The Israeli army has bombed several targets in the Gaza Strip and bolstered its forces along the volatile frontier as a truce with the territory's Hamas rulers showed signs of unraveling. https://t.co/I7iW5hrNjE
By Tuesday night, many questions remained unanswered, including why prosecutors had suddenly decided to let Jussie Smollett off only a month after his arrest https://t.co/8JegfICOU7
The story of Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins, who will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously: Family and fellow soldiers talk about what made him a hero. https://t.co/28d1Pjdlxtpic.twitter.com/rK4lnyn42e
In just one month, Belarus and Russia have gone from a three-day amicable meeting between their presidents in Sochi to a new flare-up in tensions. The Belarussian Foreign Ministry has accused the Russian ambassador in Minsk, Mikhail Babich, of manufacturing artificial figures in his interviews, and of being unable to distinguish an independent state from a Russian federal district, prompting a similarly outraged response from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Right from the start of the current dispute between Belarus and Russia, there was no obvious compromise, and this set it apart from previous arguments between the two countries, in which it was always possible to agree on a figure somewhere in between Belarussian requirements and Russian resources for friendship.
WNU Editor: I for one am still surprised that Belarussian President Lukashenko has remianed in power. He is an authoritarian who does not tolerate dissent, and he is in power only because of his security apparatus, the state bureaucracy, and indifference from the Kremlin. As for Russian - Belarusian ties, they are changing. Belarus has benefited from cheap Russian oil and general trade for years, and the Kremlin has made the decision that this must stopped. What Belarus will do after that is anyone's guess.
The Kremlin has rejected claims found in Robert Mueller's probe that it interfered in US elections. But that hasn't stopped some officials from urging the US to turn a new page in relations between Moscow and Washington.
Russia's Foreign Ministry on Monday said the findings of US special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation should prompt White House officials to exonerate Moscow of attempting to influence the 2016 presidential elections.
"We hope that Washington will in the course of time pluck up its courage and officially confess that not only was there no 'conspiracy' but that all insinuations about Russia's interference into the US presidential elections are a groundless vicious defamation created to be used in the internal political struggle in the US," the ministry said in a statement.
WNU Editor: There is going to be no U.S. - Russia reset is the foreseeable future. The Mueller report's conclusion that there was no collusion has not lowered the tensions and animosities in Washington. On the contrary, it has made the Democrats and anti-Trumpers even more determined to prove that there was/is collusion between President Trump and Russia. The fact that most Americans still believe there was collusion, will make any step towards reconciliation and better relations impossible.
More News On Russian Reaction To The Mueller Report
The Iraq war faceplant damaged the reputation of the press. Russiagate just destroyed it.
Nobody wants to hear this, but news that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller is headed home without issuing new charges is a death-blow for the reputation of the American news media.
As has long been rumored, the former FBI chief's independent probe will result in multiple indictments and convictions, but no "presidency-wrecking" conspiracy charges, or anything that would meet the layman's definition of "collusion" with Russia.
With the caveat that even this news might somehow turn out to be botched, the key detail in the many stories about the end of the Mueller investigation was best expressed by the New York Times:
A senior Justice Department official said that Mr. Mueller would not recommend new indictments.
Attorney General William Barr sent a letter to congress summarizing Mueller's conclusions. The money line quoted the Mueller report:
[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.
WNU Editor: Matt Taibbi is a former editor of Rolling Stone and no friend of President Trump. But his analysis on how the media has behaved in covering this story is spot on. That is why his post is a must read, as well as this one that he posted yesterday .... As the Mueller Probe Ends, New Russiagate Myths Begin (Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone). Another journalist who has been proven right on Russiagate, and who has been on a tear since the release of the Mueller report is Glenn Greenwald. His Twitter feed is here.
As to what is my opinion on the release of the Mueller report and it's summary .... I am having trouble putting into words my thoughts and feelings. To begin, I was surprised that the final report was released on Friday. I thought that it was going to drag on for another year. I also expected the report would be very critical of President Trump, and would state that members of his staff were open to the idea of working with anyone from Russia who could give them an edge in the 2016 election. But as the summary clearly states ....
... [T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.
I did not expect that, nor did I expect the announcement that there would be no indictments. For President Trump .... this is the best result that he could have gotten. He does not even need to make a rebuttal. Robert Mueller did it for him.
I am also finding myself getting angry with each passing day. That we are where we are today because of a Hillary Clinton paid opposition research dossier that was made-up and used by the leadership in the FBI and intelligence community to target then candidate President Trump, and doubly so after he was elected. That their goal was to cripple and de-legitimize his Presidency, and to do this by working with their allies in the media and in Washington to put pressure on the White House 24/7. And they succeeded, as this poll that was released today reveals .... Despite report findings, almost half of Americans think Trump colluded with Russia: Reuters/Ipsos poll (Reuters).
In my lifetime this is the biggest hoax that I have ever seen. The fact that half of America still believes it makes it distressing. My hope is that one day those who are responsible for it will be held accountable for it , and called out. But I doubt it. The rot, corruption, and partisanship is deep. If I have any solace in this story, it is that we now have the evidence to call them out on their corruption, and to remind them on their role in the Russia-Gate hoax when the next manufactured scandal that the media wants to promote emerges.
WNU Editor: According to a U.S. source speaking to Reuters, the Russian personnel that were sent to Venezuela this weekend were "cybersecurity personnel" ....
.... The blackout came amid tensions with the United States over the weekend arrival of Russian military planes, which led Washington to accuse Moscow of "reckless escalation" of the country's political crisis.
The United States believes the planes were carrying "cybersecurity personnel," a U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday. That would suggest part of their mission could be helping Maduro's loyalists with surveillance and protecting the government's cyber infrastructure.
A Spanish court says assailants who broke into North Korea's Embassy in Madrid last month later fled to the U.S.
