Hundreds of thousands of young people skip school across the globe to march through the streets for an international day of student protests aimed at pushing world leaders into action on climate change https://t.co/wLmHCBVysapic.twitter.com/r1hcjubOKp
AOS (Armed Offenders Squad) push back members of the public following a shooting at the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch. REUTERS/SNPA/Martin Hunter
WNU Editor: Russian cops are a special breed. One experience that I will never forget happened in Saint Petersburg in the summer of 1992 or 1993. I was visiting my uncle and cousins and I had just left their apartment waiting on a busy intersection to cross the street to get my bus. Beside me was a police car (Lada model of course) with two cops inside just watching the traffic. All of a sudden a very fast BMW (he must have been doing a 100km) went through the light followed by another BMW with someone shooting at them. It lasted a few seconds and they were then gone. I was too shocked to even move. I then looked at the cops, and their expression was priceless. They had a completely normal look, and as far as they were concerned, they saw nothing. Sighhh .... after watching the above video, it looks like nothing has changed.
WNU Editor: China had India have always held two of the top three positions in the world economy for centuries. But like all things .... nothing lasts forever.
#IRGC started massive drone drill called "Towards Jerusalem 1" over southern territorial waters of Persian Gulf. 50 reverse-engineered #RQ170 drones and a number of combat UAVs participated in it. pic.twitter.com/8u8GJnseSK
The drones started at different military bases as far as 1,000 kilometers from the target and bombed it simultaneously.
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had launched a massive drone military drill involving tens of unmanned aerial vehicles Thursday.
The drill involved a fleet of 50 drones modeled after the US' RQ-170 Sentinel, one of which was captured by Iran in 2011, as well as a number of other UAVs, which were launched from bases as far as 1,000 kilometers away from the target located at Bani Farur island in the Persian Gulf. It was the largest Iranian military exercise of this kind to date, the IRGC said in a statement.
The Pentagon lacks a reliable process for deciding how many troops and weapons it needs. The analytical gap is getting worse as Chinese and Russian forces grow increasingly sophisticated and challenge the U.S. Defense Department's assumptions.
That's the worrying conclusion of a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
The report could help to explain why the U.S. Navy insists it needs as many as 355 warships, up from 287 in 2019, and yet for 2020 has proposed to decommission early one aircraft carrier, delay amphibious-ship construction and cancel a new cruiser program.
WNU Editor: I have been following the Pentagon's procurement process for years. And I have no clue on how they determine the number of soldiers/planes/ships/etc. that they need.
From Wikipedia: Nuremberg is a 2000 Canadian/United States television docudrama, based on the book Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial by Joseph E. Persico, that tells the story of the Nuremberg trials.
WNU Editor: I posted this movie before .... but this is a far better (and cleaner) version.
At least forty-nine are dead; an assailant is in custody, and a murderous, white supremacist manifesto has been widely rejected.
It's happened again. In a fresh terror attack at least forty-nine people were gunned down in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday—a white supremacist terrorist attack streamed on social media. Two mosques, during Friday prayers. One assailant, in custody, said the dastardly acts were a "revenge on invaders." Three others are being held.
"My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques," President Donald J. Trump wrote on Twitter Friday morning. "49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured. The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all!"
LONDON (Reuters) - Leaders around the world expressed disgust and sorrow at the killing of 49 people in New Zealand mosques on Friday, attacks that many blamed on the demonization of Muslims.
Western leaders from Donald Trump to Angela Merkel expressed solidarity with the people of New Zealand, deploring what the White House called a "vicious act of hate". The response from some Muslim countries went further, blaming politicians and the media for stoking that hatred.
Jet export reverses Obama, Bush appeasement of China.
The Trump administration has approved the sale of dozens of new F-16 jet fighters to Taiwan, the first major warplane sale to the island state in nearly 30 years.
The interagency decision, to be announced in the near future, authorized the sale of up to 66 F-16V jet fighters at an estimated cost of $13 billion, according to administration officials familiar with internal discussions.
The jets are among several new weapons systems, including missiles, that are part of the administration's latest arms sale to Taiwan, a key U.S. partner in the Asia Pacific region.
WNU Editor: This is a big order. I know the sale is under review .... Taiwan could receive new F-16V jets as soon as 2020 (Taiwan News). More here .... Taiwan Mulls F-16 Viper Fighter Purchase From the US (The Diplomat). But it looks like someone has given the heads up to Bill Gertz that it is a done deal. No response from China, but once this decision is official, their response is going to be one of condemnation and threats.
DEIR AL-ZOR PROVINCE, Syria (Reuters) - The young Syrian man crossing out of Islamic State's last enclave in eastern Syria brought confirmation that the fight was still not over despite days of ferocious bombardment by U.S.-backed forces.
"There are people coming out and others not coming out," said the bearded man wearing a robe and head scarf, one of hundreds of people who left the enclave at Baghouz on Thursday to surrender to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Asked if there were many people still inside, he said "yes" in the footage obtained by Reuters from the Kurdish TV station Ronahi. "I was injured in my back," said the man, originally from the nearby city of Deir al-Zor.
On Friday suicide attackers struck a group of people leaving Baghouz and surrendering, the SDF said, the first such blasts to target any of the thousands of people abandoning the enclave.
WNU Editor: The last remaining ISIS fighters are now targeting their own .... Suicide attackers strike people quitting ISIS' last Syria zone (Straits Times/Reuters). This is going to take some time to finish. The Syrian-led Kurdish forces are now playing the waiting game, letting the lack of food and water in this ISIS enclave work for them. Because the end is near, I can understand why many coalition soldiers are reluctant to risk their life when the end is so near.
China claims it's about to create a level playing field for international companies, but many of them are still wary of expanding their presence in the world's second largest economy.
Beijing has promised that a new foreign investment law will introduce measures to better protect overseas companies operating in China. It says the law, which was passed Friday, includes better safeguards for intellectual property and an end to the practice of forcing international firms to hand over critical technology to their Chinese partners.
China's treatment of foreign companies has become a flashpoint in the country's trade dispute with the United States. China's growing economy has become a huge market for top US companies like General Motors (GM), Boeing (BA) and Apple (AAPL).
WNU Editor: I have seen this game played by China many times before in the past .... China Investment Law Fails to Deliver, Raises Concerns (VOA). They make a bold announcement, but there is no teeth to enforce their revised laws and regulations, and no penalties if there is noncompliance.
More News On China Approving Its New Foreign Investment Law
WASHINGTON (CBS SF / CNN) — America's top general said Thursday that Mountain View-based Google's work in China "is indirectly benefiting the Chinese military."
"The work that Google is doing in China is indirectly benefiting the Chinese military and I've been very public on this issue as well," Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said while testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"We watch with great concern when industry partners work in China knowing that there is that indirect benefit and frankly indirect may be not a full characterization of the way it really is, it's more of a direct benefit to the Chinese military," Dunford added.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Social media giants Facebook, Twitter, Google faced scrutiny over extremist content on their platforms on Friday after video footage of mass shootings in New Zealand was live streamed and widely shared online.
Footage of the attacks at two mosques, which left 49 dead in New Zealand's worst-ever mass shooting, was broadcast live to Facebook and then reshared by users on other platforms.
Following the shootings, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all said they were taking action to remove the videos.
He was known within his childhood town of Grafton as someone who was dedicated to fitness and ran free athletic programs for children. But on Friday, Brenton Tarrant became known as an alleged mass killer.
The 28-year-old, who attended Grafton High School before getting his qualifications in fitness, listened to 17th-century British military music before opening fire on a mosque in New Zealand's south island.
Tarrant worked at the Big River Squash and Fitness Centre in Grafton from 2009 after attending the facility as a high school student, owner Tracey Gray told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
"He started coming to my facility as a boy that was finishing school and showed a lot of dedication to his own training. Then he went and did his personal training qualifications," she said.
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Leaders around the world expressed disgust and sorrow at the killing of at least 49 people in New Zealand mosques on Friday, and some also expressed anger at what they described as the demonization that fueled such attacks.
Western leaders from Donald Trump to Angela Merkel expressed solidarity with the people of New Zealand and deplored what the White House called an "act of hate". The response from some Muslim countries went further, blaming politicians and the media for stoking that hatred.
"I blame these increasing terror attacks on the current Islamophobia post-9/11 (where) 1.3 billion Muslims have collectively been blamed for any act of terror," Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan wrote on social media.
* An Australian right-wing terrorist live-streamed himself massacring dozens of worshippers at a mosque * Witnesses reported hearing 50 shots from his semi-automatic shotgun at Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch * The gunman live-streamed the shooting and posted a 73-page manifesto online outlining his racist ideology * A nearby second mosque, Masjid in Linwood, also in the city of Christchurch, was attacked soon after * At least 49 people are confirmed dead - 41 from the first mosque, seven from the second, and one in hospital * Four people - who were not known to counter-terror authorities - were taken into custody for questioning * New Zealand Police are raiding a home in Dunedin - believed to be the address a gunman's car is registered to * In a twisted manifesto, the gunman wrote that he targeted the mosques while training for another attack
An Australian white supremacist who livestreamed New Zealand's deadliest terror attack on Facebook is one of four people arrested over mosque attacks which left at least 49 dead and 48 injured.
The gunman, who identified himself as Brenton Tarrant from Grafton, NSW, Australia, stormed the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch on the country's South Island during Friday prayers about 1.30pm, opening fire with a semi-automatic shotgun and a rifle on about 100 defenceless worshippers.
The attack was broadcast in horrifying, live video which showed the suspect wielding at least two rifles. It followed the publication of a 73-page manifesto in which Tarrant laid out his racist, anti-immigrant views.
One man was arrested and charged with murder, and two other armed suspects were taken into custody while police tried to determine what role they played.
WELLINGTON/CHRISTCHURCH (Reuters) - A gunman shot dead 49 people and wounded more than 40 at two New Zealand mosques, some as they were kneeling at prayer, livestreaming online some of the killings that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemned as terrorism.
The gunman broadcast footage of the attack on one mosque in the city of Christchurch on Facebook, mirroring the carnage played out in video games, after publishing a "manifesto" in which he denounced immigrants, calling them "invaders".
The Donald Trump administration is asking Congress for a $2 billion cut in the US-led fight against the Islamic State as the Pentagon looks toward the exits in the five-year campaign.
The funds will "ensure an enduring defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [IS, also known ISIS] and allow flexibility for a deliberate, coordinated, disciplined withdrawal from Syria," the Pentagon said in budget documents released today.
The request would pare back the US effort to train Iraq's fledgling security forces and US-backed forces in Syria by $400 million to just over $1 billion, down nearly 30% from last year. It also calls for spending $250 million to help partner countries tighten up their borders to handle the lingering threat of IS.
Fresh off the Hanoi Summit, the 2019 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference kicked off this past Monday, where analysts, officials, and scholars gathered in D.C. to discuss the future of arms control and U.S. nuclear policy. Among the top concerns were the new threat from emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), the future of U.S.-Russia strategic relations after the collapse of the INF treaty, and the status of U.S.-North Korea denuclearization negotiations. Each issue comes with challenges, from human error to technical capability, and many of the first day's panelists admitted that the future of arms control was uncertain.
WNU Editor: I am not worried about the big powers and their nuclear arsenals. The U.S., U.K., France, Russia, and China know the dangers involved, and they will maintain the necessary dialogue to make sure that these weapons are never used. It is the other nations with nuclear arsenals that scare me, as well as those nations that do not have such an arsenal but are positioned to quickly develop one. These countries are not transparent, and they look at these weapons as an instrument to intimidate and/or deter their neighbours. In these situations, escalation and the use of these weapons could become a very real possibility.
In the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, young people prepare to defend themselves—and their nation.
For youth in war-torn nations, education suffers profoundly. Schools are destroyed by indiscriminate shelling or deliberately turned into military posts. Children and teachers stay at home, afraid to step on a landmine or be caught in the crossfire of warring parties. The house of learning, envisioned as a safe haven, becomes a target.
For nearly a decade, photographer Diego Ibarra Sánchez has examined how conflict interrupts, interferes with, and obstructs learning. "Education is supposed to be the way forward, the way to build or rebuild a nation," he observes. What happens to that goal when academic institutions can't play their part?
WNU Editor: In my opinion Ukraine has already lost this generation of Russian-Ukrainians. Even in the regions that Ukraine controls with Russian-Ukrainian majorities, the animosities that have built up after five years of conflict are there. The only thing that keeps it under the lid is the heavy presence of Ukrainian military and intelligence forces. My only hope right now is that with Ukrainians going to the polls this month and next to elect a President, they will vote overwhelmingly to turf out the political establishment that has brought about all of this destruction. If not, this is only going to get worse, and Ukraine will forever be splintered.
New videos obtained by CNN provide chilling insight into a mystery drone attack against Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro last year—the world's first known attempt to kill a head of state with a retail drone, purchased online and armed by hand with military grade explosives.
One man has come forward as an organizer of the attack, saying it was perpetrated by a group of Venezuelan Army defectors and others. In an exclusive interview with CNN, he recounted how they prepared for the attack, and provided cell phone videos of their drones, explosives, and practice flights in the rural farmlands of Colombia.
"We have tried every peaceful and democratic way to bring an end to this tyranny that dresses itself as democracy," he told CNN on condition of anonymity, referring to the Maduro regime. "We have friends who are in custody, tortured. This was a hard decision."
WNU Editor: Since that assassination attempt, I have noticed that Maduro does not attend public events where it is known that he will show up, nor does he make himself readily available to meet people outside of his Presidential compound.
The deputy foreign minister blamed the breakdown of talks in Hanoi on the US side
PYONGYANG, March 15. /TASS/. The North Korean leadership is considering suspension of denuclearization talks with the United States, North Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui told reporters on Friday.
"We have no intention to yield to the US demands [put forward at the Hanoi summit] in any form, nor are we willing to engage in negotiations of this kind," she told reporters at a news conference in Pyongyang, to which foreign diplomats and journalists were invited.
The deputy foreign minister blamed the breakdown of talks in Hanoi on the US side, who "were too busy with pursuing their own political interests and had no sincere intention to achieve a result."
WNU Editor: It is not in North Korea's interest to suspend denuclearization talks right now, especially in view of its current relations with South Korea, and the South Korean willingness to be accommodating to North Korea's interests.
More News On North Korea Threatening To Break Off Denuclearization Talks With Washington
* An Australian right-wing terrorist live-streamed himself massacring dozens of worshippers at a mosque * Witnesses reported hearing 50 shots from his semi-automatic shotgun at Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch * The gunman live-streamed the mass shooting inside the Al Noor Mosque, which happened about 1.30pm * A nearby second mosque, Masjid in Linwood, also in the city of Christchurch, was also attacked soon after * At least 49 people are confirmed dead - 41 from the first mosque, seven from the second, and one in hospital * Four people - who were not known to counter-terror authorities - were taken into custody for questioning * New Zealand Police are raiding a home in Dunedin - believed to be the address a gunman's car is registered to * In a twisted manifesto, the gunman wrote that he targeted the mosques while training for another attack
A white Australian right-wing terrorist who livestreamed his sickening shooting spree on Facebook is one of four people arrested over dual mosque attacks which left 49 dead and 48 injured on New Zealand's 'darkest day'.
