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Sri Lanka election results: Mahinda Rajapaksa tried to deploy army after poll defeat

Diane A. Wade
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Sri Lanka election results: Mahinda Rajapaksa tried to deploy army after poll defeat

Sri Lanka’s ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa tried to deploy the army when he realized that he had lost elections, a spokesman for new President Maithripala Sirisena has alleged.

The spokesman said that the head of the armed forces came under pressure to intervene shortly before Mahinda Rajapaksa conceded defeat on 47.6% of the vote.

There has been no comment from the military about the allegations.

The deposed president’s spokesman denied the claims as baseless.

“There was no such attempt at all,” said Mohan Samaranayake.

“In fact, at 3:30 am on January 9 when the counting was still under way, the president made an assessment and decided what the results would be,” he added.

“Then he gave instructions to all secretaries about a smooth transfer of power… The politician who has made these remarks is in the habit of making baseless allegations.”

Sri Lanka has largely been free of military interference in politics except for a coup in 1962 that failed to oust the government. Since then, there has been no direct military role in the government.

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

President Maithripala Sirisena’s top aide said on January 10 that pressure had been applied by the outgoing leadership onto armed forces head Gen. Daya Ratnayake to intervene in the result in the hours before Mahinda Rajapaksa accepted defeat.

“The army chief was under pressure to deploy but he did not. He declined to do anything illegal,” Rajitha Senaratne, the chief spokesman for the new president, told reporters in Colombo.

“Even in the last hour, he [Mahinda Rajapaksa] tried to remain in office. Only when he realized that he had no other option, he decided to go.”

Rajitha Senaratne did not detail whether the outgoing president himself tried to contact the military chief or whether the approach was made by his younger brother, Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

He also said that the new president has ordered an end to the censorship of dissident websites, the abolition of phone tapping and a stop to the surveillance of journalists and politicians.

The outgoing president was praised by Secretary of State John Kerry for his early concession.

Mahinda Rajapaksa – seeking a third term in office after he changed the constitution to scrap the two-term limit – said on Twitter soon after the vote that he was working to a peaceful transition of power.

His supporters credit him with ending the civil war and boosting the economy, but critics say he had become increasingly authoritarian and corrupt.

Maithripala Sirisena is expected to make an address to the nation from the historic hill resort of Kandy on January 11.

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Elvis first recording sells for $300,000 at Graceland auction

Sonia Pantiss
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Elvis first recording sells for $300,000 at Graceland auction

Elvis Presley’s first recording ever made has sold at a Graceland auction for $300,000.

An unnamed buyer placed the winning bid online for the 78 rpm recording of My Happiness, the first time it has come up for public sale.

The auction was held at Elvis Presley’s former home Graceland on what would have been his 80th birthday.

Elvis Presley recorded My Happiness in 1953 when he was 18-years-old.

He wanted to find out what his voice sounded like on record and paid $4 for the session to record My Happiness and That’s When Your Heartaches Begin onto acetate.

Elis Presley was said to have made the recording partly as a present for his mother.

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

But the family did not have a record player, so he took it to his friend Ed Leek’s house to listen to the results of the session and left it there.

Ed Leek kept the record in a safe for 60 years and after he and his wife died their niece Lorisa Hilburn inherited it.

Lorisa Hilburn from Florida was surprised but “very happy” with how much the record sold for.

“There was adrenaline beforehand … but when it was over, I was numb,” she said.

“It was surreal.”

Lorisa Hilburn plans to use some of the money to put her sons through college.

Other items in the auction included Elvis Presley’s first driving license, scarves worn by Elvis Presley at concerts and gold necklaces with the initials TCB – short for the slogan Taking Care of Business.

Before the auction Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley hosted a cake-cutting ceremony to mark what would have been Elvis Presley’s 80th birthday.

Fans around the world have also taken part in birthday events, including a five day festival in Sydney, Australia.

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Nigeria: At least 16 people killed in Maiduguri market explosion

Roy Siemens
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Nigeria: At least 16 people killed in Maiduguri market explosion

A market explosion in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri has killed at least 16 people and injured several others, medics say.

Some reports say that the market explosion was triggered by a girl suicide bomber who may have been as young as 10 years old.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack.

However, correspondents say that all the signs point to the militant Islamist Boko Haram group.

The market is reported to have been targeted twice in a week by female bombers late last year.

Borno State police spokesman Gideon Jubrin said that the girl suicide bomber let off an improvised explosive device near the area of the market where chickens were sold.Nigeria market explosion

Hundreds of people were killed on January 7 in an assault by Boko Haram militants on the town of Baga, following on their seizure of a key military base there on January 3.

Scores of bodies from that attack – described by Amnesty International as possibly the “deadliest massacre” in the history of Boko Haram – are reported to remain strewn in the bush.

District head Baba Abba Hassan said most victims in the Baga attack were children, women or elderly people who were not able to escape when insurgents forced their way into the town by firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles.

“The human carnage perpetrated by Boko Haram terrorists in Baga was enormous,” Muhammad Abba Gava, a spokesman for a civilian defense group that fights Boko Haram told the Associated Press .

Boko Haram launched a military campaign in 2009 to create an Islamic state.

The group has taken control of many towns and villages in north-eastern Nigeria in the last year.

The conflict has displaced at least 1.5 million people, while more than 2,000 were killed last year.

Paris tightens security after terror attacks

Roy Siemens
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Paris tightens security after terror attacks

French authorities have deployed 500 extra troops around Paris after three days of terror in the capital killed 17 people.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said all necessary measures were being taken to protect the country.

