| Venezuela troops fire teargas on Colombia border protesters Posted: 23 Feb 2019 05:25 AM PST  Venezuelan forces on Saturday hurled tear gas and fired rubber to break up a crowd demanding to cross the Urena border bridge to Colombia. "We want to work!" people chanted as they faced Venezuelan National Guard riot police blocking the crossing, one of several ordered closed by President Nicolas Maduro late Friday. Supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido in Colombia are planning to cross the border carrying emergency supplies into Venezuela. While the need for basic food and medicines is real, the effort is also meant to embarrass military officers who continue to support Maduro's increasingly isolated government. Juan Guaido, recognized by most Western nations as the country's legitimate head of state, defied court orders not to leave Venezuela by arriving on Friday in the Colombian border city of Cucuta, where aid from the U.S. and Colombian governments is stockpiled in warehouses. Self-declared acting president Juan Guaido has vowed humanitarian aid would enter Venezuela despite a blockade Credit: AFP Guaido, 35, head of the opposition-run Congress, has provided few details on the transport plan. Trucks are expected to be driven by Venezuelan volunteers and some opposition figures have suggested forming human chains. "Today the obstacles that the dictatorship created will tomorrow be rivers of unity, of peace," Guaido said in a news conference on Friday in Cucuta, where he was received by Colombian President Ivan Duque. Venezuelan soldiers may bar the way. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said in a tweet late on Friday that Venezuela's government shut the Tachira border that connects it with Cucuta temporarily "due to a series of illegal threats" by Colombia. Venezuelan demonstrators clash with security forces in Urena, Venezuela, Credit: Reuters A group of frustrated Venezuelans who were seeking to cross into Colombia on Saturday to work morning threw rocks and bottles at National Guard troops, who responded with tear gas. "We were all going to work, we want to work, the people attempted to force through," said Viviana Meza, 29, who works in a Cucuta restaurant. At least four National Guard officers on Saturday at the border disavowed Maduro's government and requested assistance from the Colombian government, Colombia's migration agency said on Saturday. Videos on social media showed crowds first jeering and then cheering the men as they were escorted away by Colombian police. Venezuelans clash with national guards in the border town of Urena after Maduro´s government ordered to temporary close down the border with Colombia Credit: AFP Maduro blames the country's dire situation on U.S. sanctions that have blocked the country from obtaining financing and have hobbled the OPEC nation's oil industry. Rodriguez says the aid is poisoned. Concerns about the potential for violence flared on Friday when the Venezuelan army opened fire in an village near the Brazilian border after indigenous leaders attempted to prevent them from advancing, killing a woman and her husband. "I don't plan to leave my house over the weekend, especially after what happened near Brazil," said Paulina Sanchez, a 68-year-old grandmother who lives just 300 meters (yards) from the Francisco de Paula Santander bridge, one of the crossings through which aid may pass. "This could turn into a powder keg." Nearly 200,000 people attended a benefit concert in Cucuta on Friday featuring Latin pop stars, including Luis Fonsi of "Despacito" fame, many of whom called on Maduro to step down. A rival concert held by the ruling Socialist Party on the Venezuelan side was sparsely attended. Guaido in January invoked articles of the constitution to assume interim presidency and denounced Maduro as a usurper, arguing his 2018 re-election was illegitimate.
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| Clumsy Kamala Posted: 23 Feb 2019 01:30 AM PST  No Democrat running for president has had a better 2019 than Kamala Harris. The numbers tell the tale. The California senator was in the low single digits in polls conducted before her official launch on January 28. She is now in the low double digits, running third behind Joe Biden, who enjoys cosmic name recognition, and Bernie Sanders, whose devoted supporters brought him a second-place finish last time. But polls do not tell the whole story.Harris raised $1.5 million in the day after declaring her candidacy. That number, impressive for a senator not even a third of the way through her first term, has been bested only by Sanders, a socialist who has a venture capitalist's talent for raising money. He brought in $5.9 million in the first 24 hours of his campaign. Harris, however, has something Sanders does not.She is a fresh face of middle age (54 years) and of diverse background (her father is Jamaican, her mother Indian) whose chief rivals at the moment are two geriatric white men. As Democrats search for someone new to lead them against President Trump, Harris has distinguished herself from the field. Her CNN town hall drew record ratings, while Amy Klobuchar's flopped. And Harris leads the 2020 Democrats in social-media interactions, according to an Axios/Newswhip study. She's had a good launch. But there's a caveat.David Axelrod has described presidential campaigns as MRIs for the soul. He means that a candidate is subjected to pressures strong enough to reveal his or her true character. What voters get at the end of the process is a fuller picture of the men and women they choose to inhabit the White House. In these early weeks of what is certain to be a seemingly endless and certainly vitriolic campaign, Harris has demonstrated both strengths and weaknesses. Her strength is that she seems a perfect fit for the current shape of the Democratic party. Her weakness is a blithe and insouciant manner that is sure to cause her trouble. In fact it already has. Consider three recent slipups.The first took place during that CNN special. An audience member asked Senator Harris for her "solution to ensure that people have access to quality health care at an affordable price," and "does that solution involve cutting insurance companies as we know them out of the equation?" You bet it does, was Harris's answer. "We need to have Medicare-for-all. That's just the bottom line." Following up, Jake Tapper mentioned that Harris has co-sponsored a bill that would end employer-based insurance, which covers some 180 million Americans. "So," Tapper asked, "for people out there who like their insurance, they don't get to keep it?"Harris seemed not to understand the magnitude of the change she supports. She mentioned the "process of going through an insurance company," how "going through all of that paperwork" has caused delays and headaches for many. "Let's eliminate all of that," she said. "Let's move on."Actually, let's stay still for now, and ask the following questions. Harris promises to end the health coverage of millions without providing a satisfactory rationale for, or explanation of, her position. Does she really believe there won't be paperwork in government-run health care? Paperwork is government's specialty. And if the Obamacare mandate was unpopular, how will voters greet President Harris's mandate to "eliminate" the status quo that covers the vast majority? The substance of her answer was obvious catnip for Republicans always eager to "pounce," and the style was no less harmful. Harris did not give the impression that she took either the question or the implications of her answer all too seriously. This is something that happens often.Moment two: On January 29, after Jussie Smollett claimed he had been attacked in a hate crime by two white Trump fans in the middle of a wintry Chicago night, Harris tweeted her support for the actor. "This was an attempted modern day lynching," she said. "No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate." What Harris did not mention were the curious details of the story — details that the Chicago Police Department investigated and finally debunked. It turns out Smollett was attacked not by white supremacists but by two Nigerian immigrants whom he had put up to the job. The "modern day lynching" was a bogus, disgusting, and exploitative affront to the real victims of hatred. A prepared candidate would have expressed regret at her tweet and familiarity with the case. Harris was not prepared.During a visit to New Hampshire last weekend, a reporter asked Harris if she would like to revisit her words about Smollett. Harris clearly had no idea what the reporter was talking about. "Which tweet? What tweet?" she said. The reporter read the tweet back to Harris. Who stood there, agog, looking to her aides for help. And who finally answered, "I think that the facts are still unfolding, and, um, I'm very, um concerned about obviously, the initial, um, allegation that he made about what might have happened." Except it didn't happen. Nor is it clear if Harris actually wrote the tweet in support of Smollett. She might hold positions, including on health care, the details of which she is unaware. Which is a problem.Anecdote three is a family matter. On February 11, Harris appeared on the Breakfast Club podcast. One of the hosts wanted to know if she was against legalizing marijuana. "That's not true," she said. "Look, I joke about it, I have joked about it. Half my family is from Jamaica, are you kidding me?" She's smoked weed herself. "I have. And I inhaled. I did inhale. It was a long time ago, but yes. I just broke news." She went on to explain that she smoked a joint, not a blunt. And that marijuana "gives people joy." Her father felt no joy, however, at Harris's answer.In a statement released to the website Jamaica Global Online, Donald Harris, an economist, wrote: "My dear departed grandmothers (whose extraordinary legacy I described in a recent essay on this website), as well as my deceased parents, must be turning in their grave right now to their family's name, reputation, and proud Jamaican identity being connected, in any way, jokingly or not with the fraudulent stereotype of a pot-smoking joy seeker and in the pursuit of identity politics. Speaking for myself and my immediate Jamaican family, we wish to categorically dissociate ourselves from this controversy." Father's Day should be interesting.What trips up Kamala Harris is an evident desire to please her audience. She wants no enemies to her left, no identity politics left untouched. She can't run as a prosecutor — crime fighting is so 1990s — but she can run as brash, bold, and woke. Her verbal miscues are possible evidence that this latest political fashion doesn't quite fit. She has made a habit of making unforced errors, and the game is only in its first month. Harris's Democratic opponents may be too blinkered or bashful to exploit this weakness. That will not be a problem for her Republican opponent.This article was originally published in the Washington Free Beacon.