The gunman, who identified himself as Brenton Tarrant from Grafton, NSW, Australia, stormed the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch on the country's South Island about 1.30pm, opening fire with a semi-automatic shotgun and a rifle on about 100 defenceless worshippers attending Friday prayers.
A sickening 17-minute video of the unfolding horror shows the self-confessed white supremacist dressed in army fatigues firing mercilessly at people scrambling to flee, and calmly reloading when he runs out of bullets.
At about the same time, there was a second shooting at Masjid mosque in Linwood, where seven more were killed.
In the aftermath of the bloody attacks, three men and one woman were arrested, with police charging 'one man in his late 20s' with murder. He will face court on Saturday.
DONALD TRUMP issued a veto today preventing Congress' attempt to terminate his national security declaration, called to gather billions of dollars for his US-Mexico border wall.
A PROMINENT figure in the search for the missing MH370 aircraft was killed moments before handing over vital evidence to Malaysian authorities, it has been sensationally claimed.
THE BLACK death has broken out in Africa along the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo . Several people have been killed and dozens of others have been exposed to the virus.
ISRAEL launched a series of air strikes on the Gaza Strip wounding four people, a retaliatory act which followed the launch of rockets near Tel Aviv, the first time the city had been targeted since 2014.
DONALD Trump says the US will stand by New Zealand after the devastating shootings, following the gunman hailing the US president as "a symbol of renewed white identity".
NUCLEAR fall-out from the Chernobyl power station disaster could be responsible for the global rise in cancers and diseases, according to a terrifying new book.
NEBRASKA is facing historic flooding as a late winter bomb cyclone tracks across the US Midwest towards the Rocky Mountain and Plains states. But where in Nebraska is experiencing flooding? Which areas are affected?
(CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand) — New Zealand’s prime minister says the “primary perpetrator” in the mosque shootings was a licensed gun owner and legally acquired the five guns used in the shootings.
Jacinda Ardern said Saturday the country’s national gun laws will change after at least 49 worshippers were shot dead in the two mosques in Christchurch.
She did not specify how the laws will be changed.
The Australian suspect will appear in court on Saturday morning.
In the wake of a terror attack on two Christchurch mosques that took the lives of 49 people and injured at least 20, people have been expressing their sympathies for the victims by leaving flowers at local mosques in New Zealand and around the world.
A post by New Zealand’s public broadcasting station showed flowers left outside a mosque in Auckland.
Floral tributes at the gate of the Al Masjid al Jamie mosque in Ponsonby, Auckland have been arriving since yesterday.
One man laying flowers this morning, Richard, says it was a way of saying 'we are thinking of you and we are one'. pic.twitter.com/hWP2QHqafn
Soon after, images of similar memorials at other mosques around the country began to appear on Twitter.
Meghan Stewart-Ward says she brought flowers to Dunedin's mosque to show her love and support for the Muslim community . "The majority of people in New Zealand are here to support you and respect your right to worship freely." #Christchurch@rnz_news@CheckpointRNZpic.twitter.com/UzSYSj8D0V
Many of the people leaving flowers have not been Muslim themselves. Rather, the floral tributes have become a way for people to express unity and solidarity in the face of Islamophobic and anti-immigration sentiment.
A heap of flowers were left outside our mosque in Palmerston North and cops are guarding the place with guns. Thank you for your support 💜 pls stay safe. pic.twitter.com/jNqeflktVK
Worlds southern most mosque – Invercargill – flowers already placed. It’s deserted apart from a police van with two guys inside with guns. pic.twitter.com/wQRvWmKsc9
In London, the New Zealand War Memorial in Hyde Park Corner became a center of mourning. Several people gathered for a vigil Friday evening and to lay flowers to express their condolences.
Flowers and messages of kindness have been showing up in other parts of the world as well. One mosque in Vancouver shared images of their front gates on Twitter.
People have started dropping off flowers at Al-Masjid Al-Jamia in Vancouver. A vigil is being held here tonight in the wake of the deadly mosque shooting in New Zealand @NEWS1130@CityNewsVANpic.twitter.com/3AcYr2yoVs
Prime Minister’s Jacinda Ardern has described as a “terrorist attack” and “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”
The attack was carried out by an Australian white-nationalist who detailed his motivations in a 74-page manifesto. The man, who is now in custody, live-streamed the horrific event on Facebook. While the original post has been deleted, social media sites have been struggling to remove footage from the gruesome video online.
The mass shooting at two mosques in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand on Friday, which killed at least 49 people, has brought the country’s gun laws into scrutiny. New Zealand is a sparsely populated peaceful nation with very little violent crime but has what are considered to be some of the most lax gun regulations in the Pacific region. Gun ownership levels are high but the rate of gun deaths has historically been low.
Within 24 hours of the attacks, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made a promise to change the country’s gun laws. “I can tell you right now, our gun laws will change,” Ardern said, addressing the nation on Saturday.
In an earlier address, Ardern described the shootings as “acts of extreme and unprecedented violence.” Attacks are extremely rare in the small island state which prides itself on its inclusion. “We represent diversity, kindness, compassion, a home for those who share our values, a refuge for those who need it,” added Ardern.
The shooting is New Zealand’s deadliest since 1990, when 13 people were killed in the town of Aramoana. Following the attack, New Zealand tightened its existing gun laws, which first passed in 1983.
