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Disabled man seeks $13.5M after convictions overturned

Four years after Richard Lapointe's murder conviction was overturned and he was released from prison, Connecticut officials continue to insist the mentally disabled man brutally killed his wife's grandmother in 1987 as they now fight his demand for $13.5 million in state compensation for the 26 years of freedom he lost.

The compensation battle is playing out before the state claims commissioner, with Lapointe's lawyers saying DNA testing exonerated him and state lawyers arguing it did not. It's not clear when Commissioner Christy Scott will rule, and any approval of a payout must be approved by the state legislature.

"The nightmare continues," said Paul Casteleiro, a New Jersey lawyer representing Lapointe. "The case and the facts border on the preposterous yet they maintain he is guilty. They accomplished what they wanted to do — destroy this guy's life."

Lapointe, now 73, is suffering from dementia and living under 24-hour care at a nursing center, said Casteleiro, who works for Centurion Ministries, which advocates for the wrongly convicted.

Lapointe was convicted in 1992 of killing his wife's 88-year-old grandmother, Bernice Martin, who was found stabbed, raped and strangled in her burning Manchester apartment in 1987. A judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of release.

His case became a cause celebre, receiving widespread publicity as advocates for the mentally disabled and other supporters rallied to prove his innocence. Writers Arthur Miller and William Styron were among those who protested the conviction.

Key evidence for the prosecution included Lapointe's confessions during a 9 1/2-hour interrogation by Manchester police. Defense lawyers said Lapointe suffers from Dandy-Walker syndrome, a congenital brain malformation that made him gullible and vulnerable to giving a false confession.

The state Supreme Court overturned Lapointe's convictions and ordered a new trial in 2015, saying he was deprived of a fair trial because prosecutors failed to disclose notes by a police officer that may have supported his alibi defense that he was home at the time the fire began in Martin's apartment. He was freed on bail in April 2015, and prosecutors later decided not to retry him.

Lapointe's lawyers have argued that DNA testing performed after the convictions were overturned excluded him from committing the crimes and proved his innocence.

In documents filed with the claims commissioner last month, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Beizer responded that witnesses for the state will testify "the DNA testing is inconclusive, does not establish the claimant's innocence and would still allow for the claimant to be convicted.

"It remains the state's belief that the claimant is responsible for the killing of Ms. Martin," Beizer wrote.

State law allows for compensation for wrongful imprisonment, if charges are dismissed on grounds of innocence or wrongdoing by officials that contributed to the conviction and imprisonment.

Prosecutor David Zagaja said that while the "touch DNA" tests did not show evidence of Lapointe's presence at the crime scene, that doesn't mean he wasn't there.

Zagaja said the tests turned up several different partial profiles, making it appear that the crime scene was contaminated by several people, likely first responders, forensic experts and other officials.

"The problem is everyone's hands had been on those items," he said. "The integrity of the evidence is gone. It's just not there. The state is not of the opinion that this is an innocent man."

Besides the confessions, Zagaja said other proof included Lapointe suggesting shortly after Martin's death that she was raped, before anyone knew she had been sexually assaulted.

Source: Fox News National

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China Jan-Feb industrial output up 5.3 percent, a 17-year-low, but investment tops forecasts

FILE PHOTO: Employees work on a drilling machine production line at a factory in Zhangjiakou
FILE PHOTO: Employees work on a drilling machine production line at a factory in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

March 14, 2019

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s industrial output grew 5.3 percent in the first two months of this year, the slowest pace of expansion in 17 years, official data showed on Thursday.

But fixed-asset investment rose 6.1 percent, while retail sales rose 8.2 percent, both more than expected.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted industrial output growth would slow to 5.5 percent in January-February from December’s 5.7 percent gain.

Investment growth had been expected to edge up slightly to 6.0 percent, from 5.9 percent in 2018.

