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EgyptAir Hijacker Arrested in Cyprus

Roy Siemens
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EgyptAir Hijacker Arrested in Cyprus

The EgyptAir hijacker has been arrested in Cyprus hours after he diverted the domestic Egyptian flight to Larnaca airport and all hostages were released.

EgyptAir Flight MS181 was taken over by a passenger claiming to be wearing a suicide explosive belt.

Airline officials later said they had been told by Cypriot authorities that the belt was fake.

The hijacker’s motives remain unclear but Cyprus President Nicos Anastasides said the incident was not terrorism-related.

No-one was injured in the hijacking, Cypriot government spokesman Nikos Christodulides tweeted.

After a morning of tension, the hijacker was seen walking down aircraft steps at Larnaca airport with his hands raised.EgyptAir hijacking Larnaca

Some reports said the Egyptian man – named by Cypriot officials as Seif Eldin Mustafa – wanted to talk to his estranged Cypriot wife who lives on the Mediterranean island, while others said he was seeking the release of female prisoners in Egypt.

The hijacker’s surrender came shortly after several people were seen fleeing the aircraft. One – apparently a crew member – escaped by climbing out of the aircraft’s cockpit window.

In a tweet, the Cypriot foreign ministry confirmed the end of the crisis: “It’s over. The hijacker arrested.”

Throughout the morning, passengers had been seen leaving the aircraft after appearing to have been released.

Local media reports said the hijacker had handed over a four-page letter in Arabic after the plane landed at Larnaca in the morning, and that later a woman thought to be his wife had arrived at the airport.

Earlier, President Nicos Anastasiades had responded to a reporter’s question about whether the hijacker was motivated by romance, by laughing and saying: “Always there is a woman involved.”

EgyptAir said the Airbus A320 was carrying 56 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo, along with six crew members and a security official. It had initially said 81 passengers were on board.

A statement from Egypt’s civil aviation ministry said 26 foreign passengers were on board, including eight Americans, four Dutch citizens, four Britons, two Greeks, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian and a Syrian.

Larnaca airport, on the south coast of Cyprus, has been closed and scheduled flights diverted elsewhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eFF5DMUwUc

Successfully Working Away From Home – What You Need To Know

Dana R
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Successfully Working Away From Home – What You Need To Know

There might be many reasons we need to work away from home. A job might have arisen that suits our needs, but it is not possible to fully relocate. The industry we work in may not be thriving in our hometown but we already have roots here. So it is necessary to separate our home and our job. It may be a temporary solution but still a considerable change such as several months or even a fixed term of years.

More and more people are finding that they must work away from home in order to achieve their financial and professional goals. Without careful planning, this can put a strain on home life and any existing relationships. However, with some awareness and consideration, working away from home can be positive and successful.

Stack of magazines & pencils in gray cup

Image from

Identify Your Goals

Before begin your time working away from home, identify some clear goals. Think carefully about why you are doing this and what you hope to achieve. It might be financial. You might be hoping to generate a certain amount that you can then put towards a home, car, or savings for example. It might be a professional reason, such as getting your work noticed by the right people or networking effectively. It might even be that you wish to broaden your horizons personally, or test out a new area or industry before fully committing and relocating. Whatever your reason, try to formulate it and then write it down in an accessible place. There will be time while you are away from home that you may become discouraged. You may feel lonely or lost. You may have experienced a setback at work or not be flourishing in the ways that you hoped. You may simply be exhausted or feeling down for no particular reason. Having written down your goals and encouragements, now is a good time to revisit them. Clarify in your mind why you are putting in the extra effort or why it will be worth any hardships. Having goals has many advantages. Not only will it be easier to identify if you are going off track, but it will be quicker and easier to motivate yourself again.

Get Organised

Many people begin to find working away from home stressful because they have not fully got organised before they leave. They have neglected to tell certain people they are no longer at home full-time, for example. They may have forgotten to register with a dentist or doctor in a new area. They may even have completely forgotten to redirect important mail. These are all understandable but must be addressed if working away will be successful. Make things easier for yourself. Consider digitising your mail with a virtual mailbox for rent, for example.

Visit your new workplace or home ahead of schedule so that you don’t feel completely lost when you first arrive. It can also be an important step to set a routine for staying in touch with family and loved ones. It can be easy to become overwhelmed in a new job and to forget to get in touch with people, even when we mean to. This can put enormous worry and strain on the people we love. Set a routine and stick to it. If you can only make a weekly phone call, that is fine, but never miss it. If you can do daily texts or emails, even better!

Maserati Recalls 21,000 Vehicles in China

Clyde K. Valle
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Maserati Recalls 21,000 Vehicles in China

Maserati has decided to recall nearly 21,000 cars in China over a design defect that could increase the risk of a collision.

The affected vehicles include the Quattroporte and Ghibli models made between March 2013 and December 2015, state-owned media said.

China’s quality watchdog claims a design problem with the floor mat and accelerator could lead to the pedal getting stuck in the working position.

The Italian luxury car maker will replace the pedals.Maserati recall China 2016

Luxury car brands have seen sales suffer in China in recent years due to the slowing economy and a government crackdown on corruption and overt displays of wealth.

However, companies like Maserati are now looking to online retailing as a new source of growth. China is the world’s biggest e-commerce market with nearly 700 million internet users.

Maserati launched its flagship store on Alibaba’s online shopping site Tmall last week, listing 100 of its new SUV Levantes for advance sale. All the cars reportedly sold out in 18 seconds.

Levantes is due to officially launch in China in July.

Samsung Pay Launches in China in Co-operation with UnionPay

Nancy Clayson
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Samsung Pay Launches in China in Co-operation with UnionPay

Samsung’s mobile wallet service has been launched in China, in co-operation with local vendor UnionPay.

Instead of using cards, Samsung Pay allows shoppers to use their smartphones to pay for in-store purchases.

Last month, Apple launched its own Apple Pay system in China, also in partnership with UnionPay.

China’s smartphone market, the largest in the world, presents a huge business opportunity for mobile-payment systems.Samsung Pay launches in China

Apple Pay and Samsung Pay will now compete with Alibaba’s Alipay, which currently dominates China’s electronic payments market.

However, analysts say that mobile payment services provided by Alipay and WeChat were so dominant in China that international newcomers such as Apple and Samsung would face an uphill battle to win market share.

Tencent’s WeChat also has a payment system which is popular in China, and telecommunications giant Huawei launched its own service earlier this month.

Samsung Pay was now available in China on a range of smartphones including the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5, the South Korean electronics giant said.

Samsung said it would have “the opportunity to support additional mid-range models in the future”.

In announcing its official launch, which has been expected since late last year, Samsung said that Samsung Pay currently supports select credit and debit cards of nine major banks in China including China CITIC Bank, China Construction Bank and China Everbright Bank.

The company has previously said it has one critical fact that will in its favor – its technology works with a much larger number of existing payment terminals.

There has been a rapid take-up of smartphones in China, with an estimated 68% of the population now owning one. And digital wallets are becoming a more popular way to pay for goods and services.

Samsung said on March 29 that its payment system was “simple, safe and easy to use” and that it worked “virtually anywhere you can swipe or tap your card in China”.

Unlike Google Wallet and several other earlier payment apps, Samsung says there is no need to unlock its phones to launch a special app to get started.

Like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay will use near field communication technology (NFC), which needs a separate transaction device, but it will also support magnetic secure transmission technology which works on regular credit card machines.

Samsung Pay is currently available in South Korea and the US.

FBI Unlocks San Bernardino Gunman’s iPhone without Apple’s Help

Nancy Clayson
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FBI Unlocks San Bernardino Gunman’s iPhone without Apple’s Help

The Feds have revealed the FBI has managed to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino gunman without Apple’s help, ending a court case.

Apple had been resisting a court order issued last month requiring the company to write new software to allow officials to access Syed Rizwan Farook’s phone.

However, officials have announced on March 28 that it had been accessed independently and asked for the order to be withdrawn.

Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife killed 14 in San Bernardino, California, in December.

They were later shot dead by police.

The FBI said it needed access to the phone’s data to determine if the attackers worked with others, were targeting others and were supported by others.FBI v Apple San Bernardino gunman iPhone

According to officials, Syed Rizwan Farook’s wife, Tashfeen Malik, had pledged allegiance to ISIS on social media on the day of the shooting.

Last week, prosecutors said “an outside party” had demonstrated a possible way of unlocking the iPhone without the need to seek Apple’s help.

A court hearing with Apple was postponed at the request of the justice department, while it investigated new ways of accessing the phone.

At the time, Apple said it did not know how to gain access, and said it hoped that the government would share with them any vulnerabilities of the iPhone that might come to light.

On March 28, a statement by Eileen Decker, the top federal prosecutor in California, said investigators had received the help of “a third party”, but did not specify who that was.

Investigators had “a solemn commitment to the victims of the San Bernardino shooting”, Eileen Decker said.

“It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with co-operation from relevant parties, or through the court system when co-operation fails,” the statement added.

Responding to the move, Apple said: “From the beginning, we objected to the FBI’s demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government’s dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought.”

Apple said it would “continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated”.

An Israeli newspaper last week reported that data forensics experts at cybersecurity firm Cellebrite, which has its headquarters in Israel, are involved in the case.

Cellebrite website, however, states that one of its tools can extract and decode data from the iPhone 5C, the model in question, among other locked handsets.

The court order had led to a vigorous debate over privacy, with Apple receiving support from other tech giants including Google, Microsoft, and Facebook.

FBI director James Comey said it was the “hardest question” he had tackled in his job.

However, James Comey said, law enforcement saved lives, rescued children and prevented terror attacks using search warrants that gave it access to information on mobile phones.

EgyptAir Hijack: Plane Forced to Divert to Larnaca Airport

Roy Siemens
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EgyptAir Hijack: Plane Forced to Divert to Larnaca Airport

Part of the passengers on board a hijacked EgyptAir plane that was forced to divert to Cyprus have been freed, the airline says.

The Egyptian airliner said negotiations had resulted in the release of all those on board Flight MS181 apart from the crew and four foreign passengers.

Video from Larnaca airport has shown people leaving the plane and boarding a bus.

It was taken over after a passenger said he was wearing an explosives belt.Egyptair hijack Larnaca airport

Latest reports from Cyprus media suggest there is just one hijacker who was motivated by “personal reasons” and may be seeking asylum – although this has not been confirmed.

EgyptAir said the Airbus A320 was carrying 81 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo.

A senior Alexandria airport official said those on board the flight when it took off included 30 Egyptians, eight Americans, four Dutch, four Britons, two Belgians and one Italian.

Larnaca airport, on the south coast of Cyprus, has been closed and scheduled flights diverted elsewhere.

“The pilot said that a passenger told him he had an explosives vest and forced the plane to land in Larnaca,” the Egyptian civil aviation ministry said in a statement.

Dilma Rousseff Impeachment: Brazil’s Tourism Minister Resigns

Diane A. Wade
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Dilma Rousseff Impeachment: Brazil’s Tourism Minister Resigns

Brazil’s tourism minister Henrique Eduardo Alves has stepped down before vote on President Dilma Rousseff’s coalition.

Opposition lawmakers want to remove Dilma Rousseff over claims she manipulated accounts to hide growing deficit.

Officials from Dilma Rousseff’s coalition allies, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), will vote to leave the alliance on March 29, members said.

Tourism Minister Henrique Eduardo Alves became the first PMDB member to resign from government on March 28.Henrique Eduardo Alves resigns from Brazil government

Dilma Rousseff, a former political prisoner during Brazil’s military government, began her second term in office 14 months ago.

However, her popularity has plummeted amid corruption allegations around senior members of the governing Workers’ Party.

The speaker of the lower house of Congress, Eduardo Cunha, agreed in December to open impeachment proceedings against her.

Last week, Dilma Rousseff, who denies wrongdoing, said the procedure amounted to a coup. She met officials from the PMDB ahead of that party’s national leadership meeting on March 29.

However, a number of lawmakers from the PMDB said ahead of the meeting that most members had already decided to abandon the coalition.

The PMDB is headed by Michel Temer, Dilma Rousseff’s deputy, who would become president should she be removed.

The loss of support by his party’s 69 lawmakers could have consequences for the impeachment proceedings. Dilma Rousseff needs the support of a third of the 513 members of the lower house of Congress to stave off impeachment.

The Workers’ Party has been in power since former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in for his first term in 2003.

It has been hit by a long-running investigation into bribes from contractors working for state oil company Petrobras.

A recent attempt by Dilma Rousseff to appoint Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as her chief of staff was seen by critics as an attempt to shield him from money-laundering charges – which he denies – connected with the case.

His appointment was blocked by a judge earlier this month.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on March 28 he expected Dilma Rousseff to survive growing pressure, and said he would speak to Michel Temer to work out how to save her job.

Protests involving tens of thousands of people have taken place across Brazil to call for Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment.

According to poll by the Datafolha poll in late February, only 11% of respondents across the country said President Dilma Rousseff’s performance was “good or excellent”.

Fidel Castro Criticizes Barack Obama’s Cuba Visit

Diane A. Wade
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Fidel Castro Criticizes Barack Obama’s Cuba Visit

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has broken his silence over President Barack Obama’s Cuba visit in a damning letter published in state-run newspaper Granma.

Fidel Castro, who handed power to his brother Raul a decade ago, said Cuba didn’t need any gifts from the “empire”.

He described Barack Obama’s words of reconciliation as “syrupy” and warned they could give Cubans a heart attack.

President Barack Obama had suggested that it was time to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas.Fidel Castro about Barack Obama visit to Cuba

In his 1,500-word letter, Fidel Castro also reminded readers of the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, in which a CIA-sponsored paramilitary force of Cuban exiles attempted to take over the island.

However, Fidel Castro also said his “modest suggestion” was that Barack Obama “reflects and doesn’t try to develop theories about Cuban politics”.

During his visit, Barack Obama invoked “a future of hope” for Cuba in an unprecedented live TV address delivered from the Grand Theater in Havana.

Barack Obama told Cuban President Raul Castro that he did not need to fear a threat from the US nor from “the voice of the Cuban people”.

The US president also called for the lifting of the 54-year old US trade embargo against Cuba, a remark which was met by loud applause.

The embargo remains one of the main sticking points in US-Cuban relations but can only be lifted by the US Congress.

Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba was the first by a president since the Communist revolution in 1959.

Brussels Attacks: Suspect Faycal C Released for Lack of Evidence

Roy Siemens
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Brussels Attacks: Suspect Faycal C Released for Lack of Evidence

The only person arrested and charged with involvement in the Brussels attacks – man known as Faycal C – has been released on March 28 for lack of evidence.

Belgian media named him as Faycal Cheffou and said he was suspected of being the mystery third man seen in CCTV footage of the bombers.

Last week’s attacks on Brussels airport and the city’s metro system killed 35 people and injured more than 300.

The attacks were claimed by ISIS.

Police have blocked off a Brussels square, Place de la Bourse, which saw clashes between police and nationalist protesters on March 27.

People were allowed to stay in the square, where mourners have placed candles, wreaths and messages for victims of the bomb attacks.

Of the 35 victims, seven have still to be identified, the country’s crisis centre said on March 28.

At least 12 of the victims are foreign nationals from the US, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and China, it said earlier.

The death toll does not include three attackers, two of whom blew themselves up at the airport and one in the metro.

EU institutions based in Brussels will reopen on March 29, following the Easter break, “with important additional security measures in place”, European Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva said in a tweet.

The man referred to officially as Facyal C was released on March 28 after being arrested on March 24 in Brussels and charged with “participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murders and attempted terrorist murders”.

In a statement, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said: “The clues that led to the arrest of Faycal C were not substantiated by the ongoing inquiry.

“As a result, the subject has been released by the examining magistrate.”

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

He had been charged only two days before with “taking part in a terrorist group, terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder”.

Belgian public TV and Le Soir daily identified the freed man as Faycal Cheffou, a freelance journalist.

CCTV footage released by Belgian police on March 28 shows the two airport bombers alongside a third man, who is wearing light-colored clothing and a dark hat. Each is pushing a loaded luggage trolley.

Twin blasts struck the main terminal of Zaventem Airport. A third, even bigger, bomb was abandoned, prosecutors said at the time. It exploded after the security forces had secured the scene and nobody was hurt, they added.

