Friday February 19, 2016
Nandlall cautions law enforcement officers against taking political directive
Police deny torturing PPP activist
Police destroy ganja field during eradication operation Police ranks yesterday destroyed a half-acre field of cannabis sativa (marijuana) plants Imbaimadai, Upper Mazaruni. The discovery
was made during an eradication o p e r a t i o n in the area. The field comprised about 300 plants at an average height of 30cm. A camp
was also found and destroyed. A statement from the police noted that no arrest has been made so far.
Amna Ally meets Muslim groups as part of new national unity strategies
cohesion and engaged through such forums, to begin the work of eradicating the barriers to national unity and equality. “There is too much ignorance out there as it relates to social cohesion. We must intensify the information out there and we must work together to change that,” he said. Ameena Hescott, of the the Guyana Muslim Darul Uloom Centre M i s s i o n - M a s j i d of Islamic Education, Muhammad, lauded said her organisation is the initiative, while committed to support noting that it is the to the Administration’s first time that his efforts. She said the organisation and by institution is willing to extension the Muslim begin the groundwork community has been of educating the contacted by any population on the government on matters goals of the Ministry of social cohesion. of Social Cohesion. He opined that it is Other Muslim leaders now the Ministry’s pledged to support responsibility to ensure government’s efforts that every Guyanese in achieving unity. is educated on the importance of social
The Ministry of Social Cohesion hosted its first consultation with religious organisations and groups yesterday. Minister with responsibility for social cohesion, Amna Ally met with representatives of the Muslim community at the Ministry of the Presidency. The consultations which are aimed at developing new strategies for achieving national unity saw representatives of the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG), the Guyana Muslim Mission, the Guyana Islamic Forum, the Muslim Youth League, the Guyana Islamic Trust, the Guyana International Relief
Organisation, the Darul Uloom Centre of Islamic Education, contributing to discussions. “This is your opportunity to speak to us. We want to be able to undertake the initiatives that would allow us to partner in an atmosphere of trust,” said Minister Ally. “We want communities to be allowed to contribute in a strategic way. It is our duty to give you the opportunity to tell us how the Ministry and the Muslim community can collaborate to achieve this; how can we remove barriers to unity; how can communities be supported, how can we remove inequalities?
We want to talk about these issues openly and find solutions together. It is the only way we are going to progress and move this nation forward,” she added. The Minister told the participants that the meeting was not intended to be a one-off discourse but rather, a series of consultations to ensure that all stakeholders are given a chance to contribute to and refine a plan of action that will
allow the Ministry to achieve its mandate. “We cannot continue to live in Guyana as a divided society. Regardless of your political affiliation, religious beliefs, ethnicity. There is a need for us to work together to build our country. All of us want a good life and we must work together to achieve that,” Ally said. M e a n w h i l e , Shaheed Uthman, a representative of
Long awaited works on the Kitty Market have commenced and is expected to be completed soon. Sections of the Market is currently being torn down. The structure was
deteriorating over the years, however the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) said it cannot repair the structure due to financial issues. The work is to be continued for the
next three to five months to the cost of $240 million. According to reports, the repairs will be done in phases to accommodate the relocation of some
of the vendors. The Kitty Market was established in 1882. Over time, the initial site extended until 1970 when it was taken over by the City Bourda Market, t i m b e r - f r a m e d . Council. Like the Kitty Market is
Kitty Market undergoing rehabilitation
Major Structural defects found at Kato Secondary School
Following
questions
on the current state
of the construction of
the Kato Secondary School in Region 8, from opposition members Priya Manickchand and Nigel Dharamlall, Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan said the project is currently plagued with constructural defects. “It is in no condition and a detailed assessment is being done by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. We are awaiting the findings of that assessment to make
a determination on when that facility can be used as part of the educational programme in Region 8.” Manickchand also sought clarification on whether contractual period for the construction of Kato is over. This question was answered by Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, whose Ministry is heading assessment. “The contract would be up on June the 16. There
are independ auditors up there right now as we speak. There were severe defects Sixty percent of the tests done on the concrete failed. A further 30% was just birder land. Only 10% pass. Independent consultants are up there to see what rectification can be done” he said. The construction of the Kato Secondary School was initiated under Previous at a nearly one billion dollars.