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| Suspected Bangladesh plane hijacker shot dead: army Posted: 24 Feb 2019 09:03 AM PST  Bangladesh commandos stormed a passenger jet in the country's southeast Sunday and shot dead an armed man who allegedly tried to hijack the Dubai-bound flight, an army official said. The suspect, described by officials as a Bangladeshi man in his mid 20s, was shot as special forces rushed the Boeing 737-800 plane after it landed safely in Chittagong. The 134 passengers and 14 crew aboard the Bangladesh Biman flight BG147 were all rescued unharmed, officials said.
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| Cargo jet with three on board crashes near Houston airport Posted: 23 Feb 2019 02:07 PM PST  A Boeing 767 cargo jetliner heading to Houston with three people aboard disintegrated after crashing Saturday into a bay east of the city, according to a Texas sheriff. Witnesses told emergency personnel that the twin-engine plane "went in nose first," leaving a debris field three-quarters of a mile long in Trinity Bay, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said. "It's probably a crash that nobody would survive," he said, referring to the scene as "total devastation." Witnesses said they heard the plane's engines surging and that the craft turned sharply before falling into a nosedive, Hawthorne said. Aerial footage shows emergency personnel walking along a spit of marshland flecked by debris that extends into the water. The remnants of the jet The sheriff said recovering pieces of the plane, its black box containing flight data records and any remains of the people on board will be difficult in muddy marshland that extends to about 5 feet deep in the area. Air boats are needed to access the area. The plane had departed from Miami and was likely only minutes away from landing at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert after officials lost radar and radio contact with Atlas Air Flight 3591 when it was about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of the airport, FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said. The Coast Guard dispatched boats and at least one helicopter to assist in the search for survivors. A dive team with the Texas Department of Public Safety will be tasked with finding the black box, Hawthorne said. Trinity Bay is just north of Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. FAA investigators are traveling to the scene as are authorities with the National Transportation Safety Board, which will lead the investigation.
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| U.S.-backed SDF hands over 280 Iraqi, foreign detainees to Iraq Posted: 24 Feb 2019 03:34 PM PST ![U.S.-backed SDF hands over 280 Iraqi, foreign detainees to Iraq]( "U.S.-backed SDF hands over 280 Iraqi, foreign detainees to Iraq") An Iraqi military colonel confirmed to Reuters that 130 people were transferred on Sunday, adding to the 150 transferred on Thursday. There are meant to be more such handovers under an agreement to transfer a group of some 500 detainees held by the SDF in Syria, Iraqi military sources said. Among the 280 were as many as 14 French citizens and six Arabs of unspecific nationality, according to one military source close to the handover process who commands troops near the Syrian border.
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| Turkish President Erdogan lashes out at Sisi over Egypt executions Posted: 23 Feb 2019 09:19 PM PST  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sharply criticised his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after the recent execution of nine people in Egypt, saying he refused to talk to "someone like him". This is not something we can accept," Erdogan said Saturday in an interview with Turkish TV channels CNN-Turk and Kanal D, referring to the execution Wednesday of nine men sentenced for the murder of the Egyptian prosecutor general in 2015. There is an authoritarian system, even totalitarian," Erdogan added.
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| Pompeo Says ‘More Sanctions to Be Had’ to Pressure Venezuela Posted: 24 Feb 2019 12:42 PM PST  The steps outlined by Pence may include forms of economic or diplomatic pressure by the U.S., a second official said. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo also said earlier on CNN's "State of the Union" that more sanctions are possible on Venezuela without offering details on what measures the U.S. may be planning, as regional leaders prepare to meet in Colombia. Pence's announcement will come more than a month after the U.S. recognized Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president.
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| A stern memo about Manafort says he 'brazenly violated' law Posted: 23 Feb 2019 09:20 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort committed crimes that cut to "the heart of the criminal justice system" and over the years deceived everyone from bookkeepers and banks to federal prosecutors and his own lawyers, according to a sentencing memo filed by special counsel Robert Mueller's office.
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| Harry and Meghan meet Moroccan girls during official tour Posted: 24 Feb 2019 11:47 AM PST  The British royals' trip, their last official foreign tour before becoming parents, was set to focus on initiatives promoting girls' education, women's empowerment and the inclusion of people with disabilities. A heavily pregnant Meghan, with henna on one hand, accepted flowers from one of the girls in Asni while she and Harry chatted outside to a group from the programme Education For All Morocco. The organisation runs free boarding houses to give girls aged 12 to 18 from the High Atlas region access to education, working with 185 teenagers in 2017.
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| North Korea's Kim begins long train trip to Vietnam for summit with Trump: report Posted: 23 Feb 2019 06:16 AM PST  The reports of Kim's departure from North Korea came after Vietnam announced that Kim would make an official visit in "coming days", as the Southeast Asian country prepares to host the summit with Trump on Wednesday and Thursday. Trump and Kim will meet in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, eight months after their historic summit in Singapore in June - the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader - at which they pledged to work towards the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The Trump administration has pressed North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program, which threatens the United States, before it can expect any concessions.
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| The Latest: Vatican City to get a child protection policy Posted: 24 Feb 2019 05:00 AM PST  VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Latest on Pope Francis' summit at the Vatican on preventing clergy sex abuse (all times local):
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| Rising anti-US sentiment on Okinawa ahead of military base referendum Posted: 23 Feb 2019 10:05 AM PST  When Chiemi Yonashiro was told an object from a United States military helicopter appeared to have fallen onto the nursery where she had dropped off her three-year-old daughter Mimaru just hours earlier, she burst into tears. Her daughter – and around 70 other children playing at the nursery at the time – were unhurt, but for Mrs Yonashiro, 46, the incident confirmed her conviction that her family was not safe living in southern Japan's Okinawa region for one uncomfortable reason: the heavy presence of US military. "Every day we fear that our lives are at risk," the mother-of-two told the Sunday Telegraph. "I do not want to let my daughter or other children to experiences such strong fears. I don't want anyone to suffer this way anymore." Mrs Chiemi is one of tens of thousands of Okinawa residents who will on Sunday be offered the opportunity to express their views on the longstanding presence of US military in the region in a historic referendum. Voters will be asked whether they agree with a deeply controversial plan to relocate a US military base from the crowded residential Futenma region to a more remote part of the island – with early polls indicating that as many as 70 per cent will vote no. Chiemi Yonashiro and children in Okinawa Credit: Danielle Demetriou The result of the referendum is legally non-binding and unlikely to stop the government from pushing ahead with relocating, with reclamation work already underway. However, a "no" result is likely to be viewed as a powerful symbol of local opposition to US military. Okinawa, a subtropical archipelago closer to Taipei than Tokyo, has long been of enormous strategic importance to the US, with the main island hosting more than half of the 47,000 American military personnel based in Japan, despite accounting for less than one per cent of the country's total land area. Tensions between the US military and locals have soared in recent years, with a steady stream of complaints over noise, accidents by military aircraft and crimes committed by military personnel and civilian employees. Momentum to local resistance to US military presence has escalated since last September when Denny Tamaki came to power as Okinawa Governor after campaigning heavily against the relocation plans. Photo taken from a drone shows the relocation site for US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the Henoko coastal district of Nago, Okinawa Credit: Splash News Critics of the relocation say it will damage the island's delicate marine eco-system and potentially increase aircraft accidents, with many calling for the base to be closed down completely or moved to another part of Japan. The fact the referendum is taking place at all is likely to cause a major headache for Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, who is intent on keeping relations smooth with his key ally US president Donald Trump. The timing of the referendum is also sensitive, in the light of preparations underway for the US-North Korea summit in Vietnam next week and discussions over plans for Mr Trump to visit Japan in May and June. The controversial relocation plan has been a potential thorn in Washington-Tokyo relations since it was first proposed more than two decades ago, with one former Japanese PM resigning over the issue. For Mrs Yonashiro, the falling aircraft part at Midorigaoka Nursery in December 2017 was one of a string of incidents that crystalised her deep-rooted opposition to the presence of US military in the region. During the same month, a large object resembling a window frame also reportedly fell from another US military helicopter into the grounds of a nearby elementary school, causing a stone to lightly injure a child. Children playing at Midorigaoka Nursery where the December 2017 incident took place Credit: Danielle Demetriou "Parents here have felt a sense of crisis since these objects fell into schools, one after another," says Futenma-born Mrs Yonashiro, who also has an eight-year-old son Tamaru. "Children in Okinawa have a right to live a peaceful life but they are living with danger. As long as US military aircraft are flying over Okinawa, the danger will not go away. I strongly feel this is the time to change Okinawa. It's not just a matter of military bases, it's about children's lives." Takehiro Kamiya, the head of Midorigaoka Nursery, was no less outspoken in his opposition to US military forces in Okinawa in the run-up to the referendum, highlighting how military aircraft fly over the building on a daily basis. "We do not need the military bases anymore," he told the Sunday Telegraph. "There have been accidents of military aircraft crashing, falling objects and crash-landings, as well as murder, rape, theft, traffic accident, drunk driving. The US military still fly over our communities as if nothing has happened. Would such a thing be allowed in Tokyo or in the UK?" He added: "We demand that military bases not be relocated, but closed or demolished."
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| British Steel May Face $130 Million Hit From Brexit Carbon Hitch Posted: 24 Feb 2019 06:39 AM PST ![British Steel May Face $130 Million Hit From Brexit Carbon Hitch]( "British Steel May Face $130 Million Hit From Brexit Carbon Hitch") The costs relate to the private equity-owned steelmaker's carbon pollution bill for 2018, which is due by March 15, according to the people, who declined to be identified discussing a commercially sensitive matter. British Steel is the most prominent name on an official analysis detailing U.K. companies affected by a European Union decision to freeze the allocation of free carbon permits that can be used to comply with the rules. The steelmaker's financial headache highlights the difficulties that Brexit uncertainty is causing British industry.
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| Judge Dismisses Charges Against Water Park Owner Over Boy`s Death on Slide Posted: 22 Feb 2019 08:05 PM PST  On Friday a judge tossed out the case against Schlitterbahn`s co-owner and employees accused in the death of a 10-year-old boy on a water slide in 2016.
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| Venezuela: at least four dead and hundreds injured in border standoff Posted: 23 Feb 2019 07:50 PM PST  At least four people have been killed and hundreds injured in a wave of violence that convulsed Venezuela's border regions on Saturday, as opposition activists tried to defy a government ban and bring food and medical supplies into the country. After the failed attempt to breach government blockades, opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared the fight would continue, and said "we must keep all our options open for the liberation of our homeland". Florida senator Marco Rubio responded to Guaidó's comments, saying he had spoken to regional leaders and the actions of President Nicolás Maduro's regime on Saturday had "opened the door to various potential multilateral actions not on the table just 24 hours ago".
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| How did police catch 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett? Lots and lots of cameras Posted: 23 Feb 2019 08:44 PM PST  Dozens of security cameras played a key role in helping police unravel "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett's alleged hoax attack, authorities say.
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| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivers impassioned response to critics: 'I'm the boss. How about that?' Posted: 24 Feb 2019 07:57 AM PST  Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has accused critics of "not trying" to tackle climate change following opposition to her ambitious Green New Deal programme. Ms Ocasio-Cortez addressed criticism she has faced from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress at a New York Hall of Science event. "I just introduced the Green New Deal two weeks ago and it's creating all of this conversation, why?
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| NASA greenlights SpaceX crew capsule test to ISS Posted: 22 Feb 2019 10:56 PM PST  NASA on Friday gave SpaceX the green light to test a new crew capsule by first sending an unmanned craft with a life-sized mannequin to the International Space Station. "We're go for launch, we're go for docking," said William Gerstenmaier, the associate administrator with NASA Human Exploration and Operations. A Falcon 9 rocket from the private US-based SpaceX is scheduled to lift off, weather permitting, on March 2 to take the Crew Dragon test capsule to the ISS.
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| South Africa's Ramaphosa appoints graft tribunal Posted: 24 Feb 2019 03:57 AM PST  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a tribunal to fast-track legal proceedings from graft investigations by the country's Special Investigating Unit (SIU), the presidency said on Sunday. The tribunal will adjudicate over any civil proceedings brought before it by the SIU, which investigates malpractice in state institutions, state assets and public money, the presidency said in a statement.
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| Storm dumps record-breaking snow in Arizona on way to Texas Posted: 22 Feb 2019 08:05 PM PST  FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A winter storm dumped record-breaking amounts of snow in Arizona and forced the closure Friday of roads, schools and government offices across the Southwest.
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| Pompeo confident Maduro's 'days are numbered' in Venezuela Posted: 24 Feb 2019 07:15 AM PST  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed confidence Sunday that embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's "days are numbered," amid a violent impasse over humanitarian aid. Pompeo's remarks came a day after a US-supported, opposition-led effort to bring humanitarian supplies into the country was repelled by Venezuelan border troops firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
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| Warren Buffett's Message to Washington: Bipartisanship Works Posted: 23 Feb 2019 06:39 AM PST  "Our country's almost unbelievable prosperity has been gained in a bipartisan manner," he wrote in his annual letter to shareholders as he traced the growth of U.S. economy over the last 230 years. The billionaire investor's annual letter, which ran 13 pages this year and quoted Abraham Lincoln and Christopher Wren, typically goes beyond Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s results to discuss investing principles and his and business partner Charlie Munger's thoughts on a wide range of topics. Buffett has taken a careful approach to the political conversation since the 2016 election.
