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Misfired Patriot missile hits farm in Qatar
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
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5 21:35 Clem [5] 
9 16:18 Angoluse Snoter7633 [2] 
2 21:02 USN, Ret. [8] 
1 08:02 Procopius2k [5] 
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8 20:00 Vernal Hatrack2366 [1] 
3 16:23 Skidmark [2] 
2 22:25 Glavick Flager3596 [3] 
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Page 4: Opinion
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6 15:50 Sock Puppet of Doom [8]
7 15:00 Rambler in Virginia [5]
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Page 6: Politix
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
US struggling with growing number of asylum seekers
WASHINGTON (AP) ‐ Border officials are aiming to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the southern border each day, a major expansion of a top government effort to address the swelling number of Central Americans arriving in the country, a Trump administration official said Saturday.

It was the latest attempt to ease a straining immigration system that officials say is at the breaking point. Hundreds of officers who usually screen cargo and vehicles at ports of entry were reassigned to help manage migrants. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen asked for volunteers from non-immigration agencies within her department, sent a letter to Congress late this past week requesting resources and broader authority to deport families faster, and she met with Central American and Mexican officials.

The efforts are being made while President Donald Trump is doubling down on threats to shutter the U.S.-Mexico border entirely, a move that would have serious economic repercussions for both the U.S. and Mexico but wouldn’t stop migrants from crossing between ports. His administration also announced it was cutting aid to the Central American countries home to most of the migrants.

Right now, about 60 asylum seekers a day are returned to Mexico at the San Ysidro, Calexico and El Paso ports to wait out their cases, the official said. They are allowed to return to the U.S. for court dates. The plan was announced Jan. 29, partially to deter false claimants from coming across the border. With a backlog of more than 700,000 immigration cases, asylum seekers can wait years for their cases to progress, and officials say some people game the system in order to live in the U.S.

Officials hope to have as many as 300 people returned per day by the end of the week, focusing particularly on those who come in between ports of entry, said the official, who had knowledge of the plans but was unauthorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2019 01:05 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Stuff Brigades - free stuff, stuff the ballot box. They ain't no asylum seekers. This is all the creation of our aristocracy - aka the judiciary that sits for life and is unaccountable to the people.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/31/2019 8:02 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Video, Not Smart: Young Man Confronts Vehicle Of Russian Soldiers During Road Rage Incident
[Smokeroom] Video: It doesn't get much more blunt than that. Whoever that guy is, he was certainly feeling himself when he hopped out of his BMW.

He thought he was about to put somebody in their place. He was convinced he was about to dunk on somebody and ruin their day.

Clearly, the exact opposite happened. He got a reality check when angrily approaching an SUV. The window was rolled down to reveal several heavily armed Russian soldiers, and one of them had a weapon pointed right at him.


My Russian is rusty at best but there is definitely an "oh crap" in there.
Posted by: Woodrow || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I just loved it when that guy said "excuse me" to the soldier pointing the gun at him.
Posted by: DooDahMan || 03/31/2019 7:36 Comments || Top||

#2  talk about your ohh shit moment
Posted by: chris || 03/31/2019 9:03 Comments || Top||

#3  Wasn’t that a Ukrainian flag on his shoulder?
Posted by: Lowspark || 03/31/2019 15:13 Comments || Top||

#4  Looks a bit Ukrainian at one point, but when the camera pulls back at 0:18 we see White/Blue/Red which is Russian Federation, which brings up the interesting question: why these guys are driving around all kitted up?
Posted by: SteveS || 03/31/2019 16:30 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
More than 1 million acres of U.S. cropland ravaged by floods
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/31/2019 12:34 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  People who don't know will learn how much food Nebraska puts on the table.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/31/2019 18:46 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan floods kill 35, worsen already desperate situation
[TRTWORLD] Flash floods caused by heavy rains have killed at least 35 people in Afghanistan, washing away houses and cutting off access to remote villages across parts of the country, officials said on Saturday.

Heavy flooding that started early on Friday killed at least 12 people in the northern province of Faryab and 10 people in the western province of Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
, said Hashmat Bahaduri, a front man for Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA).