Nandlall cautions law enforcement officers against taking political directive “Law enforcement agency of the state must always remain independent from the political directorate or else they will be used for political purposes,” this is the warning given by former Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Anil Nandlall. In its most recent allegation of political directive been given to law enforcement officers, the opposition is claiming that the ongoing investigations into the death of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing is political in nature since someone has already been charged with the murder and the case is ongoing. At a press conference on Wednesday, the former AG registered his party’s concern regarding the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) being placed under the remit of the Ministry of the Presidency (MOTP). “Office of the President as the premier executive
arm of the state has no business c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y, legally or democratically with the business of investigation. That is not part of executive functions of government,” Nandlall said. He said as long as SOCU remains under the remit of the MOTP they will continue to argue that the investigative body is taking political directive. However, following his concerns, Minister of State Joseph Harmon gave the commitment that steps will be taken to have SOCU removed from the remit of the MOTP and placed where it is supposed to be. This is not the first time the opposition is accusing the government of giving directive to law enforcement agencies. The opposition had “urged that the DPP’s Chambers, the Guyana Police Force and the Judiciary, to act independently
Anil Nandlall
of any political i n t e r f e r e n c e .” On the other hand, President David
Granger last month denied giving directive to the police or army to go after PPP
members, however, he is adamant that he will not stand in the way of Justice. “If people commit offences it is up to the police or the DPP (Director of Public Prosecution) and other authorities to take action against the person who commits that offence. If someone from the previous administration murders somebody, I am not going to say let’s get on with it, that we have more important things. The law must
take its course.” The opposition is not convinced by this assurance given by the President, since it was insisting that this was the case when five of its members were called in for questioning by SOCU, including former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds. Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo had told the media that the party will be looking to see if there are officers taking political directions.
Police deny torturing PPP activist Police are denying that ranks who are questioning three Peoples Progressive Party members Jasaon Abdulla, Okene Fraser and Kwame McCoy have tortured anyone of them into making confessions or signing statements regarding the death of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum also denied the allegations saying that there were no visible injuries, contrary to Abdulla’s claim. A senior police source close to this publication denied the allegations too. On Thursday reports surfaced that Abdulla, who was detained earlier this week complained of
been beaten on the soles of his feet to confess to having knowledge of Crum-Ewing’s death. Yesterday Abdulla was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital and subsequently to Woodlands hospital after the machine at the first medical facility was not functioning. A visible bandage on the detainee’s feet was placed there after he insisted that his feet was injured, the Crime Chief stated. According to Abdulla’s Attorney, Glen Hanoman, a request was made by him since Wednesday for his client to be taken to the Hospital but was denied. Several attempts by Attorneys Hanoman
and Laxhmi Rahamat to have Abdulla placed on bail were denied also. The three men are likely to remain in custody until Saturday as the police were yesterday granted an additional 72 hours to keep them for questioning. Meanwhile, the PPP in a statement last night said “We find it rather strange that a year after the death of Crum – E – Wing, the police suddenly discovered “new evidence” which allegedly implicates Abdulla and McCoy.” The PPP said that the police officer who has been assigned responsibility of investigating this matter has been the subject
of some damning allegations made against him by Rodrigues both in and out of Court. These allegations suggest that this officer played a little more than an investigative role in this matter, the party said. “We therefore contend that this officer cannot be impartial and professional in the discharge of his responsibilities. We believe that this officer was deliberately
assigned to this matter.” The statement added that “we regard this as another manifestation of a centrally directed plan to harass, intimidate, witch hunt and persecute PPP members, supporters and their leaders. We had expected the persecution and harassment to be intensified as local government elections come closer and as the explosive Walter Rodney Commission Inquiry’s Report is about to be
made public. These political machinations will not succeed as distractions which they are intended to be.” According to the PPP, it is obvious that the three persons are locked up because of their political views and associations. It calls for “an immediate halt of this political harassment now and we call for the immediate release of both Abdulla and McCoy.”