Private-sector fixed-asset investment, which accounts for about 60 percent of overall investment in China, rose 7.5 percent in the same period, compared with an 8.7 percent rise in 2018, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Retail sales had been expected to rise 8.1 percent, easing marginally from December’s 8.2 percent pace.

China combines Janaury and February activity data in an attempt to smooth distortions created by the long Lunar New Year holidays early each year, but some analysts say a clearer picture of the economy may not emerge first-quarter data is released in April.

China’s economic growth cooled to 6.6 percent last year, the slowest in nearly three decades, and it is expected to lose more momentum in the next few months.

Beijing is rolling out more support measures to avert a sharper slowdown, but many analysts do not expect activity to convincingly bottom out until summer.

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Source: OANN

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CNN’S S.E. Cupp on Trump: ‘Beat Him at the Ballot Box’

A conservative host on CNN cannot reach liberal viewers without trumpeting for the ouster of President Donald Trump, but S.E. Cupp does it with a call to "beat him at the ballot box" – the way the U.S. Democracy intended – and not moving to impeach him.

"This president is unfit to lead," she said on CNN's "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered." "He has shown time and time again his utter disdain for democratic process, separation of powers, the law. He's got to go. But not by impeachment."

Cupp was pointing to the political attacks on President Trump from the Mueller report, which concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove a crime but passed the buck to Congress to decide the president's fate on potential impeachment proceedings.

"The reality is without bipartisan support for such a drastic and disruptive maneuver it will only rip us apart even further and that benefits Trump, not America," she said of impeachment. "Beat him at the ballot box.

"Beat him with ideas and policies. Beat him with an agenda that doesn't divide us further, that isn't just designed to piss off half the country or punish people who voted for him."

Cupp said toppling the president using "respect, hope, and optimism" should not be hard.

There has not been much in the way of respect, hope, or optimism for President Trump from his political opposition, particularly with an estimated $35 million Mueller report which features – for those critics – the most memorable conclusion being not "no collusion, no obstruction" but this line: "While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Ostensibly, for President Trump's opposition: politically guilty because potentially not proven innocent criminally.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Chicagoans slam Rahm Emanuel in wake of Jussie Smollett scandal, call him hypocrite over handling race relations

CHICAGO -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel blasted his city's handling of "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett's case this week, calling the surprise deal made by prosecutors a "whitewash of justice" that sends a "clear message" that those in power are treated differently -- but now some are pushing back and say his comments on accountability are nothing short of hypocrisy.

"To hear Mayor Rahm Emanuel call the prosecutors’ decision to accept an alternative resolution to the Smollett case a “whitewash of justice” in a city with a police and prosecutorial history as checkered as ours rang not just wrong, but fundamentally ridiculous," opinion writer Mikki Kendall wrote. "Whether one’s personal belief about whether Smollett told the whole truth, a portion of the truth or an outright lie when he reported being assaulted, there is no reality in which the Mayor of Chicago, or the head of the Chicago police force, have the moral authority to stand in judgment of anyone’s morality."

FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: FBI LIKELY TO INVESTIGATE SUSPICIONS AROUND SMOLLETT CASE

Emanuel had several televised temper tantrums this week - some in front of a national audience- after the brokered deal was announced.

"Mr. Smollett is still saying that he is innocent, still running down the Chicago Police Department... how dare him," Emanuel said. "How dare him after everybody saw. Is there no decency in this man?

JUSSIE SMOLLETT WON'T BE PROSECUTED ON CHARGES HE FAKED ATACK 

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, right, and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, center, appear at a news conference Tuesday, March 26, 2019, after prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, right, and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, center, appear at a news conference Tuesday, March 26, 2019, after prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

Chicagoans say Emanuel might want to look in the mirror.

"It would have been refreshing if, during Emanuel’s final days in office, the mayor could have shown the nation what it looks like for a leader to respond gracefully when things don’t go exactly the way he thinks they should," Chicago Tribune columnist Dahleen Glanton wrote. "But instead of behaving with dignity, Emanuel went on a fiery rampage, fueling the flames of anger and pulling us further apart."

Eight years ago when Emanuel, former President Barack Obama's foul-mouthed chief of staff was elected mayor, he promised to cut down on crime and corruption and be the much-needed adult in the room to run America’s third-largest city. But the numbers haven't supported his promise. Since taking office in 2011, there have been more than 20,000 shootings in Chicago. According to the Chicago Police Department, the average number of murders per years during the first years of Emanuel's administration was 541. The average number of murders per year prior to Emanuel taking office was 463.

PEACE PICNIC TURNS VIOLENT: 3 PEOPLE SHOT, ANOTHER IS BEATEN

Emanuel's promise of cleaning up the streets when he took office has also fallen short of expectations.

“Chicago is still known as the murder capital of America,” Dick Simpson, professor and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told Fox News in September. “(Emanuel) has tried hard to deal with the problem but has not been successful.”

Emanuel's also faced harsh criticism over his handling of race relations and his response to violent crime. He's been accused of favoring Chicago's wealthier north and east sides while ignoring the crime-ridden, poverty-plagued areas south and west of the city.

Emanuel’s administration was also on the receiving end of a scathing 2017 Department of Justice report that found Chicago police routinely used excessive force, violated civil rights and had racial bias against blacks.

But nothing comes close to his botched handling and coverup attempt in the death of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager who was fatally shot 16 times by white police officer Jason Van Dyke. Grainy dash cam video showed McDonald writhing in pain on the ground after being shot.

CHICAGO COP GETS 81-MONTH SENTENCE IN LAQUAN MCDONALD MURDER

Emanuel’s team of city attorneys fought against the release of the video for more than a year until a judge in 2015 ordered it to be made public. Many activists and community leaders accused Emanuel of trying to cover-up the incident, putting the already fragile relationship between the mayor and community into disrepair.

When it was finally released, the video sparked outrage and led to widespread protests as well as calls to gut the Chicago Police Department.

Jamie Dominguez, a professor of political science at Northwestern University, said: “[The] collection of these issues has greatly soured his relationship with a core constituency fundamental to his electoral success: the black community.”

In 2017, Black Lives Matter, as well as a handful of other groups, sued the city after Emanuel backed off a pledge to allow a federal judge to oversee reforms.

"Chicago has proven time and time again that it is incapable of ending its own regime of terror, brutality and discriminatory policing," the lawsuit said. "Absent federal court supervision, nothing will improve."

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Emanuel has also taken heat for looking the other way when it comes to crime in some parts of the city. The majority of Chicago shootings take place in the city’s south and west sides - areas not only marked by deteriorating neighborhoods but that also lack quick, efficient emergency care.

And so it was a head scratcher for some this week when Emanuel made passionate pleas about the need for transparency in the Smollett saga as well as his comments about why is was bad for the city to give wealthy, well-connected people special treatment.

Source: Fox News National

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4 Southern California white supremacists charged in attacks at political rallies: DOJ

Four Southern California men face federal conspiracy and rioting charges for allegedly attacking counterprotesters, journalists and a police officer at rallies across the state and using the Internet to coordinate “combat training” for white nationalists.

The four members of “Rise Above Movement” (RAM), a white supremacist group based in Southern California, were named in a federal criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday. The complaint alleges that they used the Web “with the intent to organize, promote, encourage, participate in or carry on riots,” the Department of Justice said in a press release.

Three of the four defendants are in custody. The group’s alleged founder, Robert Rundo, 28, of Huntington Beach was arrested Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport after fleeing to Central America earlier this month, The New York Times reported.

Robert Boman, 25, of Torrance, and Tyler Laube, 22, of Redondo Beach, were arrested Wednesday, while authorities continue to search for a fourth person, Aaron Eason, 38, who lives in Riverside County.

NEO-NAZI GROUP’S NEW LEADER, A BLACK ACTIVIST, IS TRYING TO DESTROY IT FROM THE INSIDE

RAM is an organization that "represents itself publicly as a combat-ready, militant group of a new nationalist white supremacy/identity movement," the complaint said.