Eight people were killed in Badghis province in the west and five in Balkh province in the north, Bahaduri told AFP, adding that more than 3,000 houses had been destroyed.

In Herat, 10 districts and some parts of Herat city were impacted, said Jailani Farhad, front man for the province’s governor.

"Hundreds of houses have been destroyed and thousands displaced," he said.

Mir Gulabuddin Miri, director of the Afghan Red Islamic Thingy in Herat, said access to some areas had been cut off, preventing teams from reaching affected people.

"The destruction is huge. Over 12 areas in the province have been badly hit, people have lost their houses. We’ve only been able to provide them with some food and blankets so far," he said.

Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How does this compare to the historic patterns of rainfall and flooding in that part of the world? Is this like Pakistan, where the poor are flooded out every few years, or is this truly a rare and shocking event?
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2019 13:58 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Mexico says it won't react to Trump threats over border
MEXICO CITY (AP) ‐ Mexico’s foreign relations secretary said Friday his country won’t react to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to close the U.S.-Mexico border, and its president even held a sort of impromptu poll on whether to respond.

Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard wrote on Twitter: "Mexico doesn’t act based on threats." He also said the Spanish-speaking country is "the best neighbor" the U.S. could have, saying about 1.5 million U.S. citizens live in Mexico.

Trump has implied he might close the border between both nations because Mexico isn’t doing enough to stop an influx of migrants from Central America ‐ prompting some Mexican commentators to demand a stronger U.S. response.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador waved those calls aside on Friday at a public event in Veracruz state, asking his assembled supporters for their views.

"Should we really maintain good relations with the government of President Donald Trump?" he asked the crowd, which responded with shouts of "Yes!"

"Let’s see the hands of those who think that I should respond each time he refers to Mexico," Lopez Obrador added. The response was silence.

"Let’s see the hands of those who think we should act with prudence," he added, and supporters raised their hands.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2019 01:44 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Cut their foreign aid yesterday and impose a 10% 'withholding' on all money order remittances to Mexico. Let's see what they say then.
Posted by: Raj || 03/31/2019 5:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard wrote on Twitter: "Mexico doesn’t act based on threats."

And our gov't shouldn't be making any threats, just calculated and decisive actions !
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2019 7:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Just make sure we don't interfere with Wells Fargo subsidiaries in their [Mexican] drug cartel money laundering "services".
Posted by: DooDahMan || 03/31/2019 7:30 Comments || Top||

#4  Give a day's notice every so often and watch cross-border tourism and trade dry up. Mexico will learn not to fuck with us
Posted by: Frank G || 03/31/2019 8:04 Comments || Top||

#5  They will react when Monterrey industrial plants go idle. They will react when the cross border tourist spots go dormant. He needs to threaten remittances and that will stop this all. If he bans the cash transfer home, the country will starve to death.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 03/31/2019 10:41 Comments || Top||

#6  He also said the Spanish-speaking country is "the best neighbor" the U.S. could have,

True. When it comes to failed states, Mexico is better than most. We could have Somalia on our southern border.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/31/2019 10:52 Comments || Top||

#7  ...with the cartels, don't count that out yet.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/31/2019 11:19 Comments || Top||

#8  I'm afraid a lot of that cartel money corrupts our own politicians just like Mexico's. Close the damn border. Seal it up tight and we'll see how cocky AMLO is then.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 03/31/2019 14:10 Comments || Top||

#9 
Posted by: Angoluse Snoter7633 || 03/31/2019 16:18 Comments || Top||


Venezuelan opposition holds fresh protest
[TRTWORLD] Venezuelan security forces fired tear gas on Saturday to disperse demonstrators who turned out in Caracas to protest massive power outages that have kept much of the country in darkness since early March.

AFP journalists on the scene said the security forces blocked opposition protesters from concentrating at certain points in the western side of the city.

Venezuela has been hit by three major power outages this month, and opposition leader Juan Guaido had called on supporters to take to the streets to demonstrate.
Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Chinese troops in Venezuela
[TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Russia begins training Venezuelan military to use attack choppers
Goodness — Russians and Chinese?!
[ALMASDARNEWS] A helicopter pilot training center, created with the help of Russian specialists, was unveiled in Venezuela on Friday, the press service of Rosoboronexport, the arms trader of Russian state corporation Rostec, has said.