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| Alaska senator says she's likely to back Trump disapproval Posted: 22 Feb 2019 07:29 PM PST  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she is likely to support a resolution of disapproval over President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to secure more money for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
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| Journalist, 12, faces off with police officer who threatened to arrest her Posted: 23 Feb 2019 11:00 PM PST  Hilde Lysiak films her interaction with Arizona law enforcement. Hilde's scoop became a bigger story than the murder. Now Hilde is making headlines of her own once again, after she filmed an Arizona town marshal, Joseph Patterson, threatening her.
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| 'Vaccines Cause Adults': Pediatric staff's response to anti-vaxxers after measles outbreak Posted: 24 Feb 2019 04:01 PM PST  Staff at a New York pediatric office sought to be "as loud" as anti-vaxxers and make headlines with the slogan "Vaccines Cause Adults." They did.
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| Extra 1,000 troops to be sent to US-Mexico border, says senior defence official Posted: 23 Feb 2019 10:51 AM PST  The Pentagon will increase the number of active-duty troops along the US-Mexico border to about 6,000 by the start of next month, a senior US defence official has said. The troops currently stationed at the border have also been ordered to string more concertina wire and install detection systems in remote areas away from official ports of entry, the senior defence official said. The official, who was authorised by the Pentagon to speak to reporters only on the condition of anonymity, said that so far active-duty military forces had installed 70 miles of concertina wire, reinforced ports of entry, provided medical support to migrants and helped transport Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents by aircraft.
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| Cardinal admits Church files on paedophile priests 'destroyed' Posted: 23 Feb 2019 10:56 AM PST  A top Catholic cardinal admitted Saturday that Church files on priests accused of sexually abusing children were destroyed or never even drawn up in a move which allowed paedophiles to prey on others. German Cardinal Reinhard Marx was speaking on the third day of an unprecedented summit of the world's top bishops convened by Pope Francis in a bid to tackle the crisis over paedophilia within the clergy. "Files that could have documented the terrible deeds and named those responsible were destroyed, or not even created," Marx told the landmark Vatican summit on a problem that has dogged the Roman Catholic Church for decades.
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| Bill Maher says the reason red state voters are so upset is because they want to be the blue states Posted: 23 Feb 2019 08:41 AM PST  The blue parts of America are having a prosperity party while that big sea of red feels like their invitation got lost in the mail, says Bill Maher.
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| Tunnels, civilians slow capture of Islamic State's last Syria pocket Posted: 24 Feb 2019 05:51 AM PST  The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia has surrounded the militants at the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border and is trying to complete an evacuation of civilians from the tiny area before storming it or forcing a surrender. Throughout its steady advance across the Syrian stretch of Islamic State's self-declared caliphate, the SDF has been slowed by the group's extensive use of tunnels and human shields - tactics it says are still being deployed in Baghouz. "It is expected that there are still undiscovered tunnels, even rooms underground," said Mustafa Bali, an SDF spokesman.
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| Pompeo pledges continued pressure on Venezuela's Maduro Posted: 24 Feb 2019 08:47 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States will continue to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro until he understands his days are "numbered," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday.
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| Labour Eyes New Referendum as May Heads to Egypt: Brexit Update Posted: 24 Feb 2019 03:57 AM PST  Environment Secretary and leading Brexiteer Michael Gove struck a conciliatory tone towards three members of the Cabinet who are threatening to vote against the government this week, saying all voices in the party should be listened to.
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| Huawei shrugs off threat of US ban Posted: 24 Feb 2019 05:51 AM PST  Huawei's chairman on Sunday shrugged of the risk that President Donald Trump could issue an executive order banning the Chinese telecom giant, saying the company could succeed without the US market. Guo Ping said such an order "is not necessary and should not be released" but if issued would have little impact on Huawei, which has become the leading supplier of the backbone equipment for wireless mobile networks worldwide. "In 2018 Huawei had revenues of over 100 billion dollars.
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| AP source: Bears release embattled kicker Cody Parkey Posted: 22 Feb 2019 06:28 PM PST  LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears signed kicker Cody Parkey to a four-year contract in March hoping he would give them the consistency they have lacked ever since they let Robbie Gould go.
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| Mom Allegedly Pulled Three Kids from School for Fake Appointment Before Shooting Them, Herself Posted: 22 Feb 2019 08:27 PM PST  The mother who shot her three children in a wooded area in Kent County unexpectedly picked them up from school the day of their deaths, investigators say.
