictatorship." "Nicolás Maduro has staged a coup d'état," National Assembly President Julio Borges said Thursday. "What this ruling means is that, for the first time, Nicolás Maduro has all the power to enact laws, assign contracts, incur foreign debt and persecute fellow Venezuelans." CNN contributor and Latin American analyst Carlos Alberto Montaner said the attorney general's statement is not only significant but also revealing. "I think this is a breakup of the (Venezuelan) top leadership, and it's centered precisely within the judicial power," Montaner said. "This step taken by Luisa Ortega is crucial because she represents one of the most powerful families in the country. She's not an isolated person but has relations and connections and has been the attorney general for a long time." Also Friday, a group of anti-government protesters, mainly college students, clashed with the Venezuelan National Guard during a demonstration outside the Supreme Court building. Images captured by CNN affiliate Vivo Play shows a member of the guard hitting one of the students in the head. Three journalists were also attacked, including a Colombian reporter and two photographers whose cameras were destroyed, according to a report by CNN en Español. There had been similar clashes Thursday afternoon when opposition legislators tried to storm the court's facilities and the guard blocked access. The Venezuelan political crisis is being closely watched by the international community. The Russian government urged other nations Friday to avoid intervening in Venezuela. "External forces should not stoke the fire by issuing statements and taking actions pertaining to the internal conflict in Venezuela," Russian government spokeswoman Maria Zajarova said. ||||| In an address early after a Friday night meeting presided over by Maduro, the National Security Council announced that was supporting a review by the court "with the goal of maintaining institutional stability." The announcement capped an extraordinary day in which Venezuela's chief prosecutor and long-time loyalist of the socialist government broke with the Maduro administration and denounced the court ruling. Luisa Ortega Diaz said it was her "unavoidable historical duty" as the nation's top judicial authority to decry the ruling against the opposition-controlled National Assembly as a "rupture" of the order. "We call for reflection so that the democratic path can be retaken," she said to the loud applause of aides gathered around her. Maduro called the meeting of the council seeking to calm the political uproar, though at least one key member refused to attend while criticism from other governments mounted. About a dozen officials were present at the session, but among those notably absent was congress president Julio Borges, who said the meeting was no more than a circus act created for a convenient photo opportunity by the same person the opposition blames for the country's troubles. On Friday, troops from the National Guard fired buckshot and swung batons at students protesting in front of the Supreme Court. A few people were arrested and some journalists covering the demonstration had their cameras taken. A few other, small protests popped up elsewhere in the capital. "We all have to get out — for the dignity of our country, the dignity of our children and the dignity of Venezuela," Borges said in urging Venezuelans to join in protests Saturday. The Supreme Court ruled late Wednesday that until lawmakers abided by previous rulings that nullified all legislation passed by congress, the high court could assume the constitutionally assigned powers of the National Assembly, which has been controlled by the opposition since it won a landslide victory in elections in late 2015.. Friday brought a second day of condemnations of the ruling by the United States and governments across Latin America. The head of the Organization of American States likened the decision to a "self-inflicted coup" by the leftist Maduro, and the United Nations' top human rights official urged the high court to reverse its decision. Opposition leaders, who have been during 17 years of socialist rule, called on other public officials to follow Ortega Diaz's example in repudiating the court's ruling. Some urged the military, the traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela, to defend the constitution drafted by late President Hugo Chavez. "You have a new opportunity to show the country and international community if you are with the dictatorship or want your children and grandchildren to grow and live in a country where there's democracy and liberty," said David Smolansky, a Caracas area mayor. The normally ever-present Maduro was conspicuously silent during much of the two days of turmoil, but then he went on state TV to argue that Venezuela's institutions are operating normally. Alluding to criticism of the court's ruling, he said it is the government's "right-wing, fascist" opponents who are attempting to break the order, but said his foes would be left with "their cold champagne, uncorked," Still, Maduro also called for renewed dialogue between the government and the opposition, saying that is the only path to resolving Venezuela's political crisis. ||||| Venezuela's Supreme Court announced Saturday it is handing back legislative powers to the National Assembly. The court said it has removed certain parts of a judgment issued Wednesday that took over the assembly's legislative powers. Venezuelan government leaders on Saturday urged the country's Supreme Court to review its decision to take over the National Assembly's legislative powers, a much-decried move that opposition members have called a coup. President Nicolas Maduro, flanked by other top officials, appeared on national television early Saturday, hours after Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz decried the court's ruling. Observers of the nation's politics believe Maduro's government was attempting to assure Venezuelans it was addressing the controversy ahead of another day of protests. "We've reached an important agreement to solve this controversy," said Maduro, who didn't elaborate. Vice President Tareck El Aissami read a six-point communique that included the request for the court to re-examine its finding. The argument behind the ruling was that the assembly was in contempt of law for ignoring a court order preventing the swearing-in of three legislators from Amazonas state whose elections the court had deemed invalid. The court's move means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party. The protests erupted on the street and in the halls of government. National Assembly President Julio Borges called the court decision a coup staged by Maduro. The ruling spurred anti-government protests on Friday and clashes between demonstrators and the National Guard outside the Supreme Court building. Ortega, long perceived as a Maduro loyalist, said the decision "constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order." The point in the communique that calls for a court review of its decision also stresses that the move was made with the intention "to maintain institutional stability and the balance of powers."
• an affirmation of the court's authority to determine the constitutionality of any actions by the other branches of government;
• a call for national dialogue to be mediated by statesmen such as former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, former Latin American leaders and Pope Francis;.
• an emphasis on Maduro's efforts in the search for solutions to resolve constitutional conflicts; and
• a repudiation of any intervention that attacks the nation's sovereignty. There has been no word yet from opposition politicians upset by the court's move, including Borges. He snubbed a late-night meeting to draw up the communique.
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Venezuela's Supreme Court reverses their controversial ruling. The court restores legislative power to the National Assembly. However, the court's decision still allows President Nicolás Maduro to enter joint-venture deals.
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YEREVAN (Sputnik) — Armenia's ruling Republican Party led by the country's President Serzh Sargsyan succeeded to win the Sunday's parliamentary election gathering support with 49.12 percent of the votes, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC). The Sunday's election was the first one held under the proportional vote. Apart from the national-level lists, regional lists were also presented in 13 constituencies. A total of five political parties and four electoral blocs participated in the election trying to pass the threshold and to enter the parliament. According to the preliminary figures of the CEC, the voter turnout was 60.93 percent and the new parliament would comprise of representatives from four political powers. Apart from the Republican Party, the Tsarukyan Alliance bloc with 27.32 percent, the "Elq" (Way Out) opposition alliance with 7.77 percent and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnakcutyun party would be represented in the next convocation of the parliament. Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Sergei Lebedev told Sputnik that the vote was held in accordance with democratic norms and without violations. "The April 2 elections to the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia were held in accordance with the constitution, the electoral code and universally recognized democratic norms of holding elections," Lebedev said. According to the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE), during the election main freedoms have been respected, however there were attempts to interfere in the counting process. "As regards counting of the votes, we noticed an interference of the representatives of parties in the counting process," coordinator of the OSCE monitoring mission Ignacio Sanchez Amor told Sputnik. Jan Petersen, the head of the election observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said that the situation with the vote secrecy had increased in Armenia. At the same time, the ODIHR official expressed concerns over the alleged attempts to bribe voters and over the ballot stations' overcrowdedness. Local police had also registered 506 messages about alleged violations. According to Armenia's police, the majority of the messages included the reports about attempts of second vote or bribery during the voting process. ||||| President Serzh Sarksyan’s ruling Republican Party won elections in Armenia on Sunday, official results showed, laying the foundation for a new parliamentary system of government. The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) had 49.12 percent of the votes while the opposition Tsarukyan Alliance led by wealthy businessman Gagik Tsarukyan gathered 27.32 percent. The government-loyal Dashnaktsutyun Party had 6.57 percent and the opposition bloc Yelk (“Way Out”) 7.77 percent, enough for both to enter parliament. Central Election Commission chairman Tigran Mukuchyan said the figures were based on results from all 2,009 polling stations. He said nothing about violations of election rules. The prosecutor’s office said it had been reviewing media reports of violations during the voting and count process. Opposition parties said they had also filed complaints on irregularities to the prosecutor’s office, but gave no further details. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, observing the conduct of the election, said on Monday there had been some abuses. It said in a statement the poll was “well administered and fundamental freedoms were generally respected”, but added: “There was credible information of vote-buying, of pressure on public servants including in schools and hospitals, and of intimidation of voters to vote for certain parties.” “This contributed to an overall lack of public confidence in the electoral process.” The Republicans and Dashnaktsutyun, partners in the current parliament, could create a coalition again, getting the right to name the future prime minister, who is expected to be the incumbent Karen Karapetyan. The election was Armenia’s first under a new constitution, approved in a December 2015 referendum. Parliament, rather than voters, will elect the president for the first time in 2018. Sarksyan, 62, leader of the RPA and president since 2008, has repeatedly denied the constitutional changes were engineered to allow him to retain influence in the former Soviet republic after his final presidential term ends next year. The new system reduces the presidency to a ceremonial post and increases the powers of the prime minister. Critics say Sarksyan could keep wielding executive power by becoming prime minister in 2018. Many Armenians accuse the government of corruption and of mishandling the troubled economy. Armenia depends heavily for aid and investment on Russia, which has been hard hit in the past three years by an economic downturn. Armenia has felt the impact, with growth falling to 0.2 percent last year from 3.0 percent in 2015. For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now ||||| YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) - Early results in the Armenian parliamentary election shows the country's ruling party has won just under half of the vote. Sunday's election was the first since the ex-Soviet nation modified its constitution to expand the powers of parliament and the prime minister. The Central Election Commission said on Monday that 94 percent of the ballots counted show the Republican Party of Armenia's president, Serzh Sargsyan, winning 49 percent of the vote. The bloc led by businessman Gagik Tsarukian trails with 28 percent. Two more parties also look set to clear the 5-percent barrier necessary to get seats in parliament. Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan arrives at a polling station during a parliamentary election in Yerevan, Armenia, Sunday, April 2, 2017. Armenians voted Sunday in the country's first parliamentary election since the ex-Soviet nation modified its constitution to expand the powers of parliament and the prime minister. (PAN Photo, Davit Hakobyan/Photo via AP) Critics see the constitutional amendments as part of Sargsyan's efforts to retain control of the country after he steps down in 2018 due to term limits. A woman uses the light of her cell phone to search for her name to vote, at a polling station during a parliamentary election in Yerevan, Armenia, Sunday, April 2, 2017. Armenians voted Sunday in the country's first parliamentary election since the ex-Soviet nation modified its constitution to expand the powers of parliament and the prime minister. (PAN Photo, Vahan Stepanyan/Photo via AP) Armenians line up to vote at a polling station during a parliamentary election in Yerevan, Armenia, Sunday, April 2, 2017. Armenians voted Sunday in the country's first parliamentary election since the ex-Soviet nation modified its constitution to expand the powers of parliament and the prime minister. (PAN Photo, Karo Sahakyan/Photo via AP) ||||| Projection has Republican Party backed by President Sarkisian at 46 percent, with closest follower at 25 percent. The ruling Republican Party of Armenia is leading the country's parliamentary elections, according to an exit poll. The vote on Sunday is the first since the adoption of constitutional reforms transforming the ex-Soviet country into a parliamentary republic. It pits the Republican Party of Armenia, backed by President Serzh Sarkisian, against an alliance led by businessman and former world champion arm wrestler Gagik Tsarukyan. The exit poll by Baltic Surveys/The Gallup Organization, reported by Armenian television, put the Republicans on 46 percent of votes cast. The Prosperous Armenia trailed at 25 percent. The elections is a key democratic test for the small landlocked nation of 2.9 million, which has no history of transfers of power to an opposition through the ballot box. But the campaign has already been marred by opposition claims that the government is preparing mass electoral fraud. Ahead of the vote, the European Union delegation to Armenia and the US embassy said in a joint statement that they were "concerned by allegations of voter intimidation, attempts to buy votes, and the systemic use of administrative resources to aid certain competing parties". There are also fears of violence after 10 people were killed in 2008 clashes between police and opposition supporters following the election of pro-Moscow President Sarkisian. This time, the country aims to hold an exemplary vote to elect "a parliament trusted by society," the president told AFP news agency in an interview in March. He said his government "has made enormous efforts so that (Sunday's) milestone vote is flawless". The vote comes after constitutional amendments initiated by Sarkisian in 2015 that his opponents say were designed to keep the ruling Republican Party in power. The changes were passed after a referendum, but they also prompted thousands to rally in protest. The amendments will shift the country away from strong presidency to a parliamentary form of government after Sarkisian's second and final term ends in 2018. The opposition alleges that the changes were made to allow Sarkisian, 62, to maintain his grip on power by remaining party leader after he steps down as president. Sarkisian has denied the allegations and defended the changes as "part of Armenia's democratisation process," saying they would empower the opposition. Voting, which ended at 16:00 GMT, will be monitored by international observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. ||||| YEREVAN -- Official results indicate that President Serzh Sarkisian's ruling Republican Party of Armenia has won about half the votes cast in parliamentary elections that international observers said were "tainted" by reports of vote-buying and pressure on voters. The Central Election Commission said on April 3 said that with ballots counted from almost all precincts in the April 2 vote, the Republican Party had won 49.15 percent and the center-right Tsarukian alliance, led by Russia-friendly tycoon Gagik Tsarukian, had 27.37 percent. Republican Party (HHK) spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov told a news conference that the results meant the party "has every chance of forming the new government" in the South Caucasus state, which is set to shift to a parliamentary system of rule next year. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other groups said the vote was "tainted by credible information about vote-buying" and pressure on voters, according to a statement posted on the OSCE website. It said the interference "contributed to an overall lack of public confidence and trust in the elections." The pro-Western opposition alliance Yelk (Way Out) got 7.78 percent of the vote, enough to secure entry into parliament, the election commission said. It said the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (HHD-Dashnaktsutiun), a nationalist party that is currently in a ruling coalition with the Republicans, was also on track to win seats, with 6.58 percent. Turnout was 60.86 percent, the election commission said. The Tsarukian alliance and the HHD are potential coalition partners for Sarkisian's HHK if it does not win enough votes to form a government on its own. Nine parties and alliances were seeking seats in parliament in a campaign that focused mostly on economic difficulties in the country of 3 million. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth dropped from 3 percent in 2015 to 0.2 percent last year in the former Soviet republic, whose economy is heavily dependent on Russia. Under constitutional changes approved in a 2015 referendum, the Armenian prime minister's office will become more powerful while the presidency is to become a largely ceremonial post elected by parliament. WATCH: Armenians Vote As Nation Shifts Toward Parliamentary Governance Those changes are due to take place when Sarkisian's second and final term ends in 2018. Critics charge that they were designed to allow him to stay in power beyond the presidency's two-term limit. Sarkisian denies that. But if the ruling party wins enough votes to control a parliamentary majority, either alone or in a coalition, he could continue to exercise executive power as prime minister. He also could maintain clout by staying on as leader of his party, or he could exert influence through a handpicked successor. Coalition Puzzle It was not clear ahead of the election whether Tsarukian would be willing to form a coalition again with Sarkisian's party if his alliance did not receive enough votes to govern on its own. "Everything now depends on our people," Tsakurian said after casting his ballot in his native village of Arinj north of Yerevan. "They are the ones who decide," he added. Before breaking away and branding itself as an opposition force, Tsarukian's bloc had been a coalition partner of the Republican Party. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation, a smaller party currently in the ruling coalition with the Republicans, could help Sarkisian's party form a majority coalition if Tsarukian is unwilling to do so. To win parliamentary seats, a party needed at least 5 percent of the vote and alliances needed at least 7 percent. Days ahead of the vote, the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan issued a joint statement with the European Union, Germany, and the United Kingdom expressing concerns about allegations of irregularities since the campaign formally began on March 5. The March 29 statement said diplomats were "aware of and concerned by" what it said were allegations of "voter intimidation, attempts to buy votes, and the systemic use of administrative resources to aid certain competing parties." On election day, a reporter with RFE/RL's Armenian Service was attacked in Yerevan’s Kond neighborhood after investigating allegations of vote-buying at a local campaign office of the ruling HHK. Another female reporter was also attacked outside the HHK office in Kond when she started filming people visiting it. The Prosecutor-General's Office said more than 220 criminal allegations of voter fraud were under investigation and that it had reports of significant problems with new voter identity devices that failed to recognize hundreds of voters, including the president. Political analysts say that’s because public anger over Armenia's economic problems is even stronger now than in 2015, when thousands of demonstrators blocked a central boulevard in Yerevan to protest planned electricity-price hikes. WATCH: In Armenia, Several Reporters Attacked While Covering Elections For many, low wages, high inflation, joblessness, and corruption have eclipsed the question of whether Armenia should remain within the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union or seek closer integration with Europe. Russian weapons deliveries to Baku had been the topic of heated debate after an escalation of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh last year. But in the parliamentary campaign, most political forces steered clear of those issues and the question of whether Armenia is more secure with Russia as its ally. With reporting by Ron Synovitz in Prague, Suren Musayelyan in Yerevan, AP, Reuters, and AFP ||||| FILE In this file photo taken on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, Armenian President Serge Sarkisian speaks after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Armenians are set to cast ballots Sunday in the first parliamentary elections since the ex-Soviet nation modified its constitution to expand powers of parliament and prime minister. (Sergei Chirikov/Pool Photo via AP, file) YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenians voted Sunday in the country's first parliamentary election since the ex-Soviet nation modified its constitution to expand the powers of parliament and the prime minister. An exit poll released after voting stations closed showed the Republican Party of Armenia's president, Serzh Sargsyan, getting 46 percent of the vote, trailed by the bloc led by businessman Gagik Tsarukian with 29 percent. The polls showed two other parties clearing the 5 percent barrier to be apportioned seats in parliament. Critics see the amendments as part of Sargsyan's efforts to retain control of the country after he steps down in 2018 due to term limits. If his party controls parliament, he could be appointed prime minister after leaving the presidency. But the 62-year-old Sargsyan, who has led Armenia since 2008, has rejected the allegations, describing the constitutional changes approved in a 2015 referendum as steps to strengthen democracy. "We have set a task to make resolute step toward developing a European-style democracy and strengthening democratic institutions," Sargsyan said. The constitutional changes, set to take force after Sargsyan's term ends, envisage largely symbolic powers for the nation's president, who will be elected by parliament instead of by popular vote. Prime Minister Karen Karapetian has spearheaded the Republican Party's campaign, promising to encourage foreign investment in the economically struggling nation. Tsarukian also has pledged to attract up to $15 billion in foreign investment from Persian Gulf countries and elsewhere. Sergei Minasian, an independent political expert based in Yerevan, said the ruling party had a "significant advantage" in the campaign, thanks to its use of administrative resources. The European Union mission in Yerevan has expressed concern about "allegations of voter intimidation, attempts to buy votes, and the systemic use of administrative resources to aid certain competing parties." It didn't name any parties. The vote was monitored by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. A private observer mission of Western ethnic Armenians, including film director Atom Egoyan and Serj Tankian, vocalist for the heavy metal band System of a Down, also monitored the election. Landlocked Armenia, one of the poorest of the ex-Soviet nations, borders Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. It has suffered from a crippling economic blockade imposed by Turkey, which supports its ally Azerbaijan in the conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Armenia is also a member of Moscow-dominated economic and security alliances and hosts a Russian military base. The country has seen some unrest in recent years. In 2015, thousands demonstrated in Yerevan for weeks protesting electricity price hikes. In July, several dozen armed men captured a police compound in the capital, demanding freedom for an opposition activist and the government's ouster. They held several police officers and medics hostage before eventually releasing them. The two-week siege left two people dead and several wounded and triggered rallies in support of the gunmen. Last month, several hundred protesters rallied in Yerevan after an activist who fed the siege perpetrators died in prison while on a hunger strike. Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to the report. ||||| YEREVAN, April 3 (Reuters) - President Serzh Sarksyan's ruling Republican Party led in elections in Armenia on Sunday, official preliminary results showed, laying the foundation for a new parliamentary system of government. The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) had 53.20 percent of the votes, while the opposition Tsarukyan's Alliance led by wealthy businessman Gagik Tsarukyan got 26.56 percent. The government-loyal Dashnaktsutyun Party had 8.07 percent, enough for the party to enter parliament. Partial results were posted on the Central Election Commission's website and based on results from 18 percent of the polling stations. Under constitutional changes critics say were designed to prolong Sarksyan's political life after his final presidential term ends next year, the presidency will become largely ceremonial. Power passes to the prime minister. Sarksyan, the 62-year-old leader of RPA, has repeatedly denied that the changes, approved in a December 2015 referendum, were made to allow him to retain power in the former Soviet republic. An exit poll by Baltic Surveys/The Gallup Organization, reported by Armenian television shortly after polls closed, put RPA at 46 percent of votes cast, with Tsarukyan's Alliance at 25 percent and Dashnaktsutyun at 5 percent. Republicans and Dashnaktsutyun, coalition partners in the current parliament, are likely to create a coalition again, getting the right to name the future prime minister, who is expected to be incumbent Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan. Sarksyan has been president since 2008. Under the new system, critics say, he could keep wielding executive power by becoming prime minister in 2018, stay active by remaining leader of the RPA or quit politics but keep exercising influence through a handpicked successor. Many Armenians accuse the government of corruption and of mishandling the troubled economy. Armenia depends heavily for aid and investment on Russia, which has been hard hit in the past three years by an economic downturn. Armenia has felt the impact, with growth falling to 0.2 percent last year from 3.0 percent in 2015. International observers will present their conclusions on the election on Monday. (Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Mary Milliken and Peter Cooney) ||||| YEREVAN, April 3. /TASS/. Armenia’s ruling Republican Party led by President Serzh Sargsyan has taken a clear lead in Sunday’s parliamentary polls with 49.7% of the vote, according to data processed from 64% of the polling stations, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said. The Tsarukyan Bloc of Armenia’s richest businessman Gagik Tsarukyan comes second, scoring 27.84% of the vote. The opposition’s Elk (Exit) Bloc is securing 7.02%, and the Dashnaktsutyun party is winning 6.68% of the vote. Other political forces have failed to overcome the election threshold. Under the Armenian laws, to win parliamentary seats, a party needs to overcome a 5% threshold, while an election bloc needs to score more than 7% of vote. Sunday’s election is the first after the 2015 constitutional reform when Armenia became a parliamentary republic. The new parliament will be formed on the multi-party proportional basis, with no voting in one-seat constituencies. Authorities believe the measure will enhance Armenia’s political system and increase the role of political parties. Five political parties and four election blocs took part in the election. ||||| European observers also report 'pressure on civil servants' in elections won by President Serzh Sarksyan. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has criticised Armenia's weekend election, saying it had been tainted by instances of vote-buying and interference. President Serzh Sarksyan's ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) won Sunday's elections, official results showed, laying the foundation for a new parliamentary system of government. The OSCE said in a statement the elections were well-administered and fundamental freedoms were generally respected. But, it added, they had been marked by organisational problems and undue interference in the process, mostly by party representatives. It also noted some pressure on civil servants as well as private sector employees. "The elections were tainted by credible information about vote-buying, and pressure on civil servants and employees of private companies," OSCE said in the statement. With 100 percent of the vote already counted, official results show the Republican Party has won with 49.12 percent votes. The opposition Tsarukyan Alliance, led by wealthy businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, gathered 27.32 percent. Central Election Commission chairman Tigran Mukuchyan said the figures were based on results from all 2,009 polling stations. He said nothing about violations of election rules. The prosecutor's office said it had been reviewing media reports of violations during the voting and count process. Opposition parties said they had also filed complaints on irregularities to the prosecutor's office, but gave no further details. The election was Armenia's first under a new constitution, approved in a December 2015 referendum. Parliament, rather than voters, will elect the president for the first time in 2018. The new system reduces the presidency to a ceremonial post and increases the powers of the prime minister. ||||| YEREVAN: President Serzh Sarksyan's ruling Republican Party led in elections in Armenia on Sunday, official preliminary results showed, laying the foundation for a new parliamentary system of government. The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) had 53.20 percent of the votes, while the opposition Tsarukyan's Alliance led by wealthy businessman Gagik Tsarukyan got 26.56 percent. The government-loyal Dashnaktsutyun Party had 8.07 percent, enough for the party to enter parliament. Partial results were posted on the Central Election Commission's website and based on results from 18 percent of the polling stations. Under constitutional changes critics say were designed to prolong Sarksyan's political life after his final presidential term ends next year, the presidency will become largely ceremonial. Power passes to the prime minister. Sarksyan, the 62-year-old leader of RPA, has repeatedly denied that the changes, approved in a December 2015 referendum, were made to allow him to retain power in the former Soviet republic. An exit poll by Baltic Surveys/The Gallup Organization, reported by Armenian television shortly after polls closed, put RPA at 46 percent of votes cast, with Tsarukyan's Alliance at 25 percent and Dashnaktsutyun at 5 percent. Republicans and Dashnaktsutyun, coalition partners in the current parliament, are likely to create a coalition again, getting the right to name the future prime minister, who is expected to be incumbent Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan. Sarksyan has been president since 2008. Under the new system, critics say, he could keep wielding executive power by becoming prime minister in 2018, stay active by remaining leader of the RPA or quit politics but keep exercising influence through a handpicked successor. Many Armenians accuse the government of corruption and of mishandling the troubled economy. Armenia depends heavily for aid and investment on Russia, which has been hard hit in the past three years by an economic downturn. Armenia has felt the impact, with growth falling to 0.2 percent last year from 3.0 percent in 2015. International observers will present their conclusions on the election on Monday.
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Voters in Armenia go to the polls for an election, the first since constitutional changes were approved in a referendum in 2015, which changed the country's governance from a semi-presidential system to a parliamentary republic. Opinion polls predict a tight race between the nationalist Republican Party, led by President Serzh Sargsyan, and the centre-right Prosperous Armenia, led by Gagik Tsarukyan. With votes from 64% of the polling stations counted, the Republican Party leads with 49.7% of votes.
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It’s a choice between left and right Rafael Correa has led a socialist movement in Ecuador since becoming president in 2007 and winning three consecutive elections. Poverty has been slashed as a result, but reliance on the extraction of natural resources remains a key issue. Now the country must decide between Correa’s successor, Lenin Moreno from the PAIS Alliance, and a challenger from the centre-right CREO-SUMA Alliance, Guillermo Lasso. Moreno plans to advance Correa’s citizens' revolution, campaigning on the basis of “a government for all”. EFE His proposals include the immediate creation of 40 technical universities and 325,000 new houses for the country’s poorest families. His final campaign speech stressed the importance of taxes on the rich in the name of social solidarity. Lasso, a former banker, has a neoliberal agenda and promises to generate a million new jobs within four years. He has proposed the privatisation of public services, cuts to government spending and the removal of 14 taxes in order to attract foreign investment. Latin America's 'pink tide' is turning Latin America has been riding a wave of leftist populism known as the ‘pink tide’, but recent events indicate a change of direction. In 2015 Argentina voted in the centre-right Mauricio Macri after 12 years of government by the Kirchners. Then in 2016, Michael Temer took power in Brazil, ushering in a new right-leaning agenda. EFE Meanwhile the deterioration of Venezuela has been generating a distrust of leftist economies. The outcome of this election will be a defining moment in the history of Latin America’s twenty-first century socialism. It's a tight race Moreno came out ahead of Lasso in the first round but 33% of the population didn’t vote for either of them. Now those people will have to choose between the two. If more than two-thirds of them vote for Lasso, he will have the majority he needs to win. Opinion polls place Moreno in the lead but only by a small margin. In the most recent poll by CEDATOS, 45.7% chose Moreno and 41.5% chose Lasso. The international vote matters At least 12% of Ecuador’s population lives abroad. In Spain, voting is about to begin at polling places across the country to accommodate the 170,000 Ecuadorians eligible to vote there. Australia’s Ecuadorian community is much smaller - around 2,000 people at last count. Of those, 336 are eligible to vote in Sydney and 59 in Canberra. Today they gathered at Redfern Town Hall and the Ecuadorian embassy in Canberra to have their say in the country’s future. AP The world might get its first paraplegic president Lenin Moreno was shot in the back during a robbery in the country’s capital 19 years ago. The attack left him suffering from paraplegia and bedridden for four years in what he describes as a slow and painful recovery. After taking office as vice president in 2007 he implemented policies and programs that radically transformed the lives of people living with a disability. His work on disability rights earned him global recognition, including a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012. Julian Assange's future is on the line In an interview with The Guardian, Lasso said that if elected he would ask Julian Assange to leave Ecuador’s London embassy within 30 days. He later confirmed this position in an exchange with the Miami Herald but said he would try to arrange refuge in another country’s embassy so that Assange’s rights are protected. How such a transfer would happen is unclear though, and Assange could be apprehended and extradited as soon as he leaves the building. ||||| Venzuelan President Nicolas Maduro says the government's Denfense Council met Monday to discuss the threats of war from neighboring Colombia. | Read More ||||| MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — Lenin Moreno, a candidate from Ecuador’s ruling PAIS Alliance party, is keeping his leadership in the Ecuador’s presidential election with 51.16 percent of votes after 99 percent of ballots have been processed, the National Electoral Council’s data showed on Monday. According to the council’s preliminary results, Guillermo Lasso, Moreno’s rival from the opposition Creo-Suma alliance, is gathering 48.84 percent of votes. The second round of Ecuador's presidential elections was held on Sunday. The preliminary results of the election provoked clashes between the country's opposition and police near the National Electoral Council’s building in Ecuador's capital of Quito. Apart from this, Lasso expressed opposition's readiness to challenge the results due to the "voting manipulations", noting the significant difference between the exit polls and the election's results. ||||| MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — Moreno’s opponent Guillermo Lasso, a candidate from Ecuador's opposition Creo-Suma alliance, is said to have got 48.96 percent of votes. Following the announcement of results Lasso said that opposition may demand vote recount. Moreno, the Ecuador's former vice-president, was the leading candidate following the first round of the election that was held in February. At the time no candidate gained 50 percent of votes which is necessary to win at the first round of the election. ||||| MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South America's growing right-wing political force experienced a defeat in Ecuador, where ruling PAIS Alliance party candidate Lenin Moreno, is set to win the presidential election. With the country's current President Rafael Correa not running in the election for the first time in more than a decade, two candidates, Moreno, a former vice president, and Guillermo Lasso, a candidate from Ecuador's opposition Creo-Suma alliance, participated in Sunday's run-off. The vote difference between PAIS Alliance's Moreno and his opponent is small — just over 2 percent. According to the National Electoral Council (NEC), after processing around 98 percent of the votes, Moreno leads with over 51 percent compared to Lasso, who has just under 49 percent. The current head of state called the results irreversible, writing on Twitter "great news for the great homeland: the revolution regained its victory in Ecuador, the right is defeated, despite their millions and the media, more than two percent of the difference, Lenin is president!!!" For Correa, Moreno's victory would mean that the country preserves the same socio-economic course that it has built since 2007, when Correa first came to power and launched the left-wing Citizens' Revolution. Moreno served as Correa's vice president from 2007 to 2013. During his campaign, Moreno promised to create 250,000 new jobs in his time in office, and to maintain the current social policy aimed at supporting the poor. In the event of a final victory, he will enter office on May 24 and will serve for a period of four years. Lasso has challenged the results in all 24 provinces, and demanded a vote recount, citing voting manipulations. The temporary fault of the website of the National Electoral Council has also raised concern. Local media reported that clashes between supporters of the Ecuador’s opposition and police also erupted near the National Electoral Council’s building in Quito. Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks whistleblowing website, who has been residing at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012, also welcomed Moreno's victory. In February, Lasso, a prominent businessman, said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper that in case of his victory in the presidential election he would "cordially ask" Assange to leave the Ecuadorian Embassy in London within 30 days. Assange was referring to the allegations by the Inspectorate of Banks of Panama against Lasso regarding his association with forty-nine offshore companies located in tax havens, as revealed by the Argentine newspaper Pagina 12 earlier this month. ||||| Ecuador's ruling-party candidate Lenin Moreno claimed victory Monday night in the country's presidential election against conservative candidate Guillermo Lasso, who is yet to acknowledge defeat after several exit polls showed he was leading by a relatively safe margin. After his victory, Moreno tweeted: "With my heart in my hand, I thank all those who in peace and harmony went to vote. I will be the President of all and you will help me." According to the National Electoral Council, Moreno won 51 percent of the votes while his right-wing rival Lasso won 49 percent, with more than 94 percent of the votes counted. The head of the council, Juan Pablo Pozo, declared the results and reportedly said: "Ecuador deserves the ethical responsibility from its political actors to recognize the democratic decision made by the people at the ballot box." However, Lasso called for a recount, claiming he won by six points according to three exit polls. "They've toyed with popular will," Lasso told an Ecuadorian television station Sunday, before the declaration of the winner, according to Reuters. After Moreno won, Lasso posted on Twitter: "Let's not be provoked. We will act democratically and with respect for authorities but firmly to defend the people's will. We're not fools, nor are the Ecuadorian people." The leftist government has been in power for the last three elections under President Rafael Correa whose policies helped improve access to healthcare and education, as well to reduce poverty. However, his government was also criticized for corruption, media censorship and also for not adhering to many of its environmental promises. On the other side, Lasso offered a pro-business program, which promised tax cuts and an increase in the number of jobs in the country of 15 million. But his alternative sounded contradictory to his own actions; Lasso is accused of tax avoidance through several offshore accounts, according to the Guardian. President Rafael Correa, who supported Moreno in the election, celebrated the outcome and said "The moral fraud of the right-wing won't go unpunished," referring to Lasso's claims that he was winning based on three exit polls. Numerous supporters of Lasso protested outside the electoral council office Sunday night, shouting "No to fraud, yes to democracy!," according to Reuters. Reacting on Twitter, Correa said: "Outbreaks of violence in Quito, Esmeraldas, Ibarra and Azogues. That they fail at the ballot box, they want to achieve it by force." Moreno's victory also came as a relief for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since he was granted asylum under Correa's government in 2012. Lasso had promised to ask Assange to leave the embassy, if he was elected, calling the WikiLeaks founder a burden on the country's taxpayers, USA Today reported. Assange took shelter in the embassy while fighting against his extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted on allegations of sexual misconduct. ||||| (CNN) — Ruling party candidate Lenin Moreno has claimed a win in Ecuador’s presidential election, despite no official declaration from the country’s National Electoral Council (CNE). With over 96% of the votes counted, Moreno holds a razor-thin lead with 51.1% of the votes cast, compared to conservative opponent Guillermo Lasso at 48.9%. Lasso has said that his party has detected voting irregularities and will demand a recount. He also urged supporters to peacefully demonstrate against the apparent result. ||||| Lenin Moreno, the candidate of the ruling Alianza País Party in Ecuador appears to have secured a win in the second round of presidential elections, barely beating his rival, the conservative Guillermo Lasso who thus far has refused to concede. With over 94 percent of the votes counted, Moreno is in the lead with 51.07 percent compared to 48.93 percent gained by his opponent Lasso, the country’s election commission reported. READ MORE: ‘Fate of all Latin America being decided at Ecuador election’ "The revolution has triumphed again in Ecuador," outgoing President Rafael Correa said on Twitter. "The right has lost, despite its millions and its media." “They've toyed with popular will,” Lasso said on Sunday night, demanding a recount as earlier exit polls were split and projected different winners, prompting both candidates to claim victory. The 64-year old Moreno, who has been in a wheelchair since 1998, ran on a campaign which promised the South American country a boost in social benefits. The nominee for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize served as vice president of the country from 2007 to 2013, under President Rafael Correa. It was Correa, serving his third presidential term, who had nominated Morena to run for the Alianza País socialist political movement in Ecuador. His opponent Lasso, a 61-year-old former head of Banco de Guayaquil who has campaigned on creating one million jobs in four years, argues that Moreno’s generous social promises risk plunging Ecuador’s economy further into debt. The conservative has also promised to evict WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the nation’s London embassy. While Moreno has declared victory in a close runoff, Lasso has called for a vote recount, claiming that he is the real winner of the election. Moreno urged for unity as he addressed his cheering supporters in Quito: “From now on, let's work for the country! All of us!” ||||| Conservative presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso calls on supporters to take to the streets to guard against fraud. Ecuador's conservative presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso has said he will not accept the result of the runoff election won by his socialist rival Lenin Moreno. Lasso called on his supporters to take to the streets on Monday to guard against fraud. "I cannot accept these results because they do not reflect the will of the people," the former banker told a press conference. "There is fraud, blatant fraud, in the counting process." With more than 99 percent of polling places counted after Sunday's second-round runoff, Moreno had 51 percent of the vote while Lasso stood at just under 49 percent. Even as leaders from right-wing governments in Latin America began called Moreno on Monday to offer their congratulations, Lasso vowed to keep up the fight against the installation of an "illegitimate" government. "We're on the correct side of history. We won't cross our arms and stand by," he said on Twitter. "We will exhaust all political and legal channels in Ecuador and abroad to respect the will of the people who called for a change." Key to Lasso's challenge of the results in all of Ecuador's 24 provinces was the results of three exit polls that showed him winning. One by pollster Cedatos, which accurately predicted the results of the first round, gave him a victory by six percentage points. Part of the problem is the opposition's distrust of the National Electoral Council, which it says has become an appendage of the executive in the way the electoral board in Venezuela has all but lost independence under socialist President Nicolas Maduro, a key ally of Ecuador's cirrent president, Rafael Correa. On election night, thousands of outraged Lasso supporters shouting "fraud" crashed through metal barricades to almost reach the entrance of the electoral council's headquarters in Quito. Scuffles also broke out in Guayaquil, where Lasso is from, before riot police before pushed back protesters with tear gas. But so far he has failed to present any evidence of vote tampering except for a single voting act of 248 ballots from a rural area whose tally he says was reversed in favour of Moreno when sent to the National Electoral Council's headquarters. On Monday the streets were relatively calm although a few dozen Lasso die-hards gathered outside the electoral council's heavily-guarded headquarters. Lasso presented his complaints on Monday to an electoral mission sent by Organization of American States, which has yet to comment. But several regional leaders offered their congratulations and a local electoral watchdog that carried out a quick count of its own said Monday that Moreno had a 1.6 point edge in their sample, which is considered highly accurate. Correa accused Lasso supporters of trying to deny the results and provoke violence. "By force they want to achieve what they can't at the ballot box," he said on Twitter. On Monday, he appeared alongside Moreno at changing of the guard ceremony at the presidential palace. "I'm going to be the president of everyone but fundamentally those who are poorest," said Moreno. For weeks Ecuadoreans polarised by 10 years of Correa's iron-fisted rule had been bracing for a contested vote. With Ecuador's economy slated to shrink by 2.7 percent this year as oil prices remain low, analysts had been anticipating that Lasso would rally support from the 60 percent of voters who backed anti-Correa candidates in the first round and join the growing list of Latin American nations - Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Venezuela - shifting to the right in recent elections. The majority of voters also said they were hungry for change amid ongoing corruption allegations related to bribes that Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht paid to officials in Correa's government and a $12m contracting scandal at state-run PetroEcuador. Yet in the final weeks of the race, Moreno inched ahead in polls amid an aggressive campaign led by Correa to cast Lasso as a wealthy, out-of-touch politician who profited from the country's 1999 banking crisis. Moreno, 64, also benefited from last-minute doubts that the pro-business Lasso if elected would gut social programmes that have endeared poor voters to Correa's "Citizens' Revolution". ||||| With 96 percent of the vote counted in Ecuador's presidential election on Sunday, Lenín Moreno of leftist President Rafael Correa's ruling party is beating conservative banker Guillermo Lasso, 51 percent to 49 percent. Lasso, who led comfortably in well-regarded exit polls, charged election fraud and urged his supporters to protests peacefully. Lasso and Moreno have both declared victory, but with 214,000 votes left to count, according to the National Electoral Council, there are twice as many outstanding votes as Moreno's winning margin. Clashes have been reported in Quito and several other cities, and Lasso supporters broke through metal barricades outside the election commission before being pushed back by police. "Fight!" Lasso, 61, told his supporters. "We won't let them cheat us!" National Electoral President Juan Pablo Pozo, a target of criticism on the right, urged calm. "Ecuador deserves that its political actors show ethical responsibility in recognizing the democratic will expressed by the people at the voting booths," he said. "Not a single vote has been given or taken away from anyone." Moreno fell just short of a 50 percent majority in the first round voting on Feb. 19. Ecuador, like several other South American countries, has been led by leftist leaders for the past decade — Correa was term-limited out after 10 years — and the election was seen as a test of the Latin American left, after conservatives were recently elected in Argentina and Peru. Moreno, 64, was shot in a 1998 carjacking, and if his win is confirmed, he will be the first Latin American leader to use a wheelchair. Moreno's victory would also be a win for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange; Lasso had pledge to kick him out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, while Moreno said he will allow him to stay. Peter Weber
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Voters in Ecuador return to the polls for the second round of a presidential election, which Lenín Moreno of the socialist PAIS Alliance is predicted to narrowly win over the center-right Creating Opportunities's Guillermo Lasso. With 94.18% of the votes counted, Moreno leads with 51.07%. According to the national election commission, it was a transparent and successful election.
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It began, Novaya Gazeta reported, after a Moscow-based gay rights group, GayRussia.ru, applied for permits to stage gay pride parades in four cities in Russia’s predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region, of which Chechnya is a part. The group had not focused on the Muslim areas. It had been applying for permits for gay parades in provincial cities around Russia, and collecting the inevitable denials, in order to build a case about gay rights and freedom of assembly with the European Court of Human Rights, in Strasbourg, France. It had applied to more than 90 municipal governments. Nikolai Alekseev, a gay rights activist coordinating this effort, told Novaya Gazeta he had chosen this tactic rather than staging risky, unsanctioned gay parades. The group had not applied for a permit in Chechnya, but in another Muslim region in southern Russia, Kabardino-Balkaria. The mere application there — denied, as usual — had prompted an anti-gay counterdemonstration. In the restive Muslim regions, Mr. Putin has empowered local leaders to press agendas of traditional Muslim values, to co-opt an Islamist underground. The gay pride parade applications became a galvanizing issue. “In Chechnya, the command was given for a ‘prophylactic sweep’ and it went as far as real murders,” Novaya Gazeta reported. According to the report, the authorities set to finding and arresting closeted gay men, partly by posing as men looking for dates on social networking sites. “Of course, none of these people in any way demonstrated their sexual orientation publicly — in the Caucasus, this is equal to a death sentence,” the newspaper wrote of those detained in the sweep. ||||| Russian newspaper says it has evidence that at least three men have been killed in ‘prophylactic sweep’ in Chechnya Authorities in the Russian republic of Chechnya have launched an anti-gay campaign that has led to authorities rounding up dozens of men suspected of being homosexual, according to the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and human rights activists. The newspaper’s report, by an author regarded as a leading authority on Chechnya, claimed that more than 100 people had been detained and three men killed in the roundup. It claimed that among those detained were well-known local television personalities and religious figures. Alvi Karimov, spokesperson for Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, described the report as “absolute lies and disinformation”, basing his denial on the claim that there were no gay people in Chechnya. “You cannot detain and persecute people who simply do not exist in the republic,” he told Interfax news agency. “If there were such people in Chechnya, the law-enforcement organs wouldn’t need to have anything to do with them because their relatives would send them somewhere from which there is no returning.” A spokesman for the region’s interior ministry told the Russian newspaper RBC that the report was “an April fool’s joke”. However, Ekaterina Sokirianskaia, Russia project director for the International Crisis Group, told the Guardian she had been receiving worrying information about the issue from various sources over the past 10 days. “I have heard about it happening in Grozny [the Chechen capital], outside Grozny, and among people of very different ages and professions,” she said. The extreme taboo nature of the subject meant that much of the information was arriving second or third hand, and as yet there are no fully verifiable cases, she added. “It’s next to impossible to get information from the victims or their families, but the number of signals I’m receiving from different people makes it hard not to believe detentions and violence are indeed happening.” Chechnya is formally part of Russia, but functions as a quasi-independent state in which the word of Kadyrov often seems to transcend Russian laws. He has overseen the rebuilding of the republic with Moscow’s money, after two devastating wars. Kadyrov has at various times endorsed polygamy, compulsory wearing of the hijab for women in public places, and collective punishment for the relatives of those involved in the Islamist underground. Chechen society is strictly conservative, meaning that unlike other cases where relatives or rights activists may put pressure on authorities when a homosexual relative disappears, those suspected are likely to be disowned by their own families. Locals say that if a family was known to have a gay member, other relatives would find it difficult to marry due to the “shame”. Attitudes to LGBT rights are mixed in Russia, with an infamous law banning the “propaganda of homosexuality among minors” on the books. But Moscow and other big cities have a thriving gay scene, even if much of it remains underground. In Chechnya and the other Muslim republics of the North Caucasus, there is no discussion of the issue, and gay men do not even tell their closest friends of their orientation. The Novaya Gazeta article claimed that three people had been killed, and suggested others could have been handed to their families with the expectation that the family would perform an honour killing. An LGBT rights organisation in St Petersburg has set up an anonymous hotline for gay people in Chechnya to seek help with evacuation from the republic. After years of threats and repression, almost no independent journalists or rights activists are able to work in the region, and those who do work on human rights in the republic dismissed the newspaper report. “I haven’t had a single request on this issue, but if I did, I wouldn’t even consider it,” Kheda Saratova, a Chechen activist who is on Kadyrov’s human rights council, told a Russian radio station. “In our Chechen society, any person who respects our traditions and culture will hunt down this kind of person without any help from authorities, and do everything to make sure that this kind of person does not exist in our society.” ||||| Authorities in Chechnya have reportedly been rounding up more than 100 men suspected of being gay, Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and human rights activists claimed. At least three men have been killed in the roundup. The report, citing Russian federal law enforcement officials, alleged that well-known local television personalities and religious figures were detained "in connection with their nontraditional sexual orientation, or suspicion of such". According to The New York Times, men aged between 16 and 50 have disappeared over the last week. The newspaper's report was written by an author regarded as a leading authority on the Russian republic, The Guardian reported. Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, vehemently denied the allegations, claiming there are no gay people in Chechnya. Alvi Karimov, a spokesperson for Kadyrov, called the report "absolute lies and disinformation" and reiterated Kadyrov's claim that gay people do not live in the republic. "You cannot detain and persecute people who simply do not exist in the republic," he told Interfax news agency. "If there were such people in Chechnya, the law enforcement organs wouldn't need to have anything to do with them because their relatives would send them somewhere from which there is no returning." A spokesman for Chechnya's interior ministry dismissed the report as "an April fool's joke" to the Russian newspaper RBC. The roundup was reportedly launched after a Moscow-based gay rights group, GayRussia.ru, applied for permits to stage gay pride parades in four cities in Russia's Northern Caucasus region, which includes Chechnya. The Times reported that the group was not focused on the predominantly Muslim area, but rather was collecting the inevitable denials from provincial cities around Russia to build a case about gay rights and freedom of assembly with the European Court of Human Rights. While the group had not applied for a permit in Chechnya, it nevertheless prompted an anti-gay counterdemonstration, the Times reported. "In Chechnya, the command was given for a 'prophylactic sweep' and it went as far as real murders," Novaya Gazeta claimed. To find the gay men, authorities reportedly posed as men looking for dates on social networking sites. Ekaterina Sokirianskaia, Russia project director for the International Crisis Group, told The Guardian that she has received information that supports the claims. "I've heard about it happening in Grozny [the Chechen capital], outside Grozny, and among people of very different ages and professions," she said. Sokirianskaia noted that much of the information has arrived second or third hand and that the organisation does not have fully verifiable cases. "It's next to impossible to set information from the victims or their families, but the number of signals I'm receiving from different people makes it hard not to believe detentions and violence are indeed happening." Gay men have now started deleting their online accounts or fleeing the region, the Times reported. Novaya Gazeta also published contact information to help men who want to leave Chechnya for relatively more tolerant parts of Russia. ||||| A mainstream Russian publication has alleged that nearly 100 men have been rounded up by police in Chechnya as a way to rid the city of its gay population. The shocking anti-LGBTQ claim, first made on Saturday by the Novaya Gazeta, a local newspaper in the European territory, before being transcribed by American outlets, including the New York Times and Towerload one day later, notes the sudden snatching of several dozen men between the ages of 16 and 50 from the Chechen Republic as being part of a large-scale manhunt against those who are suspected of having a “non-traditional sexual orientation.” Additionally, “an analyst of the region with her own sources confirmed that more than 100 gay men had been detained,” the Times further detailed, “[with] the [Russian] newspaper [offering the] names of three [supposed] murder victims, and many others who had [reportedly] died in extrajudicial killings.” According to writers of the Gazeta, the police push was initially promoted by law enforcement officials in the country as being a “prophylactic sweep” of certain undesirables, with cops additionally being given the go-ahead to permanently silence any individual who was brave enough to fight back. “It began,” the Times goes on to relay, “after a Moscow-based gay rights group, GayRussia.ru, applied for permits to stage gay pride parades in four cities in Russia’s predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region,” including Chechnya. The members of GayRussia.ru were said to have purposely avoided most of the more Muslim-heavy regions for the sake of maintaining peace, the report later expresses, but still were met with heavy opposition due to the country’s well-known anti-gay stance. “[Even in more lenient] Muslim regions,” the Times post continues, “[Russian president Vladamir Putin] has empowered local leaders to press agendas of traditional Muslim values, to co-opt an Islamist underground [mindset],” so much so, that even filling out the paperwork to have the LGBT Pride Parade was taken as an offense worthy of death. “In Chechnya, the command was given for a ‘prophylactic sweep’ and it went as far as real murders,” Novaya Gazeta journalists confirmed. “Of course, none of these people in any way demonstrated their sexual orientation publicly, [but] in the Caucasus,” they continued, the idea of inquiring a request to hold the LGBT-themed gathering was “equal to a death sentence.” Adding fuel to the rumors of the disappearances are the self-motivated mass exodus of gay men in and around Chechnya who fear that they may be prosecuted beneath the controversial maneuver, as well as a statement given by a young social media user, 16, who declared that he had been held and physically ambushed inside of a city-located detention center, due to being homosexual. “[I’m] all beaten [up],” he reportedly posted, “[and am] just a sack with bones.” In a statement given to Interfax, a spokesman for Ramzan Kadyrov, the current head of the Chechen Republic, denied the existence of such acts by stating that no gay men are currently reside in Chechnya. “[The Novaya Gazeta report is nothing but] absolute lies and disinformation,” Alvi Karimoc remarked. “You cannot arrest or repress people who just don’t exist in the republic. If such people existed in Chechnya,” he went on to say, “law enforcement would not have to worry about them, as their own relatives would have sent them to where they could never return.” International Crisis Group project organizer Ekaterina L. Sokiryanskaya, on the other hand, countered that the numbers prove otherwise. “[There are] numerous [victims involved],” Ms. Sokiryanskaya states of the missing gay men from Chechnya, before adding, “it came from [way] too many sources not to be true.” ||||| (CNN) Gay men are disappearing in Chechnya, according to a human rights activist and a leading opposition newspaper in Russia. Some are being detained; the fate of others is unknown, human rights groups say. The newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, reported at the weekend that the men were detained "in connection with their non-traditional sexual orientation, or suspicion of such," citing Russian federal law enforcement officials. Novaya Gazeta reported that more than 100 gay men had been detained in the last two weeks and said it had the names of three who had been murdered. CNN has not been able to independently confirm the newspaper's reporting. But Ekaterina Sokirianskaia, Russia project director of the International Crisis Group , told CNN that in the last 10 days she had received information from multiple sources in Chechnya about the detention of gay men, including a hairdresser as well as cultural and religious figures. Sokirianskaia, a Moscow-based expert on the Caucasus region that includes the Russian republic of Chechnya, said the volume of information made it "almost impossible to believe this is not happening, but it is also very difficult to verify because Chechen society is extremely homophobic." She said it was unclear what had triggered the apparent anti-gay campaign. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told CNN on Monday that the reports were "a question for law enforcement -- it's not on the Kremlin's agenda." "We don't know how much of it is true," Peskov added. "I'm not an expert in the field of non-traditional sexual orientation." He said the Interior Ministry would investigate the report. The response from Chechnya -- an almost entirely Muslim republic, which includes part of Russia's border with Georgia -- was very different. The press secretary of the republic's Interior Ministry, Magomed Deniev, told Russian media that the report "is probably an April Fool's joke." A spokesman for the Chechen government, Alvi Karimov, told the Russian news agency Interfax that the story in Novaya Gazeta was "an absolute lie." But Karimov's fuller explanation underlined the deeply conservative and intolerant views of the republic's leadership. "You can't detain and harass someone who doesn't exist in the republic," he said. "If there were such people in the Chechen republic, law enforcement wouldn't have a problem with them because their relatives would send them to a place of no return." Karimov appears to have been talking about so-called "honor killings" or the murders of people who offended social conventions by their own families. Sokirianskaia at the International Crisis Group said honor killings still happened in Chechnya, and gay men would get no protection from their families, who would see them as a source of shame. But she said some gay men had left Chechnya and were now beginning to tell their stories to gay rights groups. She said there was no gay 'community' as such in Chechnya. Small groups would connect by phone but ran the risk of discovery because of the monitoring of calls by the Chechen security services. Gay individuals lived, Sokirianskaia said, in a climate of fear, paranoid about being discovered. Even human rights officials in Chechnya are unsympathetic on LGBT issues. Heda Saratova, head of the Human Rights Council in Chechnya, dismissed the article in Novaya Gazeta as "spitting into our face, our traditions, our customs." Saratova told CNN by phone that "even if people with non-traditional sexual orientation are present in our society, no one would ever know about this. They [gay rights groups] say that they want to hold gay parades here, this is just absurd." Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of Chechnya since 2004, has stifled any form of dissent, subduing the separatist movement that fought the Russian army for nearly two decades. In 2009, Kadyrov said in a newspaper interview that "Prostitution, drugs and gays are the poison of our time. How can Russia support gay clubs?" "There is a whole system aimed at weakening the country, the will, honor, and spirit," Kadyrov said of what he considered vices. He has also spoken favorably of polygamy. In 2013, Putin signed a law that barred public discussion of gay rights and relationships anywhere that children might hear it. The law has been condemned by Russian and international rights groups. Human Rights Watch described the anti-gay propaganda law as "a profoundly discriminatory and dangerous bill that is bound to worsen homophobia in Russia." ||||| Authorities are rounding up and killing gay men in the Russian-controlled region of Chechnya, according to a report from a Russian paper, covered by the New York Times. Novaya Gazeta reportedly spoke with federal Russian authorities, who confirmed that local law enforcement was detaining closeted gay men "in connection with their nontraditional sexual orientation, or suspicion of such." The paper named three murder victims, and made the educated guess that there had been many more, as more than 100 men have been arrested so far. According to the New York Times, the round-up is the Chechen government's response to a gay rights group's effort began applying for parade permits in the North Caucasus. Filing applications with the expectation that they would be denied, GayRussia.ru wanted to highlight a pattern of discrimination. But the area, which is heavily Muslim, is vehemently anti-LGBTQ rights, so much so that just filing a petition led to outrage. In the Times' words, "Mr. Putin [Vladimir Putin, Russia's president] has empowered local leaders to press agendas of traditional Muslim values," conducting sweeps to arrest gay men, most of whom were catfished by Russian authorities lurking on social networking platforms. Alvi Karimov — a spokesperson for Ramzan Kadryov, head of the Chechen Republic — said the report was "absolute lies and disinformation," according to the Times. He explained that the arrests couldn't have happened because "you cannot arrest or repress people who just don't exist in the republic." Russia is infamously inhumane on the subject of homosexuality. In 2013, the country banned "propaganda" promoting "non-traditional sexual relationships," which is to say, the portrayal of gay couples in the media. In 2015, parliament toyed with the idea of outlawing "the public expression of non-traditional sexual relations, manifested in a public demonstration of personal perverted sexual preferences in public places," or being openly gay in public. According to the Times, anti-LGBTQ sentiment is particularly strong in the Caucasus: "Of course, none of these people [the men arrested] in any way demonstrated their sexual orientation publicly," Novaya Gazeta reportedly wrote. "In the Caucasus, this is equal to a death sentence." ||||| A Russian newspaper is reporting there has been a “prophylactic sweep” of men “in connection with their non-traditional sexual orientation, or suspicion of such” by authorities in Chechnya. Novaya Gazeta on Saturday reported more than 100 men in the semi-autonomous Russian republic have been arrested. At least three of these arrests have reportedly resulted in murder. “What is happening to gay men in Chechnya is a horrific violation of human rights and the rule of law,” said Human Rights First’s Shawn Gaylord in a statement. He added Secretary of State Rex Tillerson should “publicly condemn these actions.” “The United States cannot stand idly by while innocent people are being rounded up, detained, and murdered by authorities,” said Gaylord. The Washington Blade has reached out to the State Department for comment. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Russian government, said “the Kremlin knows” about the situation, but “it is a question of law enforcement agencies.” “It is not the Kremlin’s agenda,” he said. The Chechen government appears to have taken a similar stance on the situation. “It’s impossible to persecute those who are not in the republic,” said Ali Karimov, a spokesman for Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, in a statement to RIA Novosti, a Russian government news agency. “If such people existed in Chechnya, law enforcement would not have to worry about them, as their own relatives would have sent them to where they could never return,” added Karimov, referring to the ancient custom of honor killing. “Usually, people under arrest will bring shame on the family, so [their families] have to kill them,” Viacheslav Revin, a U.S.-based LGBT activist for Rusa LGBT, told the Blade as he spoke about the dangers of getting arrested in Chechnya. “Unfortunately, people can be killed [or disappear] because someone doesn’t like the color of their shoes,” he continued. Nikolai Alexeyev, the head of the Gayrussia.ru project, believes any official investigation “will prove nothing is going on in this region.” “It will end up with big media coverage, [but] it will end up with nothing as the police will tell them there are no facts,” Alexeyev told the Blade. “No one can identify these people, and no one can help them because if they wanted help they would be gone,” continued Alexeyev, referring to the hotline the Russian LGBT Network has set up for people who want to leave Chechnya. “No one will ever call this, because they will identify who is calling and where he is calling from.” Alexeyev nevertheless feels there is an attitude of “don’t provoke, be silent.” The founder of Moscow Pride told the Blade “society will never be ready if you don’t do anything.” Alexeyev said he has applied to 78 of Russia’s 85 regions to host public LGBT gatherings. “Our campaign is purely legal, not contradicting Russian law,” said Alexeyev. “[We will take] the cases to the European Court of Human Rights if we lose.” Novaya Gazeta, however, reported Alexeyev’s actions may have resulted in “calls for the killing of people with different sexual orientations.” “In the Caucasus this news has caused mass protests, where the speakers demonstrated a high level of aggression,” said the newspaper in the article that first broke the story. “We have never applied for any LGBT public assemblies in this region,” said Alexeyev. “It used a reaction to applying in another region as why it is happening in [Chechnya].” He added there are “different explanations” for why this is happening. “We will see in the next couple of months who needs this,” Alexeyev told the Blade. Revin, who has received asylum in the U.S., told the Blade he is “not surprised” by what is happening in Chechnya. He added the arrests may be politically motivated. “[There will be a] new election soon; they need some agenda,” said Revin. ||||| More than 100 men suspected of being gay have been detained by Chechen authorities in a campaign against homosexuality, according to a report in a Russian newspaper. Novaya Gazeta reported on Saturday that three people have been killed in the roundup of men ranging ages 16 to 50; the paper reported that more men may have died in extrajudicial killings. Two local television reporters and religious figures are among those detained "on account of their sexual orientation — or suspicion of such," Novaya Gazeta reports. The paper also suggests that others may have been handed back to their families, where they risk being victims of honor killings, "a measure to wash away the shame of the family by killing the perpetrator of this shame." The spokesperson of Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, called the report "lies," saying there are no gay people in the quasi-independent state, which is formally a part of Russia. "You cannot detain and persecute people who simply do not exist in the republic," Alvi Karimov told Interfax news agency, according to the New York Times . "If there were such people in Chechnya, the law-enforcement organs wouldn’t need to have anything to do with them because their relatives would send them somewhere from which there is no returning." Anti-gay sentiment has been rising in the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region, where Chechnya is, after an LGBT-rights group applied for permits for gay pride parades. ||||| MOSCOW — A respected Russian newspaper says it has uncovered information that police in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya have rounded up more than 100 men suspected of homosexuality and that at least three have been killed. The Saturday report in Novaya Gazeta said it had confirmed the information with sources in the Chechen police and government, but gave no details. The report was denied by Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s spokesman, who suggested there are no homosexuals in the Muslim-majority region. Ali Karimov said, according to the state news agency RIA Novosti, “it’s impossible to persecute those who are not in the republic.” “If such people existed in Chechnya, law enforcement would not have to worry about them, as their own relatives would have sent them to where they could never return,” Karimov was quoted in the New York Times as saying. The Kremlin-backed Kadyrov is widely accused of extensive human rights violations. He has brought Islam to the fore of Chechnya’s daily life, including opening what is called Europe’s biggest mosque. According to the Times, the disappearances began with two television reporters, and then a waiter. The newspaper said the men who have disappeared ranged in age from 16 to 50. The men were detained “in connection with their nontraditional sexual orientation, or suspicion of such,” the Novaya Gazeta reported, according to the Times. The newspaper also said it had the names of three murder victims, and suspected many others had died in extrajudicial killings, the Times reported. A spokesman for Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, denied the report in a statement to Interfax on Saturday, calling the article “absolute lies and disinformation.” Novaya Gazeta reported that the arrests began after a gay rights group centred in Moscow applied for permits to stage gay pride parades in four cities in Russia’s North Caucasus region. The group had not applied for a permit in Chechnya, but in another Muslim region in southern Russia, the Times reported. In the unsettled Muslim regions of the country, Putin has given local leaders his approval to crack down on non-traditional values, the the gay pride parade applications became a hot-button matter. ||||| A respected Russian newspaper says it has uncovered information that police in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya have rounded up more than 100 men suspected of homosexuality and that at least three have been killed. The Saturday report in Novaya Gazeta said it had confirmed the information with sources in the Chechen police and government, but gave no details. The report was denied by Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s spokesman, who suggested there are no homosexuals in the Muslim-majority region. Ali Karimov said, according to the state news agency RIA Novosti, “it’s impossible to persecute those who are not in the republic.” The Kremlin-backed Kadyrov is widely accused of extensive human rights violations. He has brought Islam to the fore of Chechnya’s daily life, including opening what is called Europe’s biggest mosque.
