Now On Air

Liberty #MAGAOne Mix

Via MAGA One Mix

6:00 am 8:00 am


Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Liberty #MAGAOne Mix

Via MAGA One Mix

6:00 am 8:00 am



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

Trump Says He Expects to Meet N.Korea's Kim Again After Hanoi Summit

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he expects to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again after their planned summit next week in Hanoi.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said he would like to remove sanctions on North Korea, but that he needs to see Pyongyang make a move first on denuclearization.

"I don't think this will be the last meeting by any chance," Trump said.

The United States has been demanding that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States. North Korea has been insisting on the lifting of U.S.-led sanctions, a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War and security guarantees.

Trump has been eager for the Feb. 27-28 summit in Vietnam, even though a first meeting in Singapore in June produced only vague commitments from Kim and little concrete progress since.

"I think they want to do something. We’ll see what happens," Trump said, adding that he would need to see "meaningful" progress from the other side before making any changes to the U.S. sanctions.

On Tuesday, Trump had reiterated that he wants North Korea to end its nuclear program, but added that he is in no rush and had no pressing time schedule for Pyongyang.

Source: NewsMax Politics

0 0

Ruble near one-week high versus dollar ahead of Putin’s speech

FILE PHOTO: A view shows a Russian one rouble coin in this picture illustration
FILE PHOTO: A view shows a Russian one rouble coin in this picture illustration taken October 26, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

February 20, 2019

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian ruble eased slightly in early trade on Wednesday but hovered close to a one-week peak ahead of an annual address to parliament by President Vladimir Putin.

At 1037 GMT the ruble was 0.1 percent down against the dollar at 65.83 after firming to 65.74 the day before, its strongest level since Feb. 13.

Putin’s televised address to parliament and other members of the Russian political elite is due to start at 0900 GMT. He is expected to touch upon a wide range on topics, both domestic and international, a day after data showed yet another drop in real disposable incomes among Russians.

Versus the euro, the ruble was down 0.1 percent at 74.67.

Russia’s Ministry of Finance is set to hold an auction for three OFZ treasury bonds. Demand for such bonds at weekly auctions is seen as a barometer of market sentiment toward Russian risks.

“The ruble has a reason to strengthen amid the OFZ placement, which has seen rather strong demand lately,” Otkritie brokerage said in a note.

Oil prices remained supportive for Russian assets as Brent crude oil was steady at $66.43 a barrel, near recent peaks.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was 0.8 percent higher at 1,183.2 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index rose 0.6 percent to 2,472.7 points.

(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

Source: OANN

0 0

Brazil military takes up coup commemoration at Bolsonaro’s behest

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro attends a flag hoisting ceremony at Alvorada Palace in Brasilia
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro attends a flag hoisting ceremony at Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil March 29, 2019. Antonio Cruz/Agencia Brasil/Handout via REUTERS

March 31, 2019

By Brad Brooks

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s armed forces on Sunday paid tribute to a 1964 coup leading to a two-decade dictatorship, after far-right President Jair Bolsonaro – who argues that military intervention saved the country from communism – reversed an 8-year-ban on celebrations.

The move has stirred debate and underscored Bolsonaro’s support for a military government that executed hundreds, tortured thousands, shuttered Congress and left most Brazilians with dark memories of the period.

The military has not been allowed to observe the 1964 coup since 2011, when former President Dilma Rousseff, a one-time leftist guerrilla who was imprisoned and tortured under the dictatorship, ordered an end to events marking the date.

Brazil’s Defense Ministry said the armed forces will not hold public commemorations on Sunday. Bolsonaro is traveling abroad, but scheduled an event at the presidential palace on Friday to mark the anniversary with top military brass.

Bolsonaro, a retired Army captain, has long praised the 1964-85 military government and often said its biggest mistake was not killing enough leftists. Early in his political career he said on the floor of Congress that he was “in favor of a dictatorship” and that Brazil would “never resolve grave national problems with this irresponsible democracy.”

Like many in the military and part of the wider population, Bolsonaro considers the 1964 coup a saving grace. He has pointed to the collapse of the Venezuelan economy under its socialist government as proof the military saved Brazil from such a fate.

Instead of public celebrations, Brazil’s armed forces say they will hold internal programs and panels looking at events that led to Brazil’s coup, what happened during the military regime and the importance of the 1985 return to democracy.

Despite the more sober approach from the military, Bolsonaro’s public encouragement has dismayed many.