Between April and June 2017, the four men allegedly violated federal conspiracy and riot statutes when they traveled to political rallies, including events in Huntington Beach, Berkeley and San Bernardino, to commit violent attacks against journalists, counterprotesters and a police officer.

“Every American has a right to peacefully organize, march and protest in support of their beliefs – but no one has the right to violently assault their political opponents,” United States Attorney Nick Hanna said in the Justice Department press release.

“The allegations describe an orchestrated effort to squelch free speech as members of the conspiracy traveled to multiple locations to attack those who hold different views. This case demonstrates our commitment to preserve and protect the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution,” Hanna added.

The complaint alleges Rundo, Boman, Laube, Eason and other RAM members congratulated each other for carrying out assaults and publicly documented acts of violence in order to recruit other members to do the same.

The four RAM members allegedly attacked several counterprotesters and two journalists at a “Make America Great” rally in Huntington Beach on March 25, 2017. In a video of the incident, Laube is seen punching one reporter three times in the face,  National Public Radio r(NPR) eported.

The neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer applauded the attacks. "Front page of the stormer we did it fam," one RAM member texted another, according to NPR.

The defendants allegedly used this recognition to encourage recruits to attend combat training in San Clemente in preparation for their next attack Berkeley, the Department of Justice said.

At the April 15, 2017, Berkeley rally, Rundo, Boman and Eason attacked attendees, and Rundo was arrested for assaulting a “defenseless person” and a police officer. The final attack mentioned in the report took place on June 10, 2017, at an “Anti-Islamic Law” rally in San Bernardino.

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In a federal hearing Wednesday, Judge Maria A. Audero ordered Rundo, Boman and Laube all held without bail, deeming them flight risks after prosecutors said Rundo took several trips abroad to meet with other white supremacy groups in Mexico, Germany, Italy and Ukraine, The Los Angeles Times reported. In 2018, Rundo traveled to Germany with two other RAM members charged in the Charlottesville case in order to honor Hitler's birthday.

In recent months, RAM sought to reinvent what it means to be a white nationalist and made efforts to spread its anti-Semitic, white supremacist ideology through a more under the radar look and social media strategy.

A 25-page affidavit submitted by the FBI includes private Facebook messages and texts between the defendants and other RAM associates that detail a more low-key approach to planning their attacks, according to The Los Angeles Times.

RAM members were told to blend in at political rallies, suggesting men wear polo shirts, khakis and military-style haircuts instead of the group’s signature skull or American flag masks.

If the four defendants are found guilty of the conspiracy and riots charges, each individual could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is conducting an ongoing investigation into RAM activity.

Source: Fox News National

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Tennis: Canadian teenager Andreescu retires in Miami fourth round

Tennis: Miami Open
Mar 23, 2019; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Bianca Andreescu of Canada hits a backhand against Angelique Kerber of Germany (not pictured) in the second round of the Miami Open at Miami Open Tennis Complex. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

March 25, 2019

(Reuters) – Bianca Andreescu’s dominant recent impressive run ended at the Miami Open as the Canadian teenager who has taken the tennis world by storm retired with a shoulder injury while trailing 6-1 2-0 in her fourth-round clash with Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit.

The 18-year-old arrived in Miami fresh off her triumph at Indian Wells, where she became the first wildcard to win the prestigious event, but an overworked right shoulder ended any hopes of extending her 10-match winning streak.

Andreescu, who had struggled throughout the match, half-heartedly played a Kontaveit serve and then started walking off the court only to casually swat aside a return before signaling to the chair umpire that she was done.

After losing the first set, the Canadian, who has dealt with several injury setbacks in her young career, called for the trainer to work on her shoulder, something she did three times during her third-round clash with Angelique Kerber.