The man in the hat is believed to have fled the scene.

Brussels was the second large-scale attack on an EU capital city claimed by ISIS, after gunmen and bombers killed 130 people in Paris on November 13.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZzmCJQRqLE

Brussels Attacks: CCTV Footage of Third Airport Attacker Released

Roy Siemens
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Brussels Attacks: CCTV Footage of Third Airport Attacker Released

In a bid to identify the third attacker at Brussels airport, whose bomb did not explode and who fled, Belgian police have released a new CCTV footage.

The attacker is seen wearing light-colored clothing and a hat.

The death toll from March 22 attacks in Brussels rose to 35 after four people died of their injuries in hospital.

More than 300 people were also injured in the attacks, which were claimed by ISIS.

The death toll does not include three attackers, two of whom blew themselves up at the airport and one in the metro.

Investigators have not commented on reports in the Belgian media that the third airport attacker is Faycal Cheffou, a freelance journalist arrested on March 24 outside the prosecutor’s office.Brussels third attacker CCTV

On March 26, a man named Faycal C was charged with “participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murders and attempted terrorist murders”, a prosecutor’s statement said.

Separately, three men were charged on March 28 with belonging to a terrorist group.

The three, whose names were given as Yassine A, Mohamed B and Aboubaker O, were arrested during raids on 13 addresses on March 27. A fourth man was released without charge.

Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block announced the latest deaths in a tweet: “Four patients deceased in hospital. Medical teams did all possible. Total victims: 35. Courage to all the families.”

Of the 35 victims, seven have still to be identified, the Belgian crisis center said on March 28.

At least 12 of the victims are foreign nationals from the US, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and China, it said earlier.

More arrests have also taken place in relation to what authorities say were planned attacks on France.

A man already in Belgian custody was reported to have been charged in connection with a foiled attack in the Paris region.

Separately, Dutch police announced on March 27 that they had detained a 32-year-old Frenchman in Rotterdam at the request of French authorities.

The man was arrested on suspicion of preparing an attack in France and will be extradited to the country. Three other people were also detained.

The Frenchman is allegedly linked to Reda Kriket, who was arrested in a Paris suburb on March 24 and said to be in the “advanced stage” of plotting an attack, AFP news agency reported, citing a police source.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsPNBJGpI8k

Al Jazeera Cuts 500 Jobs Worldwide

Clyde K. Valle
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Al Jazeera Cuts 500 Jobs Worldwide

Al Jazeera is cutting 500 jobs worldwide, the Qatar-based media network has announced.

The job reduction would affect posts worldwide but most of the losses would be in Qatar.

Acting director general Mostefa Souag said the decision was “difficult” but the group was “confident it is the right step”.

Al Jazeera, funded by the Qatari government, was founded in 1996 and has more than 70 bureaus worldwide.

The network described the latest move as “a workforce optimization initiative” in response to “the ongoing transformation of the media landscape”.

Mostefa Souag said: “While our decision is consistent with those being made across the media industry worldwide, it was difficult to make nonetheless.

“However, we are confident it is the right step to ensure the Network’s long-term competitiveness and reach.”

Earlier this year, Al Jazeera America announced it would shut its cable news channel despite spending heavily to break into the US marketAl Jazeera job cut 2016

CEO Al Anstey said the business model was “simply not sustainable in light of the economic challenges”.

Al Jazeera spent millions of dollars hiring top US journalists but struggled to bring viewers to its news programs.

Japan Stock Market Recovers Helped by Lower Yen against Dollar

Clyde K. Valle
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Japan Stock Market Recovers Helped by Lower Yen against Dollar

Japan stock market has recovered on March 28 helped in part by a lower yen against the dollar.

Nikkei 225 index finished up 0.77% to 17,134.37.

Shares in troubled Japanese electronics giant Sharp rose as much as 8% in early trade on hopes of a bailout deal.Tokyo stock market 2016

The Nikkei business daily newspaper reported that a deal for Sharp may finally be signed this week.

Sharp has been in talks with Taiwan’s Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.

However, the deal will be smaller than originally planned, reports said.

Sharp’s shares finished the Easter Monday session up almost 5%.

In China, the Shanghai Composite spent much of the day in positive territory.

Data released on the weekend showed industrial profits returned to growth during January and February, which gave a boost to manufacturing shares.

However, by late afternoon, the index had lost ground and was down 0.33% to 2,968.9.

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index finished the session flat at 1,982.54.

Markets in Hong Kong and Australia reopen on March 29 after the Easter holidays.

El Chapo Guzman’s Money Launderer King Midas Arrested in Mexico

Diane A. Wade
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El Chapo Guzman’s Money Launderer King Midas Arrested in Mexico

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s top money launderer, Juan Manuel Alvarez Inzunza, has been arrested while on holiday in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexican authorities say.

El Chapo Guzman, a former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, is currently awaiting extradition to the United States.

The Mexican drug lord was recaptured in January after breaking out of a high-security prison.King Midas and El Chapo Guzman

Juan Manuel Alvarez Inzunza, nicknamed Rey Midas (King Midas) is suspected of laundering $300 million-$400 million a year for the Sinaloa cartel through a network of companies and currency exchange centers.

A US federal court in Washington had requested Juan Manuel Alvarez Inzunza’s arrest and he is likely to be extradited.

El Chapo Guzman himself is also facing extradition to the US on charges of drug trafficking in California, and murder in Texas.

Earlier this month, the drug lord asked for the extradition process to progress rapidly so he could receive better treatment in prison.