Guyanese pleaded not guilty to murder of Businessman and family A Guyanese man on Friday pleaded not guilty to the murder of a Washington, D.C. businessman, his wife, son and a housekeeper during a home invasion
and other charges. According to Reuters ( WA S H I N G T O N ) , Darron Wint, 35, of Lanham, Maryland, was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday. He
is accused of holding construction firm owner Savvas Savopoulos and the three other victims, extorting $40,000 in cash and then killing them and setting fire to the mansion, the indictment said. Wint, who was born in Guyana, entered the not guilty plea during a felony arraignment in District of Columbia Superior Court. Wint is charged with
12 counts of firstdegree murder while armed with aggravating circumstances, as well as four counts of kidnapping, and one count each of burglary, extortion, arson and theft. Each of the 12 murder charges carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of release. Judge Jose Lopez set a status hearing for May 20. Authorities discovered
the bodies of Savopoulos, 46, his wife Amy, 47, and their 10-yearold son Philip. Their housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa, on May 14 inside the Savopoulos home near the official residence of Vice President Joseph Biden. The Savopouloses’ two teenage daughters were away at school at the time and were not harmed. Authorities believe the four victims were
held captive inside the home for as many as 18 hours while their captor or captors demanded money. A colleague dropped off $40,000 in cash to the house. The four victims were later killed and the home was set on fire. Police have said Wint, who was arrested a week later, had worked for Savopoulos’ company, American Iron Works.
BNTF receives CDB grant of $US267, 000 Basic Needs Trust Fund receives Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) grant of $US267, 000 to upgrade roads in Samatta Point and Fyrish: contracts awarded for works to begin, more than 2500 residents to benefit. According to the Ministry of Finance, “the Government through Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) on Wednesday awarded contracts to Courtney Benn Contracting Services Limited and N. Lachman Business Establishment and Civil Works for the rehabilitation of a bridge and the upgrade of roads in Samatta
Point and Fyrish.” Critical rehabilitation works on the main access bridge and roadways in the Samatta Point East Bank Demerara area will be done by Courtney Benn at a cost of GUY$32,579,812.00. These works include repairing the bridge, upgrading the road surface to asphaltic concrete, constructing clay shoulders and speed humps and desilting roadside drains. Meanwhile, residents of Church and Sixth Streets, Fyrish Village, Corentyne will also benefit from a Double Bituminous Surface Treatment (DBST),
finished with Sand Seal road network, north of the Corentyne Highway. N Lachman Business Establishment & Civil Works was awarded the contract to the value of GUY$22,140,000.00 for this project. Project Manager for BNTF Michael Singh
signed both contracts; witnessing on behalf of the government was Finance Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Hector Butts. Butts in brief remarks, reminded the contractors of Government’s demand for high quality work and efficiency of service.
He also assured the contractors that they are welcome to bid for similar as well as the larger infrastructure development projects that Government plans to implement. The projects were identified by BNTF under its 7th cycle Community
Access and Drainage Sector Portfolio and are expected to be completed by May 31 of this year. It has engaged the services of CEMCO Inc. to provide architectural and engineering services for the design and supervision of the projects. More than 2500 citizens from the two communities will benefit. The CDB provides financing for social and economic infrastructure such as schools, road and water projects, building more disasterresistant structures, community skills training and support for small and mediumsized enterprises.
Teens to be receiving training to improve Lethem power company Three graduates from Secondary Schools in Region Nine will benefit from Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. to enhance the Lethem Power Company (LMPC). According to a statement from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Andrew Abbensetts, Kenroy Robinson, and Esther Eusebio were selected based on their interest in the electricity sector. The four year apprenticeship program will begin on Monday, February, 22, 2016. They will “be trained in mechanical and electrical technologies to not only facilitate their professional developments but also to enhance LMPC’s technical skills capacity as well as develop the region as a whole” the statement said.
The trio were selected from their region as part of a new initiative sparked by the Lethem Power Company (LMPC), in conjunction with the education officers of Region #9. For Esther, the opportunity is not only one to develop herself but to send a staunch message. “Most of my female colleagues don’t have aims or interests in this sort of work. What pushed me is that not many
prepared for what lies ahead. “Working in this field was always my aim, since I was in school, so I’m ready.” For Andrew, the apprenticeship is his chance to step outside of the box. “I wanted to do something different from what everyone else was doing. I always like being unique in my own way,” he said. For the next four years, they will gain women were in this he would also miss both theoretical and field,” Esther said. She his family but he practical training. For said too that, during is already mentally the first three years, her recent visit to GPL, she met five other women in the field, which buoyed her confidence and made her eager for what the next four years have in store. She added that the support of her family also buoyed her. “They pushed me to take up the apprenticeship offer. I know I am going to miss them though.” Kenroy said that
the training will take place primarily in Georgetown, with the fourth and final year of training occurring at the LMPC Power System in Lethem. The trio will begin training on Monday February 22, 2016. Though they all admitted to being nervous, they also shared that they were excited to see where their journey takes them.
Popcaan fined for assault Dancehall artiste Popcaan was fined $25,000 for assaulting a police officer at the Norman Manley International airport in 2013. The entertainer, whose given name is Andre Sutherland, pleaded guilty
on Wednesday in the Corporate Area Criminal Court. He was charged for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. This is not the first time that the Never Sober artiste has found himself on an assault rap. In 2010, he and
two other men were charged for assaulting a pilot at the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Bahamas. The charges were subsequently d r o p p e d . ( Ja m a i c a n O b s e r v e r )
Pope suggests contraception can be condoned in Zika crisis
Pope Francis has suggested that women threatened with the Zika
virus could use artificial contraception, saying there’s a clear moral
difference between aborting a fetus and preventing a pregnancy. Francis was asked Wednesday en route home from Mexico if abortion or birth control could be considered a “lesser evil,” when confronting the Zika crisis in Brazil, where some babies have been born with abnormally small heads to Zikainfected mothers.
The explosion of Zika cases has prompted some governments in Latin America to urge women to avoid getting pregnant and has fueled calls from abortion rights groups to loosen the strict anti-abortion laws in the overwhelmingly Catholic region. But Francis excluded abortion absolutely from the debate. “Abortion isn’t a lesser evil, it’s a
crime,” he told reporters. “Taking one life to save another, that’s what the Mafia does. It’s a crime. It’s an absolute evil.” Francis, however, drew a parallel to the decision taken by Pope Paul VI in the 1960s to approve giving nuns in Belgian Congo artificial contraception to prevent pregnancies because they were being systematically raped.
Abortion “is an evil in and of itself, but it is not a religious evil at its root, no? It’s a human evil,” he said. “On the other hand, avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil. In certain cases, as in this one (Zika), such as the one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear.” (Adapted from MSN)
and 73 with hematuria (or blood in the urine). The researchers collected urine samples and inserted them into the Odoreader. The urine samples were then measured using algorithms developed by the researchers. They found that Odoreader was able to successfully identify patterns of volatile compounds from urine samples, and detect those that indicate cancer.
“There is currently no accurate test for prostate cancer, the vagaries of the PSA test indicators can sometimes result in unnecessary biopsies, resulting in psychological toll, risk of infection from the procedure and even sometimes missing cancer cases,” professor Norman said. “Our aim is to create a test that avoids this procedure at initial diagnosis by detecting cancer in a non-invasive way by smelling the disease in men’s urine.” Currently, the most
widely used preliminary method used to screen for prostate cancer prior to a prostate biopsy is the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. However, the PSA test is not specific for prostate cancer and may also detect other prostate
conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (an enlarged prostate). Having abnormal PSA results that fluctuate can sometimes lead to unnecessary prostate biopsies. (Adapted from Fox Health)
New diagnostic device that ‘smells’ prostate cancer in urine could save lives A new diagnostic device that can detect prostate cancer in men’s urine, according to researchers in the U.K. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States, behind lung cancer. It is also the most common type of cancer in men other than skin cancer. The study’s findings reveal that the new device works to detect prostate
cancer by “smelling” the disease using a gas chromatography sensor system called Odoreader. It was developed by two professors, Chris Probert of the University of Liverpool and Norman Ratcliffe of the University of the West of England Bristol. Of the 155 men involved in the study, 58 had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, 24 with bladder cancer,
U.S. Army develops pizza that can last for three years
The U.S. Army is always on the lookout for ways to give its soldiers a piece of home, even if they’re stationed thousands of miles away from the United States.