“By insisting on a celebratory tone, the president has once again shown that he is ambiguous about the democratic principles he claims to defend,” the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper wrote in an editorial this week.

“It’s evident he is more inclined to stir up the most extreme sectors of public opinion, who were among his earliest supporters in his presidential campaign.”

Federal prosecutors lashed out at Bolsonaro’s decision, saying in a written statement that allowing the celebration went against the president’s sworn duty to defend the Constitution.

“The 1964 coup, without a doubt and with no revisionist history, was a violent and undemocratic break of the Constitutional order,” the federal prosecutors’ office of citizen rights said.

While a majority of Brazilians look dimly on the dictatorship, some recall it as a time of order and relative safety, compared to the rise of violent crime in recent decades. Brazil in 2017 had 64,000 murders, by far more than any other country.

Fifty-one percent of Brazilians in a Datafolha poll published in October felt the dictatorship had left a negative legacy, while 32 percent said the period had been good for Brazil. The remaining 17 percent said they had no opinion.

The survey of 9,137 people across Brazil had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Brazil, unlike South American neighbors Argentina and Chile that also endured brutal, U.S.-backed military regimes during the Cold War, has never tried anyone for the murders, torture and other abuses carried out during its dictatorship.

In 2014, a Truth Commission report presented evidence that Brazil’s military regime had murdered or “disappeared” 434 political dissidents and tortured upward of 50,000 others.

But a 1979 amnesty law remains in effect, meaning that neither the military nor leftist guerrillas at the time have been held accountable.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks; Editing by Richard Chang)

Source: OANN

0 0

Rep. Rose: Apology for Omar's Words Part of Changing Politics

Rep. Max Rose said Thursday he decided to tell a group of Jewish people in his district in Staten Island that he's sorry for the words of fellow Rep Ilhan Omar because he believes in changing American politics.

"Everybody is blaming each other," the New York Democrat told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "She caused pain in the Jewish community. She apologized, but we are working as hard as we can to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Muslims also are feeling an incredible amount of pain, said Rose, noting that Staten Island and Brooklyn have one of the largest Muslim communities in the country.

However, he said he does not believe Omar to be anti-Semitic, but he thought her tweets were, and he apologized "because they came out of Congress. This shouldn't be news that someone did this. This should be run of the mill stuff."

He also noted that on the same day or the day before Omar made her comments about Jews and the government on Twitter, there was a "very, very public threat made against her life."

"There is an incredible rise of Islamophobia in this country," said Rose, while commenting on an anti-hate resolution that was passed after Omar's tweets. Initially, the resolution was going to be against anti-Semitic statements but was widened to encompass other religions and walks of life.

"What I saw was a resolution that pronounced objection and opposition to acts of hate, as they rise across the county, particularly anti-Semitism and Islamophobia," said Rose.

Source: NewsMax Politics

0 0

Mixed martial arts-Bellator set to go toe-to-toe with UFC in Europe

Head of Bellator Europe David Green poses for a photograph at a Bellator mixed martial arts (MMA) fight week media event in Dublin
Head of Bellator Europe David Green poses for a photograph at a Bellator mixed martial arts (MMA) fight week media event in Dublin, Ireland February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

February 22, 2019

By Philip O’Connor

DUBLIN (Reuters) – A new TV deal in Britain and a focus on the European market from American mixed martial arts promotion Bellator will open more opportunities for fighters outside of the dominance of the UFC, Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh has told Reuters.

The Irish MMA pioneer says that Saturday’s event in his hometown of Dublin, which will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, will mark the start of a new era in the sport.

“Saturday night is a changing point for what it is to be an MMA fighter in Ireland and the UK. Until now if you’re a pro on the local scene, you’re fighting for a couple of hundred euros.

“Now with Bellator and the Sky Sports deal, there’s opportunities for guys to make a living, and not just the top guys,” explained Kavanagh, who shepherded former two-weight champion McGregor and many others to success in the UFC.

Aspiring pro fighters like McGregor who trained at Kavanagh’s Straight Blast Gym previously aimed to get to the UFC. But Kavanagh says that Bellator’s rise has opened up more opportunities, and that the vast majority of his current fighters have signed deals with them.

“The UFC is going to do what the UFC is going to do, think they are more invested in the American and maybe the Chinese market now as of late, and Bellator are more in the European market,” he said.