Police in France are hunting for any accomplices of three gunmen killed by police on January 9 after two sieges.

More than 210,000 people have taken part in silent marches across France to remember the victims.

After a security cabinet meeting on January 10, Bernard Cazeneuve said France would remain on its highest state of alert “for the next few weeks”.

He promised tight security for a massive unity march in Paris on January 11.

Those set to attend Sunday’s unity rally include UK PM David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu, Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“Sunday, the French people will cry out their love of liberty,” said PM Manuel Valls.

Photo AP
Photo AP

France would be “firm and relentless in the face of the enemies of liberty”, he added, urging all people to “assume their responsibilities”.

Silent marches have held in cities including Paris, Orleans, Nice, Pau, Toulouse and Nantes to remember the victims of this week’s violence.

Some protesters held banners that read “I am against racism”, “unite”, or “I am Charlie”, in reference to Charlie Hebo, the satirical magazine whose offices were attacked on January 7.

The family of Ahmed Merabet, one of the police officers killed during the Charlie Hebdo attack, gave an emotional news conference on January 10.

Ahmed Merabet was “Muslim, and very proud of being a police officer and defending the values of the Republic”, his brother Malek Merabet said.

He added that the family was “devastated by this act of barbarity, and shared the pain of the families of all the victims”.

“I want to say to all the racist, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic people, that one must not amalgamate extremists and Muslims,” Ahmed Merabet’s brother added.

The family said they were “proud” of the gatherings that had taken place to commemorate the victims, saying they proved that France could be united.

The violence began when two brothers, Cherif and Said Kouachi, killed 12 people and injured 11 in an attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 7.

On Janaury 9, Cherif and Said Kouachi were killed by police in Dammartin-en-Goele, 22 miles north of Paris, as they emerged from a besieged warehouse building firing their automatic weapons.

One hostage had earlier been released and a second employee, who was hiding in the building’s cafeteria, was freed by police.

Police shortly afterwards launched an assault on a supermarket in eastern Paris where gunman Amedy Coulibaly had been holding several hostages.

Police killed Amedy Coulibaly and rescued 15 hostages. They found the bodies of four hostages who are believed to have been killed before the assault.

The four victims have been identified as Yoav Hattab, Philippe Braham, Yohan Cohen, and Francois-Michel Saada. Their names were released by the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions.

Police are searching for Hayat Boumeddiene, Amedy Coulibaly’s girlfriend. She was said to be with Amedy Coulibaly when a policewoman was killed in Paris on Thursday, and is described as “armed and dangerous”.

Security officials have said they were aware of Amedy Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers. Said Kouachi was known to have travelled to Yemen in 2011.

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Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson buy Swiss chalet

Lisa.Felice
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Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson buy Swiss chalet

Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have bought a luxury chalet in the Swiss resort of Verbier.

The chalet, thought to be worth up to £13 million ($20 million), was bought by the divorced couple on a joint mortgage.

The Duke and Duchess of York have links with the ski resort going back at least 17 years, when they went there on holiday with their two daughters.

The purchase has been described as a “family investment”. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.Prince Andrew buys Swiss chalet in Verbier

The chalet was bought on a joint mortgage for a cost of between £8 million ($12 million) and £13 million ($20 million).

A source close to Sarah Ferguson described the purchase as a “family investment”.

“They holiday in Verbier several times each year as all the family are keen skiers and it makes sense to have their own place there,” the source said.

Although Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson divorced in 1996 after 10 years of marriage, they remained on good terms as they raised their two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and the duchess lives in the family home of Royal Lodge in Berkshire.

Cuba releases at least 36 opposition activists

Diane A. Wade
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Cuba releases at least 36 opposition activists

At least 36 Cuban opposition activists have been released from prison since January 7, according to dissident organizations.

They are believed to be from a list of 53 activists the US requested to be freed as part of efforts to mend links.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the US was pleased with the move.

Cuba and the US announced last month they had agreed to restore diplomatic relations, severed since 1961.

The American government is confident that the Cuban authorities will keep their word and release more political prisoners, said Eric Schultz.

The 53 names put forward by the US have not been disclosed.

Twenty-nine of the activists released since January 7 are from the dissident Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU).

“Our freed prisoners are committed to continue fighting for the democratic Cuba which we all want,” the group’s leader, Jose Daniel Ferrer, said in a statement.

“The UNPACU activists have left prison with more energy, force and motivation than they had when they were jailed.”

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

On January 8, the US announced that Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson would lead a delegation travelling to the capital, Havana, later this month.

These will be the first high level talks since Cuba and the US announced that they were restoring relations.

The US Department of State said the talks – to take place on January 21 and 22 – will focus on migration.

They will also discuss the practicalities of reopening embassies in Washington DC and Havana, said the Department of State.

The rapprochement process was announced by President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro on December 17.

Barack Obama’s proposal to restore relations still needs to be approved by Congress, where it faces opposition from many Republicans and anti-Castro lawmakers.

The US says it will continue to push Raul Castro’s government to respect human rights and the freedom of speech.

Senator Marco Rubio, a leading critic of President Barack Obama on the Cuba question, and other Cuban-Americans in Congress have argued that the president’s change of policy could provide legitimacy and money for the Cuban government while it continues to violate human rights.

Last week, the Cuban authorities detained several high-profile dissidents who were planning to stage an open microphone protest in Havana’s Revolution Square.

The US Department of State issued a statement saying it was “deeply concerned” by the reports. The activists were eventually released.

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Keriba Omasker: Cairns children funerals attended by thousands

Nancy Clayson
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Keriba Omasker: Cairns children funerals attended by thousands

The funerals of eight Australian children found dead in the north-eastern city of Cairns last month have been attended by thousands of people.

