Starwood Hotels & Resorts has become the first American company to agree a deal with the Cuban authorities since the revolution of 1959.
The hotel and leisure company will renovate and run three hotels in Havana.
A Starwood spokesman said the company would be making a “multimillion-dollar investment to bring the hotels up to our standards”.
The news comes on the eve of President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba – the first by a US president in almost 90 years.
The deal is a welcome reminder of how far things have come between the US and Cuba since they decided to normalize ties.
Tourism in Cuba is at an all-time high, including a sharp rise in the number of US visitors, especially since travel restrictions were eased by President Barack Obama.
Some 50 protesters blocked a highway in Arizona as Donald Trump prepared to stage a rally near Phoenix.
Donald Trump addressed supporters in Fountain Hills.
Demonstrators caused traffic jams as they held up posters with slogans such as “Dump Trump”.
Donald Trump’s rallies have been marred by a series of recent incidents. A meeting in Chicago a week ago was cancelled after protests.
Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered at the University of Illinois and fighting broke out between supporters and protesters in the auditorium where Donald Trump was due to speak.
In the latest disturbance, protesters marched down the highway leading to Fountain Hills. Police made several arrests before the demonstrators dispersed.
Some, heavily outnumbered by Trump supporters, made their way to the edge of the rally venue in Fountain Park.
Speaking later at a rally in Tucson, Donald Trump described the protesters as “disgraceful” and said they were “representing [Democratic front-runner] Hillary Clinton”.
“They arrested three people and everybody else left… They left!” the Republican front-runner told a cheering audience.
“I love our police, but we should do a little bit more of that, you would have a lot less protesters, you would have a lot less agitators.”
Demonstrations also broke out there and the police had to escort out a number of people.
In Donald Trump’s home city of New York, several hundred protesters gathered outside Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Some chanted slogans accusing him of racism and being anti-gay. The gathering included immigrants’ rights activists and socialists.
Several protesters carrying “Vote Trump” placards were also present, explaining that they wanted to demonstrate their right to support Donald Trump.
On March 12, a man tried to rush Donald Trump as he spoke on stage in Ohio but was prevented from doing so by Secret Service agents.
A Donald Trump supporter was also charged with assault after multiple videos showed him punching a protester at a campaign rally in North Carolina.
Donald Trump has been accused of creating tension through divisive rhetoric, but he denies using hate speech or playing any part in fostering division.
The Arizona rally was the Republican hopeful’s second visit to the state in three months. A primary takes place there on March 22.
The winner in Arizona takes all 58 delegates at stake. Donald Trump leads the polls in the state.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has said she will take legal action against Senator Delcidio Amaral who has accused her of involvement in corruption at the state oil company Petrobras.
Delcidio Amaral said Dilma Rousseff knew of wrongdoings and tried to block investigations.
Dilma Rousseff has denied any involvement.
Meanwhile, the new justice minister has threatened to remove teams from the Petrobras inquiry if any more material is leaked to the press.
In a statement, Brazil’s presidency said Dilma Rousseff will sue Senator Delcidio Amaral for defamation over his interview with a magazine.
Delcidio Amaral was the leader of her Workers’ Party in the Senate and had agreed a plea bargain with prosecutors after being arrested as a result of the Petrobras scandal.
The inquiry has led to the arrest or investigation of dozens of executives and politicians, suspected of overcharging for contracts with Petrobras and using part of the money to pay for bribes and electoral campaigns.
There is widespread public support for the investigation, known as Operation Car Wash, but Dilma Rousseff and her allies have criticized its leading judge, Sergio Moro.
They argue the inquiry has become politicized and some of his actions have been illegal.
Last week, Judge Sergio Moro released phone recordings suggesting Dilma Rousseff had appointed her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as her chief of staff to spare him arrest over money-laundering charges he denies.
Even though Dilma Rousseff vehemently denies it, Supreme Court judge Gilmar Mendes has suspended Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s nomination, and a final decision is yet to be announced.
If Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is a minister, any charges against him can only be dealt with by the Supreme Court, which operates more slowly, and not by Sergio Moro.
Earlier this month, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was briefly detained and questioned at Sergio Moro’s request.
Dilma Rousseff’s supporters have also criticized leaks of questioning and details of the investigation to the media.
New Justice Minister Eugenio Aragao questioned the publication of the unverified phone tap conversations between Dilma Rousseff and Lula and said the Car Wash investigation was losing its objectivity.
The release of the recordings has also been criticized by Supreme Court judge Marco Aurelio Mello, who has questioned its legality.
However, the content of the phone calls has increased pressure on Dilma Rousseff, who is facing growing calls for her removal.
Additionally, there has been a resurgence in allegations of media bias against Dilma Rousseff and her Workers’ Party.
Much of the criticism has been against Globo, Brazil’s largest media group and one of the biggest in the world, allegations it denies.
In 2013, Globo issued an announcement about its support of the 1964 military coup, which led to a two-decade military dictatorship, and admitted it had made a “mistake”.
Pope Francis gained 10,000 followers within hours after joining Instagram on March 19.
The Pontiff has only posted two photos so far but there are an estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world.
Pope Francis is using the name @Franciscus, Latin for Francis.
The first photo wasn’t a selfie, it was a picture showing Pope Francis kneeling with his head bowed in prayer.
The accompanying caption reads “Pray for me” and is repeated in eight other languages.
The Instagram account won’t be maintained by Pope Francis himself – other people within the Vatican will be responsible for the content.
Pope Francis is no stranger to social media, he already has a Twitter account using the handle @Pontifex.
He used that to announce his presence on Instagram.
It’s thought the Vatican is trying to engage with younger Catholics through the use of social media.
According to Dario Viganò, from the Pope Francis’ communications team the account “will help recount the Papacy through images.”
He explained that it was “to enable all those who wish to accompany and know more about Pope Francis’ pontificate to encounter his gestures of tenderness and mercy”.
Instagram chief executive and co-founder Kevin Systrom met up with Pope Francis earlier this month.
Salah Abdeslam has revealed he wanted to blow himself up but then changed his mind, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins says.
The 26-year-old Paris attacks suspect has been charged with terrorism offences in Belgium a day after he was seized in a dramatic raid.
Salah Abdeslam will fight extradition to France but has been co-operating with police, his lawyer says.
The Paris attacks on November 13 left 130 people dead and dozens injured.
ISIS said it was behind the bombings and shootings.
Salah Abdeslam is charged with participation in terrorist murder and the activities of a terrorist group, Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office says.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told a news conference: “Salah Abdeslam today during questioning by [Belgian] investigators affirmed that, and I quote, <<he wanted to blow himself up at the Stade de France and that he had backed down>>.”
Salah Abdeslam’s assertions should be treated with caution, the prosecutor added.
The French national, born in Belgium, is in custody following his arrest in Brussels on March 18 after four months on the run.
Investigators hope Salah Abdeslam, who was shot in the leg during his arrest, will reveal more information about the ISIS network behind the Paris attacks, its financing and plans.
They believe he helped with logistics, including renting rooms and driving suicide bombers to the Stade de France.
Salah Abdeslam is believed to have fled shortly after the attacks, returning to the Molenbeek district of Brussels.
Interpol has meanwhile urged “extra vigilance” at borders following yesterday’s raid in Brussels, saying more accomplices may try to flee Europe.
The subject of a massive manhunt, Salah Abdeslam was arrested about 1,600ft from his home in Molenbeek. His brother, Brahim, was one of the Paris attackers, who blew himself up.
Another man arrested at the same time as Salah Abdeslam on March 18, Monir Ahmed Alaaj, has also been charged with participation in terrorist murder and the activities of a terrorist group, the Belgian prosecutors say.
Yesterday’s raid also saw three members of a family detained.
They include Abid Aberkan, described as a friend of Abdeslam, who has been charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist organization and harboring criminals.
Another family member, identified as Djemila M, has been charged with harboring criminals, but is not in custody, the prosecutor’s office says.
Abid Aberkan’s mother, Sihane, has been freed and faces no charges.
The raid came after Salah Abdeslam’s fingerprints were found in a flat in another Brussels district, Forest, raided on March 15.
Dramatic footage showed Salah Abdeslam being bundled into a police car on March 18 after a volley of gunfire. Monir Ahmed Alaaj was also injured during the arrests, but both suspects were discharged from hospital on March 19.
France’s President Francois Hollande said Salah Abdeslam’s arrest was “an important moment”.
Prosecutors said Monir Ahmed Alaaj had travelled with Salah Abdeslam to Germany last October, where his fingerprints were taken during an identity check.
A false Syrian passport in Monir Ahmed Alaaj’s name and Belgian identity papers under an alias were found in a flat in Forest raided on March 15.
More details have meanwhile emerged about an Algerian national, Mohamed Belkaid, shot dead in March 15 raid.
Associated Press says it has been passed documents by the Syrian opposition news site, Zaman al-Wasl, suggesting he joined ISIS in 2014 and asked to be a suicide bomber.
Belgian investigators say he is likely to have been an associate of Salah Abdeslam.
Along with the Stade de France, the Paris bombings and shootings targeted the Bataclan concert hall and bars and restaurants.
Officials have identified most of the people they believe to have carried out the assaults and on March 18 Francois Hollande predicted that more arrests could follow.
Most of the suspects either died during the attacks or were killed in subsequent police raids.
At least four people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack at a busy shopping area in the Istanbul, officials say.
Another 36 were injured – among them 12 foreign nationals – as the bomb went off near a government building on Istiklal Street.
No-one has admitted carrying out the attack, the latest to target Turkey in recent months.
The Turkish government has blamed Kurdish militants for previous attacks and has retaliated against them.
Today’s attack in Istanbul – Turkey’s largest city – occurred at about 11:00 local time.
Photo Getty Images
Three Israeli tourists were among those injured, local media report say. The Israeli foreign ministry has confirmed Israelis were wounded, but has not given the number or said what condition they are in.
Both ISIS and Kurdish militants have claimed recent attacks in Turkey.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said terror groups are targeting civilians because they are losing their struggle against Turkish security forces.
Turkey is part of the US-led coalition against ISIS and allows coalition planes to use its air base at Incirlik for raids on Iraq and Syria.
It has also been carrying out a campaign of bombardment against Syrian Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which it regards as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
A two-year-old ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK broke down last summer.
Since then, more than 340 members of Turkey’s security forces have been killed along with at least 300 Kurdish fighters and more than 200 civilians.
The TAK (Kurdistan Freedom Hawks) was formed in 2004. It is regarded as the hard-line offshoot of the PKK, rejecting any attempt at ceasefire talks with the Turkish state.
The PKK has been fighting for autonomy for Turkey’s Kurdish minority for decades and has carried out regular attacks on Turkish security forces.
Rapper Snoop Dogg has mistakenly promoted the Romanian village of Bogata by tagging himself there on Instagram.
He posted an image which appeared to show he was in Bogata in the center of Romania.
Snoop Dogg was actually one letter out – an extra A instead of an O – and more than 6,000 miles away in the Colombian capital Bogota.
Bogata saw immediate interest with even a new website popping up.
The website’s creators described it as “the perfect place to be if you want to relax in nature and take in all it has to offer”.
Romanians got excited, thinking Snoop Dogg was in their country on a surprise trip.
However, others spotted Snoop Dogg’s mistake and one pointed out: “I think you should edit your location.”
The new VisitBogata website describes the village of 2,000 as the “best place for chillin’ in Romania”.
There is a problem, though: there’s no hotel in the village, so visitors are advised to bring a sleeping bag.
“The village is situated on the river Mureș, offering all that nature has to offer. You can camp there or even ask a villager for housing, if you feel like learning more on the location from its inhabitants,” the website said.
If they get hungry they can feast on a twist of the famous Hungarian goulash.
The website says: “We can trace it back to older times, when it is believed that Hungarian shepherds ate similar food to fill up and gain energy for a full day.”
Bogata mayor Laszlo Barta realized Snoop’s tag confusion was a handy way to promote his town.
Tens of thousands of people have joined pro-Dilma Rousseff rallies in Brazil to show support for the president who is facing calls for her impeachment.
Earlier, police used tear gas on anti-government protesters in Sao Paulo.
Several protests against Dilma Rousseff erupted two days ago after she appointed the former Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as a minister.
Meanwhile, a Supreme Court judge has suspended Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s nomination as minister.
The decision is not final, and the government can appeal. In naming Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Dilma Rousseff is accused of shielding him from charges of money-laundering, which he denies.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who remains a popular leader, addressed protesters early in the evening. Wearing a red shirt, he said: “There will not be a coup against Ms Rousseff.”
The former president also said the opposition did not accept the results of the 2014 election, in which Dilma Rousseff was re-elected for another four-year term.
“Democracy is the only way to allow people to participate in government’s decisions,” he told a cheering crowd.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he was joining Dilma Rousseff’s government to help the country and said Brazil, which is in its worst recession in decades, needed to resume growth.
Organizers said about 300,000 people demonstrated there, but the respected Datafolha institute put that number at 95,000.
Smaller rallies were also held in Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and dozens of other cities.
Hours earlier, riot police dispersed anti-government protesters who had blocked the same central Sao Paulo thoroughfare since March 16, when demonstrations erupted against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s appointment as minister.
The nationwide rallies on March 18 were the first time the government had massed the ranks of supporters since Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was briefly arrested earlier this month.
They came after mass protests across Brazil on March 13 against corruption and calling for Dilma Rousseff’s departure. Estimates of the turnout range from one million to three million demonstrators.
Opponents who have called for Dilma Rousseff’s removal also accuse her of economic mismanagement and involvement in a sprawling corruption scandal in the state oil company Petrobras.
Dilma Rousseff denies wrongdoings, and has accused her rivals of mounting a “coup” against her.
The president insisted that she appointed Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who had started to make overtures to stand for president in 2018, to help her rebuild her political base in Congress and fight the impeachment proceedings.
However, Supreme Court judge Gilmar Mendes suspended Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s nomination as chief of staff on March 18, saying it was an intention to interfere in investigations.
Opponents had argued that Dima Rousseff’s decision was unconstitutional and obstructed justice, as it was a move made to grant Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva immunity from money-laundering charges that he denies.
As a minister, any charges against the former leader could only be dealt with by the Supreme Court, which operates more slowly, and not by the judge in the southern city of Curitiba who is overseeing Operation Car Wash into allegations of corruption at Petrobras.
Dilma Rousseff and her supporters accuse judge Sergio Moro of political interference.
Meanwhile, an impeachment committee in the lower house of Congress held its first session on March 18 and said it expected to reach a decision within a month on whether to recommend removing Dilma Rousseff.
The process is over allegations that Dilma Rousseff broke the law managing the federal budget in 2014, when she was running for re-election.
Mitt Romney says he will vote for Texas Senator Ted Cruz in Utah caucus as he is “repulsed” by Donald Trump.
The former Republican presidential candidate said in a Facebook post that the only way to nominate a Republican is to have an open convention, in which party officials choose the nominee.
Mitt Romney campaigned with Governor John Kasich in Ohio but said voting for Ted Cruz is the only way to stop “Trumpism”.
He joins other Republican leaders coalescing around Ted Cruz.
Donald Trump has won the most state contests and holds 678 delegates – 1,237 are needed to win the nomination.
Photo Facebook
“Mitt Romney is a mixed up man who doesn’t have a clue. No wonder he lost!” Donald Trump said on Twitter.
However, Republican leaders are concerned that Donald Trump’s controversial comments about immigrants, women and Muslims would make him a weak candidate in the general election in November.
Some also feel that the onetime Democrat cannot be trusted to implement conservative policies.
“Today, there is a contest between Trumpism and Republicanism,” Mitt Romney said.
“Through the calculated statements of its leader, Trumpism has become associated with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence. I am repulsed by each and every one of these.”
Earlier this month, Mitt Romney gave a speech outlining why he was against Donald Trump, a billionaire businessman with no political experience, calling him a “phoney” and a “fraud”.
Mitt Romney’s home state of Utah holds its presidential contest on March 22.
A group of conservatives including well-known talk radio host Erick Erickson met on March 17 to discuss ways to defeat Donald Trump, including launching a third party campaign to challenge the New York businessman.
“We encourage all former Republican candidates not currently supporting Trump to unite against him and encourage all candidates to hold their delegates on the first ballot,” he said in a statement, put out on behalf of the group.
“We believe that the issue of Donald Trump is greater than an issue of party. It is an issue of morals and character that all Americans, not just those of us in the conservative movement, must confront.”
Many GOP members have also misgiving about Ted Cruz because he has repeatedly and publicly denounced Republican leaders.
However, more prominent Republicans are throwing their support behind Ted Cruz in a last-ditch effort to stop Donald Trump.
Popular South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have recently endorsed Ted Cruz.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who left the Republican race on March 15, said this week he would not be endorsing any of his former rivals.
He also said he had no interest in becoming a vice-presidential nominee.
Donald Trump won four out five primaries on March 15, but the race in Missouri has not been called for the Republicans yet.
Hillary Clinton narrowly won the state’s Democratic primary after her opponent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders declined to pursue a recount.
A FlyDubai plane has crashed in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, killing all 55 passengers and seven crew on board, officials say.
The plane, a Boeing 737-800, coming from Dubai, missed the runway as it attempted to land at 03:50 local time on March 19.
It is not clear what caused the crash but poor visibility and high winds are being considered as a factor.
CCTV footage showed an explosion and a huge flash after the plane crashed.
The Investigative Committee of Russia said on its website: “The aircraft hit the ground and broke into pieces.”
Reports say the plane abandoned its initial attempt to land and circled for two hours before crashing at the second attempt.
It came down about 800ft short of the start of the runway in Rostov, some 600 miles south of Moscow.
Most of the passengers on board flight FZ981 were Russian, the regional governor said. Another official said three foreigners were on the passenger list, according to Reuters.
Six of the crew were non-Russians, a Russian emergency ministry statement said, the news agency reported.
About 700 rescue workers were sent to the site of the crash and the fire was extinguished, media reports said.
A search is under way for the plane’s flight recorders and an investigation has been opened into the cause of the crash.
Other flights have been diverted away from the airport.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the airliner confirmed the “tragic accident” and said an emergency response has been put in place.
Boeing said on Twitter its team was working to gather more details.
FlyDubai, a low cost carrier launched in 2009 with a hub in Dubai, operates flights to some 90 destinations.
The European Union and Turkey have reached a deal on the refugee crisis, which will see refugees returned to Turkey in exchange for aid and political concessions.
Under the plan, from March 20 at midnight refugees arriving in Greece will be sent back to Turkey if their asylum claim is rejected.
In return, EU countries will resettle Syrian refugees living in Turkey.
EU leaders have welcomed the agreement but German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of legal challenges to come.
Some of the initial concessions offered to Turkey have been watered down and some EU members expressed disquiet over Turkey’s human rights record.
Despite this Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu said it was a “historic” day.
“We today realized that Turkey and the EU have the same destiny, the same challenges and the same future.”
Donald Tusk stressed the agreement was no “silver bullet” and was just one part of the EU’s response to a crisis that has sharply divided the bloc’s members.
Angela Merkel said she was satisfied but added: “I have no illusions that what we agreed today will be accompanied by further setbacks.”
Since January 2015, a million refugees have entered the EU by boat from Turkey to Greece. More than 132,000 have arrived this year alone.
Tens of thousands are now stuck in Greece as their route north has been blocked.
Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in last year’s Paris attacks, has been wounded and arrested in a raid in Brussels, Belgian officials have said.
According to officials, Salah Abdeslam, who had been on the run since the November attacks, was wounded in the leg as police moved in on a flat in the Molenbeek area.
“We got him,” said Theo Francken, Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration.
Salah Abdeslam – one of Europe’s most wanted men – is a key suspect in the jihadist attacks in Paris which 130 people died.
Belgian PM Charles Michel had to urgently leave an EU-Turkey summit as details of the operation began to emerge.
The raid apparently continued late into the evening, as two more explosions were reported recently at the scene.
Salah Abdeslam’s fingerprints were found in a Brussels flat that was raided on March 15.
One man – identified as Algerian national Mohamed Belkaid and linked to the Paris attacks – was shot dead during the raid in the southern Forest suburb on March 15.
Officials said at the time they believed as many as two other suspects may have escaped.
Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French national born in Brussels, had lived in Molenbeek before the November 13 attacks.
He is believed to have returned to Belgium immediately after the attacks, in which his brother Brahim blew himself up.
In January, Belgian police said they may have found a bomb factory in the Schaerbeek district of Brussels used as a hideout by Salah Abdeslam.
Police found traces of explosives, three handmade belts and a fingerprint of the suspect.
Salah Abdeslam has been the subject of a massive manhunt since the attacks, claimed by ISIS militants.
Officials have identified most of the people they believe to have carried out the assaults.
Most of the suspects either died during the attacks or were killed in subsequent police raids.
Parts of Brussels were sealed off for days after the Paris massacre amid fears of a major incident. A number of suspected attackers lived in the Belgian capital.
Ugh. Taxes aren’t fun, are they? We don’t desire to learn about them, but unfortunately, we all have to. Part of being a business owner is learning how to manage taxes correctly to avoid any potential problems. If you don’t understand what you’re doing, you might neglect important taxes or even pay over the odds when you don’t need to. It’s an important bit of knowledge to have, so we’re just going to scratch the surface of it today for you. We can’t go into specifics of all taxes in every country, so let’s talk about some general things that you need to know.
Taxes aren’t going to go away. It’s going to benefit you to learn everything you can about them before you get started with a small business. Plan ahead and forecast with taxes in mind so that you don’t have any nasty surprises down the road. You may have to think about things like self-employment tax, payroll taxes, and many others. You certainly don’t need to be an expert in these things, but having a basic knowledge will benefit you as you’re starting up.
So, you might be wondering why it’s so important to know business taxes inside out. I mean, you could always outsource those responsibilities to an accountant, right? Well, that’s certainly one way to do it. If you don’t have the time to learn this stuff, you can pay a bit more money to get that kind of assistance. However, outsourcing comes with its own pitfalls that you need to be aware of. Whatever you do, hire someone that is reputable! By hiring the cheaper option with too-good-to-be-true promises, you could end up drawing the attention of the IRS very easily.
Another reason it’s important to be informed is that you could face issues down the road. For example, you might be taxed the wrong amounts, and you need to be able to spot that. Without the proper knowledge, you’ll just be looking at figures on a piece of paper, and potentially throwing away a lot of money. If you do get into tax disputes, you’re going to need a tax attorney. You shouldn’t be getting into tax disputes without having the experts around you to advise. It doesn’t matter what extent the dispute is; it’s worth pursuing if you think you’re paying too much money.
Let’s wrap this up. Taxes aren’t as bad as they seem when you’re first learning about them. It’ll take some time to understand them properly, but that knowledge will come in handy for the rest of your working career. You can find guides all over the internet or in bookshops to help you get started. Take a bit of time now to get your head around them, and utilize expert help when you’re struggling. Finally, talk to friends and family about their experiences with taxes for additional help. You’ll have a great starting point for financial security if you know what you’re doing in this area. So, get out there and get your business off to a great start!
The appointment of Brazil’s ex-leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as chief of staff to President Dilma Rousseff, has been blocked by a federal judge shortly after the former president was sworn in.
Judge Sergio Moro’s injunction said there was a risk a federal investigation could be derailed if Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was a minister.
In Brazil, cabinet members can only be investigated by the Supreme Court, not by federal courts.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is under investigation in connection with a corruption scandal.
Prosecutors filed charges against the former president last week accusing him of money laundering and fraud, which he has denied.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s nomination as chief of staff has divided Brazilians.
Some said it was a move to shield him from prosecution while others welcomed his return to active politics.
Ahead of the former leader’s swearing-in ceremony, groups of supporters and opponents of the government clashed outside the presidential palace.
The ceremony itself was interrupted by a protester who cried “Shame!”.
The protester was drowned out by supporters of the governing Workers’ Party, who shouted pro-government slogans and Lula’s name.
During the ceremony, President Dilma Rousseff praised Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who she said was “not just a great politician, but a great friend and comrade of many battles”.
“We’ve always stood side by side,” she said.
A visibly angry Dilma Rousseff then criticised federal Judge Sergio Moro, who is leading the investigation into a massive corruption scandal at state-oil giant Petrobras.
On March 16, Judge Sergio Moro made public a taped phone conversation between President Dilma Rousseff and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva which has been interpreted by some to show that Lula was given the post of chief of staff to shield him from prosecution.
In the conversation, Dilma Rousseff told her predecessor and mentor she would send him the official decree naming him as minister “just to use in case it’s necessary”.
The Brazilian president said Judge Sergio Moro had violated the law and the constitution by releasing the tape and that she would order an investigation.
Dilma Rousseff herself is under considerable political pressure.
Her critics want to impeach her over allegations she manipulated Brazil’s account books to hide a growing deficit.
Analysts say she named Lula chief of staff so he could use his influence with members of Congress to convince them to vote against her impeachment.
As more and more members of her Workers’ Party are being investigated over corruption at Petrobras, she is also facing increased questions about what Dilma Rousseff may have known.
Dilma Rousseff was head of the board at Petrobras from 2003 to 2010 and has always denied any wrongdoing.
On March 13, a record number of people took part in anti-government marches across Brazil.
An estimated three million people called for an end to corruption and for Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment.
There have also been rallies in support of the government, but they have been smaller than those opposing the administration.
The political upheaval comes at a time of economic problems, with Brazil going through its worst recession in more than three decades.
SeaWorld has announced it is ending its controversial orca breeding program.
The theme park operator’s decision means the orca whales currently at the parks will be “the last generation”.
SeaWorld, which has 12 parks across the US, has faced heavy criticism over the alleged poor treatment of its captive orcas, also known as killer whales.
The company said the orcas would be likely to die if it released them into the wild.
“For as long as they live, the orcas at SeaWorld will stay in our parks,” the company said in a Los Angeles Times op-ed.
SeaWorld has previously announced that it will phase out live orca shows.
Photo Getty Images
Dramatic displays by the whales are the centerpiece of three parks operated by SeaWorld, in California, Florida and Texas.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) worked with SeaWorld on its new policies and said the announcement signaled “that the era of captive display of orcas will end”.
SeaWorld stopped capturing live marine mammals decades ago, with the majority of its 29 orcas having been born in captivity.
The treatment of SeaWorld’s orcas was highlighted in the 2013 documentary Blackfish, which focused on a series of violent incidents involving an orca called Tilikum.
The documentary also raised questions over the ethics of breeding programs and practices such as the separation of calves from their mothers.
Since Blackfish was released visitor numbers have fallen at SeaWorld’s main theme parks and its share price has halved.
SeaWorld described the documentary as inaccurate, misleading and exploitative and launched a multi-million dollar marketing campaign to rebuild its reputation.
Blackfish director Gabriela Cowperthwaite was quoted by HSUS as saying the decision to end orca breeding represented “truly meaningful change”.
According to the fourth World Happiness Report, Denmark is the world’s happiest country while Burundi is the least happy.
The new survey also found that countries where there was less inequality were happier overall.
Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Finland, which like Denmark have strong social security systems, made up the rest of the top five.
The US was the world’s 13th happiest country, the UK was 23rd, China was 83rd and India was 118th.
At the bottom of the 156 countries on the list was Burundi, which is experiencing severe political unrest and the threat of violence. It scored worse than Syria, where a civil war has killed more than 250,000 people over the past five years.
The survey found Syrians had a better healthy-life expectancy and were also seen as being more generous than Burundians and people in the three other nations – Togo, Afghanistan and Benin – making up the five least happy countries.
Northern America, Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe were the happiest regions overall.
South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa were the only regions where the average rating for wellbeing was less than five out of 10.
The World Happiness Report – compiled by the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) – is an analysis of Gallup World Poll data generated from surveys of 1,000 people in each country every year for three years. They were asked to evaluate their lives on a ladder scale of zero to 10.
The researchers defined six key categories: GDP (a nation’s output of goods and services) per capita, social support, healthy-life expectancy, personal freedom, charitable giving and perceived corruption.
The report found that people are happier living in societies where there is less inequality of happiness. Likewise it found that the bigger the gap – or inequality – in a country’s happiness, the more widespread unhappiness is as a whole.
It also looked at social support – defined as being able to count on someone in difficult times – and the presence or otherwise of corruption.
A charity single released by First Lady Michelle Obama will be featured by artists including Missy Elliott, Kelly Clarkson and Kelly Rowland.
The song, This Is For My Girls, was written by Diane Warren – whose previous credits include I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing and Un-Break My Heart.
Diane Warren described the song – a strident, girl power anthem – as “We Are the World meets Lady Marmalade”.
Michelle Obama released the single ahead of her keynote speech at the SXSW festival.
The first lady will talk about her Let Girls Learn initiative, which is aimed at boosting education rates amongst adolescent girls around the world.
Several of the performers on the track, including Missy Elliott and Diane Warren, will then join her on a panel about the initiative, as well as Sophia Bush and Queen Latifah, who will moderate the discussion.
This Is For My Girls combines jazzy horn stabs with a propulsive drum beat, giving the song a militaristic feel.
The lyrics mostly comprise generic statements of empowerment – “Don’t take nothing from nobody”; “It’s all about respect”; “Stand strong forever” – which have been a standard component of female-fronted R&B since the turn of the millennium.
Other vocalists featured on the track include Janelle Monae, Glee actress Lea Michele, Disney star Zendaya, 16-year-old Motown artist Jadagrace, and Beyonce proteges Chloe & Halle.
All of the artists waived their fees, meaning proceeds will go directly to the Let Girls Learn campaign.
The single is available exclusively on iTunes, while Michelle Obama’s speech at the SXSW festival will be streamed live on makers.com from 16:00 GMT.
Brazil’s ex-leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been appointed as President Dilma Rousseff’s new chief of staff.
The move shields the former president from possible prosecution by a federal judge investigating a massive corruption scandal named Operation Car Wash.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s appointment sparked protests in several Brazilian cities by those angry at the decision.
However, President Dilma Rousseff said that protecting her mentor and predecessor from prosecution was not the motivation for the appointment.
“Lula’s arrival in my government strengthens it and there are people who don’t want it to be stronger,” she said.
Under Brazilian law, cabinet members can only be tried by the Supreme Court.
On March 4, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was briefly detained and questioned over allegations of money laundering connected to Operation Car Wash, a massive investigation into corruption at the state oil giant, Petrobras.
The former president denies the allegations and says they are aimed at preventing him from running for president again in 2018.
In a taped telephone conversation released by the judge overseeing the investigation, Dilma Rousseff offered to send Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a copy of his appointment “in case of necessity” – interpreted by some as meaning in case he needed it to avoid arrest.
Hours after the announcement of his appointment, protesters gathered outside the Presidential Palace in Brasilia and in at least three other cities.
In Congress, opposition politicians gathered around a microphone during a chaotic session and chanted “resignation”.
Dilma Rousseff says the appointment is due to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva being a “skilful political negotiator” and experienced leader who will help kick off economic recovery.
During his time in office, the Brazilian economy experienced unprecedented economic growth and wealth redistribution.
“I believe [former] President Lula, who was in charge of the country for eight years, cannot have his reputation destroyed in this manner,” added Dilma Rousseff.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and other ministers appointed on March 16 are expected to be sworn in at 10:00 local time on March 17.
As chief of staff, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to lead the fight against moves in Congress to impeach President Dilma Rousseff over allegations she manipulated Brazil’s account books to hide a growing deficit.
According to the British research organization Economist Intelligence Unit, Donald Trump winning the US presidency is considered one of the top 10 risks facing the world.
The EIU warns Donald Trump could disrupt the global economy and heighten political and security risks in the US.