Kerber, who also lost to Andreescu in the Indian Wells final, called the teenager “the biggest drama queen ever” during their post-match handshake in Miami before going on Twitter and crediting the Canadian for a great performance.

Monday’s loss dropped Andreescu, who is ranked 24th in the world after starting the year at 152nd, to 31-4 for the season. Her 35 matches is the highest total on the WTA Tour this season.

Up next for Kontaveit in the quarter-finals will be either Denmark’s former world number one Caroline Wozniacki or Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei.

In other early action, Czech third seed Petra Kvitova beat Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia 6-3 6-3 to set up a quarter-final clash with Australian 12th seed Ashleigh Barty, a 4-6 6-3 6-2 winner over seventh seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; editing by Ken Ferris)

Source: OANN

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Exclusive: France, Germany agree on joint proposal for euro zone budget

FILE PHOTO: EU flags outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels
FILE PHOTO: European Union flags are seen outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo

February 22, 2019

By Michael Nienaber

BERLIN (Reuters) – France and Germany have agreed a detailed proposal for a euro zone budget to boost growth, strengthen competitiveness and lower the development gap between individual member states, a German government document showed on Friday.

The Franco-German accord is likely to pave the way for an agreement in the wider group of euro zone finance ministers who will discuss the set-up of the new but disputed tool next month.

“The purpose of the euro zone budgetary instrument would be to foster competitiveness and convergence in the euro zone…,” the joint Franco-German proposal read, according to the government document seen by Reuters.

The new tool should also be open for countries that are locked into the Exchange Rate Mechanism II – the two-year waiting room for joining the euro, the proposal said.

“As agreed by the summit, the instrument should be part of the EU budget. It would not be credit-based,” it read.

This means the new instrument would not be available before 2021 when the next EU budget will come into force. It also means that the size of the budget would be determined in negotiations for the next EU budget which are to kick off later this year.

In their joint proposal, France and Germany suggest that the euro zone budget should support national reforms which have been identified in the European Semester – meaning the European Commission’s policy proposals for each member state.

“By also financing investment projects or public investment programs in policy areas identified in the European Semester and preferably related to these reforms, potential growth, competitiveness and convergence could be raised especially in diverging countries,” they said.

Legally, the new tool would be based on an act under EU law that regulates its functioning and generally sets out the priorities and on an additional intergovernmental agreement.

Member states would submit policy plans to the European Commission that contain both their planned reforms and proposals for projects to be supported under the budgetary instrument.

Those projects could either represent costs of the reform measures themselves or investment projects, especially in areas related to the reforms undertaken, it said.

The European Commission would then approve these plans in consultation with the governments and the money would flow depending on progress in implementation, the proposal said.

“The timeframe would be shorter than for structural and cohesion funds, allowing for more flexibility,” it added.

Governments would also be obliged to co-finance substantial shares of the investment projects from national budgets, the proposal said.

In addition to the current contributions of member states to the EU budget, Germany and France suggest that countries could also pay into the new tool on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement, according to their position paper.

Such externally assigned revenues could come for example from the planned financial transaction tax, it said, adding governments would have the final say on what taxes should be dedicated to the new budget.

France, representing the most ambitious view, has been pushing hard for a large, separate pool of money for the euro zone, financed from dedicated taxes and national contributions.

The Netherlands and some other northern EU countries doubt there is financial need for a euro zone budget at all. Germany has tried to be a bridge builder with its preference for a tight budget with payments hinging on structural reforms.

In a nod to France, the joint position paper said that member states would continue technical discussions on a stabilization function of the euro zone budget.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Source: OANN

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday said his government must make men aware of the dangers of poor hygiene after expressing dismay over the 1,000 penis amputations that apparently occur in his country each year.

“In Brazil, we have 1,000 penis amputations a year due to a lack of water and soap,” he said while speaking to reporters in Brasilia after visiting the Education Ministry. “We have to find a way to get out of the bottom of this hole.”