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Russian authorities arrest more than 100 gay men in Chechnya, including television personalities and religious figures, for "nontraditional sexual orientation." The Novaya Gazeta newspaper reported that three of the arrested men have been killed, while others reportedly were released for family honor killing. Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov's spokesperson said this report contains “absolute lies and disinformation” since there are no homosexuals in Chechnya.
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Former national security adviser Susan Rice. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice reportedly tried to learn the identities of officials on President Donald Trump's transition team whose conversations with foreign officials were incidentally collected during routine intelligence-gathering operations. The intelligence reports obtained by Rice, who served under President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017, "were summaries of monitored conversations — primarily between foreign officials discussing the Trump transition, but also in some cases direct contact between members of the Trump team and monitored foreign officials," Bloomberg's Eli Lake reported on Monday. National-security experts say Rice's reported requests to identify who was speaking with the foreign officials before Trump was inaugurated were neither unusual nor against the law — especially if, as Lake reported, the foreign officials being monitored were discussing "valuable political information" that required the identity of the people they were speaking to, or about, to be uncovered. "The identities of US persons may be released under two circumstances: 1) the identity is needed to make sense of the intercept; 2) if a crime is involved in the conversation," said Robert Deitz, a former senior counselor to the CIA director and former general counsel at the National Security Agency. "Any senior official who receives the underlying intelligence may request these identities," Deitz said, noting that while "the bar for obtaining the identity is not particularly high, it must come from a senior official, and the reason cannot simply be raw curiosity." Documents showing that Rice made those requests were uncovered by the National Security Council's senior director for intelligence, Ezra Cohen-Watnick, according to Lake's reporting. Cohen-Watnick was involved in providing documents related to the incidental surveillance of members of Trump's transition team to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes about two weeks ago, though it is unclear if they are the same documents mentioned in Lake's reporting. Rep. Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. J. Scott Applewhite/AP Nunes, a California Republican, told reporters last month that he briefed Trump on the documents because he was concerned about the potential "unmasking" of US persons caught up in routine surveillance, though he said he had no evidence that such unmasking had been unwarranted or illegal. A source of concern to some, however, has been why some of Trump's associates who had been caught up in the surveillance and later unmasked, such as former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, had their names leaked to the press. Lake, for instance, has argued that the "selective leaking of monitored communications of US persons is a police-state tactic." But former NSA Director Michael Hayden, who also served as the principal deputy director of national intelligence and the director of the CIA, cautioned against "automatically assuming that the US person was party to the conversation" that may have prompted an unmasking. "My life experience suggests that the overwhelming proportion of these cases of incidental collection is not information to or from an American, but information about an American," Hayden said. "In this case, it is very likely in most instances two foreigners talking about the Trump transition." Lake's article follows a Fox News report citing "a source" who said the official who sought to identify the people who were speaking with monitored foreign agents was "very well known, very high up, very senior in the intelligence world." Trump on Monday praised Fox's "amazing reporting on unmasking and the crooked scheme against us," which he said showed that "there was electronic surveillance" of his inner circle during the transition. 'A carefully documented process' As Nunes has told reporters and as Lake has reported, there is no evidence that Trump and his team were directly surveilled. The move by Rice, if she had probable cause, could likely be viewed as routine and expected of high-level intelligence officials, said Paul Pillar, a 28-year veteran of the CIA and former executive assistant to the CIA's deputy director for intelligence. President Donald Trump. Thomson Reuters "There is an unavoidable tension between, on one hand, restricting information to protect the privacy of US persons and, on the other hand, sharing enough information with the consumers of intelligence so that the intelligence report in question is comprehensible and useful," Pillar said in an email. "And if the report is not that, why bother collecting and disseminating the information in the first place? "The producer of the report, usually the NSA, tends to err on the side of restricting the information, while a senior consumer's natural tendency is to want more information." Steve Slick, a former CIA operations officer and NSC official who now heads the Intelligence Studies Project at the University of Texas at Austin, agreed that the consumer of the report would often require more information to understand the significance of the intelligence. "By definition, any report that the NSA elects to disseminate is relevant to a foreign or national-security issue," Slick said. But it is "often not possible for a consumer or reader to fully understand the significance of a report without knowing precisely which US person may have been communicating with the foreign official," he added. "The national security adviser, or a member of his/her staff, or perhaps a morning intelligence briefer, would convey that request to the originating agency with an explanation of who wishes to know the identity and why," Slick said. "In my experience, legitimate requests are promptly granted, and less defensible requests (or requesters) are challenged." Hayden largely echoed that assessment. "The NSA is notoriously conservative in revealing US identities in its reporting," Hayden said. "Obviously, a request from the national security adviser to unmask an identity would be given great weight. That said, it is not automatic and goes through a carefully documented process at the NSA before an identity is unmasked." Obama talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Rice, second from left, in November 2015. REUTERS/Cem Oksuz/Pool An 'effort to divert attention' from the Trump-Russia probe Pillar, who is now a nonresident senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies, said Rice may have even been motivated to request identities in order to constrain her own communications. "If Ms. Rice was communicating with members of Trump's team regarding transition matters and she learns from intelligence that some such members also are communicating with the Russians, she would want to know exactly who is doing that so she can be extra careful in her own talks, lest something she says gets relayed to Moscow," Pillar said. At least one member of Trump's transition team had his conversations picked up incidentally during routine surveillance of Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, last year: Flynn, the former national security adviser. He was forced to resign in February after reports surfaced that said he spoke with Kislyak about US sanctions on Russia despite telling Vice President Mike Pence that he hadn't. Michael Flynn, the first national security adviser to Trump. Flynn resigned in February. REUTERS/Carlos Barria The FBI has been examining whether Trump associates colluded with Russian officials to undermine Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election. The probe into Trump's ties to Russia is part of the bureau's broader investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, FBI Director James Comey said during a House Intelligence Committee hearing last month. "This whole story strikes me as just more of the effort to divert attention from the issue of the relations that Trump and his associates have had with Russia, and as part of the diversion to try to suggest impropriety of some sort on the part of the Obama administration," Pillar said. "In other words, it's a continuation of an effort to salvage something from Trump's baseless charges about Obama wiretapping him." The White House has tried repeatedly, with varying degrees of evidence, to validate Trump's explosive claim made last month that Obama wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower during the election. A former Obama administration official responsible for the Defense Department's Russia policy, for instance, came into the White House's crosshairs last week for what it has characterized as her admission that Obama-era officials were collecting intelligence on Trump and his transition team. Pillar said that "an important thing to remember is that we are dealing with foreign intelligence — intelligence on Russian activities — and indeed, Russian activities that strike close to the heart of our democratic processes. "We should be disturbed if whoever was in office was not keeping close tabs on that sort of thing," he said. ||||| Jim Schiutto of CNN obtained a statement Monday from former national security security adviser Susan Rice about the allegation that she improperly requested the "unmasking" of Donald Trump officials that were incidentally surveilled by U.S. intelligence agencies. "Well, just a short time ago," Schiutto reported, "I spoke with someone close to Ambassador Rice, and this is the first comment from someone close to Rice today on these allegations. I'll read it in quotes." The idea that Ambassador Rice improperly sought the identities of Americans is false. There is nothing unusual about making these requests when serving as a senior national security official, whether Democrat or Republican. "That coming from someone who works for Ambassador Rice," he continued, "but, let's go beyond that, because I spoke today with senior former senior U.S. intelligence officials, the senior-most, who served both Republican and Democratic administrations and this is what they've told me about this story." "They said, one, this is not unusual," Schiutto added. "This happens, when you are briefed on intelligence, communications like this, sometimes senior national security officials can ask the intelligence community to identify the Americans either mentioned in those conversations or on the other side of those phone calls." "It's not up to that senior U.S. national security official to make that decision," he explained. "It's then up the intelligence agencies, the NSA, they decide what's appropriate to unmask for that senior official. It is legal. There are protocols that have been put in place since 9/11 to allow this to happen. And I'm told, it's very meticulously logged, someone said to me, described, it's like, it's like Catholic baptismal records, it's so well logged. You can't do this in secret. And you have to do it with the approval of the intelligence community." "And finally, Anderson, I would just say," Schiutto concluded, "why would someone do this? Every day they're getting briefings on intelligence. Their briefer chooses what they're briefed on, including Ambassador Rice. In those briefings, and officials such as Rice might say, 'to further understand it, I'd like to know who those names are,' and that's why they would make that request. Which then, as I said, has to be approved by the intelligence community." The short statement from Rice's associate denied that the unmasking was "improper," but appeared to confirm that it indeed happened. Many have taken the report as further evidence to prove Trump's accusation of wiretapping, or surveillance more broadly, against former President Barack Obama. ||||| Journalist and author Mike Cernovich has just dropped an exclusive bombshell – naming Obama’s National Security Advisor Susan Rice as the official responsible for the ‘unmasking’ of the incoming Trump team during ‘incidental’ surveillance. This was apparently discovered after the White House Counsel’s office reviewed Rice’s document log requests: The reports Rice requested to see are kept under tightly-controlled conditions. Each person must log her name before being granted access to them. Upon learning of Rice’s actions, [National Security Advisor] H. R. McMaster dispatched his close aide Derek Harvey to Capitol Hill to brief Chairman Nunes. Cernovich points out, as revealed in an article by Circa, that President Obama began loosening the rules regarding “incidental intercepts” starting in 2011 – making it easier for the US Government to spy on individuals who are not the primary target(s) of a surveillance operation. As his presidency drew to a close, Barack Obama’s top aides routinely reviewed intelligence reports gleaned from the National Security Agency’s incidental intercepts of Americans abroad, taking advantage of rules their boss relaxed starting in 2011 to help the government better fight terrorism, espionage by foreign enemies and hacking threats And guess who had authorization to unmask individuals who were ‘incidentally’ surveilled? Former CIA Director John Brennan, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Obama’s National Security advisor Susan Rice. Also of note is the claim that New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman has been sitting on the Susan Rice story for at least two days: This reporter has been informed that Maggie Haberman has had this story about Susan Rice for at least 48 hours, and has chosen to sit on it in an effort to protect the reputation of former President Barack Obama. Fox News anchor Adam Housley tweeted on Friday that the surveillance that led to the unmasking began before Trump was the GOP nominee: ||||| If Susan Rice is behind the unmasking then it most certainly means that Barack Obama was aware of what was going on and could have very well been behind the entire spying, surveillance and wiretapping of candidate Donald Trump. Once again it appears that Trump was right: the conspiracy theory that a close Obama associate worked to “unmask” the Trump team, resulting in the ongoing media spectacle over “collusion” between Trump and the Kremlin, has been confirmed, first by Mike Cernovich, and now by Bloomberg itself. As noted last night, Journalist and author Mike Cernovich dropped an exclusive bombshell – naming Obama’s National Security Advisor Susan Rice as the official responsible for the ‘unmasking’ of the incoming Trump team during ‘incidental’ surveillance. This was apparently discovered after the White House Counsel’s office reviewed Rice’s document log requests: The reports Rice requested to see are kept under tightly-controlled conditions. Each person must log her name before being granted access to them. Upon learning of Rice’s actions, [National Security Advisor] H. R. McMaster dispatched his close aide Derek Harvey to Capitol Hill to brief Chairman Nunes. Cernovich pointed out, as revealed in an article by Circa, that President Obama began loosening the rules regarding “incidental intercepts” starting in 2011 – making it easier for the US Government to spy on individuals who are not the primary target(s) of a surveillance operation. As his presidency drew to a close, Barack Obama’s top aides routinely reviewed intelligence reports gleaned from the National Security Agency’s incidental intercepts of Americans abroad, taking advantage of rules their boss relaxed starting in 2011 to help the government better fight terrorism, espionage by foreign enemies and hacking threats. And guess who had authorization to unmask individuals who were ‘incidentally’ surveilled? Former CIA Director John Brennan, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Obama’s National Security advisor Susan Rice. Also of note is the claim that New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman has been sitting on the Susan Rice story for at least two days: This reporter has been informed that Maggie Haberman has had this story about Susan Rice for at least 48 hours, and has chosen to sit on it in an effort to protect the reputation of former President Barack Obama. Fox News anchor Adam Housley tweeted on Friday that the surveillance that led to the unmasking began before Trump was the GOP nominee, and that the person who did the unmasking is a “very senior” and “very well known” person in the surveillance community – and not someone in the FBI. As ZeroPointNow noted, “this of course begs the question of whether or not President Obama would have ordered Rice to perform the unmasking.” White House lawyers last month learned that the former national security adviser Susan Rice requested the identities of U.S. persons in raw intelligence reports on dozens of occasions that connect to the Donald Trump transition and campaign, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The pattern of Rice’s requests was discovered in a National Security Council review of the government’s policy on “unmasking” the identities of individuals in the U.S. who are not targets of electronic eavesdropping, but whose communications are collected incidentally. Normally those names are redacted from summaries of monitored conversations and appear in reports as something like “U.S. Person One.” The National Security Council’s senior director for intelligence, Ezra Cohen-Watnick, was conducting the review, according to two U.S. officials who spoke with Bloomberg View on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. In February Cohen-Watnick discovered Rice’s multiple requests to unmask U.S. persons in intelligence reports that related to Trump transition activities. He brought this to the attention of the White House General Counsel’s office, who reviewed more of Rice’s requests and instructed him to end his own research into the unmasking policy. The intelligence reports were summaries of monitored conversations — primarily between foreign officials discussing the Trump transition, but also in some cases direct contact between members of the Trump team and monitored foreign officials. One U.S. official familiar with the reports said they contained valuable political information on the Trump transition such as whom the Trump team was meeting, the views of Trump associates on foreign policy matters and plans for the incoming administration. Rice did not respond to an email seeking comment on Monday morning. Her role in requesting the identities of Trump transition officials adds an important element to the dueling investigations surrounding the Trump White House since the president’s inauguration. Both the House and Senate intelligence committees are probing any ties between Trump associates and a Russian influence operation against Hillary Clinton during the election. The chairman of the House intelligence committee, Representative Devin Nunes, is also investigating how the Obama White House kept tabs on the Trump transition after the election through unmasking the names of Trump associates incidentally collected in government eavesdropping of foreign officials. Rice herself has not spoken directly on the issue of unmasking. Last month when she was asked on the “PBS NewsHour” about reports that Trump transition officials, including Trump himself, were swept up in incidental intelligence collection, Rice said: “I know nothing about this,” adding, “I was surprised to see reports from Chairman Nunes on that account today.” Rice’s requests to unmask the names of Trump transition officials do not vindicate Trump’s own tweets from March 4 in which he accused Obama of illegally tapping Trump Tower. There remains no evidence to support that claim. But Rice’s multiple requests to learn the identities of Trump officials discussed in intelligence reports during the transition period does highlight a longstanding concern for civil liberties advocates about U.S. surveillance programs. The standard for senior officials to learn the names of U.S. persons incidentally collected is that it must have some foreign intelligence value, a standard that can apply to almost anything. This suggests Rice’s unmasking requests were likely within the law. The news about Rice also sheds light on the strange behavior of Nunes in the last two weeks. It emerged last week that he traveled to the White House last month, the night before he made an explosive allegation about Trump transition officials caught up in incidental surveillance. At the time he said he needed to go to the White House because the reports were only on a database for the executive branch. It now appears that he needed to view computer systems within the National Security Council that would include the logs of Rice’s requests to unmask U.S. persons. ||||| President Obama’s former White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice is battling claims that she mishandled classified information when she requested the identities of people connected to President Trump’s transition team in raw intelligence reports. Rice told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, “I leaked nothing to nobody.” ||||| Start the countdown to Susan Rice blaming this on a video: Multiple sources tell Fox News that Susan Rice, former national security adviser under then-President Barack Obama, requested to unmask the names of Trump transition officials caught up in surveillance. The unmasked names, of people associated with Donald Trump, were then sent to all those at the National Security Council, some at the Defense Department, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and then-CIA Director John Brennan – essentially, the officials at the top, including former Rice deputy Ben Rhodes. The names were part of incidental electronic surveillance of candidate and President-elect Trump and people close to him, including family members, for up to a year before he took office. On CNN, Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon, citing the cable net’s national security reporter, dismissed the whole thing as ridiculous: CNN anchor Chris Cuomo told viewers on Tuesday that the controversy surrounding former National Security Adviser Susan Rice is “another fake scandal being peddled by right-wing media.” Cuomo offered the remarks about Rice’s reported request to know the identities of Trump transition team members mentioned in intelligence briefings during CNN’s “New Day.” Rice has been accused of unmasking the Trump transition members. “So President Trump wants you to believe that he is the victim of a ‘crooked scheme,” Cuomo began. “Those are his words. And here are our words: there is no evidence of any wrongdoing. […] Cuomo’s commentary echoes that of CNN host Don Lemon and network national security correspondent Jim Sciutto from Monday night. Lemon told his audience that his show “will not insult your intelligence” by focusing too much on the story. The CNN reporter Cuomo and Lemon cited has an impeccable source close to the Obama administration: Himself: “The idea that Ambassador Rice improperly sought the identities of Americans is false. There is nothing unusual about making these requests when serving as a senior national security official, whether Democrat or Republican,” said Sciutto, a former member of the Obama State Department until 2013. The denial came from… somebody: Also, his best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with the girl who said Rice didn’t do anything wrong. And if you need more convincing, Marie Harf vouched for Rice. I’m sold! If you’re keeping score at home, this all started out with Democrats and mainstream media (pardon the redundancy) mocking Trump for claiming members of his transition team were “wiretapped” during Obama’s last months in office, and it’s now at the “any surveillance that happened was totally legal” stage: On ABC’s Good Morning America, White House correspondent Cecilia Vega didn’t even pretend to report the new development objectively. After anchor Amy Robach noted the uproar among conservatives to the report, Vega agreed, noting some were calling it “the smoking gun.” But Vega quickly shot down this argument, saying “It is not that.” Definitely so. In fact, some of president’s conservatives allies are applauding this, they are calling this the smoking gun, that proves his wiretapping claims. It is not that Amy. A former aide close to Rice doesn’t deny that she did, in fact, seek out these names but they say she did nothing illegal or nothing out of the purview of her job. Her former job as national security advisor, Amy. Just like ABC, NBC also relied on an unnamed source to defend Rice. White House correspondent Kristen Welker’s report on Today downplayed the news, passively connecting Rice to the report, and arguing it was “common practice” for security officials to do what she did. Separately, Obama National Security Advisor Susan Rice is in the spotlight this morning amid reports she requested the identities of U.S. citizens in intelligence reports. That wound up connecting to some of Donald Trump’s transition and campaign officials. Trump administration says Rice crossed the line by doing it. Now Rice hasn’t commented publicly, but former Obama officials are pushing back and argue it is common practice to seek identities in the course of trying to understand intelligence reports. ||||| Former national security advisor Susan Rice asked dozens of times for the names of Donald Trump associates to be 'unmasked' in foreign surveillance reports. Rice is the Obama administration official whose name became a punchline after her repeated false claims that the 2012 Benghazi terror attacks were caused by a crude Internet video. From her position as chief of the National Security Council, according to a Bloomberg columnist, Rice asked government agencies to identify names that had been withheld from raw intelligence reports linked with Trump campaign and transition figures. The first drip of information hinting at Rice's involvement came Friday when Fox News reported that the names of several Trumpworld figures were exposed by someone 'very well known, very high up, very senior in the intelligence world.' White House press secretary Sean Spicer said last week that the Trump administration had uncovered unspecified material 'in the normal course of business,' which was then shared with the House Intelligence Committee's Republican chairman Devin Nunes. Bloomberg reports that the National Security Council was conducting a review of U.S. policy on how people's identities can be unmasked after their communications are captured incidentally in the course of conducting foreign surveillance. The names of U.S. citizens who aren't the targets of court-approved snooping are typically replaced with designations such as 'U.S. Person One' or 'U.S. Person Two' before reports can be circulated to the broad variety of American intelligence agencies. Ezra Cohen-Watnick, one of the Trump administration intelligence officials who showed Nunes the mysterious materials last week, was conducting the 'unmasking' review. He brought his concerns about Rice's behavior to the White House counsel's office in February – before President Trump began tweeting claims on March 4 that the Obama administration 'wiretapped' him at his private New York city office. Rice had access to intelligence reports that also contained 'valuable political information on the Trump transition such as whom the Trump team was meeting, the views of Trump associates on foreign policy matters and plans for the incoming administration,' according to Bloomberg. It's not known whether the president was told, before his now famous tweet storm, what the White House counsel's office had learned. But Trump told Financial Times on Saturday that his tweets are 'turning out to be true.' Rice insisted last month that she was in the dark about any efforts to identify Trump-linked private individuals in intelligence reports, after Nunes publicly referred to 'unmasking.' 'I know nothing about this,' she told PBS. 'I was surprised to see reports from Chairman Nunes on that account today.' There is not necessarily anything illegal or unusual about a national security adviser seeking to unmask names in raw reports, in order to fully understand the meaning of incepted conversations. But in this case those identities – including the name of then-National Security Advisor Mike Flynn – were subsequently leaked and made public. 'The real story turns out to be SURVEILLANCE and LEAKING! Find the leakers,' Trump tweeted on Sunday. He continued to cite the Fox News Channel on Monday, writing on Twitter that the network reported 'from multiple sources: "There was electronic surveillance of Trump, and people close to Trump. This is unprecedented".' ||||| On Tuesday afternoon, President Barack Obama’s former National Security Advisor Susan Rice appeared on MSNBC with host Andrea Mitchell to answer questions about allegations that had emerged earlier in the week to suggest that she requested the “unmasking” of the names of Donald Trump’s campaign and transition teams in intelligence reports, which allegedly had nothing to do with national security, and that she had compiled spreadsheet of those names. Here are the highlights of Mitchell’s interview with Rice, which took up the first quarter-hour of Mitchell’s show.
• Rice admitted asking for the names of U.S. citizens in intelligence reports to be “unmasked.” Rice said: “There were occasions when I would receive a report in which a U.S. person was referred to. Name not provided, just U.S. person. And sometimes in that context, in order to understand the importance of the report, and assess its significance, it was necessary to find out, or request, the information as to who that U.S. official was.” Rice argued it was necessary for her and other officials to request that information, on occasion, to “do our jobs” to protect national security.
• Rice admitted asking specifically for the names of members of Donald Trump’s transition team. She argued that she had not done so for political purposes, however. Mitchell asked: “Did you seek the names of people involved in — to unmask the names of people involved in the Trump transition, the people surrounding the president-elect in order to spy on them and expose them?” Rice answered: “Absolutely not for any political purposes to spy, expose, anything.”
• Rice denied leaking the name of former General Michael Flynn. “I leaked nothing to nobody, and never have, and never would.” She added that to discuss particular targets would be to reveal classified information. She later walked back her denial. Mitchell: “The allegation is that you were leaking the fact that he spoke to the [Russian] ambassador and perhaps to others.” Rice: “I can’t get into any specific reports … what I can say is there is an established process.”
• Rice denied reports that she prepared a “spreadsheet” of Trump transition staff under surveillance. Mitchell asked specifically about the Daily Caller story Tuesday: “They allege there was a spreadsheet you put out of all of these names and circulated it.” Rice: “Absolutely false. No spreadsheet, no nothing of the sort.” She said that unmasked names “was not then typically broadly disseminated throughout the national security community or the government.”
• Rice said that even if she did request the names of citizens to be unmasked, that did not mean she leaked them. “The notion … that by asking for the identity of an American person, that is the same as leaking it, is completely false.”
• Rice admitted that the pace of intelligence reports accelerated throughout the election. She said she could not say whether the pace of her “unmasking” requests accelerated, but she said there was increasing concern, as well as increasing information, relating to the possibility of Russian interference in the election, particularly after August 2016.
• Rice implied that President Obama himself ordered the compilation of intelligence reports on Trump officials. “…the president requested the compliation of the intelligence, which was ultimately provided in January [2017].”
• Rice said that she was unaware, even while working with Flynn during the transition, that he was working for the Turkish government. Mitchell asked: “When did you learn that?” Rice answered: “In the press, as everybody else did.” Mitchell, incredulously: “You didn’t know that, when you were National Security Advisor?” Rice: “I did not.”
• Rice reiterated that President Obama never tapped Trump’s phone. “Absolutely false … there was no such collection [or] surveillance on Trump Tower or Trump individuals … directed by the White House or targeted at Trump individuals.” She did not deny that there might have been some surveillance by other agencies, however. She said it was impossible for the White House to order such surveillance, but that the Department of Justice could have done so.
• Rice seemed aggrieved by Trump’s claims. “It wasn’t typical of the way presidents treat their predecessors.”
• Rice would not say whether she would be willing to testify on Capitol Hill before Congress. “Let’s see what comes. I’m not going to sit here and prejudge,” she said. But she insisted that the investigations into Russian interference in the presidential election were of interest to every American citizen, and should be followed wherever the evidence leads. Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak. ||||| Washington (CNN) Since her time as a national security adviser and former UN ambassador during the Obama administration, Susan Rice had largely been out of the limelight until she was recently thrust into the snowballing White House surveillance controversy. Rice reportedly attempted on numerous occasions to uncover the identities of President Donald Trump's associates caught on tape incidentally during intelligence surveillance. The report quickly re-opened an unsubstantiated debate on whether the Obama administration previously ordered wiretaps on Trump's phones. Rice defended her actions Tuesday, telling MSNBC that her requests were "absolutely not for any political purposes, to spy, or anything." "There were occasions when I would receive a report in which a US person was referred to -- name not provided, just a US person -- and sometimes in that context, in order to understand the importance of the report, and assess its significance, it was necessary to find out, or request the information as to who the US official was," Rice said. "The notion that some people are trying to suggest, is that by asking for the identity of a person is leaking it, is unequivocally false," Rice added. "There is no connection between unmasking and leaking." It's not the first time Rice has found herself at the center of a political controversy. A steadfast fixture through both of Obama's presidential terms, she served as the US ambassador to the United Nations and later national security adviser from 2013 to 2017. In the days following the September 11, 2012, attacks on the Benghazi consulate that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, Rice became the Obama administration's point person on the matter. In multiple TV appearances soon after that attack, Rice cited an anti-Islam video that fueled a "spontaneous" mob as the reason for the deaths. Months after the attack, Rice's comments in the wake of the attack were used as grist by Senate Republicans who said they could not support her as Clinton's successor. Obama eventually appointed Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts to the role. Following her appointment as national security adviser, Rice created some waves in a 2014 interview where she appeared to offer pity for accused Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl, who had just been released to the US. Bergdahl was accused of deserting his unit in 2009. After nearly five years in Taliban captivity, the US exchanged five Taliban prisoners for his release. "I realize there has been lots of discussion and controversy around this," Rice said. "But what I was referring to was the fact that this was a young man who volunteered to serve his country in uniform at a time of war. That, in and of itself, is a very honorable thing." As details of Bergdahl's disappearance became public following his release, the Obama administration came under increasing fire for its decision to trade the Taliban prisoners. Rice's comments attracted criticism from members of the military and Republicans who viewed Bergdahl as a deserter and objected to the trade. While serving under President Bill Clinton, Albright recommended that he tap Rice for a high-level State Department post on African affairs in the late 1990s. Albright had previously served with Rice's mother, Lois Rice, on a school board in Washington and watched Rice grow up with her own daughters. Her father, Emmett Rice, died in 2011. He was a professor of economics at Cornell University, was a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and flew with the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. Rice, who was valedictorian of her class and a star point guard on the basketball team at the National Cathedral School, exhibited "superior leadership skills" and "left behind a remarkable legacy," wrote former teacher John Wood who noted Rice's accomplishments in a Washington Post letter to the editor. She earned Phi Beta Kappa honors at Stanford University, where she earned her bachelors degree in history and won a Rhodes Scholarship to study international relations at Oxford University in 1986. After graduation from Oxford, Rice headed to McKinsey & Company in Toronto, where she worked as an international management consultant. In 1992, she married Ian Cameron, a producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, whom she had met at Stanford. In 1993, Rice returned to Washington to take a position with the National Security Council as director of international organizations and peacekeeping. She was promoted in 1995 to become special assistant to Clinton and senior director of African affairs at the White House National Security Council. In 2008, she was national security and foreign relations adviser for Obama's first presidential campaign. In nominating her to the ambassador's post, Obama called Rice "a close and trusted adviser" and said she "shares my belief that the UN is an indispensable -- and imperfect -- forum." At the same time, she has drawn some attention for the way she operates. Insiders say Rice is ambitious and aggressive. "I think that everyone has complicated feelings about her," Lynch said. He characterized her as "very personable, likeable, charming, smart, funny, down to earth" but also someone with sharp elbows. ||||| The diplomat who is in line to be America's next NATO ambassador said Monday that former National Security Advisor Susan Rice has been suspected 'for weeks' of involvement in an effort to publicly unmask Donald Trump associates whose names appeared in foreign intelligence reports. And he claimed ten days ago that if Rice and her deputy Ben Rhodes were behind politically motivated leaks of classified intelligence, former president Barack Obama was also in the know. 'Former State Department colleagues of mine have been talking about Susan Rice's role for weeks,' Richard Grenell told DailyMail.com on Monday 'She and her team certainly were hyper-partisan throughout their tenure. It makes sense.' Grenell did not disclose who his former colleagues are. Rice is the Obama administration official whose name became a punchline after her repeated false claims that the 2012 Benghazi terror attacks were caused by a crude Internet video. When U.S. intelligence services conduct surveillance of foreign targets, it's possible that American citizens can be swept up in recorded conversations, intercepted emails or other surveillance. That can happen when Americans who are not targets of an investigation are 'incidentally' captured talking to a target. it can also occur when targets merely mention them during a conversation or in a document. When this happens, intelligence analysts routinely delete the Americans' names and replace them with vague identifiers like 'U.S. Person Number One' or 'Person A' – masking their identity from other government officials who may look at reports. Senior intelligence officials can request the 'unmasking' of those names under certain circumstances, but that creates a risk that the names will be leaked. From her position as chief of the National Security Council last year, according to a Bloomberg report, Rice asked government agencies to identify names that had been withheld from raw intelligence reports linked with Trump campaign and transition figures. There is not necessarily anything illegal or unusual about a national security advisor seeking to unmask names in raw reports, in order to fully understand the meaning of intercepted conversations. But leaking those names to people who lack the security clearance to view the source documents is a federal felony. One such criminal leak involved Gen. Michael Flynn – Rice's short-lived successor – whose name was leaked to a reporter just days into the Trump administration. Routine surveillance conducted on phone conversations of Russia's U.S. ambassador Sergey Kislyak revealed that he had been talking with Flynn. Flynn was later forced out of office following reports that he had failed to acknowledge those conversations included talk of the potential for relaxing U.S. sanctions on Moscow. The controversy reached public scandal level when a partial transcript of one call was leaked to a Washington Post columnist. Grenell has served as a spokesman to three different U.S. Permanent Representatives to the United Nations, including Ambassador John Bolton's tenure under President George W. Bush. He was the first to raise Rice's name in conjunction with the unmasking of Americans' names during the final year of the Obama administration, along with that of Rhodes, the former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications. 'The Obama team is claiming that this is a safe legal issue because they were supposedly trying to listen to foreigners,' Grenell said during a March 24 Fox News Channel 'Hannity' broadcast. 'But within that realm there could have easily been a political calculation to listen in, and then to take those transcripts and the summaries of those transcripts, make sure that those in the NSC and the political people – like Ben Rhodes and Susan Rice – make sure that they have them so they can leak them to reporters.' 'I think that it would be easy to figure out if Susan Rice and Ben Rhodes knew about this,' he added, 'because if they did, clearly President Obama knew about it.' 'That's the political team inside the NSC. They would have been trying to help do something against Trump during the election. So I think let's just figure out if they knew, and we'll have something leading to a political scheme.' Grenell said on 'Hannity' that what started out as an 'unintentional sweep' that snagged Trump campaign personnel in an intelligence net ultimately morphed into 'intentional' leaks. He added that he had received intelligence briefings every day for eight years while he worked at the UN, and never once saw raw transcripts of phone intercepts. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer declined to pile on Susan Rice during his Monday afternoon press briefing. 'I'm not going to start going down that road,' he said. Grenell's expected nomination to lead the U.S. NATO mission has appeared stalled for the past four weeks since the first word of it emerged. But a White House aide said Monday that the administration is viewing it with a renewed sense of urgency in order to get him confirmed before a May 24-25 NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium. President Donald Trump is expected to participate in that event on its second day.
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Media reports indicate that former National Security Advisor Susan Rice improperly requested the unmasking of some American names, including those of Donald Trump's campaign staff, that had been incidentally collected during national security investigations. A National Security Adviser may request unmasking if specific criteria are met. A Rice associate denies that the unmasking was improper.
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The scene of a car attack that left one Israeli dead in the settlement of Ofra in the West Bank, April 6, 2017. An Israeli soldier was killed and another was lightly wounded on Thursday in a suspected car-ramming attack at Ofra Junction in the West Bank. >> Get all updates on Israel and the Palestinians: Download our free App, and Subscribe >> Sergeant Elichai Taharlev, 20, was killed earlier today in a car ramming attack in Ofra. IDF Spokesperson Unit According to an initial assessment, the driver of a car with Palestinian license plates ploughed into two Israeli soldiers, killing the first young man, Golani Brigade sergeant Elichai Taharlev, 20, and injuring the second, 19. They were standing behind concrete slabs by a hitchhiking spot, located at the junction outside of the settlement of Ofra. Taharlev, who was promoted posthumously to the rank of sergeant was buried Thursday evening at Mt. Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. The suspected assailant - identified by Palestinians as Malik Ahmed Hamed, 21, from the village of Silwad north of Ramallah - was arrested by Israeli army forces at the scene. Israeli forces entered Hamed's home in Silwad to question his family. skip - Ofra Investigators said that Hamed planned the attack. Security officials added they spoke to his family, which said he was motivated politically to carry out the attack. Hamed had spent four months in an Israeli prison ago after he was caught climbing the fence of the settlement Adam in 2015. Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter Email * Please enter a valid email address Sign up Please wait… Thank you for signing up. We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting. Click here Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later. Try again Thank you, The email address you have provided is already registered. Close A volunteer at the emergency medical service United Hatzalah who had treated the victims, Nachum Bienenfeld, said a Palestinian drove his vehicle into a group of soldiers standing near the bus stop. According to Bienenfeld, security poles that were installed after a previous car-ramming attack prevented other civilians who were standing at the bus stop from being injured. Scene of suspected car-ramming attack in Ofra in the West Bank that left at least one Israeli dead. April 6, 2017. Emergency Medical Service (EMS) The 19-year-old victim was evacuated to Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital, the volunteer said. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was a "reaction to the crimes of the occupation" that showed the "intifada" – or uprising – was continuing. Taharlev was doing his army service through the hesder program, which combines military service with Torah study. His father, Ohad, heads the Israeli program at Midreshet Lindenbaum, a women’s yeshiva in Jerusalem. His mother, Avigail, is a department head at the Education Ministry. Ohad Taharlev, speaking at the entrance to his house in the settlement of Talmon shortly after his son’s death was announced, said he first heard about the attack at around 9:45 A.M., when he was almost at his office, and promptly called his son’s deputy company commander. “I understood very quickly what had happened,” he said. “I called everyone and told them to come home.” “I had seven children, and now I have six,” Taharlev continued. “It’s a very difficult feeling.” He described his son as “a boy who was full of life. He never got angry ... It’s a great loss.” The Tekoa yeshiva, where Elchai Taharlev studied as part of his hesder program, said he “embodied the combination of love of Torah and dedication to the Jewish people.” The Talmon local council said he was “talented, modest and very, very loved,” adding, “Grief rends the hearts of his neighbors, friends, members of his youth group and all the many residents of the community who knew Elchai and admired him.” President Reuven Rivlin also eulogized him. “Today we lost a beloved son, Elchai Taharlev, in Israel’s ongoing battle to ensure its own security and that of its citizens,” he said. “I want to send my deepest condolences to the Taharlev family and the entire community of Talmon and to wish the wounded soldier a speedy recovery.” “We will not let terror weaken us,” Rivlin added. “Israeli society is strong, and we must stand firm, together, to guard our country and our land.” On Saturday, three people were hurt in a stabbing attack in the Old City in Jerusalem. A police officer was moderately wounded, two civilians were lightly hurt and the suspected assailant, a 17-year-old Palestinian from Nablus, was shot dead. A Palestinian from East Jerusalem was shot and killed last Wednesday by police officers after pulling a pair of scissors and trying to stab a group of officers by the Old City's Damascus Gate. This is a developing story. ||||| (JTA) – An Israeli soldier was killed and a second injured in a suspected car-ramming attack in the central West Bank. The attack on Wednesday morning took place at a bus stop near the West Bank settlement of Ofra, located northeast of Ramallah. The Palestinian driver of the vehicle, a silver Audi, was apprehended by other soldiers on the scene and detained. He was identified by the Palestinian Maan news agency as Malek Ahmad Moussa Hamed, 23, from the village of Silwad near Ramallah. The killed soldier was named as Sgt. Elhai Teharlev, 20, from the West Bank settlement of Talmon, who served in the Golani Brigade. Hamas praised the attack, calling it “a response to Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people and a direct continuation of its heroism in the al-Quds Intifada,” the wave of violence, mostly stabbing and car ramming attacks that started in October 2015. ||||| JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli soldier was killed and a second injured in a suspected car-ramming attack in the central West Bank. Sgt. Elhai Teharlev, 20, from the West Bank settlement of Talmon, was killed in the attack Wednesday morning at a bus stop near the West Bank settlement of Ofra, located northeast of Ramallah. He served in the elite Golani Brigade. The Palestinian driver of the vehicle, a silver Audi, was apprehended by other soldiers on the scene and detained. He was identified by the Palestinian Maan news agency as Malek Ahmad Moussa Hamed, 23, from the village of Silwad near Ramallah. “We have lost today a dear son, Elhai Teharlev, in the State of Israel’s ongoing struggle to ensure its security, and safeguard its citizens,” Rivlin said in a statement. “We will never allow terror to weaken us. Israeli society is strong, and we must stand firm in defense of our state and our land.” Hamas praised the attack, calling it “a response to Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people and a direct continuation of its heroism in the al-Quds Intifada,” the wave of violence, mostly stabbing and car-ramming attacks, that started in October 2015. ||||| An Israeli soldier died and another was lightly wounded in an apparent car-ramming attack east of Ramallah in the central West Bank on Thursday morning. Haaretz Hebrew newspaper said that a car-ramming attack was carried out near Ofra junction east of Ramallah. Sources said that the driver of the car was injured while others proclaimed his death. ||||| One Israeli was killed and another wounded on Thursday in a car-ramming attack near the Ofra settlement in the occupied West Bank, the army said. The attacker was arrested, an army statement said, without giving further details. ||||| The Israeli military said a car driven by a Palestinian deliberately rammed two Israeli soldiers, killing one and injuring the other, in the occupied West Bank on Thursday. The death brings to 39 the number of Israelis killed in a wave of Palestinian street attacks that began in October 2015, while at least 242 Palestinians have been killed in Israel and the Palestinian Territories over the past 18 months. The driver was detained after the incident near the Jewish settlement of Ofra, the army said in a statement. Witnesses told Israeli media that as he approached a bus stop, he accelerated and directed the vehicle at two soldiers waiting there. Israeli government development of settlements in the West Bank has been a focus of friction with Palestinians and contributed to the breakdown of peace talks. Israel disputes the view that the settlements are illegal, and argues it has biblical and historical ties to the land. Israel says at least 162 of the Palestinians killed had launched stabbing, shooting or ramming attacks. Others died during clashes and protests. Israel has accused the Palestinian leadership of inciting the violence. The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank, denies incitement and charges that in many cases, Israel has used excessive force in thwarting attackers armed with rudimentary weapons. Photos from the scene of Thursday’s incident showed the driver, bound, blindfolded and guarded by a soldier, seated next to his damaged car, in the undergrowth behind the bus stop. The vehicle had Palestinian licence plates. Five days ago, Israeli paramilitary police officers shot dead a Palestinian after he stabbed three Israelis in Jerusalem’s Old City. ||||| Israeli security forces stand guard at the site of a car ramming attack outside the Israeli settlement of Ofra, north of the Palestinian city of Ramallah, on April 6, 2017. An alleged car-ramming attack occured at the Ofra junction near the illegal Israeli settlement of Ofra in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah on Thursday morning, according to the Israeli army, killing an Israeli and lightly injuring another. Start the conversation, or Read more at Al Bawaba. ||||| One Israeli has been killed and another wounded in a car-ramming attack near the Ofra settlement in the occupied West Bank, the army said. An army statement said the alleged attacker had been arrested, without giving details about him. Pictures published by Israeli media showed a vehicle with Palestinian licence plates, which had mounted the pavement, surrounded by soldiers. Israeli emergency services said the dead man was in his 20s and the wounded one 19. The incident took place next to a bus stop outside Ofra, north of Ramallah. It was the first fatal attack on Israelis since 8 January, when a Palestinian killed four soldiers in a Jerusalem truck-ramming attack. A wave of violence that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 259 Palestinians, 41 Israelis, two Americans, one Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese, according to an Agence France-Presse count. Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities. Others were shot dead during protests or clashes, while some were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. The violence has subsided in recent months. ||||| A Palestinian man carried out a car-ramming next to a bus stop near a settlement in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, killing one Israeli and wounding another, officials said. The incident near the Israeli settlement of Ofra came ahead of the Jewish Passover holiday beginning on Monday, which has raised fears of an upsurge in violence. The alleged attacker was arrested, an Israeli army statement said, without giving details about him. He was identified as Malek Hamed, 22, from the nearby West Bank town of Silwad, by official Palestinian news agency WAFA, which also said he had been shot and wounded. Following the incident, a vehicle with Palestinian licence plates, which had mounted the pavement, was seen surrounded by soldiers. Israeli emergency services said the dead man was in his 20s and the wounded one 19. The incident took place next to a bus stop outside Ofra, north of Ramallah. It was the first fatal attack on Israelis since January 8, when a Palestinian killed four soldiers in a Jerusalem truck-ramming attack. A wave of violence that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 259 Palestinians, 41 Israelis, two Americans, one Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese, according to an AFP count. Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities. Others were shot dead during protests or clashes, while some were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. The violence has greatly subsided in recent months. There are fears the week-long Passover holiday will lead to a fresh outbreak of violence, particularly if there is an increase in Jewish visitors to the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. The site is holy to both Muslims and Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. It is located in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in 1967 and later annexed, and is central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tensions regularly flare over the site, with Palestinians fearing Israel will seek to assert further control over it. Jews are allowed to visit the site but not pray there to avoid provoking tensions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said repeatedly that he has no intention of changing that status quo, though hardline members of his coalition push for Jewish prayer rights there. ||||| A Palestinian man was shot and detained on Thursday after carrying out an alleged car-ramming attack near a settlement in the occupied West Bank, killing one Israeli soldier and wounding another. The driver, identified as 23-year-old Ahmad Moussa Hamed, ploughed into two Israeli soldiers standing behind concrete barriers near a bus stop outside the Ofra settlement near Ramallah. Elichai Taherlev, 20, of the Golani Brigade was killed in the incident, and another 19-year-old soldier was lightly injured. Shortly after the attack, Israeli forces raided Hamad’s home in the village of Silwad near Ramallah. Israeli authorities also froze work permits belonging to Hamad’s family members that allowed allowed them to work in Israel, Israeli media reported. The Hamas movement released statements praising the apparent attack. Hamas spokesperson Abed al-Latif al-Qanou said it was a response to the “continuous Israeli crimes committed against the Palestinians”. Speaking to Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency, Hazem Qassem, another Hamas spokesman, called it “evidence that the Intifada of Jerusalem will go on, and it would only end with liberty and freedom”. Qassem’s use of to the term “Intifada of Jerusalem” refers to the wave of violence that has spread throughout the occupied territories and Israel since October 2015, which has claimed the lives of 259 Palestinians, 41 Israelis, two Americans, one Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese, according to a count by AFP news agency. Qassem added the “attack proved that the Israeli army and settlers are not secure as long as [Palestinian] rights are denied, our land occupied and our people and holy sites assaulted and violated”. The Thursday morning attack was the first fatal assault on Israelis since January 8, when a Palestinian killed four soldiers in a Jerusalem truck-ramming attack. On Saturday, Israeli police shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian man who stabbed two civilians and a border officer in Jerusalem. The slain Palestinian was identified by the Palestinian Ministry of Health as Amad Zahir Fathi Ghazal, 17, from Nablus. Witnesses told local media at the time they found more than 25 bullet holes in Ghazal’s apartment, and accused Israeli forces of “executing” him when they could have easily detained him.
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An Israeli soldier is killed during a car ramming attack near Ofra, in the West Bank. Another Israeli soldier was injured. A Palestinian suspected of committing the attack is taken into custody.