The service is called Keriba Omasker, which means “our children” in the ancestral language of the children.

Australian PM Tony Abbott, who attended the funerals, tweeted: “Today in Cairns. Sad beyond words. Keriba Omasker.”

The mother of seven of the children has been charged with their murders. The other victim was her niece.Cairns children funerals Keriba Omasker

The four boys and four girls were aged between 18 months and 14 years.

Almost 5,000 people heard prayers and tributes to the children at a memorial service.

Tony Abbott and other Australian political leaders laid wreaths.

Hearses are taking the children’s bodies to Martyn Place Cemetery, where they will be laid to rest.

The mother, Mersane Warria, 37, is being treated in hospital. She is not reported to be attending the funeral.

There are plans to demolish the house where the children died, to be replaced with a public memorial.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket recovery test fails

James J. Williams
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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket recovery test fails

SpaceX says its experiment to bring part of its Falcon rocket down to a soft landing on a floating sea platform has failed.

The vehicle was launched on a mission to send a cargo capsule to the International Space Station (ISS).

Once the first-stage of the rocket completed its part of this task, it tried to make a controlled return.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the booster hit the platform hard.

“Close, but no cigar,” he added.

“Bodes well for the future tho’. Ship itself is fine. Some of the support equipment on the deck will need to be replaced.”

Elon Musk continued: “Didn’t get good landing/impact video. Pitch dark and foggy. Will piece it together from telemetry and… actual pieces.”

SpaceX intends to keep trying. If this kind of capability can be proven, it promises to dramatically lower launch costs in the future.

It would mean that normally disposable rockets could be recovered, refurbished and re-used.

It might also point to new ways of bringing spacecraft back down to Earth in general.F9 FLT-001

Lift-off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, for the Falcon 9 with its Dragon freighter occurred at 04:47 local time. The cargo ship was confirmed in orbit and en route to the ISS nine minutes later – at about the same time the first stage was expected at the drone ship. Dragon’s arrival at the station is set for January 12.

This is the first American re-supply mission to the orbiting platform since October’s spectacular explosion of a freighter system operated by competitor Orbital Sciences Corporation.

Traditionally, rockets have had an expendable architecture.

As they head skyward, they dump engines and empty propellant tanks to save the weight that allows their upper-stage, including the satellite payload, to make the jump to orbit.

Any discarded hardware simply tumbles back towards the planet and is torn apart.

This approach means every new mission needs an expensive new rocket.

SpaceX, on the other hand, believes it can recycle key elements of its rockets.

The company has been testing first-stage boosters that relight their engines to try to slow their fall through the atmosphere, attaching fins to help guide them downwards and legs to make a stable touchdown.

Until January 10, these were all mock landings, in which the stage was brought to a hovering position at the surface of the ocean, where, without a solid platform to set down, every booster was then subsequently lost into the water.

This latest experiment marked the first use of the drone platform.

SpaceX conceded that reaching this touchdown pad at the first attempt would be an immense challenge.

The barge is less than 100m wide, and all previous experiments had been working on a landing accuracy of some 10km.

Nonetheless, SpaceX will be encouraged that it got so close to the platform.

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Heather Cook: Maryland’s first female episcopal bishop faces hit-and-run charge

Nancy Clayson
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Heather Cook: Maryland’s first female episcopal bishop faces hit-and-run charge

Heather Cook, Maryland’s first female Episcopalian bishop, will face charges over a hit-and-run crash that killed a cyclist in Baltimore, prosecutors say.

Bishop Suffragan Heather Cook will be arrested for vehicular manslaughter over the death of Thomas Palermo, 41.

Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby said Heather Cook’s blood-alcohol level was at .22 after the crash, almost triple the state’s legal limit for driving.

Heather Cook, who was elected bishop in September, has been put on leave.

The Maryland diocese previously said Heather Cook initially left the scene but returned 20 minutes later “to take responsibility for her actions”.

The national Episcopal Church has also opened a separate investigation to determine whether Heather Cook violated church law.Bishop Heather Cook hit and run charges

Heather Cook became an ordained priest in 1987 and served in Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania before returning to Maryland.

In a statement, the Palermo family said they “support the prosecutor’s efforts to hold Bishop Heather Cook accountable for her actions to the fullest extent of the law”.

A small makeshift memorial was created near the road where Tom Palermo was killed on December 27. The road had a designated bike lane.

An eyewitness said he found Tom Palermo on the road and while other witnesses called emergency services he went looking for the vehicle and found it at a light.

“The windshield was completely smashed in, with a hole on the passenger side, and from the damage of the car, there was no doubt in my mind that was the car,” Moncure Lyon said.

“I asked the lady who was driving <<Are you all right?>> Then the light turned green, she said <<Yes,>> and she left.”

Heather Cook had previously pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in 2010 and was sentenced to a fine and probation, according to court records.

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Cyprus Airways ceases operations after breaching EU rules

Clyde K. Valle
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Cyprus Airways ceases operations after breaching EU rules

Cyprus Airways has ceased operations after an EU decision saying that the carrier must repay over 65 million euros in illegal state aid.

The EU Commission said the Cypriot government had breached rules on support for struggling companies.

The Cypriot national carrier has repeatedly received aid between 2007 and 2013.

The government, which owns 93% of Cyprus Airways, had searched unsuccessfully for outside investors.

“The company has ceased being a viable entity, and cannot continue to operate,” said finance minister Harris Georgiades.

Harris Georgiades said there would be alternative arrangements covering Cyprus Airways flights from January 10.