The far-right leader called the figure “ridiculous and sad,” Reuters reported. A spokeswoman for the Brazilian urology society told the news agency the number is based on its official data for penis amputations.

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The amputations were conducted out of necessity over untreated infections, along with complications from HIV and various cancers, she said.

Source: Fox News World

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A top Russian diplomat says Russia is willing to negotiate a new nuclear weapons treaty with the United States and China.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Friday Moscow is closely following reports in the United States that the U.S. would like to reach a nuclear weapons deal with both Russia and China, and is “willing” to negotiate. The story was reported by CNN earlier Friday.

Ryabkov also said that Russia “would like to convince” the U.S. to adopt a joint statement that would condemn any use of nuclear weapons.

Ryabkov’s comments come just months after the U.S. withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a cornerstone of the post-Cold War security, and Russia followed suit. Each claims breaches by the other.

Source: Fox News National

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Government dysfunction and an intelligence failure that preceded the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka are traced to simmering divisions between the president and prime minister after a weekslong political crisis that crippled the country last year.

The government has admitted to a “lapse of intelligence” after officials failed to act upon near-specific information received from foreign agencies. Suicide bombers exploded themselves last Sunday in three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 253 people and wounding 400 more. Authorities said eight Muslim militants blew themselves up at their targets while the wife of one of the attackers blasted herself on being rounded up by police.

The carnage has brought forth arguments that worshippers and holidaymakers fell victim to the rivalry and a lack of communication between the country’s two leaders — President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The Cabinet led by Wickremesinghe says neither he nor his ministers were informed of the intelligence received by the defense authorities. Sirisena is the head of state, defense minister, minister in charge of the police and head of the armed forces. He also chairs the National Security Council, which includes the heads of security agencies and departments. Traditionally the prime minister also plays an important role on the council.

According to Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, Sirisena has not included Wickremesinghe in national security affairs since a dispute between them came into the open in October last year. This is an unusual departure from the protocol, he said.

Senaratne said that Sirisena was overseas when the attacks took place and even after that, the National Security Council refused to meet with Wickremesinghe as he tried to give them instructions.

Sirisena has also said that he was not informed of the intelligence received and vowed to overhaul the leadership of the defense forces.

The top bureaucrat at the Defense Ministry, Hemasiri Fernando, has resigned at Sirisena’s insistence.

“It is a major factor,” said Jehan Perera, the head of local activist group National Peace Council, referring to the alleged lack of coordination between the leaders contributing to the failure to prevent the attacks.

“The primary responsibility has to be taken by the president, he did not give the information and he did not act,” Perera said. “He had the Ministry of Defense, took the police from the prime minister, chaired the National Security Council meetings and did nothing,” Perera said.

Kusal Perera, a journalist and political commentator, says security and intelligence officials should have acted on the information whether or not they received orders from politicians.

“If they (Wickremesinghe and his party) were not invited to the National Security Council, why did not they say in Parliament that they were not responsible for the security of the country any longer,” said Perera, who is not related to Jehan Perera.

“Saying that now is taking political advantage, not taking responsibility,” he said.

Sirisena and Wickremesinghe belong to different political parties but came together for Sirisena’s presidential campaign in 2015. Their relationships broke down and their differences exploded last year when Sirisena suddenly sacked Wickremesinghe as prime minister and appointed in his place former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, whom he defeated in the presidential election. The crisis crippled the country for more than seven weeks to the point of not being able to pass this year’s national budget on time.

A court decision compelled Sirisena to reappoint Wickremesinghe, but the two leaders have been rivals within the same government.

Rajapaksa, who is the minority leader in Parliament, blames the government for weakening intelligence and dropping its guard, which he had maintained to defeat the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels 10 years ago to end the 26-year-old civil war. He also criticized the government for the detention of intelligence officers accused of extrajudicial killings and abductions during the closing days of the war, which he said crippled the security apparatus before the bombings. According to conservative U.N estimates, some 100,000 people were killed in Sri Lanka’s conflict.