“My relationship is very strong with Bellator and I’m committed to helping them corner the European market.”

Fighters and officials spoke to the media on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s Bellator 216 card at Dublin’s O2 Arena where brash 22-year-old James Gallagher, thought of as the heir to McGregor, tops the bill in a bantamweight bout against Steven Graham.

Asked what made him choose Bellator over the UFC or another rival promotion, Gallagher laughs.

“A load of money! I’ve always wanted to display my skills on the biggest stage, and the offer they made me changed my life. It enables me to train day in, day out. I’ve got no worries, only to show up, train and win,” the submission specialist from Strabane in Northern Ireland told Reuters.

European fighters trying to make their mark in the sport often struggle to make ends meet financially, and former amateur world champion Leah McCourt says Bellator’s investment and the Sky TV deal will make it easier for them.

“It’s life-changing for all of us, to be able to make a living rather than being in debt after every fight and paying our expenses,” she said.

“I think we work harder than any athletes in the world to be able to step in that cage and fight, so it’s so exciting to have such a massive audience now.”

STRUGGLE TO COMPETE

Started in California in 2008, Bellator has previously struggled to compete on an equal footing with the UFC, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018 and boasts big names like McGregor, Jon Jones and the retired Ronda Rousey.

The UFC introduced the concept of staging fights with very limited rules in an octagonal cage back in 1993 and generates much of its revenue from pay-per-view events staged mostly in the U.S.

It was sold in 2017 for around four billion dollars to Talent agency WME-IMG and no other promotion has ever really threatened its dominance.

More recently, Bellator has tried to take them on by signing popular ex-UFC fighters and staging high-profile fights of their own. But the sudden pivot to Europe and the announcement of deals in Britain with Sky Sports and Channel 5 is a huge boost to the promotion’s credibility and visibility.

“We are coming here and it’s not just a toe in the water – it’s coming in fully-fledged with a really big proposal, to come into Europe and put on some really big shows, showcase the talent and give them a roadmap to fighting all over the world,” David Green, Bellator’s Head of Europe, told Reuters.

Though the TV deal with Sky Sports is only for one year initially, Green says that the promotion is taking a long-term view.

“We don’t need a quick win. We’re trying to build this in the right way, building public awareness, brand awareness, the size of the gates… certainly, there is an opportunity to be the biggest in Europe, without a doubt.”

Can they be the biggest in the world?

“Well, you know, you’ve got to aim high,” Green said with a wry smile.

(Editing by Christian Radnedge)

Source: OANN

0 0

Exclusive: Behind Airbnb’s bet on show business to hook travelers

The logos of Airbnb are displayed at an Airbnb event in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO: The logos of Airbnb are displayed at an Airbnb event in Tokyo, Japan, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato

April 24, 2019

By Jeffrey Dastin and Heather Somerville

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Hollywood has a new suitor in Silicon Valley.

Airbnb Inc, the high-flying startup for booking home rentals around the world, has ambitions to develop a slate of original shows to whet customers’ appetite for travel, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The strategy, previously unreported, is crucial for the company, which is privately valued at $31 billion and is gearing up for an initial public offering of stock expected next year. Airbnb must distinguish itself from Booking.com, Expedia and others in the fiercely competitive and consolidating travel industry, where apartment-renting services are increasingly common.

Chief Executive Brian Chesky is driving the idea, three of the people said, arguing that creative content is important for Airbnb’s brand even if the business case is not always clear.

“Brian wants to create a studio,” one of the people said. The mentality: “Let’s do shows. Let’s do films, because we want to be travel-everything.”

Chesky, who co-founded the company, “likes big splashy things,” another person said.

For at least three years, Airbnb has batted around ideas for creating or licensing mini-series and documentaries about travel, and shows featuring Airbnb homes, guests and hosts, one of the people said. It has discussed working with studios as well as starting its own.

(GRAPHIC: Airbnb in the spotlight – https://tmsnrt.rs/2IkarwX)

The company has worked on a television show slated for Apple Inc’s upcoming streaming service: “Home,” a docuseries featuring unique abodes around the world and the people behind them. One executive producer of the show is Joe Poulin, a company vice president who ran Luxury Retreats when Airbnb acquired the booking site in 2017.

Airbnb announced last week it had developed and produced the documentary “Gay Chorus Deep South,” which follows the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus on a tour across the Southeastern United States, and will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival next week. Airbnb told Reuters it provided funding for the project.