Given that few things are more American than a slice of pizza, the military branch just developed a special type of pie that can last for up to three years in harsh conditions, according to Tech Insider. The U.S. Army’s Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center has spent the past five years developing “MRE #37” (Meal Ready to Eat). “It’s a fully assembled and baked piece of pizza in one package,” food technologist Lauren Oleksyk told Tech Insider. The biggest challenge, according to Oleksyk, was in figuring out how to stop bacteria from growing on the pizza dough and sauce, which needs water for taste, but is also a
breeding ground for mold. The solution came in the form of a method known as Hurdle technology which, according to Tech Insider, creates “‘barriers’ that stop bacteria from forming on the pizza over the years.” The end result is a pizza that has a shelf life of three years, which Oleksyk described as tasting like, “day after pizza’ or the kind you’d find in a school cafeteria.” The pizza can be eaten straight out of its pouch cold or warm with its included MRE heater, which activates when mixed with water. (MSN)
More than 100 dismembered bodies found in Colombian prison drain pipes The dismembered bodies of more than 100 prisoners were discovered Wednesday in the drain pipes of one of the largest prisons in Bogota and surrounding jails, Reuters reported. “The number of victims is unknown, but we know it’s over 100 and
could be considerably higher,” Caterina Heyck, an investigator at the attorney general’s office told the news agency. “Remains of prisoners, visitors and others were thrown in the drainage system.” Telesurtv.net reported that the bodies
Trinidad and Tobago’s Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre says all but one of the 137 service stations in this country are operating illegally and the state will give operators of these businesses six months to regularise their status. She said the situation was one for serious concern. “For the past five years, service stations have been allowed to operate without valid retail marketing licences. Right now as I stand here, I
can say without fear or contradiction that of the 137 service stations currently operating in T&T, St Christopher Taxi Cab Co-Operative Service Station is the only one that is operating with a valid retail marketing licence,” she said. “The fact that all of other service stations are operating without a licence is an untenable situation which has been allowed to continue for far too long. As minister, I will
ensure that this sector operates according to the clearly defined rules and regulations which
are applicable to all.” Olivierre said before the approval given recently to the NP St Christopher
Service Station, the last time a licence—which has a life of one year— was issued to a local
Political Ombudsman of Jamaica, Donna Parchment- Brown, is to write to the leadership of both political parties to cease, with immediate effect, the ongoing titfor-tat attacks on each other as campaigning heightens ahead of the February 25 General Election. Parch me nt - Brow n said that the attacks were getting out of hand and she was concerned that, if not addressed, they could boil over into violence. “I am writing to the
prime minister and to the leader of the Opposition to say that, in addition to a number of issues, there are concerns that the political climate is unsuitable for the conduct of free and fair elections and in that context it is important for them to cool it down,” said Parchment. Another issue that was of concern to Parchment was the continued attack by high-ranking members of the ruling People’s
National Party (PNP) on Opposition and Jamaica Labour Party leader Andrew Holness over the building of a house in Beverly Hills, St Andrew. She spoke about growing complaints of political parties using underhanded tactics to block the freedom of passage of supporters from opposing parties. She said she was also concerned about complaints of attacks on the character of Prime Minister and
PNP President Portia Simpson Miller. According to Parchment-Brown, it is imperative for all
concerned to cease the (Adapted from the negative behaviour Jamaican Observer) and use the political platforms to send positive messages.