Since El Chapo Guzman’s recapture in January, six months after he escaped from prison, he has been subject to a stricter regime.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Takes $424M Globally

Sonia Pantiss
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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Takes $424M Globally

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has taken $424 million at the global box office in its first five days despite poor reviews.

The global total – the fourth-highest ever – included $170.1 million in the US, a record for a March debut and the sixth-highest US opening weekend.

Batman v Superman brings the two superheroes together for the first time is a welcome success for Warner Bros.

Warner Bros has been hit by a series of expensive failures such as Jupiter Ascending and Pan in recent months.Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice Takes $424M Globally

The DC Comics adaptation, which cost more than $250 million to make, was Warner Bros’ second-highest international opening after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Dawn of Justice opened on more than 40,000 screens in 66 markets, including 16,000 in China, 4,242 in the US, 1,701 in the UK and 1,696 in South Korea.

The Zack Snyder-directed film, starring Ben Affleck and Henry Cavil, is the first of 10 DC Comics adaptations planned by Warner Bros over the next five years, including Wonder Woman and the Flash.

The first, Suicide Squad, will hit the big screen in August.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens still holds the record for the biggest box office debut weekend globally, with ticket sales of $529 million in December 2015, including $248 million in the United States.

Lahore Park Explosion Leaves 69 Dead and Hundreds Injured

Roy Siemens
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Lahore Park Explosion Leaves 69 Dead and Hundreds Injured

An explosion at a public park in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore left at least 69 people dead and scores injured, officials say.

The park was crowded with families, some celebrating Easter. Many victims are said to be women and children.

According to police, it appeared to be a suicide bomb. A Pakistan Taliban faction said it carried out the attack.

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain has condemned the blast and the regional government has announced three days of mourning.

All the major hospitals in the area were put on an emergency footing after the blast early on Sunday evening.

The explosion appears to have been at the main gate to the Gulshan-e-Iqbal park in an area where cars are usually left – and a short distance from the children’s swings.Lahore park explosion March 2016

One eyewitness said there was chaos, with a stampede starting and children separated from their parents in the rush to escape.

According to Lahore’s deputy commissioner, Mohammad Usman, the number of injured was 193.

Facebook has activated its feature for people in Lahore to mark themselves as safe, as news of the blast spread.

Lahore is the capital of Punjab, Pakistan’s largest and wealthiest province and the political powerbase of PM Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar told local and Western media it was behind the attack.

“We claim responsibility for the attack on Christians as they were celebrating Easter,” spokesperson Ehansullah Ehsan told Pakistan’s Express Tribune.

Pakistan has suffered regular incidents of Taliban-related violence, sectarian strife and criminal gang activity.

Meanwhile in the capital, Islamabad, police fired tear gas at thousands of protesters who marched in support of Islamist gunman Mumtaz Qadri, whom they see as a religious hero.

Mumtaz Qadri was hanged last month for the murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer five years ago.

Salman Taseer had defended a Christian woman jailed on blasphemy charges.

Vaxxed: Robert De Niro Pulls MMR Vaccine Documentary from Tribeca Film Festival

Sonia Pantiss
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Vaxxed: Robert De Niro Pulls MMR Vaccine Documentary from Tribeca Film Festival

Tribeca Film Festival has withdrawn Vaxxed, a controversial film about the MMR vaccine, festival founder Robert De Niro announces.

On March 25, Robert De Niro stood by his decision to include Vaxxed by anti-vaccination activist Andrew Wakefield in next month’s festival.

The link Vaxxed makes between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism has been widely discredited.

“We have concerns with certain things in this film,” said Robert De Niro.Vaxxed withdrawn from Tribeca Film Festival

Robert De Niro, who has a child with autism, said he had hoped the documentary would provide the opportunity for discussion of the issue.

However, after reviewing the documentary with festival organizers and scientists, the actor said: “We do not believe it contributes to or furthers the discussion I had hoped for.”

Vaxxed was directed and co-written by Andrew Wakefield, who described it as a “whistle-blower documentary”.

In a statement issued following the Tribeca Film Festival’s decision, Andrew Wakefield and the film’s producer Del Bigtree said that “we have just witnessed yet another example of the power of corporate interests censoring free speech, art and truth”.

The British doctor was the lead author of a controversial study published in 1998, which argued there might be a link between MMR and autism and bowel disease.

Andrew Wakefield suggested that parents should opt for single jabs against mumps, measles and rubella instead of the three-in-one vaccine.

His comments and the subsequent media furor led to a sharp drop in the number of children being vaccinated against these diseases.

The study, first published in The Lancet, was later retracted by the medical journal.

Andrew Wakefield was subsequently found guilty of fraud by the General Medical Council and struck off the medical register.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdCU2DfMBpU

Syrian Army Retakes Palmyra from ISIS

Roy Siemens
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0
Syrian Army Retakes Palmyra from ISIS

Syrian army has re-captured the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS, say state media and a monitoring group.

The Syrian government forces had been gaining ground for several days, supported by Russian air strikes. Military sources say the army now has “full control”.

ISIS seized the UNESCO World Heritage site and modern town in May 2015.

Images released by the Syrian military on March 26 showed helicopters and tanks firing at positions in Palmyra.

Photo Getty Images
Photo Getty Images

The date of the footage could not be independently verified.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, there was still gunfire in the eastern part of the city, but the bulk of the ISIS force had pulled out and retreated further east.

In a statement released on March 26, Russia’s defense ministry said the strikes hit 158 ISIS targets killing more than 100 militants.