According to new documents unsealed on Tuesday, the perpetrators of the attack included a U.S. citizen and another resident. The leader of the plot fled via Lisbon to Newark, N.J., and offered stolen material to the FBI in New York.
"We have no comment," Martin Feely, a spokesman for the FBI's New York field office, told NPR in an email.
Spain's Embassy in Washington, D.C., also declined to comment. "There is a judicial procedure underway," an embassy spokesperson said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is wrapping up his overseas jaunt of the year, visiting Europe on a mission to strengthen Beijing's ties to the region.
The trip was described as being of "historic significance" to China, according to state media, with the country's powerful leader visiting Italy, France and Monaco and signing a series of multi-billion-dollar deals over the past few days.
But one aspect of Mr Xi's trip has Western observers and European allies particularly concerned — Italy's decision to sign up to Beijing's controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as well as more than two dozen other trade and infrastructure agreements.
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza into Israel on Tuesday, drawing retaliatory air strikes and breaking a day-long lull in cross-border fighting between Israel and Hamas that could impact an Israeli election two weeks away.
The biggest Israeli-Palestinian escalation in months, which began on Monday with the longest-range Palestinian rocket attack to cause casualties in Israel in five years, had eased after Egyptian mediation.
But even if the crisis subsides, it could shadow the impending Israeli election on April 9 in which right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has campaigned on a tough security platform.
Rep. Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called the details of DoD's Space Force proposal "highly problematic."
WASHINGTON — House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said he strongly opposes the Trump's administration's proposal to establish a Space Force as a sixth branch of the armed forces. Smith issued a statement on Monday rejecting the Pentagon's proposal, less than a day before Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is scheduled to testify in front of the committee.
"The details of the Space Force proposal sent to Congress by the President are highly problematic," Smith said in the statement.
Smith's repudiation of the Space Force legislative proposal — a process led by Shanahan from the get-go — casts serious doubts on the new branch being authorized by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.
WNU Editor: The U.S. Air Force was established in 1947 because it was believed at the time that a separate branch of the armed forces was needed to pursue these core missions .... air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.(Wikipedia). Should the Air Force's mission of space superiority and other space related missions now be assigned to a separate branch of the armed forces? The consensus from what I have read is that the answer is yes. So why is House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith against such a proposal? He cites structural and bureaucratic reasons, but is short on outlining his solutions. Bottom line. If his support is not there, this new branch of the armed forces is not going to happen.
KYIV — Ukraine is preparing to choose a new president, with the first round of voting in scheduled for Sunday. The leading two candidates then will then face a run off two weeks later.
The winner faces daunting challenges in a country struggling to tackle corruption and kick-start a sluggish economy, and still at war with Russian-backed rebels in the east.
Although there are 39 candidates on the ballot, the election appears to be a three-way race between the incumbent Petro Poroshenko, the well-known politician Yulia Tymoshenko, and television comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was leading the polls with a week to go.
WNU Editor: This past week I had some family from Ukraine visiting me. They are active in politics (they support front runner Volodymyr Zelenskiy), and this is their read of the situation. The number one issue in Ukraine right now is the need for change. The war, corruption, and the economy are important and critical issues, but change is what people want. Volodymyr Zelenskiy will win this first run, and the runner-up will be the incumbent Petro Poroshenk. These two men are the ones who will be facing each other in the final election, but what will put Volodymyr Zelenskiy over the top in the second run is that he will make Yulia Tymoshenko his coalition partner and First Minister/Prime Minister of his government. What will also guarantee a Volodymyr Zelenskiy win is that he is going to accommodate Russian-Ukrainian demands for a federal state where the regions will have more powers over cultural/language/and some fiscal manners. If what my relatives are saying is true, then yes, Volodymyr Zelenskiy will be the next President of Ukraine. In the event that Yulia Tymoshenko comes in second, his road to the Presidency will be harder. He and President Poroshenko do not see eye to eye on the critical issues.
Local officials say at least 160 people were killed and scores more wounded in Saturday's attack in Mopti region.
The United Nations has sent a team of investigators to Mali's restive Mopti region, where more than 150 people were killed this weekend, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
The raid took place on Saturday in the village of Ogossagou, home to the Fulani herding community, near the town of Mopti in central Mali.
Local officials and security sources told AFP news agency that the death toll had climbed to 160, while the UN rights office said at least 153 people were killed and 73 were wounded.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against victims and families of the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in their lawsuit against Sudan. The court, 8-1, said the victims did not properly serve notice of their lawsuit to the government of Sudan.
The decision clears the way for lower courts to throw out the more than $314 million default judgment that was awarded to the families.
The case arose from the bombing of the USS Cole, in which 17 US Navy sailors were killed and 42 were wounded when a boat pulled up alongside the USS Cole and exploded while docked at the port of Aden, Yemen.
Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador told the Spanish king and the Vatican that "wounds are still open" from the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1521. The Spanish government was not amused.
Spanish King Felipe VI and Pope Francis should apologize for the 16th-century conquest of Mexico, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday.
The populist leftist Mexican president has sought to cast himself as a champion of Mexico's indigenous peoples and, until now, he had cultivated cordial relations with both Spain and the Vatican.
WNU Editor: Spain has already responded .... Spain hits back at Mexico in row over colonial rights abuses (The Guardian). More here .... Spanish politicians call Mexican president letter an 'offense' (Reuters). What's my take. 98 percent of Mexicans have some combination of indigenous, European and African ancestry. They are who they are because of what happened 500 years ago. So why is it important for Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador to bring it up now? Why the victim-hood? Are the people in Mexico resentful of who they are? Your guess on what is happening is as good as mine.
More News On Mexico's President Wanting Spain And The Pope To Apologize For Actions During The Conquest 500 Years Ago
Most, however, describe the mayhem in psychiatric terms: a collective breakdown that shocked this lakeside city to its core and offered a terrifying glimpse of Venezuela's possible future as it sinks deeper into economic, political and social decline.
"Horror, fear, despair," said MarÃa Villalobos, a 35-year-old journalist, weeping as she relived three days of violence that many here call la locura – "the madness".
Vice-president blames 'fascist right' and its 'imperial masters' in Washington for power cuts
Nicolás Maduro's embattled administration has called for calm after millions of Venezuelans were again plunged into darkness by a nationwide blackout reportedly affecting 21 of its 23 states and the capital, Caracas.
In a late-night television broadcast – which most people were unable to watch because of the outage – the communications minister, Jorge RodrÃguez, claimed it was the result of a "brutal" attack on a hydroelectric plant on Monday night.
The blackout – which had yet to be resolved by Tuesday morning – came a fortnight after virtually the entire country was paralysed by a six-day power failure.
Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika gestures while talking with Army Chief of Staff General Ahmed Gaed Salah during a graduation ceremony of the 40th class of the trainee army officers at a Military Academy in Cherchell 90 km west of Algiers, Algeria June 27, 2012. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina/File Photo
Algeria's army chief asks for an official move to declare President Bouteflika unfit for office.
Algeria's army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah has called for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to be declared unfit to rule the country, following months of protests against the ailing head of state.
Massive demonstrations have taken place across Algeria in recent weeks calling for the president to quit, following his announcement that he would seek a fifth term.
With the second US-North Korea summit having come and gone with no discernible sign of Pyongyang's willingness to denuclearize, the topic of nuclear weapons remains at the forefront of discussions in national security and defense policy circles. And yet these discussions routinely treat nuclear weapons as a monolithic category of unthinkably destructive power, rather than acknowledging the graduated scale that extends all the way down to the tactical level. Even the Army's institutional knowledge on the topic has drastically—and dangerously—eroded.
The experiment has been more than a decade in the making and marks a critical juncture for the United States' rickety missile defense shield.
The U.S. military has conducted an important missile defense test from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. While officials at the base have declined to give any details about the experiment so far, earlier reports said it would be the first salvo test of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD, against a mock intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM.
Vandenberg confirmed the launch occurred at around 10:30 AM local time, according to local media reports. Individuals reported seeing two distinct trails, further indicating that this was the salvo test. On Mar. 24, 2019, Bloomberg had been first to report that the experiment, officially known as Flight Test Ground-Based Midcourse Defense-11, or FTG-11, was most likely coming today.
Russian Topol inter-continental ballistic missiles are pictured during a rehearsal for the nation's annual May 9 Victory Day parade (file photo from The Daily Mail)
A nuclear-powered cruise missile stumbles, but hypersonic weapons should be deployed next year.
We've heard plenty of bombastic claims about new Russian weaponry in the past few years. But U.S. intelligence believes that the development of new arms—many of them nuclear-capable—is experiencing decidedly mixed success.
According to MSNBC, the Avangard and Kinzhal hypersonic weapons could be operational by 2020, but the Buresvestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile won't be ready for at least a decade. These weapons were announced in May 2018 as part of a package to modernize Russian tactical and strategic nuclear forces.
WNU Editor: I have trouble seeing this Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile taking off. It is years behind development, and from what I have read in their main stream media, way over budget.
The service will face huge challenges in meeting that goal and just sustaining those vessels will cost many billions more than it spends now.
The U.S. Navy's latest long-term shipbuilding plan lays out an aggressive path to achieving its long-standing goal of having 355 ships by 2034, two decades earlier than its last estimate. But this ambitious plan isn't just about buying extra ships and the service says that when, and if, it reaches that total force size, it will cost $40 billion just to operate and maintain all of those vessels, more than thirty percent more than it spends on its fleets now.
The Navy published the latest edition of what it calls its "Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels," on Mar. 21, 2019. It covers existing and planned procurement from Fiscal Year 2020 through Fiscal Year 2049. By the end of the 2020 fiscal cycle, the service expects to have 301 ships. The goal is to get that to the 355-ship target in Fiscal Year 2034, at which time the size of the overall force will hit a plateau.
WNU Editor: I do not think this plan is going to happen. Congress will not accept a fleet with only 9 aircraft carriers. Another problem .... I can understand building a large number of small surface ships will achieve this 355 ship goal, but they will not have the missiles and fire power that many are predicting will be needed in the future. And as for the massive costs involved in reaching this goal, and maintaining this fleet, I do not see any political will in Congress to accept that.
A new video on YouTube chronicles the extensive preparations required to fly the U-2 "Dragon Lady" spy plane. To cope with the extreme altitudes, pilots wear "moon suits" so large and complex it takes a full crew of technicians to help them put it on. The video then goes on to show the aircraft taking off what was until recently a secret base in the Middle East, fly a mission, and then return home.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may soon make an official visit to Russia, a Russian official who recently led a government delegation to North Korea, announced on Monday.
Oleg Melnichenko said Russia had formally invited Kim to visit Moscow last year and that the invitation was still being considered. "To date, I think that everything remains in the consultations mode. This issue was not specially discussed during our visit, but it will likely happen in the near future," he told reporters on Monday, shortly after his return to Russia from North Korea.
Russia sent a delegation to North Korea less than one month after President Donald Trump's landmark meeting with Kim in Vietnam fell apart without a deal on North Korea's denuclearization. Russian state television highlighted the lack of results that came out of that meeting, and Russian officials have since been moving to cement their ties with the rogue nation.
A man attempting to leave Australia on a jet ski was apprehended by authorities, after police were notified of a man “possibly armed with a crossbow” departing from a point in far north Queensland on Monday.
The Australian Border Force, the Australian Federal Police and the Queensland Police Service launched a joint operation to catch the man, who turned out to be a 57-year-old British man wanted on drug-charges in Western Australia, according to a press release.
Authorities said the man was attempting to get to Papua New Guinea, and he nearly made it. He was apprehended on one of Australia’s northernmost islands, Saibai Island, in the Torres Straight, only about 3 miles from his destination.
“This arrest sends a strong message to would-be fugitives – our reach across Australia is second to none and we will use all our contacts and relationships to find you and bring you before a court,” a police spokesperson said, according to the statement.
The main was detained and held by Queensland police. He is pending extradition to Western Australia, according to the statement.
Australian Border Force posted about the incident on Twitter:
We caught a man wanted on drug charges and allegedly armed with a crossbow attempting to flee northeast Australia by Jet Ski 🤦 Thanks to our joint operation with @AusFedPolice and @QPSmedia we prevented the man from jetting away. For more visit https://t.co/m4PfJ4b0Xepic.twitter.com/eF4cqPAhvU
It is not the first time an Australian has been caught with a bow and arrow in recent weeks. A man’s cell phone intercepted a pointy arrow when another main attacked him with a bow and arrow outside of Brisbane earlier this month.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison criticized far-right One Nation party members on Wednesday, a day after an undercover Al Jazeera documentary was released in which two party members were recorded asking American gun lobbyists for money.
One Nation Leader Steve Dickson and party founder Pauline Hanson’s chief of staff, James Ashby, said they were “on the sauce” when they requested $20 million from the NRA, reports The Australian.
“Being drunk is no excuse for trading away Australia’s gun laws to foreign bidders,” Morrison told reporters on Wednesday, according to The Australian.
The documentary, How to Sell a Massacre, filmed Dickson saying the funding would allow his party to get the the government “by the balls,” reports The Australian. Al Jazeera reporter Rodger Muller posed as the head of a fake lobbying group called Guns Rights Australia and organized the One Nation meetings with the NRA, according to The Australian.
“These are not parties of government, they are parties of grievance,” Morrison said, urging voters not to support One Nation.
One Nation leader Hansen has been absent from the public eye since Al Jazeera released its footage, reportedly due to a tick bite on her face, but she posted a preliminary response to the film on Twitter:
I was shocked & disgusted with the Al Jazeera hit piece. A Qatari government organisation should not be targeting Australian political parties. This has been referred to ASIO. After the full hit piece has been released I’ll make a full statement & take all appropriate action. -PH
Australia has strict gun laws. After a 1996 shooting in Tasmania’s Port Arthur left 35 people dead, then Prime Minister John Howard tightened gun control regulations, particularly related to rifles and shotguns, and announced a government weapons buyback. Over 650,000 guns were surrendered. Another 50,000 illegal firearms were handed in last year when the government granted illegal gun owners a three-month amnesty period.
When Rohingya refugees began fleeing into Bangladesh in 2016 and 2017, lawyer and activist Razia Sultana found herself on the frontline of a sexual violence epidemic.
The Myanmar military, in its scorched-earth campaign against the Muslim minority, laid waste to entire villages, carried out massacres and lined up women to be raped, according to U.N. investigators, who have called for the alleged crimes to be prosecuted as genocide. As the exodus swelled to more than 770,000, Razia Sultana got to work documenting the violence.
Born in Maungdaw, Myanmar, Razia Sultana grew up in Bangladesh where she has worked for the Rohingya community as an educator, campaigner and interpreter. After interviewing hundreds of rape survivors, she established the Rohingya Women’s Welfare Society to provide counseling and respond to issues of domestic violence, child marriage and women’s health. Last year, she testified before the U.N. Security Council, and on March 7, the State Department honored her with a prestigious International Women of Courage Award.
She spoke with TIME by phone shortly after receiving the award in Washington, D.C.
Caution: The below interview contains graphic material that may be distressing to some readers.
How did you start documenting sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls?
After the 2016-2017 refugee influx it was just crazy. I had to help the women. They were sharing with me their experiences of being raped, being mutilated and watching their loved ones be killed or beaten because they were not very comfortable speaking with the men.
What prompted you to start writing reports about it?
In 2014, my friend gave me a report about the Burmese army’s use of violence as a sexual weapon called “License to Rape.” Then in 2016, when the Rohingya refugees came fleeing into Bangladesh, it was a surprise for me to hear the extent of the violence experienced. I was helping translate some interviews for [Rohingya media organization] Kaladan Press and after a few of these interviews it became clear to me that most of the women had faced sexual violence, abuses, harassment and rape. I told my editor, “We need to do a report like ‘License to Rape.’ And he said, “Ok, can you do it?”
Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images Razia Sultana (center) is presented the International Women of Courage Award by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and First Lady Melania Trump in Washington, D.C. on March 07, 2019.
Do the women want this sexual violence documented?
Some women are very angry and say, “Why are we hiding this?” Some are brave. Some have chosen to keep quiet.
It has been difficult for me also. After some of the interviews I have had nightmares. Sometimes I just cry and cry and I don’t even know why. Sometimes I need to get out of Cox’s Bazar because I feel so sad. I went to my doctor and he asked me, “What is it that you want to do?” And I told him that I want to help my people. And he said, “Ok, you must be strong then.”
Within the Rohingya community, how openly is this issue discussed?
There is a lot of shame. The women are concerned about their family’s reputation. They have a fear of going to the doctor. They are afraid of even being seen going to a doctor.
In 2016, one of the women I was taken to speak with was an unmarried young girl. She couldn’t even move, she was bleeding everywhere. I asked my source how could you bring me here and not just take her to the doctor?
How supportive are the families?
Some husbands and families are good, but some families don’t accept their wives or unmarried daughters who have been raped. You can say it’s 50-50. So many women are not expressing their situation even after they find out they are pregnant. We have found 5 or 6 babies in the dustbin.
How did you determine that the sexual violence was systemic, or as your report says, that “rape by command” was happening?
It’s an old tactic of the Myanmar Army in ethnic areas. First they target the women and then the people will leave. Rape as a war tactic is meant to create fear. People see the military taking their girls, so they think we don’t need our houses, we need to save our girls and our family’s reputation. So they leave their houses. They leave their land. They leave their country.
The violence is clearly not about individual sexual desire. This is a group effort. They are lining up women young and old and raping them. In 2016, while compiling my report “Witness to Horror,” I met a 14-year-old girl who was raped by more than 30 soldiers. The army is cutting women’s breasts off, gouging out their eyes. This is not just rape. This is a weapon to punish the community.
Rape tends to be one of the most under-reported war crimes. What do you hope to change by bringing attention to its use against Rohingya?
I am doing this for every place in the world where rape is a weapon of war, not just Myanmar, but also Sri Lanka, Bosnia, Ghana and others. We want justice. There must be an international law. Armies must be held accountable. How in the 21st Century are women still facing this level of violence without any [recourse] to accountability?
Aung San Suu Kyi shocked many in the West by continuing to stand with the military rather than condemning the atrocities. What do you make of this?
This is very complicated for me because we struggled for her, so why is she quiet about our suffering? She is also responsible for what has happened. Sure, she has no power. She is a puppet of the army government. But still, she is the democratic leader, so it is her responsibility to know what is happening inside her country. The army is killing innocent people and she says she knows nothing? Maybe she is afraid to raise her voice because she was imprisoned and now that she got her emancipation she doesn’t want to lose power.
What is life like for Rohingya women who fled to Bangladesh and are now living in the world’s largest refugee camp?
It’s a jail. The women can’t move around, they can’t get much access to health care, or to education. It’s not a life. They cannot even go outside their tents, which are not even real tents, they are temporary shelters. Rohingya society is very conservative, so when there is no fence, no privacy, the women just stay inside, cooking, dreaming of their previous life.
At night, the women face security problems going to the toilet. They can’t go alone. There is a lot of harassment, which is just more mental torture for them.
They have nothing to do in the camps. One day is like one year. Inside the camps, they have no future and are living like animals.
The youth especially, are depressed, with no jobs, no education. So they are vulnerable to traffickers, who promise jobs, marriage, anything.
What could the international community, countries like the U.S. be doing?
We need the International Criminal Court to investigate and put pressure on the Myanmar government and military to stop the atrocities. Myanmar does not have the right to make an entire community stateless. And secondly, the Rohingya are not just Bangladesh’s burden. The whole international community needs to step up to this problem.
America has still not accepted that what is happening to the Rohingya is genocide and that the sexual violence against women is part of that genocide. Strong economic sanctions could maybe change some things because all the big Myanmar companies are owned by the military. America could do this, and could revoke the rights of the military and the military’s children to go to the U.S.
What’s next for you?
We need to rebuild our political agenda and our political voice. The U.N. and Bangladesh are always proposing solutions for the Rohingya. But the Rohingya issues need to be solved by Rohingya. The community knows what’s best. We need to organize the political representation, and establish a clear diplomatic position. Previously, I did not want to be a politician, but now I see it as necessary. We have many capable leaders who can express our agenda. I can help. I can be part of that political group.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
(NEW DELHI) — Facebook is taking steps to reduce the spread of false information on its platforms ahead of India’s general election, company officials said Monday.
Facebook listed a variety of measures it is taking, from blocking fake accounts to employing third-party fact-checking organizations, through the campaign and voting, with polling scheduled to take place in stages from April 11 to May 19.
Calling the Indian elections a “top priority,” Samidh Chakrabarti, director of Facebook’s Product Management for Civic Integrity division, said the company has put in a “tremendous amount of efforts over the last two years” to prepare for the polls.
He said Facebook has partnered with Indian media organizations to check and flag false stories in English, Hindi and some other regional Indian languages.
After a fact-checker flags a story as containing false information, Facebook reduces the number of times it appears in any individual user’s newsfeed by about 80 percent, Chakrabarti said.
The social media giant came under immense scrutiny after it failed to prevent the spread of false information during the 2016 U.S. elections, when allegations of outside interference resulted in Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg testifying in the U.S. Senate.
Facebook-owned messaging applications such as WhatsApp have been repeatedly scrutinized by the Indian government and security agencies, and asked to prevent the spread of false information and rumors that have been linked to mob killings.
In 2018, at least 20 people were killed in India, mostly in rural villages, in attacks by mobs that were inflamed by social media.
In response, WhatsApp restricted the forwarding of messages to five recipients at a time, instead of the 256 previously allowed.
Although the move was India-specific, it was applied globally earlier this year, WhatsApp announced in January.
But social media have also become a critical tool for Indian political campaigns. Ahead of elections in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party used social media extensively for political advertisements and to interact with young voters.
The Election Commission of India is trying to rein in social media giants such as Google, Twitter and Facebook to prevent the release of user data and to curb the spread of politically motivated manipulative information.
Social media companies have presented a “Voluntary Code of Ethics for the General Elections 2019” to the election monitoring body, a new requirement this year.
“We are working hard to prevent bad actors from interfering with elections on Facebook,” Chakrabarti said, adding that Facebook has tripled the number of people working on safety and security to 30,000.
India reportedly has the highest number of Facebook users in the world, with more than 300 million. That is about a third of the 900 million people eligible to vote in 2019.
The elections will be held in seven phases to ensure proper security and manageable logistics across the country of 1.3 billion people. Counting of votes is to be conducted on May 23, with results expected the same day.
(MADRID) — Spain has issued at least two international arrest warrants for members of a self-proclaimed human rights group who allegedly led a mysterious raid at the North Korean Embassy in Madrid last month and offered the FBI stolen data from the break-in.
A National Court judge who lifted a secrecy order in the case Tuesday said an investigation of the Feb. 22 attack uncovered evidence that “a criminal organization” shackled and gagged embassy staff members before escaping with computers, hard drives and documents.
The intruders also urged North Korea’s only accredited diplomat in Spain, business envoy So Yun Sok, to defect, Judge Jose de la Mata said in a written report on the Spanish investigation. So refused to do so and was gagged, according to the report.
The assailants identified themselves as “members of an association or movement of human rights for the liberation of North Korea.”
That group is the Cheollima Civil Defense, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the incident. The shadowy activists have the self-declared mission of helping defectors from North Korea.
De la Mata identified citizens of Mexico, the United States and South Korea as the main suspects being investigated on charges that include of causing injuries, making threats and burglary. He named Adrian Hong Chang, a Mexican citizen living in the United States, as the break-in’s leader.
Hong Chang flew to the U.S. on Feb. 23, got in touch with the FBI and offered to share material and videos with federal investigators, according to the court report. The document did not say what type of information the items contained or whether the FBI accepted the offer.
The FBI said in a statement that its standard practice is to neither confirm nor deny the existence of investigations. The agency added that “the FBI enjoys a strong working relationship with our Spanish law enforcement partners.”
An official with Spain’s National Police who wasn’t authorized to be named in media reports confirmed to The Associated Press that arrest warrants were issued for Hong Chang and one other suspect. No one had been charged as of Tuesday.
The assailants purchased knives and handgun mock-ups when they visited Madrid in early February and used them during the attack, according to the investigation document.
While in Madrid, Hong Chang also applied for a new passport at the Mexican Embassy, the investigation found, and used the name “Oswaldo Trump” to register in the Uber ride-hailing app.
The North Korean Embassy hasn’t pressed charges in Spain, and officials in Pyongyang haven’t officially commented on the attack.
Spanish police learned about the break-in after the wife of an embassy employee escaped by jumping from a window. When officers went to check on the situation, Hong Chang allegedly greeted them at the door and pretended to be a diplomatic official, the investigation found.
He sent the officers away with assurances everything was fine, paving the way for the invading group to make a getaway in the embassy’s cars.
A police investigator with knowledge of the case told the AP that “this attack, whatever it is, would have gone unnoticed if it wasn’t for the woman who escaped.”
So, the North Korean diplomat, didn’t respond to written questions from The Associated Press and declined to talk to reporters during a recent encounter outside the Madrid embassy.
The timing of the incident, which happened less than a week before a high-stakes U.S.-North Korea summit on denuclearization derailed in Hanoi on Feb. 28, led to speculation the incursion was carried out to obtain data related to North Korea’s former ambassador to Spain.
Kim Hyok Chol, who was expelled from Spain in September 2017 following Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear test and its missile launches over neighboring Japan, has become North Korea’s top nuclear negotiator with the U.S.
Asked if Washington had any connection to the embassy break-in, U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino answered, “The United States government had nothing to do with this.”
Palladino said that “regarding the specifics of what’s going on, the Spanish authorities are investigating. The investigation is still underway. For any details on their investigation, I would have to refer you to Spanish authorities.”
The South Korean Embassy in Madrid said it had no knowledge of the events and couldn’t offer further comment.
Others identified as part of the assailants’ group were Sam Ryu, from the U.S., and Woo Ran Lee, a South Korean citizen. Their whereabouts and their hometowns weren’t immediately known. None of the suspects were thought to be still in Spain, the judge wrote.
Spanish authorities tried to keep information about the attack from becoming public until Spain’s El Confidencial news site revealed some details on Feb. 27.
Last week, the rights group that allegedly led the attack posted a short video on its website allegedly showing a man shattering portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on the floor.
The group said the video was filmed recently “on our homeland’s soil,” wording that would accurately apply to the North Korean Embassy in Madrid.
(UNITED NATIONS) — A hospital in a rural area of northwest Yemen was hit by an airstrike Tuesday killing seven people and wounding eight others, Save the Children said.
The international aid organization, which supports the hospital, said in a statement sent to the Associated Press that four of those killed were children and two adults are unaccounted for.
Save The Children said a missile struck a petrol station near the entrance to Ritaf rural hospital, about 100 kilometers from the city of Saada at 9:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
“The missile was said to have landed within 50 meters of the facility’s main building,” it said.
The organization said the hospital had been open for half an hour and many patients and staff were arriving on a busy morning.
Among the dead were a health worker and the worker’s two children and a security guard, it said.
Save the Children, which reported earlier this week that 37 Yemeni children a month had been killed or injured by foreign bombs in the last year, demanded an urgent investigation into the attack.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the organization’s chief executive, said: “We are shocked and appalled by this outrageous attack.”
“Innocent children and health workers have lost their lives in what appears to been an indiscriminate attack on a hospital in a densely populated civilian area,” she said. “Attacks like these are a breach of international law.”
Thorning-Schmidt said the hospital is one of many Save the Children supports in Yemen, “but time after time, we see a complete disregard by all warring parties in Yemen for the basic rules of war.”
The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of the capital, Sanaa, by Iranian-backed Houthi Shiite rebels, who toppled the government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
A Saudi-led coalition allied with Hadi’s internationally recognized government has been fighting the Houthis since 2015.
Saudi-led airstrikes have hit schools, hospitals and wedding parties and killed thousands of Yemeni civilians. The Houthis have fired long-range missiles into Saudi Arabia and targeted vessels in the Red Sea.
The fighting in the Arab world’s poorest country has killed thousands of civilians, left millions suffering from food and medical care shortages, and pushed the country to the brink of famine.
U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock has said about 80% of Yemen’s population — 24 million people — need humanitarian assistance including nearly 10 million “just a step away from famine” and nearly 240,000 “facing catastrophic levels of hunger.”
Thorning-Schmidt called for an immediate suspension of arms sales to the warring parties and diplomatic pressure to end the conflict.
It once seemed so encouraging for Venezuela‘s political opposition: Millions in the streets. Strong international support. An unpopular autocrat seemingly on the ropes. But what a difference a month can make.
In early March, Juan Guaidó — the man recognized by dozens of countries as Venezuela’s interim president returned home to cheering crowds. He had been abroad for almost two weeks, currying favor with other regional governments, and trying to get much–needed humanitarian aid to his countrymen.
But in the days since then, little has changed. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro remains in power, despite having overseen one of the most staggering economic collapses in modern history.
