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Bed Bath & Beyond activist investors pushing to replace board, CEO

Shopping carts are stacked up at a Bed Bath & Beyond store in Somerville
Shopping carts are stacked up at a Bed Bath & Beyond store in Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S. June 17, 2016. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

March 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Three activist investors disclosed a combined 5 percent stake in Bed Bath & Beyond Inc on Tuesday, seeking to replace the entire board and oust long-time Chief Executive Officer Steven Temares.

Legion Partners Asset Management LLC, Macellum Advisors GP LLC and Ancora Advisors LLC also announced the nomination of 16 independent candidates to the home furnishing retailer’s board.

The Wall Street Journal first reported about the developments late on Monday, sending the company’s shares up 24 percent before the opening bell on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Source: OANN

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Grandmother, 79, killed by Amtrak train reportedly shoved granddaughter to safety

A 79-year-old Massachusetts woman killed by an Amtrak train Monday reportedly saved her granddaughter’s life by shoving her out of the way of the speeding train as it rushed toward them.

Hilda Figueroa and her granddaughter, Hilda Sanchez, 26, were on their way home from shopping in Springfield when they crossed the tracks at an unauthorized point and the train came bearing down on them, MassLive reported.

LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD TRAIN SLAMS INTO CAR 'TRYING TO BEAT THE GATE,' 3 KILLED, OFFICIALS SAY

“There was no whistle, no horn,” Sanchez, who was named for her grandmother, told the news outlet. “It was just too fast and she pushed me out of the way.”

Sanchez walked away with only a bruised hand, but her grandmother, who was sent flying more than 50 feet when the train struck her, died of the resulting injuries as an ambulance rushed her to a hospital, the outlet reported.

No one aboard the train was injured, WWLP-TV of Springfield reported.

The exact speed of the train has yet to be determined, although an Amtrak spokeswoman told MassLive that the speed limit for that section is 50 mph. She also noted that Amtrak considers those who use that particular crossing to be trespassing.

“Railroad property is private property,” Amtrak spokeswoman Beth K. Toll said. “If you are on railroad tracks or railroad property without the expressed permission of the railroad property owner, you are trespassing.”

TRANSIT AGENCY'S RELIANCE ON DOUGHNUT SHOP TO OPEN STATION HAS COMMUTERS RAILING

But Sanchez said many others in the neighborhood use that crossing, including schoolchildren, because it’s “the shortest way.” She also pointed out that a crossing guard is stationed nearby.

The city had planned to address the safety risk the dangerous crossing poses by building a $6.3 million pedestrian tunnel under the tracks, MassLive reported. Construction for the tunnel was set to begin shortly, after years of discussion, near the spot where Figueroa was struck and killed.

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Figueroa’s daughter, Maria Nieves, told MassLive about the final moment she shared with her mother after witnessing the train strike her.

“My mother smiled at me and then closed her eyes,” she said.

Figueroa called Springfield home for 30 years, and was a beloved member of the community, Sanchez said.

Source: Fox News National

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Rudy Giuliani: Sentence in Mueller report about obstruction ‘turns around 2,000 years of law’

President Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani on Friday blasted a key line in the Mueller report regarding obstruction, saying it “turns around 2,000 years of Roman, English and American law”.

The former New York City mayor on Friday took issue with the words “if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state.”

“When the hell did a prosecutor ever try to figure out if you didn’t do it?” Giuliani told ‘Fox & Friends’. “Prosecutors have to figure out did you do it.”

“That turns around 2,000 years of Roman, English and American law, the presumption of innocence,” Giuliani added. “He doesn’t have to prove his innocence. He doesn’t have to prove ‘I didn’t do it’. When can you prove a negative?”

GINGRICH SUGGESTS NADLER'S PUSH TO FURTHER PROBE MUELLER REPORT IS AN ATTEMPT TO SAVE HIS JOB IN THE HOUSE

The portion of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's redacted report that Giuliani takes issue with.

The portion of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's redacted report that Giuliani takes issue with. (AP)

Giuliani also echoed a tweet President Trump posted this morning, in which he said: “Statements are made about me by certain people in the Crazy Mueller Report, in itself written by 18 Angry Democrat Trump Haters, which are fabricated & totally untrue.”

“There are a lot of things there that are not accurate as you would imagine,” Giuliani said while questioning the political allegiances of Mueller’s legal team.

“That was not a fairly written report, it was a one-sided, highly, highly biased report,” he claimed.