In an interview, Airbnb’s top policy and communications executive, Chris Lehane, said the company is considering streaming films and shows through its app as well as through other video platforms.

“We’re very much in the R&D phase here,” said Lehane. “It’s not just limited to video. It could be audible. It could be physical.”

“The more we put content out there, the more you’re going to bring people to the platform,” he said.

Original shows could also entice customers even before they have decided where to go on vacation and demystify Airbnb for travelers, including Wall Street investors, who have stuck to familiar hotel chains.

(Graphic on how Airbnb stacks up against its venture-backed peers: https://tmsnrt.rs/2IkarwX)

TECH INDUSTRY PLAYBOOK

Airbnb has yet to cement all the details related to its timeline, program financing or even lineup. Its work so far has ranged from the Tribeca documentary to a YouTube show about travel trends and other video marketing efforts.

Offering original content and other media is an increasingly popular strategy in Silicon Valley, where technology companies are desperate for deeper relationships with internet users and their lucrative data.

Apple last month unveiled a TV streaming service and joined a long list of companies attracted to Hollywood’s glitter, including Amazon.com Inc and even Walmart Inc. The big-box retailer had said it will partner with U.S. movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to make content for its video-on-demand service, Vudu.

Such bets are expensive, but often justified by executives for their marketing value. Airbnb said its network of half a billion travelers is drawing partners who wish to produce and finance content for the company.

Airbnb’s original magazine remains central to this effort. Published by media conglomerate Hearst since May 2017, the Airbnb Magazine will be a jumping off point for other content that the company develops. It is the darling of CEO Chesky, something the billionaire founder hopes will become a collector’s item like old print editions of “Rolling Stone,” Lehane said.

Films and streaming content would mark the next iteration of a business that has steadily expanded to get customers to use its app for more parts of their travel experience. Airbnb added restaurant reservations and said it would branch into transportation services, so customers remain in its orbit long after they have picked a place to stay.

The company even explored building its own flight-booking feature and acquiring travel fare aggregator Skyscanner before retreating from that idea, said another person with knowledge of the matter.

A key player in the video effort is Kim Kingsley, co-founder of news site Politico. Kingsley joined Airbnb last summer and is in charge of the firm’s content strategy, according to her LinkedIn profile. Meanwhile, Airbnb’s magazine lead, Ben Kasman, has helped grow the publication to more than a million readers.

Even by technology startups’ standards, Airbnb is not afraid to spend large sums on marketing. It hired Ready State, a high-end agency in San Francisco, whose employees flew to Europe to create videos for Airbnb. The firm was also hired to promote tours sold on Airbnb’s website, known as “Experiences,” even though many of those are cheap.

“It’s all part of the efforts to broaden the base,” said one person close to the company, “to make what they do more mainstream.”

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin and Heather Somerville in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Kenneth Li; Editing by Greg Mitchell, Susan Thomas and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: OANN

0 0

Comedian Zelenskiy maintains strong lead in Ukraine presidential poll

FILE PHOTO: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukrainian comic actor and candidate in the upcoming presidential election, takes part in a production process of Servant of the People series in Kiev
FILE PHOTO: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukrainian comic actor and candidate in the upcoming presidential election, takes part in a production process of Servant of the People series in Kiev, Ukraine March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

March 28, 2019

KIEV (Reuters) – Comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a political novice who plays a fictional president in a popular TV series, has maintained a strong lead in Ukraine’s presidential election race, according to an opinion poll published on Thursday.

But support for the 41-year-old remains far below the level needed to secure outright victory in the March 31 ballot, and most voters still do not expect him to become president, the KIIS survey showed.

The poll by KIIS research body, the final survey for the election’s first round, showed Zelenskiy on 20.9 percent of votes, with incumbent Petro Poroshenko second on 13.7 percent and opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko third on 9.7 percent.

Thirty-nine candidates have registered for the election. If no candidate wins 50 percent of the votes cast, the top two will face each other in a run-off on April 21.

KIIS said 21.5 percent of those it questioned favored Zelenskiy to win in a second round, 18.3 percent expected Poroshenko to be re-elected and 10.1 percent saw Tymoshenko as the winner.

KIIS said it interviewed 1,600 voters in all regions, except annexed Crimea, from March 20-26.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Liberty #MAGAOne Mix

Via MAGA One Mix

6:00 am 8:00 am



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.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

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.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

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

Source: Fox News World

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist