world news: 2019-02-10

Saturday 16 February 2019

White supremacist gets life for killing black man to start a race war

James Jackson, 30, a former U.S. Army specialist, had hoped to start a race war when he attacked Timothy Caughman with a sword.

Netanyahu leaves Poland after plane mishap delayed departure

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to spend an extra night in Warsaw after his plane was damaged following an airport mishap shortly before departure. He departed around noon Friday, marking an inauspicious ending to a turbulent visit.

Alaska Airlines is selling BOGO flights for one day only

On February 14 only, the airline is rolling out a ‘Fly One, Get One’ promotionbetween select destinations around the country

IS teen's wish to return stirs UK debate over jihadi brides

A pregnant London schoolgirl's wish to return home after joining the Islamic State group in Syria splintered Britain on Friday as reports emerged of more UK women fleeing the war zone. Shamima Begum's fate has prompted soul searching in Britain since she and two friends created international headlines by running away to join the terror network in 2015. Home Secretary Sajid Javid told The Times newspaper that people like Begum "were full of hate for our country".

Family of IS teen appeals to UK to help bring her home

LONDON (AP) — The family of a pregnant British teenager who ran away to join the Islamic State group urged the government Friday to help bring her home.

Sources: Jussie Smollett staged attack with help of others, allegedly being written off 'Empire'

Multiple sources have told ABC7 Eyewitness News that police are investigating whether Smollett and the two men staged the attack allegedly because Smollett was being written off of "Empire."

Trump declares emergency for border wall, House panel launches probe

The Republican president's move to circumvent Congress represented an escalation in his efforts to make good on a 2016 presidential campaign pledge to build a wall to halt the flow into the country of illegal immigrants, who Trump says bring crime and drugs. Hours after Trump's announcement, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee said it had launched an investigation into the emergency declaration. In a letter to Trump, committee Democrats asked him to make available for a hearing White House and Justice Department officials involved in the action.

Venezuela Supreme Court orders prosecution of new oil boards

Venezuela's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that executives appointed to boards affiliated with state oil firm PDVSA -- in a bid for control by opposition leader Juan Guaido -- face criminal prosecution. The court -- packed with Maduro loyalists -- ordered legal action against 15 executives that the National Assembly, headed by Guaido, named on Wednesday to form four new executive boards for PDVSA and its US-based affiliate Citgo.

No more A380s? Why Airbus' bet on 'superjumbo' jets failed

It’s official: Airbus will pull the plug on its A380 double-decker jet. The latest A380 is now expected to roll off the assembly line in 2021.

Will an increasingly progressive Democratic Party become steadily more anti-Semitic?

Progressives see Israel as an occupying power, an apartheid state, illegitimate. You don’t have to be anti-Semite to be anti-Zionist — but it helps.

Elliott Abrams bristles at Rep. Ilhan Omar's 'attack' for his Iran-Contra role

Elliott Abrams, who pleaded guilty in 1991 to withholding information from Congress, was appointed as U.S. envoy to Venezuela on Friday.

British schoolgirl Shamima Begum who joined Isil found in Syria and 'wants to come home'

A British schoolgirl who fled to Syria to join Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has said she does not regret it, but wants to return to the UK to give birth. Shamima Begum, 19, vanished from her home in Bethnal Green in London four years ago, along with two other teenage girls, Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase. A girl who identified herself as Shamima Begum, was found in a refugee camp in Syria as the Isil caliphate collapsed, the Times reported. In an interview with the newspaper she described how she had been living in the caliphate and had married an Isil fighter from the Netherlands called Yago Riedijk. She was heavily pregnant and due to give birth any day. Kadiza Sultana, Amira Abase, and Shamima Begum Credit: PA The girl is living in the al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria along with 39,000 other refugees. She described having seen a severed head in a bin during her time with Isil, and escaping bombs dropping, the Times reported. The teenager also said she had already given birth to two children, both of whom died in infancy. She told the Times: "I’m not the same silly little 15-year-old schoolgirl who ran away from Bethnal Green four years ago. And I don’t regret coming here." She added: "I am scared this baby is going to get sick in this camp, that's why I want to get back to Britain, because I know my baby will be looked after." The three girls had joined another London teenager, Sharmeena Begum, in Syria. All were married off to jihadists. Shamima Begum said at least one of her friends, Kadiza Sultana, had been killed when a bomb hit a house in Raqqa. Renu, eldest sister of Shamima Begum, 15, holds her sister's photo while being interviewed by the media at New Scotland Yard, central London Credit: PA The other two girls reportedly stayed on to fight in Baghuz in eastern Syria, along with a few hundred Isil fighters, as the caliphate came to an end. Shamima Begum and her husband fled instead, and the husband surrendered to Kurdish forces. The girl told the Times she had spoken to her mother in the UK and asked for her support when she goes home. She had also read what had been written about her online by people back in the UK. "The caliphate is over," she told the Times. "There was so much oppression and corruption that I don’t think they deserved victory. I know what everyone at home thinks of me. But I just want to come home to have my child. All I want to do is come home to Britain." British teenagers Kadiza Sultana, Amira Abase and Shamima Begum passing through security barriers at Gatwick Airport, en route to Syria in 2015 Credit: AFP The Home Office said it does not comment on individual cases, although anyone who returns to the UK after travelling to IS territory faces criminal investigation and stricter laws are now in place. Security Minister Ben Wallace said: "The UK advises against all travel to Syria and parts of Iraq. Anyone who does travel to these areas, for whatever reason, is putting themselves in considerable danger. "Everyone who returns from taking part in the conflict in Syria or Iraq must expect to be investigated by the police to determine if they have committed criminal offences, and to ensure that they do not pose a threat to our national security. "There are a range of terrorism offences where individuals can be convicted for crimes committed overseas and we can also use Temporary Exclusion Orders to control an individuals' return to the UK." A displaced Syrian woman and a child walk toward tents at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp of al-Hol in al-Hasakeh governorate in northeastern Syria Credit: AFP Tasnime Akunjee, a lawyer who was instructed by the Bethnal Green girls' families after they ran away, said he was "glad (Ms Begum) is alive and safe". He told the Press Association the authorities should be reminded of former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe's position at the time of their disappearance. "The position of the Metropolitan Police was that they should be treated as victims, so long as they hadn't committed any further offences while they are out there," he said. Mr Akunjee said he had spoken to the girls' families, who had "expressed the position that they want time and space to process what's happened". The Western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are expected to announce the territorial defeat of Isil in the coming days. Around 2,000 US special forces are expected to be brought home by April. Giving evidence to MPs in the wake of the British schoolgirls's disappearance, in 2015, senior police officers said they would not be treated as criminals if they returned home. They said there was a "difference between the person running around with a Kalishnikov" and three schoolgirls who had been duped into travelling to Syria. The girls funded their travel to Syria by stealing jewellery from relatives, paying more than £1,000 in cash to a local travel agent for their flights to Turkey. Donald Trump has said Isil is "defeated"and that an announcement is imminent on "100 percent of the caliphate" having been retaken. The war to push Isil out of its so-called caliphate had lasted more than four-and-a-half years. The area once covered part of Syria and Iraq that was around the size of Britain. Pentagon officials have warned that Isil remains an "active insurgent group in both Iraq and Syria". Sign up for your essential, twice-daily briefing from The Telegraph with our free Front Page newsletter.

Manafort Judge Finds His Lies Violated Mueller Plea Deal

Manafort lied about his contacts with a Russian translator, Konstantin Kilimnik, who Mueller says has ties to Russian intelligence services, the judge concluded. Some of the contacts with Kilimnik came while Manafort was running President Donald Trump’s campaign, and some occurred after Trump’s election, according to prosecutors. Manafort also lied about the nature of a $125,000 payment to a law firm and about a matter under a separate Department of Justice investigation, according to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington.

Venezuela opens investigation into opposition-appointed PDVSA directors: prosecutor

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's chief state prosecutor said on Thursday an investigation had been opened into directors of state-run oil firm PDVSA, and its U.S. refiner Citgo, that the opposition-controlled congress appointed on Wednesday. Prosecutor Tarek Saab, in comments broadcast on state television, announced "the opening of an investigation against people designated illegally as directors of PDVSA and Citgo." Saab also said they would investigate foreign ambassadors named by opposition leader Juan Guaido, who on Jan 23 invoked constitutional provisions to assume an interim presidency. ...

Amazon drops New York headquarters plan amid protests

Amazon abandoned plans for a new headquarters in New York City on Thursday, blaming opposition from community leaders angry at the huge subsidies being offered to one of the world's most successful companies. The online retail giant had promised the sprawling complex in the borough of Queens would create 25,000 jobs in exchange for nearly $3 billion in state and city incentives -- which had riled some New Yorkers. "While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project," Amazon said in a statement.

Kashmir car bomb kills 44; India demands Pakistan act against militants

The Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack. The Indian government accused Pakistan of letting militant groups operate from its soil and called on it to take action. Kashmir is a Muslim-majority region at the heart of decades of hostility between India and Pakistan.

Students track fatal child shootings since Parkland killings

PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — A student journalism project has concluded that at least 1,149 children and teenagers died from a shooting in the year since the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

US senate passes border bill as Trump prepares to declare national emergency

The US Senate has passed a major spending bill that would effectively avoid another federal government shutdown, sending the legislation to the president’s desk for a signature. Now, the only question is whether Donald Trump intends to sign it. The bipartisan measure is the product of weeks of negotiations after the longest government shutdown in history, in which Mr Trump demanded billions of dollars towards his campaign promise of building a wall sprawling across the entirety of the US-Mexico border.

Amazon HQ2 Pulling Out of Queens Hits New Yorkers Hard

Social media reacts to the tech giant's decision not to move to Long Island City after all

Sources: Jussie Smollett staged attack with help of others, allegedly being written off 'Empire'

Multiple sources have told ABC7 Eyewitness News that police are investigating whether Smollett and the two men staged the attack allegedly because Smollett was being written off of "Empire."

Modi says Pakistan will pay 'huge price' for Kashmir bombing

India's prime minister yesterday accused Pakistan of involvement in the suicide bombing that killed 44 paramilitary police in Kashmir on Thursday, and warned of a dire response. Narendra Modi said the neighbouring country had made a "huge mistake" for which it will pay a "huge price". Speaking after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, Mr Modi declared that India's security forces had been given "full freedom" to respond to the attack. "If our neighbour thinks it can destabilise India, then it is making a big mistake," he said. Mr Modi was reacting to claims from the Pakistan-based Islamist militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), that it carried out the attack on a paramilitary convoy on the outskirts of Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar. India’s foreign office demanded that Islamabad take "immediate and verifiable action" against the JeM. New Delhi has also withdrawn trade privileges extended to Pakistan under their long-standing Most Favoured Nation (MFN) agreement as part of "diplomatically isolating" Islamabad, said senior federal minister Arun Jaitley. Pakistan, however, has dismissed all Indian charges of any involvement in the bombing, which it said was a "matter of grave concern". Police detain a demonstrator during a protest against the attack on a bus that killed 44 CRPF personnel in south Kashmir on Thursday Credit: Reuters Over 2,700 Central Reserve Police Force paramilitary personnel were travelling to Srinagar in a 78-vehicle convoy when a 22-year old suicide bomber, identified as Adil Ahmad Dar, rammed his car packed with over 125bs of plastic explosives into one of the stationary busses. Police officials said Dar, a school dropout who had earlier worked in a sawmill near Srinagar, was reported missing since late last year. The JeM has been active in Kashmir since its founding in 2000 and India holds it responsible for attacking its parliament building in New Delhi in 2001, an assault that brought the nuclear-armed neighbours to the brink of war. The JeM has been designated a ‘terrorist’ organisation by the UN, UK and the US, and even, under foreign pressure, proscribed in Pakistan since 2002. But its founder, cleric Masood Azhar, freely roams the country, holding public meetings and fund-raising drives. Indian efforts to have Azhar designated an international terrorist have long been been blocked by Pakistan’s close strategic ally China. India claims Pakistan, which seized a third of Kashmir after independence in 1947 and lays claim to the rest, fuels the disputed province’s 30-year Muslim insurgency for an independent homeland in which over 70,000 people had died. Students hold candles during a vigil for the dead paramilitary police Credit: Reuters Pakistan denies Indian allegations, saying it only provided Kashmiri separatists’ moral and diplomatic support for their cause. The two neighbours have fought two of their three wars since independence over Kashmir. And in 1999, soon after both became nuclear weapon states, their two armies clashed in Kashmir’s Himalayan Kargil region for 11-weeks resulting in 1,200 soldiers dying on both sides. Meanwhile, India’s principal Opposition Congress Party, virulently opposed to Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government, has offered its unequivocal support to the administration to deal with the crisis posed by the terror strike. The authorities have also imposed curfew in Kashmir’s winter capital Jammu following violent protests that erupted in the city over the terror attack. Several cars were set alight and the authorities have suspended Internet services in Jammu to prevent rumours spreading over social media.

Vessel discovers wreck of World War II carrier Hornet

SEATTLE (AP) — A research vessel funded by the late Seattle billionaire Paul Allen has discovered the wreckage of an American aircraft carrier sunk in the South Pacific during World War II. It is the latest in an ongoing effort to discover sunken vessels.

Denver teachers, school district reach deal to end strike

The walkout, the first teachers' strike in Colorado's largest city since 1994, began on Monday after 15 months of contract talks broke down.

Ocasio-Cortez takes a victory lap after Amazon scraps plans to build in New York

The Democratic phenom scores a victory over the "richest man in the world."

'Forever haunted' Parkland mourns a year after shooting

School buses brought only a handful of students to a shortened class day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a former student with an assault gun killed 17 people on Feb. 14, 2018. Leaders of March for Our Lives, a national student movement formed in the aftermath of the Parkland tragedy to fight gun violence, were not in the spotlight, having noted they would "go dark" or cease most communications during the anniversary. "Every day it feels like the shooting is happening again, or happened yesterday, or will happen tomorrow," said Gonzalez, who rose to prominence by urging her fellow students to "call B.S." on supporters of the gun lobby.

Iran asks Pakistan to move against militants who killed 27 Guards

Iran urged neighboring Pakistan on Saturday to crack down on militants who killed 27 of its Revolutionary Guards in an attack near the border or expect military action by Tehran "to punish the terrorists", state media reported.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2X6ch8V

SDF take control of last IS enclave in east Syria: Observatory

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said U.S.-backed fighters seized the last Islamic State enclave in eastern Syria on Saturday after the jihadists who were still there surrendered.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2TPl64Q

Afghan Taliban likely to meet Saudi crown prince in Pakistan: sources

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is likely to meet Afghan Taliban representatives during his visit to Pakistan starting on Sunday, Pakistani government sources said, part of efforts to broker an end to Afghanistan's 17-year-old civil war.