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Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley walks towards the door after speaking during the annual State of the State address at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Montgomery, Ala. AP Photo/Brynn Anderson Facing impeachment, scandal-ridden Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has resigned. On Monday morning, state lawmakers began hearings to decide whether to impeach Bentley for allegedly using state resources and campaign funds to conceal an affair with a top member of his staff. By Monday evening, with mounting calls for Bentley to resign, the two sides agreed that Bentley would plead guilty to two "failure to disclose" misdemeanors, repay the misused funds, and never hold public office again. "I have decided that it is time for me to step down as Alabama's governor," Bentley said at a press conference Monday evening. "The time has come for me to look for new ways to serve the people of our great state." AL.com also reported Monday evening that the governor was booked into Montgomery County Jail for the misdemeanors, though the booking later seemed to disappear: On Friday, Jack Sharman, special counsel to the state's House Judiciary Committee, submitted a 130-page report alleging that Bentley intimidated members of his office into keeping quiet about an affair with his adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason. "Governor Bentley directed law enforcement to advance his personal interests and, in a process characterized by increasing obsession and paranoia, subjected career law enforcement officers to tasks intended to protect his reputation," the report concluded. On Monday, district attorney Daryl Bailey had referred the criminal investigation to Alabama's acting attorney general. The report authors also specified that they considered Bentley's attempts to obstruct the investigation by withholding messages as an "independent ground for impeachment." "Impeachment is a remedy, not a punishment," the report added. Before the report was released, Bentley stood on the steps of the state Capitol on Friday and declared he did "not plan to resign." The investigation began after Spencer Collier, the recently fired head of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, confirmed he was looking into text messages "of a sexual nature" between Bentley and Mason in March 2016. The governor's ex-wife, Dianne Bentley, provided the messages to the House Judiciary Committee. She discovered them on a state-issued iPad her husband gave her that synced his accounts. "I sure miss you. I need you. I want you. You are the only one," Bentley said in one text to Mason. In the report, witnesses also accused Bentley of getting a law enforcement officer to retrieve a recording of his phone conversation with Mason, threatening his wife's chief of staff, and taking Mason on state aircraft although she wasn't an employee at the time. Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey will be sworn in as governor Monday evening. ||||| Know Your Value ||||| MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Lieutenant Governor Kay Ivey has been sworn in as the 54th Governor of the State of Alabama. This follows Gov. Robert Bentley’s resignation less than an hour earlier. Ivey becomes the state’s second female governor, the first being Lurleen Wallace back in 1967. “Serving as your governor and representing the state of Alabama is no small task, but I pledge to each of you I will do my best,” said Governor Ivey. “The Ivey administration will be open, transparent, and it will be honest.” Ivey is from Camden, Alabama in Wilcox County. She graduated from Auburn University in 1967, and worked as a high school teacher and a bank officer after graduation. According to her biography, she served as the Reading Clerk of the Alabama House of Representatives and Assistant Director of the Alabama Development Office. In 2002, Ivey became the first Republican elected State Treasurer since Reconstruction and was re-elected in 2006. In 2010, Ivey announced she was running for governor, but she exited early and announced plans to run for Lieutenant Governor instead. When Ivy was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2010, she became the first Republican woman to hold the office in Alabama’s history. She made history again in 2014 by becoming the first Republican Lieutenant Governor to be re-elected. The swearing-in took place at 6 p.m. in the Old Senate Chamber in the Alabama State Capitol. Please enable Javascript to watch this video ||||| Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says he has decided it’s time for him to step down, professing his love for the state and telling the people that he has sometimes let them down. In a speech that aired Live on Alabama News Network shortly after 5 o’clock, the governor said he’d not always made the right choices. “Though I sometimes failed, I’ve always tried to live up to the high expectations the people placed on the (person) who holds this esteemed office,” he said at the Capitol. The stunning resignation came after Bentley pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor violations of campaign finance law. Bentley said he had prayed about it and talked it over with his successor, Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey, and they were committed to a smooth transfer of power. Ivey was sworn-in as governor at 6 p.m. Alabama Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon (R-Capshaw) on Monday released the following statement: “I’m grateful that Governor Bentley has seen the writing on the wall and made what must have been a difficult decision. When I met with him on Friday, I told him I would be praying for him. I will continue praying for him as he adjusts to the next chapter in his life and reflects upon the legacy he leaves behind. I’ll pray, as well, for Governor Kay Ivey, who has had an awesome burden placed upon her shoulders, but as someone who knows her talents and abilities and the values that guide her moral compass, I’m confident she will lead our state well. The attention of the House and Senate can once again fully focus on the real problems facing our state. We can now turn our attention to our most fundamental task of passing our state’s budgets. We can once again devote our every effort to doing the important work that our constituents – the families, neighbors, friends, and hardworking men and women in each of our districts – sent us to Montgomery to do. I have faith that with God’s grace and His guidance, we can put this difficult chapter in Alabama’s history behind us and work toward providing our children, our grandchildren, and their children after them a better and more prosperous Alabama.” Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed (R-Jasper) released the following statement on Robert Bentley’s decision to resign as Governor of Alabama: “The people of Alabama deserve and expect for their political leaders to be men and women of integrity. The state can move forward now under the honorable and trustworthy leadership of Governor Kay Ivey, and I look forward to working with her administration. “Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh will now serve as the presiding officer over the Alabama Senate. Senator Marsh is a very capable public servant, and I will continue to work closely with him to advance an agenda that puts the people of Alabama first.” U.S. Representative Martha Roby (R-Ala.) today released the following statement upon Alabama Governor Robert Bentley’s resignation: “Governor Bentley’s decision to resign was the right thing to do. The people of Alabama deserve leaders who are focused on the serious issues facing our state, and I look forward to better days ahead.” U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) today released this statement following Governor Robert Bentley’s announcement of his resignation: “The American people’s trust in their government depends on the integrity and dignity of those in office, and it is clear that Alabamians have lost this in Governor Bentley. As governor, Bentley was elected by the people of Alabama to the highest position of authority and should consequentially treat the office with the utmost respect. I believe he has made the right decision in offering his resignation. “I look forward to working with Lieutenant Governor Kay Ivey in her new capacity as Governor of Alabama.” Attorney General Steven T. Marshall issued the following statement concerning the plea and resignation of Governor Robert Bentley. “I appreciate the work of Ellen Brooks, supernumerary district attorney, as well as the Attorney General’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in conducting the investigation of Governor Bentley which today led to his guilty pleas and resignation from office,” said Attorney General Steven Marshall. “I told the people of Alabama that I would recuse if there was an investigation and I did. I have allowed experienced and professional prosecutors to handle this matter and I have provided all the resources related to the performance of their work. “I will fully support Kay Ivey’s transition as the next governor of the State of Alabama and I look forward to working with her to address the pressing issues that face our state.” Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries John McMillan released the following statement regarding the swearing in of Governor Kay Ivey: “I have already offered my full support to Governor Kay Ivey and I pledge to assist her in any way moving forward. Alabamians deserve elected leaders who put the people of Alabama first.“ “It is a sad state of affairs that the leadership of all three branches of our state government has – in only one year’s time – either been removed from office, or resigned because they were going to be removed from office for corruption. I believe Gov. Bentley’s resignation was in the best interests of the state, and I look forward to working with Gov. Ivey as we try to move the state forward. Now more than ever we need a strong, two-party system so we can break this chain of absolute power becoming absolute corruption. I hope the people of Alabama will take this to heart and vote for the person rather than voting for the party.” ||||| MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Latest on impeachment hearings for Gov. Robert Bentley (all times local): Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has resigned after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges of violating state campaign finance law. The attorney general’s office announced the resignation Monday with a plea deal. Bentley was addressing the media Monday afternoon at the Alabama Capitol. Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey’s announced that she will be sworn-in this evening as Alabama’s governor at 6 p.m. Bentley’s voice began choking with emotion as he addressed reporters at the Alabama Capitol. He said he always tried to live up to the high expectations placed on the person who holds the esteemed office. He apologized for mistakes. Alabama’s Ethics Commission last week found probable cause that Bentley violated state ethics laws with his handling of an alleged affair and referred the case to prosecutors. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has pleaded guilty after being booked on two campaign and ethics charges in Montgomery. Bentley appeared sullen and looked down at the floor during the Monday afternoon session. Attorneys went over the charges as a plea agreement was signed. Bentley told a judge he understood the charges. The agreement specifies that Bentley must surrender campaign funds totaling $36,912 within a week and perform 100 hours of community service as a physician. He also cannot seek public office again. Jail records show Bentley was booked on two misdemeanor charges that arose from the investigation of an alleged affair with a top aide. His office has scheduled a late afternoon appearance by Bentley at the Capitol. A person who has spoken to Bentley tells The Associated Press says he plans to resign. Jail records show Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has been booked on two misdemeanor charges that arose from the investigation of an alleged affair with a top aide. A booking log at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office website shows Bentley was processed on two campaign and ethics charges Monday afternoon. A mugshot released by the jail shows Bentley smiling slightly, his head cocked slightly to the right. He’s wearing a coat and tie. Alabama’s Ethics Commission last week found probable cause that Bentley violated state ethics laws with his handling of an alleged affair and referred the case to prosecutors. A person who has spoken to Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says he plans to resign over allegations he covered up an affair with an aide. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. Bentley is preparing to announce his resignation Monday during a Cabinet meeting. The person says Bentley is in good spirits over the decision to step down. Word of Bentley’s decision comes on the first day of impeachment hearings. He is accused of abusing his state powers to try to hide his romance. The Republican governor has acknowledged making personal mistakes but has denied doing anything illegal or anything that would merit removal from office. The top lawyer in an impeachment investigation says Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley did not cooperate with the probe. Special counsel Jack Sharman said Monday there was a question of the governor’s “candor.” Bentley is accused of misusing state resources to keep an alleged affair with a staffer from being exposed. Sharman says the governor’s office turned over only innocuous text messages between him and former political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason. Sharman says the governor’s former wife turned over others. In those texts, Bentley repeatedly told Mason how much me loved and wanted her. The governor’s then-wife, Dianne Bentley, was able to read the text messages because they also showed up on his state-issued iPad, which he had given the first lady. Dianne Bentley provided the messages to the committee. It is not known if the messages were deleted from the governor’s state phone when the committee requested them. Impeachment hearings have begun for Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, who is accused of misusing state resources to keep an alleged affair with a staffer from being exposed. House Judiciary Chairman Mike Jones opened the hearings Monday by saying no task was more serious than the possible removal of an elected governor. Jones said it was time to hear evidence collected by the committee’s special counsel. The governor’s lawyers will respond to those accusations later in the week. Special Counsel Jack Sharman opened by saying that impeachment is the “people’s check” on political excess. The hearings are the start of a lengthy process that could end with Bentley being removed from office. The Republican governor has acknowledged making personal mistakes but has denied doing anything illegal or anything that would merit removal from office. A spokeswoman says scandal-plagued Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is not personally involved in any negotiations to resign. Yasamie August made the statement Monday morning as the House Judiciary Committee was set to begin impeachment hearings. Asked if there were any discussions about resignation, August said the response was the same that the governor was not personally involved in any negotiations. Bentley has struggled to shake off a scandal after recordings surfaced last year of him making romantic and sexually charged comments in 2014 to a top female aide before his divorce. The Republican governor has acknowledged making personal mistakes but has denied doing anything illegal or anything that would merit removal from office. The hearings are the start of a lengthy process that could end with Bentley being removed from office. The committee will decide whether to recommend impeachment. If the House votes to impeach Bentley, he will automatically be removed from his duties and can only be returned to office if acquitted in a trial-like proceeding before the Alabama Senate. Alabama lawmakers are set to begin impeachment hearings for Gov. Robert Bentley as they consider whether to try ousting the governor over accusations he used state resources to hide a romantic relationship with a top aide. The House Judiciary Committee scheduled a week of hearings to open Monday that will culminate with a vote on whether to recommend his impeachment. The Republican governor has acknowledged making personal mistakes but has denied doing anything that would merit removal from office. Monday is expected to bring another round of legal filings in the escalating tensions between the governor and the Republican-controlled Legislature. The Alabama Supreme Court asked for briefs on Bentley’s claims that the proposed impeachment hearings don’t allow him to adequately respond to the accusations. ||||| MONTGOMERY, AL (WKRG) — With Robert Bentley’s term as Alabama Governor coming to an end, Kay Ivey is set to be sworn in as the state’s next leader. Ivey will be sworn into office at 6 p.m. on Monday. The former Lt. Gov. has been in her current role since 2010 after winning reelection in 2014. The 72-year-old kay could have been governor when she threw her hat into the ring back in 2009 for the seat of outgoing Governor Bob Riley. After her announcement in 2009, she ultimately decided to join the race for Lt. Governor and won, defeating Jim Folsom, Jr. who was seeking an unprecedented fourth term in the office. Ivey has held various state position since 1982 including state treasurer, a position on the Alabama Commission on Higher Education and the Alabama Development Office. Ivey stayed mostly quiet when the accusations were leveled against Bentley last year. When impeachment talk became the talk of Montgomery, her only statement was there was a transition plan in place should be governor resign or be forced from office. ||||| Only an hour after being arrested on two campaign finance misdemeanors, embattled Alabama Governor Robert Bentley resigned. Bentley’s resignation comes on the same day that the Alabama House of Representatives opened impeachment hearings against the Republican. The 74-year-old dermatologist-turned-politician was accused of misappropriating state funds in an effort to cover up an affair with Rebekah Caldwell Mason, his political advisor and one-time Sunday school student. Prior to Bentley’s resignation, he was arrested and charged with failure to file a campaign finance report and failure to disclose information on a statement of economic interest. Bentley pleaded guilty to the two charges and was immediately sentenced to 100 hours of community service as a physician and barred from seeking public office in the future. He must also surrender more than $36,000 to the state and serve one year of probation. In exchange, the state has agreed to not file felony charges against Bentley. After his appearance in court, Bentley made his way to the Alabama Capitol’s old House chamber and announced his resignation. As CNN reports, Bentley opted to make a short statement and did not field questions. Shortly after Bentley’s press conference, a copy of his official resignation was made available online. News of Bentley’s resignation had been swirling for most of the day. AL.com reported that Bentley’s attorneys had spent part of Sunday and Monday negotiating Bentley’s resignation. Today’s resignation comes only days after Bentley held a news conference where he stated he would not resign and maintained his innocence. Bentley’s possible impeachment was only part of the scandal-plagued politician’s problems. Last week, the Alabama Ethics Commission found probable cause that Bentley had violated ethics and campaign laws. Their findings, which included four possible felonies, were turned over to prosecutors in Montgomery County. If convicted, Bentley would have faced 20 years for each count. For more than a year, Bentley had faced calls for his resignation from state officials, both Republicans and Democrats. Bentley’s resignation brings to a close a messy scandal that began shortly after his wife of 50 years filed for divorce on August 28, 2015. Dianne Jones Bentley’s abrupt divorce filing led some state officials to ponder whether Bentley’s divorce was tied to rumors of an affair with Mason. One week after divorce papers were filed, a member of the Alabama House filed a letter with the state’s attorney general’s office calling for Bentley to be investigated for possible misuse of public funds in connection with his divorce and alleged affair. Bentley hit back in an interview with AL.com, where he continued to deny an affair with Mason. “There were people on blogs and people in the press who crossed the line. They truly crossed the line. People on talk radio crossed the line. There were many people – my own family and there were a lot of other families – many people, people that I love, that I care about, they went through some difficult times because people were able to say whatever they wanted to say. They were just ridiculous. I don’t know how anyone could ever believe them.” On March 22, 2016, Bentley fired the Secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Spencer Collier. The following day Collier held a small press conference and confirmed that Bentley had been carrying on an affair with Mason, his chief advisor. Collier admitted that he had known about the affair for more than two years and had advised Bentley to end his relationship with Mason. During the press conference, Collier alluded to possible misuse of state funds, including chartering a private plane to keep Mason’s name off of flight records. The Alabama House Judiciary Committee hired a special investigator to look into Bentley. It was during that investigation that embarrassing text messages and audio recordings between Bentley and Mason hit the press. Bentley continually denied that he had committed any crimes, but facing the possibility of 80 years in prison, decided that it was in the best interest for all involved to resign. Collier concurred. Lt. Governor Kay Ivey was sworn in shortly after Bentley’s resignation as the 54th Governor of Alabama. The Republican will become Alabama’s second female governor. ||||| (WHNT) – The Alabama Republican Party Steering Committee, the governing body in charge of the direction of the Alabama Republican Party, has called on Governor Robert Bentley to resign. The ALGOP Steering Committee calls upon Governor Robert Bentley to immediately resign. The ALGOP Steering Committee commends the Alabama House of Representatives, the Alabama Senate and the Alabama Supreme Court for their courage and their diligence in the impeachment process while putting partisan politics aside for the people of the state of Alabama. While we are deeply saddened by these circumstances, the Alabama Republican Party holds their elected officials accountable and demands the utmost integrity of office holders. The overwhelming majority of elected officials are good, hard working people who love their communities, state and nation. However, when situations arise that are in direct conflict with the betterment of our people, we will speak up regardless of political party. Public service must be about the needs of the people being served in the great state of Alabama, not about an individual person. We have no doubt that our great state of resilient and resourceful citizens will once again rise above these difficult times. ||||| MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley resigned Monday rather than face impeachment and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor campaign violations that arose during an investigation of his alleged affair with a top aide. In a remarkable fall, the mild-mannered 74-year-old Republican and one-time Baptist deacon stepped down as the sex-tinged scandal gathered force over the past few days. Legislators turned up the pressure by opening impeachment hearings Monday. Last week, the Alabama Ethics Commission cited evidence that Bentley broke state ethics and campaign laws and referred the matter to prosecutors. “There’ve been times that I let you and our people down, and I’m sorry for that,” Bentley said in the old House chamber of Alabama’s Capitol after he pleaded guilty. The violations were discovered during the investigation of his affair but were not directly related to it. In court, Bentley appeared sullen and looked down at the floor. He stood up and said “yes, sir” in a gravelly voice as the judge read out the charges he was pleading guilty to. One misdemeanor charge against Bentley stemmed from a $50,000 loan he made to his campaign in November that investigators said he failed to report until January. State law says major contributions should be reported within a few days. The other charge stemmed from his use of campaign funds to pay nearly $9,000 in legal bills for political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason last year. “He did what he did, and he deserves now to be called a criminal,” said Ellen Brooks, a retired district attorney overseeing the state investigation. The resignation and guilty plea were a dramatic reversal from the man who on Friday stood on the Capitol steps and said he would not leave office because he had done nothing illegal. The plea agreement specified that Bentley must surrender campaign funds totaling nearly $37,000 within a week and perform 100 hours of community service as a physician. The dermatologist also cannot seek public office again. Bentley’s successor is Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey, who became Alabama’s second female governor. The first was Lurleen Wallace, wife of segregationist and four-term Gov. George C. Wallace. She ran as a surrogate for her still-powerful husband in 1966 when he couldn’t seek re-election because of term limits. She won, but died in office in 1968. “The Ivey administration will be open. It will be transparent. And it will be honest,” Ivey said. Bentley said in his statement that he no longer wanted to subject his family and staff “to the consequences that my past actions have brought upon them.” His staff gave him a standing ovation as he entered and exited the old House chamber. Bentley’s resignation follows the ouster of former House Speaker Mike Hubbard, who left office in 2016 after being convicted on ethics charges, and former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was suspended from his post last year over an order opposing same-sex marriage. Bentley, a staunch family-values conservative who won two terms partly because of his reputation for moral rectitude, was first engulfed in scandal last year after recordings surfaced of him making sexually charged comments to the 45-year-old Mason. An investigative report prepared for the House Judiciary Committee and released last week said Bentley encouraged an “atmosphere of intimidation” to keep the story under wraps and directed law enforcement officers to track down and seize the recordings. The report portrayed the governor as paranoid and obsessed with trying to keep the relationship secret. The committee on Monday started what was expected to be days of hearings. Bentley lawyer Ross Garber had argued that impeachment should be reserved for only the “most grave misconduct,” noting that only two U.S. governors have been impeached since 1929, and both were indicted for serious felonies. “It is not unusual for elected officials to have ethics and campaign finance issues. In fact, many governors face these things. It is very rare, though, for legislators to try to leverage those issues to impeach a governor. In fact, it is simply not done,” Garber told The Associated Press in an email. The last U.S. governor to be impeached was Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2009. He was removed from office and is now serving a prison sentence for conspiring to sell an appointment to President Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. The investigative report contained text messages that the governor sent to Mason. They were intercepted by Bentley’s then-wife, Dianne Bentley, who was able to read the messages because they also showed up on the governor’s state-issued iPad, which he had given her. “I sure miss you. I need you. I want you. You are the only one,” one message read. Dianne Bentley divorced her husband in 2015 after 50 years of marriage. Bentley denied having a physical relationship with his former aide, though in some of the recordings he talked about the pleasure he got from fondling her breasts. At one point, according to the investigative report, the governor sent the head of his security detail to fetch the recording from his son Paul Bentley, who responded: “You ain’t getting it.” Dianne Bentley had secretly recorded her husband by leaving her phone on while she went for a walk. The former first lady’s chief of staff also charged that Bentley threatened her job because he believed she had helped his wife make the recordings. Former Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier, who a day after being fired by Bentley last year held a news conference where he publicly revealed the affair accusation, said he feels vindicated by the resignation and plea deal. GOP leaders in the House and Senate called on Bentley to resign, as has the Alabama Republican Party’s steering committee. “It’s really time for us to look ahead and start moving forward on more pressing matters,” Republican Sen. Cam Ward said. “It was a constant distraction, one that was never going to change, and it’s time for us to get back to work.” Two of Bentley’s predecessors in the past three decades have been convicted of crimes: Republican Guy Hunt in the 1990s, for misusing funds, and Democrat Don Siegelman, who was convicted of bribery in 2006. Never miss another Facebook post from WISH-TV ||||| MONTGOMERY — After a long, drawn out legal battle with state legislators and the Alabama Ethics Commission, sources have confirmed with the Tribune that Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has resigned following an emergency cabinet meeting called for 3:30 p.m. Lieutenant Governor Kay Ivey was sworn in to become the state’s second female governor following at 6 p.m. today in the old Senate chamber. She becomes the state’s 54th governor. Ivey promised honesty and and an open administration. She also promised no disruption in state business. While she said she was prepared for this moment, she did not want the situation to arise. Bentley left the state capitol after meeting with his cabinet and headed to the Montgomery County Courthouse where he reached a deal with prosecutors today that allows him to plead guilty to two charges related to campaign finance and avoid jail time, according to sources in Montgomery. From there, he went to the Montgomery County Jail for processing. He was fined $2,000 and ordered to repay the state $8,000 and surrender all campaign funds to the state. Bentley will serve 12 months of unsupervised probation. Saying he could no longer put his family and staff through the trouble caused by his actions, Bentley resigned effective immediately in the Old House Chamber. To the people of Alabama, he said, “I have let you down.” A 74-year-old dermatologist and former Baptist deacon, Bentley has been involved in a sex scandal for several months. Last year, he and his wife, Dianne, divorced, and recordings of Bentley making suggestive remarks to his top aide, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, surfaced. Since the proceedings began to impeach the governor, more details of their relationship have emerged, including text messages between them. Following the release of those audio recordings in March 2016, Senator Shay Shelnutt and Representative Danny Garrett both called for Bentley’s resignation. “I don’t see how the governor can be the strong and effective leader our state needs at this time,” Garrett said at that time. “I would urge him to step aside and allow the state to move forward.” Shelnutt said Republicans often talk about holding state employees, teachers and elected officials accountable for their actions and he thinks Bentley, as the leader of the state, should be the example by walking the walk. “I ask my fellow legislators to join this call for the governor’s resignation in order that we may move past this distraction and do the job we were elected to do by the citizens of Alabama,” Shelnutt said last year. The Tribune will add statements from Bentley, Shelnutt and Garrett when available.
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Alabama Governor Robert Bentley resigns as the Alabama House Judiciary Committee began impeachment proceedings against him over a relationship with a former aide. In addition, Bentley pleads guilty to two "failure to disclose" misdemeanors. Kay Ivey is sworn in as Alabama Governor. Under terms of the plea bargain, Bentley is forbidden from ever running for elected office in Alabama again.
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Borussia Dortmund’s game with Monaco has been cancelled after an explosion near the German club’s team bus while on the way to the stadium. According to reports, the incident occurred only 10 kilometres from Signal Iduna Park, the club’s home ground, where the Champions League quarter-final first leg was due to be held. While there were no serious injuries suffered by anyone on board, the mother of Spain international defender Marc Bartra told Radio COPE that her son suffered light injuries to his arm in the incident – understood to be as a cause of the broken glass – and is being treated in hospital. We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras. Shape Created with Sketch. Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Show all 20 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Borussia Dortmund bus explosion 1/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion A number of Dortmund players have admitted they have struggled to cope following a bomb attack on their team bus, which left defender Marc Bartra hospitalised. Bongarts/Getty Images 2/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund player was injured following explosions near the team bus ahead of the Champions League quarterfinal match against Monaco. Bongarts/Getty Images 3/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion North Rhine-Westphalia police spokesman Gunnar Wortmann told The Associated Press Tuesday that there were "three explosions near the team bus as they left the hotel to go to the stadium" and that "there was one player injured inside and damage to a window." AFP/Getty Images 4/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund said the player was "in safety" and that "there is no danger in and around the stadium." AFP/Getty Images 5/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion In a statement, police say there was an explosion after 7 p.m. local time. AFP/Getty Images 6/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion The chief executive of a German soccer team Borussia Dortmund says player Marc Bartra was injured on the arm and hand when three explosions went off near the team bus. AFP/Getty Images 7/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund Chief Executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said the injuries to the Spanish defender Tuesday night are "nothing life-threatening." Getty Images 8/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund police spokeswoman Nina Vogt says investigators do not yet know the source of the explosions that went off as the team was preparing to leave their hotel for a match against Monaco. Getty Images 9/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion The chief executive of German soccer team Borussia Dortmund says police informed him that the explosives that went off near the team bus were hidden by the exit of a hotel and detonated as the bus passed. Getty Images 10/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki says the team bus had just pulled out of a hotel driveway at about 7:15 p.m. when it was rocked by an explosion. Getty Images 11/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Buerki told Swiss daily Blick on Tuesday night that "there was a huge bang, literally an explosion" that sent glass flying about. Getty Images 12/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Bongarts/Getty Images 13/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Police in the German city of Dortmund say investigators "are working on the assumption" that the explosions that rocked a professional soccer team's bus were caused by "serious explosive devices." Bongarts/Getty Images 14/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund police said the devices that went off near the bus as German team Borussia Dortmund was leaving its hotel for a match Tuesday night "may have been hidden in a hedge near a parking area." AFP/Getty Images 15/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion The Champions League quarterfinal first leg game between Dortmund and Monaco was called off and rescheduled for Wednesday. AFP/Getty Images 16/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion The police chief for the German city of Dortmund says it's not clear yet who was behind the explosions that rocked a bus carrying the Borussia Dortmund soccer team and left a player injured. AFP/Getty Images 17/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion A spokesman at the already crowded stadium informed fans of the cancellation, saying that "there is no reason for panic here at the stadium." AFP/Getty Images 18/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Bongarts/Getty Images 19/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund Police Chief Gregor Lange told reporters late Tuesday that police decided at an early stage that the soccer team was the target of the explosions and are not excluding any possible angles in their investigation. AFP/Getty Images 20/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion A prosecutor says a letter found outside the hotel the team bus was departing from when the explosions happened "takes responsibility for the act." AFP/Getty Images 1/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion A number of Dortmund players have admitted they have struggled to cope following a bomb attack on their team bus, which left defender Marc Bartra hospitalised. Bongarts/Getty Images 2/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund player was injured following explosions near the team bus ahead of the Champions League quarterfinal match against Monaco. Bongarts/Getty Images 3/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion North Rhine-Westphalia police spokesman Gunnar Wortmann told The Associated Press Tuesday that there were "three explosions near the team bus as they left the hotel to go to the stadium" and that "there was one player injured inside and damage to a window." AFP/Getty Images 4/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund said the player was "in safety" and that "there is no danger in and around the stadium." AFP/Getty Images 5/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion In a statement, police say there was an explosion after 7 p.m. local time. AFP/Getty Images 6/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion The chief executive of a German soccer team Borussia Dortmund says player Marc Bartra was injured on the arm and hand when three explosions went off near the team bus. AFP/Getty Images 7/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund Chief Executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said the injuries to the Spanish defender Tuesday night are "nothing life-threatening." Getty Images 8/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund police spokeswoman Nina Vogt says investigators do not yet know the source of the explosions that went off as the team was preparing to leave their hotel for a match against Monaco. Getty Images 9/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion The chief executive of German soccer team Borussia Dortmund says police informed him that the explosives that went off near the team bus were hidden by the exit of a hotel and detonated as the bus passed. Getty Images 10/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki says the team bus had just pulled out of a hotel driveway at about 7:15 p.m. when it was rocked by an explosion. Getty Images 11/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Buerki told Swiss daily Blick on Tuesday night that "there was a huge bang, literally an explosion" that sent glass flying about. Getty Images 12/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Bongarts/Getty Images 13/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Police in the German city of Dortmund say investigators "are working on the assumption" that the explosions that rocked a professional soccer team's bus were caused by "serious explosive devices." Bongarts/Getty Images 14/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund police said the devices that went off near the bus as German team Borussia Dortmund was leaving its hotel for a match Tuesday night "may have been hidden in a hedge near a parking area." AFP/Getty Images 15/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion The Champions League quarterfinal first leg game between Dortmund and Monaco was called off and rescheduled for Wednesday. AFP/Getty Images 16/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion The police chief for the German city of Dortmund says it's not clear yet who was behind the explosions that rocked a bus carrying the Borussia Dortmund soccer team and left a player injured. AFP/Getty Images 17/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion A spokesman at the already crowded stadium informed fans of the cancellation, saying that "there is no reason for panic here at the stadium." AFP/Getty Images 18/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Bongarts/Getty Images 19/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion Dortmund Police Chief Gregor Lange told reporters late Tuesday that police decided at an early stage that the soccer team was the target of the explosions and are not excluding any possible angles in their investigation. AFP/Getty Images 20/20 Borussia Dortmund bus explosion A prosecutor says a letter found outside the hotel the team bus was departing from when the explosions happened "takes responsibility for the act." AFP/Getty Images Local police said there was “no danger inside the stadium” for fans, but the game has been called off regardless, with it now scheduled to instead be played on tomorrow, Wednesday 12 April with a 5.45pm kick off. ||||| Three explosions hit Borussia Dortmund team bus Centre-back Marc Bartra injured and in hospital Letter 'takes responsibility for the act' Match against Monaco delayed until Wednesday Borussia Dortmund fans offer stranded Monaco supporters accommodation Who is Marc Bartra? Borussia Dortmund's team bus was hit by three explosions while on its way to the Champions League quarter-final first leg match against Monaco on Tuesday evening, leaving one player injured in hospital. German security sources said it was a targeted attack on the team bus, shattering one of the vehicle's windows. Police said "serious explosive devices" were used. A letter found near the site of the attack "takes responsibility for the act", a German prosecutor said. ||||| Marc Bartra was injured when three explosions went off near the Borussia Dortmund team bus and has been taken to the hospital, the club confirmed. Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said that Bartra suffered injures to his hand and arm, but that they were not remotely life-threatening. The explosions went off prior to the Champions League quarterfinal match between Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco. The club said that there was no danger anywhere near the stadium, but officials chose to postpone the match until Wednesday, when it is now scheduled to be played. There is no word yet on the severity of Bartra’s injury. After the explosions, the club released that one person had been injured in the incident, but that all players were safe. They later revealed that Bartra was the injured person and that he was being treated in the hospital. The Dortmund police have confirmed the three explosions and that they were in the area of the team bus. No other details have been released and the police have cautioned against any speculation or rumors. ||||| Three explosions went off near the team bus of one of Germany’s top soccer clubs as it set off for a Champions League quarterfinal match on Tuesday evening, injuring a player. Police said in a statement they were working on the assumption that the blasts were caused by “serious explosive devices,” which may have been hidden in a hedge near a car park. They didn’t elaborate on the possible nature of the devices or say who might have planted them ahead of first-leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Monaco, which was subsequently called off and rescheduled for Wednesday. Police said that there were three explosions near the Dortmund team bus as they left their hotel on the outskirts of the western city of Dortmund for the stadium, around 10 kilometres (6 miles) away, at around 7 p.m. local time (1700 GMT). READ MORE: Manhunt underway in Germany for man suspected of killing young boy, posting pics online A window on the bus was damaged and Spanish defender Marc Bartra was injured. Dortmund said Bartra was taken to a hospital. Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said Bartra was injured in the arm and hand “but nothing life-threatening.” Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki said the team bus had just pulled out of the hotel driveway when an explosion – a “huge bang” – happened and sent glass flying. The Switzerland international told Swiss daily Blick that he was sitting in the last row of the bus, next to Bartra. Bartra was hit by shards from the broken back window, he added. Players ducked for cover, wondering whether there would be more explosions. Inside the packed stadium, supporters of Monaco, which plays in the French league, chanted “Dortmund, Dortmund” in sympathy for the German side. Dortmund residents, for their part, used social media to offer accommodation to stranded Monaco supporters ahead of their rescheduled match in Europe’s premier soccer club competition. He added that there was “no alternative” to rescheduling the match for Wednesday, as Monaco also has to play at the weekend and the return Champions League match is scheduled for next week. “It’s a very unfortunate situation but there was no other way,” he said. Stadium spokesman Norbert Dickel informed fans of the cancellation, saying that “there is no reason for panic here at the stadium.” Dortmund recommended that fans stay in the stadium and remain calm to facilitate an “orderly departure.” Police say that “nearly all” people in the stadium have left, with no problems. READ MORE: Police shoot fleeing suspect after 3 injured when car drives into crowd in Germany German Justice Minister Heiko Maas wrote on Twitter: “Shocking news. Our thoughts are with (Borussia Dortmund). You’ll never walk alone!” Germany has seen matches postponed over security concerns before. In Hannover, in November 2015, Germany’s international soccer friendly against the Netherlands was cancelled just before kickoff after police feared an explosive device might be detonated at the stadium. It came days after devices were detonated outside the Stade de France in Paris as France was playing Germany as part of a co-ordinated attack on the French capital. ||||| Marc Bartra has been taken to hospital with injuries sustained in up to three explosions on or near the Borussia Dortmund team bus. The former Barcelona star was the only person injured in the incident. Dortmund police confirmed the explosions as it headed to the stadium for their Champions League clash with Monaco, which has now been postponed to Wednesday. The defender was reported have cuts, caused by broken glass, but the injuries are not serious. Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke later confirmed to Mi Bundesliga that Bartra's injuries were to his hand. Dortmund confirmed Bartra's status on social media: "The explosion was @MarcBartra injured and is currently in the hospital. Speedy and complete recovery, Marc! #bvbasm." Barcelona tweeted their encouragement to their former star, saying: "All our support for @MarcBartra, @BVB and all his fans." The incident reportedly took place around six miles away from the Westfalenstadion in Hochsten, as the team left their hotel. Dortmund reiterated the rest of the players were safe and there was no danger inside or around the stadium. We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story. For the latest news and breaking news visit Mirror.co.uk/sport. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you. Follow us on Twitter @MirrorFootball - the official Daily Mirror & Mirror Online Twitter account - for breaking football news in real time. We're also on Facebook/mirrorfootball - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Mirror Online. ||||| DORTMUND, Germany: Borussia Dortmund's team bus was damaged and a player was injured following three explosions near the vehicle while it was on its way to Tuesday's Champions League game at home to AS Monaco, police said on Tuesday. The match, a quarter-final first leg, was called off and rescheduled for Wednesday. "According to what is currently known, the windows of the bus were (entirely or partly) smashed and one person was injured," Dortmund police said in a said. The police said the incident happened in Hoechsten, located outside the city. "It is not yet possible to say exactly what the explosion was or exactly where something exploded," said the statement. Dortmund said defender and Spanish international Marc Bartra had been taken to hospital. Police added: "Currently there is no evidence of a threat to the visitors at the stadium." Borussia Dortmund said in a statement: "Shortly after the departure of the Borussia Dortmund team bus from the hotel to the stadium there was an incident. "The bus has been damaged in two places. One person has been injured and is in the hospital. At this point we will inform as soon as we know more." Dortmund later said in a tweet that the match would go ahead on Wednesday at 1845 local time. ||||| DORTMUND, Germany (AP) - Three explosions went off near the team bus of Borussia Dortmund, one of Germany's top soccer clubs, as it set off for a Champions League quarterfinal match on Tuesday evening, slightly injuring a player. Police said in a statement they were working on the assumption that the blasts ahead of the team's match against Monaco were caused by "serious explosive devices," which may have been hidden in a hedge near a car park. They didn't elaborate on the possible nature of the devices or say who might have planted them ahead of the first-leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Monaco, which was subsequently called off and rescheduled for Wednesday. Police said that there were three explosions near the Dortmund team bus as they left their hotel on the outskirts of the western city of Dortmund for the stadium, around 10 kilometers (6 miles) away, at around 7 p.m. local time (1700 GMT). A window on the bus was damaged and Spanish defender Marc Bartra was injured. Dortmund said Bartra was taken to a hospital. Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said Bartra was injured in the arm and hand "but nothing life-threatening." Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki said the team bus had just pulled out of the hotel driveway when an explosion - a "huge bang" - happened and sent glass flying. The Switzerland international told Swiss daily Blick that he was sitting in the last row of the bus, next to Bartra. Bartra was hit by shards from the broken back window, he added. Players ducked for cover, wondering whether there would be more explosions. "We're all shocked - nobody thought about a football match in the minutes after that," he said. Inside the packed stadium, supporters of Monaco, which plays in the French league, chanted "Dortmund, Dortmund" in sympathy for the German side. Dortmund residents, for their part, used social media to offer accommodation to stranded Monaco supporters ahead of their rescheduled match in Europe's premier soccer club competition. "The team is totally shocked, that's clear. It's our task now to digest this somehow because it's only 24 hours before we have to play. That's our job," Watzke said. He added that there was "no alternative" to rescheduling the match for Wednesday, as Monaco also has to play at the weekend and the return Champions League match is scheduled for next week. "It's a very unfortunate situation but there was no other way," he said. Stadium spokesman Norbert Dickel informed fans of the cancellation, saying that "there is no reason for panic here at the stadium." Dortmund recommended that fans stay in the stadium and remain calm to facilitate an "orderly departure." Police say that "nearly all" people in the stadium have left, with no problems. German Justice Minister Heiko Maas wrote on Twitter: "Shocking news. Our thoughts are with (Borussia Dortmund). You'll never walk alone!" Germany has seen matches postponed over security concerns before. In Hannover, in November 2015, Germany's international soccer friendly against the Netherlands was canceled just before kickoff after police feared an explosive device might be detonated at the stadium. It came days after devices were detonated outside the Stade de France in Paris as France was playing Germany as part of a coordinated attack on the French capital. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| Up to three explosions on or near the Borussia Dortmund team bus has forced the postponement of their Champions League clash with Monaco. German police confirmed there were as many as three explosions near the vehicle at around 7pm. Defender Marc Bartra was individual injured after the incident and was taken to hospital with cuts to his arm, caused by broken glass. The incident reportedly took place around six miles away from the Westfalenstadion in Hochsten, as the team left their hotel. Dortmund reiterated there was no danger in or around the stadium but fans were urged to stay inside before a calm evacuation. The encounter has been rescheduled for Wednesday night with a 5:45pm kick-off. Original tickets remain valid. Fans in the stadium waited for an announcement as Monaco fans showed their support for the home side by chanting 'Dortmund, Dortmund' Dortmund thanked their opponents for their support after the incident. German police have since stated it is not yet possible to identify what caused the explosion. Police Dortmund said in a statement: "In the run-up to the Champions League game between BVB (Dortmund) and AS Monaco, there was just after 1900 tonight an explosion close to the BVB team bus." The statement added: "According to what we currently know, the wheels of the bus (totally or partly) burst and one person was injured. "It is not yet possible to say exactly what the explosion was or exactly where something exploded." Following the announcement that the match had been postponed, Police Dortmund tweeted: "To reassure stadium visitors and relatives: There are currently no indications of a threat to visitors in the stadium #bvbasm" ||||| Three "serious explosives" shattered windows on the Borussia Dortmund team bus Tuesday as the German football squad was attacked en route to its home Champions League match, Dortmund police said. Twenty-six-year-old Spanish defender Marc Bartra suffered injuries to an arm and hand, the team said. Bartra, who has played 17 games in all competitions for Dortmund this season, was treated at the scene and hospitalized. The team left its hotel about 7 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET) for the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals match, a Dortmund police spokesman said. Between 40 and 50 people, including the trainer and medical support staff, were on board when three explosions were heard, the spokesman said. The cause was unknown. The initial report was of one blast, but police later said there were three. A preliminary investigation indicates the explosives "could have been hidden in a hedge near a parking lot," according to an update posted on the Dortmund police website. Video from the scene showed police escorting American midfielder Christian Pulisic away from the bus, apparently unharmed. Other images showed head coach Thomas Tuchel and members of the team in training gear, accompanied by police with long guns, standing on the side of the road. Some of the players looked stunned. "Our task now is to process this because in less than 24 hours we need to play," Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said, according to a CNN translation. "That's our job. There is no alternative. It's an unlucky situation but there is no other solution." The location of the blast was roughly 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Westfalenstadion, also known as Signal Iduna Park. As news of the incident spread inside the stadium, fans of Dortmund's opponent, AS Monaco, stood, clapped and chanted "Dortmund!" No one inside was in danger, police said. Security was heavy after the explosions and the stadium was evacuated. "Due to tonight's incident, the UEFA Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco has been postponed until Wednesday at 18:45CET," UEFA, European soccer's governing body, said in a statement. "This decision was made after a meeting held at the BVB Stadion Dortmund between UEFA, representatives of the two clubs and local authorities." The match is the first of a home-and-away series that will send the winner to the semifinals. ||||| A bomb has exploded on the Borussia Dortmund team bus ahead of their Champions League quarter-final with Monaco. The team's Twitter confirmed the incident took place at the team's hotel, L'Arrivee, a 12-minute drive from the stadium - Signal Iduna Park. One player taken to hospital, believed to be defender Marc Bartra according to local reports. They confirmed that there was no immediate danger to anyone in and around their stadium, Signal Iduna Park. Windows were smashed and one player, Marco Bartra according to local reports, has been taken to hospital. It is suggested the player only suffered cuts too his hands from the shattered glass. An announcement was made inside the stadium with a message put on the big screen informing supporters of the incident. Dortmund tweeted to fans asking them to remain calm, and revealed that a decision would be made on whether the game would go ahead at 7.30pm BST. A statement from Dortmund police said: 'In the run-up to the Champions League match of the BVB against the AS Monaco, there was an explosion near the BVB team teambus shortly after 7 pm. 'The event location is Wittbrauckerstrasse / Schirrmannweg in Dortmund-Hochsten. 'According to current knowledge the disks of the bus (whole or partial) were broken and one person was injured. 'It is not yet possible to say exactly what the explosion was or exactly where something exploded.' Monaco fans already inside the ground at Signal Iduna Park responded to the news by starting up chants of 'Dortmund, Dortmund,' which were warmly received by the home support.
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Three explosions occur near the Borussia Dortmund football team bus as it slowed down to turn a corner. Spanish player Marc Bartra was injured and has been taken to hospital. Dortmund's UEFA Champions League fixture against AS Monaco FC is subsequently postponed.
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Emergency services and police are seen at the scene of an stabbing attack in Jerusalem, April 14, 2017. A 21-year-old British student was killed in a stabbing attack near the Old City in Jerusalem on Friday. The assailant, a mentally unstable man from East Jerusalem, has been apprehended, the police said. In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tied the attack to global Islamic terrorism. >> Get all updates on Jerusalem: Download our free App, and Subscribe >> The attack took place in a light rail car near Tzahal Square. Paramedics performed CPR on the woman, who was stabbed multiple times, according to the Magen David Adom emergency response service. She was then rushed to the Hadassah Medical Center, Mount Scopus, where she was later pronounced dead. >> Family of British student killed in Jerusalem laments 'senseless' attack << Gamil Tamimi, the man who allegedly carried out a deadly stabbing attack in Jerusalem on April 14, 2017. Emil Salman Emergency services and police are seen at the scene of an stabbing attack in Jerusalem, April 14, 2017. Mahmoud Illean/AP skip - Tzahal Square skip - Suspect being arrested after a stabbing in Jerusalem. Another woman, who is pregnant, was injured when the train stopped, and a man was hurt while trying to flee the assailant. They are both lightly hurt, MDA said. The Hebrew University named the victim as Hannah Bladon, and said that she was studying at the school as part of the student exchange program with the University of Birmingham, where she studied theology. According to the university, Bladon, born in 1996, began her studies in Jerusalem in January 2017 and was scheduled to remain through the end of the semester. The assailant has been identified as Gamil Tamimi, 57, a Palestinian resident of Ras al-Amud in East Jerusalem who was recently released from a psychiatric hospital, according to police. Hannah Bladon Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter Email * Please enter a valid email address Sign up Please wait… Thank you for signing up. We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting. Click here Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later. Try again Thank you, The email address you have provided is already registered. Close A psychiatric report said that he had grown increasingly aggressive and violent over the last month. The Shin Bet said that Tamimi had tried to commit suicide by swallowing a razorblade while hospitalized. In 2011, he was convicted of molesting his daughter. "This is yet another case of a Palestinian suffering from personal, mental or moral distress choosing to commit an act of terror to escape his problems," the Shin Bet says. According to the Rothberg International School at Hebrew University, Bladon had been taking bible studies, archaeology and Hebrew classes. In a Facebook comment dated January 24, she wrote, "Security is really tight on campus so no worries." The comment was made on a photograph she posted of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City. In a statement, Hebrew University expressed "deep sorrow over the murder of a British student, Hannah Bladon." "The university condemns such acts of terror that harm innocent people, and especially a student who came to Jerusalem to study and widen her academic horizons," the statement added. Rona Evyasaf, one of Bladon's teachers at Hebrew University, wrote on Facebook: "I found her to be very serious about her studies and very excited about archeology (she wanted to go on a dig before she goes back home). This is breaking my heart." "We are deeply saddened to hear about the death of our student Hannah Bladon who was killed whilst on an exchange programme in Jerusalem," said a statement from Birmingham University, mentioning that support would be available to any student affected by the event. Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon sent his condolences to the family of the woman, and tied the attack to global terrorism in a statement. "We see that Islamic terrorsm is striking main cities around the world, including in Jerusalem, our capital." "In this holiday of liberty [Passover], our security forces will hunt down and arrest the terrorists, those who send them and the agitators," he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also tied the attack to global terrorism, in a statement issued shortly after Kahlon's. "Radical Islamic terrorism is striking world capitals. Regretfully, terrorism struck today in Israel's capital – Jerusalem. "A Palestinian terrorist murdered in cold blood a 23-year-old student, a British citizen. In the name of all the People of Israel, I send my condolences to the family of the victim." President Reuven Rivlin also issued a statement: “The bitter news of the young woman’s death in a terror attack in Jerusalem fills me with deep sorrow.” The attack took place during Passover week, while Jerusalem is surging with visitors. On Saturday, thousands of Christian pilgrims are expected to take part Holy Fire ceremony in the city. Some 1,500 police officers from other districts have been deployed in Jerusalem over Passover, with the city on high alert. Nevertheless, senior police officials said before the holiday that there hasn't been a concrete advance warning about terror attacks. ||||| Hannah Bladon, a 21-year-old British exchange student was fatally stabbed in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon, reportedly by a Palestinian man with a history of mental illness and sexual abuse, who had recently been released from a psychiatric facility. The suspect has been apprehended. "Radical Islamic terrorism is striking world capitals. Regretfully, terrorism struck today in Israel's capital – Jerusalem," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement. "A Palestinian terrorist murdered in cold blood... a British citizen. In the name of all the People of Israel, I send my condolences to the family of the victim." The incident took place on the city’s light rail network. The attacker reportedly stood up from his seat, pulled out a knife and stabbed Bladon without warning. The woman received wounds to her upper body and was initially in critical condition, Magen David Adom, an Israeli emergency services company, wrote on Twitter. Later the city’s Hadassah University Medical Center told the Jerusalem Post that Bladon had died of her wounds. Bladon was a theology student at the University of Birmingham in the UK, who had begun her guest studies at the Hebrew University, which confirmed her identity to the media, in January. The British embassy told the Guardian that it was in touch with local authorities following the incident, but didn’t comment beyond that. Two more people were also injured in the incident, the Jerusalem Post said. A 50-year-old man was wounded when he tried to flee the scene, while a pregnant woman suffered an injury to her stomach when the light rail train made an abrupt stop. Both victims were transported to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. The Shin Bet domestic security service agency said that the suspect was identified as Jamil Tamimi, 57, a Palestinian from Arab East Jerusalem, Reuters reports. He was apprehended by officers and taken for questioning. “It is one of many instances where a Palestinian suffering personal strife ... chooses to carry out an attack in order to find release for his problems,” the Shin Bet statement said, as cited by Reuters. Tamimi is a Palestinian from Arab East Jerusalem who was charged with sexual assault against his daughter back in 2011, Shin Bet said.The man also previously attempted to commit suicide by swallowing a razor blade, it added. The attack took place on Good Friday, a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. On this day many Christians flock to Jerusalem to join a procession in the Old City. According to tradition, the area is where Christ walked on the way to being crucified. There has recently been a rise in the number of attacks committed by Palestinians in public places in Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. According to Israeli authorities, the current spate of violence began on September 13, 2015. Since that date, 48 people have been killed in terrorist attacks and 713 people, including four Palestinians, have been injured. There have been 174 stabbing attacks and 113 attempted stabbings, 143 shootings, 57 vehicle ramming attacks and one bus bombing, the Israeli Foreign Ministry reported. ||||| A British woman student has been stabbed to death on Jerusalem’s light rail system on Friday. The 23-year-old Jewish student, in Israel on a tourist visa, was stabbed repeatedly as the light rail entered the centre of Jerusalem opposite the walls of the historic old city. After receiving emergency first aid she was rushed to hospital where she died of her wounds. The assailant was named as Jamil Tamimi (57) from the east Jerusalem Palestinian neighbourhood of Ras el-Amud. The Palestinian was apprehended by security guards and police shortly after the stabbing. The Israel Security Agency (the Shin Bet) revealed that Mr Tamimi had attempted suicide. In 2011, he was convicted of sexually assaulting his daughter. “This is another incident of many in which a Palestinian suffering from mental health or personal issues has chosen to carry out an attack as a way out of his problems,” the agency said. Two other passengers, including a pregnant woman, were also hurt when the tram made an emergency stop following the attack. The tram closed down and police closed the Damascus gate entrance to the old city for a few hours after the stabbing. The incident occurred when security in Jerusalem was at a very high level with tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims in the old city for Good Friday along with Jews celebrating the week-long Passover festival. The attack occurred shortly after the end of Muslim Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque on the old city’s Temple Mount, revered by Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif. Although it has been a relatively quiet period over the last few months, Palestinians from the West Bank were prevented from entering Israel during Passover as part of the security operation. The Israeli authorities had warned that militant groups, particularly Hamas, might try to carry out attacks over the holiday period although they said there was no specific warning ahead of Friday’s stabbing. Jerusalem’s light rail system passes through both Jewish and Palestinian areas and has been championed as an example of coexistence by Jerusalem’s mayor Nir Barkat. Police have made strenuous efforts to stop incidents of stone-throwing aimed at carriages as the rail passed through Palestinian neighbourhoods. A number of planned stabbings have also been thwarted since the system began operating in 2011. ||||| A British woman on holiday in Israel has been stabbed to death by a Palestinian man in Jerusalem, police say. The women, who has not been identified, is believed to have been a British student visiting Israel. Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the man attacked the woman, who is believed to be in her early 20s, as she travelled on the light rail near Jerusalem’s Old City. She was rushed to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center but died soon after arrival. Local media reports suggested she had been stabbed multiple times and that two others were slightly injured in the attack – including a pregnant woman. Yoram Halevi, Commander of the Jerusalem District in the Israeli Police, told a local radio station that the attacker – a 57-year-old man – had been arrested at the scene. The area was packed with people at the time of the attack as Christians gather to celebrate Good Friday and Jewish people gather to observe Passover. The city has been on high alert during Holy Week after an increase in knife attacks by Palestinians. Since September 2015, Palestinians have killed 42 Israelis and two visiting Americans, mainly in stabbings, car ramming assaults and shooting attacks. Israeli forces have killed at least 243 Palestinians during that time, most of them identified as attackers by Israeli authorities. Most of the Palestinians were killed while attempting attacks, Israeli police say. Others have been shot dead during protests and some have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. ||||| Update 4.55pm: A 57 year-old Palestinian man has been arrested after a British woman was fatally stabbed in Jerusalem. It is understood he had a history of mental health problems. Earlier: A young British tourist has been stabbed to death in Jerusalem. The woman, thought to be in her early 20s, was attacked while she travelled on a light rail train near the Old City, which was packed as Christians celebrated Good Friday and Jews marked Passover. The woman was rushed to a medical centre but died soon after. Israeli police say she was attacked by a Palestinian man who stabbed her repeatedly. Two other people, including a 30-year-old woman, received minor injuries in the incident this morning when the tram came to an emergency stop, it was reported. The Times of Israel said paramedics from Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's national ambulance service, tried to save the injured woman and carried out cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on her before taking her to Jerusalem's Haddash Hospital Mount Scopus. "EMTs and paramedics treating and performing CPR on a woman in her 20s. MDA teams evacuating 25 year old woman in critical condition with stab wounds to her upper body part to hospital. "MDA teams also treated 30 y/o pregnant woman and 50 y/o man who were injured during the incident." Zeevi Hanfling, a emergency technician, said: "Police officers led me into the train where a young girl was lying unconscious (with) stab wounds to her upper body part." Police detained a 57-year-old man at the scene, and a spokesman told the Times of Israel he appeared to suffer from "mental problems". Superintendent Micky Rosenfeld said the attack, which took place near Tzahal Square, was carried out by an "Arab terrorist". Tweeting a photo of an apparently blood-stained knife, he said: "Arab Terrorist arrested who carried out attack is from Rasel Amud", adding that security in the area had been increased. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are in touch with local authorities following an incident in Jerusalem on April 14." ||||| JERUSALEM — Israeli police say a Palestinian man stabbed an Israeli woman in Jerusalem, seriously wounding her before forces apprehended him at the scene. Spokeswoman Luba Samri said the man attacked the woman in her early 20s as she traveled on the light rail near Jerusalem’s Old City. The area was packed with Christians celebrating Good Friday and Jews celebrating Passover. Since September 2015, Palestinians have killed 42 Israelis and two visiting Americans, mainly in stabbings, car ramming assaults and shooting attacks. Israeli forces have killed at least 243 Palestinians during that time, most of them identified as attackers by Israeli authorities. Israel says the bloodshed is fueled by a Palestinian campaign of incitement. Palestinians say it is from frustration over decades of Israeli rule in territory they claim. ||||| JERUSALEM, April 14 (Reuters) - A Palestinian man fatally stabbed a British woman on Jerusalem's transit network on Friday, Israeli police said, as Christians marked Good Friday and Muslims held prayers at respective holy sites nearby. The incident occurred in a train carriage on the light rail network near Jerusalem's municipality building and the walled Old City. TV footage showed blood on the floor of the carriage with police officers restraining a man and carrying him away. Israeli police said the victim was a 25-year-old British national, though it was initially unclear whether she also held Israeli citizenship. The Shin Bet domestic security service identified the assailant as 57-year-old Jamil Tamimi and said he was a Palestinian from Arab East Jerusalem with mental health problems who was convicted in 2011 for sexually assaulting his daughter. "This is one of many instances where a Palestinian suffering personal strife ... chooses to carry out an attack in order to find release for his problems," the Shin Bet statement said. It added that the assailant had previously tried to commit suicide by attempting to swallow a razor blade. Friday is sometimes a day of heightened tensions in Jerusalem's Old City when tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers come to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. On Good Friday each year, Christians hold a procession along the Via Dolorosa in the Old City, retracing what they believe was the route that Jesus took to his crucifixion. A wave of street attacks by Palestinians in Israel, Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank since October 2015 has previously killed 37 Israelis and two American tourists. At least 242 Palestinians have died during the period of sporadic violence. Israel says at least 162 of the Palestinians killed had launched stabbing, shooting or car ramming attacks. Others died during clashes and protests. Israel has accused the Palestinian leadership of inciting the violence. The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, denies incitement and charges that in many cases, Israel has used excessive force in thwarting attackers armed with rudimentary weapons. (Writing by Ori Lewis; editing by Mark Heinrich) ||||| A British student who was visiting Jerusalem on an exchange program was stabbed to death Friday on the city’s light rail line, authorities said. Paramedics rushed Hannah Bladon, 20, to the hospital, police said, but she died shortly after she arrived there. In a statement Saturday by the UK Foreign Office, her relatives said they were “devastated by this senseless and tragic attack.” “Hannah was the most caring, sensitive and compassionate daughter you could ever wish for,” her family said. “She was driven and passionate, and her death leaves so much promise unfulfilled.” Bladon was a talented musician studying for a degree in religion, theology and archaeology at the University of Birmingham in central England, her family said. She was on a student exchange program with the Rothberg International School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and had been taking part in an archaeological dig Friday morning. “Our thoughts are with those who were injured and the family of the British woman who was killed in the terror attack in Jerusalem today,” the Israeli Embassy in the United Kingdom said on Twitter. A suspect was arrested at the scene. Security officials identified him as Jameel Tamimi, a 57-year-old Palestinian man from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amud. Despite the Israeli Embassy’s characterization of the stabbing as a “terror attack,” the alleged perpetrator’s motive is unknown. Tamimi suffers from “personal, mental, or moral hardship,” according to the Israel Security Agency. Tamimi was convicted of sexually abusing his daughter in 2011 and attempted to commit suicide this year by swallowing a razor blade, the agency said. The attack comes with police on heightened alert due to heavy tourism during the Easter and Passover holidays. ||||| Woman fatally stabbed by Palestinian in Jerusalem, authorities say A 25-year-old woman was stabbed to death on the Jerusalem light rail line Friday afternoon, according to Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Paramedics rushed her to the hospital, authorities said, but she died shortly after arriving. The suspect, identified by security officials as a 57-year-old Palestinian man, was arrested at the scene. ||||| A 23-year-old female student has been stabbed to death in an attack on a train in Jerusalem Friday. She was repeatedly stabbed on board a train in the Old City of Jerusalem whilst visiting on a tourist trip, a pregnant woman and a 50-year-old man are also believed to have been injured in the attack. Magen David Adom is Israel’s national ambulance service said Friday on Twitter: “MDA EMT Zeevi Hanfling “Police officers led me into the train where a young girl was lying unconscious W stab wounds 2 her upper body part.” In a separate tweet: “#MDAteams evacuating 25 year old woman in critical condition with stab wounds to her upper body part to hospital.” They said in another tweet: “#MDAteams also treated 30 y/o pregnant woman and 50 y/o man who were injured during the incident.” Israeli security service identified the attacker and said he is a 57-year-old Palestinian who suffers with mental health issues, he has been detained by the police.