Sirisena summoned an all-party conference Thursday to which Wickremesinghe was also invited. At the conference, Sirisena stressed “setting aside all the political beliefs and difference (so that) everybody should collectively commit towards building a peaceful environment within the country,” a statement from his office said.

“It is not a secret that the disagreements between me and the government aggravated over the past two years,” Sirisena told the country’s media executives Friday. “One of the reasons for that is weakening of military intelligence and arresting military officials unnecessarily and my speaking up against it within and outside the government.”

Jehan Perera said that the security threat could prove politically advantageous to Rajapaksa and his family, with a presidential election scheduled at the end of this year. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, a younger brother of Mahinda, was the powerful defense secretary during his brother’s reign and has expressed his interest to join the contest.

“People are saying we want a stronger leader and they are talking about Gotabhaya. It (the blasts) has worked to their benefit,” Perera said.

Source: Fox News World

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Cyprus police are intensifying a search for the remains of more victims at locations where an army officer, who authorities say admitted to killing five women and two girls, allegedly had dumped their bodies.

Police said Friday’s search will concentrate on a military firing range, a reservoir and a man-made lake near an abandoned mine approximately 32 kilometers (20 miles) west of the capital Nicosia.

On Thursday, the 35-year-old suspect told investigators that he had killed four more people than he had previously admitted to. All the suspect’s alleged victims are foreign nationals.

Police have already found the bodies of a 38-year-old Filipino woman and two as yet unidentified women.

Search crews are now looking for the daughter of the 38-year-old, a Romanian mother and daughter and another Filipino woman.

Source: Fox News World

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A California man who allegedly fatally shot his ex-girlfriend in broad daylight last month before fleeing the country has been returned to the U.S. following his arrest in Mexico on Wednesday, authorities said.

Julio Cesar Rocha, 25, of Montlcair, is accused of shooting his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend Thalia Flores and a second unidentified male victim March 21 around 2:45 p.m. while the two were sitting in a vehicle in the parking lot of a discount store in Chino. Both communities are about 36 miles east of Los Angeles.

ARREST MADE IN DOUBLE HOMICIDE OF EX-PRO HOCKEY PLAYER, COMMUNITY ADVOCATE, POLICE SAY

Julio Cesar Rocha, 25, of Montlcair, Calif. was located in Mexico Wednesday and returned to California where he faces murder and attempted murder charges related to the death of his ex-girlfriend, Thalia Flores.

Julio Cesar Rocha, 25, of Montlcair, Calif. was located in Mexico Wednesday and returned to California where he faces murder and attempted murder charges related to the death of his ex-girlfriend, Thalia Flores. (City of Chino Police Department)

Flores died at the scene. The man, whose name was not released, walked to a nearby hospital where he’s recovering from his gunshot wounds.

Rocha allegedly fled the scene and remained at large for more than a month, the Daily Bulletin reported. He was formally arrested at 4:30 p.m. after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport from Mexico, KTLA-TV reported.

The suspect was booked at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on murder and attempted murder charges, the City of Chino Police Department said on Facebook.

Flores ended her seven-year relationship with Rocha just two months before her death and still lived in fear of him until that point, a sister of the victim, Bernice Flores, told the Daily Bulletin.

“He said himself so many times to other people, ‘If I can’t have her, no one will.’ ” Flores said, adding that her sister stayed in the relationship longer that she would have liked in fear that Rocha would hurt her or her family if they broke up.

Rocha was convicted on misdemeanor battery in 2016 and sentenced to 60 days in prison. He was originally charged with misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, but the charges were lowered in a plea deal, the Daily Bulletin reported.

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Rocha was convicted of misdemeanor resisting or obstructing a peace officer in 2014. A second charge of misdemeanor battery was dropped in a plea deal, and Rocha was ordered to complete a 26-week anger management course, according to San Bernardino County Superior Court records. Rocha was later arrested and sentenced to 10 days behind bars for failing to complete the course.

Source: Fox News National

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