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<hr><a name="article-0"><div id="nav-up" style="display:inline;"><a href="#top"><i class="fa fa-home fa-2x"></i></a></div> <div id="nav-source" style="display:inline;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/09/sajid-javid-moral-coward-death-begum-baby" target="new-0"><i class="fa fa-link fa-2x"></i></a></div> <div id="nav-prev" onclick="onArticle(-1)" style="display:inline;"><i class="fa fa-chevron-left fa-2x"></i></div> <div id="nav-next" onclick="onArticle(1)" style="display:inline;"><i class="fa fa-chevron-right fa-2x"></i></div><div class="extract-content" id="0"><h1>Shamima Begum: Sajid Javid labelled ‘moral coward’ over baby death</h1><meta itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" content="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/09/sajid-javid-moral-coward-death-begum-baby">
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Shamima Begum: Sajid Javid labelled âmoral cowardâ over baby death
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<p>Former DPP accuses home secretary of treating UK like a âbanana republicâ over decision to strip Isis bride of citizenship</p>
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<time itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2019-03-09T23:06:41+0000" data-timestamp="1552172801000" class="content__dateline-wpd js-wpd">
Sat 9 Mar 2019 <span class="content__dateline-time">23.06Â GMT</span>
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First published on Sat 9 Mar 2019 <span class="content__dateline-time">20.24Â GMT</span>
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Shamima Begum with a previous son, Jerah, in al-Hawl camp, Kurdish Syria.
Photograph: Jamie Wiseman/Daily Mail
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<p>Sajid Javid has been accused of moral cowardice and âtreating the UK as a banana republicâ in pursuit of his leadership ambitions following the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/08/shamima-begum-confusion-after-reports-newborn-son-may-have-died" title="" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">death of Jarrah</a>, the three-week-old son of Isis bride Shamima Begum.</p>
<p>A Church of England bishop and a former director of public prosecutions led the chorus of outrage directed at the home secretary as demand grew for him to review his controversial decision to strip the 19-year-old of British citizenship â a move that left her stateless and her baby in legal limbo.</p>
<p>âThis was an abject decision by a home secretary apparently so intent on furthering his leadership ambitions that he has lost sight of sovereignty, treating the UK as a banana republic incapable of regulating its own citizens,â said Lord Macdonald, who was director of public prosecutions of England and Wales between 2003 and 2008.</p>
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</span> Home secretary Sajid Javid. Photograph: -/AFP/Getty Images
</figcaption></figure><p>The peer, who oversaw a 2010 government review of counter-terrorism and security powers, told the <em>Observer </em>that Javidâs âopportunism has other costs, including a more dangerous world where stateless individuals roam with no allegiance, and the death of unprotected innocents, in this case a vulnerable British babyâ. And he warned of blowback to the UK.</p>
<p>âNo dignified self-governing state should abandon responsibility for its own citizens in this way, trying to dump them on to poorer countries with failed security arrangements. Mr Javidâs behaviour is a recipe for refugee chaos and moral cowardice of the worst sort,â he said.</p>
<p>The bishop of St Albans, the Rt Rev Dr Alan Smith, said: âShe should come back, be properly interviewed and, if itâs found that she has broken the law, she should face the law. If itâs found that she has been radicalised, she should be given help and support.</p>
<p>âThe home secretary has a responsibility to ensure people in this country are protected. We could have done this by taking her through due process and it is to be regretted if we are not following it, because this is a human rights issue.â</p>
<p>Begum, from Bethnal Green, east London, was 15 when she and two other schoolgirls went to join Isis in February 2015. She gave birth in a Syrian refugee camp last month, having already lost two children. </p>
<p>News that a third child had now died has left her relatives in London distraught. The Begum familyâs lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, said: âThey are utterly crushed and despondent at the moment.â</p>
<p>Javidâs decision to strip the teenager of her British citizenship <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/feb/21/shamima-begum-citizenship-decision-sets-a-dangerous-precedent" title="" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">triggered a ferocious debate</a> over whether she should be allowed to return and raised questions about the legality of his decision.</p>
<p>Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott <a href="https://twitter.com/HackneyAbbott/status/1104104541740507138" title="" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">tweeted yesterday</a>: âIt is against international law to make someone stateless, and now an innocent child has died as a result of a British woman being stripped of her citizenship. This is callous and inhumane.â</p>
<p>Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said: âMany of us feared this tragic outcome when the home secretary washed his hands of Britainâs responsibility for a British citizen and a British baby. If the courts eventually show he has acted illegally in making a British citizen stateless, we will remember this baby in holding him to account.â</p>
<p>Several fellow Conservative MPs have also expressed anger at Javidâs position. Bracknell MP Phillip Lee said he was deeply concerned by the decision, which he believed was âdriven by a sort of populismâ.</p>
<p>Anna Soubry, who left the Tories to join the Independent Group, tweeted that Javid must now restore Begumâs citizenship. âShamima Begum is our responsibility, whatever she may or may not have done, however abhorrent her views,â she said.</p>
<p>There are claims that Javid did not consult either the attorney general or the solicitor general before making his decision, something that could leave him vulnerable in the event of a legal challenge. When asked if this was the case, a Home Office spokesman said: âWe do not comment on individual cases.â</p>
<p>Javid confirmed last month that Jarrah was a British citizen and said that he had considered the childâs interest when deciding to revoke Begumâs citizenship. But he told the Commons home affairs committee that it would be âincredibly difficultâ for the government to facilitate the return of a child from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/syria" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Syria</a>.</p>
<p>Conservative party chairman Brandon Lewis defended Javid. âThe home secretary will have had advice and I know he made a decision based on what is in the national interest and the security of people here in the UK,â Lewis said. âThere is no question that the duty of a home secretary in this country is to keep British people safe.â</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/06/shamima-begum-must-be-allowed-to-keep-uk-citizenship-father-syria-isis" title="" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">The Begum family</a> in the UK are understood to be exploring their legal options, including bringing a private prosecution against the home secretary. Tasnime Akunjee said he will soon be flying out to Syria to help Begum prepare her appeal. âIâm going to Syria to meet somebody who has lost three kids, so I can show her some paperwork which is quite dense, and so I can obtain her signature. Itâs totally ridiculous,â said the lawyer.</p>
<p>Begumâs father, Ahmed Ali, speaking to the BBC from Bangladesh before he found out her baby had died, apologised to the British people but asked for their forgiveness, saying his daughter should be allowed back to the UK and âpunished if she had made any mistakeâ.</p>
<p>âShe was under age at that time, she couldnât understand that much. I suppose someone influenced her to do that,â he said. âI admit that she might have done wrong without realising it.â</p>
<p>Outside east London mosque on Saturday, few people wanted to discuss Begumâs situation. âI donât want to chat shit and be put on some watch list for saying I feel sorry for her,â said one man in his 20s. âWhat she did was wrong, but what theyâve done is worse. They used all this power of the state against a teenage girl and her baby â and for what?â</p>
<p>In a Punjabi cafe in Whitechapel, a family of four were split in their views. Parents Sobia and Rizwan discussed whether Javid had been right to deny Begum the chance to return to the UK.</p>
<p>âI donât think he did it with good intention,â said Sobia. âI understand why he did it, because he wants to show he wonât be soft on Muslims, but that was a babyâs life. He punished an innocent baby.â</p>
<p>However, her husband said it was important to demonstrate that there are serious consequences to joining Isis. Did he agree with the decision to make her stateless? âObviously not now, because her baby has died and we are supposed to be a civilised country. But what is the law around it? We should be using the proper laws. Why isnât the government going by their own rules?â</p>
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<hr><a name="article-1"><div id="nav-up" style="display:inline;"><a href="#top"><i class="fa fa-home fa-2x"></i></a></div> <div id="nav-source" style="display:inline;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/09/bodies-of-tom-ballard-and-daniele-nardi-found-in-himalayas" target="new-1"><i class="fa fa-link fa-2x"></i></a></div> <div id="nav-prev" onclick="onArticle(0)" style="display:inline;"><i class="fa fa-chevron-left fa-2x"></i></div> <div id="nav-next" onclick="onArticle(2)" style="display:inline;"><i class="fa fa-chevron-right fa-2x"></i></div><div class="extract-content" id="1"><h1>Bodies of Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi found in Himalayas</h1><meta itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" content="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/09/bodies-of-tom-ballard-and-daniele-nardi-found-in-himalayas">
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Tom Ballard, left, and Daniele Nardi, whose bodies were confirmed found on Saturday.