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| Robert Kraft 'categorically' denies soliciting sex at spa after police said he was filmed twice in the act Posted: 23 Feb 2019 09:57 AM PST  New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has "categorically" denied soliciting sex at a spa in Florida after police said he was filmed doing so twice. Mr Kraft, 77, faces two counts of soliciting sex from a prostitute. The billionaire is one of two dozen men who were arrested for allegedly paying $59 (£45) for a half-hour and $79 (£60) for an hour of sex at Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida.
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| Saudi Arabia names first woman envoy to Washington at critical time Posted: 23 Feb 2019 05:21 PM PST  Saudi Arabia on Saturday named a princess as its first woman ambassador to the United States, a key appointment as the fallout over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder tests relations between the allies. Princess Rima bint Bandar replaced Prince Khalid bin Salman, the younger brother of the powerful crown prince who was appointed vice defence minister in a flurry of late-night royal decrees announced on state media. The reshuffle comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to quell an international outcry over Khashoggi's murder last October in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which strained relations with its key ally Washington.
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| Novartis gene therapy would be cost effective up to $900,000: U.S. group Posted: 22 Feb 2019 06:12 PM PST ![Novartis gene therapy would be cost effective up to $900,000: U.S. group]( "Novartis gene therapy would be cost effective up to $900,000: U.S. group") The Boston-based Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) made the determination using a commonly cited cost-effectiveness threshold that values each "quality-adjusted life year" (QALY) gained at $100,000 to $150,000. If each QALY gained were assessed at $500,000, ICER found the gene therapy, Zolgensma, would be cost effective at just over $5 million. Novartis has said the price will be determined in negotiations with health plans, but it believes the gene therapy would be cost effective at $4 million to $5 million as a one-time treatment.
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| North Korea warns U.S. skeptics as Kim heads for summit with Trump Posted: 24 Feb 2019 10:34 AM PST  The two leaders will meet in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday, eight months after their historic summit in Singapore, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, where they pledged to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The North's KCNA state news agency said such opposition was aimed at derailing the talks. "If the present U.S. administration reads others' faces, lending an ear to others, it may face the shattered dream of the improvement of the relations with the DPRK and world peace and miss the rare historic opportunity," the news agency said in a commentary, referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
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| Southwest Airlines flights temporarily grounded due to computer outage Posted: 24 Feb 2019 05:17 PM PST  Southwest temporarily grounded flights early Friday due to a computer glitch. The airline has been plagued by flight cancellations this week.
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| The Latest: Venezuela partially closes Colombian border Posted: 22 Feb 2019 06:38 PM PST  CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — The Latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local):
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| Trump Vents Frustration With Trade Czar as China Talks Continue Posted: 24 Feb 2019 07:31 AM PST  The exasperation between the two erupted into the open during an unusual public exchange in front of China's top negotiator, assembled U.S. officials and journalists on Friday, during which Trump took issue with Lighthizer's explanation that any deal would take the form of a memorandum of understanding. "I don't like MOUs because they don't mean anything,'' the president said, before shooting down Lighthizer when the career lawyer described such documents as legally binding. After Friday's exchange, said two people familiar with the events, the president complained that Lighthizer had embarrassed him by publicly correcting him in front of the Chinese delegation and the press.
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| Virgin Galactic takes crew of three to altitude of 55 miles Posted: 23 Feb 2019 09:38 AM PST  Virgin Galactic's spacecraft reached an altitude of more than 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) on Friday, carrying for the first time a passenger in addition to its two pilots. SpaceShipTwo, built by British billionaire Richard Branson to carry tourists into space, launched from California's Mojave desert and flew to an altitude of 55.87 miles (89.9 kms), the company said. The US definition of space is anything over an altitude of 50 miles.
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| Will Google, Amazon and Facebook fix the affordable housing crisis? Posted: 24 Feb 2019 04:46 AM PST  The housing crisis must be addressed by a careful collaboration between politicians, advocacy groups and corporate entities, activists says.
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| India police arrest Kashmir activists amid rising tensions Posted: 23 Feb 2019 09:26 AM PST  SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Police have arrested at least 300 activists seeking the end of Indian rule in disputed Kashmir, officials said Saturday, escalating fears among already wary residents that a sweeping crackdown could touch off renewed anti-India protests and clashes.