When ISIS seized Palmyra it destroyed archaeological sites, drawing global outrage. Two 2,000-year-old temples, an arch and funerary towers were left in ruins.

ISIS, which has also demolished several pre-Islamic sites in neighboring Iraq, believes that such structures are idolatrous.

The prospect of Palmyra’s liberation was welcomed by UNESCO, which has described the destruction of the ancient city as a war crime.

The head of Syria’s antiquities authority, Mamoun Abdelkarim, promised to repair as much of the damage as possible as a “message against terrorism”.

Bernie Sanders Takes Alaska and Washington

Diane A. Wade
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Bernie Sanders Takes Alaska and Washington

Bernie Sanders has won Alaska and Washington in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, as he tries to close the gap on Hillary Clinton.

He was projected to have won 72% of the vote in Washington against 27% for Hillary Clinton.

In Alaska, Bernie Sanders took about 79% of the votes, against 21% for Hillary Clinton.

Results are yet to emerge from Hawaii but initial projections suggest another Bernie Sanders victory.

Washington was the most significant of the three states voting on March 26, with 101 delegates up for grabs. There were 16 delegates on offer in Alaska and 25 in Hawaii.

In spite of his victories, Bernie Sanders faces a struggle to overhaul Hillary Clinton’s overall lead. Going into Saturday’s votes, Hillary Clinton led Bernie Sanders by 1,223 delegates to 920.Bernie Sanders wins Alaska

When superdelegates who have so far declared their allegiance are included, Hillary Clinton was ahead by 1,692 to 949.

It takes 2,383 delegates to win.

Bernie Sanders tweeted: “Thank you, Alaska! Together we are sending a message that this government belongs to all of us… Washington, thank you for your huge support! It is hard for anybody to deny that our campaign has the momentum.”

The senator earlier told supporters in Wisconsin: “This is what momentum is about. Don’t let anybody tell you we can’t win the nomination or win the general election. We’re going to do both of those things.”

Bernie Sanders had spent the week on the west coast, rallying support among liberals and the left-wing.

He is trying to build on overwhelming victories in last Tuesday’s caucuses in Idaho and Utah.

However, he suffered defeat in Arizona, and although his delegate haul from the three states was 20 higher than Hillary Clinton, he failed to make major inroads into her lead.

Hillary Clinton has pointed out that she has “2.6 million more votes” than Bernie Sanders.

She campaigned less in the three states that voted on March 26, perhaps expecting the defeats, and spent Easter with her family.

This week Hillary Clinton focused on the deadly attacks in Brussels, condemning Republican rivals Donald Trump and Ted Cruz for their “reckless” foreign policies.

Despite March 26 results, the battle will be won and lost in far bigger states still to come. In RealClearPolitics poll averages, Hillary Clinton has the lead over Bernie Sanders by nine percentage points in California, 34 points in New York and 28 in Pennsylvania.

Calculations suggest Bernie Sanders may need to win two-thirds of the remaining delegates – in primaries, caucuses and among so-far uncommitted super-delegates – the unelected officials who can vote for their candidate of choice at the party’s election convention.

There was no voting in the Republican race on March 26.

Donald Trump leads Ted Cruz by 739 delegates to 465, with a total of 1,237 needed to win the Republican nomination, according to AP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2k8bnNSqPY

Easter 2016: Pope Francis Delivers Message of Hope after Brussels Attacks

Diane A. Wade
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Easter 2016: Pope Francis Delivers Message of Hope after Brussels Attacks

Pope Francis has called on Christians not to let fear and pessimism “imprison” them as he delivered his Easter message.

Speaking amid tight security at the Vatican, Pope Francis said: “Let us not allow darkness and fear to distract us and control our hearts.”

The Pope’s message followed a condemnation on March 25 of the Brussels terror attacks.

Islamist violence is expected to be a prominent theme of his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” Easter message.

Photo Getty Images
Photo Getty Images

Many pilgrims cancelled their planned trips to Rome in the wake of the violence in Brussels, but St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican was packed when Pope Francis celebrated mass on March 26.

Pope Francis entered a darkened basilica with just a single candle guiding him. As he reached the altar, the basilica’s floodlights came on to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Delivering his homily, Pope Francis said: “Today is the celebration of our hope. It is so necessary today.”

The lengthy vigil service also included a papal baptism for 12 adults hailing from China, South Korea and other countries around the world.

On Easter Day, Francis will preside over Easter Mass and offer his annual Easter blessing.

On March 25, he denounced the “terrorist acts committed by followers of some religions which profane the name of God and which use the holy name to justify their unprecedented violence”.

Meanwhile, Vatican officials distributed sleeping bags to 100 homeless people.

The police presence in the streets around the Vatican has been stepped up this year, as more pilgrims than usual are expected after Pope Francis declared a jubilee year for the Catholic Church, calling it a “Holy Year of Mercy”.

US Economy Grew 1.4% in Q4 2015

Clyde K. Valle
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US Economy Grew 1.4% in Q4 2015

According to official figures, the US economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.4% in Q4 of 2015.

The US Commerce Department revised its Q4 GDP to upward from an initial estimate of 0.7%.

Overall, the US economy is estimated to have grown at a rate of 2.4% for all of 2015.

One reason for the revised figure was greater consumer spending than officials initially thought, boosted by an improving labor market.

Analysts had expected the fourth quarter growth rate to remain unchanged from the last estimate of 1%.US economic growth

Increased employment has helped to slowly boost wages and housing prices, while low oil prices have increased discretionary spending by US households.