Photo Wikipedia
Photo Wikipedia

The Commission undertook an in-depth investigation after the government in Nicosia approved repeated state aid packages to the airline.

Publishing the investigation’s results, the Commission was highly critical of Cyprus Airways’ restructuring plans. It said they were based on “unrealistic assumptions”, failed to address the cause of the airline’s difficulties and were taking longer to implement than EU rules permitted.

Under EU rules, struggling companies can be given aid under what the Commission terms the “one time, last time” principle.

Governments may grant a one-off tranche of aid to support a restructuring process once within a period of 10 years. The rule is intended to prevent companies becoming reliant on government support and gaining unfair advantage over rivals.

“Cyprus Airways has received large quantities of public money since 2007 but was unable to restructure and become viable without continued state support… injecting additional public money would only have prolonged the struggle without achieving a turn-around,” EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

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AirAsia plane tail recovered from Java Sea

Diane A. Wade
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AirAsia plane tail recovered from Java Sea

The tail of the AirAsia plane that crashed two weeks ago has been recovered from the seabed, the Indonesian navy has announced.

Divers used an inflatable device to pull the tail to the sea’s surface.

They are also searching for the plane’s “black box” flight recorders, which officials believe have been separated from the tail section.

AirAsia flight QZ8501 disappeared from radar in bad weather on December 28 with 162 people on board. It was flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.

Forty-eight bodies have been retrieved so far. Search teams believe most of the remains may still be inside the fuselage of the plane, which has yet to be found.

On January 9, pings were detected in the Java Sea near where the tail was found. Officials said they could have come from the plane’s “black box” flight recorders.

Photo AP
Photo AP

The rear part of the Airbus A320-200 was spotted on January 7 by an unmanned underwater vehicle at a depth of about 100ft.

It was upside down and partially buried about 20 miles from the point of last contact with the plane, off the coast of Borneo, authorities said.

Search teams have been pulling bodies and wreckage from the sea but progress has been slow due to high waves and stormy weather.

The cause of the crash is unknown but the plane had encountered bad weather and asked for a flight path change before communication was lost.

The “black box” flight data recorders are usually housed inside the rear part of the plane.

They are designed to survive a crash and being submerged in water, and contain underwater locator beacons which emit the so-called “pings” for at least 30 days.

Finding them has been one of the top priorities for search teams as they provide crucial clues from the last moments of the flight before it came down.

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David Petraeus faces charges for leaking classified information to Paula Broadwell

Diane A. Wade
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David Petraeus faces charges for leaking classified information to Paula Broadwell

Ex-CIA director David Petraeus should be charged with providing classified information to former mistress Paula Broadwell, prosecutors have recommended.

The New York Times first reported the news, citing officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A decorated former general, David Petraeus resigned as CIA chief in 2012 after details of his affair with Paula Broadwell emerged.

He was a commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan before taking the role.

A US Justice Department investigation is focusing on whether David Petraeus gave Paula Broadwell access to his CIA email and other classified information while director of the organization, the newspaper says.

FBI agents discovered classified documents on Paula Broadwell’s computer after David Petraeus quit, according to the New York Times.

Photo AP
Photo AP

The recommendations to press criminal charges from the FBI and US Justice Department would leave Attorney General Eric Holder with a decision on whether to seek an indictment, which could see David Petraeus jailed if found guilty.

David Petraeus has said he never provided classified information to Paula Broadwell, according to the paper.

The affair reportedly began in 2011, while Paula Broadwell was working on a biography of David Petraeus.

In the same year, David Petraeus resigned from his commanding position in Afghanistan to take on the CIA role.

David Petraeus resigned from the CIA in 2012, saying he had shown “extremely poor judgment” in conducting the affair.

President Barack Obama paid tribute to David Petraeus at the time, saying he had “provided extraordinary service to the United States for decades”.

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Hayat Boumeddiene: French police hunt for terror attacks accomplice

Roy Siemens
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Hayat Boumeddiene: French police hunt for terror attacks accomplice

French police are hunting for any accomplices of the gunmen who killed 17 people in two days of terror attacks.

One key figure is Hayat Boumeddiene, Amedy Coulibaly’s girlfriend. He was killed when police stormed HyperCacher supermarket in Paris on January 9.

Hayat Boumeddiene was said to be with Amedy Coulibaly when a female police officer was killed and is described as “armed and dangerous”.

Cherif and Said Kouachi, the two gunmen who carried out Wednesday’s deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine, were killed by police on January 9.

President Francois Hollande praised the police but also warned of further threats.

He thanked the security services for their “bravery and efficiency”, saying the week’s violence was “a tragedy for the nation”.

Francois Molins, the chief prosecutor in France, said authorities were urgently focusing on Hayat Boumeddiene.

French newspaper Le Monde published a series of photos said to show Amedy Coulibaly with Hayat Boumeddiene in 2010. In one, the 26-year-old woman is pictured pointing a crossbow at the camera while wearing a full-face veil, which is banned in France.

Francois Molins said the investigation would “focus on determining who their accomplices were, how these criminal actions were financed, and all the instruction and help they may have benefited from whether in France, from overseas”.

He said 16 people had been detained for questioning, including the wife of one of the Kouachi brothers and other members of their family.

French government ministers are meeting on Saturday morning to plan their next steps.

A number of world leaders have called Francois Hollande to express support.

The first siege on January 9 – in Dammartin-en-Goele, 22 miles north of Paris – involved the Kouachi brothers who had attacked the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 7.

Cherif and Said Kouachi were shot dead as they came out of a warehouse building firing at police. Two officers were injured.