GIULIANI ON MUELLER RELEASE: 'IT'S OVER, THEY JUST DON'T KNOW IT YET'

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Giuliani said overall: “If we were in court... of course we didn’t want a trial, but if we had a trial there would be a resounding not guilty.

“The jury would wonder why was this case brought in the first place because he didn’t do anything wrong."

Source: Fox News Politics

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The Latest: Greek man says he narrowly missed doomed flight

The Latest on Ethiopian Airlines crash (all times local):

5 p.m.

A Greek man who narrowly missed the Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed near Addis Ababa on Sunday says he argued with ground staff to try and board after reaching the gate minutes too late.

"I saw the last passengers going through but the gate had already closed. I complained, in the usual way when that kind of thing happens. But they were very kind and placed me on another flight," Antonis Mavropoulos told Greece's private Skai Television, speaking from Nairobi.

Mavropoulos, who runs a recycling company and lives in Athens, was traveling to Kenya to attend an environmental conference.

"I'm slowly coming to terms with what happened and how close it came. On the other hand, I'm also very upset — I'm shattered — for those who were lost," he said in the interview Monday. "To be honest, I didn't get much sleep last night."

Mavropoulos put his survival down to luck.

"I didn't check my suitcase because I knew the gap between connecting flights was tight. If I had checked the bag in, they would have waited for me," he said. "This is a very difficult moment — one that can change your life."

___

4:45 p.m.

Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate cites the United States ambassador as saying a six-member team of U.S. aviation experts are on their way to the site of Sunday's crash.

Ambassador Michael Raynor visited the crash site on Monday. He told the broadcaster that the experts from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to arrive at the site on Tuesday.

He says that "Boeing and Interpol will also assist the Ethiopian government in the investigation. Interpol will assist in identifying the victims."

The flight data recorder and voice cockpit recorder have been found.

___

4:35 p.m.

Ugandan authorities say a senior police officer is among the dead in the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash on Sunday.

Ugandan police say they are mourning Christine Alalo, who served as police commissioner under the banner of the African Union mission in Somalia.

The statement calls her "a highly respected member of the force who loved her job."

Alalo was returning from a trip to Italy. She is the lone Ugandan who died in the crash. All 157 on board were killed.

___

4:20 p.m.

A German pastor and an aid worker from Germany are among the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday.

The World Council of Churches says Rev. Norman Tendis was traveling to a U.N. environment summit in Nairobi. The 51-year-old worked in Villach, Austria.

The German development aid organization GIZ confirms that a staffer was on the plane. Spokeswoman Tanja Stumpff tells The Associated Press that the woman was on a business trip.

Germany's Foreign Ministry has confirmed that at least five German citizens died in the crash.

___

4:05 p.m.

Catholic Relief Services announces "with heavy hearts" that four of its Ethiopian colleagues died in Sunday's plane crash outside Addis Ababa.

The aid group in a statement says Sara Chalachew, Getnet Alemayehu, Sintayehu Aymeku, and Mulusew Alemu had been traveling to Nairobi for training.

The four had worked with the organization for as long as a decade. They worked in procurement, logistics and finance.

All 157 people on board were killed. They came from 35 countries.

___

3:30 p.m.

There are scenes of agony as members of an association of Ethiopian airline pilots cry uncontrollably for colleagues killed in Sunday's crash near Addis Ababa.

Framed photographs of seven crew members sit in chairs at the front of a crowded room.

One pilot says he had planned to watch a soccer game between Manchester and Arsenal with the flight's main pilot, Yared Getachew.

It was Getachew who issued a distress call shortly after takeoff and was told to return. But all contact was lost.

Another pilot says he flew with Yared several times and said they even lived together before becoming senior pilots.

___

3:15 p.m.

Pope Francis has sent his condolences to the families of the victims of the plane crash in Ethiopia.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, said in a statement Monday that the pope was sad to learn about the crash and "offers prayers for the deceased from various countries and commends their souls to the mercy of Almighty God."

The statement said, "Pope Francis sends heartfelt condolences to their families, and upon all who mourn this tragic loss he invokes the divine blessings of consolation and strength."

___

3 p.m.

Shares of Boeing are tumbling before the opening of U.S. markets following the crash in Ethiopia of a Boeing 737 Max 8, the second deadly crash since October.

All 157 people on board were killed on Sunday. A Lion Air model of the same plane crashed in Indonesia last year, killing 189 people.

Shares of Boeing Co. plunged more than 9 percent in premarket trading Monday. If that trend holds, it could be one of the company's worst trading days in about a decade.

Indonesia and China have grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. Ethiopian Airlines and Cayman Airways are doing the same.

___

1:35 p.m.

Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reports that the black box has been found from the crashed Ethiopian Airlines plane.

An airline official, however, tells The Associated Press that the box is partially damaged and that "we will see what we can retrieve from it."

The official spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to speak to the media.

The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa on Sunday en route to Nairobi.

___

1:20 p.m.

China says two United Nations workers were among the eight Chinese nationals killed on the Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang says the other Chinese passengers included four who were working for a Chinese company and two who had travelled to Ethiopia for "private matters."

All 157 people on board the flight to Nairobi died.

Lu said Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders have sent condolence messages to their Ethiopian counterparts. China has extended condolences to victims' families.

China has ordered its airlines to ground their Boeing 737 Max 8 aircrafts by 6 p.m.

___

12:45 p.m.

The United Nations migration agency said that one of its staffers, German citizen Anne-Katrin Feigl, was on the plane en route to a training course in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya and the plane's destination.

Germany's foreign ministry has officially confirmed that five victims of the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash that killed 157 people were German citizens.

The ministry said in a statement Monday that it was in contact with the families of the victims. It did not reveal any information on the identity of those who died in the crash Sunday.

All in all, 35 countries had someone among the 157 people who were killed. All people on board died minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa.

___

12 p.m.

The U.N. office in Nairobi is joining Ethiopia in mourning the 157 dead in Sunday's Ethiopian Airlines crash shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa.

A moment of silence and U.N. flags at half-staff marked the deaths that included several workers with U.N. and affiliated organizations.

The U.N. resident coordinator in Nairobi, Siddharth Chatterjee, says that "This has taken us by shock. ... But it also goes to reinforce the mortality of human life and therefore reinforces the need for humanity."

He says U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent "a poignant message of condolences to everybody, not just the U.N. staff but the crew of the flight and all other nationalities which were on the plane."

People from 35 countries died.

___

10 a.m.

A spokesman says Ethiopian Airlines has grounded all its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft as a safety precaution, following the crash of one of its planes in which 157 people were killed.

Asrat Begashaw said Monday that although it is not yet known what caused the crash on Sunday, the airline decided to ground its remaining four 737 Max 8 planes until further notice as "an extra safety precaution." Ethiopian Airlines was using five new 737 Max 8 planes and was awaiting delivery of 25 more.

Begashaw said searching and digging to uncover body parts and aircraft debris will continue. He said forensic experts from Israel have arrived in Ethiopia to help with the investigation.

Source: Fox News World

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Manipulation suspicions mount in Thailand’s post-coup election

FILE PHOTO: Ballots are counted during the general election in Bangkok
FILE PHOTO: Ballots are counted during the general election in Bangkok, Thailand, March 24, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

April 7, 2019

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s first general election since a 2014 army coup has been touted by the ruling military junta as a return to democratic rule, but two weeks after the vote, results are still unclear and allegations of manipulation are mounting.

Since the March 24 vote, figures linked to a “democratic front” of opposition parties say they have come under increasing pressure from police and the military.

The Election Commission has also indicated it would use a complex allocation formula for 150 “party seats” in the House of Representatives in a way that would likely dilute the opposition alliance’s seats in the 500-seat lower house.

The Election Commission has said it won’t announce even provisional winners of the 150 party seats until May 9, saying it needs time to order by-elections and vote recounts as well as to disqualify candidates who broke election laws.

But critics say the time gap allows the military-royalist establishment to manipulate results and disqualify opponents of the pro-army Palang Pracharat party that seeks to keep junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha in power as an elected prime minister.

The leading opposition Pheu Thai party, made up of loyalists to army-ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, sees the delays and legal actions as an attempt to deny the “democratic front” enough seats in the House needed to block the main junta-linked party from unrestrained lawmaking power.

“After the election … the majority of the people feels a sense of hopelessness and distrust for the election process,” said Pheu Thai’s secretary-general, Phumtham Wechayachai.

“People are talking about the Election Commission’s part in supporting the extension of power by the National Council for Peace and Order,” he said, using the junta’s formal name.

The Election Commission’s secretary-general, Jaroongwit Phumma, told Reuters the body is not helping the pro-military party.

“The election commission is neutral and adheres to the law. We don’t take sides or help one particular party,” Jaroongwit said.

Palang Pracharat said it does not gain any advantages over opposition parties.

“It’s completely false to say that the election commission is helping Palang Pracharat. This is an attempt to discredit us,” the party’s deputy spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana told Reuters.