However, it does not expect Donald Trump to defeat Hillary Clinton who it sees as “his most likely Democratic contender”.
Donald Trump is rated as riskier than Britain leaving the European Union or an armed clash in the South China Sea.
China encountering a “hard landing” or sharp economic slowdown and Russia’s interventions in Ukraine and Syria preceding a new “cold war” are among the events seen as more dangerous.
Photo Getty Images
“Thus far Mr. Trump has given very few details of his policies – and these tend to be prone to constant revision,” the EIU said in its global risk assessment, which looks at impact and probability.
The EIU ranking uses a scale of one to 25, with Donald Trump garnering a rating of 12, the same level of risk as “the rising threat of jihadi terrorism destabilizing the global economy”.
“He has been exceptionally hostile towards free trade, including notably Nafta, and has repeatedly labeled China as a <<currency manipulator>>,” the EIU said.
It warned his strong language directed towards Mexico and China in particular “could escalate rapidly into a trade war”.
Donald Trump has called for a “big big wall” to be built on the US-Mexican border, paid for by Mexico, to keep its illegal immigrants and drug dealers out of the United States.
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump has advocated killing the families of terrorists and invading Syria to eradicate ISIS and appropriate its oil.
“His militaristic tendencies towards the Middle East and ban on all Muslim travel to the US would be a potent recruitment tool for jihadi groups, increasing their threat both within the region and beyond,” the EIU added.
Critics of Donald Trump have raised similar concerns.
However, Donald Trump is moving closer to clinching the Republican presidential nominee ticket after winning most of the popular vote.
Donald Trump, who has no prior political experience, has said his supporters would “riot” if he was denied the nomination.
In the event Donald Trump does win the nomination and presidency, the EIU forecasts that domestic and foreign policymaking will be undermined.
President Barack Obama has signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on North Korea, after its “illicit” nuclear test and satellite launch.
The executive order freezes North Korean government property in America and bans US exports to, or investment in, North Korea.
It also greatly expands powers to blacklist anyone, including non-Americans, dealing with North Korea.
The January 6 nuclear test and February 7 satellite launch were violations of existing UN sanctions.
Barack Obama’s order includes measures from the recently agreed UN Security Council sanctions – the toughest sanctions in decades against North Korea.
It also contains separate sanctions passed by Congress and enacted by the president in February.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said: “The US and the global community will not tolerate North Korea’s illicit nuclear and ballistic missile activities, and we will continue to impose costs on North Korea until it comes into compliance with its international obligations.”
Barack Obama said the sanctions “did not target the people of North Korea” but suggested that the country’s leadership only had itself to blame.
How much property North Korea has in the US is unknown, and trade between the two is tiny, but the expanded blacklist power is a significant stepping up of the punitive measures available to Washington.
It is also the first time the US has had a blanket ban on trade, as it once had with Iran and Myanmar.
Amid the heightened tensions, North Kroea sentenced American student Otto Warmbier to 15 years hard labor on March 16 for “severe crimes” against the state.
The US demanded North Korea immediately release Otto Warmbier, 21, who was arrested for trying to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel while on a visit in January.
Veteran appeals court judge Merrick Garland has been nominated by President Barack Obama to be the next US Supreme Court Justice.
The Supreme Court vacancy follows the death of Antonin Scalia last month.
Judge Garland, 63, is viewed as a moderate and has won praise from senior Republican figures.
Barack Obama’s appointment has to be ratified by the Senate, but its Republican majority has vowed to block a vote on any Supreme Court nominee from the current president.
Republicans have called on Barack Obama to leave the nomination to his successor, who will be elected in November.
The death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a staunch conservative, left the nine-member Supreme Court evenly divided between conservatives and liberals.
Photo Getty Images
It also set off a battle in a presidential election year over Antonin Scalia’s successor.
Urging the Senate to support Merrick Garland, Barack Obama said: “He is the right man for the job. He deserves to be confirmed.”
President Barack Obama said Merrick Garland – chief judge of the Washington appeals court and a former prosecutor – enjoyed respect from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Announcing the nomination in the White House Rose Garden, Barack Obama praised Merrick Garland’s decency, integrity and even-handedness during his long career in public service, and described him as an exemplary judge.
Merrick Garland was prepared to serve on the court immediately, he said.
Barack Obama expressed hope that Republicans would act in a bipartisan spirit and give Merrick Garland a “fair hearing”.
The nomination was the “greatest honor of my life”, Merrick Garland said.
Merrick Garland was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1997, winning confirmation in a 76-23 Senate vote, and served in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration prior to that.
Republicans again stressed they would defer action on a nomination to the Supreme Court until after the election.
Senate Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell said the American people should have a voice in filling the vacancy. He also accused Barack Obama of making the nomination “in order to politicize it for purposes of the election”.
A tailless humpback whale has been spotted off New Zealand.
The whale was first seen on March 14 off the coast of Kaikoura on the north-east coast of South Island.
It was not clear how it came to lose its flukes, said local Department of Conservation ranger Mike Morrissey, but “it could have been the result of entanglement” in fishing nets.
Despite what looks like a severe injury, the whale seemed to be doing fine.
Photo Department of Conservation
Whales are sometimes caught in fishing gear, which can injure or kill them.
The tears appear to have happened at least a year ago, Mike Morrissey added, as the images show little sign of open wounds.
It is the first time anyone in the area has seen a whale like it, he added, but he held out hope it might return.
Humpback whales have begun their annual migration from Antarctic feeding grounds to breeding grounds in the South Pacific.
Anyone who spots the whale is asked to report it to the Department of Conservation on
Washington DC’s Metro train system has been shut down for 29 hours from March 15 at midnight for emergency safety checks.
The unprecedented closure of the second-biggest US metro network will have an impact on hundreds of thousands of commuters.
Officials will carry out an inspection of power cables after a fire caused major delays earlier this week.
In 2015, a similar incident caused a train to fill with smoke in a tunnel, killing one passenger.
Photo Wikipedia
The 119-mile network will be closed from midnight on March 15 to 05:00 local time on March 17.
All six lines and 91 stations will be affected. Some 700,000 people use the network daily.
Safety teams will inspect about 600 underground electrical cables, Metro general manager Paul Wiedefeld said in a statement.
“While the risk to the public is very low, I cannot rule out a potential life safety issue, and this is why we must take this action immediately,” Paul Wiedefeld said, without ruling out further disruptions.
Officials said the closure would be the first shutdown of the service that is not weather related since operations began in the 1970s.
Despite the interruption, federal government offices are expected to open as usual.
Meanwhile, taxi-hailing app Uber said it would cap surge pricing in the Washington area at 3.9 times base fares.
Ride-sharing service Lyft announced it would offer new users $20 off their first ride during the closure.
Brussels police are hunting for suspects for a second day after a deadly anti-terror raid in the Belgian capital, linked to November’s jihadist attacks in Paris.
A man armed with a Kalashnikov was shot dead and four officers were wounded during March 15operation in the suburb of Forest, an official said.
The Belgian capital has since been on high alert, with police said to be searching for suspects who may have fled the raid.
The November attacks in Paris – involving militants from Brussels – left 130 people dead.
ISIS has said it carried out the attacks.
Photo AP
French police also took part in March 15 operation in Brussels. One of the officers wounded in the raid was a French policewoman, officials said.
Police went to search an apartment in the southern suburb of Forest on March 15.
“During this operation, one or several people opened fire on the police as they came through the door,” the federal prosecutor’s office said.
Three officers were injured then and a fourth in a later exchange of gunfire, it said.
“A suspect armed with a Kalashnikov” was also killed at around 18:00 in the street outside the flat, the prosecutors’ statement said.
The Associated Press news agency quotes prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt as saying that several people fled the scene when the gunshots first rang out, and it was not yet clear if all were bystanders, or if some were suspects.
Belgian media reports say police are searching for two more suspects after the raid.
The dead man has not yet been identified. However, a prosecutor’s spokesman had earlier made clear it was not Salah Abdeslam – one of two suspects still on the run after the November 13 attacks in Paris.
French police sources had said earlier that he was not the target of March 15 raid.
Belgium’s De Standaard newspaper quotes its sources as saying that investigators had been expecting to raid a safe house used in connection with the Paris attacks.
They had not expected the flat to be occupied, as its water and electricity had been disconnected for some time.
The operation brought life to a standstill in the area, close to railway lines used by high-speed trains to London and Paris.
Two local schools and two kindergartens were in lockdown for several hours before being evacuated by police.
The prosecutor’s office said the investigation is “actively continuing, day and night” but gave no other details.
Since the November 13 attacks, officials have identified most of the people they believe to have carried out the assaults.
Most of the suspects either died during the attacks or were killed in later police raids.
In addition, 11 people have been arrested and charged in Belgium in connection with the killings. Another eight are still in detention.
Parts of Brussels were sealed off for days after the Paris massacre amid fears of a major incident. A number of suspected attackers lived in the Belgian capital. Police have also carried out a series of raids in the city.
Otto Warmbier has been given 15 years hard labor in North Korea for crimes against the state.
The 21-year-old American student was arrested for trying to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel while visiting North Korea in January.
Otto Warmbier later appeared on state TV apparently confessing and saying a church group had asked him to bring back a “trophy” from his trip.
North Korea sometimes uses the detention of foreigners as a means of exerting pressure on its adversaries.
The 15-year sentence is high compared to those given to foreigners in the past.
North Korean state news agency KCNA said Otto Warmbier was convicted under an article of the criminal code relating to subversion. The verdict was handed down by the Supreme Court.
Otto Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, was arrested on January 2 as he was trying to leave North Korea. He was accused of committing “hostile acts”.
KCNA said at the time he had gone to North Korea “to destroy the country’s unity” and that he had been “manipulated” by the US government.
At the end of February, at a tearful press conference in Pyongyang, Otto Warmbier said he had “committed the crime of taking down a political slogan from the staff holding area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel”.
“The aim of my task was to harm the motivation and work ethic of the Korean people. This was a very foolish aim,” Otto Warmbier was quoted as saying.
He said it was the “worst mistake” of his life.
The sentencing comes a day after veteran US diplomat Bill Richardson met North Korean officials at the UN in New York to try to push for Otto Warmbier’s release.
Bill Richardson has previously been involved in negotiations to secure the release of Americans from North Korea detention.
North Korea has ramped up its hostile rhetoric in recent weeks, after the UN imposed some of its toughest ever sanctions.
The sanctions were a response to North Korea conducting its fourth nuclear test and launching a satellite into space, which was seen as a covert test of banned missile technology.
Pyongyang has also been angered by the US and South Korea carrying out their annual military drills, which this year involve some 315,000 personnel.