appeared to have been dismembered between 1999 and 2001 and were reportedly described as “recluses, visitors, persons from outside the prison, whose remains were thrown into sewage ducts.” The report said the jails in the country are some
of the most overcrowded in Latin America. “The horrors of what happened in that prison should be analyzed in a criminal investigation, but also call for a deep reflection within Colombian society,” Heyck said. (Fox News)
137 T & T gas stations operating illegally
service station was in February 2010 under the Patrick Manningled PNM government. “The ministry is aggressively seeking to bring all service stations under the regulations and is working with the individual service station owners, and the operators NP and Petrotrin, as well as, the petroleum dealers association to ensure full compliance,” she said. (Adapted from the Trinidad Newsday)
Jamaican Ombudsman tells politicians ‘cool it down’ as attacks getting out of hand
A Town has been honoring the wrong man for almost 40 years
A solid case of mistaken identity? A town in North East England had honorable intentions when they chose to
celebrate a local man named John Walker by erecting a bust— but for nearly four decades, residents have been looking at a statue
of the wrong man. In 1977, the town of S t o c k t o n - o n - Te e s , County Durham honored Walker—the 19th-century chemist and inventor of the friction match—with a bust that cost about $2000. Several decades later, citizens realized that the town had accidentally used a different John Walker (an actor who died before the invention) as the model.
Crocodiles, Lacoste shirts, DNA tests and accusations of stealing underwear and radios. Sniping around these topics highlights the intensifying battles in Zimbabwe’s faction-ridden ruling party over who will succeed President Robert Mugabe, in power for 36 years. world’s
oldest head of state, recently warned officials of his ZANU-PF party to stop insulting each other. A lot of the bitter quarrels, which come ahead of Mugabe’s 92nd birthday on Feb. 21, happen on Twitter and other social media platforms, providing Zimbabweans with a stream of nasty, colorful and sometimes entertaining quips
that would have been unthinkable not long ago. The disputes within the ruling party are the result of Mugabe’s failure to groom an obvious successor, said Gabriel Shumba, a human rights lawyer and chairman of the South Africa-based Zimbabwe Exiles Forum. “It has become so heated because Mugabe has deliberately kept the lid on the discussion,”
It was the ultimate poor judgment. An upstate New York judge was busted for drunk driving on her way to court in Rochester. Leticia Astacio was arrested Saturday morning after she was stopped by troopers on Interstate 490, Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said. Her vehicle appeared to be damaged in what may have been a one-car
crash, according to the Democrat and Chronicle. The Rochester judge refused to take a Breathalyzer test and was charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, according to the newspaper. Astacio had previously worked in drunk driving bureau of the the Monroe County DA’s office before being elected as judge two
According to the The Independent, the discovery was first made in the 1990s but the mistake wasn’t fully addressed. The issue was recently raised again during a council meeting when a local councillor asked why the statue was not displayed more prominently in the Castlegate Shopping Centre. The statue mixup isn’t the only time Stockon-
on-Tees botched a tribute to John Walker. The Daily Mail reports that in 1893, a brass plaque incorrectly listed the Lucifer match as Walker’s invention, a product that was merely a copy of Walker’s invention. The Lucifer match was actually patented in 1829 by Samuel Jones of London. The plaque was later removed, as was an unpopular plastic match sculpture
erected in 2001. The town did manage to get it right once, when another plaque was installed at the site where Walker once operated a pharmacy. The Director of Culture, Events & Leisure for the Stockton Borough Council, Reuben Kench, said that Walker (the inventor) was not well-known during his life, so it is difficult to find photos of him. (Adapted from MSN)
Shumba said. A key figure in succession talk is Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. He is widely known in Zimbabwe as “the Crocodile” because he was a member of a guerrilla group with that name. His supporters have begun identifying themselves as Team Lacoste, because the French designer label has a crocodile logo.