Guaidó’s overtures to the military to drop their support for Maduro have had little effect — only an estimated 1,000 soldiers and national police have defected, despite huge protests, growing sanctions pressure, and the whispered threat of US military action. The top brass remains loyal to Maduro.
In fact, after a few weeks of mostly ignoring Mr. Guaidó, Venezuelan authorities have quietly ratcheted up pressure of their own. Earlier this week, in a pre-dawn raid, the intelligence services detained Mr. Guaidó’s chief of staff at his home, raising the possibility that the government may be closing in on Mr. Guaidó himself.
With relatively few tangible gains to show recently, what is Guaidós plan? Is he open to US military intervention? What would a realistic transition look like?
Some people love to hear or watch scary stories. But what about living in a scary story? That’s what happened to writer Tom Taylor after he booked himself a stay at a remote cabin to spend some time focusing on his craft.
In an extensive Twitter thread full of thrilling twists and haunted turns, Taylor documented his night at an admittedly sketchy “murder cabin” (his words). It all started with the sound of wind chimes outside. But after he attempted to take down the chimes in the early hours of pre-dawn — and was blinded by a mysterious flash — Taylor’s situation only began to unfold further into the stuff of nightmares.
This thread features strange pounding noises, an unidentified ticking sound, the shadow of what may be a person in a window, a strange package, the silhouette of a bear, and so much more, including Australian possums. There’s even a small, old-school TV playing only static and an incident in which the doorknob comes off the door. But for the full effect, you’ll want to go to Taylor’s Twitter to see everything unfold in all its suspense.
As it happens, Taylor is no stranger to putting together exciting stories: a bestselling comic book author for both DC and Marvel, he has written series like Injustice: Gods Among Us and Star Wars. But even a creative like him couldn’t make this stuff up. Check the thread at your own risk.
So, hey. I somehow managed to book a creepy log cabin to do some intensive writing in for a few days…
I’ve been laughing to myself about just how cliched-horror-movie this cabin is. But at 5.30am, out of nowhere, despite it blowing a gale out there for hours, wind chimes start chiming for the first time from the porch…
And I see the wind chimes hanging on a rusty hook. I figure I can reach them, and I walk out onto the porch in my socks. And the door immediately slams shut behind me. Of course…
Now I’m kind of giggling to myself because of how creeped out I’m feeling, so I grab my phone to take a photo of the murder cabin I’m writing in for a few days. Here it is… pic.twitter.com/M6iFVSJofI
(VATICAN CITY) — The founder and all-female editorial board of the Vatican’s women’s magazine have quit after what they say was a Vatican campaign to discredit them and put them “under the direct control of men,” that only increased after they denounced the sexual abuse of nuns by clergy.
The editorial committee of “Women Church World,” a monthly glossy published alongside the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, made the announcement in the planned April 1 editorial and in an open letter to Pope Francis that was provided Tuesday to The Associated Press.
“We are throwing in the towel because we feel surrounded by a climate of distrust and progressive de-legitimization,” founder Lucetta Scaraffia wrote in the open letter.
In the editorial, she wrote: “We believe there are no longer the conditions to continue our collaboration with L’Osservatore Romano.”
The decision is a blow to Francis’ efforts to give greater decision-making roles to women at the Vatican, a pledge that has in some ways fallen flat despite increased pressures in the #MeToo era. Scaraffia had become perhaps the most prominent woman at the Holy See, even though she never drew a salary for her 7-year leadership of the magazine she founded, “Women Church World.”
Scaraffia told the AP that the decision to leave was taken after L’Osservatore’s new editor, Andrea Monda, earlier this year planned to take over as the magazine’s editor. She said he backed off after the editorial board threatened to resign and the Catholic weeklies that distribute translations of “Women Church World” in France, Spain and Latin America, told her they would stop distributing if she weren’t in charge.
“After the attempts to put us under control, came the indirect attempts to delegitimize us,” she told AP in a statement, citing other women brought in to write for L’Osservatore “with an editorial line opposed to ours.”
The effect, she said, was to “obscure our words, delegitimizing us as a part of the Holy See’s communications.”
In a statement, Monda denied having tried to weaken “Women Church World” and said that he merely tried to bolster other female voices and viewpoints on the pages of L’Osservatore. He said he always guaranteed the magazine’s autonomy, and limited himself to suggesting ideas or possible contributors.
“Seeking to avoid interference with the monthly insert, I asked for a truly free confrontation in the daily paper, not built on the mechanism of one against the other or of closed groups,” he said. “And I did so as a sign of openness and of the ‘paressia’ (freedom to speak truth) requested by Pope Francis.”
He said he took note of Scaraffia’s “free and autonomous” decision to leave, offered his thanks for her work, and pledged that the magazine would continue on “without clericalism of any sort.”
Scaraffia launched the monthly insert in 2012 and oversaw its growth into a stand-alone Vatican magazine as a voice for women, by women and about issues of interest to the entire Catholic Church. “Women Church World” had enjoyed editorial independence from L’Osservatore, even while being published under its auspices.
In the final editorial, which was sent to the printers last week but hasn’t been published, the editorial board cited L’Osservatore’s initiatives with other women contributors that they said constituted competing points of view “with the effect of pitting women against one another,” with the magazine’s editorial staff considered no longer trustworthy.
“Now it seems that a vital initiative has been reduced to silence and that there’s a return to the antiquated and arid custom of choosing women considered trustworthy from on-high, under the direct control of men,” read the open letter, signed by Scaraffia.
The departures are the latest upheaval in the Vatican’s communications operations, following the abrupt Dec. 31 resignations of the Vatican spokesman and his deputy over strategic differences with Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the dicastery for communications.
Scaraffia, a history professor and journalist, was perhaps the most high-profile woman at the Vatican, an avowed feminist who nevertheless toed the line on official doctrine. She frequently ruffled feathers, though, with her lament that half of humanity — and the half most responsible for transmitting the faith to future generations — simply is invisible to the men in charge of the Catholic Church.
