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Sudan cancels flogging of 9 women arrested in protests

A Sudanese opposition group says an appeals court has overturned a sentence of flogging and imprisonment against nine women who took part in anti-government protests.

The Democratic Lawyers Alliance says Wednesday the court ordered their release the previous day.

The women were arrested Saturday and an emergency court in the capital, Khartoum, sentenced them to a month in prison and 20 lashes each.

The court later waived the flogging amid pressure from families of the women, who rallied outside the courthouse on Saturday.

The alliance is part of an umbrella organization that has spearheaded three months of protests across Sudan demanding the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir.

The emergency courts were set up to investigate violations under the state of emergency imposed by al-Bashir last month.

Source: Fox News World

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Hunger stalks Yemen’s remote villages after four years of war

The Wider Image: Hunger stalks Yemen's remote villages after four years of war
A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

March 21, 2019

HAJJAH PROVINCE, Yemen (Reuters) – As Yeman’s war grinds into its fifth year with peace efforts stalling, ten-year-old Afaf’s father sees little hope he will be able to give his starving daughter the food or healthcare she needs.

Across Yemen’s remote mountain villages, the country’s war-induced economic crisis has left parents like Hussein Abdu destitute, hungry and watching their children waste away from malnutrition and unclean water.

“Before the war we managed to get food because prices were acceptable and there was work,” 40-year-old Abdu said from al-Jaraib, a small agricultural village in the hills of Hajjah province in northwest Yemen.

“Now they have increased significantly and we rely on yoghurt and bread for nutrition.”

Four years of conflict have pushed Yemen, which was already one of the poorest Arab states, to the brink of famine. War has cut transport routes for aid, fuel and food, reduced imports and caused severe inflation. Households have lost their incomes because public sector wages are not being paid and conflict has forced people from their homes and jobs.

The United Nations says about 80 percent of the population needs some form of humanitarian assistance and two-thirds of all districts in the country are in a “pre-famine” state.

Afaf, who now weighs around 11 kg (24 lb) and is described by her doctor as “skin and bones”, has been left acutely malnourished by a limited diet during her growing years and suffering from hepatitis, likely caused by infected water. She left school two years ago because she got too weak.

“The meaning of being full is not what it was before the war … If I see some scraps of food are left, I get up so that the children will not be hungry. I can bear the hunger, but they can’t,” said Abdu, who lost one of his two wives, Afaf’s mother, earlier this year to tuberculosis.

With no other source of income to support his second wife and six children, he herds other people’s sheep and takes payment in milk products.

Recognizing the seriousness of Afaf’s condition, Abdu scraped together what resources he could to take his daughter on a long journey to health centers in the regional town of Aslam and then the capital Sanaa.

But the treatment these centers could offer was limited. Yemen’s healthcare system has collapsed and clinics supported by international donors are under severe strain.

After being diagnosed with hepatitis, severe malnutrition, water retention and a wheat allergy, Afaf was given a couple of weeks of care and sent back home in a crowded taxi with two weeks of intravenous medication and a special diet.

WATER SCARCE

“If Afaf returns to her house, the problems will inevitably increase,” said Makiah al-Aslami, a nurse and head of the acute malnutrition clinic in Aslam where Afaf received some of her treatment. “The water and the dwelling will have an effect on her health within two days.”

In water-scarce Yemen, with many parts of the country needing pumps to bring water to the surface, water prices have increased dramatically under years of fuel shortages.

In al-Jaraib, well water is available for free. Those who can afford to buy water from tankers which fill up from a pond 7 km (4 miles) from the village.

Abdu said Afaf is to eat only fruit and vegetables and no wheat products.

“By God, if I had anything at all I would have bought her vegetables and fruit but I have nothing,” Abdu said, adding that if his dire situation continues he wont be able to afford her diet or to transport to her one-month check up.

Back in her hillside village of brick and mud structures, where Abdu entertains his and neighboring children by wheeling them around in a wheelbarrow, a fragile Afaf placidly helps her family prepare a simple meal of rice, tomato and bread.

As the children dig into the food with their hands, Afaf alone puts a spoon into a tin of peas provided for her recovery.

Plagued by decades of instability, Yemen’s most recent conflict began in late 2014 when Houthi forces drove the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. A Saudi-backed alliance of Yemeni and Arab forces then intervened in March 2015 to restore Hadi’s government.

The Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which says it is a revolution against corruption, controls Sanaa and most population centers.

The coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is under increased Western pressure to end the war that has killed tens of thousands and sparked what the United Nations says is the world’s most urgent humanitarian crisis.

In December, the warring sides reached a deal at U.N.-led peace talks for a ceasefire and troop withdrawal from the main port city of Hodeidah on the Red Sea.

The truce has largely held but the withdrawal has stalled due to mistrust among the parties, risking U.N. efforts to hold further talks to agree a framework for political negotiations to end the war. Violence and displacement also continue in other parts of Yemen not subject to the truce.