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<p>The bodies of Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi, the British and Italian climbers who went missing a fortnight ago, have been found on the mountain Nanga Parbat in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/pakistan" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Pakistan</a>.</p>
<p>Italy’s ambassador to Pakistan, Stefano Pontecorvo, said on Saturday that the search team had confirmed that silhouettes spotted on the mountain “through telescope and pics beyond reasonable doubt” were the bodies of the two men.</p>
<figure class="element element-interactive interactive element--supporting" data-interactive="https://interactive.guim.co.uk/embed/iframe-wrapper/0.1/boot.js" data-canonical-url="https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2019/03/tom-ballard-s-body-found-zip/giv-3902Dqer43V2qrwU/" data-alt="Map"><a href="https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2019/03/tom-ballard-s-body-found-zip/giv-3902Dqer43V2qrwU/" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Map</a>
</figure><p>Four Spanish rescuers were flown in by a military helicopter on Monday, joining Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara at base camp to conduct the search.</p>
<p>On Twitter, Pontecorvo wrote: “With great sadness I inform that the search for Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard is over as Alex Txikon and the search team have confirmed that the silhouettes spotted on Mummery at about 5,900 metres are those of Daniele and Tom. RIP.”</p>
<p>While the bodies were difficult to reach, rescuers promised that everything would be done to recover them. Ballard and Nardi last made contact on 24 February, from an elevation of 6,300 metres (20,670 feet). Nardi, 42, had attempted the Nanga Parbat summit several times before. In 2015, Ballard, 30, became the first person to solo climb all six major north faces of the Alps in one winter.</p>
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</span> Daniele Nardi. Photograph: Fotogramma/Ropi/Rex/Shutterstock
</figcaption></figure><p>He and Nardi began prepping for the challenge in December. Dubbed “Killer Mountain”, Nanga Parbat is in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan area and is the ninth highest mountain in the world at 8,126 metres (26,660 feet). Two Pakistani mountaineers had joined the pair on the expedition but turned back because they thought the weather conditions too dangerous.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, spirits were high. In his last post on Facebook, on 19 February, Ballard wrote: “Basecamp life is becoming, almost, like a holiday while we wait for that elusive weather window. Many new and interesting drytooling boulder problems, luncheon in the sun and afternoon skiing. What more could you want?”</p>
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<h2 class="rich-link__title">Family tragedy haunts the hunt for climber on ‘killer mountain’</h2>
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<a class="rich-link__link u-faux-block-link__overlay" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/02/tom-ballard-nanga-parbat-pakistan-mountain-missing" aria-label="Family tragedy haunts the hunt for climber on ‘killer mountain’"></a>
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</aside><p>Twenty-four years ago, Ballard’s mother, Alison Hargreaves, died while climbing K2, another infamous Pakistani mountain. Hargreaves had recently embarked upon a career as a professional mountaineer but died just months after becoming the first woman to conquer Everest unaided.</p>
<p>Ballard was born in Derbyshire but the family, which included his father, Jim, and younger sister, Kate, moved to the Scottish Highlands in 1995. In more recent years, Ballard had been living in Italy’s Dolomites mountain range with his father. On Facebook, Ballard’s girlfriend, Stefania Pederiva, wrote that her heart was “completely drowned” with sorrow. She added: “There are or will never be words suitable to describe the void you left.”</p>
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Stephen Barclay leads his team out of his office for Brussels on 5 March.