"A modern helicopter training center was built under Rosoboronexport’s contract with Venezuelan state-owned defense manufacturer (CAVIM). Its opening ceremony took place on March 29," the organization said in a statement.

The center will give Venezuelan pilots an opportunity to train the use of Mi17V-5, Mi-35M and Mi-26T helicopters.

"At present, Russian helicopters supplied to Venezuela not only take part in operations against smugglers, but also successfully perform aerial survey of wildfires, take part in rescue and evacuation missions in areas hit by natural disasters and deliver humanitarian cargo to remote regions of the country," Rosoboronexport said.

A source in Venezuela’s Army Aviation said the center would simplify the training process and make it more efficient, allowing to train more helicopter crews.

Russian-made Mi-35M helicopters are actively used in operations targeting illicit drug production and trafficking in Venezuela, the source said.

"At present, Mi-35M2 helicopters play an active role in fighting drug trafficking in the states of Barinas, Apure and Amazonas. As a rule, those aircraft are used for detecting and destroying drug-trafficking convoys travelling by land and rivers," he said.

According to the source, Mi-35M are also particularly efficient in operations to destroy drug production facilities located in hard-to-reach areas.

"One Mi-35M2 helicopter is capable of delivering a special group of five or six officers, providing fire support if necessary and evacuating the team after the task is fulfilled," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  but not enough fuel to fly to Columbia
Posted by: Frank G || 03/31/2019 9:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Can't catch the last helicopter out if the rag-tag remaining elements of your military can't fly a helo.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/31/2019 10:32 Comments || Top||

#3  One way to reduce the pressure on food demand.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/31/2019 11:18 Comments || Top||

#4  So, gonna use Hind-D's for crowd control?
Posted by: ed in texas || 03/31/2019 13:23 Comments || Top||

#5  The Drug Pusher gives free samples to the addict-to-be. The Real Money™ is in the logistics upkeep system.... and if Venezuela can't maintain their infrastructure how can they afford this?
Posted by: magpie || 03/31/2019 14:19 Comments || Top||

#6  So they gonna teach them how to maintain them, or hold that card for themselves?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 03/31/2019 14:57 Comments || Top||

#7  Goodness — Russians and Chinese?!

That will be an interesting surrogate war.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/31/2019 16:10 Comments || Top||

#8  What is here for Russia to steal? Russia actually benefits from Venezuela completely imploding and not producing any oil anymore, because that makes their own oil more valuable. It's not like the natives are awash in hard cash they're eager to use on Russia hardware and assistance anymore. If they were, they would probably keep the power on in their capital city on.
Posted by: Vernal Hatrack2366 || 03/31/2019 20:00 Comments || Top||


Pres. Trump cuts all direct assistance to Northern Triangle countries Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala
[ABC] In a stunning about-face, State Department officials said that President Donald Trump is cutting off all direct assistance to the so-called Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

"At the Secretary’s instruction, we are carrying out the President’s direction and ending FY [fiscal year] 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle," a State Department spokesperson told ABC News, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "We will be engaging Congress as part of this process."

These three countries are the primary source of migrants to the U.S., but for years the U.S. has worked with them to stabilize their political environments and economies and end violence and corruption so that migrants wouldn’t leave in the first place.

Trump hinted at the cuts earlier on Friday, telling reporters,"I’ve ended payments to Guatemala, to Honduras, and to El Salvador. No money goes there anymore."

While the president has threatened these cuts before, this time the administration is actually following through.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Gosh, bribing them didn't work? What a surprise. Maybe the stick will work where the carrot doesn't.

Too many countries in the world regard endless money from America as their birthright and just part of how things work. Looking at you, Europe.
Posted by: Angusotle McCoy6228 || 03/31/2019 3:15 Comments || Top||

#2  We mean it...THIS time.

When will we ever learn: you can't buy love.
Posted by: DooDahMan || 03/31/2019 7:39 Comments || Top||

#3  When will we ever learn: you can't buy love.

Love? Love is easy to buy.
Commitment is tough.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/31/2019 12:25 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia Ordered a Killing That Made No Sense. Then the Assassin Started Talking.
When the NY Times decides to, they can be informative
[NY Times] The target lived on the sixth floor of a cheerless, salmon-colored building on Vidinska Street, across from a thicket of weeping willows. Oleg Smorodinov found him there, rented a small apartment on the ground floor, and waited.

He had gotten the name from his two handlers in Moscow. They met at the Vienna Cafe, a few blocks from the headquarters of Russia's domestic intelligence agency, and handed him a list of six people in Ukraine. Find them, they told Mr. Smorodinov, and he set off. He was already boasting to friends that he was a spy.

Each person on the list was assigned a code name related to flowers. One was ";briar." Another was "buttercup." The target, a man named Ivan Mamchur, was called "rose." To Mr. Smorodinov, he was a nobody, an electrician who worked at the local jail. To the handlers in Moscow, though, he was significant.

"Drenched in blood up to his elbows," they told him.
Posted by: Frank G || 03/31/2019 10:36 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


#2  Thank you, Bobby.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2019 14:01 Comments || Top||

#3  I use Firefox - so I can go into the Security Options and delete the cookies/trackers for websites that limit the number of articles...
Posted by: Frank G || 03/31/2019 14:14 Comments || Top||

#4  Humpf! I also use Firefox, but not as effectively as Frank.
Posted by: Bobby || 03/31/2019 17:45 Comments || Top||

#5  Just say 'no' to Microcrap browsers such as Edge [sic] or IE.
Posted by: Clem || 03/31/2019 21:35 Comments || Top||


Russian Air Force does rare fly-by over famous Area 51 in western US
[ALMASDARNEWS] A Russian Tu-154M-ON (NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants...
reporting name: "Careless") reconnaissance plane has conducted a surveillance flight over US military facilities located on the west coast of the country, The Drive online magazine reported.

The plane reportedly took off from Great Falls and flew over the Edwards Air Force Base, United States Air Force Plant 42, which is used to modernise and assemble various military aircraft, including strategic bombers, Vandenberg Air Force Base, as well as the Nellis Test and Training Range ‐ also known as Area 51.

The reconnaissance flight was carried out according to Treaty on Open Skies provisions that allow for mutual aerial inspections of the signatories for the sake of verifying the fulfillment of disarmament treaties.

The US threatened to suspend its participation in the treaty in 2018, claiming that Russia was not adhering to it, but the State Department later stated that Washington would not follow through on the threats.

The Tu-154M-ON is a modification of the Russian Tu-154M LK-1, which is used in cosmonaut training programmes, is specifically fitted for conducting aerial inspections.
Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I want to believe...
Posted by: Raj || 03/31/2019 5:56 Comments || Top||

#2  I'll assume that everything at Groom Lake was inside a hangar at the time. Except for the 'tinkertoys' they like to park in the open to confuse whoever might see them.
Everything at Groom lake is indoors, except for the golf course, and I understand that they're working on that. (It's waay hot outside there in the summer.)
Posted by: ed in texas || 03/31/2019 10:12 Comments || Top||

#3  Some photo ops exist for runway assets which might be hangared when the Wing is away, tows, tankers, POVs, security vehicles, etc.

When pilots and maintenance crews are deployed the barracks cleaning staff is reduced. The mess hall and eClub are also nearly empty and the Redline flight schedule changes.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/31/2019 16:23 Comments || Top||


Europe
Zuzana Caputova becomes Slovakia's first female president
[BBC] Anti-corruption candidate Zuzana Caputova has won Slovakia's presidential election, making her the country's first female head of state.

Ms Caputova, who has almost no political experience, defeated high-profile diplomat Maros Sefcovic from the governing party in a second round run-off vote.

She framed the election as a struggle between good and evil.

The election follows the murder of an investigative journalist last year.

Jan Kuciak was looking into links between politicians and organised crime when he was shot alongside his fiancée in February 2018.

Ms Caputova cited Mr Kuciak's death as one of the reasons she decided to run for president, which is a largely ceremonial role.

With almost all votes counted, she has won about 58% to Mr Sefcovic's 42%.

She gained prominence as a lawyer, when she led a case against an illegal landfill lasting 14 years.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2019 01:33 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hope she lasts longer than Pakistan's first.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/31/2019 16:34 Comments || Top||

#2  How come all these other countries that elect a female chief executive (by whatever title is relevant) these women all are somewhat attractive in addition to being smart, or at least politically astute, and then the best the Democrats can offer is Hillary, and Lord only knows what's in the wings; collectively enough to make a maggot puke...…
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 03/31/2019 21:02 Comments || Top||


French 'yellow vests' stage 20th week of anti-government protests
[AlAhram] French "yellow vests" demonstrators on Saturday staged their 20th week of anti-government protests despite bans in hotspot areas, as banks called for an end to violence against branches, cash machines and personnel.

Police had struggled the previous weekend to contain violence by highly-organised demonstrators who smashed shop windows and set fire to newspaper kiosks and a bank in the capital.

Local authorities on Saturday declared iconic sites such as the Champs Elysees avenue in Gay Paree and the centre of Bordeaux, in southwestern La Belle France, off limits to demonstrations. The presidential Elysee palace and the National Assembly were also cordoned off by police.

President Emmanuel Macron has reacted to the Saturday protests, which began last November, by embarking on a cross-country tour as part of a "Great National Debate" aimed at encouraging disgruntled citizens to express themselves through a structured dialogue.

The protests began in rural La Belle France on November 17 over fuel tax increases and quickly ballooned into a full-scale anti-government rebellion.

In recent weeks, the protesters' numbers have dwindled but those still on the streets appear more determined.

Initial reports at midday Saturday said that around 300 demonstrators had gathered at the Gay Paree Gare de l'Est train station and the Gay Paree prefecture said two demonstrations and four gatherings had been organised, with one march to end near the Eiffel Tower.

"It is still the same goal, social justice and the RIC (citizen initiated referendum), especially when there are economic choices to be made," said a 43-year-old demonstrator who gave his first name as Jean-Edouard.

- 'UNBRIDLED AND UNJUSTIFIED VIOLENCE' -
The French banking federation called for an end to attacks during "yellow vest" protests, saying that more than 760 banks have suffered damage since the movement began last year.

Banks have often been the targets of vandalism and arson during the protests, and last week 11 people were maimed when a Banque Tarneaud branch was set on fire near the Champs Elysees.

"We must quickly put a stop to this unbridled and unjustified violence," the federation said in comments published in the daily Le Monde.

With the Gay Paree authorities clamping down, regional protests came into focus, with protests bans in other city centres, including Avignon, Lille and Toulouse
...lies on the banks of the River Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in La Belle France...
Lille officials offered demonstrators an alternative path however. People who take part in unauthorised demonstrations risk an increased fine of 135 euros ($150).

In Bordeaux, where violent festivities have broken during previous protests, the Mayor Nicolas Florian shut down the city after authorities warned of the possible arrival of "hundreds of thugs". Residents were urged to stay indoors to avoid unintended festivities with police.

A demonstration was planned in the Mediterranean city of Nice, where a 73-year-old activist was injured last week after she was pushed by police and hit her head while falling. Police had initially insisted that no officer pushed the woman, but rectified that position following an internal investigation.

Last Saturday, 40,500 people demonstrated across La Belle France according to police while "yellow vest" sources put the figure at more than 127,000.

Last week, Macron continued to meet with mayors as part of regional tours linked to the national debate
... an expenditure of personal wind at the national level that leads to face-making and other histrionics but can't be shown to have ever solved an issue ...
He is scheduled to end the tour Thursday on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2019 00:50 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If you adjust the numbers to fit the US population (65mm French versus 330mm US, call it 5x) the gummint estimate works out to 200,000 yellow vests and the yellow vest estimate works out to 635,000. Every week for 20 weeks. This is a non-trivial event.
Posted by: Matt || 03/31/2019 12:12 Comments || Top||

#2  I keep in touch with a Frenchman I knew at the UN. He's sympathetic to the "yellow vest" people. Evidently the tax thing in France is just way out of control.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2019 12:28 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Mashal’s father challenges acquittals in lynching case
[DAWN] Mashal Khan’s father Mohammad Iqbal on Friday filed three appeals with the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
High Court against the acquittal of two accused in his son’s lynching case by an anti-terrorism court, and sought death sentences for them.