One hostage had earlier been released and a second employee, who was hiding in the building’s cafeteria, was freed by police after the shooting ended.

Police shortly afterwards launched an assault on HyperCacher supermarket in Paris, killing Amedy Coulibaly and rescuing 15 hostages. They found the bodies of four hostages believed to have been killed before the assault.

Officials have said they were aware of Amedy Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers. Said Kouachi was known to have travelled to Yemen in 2011.

Said and Cherif Kouachi are understood to have been on UK and US watch-lists.

While holed up in the warehouse north of Paris, Cherif Kouachi phoned a French TV news network and told them he was acting on behalf of the Yemen branch of al-Qaeda (AQAP).Hayat Boumeddiene Paris shooting

The extremist group released an audio message late on January 9 praising the attacks but stopped short of claiming responsibility.

AQAP senior leader Sheikh Harith al-Nadhari said “some in France have misbehaved with the prophets of God,” adding that “God’s faithful soldiers” had taught them “the limits of freedom of speech”.

Earlier on Friday, a man claiming to be Amedy Coulibaly told French TV station BFMTV that he was a member of the Islamic State militant group, and that he had “co-ordinated” his attack with the Kouachi brothers.

Francois Molins confirmed that Amedy Coulibaly knew one of the brothers and their respective partners had spoken on the phone more than 500 times.

During Friday’s siege, Amedy Coulibaly had threatened to kill his captives if police attempted to capture the brothers, he added.

PM Manuel Valls admitted there had been a “clear failing” in French intelligence.

“If 17 people die, this means mistakes have been made,” he said, including those killed in attacks on January 7 and 8 in the toll.

The violence started on January 7 when the Kouachi brothers killed 12 people and injured 11 in an attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo.

The unprecedented attack shocked France and there has been an outpouring of sympathy and solidarity worldwide.

The French ministers’ meeting on Saturday will make preparations for a huge unity rally due to take place in the heart of Paris on January 11.

Among those attending will be UK PM David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy.

President Barack Obama said he had directed his intelligence agencies to help France deal with any further threats.

Meanwhile, the US state department has updated its travel guidance, warning Americans travelling abroad to maintain a high level of vigilance.

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Montpellier siege: Hostages taken at jewellery store

Nancy Clayson
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Montpellier siege: Hostages taken at jewellery store

A third hostage crisis is underway after a gunman locked himself in a jewellery store in Montpellier, Southern France.

The new incident is evolving shortly after hostages were freed in Paris and Charlie Hebdo attack suspects Cherif and Said Kouachi killed in Northern France.

According to the media, two people are being held in a jewellery shop on La Rue du l’Argenterie, in the center of Montpellier. The police have surrounded the area.

The suspect had been holding the two employees – women of 30 and 40 years old – for several hours, threatening them with a gun before a police negotiator managed to establish a contact with him. No one was killed or wounded, local Midi Libre said.Montpellier hostage crisis

Special police forces arrived on the scene along with the region’s prosecutor and Montpellier mayor.

According to Montpellier prosecutor Christophe Barret, cited by Midi Libre, the situation is “very calm“ and there is no reason to connect the new siege with the events in Paris and in Northern France.

“It was a robbery, it has nothing to do with what is happening in Paris,” Christophe Barret said.

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Keystone XL pipeline: House passes controversial bill

Diane A. Wade
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Keystone XL pipeline: House passes controversial bill

The House of Representatives has passed the controversial bill approving the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The Senate is expected to pass a similar bill soon, which President Barack Obama has said he will veto.

Earlier in today, a court in Nebraska dismissed a case that would have stalled construction of Keystone XL pipeline.

The project has been one of the most contentious issues between President Barack Obama and Republicans who now lead Congress.

It is 1,179-mile extension of an existing pipeline that would bring additional oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to refining facilities near the Gulf of Mexico.

The bill was the first piece of major legislation to be introduced by the newly Republican-controlled Congress. It passed the House by a vote of 266-153, with 28 Democrats supporting the measure.

“We shouldn’t be debating it, we should be building it,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said.

The Senate will consider a similar bill on January 12, which it will likely pass in the coming weeks.House passes Keystone XL bill

The $5.4 billion project was first introduced in 2008.

The bill is controversial because the tar sand oil that the pipeline will transport is said to be more polluting than other types of oil.

However, an official environmental review released last year raised no major environmental objections to the pipeline’s construction.

Many Republicans and some trade unions support the bill because they say it will generate jobs.

Because the pipeline would cross an international border, the state department has to grant a permit for its construction.

But in voting today, Congressional Republicans have set the stage to bypass this review process and allow construction to begin immediately.

Earlier in the week, the Obama administration said it opposes the bill because it “prevents the thorough consideration of complex issues that could bear on US national interests,” and because of “uncertainty due to ongoing litigation in Nebraska”.

On January 9, the Supreme Court in Nebraska dismissed the lawsuit on which Barack Obama’s veto threat was party based.

The lawsuit was considered a major obstacle to the pipeline’s construction.

Despite passing, the bill failed to garner the two-thirds majority in the House that it would need in the future to override a presidential veto.

The Senate would likely be unable to override a veto as well.

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Four hostages killed at HyperCacher supermarket in Paris

Roy Siemens
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Four hostages killed at HyperCacher supermarket in Paris

Four hostages have been killed at HyperCacher as anti-terror forces stormed the Jewish supermarket in eastern Paris.

Several hostages were being held by a gunman with links to Charlie Hebdo attack suspects.

It is not clear whether the four hostages were killed before or after the police assault began.