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<p>The cabinet minister in charge of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/eu-referendum" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Brexit</a> has held detailed talks with Labour MPs who are championing plans for a second referendum – amid signs of mounting desperation inside Theresa May’s government about what to do if the prime minister’s deal suffers another crushing defeat on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary, called the meeting with Labour’s Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson in Downing Street last Thursday as negotiations with Brussels to resolve the deadlock over the Northern Ireland backstop floundered and ministers privately began to concede that May’s plan could be doomed.</p>
<p>Kyle told the <em>Observer</em> on Saturday that Barclay had “remained loyal to government policy”, which is to oppose any second referendum. But the MP for Hove said Barclay talked to him and Wilson for at least 45 minutes and was “fully engaged”.</p>
<p>Under <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/09/back-theresa-may-brexit-deal-then-hold-peoples-vote-backbencher-plan" title="" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">the Kyle-Wilson plan</a>, which could receive <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/09/labour-amendment-supporting-second-referendum-put-on-hold" title="" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Labour’s official backing</a> after Tuesday’s vote but before Brexit day on 29 March, an amendment would be put down in parliament allowing MPs to approve May’s deal, but on the condition that it is then put to the country in a second public vote. The other option on the ballot paper would be to remain in the EU.</p>
<p>Kyle said: “Clearly the Brexit secretary is fully engaged in the battle to deliver support for the vote on Tuesday. But that didn’t stop him from engaging fully with the possibilities our compromise offers. We didn’t enter the meeting with expectations of converting him to our cause but we hope that government now understands what our plan offers, should a new direction be demanded by parliament in the coming days.”</p>
<p>A senior Downing Street source said May remained “100% opposed to a second referendum, with bells on” and insisted that she and all cabinet ministers were still determined to persuade enough Tory MPs and the 10 DUP members to rally behind her deal this week.</p>
<p>But – with little sign of progress in talks with Brussels – there is a growing recognition among ministers that all other options must now be considered to avoid a disastrous no-deal outcome. Backers of the Kyle-Wilson plan, including senior members of the shadow cabinet, accept that there is currently no parliamentary majority for a second referendum.</p>
<p>But they believe this could change if May’s deal goes down and no alternative to it can win sufficient parliamentary backing. In that event, they say that even the prime minister could see the merits of fighting for her deal out in the country.</p>
<p>A Downing Street source said on Saturday that the RAF plane that ferries the prime minister and senior ministers to EU capitals would be on standby this weekend in case further last-minute meetings with Europeanleaders in Brussels or elsewhere were called. Negotiations were continuing “at all levels” before Tuesday’s vote. “These are tough talks with the [European] commission which we are expecting to go right down to the wire,” said the source. “The PM, ministers and her negotiating team are intensely focused this weekend on making progress so that ultimately we can, in the country’s best interests, leave the EU with a deal.”</p>
<p>If May loses on Tuesday, she has said she will call a vote on Wednesday on whether parliament should rule out a no-deal Brexit and then a further one, probably on Thursday, on delaying Brexit. No decision has yet been made on whether Tory MPs will be granted free votes on the two amendments, and Downing Street has refused to say how May will herself vote on them.</p>
<p>It is understood that if she loses, the prime minister has not ruled out trying to bring back her deal to parliament a third time, nearer to Brexit day, when she would tell MPs that the only alternative to backing her would be a lengthy delay that could mean Brexit not happening at all.</p>
<p>Labour <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/09/labour-amendment-supporting-second-referendum-put-on-hold" title="" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">will delay putting down an amendment in favour of a second referendum</a> until nearer Brexit day. Campaigners for a second public vote now believe that their best chance of success will be late in the process when there is no other viable option. This could even mean tabling the plans after 29 March, assuming Brexit has been delayed.</p>
<p>But the new Independent Group of MPs will table an amendment for a second referendum to take place after a series of indicative votes on alternatives to May’s deal had been held.</p>
<p>At least 40 Labour MPs – and all but about nine Tories – are said to be opposed to a second referendum, although party sources believe this would change if Jeremy Corbyn came out strongly in favour. Writing on theguardian.com, the Labour MP Jon Cruddas and the director of Hope not Hate, Nick Lowles, argue that another referendum will only be seen as “legitimate” if the option of no-deal is also put on the ballot paper.</p>
<p>A poll by BMG for the anti-Brexit youth campaigns Our Future Our Choice and For Our Future’s Sake (details on theguardian.com) shows that some 87% of young people who were ineligible to vote in the 2016 referendum, but would now be old enough to do so, and would definitely take part, would back Remain. Some two million young people who could not vote last time due to their age would now be able to do so.</p>
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Ann Coulter, seen in October.
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<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Donald Trump</a> will be making a significant request for border wall funds and seeking money to stand up his “Space Force” as a new branch of the military in the White House budget being released next week, an administration official said on Saturday.</p>
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<h2 class="rich-link__title">SXSW: Warren tells tech audience plan to break up giants is 'like baseball'</h2>
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</aside><p>As the official did so, the president <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1104503216111321089" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">was on Twitter calling</a> the hard-right commentator Ann Coulter a “Wacky Nut Job” for questioning his success on the wall.</p>
<p>Coulter, previously a supporter of the president and the author of a book entitled In Trump We Trust, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/15/trump-said-conservative-pundits-dont-decide-policy-then-praised-his-favorite-talk-show-hosts/?utm_term=.1b3b13139f2a" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">has turned on him</a> over his failure to secure funding for the wall by conventional means.</p>
<p>Late on Saturday, after a day’s golf in Florida, the president tweeted that “Wacky Nut Job Ann Coulter … still hasn’t figured out that, despite all odds and an entire Democrat Party of Far Left Radicals against me (not to mention certain Republicans who are sadly unwilling to fight), I am winning on the Border.</p>
<p>“Major sections of Wall are being built and renovated, with MUCH MORE to follow shortly. Tens of thousands of illegals are being apprehended (captured) at the Border and NOT allowed into our Country. With another President, millions would be pouring in. I am stopping an invasion as the Wall gets built.”</p>
<p>The tweets from Trump represented a harshening of rhetoric since January, during the record-breaking government shutdown over his demands for a wall. Then, the president mused that Coulter might have turned against him <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/427193-trump-hits-ann-coulter-maybe-i-didnt-return-her-phone-call-or" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">because he did not return her calls</a>. On Saturday, Coulter did not immediately return his tweet.</p>
<p>The official who spoke anonymously about the budget, to the Associated Press, said the White House would propose serious cuts in safety net programs used by many Americans and other non-defense accounts. That will probably trigger a showdown with Congress.</p>
<p>It is unclear how much more money the president will seek to build the wall on the border with Mexico. The request is coming on top of the $8.1bn Trump already has access to, which includes some $3.6bn he has trying to shift from military accounts after declaring a national emergency. Trump invoked the emergency declaration last month after Congress denied his request for $5.7bn. Instead, Congress approved nearly $1.4bn for the border barriers, far less than he wanted.</p>
<p>The president’s Republican allies in the Senate, uneasy over the emergency declaration, are poised next week to debate terminating it. Some view it as an overreach of executive power. Congress appears to have enough votes to reject Trump’s declaration, but not to overturn his expected veto of their action.</p>
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</aside><p>Budgets are mainly seen as blueprints for White House priorities. But they are often panned on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers craft the appropriation bills that eventually fund the government if the president signs them into law.</p>
<p>Trump’s budget for the 2020 fiscal year will increase requests for some agencies while reducing others to reflect those priorities. Reductions are proposed, for example, for the Environmental Protection Agency.</p>
<p>The official said Congress had ignored the president’s spending cuts for too long. The federal budget was bloated with wasteful spending, the official said, and the administration remained committed to balancing the budget.</p>
<p>The cuts being requested by the White House would hit discretionary spending as well as some mandatory safety net programs, which Trump has proposed in the past. Many Republicans are eager to reduce government spending but Congress has had trouble passing bills that seriously slash the safety net programs used by many Americans.</p>
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<hr><a name="article-4"><div id="nav-up" style="display:inline;"><a href="#top"><i class="fa fa-home fa-2x"></i></a></div> <div id="nav-source" style="display:inline;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/09/venezuela-maduro-and-guaidos-supporters-return-to-the-streets" target="new-4"><i class="fa fa-link fa-2x"></i></a></div> <div id="nav-prev" onclick="onArticle(3)" style="display:inline;"><i class="fa fa-chevron-left fa-2x"></i></div> <div id="nav-next" onclick="onArticle(5)" style="display:inline;"><i class="fa fa-chevron-right fa-2x"></i></div><div class="extract-content" id="4"><h1>Venezuela: Maduro and Guaidó's supporters return to the streets</h1><meta itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" content="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/09/venezuela-maduro-and-guaidos-supporters-return-to-the-streets">
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Venezuela: Maduro and Guaidó's supporters return to the streets
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<p>Demonstrations spark fears countryâs political crisis could deepen following huge blackout</p>
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Sat 9 Mar 2019 <span class="content__dateline-time">20.05Â GMT</span>
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First published on Sat 9 Mar 2019 <span class="content__dateline-time">17.42Â GMT</span>
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Opposition supporters taking part in a rally against Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduroâs government in Caracas on Saturday.