He also challenged the acquittal of Asad Zia alias Asad Katlang and tehsil councillor Arif Khan in some provisions of the Pakistain Penal Code and Anti-Terrorism Act.

The appeals were filed through Barrister Amirullah Khan Chamkani.

On Mar 21, the ATC had convicted Asad, a former employee of the Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, and Arif, and sentenced them on multiple counts to life imprisonment with Rs300,000 fine each.

The court had acquitted two other accused, including Izharullah alias Joni and Sabirullah alias Sabir Mayar, both students, as the judge ruled that the prosecution could not bring any cogent and convincing evidence against them nor were they seen in any of the video clips produced by the prosecution.

The four accused in question had absconded after the lynching incident and therefore, they were not tried initially for the offence. However the police locked away
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
them last year.

Mashal Khan, a 23-year-old student of the Department of Mass Communication at the Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, was lynched by a mob over the allegation of blasphemy on Apr 13, 2017.
Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Police arrest man accused of cutting off former wife's tongue
[DAWN] A man suspected of cutting off his former wife's tongue and grievously assaulting her was tossed in the clink
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
in the Pindi Bhattian tehsil of Hafizabad district on Saturday, a day after he allegedly committed the crime.

On Friday, a first information report (FIR) had been registered at the Saddar cop shoppe against the suspect, a man named Jehangir, on the complaint of the victim's father for allegedly cutting his daughters tongue off and subjecting her to grievous torture in the Mustafabad village of the area.

According to the victim's father, the reason for the incident was that the suspect had verbally divorced her a few days ago. He said that the suspect had now wanted to murder his daughter, which was why he had come to his house and assaulted her.

As per the FIR, the father had gone out to cut grass on the fields while his wife and daughter were at home when the suspect entered the house and took his daughter hostage in a room, which he then locked. He said the suspect had the used sharp scissors to cut off the victim's tongue.

According to the father's account in the FIR, the suspect continued to kick and punch the victim after maiming her. He added that the suspect had also used the scissors to disfigure her hands and face.

He said that when his wife cried out, people from the area arrived at the scene. Along with others from the village and witnesses, he broke the roof of the room and entered it, after which he broke the lock on the door and took his daughter out.

The victim's father added that if people from the area had not reached the site, the suspect and his accomplices ‐ three unknown persons riding a cycle of violence who were waiting outside ‐ would have killed his daughter.

The victim was subsequently shifted to a hospital.

Hafizabad District Police Officer (DPO) Sajid Kiani confirmed to DawnNewsTV that the suspect had been arrested and a pair of scissors was also recovered from his possession.

Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


6 students killed as bus runs over rickshaw in Punjab's Bhakkar district
[DAWN] Seven people ‐ of which six were students and one a rickshaw driver ‐ were killed, and a student was critically maimed in Punjab's Bhakkar district on Saturday after the vehicle was hit by a speeding bus.

The driver of the bus ‐ which belongs to a private transport company ‐ managed to flee the scene of the crime as an enraged mob set the bus on fire.

As soon as news of the incident broke, the deputy commissioner, district police officer and Rescue 1122 personnel reached the site. The district administration banned the entry of all buses belonging to the transport company within the limits of District Bhakkar.

The incident occurred when seven students were returning home after appearing in ninth grade examinations at Multan
Home of the Multan Sultans...
's Government Girls High School. The rickshaw they had been travelling in was on Jhang road, near Jaise Wala area, when the speeding bus, enroute from Multan to Dera Ismail Khan
... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ...
, crashed into it.

The rickshaw was completely swallowed under the bus, and the six students, along with the rickshaw driver, died immediately. The dear departed driver was identified as Mohammad Amjad and among the dear departed girls, the identities of Sawera Shafiq, Iqra Rafiq, Maryam, Sanam Basheer, Sobia, and Sana Parveen were confirmed by their families.

One student, who was recovered by rescue officials after cutting away chunks of the bus, was found critically maimed and rushed to the district headquarters hospital.

Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [13 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Cambodia returns land taken from indigenous people in 'unprecedented' move
[TRTWORLD] Cambodia has returned land taken a decade ago from indigenous communities for a Vietnamese company's rubber plantation, a sign that foreign investors are facing greater scrutiny over rights violations, analysts said on Wednesday.

The governor of the northeastern province of Ratanakari on Tuesday asked the agriculture ministry to take out 64 areas from the land concessions, including forests, wetlands and burial grounds that belonged to a dozen indigenous communities.

The decision "represents an unprecedented recognition of indigenous land rights over business interests in Cambodia," said Dam Chanty, executive director of Highlanders Association, an indigenous rights organization in Ratanakari.

But while the move was "a major victory", the communities still needed compensation and help rehabilitating their land and waterways, she said in a statement.

Since the early 2000s, Cambodia has awarded large swathes of land as concessions to foreign companies for mines, power plants and farms, to spur economic growth and alleviate poverty.

Such deals, which covered more than a tenth of the country's surface area by 2012, have displaced more than 770,000 people, human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
lawyers say.

Following protests and pressure from rights groups, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a moratorium on new concessions in 2012, and promised to review old ones.

Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Culture Wars
Trump Admin Sends Pro-Life Women's Clinic $5 Million That Once Went to Planned Parenthood
From a comment yesterday by our own Anomalous Sources.
[Lifenews.com] The founder of an organization of community care clinics that cater to women praises the Trump administration for deciding to give her group $5.1 million over three years for use in California, a grant that once might have gone to Planned Parenthood.

"With this grant, the administration has opened up a new avenue of health care choices for low-income and underserved women and their families in California," Kathleen Eaton Bravo, CEO and founder of The Obria Group Inc. and Obria Medical Clinics, said in a prepared statement provided to The Daily Signal.

Obria, which operates 21 health clinics and 11 mobile clinics in five states, does not perform abortions.

"Many women want the opportunity to visit a professional, comprehensive health care facility‐not an abortion clinic‐for their health care needs; today, HHS gave women that choice," Bravo said.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday that Obria Group will receive three years of Title X family planning funding to expand services to low-income individuals and families in four California counties.

Obria Group will oversee the work of seven clinic partners, including three of its own California affiliates, according to a release from CRC Public Relations.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  All right, any Christians and pro-lifers out there. Are you supporting Trump? If not, why not? Who would support our pro-life cause better?
Posted by: Tom || 03/31/2019 15:29 Comments || Top||

#2  I believe that evangelical support is there, Christian radio gives Trump their full support from abortion issues to the building the wall along the border.
Posted by: Glavick Flager3596 || 03/31/2019 22:25 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2019-03-31
  Misfired Patriot missile hits farm in Qatar
Sat 2019-03-30
  Hamas May Declare War Saturday
Fri 2019-03-29
  Turkey: air defense purchase from Russia 'a done deal'
Thu 2019-03-28
  Boko Haram attacks in eastern Niger leave 10 dead: Mayor
Wed 2019-03-27
  Israel just hit near Aleppo Syria
Tue 2019-03-26
  IAF Hits Enemy Targets After 30 Rockets Pound Israel, Egypt threatens to quit mediating
Mon 2019-03-25
  Gaza War is On!
Sun 2019-03-24
  More than 130 killed in Mali massacre as UN visits
Sat 2019-03-23
  It’s official: SDF declare ‘total elimination’ of ISIS caliphate
Fri 2019-03-22
  Final Islamic State Stronghold in Syria Falls
Thu 2019-03-21
  HTS captures infamous ISIS commander in rural Idlib
Wed 2019-03-20
  Colombia seizes assets to the ELN guerrillas
Tue 2019-03-19
  Three Dead in Utrecht Shooting, Police Identify Turkish Suspect
Mon 2019-03-18
  Syria force says 'thousands' still inside last IS pocket
Sun 2019-03-17
  1 killed, another wounded in a magnetic bomb explosion in Kabul city


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