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A British student is stabbed and killed during an attack on a light-rail train in Jerusalem, Israel. Two other passengers are injured. A Palestinian man with a history of mental problems and other issues is taken into custody by Israeli authorities. Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon linked the attack to terrorism.
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Story highlights Flurry of legal actions precedes scheduled execution time Don Davis had been one of eight Arkansas inmates scheduled to die this month (CNN) An Arkansas death row inmate who had been scheduled for execution Monday was temporarily spared after decisions from the US Supreme Court and Arkansas Supreme Court. On Monday evening, Don Davis had been given what was to be his last meal at the Cummins Unit, the Arkansas prison that houses the state's execution chamber. As midnight approached, his fate remained unclear pending further court action. Davis had been one of eight Arkansas inmates scheduled to die this month. His attorney sought a stay of execution, and on Monday, the Arkansas Supreme Court granted a delay in the executions of Davis and another inmate, Bruce Ward. But Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge asked the US Supreme Court to overrule the state court to proceed with Davis' execution. Read More ||||| VARNER, Ark. — After a pair of court defeats, the state of Arkansas was forced late Monday to abandon its plan to carry out its first execution in more than a decade. The canceled execution of a condemned prisoner here was a significant setback for the state, which had sought to put eight men to death this month, before its stock of a lethal injection drug expired. On Monday afternoon, the State Supreme Court stayed the execution of Don W. Davis, who was convicted more than a quarter-century ago of a murder in northwestern Arkansas. Then, about 15 minutes before Mr. Davis’s death warrant was due to expire, the United States Supreme Court refused to overrule the Arkansas jurists, who had voted 4 to 3 to halt the execution. The decisions do not affect five other executions that are scheduled this month at the Cummins Unit. Until word of the decision from Washington reached the prison here in rural southeast Arkansas, state officials were optimistic that the justices would allow them to proceed. Witnesses moved across the darkened campus toward the death chamber, and Mr. Davis waited for a lethal injection for hours after he was offered what he had planned as his last meal. ||||| An Arkansas death row inmate who had been scheduled for execution Monday was temporarily spared after decisions from the US Supreme Court and Arkansas Supreme Court. On Monday evening, Don Davis had been given what was to be his last meal at the Cummins Unit, the Arkansas prison that houses the state’s execution chamber. As midnight approached, his fate remained unclear pending further court action. Davis had been one of eight Arkansas inmates scheduled to die this month. His attorney sought a stay of execution, and on Monday, the Arkansas Supreme Court granted a delay in the executions of Davis and another inmate, Bruce Ward. But Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge asked the US Supreme Court to overrule the state court to proceed with Davis’ execution. As minutes ticked toward 1 a.m. ET (midnight CT) — when Davis’ execution warrant was to expire — the US high court issued a statement: “The application to vacate the stay of execution of sentence of death entered by the Arkansas Supreme Court on April 17, 2017, presented to Justice (Samuel) Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied.” The execution would have been the first in Arkansas since 2005. Davis was among eight Arkansas inmates facing execution in 11 days in a packed schedule set by the state. The number of executions in such a short amount of time had been described as “unprecedented” by a group that monitors US executions, and it unleashed a flurry of legal actions. Arkansas had set the schedule because its supply of a lethal injection drug, midazolam, expires on May 1. Rutledge said the court’s decision is “heartbreaking that the family of Jane Daniel has once again seen justice delayed,” referring to the victim in Davis’ case. He had been sentenced to death for capital murder. “Davis was convicted of his crimes in 1992, and my office took every action it could today to see that justice was carried out. Ultimately, the US Supreme Court has the final say and has decided not to lift the stay at this time,” she said in a statement. State says it wants justice for victims’ families Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson can set a new execution date for him, but it can’t happen for another 30 days, so Davis wouldn’t be executed before the state’s drug supply expires at the end of April. “While this has been an exhausting day for all involved, tomorrow we will continue to fight back on last-minute appeals and efforts to block justice for the victims’ families,” he said in a statement. The last-minute Supreme Court decision came after a day of frenzied legal action over Davis and the other Arkansas inmates. The state’s effort to carry out the executions hit a legal setback Monday as the Arkansas Supreme Court put two executions on hold and the US Supreme Court refused to intervene in its favor.
• Execution of two inmates are temporarily on hold. The high court stayed the executions of Davis and Ward. The inmates’ counsel requested stays of execution until a US Supreme Court ruling on an upcoming case concerning inmate access to independent mental health experts. The justices are set to hold oral arguments next week. In a statement, Scott Braden, the attorney for both Davis and Ward, said his clients were “denied access to independent mental health experts, even though they clearly demonstrated that mental health issues would be significant factors at their trials. “Mr. Ward has severe and life-long schizophrenia, breaks with reality, and delusions, such as seeing demon dogs at the foot of his bed since childhood. Mr. Davis has organic brain damage, intellectual disability, a history of head injuries, fetal alcohol syndrome, and other severe mental health conditions.” But Arkansas had two other legal victories that could allow the remaining executions to proceed:
• Previous decision to halt all eight executions is overturned. The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a Saturday ruling by a federal judge that temporarily halted all eight executions. The lower court had ruled the prisoners will likely succeed in demonstrating the state’s proposed method of lethal injection is unconstitutional. But the appeals court said the use of the method of execution, which includes midazolam, did not create undue severe pain.
• Court rules vecuronium bromide can be used in executions. Late Monday, the Arkansas Supreme Court also overturned a temporary restraining order by a state judge that prevented Arkansas from using vecuronium bromide it had purchased from distributor McKesson Medical-Surgical in executions. The company had argued the medication was not meant to be used in capital punishment. Two other Arkansas inmates — Ledell Lee and Stacey Johnson — are scheduled to die Thursday. CNN’s Jamiel Lynch, Keith Allen and Jaide Timm-Garcia contributed to this report. ||||| The U.S. Supreme Court spared the life of an Arkansas inmate minutes before his death warrant was set to expire Monday, scuttling efforts to resume capital punishment after nearly 12 years in a state with an aggressive plan to carry out four double executions before its supply of a lethal injection drug expires. The court’s decision was the second time Don Davis had been granted a reprieve shortly before execution — he was within hours of death in 2010. It capped a chaotic day of legal wrangling in state and federal courts to clear the primary obstacles Arkansas faced to carrying out its first executions since 2005. Davis had been served a last meal of fried chicken, rolls, beans, mashed potatoes and strawberry cake hours earlier, and witnesses were being moved toward the execution chamber when the Supreme Court ruled. The state was rushing to win approval to execute Davis before his death warrant expired at midnight. Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who had set the schedule of multiple executions, said the state would continue to push for the other lethal injections to be carried out. Two inmates are set to be put to death on Thursday. “While this has been an exhausting day for all involved, tomorrow we will continue to fight back on last minute appeals and efforts to block justice for the victims’ families,” Hutchinson said in a statement. Davis was sentenced to death for the 1990 death of Jane Daniel in Rogers, Arkansas. The woman was killed in her home after Davis broke in and shot her with a .44-calibre revolver he found there. “It is heartbreaking that the family of Jane Daniel has once again seen justice delayed,” Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said in a statement. “Davis was convicted of his crimes in 1992.” The high court’s order offered no explanation, but none of the justices voted in favour of lifting the stay. Monday marked the first day that the U.S. Supreme Court was in session with new Justice Neil Gorsuch on the bench. The legal fighting had centred on a series of planned lethal injections that, if carried out, would mark the most inmates put to death by a state in such a short period since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state scheduled the executions to take place before its supply of midazolam, a lethal injection drug, expires at the end of April. State and federal court rulings have stayed executions for two other inmates, and the state has yet to appeal those decisions. Davis and Bruce Ward were originally set to be executed Monday night and had been granted stays by the state Supreme Court earlier that day. The state appealed the stay for Davis but decided not to challenge the stay for Ward. Attorneys had asked for the stay while the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a separate case concerning inmates’ access to independent mental health experts. “The Arkansas Supreme Court recognized that executing either man, before the Court answers this question…would be profoundly arbitrary and unjust,” Scott Braden, an assistant federal public defender for the inmates, said earlier Monday The U.S. Supreme Court ruling came hours after the state had cleared two of the main obstacles to resuming executions. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal judge’s ruling blocking the executions over the use of midazolam, a sedative used in flawed executions in other states. The state Supreme Court also lifted a lower court ruling preventing the state from using another lethal injection drug that a supplier said was sold to be used for medical purposes, not executions. Davis’ execution would have come two years after Arkansas enacted a measure making secret the source of its lethal injection drugs, a move officials said was necessary to find new supplies. Despite the secrecy measure, prison officials have said it will be very difficult to find a supplier willing to sell Arkansas midazolam after its current stock expires. ||||| Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is a low-key former prosecutor known for delving into policy issues, but he's putting himself and his state at the center of the national debate over the death penalty. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is a low-key former prosecutor known for delving into policy issues, but he's putting himself and his state at the center of the national debate over the death penalty. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he's hopeful the U.S. Supreme Court will allow the executions of two inmates to proceed, saying the victims' families have waited too long for justice. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he's hopeful the U.S. Supreme Court will allow the executions of two inmates to proceed, saying the victims' families have waited too long for justice. (Arkansas Department of Correction, via AP, File). FILE - This 2013 file photo provided by the Arkansas Department of Correction shows Don William Davis, who has been scheduled for execution Monday, April 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Kelly P. Kissel). Protesters gather outside the state Capitol building on Friday, April 14, 2017, in Little Rock, Ark., to voice their opposition to Arkansas' seven upcoming executions. (Stephen B. Thornton/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP). People gather at a rally opposing the state's upcoming executions, on the front steps of Arkansas' Capitol, Friday, April 14, 2017, in Little Rock, Ark. (Sherry Simon via AP). This photo provided by Sherry Simon shows Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen taking part of an anti-death penalty demonstration outside the Governor's Mansion Friday, April 14, 2017 in Little Rock, Ark. (AP Photo/Kelly P. Kissel). Protesters gather outside the state Capitol building on Friday, April 14, 2017, in Little Rock, Ark., to voice their opposition to Arkansas' seven upcoming executions. VARNER, Ark. (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court spared the life of an Arkansas inmate minutes before his death warrant was set to expire Monday, scuttling efforts to resume capital punishment after nearly 12 years in a state with an aggressive plan to carry out four double executions before its supply of a lethal injection drug expires. The court's decision was the second time Don Davis had been granted a reprieve shortly before execution - he was within hours of death in 2010. It capped a chaotic day of legal wrangling in state and federal courts to clear the primary obstacles Arkansas faced to carrying out its first executions since 2005. Davis had been served a last meal of fried chicken, rolls, beans, mashed potatoes and strawberry cake hours earlier, and witnesses were being moved toward the execution chamber when the Supreme Court ruled. The state was rushing to win approval to execute Davis before his death warrant expired at midnight. Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who had set the schedule of multiple executions, said the state would continue to push for the other lethal injections to be carried out. Two inmates are set to be put to death on Thursday. "While this has been an exhausting day for all involved, tomorrow we will continue to fight back on last minute appeals and efforts to block justice for the victims' families," Hutchinson said in a statement. Davis was sentenced to death for the 1990 death of Jane Daniel in Rogers, Arkansas. The woman was killed in her home after Davis broke in and shot her with a .44-caliber revolver he found there. "It is heartbreaking that the family of Jane Daniel has once again seen justice delayed," Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said in a statement. "Davis was convicted of his crimes in 1992." The high court's order offered no explanation, but none of the justices voted in favor of lifting the stay. Monday marked the first day that the U.S. Supreme Court was in session with new Justice Neil Gorsuch on the bench. The legal fighting had centered on a series of planned lethal injections that, if carried out, would mark the most inmates put to death by a state in such a short period since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state scheduled the executions to take place before its supply of midazolam, a lethal injection drug, expires at the end of April. State and federal court rulings have stayed executions for two other inmates, and the state has yet to appeal those decisions. Davis and Bruce Ward were originally set to be executed Monday night and had been granted stays by the state Supreme Court earlier that day. The state appealed the stay for Davis but decided not to challenge the stay for Ward. Attorneys had asked for the stay while the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a separate case concerning inmates' access to independent mental health experts. "The Arkansas Supreme Court recognized that executing either man, before the Court answers this question...would be profoundly arbitrary and unjust," Scott Braden, an assistant federal public defender for the inmates, said earlier Monday The U.S. Supreme Court ruling came hours after the state had cleared two of the main obstacles to resuming executions. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal judge's ruling blocking the executions over the use of midazolam, a sedative used in flawed executions in other states. The state Supreme Court also lifted a lower court ruling preventing the state from using another lethal injection drug that a supplier said was sold to be used for medical purposes, not executions. Davis' execution would have come two years after Arkansas enacted a measure making secret the source of its lethal injection drugs, a move officials said was necessary to find new supplies. Despite the secrecy measure, prison officials have said it will be very difficult to find a supplier willing to sell Arkansas midazolam after its current stock expires. DeMillo reported from Little Rock. Associated Press writers Jill Bleed in Little Rock and Kelly P. Kissel in Varner contributed to this report. Follow Sean Murphy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy and Andrew DeMillo at www.twitter.com/ademillo . Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| Arkansas was set to execute eight inmates in 10 days. However, the executions of Bruce Ward and Don Davis that were set to start on Monday, April 17 were stayed by the Arkansas Supreme Court. Late Monday night, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the stays. Stacey Johnson's and Ledell Lee's executions are set for Thursday, April 20. Jack Jones and Marcell Williams are scheduled to be executed on Monday, April 24, and the final execution--that of Kenneth Williams--will be on Thursday, April 27. A federal judge recently stayed the execution of Jason McGehee, who was set to die before Williams on April 27. The Arkansas Department of Correction has not executed a death row inmate since 2005, and no state has ever successfully executed two inmates in one day with the sedative drug Arkansas plans to use. Midazolam, the drug in question, also expires at the end of the month, which exacerbates the already tight execution schedule. Here is THV11's comprehensive coverage of the executions. Don Davis not executed after U.S. Supreme Court upholds stay of execution The State of Arkansas has not executed Don Davis, who was scheduled to be the first of seven inmates executed over a 10-day period. The United States Supreme Court denied an application by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge to vacate the stay of his execution. Even up to the dismissal of Davis' execution, crews at the prison prepared as if the execution would take place. Davis was even given what was supposed to be his last meal. Davis was convicted of murdering 62-year-old Jane Daniel in her home in Rogers in 1990. Damien Echols, along with actor Johnny Depp and his closest friends, attended the rally as part of the fight against the executions. As he arrived to the State Capitol, Echols admitted to our cameraman that he felt that his heart was going to beat out of his chest. Surrounded by friends and family, Echols faced great fear and anxiety as he stood at the podium addressing the crowd. At first, Echols said he was hesitant to attend the rally, but soon changed his mind when he realized if not for the Alford plea he might have been one of the eight men set to be executed in a 10-day span. Just one day after the Arkansas Supreme Court threw out a temporary restraining order, McKesson Medical-Surgical Incorporated have filed a new lawsuit asking for the State of Arkansas to return its supply of one of the drugs used in the executions. Originally, Judge Wendell Griffen issued a temporary restraining order against the state until it returned 10 vials of 20mg vecuronium bromide to McKesson. But the judge was taken off the case by the state's Supreme Court and the temporary restraining order was thrown out. In this new lawsuit, McKesson claimed that the manufacturer of the drug prohibits the company from distributing or selling vecuronium for use in capital punishments What's changed since the 2005 execution of Eric Nance? “What is a delay?” Those were the words of Eric Nance as he sat awaiting his death at 8 o’clock on a Monday night. He had eaten his final meal a few hours earlier; a bacon cheeseburger, French fries, ice cream and a Coke. He had been inquiring about his funeral arrangements and what would happen to his belongings. He asked what or who he should look at as the lethal injection took place. Nance had no final parting words for the records and no parting words for the family of Julie Heath. Heath was the 18-year-old Malvern cheerleader Eric Nance was convicted of murdering back in 1993. He had stabbed her in the throat with a box cutter after seeing her standing by her broken-down car along U.S. 270. The Innocence Project has asked an Arkansas circuit court to grant new DNA testing to death row inmate Stacey Johnson. The inmate is one of seven men set to be executed in a 10-day span starting on April 17. In a press release, the group said newer DNA testing has "never been performed" in Johnson's case and could potentially prove he is innocent of the crime he's been charged with. Johnson was convicted of the murder of Carol Heath in April of 1993. She was found only wearing a t-shirt. The evidence shows she was stabbed in the throat and raped. Johnson has maintained his innocence throughout his entire time in prison. The ACLU has filed a stay for Ledell Lee's upcoming execution as well as filing a motion for post-conviction DNA testing in Ledell Lee's case Monday. The group cited two reasons why Lee's execution should be stayed. The ACLU said that DNA testing at the time of his conviction wasn't "sophisticated enough" to test fragmented samples. The second reason, the ACLU said, is that Lee has an intellectual disability that stems from fetal alcohol syndrome. With the scheduled executions dominating much of the talk in Arkansas, one Conway woman reached out to us and asked us, "Does the death penalty deter crime?" We brought her closer to the answer by introducing her to a criminologist to verify whether capital punishment does or does not decrease violent crime. Jenny Wallace met us at UA Little Rock where we would begin to help her understand if using capital punishment actually does deter crime. "I think I believed in the death penalty because everyone around me had that same belief so I kind of just wore those beliefs," Wallace said. On Friday, April 14, the Arkansas Supreme Court granted an emergency stay for Bruce Ward, one of the 7 death row inmates set to be executed starting on Monday, April 17. He would've been one of the first two men executed under the state's plan. Ward's attorneys argue that since he's diagnosed as a schizophrenic he has no "rational understanding" of his upcoming execution. Ward has been on death row since 1990 for the strangulation death of 18-year-old Rebecca Lynn Doss. In a private conference with local press, Governor Asa Hutchinson announced he is confident in the state's execution process. He said everything will be moving forward as planned. Hutchinson said that overall, Arkansans support the death penalty and it's time to provide closure for the victim’s families after decades of legal work. The governor said he has done his homework and asked the Department of Correction staff many questions about carrying out the executions. He feels the personnel that will be involved in the executions are well prepared, experienced and trained. Arkansas has never used sedative midazolam At the heart of the federal court challenge to Arkansas’s death penalty protocol is a drug called “midazolam.” It’s the latest battleground in the 50-year debate over capital punishment in the United States. With Arkansas planning to execute seven inmates before its supply of the sedative runs out at the end of April, the issue is moving the state to the international stage. But midazolam has never been used in Arkansas in executions, and no state has ever successfully executed two inmates in one day using the sedative. Verify: What's the true cost of the death penalty? Whether you’re for or against the death penalty, there is a heavy cost associated with the care of death row inmates. We wanted to verify the truth of it all by looking at the cost of execution versus incarceration. "If we execute these people there may be some short term cost savings for those people, but when you look at the process as a whole, those savings are a lot less," said Robert Lytle, a Criminal Justice Assistant Professor at UA Little Rock. After a trial, there are often multiple appeals, new trials, and standard legal proceedings in death penalty cases. The executions scheduled now are coming about 20 years after sentencing. As the executions loomed near on Monday, the battle raged on between the State of Arkansas and attorneys for several death row inmates inside courtrooms across the country. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Judge Kristine Baker's ruling Monday evening. Baker's ruling halted the executions over concerns about midazolam, one of the drugs used in the three-drug cocktail. But it was the Arkansas Supreme Court that made two big decisions in the execution fight. The court managed to halt the executions of both Don Davis and Ward. Those two men were set to be executed Monday. Arkansas's high court also threw out a temporary restraining order which effectively blocked the use of one drug, vecuronium bromide. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge decided to only challenge the block of Davis' executions. James Phillips’ wife, 34 year-old Mary Phillips, was raped and murdered and his daughter was almost beat to death by Jack Jones, one of the seven death row inmates set to be executed. Phillips will be on the front row of Jones' execution April 24 as a witness. “I don't think it will bother me a bit," he said. "I've been waiting for justice for nearly 22 years and that's all I'm after.” While people around the world focus on the upcoming executions in Arkansas, some people are watching even more closely. One Arkansas woman is paying attention, to see she could find any additional comfort for her own loss. “I just hope that this brings peace and comfort to the families,” said Bethany Ault-Pyle. “I really do. I think that, I know I would feel like it would, for me, if I could get that sort of justice for Briana.” Ault-Pyle did not get what she felt was necessary after the murder of her daughter, Briana Ault, in 2010. Here's why it takes so long to execute a death row inmate According to the Bureau of Justice and Death Penalty Information Center, the average time from sentencing to execution for was just around 16 years. If no appeals are raised, that process can happen as soon as six months, but that rarely happens. The wait to be executed puts stress not only on the inmates, but leaves grieving families in agony during the entire process. Sister of murdered man wants funds to help victims' families One woman whose brother was murdered in 1968 is against the death penalty, partly because she wants funds put towards helping victims’ families instead of sentencing the accused to death. In a special report, we told you the Arkansas Public Defender Commission can spend an estimate of $75,000 - $100,000 more in cases where the death penalty is sought. Judith Elane thinks that money can be better spent. "The death penalty has never made any sense to me. I recall as a young person encountering, why do we kill people who kill people to teach killing people is wrong?” said Elane. While an advocate to abolish the death penalty, Elane knows the pain of losing a brother to murder. A federal judge has blocked the execution of one of the eight inmates Arkansas was planning to put to death this month. "We will respond to any and all challenges that might occur between now and the executions as the prisoners continue to use all available means to delay their lawful sentence,” said Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. All eyes on Arkansas as executions people draw near Only a few hundred people live in the town of Grady, but the upcoming executions are drawing the attention of millions. Deborah Robinson has spent a long time with this story. As a freelance journalist who works in both Little Rock and Las Vegas, she has spent most of the last two years writing a book about the eight inmates. Talk about the pending executions has made its way into churches and religious settings. Many preachers, rabbis and bishops have been vocal about their stance. Rabbi Barry Block of Congregation B'Nai Israel said he signed a multi-faith clergy letter opposing the upcoming executions. I’m afraid that Arkansas would be blood thirsty if it allowed seven or eight executions to go forward,” said Block. One week before executions are scheduled to begin, a new trial began April 10, which could be the last, best hope for the seven men who are scheduled to die later this month. Inside the federal courthouse in downtown Little Rock, lawyers for the seven condemned inmates argued that midazolam, the first drug in the series of the three-drug cocktail the state plans to use, violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Doctor Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist from Emory University in Atlanta, testified that midazolam won't prevent pain, but will prevent the memory of pain. Victim says inmate has found God, shouldn't be executed Marcell Williams is on death row for killing 22 year old Stacy Errickson in 1994. He was found guilty of abducting her from a gas station, raping, and suffocating the young mother of two. Her body was found in a shallow grave weeks later. “This man has turned his life around, and he’s found God," said Dina Windle, who claims she was abducted, raped, and tied up by Marcel Williams 22 years ago. She managed to escape and is now asking the parole board to give Williams another chance at life. It is almost impossible to imagine what the men and women who are tasked with carrying out executions go through, particularly when confronted with one that does not go as planned. Two dozen former corrections officials and administrators recently sent a letter to Hutchinson asking him to reconsider the schedule, out of concern for the “extraordinary and unnecessary stress and trauma” to the members of the execution team. Managing seven or eight rapid executions will be a brutalizing experience, even if there are no surprises. Hall witnessed the execution of Kristina Riggs in 2000, he told us that 17 years later it still haunts him. We spoke with him on the phone today, but he declined an on-camera interview, saying the conversation would just be too hard. He signed up because he felt it was his duty as Riggs Lawyer but he said he doesn't know why anyone would want to volunteer. He still remembers the last moments before Riggs death: she sang gospel hymns and prayed. He said when the drugs hit her system her whole body turned gray, an image he said he'll never forget. Critics of capital punishment hope Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson hears their message to stop the scheduled executions of the “Arkansas Eight.” If he is at home, he might. Members of the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty are staging a daily rally outside the Governor’s Mansion. They held signs, marched up and down the block, and chanted for mercy Wednesday afternoon, for Jason McGehee, and the rest of the Arkansas 8. McGehee became the first of the death row inmates scheduled for execution later this month to earn a recommendation of clemency from the Arkansas Parole Board. ||||| By ANDREW DeMILLO and SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press VARNER, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas officials vowed to carry out a double execution later this week after the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a setback to the state’s plan to resume capital punishment with eight executions in two weeks. Just minutes before Don Davis was set to die Monday, the court issued a ruling sparing his life. The decision was the second time Davis has been granted a reprieve shortly before execution — he came within hours of death in 2010. It capped a chaotic day of legal wrangling in state and federal courts Monday as Arkansas tried to clear obstacles to carrying out its first executions since 2005. Gov. Asa Hutchinson had set an aggressive schedule of eight executions by the end of April, when the state’s supply of the key lethal injection drug midazolam expires. If the state had been able to move ahead with its 11-day execution plan, it would have been the most inmates put to death by any state in such a short period since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The executions of Davis and Bruce Ward were supposed to be the first two, but Ward received a stay from the Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday and the state did not appeal the decision. The state did challenge a stay granted to Davis; the last-minute U.S. Supreme Court ruling ensured that he would not enter the death chamber Monday. Attorneys had requested the stay while the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a separate case concerning inmates’ access to independent mental health experts. “The Arkansas Supreme Court recognized that executing either man, before the Court answers this question … would be profoundly arbitrary and unjust,” Scott Braden, an assistant federal public defender for the inmates, said Monday. Davis had already been served a last meal of fried chicken, rolls, beans, mashed potatoes and strawberry cake, and witnesses were being moved toward the execution chamber when the Supreme Court ruled just minutes before his death warrant expired at midnight. Davis was sentenced to death for the 1990 death of Jane Daniel in Rogers, Arkansas. The woman was killed in her home after Davis broke in and shot her with a .44-caliber revolver he found there. Despite the setbacks, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said Arkansas would press ahead with other planned executions, including two set for Thursday — Ledell Lee and Stacey Johnson. “There are five scheduled executions remaining with nothing preventing them from occurring, but I will continue to respond to any and all legal challenges brought by the prisoners,” Rutledge said. Lawyers for the inmates were not immediately available after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Earlier in the day, the state had cleared two of the main obstacles to resuming executions. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal judge’s ruling blocking the executions over the use of midazolam, a sedative used in flawed executions in other states. The state Supreme Court also lifted a lower court ruling preventing the state from using another lethal injection drug that a supplier said was sold to be used for medical purposes, not executions. The high court’s order sparing Davis offered no explanation, but none of the justices voted in favor of lifting the stay. Monday marked the first day that the U.S. Supreme Court was in session with new Justice Neil Gorsuch on the bench. Arkansas enacted a law two years ago keeping secret the source of its lethal injection drugs, a move officials said was necessary to find new supplies. Despite the secrecy measure, prison officials have said it will be very difficult to find a supplier willing to sell Arkansas midazolam after its current stock expires. ___ DeMillo reported from Little Rock. Associated Press writers Jill Bleed in Little Rock and Kelly P. Kissel in Varner contributed to this report. ___ Follow Sean Murphy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy and Andrew DeMillo at www.twitter.com/ademillo . ||||| LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Supreme Court has halted the executions of two men originally scheduled to be put to death Monday night, putting another legal roadblock in place in Arkansas’ plan to conduct eight executions before the end of April. Justices granted the stays Monday afternoon for Don Davis and Bruce Ward. The inmates wanted stays of execution while the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a case concerning access to independent mental health experts by defendants. The U.S. high court is set to hold oral arguments in that case April 24. Related: Arkansas Judge Barred from Ruling on Executions After Showing Up at Protest The inmates’ attorneys say they were denied access to independent mental health experts. They’ve argued that Ward has a lifelong history of severe mental illness and that Davis has an IQ in the range of intellectual disability. Related: Arkansas Executions: First Two Men Scheduled to Die Push for Delay Arkansas’ supply of one key execution drug expires April 30. A federal judge has also stayed the executions on different grounds, and the state has appealed that ruling. ||||| LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Latest on Arkansas' plan to execute several inmates before the end of April (all times local): The Arkansas Supreme Court has halted one of two executions set for Thursday, saying the condemned inmate should have a chance to prove his innocence with more DNA testing. Stacey Johnson claims that advanced DNA techniques could show that he didn't kill Carol Heath, a 25-year-old mother of two, in 1993 at her southwest Arkansas apartment. In a 4-3 ruling late Wednesday afternoon, the state's highest court issued a stay for Johnson and ordered a new hearing in lower court for Johnson to make his claims. Johnson was set for execution Thursday night along with inmate Ledell Lee, who is also seeking a stay in a separate case. A group of Arkansas death-row inmates has filed another emergency stay request with the U.S. Supreme Court, this time challenging the state's initial plan to execute eight inmates over 11 days before Arkansas' supply of an execution drug expires. The inmates claim in their request Wednesday that such a compressed schedule "is contrary to the evolving standards of decency." The legal challenge is one of several filed by the inmates. They include Ledell Lee and Stacey Johnson, who are set for execution Thursday night. Gov. Asa Hutchinson scheduled the eight executions to take place before the state's supply of midazolam expires April 30. Three of those inmates have since received stays. A deputy director of the Arkansas prison system says he deliberately ordered an execution drug in a way so there wouldn't be a paper trail. Rory Griffin testified Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by medical supply company McKesson Corp., which is asking a judge to not allow Arkansas to use its drug in executions. Griffin said he used phone calls and text messages last year to order one of Arkansas' three execution drugs. He said he didn't keep records of the texts, but a McKesson representative did. Tim Jenkins of McKesson says Griffin never told him the drug would be used for executions. Griffin said he did tell Jenkins. In text messages from Jenkins' phone, which came up at a court hearing Wednesday, there is no mention that the drug would be used in executions. The Arkansas attorney general's office is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject execution stays for a group of death row inmates, including five who are set for lethal injection over the next two weeks. The state described the inmates' challenge as a last-minute delay that would "manipulate the judicial process." Two inmates are scheduled for execution Thursday night with three more executions planned for next week. The state's response detailed the killings that sent the men to death row and argued that justice has been denied to the victims' loved ones. The filing says: "As is oft said, justice delayed is justice denied." A group of Arkansas inmates is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block upcoming executions in the state, citing concerns with one of the lethal injection drugs. The request was filed Wednesday by the eight inmates for whom Gov. Asa Hutchinson scheduled execution dates this month. A ninth death-row inmate who does not have a scheduled execution date also signed on to the request. Last week, a federal judge in Little Rock blocked the executions, citing concerns with the sedative midazolam that has been used in problematic executions in other states. But the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that order Monday, and the inmates appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Two executions are set for Thursday, followed by another double execution Monday and a single execution April 27. A double execution planned for earlier this week was halted by the state Supreme Court. A federal judge this month halted the last of the executions. An inmate set to die Thursday night is asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to block his execution so he can pursue more DNA tests in hopes of proving his innocence. A judge in Pulaski County on Tuesday rejected the request for DNA testing from inmate Ledell Lee. Attorneys for the inmate filed a request Wednesday for a stay with the state's highest court. Arkansas plans to execute Lee and another inmate, Stacey Johnson, on Thursday night. There are no current stays blocking those executions, but both inmates have pending court challenges. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson originally scheduled eight executions to occur before the end of April, when one hard-to-acquire lethal injection drug expires. But courts have blocked three of those executions from going forward. Lawyers for Arkansas inmates condemned to die Thursday in a planned double execution are claiming they are innocent and one of them says advanced DNA techniques could show he didn't kill a woman in 1993. Their strategy to win stays is in marked contrast to the first two inmates who faced the death chamber and were spared Monday by arguing they should not be put to death because of mental health issues. Arkansas officials are vowing to press ahead despite the setback to plans to resume capital punishment after a 12-year hiatus. The state originally wanted to put to death eight men in 11 days but that is down to five after the two won stays Monday and a third was earlier put on hold by a federal judge. ||||| LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Latest on Arkansas’ plan to execute several inmates before the end of April (all times local): A group of Arkansas inmates is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block upcoming executions in the state, citing concerns with one of the lethal injection drugs. The request was filed Wednesday by the eight inmates for whom Gov. Asa Hutchinson scheduled execution dates this month. A ninth death-row inmate who does not have a scheduled execution date also signed on to the request. Last week, a federal judge in Little Rock blocked the executions, citing concerns with the sedative midazolam that has been used in problematic executions in other states. But the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that order Monday, and the inmates appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Two executions are set for Thursday, followed by another double execution Monday and a single execution April 27. A double execution planned for earlier this week was halted by the state Supreme Court. A federal judge this month halted the last of the executions. An inmate set to die Thursday night is asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to block his execution so he can pursue more DNA tests in hopes of proving his innocence. A judge in Pulaski County on Tuesday rejected the request for DNA testing from inmate Ledell Lee. Attorneys for the inmate filed a request Wednesday for a stay with the state’s highest court. Arkansas plans to execute Lee and another inmate, Stacey Johnson, on Thursday night. There are no current stays blocking those executions, but both inmates have pending court challenges. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson originally scheduled eight executions to occur before the end of April, when one hard-to-acquire lethal injection drug expires. But courts have blocked three of those executions from going forward. Lawyers for Arkansas inmates condemned to die Thursday in a planned double execution are claiming they are innocent and one of them says advanced DNA techniques could show he didn’t kill a woman in 1993. Their strategy to win stays is in marked contrast to the first two inmates who faced the death chamber and were spared Monday by arguing they should not be put to death because of mental health issues. Arkansas officials are vowing to press ahead despite the setback to plans to resume capital punishment after a 12-year hiatus. The state originally wanted to put to death eight men in 11 days but that is down to five after the two won stays Monday and a third was earlier put on hold by a federal judge.
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The Supreme Court of the United States refuses to vacate a stay of execution issued by the Arkansas Supreme Court. Arkansas's highest court has also put on hold the execution of another inmate, Bruce Ward. The state had planned to execute eight inmates in eleven days. That schedule, as well as the use of the drug midazolam, sparked a broad range of legal challenges and humanitarian concerns about the executions. Today's planned execution of Don W. Davis would have been the state's first since 2005.
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Sussex voters are set to head to the polls in June as Prime Minister Theresa May has announced a snap general election. The Conservatives under David Cameron won a narrow majority in the House of Commons back in 2015, with the SNP making massive gains in Scotland, while the Lib Dems losing all but eight of their MPs. In Sussex the Tories comfortably held on to all their seats, apart from Hove, snatching both Lewes and Eastbourne from the Liberal Democrats. Caroline Lucas is the only Green MP, having represented Brighton Pavilion since 2010, while Labour’s Peter Kyle represents Hove. Outside the steps of Number 10 Downing Street this morning, Mrs May said: “Britain is leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back, and as we look to the future the Government has the right plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.” She accused the other parties of ‘game playing’ and argued that ‘division in Westminster will put at risk our ability to make a success of Brexit’. Mrs May said: “We need a general election and we need it now.” In a statement, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “I welcome the Prime Minister’s decision to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first. Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and NHS. “In the last couple of weeks, Labour has set out policies that offer a clear and credible choice for the country. We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain.” Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “This election is your chance to change the direction of our country. “If you want to avoid a disastrous Hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the Single Market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance. Keith Taylor, a Green Party MEP for the South East, said: “Let’s be clear, this election will be a referendum on Brexit and the best opportunity we have of stopping the Britain committing an act of great self-harm. As Greens, we will be campaigning on a proudly, loudly pro-European platform.” The election is set to take place on Thursday June 8. What do you think? Comment below or email the newsdesk. To register to vote click here. Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! Always the first with your local news. Be part of it. ||||| Sussex voters are set to head to the polls in June as Prime Minister Theresa May has announced a snap general election. The Conservatives under David Cameron won a narrow majority in the House of Commons back in 2015, with the SNP making massive gains in Scotland, while the Lib Dems losing all but eight of their MPs. In Sussex the Tories comfortably held on to all their seats, apart from Hove, snatching both Lewes and Eastbourne from the Liberal Democrats. Caroline Lucas is the only Green MP, having represented Brighton Pavilion since 2010, while Labour’s Peter Kyle represents Hove. Outside the steps of Number 10 Downing Street this morning, Mrs May said: “Britain is leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back, and as we look to the future the Government has the right plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.” She accused the other parties of ‘game playing’ and argued that ‘division in Westminster will put at risk our ability to make a success of Brexit’. Mrs May said: “We need a general election and we need it now.” In a statement, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “I welcome the Prime Minister’s decision to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first. Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and NHS. “In the last couple of weeks, Labour has set out policies that offer a clear and credible choice for the country. We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain.” Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “This election is your chance to change the direction of our country. “If you want to avoid a disastrous Hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the Single Market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance. Keith Taylor, a Green Party MEP for the South East, said: “Let’s be clear, this election will be a referendum on Brexit and the best opportunity we have of stopping the Britain committing an act of great self-harm. As Greens, we will be campaigning on a proudly, loudly pro-European platform.” The election is set to take place on Thursday June 8. What do you think? Comment below or email the newsdesk. To register to vote click here. Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! Always the first with your local news. Be part of it. ||||| LONDON
• British lawmakers yesterday overwhelmingly backed Prime Minister Theresa May's call for a snap election, paving the way for a June vote that she hopes will give her a "mandate to complete Brexit". Mrs May surprised allies and opponents on Tuesday when she announced her plan to bring forward an election that was not due until 2020, saying she needed to avoid a clash of priorities in the sensitive final stages of the two-year Brexit talks, reported Reuters. After addressing a rowdy session of the House of Commons, Mrs May won the support of 522 lawmakers in the 650-seat Parliament for an election on June 8, an easy victory for the Prime Minister, who could see her majority increase by at least 100 seats in the poll. "I believe that, at this moment of enormous national significance, there should be unity here in Westminster, not division," Mrs May told Parliament. "A general election will provide the country with five years of strong and stable leadership to see us through the negotiations and ensure we are able to go on to make a success as a result, and that is crucial." In a sign of the key campaign issues ahead, Mrs May traded barbs in the Commons with opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose party is deeply divided and languishing up to 20 points behind the Conservatives, reported Agence France-Presse. Mr Corbyn accused the government of "broken promises" on health, education and the economy during its seven years in office. Mrs May hit back that Labour offered only "bankruptcy and chaos", but denied she was complacent, saying: "We will be out there fighting for every vote."
• Critics say snap elections have mainly been used by British leaders to hold early votes when it benefited their own parties. In response to that criticism, the then ruling coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats passed the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act in 2011 to prevent future snap elections from being used as a political tool. Under that law, general elections are supposed to be held on a regular five-year schedule, with the next vote due in 2020. Technically, there are now only two ways to call early elections. The House of Commons can pave the way for an early vote by approving it with a two-thirds majority, or it can defeat the prime minister in a vote of confidence and have that result stand for two weeks. Labour's top ranks convened an emergency meeting after Mrs May's announcement on Tuesday, where Mr Corbyn told MPs he did not underestimate the task ahead, but "let's get out there". Several Labour lawmakers told The Guardian they felt their leader was too hasty in supporting a snap election based on Mrs May's terms and in a climate of national instability because of Brexit. In a worrying sign for Labour, three of its MPs have already announced they will not stand again. Former British finance minister George Osborne, a Conservative who is a key opponent of Brexit, also said yesterday he was quitting Parliament, but would "go on fighting" for Britain as editor of London's Evening Standard newspaper. "I am stepping down from the House of Commons - for now," he wrote in a letter to his constituents. For Scotland's First Minister, Ms Nicola Sturgeon, the move was a "huge political miscalculation" that could help the Scottish National Party's (SNP's) efforts to hold an independence vote, reported Reuters. "If the SNP wins this election in Scotland and the Tories (Conservatives) don't, then Theresa May's attempt to block our mandate to give the people of Scotland a choice over their own future when the time is right will crumble to dust," she said. The president of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, believes "real" Brexit talks will only start after British snap elections, an EU spokesman said yesterday. Mr Juncker had spoken to Mrs May on Tuesday after her call for early elections. The spokesman noted that this did not mean there will be a delay in Brexit talks, "because negotiations were meant to start in June regardless of the UK government's decision to call an election on the 8th". May can secure her mandate on Europe Brexit gambit clever but not smart ||||| Prime Minister Theresa May has called a snap election for June 8. Here is Mrs May's full statement made outside 10 Downing Street at 11am this morning. "I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet, where we agreed that the Government should call a general election, to be held on June 8. "I want to explain the reasons for that decision, what will happen next and the choice facing the British people when you come to vote in this election. "Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European Union, Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership, and since I became prime minister the Government has delivered precisely that. "Despite predictions of immediate financial and economic danger, since the referendum we have seen consumer confidence remain high, record numbers of jobs, and economic growth that has exceeded all expectations. "We have also delivered on the mandate that we were handed by the referendum result. "Britain is leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back. "And as we look to the future, the Government has the right plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe. "We want a deep and special partnership between a strong and successful European Union and a United Kingdom that is free to chart its own way in the world. "That means we will regain control of our own money, our own laws and our own borders and we will be free to strike trade deals with old friends and new partners all around the world. "This is the right approach, and it is in the national interest. But the other political parties oppose it. "At this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division. "The country is coming together, but Westminster is not. "In recent weeks Labour has threatened to vote against the deal we reach with the European Union. "The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business of government to a standstill. "The Scottish National Party say they will vote against the legislation that formally repeals Britain's membership of the European Union. "And unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way. "Our opponents believe that because the Government's majority is so small, our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change course. "They under-estimate our determination to get the job done and I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country." The Fixed-Term Parliaments Act means the snap general election can only happen if two-thirds of MPs vote for it in the Commons. The vote is due to be held tomorrow. ||||| Theresa May has called a General Election for June 8th. The Prime Minister is just two years into a five year parliamentary term and had recently stated that there would be no snap election while the Brexit negotiations took place. It seems the election has been prompted by a combination of opinion polls giving the Conservatives a near-20-point lead over second-placed Labour, and the prospect of pressing ahead with the Brexit agenda with a majority of just twelve. However with more than a dozen Conservative MPs being investigated for possible breach of election expenses rules – and a very slender Conservative majority in the House of Commons – it might be that this is a jump now to avoid being pushed later. “I have just chaired a meeting of the cabinet, where we agreed that the government should call a general election, to be held on 8 June. “I want to explain the reasons for that decision, what will happen next and the choice facing the British people when you come to vote in this election. “Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European Union, Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership, and since I became prime minister the government has delivered precisely that. “Despite predictions of immediate financial and economic danger, since the referendum we have seen consumer confidence remain high, record numbers of jobs, and economic growth that has exceeded all expectations. “We have also delivered on the mandate that we were handed by the referendum result. Britain is leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back. The Brexit referendum result and the government’s pursuit of a “hard Brexit” has caused extensive disquiet including among LGBT equality campaigners who note that most LGBT rights battles in the UK have been won not through Westminster action but through European court rulings and legislation. Today’s opinion polls suggest the most likely outcome of the election is a bigger Conservative majority more able to bring about that “hard Brexit” – with Conservative losses to the Lib Dems more than offset by Labour losses to the Conservatives. ||||| Sussex voters are set to head to the polls in June as Prime Minister Theresa May has announced a snap general election. The Conservatives under David Cameron won a narrow majority in the House of Commons back in 2015, with the SNP making massive gains in Scotland, while the Lib Dems losing all but eight of their MPs. In Sussex the Tories comfortably held on to all their seats, apart from Hove, snatching both Lewes and Eastbourne from the Liberal Democrats. Caroline Lucas is the only Green MP, having represented Brighton Pavilion since 2010, while Labour’s Peter Kyle represents Hove. Outside the steps of Number 10 Downing Street this morning, Mrs May said: “Britain is leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back, and as we look to the future the Government has the right plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.” She accused the other parties of ‘game playing’ and argued that ‘division in Westminster will put at risk our ability to make a success of Brexit’. Mrs May said: “We need a general election and we need it now.” In a statement, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “I welcome the Prime Minister’s decision to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first. Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and NHS. “In the last couple of weeks, Labour has set out policies that offer a clear and credible choice for the country. We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain.” Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “This election is your chance to change the direction of our country. “If you want to avoid a disastrous Hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the Single Market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance. Keith Taylor, a Green Party MEP for the South East, said: “Let’s be clear, this election will be a referendum on Brexit and the best opportunity we have of stopping the Britain committing an act of great self-harm. As Greens, we will be campaigning on a proudly, loudly pro-European platform.” The election is set to take place on Thursday June 8. What do you think? Comment below or email the newsdesk. To register to vote click here. Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! Always the first with your local news. Be part of it. ||||| British Prime Minister Theresa May called for a surprise 'snap' election Tuesday, ending months of speculation as to whether she will pull the trigger in order to exploit the weaknesses of the opposition Labour Party and strengthen the government's Brexit position. But May can't just simply order an election to be held. Instead, she needs approval by a parliamentary supermajority. Here, a guide to the process: Why can't she just call an election? It's due to a law introduced under her predecessor as Prime Minister, David Cameron. Until 2010, prime ministers could call an election whenever they wanted. The coalition government of then-Prime Minister Cameron introduced the Fixed-Term Parliaments Bill, which his administration said would be a way to remove the unchecked right of the prime minister to dissolve Parliament and trigger the election for " pure political gain ." "For the first time in our history, the timing of general elections will not be a plaything of governments and Prime Ministers will no longer have the power to go to the polls at a time of their own choosing," Deputy Nick Clegg told lawmakers during the bill's second reading in Sept. 2010. "Instead, there will be greater stability in our political system and people will know exactly how long a parliament can be expected to last." The Fixed-term Parliaments Act (FTPA) came into law a year later and provided a fixed polling day for general elections— held every five years on the first Thursday in May. The next election is due to take place in May 2020. So how is she planning to hold one? The FTPA allows for two ways for the fixed five-year term to be cut short: May has chosen the first option, which requires a parliamentary vote scheduled for Wednesday. Under the terms of the FTPA, May will need 434 out of the total 650 lawmakers in the House of Commons to back her. This means May needs more than 100 lawmakers from opposition parties to vote for an early election, as her party only has 330 seats. Is there a risk of her losing? It's highly unlikely. Opposition parties will find it hard to vote against the chance to defeat the Conservative Party at the ballot, despite the vulnerability of some of their seats. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose party holds the most seats in opposition, has already said his lawmakers will vote for an election on Wednesday. During her speech on Tuesday, May goaded the opposition to pass her Wednesday motion. "This is your moment to show you mean it, to show you are not opposing the Government for the sake of it, to show that you do not treat politics as a game" she said. "Let us tomorrow vote for an election, let us put forward our plans for Brexit and our alternative programmes for government and then let the people decide" she said. ||||| On the steps of 10 Downing Street, Theresa May did not call a General Election. It doesn't work that way anymore. The Fixed-Term Parliaments Act introduced by the coalition Government in 2011 makes it harder for a Prime Minister to call a snap general election, but by no means impossible. Before then, a Prime Minister could call an election whenever he or she chose within a five year limit, giving just six weeks notice. The Fixed-Term Parliaments Act gave a specific date for general elections to take place every five years, but there are ways to get round it. Now, Theresa May has in effect challenged the Labour Party to grant her the election she wants. She has selected the less controversial of the two methods available to her - calling a Parliamentary vote on the matter which must be passed by a two thirds majority. By this method, Theresa May could only get the General Election she wanted with considerable backing from Labour. The vast majority of Labour MPs, if not all Labour MPs, know their prospects are bleak. But an opposition party effectively turning down the chance of an election would be unprecedented, and humiliating in the extreme. But these are unprecedented times. In her statement, Theresa May told Labour it would have to choose whether it wanted opposition for opposition's sake. And whether it wanted to 'treat politics as a game. For his part, Jeremy Corbyn has long said he would support the vote for a general election were one to be called. Her other option, by the way, would have been to call for a no confidence motion in her own government. The act did not change the ruling that If the House of Commons passes a vote of no confidence in the government, then Parliament is dissolved and an election must be held. A governing party with a majority would have the numbers to pass a no confidence motion in its own government, which would trigger a general election. This is a particularly inelegant solution and it is no surprise Theresa May chose not to use it. When Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in 2007 and enjoyed a surge in popularity, he allowed speculation to mount that he would call an election. When he eventually summoned Andrew Marr to Number 10 to tell him there would not be one, his credibility never fully recovered. ||||| LONDON — In a shock announcement, Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday called for an early general election to be held June 8 to seek a strong mandate as she negotiates Britain's exit from the European Union. Standing outside 10 Downing Street, May said she would ask the House of Commons on Wednesday to back her call for an election, just two years after the last vote and three years before the next scheduled date in May 2020. She said that since Britons voted to leave the EU in June, the country had come together, but politicians had not. She said the political divisions "risk our ability to make a success of Brexit." At present, May's governing Conservatives have a small majority, with 330 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. With the main opposition Labour Party weakened and divided under left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn and the pro-EU Liberal Democrats holding just nine Commons seats, May is calculating that the election will bring her an expanded crop of Conservative lawmakers. That would make it easier for her to ignore opposition calls for a softer EU exit — making compromises to retain some benefits of membership — and to face down hardliners within her own party who want a no-compromise "hard Brexit" that many economists fear could be devastating. May triggered a two-year countdown to Britain's exit from the EU last month, and high-stakes negotiations to settle divorce terms and agree on a new relationship are expected to start within weeks. European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted that he had a "good phone call" with May about the election, and the council said the bloc's Brexit plans were unchanged by the announcement. Leaders of EU states are due to adopt negotiating guidelines at an April 29 summit, and the bloc will prepare detailed plans for the talks with Britain by late May. May took office in July following an internal Conservative leadership contest, after predecessor David Cameron stepped down when voters rejected his call to remain in the EU. Since then she had repeatedly ruled out calling an early election to get her own mandate. But May said Tuesday she had "reluctantly" changed her mind. "We need a general election and we need one now," she said. May said that if there is not an election soon, "the negotiations with the European Union will reach their most difficult stage in the run-up to the next scheduled election." "Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country," she said. May said that "our opponents believe that because the government's majority is so small, our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change course" on leaving the EU. "They are wrong," she said. "They underestimate our determination to get the job done and I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country." Under Britain's Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, elections are held every five years, but the prime minister can call a snap election if two-thirds of lawmakers vote for it. That is highly likely to happen on Wednesday. Labour Party leader Corbyn said he welcomed May's decision "to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first." Labour campaigned for Britain to remain in the EU, but Corbyn says he will respect voters' decision to leave. He said Labour would fight the election promising a fairer society and economy, and "a Brexit that works for all." Polls give May's Conservatives a double-digit lead on Labour. But the election is still a risk for May, and could widen divisions within the United Kingdom. The country voted 52-48 percent to leave the EU, but Scotland backed remaining by a large majority, and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is seeking to hold a referendum on independence from the U.K. Sturgeon said Tuesday that May was seeking "to crush the voices of people who disagree with her." She said it was "all the more important that Scotland is protected from a Tory (Conservative) Party which now sees the chance of grabbing control of government for many years to come and moving the U.K. further to the right - forcing through a hard Brexit and imposing deeper cuts in the process." The Scottish National Party currently holds 54 of Scotland's 59 seats in the British Parliament, making it the third-largest party there. The pound surged 0.7 percent against the dollar to $1.2658 after May's announcement, recovering from a 0.4 percent drop an hour earlier as rumors swirled about the surprise statement. ||||| Sussex voters are set to head to the polls in June as Prime Minister Theresa May has announced a snap general election. The Conservatives under David Cameron won a narrow majority in the House of Commons back in 2015, with the SNP making massive gains in Scotland, while the Lib Dems losing all but eight of their MPs. In Sussex the Tories comfortably held on to all their seats, apart from Hove, snatching both Lewes and Eastbourne from the Liberal Democrats. Caroline Lucas is the only Green MP, having represented Brighton Pavilion since 2010, while Labour’s Peter Kyle represents Hove. Outside the steps of Number 10 Downing Street this morning, Mrs May said: “Britain is leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back, and as we look to the future the Government has the right plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.” She accused the other parties of ‘game playing’ and argued that ‘division in Westminster will put at risk our ability to make a success of Brexit’. Mrs May said: “We need a general election and we need it now.” In a statement, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “I welcome the Prime Minister’s decision to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first. Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and NHS. “In the last couple of weeks, Labour has set out policies that offer a clear and credible choice for the country. We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain.” Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “This election is your chance to change the direction of our country. “If you want to avoid a disastrous Hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the Single Market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance. Keith Taylor, a Green Party MEP for the South East, said: “Let’s be clear, this election will be a referendum on Brexit and the best opportunity we have of stopping the Britain committing an act of great self-harm. As Greens, we will be campaigning on a proudly, loudly pro-European platform.” The election is set to take place on Thursday June 8. What do you think? Comment below or email the newsdesk. To register to vote click here. Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! Always the first with your local news. Be part of it.