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<p>Supporters of Venezuelaâs leader, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/nicolas-maduro" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Nicolás Maduro</a>, and his US-backed challenger, Juan Guaidó, returned to the streets on Saturday amid fears the political crisis could be entering a turbulent new phase.</p>
<p>After a strained 48 hours for Venezuela, in which almost the entire country was affected by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/08/venezuela-blackout-caused-by-us-attack-defence-minister-says" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">a blackout</a>,<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/08/venezuela-blackout-caused-by-us-attack-defence-minister-says" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline"> </a>thousands of demonstrators turned out to champion their respective leaders, both of whom claim the presidency.</p>
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<h2 class="rich-link__title">Venezuela blackout caused by 'US attack', defence minister claims</h2>
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<a class="rich-link__link u-faux-block-link__overlay" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/08/venezuela-blackout-caused-by-us-attack-defence-minister-says" aria-label="Venezuela blackout caused by 'US attack', defence minister claims"></a>
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</aside><p>âIâm here to support President Maduro ⦠he is the constitutional president of our Bolivarian Republic of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/venezuela" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Venezuela</a>,â said MarÃa Reyes, a 52-year-old housewife who was among the crowds at a pro-Maduro rally in central Caracas. She said she was there to defend Hugo Chávezâs political heir and denounce âthe imposter Guaidóâ as a threat to peace.</p>
<p>Experts blame the massive power cut on poor maintenance, incompetence and corruption. But Maduro and his backers claim it was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/08/venezuela-blackout-caused-by-us-attack-defence-minister-says" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">part of a US plot</a> to destroy Chávezâs leftist Bolivarian revolution and force him from power.</p>
<p>âWe condemn this cowardly terrorist attack,â <a href="https://twitter.com/evoespueblo/status/1104441837044056064" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">tweeted</a> Boliviaâs president, Evo Morales, one of Maduroâs few remaining regional allies.</p>
<p>Reyes said she believed that version, but was also willing to countenance opposition claims that the blackout was caused by government failings. âPerhaps it was a lack of maintenance. We arenât ruling any hypothesis out,â she said.</p>
<p>Oskar Oramas, a 24-year-old student activist for Maduroâs ruling Socialist party, said he was protesting the âescalation of persecutionâ against his government by the US. âI have come to take a stand against the United States because they have made it clear they are our enemies ⦠We will defeat them because we are experts in peace,â he added.</p>
<p>âThey want to turn us into another Syria and we will not allow this to happen,â one activist shouted from a red sound truck bearing the slogan: âHere you donât speak badly of Chávez!â</p>
<p>In cities across Venezuela, members of the opposition poured on to the streets to demand political change amid fears that Maduroâs security forces would seek to put down anti-government protests with force.</p>
<p>âThey have destroyed a whole country,â demonstrator Jorge Lulo, a psychologist, told the <a href="https://twitter.com/EfectoCocuyo/status/1104404811200585728" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Efecto Cocuyo</a> website as he marched in Caracas carrying his countryâs red, yellow and blue tricolor. âWe are fighting to escape from tyranny.â</p>
<p>Guaidó, who most western governments have recognised as Venezuelaâs legitimate president, told supporters at the rally: âRight now we are [protesting] in more than 50 cities around the country in order to bring an end to the darkness, the hunger and the misery.â</p>
<p>Speaking through a loudhailer, he urged demonstrators to remain mobilised âuntil we achieve the freedom of Venezuelaâ and announced that he would summon a peaceful march on the capital at a yet-to-be announced date.</p>
<p>âToday this [tragedy] has a name and a surname ⦠Nicolás Maduro!â, Guaidó said to loud cheers.</p>
<p>The latest chapter of Venezuelaâs long-running political crisis began on 23 January when Guaidó, a young opposition leader, declared himself the legitimate interim president. He was quickly recognised by regional powers including Brazil, Colombia and the US, and anti-government demonstrations ensued, leaving many convinced that Maduroâs fall was imminent.</p>
<p>Those predictions did not come to pass, however, and the opposition challenge had appeared to be losing steam. Last week, however, Guaidó made his return to Venezuela after conducting a tour of South America in violation of a travel ban imposed by Maduroâs government.</p>
<p>Efforts to unseat Maduro may also be re-energised by this weekâs power cut, which left hospitals and homes without power, and reinforced opposition to him.</p>
<p>âThis is a joke,â complained one disillusioned civil servant who was looking on as the pro-Maduro march passed down Avenida Mexico in Caracas. âWeâve got no electricity and theyâre using the generators to stage a march rather than sending them to the hospitals.â</p>
<p>âHis government is like a cancer,â added a woman, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals. âThis government is a goner.â</p>
<p>On Saturday, anti-Maduro marches were also reported in cities across the country including <a href="https://twitter.com/TVVnoticias/status/1104392428600127488" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Barcelona</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/carlosi_suarez/status/1104401918586171393" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Barquisimeto</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ReporteYa/status/1104400922845896711" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Coro</a>, <a href="http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/sociedad/habitantes-nueva-esparta-salieron-las-calles-apoyo-juan-guaido_274010" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">La Asunción</a>, Maracaibo<em> </em>and Puerto Ordaz.</p>
<p>The power outage, which continues to blight large swathes of Venezuela, has also sparked fears that the South American country could enter a period of disorder.</p>
<p>âItâs a tinderbox, and Maduroâs survival thus far gives a false sense of stability,â said Benjamin Gedan, the national security councilâs Venezuela adviser during the Obama presidency. âA sustained blackout could ⦠spark widespread dissent.â</p>
<p><a href="https://www.wola.org/people/geoff-ramsey/" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Geoff Ramsey</a>, a Venezuela expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, said that despite the battle of rhetoric between Maduro and Guaidó, he believed some kind of back-channel talks were taking place that could lead to a peaceful settlement.</p>
<p>âI get the sense things are happening behind the scenes. I am more optimistic than I was, say, a month ago about the prospect of some kind of non-violent, negotiated transition,â Ramsey said.</p>
<p>Addressing his rally on Saturday, Maduro lashed out at his political foes in Venezuela and the US and accused âinfiltrated coup-mongers and saboteursâ of attacking the countryâs electricity system in a high-tech bid to topple him.</p>
<p>âWe are at war,â Maduro said. âWe have been at war for 20 years.â</p>
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It has been reported that, despite having translators present, Donald Trump has taken unusual steps to keep notes on his meetings with Vladimir Putin private.
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<p>Since <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Donald Trump</a> was sworn in as president he has met his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, five times. The details of their conversations remain unknown to the public, and in most cases even to senior administration officials.</p>
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<h2 class="rich-link__title">Trump inauguration took money from shell companies tied to foreigners</h2>
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</aside><p>Democrats in Congress are now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/03/democrats-donald-trump-jr-allen-weisselberg-michael-cohen-jerrold-nadler-impeachment" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">demanding</a> more details of communications between the two leaders. Secrecy around such meetings, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/16/democrats-trump-putin-talks-adam-schiff" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">they say</a>, raises fresh questions about the nature of Trumpâs relationship with Putin at a time when his ties to Russia are the subject of several investigations.</p>
<p>The meetings with Putin are not the only subject of such Democratic demands. House leaders left little room for doubt this week that they will utilize their newly minted majority to cast a wide net around the president, his family and their businesses.</p>
<p>The judiciary committee issued document requests <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/04/house-judiciary-committee-trump-documents-request" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">to 81 individuals and entities</a>, seeking information on everything from contacts between Trump aides and Moscow to hush money payments to women and possible obstruction of justice.</p>
<p>It all came a week after Trumpâs former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/27/michael-cohen-donald-trump-testimony-latest-news" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">testified before Congress</a> and implicated the president in alleged criminal activity spanning decades.</p>
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<p class="pullquote-paragraph">What kind of things are being discussed that the president does not want to share?</p>
<footer><cite class="pullquote-cite">Steven Pifer</cite>
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</aside><p>Nonetheless, according to some national security experts, when it comes to uncovering the motivations behind the presidentâs desire for closer relations with the Kremlin and the complex web of contacts between his associates and Moscow, few interactions might be more consequential than <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/16/democrats-trump-putin-talks-adam-schiff" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">those between Trump and Putin</a>.</p>
<p>âWhat kind of things are being discussed that the president does not want to share?â said <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/experts/steven-pifer/" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Steven Pifer, a former US ambassador to Ukraine</a> who served on Bill Clintonâs National Security Council as senior director for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia.</p>
<p>âIs he discussing Trump Tower? Whatâs the basis for the discussion? We just donât know.</p>
<p>âI donât know why the president doesnât have a notetaker ⦠That would be the best way to send off any suspicions that something untoward has been done.â</p>
<p>In fact, translators have been present at meetings between Trump and Putin, such as in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/07/donald-trump-and-putin-exchange-handshake-at-g20-summit-in-hamburg" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Hamburg</a> in 2017 and in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/19/donald-trump-putin-talks-helsinki-russia-white-house" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Helsinki</a> last year. But it has been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-has-concealed-details-of-his-face-to-face-encounters-with-putin-from-senior-officials-in-administration/2019/01/12/65f6686c-1434-11e9-b6ad-9cfd62dbb0a8_story.html?utm_term=.2db9621b4fbe" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">reported</a> that the president has taken unusual steps to keep their notes private.</p>
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</figure><p>Trumpâs posture towards Russia has been a focus of his time in the White House, confounding national security officials and exposing rifts between the president and prominent members of his administration.</p>
<p>In his first year in office, after Congress forced his hand by building a veto-proof majority, Trump <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/02/donald-trump-sanctions-russia-signs-bill" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">begrudgingly signed sanctions</a> that were passed in part to punish Moscow for its interference in the 2016 presidential election. But he resisted attempts to impose additional sanctions, including over Kremlin support for chemical weapons attacks carried out by the Assad regime in Syria.</p>
<p>The president has publicly disagreed with warnings from his own intelligence chiefs that the Russians are still seeking to influence US elections. The National Security Agency chief, Adm Mike Rogers, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/27/trump-russia-meddling-mike-rogers" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">testified before Congress last year</a> that the administration was not doing enough to disrupt Russian cyberattacks at the source, in part because the president had not authorized such an effort.</p>
<p>Trump has continued to express admiration for Putin, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/17/putins-poodle-newspapers-declare-trump-a-traitor-after-helsinki-summit" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">accepting his denials</a> of Russian involvement in the 2016 election at their summit in Finland. That put the president squarely at odds with the US intelligence community and invited an avalanche of criticism.</p>
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<h2 class="rich-link__title">Michael Cohen gives new documents to House lawmakers</h2>
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<a class="rich-link__link u-faux-block-link__overlay" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/06/michael-cohen-congress-house-documents-trump" aria-label="Michael Cohen gives new documents to House lawmakers"></a>
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</aside><p>Democrats now say Trumpâs reportedly forceful attempts to conceal his communications with Putin raise questions about his motivations in pursuing closer relations with a regime largely regarded as a primary adversary.</p>
<p>In a joint letter this week, the chairs of the House intelligence, foreign affairs and oversight committees raised âprofound national security, counterintelligence and foreign policy concerns, especially in light of Russiaâs ongoing active measures campaign to improperly influence American elections.</p>
<p>âIn addition, such allegations, if true, undermine the proper functioning of government, most notably the Department [of State]âs access to critical information germane to its diplomatic mission and its ability to develop and execute foreign policy that advances our national interests.â</p>
<p>If Trumpâs communications were intentionally manipulated or withheld from the official record, the Democrats said, it would be a possible violation of federal law requiring âthat presidents and other administration officials preserve such materialsâ.</p>
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</figure><p>Cohenâs testimony opened several lines of inquiry regarding Trumpâs ties to Russia. But few revelations have drawn more scrutiny than those regarding negotiations about building a Trump Tower in Moscow.</p>
<p>Cohen previously told the Senate intelligence committee conversations about a potential Trump Tower Moscow ended before February 2016, when primary voting began. It was later uncovered, through his cooperation with the special counsel, that attempts to reach a deal continued until at least that summer, past the point at which Trump had in effect secured the Republican nomination.</p>
<p>Cohen, who will begin a three-year prison sentence in May, has said he received an implicit order from Trump to lie to Congress. The president denies it. The presidentâs former lawyer and fixer also said two of Trumpâs children, Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, were briefed on Trump Tower Moscow approximately 10 times, contradicting their claims of minimal knowledge of the discussions.</p>
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<p class="pullquote-paragraph">Instead of doing infrastructure, instead of doing healthcare, instead of doing so many things, they want to play games</p>
<footer><cite class="pullquote-cite">Donald Trump</cite>
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</aside><p>Democrats have signaled they will call both Donald Jr and Ivanka before Congress. They have also summoned Felix Sater, a longtime associate of Trump, to testify in public before the intelligence committee on 14 March. Sater has been <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/12/6/18127229/trump-felix-sater-tower-moscow-spy" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">linked to the Russian mob</a> and allegedly suggested Trump Tower Moscow, which never came to fruition, should include a $50m penthouse as a gift to Putin.</p>
<p>Democrats say there is reason to delve into the negotiations, which took place as the then candidate Trump lavished praise on Putin and vowed to improve US-Russia relations.</p>
<p>Cohen also alleged that Trump was aware of his longtime adviser Roger Stoneâs outreach to WikiLeaks, in advance of its release of hacked Democratic party emails.</p>
<p>In their document requests, Democrats included the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, and at least three individuals associated with Stone who were believed to have been in contact with WikiLeaks: Jerome Corsi, Randy Credico and Ted Malloch.</p>
<p>Some of those subjects have been interviewed by the special counsel Robert Mueller. His investigation will conclude with a report to Congress. It is not expected to break with justice department guidelines suggesting a sitting president cannot be indicted.</p>
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</figure><p>The onslaught of congressional inquiries means the president will remain under an investigative cloud for the foreseeable future, if not the rest of his time in office. Trump has accused Democrats of âpresidential harassmentâ and being more preoccupied with investigating than legislating.</p>
<p>âInstead of doing infrastructure, instead of doing healthcare, instead of doing so many things that they should be doing, they want to play games,â he said. âItâs a disgrace to our country.â</p>
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<h2 class="rich-link__title">'Justice is bought': Paul Manafort sentencing draws accusations of privilege</h2>
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</aside><p>Polling has found that a majority of Americans back the Democratsâ investigations of Trump, although fewer support impeachment, the procedure to remove a president that could follow such committee investigations.</p>
<p>Trump has said he will cooperate with the inquiries, even as he has decried them as part of a âwitch-huntâ against him. The White House has stymied several requests and is expected to argue that many of Trumpâs dealings in office are protected by executive privilege.<br><br>Alice Stewart, a Republican strategist, said it was no surprise Democrats were on the offensive after campaigning in the 2018 midterms on restoring congressional oversight of the executive branch.<br><br>âTheyâre following through on what a lot of people expected them to do,â she said. âRepublicans are going to take issue with it, but this is what their base really wants them to do.â<br><br>Stewart, a supporter of Trump, said it was âappropriateâ for Democrats to ask questions and request documents.<br><br>âI take the president and the administration at their word when they say thereâs nothing wrong, that thereâs no collusion,â she said. <br><br>âThe best way for them to put this all to rest is for them to comply with these investigations, put the information out there, let them find what theyâre going to find, and then we can move on.â</p>
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A high-speed jetfoil ferry about to depart for Sado island.
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<p> A ferry collided with what was believed to be a marine animal off a Japanese island on Saturday, injuring more than 80 people, local media reported.</p>
<p>The incident happened just after noon off Sado island, Kyodo News agency reported.</p>
<p>Five of the injuries were serious and a 15cm crack was found at the ferry’s stern. Ferry operator Sado Steam Ship Co said the jetfoil ferry still reached its intended destination on the island, located off the west coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu.</p>
<p>The ferry, which departed from Honshu’s Niigata port, was carrying 121 passengers and four crew members.</p>
<p>The cause of the accident was under investigation by coastguard officials, who said the ferry may have struck a whale or some other sealife, Kyodo reported.</p>
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<hr><a name="article-7"><div id="nav-up" style="display:inline;"><a href="#top"><i class="fa fa-home fa-2x"></i></a></div> <div id="nav-source" style="display:inline;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/09/radicalised-former-irish-soldier-detained-in-syrian-camp-report" target="new-7"><i class="fa fa-link fa-2x"></i></a></div> <div id="nav-prev" onclick="onArticle(6)" style="display:inline;"><i class="fa fa-chevron-left fa-2x"></i></div> <div id="nav-next" onclick="onArticle(8)" style="display:inline;"><i class="fa fa-chevron-right fa-2x"></i></div><div class="extract-content" id="7"><h1>Radicalised former Irish soldier detained in Syrian camp – report</h1><meta itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" content="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/09/radicalised-former-irish-soldier-detained-in-syrian-camp-report">
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Radicalised former Irish soldier detained in Syrian camp â report
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<p class="byline" data-link-name="byline" data-component="meta-byline">Seth Jacobson</p>
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A Irish Defence Forces soldier who converted to radical Islam is being detained in Syria, the Irish Times has reported.
Photograph: Reuters
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<p>A former member of the Irish Defence Forces who converted to radical Islam has been detained in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/syria" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Syria</a>, according to reports in Irish newspapers.</p>
<p>The woman is thought to be from the north-east of the republic and left the country several years ago. The Irish Times reports that she is believed to be in her late 30s, and left the forces in 2011, having served in an infantry unit and the countryâs air corps.</p>
<p>The Garda released a statement saying: âAn Garda SÃochána is aware of an Irish woman who left <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ireland" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Ireland</a> three or four years ago having become radicalised. She was previously a member of the Irish Defence Forces.â</p>
<p>Her existence appears to have been revealed 10 days ago, when an ITV news crew visited a camp in northern Syria. While they interviewed people alleged to be foreign fighters and their families, the crew noticed that one woman spoke with an Irish accent.</p>
<p>The woman told ITV: âThe people donât have food. Theyâre struggling for food and money and everything is expensive, so I donât know how theyâre going to keep living.â</p>
<p>A spokesman for Irelandâs Department of Foreign Affairs said: âWhere possible, we will provide consular assistance, but we do not comment on individual cases.â</p>
<p>A source told the Irish Times that as the woman had not contacted the Irish government, she could not be offered consular assistance. They said: âUntil we get a request for her for assistance, there is little we can do.â</p>
<p>A spokesman for the Ministry for Justice in Ireland said they were aware of the woman, but that âit would not be appropriate to comment on the detail of security matters, or indeed on individual casesâ.</p>
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<hr><a name="article-8"><div id="nav-up" style="display:inline;"><a href="#top"><i class="fa fa-home fa-2x"></i></a></div> <div id="nav-source" style="display:inline;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/09/woman-hired-sicilian-mafia-hitmen-to-kill-ex-lover-say-police" target="new-8"><i class="fa fa-link fa-2x"></i></a></div> <div id="nav-prev" onclick="onArticle(7)" style="display:inline;"><i class="fa fa-chevron-left fa-2x"></i></div> <div id="nav-next" onclick="onArticle(9)" style="display:inline;"><i class="fa fa-chevron-right fa-2x"></i></div><div class="extract-content" id="8"><h1>Woman hired Sicilian mafia hitmen to kill ex-lover, say police</h1><meta itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" content="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/09/woman-hired-sicilian-mafia-hitmen-to-kill-ex-lover-say-police">
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Woman hired Sicilian mafia hitmen to kill ex-lover, say police
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The four alleged killers were arrested in Sicily.
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<p>A 64-year-old woman allegedly hired four Sicilian mafia henchmen to murder her ex-lover who had stolen her jewels, according to police. The killers, all Sicilians, carried out their order by walling the man in cement while he was still alive.</p>
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<h2 class="rich-link__title">Is this the end for the Sicilian mafia?</h2>
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</aside><p>The victim, named as Lamaj Astrid, a 41-year-old Albanian national, disappeared without a trace in 2013. Six years later, an investigation in Sicily by anti-mafia prosecutors in Caltanissetta province led to the discovery of his corpse sealed inside a concrete pillar in a villa in Senago, a few kilometres from Monza on the mainland.</p>
<p>The man’s body was found in January while the villa was being renovated, but the authorities only disclosed the news on Friday.</p>
<p>The four alleged killers, arrested in Sicily, were linked to a powerful mafia family from Riesi, in Caltanissetta. They are accused of murder and concealing a corpse. After learning of the discovery of the body of her ex-lover, the woman reportedly attempted to flee via Genoa airport. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/police" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Police</a> arrested her before she could leave.</p>
<p>According to investigators, the woman could not accept being jilted and had not forgiven the man for having stolen some of her jewellery. She reportedly decided to take revenge by contacting a group of men she knew in Sicily to organise the killing. “The woman had important contacts in the Riesi mafia,” a police commander <a href="https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2019/03/08/news/cadavere_murato_senago_villa_omicidio-220993632/" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">told the newspaper La Repubblica</a>. “A mafia boss would have finally given the OK for the murder to go ahead. The Sicilian hitmen then went to northern Italy to execute the order.”</p>
<p>The man’s body was identified from shreds of his clothing that were recovered from the pillar’s cavity.</p>
<p>‘‘The act of walling up bodies was a very common practice by the Sicilian mafia,” said Salvatore Lupo, a professor of contemporary history at the University of Palermo and a renowned expert in the history of Italy’s so-called Cosa Nostra.</p>
<p>“It is a very rational practice because if the body is not found, police investigations are slowed down,” said Lupo. “Other times, however, the mafia wants the corpses to be found to send out a message. If a victim talked to police about their business, he was killed and a stone was put in his mouth. If instead the victim stole money or was too greedy, the killers put banknotes on his genitals.’’</p>
<p>In 2009, the skeleton of a man was found in a cave in Rocca Busambra, near Corleone. A DNA test and a long investigation confirmed that <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18147283" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">the corpse belonged to the local trade unionist Placido Rizzotto</a>, killed by Corleone bosses in 1948. To date, according to investigators, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/06/police-in-sicily-discover-remote-cavern-full-of-bodies-believed/" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">there are dozens if not hundreds of mafia victims whose bodies</a> have never been found.</p>
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Elizabeth Warren speaks onstage at SXSW in Austin, Texas.
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<p>A slate of Democratic presidential candidates will this weekend speak at <a href="https://www.sxsw.com/" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">South by Southwest</a> (SXSW), seeking to connect with a young and liberal crowd at the tech-heavy festival in Austin.</p>
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<h2 class="rich-link__title">Elizabeth Warren vows to break up Amazon, Facebook and Google if elected president</h2>
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<a class="rich-link__link u-faux-block-link__overlay" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/08/elizabeth-warren-amazon-facebook-google-big-tech-break-up-blogpost" aria-label="Elizabeth Warren vows to break up Amazon, Facebook and Google if elected president"></a>
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</aside><p>Among declared candidates for the party nomination, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/03/amy-klobuchar-dirty-joke-robert-kraft-prostitution-charge" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota</a> was the first to take the stage on Saturday,<strong> </strong>followed by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts later in the afternoon.</p>
<p>The former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/04/john-hickenlooper-2020-democrats-president-election" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/01/jay-inslee-2020-presidential-bid-climate-change-democrats" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Washington’s governor, Jay Inslee</a>, will speak on Sunday.</p>
<p>Klobuchar, who has been dogged by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/10/amy-klobuchar-2020-announces-run-minnesota-senator" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">reports of mistreating her staff,</a> was asked about the allegations and repeated a defense she used <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/amy-klobuchar-responds-staff-reports_us_5c5f9dcae4b0eec79b241d0e" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">last month at a rally</a>.</p>
<p>“I have high expectations for myself and I have high expectations for the people who work for me and I have high expectations for this country,” she said.</p>
<p>Klobuchar said she was “sometimes too tough” on the people who worked for her, then moved on to questions about the crowded Democratic field and tech policy.</p>
<p>She said she wanted to investigate how tech firms such as Facebook and Google have monopolized power and obtained vast amounts of user data.</p>
<p>“The first thing we do is privacy legislation,” Klobuchar said. “Second thing we do is look at how much they’re making off of us.”</p>
<p>Hours later, Warren faced an audience that included employees of Amazon, Facebook and Google and explained <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/08/elizabeth-warren-amazon-facebook-google-big-tech-break-up-blogpost" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">the pledge she made on Friday</a> to rein in the influence such big-tech companies have on American lives.</p>
<p>Warren said a problem had emerged in the tech industry where companies such as Amazon have data on buyers and sellers and are able to compete in online markets in a different way from average sellers and small businesses.</p>
<p>“My view on this is: it’s a little like baseball,” Warren said. “You can be an umpire, a platform, or you can own teams, that’s fine. But you can’t be an umpire and own teams.”</p>
<p>In a quick-fire round of questions, Warren said she thought hype directed at the New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who <a href="https://schedule.sxsw.com/2019/events/PP102405" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">was </a><a href="https://schedule.sxsw.com/2019/events/PP102405" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline"> to speak later Saturday evening at SXSW</a>, was justified.</p>
<p>She also said she read two books per week, mostly by listening to audiobooks, and confessed that her drink of choice was the beer Michelob Ultra, “the club soda of beers”.</p>
<p>Three underdog candidates are also scheduled to speak at the festival, at <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/28/politics/cnn-sxsw-town-hall-delaney-gabbard-buttigieg/index.html" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">a CNN-hosted town hall</a> on Sunday night. They are the former Maryland congressman John Delaney; the South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg; and the Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.</p>
<p>The California senator Kamala Harris, a heavyweight contender, will not appear. On Saturday, she was due <a href="https://abcnews4.com/news/local/kamala-harris-makes-third-visit-to-south-carolina-as-a-presidential-candidate" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">to appear in South Carolina</a>. Hickenlooper and the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders were visiting Iowa.</p>
<p>In Austin on Saturday, the former <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/texas" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Texas</a> congressman Beto O’Rourke attended the premiere of a documentary chronicling his long-shot US Senate campaign that ended in a narrow defeat by the hardline Republican incumbent, Ted Cruz. O’Rourke has not yet announced if he will run for president.</p>
<p>The film, Running with Beto, will air on HBO and was cobbled together from 700 hours of campaign footage. After its premiere, O’Rourke, who attended with his wife and daughter, said he had made up his mind about whether to run or not and plans to let everyone know soon.</p>
<p>O’Rourke briefly took questions from reporters but provided no details. Seeing the documentary was “very emotional”, he said.</p>
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'Not everything's for sale': Greeks mobilise as new hotels obscure Acropolis views
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<p>Athens’ tourism boom capitalises on building regulations relaxed in the economic crisis</p>
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A view of the hotel at 5 Falirou street, Athens.
Photograph: Helena Smith/The Guardian
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<p><span class="drop-cap"><span class="drop-cap__inner">T</span></span>he 10-storey hotel at 5 Falirou street in Athens was always going to stand out. Built to impress, its handsomely modernist wood-panelled facade added a contemporary touch to the streetscape of the otherwise lacklustre popular Makriyanni area beneath the Acropolis.</p>
<p>But as local residents watched it go up over the winter, they became ever more concerned. By February, when it had reached 31.5 metres, the hotel was the tallest building in the neighbourhood and had started to impede what had once been uninterrupted views of the Parthenon and the 5000BC monument’s fortified walls.</p>
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<h2 class="rich-link__title">City with a past: why classical and modern Athens are at war | Michael Scott</h2>
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</aside><p>“Suddenly, it was taller than the new Acropolis museum itself,” said Irini Frezadou, pointing to the building from her rooftop down the road. “This is meant to be an area of archaeological protection. Our zoning laws are partly to blame but a construction of such gigantic dimensions was never approved by the central archaeological council.”</p>
<p>Battle lines are being drawn in the skies above Athens’ historic city centre from the rooftops of locals galvanised into action by the prospect of multi-storey buildings being constructed within metres of the Periclean masterpiece, one of the world’s premier heritage sites.</p>
<p>With word spreading of a “wall of high-rise hotels” being planned around the Acropolis in the coming years, Frezadou, a Swiss-trained architect and urban planner, is spearheading a campaign to stop the building spree, initiating a petition on the online activist network <a href="https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/?source=dohpl" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">Avaaz</a> that has already collected upwards of 25,000 signatures.</p>
<p>“Clearly, what we need urgently in the name of sustainability is new building and urban planning rules,” she said.</p>
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<figcaption class="caption caption--img caption caption--img" itemprop="description"><span class="inline-triangle inline-icon ">
</span> Irini Frezadou points to the newly-built hotel now obscuring views of the Acropolis from her rooftop. Photograph: Helena Smith/The Guardian
</figcaption></figure><p>Frezadou does not have to look far to get angry. The grassy plot behind her own apartment block has been designated for an even bigger hotel with three underground parking floors and a pool garden on top.</p>
<p>Activists have gone to Greece’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, to ask for permits for approval to be revoked.</p>
<p>“We are not taking any chances,” said Andreas Papapetropoulos, the lawyer representing the campaigners, adding that hundreds have signed a class action suit brought before the court in recent weeks. “We’re not absurdist, we recognise Athens has a need for good hotels, but not at the expense of our greatest monument. We will campaign for the building on Falirou street not to be demolished but certainly reduced in height.”</p>
<p>Far from being a hub for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/03/greek-police-fire-teargas-at-pensioners-during-anti-austerity-protest-athens" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline">violent anti-austerity protests</a> synonymous with the country’s economic crisis, its reputation not that long ago, Athens is in the grip of an unprecedented tourist boom.</p>
<p>Makriyanni, like Koukaki, its adjacent neighbourhood south of the Acropolis, are go-to places for the ever-increasing Airbnb tourists flocking to a city that is expected to host more than 5 million visitors this year – nearly half of the country’s entire population.</p>
<p>But the influx has come at a cost. Increasingly, international investors are taking advantage of controversial construction regulations passed at the height of the crisis that permit bigger and taller buildings if they meet “green” standards.</p>
<p>None know this better than Elliniki Etairia, a conservation watchdog housed in a neo-classical building in Plaka, Athens’ oldest continuously inhabited district, directly below the ancient citadel. “When we heard that buildings were going up that were obscuring views of the Acropolis, the symbol of democracy, we immediately saw it as a national emergency and began bombarding every government office that we could,” said Lydia Carras, the organisation’s president.</p>
<p>“There are certain views, not many in the world, that are views of identity, and the Parthenon is one of them that at all costs has to be preserved.”</p>
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<figcaption class="caption caption--img caption caption--img" itemprop="description"><span class="inline-triangle inline-icon ">
</span> The moon rises over the Parthenon on the ancient Acropolis hill in Athens. Photograph: Petros Giannakouris/AP
</figcaption></figure><p>Unlike other major European metropolises, Athens escaped the phenomenon of the high-rise precisely because of the fear that multi-storey blocks would overshadow the capital’s greatest showpiece. As a result only one, a 28-storey bloc known as the Athens Tower, was constructed under the curatorship of Greece’s then-military dictatorship in the 1970s.</p>
<p>Under pressure, Athens’ leftist government announced this week that the new construction licences in the archaeological buffer zone around the Acropolis would be temporarily suspended. Pledging to create a committee to review zoning laws in the area, it said permits for buildings higher than 17.5 metres would be banned for the next year.</p>
<p>Insisting on everyone’s right to view the monument, Greece’s culture minister, Myrsini Zorba, acknowledged the protests had to be taken into account. “A view is a cultural good and in no circumstance can it be turned into a privilege for the few. We ought to be responsive to the protest of civil society so that rule of law and a sense of justice are upheld.”</p>
<p>However, privately culture ministry officials admit they are in a bind, hamstrung by laws that allow for taller buildings. “As archaeologists we are called to work in the ground, not up in the air,” said one. “This was legislation passed by the environment ministry.”</p>
<p>Across Europe, conservationists are watching closely and they insist they will hold the Greek government to account. “This is an extremely important battle that has to be won,” said Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, the secretary general of Europa Nostra, widely regarded as the voice of cultural heritage in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag" class="u-underline">Europe</a>.</p>
<p>“We are not against new buildings of contemporary architecture but they have to respect the heritage settings of European cities. A view of the Acropolis is the most miraculous of any to be had,” she told the Guardian. “Fortunately, civil society has taken a very strong stance. What we expect now is a very clear signal from national authorities that not everything is for sale.”</p>
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