The stronger growth rate could increase the chances of an interest rate hike when the Federal Reserve meets in April. The Fed left rates unchanged at its meeting in March, saying the slowing global economy raised risks for the US market.

US corporate profits dipped 11.5% for Q4 compared to the same October through December period in the previous year.

Companies were hurt by low oil prices, with some industrial and petroleum linked companies forced to cut their workforces or file for bankruptcy.

Brussels Attacks: Faycal Cheffou Charged with Terrorist Offences

Roy Siemens
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Brussels Attacks: Faycal Cheffou Charged with Terrorist Offences

A man has been charged with terrorist offences, in connection with March 22 attacks in Brussels that left 31 dead, including three bombers, Belgian prosecutors say.

The man was named as Faycal Cheffou and was arrested on March 24.

At least half the victims died at the airport, the rest in an attack on the metro in suicide bombings claimed by ISIS.

Meanwhile a demonstration against the attacks, planned for March 27 in central Brussels, has been canceled after a request from the authorities.

Organizers said people’s security was a top priority.

Belgian prosecutors said that Faycal C had been detained outside the prosecutor’s office in Brussels on March 24. A search of his home had found no weapons.

Faycal C was charged with “participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murders and attempted terrorist murders,” a statement said.Faycal Cheffou Brussels attacks

It gave no further details and made no comment on Belgian media reports that he was the third man in an airport CCTV image that showed the two suicide bombers – Najim Laachraoui on the left, and Brahim el-Bakraoui. Belgian media say the third man is Faycal Cheffou, a freelance journalist.

The third man, wearing a hat and pale jacket, also had luggage packed with explosives. However, he was said to have fled without detonating his device. It was detonated in a controlled explosion once the departures hall was cleared.

Brahim el-Bakraoui’s brother Khalid carried out the Maelbeek metro attack.

Faycal C was among 12 people arrested on March 24 and 25 in police raids in Belgium, France and Germany.

Four days before the Brussels attacks, the key suspect in the November 13 Paris attacks which killed 130 people, Salah Abdeslam, was detained in a raid in Brussels. Police said he was initially co-operative.

Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens later confirmed in parliament that Salah Abdeslam “no longer wants to talk since attacks” in Brussels.

Separately, Brussels airport authorities said the “investigative work related to the judicial inquiry into the airport terminal has been completed” but that passenger activity could not resume before March 22.

Airport engineers and technicians are getting access to the terminal for the first time since the attack.

They will assess the damage and stability of the building. The airport authorities will also put new security measures in place.

The check-in area suffered severe damage when two blasts seconds apart hit opposite ends of the departures hall.

In addition to the dead, 340 people were injured. One hundred and one remain in hospital, of whom 62 are in intensive care.

In his weekly address on March 26, President Barack Obama paid his respects to the victims and said attempts to stigmatize Muslim-Americans should be rejected.

Meanwhile, Mariah Carey has canceled a concert scheduled for Brussels on March 27, citing security concerns.

In a separate development, Belgian prosecutors denied the murder of a security official at the Fleurus nuclear research centre was a terrorist act, the Belga news agency reported.

Cumhuriyet Scandal: Can Dundar and Erdem Gul Trial Adjourned until April 1

Diane A. Wade
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Cumhuriyet Scandal: Can Dundar and Erdem Gul Trial Adjourned until April 1

The trial of Cumhuriyet journalists Can Dundar and Erdem Gul has been adjourned until April 1.

The journalists, who are charged with revealing state secrets, were arrested in November 2015 over a report alleging that the Turkish government had tried to ship arms to Islamists in Syria.

Can Dundar and Erdem Gul deny the charges but face possible life sentences if found guilty.

Their supporters say the case is a major test of press freedom in Turkey.

The Turkish government has come under increasing international criticism over its treatment of journalists.

Earlier this month, Turkish police raided the offices of the country’s biggest newspaper, Zaman, hours after a court ruling placed it under state control.Can Dundar and Erdem Gul trial

Over 100 reporters and observers attended the opening session of the trial on March 25.

Prosecutors then asked the judge for a closed hearing, a request which the judge approved, after a brief adjournment.

A Human Rights Watch observer present in the court called the decision “a travesty of justice”.

The adjournment came after more than a dozen opposition lawmakers refused to leave the courtroom. The judges filed a complaint against them for attempting to influence the trial.

Can Dundar, Cumhuriyet‘s editor-in-chief, and Erdem Gul, Ankara bureau chief, were arrested in November 2015.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally filed a criminal complaint against the two journalists.

Can Dundar and Erdem Gul were held in pre-trial detention but were released in February after the Constitutional Court ruled their rights to liberty and free expression had been violated.

In a statement given just before the trial, Can Dundar said the government was trying to intimidate Turkey’s journalists.

“There is an effort to arrest an entire profession and the public – what foreigners call a <<chilling effect>>,” he said.

“What is trying to be created is a mechanism of self-censorship and an increasing empire of fear.”

Campaigners say the case is politically motivated and part of a growing crackdown on media critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On March 24, dozens of prominent writers published an open letter to PM Ahmet Davutoglu, urging the government to drop the charges against the Cumhuriyet journalists.

“We believe that Can Dundar and Erdem Gul are facing life in prison simply for carrying out their legitimate work as journalists,” they said.

The letter also voiced concern over the “increasing climate of fear and censorship and the stifling of critical voices in Turkey”.

Zaman newspaper is closely linked to the Hizmet movement of influential US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

The government says Hizmet is a “terrorist” group aiming to overthrow President Erdogan.

Fethullah Gulen was once an ally of Recep Tayyip Erdogan but is now seen by the Turkish President as a threat to his authority.