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British Prime Minister Theresa May proposes that a snap election for the House of Commons will be held on the 8th of June. A two-thirds majority of the House of Commons is needed to approve this, eventually tomorrow. The Labour and Liberal Democrats party leaders have expressed their support.
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Givaga/iStock/Thinkstock(PARIS) — ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on police officers on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Thursday evening that left one officer dead and two others wounded. The terrorist group released a message through its news agency Amaq saying that the attacker was “one of the fighters for the Islamic State.” The assailant was killed but has not been publicly identified, a police spokesperson said. French President François Hollande said that one bystander was injured during a shootout between police and the attacker and that the leads so far indicated the attack was of a “terrorist nature.” French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henri Brandet said during a press briefing that a man exited his car and started a shooting at a police car with an automatic weapon around 9 p.m. The attacker continued shooting at police as he attempted to flee the scene and and was killed by police in an exchange of gunfire, Brandet said. A terrorism investigation into the attack had been opened, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. Paris police posted tweets earlier in the evening telling people the area around the Avenue des Champs-Élysées was on lockdown and that a police operation was underway. The U.S. State Department’s bureau of consular affairs warned its Twitter followers to avoid the area “after a shooting.” The Champs-Élysées is an iconic boulevard popular with tourists and Parisians alike that has theaters, shops, restaurants and, at one end, the Arc de Triomphe. President Donald Trump shared “our condolences” with the people of France during a news conference with the Italian prime minister, who was at the White House today. “It’s a very terrible thing that’s going on in the world today,” Trump said, adding that he thought it was “another terrorist attack,” though that had not been confirmed at the time. “What can you say? It just never ends. We have to be strong, we have to be vigilant,” he said. The incident comes as France heads into a presidential election to be held on Sunday. Several of the major candidates cancelled their scheduled campaign stops for Friday, French daily Le Figaro reported. ||||| Paris: A police officer was gunned down in the heart of this capital on Thursday, just three days before French voters will cast ballots in the first round of the presidential election. Police officers control passersby near the Champs Elysees in Paris after a shooting. Photos/AFP Islamic State rushed to claim responsibility for the attack, which left the policeman and the assailant dead and three others wounded, including a civilian. Police have confirmed the identity of the gunman, but are withholding his name to allow time to determine whether he had any accomplices, Paris chief prosecutor François Molins said at the crime scene. Investigators have already searched the shooter's residence in suburban Paris, Efe news agency reported. IS said the assault was the work of one of its "soldiers," a Belgian national identified only by the pseudonym Abu Yusuf al-Baljiki. French President François Hollande said he was convinced the shooting was an act of a "terrorist character." "We have a great determination to battle terrorism here and everywhere our forces are engaged," the head of state said in a televised address. "With regard to the security forces, the nation's support is total," Hollande said, adding that the government will organize a tribute to the slain policeman. Authorities will remain on the highest alert, especially for possible threats to the election, he said. Hollande said he convened a meeting of France's defense council for Friday morning. The incident on the Champs-Elysees, Paris' iconic main avenue, occurred shortly before 9 pm, interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said. A car pulled up next to a police vehicle and a man emerged and opened fire with an automatic weapon, the spokesman said. "On the face of it, the officers were deliberately targeted," Brandet said. Evidence and witness statements indicate that the attack was carried out by one man, Brandet said. Paris police ordered the immediate evacuation of the Champs-Elysees and suspension of service at nearby metro stations. France has been under a state of emergency since November 2015, when more than 130 people were killed in a single night by coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris. Several of the candidates vying in Sunday's presidential ballot issued statements of sympathy for the victims and their families, and some referred to the shooting an act of terrorism. Two presidential hopefuls canceled rallies scheduled for Friday. US President Donald Trump, in comments prior to Hollande's televised address, said that the violence in Paris "looks like another terrorist attack." "It never ends," he said during a joint press conference in Washington with the visiting Italian prime minister, offering condolences to the French people. ||||| PARIS - The Latest on the shootings of two police officers in Paris (all times local): The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the shooting on Paris' Champs Elysees that killed a police officer and left two others gravely wounded. In a statement from its Amaq news agency, the group gave a pseudonym for the shooter indicating he was Belgian. The attacker opened fire on a police van on the avenue before being killed. The claim of responsibility came unusually swiftly for the group, which has been losing territory in Iraq and Syria. And the pseudonym, Abu Yusuf al-Beljiki, indicated that the attacker already had ties of some sort to Islamic State extremists. French President Francois Hollande says he is convinced the circumstances surrounding the attack on Paris police officers points to a terrorist act. Hollande said after one officer was killed and two others seriously wounded on the grand Champs-Elysees boulevard Thursday night he is "convinced" the investigation indicates terrorism. He did not elaborate. Hollande says has convened a National Defence and Security Council to meet on Friday morning. The council consists of top security, police and military officials and several members of government. A French government spokesman says the assailant who opened fire on a Paris police van was armed with an automatic firearm akin to a "war weapon." Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said no tourists or pedestrians were injured during the Thursday night attack that left one officer dead and two seriously wounded. Police say the attacker was shot dead by an officer or officers. Brandet refused to give any specific detail about the suspect's possible criminal history or affiliations. He says the assailant's identity has not been formally confirmed. Brandet says while witnesses have described only one gunman, the possibility of accomplices can't be ruled out. Two police officials say the assailant who shot a police officer to death and wounded two others on Paris' Champs Elysees had been flagged as an extremist. The officials had no other details about the attacker. He was shot to death after opening fire on a police van. They spoke on condition of anonymity to share information about the ongoing investigation French prosecutors have opened a terrorism investigation into the attack on police officers on Paris' famed Champs-Elysees boulevard. The Paris prosecutor's office said counterterrorism investigators are involved in the probe into the Thursday attack that left a police officer and the attacker dead. Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet says that police officers killed the attacker. He said one police officer was killed and two others were seriously injured and hospitalized. Paris police spokeswoman Johanna Primevert says unidentified gunman appeared to be alone when he allegedly opened fire on a police vehicle. French President Francois Hollande has scheduled an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve following the shootings. The shooting happened as the country is under a state of emergency from a series of extremist attacks. A Paris resident says the gunfire that erupted on the French capital's famed Champs-Elysees shopping district sent scores of tourists fleeing into side streets. Badi Ftaiti, a Tunisian-born mason who has spent three decades in Paris, said the attack that officials say left one police officer dead and another wounded didn't panic him. But the 55-year-old says visitors to the French "were running, running....Some were crying. There were tens, maybe even hundreds of them." Asked whether the attack was evidence that "Paris isn't Paris" anymore, as claimed by Donald Trump, Ftaiti said the U.S. President is "barking up the wrong tree." He says: "Paris is Paris. It's America that's not America." U.S. President Donald Trump says Thursday's fatal shooting in Paris "looks like another terrorist attack." Paris police say a gunman has killed a police officer and wounded another before being killed himself in an attack on the Champs-Elysees shopping district. It was unclear how Trump concluded that terrorism may have been a factor. Paris police have yet to announce a motive, Trump is also offering condolences from the U.S. to the people of France. He calls the attack a "terrible thing" and says "it never ends." He says people must be strong and vigilant. The attack came three days before the first round of balloting in France's presidential election. Paris police and soldiers have sealed off the area around the Champs-Elysees after an attack on police, ordering tourists back into their hotels and blocking people from approaching the scene. Emergency vehicles blocked the wide avenue that cuts across central Paris between the Arc de Triomphe and the Tuileries Gardens, normally packed with cars and tourists. Subway stations in the area were closed off on Thursday night while police secure the scene. Security forces are more widespread in Paris since deadly Islamic extremist attacks in recent years, and France remains under a state of emergency. The French Interior Ministry says the shooting attack on the famed Champs-Elysees boulevard in Paris deliberately targeted police officers guarding the area. Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said on BFM television that a man came out of a car and opened fire on a police vehicle. One officer was killed and another was wounded. Brandet says the police officers were "deliberately" targeted. He says police are securing the area but there is "no other police operation underway" in the popular area. Brandet says it's too early to say whether the attacker might have had an accomplice, and said authorities are studying multiple potential motives. Speaking in Washington during a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, U.S. President Donald Trump said the shooting in Paris "looks like another terrorist attack" and sent condolences to France. Paris police say a gunman has killed a police officer and wounded another before being killed himself in an attack on the Champs-Elysees shopping district. Paris police spokeswoman Johanna Primevert told The Associated Press that the attacker targeted police guarding the area near the Franklin Roosevelt subway station Thursday night at the centre of the avenue popular with tourists. The attack came three days before the first round of balloting in France's tense presidential election. Security is high preceding the vote after police said they arrested two men Tuesday in what they described as a thwarted terror attack. The incident recalled two recent attacks on soldiers providing security at prominent locations around Paris, one at the Louvre museum in February and one at Orly airport last month. A witness identified only as Ines told French television station BFM that she heard a shooting and saw a man's body on the ground before police quickly evacuated the area where she works in a shop. A French television station hosting a televised event with the 11 candidates running for president briefly interrupted its broadcast to report the shootings. None of the candidates immediately commented. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet: "A man jumped out and opened fire on the police vehicle" One policeman has been shot dead and two others wounded in central Paris, French police say, with their suspected attacker killed by security forces. A lone gunman opened fire before being killed as he fled the scene, police say. The Champs-Elysees was sealed off. President Francois Hollande said that he was convinced the attack was "terrorist-related". So-called Islamic State (IS) said that one of its "fighters" had carried out the attack. Islamist militancy is a major issue in the polls after recent mass attacks claimed by IS, with 238 people killed in jihadist attacks in France since 2015, according to data from AFP news agency. Several candidates in Sunday's presidential election have ended their campaigns early as a mark of respect, with the centre-right's François Fillon calling on others to halt theirs too. "On the face of it, the officers were deliberately targeted," Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Eyewitness: "I heard two or three shots... then there was just panic all around." Mr Hollande said after crisis talks with his prime minister and interior minister that the security forces had the full support of the nation and a national tribute would be paid to the fallen policeman. He said he would hold a meeting of his security cabinet on Friday morning. Because of its worldwide renown and its large number of visitors, the Champs-Elysees has long been seen as a potential target, the BBC's Hugh Schofield reports from the French capital. Attacker identified Image copyright AFP Image caption Police patrolled the area with weapons drawn A car pulled up alongside a police bus just before 21:00 (19:00 GMT) and a man got out, opening fire with an automatic weapon at the bus, Mr Brandet said. After killing an officer, he attempted to run away while shooting at other officers, two of whom he injured, the spokesman added. He was then shot dead by security forces. Paris prosecutor Francois Molins later said that "the attacker's identity is known and has been verified". "I won't reveal it, because investigations and raids are already under way, in particular to establish whether there is any evidence or not of complicity (in this attack)." Meanwhile, IS identified the attacker as Abu-Yusuf al-Baljiki, in a statement carried by its Amaq news outlet. Image copyright Reuters Image caption People could be seen walking towards police with arms raised to show their hands after the attack The whole of the Champs-Elysees was evacuated and police vehicles were lined up near a point half way up the avenue around the George V metro station, our correspondent says. Shots were heard near the Marks & Spencer store, provoking a panicked rush away from the scene by tourists and passers-by. Witnesses interviewed by AFP recounted scenes of panic as people ran for cover and sought shelter. "We had to hide our customers in the basement," said Choukri Chouanine, manager of a restaurant near the site of the shooting. Thousands of troops and police guard tourist areas of the French capital. In February, a man armed with a machete in each hand was wounded after attacking soldiers on patrol at the Louvre Museum. The following month, a 39-year-old man was killed at Orly airport after attacking a soldier. Campaigns called off The 11 candidates standing in Sunday's closely fought election were engaged in a final joint TV appearance to make their pitches as the attack happened. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "Stay back... the area's dangerous", one police officer told the public Marine Le Pen, of the far-right national Front, tweeted:"I feel for and stand by our security forces, who have been targeted again." Mr Fillon went on Twitter to pay "tribute to the security forces who give their lives to protect ours". Both Ms Le Pen and Mr Fillon later announced they were cancelling campaign events scheduled for Friday, the last day of canvassing for votes. Independent centrist Emmanuel Macron said during his TV appearance that it was a president's "first duty to protect" and he expressed his "solidarity" with the police. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, standing for the far left, tweeted: "I strongly feel for the policemen killed and wounded and their families. Terrorist attacks will never go unpunished, accomplices never forgotten." French candidates in last TV pitch ahead of vote At the White House, US President Donald Trump said people had to be strong and vigilant. "Our condolences from our country to the people of France," he said. "It looks like another terrorist attack and... what can you say? It just never ends." ||||| Two other police officers and a female passerby were injured, according to Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins. The police returned fire and killed the Islamic extremist. According to the Associated Press, police have searched the home of the attacker in a suburb east of Paris. A police document obtained by AP identified the searched address as the home of Karim Cheurfi, 39. According to the report, the man was previously sentenced to 15 years in prison for shooting two police officers in 2001. French President Francois Hollande said in a late Thursday address that the attack was "of a terrorist nature." In an interview with Radio Sputnik, security expert Dmitry Efimov, a member of Moscow Council's Advisory Committee on Security, explained how the Thursday attack was different from other terrorist acts in Europe in recent years. "While previously attacks were carried out by those inspired by radical ideas and on their own initiative, this time there are signs that a professionally trained militant was involved," Efimov said. He suggested that the attacker might have been trained in real combat conditions, most likely in Libya or Syria. "It is known that the attacker was known to security services. It is clear that this was an attack of a different kind. It was directed by Daesh commanders. This is why the terrorist group was quick to claim responsibility," the expert pointed out. "There are permanent anti-terrorist groups operating in France now. Moreover, the intelligence department and Paris police are involved. All necessary actions have been taken and a larger number of casualties was avoided. The attacker was shot almost immediately after he opened fire," Efimov said. Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed! ||||| PARIS (AP) — A gunman opened fire on police on Paris’ iconic Champs-Elysees boulevard Thursday night, killing one officer and wounding three people before police shot and killed him. The Islamic State group quickly claimed responsibility for the attack. French presidential candidates canceled or rescheduled last-minute campaign events ahead of Sunday’s first round vote in the tense election. Security already was a dominant theme in the race, and the violence on the sparkling boulevard threatened to weigh on voters’ decisions. Investigators were conducting searches early Friday in at least one eastern suburb of Paris, according to three police officials. Authorities were trying to determine whether the assailant had accomplices, anti-terrorism prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters at the scene. The attacker emerged from a car and used an automatic weapon to shoot at officers outside a Marks & Spencer’s store at the center of the Champs-Elysees, Molins said. Two police officers and a woman tourist were wounded, he said. The Islamic State group’s claim of responsibility just a few hours after the attack came unusually swiftly for extremist group, which has been losing territory in Iraq and Syria. In a statement from its Amaq news agency, the group gave a pseudonym for the shooter, Abu Yusuf al-Beljiki, indicating he was Belgian or had lived in Belgium. The group described it as an attack “in the heart of Paris.” Police and soldiers sealed off the area, ordering tourists back into hotels and blocking people from approaching the scene. The attacker had been flagged as an extremist, according to two police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. Islamic State group-inspired attacks have killed at least 235 people in France since January 2015, by far the largest casualty figure of any Western country. France remains under a state of emergency. Security has been especially high since Tuesday, when police said they thwarted a terror attack by arresting two men. On Thursday night, emergency vehicles blocked the wide Champs-Elysees, an avenue lined with shops and normally packed with cars and tourists that cuts across central Paris between the Arc de Triomphe and the Tuileries Gardens. Subway stations were closed off. The gunfire sent scores of tourists fleeing into side streets. “They were running, running,” said 55-year-old Badi Ftaïti, who lives in the area. “Some were crying. There were tens, maybe even hundreds of them.” A witness identified only as Ines told French television station BFM that she heard a shooting and saw a man’s body on the ground before police quickly evacuated the area where she works in a shop. French President Francois Hollande said he is convinced the circumstances of the latest attack pointed to a terrorist act. Hollande held an emergency meeting with the prime minister Thursday night and planned to convene the defense council Friday morning. The incident recalled two recent attacks on soldiers providing security at prominent locations around Paris: one at the Louvre museum in February and one at Orly airport last month. Speaking in Washington during a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, U.S. President Donald Trump said the shooting “looks like another terrorist attack” and sent condolences to France. A French television station hosting an event with the 11 candidates running for president briefly interrupted its broadcast to report the shootings. Conservative contender Francois Fillon, who has campaigned against “Islamic totalitarianism,” said on France 2 television that he was canceling his planned campaign stops Friday. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who campaigns against immigration and Islamic fundamentalism, took to Twitter to offer her sympathy for law enforcement officers “once again targeted.” She canceled a minor campaign stop, but scheduled another. Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron offered his thoughts to the family of the dead officer. Socialist Benoit Hamon tweeted his “full support” to police against terrorism. The two top finishers in Sunday’s election will advance to a runoff on May 7. Associated Press Writers Angela Charlton and Raphael Satter in Paris and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report. ||||| PARIS, FRANCE (USAT) - The Islamic State claimed responsibility after one police officer was killed in a rare exchange of gunfire on the famed Champs-Elysees in central Paris just days before a critical presidential election. Two other officers were seriously wounded in the attack in the popular tourist area in central Paris. The gunman was killed by police. The Islamic State identified the attacker as Abu Yusuf al-Beljiki through its Amaq news agency, according to SITE Intel Group, a U.S.-based organization that monitors terrorists' activity online. French President Francois Hollande said he is convinced the circumstances of the Paris shooting points to terrorist act, the Associated Press reported. Paris police spokeswoman Johanna Primevert told AP the gunman deliberately targeted police on guard near the Franklin Roosevelt subway station. She said he appeared to act alone. Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told BFM television that a man stepped from a car and opened fire on a police vehicle. A witness told Reuters that the attacker opened fire with a machine gun. Security has been high in France leading up to the first round of hotly contested presidential elections Sunday. A French station hosting a televised event with the 11 candidates briefly interrupted its broadcast to report the shootings, AP reported. As police blocked off key roadways in the heart of the French capital and told people to avoid the area, the broad avenues leading to the Arc de Triomphe were awash in police vehicles decked with whirling blue lights. French prosecutors opened a terrorism investigation into the attack. Two police officers told AP the attacker had been flagged as an extremist, but offered no further details. The officers spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity to share information about the ongoing investigation. In Washington, President Trump said the shooting in Paris “looks like another terrorist attack." "It just never ends, We have to to be strong and we have to be vigilant, and I've been saying it for a long time," he added. France has lived under a state of emergency declared following a terrorist attack in November 2015 that left 130 dead. ||||| A police officer has been killed and two others injured in a suspected terrorist shooting in the centre of Paris. The attacker opened fire on a police car parked on the Champs-Elysees before he was also shot dead, the French Interior Ministry said. Police have not given a possible motive for the attack but a terrorism investigation has been launched. Here is what we know so far. Paris police say that a gunman killed one police officer and wounded two others before being killed himself in an attack on the Champs-Elysees shopping district. The attack came three days before the first round of France’s tense presidential election. What is the situation at the scene? The world-famous avenue has been sealed off and nearby stations on the Paris Metro have been closed. French police warned the public to stay away from the area and armed officers are at the scene. They also asked people not to “spread any misinformation” that has not come from a “trusted source”. Who was the attacker? Paris authorities say police killed the gunman and that the attacker appeared to be alone. French officials said the suspect in the attack was previously flagged as an extremist. What has the reaction been? President Francois Hollande has called an emergency meeting on Thursday evening. He said at a press conference that he is convinced the attack was a terrorist act. France’s Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve paid tribute to the officer and tweeted that his thoughts are with the family. US President Donald Trump, speaking at a press conference in Washington, said the incident “looks like another terrorist attack” and sent his condolences to France. What about the tourists in the city? Tourists have been warned to go back to their hotels and to let family and friends know that they are safe. ||||| PARIS: A known terror suspect shot dead a French policeman and wounded two others Thursday on Paris’s Champs Elysees in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group days before a presidential election. Observers had long feared bloodshed ahead of Sunday’s vote in France following a string of atrocities since 2015 and the violence is likely to thrust security to the front of voters’ minds. The shooter opened fire with an automatic weapon on a police van on the world-famous boulevard at around 9:00 pm (1900 GMT), prompting tourists and visitors to run for their lives. After killing the officer and injuring his colleagues just a few hundred metres from the Arc de Triomphe, the gunman was shot dead in return fire while trying to flee on foot, police sources told AFP. A statement from the Islamic State group published by its propaganda agency Amaq said the attacker was “one of the Islamic State’s fighters.” The killer, identified as a 39-year-old French man, was known to anti-terror police, sources told AFP, and raids took place at his address in a suburb to the east of Paris. He was condemned to 15 years in prison in February 2005 on three counts of attempted murder, including against police officers. The impact on the outcome of the French election is unclear — Sunday is the poll’s first round — but far-right leader Marine Le Pen, her centrist rival Emmanuel Macron, and scandal-hit conservative Francois Fillon cancelled campaign events planned for Friday. Up until now, surveys showed voters more concerned about unemployment and their spending power than terrorism or security, though analysts warned this would change in the event of violence. The shooting comes two days after the arrest of two men in southern Marseille with weapons and explosives who were suspected of preparing an attack to disrupt the campaign. French President Francois Hollande promised “absolute vigilance, particularly with regard to the electoral process” and paid tribute to the police. Anti-immigration contender Le Pen earlier welcomed security moving to the heart of the campaign as she took part in a prime-time interview show alongside 10 other presidential candidates. “We are suffering the consequences of a laxity that has continued for years,” she said shortly before the shooting, promising to take a hard line against extremists and anyone suspected of being an Islamist. For weeks, former banker Macron and Le Pen have been out in front but opinion polls now show there is a chance that any of four leading candidates could reach the election’s second-round runoff on May 7. Conservative candidate Fillon and far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon have closed the gap substantially in the last two weeks. “The first responsibility of the president is to protect,” Macron said on the interview show. “This threat will be part of our daily lives in the next years.” Fillon, who penned a pre-election book called “Beating Islamic Totalitarianism”, declared that “the fight against terrorism must be the absolute priority of the next president.” As the first details of the attack filtered through, US President Donald Trump said that “it looks like another terrorist attack. What can you say? It just never ends.” The bustling Champs Elysees lies in the heart of Paris and is lined with shops and restaurants. It was immediately blocked by armed officers after the attack and nearby metro stations were closed. “We had to hide our customers in the basement,” Choukri Chouanine, manager of a restaurant near the site of the shooting, told AFP, saying there was “lots of gunfire.” A spokesman for the interior ministry paid tribute to the fast reflexes of police at the scene who managed to kill the gunman and prevent further bloodshed on a busy spring-time evening. A foreign tourist was slightly wounded in her knee by shrapnel during the shooting. France is in a state of emergency and at its highest possible level of terror alert. The Charlie Hebdo magazine was hit in January 2015, sites around Paris including the Bataclan concert hall were targeted in November the same year, and families at a fireworks display in Nice in July 2016. In between, there have been a series of smaller attacks, often aimed at security forces. Thousands of troops and armed police have been deployed to guard tourist hotspots such as the Champs Elysees or other potential targets, including government buildings and religious sites. In February, a man armed with a machete in each hand attacked soldiers on patrol at Paris’s Louvre Museum. The attacker, a 29-year-old Egyptian, was seriously injured. And in March, a 39-year-old man was killed at Paris’s Orly airport after attacking a soldier. AFP ||||| ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on police officers on the Champs-Élysées in Paris Thursday evening that left one officer dead and two others wounded. The terrorist group released a message through its news agency Amaq saying that the attacker was "one of the fighters for the Islamic State." The assailant was killed but has not been publicly identified, a police spokesperson said. French President François Hollande said that one bystander was injured during a shootout between police and the attacker and that the leads so far indicated the attack was of a "terrorist nature." French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henri Brandet said during a press briefing that a man exited his car and started a shooting at a police car with an automatic weapon around 9 p.m. The attacker continued shooting at police as he attempted to flee the scene and was killed by police in an exchange of gunfire, Brandet said. A terrorism investigation into the attack had been opened, the Paris prosecutor's office said. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said that Parisians would not not give in to the threat of terrorism. "Faced with this ordeal, I know that the determination of Parisians to defend their way of life and their values is complete," Hidalgo wrote on Twitter hours after the attack. Face à cette épreuve, je sais que la détermination des Parisiens à défendre leur mode de vie et leurs valeurs est totale. #ChampsElysees — Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) April 20, 2017 Paris police posted tweets earlier in the evening telling people the area around the Avenue des Champs-Élysées was on lockdown and that a police operation was underway. The U.S. State Department's bureau of consular affairs warned its Twitter followers to avoid the area "after a shooting." The Champs-Élysées is an iconic boulevard popular with tourists and Parisians alike that has theaters, shops, restaurants and, at one end, the Arc de Triomphe. President Donald Trump shared "our condolences" with the people of France during a news conference with the Italian prime minister, who was at the White House Thursday. "It's a very terrible thing that's going on in the world today," Trump said, adding that he thought it was "another terrorist attack," though that had not been confirmed at the time. "What can you say? It just never ends. We have to be strong, we have to be vigilant," he said. VP Pence offers condolences after shooting of Paris police officers. "The people of France are on our hearts today." https://t.co/gZoZQbCi8n pic.twitter.com/sMXzrTK1is — ABC News (@ABC) April 21, 2017 And while in Indonesia Friday morning, Vice President Mike Pence said of the attack, "It’s just the latest reminder that terrorism can strike anywhere at any time -– something the people of Indonesia and the United States know all too well. As President Trump said yesterday, in the face of this great evil, and I quote, 'we have to be strong. And we have to be vigilant.'" Pence added, "Today, the people of Paris have our condolences and our prayers. The people of France are in our hearts. And the people of Indonesia can be confident in the wake of this latest attack, we will not relent in our effort to end terrorism and the threat it present to both of our people, and I pledge to your our continued cooperation against terrorism in the uncertain days in which we live." The incident comes as France heads into a presidential election to be held on Sunday. Several of the major candidates cancelled their scheduled campaign stops for Friday, French daily Le Figaro reported.
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One policeman has been killed and another has been critically injured after a man opened fire at police officers at the Champs-Élysées in central Paris. The gunman was killed while attempting to escape, and a bystander has been injured. ISIL claims responsibility for the attack although the claim is doubted. The President of France Francois Hollande says that all leads indicate that the attack was of a "terrorist nature".
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Campaigning officially started on Friday for Iran‘s May presidential election, pitting pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani against hardliners just as the United States reassesses its policy on the Islamic Republic. A hardline watchdog body in charge of vetting candidates and laws, the Guardian Council, approved six candidates on Thursday for the May 19 vote – including Rouhani – but hardline former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was disqualified. A witness who was near Ahmadinejad’s house in eastern Tehran on Thursday night told Reuters that “around 50 police officers had blocked two ends of the street to his house to prevent possible gathering of his supporters”. Iranian police fanned out across Tehran’s main squares overnight after the names of the candidates were announced, according to videos posted on social media. Ahmadinejad, an adversary of the West during his time on power, surprised Iran‘s clerical establishment by registering as a candidate, defying Iran‘s top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s warning not to enter the race. His re-election in 2009 ignited an eight-month firestorm of street protests. His pro-reform rivals said the vote was rigged. Supporters of the six successful candidates had started campaigning on social media last week. Iran blocks access to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube but millions of Iranians use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access those sites. Iran‘s top leaders regard the election in part as a show of defiance against renewed US pressure under President Donald Trump, and have called for a high turnout to strengthen the clerical establishment’s legitimacy. “The election is a very difficult and important test for all of us … a high turnout will show to the world that the establishment enjoys the strong backing and support of its people,” Tehran Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammadali Movahedi-Kermani told worshippers, state TV reported. Rouhani won a landslide victory in 2013 on a platform of ending Iran‘s diplomatic isolation and reviving the country’s crippling sanction-hit economy. On April 4, the US Senate has delayed a bill to slap new sanctions on Iran due to concerns about the election. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused Iran of “alarming ongoing provocations” to destabilise countries in the Middle East. “A comprehensive Iran policy requires we address all of the threats posed by Iran and it is clear there are many,” he said. Rouhani engineered Iran‘s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that secured removal of most of international sanctions against Tehran. But hardliners say he has failed to boost the economy despite lifting of sanctions last year. Analysts say the biggest challenge to Rouhani – himself endorsed by moderates and prominent conservatives, including parliament speaker Ali Larijani – is influential mid-ranking cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who is close to Khamenei. The four other candidates are Iran‘s first Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, former conservative culture minister Mostafa Mirsalim, former pro-reform vice president Mostafa Hashemitaba and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. ||||| BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and hardline rival Ebrahim Raisi were both approved to run in May’s presidential election by a government vetting body, while former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was disqualified, state media reported on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: Iranian senior cleric Ebrahim Raisis gestures as he meets grand clerics in the holy city of Qom, Iran, in this handout photo believed to be taken in April 2016. Tasnim News Agency/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo The approval of Rouhani, a moderate, and Raisi, a political hardliner thought to have the backing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sets up a showdown between rival political camps. Four other candidates were also qualified to run. Among them are Rouhani’s vice president, Eshaq Jahangiri, and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. Khamenei had advised Ahmadinejad not to run, and his attempt to become a candidate was widely seen as a public snub to the Supreme Leader, which is nearly unheard of in the Islamic Republic. The disqualification of Ahmadinejad, a two-term president, draws attention to the criteria that the Guardian Council, the governmental body which vets candidates, uses in the selection process. Khamenei appoints half of the members of the Guardian Council, and by disqualifying Ahmadinejad, the body runs the risk of being seen as a rubber stamp for the Supreme Leader, who is the highest authority in the country. Rouhani and Raisi will likely face off over the economy as well as the nuclear deal signed with Western powers, which Rouhani has highlighted as his signature achievement during the past four years in office. Iran agreed to curb portions of its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of several sanctions as part of the deal. Political hardliners see the deal as a form of capitulation and are wary of the opening it presents for Western companies to work in the Islamic Republic. In recent days, Raisi, who was appointed by Khamenei as the head of a multi-billion-dollar religious foundation last year, has repeatedly blasted Rouhani’s economic performance. Khamenei has also criticized Rouhani’s economic performance in recent speeches and called on the government to do more to address the issue of unemployment. About 3.2 million Iranian are jobless out of a total population of 80 million. Rouhani has claimed that inflation has decreased and the economy has grown on his watch. He has also said in recent public appearances that the judiciary and security forces should be more mindful of ordinary Iranians’ rights and privacy, which is likely to appeal to his supporters. Rouhani was elected in 2013 with a promise to bring about greater individual freedom and detente with the West. Some of his supporters say he has fallen short of those goals. Regardless of how the rivalry between Rouhani and Raisi plays out, top Iranian officials, including Khamenei, have said they will confront any individuals or groups who attempt to destabilize the country. Iranian police fanned out across Tehran after the names of the candidates were announced on Thursday night, according to the news site of the Iranian judiciary Mizan Online. Slideshow (2 Images) Live debates between presidential candidates, a feature in the last two presidential elections, have also been called off, according to state media. Pre-taped interviews will air instead, perhaps to keep candidates from stoking up their supporters. Widespread protests broke out and continued for months after the disputed election of Ahmadinejad in 2009, and led to dozens of deaths and hundreds of arrests. “The bitter incidents of (2009) will not be repeated,” Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said on Wednesday, according to state media. ||||| TEHERAN, Iran (AFP) - President Hassan Rouhani was among six candidates approved on Thursday (April 20) by Iran's conservative-dominated Guardian Council to run in next month's election while former leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was barred, state media reported. The other candidates selected were hardliners Ebrahim Raisi and Mostafa Mirsalim, Teheran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, veteran politician Mostafa Hashemitaba and Rouhani's ally and vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri. Former hardline president Ahmadinejad, who ruled from 2005 to 2013, was barred along with his close ally Hamid Baghaie. Ahmadinejad shocked everyone by registering as a candidate last week against the advice of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - a move which many described as political suicide. More than 1,600 candidates registered to run in the May 19 election, but the Guardian Council only ever selects around half a dozen. More than 130 women registered but none has ever been allowed to stand. Although campaigning was not due to start until April 28, the Guardian Council announced that it could begin immediately. Rouhani, a politically moderate cleric, has won praise since his landslide win in 2013 for taming inflation and reaching a groundbreaking nuclear deal with world powers that ended many sanctions. But disappointment over Iran's continued economic stagnation is palpable on the streets, creating an opening for conservative opponents, with judicial cleric Raisi considered by many to be their frontrunner. Unemployment is stuck at 12 per cent, the promised billions in foreign investment have not materialised, and Rouhani has failed to release political prisoners, including reformist leaders under house arrest for their part in 2009 protests. The aggressive stance of US President Donald Trump, who has slapped new sanctions on Iran and threatened to tear up the nuclear deal, has bolstered conservative claims that Rouhani was duped by the West. The conservatives are more divided, but Raisi has garnered considerable momentum. The 56-year-old judge, who currently runs the powerful charity-cum-business-empire Astan Qods Razavi, has emphasised his concern for the poor and is seen as a close ally of - and possible successor to - supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Teheran mayor Ghalibaf, who came second to Rouhani in 2013, is also considered a front-runner. The 55-year-old is a war veteran, former Revolutionary Guards commander and police chief, and considered a staunch conservative. He has focused his early comments on the economy, saying he would create five million jobs and more than double Iran's revenues, although such promises have been ridiculed as wildly unrealistic by reformist opponents. Mirsalim has been a central figure in the mainstream conservative movement for years, but has not seen much of the spotlight during this election season. Hashemitaba is a veteran politician, having served variously as an industry minister, vice-president and head of physical education through several administrations since the 1980s, though he has barely figured in local coverage of the election so far. Rouhani has been hit by the loss of a key backer in recent months: heavyweight former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who passed away in January, played a central role in his surprising landslide victory in 2013. But crucially, Rouhani retains the unified support of moderates and reformists, who still see him as the best hope for change within the strict parameters of Iran's Islamic system. Jahangiri said he was only standing in the election to support Rouhani during the campaign and in TV debates, saying last week that he stood "side-by-side" with the president. Iran's interior ministry said Thursday there would be no live debates in the run-up to next month's vote. ||||| BEIRUT, April 20 (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and hardline rival Ebrahim Raisi were both approved to run in May's presidential election by a government vetting body, while former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was disqualified, state media reported on Thursday. The approval of Rouhani, a moderate, and Raisi, a political hardliner thought to have the backing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sets up a showdown between rival political camps. Four other candidates were also qualified to run. Among them are Rouhani's vice president, Eshaq Jahangiri, and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. Khamenei had advised Ahmadinejad not to run, and his attempt to become a candidate was widely seen as a public snub to the Supreme Leader, which is nearly unheard of in the Islamic Republic. The disqualification of Ahmadinejad, a two-term president, draws attention to the criteria that the Guardian Council, the governmental body which vets candidates, uses in the selection process. Khamenei appoints half of the members of the Guardian Council, and by disqualifying Ahmadinejad, the body runs the risk of being seen as a rubber stamp for the Supreme Leader, who is the highest authority in the country. Rouhani and Raisi will likely face off over the economy as well as the nuclear deal signed with Western powers, which Rouhani has highlighted as his signature achievement during the past four years in office. Iran agreed to curb portions of its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of several sanctions as part of the deal. Political hardliners see the deal as a form of capitulation and are wary of the opening it presents for Western companies to work in the Islamic Republic. In recent days, Raisi, who was appointed by Khamenei as the head of a multi-billion-dollar religious foundation last year, has repeatedly blasted Rouhani's economic performance. Khamenei has also criticized Rouhani's economic performance in recent speeches and called on the government to do more to address the issue of unemployment. About 3.2 million Iranian are jobless out of a total population of 80 million. Rouhani has claimed that inflation has decreased and the economy has grown on his watch. He has also said in recent public appearances that the judiciary and security forces should be more mindful of ordinary Iranians' rights and privacy, which is likely to appeal to his supporters. Rouhani was elected in 2013 with a promise to bring about greater individual freedom and detente with the West. Some of his supporters say he has fallen short of those goals. Regardless of how the rivalry between Rouhani and Raisi plays out, top Iranian officials, including Khamenei, have said they will confront any individuals or groups who attempt to destabilize the country. Iranian police fanned out across Tehran after the names of the candidates were announced on Thursday night, according to the news site of the Iranian judiciary Mizan Online. Live debates between presidential candidates, a feature in the last two presidential elections, have also been called off, according to state media. Pre-taped interviews will air instead, perhaps to keep candidates from stoking up their supporters. Widespread protests broke out and continued for months after the disputed election of Ahmadinejad in 2009, and led to dozens of deaths and hundreds of arrests. "The bitter incidents of (2009) will not be repeated," Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said on Wednesday, according to state media. (Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Leslie Adler) ||||| Iran has announced the final list of candidates for next month's presidential race, which will largely serve as a referendum on the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. President Hassan Rouhani is widely seen as the front-runner, but could face tough competition from hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who is close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and popular among hard-liners. Former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sought to run but was disqualified. The following candidates were approved by the Guardian Council, which vets candidates for Iran's elections. Half of its 12 members are clerics appointed by Khamenei, who also makes all final decisions on major policies. Rouhani, 68, is a moderate elected in 2013 on pledges of greater personal freedoms and improved relations with the West. His government negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal, which saw Iran accept curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling international sanctions. Since the deal went into effect, Iran has doubled its oil exports and inked multi-billion-dollar aircraft deals with Boeing and Airbus. But critics of the deal say the economic benefits have yet to filter down to ordinary Iranians, creating an opening for Rouhani's hard-line rivals. Early in his tenure, in 2013, he shared a phone call with then-President Barack Obama, the highest-level exchange between the two countries since Iran's 1979 revolution and the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis. Rouhani has faced pushback from conservatives and hard-liners, who criticized the nuclear deal as giving too much away and who have blocked many of his Cabinet picks. Raisi, 56, is a hard-line cleric close to Khamenei who has vowed to combat poverty and corruption. He could pose the biggest challenge to Rouhani, especially if he can unify hard-liners. Last year, Khamenei appointed Raisi as head of the Imam Reza charity foundation, which manages a vast conglomerate of businesses and endowments in Iran. Khamenei called Raisi a "trustworthy and highly experienced" person, causing many to wonder if he might also be a possible successor to the supreme leader himself. Raisi, who is currently a law professor, previously served as attorney general and deputy judiciary chief. He is a member of the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body that will decide Khamenei's successor, and a prosecutor at a special court that tries clerics. Jahangiri, 60, is a first vice president in Rouhani's government and a fellow moderate. He was the minister of industries and mines from 1997 to 2005, under reformist President Mohammad Khatami, and before that served as governor of Isfahan Province. He was close to the late and influential President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, as well as Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force. Soleimani has played a key role in Iran's efforts to bolster President Bashar Assad's forces in Syria and help neighboring Iraq combat the Islamic State group. Hashemitaba, who served as minister of industry in the 1980s, is a pro-reform figure who previously ran for president in 2001. Both Jahangiri and Hashemitaba are expected to promote Rouhani. Their candidacies appear to be aimed at providing balance in the face of three hard-line and conservative candidates. Qalibaf, 55, the conservative mayor of Tehran, is running for president for the third time, having previously lost to Ahmadinejad in 2005 and Rouhani in 2013. His candidacy could be marred by January's massive fire at the Plasco building, a historic high-rise in downtown Tehran. The fire caused the building to collapse and killed 26 people, including 16 firefighters. Qalibaf was Iran's chief of police from 2000 to 2005 and commander of the Revolutionary Guard's air force from 1997 to 2000. He is also a pilot, certified to fly certain Airbus passenger planes. Mirsalim, 69, was shot and wounded during the unrest leading up to the 1979 revolution. He went on to serve as deputy interior minister and police chief. He was the minister of culture for four years under Rafsanjani, a centrist who was president from 1989 to 1997. ||||| An Iranian panel charged with vetting candidates approved the country’s incumbent president and five challengers but disqualified former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from running in next month’s presidential election, state television reported Thursday. The decision by the Guardian Council means that President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, will face off against a field that includes two prominent hard-liners: Ebrahim Raisi, who is considered close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. The Guardian Council, a cleric-dominated body that vets candidates, said it had compiled a final list of candidates earlier Thursday and that the Interior Ministry would announce their names by Sunday. The panel controls elections and must approve all laws passed by parliament. It has never allowed a woman to run for president and routinely rejects political dissidents and others calling for dramatic reform. Other presidential candidates who made the cut, according to an Interior Ministry statement carried by state TV, include moderate Senior Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, former conservative culture minister Mostafa Mirsalim, and former pro-reform vice-president Mostafa Hashemitaba. Ahmadinejad, who remains a deeply polarizing figure even among Iranian hard-liners, had shocked the country by registering last week. Khamenei had previously urged him not to run. Ahmadinejad was president from 2005 to 2013, and was best known abroad for his incendiary rhetoric toward Israel, his questioning of the scale of the Holocaust and his efforts to ramp up Iran’s nuclear program. He said upon registering that he was doing so to support his former Vice-President Hamid Baghaei, who also failed to receive approval to run. “He was an unwanted guest in the election,” Tehran-based political analyst Soroush Farhadi said of Ahmadinejad’s disqualification. He predicted the former president would nonetheless remain politically active during the campaign to create a “quasi-opposition face for himself” for the future. Ali Akbar Javanfekr, a close ally of Ahmadinejad, downplayed the two candidates’ exclusion, saying on social media that Ahmadinejad and Baghaei had only registered out of “national, religious and revolutionary duty.” “Thank god, the Guardian Council removed the duty from their shoulders,” he wrote. More than 1,600 people registered to run for the May 19 election. Under Iran’s clerically overseen system, the president is subordinate to Khamenei, who is Iran’s top decision-maker and has the final say on all matters of state. Khamenei appoints half the Guardian Council’s members. Rouhani, 68, is hoping voters will deliver him a second term to see out his promises of greater personal freedoms at home and openness to the wider world as he works to turn around Iran’s sagging economy — a top priority for many voters. The election will be in many ways a referendum on his administration’s negotiation of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. That agreement gave Iran relief from crippling economic sanctions in exchange for limits to its nuclear program, but has been assailed by hard-liners who believe Iran gave too much away in exchange for too little. While reliable polling information is not widely available, most political observers see Rouhani as the current front-runner even though he has been unable to significantly turn around Iran’s slumping economy. Every incumbent since Khamenei himself took the presidency in 1981 has won re-election. Rouhani, though no radical, has the support of many reform-minded Iranians. Khamenei himself also might favour a second term for Rouhani despite his closeness to more hard-line candidates. “Iranian presidents tend to become much weaker in their second terms, with a key cause being their greater susceptibility to control by the supreme leader and his institutions,” Mehdi Khalaji, an Iran expert at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, wrote this week. “This helps explain Khamenei’s possible abstention from active support for the hard-line candidates.” Rouhani’s toughest challenge could come from Raisi, 56, a hard-line cleric and professor of Islamic law who has promised to fight poverty and corruption if he’s elected. Many hard-liners have rallied around Raisi, who got a boost last year when Khamenei appointed him head of an Islamic charity that holds extensive business interests in Iran. He has held several judiciary positions, including serving as attorney general from 2014 to 2016, and is mentioned as a possible successor for Khamenei himself. ||||| President Hassan Rouhani was among six candidates approved Thursday by Iran's conservative-dominated Guardian Council to run in next month's election while former leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was barred, state media reported. The other candidates selected were hardliners Ebrahim Raisi and Mostafa Mirsalim, Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, veteran politician Mostafa Hashemitaba and Rouhani's ally and vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri. Former hardline president Ahmadinejad, who ruled from 2005 to 2013, was barred along with his close ally Hamid Baghaie. Ahmadinejad shocked everyone by registering as a candidate last week against the advice of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- a move which many described as political suicide. More than 1,600 candidates registered to run in the May 19 election, but the Guardian Council only ever selects around half a dozen. More than 130 women registered but none has ever been allowed to stand. Although campaigning was not due to start until April 28, the Guardian Council announced that it could begin immediately. Rouhani, a politically moderate cleric, has won praise since his landslide win in 2013 for taming inflation and reaching a groundbreaking nuclear deal with world powers that ended many sanctions. But disappointment over Iran's continued economic stagnation is palpable on the streets, creating an opening for conservative opponents, with judicial cleric Raisi considered by many to be their frontrunner. Unemployment is stuck at 12 percent, the promised billions in foreign investment have not materialised, and Rouhani has failed to release political prisoners, including reformist leaders under house arrest for their part in 2009 protests. The aggressive stance of US President Donald Trump, who has slapped new sanctions on Iran and threatened to tear up the nuclear deal, has bolstered conservative claims that Rouhani was duped by the West. The conservatives are more divided, but Raisi has garnered considerable momentum. The 56-year-old judge, who currently runs the powerful charity-cum-business-empire Astan Qods Razavi, has emphasised his concern for the poor and is seen as a close ally of -- and possible successor to -- supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran mayor Ghalibaf, who came second to Rouhani in 2013, is also considered a front-runner. The 55-year-old is a war veteran, former Revolutionary Guards commander and police chief, and considered a staunch conservative. He has focused his early comments on the economy, saying he would create five million jobs and more than double Iran's revenues, although such promises have been ridiculed as wildly unrealistic by reformist opponents. Mirsalim has been a central figure in the mainstream conservative movement for years, but has not seen much of the spotlight during this election season. Hashemitaba is a veteran politician, having served variously as an industry minister, vice-president and head of physical education through several administrations since the 1980s, though he has barely figured in local coverage of the election so far. Rouhani has been hit by the loss of a key backer in recent months: heavyweight former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who passed away in January, played a central role in his surprising landslide victory in 2013. But crucially, Rouhani retains the unified support of moderates and reformists, who still see him as the best hope for change within the strict parameters of Iran's Islamic system. Jahangiri said he was only standing in the election to support Rouhani during the campaign and in TV debates, saying last week that he stood "side-by-side" with the president. Iran's interior ministry said Thursday there would be no live debates in the run-up to next month's vote. ||||| TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was barred from running in next month’s election Thursday while President Hassan Rouhani was among six candidates approved by Iran’s conservative-controlled Guardian Council, state media reported. The other candidates selected were hardliners Ebrahim Raisi and Mostafa Mirsalim, Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, moderate Mostafa Hashemitaba and Rouhani’s ally and vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri. Former hardline president Ahmadinejad, who ruled from 2005 to 2013, was barred along with his close ally Hamid Baghaie. Ahmadinejad shocked everyone by registering as a candidate last week against the advice of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — a move which many described as political suicide. More than 1,600 candidates registered to run in the May 19 election, but the Guardian Council only ever selects around half a dozen. More than 130 women registered but none has ever been allowed to stand. “In Iran, it’s not only an election, it’s also a selection,” said Clement Therme, Iran research fellow for the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Although campaigning was not due to start until April 28, the Guardian Council announced that it could begin immediately. Rouhani, a politically moderate cleric, has won praise since his landslide win in 2013 for taming inflation and reaching a groundbreaking nuclear deal with world powers that ended many sanctions. But disappointment over Iran’s continued economic stagnation is palpable on the streets, creating an opening for conservative opponents. Unemployment is stuck at 12 percent, the promised billions in foreign investment have not materialised, and Rouhani has failed to release political prisoners, including reformist leaders under house arrest for their part in 2009 protests. “The problem has been the nature of Rouhani’s economic agenda. His administration has a discourse of social justice but they are ultimately neoliberal, and this has provoked disappointment,” said Therme. The aggressive stance of US President Donald Trump, who has slapped new sanctions on Iran and threatened to tear up the nuclear deal, has bolstered conservative claims that Rouhani’s outreach to the West has been misguided. The conservatives are divided, but Raisi has garnered considerable momentum. The 56-year-old judge, who currently runs the powerful charity-cum-business-empire Astan Qods Razavi, has emphasized his concern for the poor and is seen as a close ally of — and possible successor to — supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran mayor Ghalibaf, who came second to Rouhani in 2013, is also considered a front-runner. The 55-year-old is a war veteran, former Revolutionary Guards commander and police chief, and considered a staunch if pragmatic conservative. He has focused his early comments on the economy, saying he would create five million jobs and more than double Iran’s revenues, although such promises have been ridiculed as wildly unrealistic by reformist opponents. Mirsalim, 71, was a culture minister in the early 1990s, known for dramatically increasing censorship and shutting down opposition newspapers. He belongs to one of the older conservative parties, the Islamic Coalition. Hashemitaba, 71, has served variously as industry minister, vice-president and head of Iran’s National Olympic Committee through several administrations since the revolution, though he has figured only marginally in local coverage of the election so far. Rouhani has been hit by the loss of a key backer in recent months: heavyweight former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who passed away in January, played a central role in his surprising landslide victory in 2013. Rafsanjani’s brother, Mohammad Hashemi, was also among those disqualified on Thursday. But crucially, Rouhani retains the unified support of moderates and reformists, who still see him as the best hope for change within the strict parameters of Iran’s Islamic system. Jahangiri said he was only standing in the election to support Rouhani during the campaign and in TV debates, saying last week that he stood “side-by-side” with the president. Iran’s election commission ruled on Thursday that there would be no live debates in the run-up to the election — a feature that has been hugely popular since they were introduced in 2009. Debates will instead be pre-recorded. ||||| Iran’s Guardian Council has gone through the 1,500 registered candidates for the upcoming presidential election and whittled it down to six candidates who can run. Obviously this includes incumbent President Hassan Rouhani, with his main challenges a pair of hardliners, former Attorney General Ebrahim Raisi and Tehran Mayor Bagher Qalibaf. The other three candidates approved are Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, former Vice President Mostafa Hashemitaba, and former Culture Minister Mostafa Mirsalim. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had also registered, was denied a spot. Ahmadinejad was widely expected to be barred from running, as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had warned him against filing in the first place. Analysts saw the move as an attempt to try to force a compromise, in which his candidate of choice, Hamid Baghiae, would be approved. That didn’t work, however, and Baghiae didn’t make the cut either, with the Guardian Council reportedly concerned by the embezzlement charges he’d faced in the past. The expectation is that the vote will basically come down to Rouhani and Raisi, with Raisi the favored candidate of Khamenei.