In Abdu’s local market, around 6 km from al-Jaraib village in Houthi-controlled Hajjah province, men sell fruit, vegetables, grains and bags of ice hacked off a large block.

“A 5 kg bag of rice cost 1,500 Yemen rials ($2.6 at market exchange rates and $3.4 at central bank rates) before the war, and now costs 3,500 rials,” 45 year-old farmer Ali Ahmad al-Aslami said.

“A 20 kg bag of wheat used to be 6,000 and is now 9,000 rials. All prices have changed, even vegetables. A kilo of tomatoes, which was 100 rials, now costs 500.”

For a photo essay on hunger in Yemen, click on  https://reut.rs/2Y7lBtz

(Reporting by Reuters team in Sanaa and Hajjah Province, YemenWriting by Lisa Barrington)

Source: OANN

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Jimmy Carter says Trump called him to discuss US-China relations

Former President Jimmy Carter reportedly said Sunday that President Trump had given him a call the previous night to discuss relations with China.

Speaking during a church service in Georgia on Sunday, Carter – the longest living president in United States history – did not go into detail about his Saturday night conversation with Trump, but said that the current president was "rightly" concerned that "China is getting ahead of us," as NPR reported.

The White House Monday confirmed that Trump and Carter spoke.

"President Jimmy Carter wrote President Trump a beautiful letter about the current negotiations with China and on Saturday they had a very good telephone conversation about President Trump’s stance on trade with China and numerous other topics," the White House said in a statement. "The President has always liked President Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and extended his best wishes to them on behalf of the American people."

Former president Jimmy Carter, seen here in September 2018, reportedly said President Trump had called him to discuss China. (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images, File)

Former president Jimmy Carter, seen here in September 2018, reportedly said President Trump had called him to discuss China. (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images, File)

Carter, who in 1979 signed the accords that helped normalize relations with China, has been a strong voice in urging Washington and Beijing to find common ground and improve relations. Carter also has warned that the current trade conflict with China has distracted the two world powers.

JIMMY CARTER SMOOCHES WIFE ROSALYNN ON KISS CAM AT ATLANTA HAWKS GAME

China and the U.S. said recently they achieved new progress in talks aimed at ending a tariff standoff over Beijing's industrial and technology policies. A conclusion to the dispute, which has shaken financial markets, remained uncertain.

The two issues at the center of China-U.S. trade frictions have been forced technology transfer and intellectual property.

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The trade dispute between the two countries escalated last year after the U.S. made several complaints, including that China was stealing U.S. trade secrets and was forcing companies to give them technology to access its market. Trump imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports. China retaliated with tariffs on about $110 billion of U.S. items.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News Politics

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Woods jumps to sixth in rankings; Johnson reclaims No. 1

Tiger woods celebrates after winning the 2019 Masters
Golf - Masters - Augusta National Golf Club - Augusta, Georgia, U.S. - April 14, 2019. Tiger Woods of the U.S. celebrates with with his green jacket after winning the 2019 Masters. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

April 15, 2019

Tiger Woods’ final-round rally to win the Masters on Sunday in Augusta, Ga., boosted him to No. 6 in the Official World Golf Rankings, which were updated Sunday evening.

Woods, 43, entered the tournament at No. 12 in the world, equaling his highest ranking since late in the 2014 season. In the time in between, he dipped as low as 1,199th in the rankings, while undergoing four back surgeries and believing he might never play again.

He climbed all the way to 26th within eight months of his lowest point before reaching 13th by the end of the 2018 season, following a victory at the Tour Championship.

Woods started Sunday two strokes back of Italy’s Francesco Molinari, a margin that remained through 11 holes, before overcoming the gap in the closing stretch to claim his fifth green jacket.

The last time Woods held the world’s top ranking was 10 weeks into the 2014 season. He holds the all-time records for most consecutive weeks (281) and most career weeks (683) atop the rankings.

Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the world after tying for second place, one stroke back of Woods. Johnson birdied four times in a five-hole span on the back nine to shoot 68.

England’s Justin Rose, who missed the cut by one stroke at 4 over through two rounds, had taken the title from Johnson last week, after Johnson took it from Rose in early March. Rose dropped to No. 2, with Brooks Koepka, who also tied for second on Sunday, moving from fourth to third.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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The Latest: DA disagrees with verdict, respects process

The Latest on the homicide trial of a white Pennsylvania police officer in the shooting of an unarmed black 17-year-old (all times local):

10:30 p.m.

The district attorney in Pittsburgh says he disagrees with a jury's decision to acquit a former police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager as he ran from a car involved just minutes earlier in a drive-by shooting.

But Stephen Zappala Jr. says it is the people of Pennsylvania who decide guilt in criminal cases, and "they have spoken."