According to the 2015 Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index, Turkey ranks 149th amongst the 180 countries.

Media organizations in Turkey say that more than 30 journalists are currently behind bars and most are of Kurdish origin.

However, the government argues journalism in Turkey is among the most free in the world.

Brussels Attacks: Zaventem Airport Remains Closed Until March 29

Roy Siemens
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Brussels Attacks: Zaventem Airport Remains Closed Until March 29

Brussels international airport will be closed until March 29, Belgian authorities say, following attacks in the capital that left 31 dead.

Zaventem airport was the first target on March 22, with two suicide bombers triggering explosions in the departures hall.

An hour later, 20 people died in the suicide bombing of a metro station.

On March 26, Belgian prosecutors announced that one arrested man had now been charged with terrorist offences.

ISIS has said it carried out both the Brussels attacks, and the ones in Paris, in which 130 people died in November 2015.

Brussels airport authorities said the “investigative work related to the judicial inquiry into the airport terminal has been completed” but that passenger activity could not resume before March 29.Brussels airport closed after attacks

A team of airport engineers and technicians is being given access to the terminal building for the first time since the attack.

They will assess the damage and stability of the building. The airport authorities will also install new security measures.

Zaventem airport check-in area suffered severe damage when two blasts seconds apart hit opposite ends of the departures hall.

Some people fleeing the first blast were caught by the second.

The two suicide bombers there have been identified by DNA as Najim Laachraoui and Brahim el-Bakraoui. They were pictured in an airport CCTV image before the explosions with a third man, on the right of the picture, who has yet to be identified or apprehended.

Brahim el-Bakraoui’s brother, Khalid, carried out the attack on the Maelbeek metro attack.

In Brussels, buses are running and most metro stations have reopened but there are still soldiers patrolling the streets and although people are defiant, they are aware that there are possibly still other suspects at large.

On March 26, Belgian police continued operations to search for members of the terror cell, in particular the missing man from the airport image and a man suspected of aiding the metro attack.

Twelve people were arrested on March 24 and 25 in police raids in Belgium, France and Germany.

Rolling Stones in Havana: Tens of Thousands of Cubans Attend Landmark Gig

Sonia Pantiss
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Rolling Stones in Havana: Tens of Thousands of Cubans Attend Landmark Gig

Tens of thousands of Cubans have attended The Rolling Stones concert in Havana, where most foreign rock music was banned for several decades.

Many of those at the free concert were lifelong fans who for years had to keep quiet about their love of the Stones and other groups.

Mick Jagger welcomed fans in Spanish before opening the performance with the 1968 hit Jumpin’ Jack Flash.

The Stones’ concert comes days after a historic visit by President Barack Obama.

Tens of thousands of Cubans queued for hours to get into the grounds of Havana’s huge 450,000-capacity Ciudad Deportiva venue.

Photo Twitter
Photo Twitter

The band swept through 18 songs in a two-hour gig, including Sympathy for the Devil and Satisfaction.

The gig is being seen as another sign of real change on the island. Until about 15 years ago Cuba’s communist government banned most Western rock and pop music, which was deemed decadent and subversive.

Fans traveled from many parts of Cuba and other countries to witness what some described as a historic moment.

The Rolling Stones released a short video saying their concert was a sign of change in Cuba.

“Time changes everything. So we’re very pleased to be here,” said Mick Jagger.

“It would have been surprising for this to happen 10 years ago.”

Cuban authorities said they expected at least half a million people to watch the Stones’ first concert in Cuba.

Set List

Jumpin’ Jack Flash

It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)

Tumbling Dice

Out of Control

All Down the Line

Angie

Paint It Black

Honky Tonk Women

You Got the Silver

Before They Make Me Run

Midnight Rambler

Miss You

Gimme Shelter

Start Me Up

Sympathy for the Devil

Brown Sugar

Encores: You Can’t Always Get What You Want. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

Ted Cruz Accuses Donald Trump of Planting Tabloid Story

Diane A. Wade
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Ted Cruz Accuses Donald Trump of Planting Tabloid Story

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz’s feud is becoming increasingly personal, with the Texas senator accusing “sleazy Donald” of spreading rumors.

Ted Cruz told reporters that Donald Trump was behind a story in the National Enquirer that alleged Cruz has had extramarital affairs.

The Texas senator called the story “garbage, complete and utter lies”.

“It is a tabloid smear and it has come from Donald Trump and his henchmen.”

As evidence that Donald Trump planted the story, Ted Cruz pointed out that the only person quoted by name in the Enquirer story was Roger Stone, a former top adviser to the Trump campaign.

Photo AP
Photo AP

Ted Cruz also noted that Donald Trump and National Enquirer CEO David Pecker are close friends.

Asked whether he would still support Donald Trump, the current Republican frontrunner, if he won the nomination, Ted Cruz did not answer directly.

However, he said: “I’m not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and my family.”

Donald Trump said in a statement: “I had absolutely nothing to do with it.”

On March 22, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, who had been on good terms earlier in the campaign, began trading insults on Twitter.

Mistakenly believing the Cruz campaign had produced an attack advert about his wife Melania, Donald Trump on Twitter threatened to “spill the beans” on Cruz’s wife, Heidi.

Ted Cruz responded saying his campaign did not produce the advert, calling Donald Trump “classless” and a “coward”.

On March 23, Donald Trump continued, posting an unflattering photo of Heidi Cruz on Twitter.

Ted Cruz responded, calling Donald Trump a “sniveling coward” and told him to “leave Heidi the hell alone”.

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