However, even with the stricter laws, New Zealand’s gun regulations are more permissive than many other Western countries outside of the United States. New Zealand, along with the U.S. are the only two nations that don’t require universal gun registration, according to GunPolicy.org, which tracks guns throughout the world and presents research from the University of Sydney.
However, despite relatively relaxed regulations on guns, fatalities by firearms have remained low in New Zealand, where violent crime and murders are rare. A total of 48 people were murdered in 2017 in New Zealand, marking a low in the country’s homicide figures, according to a police report. Killings by firearms have stayed in the single digits between 2007 and 2016, with the exception of the year 2009, when 11 people were killed by guns, police said.
While guns can be purchased online or through mail order with police approval, self-defense does not count as a reason to possess a gun, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. People are permitted to carry guns for “lawful, proper, and sufficient purpose,” which includes using firearms for hunting or pest control.
Gun ownership, however, abounds. At least 1.2 million firearms are estimated to be owned by civilians in New Zealand, which has a population of nearly 5 million, according to the 2017 Small Arms Survey. New Zealand’s gun per capita rate, about one for every three people, is higher than in Australia, where there are about 3.15 million guns, about one for every eight people, the Morning Herald reports.
In the wake of the shootings, questions are being asked about the country’s gun regulations. The main attacker in the mosque shootings was a licensed gun owner who had legally acquired the five guns that were used in the attacks.
New Zealand does not ban outright the sale of semi-automatic military style assault weapons, which further sets the country’s gun laws apart from Australia, which banned semi-automatic and other military-style weapons in the wake of a 1996 mass shooting.
New Zealand allows anyone 18 and older who has applied for or already has a firearms license to apply for a permit that allows possession of a military-style semi-automatic firearm. Anyone over the age of 16 can obtain a firearms license, which permits owing or using a rifle or shotgun. Permits are granted following background checks, and applicants are required to attend a gun safety talk and take a test, according to the Morning Herald.
The deadly attack on the mosques has sparked conversation over how New Zealand will address its gun laws going forward. New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told the New Zealand Herald that the current gun law are set to be reviewed, and will be regarded with greater intensity in the wake of the shootings.
“There is no doubt we need to readjust how we think about security,” Peters said.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said the current gun law can be “undoubtedly” improved in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“Personally, I would be surprised if the New Zealand parliament didn’t accept that challenge head-on to strengthen the law,” she said. “I think we could do better and a tragedy like this brings that forward as a priority.”
New Zealand has seen renewed debate over its gun laws in recent years. Multiple efforts by lawmakers to change legislation between 1997 and 2017 have broadly been ignored, dismissed or dropped, according to New Zealand news outlet stuff.co.nz.
In the last year, police in New Zealand have pointed out loopholes in the gun law that defines military-style semi-automatic rifles. While those styles of weapons are more regulated by law, police have noted that other types of rifles could be modified into a military-style semi-automatic weapon with the addition of larger-capacity magazines and other unregulated parts.
In July 2011, Bjørn Ihler was on Norway’s Utøya island when far-right extremist Anders Breivik fatally shot 69 people and injured 110, mostly students who were attending a summer camp organized by the youth wing of Norway’s Labour party. Since then, Ihler, 27, has worked as a counter-extremism activist, attempting to understand and prevent radicalization.
What happened in New Zealand is devastating, and brings back my memories from 2011 fairly directly. But as someone who has been trying to fight far-right extremism for almost eight years now, I can’t say that I’m very surprised.
In all this time, most Western countries have still not learnt the lessons from what happened at Utøya. Most of us have refused to recognize something fundamental: that violent extremism and terrorism are not something external to our society. They are a part of our society.
Over the coming days, as happened with Anders Breivik, people will talk a lot about the mental health issues of the individual perpetrators in New Zealand. They’ll try to make them seem abnormal, outside of society, that they have nothing to do with our policies or our governments.
This also happens when the perpetrators are Islamist extremists. Even when these are people who have grown up on the outskirts of Paris and Brussels – the capitals of the Western world, to a large extent – we speak about them as foreign because they happen to be Muslim. We say their ideology distances us from them.
But we need to start seeing violent extremism as something universal, rather than something ideological. It’s an expression of the simple idea, regardless of what ideology you hold, that we can’t all live together in diverse societies.
That idea has only become more prominent since Utøya, as far right movements have grown in political influence. Now, in countries from Eastern Europe to Germany to the U.S., we see people in suits and ties fomenting fear of migration in general and fear of Muslims in particular, just as people marching in streets have. That’s what caused the murder of British lawmaker Jo Cox in 2016 during the run-up to the Brexit vote. The far-right’s belief that we can’t live together is growing in legitimacy, and that is in turn legitimizing violence.
The perpetrators in New Zealand clearly want to spread that idea. The attack bears all the signs of being targeted towards an audience, rather than just being a physical attack. By filming themselves and spreading a manifesto – which references Breivik’s attack – they are trying to create the idea that there is a war going on, a clash of civilizations. They want people to see them as fighters in that war and inspire more to do the same. Those who share that video, and media who publish the manifesto are doing exactly what the attackers wanted. They are running errands for extremists.
Politicians, the media and individuals need to stop sticking their heads in the sand and pretending that these violent extremists have nothing to do with us. We need to react with unity, by showing that we can all live together with very few problems, that minorities are safe. That’s the only way to stop neighborhoods and communities in our countries from becoming breeding grounds for terrorists of all kinds.
In 2016 Ihler co-founded the Khalifa Ihler institute which works for peace through knowledge, technology and design. Since 2016 he has also been part of the Kofi Annan Foundation initiative Extremely Together, exploring means of countering violent extremism.
(TOKYO) — Tokyo’s Olympics may become known as the “Robot Games.”
Organizers on Friday showed off robots that will be used at the new National Stadium to provide assistance for fans using wheelchairs.
Tokyo Olympic official Masaaki Komiya pointed out that Japan is known for its robot technology, and the 2020 Summer Games are a good place to show off.
“Robots should not overwhelm people,” Komiya, the vice director general to the Tokyo Olympics, told a news conference. “Robots are something that have an amicable relationship with human beings and can work together. That’s the kind of robots we envision.”
The robots are made by major Olympic sponsor Toyota Motor Corp. Toyota officials said 16 of the so-called “human support robots” will be used at the National Stadium with five other “delivery support robots” also being available.
Not to be outdone, Panasonic Corp.— also a major Olympic sponsor — showed off its “power assist suit.” When worn, the suit offers support to the back and hip area and allows for heavy objects to be lifted with less effort. Panasonic said 20 of the suits will be used at the Olympics and could help guests with their luggage and with other lifting chores.
“Through this occasion, people in the world will be able to realize how advanced Japan is in terms of robot technology,” Hideyo Hirata, director of technology services for the Tokyo Olympics, told reporters.
Minoru Yamauchi of Toyota, the general manager for 2020 Robot Development, said the automaker is branching out and becoming a “mobility company.”
“We have been looking at how we can support the daily lives of people, and how we can develop robots that can partner with daily life,” Yamauchi said. “In the Tokyo Olympics, there will be many guests in wheelchairs and we would like them enjoy the games without worrying about their mobility.”
Yoshifumi Uchida, general manager of Panasonic’s Paralympic department, said its power assist suit technology was developed partly because of Japan’s aging population. This could help get more women and the elderly into the working population.
“We would like to have a society where people can work without caring about gender differences or age differences,” Uchida said. “When you are carrying a suitcase or a heavy box, this is where the power assist suit becomes valuable.”
He said the suits would also be used away from the venues in “related facilities and airports.”
He said the suit improved “efficiency” by about 20 percent, allowing the wearer to lift more, and for a longer time.
Battery life if about four hours, and the suit gives the wearer the ability to lift about 10 kilograms (22 pounds) more with the same energy expended.
In an apparent effort to ensure their heinous actions would “go viral,” a shooter who murdered at least 49 people in attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday live-streamed footage of the assault online, leaving Facebook, YouTube and other social media companies scrambling to block and delete the footage even as other copies continued to spread like a virus.
The original Facebook Live broadcast was eventually taken down, but not before its 17-minute runtime had been viewed, replayed and downloaded by users. Copies of that footage quickly proliferated to other platforms, like YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Reddit, and back to Facebook itself. Even as the platforms worked to take some copies down, other versions were re-uploaded elsewhere. The episode underscored social media companies’ Sisyphean struggle to police violent content posted on their platforms.
“It becomes essentially like a game of whack-a-mole,” says Tony Lemieux, professor of global studies and communication at Georgia State University.
Facebook, YouTube and other social media companies have two main ways of checking content uploaded to their platforms. First, there’s content recognition technology, which uses artificial intelligence to compare newly-uploaded footage to known illicit material. “Once you know something is prohibited content, that’s where the technology kicks in,” says Lemieux. Social media companies augment their AI technology with thousands of human moderators who manually check videos and other content. Still, social media companies often fail to recognize violent content before it spreads virally, letting users take advantage of the unprecedented and instantaneous reach offered by the very same platforms trying to police them.
Neither YouTube, Facebook nor Twitter answered questions from TIME about how many copies of the Christchurch video they had taken down. New Zealand police said they were aware the video was circulating on social media, and urged people not to share it. “There is extremely distressing footage relating to the incident in Christchurch circulating online,” police said on Twitter. “We would strongly urge that the link not be shared.” Mass shooters often crave notoriety, and each horrific event brings calls to deny assailants the infamy they so desire. (Four arrests were made after the Christchurch shooting, and it remains unclear whether the shooter who live-streamed the attack acted alone.)
Facebook said that the original video of the attack was only taken down after they were alerted to its existence by New Zealand police, indicating that an algorithm had not noticed the video.
“We quickly removed both the shooter’s Facebook and Instagram accounts and the video,” a Facebook spokesperson said. “We’re also removing any praise or support for the crime and the shooter or shooters as soon as we’re aware.”
Experts say the Christchurch video highlights a fatal flaw in social media companies’ approach to content moderation.
“It’s very hard to prevent a newly-recorded violent video from being uploaded for the very first time,” Peng Dong, the co-founder of content-recognition company ACRCloud, tells TIME. The way most content-recognition technology works, he explains, is based on a “fingerprinting” model. Social media companies looking to prevent a video being uploaded at all must first upload a copy of that video to a database, allowing for new uploads to be compared against that footage.
Even when platforms have a reference point — the original offending video — users can manipulate their version of the footage to circumvent upload filters, for example by altering the image or audio quality. The better “fingerprinting” technology gets, the more variants of an offending piece of footage can be detected, but the imperfection of the current systems in part explains why copies of the video are still appearing on sites like YouTube several hours after the initial assault. “Please know we are working vigilantly to remove any violent footage,” YouTube said in a statement.
Social media companies are also experimenting with machine learning to detect violent footage the first time it is uploaded, the experts say, but the algorithms are not advanced enough yet to reliably take down such footage. One could easily imagine a situation, Lemieux says, where an algorithm confuses footage of a first-person-shooter video game with real-life violent footage, for example.
Human moderators are fallible, too. The job is psychologically grueling, as a recent report from The Verge illustrates, with workers exposed to the most grotesque footage imaginable on a daily basis for low pay and with minimal mental health support. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter each employ thousands of content moderators around the world; many have recently promised to take better care of their workers.
What’s especially challenging about the Christchurch video is that the attack wasn’t recorded and uploaded later, but livestreamed in real-time as it unfolded. And with current AI technology, it’s all but impossible to detect a violent scene as it is being live-streamed — and to quickly take down that stream while it’s still happening. So on platforms like Facebook Live, YouTube Live and the Twitter-owned Periscope, all of which give users the ability to go live anywhere, any time, rapid content moderation is a nearly impossible task. “There’s no perfect technology to take down a video without a reference database,” says Dong.
Several murders and other horrific acts have been broadcast on Facebook Live before. But the Christchurch massacre appears to have been the first time a mass shooter specifically chose to live-stream the killing of dozens, and they appear to have done so in an effort to ensure their action would spread around the Internet, carrying their hateful message with it. Social media companies like Facebook and YouTube, already under scrutiny for a wealth of reasons, will now be left once again to defend their content moderation practices — and explain why a mass murderer was so easily able to manipulate their systems to have his heinous act seen around the world in a matter of minutes.
The controversy centers on a Quebec-based construction firm, SNC-Lavalin, accused of bribing the Gaddafi regime in Libya to win government contracts. Canada’s former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Rabould says she was pressured by the Trudeau administration to settle corruption charges with SNC-Lavalin, a move which would have avoided the company being barred from bidding on government contracts. That would have hurt both the company and its workforce, a significant proportion of whom work in Quebec — Trudeau’s home province.
The prime minister’s critics say his administration—and Trudeau himself—improperly interfered; Trudeau and his supporters claim that he was only looking out for the wellbeing of Canadian citizens and did nothing improper. As ever, the reality lies somewhere in the middle.
Why It Matters:
Although nobody in Trudeau’s cabinet has been accused of breaking the law, the scandal has rocked Canadian politics. Two Trudeau cabinet ministers have resigned on principle, along with Trudeau’s longtime friend and closest advisor Gerald Butts (he didn’t resign on principle, but to make sure he wouldn’t be a distraction. Read into that what you will). Trudeau maintains that he did nothing wrong and was keeping the interest of Canadian workers front of mind, like he was elected to do.
This would all be bad for Canadian politics under normal circumstances. Two things make it worse; the first is the fact that Trudeau has been held up—and holds himself up—to be the champion of Western liberal democracy at a time when that worldview is under assault. There is no shortage of critics who see Trudeau as getting his just come-uppance—for all the talk of “real change” (his 2015 campaign’s slogan) and his being a “feminist” prime minister, the resignation of two of the most high-profile female ministers makes Trudeau appear like just another run-of-the-mill politician.
The second is that Canada has elections in the fall; while it was looking like Trudeau and his Liberal party were going to sail to victory and form another majority government, polling in the wake of the scandal has now thrown that prospect into question.
What Happens Next:
Unlike Trump, who generates controversy at a dizzying clip, this one looks significant—and rare enough—to leave a permanent mark on Trudeau and his government. While elections are still months away, it looks like Canada could be heading for a minority government that will require coalition-formation. The only question is whether Trudeau and the Liberals lead that coalition or if it’s their Conservative counterparts.
The Key Number That Explains It:
3 percent — the polling lead lead the Conservatives currently have over the Liberals, whose support has tumbled in the wake of the SNC-Lavalin scandal.
Even so, Trudeau remains Canadians preferred choice of prime minister, with 32.5 percent of respondents choosing Trudeau over his Conservative counterpart Andrew Scheer (25.2 percent). Which suggests that while the Liberal brand has undoubtedly been tarnished by this scandal, opposition leaders have yet to really capitalize on it. But when it comes time to head to the voting booths in October, Canadians may have a difficult time making the distinction between the parties and their leaders.
The One Thing to Read About It:
Of feminism and Canadian politics—read this piece in The Atlantic to understand why this particular scandal cuts to the core of Trudeau’s image as a “feminist” prime minister, and a whole lot of his political appeal.
The One Major Misconception About It:
That Trudeau is done, politically speaking. If this scandal had happened in August, then Trudeau’s reelection chances would be in more peril. Still, a lot depends on the next few months, especially if and how the Liberals can change the narrative and shift the Canadian electorate’s focus away from the scandal.