Then there is “G40,” short for Generation 40, a group that is associated
with Mugabe’s wife Grace. Higher Education Minister Jonathan Moyo
Zimbabwe politicians argue over crocodiles, underwear theft
Mugabe,
the
Judge busted for drunk driving on way to court
years ago, the paper reported. The judge had also worked as a defense lawyer before her election. She was to preside over criminal court arraignments in Rochester, but instead she found herself with an appearance ticket. She will appear in court next month. Another judge was called in her place following her arrest. (MSN)
U.S. strikes IS camp in Libya’ more than 40 reported dead US warplanes carried out air strikes earlier today in the western Libyan city of Sabratha, where Islamic State militants operate, killing as many as 40 people. A U.S. military spokesman said the attacks targeted a senior Tunisian militant linked to attacks in Tunisia last year. Sabratha’s mayor, Hussein al-Thwadi, told Reuters the planes struck at 3.30 a.m. (0130 GMT), hitting a building in the Qasr Talil district in which foreign workers were living. He said 41 people had been killed and six
wounded. The death toll could not immediately be confirmed with other officials. Tunisian security sources have said they believe Tunisian Islamic State fighters have been trained in camps near Sabratha, which is close to the Tunisian border. Two major attacks in Tunisia last year claimed by Islamic State - one on a Sousse resort hotel and another on a Tunis museum - were carried out by gunmen who officials said had trained in Libya. The New York Times earlier reported that
Friday’s air strikes targeted a senior Tunisian operative, Noureddine Chouchane, connected to both of last year’s attacks. The mayor said officials visited the site of the strike and found weapons in the building, but he did not give any further details. Some Tunisians, a Jordanian and two women were among the dead, he said. Several Tunisians who had recently arrived in Sabratha were among survivors. Since Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, the
north African country has slipped deeper into chaos with two rival governments each backed by competing factions of
former rebel brigades. As Islamic State has expanded in Libya taking over the city of Sirte and attacking oil
ports, so too have calls increased for a swift Western response to stop the group establishing a base outside its Iraq and Syria territory. (MSN)
Pope says Trump ‘not Christian,’ Trump says comment ‘disgraceful’
Pope Francis assailed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s views on U.S. immigration as “not Christian” on Thursday, p r o m p t i n g the billionaire businessman to assail the religious leader
as “disgraceful” for questioning his faith. Trump, the longtime party front-runner in national opinion polls, has been at the center of controversies, including one over his vow as president to build
a wall between the United States and Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants. In a freewheeling conversation on his flight home from a visit to Mexico, Francis told reporters: “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they
may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” Trump, a real estate developer and former reality TV star, said: “If and when the Vatican is attacked by the ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise
you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President” “For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not
allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened,” Trump said in a news release responding to the Pope. “No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith,” Trump said. Trump has also said he would deport millions of illegal immigrants if he wins his party’s nomination and then the Nov. 8 election. Last week, responding to the pope’s plan to visit the U.S.-Mexican border, he said that Pope Francis did not understand the Mexican border issues. (Adapted from MSN)
Friday February 19, 2016
Shane Warne bitten by snake on TV show
As a fiendish leg spinner during his cricketing days, Shane Warne was used to bamboozling his opponents. But in a straight fight with a snake on an Australian reality TV show, the 46-year-old came off second best. Warne was bitten on the head by a non-venomous anaconda during a “Tucker Trial” on the Aussie version of “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.” The Melbourne-born star is the second highest wicket taker in Test history with 708 to his name and is widely recognized as the best spin bowler of all time. Warne had already dunked his head into
tanks containing rats, African clawed frogs, scorpions, and hissing cockroaches trying to secure food for the show’s participants before he was confronted with the snakes. “Aw, no, come on,” Warne said during the Channel Ten broadcast, with snakes reportedly one of his biggest fears. Shortly after taking the plunge, the anaconda struck. According to Australia’s Daily Telegraph, Warne carried on with the task before being treated with antiseptic by medical experts. The newspaper quoted the show’s executive producer Stephen Tate as saying: “Shane has made no secret that
snakes are one of his greatest fears so it’s amazing that after being bitten he bravely continued with the trial. “When Shane puts his mind to a task, he won’t let anything stop him.” Warne, who was engaged to English actress Liz Hurley before they split in 2013, is being paid an estimated $2.1 million to appear in the show, according to reports in Australia. Earlier this week, he also hit the headlines for espousing a theory that shunned the theory of evolution and suggested humans were “created” by aliens. Howzat! (CNN)