SEDITION CHARGE

However, opposition figures say they are being targeted.

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of the youth-oriented Future Forward Party which did surprisingly well in the vote, was charged on Saturday with sedition on a junta complaint dating back to 2015 – a case that could see his party disbanded.

Online campaigns have also cast Thanathorn as anti-monarchy, a serious crime in Thailand, where the monarchy is revered without question.

Thanathorn denies being against the monarchy and all charges against him.

“It’s the establishment’s desire to stir hatred, fear, and mistrust among the people, creating legitimacy for the military to take over and stay on,” Thanathorn said last week.

Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for the junta, said the charges against Thanathorn were not aimed at weakening the opposition and were “entirely unrelated to current political events”.

“ABNORMAL ELECTION”

The rules of the election were written in the 2017 junta-backed constitution, which critics said were aimed at ensuring military influence in Thai politics.

Among the new provisions is that the Senate, the 250-seat upper house of parliament appointed by the junta, must approve the prime minister in a combined vote with the House, which previously solely voted on the premier.

That means the junta-backed party and its allies have to gain only 126 seats in the House to install Prayuth as prime minister, while the opposition would need 376 votes for their potential candidate.

Still, days after the March 24 vote, the “democratic front” claimed through its own calculations that it would gain at least 255 House seats – not be enough to form a government but potentially allowing it to block the military-backed party from having free rein.

Last week, however, the election commission indicated the complex formula to calculate allocation of the 150 “party list” seats will round up decimals to give seats to 11 small parties although their popular votes did not meet a previously described threshhold required to earn even one seat.

“This is an irregularity that reflects an effort to block the democratic front from forming the next government,” said Pheu Thai’s spokeswoman Ladawan Wongsriwong.

Widening the list would cut seats from top popular vote getters and could reduce seats for Future Forward from around 87 to 80, potentially hurting the democratic front’s claim of House majority.

“It’s an abnormal election from the outset. It’s a game where the junta wrote the rules and appointed the referee, who is also acting abnormally,” said Yingcheep Atchanont, project manager at legal-monitoring group iLaw.

Palang Pracharat has repeatedly said it reaps no benefits from the constitution.

Sonthirat Sontijirawong, the Palang Pracharat secretary-general, has said the party would begin talks to form the next government only after the king’s official coronation on May 4-6.

“BAD PEOPLE”

The election comes after nearly 15 years of turmoil, during which conflicts between supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin and his establishment opponents manifested in street protests, violent clashes, and two military coups.

On the eve of the vote, King Maha Vajiralongkorn made an unexpected statement, recalling a comment made by his late father on the need to put “good people” in power and to prevent “bad people from … creating chaos.”

Six days later, the king revoked royal decorations that had been awarded to Thaksin, citing his 2008 corruption conviction and for fleeing the country to escape prison.

The military also stripped Thaksin of a pre-cadet school’s achievement award as well as deleting his name from the school’s hall of fame.

“Thaksin continues to be a threat to the position of power of the establishment,” Pavin Chachavalpongpun, associate professor at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies, told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Panu Wongcha-um. Editing by Lincoln Feast)

Source: OANN

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EU’s Tusk says short Brexit delay possible if UK backs divorce deal

President of the European Council Donald Tusk is seen at the start of EU Tripartite Social Summit in Brussels
President of the European Council Donald Tusk is seen at the start of EU Tripartite Social Summit in Brussels, Belgium March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman

March 20, 2019

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Council President Donald Tusk said on Wednesday that granting Britain a short postponement of Brexit was possible on the condition that Britain’s House of Commons votes in favor of the stalled divorce agreement next week.

Should that happen, Tusk said no extraordinary EU leaders’ summit would be needed next week before the current Brexit date of March 29. Otherwise, he might call the 27 national leaders of EU countries staying on together after Brexit back to Brussels.

“In the light of the consultations that I have conducted over the past days, I believe that a short extension will be possible, but it will be conditional on a positive vote on the withdrawal agreement in the House of Commons,” Tusk told journalists before chairing the EU leaders’ talks in Brussels this Thursday and Friday.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, Gabriela Baczynska)

Source: OANN

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Israeli military: Air raid sirens triggered in Tel Aviv

The Israeli military said air raid warning sirens were triggered in Tel Aviv on Thursday.

It was not immediately clear if the city was under attack or if a false alarm had set off the sirens.

Tel Aviv has not been attacked by rocket or missile fire since a 2014 war with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Source: Fox News World

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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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