Another four hostages were seriously injured, but 15 were freed alive.

After the police operation started, several hostages could be seen leaving the HyperCacher supermarket.

Two police officers were injured in the rescue operation, AP reported.

In a separate incident, a hostage at the warehouse in Dammartin-en-Goele, 22 miles north of Paris was also freed, while a police officer at the scene was injured, AFP news agency said.

Charlie Hebdo attack suspects Cherif and Said Kouachi have been killed in the incident.

French President Francois Hollande has described the events as “a tragedy for the nation”.

In a national address, Francois Hollande thanked the security forces for their “courage, bravery [and] efficiency”, but added that France still faced threats.

“We have to be vigilant. I also ask you to be united – it’s our best weapon,” he said.

“We must be implacable towards racism,” he added, saying that the supermarket attack was an “appalling anti-Semitic act”.

“Those who committed these acts, these fanatics, have nothing to do with the Muslim faith.”

The police assaults came after three tense days in France.

Twelve people were shot dead and 11 were injured in Wednesday’s attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo magazine.HyperCacher hostages Paris

The unprecedented attack shocked France and there has been an outpouring of sympathy and solidarity worldwide.

The two suspects of the Charlie Hebdo shootings, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, then went on the run for two days, before being surrounded at Dammartin as night fell on Friday.

French police said they came out firing.

The hostage taker in eastern Paris targeted Jewish supermarket HyperCacher, near Porte de Vincennes. He has been named as Amedy Coulibaly, 32. It is not clear whether he had an accomplice.

He knew at least one of the suspected Charlie Hebdo attackers, a source told AFP news agency.

Amedy Coulibaly had threatened to kill his captives if police attempted to capture the brothers, reports citing police said.

Earlier on Friday, a man claiming to be Amedy Coulibaly told French TV station BFMTV that he was a member of the Islamic State militant group, and that he had “co-ordinated” his attack with the Kouachi brothers.

Amedy Coulibaly was also suspected of being behind the shooting of a policewoman in the southern suburb of Montrouge on January 8.

On January 9, French police issued an appeal for witnesses to that shooting. They said they were looking for Amedy Coulibaly, as well as a woman called Hayat Boumeddiene, 26.

Hayat Boumeddiene’s whereabouts are not clear.

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Reham Khan: Who is Imran Khan’s new wife?

Lisa.Felice
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Reham Khan: Who is Imran Khan’s new wife?

Reham Khan is the new wife of Pakistan’s opposition leader and former cricketer Imran Khan.

On January 5, 2015, after months of speculation, Imran Khan confirmed marriage with Reham.

The British Pakistani journalist, a former BBC weather girl, currently hosts the current affairs talk show In Focus on Dawn News.

Reham Nayyar was born Ajdabiya, Libya, on April 3, 1973. Her parents belong to Lughmani Pashtun tribe and originally come from Baffa village in Mansehra. They moved to Libya in late 1960s.

She has two sisters and a brother.

Reham Khan did her bachelors in education and postgraduate in sociology.

She married Ijaz Rehman in 1992, when she was 19. Reham had three children with Ijaz Rehman one son called Sahir, and two daughters Ridha and Inaya Rehman. Sahir studies in the University of Southampton, daughter Ridha is also attended University in UK and daughter Inaya now lives with Reham in Islamabad and goes to Froebels School in Islamabad.Imran and Reham Khan wedding

Reham Khan and Ijaz Rehman divorced after 16 years of marriage because she fell in love with another cousin of hers called Sohaib Mufti who came to stay with Reham’s family in UK from Abbotabad. Reham flirted with numerous men during the course of her marriage and that is the reason why her husband Ijaz Rehman could not trust her anymore, and they both had alot of fights and arguments over it and Reham later filed for divorce to marry someone else who she was having an affair with.

In her divorce settlement she got 100,000 pounds cash, a house in the UK, 2000 pounds monthly payments, child support for each of the 3 children, and even a pension account that she will access when she is 65 yrs old. Property in Pakistan and UK was also divided.

Ijaz Rehman has now re-married to another woman called Dr. Samavia Rehman, and has two children with her.
Reham Khan was recently in a relationship with a 21 year old British Man in the UK, but he refused to marry her, so Reham left for Pakistan.

Reham Khan started her career as weather girl at BBC, she also held the position as a broadcast journalist on BBC South.

In 2006, Reham Khan joined Legal TV. In 2007, she began presenting for Sunshine Radio Hereford and Worcester. In 2008, Reham Khan joined BBC as broadcast journalist.

In 2013, Reham Khan returned to Pakistan and joined news channel News One. She later joined AAJ TV.

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HyperCacher hostages released as police storm Jewish supermarket

Roy Siemens
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HyperCacher hostages released as police storm Jewish supermarket

Explosions and gunfire have been heard at Jewish supermarket HyperCacher in eastern Paris, at Porte de Vincennes, where a gunman had held several hostages.

Reports suggest Amedy Coulibaly was linked to Charlie Hebdo attack suspects Cherif and Said Kouachi.

After the operation started, several hostages could be seen leaving the supermarket.Paris Hyper Cacher hostages

The hostage at the printworks warehouse has also been freed, while a police officer at the scene was injured, AFP news agency said. Charlie Hebdo attack suspects Cherif and Said Kouachi are reportedly dead.

Twelve people were shot dead and 11 were injured in Wednesday’s attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine.

The unprecedented attack shocked France and there has been an outpouring of sympathy and solidarity worldwide.

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Cherif and Said Kouachi Killed as Police Storm Dammartin-en-Goele Hostage Site

Roy Siemens
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Police have stormed two hostage sites in Paris and north of the city.