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| Duchess of Sussex has henna tattoo as she and Harry visit schoolchildren in Morocco Posted: 24 Feb 2019 02:27 AM PST  For most tourists, it is a pretty souvenir from a trip to a new and vibrant culture they will never forget. For the Duchess of Sussex, the henna tattoo painted gently on to her hand by Moroccan schoolgirls meant rather more. The Duchess, who visited the rural mountainous region of Morocco with her husband, was decorated with a flower emblem on her left hand, in a gesture intended to honour her pregnancy and bring good luck to Baby Sussex. It marked the start of a day of activity for the Duke and Duchess, who spoke emphatically about the importance of girls' education and tried out their "high school" French. If it were a competition in the language stakes, there was only one winner: the Duchess, who impressed schoolgirls with a stream of conversation about their futures. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex during a Henna ceremony Credit: Getty The Duke, who was less bold in front of the cameras and asked only whether his young hosts could speak English, nevertheless made an impression, telling them how heartening it was to see so many looking happy at school with the support of their parents. If the Royal couple had missed one another while the Duchess was at her New York baby shower, they more than made up for it with a public display of affection, holding hands and touching one another's arms, backs and necks as they went along. Arriving in Asni, in the Atlas Mountains, they visited one of six girls' boarding houses run by charity Education for All, where the Duchess sat down with one of the boarders, 17-year-old Samira Ouaadi, to receive three delicate flowers painted in henna on her left hand. The henna tattoo, intended to celebrate Meghan's pregnancy Credit: Getty "How lovely" she said. "Merci". Miss Ouaadi said: "It's tradition for pregnant women in Morocco to have a henna tattoo. "It's like the plant of paradise so we use it to mark all major occasions." After one concerned official asked if she wanted to wash it off immediately, the Duchess laughed and replied that it would soon dry. Not for the first time, the Duchess's pregnancy quickly became the theme of the day, with girls singing songs wishing peace for her baby. A henna ceremony in Asni, Morocco Credit: Getty Hearing about the progress made by the charity in convincing Moroccan families about the importance of educating their girls, the Duchess told pupils: "What's happening here and so many places all over the world with more girls getting an education, it changes the future and changes the future for everyone not just the girls." Looking at a board containing student biographies, the Duke noted: "This is very interesting, they always mention the father, 'my father wanted me to do this', 'my father that' etc." "Yes that paternal narrative is very strong" replied his wife. In pictures: Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, visit Morocco In a second engagement at Lycee Qualifiant Grand Atlas school, the Duke asked teenagers: "Should you be at school on a Sunday?" Told no, he joked: "Well we're very sorry for that. "By a show of hands, who was encouraged to come to school by their father?" As around two thirds of the girls raised their hands, he said: "That's very good to know, and encouraging." Education for All, the charity, was founded in 2008 to help combat a lack of education in rural areas of Morocco, with girls in particular dropping out of school to be kept at home with their families. The Duke speaks to goalkeeper Salima Baaziz Credit: Samir Hussein The Duke and Duchess, who may have read studies about the continuing practice of girls being married under the legal age of 18, asked one 16-year-old student who was playing in goal during a football match whether she was engaged. In a tour of dorm rooms, the Duchess asked: "Qu'est-ce tu veux etre quand tu quittes l'école? "Vous voulez aller à l'université?" She also used a smattering of French words mid conversations, asking "On peut rentrer" the girls bedrooms and acknowledging their permission with a chic "parfait". Complimented on her French, the Duchess laughed and said: "It's high school French! I'm trying!" Harry and Meghan take a moment while watching a football match Credit: Samir Hussein Saida Obha, 18, declared: "She was better than her husband." Later in the day, after accepting many warm words about the Duchess' pregnancy, the royal couple poked gentle fun at the topic de jour after being congratulated once again. Sitting next to one another, the Duchess' prominent bump visible through her open jacket, the Duke turned to his wife and pulled a face of mock shock. "Surprise!" said the Duchess. "She's pregnant?!" asked the Duke, as a room of teachers who could understand their pantomime gestures laughed. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet sisters Rania Minejem aged 5 and Rayhana Minejem aged 2 Credit: PA Before flying back to Rabat by helicopter, the Duke presented co-founder of Education For All, Michael McHugo, an MBE in the New Year's Honours for services to improving gender equality in Morocco and read out a citation on behalf on his grandmother, the Queen. "We are very proud of all of you," the Duchess told the girls through an interpreter, "You are such good role models." Tomorrow, the Duke and Duchess will meet with King Mohammed VI, visit a stables to see how equine therapy is helping disabled and disadvantaged children, and attend a cooking session in which they include a recipe from the Duchess's Hubb Community Kitchen cookbook, Together.
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