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Friday, March 25, 2016

Asia most exposed to disasters: Study

 
Countries and mega-cities across Asia are highly exposed to natural hazards ranging from cyclones to earthquakes, but people in sub-Saharan Africa are more vulnerable, according to a report released Wednesday.

Nearly 1.4 billion people in South Asia -- India, Bangladesh, Pakistan -- face at least one major threat from Nature, especially flooding, severe storms boosted by rising seas, and quakes.

In the case of Bangladesh, 100 percent of its population is exposed, compared to 82 percent for India and 70 percent in Pakistan.

China, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines are also among the nations with the largest numbers of people in harm's way.
The United States, Mexico and Brazil round out the top ten.

When it comes to vulnerability, however, Africa is the continent where people are most likely to suffer injury, disease and death as a result of natural disasters, according to the Natural Hazards Vulnerability Index from risk analysts Verisk Maplecroft.

The capacity to cope with disaster can determine whether a high-magnitude earthquake, for example, will cause hundreds of deaths, as happened in Chile in 2010, or hundreds of thousands, as befell Haiti in the same year.

Nine out of ten countries ranked as most vulnerable to natural hazards in the index are in sub-Saharan Africa, and 23 of 25 are on the continent.
South Sudan -- plagued by drought and war -- heads the list of the countries most defenceless against disaster, followed by Burundi, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Chad, Niger, Sudan, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"The frequency and magnitude of natural hazard events cannot be controlled," the report noted.

"But the development and implementation of disaster risk reduction strategies can help minimise the humanitarian and economic impacts."
Among mega-cities, Manila -- facing a triple threat from cyclones, superstorms and earthquakes -- tops the list of urban areas with the highest number of people exposed.

Tokyo and Jakarta and in second and third place, with Dongguan in southern China, Dhaka and Kolkata following close behind.
Mexico City, Delhi and Sao Paulo all have huge populations exposed to major storms.

"This analysis shows that governance is key to lower vulnerability," the report said.
Without major reforms and political stability, "countries such as India and the Philippines are unlikely to see improvements in the near term."

Suicide bomber kills 25 in Baghdad

 
A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd Friday after a local football game in a village south of Baghdad, killing at least 25 people, police and medics said.
"They were just handing the trophy to the winners, the suicide attacker blew himself up in the crowd," a police captain from the village, Al-Asriya, told AFP.

The village is near Iskandariyah, a town about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the capital.
The police captain said more than 50 people were also wounded in the blast.

A source at Iskandariyah hospital confirmed the toll, warning that the casualties figure were preliminary and could rise.
The medic told AFP that the attack took place around 7:00 pm (1600 GMT).

There was no immediate claim taking responsibility for the blast but nearly all such attacks recently were carried out by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Iskandariyah is part of a mixed Sunni-Shiite area south of Baghdad which was once dubbed "the triangle of death" and was badly affected by sectarian violence last decade.

Pushing back IS in this region after the jihadists took over large parts of the country in 2014 was one of the priorities of the government and allied Shiite militias.

That was achieved in a few months and IS has been largely eradicated from the area but violence -- of a sectarian nature and crime-driven -- has remained frequent.

Further south, at least 47 people were killed when a truck bomb exploded at a checkpoint at the entrance of the city of Hilla on March 6.
The attack was the deadliest car bomb explosion in Iraq this year.

The jihadist group has been losing territory steadily in Iraq for almost a year.
In the most recent operations, Iraqi forces have been gaining ground in the western province of Anbar and have just begun their reconquest of the province of Nineveh.

In the cities the group retains control over, internal tension appears to be on the rise and the lack of supplies is taking its toll.

Observers have warned that, as their self-proclaimed "caliphate" shrinks towards extinction, IS fighters are likely to revert to their old guerrilla tactics and ramp up suicide attacks on civilian targets.

Congo president wins third term

 
Congo strongman Denis Sassou Nguesso was on Thursday declared the winner of presidential elections, extending his 32 years in power in a vote the opposition says was marked by “massive fraud”.

Interior Minister Raymond Zephyrin Mboulou announced the results in the early hours (0230 GMT) on national television, saying Sassou Nguesso had secured 60 percent of the vote in the tense weekend poll held under a communications blackout.

That official count gave runner-up Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas 15 percent of the vote, while General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko came in third with 14 percent.

Sassou Nguesso hailed the victory at his campaign headquarters, saying the Congolese people had “taken their destiny into their own hands”, and adding that the campaign had produced a “very open” democratic debate in the former French colony.

But Mokoko promptly issued “a call for general civil disobedience”.

In a text seen by AFP Mokoko wrote: “It is time to stop being afraid! I ask you to demand back your confiscated, stolen vote.”

Speaking in Paris, a lawyer for Mokoko explained the demand was for a strike, not a call for demonstrations.

Marc Mapingou, Mokoko’s representative in France, said that “General Mokoko and the entire opposition are demanding a vote recount with international observers.

“The general is not a putschist, he wants the recognition that the victory of the Congolese people has been stolen,” said Mapingou.

After Wednesday’s release of partial results, Kolelas’s spokesman Vivien Manangou lamented “massive fraud”.

Mokoko, who until February was Sassou Nguesso’s security advisor, called for a recount, saying: “I knew beforehand that the dice were loaded, but we had agreed to play the game.”

US urges restraint -
Telephone and Internet links had been down in the days following the poll, officially to prevent the opposition from publishing “illegal results” before the official announcement.

Telecommunications were re-established after the official figures were released.

The US State Department urged Congo Thursday to ensure respect for freedom of expression, the day after AFP and Le Monde journalists were assaulted while covering the presidential election in Brazzaville.

In a statement specifically naming the two media outlets, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the United States was calling “upon the government of the Republic of Congo to ensure respect for freedom of expression, assembly, and movement, and we urge security forces to remain professional and continue to exercise restraint.”

Oil- and timber-rich Congo has been on edge since an October constitutional referendum that ended a two-term limit on presidential mandates, allowing Sassou Nguesso, a 72-year-old former paratrooper colonel, to run for office again.

Critics accuse him of rampant corruption and nepotism, blasting the referendum result as a “constitutional coup”.

Sassou Nguesso has ruled Congo for all but five years since 1979, having lived in Paris in exile from 1992 to 1997.

Stampede at opposition HQ -
Manangou said security forces had stormed Kolelas’s campaign offices on Tuesday, hurling tear gas cannisters and causing a stampede that left one person dead.

A French journalist was present at the scene but was unable to confirm the death.

Mokoko and Kolelas, along with the three other opposition candidates, had earlier urged people to “exercise their sovereignty” in the event of a Sassou Nguesso victory.

They had created their own parallel “technical commission” to monitor the vote and compile polling station data to compare with official results.

They said they could say “with certainty” that the opposition had beat Sassou Nguesso in the first round and that a second-round election should be held.

The European Union refused to send election observers to monitor the polls, saying conditions had not been met for a transparent and democratic vote.

The international community has since expressed concern over the fairness of the vote and called for the opposing sides to resolve their differences calmly.

“This vote took place in a worrying context, particularly due to the cut in communications,” said France’s foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal.
Congo recorded growth of five percent over the five years to 2014 but the vast majority of the population lives in abject poverty.

Sassou Nguesso served as president from 1979 to 1992 and returned to power in 1997 following a civil war. He won two successive terms in 2002 and 2009, but both elections were contested by opposition parties.

The disgruntled opposition candidates have 15 days from voting day to appeal the election results to the constitutional court.

At least 24 drown in Ugandan storm

 
Ugandan police searched for more bodies Friday after recovering 24 corpses following a boat capsize during a ferocious storm on Lake Albert, with the death toll likely to grow.

"The police, working with the local community, have so far recovered 24 bodies from the lake," local police chief John Rutagira said, adding there were reports "many people are missing."

Many of those drowned were fishermen, but also include a one-year-old baby.

The small boat sank in the storm on Tuesday in Uganda's northeastern Buliisa district, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper.

Some 600 homes, a school, health centre and churches have been destroyed or damaged in the storm, Rutagira added.

Final edition of UK’s Independent goes to print

 
Staff at The Independent sent their final edition to the printing presses on Friday before the 30-year-old British newspaper becomes available only in digital format.

Journalists posted footage online of the team “banging ourselves out”-an old tradition of banging the desks to mark the departure of a colleague.

The newspaper’s final editorial said history would be the judge of its “bold transition” to online media, “as an example for other newspapers around the world to follow”.

“Today the presses have stopped, the ink is dry and the paper will soon crinkle no more,” it said.

“But as one chapter closes, another opens, and the spirit of The Independent will flourish still.”

The newspaper’s Russian-born British owner, Evgeny Lebedev, who announced the closure of the print edition last month, wrote that journalism had “changed beyond recognition” and the newspaper “must change too”.

The Independent was set up by three former journalists in 1986 and became known for its eye-catching, campaigning front pages and emphasis on photos.

At the peak of its popularity , it had a circulation of more than 420,000, but this slumped to 40,000.

In an editorial, The Guardian paid tribute to a “really rather wonderful newspaper” that had suffered from dramatic changes to the advertising market, notably the shift in revenues to sites such as Facebook.

“Great newspapers which have survived for centuries find their business models challenged as never before. So no one will celebrate the end of the Independent in print,” it said.

Like The Guardian, The Independent was politically left of centre, and campaigned strongly against Britain’s involvement in the US-led war in Iraq in 2003.

Saturday’s final edition will include four special magazines looking back at its history, before it becomes the first daily national to close in Britain since 1995, when Today folded.

The weekly News of the World owned by US media tycoon Rupert Murdoch closed in 2011 in the wake of a series of phone hacking scandals, but was replaced by the Sun on Sunday, which is owned by the same group.

ESI Media, which controls The Independent, is also selling off the “i”-a cut-price sister title launched in 2010 -- to Scotland-based publisher Johnston Press.

The sale price is estimated at £25 million (32 million euros, $36 million), according to British media reports-money which will be invested in the website.

Independent.co.uk currently has nearly 70 million monthly global unique users, while ESI Media has also launched a new subscription app offering a ‘virtual’ print edition.

Some staff will move to the “i” but ESI Media warned there would be some redundancies.

Many reporters tried to stay upbeat on the final day.

“Vain scramble for final-edition bylines begins,” regular contributor Simon Usborne tweeted earlier.

Parliamentary sketch writer Tom Peck added: “The whiskey’s out. Nothing would amuse me more than a massive breaking news story right now.”

Ganajagaran long march Sunday over Tonu killing

 
Ganajagaran Mancha will stage a long march towards Comilla on Sunday demanding the immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the killers of Comilla Victoria College student Sohagi Jahan Tonu as protests continued in various parts of the country.

Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarkar made the announcement at a programme held at Shahbagh intersection in the city on Friday afternoon protesting the killing of the college girl.

Leaders and activists of the platform blocked Shahbagh intersection for an hour to press home their demand.

Academicians, politicians and socio-cultural activists also joined the protest programme.

Later, they brought out a rally which paraded different streets on the Dhaka University campus.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Nari Sangbadik Kendra (Centre for Women Journalists) formed a human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the morning demanding justice for Tonu.

Kendra president Nasimun Ara Haque Minu, Bangladesh Somoy staff reporter Fouzia Haque Rimi, Daily Inqilab senior reporter Shahnaj Poly, among others, addressed the programme.

In Khulna, speakers at a protest rally here on Friday demanded immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the killers of Tonu.
They said killings and violence against women like rape are on the rise in the country due to the existing culture of impunity while women are at stake across the country.

Bangladesh Nagorik Odhikar Andolan Khulna and Sujaner Udduog jointly orgainsed the protest rally in the morning.
The speakers said Tonu was killed in a well-secure area, which is really regretful.

They lamented that although four days have elapsed after the killing, police are yet to arrest any suspect in connection with the killing.
The speakers also urged all to come forward to stop such killin
gs in the days to come.

The rally announced that rights and civil society organisations will hold a protest rally at Picture Place crossing of the city on March 27 protesting the Tonu murder.

In Comilla, a group of people, including cultural activists, civil society and students from different education institutions, formed a human chain at Kandirpar in the city in the afternoon demanding the arrest and exemplary punishment of the killers.

Besides, several protest rallies were held in various places of the district protesting the murder.

On the other hand, an emergency meeting was held at the Comilla Deputy Commissioner’s office with law enforcers in the evening.

Talking to reporters, DC M Hasanuzzaman Kallol said they have visited the spot inside the cantonment. “We hope the killers will be identified soon.”

The body of Sohagi Jahan Tonu (19), a second year history student of Victoria College and a member of Victoria College Theatre, was recovered from Comilla’s Mynamati Cantonment area on Sunday night.

Conspiracy on to make Bangladesh a vassal state’

 
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, Khaleda Zia, on Friday urged all to remain alert as a ‘serious conspiracy’ is on to turn Bangladesh into a ‘vassal state’, reports UNB news agency.

“A deep-rooted conspiracy is on to make Bangladesh into a subservient country.
Local and foreign identified vested quarters are making evil efforts to put at stake our independence and sovereignty earned through the sacrifices of lakhs of martyrs,” she said in a message issued greeting people on the occasion Independence Day.
Khaleda further said, “We all must remain alert to protect the independence of the motherland and uphold the flag of democracy foiling all plots.”

The BNP chief also renewed her call for a national unity to protect the country’s independence and sovereignty.

Mentioning that the country’s people had taken part in the Liberation War in 1971 with a vow to build a democratic


Bangladesh free from deprivation and exploitation, Khaleda said, “But, the goal couldn’t be attained for various reasons, and fascist and autocratic forces repeatedly put obstacles towards reaching it.”

The BNP chief also said the country’s march towards democracy and efforts to attain economic progress have got hindered time and again.

“Our sovereignty has also weakened.”
The nation will celebrate its 46th Independence and National Day on Saturday, paying homage to the martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for the freedom of their motherland from the Pakistani colonial rule and for the economic emancipation of the Bengalees.

BNP arranged a two-day programme to mark the day.
As part of the programme, the party arranged a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh today (Friday).

In observance of the day, BNP will hoist its flag and national flag at its Nayapaltan central office at 6am on Saturday.

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia along with her party leaders will place wreaths at Savar National Mausoleum at 7:00am to pay homage to the Liberation War martyrs.

Later, she together with her party’s leaders and activists will place wreaths at the grave of BNP founder and late President Ziaur Rahman at 8:30am on the occasion.

The party leaders and activists will also bring out an Independence Day rally from in front of its central office around 3:00pm the same day.

Nation celebrates 46th Independence Day today

 
The nation celebrates the 46th Independence and National Day today, Saturday, with due respect.

According to UNB news agency, Bangladesh’s independence was declared on 26 March 1971 following the crackdown on unarmed Banglalees on the midnight of March 25 by the Pakistani occupation forces.

After the nine-month War of Liberation with the supreme sacrifices of three million people, Bangladesh achieved its cherished independence on 16 December 1971.

The day is a public holiday.
President Abdul Hamid, prime minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia have issued messages on the occasion.

Both the president and the prime minister greeted the countrymen living at home and abroad on the occasion.

In his message, the president underscored the need for maintaining patience, self-restraint and forbearance along with showing respect to others’ opinion in a democratic pluralism.

He also urged all to take united efforts to accelerate overall development and democratic advancement of the country.

In her message, the prime minister expressed the hope that all would engage themselves with their utmost sincerity, honesty and dedication to build Bangladesh as a peaceful, non-communal, developed and prosperous country and help place it on a prestigious position in the comity of nations.

The national flag will be hoisted atop government and private buildings while the government and semi-government buildings and other public places will be illuminated on the auspicious occasion.

President Abdul Hamid and prime minister Sheikh Hasina will place wreaths at the National Mausoleum at Savar at 5:57am.

The president will host a reception at 4:45pm at Bangabhaban on occasion of the Independence and National Day. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina will attend the reception.

The prime minister will place wreath at the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi at 7:00am and she will attend a rally of children and juveniles at Bangabandhu National Stadium at 8:00am.

She will also release stamps at 4:00pm at Ganabhaban.
As part of Awami League’s programmes to celebrate the National Day, the national and party flags will be hoisted at Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi, party’s central office on Bangabandhu Avenue as well as offices across the country at sunrise. The party will place wreath at the portrait of Bangabandhu at 7:00am.

Besides, another team of AL central leader will attend programmess taken at Tungipara to observe the day.

AL will arrange a discussion at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh in the city’s Framgate at 3:30pm on Sunday. AL president and prime minister Sheikh Hasina will attend the programme as the chief guest.

In observance of the day, BNP will hoist its flag and national flag at its Naya Paltan central office.

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia along with the party leaders will place wreaths at Savar National Mausoleum at 7:00am to pay homage to the Liberation War martyrs.

Later, she together with her party’s leaders and activists will place wreaths at the grave of BNP founder and late president Ziaur Rahman at 8:30am on the occasion.

The party leaders and activists will also bring out an Independence Day rally from in front of its central office around 3:00pm the same day.

Bangladesh protests over killing of teenager in Comilla

 
Hundreds of protesters in Bangladesh have blocked a key intersection in the capital, Dhaka, over the killing of a student in a military area.
Sohagi Jahan Tonu, 19, was found dead in high security military zone in the city of Comilla on Sunday.
There are widespread rumours that she was raped, although results from her autopsy have not been released.
Students have formed human chains at sites across Comilla and Dhaka, demanding police find the killers.
Demonstrators gathered at the Shahbagh intersection on Friday evening, with some protesters reportedly saying they would blockade the area for an "indefinite period".
While violent crime is a serious problem in Bangladesh, correspondents say it is unusual for someone to be killed in a secured military cantonment.

Brussels attacks: Victims and survivors

 
More names are emerging of some of the hundreds of people killed, injured, or missing following Tuesday's terror attacks in Brussels.
At least 31 people died in the three bomb attacks at Brussels airport and Maelbeek metro station and many more were injured.
The casualties came from a wide variety of countries including, Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Britain, Hungary, Portugal, Romani
a, Spain and the US.
Police say the task of identifying the dead in the attacks has been slowed down by the violence of the explosions and because there were so many foreigners.
A page has been set up on the collaborative website Trello to identify those killed, missing and injured. A Facebook page has also been set up.

Adelma Tapia Ruiz, 37, killed

The first fatality to be confirmed was that of 37-year-old Peruvian Adelma Tapia Ruiz. Ms Tapia was killed at the airport, where she was with her Belgian husband, Christophe Delcambe, and their twin four-year-old daughters Maureen and Alondra, who all survived.
Ms Tapia's brother, Fernando Tapia Coral, said in an interview that Mr Delcambe followed his daughters outside the gate area shortly before the explosion and could not find his wife after the blast.
Mr Delcambe was reportedly injured while Maureen had shrapnel wounds in one arm. Alondra was not injured, reports said.

Palmyra: Syrian government forces 'retake citadel

 
Syrian government forces are reportedly advancing further into Palmyra, battling Islamic State militants for control of the ancient city.
The official Sana news agency reported that troops had taken a reconstructed 13th Century castle perched on a hill to the west of the Roman-era ruins.
IS seized the Unesco World Heritage site and adjoining modern town in May.
It subsequently destroyed two 2,000-year-old temples, an arch and funerary towers, drawing global outrage.
The jihadist group, which has also demolished several pre-Islamic sites in neighbouring Iraq, believes that such structures are idolatrous.

Syrian state media and activists reported that there was heavy fighting between government forces, backed by Russian air strikes, and IS militants on the outskirts of Palmyra on Friday.
In the morning, troops took full control of the so-called SyriaTel Hill on the western edge before taking the nearby castle, known as Qalaat Shirkuh or Qalaat Ibn Maan, a military sources told Sana.
Pro-government Al-Mayadeen TV said the castle, which sits on a 150m-high hilltop overlooking the ruins, was of strategic importance.

Brussels attacks: Suspect wounded, arrested in Belgian police operation

 
Explosions and gunfire rang out Friday afternoon in Brussels -- the focal point in Europe's fight against terrorism following the bloody attacks there just three days ago.
A police operation took place in the district of Schaerbeek, near where a taxi driver on Tuesday picked up three men and brought them to Brussels Airport. There, two of those carried out suicide bombings while authorities think the other escaped; about an hour later, a fresh blast rocked a train near the Maelbeek metro station.
Witnesses told , they heard two explosions, while others reported gunfire.
One man said that his son, who has a shop inside the closed-off area, saw an armed individual emerging from a metro shop who was then shot in the leg by police.
The operation ended with the arrest of one person linked to Tuesday's terrorist attacks in the Belgian capital, Schaerbeek Mayor Bernard Clerfayt told Belgian public broadcaster RTBF.
The mayor said that arrested person was wounded. It was not clear if that individual was the same one the shopkeeper saw shot in the leg.
Authorities earlier conducted searches in Schaerbeek for several hours Thursday into Friday morning, sealing off streets for several blocks. At one point, masked teams in hazmat gear could be seen exiting a building and heading toward a police van.
And -- acting on the taxi driver's tip -- they'd raided a Schaerbeek apartment days earlier and uncovered 15 kilograms of the explosive TATP, chemicals, a suitcase with nails and screws, an ISIS flag and other equipment meant to make explosives, according to Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw.
Van Leeuw also noted police found, on a computer in a nearby trash can, the will of one of the airport suicide bombers, Ibrahim El Bakraoui.

North Korean official: Korean-American confessed to espionage charges

 
Korean-American currently detained in North Korea has confessed to espionage charges, a North Korean official. Kim, a naturalized American, said he moved to Yanji, a city near the Chinese-North Korean border that acts as a trade hub between the two countries, in 2001.
From Yanji, Kim said he commuted daily to Rason, a special economic zone on the North Korean side of the border, where he served as president of a company involved in international trade and hotel services.
According to Kim, he spied on behalf of "South Korean conservative elements," for which he was arrested in October 2015.He said he started working as a spy in April 2013, bribing local residents to "gather important materials," which he smuggled into China or South Korea.
Asked whether he worked for the United States at any time, Kim said categorically that he did not.
Kim's January claims were made in the presence of North Korean officials, and CNN cannot determine whether they were made under duress.
Kim was arrested while he was meeting a source to obtain a USB stick and camera used to gather military secrets.
The source, a 35-year-old former North Korean soldier, was also arrested. Kim said he did not know the other man's fate.

Africa's 'happiest' countries revealed

 
What makes a country happy? Is it wealth, freedom or a trustworthy government?
According to the latest World Happiness Report, compiled by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations, all these factors are key, and measuring happiness is fast becoming a good measure of social progress.
Six key factors were measured to establish a global ranking of the happiest countries; GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and perceptions of corruption.
Only five African countries rank among the top 100, and eight of the last ten overall are in Sub-Saharan Africa, having ranked very low on some of the key factors that lead to happiness.
Here are the first ten African countries as they appear on the global list.

Ranking number 38 on the global list of the happiest countries in the world is Algeria, North Africa. GDP per capita played a big role in this ranking, followed by social support.
People in Algeria are also quite equal in terms of happiness, out of 147 countries Algeria came in at number 47 on the list showing standard deviation of happiness, where one is the most equal and 147 is the least.

Pentagon: ISIS finance minister killed

 
The Pentagon said Friday that it had killed ISIS' finance minister, Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, whom many analysts consider the group's No. 2 leader.
Those analysts believe al-Qaduli would have been expected to take control of the day-to-day running of ISIS, also called ISIL, if its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed or incapacitated.
The U.S. operation was intended to capture him alive, a U.S. official told CNN. Helicopters loaded with special operations forces swooped in on a vehicle carrying al-Qaduli, but at the last moment something happened that caused them to decide to fire on the vehicle instead. The official would not say what it was that caused them to modify the plan.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the death at a news conference Friday morning.
"We are systematically eliminating ISIL's cabinet," Carter said, adding it was "the second senior ISIL leader we've successfully targeted this month."
Explaining the significance of this particular figure, Carter noted, "We've taken out the leader who oversees the funding for ISIL's operations, hurting their ability to pay fighters and hire recruits."
 
 
Asked whether the U.S. was turning the corner on the fight against ISIS, Carter responded, "We're certainly gathering momentum and we're seeing that that momentum is having an effect."
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford, appearing alongside Carter, agreed that the U.S.-led coalition was gaining momentum, but he cautioned: "By no means would I say that we're about to break the back of ISIL or that the fight is over."
Carter also connected Friday's announcement to the terror attacks in Europe that ISIS has undertaken, including a mass killing in Brussels on Tuesday.
"Like Paris, Brussels is a strong reminder of why we need to hasten the defeat of ISIL wherever it exists in the world," Carter said, stressing the United States' commitment to Europe.
"Our enemies are one and the same," he declared."And together we continue to do more and more to bring the full weight of our vast military capabilities to bear in accelerating the defeat of ISIL."
This is not the first time al-Qaduli has been reported killed. In July, the Iraqi Defense Ministry claimed a coalition air strike had killed him in Tal Afar in northern Iraq.
At the time U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the region, debunked the claim, saying it had "no information to corroborate" that ISIS' second-in-command had been killed.
 
The U.S. Treasury labeled al-Qaduli "a specially designated global terrorist" in 2014. According to the Treasury, he also goes by 12 aliases, including Hajji Iman, a name Carter used when speaking to reporters Friday.
The U.S. State Department had offered a $7 million reward for information on al-Qaduli -- the highest for any ISIS leader apart from al-Baghdadi, who is valued at $10 million.
That sizable bounty makes al-Qaduli the sixth-most-wanted terrorist in the world, ranking only behind the likes of the heads of al Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban's Haqqani network.

Can Trump get to 1,237 delegates?

 
Ted Cruz and John Kasich will need a political earthquake to slow Donald Trump.
To stop the billionaire from hitting, or coming very close to, the magic number of 1,237 delegates needed to seal the Republican nomination and to raise the prospect of a contested convention, they must do more than simply start snapping up victories in the remaining nominating contests: They must fundamentally reshape the political map.
Cruz, the Texas senator seen as extreme by many mainstream voters, would suddenly have to start appealing to moderates. And Kasich, the Ohio governor branded a RINO (Republican in Name Only) by many grass-roots activists must suddenly find an invisible connection to conservatives.
And even if that worked, both men would have to start winning big in precincts and entire states that look nothing like those where they have had success so far.
 
 
"If things continue on the same trajectory that they are on right now. Trump is going to get to 1,237 delegates or awfully close to 1,237," said University of Georgia Professor Joshua Putnam, an expert of the delegate math and publisher of the Frontloading Hq blog.

According to the latest CNN estimate, Trump leads the race with 741 delegates, Cruz has 461 and Kasich, who has only won his home state of Ohio, has 145. Marco Rubio captured 166 delegates before he left the race.
To clinch the nomination, Trump needs to win just 55% of the remaining 899 delegates. Cruz needs 86% and Kasich needs 121% — in other words, hundreds of delegates that don't actually exist. To show the improbable nature of Cruz's task, Trump's dominant position in the delegate count is based on winning only around 47% of the delegates so far awarded.
Why I'm voting for Donald Trump
But the race is also certain to take several months to wrap up. The primary schedule means Trump will have to at least wait until the June 7 contests -- including the mammoth California primary with its 172 delegates -- before he can definitively clinch the nomination.
Cruz is billing himself as the only candidate with a real chance of slowing Trump — a task he says is complicated by Kasich's continued campaign.
 
 
"You can't lose every state and expect to be the nominee," Cruz told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day" on Wednesday. "Right now, Kasich's role is really being a spoiler. Kasich benefits Donald Trump."
But Kasich maintains that no candidate is likely to reach the delegate total needed to win the race, so to leave now would be "nuts."
"I am not going anywhere, am I a spoiler, of course I am not a spoiler," Kasich said on CNN on Monday.
Sure, Cruz does have a mathematical chance of overcoming Trump's delegate lead and clinching the nomination himself before the Cleveland convention in July -- but it would essentially require running the table. So hopes o halting Trump rely on him being stopped so far short of the 1,237 barrier that an attempt to deprive him of the nomination at the convention does not smack of a coup against millions of Trump voters.

Map favors Trump, Kasich

The system of doling out delegates in each state -- some are winner take all, some are proportionately awarded, and some have intricate hybrid distribution formulas -- is so complicated it's just not possible to say how the math will play out.
Trump's exact final number could depend on whether he reaches 50% thresholds some states and congressional districts require for a winner take all distribution of their delegates.

Brussels attacks: Suspect wounded, arrested in Belgian police operation

 
Explosions and gunfire rang out Friday afternoon in Brussels -- the focal point in Europe's fight against terrorism following the bloody attacks there just three days ago.
A police operation took place in the district of Schaerbeek, near where a taxi driver on Tuesday picked up three men and brought them to Brussels Airport. There, two of those carried out suicide bombings while authorities think the other escaped; about an hour later, a fresh blast rocked a train near the Maelbeek metro station.
Witnesses told CNN they heard two explosions, while others reported gunfire.
One man said that his son, who has a shop inside the closed-off area, saw an armed individual emerging from a metro shop who was then shot in the leg by police.
The operation ended with the arrest of one person linked to Tuesday's terrorist attacks in the Belgian capital, Schaerbeek Mayor Bernard Clerfayt told Belgian public broadcaster RTBF.
The mayor said that arrested person was wounded. It was not clear if that individual was the same one the shopkeeper saw shot in the leg.
Authorities earlier conducted searches in Schaerbeek for several hours Thursday into Friday morning, sealing off streets for several blocks. At one point, masked teams in hazmat gear could be seen exiting a building and heading toward a police van.
And -- acting on the taxi driver's tip -- they'd raided a Schaerbeek apartment days earlier and uncovered 15 kilograms of the explosive TATP, chemicals, a suitcase with nails and screws, an ISIS flag and other equipment meant to make explosives, according to Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw.
Van Leeuw also noted police found, on a computer in a nearby trash can, the will of one of the airport suicide bombers, Ibrahim El Bakraoui.

Can Europe stop the next attack?

These kinds of police actions suggest authorities' urgency not only to learn more about what happened Tuesday in Brussels, but to prevent the next attack.
At least six people were arrested overnight in Belgium, while a man in France suspected of being in an "advance stage" of planning his own attack was also detained. Afterward, law enforcement found 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of TATP and a Kalashnikov rifle were found in a raid in Argenteuil on Paris' outskirts, a source briefed on the investigation said.
Investigators know of additional plots in Europe, in various stages of planning, linked to the same networks behind November's Paris attacks and the latest ones in Brussels that left 31 people dead and 300 more wounded, according to U.S. counterterrorism officials. Those terrorists are tied to ISIS, the Islamist extremist group that's taken over swaths of Syria and Iraq while also lashing out elsewhere around the world.
There's also a growing feeling that those opposing ISIS can do more. Some of this relates to continuing military efforts in the Middle East. Some has to do with better intelligence and cooperation among allies.
Belgium, especially, has come under fire. Interior Minister Jan Jambon offered to resign after acknowledging missed opportunities to stop one of the suicide bombers, Ibrahim El Bakraoui. And Prime Minister Charles Michel said he talked with Kerry about how "to do better (and) work together to be more efficient."
Michel added, "We need to accept that we need to improve the fight against terrorism in Europe and in Belgium."
Faces of fear and hope
Who are the Brussels victims?
Unraveling the web of the attacks
Survivors tell their stories
How officials failed to join the dots

Monday, March 21, 2016

Barack Obama: 'Change is going to happen in Cuba'

 
President Barack Obama is in Cuba for a historic three-day visit to the island and talks with its communist leader.
He is the first sitting US president to visit since the 1959 revolution, which heralded decades of hostility between the two countries.
Mr Obama said change would happen in Cuba and that Cuban President Raul Castro understood that.
The two leaders met to talk about trade and held a joint news conference.
Mr Castro denied that there are political prisoners in Cuba, telling journalists to "give him a list" and then they would be released "tonight".
He also defended Cuba's record on human rights and pointed to problems in the US.
"We defend human rights, in our view civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights are indivisible, inter-dependent and universal," Mr Castro said.
"Actually we find it inconceivable that a government does not defend and ensure the right to healthcare, education, social security, food provision and development."
Mr Obama said the trade embargo would be fully lifted in Cuba, but he could not say exactly when.
"The reason is what we did for 50 years did not serve our interests or the interests of the Cuban people," he said.
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