Gunshots and explosions have been heard at a printing facility in Dammartin-en-Goele, where two suspects in the Charlie Hebdo shootings, Cherif and Said Kouachi, were holding at least one hostage.

French media are reporting that brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi have been killed.

Explosions and gunfire could also be heard at kosher supermarket HyperCacher in eastern Paris, at Porte de Vincennes.

A gunman there was thought to be holding several hostages. Reports suggest he is linked to the Charlie Hebdo suspects.

Several hostages could be seen coming out from the HyperCacher supermarket.

The hostage at the printworks warehouse has also been freed, AFP news agency said.

Amedy Coulibaly and Hayat Boumeddiene named as suspects in Clarissa Jean-Philippe killing case

Roy Siemens
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Amedy Coulibaly and Hayat Boumeddiene named as suspects in Clarissa Jean-Philippe killing case

Amedy Coulibaly and Hayat Boumeddiene have been named as suspects wanted in connection with the killing of policewoman Clarissa Jean-Philippe in Montrouge on January 8 and an ongoing hostage siege at a kosher grocery in a Paris suburb.

Amedy Coulibaly, 32, and his girlfriend Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, are described as “armed and dangerous”.

The man is also believed to be behind the siege at a kosher grocery in Porte de Vincennes in which two people have reportedly died and at least five people are being held hostage, including women and children.

Amedy Coulibaly reportedly told police: “You know who I am and I’m going to keep these hostages until the siege in Dammartin is lifted.”

Just like the Kouachi brothers, who are believed to be behind Charlie Hebdo attack that left dead 12 people, Amedy Coulibaly was part of the “Buttes-Chaumont network” that helped send would-be jihadists to fight for al-Qaeda in Iraq. Amedy Coulibaly and Hayat Boumeddiene

Amedy Coulibaly was named along with Cherif Kouachi in connection with the 2010 prison escape plot for another Islamist, Smain Ait Ali Belkacem, who bombed the Paris subway in 1995, which injured 30 people.

In 2013, Amedy Coulibaly was condemned to five years in prison for the Belkacem escape plot – but got out of jail just two months ago.

Amedy Coulibaly and Cherif Kouachi were followers of convicted terrorist Djamel Beghal, according to Le Monde. The two visited Djamel Beghal’s home in Murat in the south of France, according to telephone conversations.

Hayat Boumeddiene has been Amedy Coulibaly’s partner since 2010 and lived in his home while he was serving a prison sentence.

Clarissa Jean-Philippe was shot in the vicinity of Amedy Coulibaly’s intended target – a Jewish primary school, CNN reported.

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Paris kosher grocery siege: Nearby schools under lockdown as police orders shops closure

Roy Siemens
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Paris kosher grocery siege: Nearby schools under lockdown as police orders shops closure

Heavily armed anti-terror teams are mobilized in eastern Paris after a gunman has seized hostages at a kosher supermarket.

Schools near the supermarket are under lockdown, AP news agency reports.

Separately police have ordered the closure of all shops in the Marais, a traditionally Jewish area in the heart of Paris’s central tourist district.

The hostage-taker in eastern Paris – said to have taken up to five people prisoner – knew at least one of the suspected Charlie Hebdo attackers, a source told AFP news agency.

The gunman is suspected to be behind the shooting of a policewoman in Montrouge on January 8.

French police have issued an appeal for witnesses to that shooting. They said they were looking for two people: a man called Amedy Coulibaly, 32, and a woman called Hayat Boumeddiene, 26.Paris kosher grocery attack

The two were thought to be “armed and dangerous”, French police said.

The Charlie Hebdo attackers, named as brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, linked by intelligence officials to militant groups, shouted Islamist slogans during the shooting at the magazine office on January 7 and then fled Paris in a hijacked car, heading north.

Shots were fired during a high-speed car chase earlier on Friday.

It appears the suspects had hijacked another car in the town of Montagny-Sainte-Felicite before travelling on to Dammartin.

The car’s owner is said to have recognized them as brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, the key suspects.

In a televised statement, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed the men being sought on January 9 were those wanted for the Charlie Hebdo attack and said they would be “neutralized”.

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Je suis Charlie: Who is behind viral slogan?

Nancy Clayson
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Je suis Charlie: Who is behind viral slogan?

Je suis Charlie slogan appeared minutes after terror attack on Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine on January 7.

The slogan, I am Charlie in English, became viral on Twitter on the same day.

But who is behind those three words?

According to French media, the man behind Je suis Charlie slogan is journalist and artistic director Joachim Roncin.Je suis Charlie author is Joachim Roncin

Joachim Roncin, who was identified as the author of Je suis Charlie by French publication Le Progres, works for Stylist magazine.

He tweeted Je suis Charlie message on January 7, at 11.52AM, less than a hour after the terror attack on Charlie Hebdo offices.

The hashtag #JeSuisCharlie was re-tweeted 619,000 times on the same day.

Je suis Charlie has become a message of solidarity with Charlie Hebdo attack victims and wants to shoe the refusal of being silenced.

On Charlie Hebdo’s website, all cartoons has been replaced by Je suis Charlie banner.

Je suis Charlie meaning: Message of solidarity with Charlie Hebdo attack victims

Nancy Clayson
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Je suis Charlie meaning: Message of solidarity with Charlie Hebdo attack victims

French hashtag Je suis Charlie, meaning “I am Charlie”, has trended after the attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine’s offices in Paris on January 7.

Je suis Charlie is a message of solidarity with the victims of Charlie Hebdo attack, and is also being used as a hashtag on Twitter (#JeSuisCharlie).