• US Seeks Saudi Assurances on Limiting Yemen Civilian Casualties Ahead of Arms Sales - April 20th, 2017 ||||| ANKARA, April 21 (Reuters) - Campaigning officially started on Friday for Iran's May presidential election, pitting pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani against hardliners just as the United States reassesses its policy on the Islamic Republic. A hardline watchdog body in charge of vetting candidates and laws, the Guardian Council, approved six candidates on Thursday for the May 19 vote - including Rouhani - but hardline former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was disqualified. A witness who was near Ahmadinejad's house in eastern Tehran on Thursday night told Reuters that "around 50 police officers had blocked two ends of the street to his house to prevent possible gathering of his supporters". Iranian police fanned out across Tehran's main squares overnight after the names of the candidates were announced, according to videos posted on social media. Ahmadinejad, an adversary of the West during his time on power, surprised Iran's clerical establishment by registering as a candidate, defying Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's warning not to enter the race. His re-election in 2009 ignited an eight-month firestorm of street protests. His pro-reform rivals said the vote was rigged. Supporters of the six successful candidates had started campaigning on social media last week. Iran blocks access to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube but millions of Iranians use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access those sites. Iran's top leaders regard the election in part as a show of defiance against renewed U.S. pressure under President Donald Trump, and have called for a high turnout to strengthen the clerical establishment's legitimacy. "The election is a very difficult and important test for all of us ... a high turnout will show to the world that the establishment enjoys the strong backing and support of its people," Tehran Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammadali Movahedi-Kermani told worshippers, state TV reported. Rouhani won a landslide victory in 2013 on a platform of ending Iran's diplomatic isolation and reviving the country's crippling sanction-hit economy. On April 4, the U.S. Senate has delayed a bill to slap new sanctions on Iran due to concerns about the election. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused Iran of "alarming ongoing provocations" to destabilise countries in the Middle East. "A comprehensive Iran policy requires we address all of the threats posed by Iran and it is clear there are many," he said. Rouhani engineered Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that secured removal of most of international sanctions against Tehran. But hardliners say he has failed to boost the economy despite lifting of sanctions last year. Analysts say the biggest challenge to Rouhani - himself endorsed by moderates and prominent conservatives, including parliament speaker Ali Larijani - is influential mid-ranking cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who is close to Khamenei. The four other candidates are Iran's first Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, former conservative culture minister Mostafa Mirsalim, former pro-reform vice president Mostafa Hashemitaba and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. (Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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Guardian Council announces names of six final candidates. Incumbent President Hassan Rouhani, chairman of Astan Quds Razavi Ebrahim Raisi and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is among the list. More than 1,600 nominees were disqualified, including all 137 female candidates and former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
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A still image from a video footage shows Interior Ministry officers block a street near a regional office of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), which was attacked by a gunman, in Khabarovsk, Russia, April 21, 2017. REUTERS/Reuters TV MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s Federal Security Service said on Friday that a gunman had burst into one of its regional offices in the far east of the country and opened fire, killing one of its employees and a visitor. The region where the incident happened is close to China. The FSB, the successor organization to the Soviet KGB, said the attacker had been killed and that another person had been injured in the incident. “An unknown person entered the reception of the FSB’s Khabarovsk regional branch and started shooting at people inside,” the FSB said in a statement. The Site Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based monitoring service, said that Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the attack. It said that the claim of responsibility had been made through the militant group’s Amaq news agency. That contradicted earlier media reports, which said the FSB believed the gunman was a nationalist. The TASS news agency cited an unnamed FSB official as saying that the gunman was a local resident and born in 1999. The visitor who was killed and the one who was injured were from former Soviet states outside Russia, according to the security service. Russia was this month shaken by a suicide bombing of the St Petersburg metro, which killed 16 people. The suspected suicide bomber and his alleged accomplices were from Central Asia. The man Russian police believe was the suicide bomber had developed an interest in Islam and soon after traveled to Turkey, two people who knew him told Reuters. ||||| The armed man was named by some sources as Anton Konev. Picture: The Siberian Times The armed man named by some sources as Anton Konev killed an instructor at a local rifle club before the shooting at the foyer of the FSB regional branch in the Russian Far East city. One FSB staffer died along with a visitor from an ex-Soviet republic. Islamic terrorist grouping IS claimed responsibility for the incident but this is strongly doubted by Russian counterintelligence. The gunman was 'a native of Khabarovsk territory born in 1999 and there is the evidence of his affiliation with a neo-Nazi grouping', said an FSB spokesman. The attacker did not have explosives on him. He stole a Saiga carbine and two handguns as he killed the rifle club instructor. A multiple murder investigation has been opened. Pictures: Typical Khabarovsk A multiple murder investigation has been opened and Investigative Committee (IC) chairman Alexander Bastrykin dispatched a team of 'highly expert investigators and detectives' to Khabarovsk to probe the crime. IC spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said: "Investigators do not have any evidence that would confirm the attacker's links to an international terrorist organisation, which ostensibly claimed responsibility for the crime.' Evidence so far points to 'the crime having been committed by an advocate of neo-Nazi outlooks, who espoused hatred towards people of other ethnic identities'. He is believed to have been a member of a far-right movement called Shtolts, reported RBC citing FSB sources. 'They consider themselves 'fighters for morality'. They also oppose illegal migration,' said the source. The group has around 15 members aged 17 to 20. The man opened fire at the FSB office without clearing security, before he was shot. Pictures: The Siberian Times, Typical Khabarovsk He opened fire at the FSB office without clearing security, before he was shot dead. 'The attacker was neutralized,' said the FSB. One person was wounded in the incident, also from an ex-Soviet state. The so-called Islamic State 'news outlet' Amaq issued a brief claim in Arabic saying "IS fighter attacked a Russian Federal Intelligence office in Khabarovsk killing three of them [personnel] and wounding others." Security is high across Russia after 15 passengers died in a suicide bombing of the St Petersburg metro. The suspected suicide bomber and his alleged accomplices were from Central Asia. Farewell message in Russian sent by Anton Konev. Pictures: The Siberian Times, Typical Khabarovsk ||||| ‘Neo-Nazi’ kills two at FSB office in eastern Russia, official says A still image from a video footage shows Interior Ministry officers block a street near a regional office of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), which was attacked by a gunman, in Khabarovsk April 21, 2017. — Reuters picMOSCOW, April 21 — A gunman with alleged links to a neo-Nazi group today shot dead an employee of Russia’s FSB security service and a civilian at the agency’s office in a far eastern city, officials said. The FSB said the attacker — named as local resident A.V. Konev, born in 1999 — opened fire immediately after entering the reception of an FSB building in the city of Khabarovsk before he was himself shot dead. “There is information about his belonging to a neo-Nazi group,” the FSB said in a statement, without giving any more details. Earlier, Russia’s main domestic intelligence agency said an assailant killed an “FSB employee” and a “visitor” after bursting into the reception area at 17.02 (0702 GMT/3.02pm Malaysian time) today. One other visitor was reported injured in the attack. Deadly attacks on Russian law enforcement officials are rare outside the country’s volatile North Caucasus region. The country has seen significant support for far-right groups that have sparked brutal confrontations with immigrants from the former Soviet region. Despite stoking nationalist sentiment since the seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, the authorities under President Vladimir Putin have also cracked down on neo-Nazi extremists. The country has been on heightened alert since an alleged suicide bomb attack on the metro in the second city of Saint Petersburg on April 3 left 15 people dead. — AFP ||||| The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) says a teenage gunman has killed two people at its regional headquarters in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk. The FSB said the assailant entered the building and opened fire at people in the reception area before going through security control in the April 21 attack, Russian news agencies reported. It said the attacker fatally shot an FSB officer and a visitor and also wounded another visitor before being killed by FSB personnel. The two visitors were from a former Soviet republic other than Russia, the FSB said. The FSB said the attacker was a local who was born in 1999 and might have had links to neo-Nazi activities. It gave his last name, Konev, and the initials A.V. The FSB is Russia's main domestic security and intelligence agency. Based on reporting by Republic, TASS, and Interfax ||||| Russia's Federal Security Service said on Friday that a gunman had burst into one of its regional offices in the far east of the country and opened fire, killing one of its employees and a visitor. The incident happened at an FSB office in the Khabarovsk region, which is close to China, and another visitor was injured in the attack. The FSB, the successor organization to the Soviet KGB, said the attacker had been killed. "An unknown person entered the reception of the FSB's Khabarovsk regional branch and started shooting at people inside," the FSB said in a statement. The FSB said the gunman was a local resident, born in 1999, who belonged to an unnamed nationalist group, the TASS news agency reported, citing an FSB official. The visitor who was killed and the one who was injured were from former Soviet states outside Russia, according to the security service. Russia was this month shaken by a suicide bombing of the St Petersburg metro, which killed 16 people. The suspected suicide bomber and his alleged accomplices were from Central Asia, something rights group feared might provoke a backlash. ||||| Russia's Federal Security Service said on Friday that a gunman had burst into one of its regional offices in the far east of the country and opened fire, killing one of its employees and a visitor. The incident happened at an FSB office in the Khabarovsk region, which is close to China, and another visitor was injured in the attack. Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters. ||||| These are the first pictures of a teenage neo-Nazi gunman who killed three people in an armed attack at a Russian intelligence agency. Anton Konev, 18, stormed a FSB counterintelligence office - the main successor of the KGB - in the Far East Siberian city of Khabarovsk. He killed an FSB employee and a visitor from a former Soviet state at the reception before police shot him dead. The teenager was a member of a far-right group and encouraged 'hatred towards people of other ethnic identities,' sources claimed. Earlier, he had gunned down an instructor at a local rifle club, and stolen two guns and a sawn-off shotgun. Russian sources claimed he had a background as a neo-Nazi in the region where he staged his attack - despite Islamic State claiming responsibility for the attack. He 'espoused hatred towards people of other ethnic identities', said one source. The gunman was 'a native of Khabarovsk territory born in 1999 and there is the evidence of his affiliation with a neo-Nazi grouping', said an FSB spokesman. The attacker did not have explosives on him. He stole a Saiga carbine and two handguns as he killed the rifle club instructor, reported The Siberian Times. A multiple murder investigation has been opened and Russian Investigative Committee (IC) chairman Alexander Bastrykin dispatched a team of 'highly expert investigators and detectives' to Khabarovsk to probe the crime. The IC is responsible for investigating serious crime in Russia. A spokeswoman also refuted claims that the attack was linked to ISIS. 'Investigators do not have any evidence that would confirm the attacker's links to an international terrorist organisation, which ostensibly claimed responsibility for the crime,' spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said. Evidence so far points to 'the crime having been committed by an advocate of neo-Nazi outlooks, who espoused hatred towards people of other ethnic identities'. He is believed to have been a member of a far-right movement called Shtolts, reported RBC news agency, citing FSB sources. 'They consider themselves 'fighters for morality'. They also oppose illegal migration,' said the source. The group has around 15 members aged 17 to 20. The so-called Islamic State 'news outlet' Amaq issued a brief claim in Arabic saying 'IS fighter attacked a Russian Federal Intelligence office in Khabarovsk killing three of them [personnel] and wounding others.' Security is high across Russia after 15 passengers died in a suicide bombing of the St Petersburg metro. The suspected suicide bomber and his alleged accomplices were from Central Asia. ||||| MOSCOW, April 22 (Reuters) - Russian authorities said on Saturday security forces had killed two armed militants who had been trained by Islamic State and were planning a series of "terrorist crimes", Russian news agencies reported. The National Anti-Terror Committee said the two men had been killed in the Stavropol region of Southern Russia after a shoot out with security forces who had tried to stop their car. "The bandits have been preliminarily identified: one was the leader of a cell, trained in Islamic State camps and returned to Russia to carry out terrorist acts. The other was an active cell member," Interfax news agency quoted the committee as saying. Russia has been on heightened alert after a suicide bomber killed 16 people in an attack on the St Petersburg metro earlier this month. Russia's Federal Security Service said on Friday a gunman had burst into one of its regional offices in the far east of the country and opened fire, killing one of its employees and a visitor. The Site Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based monitoring service, said Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack. (Reporting by Jack Stubbs; Editing by Louise Ireland) ||||| WASHINGTON: The Islamic State jihadist group has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on Friday on an office of Russia’s main domestic intelligence agency, the FSB, in the country’s far east, a US-based monitoring group said. Amaq News Agency, an IS propaganda arm, made the claim in a brief report in Arabic distributed on the social media application Telegram that cited a “security source.” According to the text translated into English by the SITE monitoring group, the source said an IS “fighter” attacked an FSB office in Khabarovsk, killing three people and wounding others. Russian officials say two people were killed in the incident—an FSB employee and a civilian. One other person was reported wounded. The assailant was shot dead, the FSB said, adding: “There is information about his belonging to a neo-Nazi group.” The Amaq report came one day after the Islamic State group claimed an attack in Paris that left a policeman dead and two other officers wounded. ||||| An intelligence official was killed on Friday when a gunman opened fire in an office branch of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) office. A visitor to the facility was also slain in the bloody incident, which occurred in Khabarovsk, a city in the far-east of the Russia near the border with China. Another visitor was injured. A spokesperson for FSB, which is seen as the successor to the infamous Soviet KGB, confirmed the news. They said: “An unknown person entered the reception of the FSB's Khabarovsk regional branch and started shooting at people inside.” The attacker was killed at the scene, with ISIS claiming him as one of their deranged fighters. The Site Intelligence Group, a US-based monitoring service, said the death cult had claimed responsibility for the attack through their Amaq news agency. That contradicted earlier media reports, which said the FSB believed the gunman was a far-right nationalist. One Russian news agency had quoted a FSB spokesman as saying: ”Some information points to his being a member of a neo-Nazi group.” The visitor who was killed and the one who was injured were from former Soviet states outside Russia, according to the security service. A police investigation has been launched and evidence is being gathered at the crime scene. Earlier this month Russia was shaken by a suicide bombing of the St Petersburg metro, which killed 16 people.
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Two people are killed in an attack in a Federal Security Service office in the Russian city of Khabarovsk. The gunman is also killed. The US-Israeli SITE Intelligence Group says Amaq News Agency claims the attack for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The Russian Federal Security Service says the native 18-year-old perpetrator was a known member of a neo-nazi group.
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In his passport photo, Carlos Naranjo Moreno is chubby-faced, a healthy twenty-something from a middle class Venezuelan family in the Andean town of Merida. Now, he is gaunt, his clothes hanging off his almost 6 foot 5 frame, ribs painfully visible when he removes his shirt. The son of a university professor and himself a former chef at a government hotel who cooked for prominent Chavistas, Mr Naranjo seems an unlikely candidate for the growing ranks of Venezuelans forced to flee their country due to hunger. But he too has fallen victim to the humanitarian crisis which has engulfed Venezuela amid hyperinflation and critical shortages of food and medicine. His father died after open heart surgery... ||||| Riot police and pro-government vigilantes fought running battles in Caracas with protesters demanding the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro The death toll in three weeks of violence at anti-government protests in Venezuela jumped to 20 people after a night of clashes and pillaging left 12 people dead in Caracas. Riot police and pro-government vigilantes fought running battles with protesters demanding the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro on the capital's east, west and south sides, witnesses said. "It was like a war," said 33-year-old construction worker Carlos Yanez, a resident of the southwestern district of El Valle. "The police were firing tear gas, armed civilians were shooting guns at buildings. My family and I threw ourselves to the floor. It was horrible," he told AFP. Eleven people were killed in the neighborhood, according to officials. Eight of them were reportedly electrocuted while trying to loot a bakery amid the chaos. The rest were shot. At nightfall on Friday, more protests and pockets of unrest were reported in eastern Caracas, and in Macuto in the neighboring state of Vargas. There was a heavy security presence in the city. Police fired teargas to disperse crowds in the Caracas district of Palo Verde, where burning barricades of trash were set up. Armed men on motorbikes also sparked panic, witnesses told AFP. - Hospital evacuated - The opposition accuses the government of sending gangs of armed thugs to attack them. Videos shot by El Valle residents on Thursday night showed people throwing bottles and other objects out their windows at the gunmen in the streets below, shouting "Murderers!" At one point, street protesters hurling Molotov cocktails managed to set fire to one of the armored police trucks firing tear gas at them, lighting up the night sky. Fifty-four people, including newborn babies, were evacuated from a maternity hospital in the neighborhood. There were conflicting explanations about the reason. The government said "armed gangs hired by the opposition" had attacked the hospital. The opposition rejected the allegation, saying the children had to be evacuated because of tear gas fired by Maduro's "dictatorship." The hospital's director, Rosalinda Prieto, told AFP the evacuation was prompted by the stench of burning trash set on fire by protesters. A man was shot dead in protests in the eastern neighborhood of Petare, the local mayor said. Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation. Opposition leaders have called new protests for Saturday and Monday. On Saturday, they plan to march in silence to the Catholic Church's episcopal seats nationwide. They plan to erect roadblocks on Monday to grind the country to a halt. - Maduro sees US plot - Protesters blame Maduro -- heir of the leftist "Bolivarian revolution" launched by the late Hugo Chavez in 1999 -- for an economic crisis marked by severe shortages of food, medicine and basic goods. Maduro says the protests against him are part of a US-backed coup plot. On Thursday, he said the opposition had agreed to new talks. But his opponents denied the claim, saying the only way forward was to call elections. Senior opposition leader Henrique Capriles slammed Maduro as a "dictator" and "mythomaniac." Pressure on Maduro has been mounting since 2014, as falling prices for Venezuela's crucial oil exports have sent the once-booming economy into a tailspin. The crisis escalated on March 30, when the Supreme Court moved to seize the powers of the legislature, the only lever of state authority not controlled by Maduro and his allies. The court partly backtracked after an international outcry, but tension only increased when the authorities slapped a political ban on Capriles two weeks ago. According to pollster Venebarometro, seven in 10 Venezuelans disapprove of Maduro, whose term does not end until 2019. ||||| Eleven people were killed in violent incidents in Caracas overnight, Venezuela’s justice ministry said on Friday, following two days of massive street protests against President Nicolas Maduro. The deaths occurred in the capital’s southwestern El Valle district, the ministry said in a statement, adding six people were also wounded. The toll brings to 20 the number of people killed in three weeks of violent anti-Maduro demonstrations. For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now ||||| CARACAS, April 21 (Reuters) - Eight people were electrocuted to death during a looting incident in Caracas, a firefighter said on Friday, amid violent protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by opponents accusing him of seeking to create a dictatorship. The accident occurred when a group of looters broke into a bakery in the working class neighborhood of El Valle, according the firefighter, who asked not be identified. It was not immediately possible to confirm details of the incident with hospital or other officials. The public prosecutor's office said later on Friday it was investigating 11 deaths in El Valle, adding that "some" victims had died from being electrocuted. Nine other people have been killed in violence associated with a wave of anti-government demonstrations in the past three weeks in which protesters have clashed with security forces in melees lasting well into the night. "Yesterday around 9 or 10 (p.m.)things got pretty scary, a group of people carrying weapons came down ... and started looting," said Hane Mustafa, owner of a small supermarket in El Valle, where broken bottles of soy sauce and ketchup littered the floor between bare shelves. "The security situation is not in the hands of the government. We lost everything here," said Mustafa, who said he could hear the looting from his home, which is adjacent to the store. Dozens of businesses in the area showed signs of looting, ranging from empty shelves to broken windows and twisted metal entrance gates. The Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for details. Security forces patrolled much of Caracas on Friday, including El Valle. Maduro's government is so far resisting the pressure of the most serious protests in three years as opposition leaders push a series of political demands, drawing support from a public angered by the country's collapsing economy. Ruling Socialist Party leaders describe the protesters as hoodlums who are damaging public property and disrupting public order to overthrow the government with the support of ideological adversaries in Washington. "This wounded and failed opposition is trying to generate chaos in key areas of the city and convince the world that we're in some sort of civil war, the same playbook used for Syria, for Libya and for Iraq," said Socialist Party official Freddy Bernal in an internet broadcast at 1:00 a.m. Opposition leaders have promised to keep up their protests, demanding that Maduro's government call general elections, free almost 100 jailed opposition activists and respect the autonomy of the opposition-led Congress. They are calling for community-level protests across the country on Friday, a white-clad "silent" march in Caracas on Saturday to commemorate those killed in the unrest, and a nationwide "sit-in" blocking Venezuela's main roads on Monday. Daniela Alvarado, 25, who sells vegetables in the El Valle area, said the looting on Thursday night began after police officers fired tear gas and buckshot at demonstrators blocking a street with burning tires. "People starting looting the businesses and yelling that they were hungry and that they want the government out," said Alvarado. "We're afraid (the stores) are going to run out of everything, that tomorrow there won't be any food." Separately, a man was killed by a gunshot in the Caracas slum of Petare on Thursday night, municipal mayor Carlos Ocariz said on Friday. The OPEC nation's economy has been in free-fall since the collapse of oil prices in 2014. The generous oil-financed welfare state created by late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, Maduro's predecessor, has given way to a Soviet-style economy marked by consumer shortages, triple-digit inflation and snaking supermarket lines. Many Venezuelans say they have to skip meals in order to feed their children. Public anger at the situation spilled over last month when the Supreme Court, which is seen as close to the government, briefly assumed the powers of the Congress. The protests were further fueled when the government barred the opposition's best-known leader, two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, from holding public office. (Additional reporting by Carlos Garcia and Brian Ellsworth; Writing by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Alexandra Ulmer and Frances Kerry) ||||| She said the attackers then tried to enter the hospital, at which point they called the authorities for help. The children have been relocated to other medical facilities in Caracas. A man was shot dead in Petare, Caracas’s largest shantytown and one of several other neighbourhoods to be hit by violence overnight on Thursday. Carlos Ocariz, the opposition mayor of Sucre, where Petare is located, named the man as Melvin Guaitan, a “humble neighborhood worker”, and demanded an investigation. The circumstances of the shooting were not immediately clear. Nine people have now been killed and hundreds injured during three weeks of nationwide demonstrations against the government of Nicolas Maduro, the heir to the Leftist “Bolivarian Revolution” begun by the late Hugo Chavez. Two university students and a National Guard officer died on Wednesday during nationwide protests dubbed ‘The Mother of All Marches”. Witnesses to the student deaths said armed groups of government supporters known as colectivos were responsible; the National Guard officer was allegedly shot by a sniper. Protesters are demanding an end to what they say has become a dictatorship, insisting the government call local elections delayed from last year, hold an early presidential vote, free jailed opposition politicians and rescind electoral bans on others. They accuse Mr Maduro of leading the oil-rich nation into economic disaster, with hyperinflation and critical shortages of food, medicine and even fuel leaving many Venezuelans struggling for survival. Mr Maduro blames right wing “saboteurs” for orchestrating Venezuela’s crisis and has accused the opposition of fomenting a coup with the backing of the United States. ||||| About 50 children were evacuated from a Caracas hospital Thursday which the Venezuelan government blamed on an attack by armed gangs but the opposition attributed to tear gas used to quell unrest. As protests and looting continued into the night following another day of clashes between police and demonstrators in the capital, the government and opposition traded blows over the events at the maternity hospital. Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez criticised those involved in the incident. 'I denounce before the international community that armed gangs hired by the opposition attacked a maternity hospital with 54 children. But Freddy Guevara, an opposition leader, rejected the allegation, calling Rodriguez 'irresponsible' and saying the evacuations were 'the fault of tear gas bombs of your dictatorship'. Demonstrators have vowed not to flinch in their campaign to oust Maduro, despite three weeks of protest violence that has left eight people dead, including three on Wednesday. Earlier Thursday police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up thousands of marchers as they reached a vital freeway in Caracas, then edged back slightly as masked protesters pelted them with stones and Molotov cocktails. Protesters blame Maduro - heir of the leftist 'Bolivarian revolution' launched by the late Hugo Chavez in 1999 - for an economic crisis marked by severe shortages of food, medicine and basic goods. Maduro says the protests seeking to oust him are backed by the United States. On Thursday, Maduro said the opposition was ready to begin a political dialogue, which his opponents denied. Demonstrators have vowed there will be no let-up in their action against the regime they despise. Student Aquiles Aldazoro, 22, said: 'Sure we're tired, but we've got to stand strong. I'm ready to take to the streets every day if I have to.' Protesters set fire to bins and tore down a billboard to barricade themselves in, as officers fired water cannon at them and a police helicopter hovered overhead. 'I don't care if I inhale gas, I don't care if I die. We have to put a stop to this murdering, repressing government,' said Natasha Borges, 17. One protester, completely naked except for sneakers, walked up to police and shouted: 'Please, stop gas-bombing us.' He asked officers to allow the protesters to assemble peacefully, and held out a Bible. Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol has blamed an opposition party for the killing of a 23-year-old woman amid ongoing protests in the South American country. Reverol said Thursday that Paola Ramirez was killed on Wednesday by a member of Vente Venezuela, a party led by high-profile opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. Vente Venezuela did not immediately respond to the accusation. Machado said the government was trying to blame her party for the killing of a young woman that the administration itself was responsible for. Ramirez was killed over the past day in the restive western border city of San Cristobal amid protests that also left two others dead - a teenage boy reportedly on his way to a soccer match with friends, and a National Guard officer whose unit was attacked. The minister said a preliminary investigation suggests that the Vente Venezuela attack on Ramirez was planned in advance. San Cristobal Mayor Patricia Gutierrez has said that Ramirez was shot to death by people who appeared to be government supporters. In spite of the huge protests, experts believe that until people in the country's huge slums rise up, Maduro will remain in power. Labourer Alfonzo Molero, who lives in a slum in Maracaibo, told the Wall Street Journal: 'All I have is hunger - I don’t care if the people protest or not. With what strength will I protest if my stomach is empty since yesterday?' Venezuela's opposition renewed nationwide protests yesterday calling for elections and measures to improve the collapsing economy, a day after three people were killed in similar demonstrations. However, crowds were smaller than the hundreds of thousands of people who flooded the streets of Caracas and provincial cities on Wednesday, the latest and largest in several weeks of protests against what Maduro's opponents condemn as a lurch toward dictatorship. The spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says that the organization is 'concerned' about what's happening in Venezuela and urges that 'all efforts be made to lower tensions and prevent further clashes'. A statement issued Thursday by spokesman Stephane Dujarric calls on the Venezuelan government and opposition to 'engage sincerely to reactivate dialogue efforts', especially on issues such as the balance of power among branches of government, the electoral calendar, human rights, truth and justice and the country's socio-economic situation. Government officials dismiss the protests, characterized by street barricades and clashes with security forces, as violent and lawless efforts to overthrow Maduro's leftist government with the backing of ideological adversaries in Washington. The opposition counters that Maduro, deeply unpopular as Venezuelans grapple with triple-digit inflation and shortages of food and basic consumer goods, is seeking to stay in power indefinitely by barring opposition leaders from office and quashing independent state institutions. At around midday yesterday, a few thousand people protested in Caracas, although opposition lawmakers accused security forces of using excessive tear gas and force to block the marches. 'It's time for the armed forces to realize that they're protecting corrupt leaders and not the Venezuelan people,' said opposition lawmaker Jorge Millan, who represents part of the poor hilltop Caracas neighborhood of 23 de Enero, once a government stronghold. The opposition had called on its supporters to gather at about two dozen points around Caracas and march to the office of the state ombudsman, a human rights activist, just as they tried to do on Wednesday. The current wave of marches, the most sustained protests against Maduro since 2014, has sparked regular melees in which youths and National Guard troops exchange volleys of rocks and tear gas. There were also late-night barricades and some looting in Caracas' middle class neighborhood of El Paraiso on Wednesday night. Two students and a National Guard sergeant were killed in Wednesday's demonstrations, bringing the death toll in demonstrations this month to eight. Rights group Penal Forum said more than 500 people were arrested in relation to Wednesday's protest and 334 remained in detention. "We are concerned about the latest developments in Venezuela and urge that all efforts be made to lower tensions and prevent further clashes," a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on Thursday. Maduro, 54, called on his backers to stage counter-demonstrations in Caracas on Wednesday. Supporters of the president, who was elected in 2013 and assumed the socialist mantle of late leader Hugo Chavez, say the opposition's street protests are violent disruptions of public order that exceed the rights of free assembly and would not be tolerated in any other country. General Motors became the latest corporation to have a factory or other asset seized by the government of Venezuela, and the Detroit automaker faces an uphill battle to recover any damages. GM said Thursday that its only factory in Venezuela was confiscated a day earlier, as anti-government protesters clashed with authorities in a country that is roiled by economic troubles. GM said assets such as vehicles were taken from the plant, causing the company irreparable damage. The seizure is the latest in a long string of government confiscations of factories and other assets that have been a staple of the so-called 21st century socialist revolution in Venezuela started by the late Hugo Chavez two decades ago. Venezuela is currently fighting claims of illegal asset seizures at a World Bank-sponsored arbitration panel from more than 25 companies. GM vowed to defend itself legally but getting compensated could be difficult. Under Chavez, Venezuela seized some Exxon Mobil assets. The oil giant sought compensation of $16.6 billion. The company won a $1.4 billion judgment, but earlier this year the arbitration panel determined that Venezuela had to pay only $180 million. Auto production in Venezuela has nearly ground to a halt amid the country's economic collapse. The cash-strapped government has choked off car companies' access to dollars needed to import parts and repatriate profits. GM's factory in the industrial city of Valencia did not produce a single vehicle last year. Nationwide, car makers assembled just 2,849 cars in 2016, from a peak of 172,218 in 2007. Still, many car makers have stayed put in case the economy experiences a turnaround. GM has about 2,700 workers in Venezuela, where it's been the market leader for over 35 years. It also has 79 dealers that employ 3,900 people. The factory seizure arose from an almost 20-year-old lawsuit brought by a former GM dealership in western Venezuela. The dealership had been seeking damages from GM of 476 million bolivars - about $665 million at the official exchange rate, but just $115 million on the black market where many Venezuelans are forced to turn to sell their increasingly worthless currency. GM said it was notified this week that a low-level court ordered an embargo of its plant, bank accounts and other assets in the country. Hundreds of workers desperate for information about their jobs gathered at the plant on Thursday to meet with government and military officials, as well as representatives of the dealership that brought the lawsuit. The Venezuelan government had no comment about the GM factory. In Washington, the State Department said in a statement that it was reviewing details of the factory seizure and called on Venezuelan authorities to resolve the case "rapidly and transparently." The statement said a fair judicial system is critical to economic reforms that would restore growth, but it made no mention of any action the U.S. government might take. ||||| CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — At least 12 people were killed overnight following looting and violence in Venezuela’s capital amid a spiraling political crisis, authorities said Friday. Most of the deaths took place in El Valle, a working class neighborhood near Caracas’ biggest military base where opposition leaders say 13 people were hit with an electrical current while trying to loot a bakery protected by an electric fence. Two days of massive protests on the streets of Caracas against the government of President Nicolas Maduro spilled into a violent night in several parts of the city, with residents in El Valle witnessing repetitive gunfire, street barricades set aflame and more than a dozen businesses looted. Amid the confusion, mothers and newborn children had to be evacuated from a maternity hospital named after the late leader Hugo Chavez when it was swamped with tear gas. The Public Ministry said the violence left 11 people dead in El Valle, all men between the ages of 17 and 45. Another death was reported east of Caracas in El Sucre. Six others were injured. Opposition leaders blamed the government for repressing protesters with tear gas but standing idly by as businesses were looted. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez pointed the finger at the opposition, saying armed groups controlled by them were responsible for the attack at the hospital. “We reject and do not accept those irresponsible declarations,” said Henrique Capriles, a former presidential candidate who the government recently barred from running for public office. Earlier Friday, officials reported that one of the dead was Mervins Guitian. The young Venezuelan man was fatally shot when he was returning home late from work on Thursday and got caught in the middle of late-night street clashes. Vicente Paez, a local councilman, said Guitian was an employee of a Caracas-area city governed by an opposition mayor and didn’t join the protests. It wasn’t clear who shot him and there was no immediate comment from authorities. Venezuelan social media was ablaze late into the night with grainy cellphone videos of light-armored vehicles plowing down dark streets to control pockets of protesters who set up burning barricades in several neighborhoods. The opposition said they have no intention of pulling back on protests demanding new elections that were triggered when the government-stacked Supreme Court three weeks ago gutted congress of its last vestiges of power, a move that was later reversed amid a storm of international criticism. Protesters are angry at what they see as a government that has essentially become a dictatorship responsible for triple-digit inflation, rising crime and food shortages. “Twenty days of resistance and we feel newly born,” said opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara during an evening, outdoor press conference as residents looking out from balconies in an eastern Caracas neighborhood at the heart of the protest movement cheered loudly in support. The next planned protest is Saturday, when opponents are being asked to dress in white and march silently to commemorate the victims of the demonstration. There’s also a sit-in to block major highways planned for Monday. General Motors announced early Thursday that it was closing its operations in Venezuela after authorities seized its factory in the industrial city of Valencia, a move that could draw the Trump administration into the escalating chaos engulfing the nation. A number of major Latin American governments, including Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, called on Venezuela to take steps to increase democratic order and halt the violence that has been swirling around the protests. Across the country, clashes have been intense as protests grow in size and fervor. The Supreme Court ruling reinvigorated Venezuela’s fractious opposition, which had been struggling to channel growing disgust with Maduro over widespread food shortages, triple-digit inflation and rampant crime. Opponents are pushing for Maduro’s removal through early elections and the release of dozens of political prisoners. The government last year abruptly postponed regional elections that the opposition was heavily favored to win and it cut off a petition drive aimed at forcing a referendum seeking Maduro’s removal before elections scheduled for late next year. But the government hasn’t backed down. Already drawing criticism for the GM seizure, Maduro announced late Thursday that he wanted an investigation into cellphone operator Movistar for allegedly being part of the “coup-minded march” organized by his adversaries Wednesday. That march was the largest and most dramatic the country has seen in years. He said the subsidiary of Spain’s Telefonica “sent millions of messages to users every two hours” in support of Wednesday’s protests. As tensions mount, the government is using its almost-complete control of Venezuela’s institutions to pursue its opponents. On Wednesday alone, 565 protesters were arrested nationwide, according to Penal Forum, a local group that provides legal assistance to detainees. It said 334 remained in jail Thursday. Associated Press photographer Juan Carlos Hernandez in Valencia, AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit, and Christine Armario in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report. More Associated Press reporting on Venezuela’s problems can be found at https://www.ap.org/explore/venezuela-undone . ||||| CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — At least 12 people were killed overnight following looting and violence in Venezuela’s capital amid a spiraling political crisis, authorities said Friday. Most of the deaths took place in El Valle, a working class neighborhood near Caracas’ biggest military base where opposition leaders say a group of people were hit with an electrical current while trying to loot a bakery protected by an electric fence. Two days of massive protests on the streets of Caracas against the government of President Nicolas Maduro spilled into a violent night in several parts of the city, with residents in El Valle witnessing repetitive gunfire, street barricades set aflame and more than a dozen businesses looted. Amid the confusion, mothers and newborn children had to be evacuated from a maternity hospital named after the late leader Hugo Chavez when it was swamped with tear gas. The Public Ministry said the violence left 11 people dead in El Valle, all men between the ages of 17 and 45. Another death was reported east of Caracas in El Sucre. Six others were injured. Opposition leaders blamed the government for repressing protesters with tear gas but standing idly by as businesses were looted. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez pointed the finger at the opposition, saying armed groups controlled by them were responsible for the attack at the hospital. “We reject and do not accept those irresponsible declarations,” said Henrique Capriles, a former presidential candidate who the government recently barred from running for public office. Earlier Friday, officials reported that one of the dead was Mervins Guitian. The young Venezuelan man was fatally shot when he was returning home late from work on Thursday and got caught in the middle of late-night street clashes. Vicente Paez, a local councilman, said Guitian was an employee of a Caracas-area city governed by an opposition mayor and didn’t join the protests. It wasn’t clear who shot him and there was no immediate comment from authorities. Venezuelan social media was ablaze late into the night with grainy cellphone videos of light-armored vehicles plowing down dark streets to control pockets of protesters who set up burning barricades in several neighborhoods. Vice President Tareck El Aissami said Friday the country is facing an “unconventional war” led by opposition groups working in concert with criminal gangs. He said opposition claims government forces were responsible for launching tear gas at the maternity hospital were another attempt to demoralize a people who have “decided to break ties with the bourgeoisie forever.” Overall, at least 20 people have been killed in the unrest generated after the government-stacked Supreme Court gutted congress of its last vestiges of power three weeks ago — a move later reversed amid a storm of international criticism. Opposition members say they do not intend to ease up on protests demanding new elections as they decry a government they deem a dictatorship responsible for triple-digit inflation, rising crime and food shortages. “Twenty days of resistance and we feel newly born,” said opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara during an evening, outdoor press conference as residents looking out from balconies in an eastern Caracas neighborhood at the heart of the protest movement cheered loudly in support. The next planned protest is Saturday, when opponents are being asked to dress in white and march silently to commemorate the victims of the demonstration. There’s also a sit-in to block major highways planned for Monday. General Motors announced early Thursday that it was closing its operations in Venezuela after authorities seized its factory in the industrial city of Valencia, a move that could draw the Trump administration into the escalating chaos engulfing the nation. A number of major Latin American governments, including Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, called on Venezuela to take steps to increase democratic order and halt the violence that has been swirling around the protests. Across the country, clashes have been intense as protests grow in size and fervor. The Supreme Court ruling reinvigorated Venezuela’s fractious opposition, which had been struggling to channel growing disgust with Maduro over widespread food shortages, triple-digit inflation and rampant crime. Opponents are pushing for Maduro’s removal through early elections and the release of dozens of political prisoners. The government last year abruptly postponed regional elections that the opposition was heavily favored to win and it cut off a petition drive aimed at forcing a referendum seeking Maduro’s removal before elections scheduled for late next year. But the government hasn’t backed down. Already drawing criticism for the GM seizure, Maduro announced late Thursday that he wanted an investigation into cellphone operator Movistar for allegedly being part of the “coup-minded march” organized by his adversaries Wednesday. That march was the largest and most dramatic the country has seen in years. He said the subsidiary of Spain’s Telefonica “sent millions of messages to users every two hours” in support of Wednesday’s protests. As tensions mount, the government is using its almost-complete control of Venezuela’s institutions to pursue its opponents. On Wednesday alone, 565 protesters were arrested nationwide, according to Penal Forum, a local group that provides legal assistance to detainees. It said 334 remained in jail Thursday. Associated Press photographer Juan Carlos Hernandez in Valencia, AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit, and Christine Armario in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report. More Associated Press reporting on Venezuela’s problems can be found at https://www.ap.org/explore/venezuela-undone . ||||| MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – More than 20 people were taken to the hospital amid anti-government protests in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, the country’s National Assembly deputy Jose Manuel Olivares said. "13 electrocuted patients arrived [at the hospital], of whom 8 died and 1 is in grave condition!" Olivares wrote on Twitter on Friday, adding in another post that "Also came 8 patients injured by gunfire, 1 died in the emergency department of the University Hospital of Caracas." Earlier on Friday, local media reported that the death toll from ongoing protests against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stood at 10, with one person having been killed overnight in Caracas. Executive Director of Venezuelan NGO (non-governmental organization) Foro Penal (Criminal Forum) Alfredo Romero wrote on Twitter on Friday that 1,289 people have been arrested amid protests in Venezuela since April 4. Venezuelan National Assembly deputy Marialbert Barrios said on Thursday that a total of 585 people were arrested during anti-government demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday. Mass anti-government protests started in Venezuela at the beginning of April after the country’s Supreme Court decided to take on the legislative functions of the National Assembly, which is currently controlled by the opposition. The court’s decision was reversed, but protesters remained on the streets, demanding the resignation of the court’s members. ||||| At least three people were killed in Venezuela when clashes broke out during anti-government protests described by opposition leaders as the “mother of all marches.” Supporters of President Nicolas Maduro also held a counter rally Wednesday as opposition marchers gathered in the streets. An hour into the march in Caracas, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the head, according to the Venezuela’s public ministry, which said it had started investigating the incident. The teenager, later identified as Carlos Moreno, died while undergoing surgery, a hospital representative told CNN. Moreno’s sister, Alejandra, said Carlos studied economics at Venezuelan Central University in Caracas. Instead of joining the marches, she said, he was on the way to play soccer. Video posted on social media showed a young man on the ground in the San Bernardino neighborhood — a pool of blood near his head — surrounded by marchers. A woman is heard yelling, “They’ve killed him.” The ministry said it was also investigating the Wednesday afternoon shooting death of Paola Andreina Ramírez Gómez, 23, in plaza San Carlos in San Cristóbal, Tachira state. Jorban Contreras, a paramedic and director of the civil protection unit in Tachira, said the woman lost a lot of blood and was already dead from a gunshot wound to her chest when he arrived. In a third death, Venezuelan National Guard Sgt. Niumar Jose San Clemente Barrios was fatally shot Wednesday night, said the public prosecutor’s office and Venezuela’s top human rights official, ombudsman Tarek William Saab. A second guardsman was wounded by a bullet, the officials said. Both were shot during “violent protests” in the municipality of Los Salias, south of the nation’s capital, according to Saab. The public prosecutor’s office has called for an investigation into the shooting. Maduro: Don’t complain when law comes after you Maduro, who along with his supporters called for the countermarch, had deployed the Venezuelan armed forces to the streets on Sunday night amid rising tensions. He gave a fiery speech on Wednesday, accusing the opposition leaders of inciting violence. He called out the President of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Julio Borges, saying “You are the head of the coup. Later, don’t complain when the law comes after you.” Wednesday’s marches underscored the widening political rifts in the country, where the opposition has accused Maduro of creating a dictatorship in the last few years. The government has repeatedly blocked any attempts by the opposition to oust Maduro from power by a referendum vote. It has also delayed local and state elections. The opposition called for another march on Thursday, using the same strategy from the day before when protesters started their march at 26 different points throughout Caracas and converged at the office of the ombudsman, the government’s top human rights official. Government supporters and security forces on Wednesday succeeded in blocking marchers from reaching certain parts of the city, according to observers. Throughout the day, water cannons and tear gas canisters were unleashed on opposition marchers. Video posted on social media showed marchers — some covering their faces — crossing the narrow Guaire River in the nation’s capital in attempts to elude tear gas blasts. The video was posted by David Smolansky, mayor of the municipality of El Hatillo and an opposition leader. In Washington, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressed concerns to reporters Wednesday that the “government of Maduro is violating its own constitution and is not allowing the opposition to have their voices heard, nor allowing them to organize in a way that expresses the views of the Venezuelan people.” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said via Twitter on Wednesday that he had directed his country’s exterior ministry to ask the UN Secretary General to address what he called the “worrying militarization of Venezuelan society.” What the opposition wants The last vote held in Venezuela, the parliamentary election of 2015, gave the opposition a majority. Critics say any elections since have been delayed because Maduro is afraid of the outcome. Then, on March 29, the Venezuelan Supreme Court dissolved the Parliament, transferring all legislative powers to itself. By doing away with the opposition-controlled legislative branch, the move effectively meant the remaining two branches of Venezuelan government were controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party. The opposition was outraged and called the move a coup. The decision was reversed three days later, but by that time protests had already erupted. The protests have been bloody. Six people have died and countless others, many journalists, have been injured. The opposition call became even stronger when, on April 7, the government notified main opposition leader Henrique Capriles that he had been banned from doing any political work for 15 years. The 44-year-old governor, who has run for president twice, said the government was again acting like a dictatorship. Maduro, 54, has been defiant. Instead of taking steps to reduce tensions with the opposition, he has taken a confrontational tone with members of the opposition and protesters, whom he calls “vandals and terrorists.” Opposition leaders have called for the National Assembly’s powers to be fully restored, for all the political prisoners to be freed, for a humanitarian corridor to be opened and for the stalled elections to take place. Unemployment, meanwhile, is set to surpass 25% this year, possibly on its way to 28% next year. It was at 7.4% in 2015. Venezuela’s economy shrank 18% last year, its third year of recession. It is expected to be in the red this year and next. The country’s food shortages have become severe in the last couple of years. Venezuelans have endured weeks, in some cases months, without basics like milk, eggs, flour, soap and toilet paper. When there is food and water on the shelves, prices are so high that few Venezuelans can afford it. Many have taken to eating out of the trash. Medicine also remains in short supply. Venezuelans hunt for penicillin and other remedies at pharmacies everywhere, often without success. The country’s public hospitals have fallen apart, causing people, including infants, to die because of the scarcity of basic medical care. Venezuela recently asked the United Nations for help to relieve serious shortages of medicines in the country.
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Venezuelan authorities report 12 people were killed overnight in the capital Caracas, mostly in the El Valle working class neighborhood where 54 people, including newborn babies, were forced to evacuate a maternity hospital. Others have fled to Colombia. This death toll during the three weeks of anti-government protests is 20.
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© Provided by USA Today Dr. Vivek Murthy The White House administration on Friday dismissed U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, saying it is continuing the process of transitioning to new leadership. “Today, Dr. Murthy, the leader of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, was asked to resign from his duties as Surgeon General after assisting in a smooth transition into the new Trump Administration," the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. "Dr. Murthy has been relieved of his duties as Surgeon General and will continue to serve as a member of the Commissioned Corps," the statement continued. "(Health and Human Services) Secretary (Tom) Price thanks him for his dedicated service to the nation. Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, who is the current Deputy Surgeon General, will serve as the acting Surgeon General and assume leadership of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.” Trent-Adams, whose picture and name already were up on the surgeon general Twitter account Friday evening, has served in the Public Health Service Corps for more than 24 years, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. She previously was chief nurse officer for that agency, the deputy associate administrator for the HIV/AIDS bureau at the Department of Health and Human Services, and nurse officer in the Army. Murthy, 39, was the 19th surgeon general of the United States. He was a native of the United Kingdom and a graduate of Harvard College as well as the Yale University schools of medicine and business. A vice admiral and research scientist, he is known for his concerns regarding emotional well-being. At a recent conference on behavioral health in Seattle, he said, "We forget some of the oldest medicines are love and compassion." On his web page, he describes himself as a "physician, entrepreneur, grassroots organizer, mango aficionado, dreamer." He was confirmed on Dec. 14, 2014, and co-founded Visions, an HIV/AIDS educational program in India and the United States. He also co-founded Swasthya, a community health partnership in rural India. Murthy could not immediately be reached. Prior to now, Trent-Adams was deputy surgeon general and is a graduate of Hampton University as well as the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where she earned a doctoral degree as well as a master of science in nursing and health policy. Contributing: Jayne O'Donnell ||||| Dr. Vivek Murthy announced on Friday that he has resigned from his post as U.S. Surgeon General. "As my colleague Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams takes over as acting Surgeon General, know that our nation is in capable and compassionate hands," Murthy, a holdover from the Obama administration, wrote in a Facebook post. As of Friday evening, Trent-Adams' photo had replaced Murthy's on the surgeon general's Twitter and Facebook pages, and her biography on the Surgeon General's website cited her new title. In his Facebook post, Murthy wrote, "While I had hoped to do more to help our nation tackle its biggest health challenges, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have served." But, he wrote, "For the grandson of a poor farmer from India to be asked by the President to look out for the health of an entire nation was a humbling and uniquely American story. I will always be grateful to our country for welcoming my immigrant family nearly 40 years ago and giving me this opportunity to serve." During her time as Deputy Surgeon General, Trent-Adams "advised regarding operations of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and communicated the best available scientific information to advance the health of the nation," reads her biography on the Surgeon General's website. Trent-Adams also served as the Chief Nurse Officer of the U.S. Public Health Service from November 2013 through May 2016. In this role, she advised the Office of the Surgeon General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the recruitment, assignment, deployment, retention, and career development of Corps nurse professionals. And prior to joining the Office of the Surgeon General, Trent-Adams was the Deputy Associate Administrator for the HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). ||||| (ABC) — U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy was removed from his post by the Trump administration and has been replaced temporarily by his deputy. Murthy, an appointee of former President Obama, announced on Friday that he resigned. A Department of Health and Human Services Spokesperson Alleigh Marré said in a statement to ABC News on Saturday that he was asked to step down. “Dr. Murthy, the leader of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, was asked to resign from his duties as Surgeon General after assisting in a smooth transition into the new Trump Administration,,” said Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Alleigh Marré in the statement. The statement continued, “Dr. Murthy has been relieved of his duties as Surgeon General and will continue to serve as a member of the Commissioned Corps. Secretary [Tom] Price thanks him for his dedicated service to the nation,” Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, a nurse who served as Murthy’s deputy, will serve as the acting Surgeon General, according to the statement. Murthy, a physician, began serving in the post in December 2014. He wrote in a Facebook post announcing his departure, “While I had hoped to do more to help our nation tackle its biggest health challenges, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have served.” He continued, “For the grandson of a poor farmer from India to be asked by the president to look out for the health of an entire nation was a humbling and uniquely American story. I will always be grateful to our country for welcoming my immigrant family nearly 40 years ago and giving me this opportunity to serve.” “As my colleague Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams takes over as acting Surgeon General, know that our nation is in capable and compassionate hands,” Murthy wrote. As of Friday evening, Trent-Adams’ photo had replaced Murthy’s on the surgeon general’s Twitter and Facebook pages, and her biography on the Surgeon General’s website cited her new title. In addition to her duties as deputy Surgeon General, Trent-Adams also served as the chief nurse officer of the U.S. Public Health Service from November 2013 through May 2016. In this role, she advised the Office of the Surgeon General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the recruitment, assignment, deployment, retention, and career development of Corps nurse professionals. Prior to joining the Office of the Surgeon General, Trent-Adams was the deputy associate administrator for the HIV/AIDS Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration. ||||| Indian-American Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, appointed by the previous Obama regime, has been asked to step down by the Trump administration to put its own leadership in place. “Today, Murthy, the leader of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, was asked to resign from his duties as Surgeon General after assisting in a smooth transition into the new Trump administration,” the US Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement on Friday. “Murthy has been relieved of his duties as Surgeon General and will continue to serve as a member of the Commissioned Corps,” the statement continued. Murthy, 39, the 19th Surgeon General and the first Indian American to hold this position said in a Facebook Post that it was an honour and privilege to work for this prestigious position. “For the grandson of a poor farmer from India to be asked by the President to look out for the health of an entire nation was a humbling and uniquely American story. I will always be grateful to our country for welcoming my immigrant family nearly 40 years ago and giving me this opportunity to serve,” he said. Murthy has been replaced by Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, who is the current Deputy Surgeon General. “(Health and Human Services) Secretary (Tom) Price thanks him for his dedicated service to the nation. Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, who is the current Deputy Surgeon General, will serve as the acting Surgeon General and assume leadership of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps,” the official statement said. Interestingly, Murthy is the second Indian-American to be removed by the Trump administration from a senior position. The first one was the US Attorney from New York Preet Bharara who was fired after he refused to resign. “As my colleague Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams takes over as Acting Surgeon General, know that our nation is in capable and compassionate hands. Thank you, America, for the privilege of a lifetime. I have been truly humbled and honoured to serve as your Surgeon General. I look forward to working alongside you in new ways in the years to come,” he wrote on his Facebook Post. “While I had hoped to do more to help our nation tackle its biggest health challenges, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have served,” he said. “The role of the Surgeon General is traditionally to share wisdom with others, but it was I who learned so much by listening to your stories in town halls and living rooms. In a remote fishing village in Alaska, a church in Alabama, an American Indian reservation in Oklahoma, a school in Virginia, and in so many other places, I watched the grit and grace with which our fellow Americans live their lives,” he said. Murthy was confirmed by the Senate by 51 to 43 votes in December 2014, despite stiff resistance by the pro-gun lobby led by the National Rifle Association. The Surgeon General is appointed for a four year term. At 37, he was the youngest ever Surgeon General. Murthy’s parents are originally from Karnataka, India. He was born in Huddersfield, England and the family relocated to Miami, Florida when he was three years old. He received an MD from the Yale School of Medicine and an MBA in Health Care Management from the Yale School of Management. He is currently a practicing physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, as well as the Hospitalist Attending Physician and Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now ||||| U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Friday he has been replaced, a little more than two years after he was confirmed under President Barack Obama. In a statement posted to Facebook, the 39-year-old Murthy said he "was blessed to have an extraordinary team of dedicated public servants who became my colleagues and friends" and highlighted the work done by his office to address addiction in the United States. "Thank you, America, for the privilege of a lifetime," Murthy said. "I have been truly humbled and honored to serve as your Surgeon General." A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services told The Associated Press Murthy was asked to resign after "assisting in a smooth transition" under President Donald Trump. Murthy was the first Indian-American appointed to the nation's top health post when he was confirmed by the Senate in December of 2014, a year after he was nominated. He said Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, the current deputy surgeon general, will serve as acting surgeon general. The official page of the U.S. Surgeon General has been updated with her in that role. Murthy, in a landmark report on addiction released in November, said dependency on opioids and other substances must not be looked on as a "character flaw," in the first publication from a surgeon general that has addressed drug and alcohol addiction. "We will only be successful in addressing addiction — and other illnesses — when we recognize the humanity within each of us. People are more than their disease. All of us are more than our worst mistakes," Murthy said in his statement. "We must ensure our nation always reflects a fundamental value: every life matters." Murthy was nominated by Obama in 2013, and was narrowly confirmed by the Senate after fierce opposition from the National Rifle Association and other gun rights advocates, who argued he would use the office to advocate for changing the nations' firearms laws; Murthy had spoken out for mandatory gun-safety training and an assault weapons ban. Republicans, and some Democrats, also objected to Murthy for his previous political activism, such as when he co-founded Doctors for Obama in 2008. Murthy replaced Acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak, who took over after Surgeon General Regina Benjamin finished her term in 2013. Murthy, a former doctor and instructor at Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of president of Doctors for America, in 2011 had been appointed by Obama to serve on an advisory panel on integrative public health that was created under the Affordable Care Act. Murthy pointed to his background as the grandson of a poor farmer from India in what he called the "humbling" experience of being chosen as the nation's top health official. He called it a "uniquely American story." "While I had hoped to do more to help our nation tackle its biggest health challenges, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have served," Murthy said. ||||| U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, center, after he is ceremonially sworn-in in Conmy Hall at Fort Myer, Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Arlington, Va. Andrew Harnik / AP Murthy was the first Indian-American appointed to the nation’s top health post when he was confirmed by the Senate in 2014, a year after he was nominated. He said Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, the current deputy surgeon general, will serve as acting surgeon general. The official page of the U.S. Surgeon General has been updated with her in that role. landmark report on addiction released in November said dependency on opioids and other substances must not be looked on as a “character flaw,” in the first publication from a surgeon general hat has addressed drug and alcohol addiction. “We will only be successful in addressing addiction — and other illnesses — when we recognize the humanity within each of us. People are more than their disease. All of us are more than our worst mistakes,” Murthy said in the statement. “We must ensure our nation always reflects a fundamental value: every life matters.” was nominated by Obama in 2013, and was narrowly confirmed by the Senate after fierce opposition from the National Rifle Association and other gun rights advocates, who argued he would use the office to advocate for changing the nations’ firearms laws; Murthy had spoken out for mandatory gun-safety training and an assault weapons ban. Republicans, and some Democrats, also objected to Murthy for his previous political activism, such as when he co-founded Doctors for Obama in 2008. Murthy replaced Acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak, who took over after Surgeon General Regina Benjamin finished her term in 2013. Murthy, a former doctor and instructor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of president of Doctors for America, in 2011 had been appointed by Obama to serve on an advisory panel on integrative public health that was created under the Affordable Care Act. Murthy pointed to his background as the grandson of a poor farmer from India in what he called the “humbling” experience of being chosen as the nation’s top health official. He called it a “uniquely American story.” “While I had hoped to do more to help our nation tackle its biggest health challenges, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have served,” Murthy said. ||||| The Trump Administration asked Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to resign, calling his departure a continuation of the transition between the two presidential administrations. Murthy was replaced by his deputy, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, a nurse who currently serves in an acting role. The official Twitter and Facebook accounts for the surgeon general have been changed to reflect the replacement. "Dr. Murthy has been relieved of his duties as Surgeon General and will continue to serve as a member of the Commissioned Corps," a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services said, according to USA Today . The department said Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price "thanks him for his dedicated service to the nation," USA Today reports. Murthy was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2014. Murthy confirmed his departure from the role in a Facebook post , in which he outlined his greatest lessons and accomplishments from his tenure and thanked his colleagues and family. "While I had hoped to do more to help our nation tackle its biggest health challenges, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have served," Murthy wrote. Murthy was known for his strong stance on gun violence, calling it a public health threat. In fact, the National Rifle Association came out against Murthy and advised the Senate not to confirm him in 2014. Murthy was the 19th surgeon general of the United States. A graduate from Harvard College and Yale University, Murthy co-founded Visions, an educational program for HIV/AIDS in the United States and India. A representative from the Department of Health and Human Services has not responded to request for comment. ||||| U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, a physician advocate for the Affordable Care Act appointed by former President Barack Obama, was abruptly removed from the post by the Trump administration Friday. He was replaced by his deputy, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, who will serve as acting Surgeon General, according to the Surgeon General’s website and Twitter account. According to her official biography, Trent-Adams has been a longtime commissioned nurse in the U.S. Public Health Service, serving as its chief nurse officer and in other jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services. “Dr. Murthy, the leader of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, was asked to resign from his duties as Surgeon General after assisting in a smooth transition into the new Trump administration,” said Alleigh Marré, the HHS spokeswoman. As late as Friday morning, the Surgeon General’s Twitter account had been promoting Murthy’s work, including a “virtual field trip” he was to host on Tuesday for schools about the risks of electronic cigarettes. An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com. First class vs. last class? Airlines bolster premium cabin, skimp on economy ||||| WASHINGTON — Surgeon General Vivek Murthy was asked to resign by the White House on Friday after assisting in the transition to the Trump administration. Dr. Murthy’s deputy, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, will assume the position of acting surgeon general. Trent-Adams, a 24-year veteran of the corps, also served as its chief nurse officer and as deputy associate administrator of the Department of Health and Human Services’ HIV and AIDS bureau. The department’s spokeswoman, Alleigh Marré, noted Murthy’s aid to the transition in a statement on his resignation, saying, “Secretary [Tom] Price thanks him for his dedicated service to the nation.” Murthy, who will continue as a member of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, was appointed as surgeon general in 2014. During his tenure, he led efforts to stymy the growing opioid epidemic, cautioning US doctors in a public letter about their prescription of painkillers. “The results have been devastating,” Murthy wrote. He also sounded the alarm on teen e-cigarette use, which he said increased 900% among high school students from 2011 to 2015. He was opposed by Republican senators during his confirmation over his position on gun violence, which he called a public health issue. The White House referred a request for comment on Murthy’s resignation to HHS. ||||| Once again, nothing makes sense in the Trump White House.... Late Friday the Trump White House sought and received the resignation of Vivek Murthy, who has been Surgeon General of the United States since 2014. His term ends in 2018. And here's the deal: Trump doesn't have a replacement lined up for Murthy. The job will be held "temporarily" by a nurse, "acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams." Axios suggests Murthy made enemies with certain lobbyists in expressing opposition to e-cigarettes and wanting science and stuff to determine how vaping devices are regulated. I suggest this was a well-timed spite firing on the eve of the March for Science.