A jury deliberated fewer than four hours Friday before clearing ex-East Pittsburgh Officer Michael Rosfeld of homicide in the shooting of Antwon Rose II last year.

Rosfeld's lawyer called him "a good man." During the trial he said the officer feared for his life and had to make a split-second decision.

Zappala said that in the interest of justice, he'll continue to bring charges where charges are appropriate.

__

9:45 p.m.

The family of a black teenager who was shot in the back and killed by a white police officer outside Pittsburgh remained stoic after the man was acquitted.

Antwon Rose II's sister had tears streaming down her face after the jury cleared former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld of a homicide charge late Friday. Her mother urged her not to cry.

The jury deliberated fewer than four hours before reaching its verdict. There were tears and gasps from black people gathered in an overflow courtroom, and several broke out in song: "Antwon Rose was a freedom fighter, and he taught us how to fight."

Rosfeld's wife burst out sobbing as the verdict was announced. She and Rosfeld were hustled out of the courtroom by deputies.

Rosfeld's attorney, Patrick Thomassey, told reporters that Rosfeld is "a good man."

___

9:25 p.m.

A jury has acquitted a white former police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for killing 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last June. Rose was riding in an unlicensed taxi that was involved in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as the teen ran away.

Rosfeld testified that he thought Rose or another passenger in the car had a gun pointed at him.

The jury saw video of the fatal confrontation. The verdict came Friday after fewer than four hours of deliberations.

The shooting triggered protests in the Pittsburgh area last year.

___

8:25 p.m.

The jury has reached a verdict in the homicide trial of a white former police officer charged with shooting an unarmed black teenager as he fled a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld fired on 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last summer in a killing that sparked weeks of unrest.

Jurors informed the court Friday night they have reached a verdict. They can convict Rosfeld of murder or manslaughter, or return an acquittal.

The ex-cop shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face after pulling over an unlicensed taxi that had been used in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld ordered the driver to the ground, but Rose and another passenger got out and began running away. Rosfeld says he thought one of the suspects was pointing a gun at him.

___

5:10 p.m.

A jury has started deliberating in the homicide trial of a white former police officer charged with killing an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer.

Jurors got the case Friday afternoon.

A prosecutor says former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld acted as "judge, jury and executioner" when he killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose II. Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Fodi tells jurors that Rose didn't deserve to die.

Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey says that Rosfeld was justified in shooting the fleeing teenager because the officer believed he was in danger.

Rosfeld shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as he ran from a traffic stop. Rose had been riding in a car that Rosfeld pulled over because he correctly suspected it was involved in a drive-by shooting.

___

4:10 p.m.

Closing arguments have been delivered in the homicide trial of a white former police officer charged with killing an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer.

A prosecutor says former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld acted as "judge, jury and executioner" when he killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose II. Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Fodi said Friday that Rose didn't deserve to die.

Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey said in his closing argument that Rosfeld was justified in shooting the fleeing teenager because the officer believed he was in danger.

Rosfeld shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as he ran from a traffic stop. Rose had been riding in a car that Rosfeld pulled over because he correctly suspected it was involved in a drive-by shooting.

The jury is expected to begin deliberating Friday.

___

1:20 p.m.

An attorney for the family of Antwon Rose II says a jury should conclude that the unarmed black teenager was "murdered" by a white police officer last summer.

S. Lee Merritt spoke to The Associated Press on Friday as closing arguments were getting underway in the homicide trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld.

Rosfeld shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as the 17-year-old ran away from a traffic stop. Rose had been riding in a car that Rosfeld pulled over because he correctly suspected it was involved in a drive-by shooting.

Rosfeld told jurors that he thought Rose or another fleeing suspect had pointed a gun at him. Neither teen had a weapon on him at the time.

Merritt says "it's pretty obvious" Rose was not a threat to Rosfeld.

___

11:30 a.m.

The defense has rested its case in the homicide trial of a white police officer charged with shooting and killing an unarmed black teenager near Pittsburgh.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld is charged with gunning down 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last summer.

Rosfeld's lawyer rested Friday.

Rosfeld testified that he thought Rose had a gun. The defense also called a use-of-force expert who says Rosfeld did nothing wrong.

The jury will hear closing arguments Friday afternoon and then begin deliberating.

Rose was riding in a car that had been involved in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot Rose in the back as he fled.

One juror, a white woman, was dismissed from the panel Friday and replaced with a white man.

___

10 a.m.

A judge has lifted a gag order in the trial of a white police officer charged in the on-duty shooting of an unarmed black teenager near Pittsburgh.

Judge Alexander Bicket lifted the gag order he imposed on parties in the case Friday at the request of the defense. Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey says while he and prosecutors have abided by the judge's order, the attorney for Antwon Rose II's family has made comments to the media.