Following the massacre of 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo headquarter, the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie has trended in France and further afield.Je suis Charlie meaning

Je suis Charlie is being used by tweeters who wish to show refusal to be silenced by the massacre.

French tweeters started the hashtag by posting a simple image with the text “Je Suis Charlie” on a black background, claiming that the attackers would not take their freedom.

Tweeters from other countries also showed solidarity with France and those who lost their lives in the shooting.

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Harold Hamm divorce: Sue Ann Arnall deposits $974.8 million divorce check

Lisa.Felice
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Harold Hamm divorce: Sue Ann Arnall deposits $974.8 million divorce check

Harold Hamm’s ex-wife, Sue Ann Arnall, has deposited a handwritten $974.8 million divorce check, the Oklahoma oil magnate’s lawyer said on January 8.

Sue Ann Arnall, 58, deposited the check after earlier this week declining the payment and pledging to pursue her appeal of a divorce ruling she viewed as unfair.

In the November ruling by an Oklahoma County Court judge, Harold Hamm, the chief executive of Continental Resources was allowed to keep his 68% stake in the company, now worth about $9 billion, while Sue Ann Arnall was awarded about $1 billion in cash and assets from the marital estate.

The check represents the entire remaining balance of what Harold Hamm owes Sue Ann Arnall based on the November ruling, including interest.

Harold Hamm’s divorce lawyer, Craig Box, said he believes Sue Ann Arnall’s deposit of the check will end her efforts to appeal the case and that Hamm also wants the case resolved.

“We have received confirmation that the check was deposited in an Oklahoma City bank,” Craig Box said.

“We feel this is the end of the case from her perspective. It means she’s done and should dismiss her appeal.” Harold Hamm divorce settlement

A source close to the Hamm case confirmed the deposit, which represents one of the largest divorce awards in US history.

Earlier, Harold Hamm had filed his own appeal, seeking to have Oklahoma’s Supreme Court reduce what he owes Sue Ann Arnall, after a plunge in oil prices shaved billions from the value of his Continental shares in recent months. During a trial last year, the shares had been worth as much as $19 billion.

The Hamm case, initially filed in 2012, has pitted Oklahoma’s most successful oil wildcatter against his former wife of 26 years, an attorney and longtime executive at Continental. The company, a leading oil driller in North Dakota, was dragged into the case but has said it did not affect business.

In an appeal document, Sue Ann Arnall contended a trial judge wrongly allowed Harold Hamm to keep more than 90% of the wealth the couple accrued during their marriage.

Although Harold Hamm owned Continental before the marriage in 1988, the value of his shares surged 400-fold during the union. Sue Ann Arnall has been seeking a multi-billion dollar portion of those gains.

To limit what he would owe, Harold Hamm’s defense sought to show that his company’s growth during the marriage resulted mostly from “passive” factors beyond his control, such as rising oil prices. Under Oklahoma law, only the growth in wealth stemming from the active efforts and skills of either spouse during the marriage is split in a divorce.

Sue Ann Arnall contended that Harold Hamm’s deft management of the firm led to its growth.

Harold Hamm has already paid Arnall more than $20 million during the case, and the parties have spent millions in legal fees.

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Yingluck Shinawatra impeachment hearing begins in Thailand

Diane A. Wade
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Yingluck Shinawatra impeachment hearing begins in Thailand

An impeachment hearing against former PM Yingluck Shinawatra has begun in Thailand’s parliament on January 9.

Yingluck Shinawatra could be banned from politics for five years after her impeachement.

The former prime minister, Thailand’s first woman in this position, was removed from office for abuse of power in May 2014 and days later her government was ousted in a military coup that ended months of street protests against her by her rivals.

Yingluck Shinawatra remains popular among the rural poor who elected her in a 2011 landslide, as does her brother, ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, and the impeachment hearing could test a fragile calm under military rule.

In her opening statement to the military-appointed National Legislative Assembly, Yingluck Shinawatra said the proceedings were futile as she no longer held any political post.

“I was removed from my position as prime minister. I have no position left to be removed from,” Yingluck Shinawatra told the assembly.

About 20 of Yingluck Shinawatra’s supporters gathered outside parliament despite government warnings to stay away. Some held red roses and tried to raise pictures of the former prime minister until police told them to put them away.

Thailand is under martial law and public gatherings are banned.Yingluck Shinawatra impeachment hearing

The case concerns Yingluck Shinawatra’s role in a rice subsidy program which critics denounced as a wasteful handout to her supporters and which incurred billions of dollars in losses.

A day after she was ordered to step down in May, the National Anti-Corruption Commission indicted her for dereliction of duty in relation to the rice scheme.

The impeachment is the latest chapter in a divisive 10-year struggle for power between the Shinawatras and the royalist-military establishment which Thaksin Shinawatra, a populist former telecommunications tycoon, as a threat.

A guilty verdict would see Yingluck Shinawatra banned from politics.

Her supporters say the case is aimed at barring her from an election the military has promised to hold early next year and ending the influence of the Shinawatra family.

Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a 2006 coup and lives in self-exile to avoid a 2008 graft conviction but remains hugely influential.

The National Legislative Assembly has said a decision could come by the end of the month.

Under the subsidy scheme, Yingluck Shinawatra’s government bought rice from farmers at prices much higher than on the open market leading to huge stockpiles.

Yingluck Shinawatra defended the scheme in her opening statement.

“Please look at the benefits of the scheme and not just the financial cost,” she said.

Yingluck Shinawatra’s hearing resumes on Friday, January 16.

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