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The White House dismisses U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in its continuing transition from the prior presidential administration. The current Deputy Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, will serve as the acting SG.
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The campaign for the first round of the French presidential election has closed under the shadow of jihadist violence and with widespread misgivings about the outcome of the vote on Sunday. The issues confronting France had taken a back seat to financial scandals and the flawed character of the candidates, but terrorism suddenly became the main issue when Karim Cheurfi, a 39-year-old Frenchman with four convictions for violent crime, murdered a policeman and wounded three other people on the Champs-Éysées on Thursday night, 72 hours before polling stations were to open. Cheurfi was shot dead. The government has mobilised 50,000 police and gendarmes and 7,000 soldiers to protect polling stations, which will be equipped with mobile telephones pre-programmed with emergency police numbers. Four of 11 candidates stand a chance of reaching the May 7th run-off in the race to succeed François Hollande as president: the centrist Emmanuel Macron, the extreme right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, the conservative François Fillon and the far left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Opinion polls indicate that each commands support estimated at between 19 and 24 per cent. French police, large numbers of whom support Ms Le Pen’s Front National (FN), demonstrated in several towns and cities yesterday over the shooting of their colleague. They demanded to know why a man who had repeatedly attacked police, and who had threatened in recent months to kill police in retaliation for the deaths of Muslims in Syria, was at large. Before the attack, close to 30 per cent of voters told pollsters they would abstain in the first round of the election. Voting was portrayed by commentators on Friday as the most effective way to defeat jihadism. There was broad speculation that the attack could affect voters’ choices. “In a campaign without a theme, strongly marked by the desire to break with a denigrated political system ... all of a sudden the bonus no longer goes to adventure, but to force, to protection,” said Françoise Fressoz of Le Monde. Mr Macron, at 39 the youngest and most inexperienced candidate, could be at a disadvantage, in spite of his narrow lead in the opinion polls. He stressed that he was ready to govern, and that the role of a president was to “protect the French”. Ms Le Pen, running a close second in the polls, accused conservative and socialist governments of the last decade of having “done everything for us to lose” what she called a “pitiless, relentless war” waged against France by “Islamist terrorism”. US president Donald Trump told the Associated Press that the attack would help Ms Le Pen, who has praised him. If he wins, Mr Fillon promised to make the “war” with what he calls “Islamic totalitarianism” the top priority of his term in office. Bernard Cazeneuve, the socialist prime minister, accused Ms Le Pen and Mr Fillon of exploiting the tragedy for electoral gain. The fact that France could send Ms Le Pen and Mr Mélenchon to the run-off, forcing voters to choose between extreme right and extreme left, has spooked financial markets. “There is worried waiting for the French election results,” Christine Lagarde, a former French economy minister and the director of the International Monetary Fund, told Le Monde. Ms Le Pen and Mr Mélenchon included plans for leaving the euro zone and Europe in their programmes, though they softened their positions somewhat in recent days, in the face of opinion polls showing that close to three-quarters of the French want to remain in the euro. Ms Le Pen and Mr Mélenchon lent a revolutionary tone to the campaign by railing against a privileged “caste” which they promised to overthrow. They portrayed Mr Fillon, a former prime minister, and Mr Macron, a former economy minister, as representatives of the elite. All four styled themselves as outsiders and enemies of an entrenched “system” that they vowed to end. ||||| PARIS: The jihadist killing of a policeman on Paris’s Champs Elysees overshadowed the French presidential race Friday as candidates clashed over how to protect France, two days before a close-run first-round vote. Analysts said Thursday night’s shooting, which the Islamic State (IS) group claimed as the work of one of its devotees, could shake up the race in a country scarred by a string of attacks that have claimed 239 lives since 2015. Authorities had feared further bloodshed during the presidential race — a four-way contest between far-right leader Marine Le Pen, centrist Emmanuel Macron, conservative Francois Fillon and Communist-backed firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon. A note praising IS was found next to the body of 39-year-old gunman Karim Cheurfi, who shot dead an officer and wounded two others before being killed in a firefight that sent tourists on the world-famous boulevard rushing for cover. The violent scenes thrust security to the fore of campaigning after nine months of relative calm. Le Pen, Fillon and Macron cancelled their final rallies. Le Pen moved quickly to present herself as the strongest defender against Islamist radicals. The 48-year-old leader of the anti-immigration National Front (FN) called for France to “immediately” take back control of its borders from the European Union and deport all foreigners on a terror watchlist. “This war against us is ceaseless and merciless,” she said, accusing the Socialist government of a “cowardly” response to the threat. Fillon and Macron also hastily convened televised briefings in which they vowed to protect the country. “Some haven’t taken the full measure of the evil,” 63-year-old Fillon said, promising an “iron-fisted” approach. Macron, a 39-year-old moderate whom Fillon has portrayed as too inexperienced for the top job, said France was paying for the intelligence jobs cuts made when Fillon was prime minister between 2007 and 2012. Describing Thursday’s shooting as an attack on democracy, he urged voters: “Do not give in to fear.” Veteran leftwinger Melenchon, 65, was the only one of the four to stick to his schedule. A BVA poll conducted on Thursday and Friday showed Le Pen and Macron tied on 23 percent, ahead of Melenchon with 19.5 percent and Fillon on 19 percent. Cheurfi drew up alongside a police van and shot an officer sitting at the wheel, sending shoppers and strollers on the ritzy Champs Elysees scattering for safety. He was killed while trying to flee on foot. A German tourist was slightly wounded in the crossfire. A statement by IS’s propaganda agency Amaq issued shortly after the attack identified the assailant as “Abu Yussef the Belgian”. The claim had raised concerns that a possible second attacker could be on the loose. French authorities said a man sought in Belgium, who was suspected of having planned to travel to France on Thursday, had handed himself in to police in the Belgian city of Antwerp. Cheurfi was arrested in February on suspicion of plotting to kill police officers but released because of a lack of evidence. A serial offender, he spent nearly 14 years in prison for a range of crimes including attacks on the police. He had shown “no signs of radicalisation” while in custody, said France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor Francois Molins. The shooting came days after two men were arrested in Marseille on suspicion of planning an imminent attack and follows a series of deadly strikes around Europe in the last month, targeting Stockholm, London and the Saint Petersburg metro. On Sunday, around 50,000 police and 7,000 soldiers will be deployed to protect voters. Until now, surveys showed the French to be more concerned about jobs and the economy than terrorism or security, though analysts warned Thursday’s shooting could change that. US President Donald Trump tweeted that the attack “will have a big effect” on the election. “If it were to benefit someone that would clearly be Marine Le Pen who has dominated this issue throughout the campaign, or Francois Fillon, because of his stature of statesman,” Adelaide Zulfikarpasic of BVA pollsters said. Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve accused Le Pen of attempting to make political hay out of the killing, saying she was “seeking, as she does after every tragedy, to take advantage of it”. Shop owners and restaurant managers shepherded their customers to backrooms and basements when the shooting began on the Champs Elysees. “We heard the shots and people were running in every direction. But people were calm,” said Lebanese tourist Zeina Bitar, 45, who was shopping with her children nearby. France has been under a state of emergency for nearly a year and a half. The string of terror attacks began in January 2015 with a massacre at the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine. The following November, IS gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people in Paris, and a Tunisian man rammed a truck through crowds in Nice last July, killing 86 people. There are 5 documents on the same topic ||||| PARIS — Voters waking up in some French overseas territories are preparing to vote first in France's unpredictable presidential election — one day earlier than in the mainland. Political campaigning is banned from Saturday across France, and online, as voters in far-flung areas such as French Polynesia, Guiana, Guadeloupe cast ballots for one of the 11 candidates. The mad-dash campaigning of the last few weeks came to a premature end Friday, hours after a gunman killed a police officer on the famed Champs-Elysees. Major candidates their last campaign day events Friday over security concerns including the National Front's Marine Le Pen, Les Republicans' Francois Fillon and centrist Emmanuel Macron. Opinion polls suggest that at least four candidates have a chance of grabbing one of the two places in the May runoff. ||||| Francois Fillon gestures toward his supporters after declaring victory in the presidential Republican party's runoff primary at Maison de la Chimie in Paris on November 27, 2016. Photo by Yoan Valat/European Press Agency Far-right candidate for the 2017 French presidential election Marine Le Pen speaks during a campaign rally in Paris on April 17, 2017. Front-runners Le Pen and Centrist Emmanuel Macron held rival rallies ahead of Sunday’s first round presidential vote. Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI | License Photo Supporters cheer centrist candidate for the 2017 French presidential election Emmanuel Macron during a campaign rally in Paris on April 17, 2017. Overseas voters began to cast their ballots in various French territories on Saturday ahead of the mainland votes on Sunday. Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI | License Photo April 22 (UPI) -- French citizens living overseas began casting their ballots in the first round of the presidential elections a day ahead of the vote in France. Voters in Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the French archipelago south of the Canadian island of Newfoundland, Guiana in South America and French Polynesia began voting on Saturday. French islands Reunion and Mayotte were scheduled to begin voting on Sunday two hours and one hour earlier than the mainland respectively. The overseas votes are set to be collected and sent to France early to prevent overseas voters from being influenced by the results of the mainland due to time differences. A blackout on opinion polls was also issued in France at midnight on Friday. Two out of the eleven eligible candidates will be selected to participate in a runoff vote on May 5. Emmanuel Macron of the centralist En Marche! party, Marine Le Pen of the far-right Nationalist party and Francois Fillon of the center-right Republican party are among the more popular candidates for the presidency. France promised tight security at the ballots, including tens of thousands of police and other security personnel on duty, as tensions rose and the threat of terrorism became a focal point prior to the election. A knife-wielding man was arrested after causing a panic in Gare du Nord train station in Paris on Saturday, two days after a man shot a police officer dead and injured two others in Paris. On April 19, French police also arrested two men on suspicion of planning a violent attack during the election after it was found they had an apartment hideout containing firearms and explosives. ||||| PARIS — Early voting began overseas Saturday in France’s most nail-biting election in generations, and the 11 candidates seeking to become the country’s next president silenced their campaigns as required to give voters a period of reflection. Opinion polls showed a tight race among the four top contenders vying to get into the May presidential 7 runoff that will decide who becomes France’s next head of state. But the polls also showed that decision was largely in the hands of the one-in-three French voters who are still undecided. Polls opened in France’s far-flung overseas territories but won’t start until Sunday on the French mainland. France’s 10 percent unemployment, its lackluster economy and security issues top voters’ concerns. Political campaigning was banned from midnight Friday until the polls close at 8 p.m. Sunday. Polls suggested that far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, an independent centrist and former economy minister, were in the lead. However, conservative Francois Fillon, a former prime minister whose campaign was initially derailed by corruption allegations that his wife was paid for no-show work as his aide, appeared to be closing the gap, as was far-leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon. Security was tight — the government has mobilized more than 50,000 police and gendarmes to protect 70,000 polling stations, with an additional 7,000 soldiers on patrol. Security is a prominent issue after a wave of extremist attacks on French soil, including a gunman who killed a Paris police officer Thursday night before being shot dead by security forces. The gunman carried a note praising the Islamic State group. Voters made their choices in the Atlantic Ocean territories of Saint Pierre and Miquelon as well as in French Guiana in South America, the Caribbean’s Guadeloupe and elsewhere. Voters abroad could also cast ballots in French embassies Saturday. The mad-dash campaigning of the last few weeks came to an abrupt halt after the Champs-Elysees gun attack by 39-year-old Karim Cheurfi. Three suspects close to the attacker remain in custody, Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre of the Paris prosecutor’s office said Saturday. Le Pen and Fillon canceled their last campaign events Friday over security concerns. Macron did too, but also accused his rivals of trying to capitalize on the attack with their anti-immigration, tough-on-security messages. In a sign of how tense the country is, a man holding a knife caused widespread panic Saturday at Paris’ Gare du Nord train station. He was arrested and no one was hurt. Well-wishers paid their respects Saturday at the site of the shooting, which was adorned with flowers, candles and messages of solidarity for the slain police officer, Xavier Jugele. Across from the Eiffel Tower, women from the group Angry Wives of Law Enforcement demonstrated against violence aimed at police. Some believed French stoicism would prevent a lurch to the right in the presidential vote, even though the attack dominated French headlines. “These 48 hours are not going to change everything … terrorism is now an everyday occurrence. It’s permanent, 24 hours a day. So we’re not afraid. If we’re believers in freedom, we must live with it,” said Marise Moron, a retired doctor. “I’m not going to let myself be influenced by people who are trying to frighten us,” Paris resident Anne-Marie Redouin said near the heavily-guarded Eiffel Tower. Others, fearful that Le Pen has been strengthened by the instability, said they would shift their votes from fringe candidates to make sure to keep the far-right out of power. “With an attack such as this one, I think the National Front will get a good result. Therefore I’ll change my intention and cast a useful vote — either Melenchon or Macron,” said physics teacher Omar Ilys, 44. The French presidential choice will resonate far beyond France’s borders, from Syrian battlefields to Hong Kong trading floors and the halls of the U.N. Security Council. The election is also widely being viewed as a ballot on the future of the 28-nation European Union. The far-right Le Pen and the far-left Melenchon could pull France out of the bloc and its shared euro currency — a so-called “Frexit.” A French exit could ignite a death spiral for the EU, the euro and the whole idea of European unity that was borne out of the bloodshed of World War II. France is a founding member of the EU and its main driver, along with former rival Germany. Financial markets are already jittery over a possible Frexit, fearing capital flight, defaults or lawsuits on bonds and contracts. Le Pen’s team is downplaying possible apocalyptic scenarios and arguing that the euro — which is now used by 19 nations — is headed for a breakup eventually anyway. If Le Pen or Melenchon win a spot in the runoff, it will be seen as a victory for the populist wave reflected by the votes for Donald Trump and Brexit — the British departure from the EU. Many French workers who have lost out by globalization are similarly fed up with establishment parties and attracted by promises of ditching the status quo. Alternatively, if neither candidate makes it past Sunday’s first round into the runoff, that’s a clear message that populist nationalism is receding. Macron and Fillon are committed to European unity and would reform labor rules. Macron has framed himself as a bulwark against Trump’s protectionism. Le Pen and Melenchon blame free trade pacts for killing French jobs and want to renegotiate them. David Keyton, Nadine Achoui-Lesage, Raphael Satter and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report ||||| PARIS (CNN) — France began voting for a new president Sunday, following a volatile campaign period that was overshadowed in its final days by a terror attack on police. Polls opened in the morning for France’s 47 million registered voters under tightened security, with the country still jittery just two days after the attack on a police bus in the heart of Paris, which left one officer dead. The country is sharply divided — with the latest polls suggest the results are too close to call. With 11 names on the ballot, no one candidate is expected to win an outright majority, and only four leading contenders are seen as having a realistic prospect of making it through to the second-round vote in May. The frontrunners are far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, scandal-hit conservative François Fillon, centrist newcomer Emmanuel Macron and far-left wildcard Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The top two in Sunday’s vote will face off on May 7 in a second — and final — round of voting. Benoit Hamon is the mainstream left-wing Socialist Party nominee but polls suggest he has struggled to gain traction. That means France could end up with a choice between candidates from the far-left and far-right, or a far-right stalwart facing off against a political novice. Polls opened at 8 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) Sunday across the country, and by midday, around 30% of voters had cast their ballots. Initial results expected in the evening. Most polls will close at 7 p.m. — while polls in some urban areas will remain open until 8 p.m. (2 p.m. ET). The election is being closely watched as a bellwether of populist sentiment in Europe. Populists have shaken up the political landscape across the continent, but Austria, the Netherlands and Italy have in recent elections resisted voting populist candidates into power. But what is clear is that the country is divided and that there is a significant appetite for change. In Le Pen’s heartland in Hénin-Beaumont, where she cast her vote Sunday, a shouting match erupted between two voters, a man supporting Mélenchon and a woman backing Le Pen. In Paris, 59-year-old electrician Akermann Frederic told CNN it was time for change. “We have been hit by attacks and a lot has happened these past two years and now we’ve had enough. A change needs to happen,” he said. Laure Granval, a 26-year-old fashion designer, said she felt that France had taken a wrong turn. “People are being manipulated and the political discourse has become so reactionary. We need to remember that we are all human and we shouldn’t fight each other. I’m voting for someone who I think represents my views. We can’t give into divisiveness,” she said. Security was already high on the candidates’ political agenda before the attack in Paris on Thursday. Several of the main candidates on Friday canceled events for the final day of campaigning, instead making televised statements to talk tough on security and vow a crackdown on ISIS, which claimed Thursday’s attack. President Francois Hollande, who cast his vote in Tulle in southwestern France, acknowledged that these were troubled times for France. “We are in a period, but this period is neither recent nor over, so we have to mobilize a lot of resources, in particular for the two days of vote for the presidential election and then the legislatives. And for the French I think it is the best message they can send, it’s to show that democracy is stronger than anything,” he said. Hollande made the unusual decision not to run for a second term as his approval ratings remained in the doldrums over the years. France suffered the worst terror attack on its soil under Hollande’s watch, with 130 people killed in the Paris attacks in November 2015. Aside from security, immigration and the economy are top issues for voters. Many think current immigration policies have exacerbated France’s unemployment problems and contributed to the deadly terror attacks of the past couple of years. Le Pen: The far-right candidate told supporters in the run-up to the vote that if elected, she would put a moratorium even on legal immigration to the country, as well as closing “Islamist” mosques and expelling radicals. She has also vowed that if she wins, France will exit the European Union, as well as the border-free Schengen area. Macron: This 39-year-old former economy minister hopes to take the centrist path to the Elysee Palace, gathering support from left and right with promises to boost the economy and improve security. His party, “En Marche!” which was only created in September, now has more than 200,000 members and his meetings have attracted vast crowds. But he has has never held elected office and his lack of experience, lack of an established party and his youth could count against him. Fillon: The mainstream Republican candidate, was initially a frontrunner but his campaign stumbled thanks to a scandal over claims he paid his wife and children for work they did not do. He denies any wrongdoing. He has promised reforms to the French state and cuts to public spending, while boosting security. Mélenchon: The far-left candidate has seen his popularity surge in recent weeks, following his impressive performances in the presidential television debates. But the 65-year-old’s policies — which include withdrawing from NATO and the International Monetary Fund, and renegotiating EU rules — are unlikely to appeal to all voters. ||||| Early voting has begun overseas in France’s most nail-biting election in generations. The 11 candidates seeking to become the country’s next president have silenced their campaigns as required to give voters a period of reflection. Opinion polls show a tight race among the four top contenders vying to get into the May 7 presidential run-off which will decide who becomes France’s next head of state. But the polls also show that the decision is largely in the hands of the one in three French voters who are still undecided. Polling has started in France’s far-flung overseas territories but will not begin until Sunday on the mainland. France’s 10% unemployment, its lacklustre economy and security issues are the top concerns among voters. Political campaigning was banned from midnight Friday until the polls close at 8pm on Sunday. Opinion polls suggest that far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, an independent centrist and former economy minister, are in the lead. However, conservative Francois Fillon, a former prime minister whose campaign was initially derailed by corruption allegations, appears to be closing the gap, as is far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon. Security is tight, with the government mobilising more than 50,000 police and gendarmes to protect 70,000 polling stations, with an additional 7,000 soldiers on patrol. Security is a prominent issue after a wave of extremist attacks on French soil, including a gunman who killed a Paris police officer on Thursday night before being shot dead by security forces. The gunman carried a note praising the Islamic State group. Voters made their choices in the Atlantic Ocean territories of Saint Pierre and Miquelon as well as in French Guiana in South America, the Caribbean’s Guadeloupe and elsewhere. Voters abroad could also cast ballots in French embassies on Saturday. ||||| Supporters of far-right leader Marine Le Pen are celebrating after she stormed into the French presidential election final vote. The National Front leader won a 21.58% share behind the centre-left candidate Emmanuel Macron on 23.82%, with 46million of the 47million votes counted. It means Le Pen, who wants to leave the European Union, is set for the final showdown on May 7 against Macron – the pro-Europe 39-year-old seen as France’s Tony Blair . Le Pen told supporters she was “honoured” to reach the run-off in the closest election since the Second World War. She added: “This result is historic. It puts on me a huge responsibility to defend the French nation, its unity, its security, its culture, its prosperity and its independence.” Yesterday was the first time in French history that the incumbent president – Socialist Francois Hollande – did not run due to poor ratings. And with no established parties making it through, as conservative Francois Fillon garnered 19.96% and far-leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon came in on 19.49%, the French political landscape has now changed for ever. A win for Le Pen, 48, would bring the possibility of a “Frexit” vote and an anti-immigrant lurch to the right. While victory for En Marche! chief Macron – still the bookies’ favourite – could lead to a revival of centrism across Europe, which has fallen into electoral failure in the past 10 years. There was a bigger than expected turnout with about 80% of the population voting. In London, thousands of expats queued to cast their vote in Kensington, some waiting two hours. Voter Julien Brunel, 33, said: “I still haven’t made up my mind, thankfully I have a long time as there is a very long queue.” The election was held with France on high security alert after a policeman was shot dead by a jihadi in Paris three days earlier. More than 50,000 officers were on duty.
• Born in Neuilly sur Seine on August 5, 1968. Youngest daughter of former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen.
• She is president of the National Front party and was a candidate in the 2012 presidential election.
• Born in Amiens, December 21, 1977. His father was a professor of neurology and his mother a physician.
• Wife Brigitte Trogneux is 24 years older and was his teacher at school.
• He founded party En Marche! in April 2016 to enable him to run for president.
• Huge supporter of EU and has pledged to maintain close ties to Europe. ||||| Polling stations opened Saturday in France's far-flung overseas territories for the country's unpredictable presidential election as the 11 candidates in the race observed a ban on campaigning. With voting beginning Sunday on the French mainland, the government has mobilized more than 50,000 police and gendarmes to protect 70,000 polling stations, with an additional 7,000 soldiers on patrol. France's 10 percent unemployment and its lackluster economy top voters' concerns as first-round ballots are cast this weekend in the most nail-biting French election in generations. Opinion polls showed a tight race among the four top contenders vying to get into the May presidential 7 runoff that will decide who becomes France's next head of state. But the polls also showed that decision was largely in the hands of the one-in-three voters who are still undecided. A deadly attack on police Thursday night on Paris' famed Champs-Elysees Avenue clouded the last days of campaigning. Security is a prominent issue after a wave of extremist attacks on French soil, including the gunman who killed a Paris police officer Thursday before being shot dead by security forces. The gunman carried a note praising the Islamic State group. Political campaigning was banned Saturday and Sunday until the polls close across France and online. Polling centers opened in the Atlantic Ocean territories of Saint Pierre and Miquelon as well as French Guiana in South America, the Caribbean's Guadeloupe and elsewhere. Voters abroad could also cast ballots in French embassies. Polls suggested that far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, an independent centrist and former economy minister, were in the lead. However, conservative Francois Fillon, a former prime minister whose campaign was initially derailed by corruption allegations that his wife was paid but did no work as his parliamentary aide, appeared to be closing the gap, as was far-leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon. The mad-dash campaigning of the last few weeks came to an abrupt halt after the Champs-Elysees gun attack by 39-year-old Karim Cheurfi. Three suspects close to the attacker remain in custody, Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre of the Paris prosecutor's office said Saturday. Le Pen and Fillon canceled their last campaign events Friday over security concerns. Macron did too, but also accused his rivals of trying to capitalize on the attack with their anti-immigration, tough-on-security messages. In a sign of how tense the country is, a man holding a knife caused widespread panic Saturday at Paris' Gare du Nord train station. He was arrested and no one was hurt. Well-wishers paid their respects Saturday at the site of the shooting, which was adorned with flowers, candles and messages of solidarity for the slain police officer, Xavier Jugele. Across from the Eiffel Tower, women from the group Angry Wives of Law Enforcement demonstrated against violence aimed at police. Some believed French stoicism would prevent a lurch to the right in the presidential vote, even though the attack dominated French headlines. "These 48 hours are not going to change everything ... terrorism is now an everyday occurrence. It's permanent, 24 hours a day. So we're not afraid. If we're believers in freedom, we must live with it," said Marise Moron, a retired doctor. "I'm not going to let myself be influenced by people who are trying to frighten us," Paris resident Anne-Marie Redouin said near the heavily-guarded Eiffel Tower. Others, fearful that Le Pen has been strengthened by the instability, said they would shift their votes from fringe candidates to make sure to keep the far-right out of power. "With an attack such as this one, I think the National Front will get a good result. Therefore I'll change my intention and cast a useful vote — either Melenchon or Macron," said physics teacher Omar Ilys, 44. When the French vote for president Sunday, their choice will resonate far beyond France's borders, from Syrian battlefields to Hong Kong trading floors and the halls of the U.N. Security Council. The election is also widely being viewed as a ballot on the future of the 28-nation European Union. The far-right Le Pen and the far-left Melenchon could pull France out of the bloc and its shared euro currency — a so-called "Frexit." A French exit could ignite a death spiral for the EU, the euro and the whole idea of European unity that was borne out of the bloodshed of World War II. France is a founding member of the EU and its main driver, along with former rival Germany. Financial markets are already jittery over a possible Frexit, fearing capital flight, defaults or lawsuits on bonds and contracts. Le Pen's team is downplaying possible apocalyptic scenarios and arguing that the euro — which is now used by 19 nations — is headed for a breakup eventually anyway. If Le Pen or Melenchon win a spot in the runoff, it will be seen as a victory for the populist wave reflected by the votes for Donald Trump and Brexit — the British departure from the EU. Many French workers who have lost out by globalization are similarly fed up with establishment parties and attracted by promises of ditching the status quo. Alternatively, if neither candidate makes it past Sunday's first round into the runoff, that's a clear message that populist nationalism is receding. Macron and Fillon are committed to European unity and would reform labor rules. Macron has framed himself as a bulwark against Trump's protectionism. Le Pen and Melenchon blame free trade pacts for killing French jobs and want to renegotiate them. ||||| The voting booths have opened in France . For the next twelve hours, the French will decide which two presidential candidates will move on to the next round. The voting started at 8 am Sunday morning. They close at 8 pm in the larger cities and at 7 in smaller places. Eleven candidates participate in the first round of the presidential election. The two candidates who get the most votes continue on to the final round of presidential elections on May 7th unless in the unlikely event that anyone gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round. A total of 47 million people are entitled to vote in France, including 1.3 million French nationals living elsewhere. In the last 44 hours preceding the election, it is, under French law, illegal to campaign. The last polls were therefore presented on Friday evening. Both give the independent centre candidate Emmanuel Macron a lead over the National Front Leader Marine Le Pen, followed by the conservative candidate François Fillon, the liberal candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Socialist candidate Benoît Hamon.
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The campaign period officially ends. French citizens living overseas begin voting a day ahead of when the polls open in France. Final opinion polling gives Emmanuel Macron a slight lead over Marine Le Pen. François Fillon and Jean-Luc Mélenchon are close behind.
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Image copyright AFP Image caption Thousands have made the risky crossing to Italy this year An Italian prosecutor says he has evidence some of the charities saving migrants in the Mediterranean Sea are colluding with people-smugglers. Carmelo Zuccaro told La Stampa (in Italian) phone calls were being made from Libya to rescue vessels. Organisations involved in rescue operations have rejected accusations of collusion, saying their only concern is to save lives. Italy is the main route for migrants trying to reach Europe. Almost 1,000 people are thought to have drowned in waters between Libya and Italy this year, according to the UN refugee agency. Nearly 37,000 people have been rescued over the same period, a surge of more than 40% from last year, the figures say. "We have evidence that there are direct contacts between certain NGOs [non-governmental organisations] and people traffickers in Libya," Mr Zuccaro is quoted as saying in La Stampa. He said that telephone calls were being made from Libya and rescuers were shining lamps to direct smugglers' vessels and turning off transponders so boats could not be traced. But he did not say he would open a criminal investigation. Mr Zuccaro's comments come amid growing criticism of NGO activity in the Mediterranean, including one leading politician saying it was tantamount to providing a taxi service to Europe. But Chris Catrambone, who co-founded the Migrant Offshore Aid Station NGO to rescue migrants, told Reuters news agency "more would die if we weren't there". Correction 8 May 2017: The comment about a "taxi service" was incorrectly attributed to border agency Frontex in an earlier version of this story. ||||| Carmelo Zuccaro, the chief prosecutor for the Italian port city of Catania, told "La Stampa" newspaper on Sunday that he has evidence that NGOs are directly working with human smugglers to bring migrants into Italy. Zuccaro did not offer many details about the evidence his office obtained and did not say whether there would be a criminal investigation. "We don't know if and how to utilize this information in the judicial process, but we're certain enough of what we're saying: (there are) telephone calls from Libya to some NGOs," said Zuccaro, echoing similar comments he made last month. Humanitarian aid groups have previously denounced the claims and said if it were not for their work, many more lives would be lost. "Now and for some time already, the NGOs are saving lives in the sea," Amnesty International official Gianni Rufini told Italian news agency ANSA. The Italian coast guard has worked alongside NGOs and private vessels just off the coast of Libya to rescue migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe. They rescued thousands of migrants in flimsy dinghies and small wooden boats over Easter weekend. Zuccaro said that not all NGOs that work with the Italian coast guard in the Mediterranean are working with human smugglers. The trip from Libya to Europe is very dangerous, and usually done on flimsy crafts, such as this deflated, sinking rubber dinghy in the Mediterranean "For the suspect (NGOs), we must understand what they do; for the good ones, instead one must ask if it's right and normal that European governments leave the task of decided how and where to intervene in the Mediterranean to them," said Zuccaro. There has been a dramatic uptick in migrants attempting the dangerous trip from Libya to Italy so far this year. About 36,000 migrants have been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea in 2017, an approximately 44 percent increase at this point in the year from one year ago. At least 1,000 migrants have died attempting the sea crossing so far in 2017, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Zuccaro said that up to 250,000 migrants could arrive on Italian shores by the end of the year if the pace continues. Italian Prime Minister Paolo warned against criminalizing NGOs on Friday, saying they "save lives and should be thanked." Populists agree with claims Italy is due to have their next general election before summer 2018. With decreasing support for the NGOs in Italy, the populist parties and leaders are also denouncing the work of the NGOs. Luigi Di Maio, a top leader in the populist 5-star Movement, said the NGOs are "in cahoots with human traffickers," adding, "we want light shed on this, to know who finances (the NGOs)." The party also called the NGOs work a "taxi service" for migrants, similar to claims from the Northern League and Forza Italia parties known for their populist policies. Many Italian polls currently give the 5-star Movement a slight lead over the ruling center-left Democratic Party. Watch video 01:13 Onboard a refugee rescue ship kbd/bw (AP, Reuters) ||||| An Italian prosecutor has evidence of phone calls between Libyan people smugglers and aid groups operating rescue boats, he told newspaper La Stampa, amid growing criticism of non-governmental groups saving refugees off the Libyan coast. Carmelo Zuccaro, the chief prosecutor of the Sicilian port city of Catania, did not say he would open a criminal investigation, and he gave no details about the evidence. "We don't know if we can use this information during a trial," he said. He was not immediately available for comment on Sunday. Italy has become the main route for migrants seeking to reach Europe, with 181,000 arrivals last year and some 4,600 estimated deaths at sea. So far this year arrivals are up more than 40 percent on 2016, and as many as 1,000 have died, the International Organisation for Migration says. Mr Zuccaro launched a fact-finding investigation into the work of NGO boats in February, and in March told Italy's parliament he was "convinced" smugglers were in direct contact with rescuers, though at that time he said he had no proof. NGOs, including Save the Children, Proactiva Open Arms and SOS Mediterranee, have rejected the accusations, saying their only objective is to save lives. Mr Zuccaro's comments come two days after Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement said NGOs were providing a "taxi service" for migrants, adopting a tough anti-immigrant line similar to right-wing parties such as the Northern League and Forza Italia. Italy is due to hold a general election before next summer, and most polls show the 5-Star Movement has a narrow lead on the ruling centre-left Democratic Party. EU border agency Frontex has also criticised the NGOs, saying they make it too easy for smugglers. ||||| ROME, April 23 (Reuters) - An Italian prosecutor has evidence of phone calls between Libyan people smugglers and aid groups operating rescue boats, he told newspaper La Stampa, amid growing criticism of non-governmental groups saving refugees off the Libyan coast. Carmelo Zuccaro, the chief prosecutor of the Sicilian port city of Catania, did not say he would open a criminal investigation, and he gave no details about the evidence. "We don't know if we can use this information during a trial," he said. He was not immediately available for comment on Sunday. Italy has become the main route for migrants seeking to reach Europe, with 181,000 arrivals last year and some 4,600 estimated deaths at sea. So far this year arrivals are up more than 40 percent on 2016, and as many as 1,000 have died, the International Organisation for Migration says. Zuccaro launched a fact-finding investigation into the work of NGO boats in February, and in March told Italy's parliament he was "convinced" smugglers were in direct contact with rescuers, though at that time he said he had no proof. NGOs, including Save the Children, Proactiva Open Arms and SOS Mediterranee, have rejected the accusations, saying their only objective is to save lives. Zuccaro's comments come two days after Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement said NGOs were providing a "taxi service" for migrants, adopting a tough anti-immigrant line similar to right-wing parties such as the Northern League and Forza Italia. Italy is due to hold a general election before next summer, and most polls show the 5-Star Movement has a narrow lead on the ruling centre-left Democratic Party. EU border agency Frontex has also criticised the NGOs, saying they make it too easy for smugglers. Humanitarian rescue boats wait just outside of Libyan territorial waters. Migrants are packed by smugglers onto flimsy rubber boats that struggle to make it to international waters before sinking. "More would die if we weren't there," Chris Catrambone, who co-founded the MOAS NGO to rescue migrants with his wife Regina, told Reuters. During a visit to Canada on Friday, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni cautioned against criminalising NGOs, saying they "save lives and should be thanked". (Reporting by Steve Scherer; editing by Susan Thomas) ||||| The Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) ship MV Phoenix sails out of Valletta’s Grand Harbour, Malta, May 2, 2015. ― Reuters picROME, April 23 — An Italian prosecutor claims charity boats rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean are in direct contact with people traffickers in Libya, reigniting a bitter row over what the aid groups defend as vital, life-saving operations. In an interview with Italian daily La Stampa, Sicily-based prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro made his most specific claims yet over NGO activities off Libya, which the EU border agency Frontex recently described as tantamout to providing a “taxi” service to Europe. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) active in the rescue effort include long-established groups such as Doctors without Borders and Save the Children, and smaller, newer operations such as the Malta-based MOAS. They have all dismissed suggestions of de facto collusion with traffickers as a baseless slur on volunteer crews whose only mission is to save lives in the absence of EU governments acting effectively to do so. Over 1,000 migrants are feared to have died in waters between Libya and Italy so far this year, according to the UN refugee agency. Nearly 37,000 have been rescued and brought to Italy. “We have evidence that there are direct contacts between certain NGOs and people traffickers in Libya,” Zuccaro was quoted as saying by La Stampa. “We do not yet know if and how we could use this evidence in court, but we are quite certain about what we say; telephone calls from Libya to certain NGOs, lamps that illuminate the route to these organisations’ boats, boats that suddenly turn off their (locating) transponders, are ascertained facts.” Zuccaro is the head of a five-strong pool of prosecutors in charge of investigating all the legal aspects of the migrant crisis, from trafficking to illegal exploitation of migrant labour on Italian farms and rackets in the provision of reception facilities. La Stampa reported that prosecutors were looking into whether some of the newly-established NGOs involved in rescue operations may be financed by the traffickers themselves as a way of making it easier to guarantee their human cargoes would get to Italy. The organisations involved have all dismissed the charges against them and expressed concern that they are being targeted by an orchestrated smear campaign. One group, SOS Mediterranee, told AFP last week it had “never, not once” been put in touch with a migrant boat via smugglers. — AFP ||||| Italy is the main route for migrants trying to reach Europe from Africa Some of the charities saving migrants in the Mediterranean Sea are colluding with people-smugglers, according to Italian prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro. He told La Stampa that phone calls were being made from Libya to rescue vessels and rescuers were shining lamps to direct smugglers’ vessels and turning off transponders so boats could not be traced. As reported by the BBC, organisations involved in rescue operations have rejected accusations of collusion, saying their only concern is to save lives. Italy is the main route for migrants trying to reach Europe from Africa. The United Nations refugee agency estimates that almost 1,000 people are thought to have drowned in waters between Libya and Italy this year. Nearly 37,000 people have been rescued over the same period, a surge of more than 40% from last year, according to UN data. “We have evidence that there are direct contacts between certain NGOs [non-governmental organisations] and people traffickers in Libya,” Zuccaro is quoted as saying in La Stampa. In response, Chris Catrambone, who co-founded the Migrant Offshore Aid Station NGO to rescue migrants, told the Reuters news agency that “more would die if we weren’t there”. In a separate report, The Telegraph noted that Zuccaro’s comments came two days after Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement said NGOs were providing a “taxi service” for migrants, adopting a tough anti-immigrant line similar to far-right Northern League and right-wing Forza Italia. During a visit to Canada on April 21, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni cautioned against criminalising NGOs, saying they “save lives and should be thanked”. ||||| An investigation of humanitarian groups operating migrant rescue ships in the Mediterranean has turned up evidence of contacts between some NGOs and Libyan-based human smugglers, a prosecutor based in Sicily said in comments published Sunday. Anti-migrant politicians immediately demanded to know who finances rescue ships run by NGOs. Catania Chief Prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro was quoted as saying in an interview with La Stampa newspaper that his office’s probe has revealed “evidence that there are direct contacts between some NGOs and human traffickers in Libya.” Several nongovernmental organizations have operated rescue boats in the Mediterranean just outside Libya’s territorial waters. Humanitarian advocates said that if it weren’t for them, countless more migrants would perish at sea. “Now and for some time already, the NGOs are saving lives in the sea,” Amnesty International official Gianni Rufini told Italian news agency ANSA. He challenged those suspecting deals between NGOs and smugglers to produce proof. Under maritime rules involving distressed boats, Italy’s coast guard, which coordinates operations in the search-and-rescue zone between Sicily and Libya’s territorial waters, frequently calls on private vessels near foundering dinghies or fishing boats crowded with migrants. In the past, nearby cargo ships were called to help. But increasingly an expanding number of NGO vessels are plucking migrants to safety. Zuccaro didn’t specify how the evidence was obtained. “We don’t know if and how to utilize this information in the judicial process, but we’re certain enough of what we’re saying: (there are) telephone calls from Libya to some NGOs” and other evidence, the prosecutor was quoted as saying. Compared to the same period in 2016, the number of migrants rescued at sea and brought to Italy so far this year has jumped about 44 percent, to about 36,000. Zuccaro predicted as many as 250,000 migrants might be rescued at sea this year and taken to Italian ports, if the pace continues. Populist politicians raised an outcry about what critics have dubbed NGO “taxi services” for migrants. NGOs are suspected of being “in cahoots with human traffickers,” said Luigi Di Maio, a top leader of the populist 5-Star Movement. “We want light shed on this, to know who finances” the NGOs. Echoing politicians from the far-right Northern League, Di Maio cited fears there might be “criminals” among the migrants. Zuccaro distinguished between a rash of newcomer groups established for the purpose of rescuing migrants at sea and long-established humanitarian organizations. “For the suspect ones, we must understand what they do; for the good ones, instead one must ask if it’s right and normal that European governments leave the task of deciding how and where to intervene in the Mediterranean to them.” The European border agency Frontex also has military vessels from several countries that help rescue migrants. Last week, Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni praised NGOs for saving migrant lives, but said prosecutors were right to investigate any possible contacts between NGO groups and the Libyan-based smugglers. ||||| Charity boats rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean are colluding with traffickers in Libya, an Italian prosecutor was quoted as saying Sunday, stirring up a simmering row over aid groups’ role in Europe’s migrant crisis. In an interview with Italian daily La Stampa, Sicily-based prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro made his most specific claims yet over NGO activities off Libya, which the EU border agency Frontex recently described as tantamount to providing a “taxi” service to Europe. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) active in the rescue effort include long-established groups such as Doctors without Borders and Save the Children, and smaller, newer operations such as the Malta-based MOAS. They have all dismissed suggestions of de facto collusion with smugglers as a baseless slur on volunteer crews whose only mission is to save lives in the absence of EU governments acting effectively to do so. Over 1,000 migrants are feared to have died in waters between Libya and Italy so far this year, according to the UN refugee agency. Nearly 37,000 have been rescued and brought to Italy. “We have evidence that there are direct contacts between certain NGOs and people traffickers in Libya,” Zuccaro was quoted as saying by La Stampa. “We do not yet know if and how we could use this evidence in court, but we are quite certain about what we say; telephone calls from Libya to certain NGOs, lamps that illuminate the route to these organisations’ boats, boats that suddenly turn off their (locating) transponders, are ascertained facts.” Zuccaro is the head of a five-strong pool of prosecutors investigating criminal aspects of the migrant crisis, from trafficking to illegal exploitation of migrants on Italian farms and via prostitution to rackets in the provision of reception facilities. La Stampa reported that prosecutors were looking into whether some of the newly-established NGOs may be financed by the traffickers as a way of making it easier to guarantee their human cargoes get to Italy. The organisations involved have all dismissed the charges against them. They fear they are being targeted by a smear campaign designed to get them out of the way. One group, SOS Mediterranee, told AFP last week it had “never, not once” been put in touch with a migrant boat via smugglers. Under an EU-backed strategy, Italy is currently trying to beef up Libya’s coastguard in the hope more boats can be prevented from getting out of Libyan territorial waters and the migrants returned to holding camps in the troubled country. The strategy has been described by rights groups as a breach of Europe’s obligations under international refugee conventions. And it has so far made little headway towards closing down the Libya-Italy migrant route. Rome said Friday it would be providing Libya with ten new coastguard boats but a cooperation deal covering holding camps and repatriations is in limbo after it was suspended by Libya’s Court of Appeal. The number of people leaving Libya in the hope of starting a new life in Europe is up nearly 50 percent this year compared with the opening months of 2016. With most departures coming in the warm summer months, the trend points to around 250,000 people arriving over the course of 2017 – a forecast Zuccaro described as “an under-estimate”. Some 500,000 migrants were registered in Italy in the three years spanning 2014-16. And pressure on the country’s reception facilities has increased in the last year as a result of neighbouring countries tightening border controls, making it harder for migrants to move further north. Tensions at bottleneck border points were underlined when Ventimiglia, a town on the Riviera border with France, issued an order banning locals from distributing food to migrants. The order, similar to one issued in Calais in northern France, was withdrawn on Sunday in a move welcomed by aid groups who hope it will have a bearing on a court case against French activist Felix Croft. Prosecutors have asked for a prison term and 50,000 euros fine for Croft, 28, for trying to help a Sudanese family from Darfur to cross the border into France in July 2016. “This is excellent news. You cannot use the law to persecute solidarity, however it is expressed,” said Patrizio Gonnella, president of Antigone, a civil rights group. Croft is due to learn his fate on Thursday. ||||| Charities and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating rescue missions in the Mediterranean are “colluding” with criminal people-smugglers to bring migrants to Europe, according to Italian authorities. Prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro told La Stampa that phone calls were being made from Libya to NGO vessels offshore, helping smugglers complete the final leg of the journey in a billion-dollar European smuggling operation. “We have evidence that there are direct contacts between certain NGOs [non-governmental organisations] and people traffickers in Libya,” Zuccaro said, claiming the ships were shining lights to help guide the smugglers’ dangerous boats and disabling responders to hide migrant activity at sea from the authorities. After their rescue missions are completed, the NGO ships go a considerable distance out of their way to bring their passengers to Europe rather than safe ports in nearby North Africa. European Union Border Agency (Frontex) chief Fabrice Leggeri has accused them of acting “like taxis” for illegal migrants. Frontex has previously conceded, however, that all search-and-rescue [SAR] efforts currently have the effect of encouraging people to go out to sea, including their own, because they are invariably brought to a safe harbour in the EU and not returned to North Africa. In its Risk Analysis for 2017, the agency admitted that: Both border surveillance and [Search and Rescue (SAR)] missions close to, or within, the 12-mile territorial waters of Libya have unintended consequences. Namely, they influence smugglers’ planning and act as a pull … Dangerous crossings on unseaworthy and overloaded vessels were organised with the main purpose of being detected by EUNAVFOR Med/Frontex and NGO vessels. Apparently, all parties involved in SAR operations in the Central Mediterranean unintentionally help criminals achieve their objectives at minimum cost, strengthen their business model by increasing the chances of success. Migrants and refugees – encouraged by the stories of those who had successfully made it in the past – attempt the dangerous crossing since they are aware of and rely on humanitarian assistance to reach the EU. Despite acknowledging that its current policies lead to more sea crossings and more drowning deaths, Frontex has declined to change them “because they stem from European values”. This contrasts with the more practically-minded approach adopted by Australia when seaborne migration reached a comparatively modest high of 403 boats and 25,173 migrants in 2012-13. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott responded to the crisis by launching Operation Sovereign Borders. The military-led mission which sees smuggler boats either turned back to their port of origin or escorted to a third country, where asylum applications are processed in secure facilities. Operation Sovereign Borders has slashed illegal sea crossings to zero, and Abbott has urged EU leaders to follow his example. “If you want to stop the deaths [and] you want to stop the drownings, you have got to stop the boats,” he declared in 2016. “Effective border protection is not for the squeamish, but it is absolutely necessary to save lives and to preserve nations. The truly compassionate thing to do is: stop the boats and stop the deaths.” ||||| "We have evidence that there are direct contacts between certain NGOs and people traffickers in Libya," Carmelo Zuccaro told Italian newspaper La Stampa."We do not yet know if and how we could use this evidence in court, but we are quite certain about what we say; telephone calls from Libya to certain NGOs, lamps that illuminate the route to these organizations' boats, boats that suddenly turn off their transponders, are ascertained facts," he said.Zuccaro is a member of a group of prosecutors investigating the trafficking and exploitation of migrants. He told Italy's parliament in March that he was sure traffickers were in contact with rescuers, but didn't have proof.EU border agency Frontex has long warned against NGO rescue boats, accusing them of encouraging traffickers. In December, the Financial Times reported on confidential Frontex documents which suggestedZuccaro goes one step further, claiminginstead of waiting for the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center for directions. He has also raised questions aboutSome of theinclude Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontiers), SOS Mediterranee, Save the Children and Malta-based Mobile Offshore Aid Station (MOAS).that they are in collusion with traffickers. According to La Stampa, prosecutors are investigating whether some of the newer NGOs involved in rescue operationsThe anti-establishment 5-Star Movement party has also made accusations that NGOs are providing a "taxi service" for migrants. Luigi Di Maio, vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, a house of Italy's parliament,and defended his statements in a Facebook post. "There is an investigation of the judiciary in progress and there are two reports from Frontex that accuse NGOs not only of collusion with the smugglers but also of allowing criminals to directly use the boats of NGOs to transport the immigrants."Italy is part of anThis would see migrants being sent back to Libya, where recent reports have found migrants are being traded in slave markets.There were 181,000 arrivals in Italy last year, and so far in 2017 there has been an increase of 40 percent year-on-year, with as many as 1,000 migrants alleged to have lost their lives, reports Reuters, citing the International Organization for Migration.
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An Italian prosecutor says there are "telephone calls" between people smugglers in Libya and some non-governmental organizations. Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, says the practices amount to a "taxi service". One NGO says "more would die" if they were not there.