Bicket made his ruling Friday morning.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld is on trial for homicide after gunning down the 17-year-old Rose last summer. Rose was riding in a car that had been involved in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld shot him in the back as he fled.

Rosfeld says he thought Rose or another passenger had a gun.

___

1 a.m.

An expert in police use of force says a former officer did everything by the book in a fatal encounter with an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer.

Retired Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Clifford W. Jobe Jr. testified for the defense at the homicide trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld, who's charged with gunning down 17-year-old Antwon Rose II.

Rosfeld fired three bullets into Rose after pulling over an unlicensed taxi that had been used in a drive-by shooting. Rose, a passenger in the car, was shot in the back as he fled.

Jobe told jurors Thursday that Rosfeld followed proper procedure. Prosecutors say Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Rose had a gun.

The trial resumes Friday with Jobe back on the stand for cross-examination.

Source: Fox News National

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Amazon to close domestic marketplace business in China: sources

FILE PHOTO: File photo of Amazon.com's logo at Amazon Japan's office building in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO: Amazon.com's logo is seen at Amazon Japan's office building in Tokyo, Japan, August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

April 17, 2019

(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc plans to close its domestic marketplace business in China by mid-July, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, focusing efforts on its more lucrative businesses selling overseas goods and cloud services in the world’s most populous country.

Shoppers in China will no longer be able to buy goods from other third-party merchants in the country, but they still will be able to order from the United States, United Kingdom, Denmark and Japan via Amazon’s global store. Amazon expects to close fulfillment centers and wind down its support for domestic-selling merchants in China in the next 90 days, one of the people said. Consumers in China will still be able to purchase Kindle e-readers and online content, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin, Brenda Goh, Cate Cadell, Pei Li and Josh Horwitz; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: OANN

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UK PM May to be told to quit by top Conservative: Sunday Times

Extraordinary European Union leaders summit in Brussels
FILE PHOTO - British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after a news conference following an extraordinary European Union leaders summit to discuss Brexit, in Brussels, Belgium April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman

April 20, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – A top member of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party will tell her in the coming week that she must step down by the end of June or her lawmakers will try again to depose her, the Sunday Times reported, without citing sources.

May survived a vote of no confidence in December and although party rules mean lawmakers cannot challenge her again until a year has passed, lawmaker Graham Brady will tell her the rules will be changed unless she quits, the newspaper said.

Brady, who chairs the Conservative Party’s influential 1922 Committee of backbench lawmakers, will tell her that 70 percent of her members of parliament want her to resign over her handling of Brexit, the Sunday Times said.

Britain was originally due to leave the European Union on March 29, but that deadline was pushed back to April 12 and then again to Oct. 31 as May failed to break an impasse in parliament on the terms of Brexit.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

Source: OANN

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Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner said Tuesday that a detailed plan for a merit-based immigration system will be presented to President Trump, giving priority to skilled immigrants rather than those with family ties to the U.S.

“I do believe that the president’s position on immigration has been maybe defined by his opponents by what he’s against as opposed to what he’s for,” Kushner said at the Time 100 Summit in New York City. “What I’ve done is I’ve tried to put together a very detailed proposal for him.”

KUSHNER: RUSSIA INVESTIGATION HAD ‘HARSHER IMPACT’ ON US THAN ELECTION MEDDLING

Kushner announced that the new immigration proposal, which Trump will receive this week or next, will resemble the point-based systems in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and will unify people by ensuring strong wages and secure borders while protecting humanitarian values.

“We want to protect our country’s humanitarian values. We want to make sure we’re reunifying families, and we want to do this in a way that allows our country to be competitive long term,” he said. “And my hope is we can really do something that unifies people around what we’re for on immigration.”

“We want to protect our country’s humanitarian values. We want to make sure we’re reunifying families, and we want to do this in a way that allows our country to be competitive long term. And my hope is we can really do something that unifies people around what we’re for on immigration.”

— Jared Kushner

JARED KUSHNER RESPONDS AFTER HASAN MINHAJ CALLS OUT HIS TIES TO SAUDI PRINCE

Kushner denied in the same talk that he has clashed with White House staffer Stephen Miller, who’s seen as tougher on immigration than others, adding that the plan was concocted with the help of Miller and Kevin Hassett, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

“And I say that If that if I can get Stephen Miller and Kevin Hassett to agree on an immigration plan, then Middle East peace will be easy by comparison,” Kushner joked, referring to the Israel-Palestine peace plan he’s working on.

“And I say that If that if I can get Stephen Miller and Kevin Hassett to agree on an immigration plan, then Middle East peace will be easy by comparison.”

— Jared Kushner

After the plan gets presented to Trump, it will likely undergo some changes and then he will decide when to proceed with it, Kushner said.

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“It’s very, very complicated, but it’s a very interesting issue, and if we can solve it, I do think it’s a critical component for America’s long-term competitive advantage,” he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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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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