The One Thing to Say About It:
When your campaign slogan is “real change,” you leave little room for error. Or for traditional politics. Trudeau is finding that out the hard way. The next seven months will be the most difficult of his political career; we’re about to see what this man is made of.
The One Thing to Avoid Saying About It:
No sex. No drugs. Even Canadian political scandals are boring.
More than 250 journalists were imprisoned around the world last year, and at least 53 journalists were killed on the job — making 2018 the deadliest year for the press in the past three years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Those stark numbers have fueled calls for stronger protections for journalists and their work. TIME has partnered with a dozen leading news organizations — including Reuters, the Associated Press, Forbes and HuffPost— to launch the One Free Press Coalition with the goal of promoting press freedom around the world.
“TIME is proud to stand with the One Free Press Coalition and journalists all over the world who are taking great risks in pursuit of greater truths,” said TIME Editor in Chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal.
On Friday, the coalition released its first-ever 10 Most Urgent list, identifying 10 journalists around the world who represent the most severe examples of abuses to press freedom or cases of injustice.
1. Maria Ressa and Rappler (Philippines): Arrest and legal threats for the critical media outlet and its editor.
National Bureau of Investigation officers arrested Ressa at Rappler on Feb. 1 over a cyber libel case filed against her by the Justice Department. She was released the next day, but Rappler faces separate retaliatory tax charges. CPJ and First Look Media are partners in a legal defense fund for journalists, of which Ressa and Rappler are the first recipients.
2. Jamal Khashoggi (Saudi Arabia): Justice denied for murdered Saudi journalist.
Nearly five months after his brutal murder at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, and despite findings from the CIA that point to the Saudi crown prince’s involvement, there has been no independent UN criminal investigation. Calls for the White House to release intelligence reports have gone unheeded, along with a deadline to reply to Congress as required under the U.S. Global Magnitsky Act.
Mohammed Al-Shaikh—AFP/Getty ImagesJamal Khashoggi was killed in October inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.
Al Nafjan, founder of the Saudiwoman’s Weblog, was sent to prison in relation to her reporting on elections, human rights activists, and the fight for women to have the right to drive in Saudi Arabia. She is one of at least 16 Saudi journalists behind bars, according to CPJ’s most recent census of imprisoned journalists.
Following their investigation into a security force massacre of Rohingya men and boys in western Rakhine State, the pair were convicted under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years each in prison even though a policeman testified they had been entrapped. Their appeal was rejected in January; a final appeal is pending.
5. Claudia Duque(Colombia): Veteran investigative reporter deserves justice for harassment and attacks.
Duque has endured kidnapping, illegal surveillance, psychological torture and repeated exiles as a result of her work. Colombian courts convicted three high-ranking officers of the Colombian security services for torturing in 2003 and 2004 Claudia and her daughter. As of January 2019, all the defendants in the case were free.
Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed was arrested in 2014 for an article he wrote criticizing the Mauritanian caste system and initially faced a death sentence. The apostasy charges have been dropped, but he still remains behind bars, with limited contact with his family and the outside world.
7. Anna Nimiriano (South Sudan): Newspaper editor in South Sudan, lives under constant threat.
As editor of the Juba Monitor, Nimiriano fights to keep her colleagues out of jail for their reporting, and has in the past been ordered by the government to shut down the paper. She perseveres in spite of arrest threats and constant censorship of her and her colleagues.
8. Pelin Unker (Turkey): Paradise Papers reporting leads to jail sentence for Turkish reporter.
Pelin Unker wrote a piece as part of the Paradise Papers corruption investigation in 2017, revealing offshore holdings of the family of then-Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım. As retribution, authorities charged and sentenced him to 13 months for insulting the prime minister.
Thomas Awah Junior, a correspondent for privately owned Afrik 2 Radio and publisher of Aghem Messenger monthly magazine, was arrested while interviewing protesters and is serving an 11-year sentence in Cameroon on anti-state and false news charges. CPJ has written to President Paul Biya requesting that he be released on humanitarian grounds.
After a one-day trial, Tran Thi Nga was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of “spreading propaganda against the state.” She produced a number of videos critical of authorities on topics like toxic environmental spills and government corruption
Vietnam News Agency/AFP/Getty ImagesTran Thi Nga (C) stands during her appeal at a local people’s court in the northern province of Ha Nam on Dec. 22, 2017.
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A senior State Department official said on March 15 that the US is proud to be India#39;s largest export market and most important economic partner.
Oil price gains have been limited by concerns that an economic slowdown that has gripped large parts of Asia and Europe will dent growth in fuel demand.
Copper prices are trading at $6430 per tonne. Traders should keep strict stop loss levels as US-China trade deal announcement is a major event risk for the trade.
Mamata Banerjee had alleged that the BJP was contacting some of the "disgruntled" leaders, urging them to contest the polls on saffron party tickets.
A high of 11,383.45 will act as an immediate resistance above which the momentum will resume till 11,465 â€" 11,523 levels, respectively. On the flip side, the gap area of 11,227 â€" 11,180.90 will act as strong support on the index.
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If you have money to invest for the long-term, it seems putting it to work quickly beats waiting to try and find the perfect moment to enter the market.
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