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BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 18 Kurdish YPG fighters and media officials were killed in Turkish air strikes on a headquarters of the militia in northeastern Syria on Tuesday, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. The YPG, a U.S. ally in the fight against Islamic State, did not immediately give its own precise death toll. Turkey’s military bombed the YPG and Kurdish militants in neighboring Iraq early on Tuesday, widening a campaign against groups affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). ||||| Turkey hits PKK targets in Iraq, Syria ANKARA The Turkish military has carried out air strikes against the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) militants near Iraq's Sinjar mountains and northeastern Syria to prevent the group from sending weapons and explosives for attacks inside Turkey, it said on April 24.The two regions have become “terror hubs,” the Turkish military said, with the PKK frequently using these areas to channel militants, weapons, bombs and ammunition into Turkey, according to Ankara.“To destroy these terror hubs which threaten the security, unity and integrity of our country and our nation and as part of our rights based on international law, air strikes have been carried out … and terrorist targets have been struck with success,” the Turkish army said in a statement.The air bombardment was carried out around 2 a.m. local time on April 25, it added.Anadolu Agency said air fleets Korsan (Pirate) and Pars (Leopard) conducted the strike. Chief of Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and Air Force Commander Abidin Ünal watched the strikes supported by tanker planes at an operation base.President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has for months said the PKK has taken a foothold in Sinjar region in Iraq’s northwest, around 115 kilometers from the Turkish border, and that Ankara would not allow the group to expand its activities there.The strikes in Syria targeted the YPG – the armed wing of the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) and a key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are backed by the United States. The U.S.’ NATO ally and partner in operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Turkey, sees the PYD and the YPG as terrorists linked to the PKK and calls on international community to cut any ties with these groups.Salih Müslim, the co-chair of the PYD, called on the anti-ISIL coalition to make a call on Turkey.“Turkey jets cannot fly there without the permission of the coalition,” Russia’s Sputnik agency quoted him as saying.The YPG said in a statement its headquarters in Mount Karachok near Malikiya had been hit, including a media center, a local radio station, communications facilities and military institutions.The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group which tracks violence using sources on the ground, said at least 18 YPG fighters had been killed in the strikes.Turkey’s warplanes have regularly bombed the mountainous border area between Iraq and Turkey where PKK militants are based since a ceasefire broke down in July 2015, but it is the first time it has targeted its affiliate in the Sinjar region.General Seme Bosali, a Kurdish commander in Sinjar, claimed that the air strike had killed five Kurdish peshmerga fighters. It appeared to be a mistake, he said, as the peshmerga forces are not hostile to Turkey.The autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq called on the PKK to withdraw its fighters from Sinjar.Iraq’s Foreign Ministry denounced the strikes as a “violation against Iraq’s sovereignty” and called on the international community to put an end to such “interferences” by Turkey.“Any operation that is carried out by Turkish government without any coordination with the Iraqi government is totally rejected,” Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Ahmad Jamal, told The Associated Press.He warned against a Turkish military operation in northern Iraq, saying it won’t “bring a solution, but will instead complicate the issue and destabilize northern Iraq.” ||||| related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 4 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. Turkish planes bombed Kurdish fighters in Iraq's Sinjar region and northeast Syria on Tuesday, killing at least 20 in a widening campaign against groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party. ISTANBUL/BEIRUT: Turkish planes bombed Kurdish fighters in Iraq's Sinjar region and northeast Syria on Tuesday, killing at least 20 in a widening campaign against groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party. A Turkish military statement said around 70 militants were killed in the operations inside the two neighbouring states. The air strikes in Syria targeted the YPG, a key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are backed by the United States and have been closing in on the Islamic State bastion of Raqqa. The Turkish raids showed the challenges facing U.S.-led attempts to defeat Islamic State in Syria and risk increasing tension between NATO allies Washington and Ankara over Kurdish combatants who have been crucial in driving back the jihadists. In Washington, the State Department said it was deeply concerned by the air strikes, which were not authorized by the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Turkey is part of the coalition of more than 60 countries. "We have expressed those concerns with the government of Turkey directly," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters on a conference call. "These air strikes were not approved by the coalition and led to the unfortunate loss of life of our partner forces," he added. Toner said the strikes hurt the coalition's efforts to go after the militants. "We recognise their concerns about the PKK, but these kinds of actions frankly harm the coalition's efforts to go after ISIS and frankly harm our partners on the ground who are conducting that fight." A U.S. military officer accompanied YPG commanders on a tour of the sites hit near Syria's frontier with Turkey later on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said, demonstrating the close partnership. The YPG said in a statement its headquarters in Mount Karachok near Syria's frontier with Turkey had been hit, including a media centre, a radio station, communications facilities and military institutions. "As a result of the barbaric strikes by the Turkish warplanes at dawn today against the YPG centre ... 20 fighters were martyred and 18 others wounded, three of them critically," said spokesman Redur Xelil. Ilham Ahmed, a senior Kurdish politician who co-chairs the political wing of the SDF, said they wanted the United States to provide aerial protection against Turkey. The Turkish military said the two regions it struck around 2 a.m. (2300 GMT) had become "terror hubs" and the aim of the bombardment was to prevent the PKK sending weapons and explosives for attacks inside Turkey. Designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, the PKK has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state for Kurdish autonomy. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, most of them Kurds. Turkish security sources said 13 PKK militants had been killed on Tuesday in operations backed by the air force in the largely Kurdish southeast of Turkey. Two Turkish soldiers were also killed when a roadside bomb planted by the PKK blew up in Sirnak province. Turkey has regularly bombed the mountainous border area between Iraq and Turkey where PKK militants are based since a ceasefire broke down in July 2015. But Tuesday's raid was the first time Turkish forces have targeted its affiliate in the northwestern Sinjar area. The PKK established a presence in Sinjar, bordering Syria, after coming to the aid of its Yazidi population when Islamic State militants overran the area in the summer of 2014 and killed and captured thousands of members of the minority faith. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said he will not allow Sinjar, around 115 km (70 miles) from the Turkish border, to become a "new Qandil", referring to a PKK stronghold in Iraq near the borders with Turkey and Iran. The presence of a PKK affiliate in Sinjar is also rejected by Kurdish authorities who run their own autonomous region in northern Iraq and enjoy good relations with Turkey. Five members of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces, which are also deployed in Sinjar, were killed, and nine wounded in one of the Turkish air strikes, according to the peshmerga ministry, apparently by accident. It called the attack "unacceptable" but blamed the PKK for being there and demanded the group withdraw from Sinjar. ||||| Turkish planes bombed Kurdish fighters in Iraq’s Sinjar region and northeast Syria on Tuesday, killing at least 20 in a widening campaign against groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). A Turkish military statement said about 70 militants were killed in the operations inside the two neighbouring states. The air strikes in Syria targeted the YPG, a key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are backed by the US and have been closing in on the Islamic State bastion of Raqqa. The Turkish raids showed the challenges facing US-led attempts to defeat Islamic State, also known as Isis, in Syria and risk increasing tension between Nato allies Washington and Ankara over Kurdish combatants who have been crucial in driving back the jihadists. A US military officer accompanied YPG commanders on a tour of the sites hit near Syria’s frontier with Turkey later on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said, demonstrating the close partnership. The YPG said in a statement its headquarters in Mount Karachok near Syria’s frontier with Turkey had been hit, including a media centre, a local radio station, communications facilities and military institutions. “As a result of the barbaric strikes by the Turkish warplanes at dawn today against the YPG centre . . . 20 fighters were martyred and 18 others wounded, three of them critically,” said spokesman Redur Xelil. Ilham Ahmed, a senior Kurdish politician who co-chairs the political wing of the SDF, said they wanted the US to provide aerial protection against Turkey. The Turkish military said the two regions it struck around 2am (11pm GMT) had become “terror hubs” and the aim of the bombardment was to prevent the PKK sending weapons and explosives for attacks inside Turkey. Designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the European Union, the PKK has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state for Kurdish autonomy. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, most of them Kurds. Turkish security sources said 13 PKK militants had been killed on Tuesday in operations backed by the air force in the largely Kurdish southeast of Turkey. Two Turkish soldiers were also killed when a roadside handmade bomb planted by the PKK blew up in Sirnak province. Turkey has regularly bombed the mountainous border area between Iraq and Turkey where PKK militants are based since a ceasefire broke down in July 2015. But Tuesday’s raid was the first time Turkish forces have targeted its affiliate in the northwestern Sinjar area. The PKK established a presence in Sinjar, bordering Syria, after coming to the aid of its Yazidi population when Islamic State militants overran the area in the summer of 2014 and killed and captured thousands of members of the minority faith. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will not allow Sinjar, around 115km (70 miles) from the Turkish border, to become a “new Qandil”, referring to a PKK stronghold in Iraq near the borders with Turkey and Iran. The presence of a PKK affiliate in Sinjar is also rejected by Kurdish authorities who run their own autonomous region in northern Iraq and enjoy good relations with Turkey. Five members of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces, which are also deployed in Sinjar, were killed, and nine wounded in one of the Turkish air strikes, according to the peshmerga ministry, apparently by accident. It called the attack “unacceptable” but blamed the PKK for being there and demanded the group withdraw from Sinjar. ||||| ANKARA (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) said Turkish planes carried out a large-scale attack on its headquarters in northeast Syria near the town of Derik in the Qerecox mountains, targeting a media center, a local radio station and some military buildings as well as killing several YPG members. Kurdish media also said Iraq's town of Sinjar was hit by Turkish jets, with over a dozen Peshmerga troops killed. Turkey was said to have targeted a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) base in the region. "Iraqi Sinjar and Syria's Qerecox have become a layer for the PKK and its affiliates, which are carrying out terrorist attacks and are attacking our troops [and] civilians. Aiming to wipe out these havens that are threatening the unity of our nation and the unity and security of the country, we carried out an aerial operation in Sinjar in the north of Iraq and in northeast Syria at 00:00 GMT on April 25. Terrorist targets were hit," the General Staff said in a statement. Turkish forces will continue fighting terrorism both inside the country and beyond its borders, the statement added. Tensions between Ankara and the Kurds escalated in July 2015 when a ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK collapsed after a series of terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK members. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has repeatedly said the Turkish forces will prevent PKK militants from securing a base in Sinjar. The PKK already has a base located in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq. The standoff then spread into Syria, with Turkish forces hitting the YPG a number of times since the start of the Euphrates Shield operation, without having received consent from Damascus. ||||| On Tuesday morning Turkish air strikes targeted Kurdish forces on Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq. According to initial reports, the Turkish Air Force struck at bases used by the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and its ally, the Yazidi Shingal Protection Units. However, the attack also killed five Kurdish Peshmerga – the armed forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government – and injured nine others The PKK’s presence in Sinjar threatens to undermine the regional government from its perspective, and specifically from that of the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP . In a paper published on April 12 by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Fabrice Balanche argued that Sinjar could be a strategic necessity for the Kurdish Rojava region of Syria as a corridor for trade to Iraq and Iran. The argument is part of a larger narrative that sees Iranian designs on Sinjar as part of its “Shia crescent” linking Tehran with Syria. In this sense, Turkey’s bombing could be part of a large regional contest for Sinjar. The reality on the ground is more tragic, with thousands of Yazidi refugees on Sinjar Mountain still taking shelter, since some 5,000 Yazidis were murdered by Islamic State in 2014, and hundreds of thousands wish to return home to Sinjar. But they want infrastructure and security. The Turkish intervention adds to the tensions and makes return difficult. Turkey is also sending a deeper message to the US in Syria. While the US may conquer Raqqa with the SDF, the Turkey wants to show that they will act with impunity against the PKK or YPG in Syria or Iraq, overflying US forces to do so if needed. The Turkish intervention in Sinjar has been six months in the making. In October 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Sinjar will “not be a new Qandil.” Qandil is a mountaineous area of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq where the PKK has camps and where Turkey carried out air strikes as part of its war with the PKK. Turkey has maintained small military bases in northern Iraq since the 1990s and uses them to carry out raids against the PKK. To understand what is happening in northern Iraq we need to keep in mind several things. Turkey rekindled its war with the PKK in 2015, which has led to city-wide curfews in Kurdish towns and an estimated 2,400 deaths, including hundreds members of the Turkish military and more than 1,000 PKK members who are viewed by Turkey as terrorists. The PKK have been fighting Turkey for decades and have set up bases across the border in northern Iraq. The leading Kurdish party in the KRG, the KDP, loathes the PKK, which it fought a war in the 1990s. The KRG’s economy is heavily linked to Turkey and the KDP enjoys relatively warm relations with Turkey. When KRG President Massoud Barzani visited Turkey in February, the Turks placed the Kurdish flag at the meeting. This was a signal to Baghdad that Turkey supports the Kurdish autonomous region. The Kurdish region is seeking independence via a referendum this year and it needs international support, as does its powerful neighbor to the north. During the war with ISIS, Turkey established a military base alongside Peshmerga forces at Bashiqa, because Ankara wants to protect Sunnis and Turkmen in northern Iraq and it was working with the KRG. When ISIS invaded northern Iraq, one of its most heinous acts was the attack on Sinjar in August 2014, in which it massacred members of the Yazidi minority and enslaved thousands of Yazidi women. Survivors fled to the mountain. During the fighting many Yazidis were saved when the PKK and members of the YPG intervened from Syria and opened a corridor to Sinjar, preventing ISIS from killing more people. This created a situation in which the PKK and the YBS Yazidi militia held parts of western Sinjar and some areas along the Syrian border, while the KRG’s Peshmerga counter-attacked from the east. When ISIS was forced out of most of Sinjar in December 2015, the divisions remained. Each side recruited local Yazidis into military units. By March of 2017, many Yazidis had joined the Peshmerga, but there were also clashes between the Peshmerga and the YBS and PKK. The Peshmerga in Sinjar are partly made up of Syrian Kurds, which makes for a strange mix, because the PKK in Sinjar often receive their supplies and support often via Syria, where they enjoy warm relations with the YPG. In this conflict, borders between Syria, Iraq and Turkey are sometimes blurred. The larger context is that the US-led coalition is supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces to take Raqqa from ISIS in Syria, which could be frustrated by greater Turkish intervention in Iraq and Syria. The SDF are affiliated with the YPG. Turkey also launched air strikes against YPG bases in Derik in Syria on Tuesday. From a regional view, these are all the same conflict. Turkey sees itself as fighting the PKK in Turkey, Iraq and Syria. For Turkey, the YPG, SDF and YBS are all part of the larger PKK umbrella. In a region of incredible instability, with the remnants of ISIS being slowly defeated and numerous players seeking a role in northern Iraq and eastern Syria, the Sinjar air strikes add to a combustible mix. ||||| ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes on Tuesday against suspected Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq and in northeastern Syria, the military said, in a bid to prevent militants from smuggling fighters and weapons into Turkey. The attack killed at least 18 Syrian Kurdish troops, according to a monitoring group, as well as five members of the Iraqi Kurdish militia known as the peshmerga and drew swift condemnation from Baghdad. Syrian Kurdish forces said the strikes hit a media center, a local radio station, a communication headquarters and some military posts, killing an undetermined number of fighters in Syria’s northeastern Hassakeh province. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian war, also reported the strikes on the media and military targets in Karachok. According to the Observatory, the airstrikes killed 18 members of the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG. The Observatory had earlier said only three were killed. Kurdish officials were not immediately available for comment. Ankara says members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, are finding sanctuaries in neighboring Iraq and Syria, among those countries’ own Kurdish minorities. A Turkish military statement said the pre-dawn strikes hit targets on the Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq and also in a mountainous region in Syria. It said the operations were conducted to prevent infiltration of Kurdish rebels, weapons, ammunition and explosives from those areas into Turkey. A Turkish security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with Turkish government protocol, said the airstrikes are believed to have killed around 200 Kurdish militants, including some senior commanders. The claim could not be independently confirmed. Iraq’s Foreign Ministry denounced the strikes as a “violation against Iraq’s sovereignty” and called on the international community to put an end to such “interferences” by Turkey. “Any operation that is carried out by Turkish government without any coordination with the Iraqi government is totally rejected,” Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Ahmad Jamal, told The Associated Press. He warned against a Turkish military operation in northern Iraq, saying it won’t “bring a solution, but will instead complicate the issue and destabilize northern Iraq.” Although Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes against PKK targets in northern Iraq, this was the first time it has struck the Sinjar region. Turkey has long claimed that the area was becoming a hotbed for PKK rebels. Sinjar Mayor Mahma Khalil said the strikes started at around 2:30 a.m. and killed five members of Iraqi Kurdish forces known as peshmerga, and wounded nine. Khalil said he was not aware if there were casualties among PKK troops. Last year, Turkey sent troops into Syria to back Syrian opposition fighters in the battle against the Islamic State group and also to curb what is perceives as the territorial expansion of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces, which it claims are affiliated with the PKK. The Kurdish group, which has led an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984, is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its allies. In its statement, the military vowed to press ahead with operations against the PKK both inside Turkey and across its borders until the “last terrorist is eliminated.” The Syrian Kurdish forces denounced Tuesday’s strikes on their positions as “treacherous,” accusing Turkey of undermining the anti-terrorism fight. Aside from aspirations for autonomy, the Kurdish group in Syria is part of the U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State militants who seized large swaths of Syria and Iraq in 2014. Since then, the IS has suffered major setbacks at the hands of the coalition, losing large chunks of the territory the Sunni militant group once held. The Syrian Kurdish forces, backed by the U.S.-led coalition, are closing in on IS de facto capital, the city of Raqqa. “By this attack, Turkey is trying to undermine Raqqa operation, give (IS) time to reorganize and put in danger lives of thousands of” displaced, the YPG said on its Twitter account. Associated Press Writers Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report. ||||| Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes on Tuesday against suspected Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq and in northeastern Syria, the military said, in a bid to prevent militants from smuggling fighters and weapons into Turkey. A Syrian Kurdish militia force said the strikes hit a media center, a local radio station, a communication headquarters and some military posts, killing an undetermined number of fighters in Syria's northeastern Hassakeh province. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian war, also reported the strikes on the media and military targets in Karachok, adding that an airstrike killed three members of the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units, or YPG. Ankara says members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, are finding sanctuaries in neighboring Iraq and Syria, among those countries' own Kurdish minorities. A Turkish military statement said the pre-dawn strikes hit targets on the Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq and also in a mountainous region in Syria. It said the operations were conducted to prevent infiltration of Kurdish rebels, weapons, ammunition and explosives from those areas into Turkey. A Turkish security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with Turkish government protocol, said the airstrikes are believed to have killed around 200 Kurdish militants, including some senior commanders. The claim could not be independently confirmed. Although Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes against PKK targets in northern Iraq, this was the first time it has struck the Sinjar region. Turkey has long claimed that the area was becoming a hotbed for PKK rebels. Last year, Turkey sent troops into Syria to back Syrian opposition fighters in the battle against the Islamic State group and also to curb what is perceives as the territorial expansion of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces, which it claims are affiliated with the PKK. The Kurdish group, which has led an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984, is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its allies. In its statement, the military vowed to press ahead with operations against the PKK both inside Turkey and across its borders until the "last terrorist is eliminated." The Syrian Kurdish forces denounced Tuesday's strikes on their positions as "treacherous," accusing Turkey of undermining the anti-terrorism fight. Aside from aspirations for autonomy, the Kurdish group in Syria is part of the U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State militants who seized large swaths of Syria and Iraq in 2014. Since then, the IS has suffered major setbacks at the hands of the coalition, losing large chunks of the territory the Sunni militant group once held. The Syrian Kurdish forces, backed by the U.S.-led coalition, are closing in on IS de facto capital, the city of Raqqa. "By this attack, Turkey is trying to undermine Raqqa operation, give (IS) time to reorganize and put in danger lives of thousands of" displaced, the YPG said on its Twitter account. Associated Press Writer Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report. ||||| Turkey has carried out a wave of airstrikes against Kurdish fighters in Iraq and northern Syria, further complicating Washington’s effort to rally Kurds and Turks in the fight against the Islamic State (Isil). Turkey’s military said the strikes were aimed at the PKK Kurdish terrorist group, which regularly carries out attacks against Turkey. Two weeks ago the group took credit for a bombing at a police station which killed three people. But the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria and the Peshmerga forces in Iraq both said their forces had been targeted in the Turkish strikes. Both the YPG and the Peshmerga are US allies fighting on the front lines against Isil. ||||| Early Tuesday morning, a wave of Turkish airstrikes reportedly struck a headquarters building used by the Kurdish YPG militia in northeastern Syria. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 18 YPG fighters and media officials were killed in the attack. Turkey also conducted airstrikes in the Sinjar region of Iraq, ostensibly aimed at the militant Kurdish separatists of the PKK. However, Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq – another key U.S. military ally against the Islamic State – also said the Turks hit their positions, killing five of their troops. The YPG released a statement saying its headquarters in Mount Karachok near the Syria-Turkey border was hit by Turkish planes, damaging a media center, radio broadcast facilities, and military installations. The YPG described Turkey’s attack as “treacherous” and “barbaric” and even accused the Turks of attempting to undermine the planned offensive against Raqqa, the Syrian capital of the Islamic State. Critics of Turkey have accused it of tacitly supporting ISIS against the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria and of covertly profiting from trade with the Islamic State. Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Muslim asked the United States to defend them against further Turkish strikes. “A people that is fighting terrorism is being stabbed in the back. Coalition forces must not remain silent against this. No one should accept these attacks,” Muslim said. The Turkish military said these airstrikes were intended to stop the PKK from smuggling weapons into Turkey. A statement from the military described the targets as “terrorists” and “terror hubs.” According to the Turkish military, 70 militants were killed in the airstrikes. The PKK recently claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a police compound in southeastern Turkey that killed three people. The attackers dug a tunnel beneath the compound to plant what they described as “more than 2.5 tonnes of explosives.” Turkey accuses other Kurdish forces, particularly the YPG in Syria, of being in league with the PKK. The PKK does have a presence in the Sinjar region, in part because it came to the aid of the Yazidi minority when ISIS tried to exterminate them. The PKK has been training and arming Yazidis to fight the Islamic State and has said it will not withdraw from Sinjar until Yazidi forces control the area. The Kurdish administration has been urging Yazidis to join the Peshmerga and other militia units instead of the PKK. Peshmerga commanders have asked the PKK to withdraw from the area. This is a difficult conflict for the United States to negotiate. On the one hand, Turkey is a NATO member and an important regional ally the U.S. is nervous about alienating. The U.S. classifies the PKK as a terrorist organization, just as Turkey does. On the other hand, the Peshmerga and YPG are crucial American battlefield allies against the Islamic State. The Peshmerga and YPG have also clashed among themselves, even while both cooperate with the United States. American military officials reportedly visited the Mount Karachok region by helicopter on Tuesday to assess the damage from Turkey’s airstrikes. Turkey’s Daily Sabah, which has a pro-government bent, began its report on the visit by matter-of-factly stating the YPG is an “offshoot” of the PKK terrorist group and said banners depicting jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan can be seen in the background of photos that showed U.S. officials walking with YPG representatives. The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria issued a statement encouraging all forces in the region to “concentrate their efforts on ISIS and not toward objectives that may cause the Coalition to divert energy and resources away from the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.” The Iraqi Foreign Ministry denounced Turkey’s strikes as a violation of its sovereignty, warned that a larger Turkish cross-border military incursion would “destabilize northern Iraq,” and asked the international community to block further “interference” by Turkey.
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Turkish air strikes kill 18 Kurdish YPG fighters and media officials in northeastern Syria. Also five Peshmerga fighters are killed during a Turkish attack on Sinjar in Iraq. Turkey also claims to have destroyed "terror hubs". Iraq denounces the strike as a violation of its sovereignty.
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Amman: A massive blast near Damascus International Airport early on Thursday was caused by an Israeli air strike on warehouses and fuel tanks operated by a Syrian government ally. Israeli Intelligence Minister Israel Katz, speaking from the United States, where he has been meeting US officials, told Israeli Army Radio: "I can confirm that the incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel's policy to act to prevent Iran's smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah in Iran. Naturally, I don't want to elaborate on this." Image taken from video purporting to show the moment an explosion rocked Damascus on Thursday. Credit:Screenshot/GMC/ "The Prime Minister has said that whenever we receive intelligence that indicated an intention to transfer advanced weapons to Hezbollah, we will act." An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment. Syrian state TV said Syrian military positions were hit by the Israeli missiles. ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption A photo taken from a rebel-held town showed what appeared to be a blaze at Damascus airport An Israeli missile strike has caused a large explosion and fire at a military site near Damascus international airport, Syrian state media report. A fuel tank and warehouses were damaged, the Sana news agency said. But Syrian rebel sources said an arms depot run by Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, which is fighting in Syria as an ally of the government, was hit. Israel said the explosion was "consistent" with its policy to prevent Iran smuggling weapons to Hezbollah. But it stopped short of confirming it was responsible. Israel regards Hezbollah, and its key backer Iran, as its biggest threat. It went to war with Hezbollah in 2006 and the group has grown considerably more powerful since then. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that the powerful blast was heard across the capital at dawn on Thursday and that it was believed to have happened near the main road that leads to the airport. Sana said several missiles had been fired at a military site south-west of the airport, causing explosions that resulted in some material losses. Pro-government Al-Mayadeen TV cited sources as saying that missiles had been fired by Israeli jets flying inside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Two senior rebel sources based in Damascus told Reuters news agency that the missiles had hit an ammunition depot in a closed military area that was used by Iran-backed militias operating alongside the Syrian army, led by Hezbollah. Appearing to confirm Israeli involvement, Intelligence Minister Israel Katz told Israeli Army Radio: "I can confirm that the incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel's policy to act to prevent Iran's smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah in Iran. Naturally, I don't want to elaborate on this." "The prime minister has said that whenever we receive intelligence that indicated an intention to transfer advanced weapons to Hezbollah, we will act." The Israeli military declined to comment on the reports. Israel's tacit understanding with Russia, by Jonathan Marcus, diplomatic correspondent, BBC News Image copyright AFP In the wake of the US cruise missile attack on a Syrian air base at the start of this month, there was a lot of talk about Russia and Syria strengthening their air defences and the likely implications of this for Israel. Would it hamper the Israeli Air Force's freedom of action in the skies over Syria, where it has been conducting an intermittent air campaign to prevent sophisticated weapons transfers to the Lebanese Shia militia group Hezbollah? Well, Thursday's attack near Damascus airport seems to provide an answer. Israel - which is widely seen as being behind the strike - clearly intends to continue its campaign against Hezbollah weapons shipments and one must assume that it has a tacit understanding with Moscow. Sophisticated Russian air defences cover much of Syrian airspace and have a more than adequate capability to interfere with Israeli attacks if Moscow so wished. Israel is thought to have bombed arms shipments intended for Hezbollah several times since the Syrian conflict began. In a rare step last month, the Israeli military confirmed that its jets had struck several targets inside Syria in a raid that prompted the Syrian military to fire a number of ground-to-air missiles, one of which was intercepted over Israeli territory. On Wednesday, a high-ranking Israeli military officer briefed reporters that approximately 100 missiles intended for Hezbollah had been destroyed in the raid. Recent suspected Israeli attacks in Syria 23 April 2017: Alleged Israeli attack on a training camp used by militia in Syria's Golan Heights region, kills three members of the Syrian pro-government National Defence Forces, according to the group. The Israeli military said it was not familiar with the incident. 17 March 2017: The Israeli military says its aircraft attacked several targets in Syria and shot down a Syrian missile. 22 February 2017: Israeli aircraft reportedly bomb several Syrian air bases near Damascus, including a Hezbollah convoy travelling with the Syrian army. 12 January 2017: The Syrian government accuses Israel of firing several rockets on the Mezzeh air base from the Sea of Galilee. 30 November 2016: Israeli aircraft fire missiles on the Syrian town of Saboura, west of Damascus, according to Syrian military sources. 18 January 2015: Six Hezbollah fighters and several Iranian soldiers, including a general, die in suspected Israeli air strikes in Syria's Golan Heights region. 19 December 2015: Suspected Israeli missiles hit Jaramana district of Damascus, killing nine Hezbollah fighters, including leading figure Samir Qantar. ||||| The Latest on Syria (all times local): Syria's state media is reporting that Israel has attacked a military installation near the Damascus International Airport. SANA says Israel fired several missiles from inside the occupied Golan Heights south of the capital at a military installation near the capital's main airport, triggering several explosions and causing damage. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Residents reported feeling the blasts shortly before 4 a.m. Israel's intelligence minister says a large explosion near the Damascus airport is in line with Israeli policy but stopped short of taking responsibility for it. Yisrael Katz wouldn't comment directly on the strike Thursday morning but said "it absolutely matches our declared policy, a policy that we also implement." Israel has repeatedly warned against "game-changing" weapons reaching Hezbollah from Syria, which along with Iran supports the militant group. Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets on Israel in the 2006 war. The explosion was heard across the Syrian capital, jolting residents awake, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdurrahman said. Israel has been largely unaffected by the Syrian civil war. It has also carried out a number of airstrikes on suspected weapon convoys it believed were destined for Hezbollah. Syrian opposition activists and a monitor say a large explosion has rocked the Syrian capital, followed by a fire near Damascus airport. The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdurrahman says the explosion early Thursday has been heard across the capital, jolting residents awake. He says the explosion is reported to have occurred near the Damascus airport road. The dawn explosion has also been reported by other activists' networks but the source was unclear. Activist-operated Diary of a Mortar, which reports from Damascus, says the explosion near the airport road was followed by flames rising above the area. A pro-government site Damascus Now says the explosion was near the city's Seventh Bridge, which leads to the airport road. ||||| DAMASCUS: Syria accused Israel of triggering a huge explosion near Damascus airport on Thursday (Apr 27) by firing several missiles at a military position. Israel has carried out multiple air strikes in Syria since the country's civil war erupted in 2011, most of which it has said targeted arms convoys or warehouses of its Lebanese arch-foe Hezbollah, which is a close ally of the Syrian regime. In line with its usual practice, Israel's military declined to comment on the latest blast. Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said it was consistent with his government's policy to prevent arms transfers to Hezbollah, but stopped short of confirming his country was behind any attack. Syria's state news agency SANA said several Israeli missiles hit near the airport causing material damage. "A military position southwest of Damascus International Airport was targeted at dawn today by an Israeli aggression using several missiles fired from occupied territory, sparking explosions in the area," SANA said, citing a military source. In the terminology of the Syrian government, occupied territory can refer to Israel inside its internationally recognised borders. The source did not specify whether the military position belonged to the Syrian army or one its allies. Earlier, Damascus ally Hezbollah said the blast was "probably" the result of an Israeli air strike. The Lebanese militant group's Al-Manar television said the raid hit a warehouse and fuel tanks, without specifying whether they were its own or belonged to the Syrian army or another of its allies. Al-Manar said preliminary reports suggested the blast caused only material damage and no casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said the warehouse was largely empty and "probably" belonged to Hezbollah. A resident of the Dawwar al-Baytara neighbourhood in the southeast of the capital, who lives in a tower block that looks towards the airport area, said he had seen an immense fireball. "Around 4am (0100 GMT), I heard an enormous explosion," Maytham, 47, told AFP. "I ran to the balcony and looking towards the south, in the direction of the airport, I saw a huge fireball," he said. "There was a power cut and it was pitch black, and the fireball was clearly visible." The Israeli intelligence minister said the blast was in line with his government's policy of preventing advanced weaponry from reaching Hezbollah. "We are acting to prevent the transfer of sophisticated weapons from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon by Iran," Katz told army radio. "When we receive serious information about the intention to transfer weapons to Hezbollah, we will act. This incident is totally consistent with this policy." Israeli warplanes have hit the airport and other bases around the capital in the past, targeting what it said were weapons stockpiles destined for Hezbollah. The airport lies about 25 kilometres (15 miles) southeast of the city centre. It was hit by Israeli air strikes in December 2014, Syrian state media reported at the time. Israel does not usually confirm or deny each individual raid it carries out. But last month, it said it had carried out several strikes near the Syrian desert city of Palmyra, targeting what it said were "advanced weapons" belonging to Hezbollah. The strikes prompted Syria to launch ground to air missiles, one of which was intercepted over Israeli territory in the most serious flare-up between the two neighbours since the Syrian civil war began six years ago. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed those strikes and vowed there would more if necessary. On Jan 13, Syria accused Israel of bombing Mazzeh airbase in the western suburbs of the capital. There were several strikes near the same base last year. Israel and Syria are still technically at war, though the armistice line had remained largely quiet for decades until 2011 when the Syrian conflict began. Israel and Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in 2006 which killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. ||||| BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on Syria (all times local): Israel’s intelligence minister says a large explosion near the Damascus airport is in line with Israeli policy but stopped short of taking responsibility for it. Yisrael Katz wouldn’t comment directly on the strike Thursday morning but said “it absolutely matches our declared policy, a policy that we also implement.” Israel has repeatedly warned against “game-changing” weapons reaching Hezbollah from Syria, which along with Iran supports the militant group. Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets on Israel in the 2006 war. The explosion was heard across the Syrian capital, jolting residents awake, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdurrahman said. Israel has been largely unaffected by the Syrian civil war. It has also carried out a number of airstrikes on suspected weapon convoys it believed were destined for Hezbollah. Syrian opposition activists and a monitor say a large explosion has rocked the Syrian capital, followed by a fire near Damascus airport. The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdurrahman says the explosion early Thursday has been heard across the capital, jolting residents awake. He says the explosion is reported to have occurred near the Damascus airport road. The dawn explosion has also been reported by other activists’ networks but the source was unclear. Activist-operated Diary of a Mortar, which reports from Damascus, says the explosion near the airport road was followed by flames rising above the area. A pro-government site Damascus Now says the explosion was near the city’s Seventh Bridge, which leads to the airport road. ||||| It’s another in a series of attacks whose aftermath has solidified into a routine diplomatic dance. Syria’s army accused Israel of “launching several missiles from inside the occupied territories at dawn on Thursday,” which struck a “military position” near Damascus International Airport, according to an unnamed military source speaking to Syrian state media. The attack, said the source, resulted in explosions and left “some material losses.” “The Israeli aggression comes as a desperate attempt to raise the collapsed morale of terrorist groups due to the Syrian army’s blows,” continued the source, using the government’s routine term for the rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad. “This aggression will not dissuade the army from continuing the war against terrorism and crushing it.” According to a report by the pro-opposition watchdog Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the blast from the strikes “could be heard all through Damascus and its suburbs,” and fire was seen rising near the airport. The observatory group said sources thought the large explosion had occurred because ammunition depots, believed to be for the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, had been targeted. Israel, as has been customary after similar strikes in the past, neither confirmed nor denied responsibility. But Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz, in an interview with Israel Army Radio, broadly hinted that Israel was involved. “I can confirm that the incident in Syria is entirely consistent with the policy of Israel to operate to prevent the smuggling of advanced weapons from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon,” he said. “This is a declared policy that we are also carrying out.” Official statements by the Syrian government did not mention if there would be any retaliation. But later on Thursday, an Israeli patriot missile shot down a drone over the Golan Heights, according to Israeli media. The drone was said to have been launched from Syrian territories. An agency affiliated with Hezbollah, the Central Combat Media, quoted a report from the Israeli outlet Yediot Ahronot that a Patriot missile had shot down a drone launched from Syrian territories. According to the report, the drone had flown over parts of the occupied territories in Israel’s north. Hezbollah is a staunch battlefield ally of Assad’s. Its cadres often have been the spearhead of ground assaults against the rebels — a development that Israel believes will make the Lebanese Shiite group a hardier adversary in a potential future conflict. Israel has been carrying out strikes in Syria throughout the civil war to block the transfer of what has been described as game-changing weapons to Hezbollah. Thursday’s attack comes after Russia, Iran and other pro-government allied forces had vowed to respond forcefully to any “aggression … by anyone” in the wake of a U.S. cruise missile strike on Syria earlier this month. They added they would increase support to the Syrian army in “a number of ways.” Yet despite Moscow’s condemnation in the aftermath of the attack, it was unclear whether it had been aware of the strike. Russia has provided Damascus with sophisticated air defense systems that presumably could deter such attacks from Israel. Special correspondents Bulos reported from Beirut and Mitnick from Tel Aviv. 11:10 a.m.: This article was updated with new details that Israel shot down a drone over the Golan Heights. This article was originally published at 10:25 a.m. ||||| The Latest on Syria (all times local): Britain's foreign secretary says Britain could join the United States in further military action against Syria if asked to do so. Boris Johnson said Thursday it would be "very difficult to say no" if the U.S. seeks British help on a military mission against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. He did not specify whether Parliament would be asked to approve any military action ahead of time. He said that decision would be up to the government and Prime Minister Theresa May. President Donald Trump ordered a cruise missile attack against a Syrian air base earlier this month in response to Assad's apparent use of chemical weapons against Syrians. U.S. officials have said further attacks are likely if Assad uses banned chemical weapons again Syria's state media is reporting that Israel has attacked a military installation near the Damascus International Airport. SANA says Israel fired several missiles from inside the occupied Golan Heights south of the capital at a military installation near the capital's main airport, triggering several explosions and causing damage. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Residents reported feeling the blasts shortly before 4 a.m. Israel's intelligence minister says a large explosion near the Damascus airport is in line with Israeli policy but stopped short of taking responsibility for it. Yisrael Katz wouldn't comment directly on the strike Thursday morning but said "it absolutely matches our declared policy, a policy that we also implement." Israel has repeatedly warned against "game-changing" weapons reaching Hezbollah from Syria, which along with Iran supports the militant group. Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets on Israel in the 2006 war. The explosion was heard across the Syrian capital, jolting residents awake, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdurrahman said. Israel has been largely unaffected by the Syrian civil war. It has also carried out a number of airstrikes on suspected weapon convoys it believed were destined for Hezbollah. Syrian opposition activists and a monitor say a large explosion has rocked the Syrian capital, followed by a fire near Damascus airport. The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdurrahman says the explosion early Thursday has been heard across the capital, jolting residents awake. He says the explosion is reported to have occurred near the Damascus airport road. The dawn explosion has also been reported by other activists' networks but the source was unclear. Activist-operated Diary of a Mortar, which reports from Damascus, says the explosion near the airport road was followed by flames rising above the area. A pro-government site Damascus Now says the explosion was near the city's Seventh Bridge, which leads to the airport road. ||||| BEIRUT (AP) — The latest on Syria (all times local): Russia has denounced what it called "aggression" against Syria in the wake of an apparent Israeli missile attack on a Syrian military installation near Damascus International Airport. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not directly blame Israel for the Thursday morning explosion, but cited Syrian media as saying Israel was responsible. She says "Moscow condemns acts of aggression against Syria" and calls on everyone to "act within the framework of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria." Israel appears to be striking at military convoys and installations in Syria at a quickening pace, maintaining it has the right to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group that fights alongside Syrian government forces. Syrian activists say airstrikes across the opposition-held Idlib province have killed at least 19 people, with some targeting ambulances and medical centers. The Civil Defense, a search-and-rescue organization, says four medical staff were killed in an attack on a university hospital in Deir Sharqi, and another four paramedics or ambulance operators were killed in a strike on an ambulance services charity in Maarzita. The activist-run Idlib Media Center said another four people were killed by barrel bombs dropped on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, the site of a chemical attack earlier this month. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 19 civilians, including nine children, were killed around the northern province on Thursday. The Civil Defense reported the same overall death toll. The activists believe Russia or the Syrian government launched the raids. The U.S. is also known to strike at positions in Idlib province, where it targets al-Qaida-affiliated fighters. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians displaced by the war have sought refuge in the rural province, which is now largely under the control of hard-line rebel groups. It borders Turkey to the north. Syria's government has condemned what it says are "lies and fabricated allegations" by the French foreign minister concerning a deadly chemical weapons attack in Syria earlier this month. Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that the chemical analysis of samples taken from the April 4 sarin gas attack "bears the signature" of President Bashar Assad's government and shows it was responsible. In a statement issued Thursday, the Syrian foreign ministry said Ayrault's remarks show "France's involvement in masterminding this crime." It also said France was not suited and had no legal authority to determine what happened in Khan Sheikhoun, the rebel-held town where the incident occurred. Britain's foreign secretary says Britain could join the United States in further military action against Syria if asked to do so. Boris Johnson said Thursday it would be "very difficult to say no" if the U.S. seeks British help on a military mission against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. He did not specify whether Parliament would be asked to approve any military action ahead of time. He said that decision would be up to the government and Prime Minister Theresa May. President Donald Trump ordered a cruise missile attack against a Syrian air base earlier this month in response to Assad's apparent use of chemical weapons against Syrians. U.S. officials have said further attacks are likely if Assad uses banned chemical weapons again Syria's state media is reporting that Israel has attacked a military installation near the Damascus International Airport. SANA says Israel fired several missiles from inside the occupied Golan Heights south of the capital at a military installation near the capital's main airport, triggering several explosions and causing damage. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Residents reported feeling the blasts shortly before 4 a.m. Israel's intelligence minister says a large explosion near the Damascus airport is in line with Israeli policy but stopped short of taking responsibility for it. Yisrael Katz wouldn't comment directly on the strike Thursday morning but said "it absolutely matches our declared policy, a policy that we also implement." Israel has repeatedly warned against "game-changing" weapons reaching Hezbollah from Syria, which along with Iran supports the militant group. Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets on Israel in the 2006 war. The explosion was heard across the Syrian capital, jolting residents awake, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdurrahman said. Israel has been largely unaffected by the Syrian civil war. It has also carried out a number of airstrikes on suspected weapon convoys it believed were destined for Hezbollah. Syrian opposition activists and a monitor say a large explosion has rocked the Syrian capital, followed by a fire near Damascus airport. The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdurrahman says the explosion early Thursday has been heard across the capital, jolting residents awake. He says the explosion is reported to have occurred near the Damascus airport road. The dawn explosion has also been reported by other activists' networks but the source was unclear. Activist-operated Diary of a Mortar, which reports from Damascus, says the explosion near the airport road was followed by flames rising above the area. A pro-government site Damascus Now says the explosion was near the city's Seventh Bridge, which leads to the airport road. ||||| BEIRUT (AFP) - A massive explosion struck near Damascus International Airport early on Thursday (April 27) setting off large fires, a monitoring group said, without specifying the cause. The blast was outside the airport itself. It was not immediately clear whether it was the result of an air strike or a ground attack, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Israeli warplanes have hit the airport and other bases around the capital in the past, targeting what it said were weapons stockpiles of its Lebanese foe Hezbollah, which is allied with the Syrian government. Hezbollah's Al-Manar television said the explosion was "probably" caused by an Israeli air strike. "The blast was huge," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. "It's unclear what caused the explosion but there are fires raging at the site." Al-Manar said the strike caused only material damage. "Al-Manar's correspondent reported that an explosion struck at dawn on Thursday in fuel tanks and a warehouse near Damascus International Airport and that it was probably the result of an Israeli strike," the channel said. The airport lies about 25km south-east of the capital. It was hit by Israeli air strikes in December 2014, Syrian state media reported at the time. Israel does not usually confirm or deny each individual raid it carries out. But last month, it said it had carried out several strikes near the Syrian desert city of Palmyra, targeting what it said were "advanced weapons" belonging to Hezbollah. The strikes prompted Syria to launch retaliatory ground to air missiles, one of which was intercepted over Israeli territory in the most serious flare-up between the two neighbours since the Syrian civil war began six years ago. Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened to destroy Syrian air defence systems if they were used again. On Jan 13, Syria accused Israel of bombing Mazzeh air base in the western suburbs of the capital. There were several strikes near the same base last year. In April 2016, Netanyahu admitted for the first time that Israel had attacked dozens of convoys in Syria that he said were transporting weapons destined for Hezbollah. Israel and Syria are still technically at war, though the armistice line had remained largely quiet for decades until 2011 when the Syrian conflict began. Israel and Hezbollah fought a devastating 34-day war in 2006 which killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. ||||| A large explosion hit in the area of Damascus International Airport followed by a fire in the same place early on Thursday the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump has given the military the authority to reset a confusing system of troop limits in Iraq and Syria that critics said allowed the White House to micro-manage battlefield decisions and ultimately obscured the real number of U.S. forces. Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports a large explosion near Damascus International Airport followed by a fire. The Syrian government says Israel struck the military site with several missiles. Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz states that the strike "corresponds completely with Israel's policy".
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Scientists have pinpointed the cells that cause hair to turn gray and to go bald in mice, according to a new study published in the journal Genes & Development. Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center accidentally stumbled upon this explanation for baldness and graying hairs—at least in mouse models—while studying a rare genetic disease that causes tumors to grow on nerves, according to a press release from the center. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now They found that a protein called KROX20 switches on skin cells that become a hair shaft, which then causes cells to produce another protein called stem cell factor. In mice, these two proteins turned out to be important for baldness and graying. When researchers deleted the cells that produce KROX20, mice stopped growing hair and eventually went bald; when they deleted the SCF gene, the animals’ hair turned white. “Although this project was started in an effort to understand how certain kinds of tumors form, we ended up learning why hair turns gray and discovering the identity of the cell that directly gives rise to hair,” said lead researcher Dr. Lu Le, associate professor of dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, in a statement. More research is needed to understand if the process works similarly in humans, and Le and his colleagues plan to start studying it in people. “With this knowledge, we hope in the future to create a topical compound or to safely deliver the necessary gene to hair follicles to correct these cosmetic problems,” he said. Contact us at [email protected]. ||||| UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified the cells that directly give rise to hair as well as the mechanism that causes hair to turn gray – findings that could one day help identify possible treatments for balding and hair graying. “Although this project was started in an effort to understand how certain kinds of tumors form, we ended up learning why hair turns gray and discovering the identity of the cell that directly gives rise to hair,” said Dr. Lu Le, Associate Professor of Dermatology with the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern. “With this knowledge, we hope in the future to create a topical compound or to safely deliver the necessary gene to hair follicles to correct these cosmetic problems.” The researchers found that a protein called KROX20, more commonly associated with nerve development, in this case turns on in skin cells that become the hair shaft. These hair precursor, or progenitor, cells then produce a protein called stem cell factor (SCF) that the researchers showed is essential for hair pigmentation. When they deleted the SCF gene in the hair progenitor cells in mouse models, the animal’s hair turned white. When they deleted the KROX20-producing cells, no hair grew and the mice became bald, according to the study. The findings are published online in Genes & Development. Dr. Le, who holds the Thomas L. Shields, M.D. Professorship in Dermatology, said he and his researchers serendipitously uncovered this explanation for balding and hair graying while studying a disorder called Neurofibromatosis Type 1, a rare genetic disease that causes tumors to grow on nerves. Scientists already knew that stem cells contained in a bulge area of hair follicles are involved in making hair and that SCF is important for pigmented cells, said Dr. Le, a member of the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine. What they did not know in detail is what happens after those stem cells move down to the base, or bulb, of hair follicles and which cells in the hair follicles produce SCF – or that cells involved in hair shaft creation make the KROX20 protein, he said. If cells with functioning KROX20 and SCF are present, they move up from the bulb, interact with pigment-producing melanocyte cells, and grow into pigmented hairs. But without SCF, the hair in mouse models was gray, and then turned white with age, according to the study. Without KROX20-producing cells, no hair grew, the study said. UT Southwestern researchers will now try to find out if the KROX20 in cells and the SCF gene stop working properly as people age, leading to the graying and hair thinning seen in older people – as well as in male pattern baldness, Dr. Le said. The research also could provide answers about why we age in general as hair graying and hair loss are among the first signs of aging. ||||| While granny gray hair might be having a major style moment, finding grays that have spouted on their own can be a totally different matter for some folks. If you're the type to panic over a few surprise grays, don’t worry you’re not alone — the compulsion to cover them has helped buoy the hair dye industry. But science just got one big step closer to ditching the need to cover by actually curing grays. Last year, researchers in London identified the gene that causes grays . While that proved rogue hairs and high maintenance roots are at least in part genetic, there wasn’t a whole lot of practical application that might be able to save you a salon visit. In a new study published this week in the journal Genes and Development , researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center actually identified the cells that cause our grays and could potentially cure them. The researchers found that in our scalp cells, a futuristic-sounding protein called KROX20 turns on in cells that become the actual hair shaft (called progenitor cells), producing another protein called stem cell factor (SCF) in the process, which is essential for actually creating the pigment in your hair color. When researchers removed the SCF protein from cells in mice, their hair turned white (deleting the KROX20 protein made them go bald). Eeek. So why do we lose this pigment promoting SCF as we age? "Most biological functions have a backup system, but not hair pigmentation," says Lu Le , M.D., associate professor of dermatology at UT Southwestern, one of the study's authors, tells Allure . "We believe that in humans, as we age, the expression of SCF in these cells begins fluctuating, and when the level falls below a certain threshold, there is no backup source of SCF to rescue it." Hello, white hair! The good news is, this knowledge could mean that scientists will eventually be able to get rid of your grays and save you a trip to the salon – researchers say they could potentially create a topical solution that would stimulate SCF and thereby cast grays out of your coif. Though that might take awhile, says Le. “It is hard to know [how long it will take]. However, with new technology in the lab, the time from a scientific discovery to clinical application keeps getting shorter,” he says. Of course, there’s no reason why grays need to be “cured.” Embracing the idea of going gray and rocking heather hair can be majorly chic – not to mention empowering as hell. For more on how to deal with gray hair, check out:
• How This 64-Year-Old Woman Learned to Love Her Gray Hair
• How To Grow Out Gray Hair—The Experts Weigh In
• Three Easy And Low Maintenance Ways to Cover Gray Hair How This 64-Year-Old Woman Learned to Love Her Gray Hair: ||||| Scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center discovered cells which could be the answer to treating gray hair and balding. A team accidentally stumbled across the new findings while researching a rare genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves, called Neurofibromatosis Type 1. “Although this project was started in an effort to understand how certain kinds of tumors form, we ended up learning why hair turns gray and discovering the identity of the cell that directly gives rise to hair,” said Dr. Lu Le, Associate Professor of Dermatology at UT Southwestern, in a press statement. “With this knowledge, we hope in the future to create a topical compound or to safely deliver the necessary gene to hair follicles to correct these cosmetic problems.” The team found a protein called KROX20, which is normally associated with nerve development, can turn on in skin cells to create hair shafts. The hair shaft cells then produce another protein called stem cell factor (SCF) that is essential to hair pigmentation. The researchers found that when they removed KROX20-producing cells in mice, the animals lost all their hair and went bald. When the team removed SCF cells, the mice hair turned white. While scientists were already aware of the general science of hair growth and hair pigmentation, they didn't know what happens when cells move down to the base of hair follicles, which cells make SCF and the involvement of KROX20. Le said researchers will now try to find out if SCF and KROX20 stop working properly on older people leading to graying and balding. They'll also look into male balding patterns. The research could even provide answers to why people age in general since graying and balding are some of the first signs of aging. ||||| The presence or absence of a group of cells may be behind your balding, or greying hair, as well as the cause for those lush tresses, researchers say. The findings showed that a protein called KROX20 -- commonly associated with nerve development -- turns on in skin cells that become the hair shaft. These hair precursor, or progenitor, cells then produce a protein called stem cell factor (SCF) -- essential for hair pigmentation. In the study, when researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, deleted the SCF gene in the hair progenitor cells in mouse models, the animal's hair turned white. When they deleted the KROX20-producing cells, no hair grew and the mice became bald. The results, published in the journal Genes and Development, could one day help identify possible treatments for balding and hair greying. If cells with functioning KROX20 and SCF are present, they move up from the base, or bulb, of hair follicles, interact with pigment-producing melanocyte cells, and grow into pigmented hairs. But without SCF, the hair in mouse models was grey, and then turned white with age. Without KROX20-producing cells, no hair grew, the study said. "With this knowledge, we hope to create a topical compound or to safely deliver the necessary gene to hair follicles to correct these cosmetic problems," said Lu Le, Associate Professor at the university. ||||| Scientists may be closer to developing a cream to cure baldness or stop hair from turning gray, according to a recently published study.The study conducted by UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas said the scientists made the discovery by accident while researching how certain cancer tumors form.Researchers said they found that a protein called KROX 20, commonly associated with nerve development, turned on in skin cells that become the hair shaft.The cells produce a protein called stem cell factor, which was essential for hair color.When scientists deleted the stem cell factor gene in the hair cells of mice, their fur turned white.When scientists deleted the other protein KROX 20, no hair grew and the mice became bald.The study, published in the Genes and Development Journal, can be read here ||||| Researchers at the UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered the cells that are directly responsible for hair growth and the mechanism that causes gray hair. The study results could help in identifying feasible treatments for balding and hair graying. “Although this project was started in an effort to understand how certain kinds of tumors form, we ended up learning why hair turns gray and discovering the identity of the cell that directly gives rise to hair,” said Dr. Lu Le, Associate Professor of Dermatology with the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern and member of the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine. “With this knowledge, we hope in the future to create a topical compound or to safely deliver the necessary gene to hair follicles to correct these cosmetic problems.” The study published online in the journal Genes & Development shows that the protein KROX20, is turned on in skin cells that devlop into the hair shaft. The pigmentation of the hair is then regulated by the stem cell factor (SCF) expression in hair shaft progenitor cells. According to the study in a mouse model, the fur turned white when the SCF gene in the hair progenitor cells was deleted. Hair growth was arrested and the mice became bald when the KROX20-producing cells were deleted. Dr. Le, who holds the Thomas L. Shields, M.D. Professorship in Dermatology, said that while studying a disorder called Neurofibromatosis Type 1, a rare genetic disease that causes tumors to grow on nerves, their team had accidentally discovered this explanation for balding and hair graying. He further explained that researchers are aware that the stem cells contained in a bulge area of hair follicles are involved in making hair and that SCF is important for pigmented cells. However, the details about the actions when the stem cells move down to the base, or bulb, of hair follicles, are still unknown, along with which cells in the follicles of the hair produce SCF or that cells involved in the creation of the hair shaft generates the KROX20 protein. Within the cells, if there is a role of KROX20 and SCF, they move up from the bulb and interact with melanocyte cells that produce pigments, the cells grow into pigmented hairs. The study has found that in mouse models, the hair turns gray without SCF, as age progresses the hair turns to white, and hair growth is arrested without KROX20-producing cells. Dr. Le concluded that the researchers would now try to find whether the KROX20 in cells and the SCF gene stop working properly due to aging in people, which leads to gray hair and thinning of hair in elderly people and balding in males. This could provide answers about the reasons for hair graying and hair loss, the first signs of aging in general. ||||| Scientists in Texas searching for the cure for cancer may have stumbled upon another slightly-less-important cure: alopecia. For those keeping score at home, alopecia means baldness. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center were studying a disorder known as Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NT1) when they discovered an explanation for balding and hair greying, according to a press release from the Center. NT1 is a rare genetic disease that causes tumours to grow on nerves. READ MORE: Going bald? Blame your mother, study suggests The study found that a protein called KROX20 turns on in skin cells that become hair shafts. The cells then produce a protein called a stem cell factor (SCF) which is essential for hair pigmentation. WATCH: ‘Man bun’ can cause baldness say doctors The researchers removed KROX20 from mice which in turn became bald. When the SCF was removed, the hair on the mice in the study went grey, growing white with age. Although this project was started in an effort to understand how certain kinds of tumours form, we ended up learning why hair turns grey and discovering the identity of the cell that directly gives rise to hair,” lead researcher Dr. Lu Le, associate professor of dermatology with the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern, said. READ MORE: A cure for baldness? Scientists use stem cells to grow hair follicles The study has yet to be conducted on humans so those hoping to see their grey go away or to make hair out of thin air may have to wait awhile. “With this knowledge, we hope in the future to create a topical compound or to safely deliver the necessary gene to hair follicles to correct these cosmetic problems,” Le said. ||||| As we get older, many of us struggle with the harsh reality of our hair turning grey or falling out. But despite how common these problems are, scientists have struggled to identify their underlying biological cause, which means that we've been stuck using quick fixes such as hair dye and toupees to mask the problem. Now, scientists have finally identified the specific cells that cause hair to grow and develop pigment in mice - a big step towards developing a treatment for grey hair and baldness. The researchers actually stumbled upon these 'hair progenitor cells' by accident while researching a rare genetic disorder that causes tumours to grow on nerves, called Neurofibromatosis Type 1. "Although this project was started in an effort to understand how certain kinds of tumours form, we ended up learning why hair turns grey and discovering the identity of the cell that directly gives rise to hair," said lead researcher Lu Le from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre. "With this knowledge, we hope in the future to create a topical compound or to safely deliver the necessary gene to hair follicles to correct these cosmetic problems." Researchers already knew that skin stem cells contained in the bulge at the bottom of hair follicles were involved in hair growth, but they weren't quite sure what it was made these skin cells turn into hair cells. So they couldn't begin to find a way to target them or stimulate their growth. But while researching tumour formation on nerve cells, they discovered the protein that sets these cells apart. Called KROX20, the protein is more commonly associated with nerve development. But in hair follicles in mice the team discovered it switches on in skin cells that will go on to become the hair shaft that makes hair grow. This protein then causes these cells to produce a protein called stem cell factor (SCF), and when both of these molecules are expressed in a cell, they move up the hair bulb, interact with pigment-producing melanocyte cells, and grow into healthy, coloured hairs. But if one or the other is missing, the process goes wrong. When the team deleted the KROX20-producing cells, they found that no hair grew and mice became bald. When they deleted the SCF gene in these hair-progenitor cells, the animal's hair turned white. To be clear, this research has only been conducted in mice so far. While we have a lot of biological similarities with mice, the study needs to be repeated in humans before we can get too excited. But Le and his team are already working on a project that will look for KROX20 and SCF in people with greying and thinning hair, in an attempt to work out whether it's associated with male pattern baldness in humans. The hope is that it might not only teach us about why our hair changes as we get older, but also ageing in general. And the fact that the research could potentially lead to treatments that will help us look younger for longer doesn't hurt either. The research has been published in Genes & Development. ||||| It is a problem that is even striking teenagers and middle-aged men and women. Hair loss or baldness was most known to attack aging men, but it is a divergent problem these days. -- There are many causes of hair loss most of which is hardly thought to be the root. It is more associated with genetics and hormonal imbalances for the case of women, but there are many other causes of hair loss that have to be revealed.Hair transplant procedures today are the leading hair restoration techniques which produce natural and as well as permanent results. If that is the case, can we go on living the same way because we know about the best solution for hair loss?Dr. K.K. Arora (MBBS, MS, M.ch plastic surgery Russia) and one of the experts in the hair transplant sector in India says that unless people change their lifestyles and habits before and after a hair transplant; there won't be a bigger change. He continues to say that if anyone wants to retain his or her hair after a hair transplant, he must take proactive measures to avoid the same scenario. If anyone is to avoid losing hair he or she can follow the instructions below;Most people know hair loss as a genetic problem and they are less concerned about it. The fact is hair loss is divided into different types such as Alopecia Areata which is the sudden loss of hair from some parts of the scalp, Telogen Effluvium resulting from stress, and Trichotillomania, a psychological problem where one pulls out his or her own hair.One may feel secure from all these cases, but hair loss can occur to anyone at any age.Over braiding and styling of hair are never advisable for anyone. Exposing hair to the heat in the saloons is also another instance that weakens the hair follicles causing them to fall out easily. Leaving the hair to relax for about 2 weeks before you style again will allow the hair roots to strengthen.This also calls for proper massaging of the scalp with hair oil or onion juice at least twice a week. Avoid harsh hair products because they destroy the hair cells.If you are at the risk of losing hair, mind what you eat every single meal to reduce the chances of losing hair immediately. Biotin sources like milk products and eggs, Vitamin B, meat, fish, amla, avocado, spinach, and legumes have nutrients that prevent and reduce hair fall.Smoking may seem proper to many men and women in India, but a silent killer. Smoking doesn't only pollute the air, but blocks the pores meant to pass air in the scalp. It also reduces the functionality of the hair cells and roots causing degeneration at the end.Many deprive themselves of sleep due to a number of reasons. Sleep is very important to all humans because it is the time the body rests from all the day's hard work. Sleeping at least 7 to 9 hours will help the body regenerate its cells and repair the worn out ones to reduce hair loss.These simple ways will at least help in eliminating hair loss.Our Company Website: http://hairtransplantinaustralia.com/
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The journal Genes & Development publishes research from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in a mouse-model study (which may translate over to humans) alluding as to why hair turns gray and goes bald. The scientists describe a protein called KROX20 which switches on skin cells that become a hair shaft, which then causes cells to produce another protein called stem cell factor. In mice, these two proteins are important for baldness and graying.
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