She stoked uproar in February when, on the pages of the magazine, she denounced the sexual abuse of nuns by clergy and the resulting scandal of religious sisters having abortions or giving birth to children who are not recognized by their fathers.
The article prompted Francis to subsequently acknowledge, for the first time , that it was a problem and that he was committed to doing something about it.
Prior to that issue, the March 2018 issue was perhaps its boldest, denouncing the servitude of religious sisters who work for next to nothing to cook and clean for bishops and cardinals. The issue raised eyebrows for sure, but Francis himself had raised the very same issue only a few months before.
The articles on the religious sisters struck a chord globally, giving voice to suffering that has long been silenced because of nuns’ vows of obedience, their ingrained deference to clergy, second-class status in the church and fear of shame, scandal and reprisal.
It remains unclear what the future will bring for the magazine internationally. The Spanish editions are published and distributed in Spain and parts of Latin America by the Catholic publication Vida Nueva; the French edition is published as an insert to La Vie, a Catholic weekly.
Circulation of the Italian magazine is estimated at around 12,000, plus its online viewership.
Australia got its second cyclone in one 48 hour-period as Cyclone Veronica sent violent rain and waves onto the nation’s northwestern region on Monday. But over the weekend, one man shared his own personal horror during the storm: his dwindling beer supply.
Shane Ryan began live-streaming security footage of his home on Facebook on Saturday to show the storm to concerned friends and family, and he soon realized that the real emergency was the ‘beer-mergency’ of the available beverages in his fridge.
“Live Stream of Cyclone Veronica In Baynton Karratha,” Ryan titled one of the posts, which showed a tally of alcoholic drinks remaining in addition to the stormy view outside his house in Karratha, Western Australia. After about three hours, the beer supply reached zero, and Ryan started his tally of Jameson and Ginger Ale, because apparently he’s a man of taste who drinks Whiskey Gingers.
Some faithful viewers commented asking that Ryan “pass some over the fence” to share his minor wealth with others. When the beers ran out and the whiskey tally appeared, one user joked that Ryan must have gone to the liquor store.
As of Tuesday, the storm has weakened and is no longer considered a tropical cyclone in Australia. Conditions from the storm’s impact are improving, Western Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said in a tweet on Monday, but the bureau is still “urging people to be careful.”
THE European Central Bank has "missed the turn" twice on interest rates and European economies are "now grinding down" putting the eurozone in real "danger", chief economist David Folkerts-Landa has warned.
CHINA is undertaking a major naval expansion, with rapid progress being made on aircraft carrier construction and an expanded destroyer fleet, in an apparent bid to contest US dominance of the Asia-Pacific region according to reports.
Goa#39;s MGP central committee to meet after defection of 2 MLAs MGP working president Narayan Sawant said that there are several issues on the agenda and it includes the prevailing situation after two of our MLAs left the party.
ICICI Prudential surges 9% after strong response to its offer for sale After OFS issue, total promoter shareholding is expected to fall tad below 75 percent
Sensing Lok Sabha defeat, Sushilkumar Shinde making BJP offer claim, says Vinod Tawde Senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde said Shinde#39;s claim may have come after he sensed the little chances he had of winning from Solapur in the April-May Lok Sabha polls.
Huawei launches P30 Pro with the best smartphone camera setup till date Huawei#39;s P30 Pro 112 DxOMark score makes it the best camera on a smartphone.
EURINR is expected to move sideways: Angel Broking According to Angel Broking, EURUSD depreciated by 0.42 percent yesterday while EURINR appreciated by 0.08percent the same time frame.
Gold is expected to trade lower today: Angel Commodities According to Angel Commodities, on Tuesday, spot gold prices declined by 0.48 percent to close at $1315.4 per tonne. U.S. dollar recovered after the bond yield rebounded as worries over a possible U.S. recession faded away.
Image gallery: Royal Enfield Bullet Trials 350 and 500 launched at Rs 1.62 lakh and Rs 2.07 lakh Image gallery: Royal Enfield Bullet Trials 350 and 500 launched at Rs 1.62 lakh and Rs 2.07 lakh
US county declares state of emergency amid measles outbreak Due to come into effect at midnight on March 27 for 30 days, it appears to be the most radical step by US officials following outbreaks in several regions blamed on an anti-vaccination movement.
US county declares state of emergency amid measles outbreak Due to come into effect at midnight on March 27 for 30 days, it appears to be the most radical step by US officials following outbreaks in several regions blamed on an anti-vaccination movement.
Frontline Securities rises nearly 6% as board approves buyback proposal The buyback price is set at Rs 40 per share aggregating to an amount not exceeding Rs 7.56 crore
The board to recommend final dividend, if any, for the FY18-19.
MGP working president Narayan Sawant said that there are several issues on the agenda and it includes the prevailing situation after two of our MLAs left the party.
After OFS issue, total promoter shareholding is expected to fall tad below 75 percent
Senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde said Shinde#39;s claim may have come after he sensed the little chances he had of winning from Solapur in the April-May Lok Sabha polls.
Huawei#39;s P30 Pro 112 DxOMark score makes it the best camera on a smartphone.
According to Angel Broking, EURUSD depreciated by 0.42 percent yesterday while EURINR appreciated by 0.08percent the same time frame.
According to Angel Commodities, on Tuesday, spot gold prices declined by 0.48 percent to close at $1315.4 per tonne. U.S. dollar recovered after the bond yield rebounded as worries over a possible U.S. recession faded away.
Image gallery: Royal Enfield Bullet Trials 350 and 500 launched at Rs 1.62 lakh and Rs 2.07 lakh
Due to come into effect at midnight on March 27 for 30 days, it appears to be the most radical step by US officials following outbreaks in several regions blamed on an anti-vaccination movement.
He will address the nation between 11.45 am and 12 noon.
Live updates of PM Narendra Modi#39;s address to the nation.
The buyback price is set at Rs 40 per share aggregating to an amount not exceeding Rs 7.56 crore
