Algerian military plane crash kills 257 people

At least 257 people were killed on Wednesday when a military plane crashed near the Algerian capital, Algiers, state media reported.

The plane crashed shortly after taking off from the Boufarik air base, between Algiers and the city of Blida. Ten of those killed were the plane crew, according to state-run Radio Algérie. It was not immediately clear whether there were any survivors.

Wednesday's plane crash was the deadliest since 2014, when 298 people were killed when a Malaysian airlines jet was shot down over Ukraine.

The plane was supposed to go from Boufarik to Tindouf, and then on to Bashar, which are both towns on the Algerian-Morocco border, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

One Country Is Making Sure All Employers Offer Equal Pay to Women

Iceland is credited for being the first country in the world to legalize abortion and the first to elect a woman as head of state in a national election. Now the progressive island nation in northern Europe will also be the first to ensure that all employees receive equal pay for equal work from employers.

On Wednesday—fittingly, International Women’s Day—Iceland’s government announced it would soon introduce legislation requiring that employers with at least 25 workers obtain a certificate proving they offer equal pay regardless of the gender, ethnicity, sexuality, or nationality, the Associated Press reported.

Court orders 24 years in jail for former President Park

A lower court in Seoul sentenced former President Park Geun-hye, 66, to 24 years in prison and fined her 18 billion won ($16.8 million) on corruption charges Friday.

This makes her the nation's third ex-president to be criminally convicted. 

The decision by the Seoul Central District Court came almost a year after she was removed from power. 

Park was not in the courtroom to hear the verdict and sentencing. 

She submitted her absence note earlier Friday, citing health problems, according to the court.

She has been boycotting hearings since last October. 

"As the head of state, Park ignored her responsibility and abused her power to destabilize the country, which is a total disrespect to citizens who elected her as president. Making it worse, she only denied all charges, which is not appropriate," judge Kim Se-yoon said.

Park has one week to appeal. Park's lawyers condemned Friday's ruling and said they'll consult with Park on what to do.

The prosecution which requested a 30-year prison sentence and a fine of 118.5 billion won ($110 million) in the final hearing in February did not have an immediate response. 

The judge found her guilty of pressuring major conglomerates to donate 77.4 billion won to the Mir and K-Sports foundations, organizations controlled by her key confidant Choi Soon-sil. Choi received a 20-year jail sentence in the lower court for taking bribes.

Park was also guilty of pressuring SK Group and Lotte Group to make separate donations to the K-Sports Foundation for projects and granted them business favors in return. 

Brazil's Lula given 24 hours to start prison sentence

Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, once one of the most popular politicians on the planet, was given 24 hours to surrender to police Thursday and start a 12 year prison sentence for corruption.

The timing of the order from Judge Sergio Moro, head of Brazil's huge "Car Wash" anti-graft probe, came as a complete surprise, given that lawyers said earlier that the leftist former two-term president had at least until next week before going behind bars.

Lula, 72, easily leads polls in Brazil's October presidential election and his apparent downfall will throw the race completely open. Currently, hard-right former army officer Jair Bolsonaro, who openly praises Brazil's 1964-1985 dictatorship, is in second place.

Moro's order said that in view of Lula's stature as a former president, he would have "the opportunity to present himself voluntarily" to police in the city of Curitiba, where the "Car Wash" probe is based, by 5:00 pm (2000 GMT) Friday.

A special cell "was prepared in advance... in which the ex-president will be separated from other prisoners, with no risk for his moral or physical integrity," Moro wrote.

There was no immediate reaction from Lula, who had been described earlier by supporters as facing his jailing calmly.

However, Senator Lindbergh Farias, from Lula's Workers' Party, issued a defiant call for supporters to congregate in front of Lula's house in Sao Bernardo do Campo, a suburb of Sao Paulo, on Friday.

Salman Khan gets 5-year jail term

Four other actors acquitted in blackbuck poaching case for want of evidence

A local court sentenced actor Salman Khan on Thursday to five years in jail for having poached two blackbucks in a case from 19 years ago.

The court acquitted four other Hindi film actors — Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre — and a local travel agent, Dushyant Singh, who were co-accused, for want of sufficient evidence.

Fine imposed

Chief Judicial Magistrate (Jodhpur Rural) Dev Kumar Khatri also imposed a fine of ₹10,000 on Mr. Khan.

Mr. Khan was accompanied by his two sisters, Alvira and Arpita, in the court room when the verdict was pronounced. As the judgment came, the sisters broke down and hugged their brother.

The actor also broke into tears as he was taken into custody in the court room and shifted to the Jodhpur Central Jail, where he has been lodged with special security arrangements.

In its 201-page judgment, the court described Mr. Khan, 52, as an actor whose conduct was followed by the common people. The magistrate gave the benefit of the doubt to the four other actors, accused of accompanying him in a Gypsy car while the two blackbucks were being hunted on the night of October 1-2, 1998. Mr. Khan was charged with killing two endangered blackbucks in Kankani village, near here.

Senate committee summons FB, Google, Twitter CEOs to testify in Cambridge Analytica case

The hearing will broadly cover privacy standards for the collection, retention and dissemination of consumer data for commercial use.

A powerful Congressional committee has summoned the CEOs of the top three tech giants — Facebook, Twitter and Google — to testify next month about UK communications firm Cambridge Analytica’s misuse of private data from up to 50 million user profiles.

Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sunder Pichai of Google and Jack Dorsey of Twitter have been invited to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled for April 10 by the Committee’s Chairman Chuck Grassley.

In a statement, Mr. Grassley on Monday said that Mr. Zuckerberg had been invited to discuss the company’s past and future policies regarding the protection and monitoring of consumer data.

The hearing will broadly cover privacy standards for the collection, retention and dissemination of consumer data for commercial use. “It will also examine how such data may be misused or improperly transferred and what steps companies like Facebook can take to better protect personal information of users and ensure more transparency in the process,” a statement said.

Mr. Grassley also invited Mr. Pichai and Mr. Dorsey to discuss the future of data privacy in the social media industry and how to develop “rules of the road” that encourage companies to develop tailored approaches to privacy which satisfy consumer expectations while maintaining incentives for innovation.

Senator Mark Warner also sought answers from the tech companies on data protection.

“I celebrate the success of Facebook, Google & Twitter; but with their power comes responsibility that they must acknowledge. This isn’t a Russia problem. If we value civic discourse and fair elections, they have to step up and answer to more than their shareholders,” he said.

Senator Ed Markey said Facebook’s failure to protect millions of Americans’ private information in the Cambridge Analytica breach showed “why we cannot rely on corporations” to police themselves.

“We need laws that prevent corporations from abusing Americans privacy rights,” said Mr. Markey.

Meanwhile, online news publication ‘Intercept’ reported that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement used backend Facebook data to locate and track immigrants that it is working to round up.

Congressman Bobby L. Rush has introduced a legislation that would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue regulations requiring companies like Facebook that own or possess data containing personal information to establish specified security policies and procedures to treat and protect such information.

The FTC confirmed last week that it had opened an inquiry over the alleged misuse of data by the UK consulting group Cambridge Analytica, the scandal-hit communications firm at the heart of the Facebook data scandal.

The hindu

Fire tragedy at Kemerovo shopping mall leaves at least 64 dead More

The death toll from a blaze that ravaged a shopping mall in the Siberian city of Kemerovo has reached 64, Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov told reporters.

"Regrettably, we have to announce that 64 people have died in the disaster," he said. Six bodies are yet to be recovered.
The risk of building collapse remains, nonetheless. According to the emergencies minister, structure reinforcement equipment has been delivered to Kemerovo

Earlier, Russia’s Investigative Committee Spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko confirmed 56 deaths. "After the fire broke out, 44 people requested medical assistance, ten of them were hospitalized," she added.

Puchkov said earlier that 16 people were still reported to be missing after the deadly blaze.

On March 25, a fire erupted on the top floor of the four-storey Zimnyaya Vishnya (or Winter Cherry) shopping mall, engulfing a total of 1,500 square meters. The fire was extinguished but, in Puchkov’s words, the rubble has started to smolder due to the multilayer floorings in the building. Firefighters are currently dousing the smoldering spots found earlier.

Tass news

Modi govt officials look at Sri Lanka differently… without understanding: Gotabaya Rajapaksa

In his first interview since 2010, former defence secretary of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa spoke about the geopolitical situation in the region, the changing character of Indian diplomacy, the meaning of peace, and his own role in the war.

At the peak of the war against the LTTE, then defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the most feared and powerful man in Sri Lanka. The UN Human Rights Council had asked Sri Lanka to probe war crimes in which Gotabaya was accused. Nearly a decade later, the 68-year-old is being talked about as a possible presidential candidate, with brother Mahinda Rajapaksa not able to contest again due to the constitution’s upper limit of two terms. He lives in a small two-storey house in Colombo, guarded by not more than two security personnel.

In his first interview since 2010, Gotabaya spoke about the geopolitical situation in the region, the changing character of Indian diplomacy, the meaning of peace, and his own role in the war:

India helped Sri Lanka during the war, but there is a feeling that Colombo is betraying India by moving closer to China.

In his first interview since 2010, Gotabaya spoke about the geopolitical situation in the region, the changing character of Indian diplomacy, the meaning of peace, and his own role in the war:

India helped Sri Lanka during the war, but there is a feeling that Colombo is betraying India by moving closer to China.

If you read Shivshankar Menon’s book (Choices — Inside the making of India’s foreign policy), the former Indian National Security Adviser has categorically said that Sri Lanka had given India assurance and shown that it was concerned about any threats to Indian security concerns. Our government never allowed Sri Lankan soil to be used by any foreign country against India… Diplomacy is an art of reciprocity, it is about engagement, conversations and mutual trust. In diplomatic relationships, you cannot replace empowered diplomats with intelligence officers. India has to come out of this ‘China phobia’ with regard to its relationship with Sri Lanka.

US says concerned about reports of HR violations in SL

The US yesterday said it was concerned about ongoing reports of human rights violations and abuses in Sri Lanka by members of the security services and recent attacks targeting members of religious minority communities.

In its statement to the 37th Session of the UNHRC, the Permanent Mission of the US in Geneva said it urges the Sri Lankan government to hold accountable all those responsible for human rights abuses and violations and to protect religious minorities and their places of worship.  

“We further urge the government to take additional steps to fully implement the commitments it made in HRC resolution 30/1 and reaffirmed in HRC resolution 34/1. We look forward to seeing Sri Lanka’s progress on implementing the UPR recommendations accepted by the government over the next five years as well,” it said

The US welcomed the Sri Lankan Government’s decision to accept US’s recommendations on full implementation of HRC resolution 30/1 and on accountability for the government’s, including the security forces, human rights violations and abuses, as well as accountability for those responsible for harassment and violence against members of religious minority communities.

“We are pleased with the Government’s support for these recommendations,” it said.
daily mirrer

Russia's loyalty and dignity -PUTIN

VLADIMIR Putin has been re-elected for a second consecutive six-year term, allowing him to rule until 2024 - but opponents are calling out ‘unprecedented violations’ in the vote.

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has won a landslide re-election victory, extending his rule over the world’s largest country for another six years at a time when his ties with the West are on a hostile trajectory.

The vote was tainted by widespread reports of ballot-box stuffing and forced voting, but the complaints will likely do little to undermine Mr Putin.
His thumping victory overnight will extend his total time in office to nearly a quarter of a century, until 2024, by which time he will be 71. Only Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ruled for longer.

Mr Putin has promised to use his new term to beef-up Russia’s defences against the West and to raise living standards.

He addressed thousands of people who rallied outside the Kremlin to thank them for their support and promised new achievements. Speaking to a crowd who attended a pop concert near the Kremlin marking his election victory, Mr Putin hailed those who voted for him as a “big national team,” adding that “we are bound for success.” He said that the nation needs unity to move forward and urged the audience to “think about the future of our great motherland.” He then led the enthusiastic crowd to chant “Russia!”

Results from more than half of precincts showed Putin winning over 75 percent of the vote, with Communist candidate Pavel Grudinin and ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky trailing far behind with about 13 and 6 percent, respectively.

An exit poll by pollster VTsIOM showed Putin, who has already dominated the political landscape for the past 18 years, had won 73.9 per cent of the vote. Backed by state TV, the ruling party, and credited with an approval rating around 80 per cent, his victory was never in doubt. 
None of the seven candidates who ran against him posed a threat, and opposition leader Alexei Navalny was barred from running. 

Amith weerasinghe talking in digana town.

මහනුවර මුස්ලිම් "රෝයල්" ෆාමසියේ හොර බෙහෙත් අල්ලලා -Amith Weerasinghe Kan...

����Gajaman Trailer Leaked ����| Sri Lanka’s first 3D animation movie Gajama...

තෙල්දෙණිය මුස්ලිම් ප්‍රහාරයෙන් මියගිය පුද්ගලයාගේ නිවසට ඥානසාර හිමි වඩිති.

worldceylon e news: Explain about my book

worldceylon e news: Explain about my book: Explain about my book

UAE off to a good start to meet Energy Plan 2050 goals

Although it has a tenth of the world’s oil reserves, the UAE is doing a pivotal turnaround in championing clean and green energy with thoughtful policies, large-scale investments in renewables, and ongoing research. GN Focus takes a look ahead of this week's World Future Energy Summit

It is exactly a year since the announcement of the UAE Energy Plan 2050, the country’s first energy strategy, and one that will serve for the next three decades. Increasing the contribution of clean energy to 50 per cent, and simultaneously, reducing the consumption of individuals and institutions by 40 percent is expected to save the UAE as much as Dh700 billion by 2050.

The national strategy is designed to achieve both economic and environmental goals, and by all measures, it is not merely in motion but gaining rapid momentum.

“The UAE is off to a great start in its quest to achieve 50 percent of clean energy contribution to the overall energy mix by 2050,” observes Dr. Raed Bkayrat, Managing Director of Clean Energy Business Council. “For example, operational solar projects are close to 350MW, while 3GW of solar photo-voltaic projects currently under execution should come online around 2020. More importantly, this mand
With a targeted energy equation of 44 per cent clean energy, 38 per cent gas, 12 per cent clean coal and 6 per cent nuclear, the bandwagon is also broad enough to accommodate variability and diversity.ate on clean energy is also part of the UAE’s holistic approach to energy security, resource mix and energy efficiency.” 
  
The multi-pronged Dubai Clean Energy Strategy serves as a noteworthy example. Launched in November 2015 – with the intention of producing 75 per cent of Dubai’s energy requirements from clean sources by 2050 – the strategy encompasses activities under infrastructure, legislation, funding, capacity and skill building, and an environment-friendly energy mix. 

Part of Dubai’s strategy includes building the world’s largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project and begin generation within the next five years to deliver inexpensive power at less than 8US cents per kilowatt-hour. The CSP project is located at the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the independent power producer (IPP) model. The 40sq km park in Seih Al Dahal is expected to generate 1,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030, and will reduce approximately 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

US revamps travel warning system, ranks countries

The State Department's travel warning system for Americans has gotten a makeover.

The changes are an effort to make the system easier to understand, and come after more than 80 million Americans traveled abroad in 2016 and as the total number of travelers for 2017 is expected to be a record, ABC News reports.



As part of the makeover, the department is replacing its travel warnings and alerts with a travel advisory for every country. Each country's advisory falls within four color-coded levels and can be seen on country-specific webpages, which also listinformation including visa requirements, embassy locations and contact information, and local laws travelers should know about

"And for each country that has a Level 2 or above, we will specify what we think those risks or threats are, why is it that we're telling people to reconsider travel or to exercise caution or not to travel at all," State Department official Michelle Bernier-Toth said during a briefing on the changes Wednesday.

Additionally available via the new pages is an interactive map showing the locations of embassies and consulates. The map is color-coded in coordination with the level of travel advisory assigned to each country.

The four advisory levels, from low to high regarding safety and security risk, are:

• Level 1 — Blue – Exercise Normal Precautions
• Level 2 — Yellow – Exercise Increased Caution
• Level 3 — Orange – Reconsider Travel
• Level 4 — Red – Do Not Travel

As of Thursday, there were 11 countries with Level 4 travel advisories, according to ABC News: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Five states in Mexico – which overall is tagged with a Level 2 advisory – also received Level 4 designations due to crime, while 11 Mexican states bore Level 3 designations.

Bernier-Toth explained the specificity as related "to the restrictions that our mission in Mexico imposes upon U.S. government personnel in the country."

"We wanted to make sure that the U.S. traveling public was aware of all those restrictions and rules that we impose upon ourself in Mexico," she said.

The pages also allow travelers to enroll in STEP, or the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. Enrolling in the free service allows citizens to receive safety and security updates about their destination country, and helps the U.S. Embassy in the country, as well as friends and family, contact travelers in case of an emergency.

Heated exchange in Parliament during PM's address

Ahmadinejad arrested for ‘inciting violence’ in Iran: report

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reportedly arrested for “inciting violence” as the protests against the Tehran government and skyrocketing food prices began.

Ahmadinejad was busted for comments he made during a Dec. 28 protest in the western Iranian city of Bushehr, the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper reported.

Ahmadinejad, whom Iranian officials will seek to keep under house arrest with the approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was critical of the regime and President Hassan Rouhani.

“Some of the current leaders live detached from the problems and concerns of the people, and do not know anything about the reality of society​,​”​ Ahmadinejad said, according to the report.

​He also accused the ​government of “mismanagement” and criticized Rouhani for believing “that they own the land and that the people are an ignorant society.”

THAI PENIS WHITENING TREND RAISES EYEBROWS

A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country’s beauty industry is taking things too far.

Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer.

But even so, when a clip of a clinic’s latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral.

Thailand’s health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure.

The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: “I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs”.

The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade.