Parachuting Into Wildfire: What It’s Like to Be a Smokejumper

They’re called smokejumpers and, as you may guess from the name, they have very dangerous work. Their job is to parachute into the spot where a wildfire has started and put it out with the help of only a pulaski and a handsaw. They know how to survive in the wilderness and save nature from fire. Lesia Bakalets traveled to a city in Idaho to tell their incredible story.

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Parachuting Into Wildfire: What It’s Like to Be a Smokejumper

They’re called smokejumpers and, as you may guess from the name, they have very dangerous work. Their job is to parachute into the spot where a wildfire has started and put it out with the help of only a pulaski and a handsaw. They know how to survive in the wilderness and save nature from fire. Lesia Bakalets traveled to a city in Idaho to tell their incredible story.

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Five Men Sentenced to Death in Somalia Rape Case

A court in Garowe, in northern Somalia, Saturday sentenced five male teenagers to death for the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in Galkayo last month, officials said.

Mohamed Hared Farah, deputy attorney of Puntland’s High Court, said the young men, four of whom are 18 and the other 19, were convicted in the rape of the girl.

“After all the court proceedings, including the presentation of evidence, the court sentences these five young men to death,” Farah said.

Second case sparks outrage 

Farah added that the rape trial occurred hours before the gang rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in the same Galkayo town, in the central Somali region of Mudug.

On Monday, Aisha Ilyes Aden was abducted at a market in the town. Her body was found the next morning near her home. An autopsy revealed she had been gang raped and then strangled.

Aisha’s case sparked outrage, with demonstrations and protesters’ calls for authorities to use the country’s landmark 2016 Sexual Offenses Law, which criminalizes rape, sexual harassment and online sexual offenses.

Four men have been arrested in the death of Aisha.

Puntland has also sent hundreds of security forces to Galkayo, which is fighting an increase in crime, including rape cases.

Sexual Offenses Law

The 2016 law allowed for five men who had gang raped a teenage girl, and then posted a video of the attack on social media, to be sentenced in 2017 to lashes and up to 10 years in prison, according to the United Nations, a key backer of the legislation.

Farah said Saturday’s sentence was meant to be both a lesson and final warning for other potential rapists.

“The young men in this region have made a normal habit to gang rape girls, therefore, our today’s sentence will send them a signal that we have a zero tolerance for rape and that anyone who commits will face death,” Farah warned.

The ruling Saturday was not only a test for Puntland state’s new sexual violence law, The Sexual Offense Act, but also a powerful signal of support for the rule of law in general in Somalia, some rights activists say.

Attitudes changing

Somalia is a conservative society where rape is stigmatized and victims are traditionally forced to marry their assailants. Most rape cases go unreported and unpunished, according to Somali women rights activists.

Many rape survivors and their families are afraid to come forward to publicly confront perpetrators, because they fear being shunned by their community. In many cases, the rape victims are deemed unmarriable.

“Sexual violence is sadly not a shocking occurrence in Puntland. For years, it has been relatively commonplace,” said Hawa Aden Mohamed, founder of the Galkayo Education Center for Peace and Development, which promotes women’s rights.

Anti-rape campaigners in Somalia say the brutal nature of several videos of gang rape and murder, which have been shared on social media in the past two years, are turning the tide against the conservative stigmatization and the nature of hiding perpetrators.

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Five Men Sentenced to Death in Somalia Rape Case

A court in Garowe, in northern Somalia, Saturday sentenced five male teenagers to death for the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in Galkayo last month, officials said.

Mohamed Hared Farah, deputy attorney of Puntland’s High Court, said the young men, four of whom are 18 and the other 19, were convicted in the rape of the girl.

“After all the court proceedings, including the presentation of evidence, the court sentences these five young men to death,” Farah said.

Second case sparks outrage 

Farah added that the rape trial occurred hours before the gang rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in the same Galkayo town, in the central Somali region of Mudug.

On Monday, Aisha Ilyes Aden was abducted at a market in the town. Her body was found the next morning near her home. An autopsy revealed she had been gang raped and then strangled.

Aisha’s case sparked outrage, with demonstrations and protesters’ calls for authorities to use the country’s landmark 2016 Sexual Offenses Law, which criminalizes rape, sexual harassment and online sexual offenses.

Four men have been arrested in the death of Aisha.

Puntland has also sent hundreds of security forces to Galkayo, which is fighting an increase in crime, including rape cases.

Sexual Offenses Law

The 2016 law allowed for five men who had gang raped a teenage girl, and then posted a video of the attack on social media, to be sentenced in 2017 to lashes and up to 10 years in prison, according to the United Nations, a key backer of the legislation.

Farah said Saturday’s sentence was meant to be both a lesson and final warning for other potential rapists.

“The young men in this region have made a normal habit to gang rape girls, therefore, our today’s sentence will send them a signal that we have a zero tolerance for rape and that anyone who commits will face death,” Farah warned.

The ruling Saturday was not only a test for Puntland state’s new sexual violence law, The Sexual Offense Act, but also a powerful signal of support for the rule of law in general in Somalia, some rights activists say.

Attitudes changing

Somalia is a conservative society where rape is stigmatized and victims are traditionally forced to marry their assailants. Most rape cases go unreported and unpunished, according to Somali women rights activists.

Many rape survivors and their families are afraid to come forward to publicly confront perpetrators, because they fear being shunned by their community. In many cases, the rape victims are deemed unmarriable.

“Sexual violence is sadly not a shocking occurrence in Puntland. For years, it has been relatively commonplace,” said Hawa Aden Mohamed, founder of the Galkayo Education Center for Peace and Development, which promotes women’s rights.

Anti-rape campaigners in Somalia say the brutal nature of several videos of gang rape and murder, which have been shared on social media in the past two years, are turning the tide against the conservative stigmatization and the nature of hiding perpetrators.

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US Congress Wades Into Britain’s Brexit Drama

With Britain deadlocked on negotiating its divorce from the European Union, an unexpected side-front is emerging, the U.S. Congress.

Conservatives who pushed the June 2016 referendum that ended in the shock decision to leave the 28-member bloc dangled the prospect of a free trade agreement with the United States as proof that Britain would not be isolated.

But while nationalist-minded President Donald Trump has welcomed Brexit, the main hitch to Britain’s exit has raised alarm among key U.S. lawmakers — the prospect of the return of a physical border that divides Ireland.

The elimination of the border between the Republic of Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland was a key component of the Good Friday agreement of 1998, brokered with the United States and made possible through the fruition of the integrated EU, which largely ended three decades of conflict that killed around 3,500 people.

Unified Ireland

Representative Peter King, long one of the highest-profile supporters in Congress of a unified Ireland, warned at a recent event in Washington that the direction of Brexit would be critical to any future U.S. trade deal.

“It’s important for we, as Irish Americans, to make clear when we deal with the British that this is very, very important to us,” he said.

“And if the British want to consider any type of trade agreement with the United States, it’s important that a soft border be maintained.”

While King is a Republican, his stance has appeared to gain steam since the Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in November because of the party’s historic Irish base and its generally more skeptical take on free trade.

Representative Richard Neal, a co-chairman of the Friends of Ireland Caucus who has voiced unease about Brexit’s effects, has taken charge of the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, which will review any trade deal.

Eleven lawmakers led by a Democrat recently introduced a resolution that would state the House of Representatives’ opposition to a hard border in Ireland.

Worries politely rebuffed

Daniel Dalton, a British Conservative member of the European parliament who visited Washington for talks with U.S. lawmakers, voiced concern that the Irish question could hold up a U.S.-Britain trade agreement.

He rebuffed, ever politely, U.S lawmakers’ worries on Ireland, saying that nobody was out to end the Good Friday agreement.

“I think the worry is a little bit that there might be an assumption from people here and that they jump into a discussion on what is a hugely complex issue when there is no will from London or from Dublin to have a hard border,” Dalton told AFP.

“That is a point that we have to make time and time again,” he said.

“The issue is how do we ensure that the Good Friday agreement isn’t accidentally breached, which is a very different position to start off from,” he added.

Brexit day March 29

Britain is set to leave the European Union on March 29, with Prime Minister Theresa May scrambling to seek changes after the House of Commons overwhelmingly rejected her divorce deal negotiated with the EU.

May has given MPs the option to delay Brexit and the opposition Labour Party has supported a fresh referendum.

Dalton said that the possibility of a U.S.-Britain trade agreement played “a very big psychological role” for Brexit voters, seeing as Washington has not been able to seal a deal with the EU as a whole.

A major issue, Dalton said, will be seeing whether post-Brexit Britain gravitates toward U.S. or EU standards on agriculture and manufacturing, crucial in sealing a trade pact.

For Dalton himself, the results of Brexit will not be abstract: He will be out of a job.

And the European lawmaker may not find comfort in going back to Britain as his wife is German.

“We, like many people, aren’t sure where actually we can live together and how all these things are going to play out,” he said. “And there are many couples across that particularly divide.”

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US Congress Wades Into Britain’s Brexit Drama

With Britain deadlocked on negotiating its divorce from the European Union, an unexpected side-front is emerging, the U.S. Congress.

Conservatives who pushed the June 2016 referendum that ended in the shock decision to leave the 28-member bloc dangled the prospect of a free trade agreement with the United States as proof that Britain would not be isolated.

But while nationalist-minded President Donald Trump has welcomed Brexit, the main hitch to Britain’s exit has raised alarm among key U.S. lawmakers — the prospect of the return of a physical border that divides Ireland.

The elimination of the border between the Republic of Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland was a key component of the Good Friday agreement of 1998, brokered with the United States and made possible through the fruition of the integrated EU, which largely ended three decades of conflict that killed around 3,500 people.

Unified Ireland

Representative Peter King, long one of the highest-profile supporters in Congress of a unified Ireland, warned at a recent event in Washington that the direction of Brexit would be critical to any future U.S. trade deal.

“It’s important for we, as Irish Americans, to make clear when we deal with the British that this is very, very important to us,” he said.

“And if the British want to consider any type of trade agreement with the United States, it’s important that a soft border be maintained.”

While King is a Republican, his stance has appeared to gain steam since the Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in November because of the party’s historic Irish base and its generally more skeptical take on free trade.

Representative Richard Neal, a co-chairman of the Friends of Ireland Caucus who has voiced unease about Brexit’s effects, has taken charge of the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, which will review any trade deal.

Eleven lawmakers led by a Democrat recently introduced a resolution that would state the House of Representatives’ opposition to a hard border in Ireland.

Worries politely rebuffed

Daniel Dalton, a British Conservative member of the European parliament who visited Washington for talks with U.S. lawmakers, voiced concern that the Irish question could hold up a U.S.-Britain trade agreement.

He rebuffed, ever politely, U.S lawmakers’ worries on Ireland, saying that nobody was out to end the Good Friday agreement.

“I think the worry is a little bit that there might be an assumption from people here and that they jump into a discussion on what is a hugely complex issue when there is no will from London or from Dublin to have a hard border,” Dalton told AFP.

“That is a point that we have to make time and time again,” he said.

“The issue is how do we ensure that the Good Friday agreement isn’t accidentally breached, which is a very different position to start off from,” he added.

Brexit day March 29

Britain is set to leave the European Union on March 29, with Prime Minister Theresa May scrambling to seek changes after the House of Commons overwhelmingly rejected her divorce deal negotiated with the EU.

May has given MPs the option to delay Brexit and the opposition Labour Party has supported a fresh referendum.

Dalton said that the possibility of a U.S.-Britain trade agreement played “a very big psychological role” for Brexit voters, seeing as Washington has not been able to seal a deal with the EU as a whole.

A major issue, Dalton said, will be seeing whether post-Brexit Britain gravitates toward U.S. or EU standards on agriculture and manufacturing, crucial in sealing a trade pact.

For Dalton himself, the results of Brexit will not be abstract: He will be out of a job.

And the European lawmaker may not find comfort in going back to Britain as his wife is German.

“We, like many people, aren’t sure where actually we can live together and how all these things are going to play out,” he said. “And there are many couples across that particularly divide.”

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US, South Korea Announce End to Joint Military Drills

The U.S. and South Korea announced late Saturday the two countries will end annual large-scale joint military exercises as part of diplomatic efforts to “achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

In a statement, the Pentagon said acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and South Korea Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo in a phone call Saturday decided to end the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle series of exercises.

Shanahan tweeted Saturday:

The Pentagon statement added, “Both the Minister and Secretary agreed that close coordination between the military activities of the United States and Republic of Korea will continue to support diplomatic efforts.”

The decision comes three days after a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam that ended without an agreement to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Seoul’s Defense Ministry released a similar statement, according to the Associated Press.

North Korea has denounced the U.S., South Korea joint exercises as aggressive provocations and rehearsals for war.

​Good-faith gesture

Ending the exercises could be seen as a good-faith gesture to keep nuclear talks with North Korea alive following the failed Hanoi summit, and to address Trump’s concerns about the high cost of these massive demonstrations of force.

The annual joint drills, which are usually conducted in the spring, were first postponed in 2018 to facilitate North Korea’s peaceful participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics that were held in South Korea.

Trump suspended the exercises indefinitely after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last June in Singapore, where the two leaders agreed to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Trump critical of cost

The president had long been critical of the cost of these joint exercises that bring in thousands of troops, fighter jets, warships and other military assets from U.S. bases around the world.

He was asked about the future of the military drills at the recent Hanoi summit, where he and Kim failed to agree on specific measures to reduce the North’s nuclear capabilities, nor to ease crippling economic sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.

“You know, the military exercises, I gave that up quite a while ago because it costs us $100 million every time we do it. We fly these massive bombers in from Guam, and when I first started a certain general said, ‘Oh, yes, sir, we fly them in from Guam. It’s right next door.’ Right next door is seven hours and then they come and drop bombs and go back,” Trump said.

U.S. military leadership is planning to replace the large-scale drills with a series of smaller exercises and training, and implementing technology based virtual exercises instead of deploying thousands of actual troops for the war games.

Brian Padden, Connie Kim of VOA’s Korean service and White House bureau chief Steve Herman contributed to this report.

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US, South Korea Announce End to Joint Military Drills

The U.S. and South Korea announced late Saturday the two countries will end annual large-scale joint military exercises as part of diplomatic efforts to “achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

In a statement, the Pentagon said acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and South Korea Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo in a phone call Saturday decided to end the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle series of exercises.

Shanahan tweeted Saturday:

The Pentagon statement added, “Both the Minister and Secretary agreed that close coordination between the military activities of the United States and Republic of Korea will continue to support diplomatic efforts.”

The decision comes three days after a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam that ended without an agreement to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Seoul’s Defense Ministry released a similar statement, according to the Associated Press.

North Korea has denounced the U.S., South Korea joint exercises as aggressive provocations and rehearsals for war.

​Good-faith gesture

Ending the exercises could be seen as a good-faith gesture to keep nuclear talks with North Korea alive following the failed Hanoi summit, and to address Trump’s concerns about the high cost of these massive demonstrations of force.

The annual joint drills, which are usually conducted in the spring, were first postponed in 2018 to facilitate North Korea’s peaceful participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics that were held in South Korea.

Trump suspended the exercises indefinitely after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last June in Singapore, where the two leaders agreed to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Trump critical of cost

The president had long been critical of the cost of these joint exercises that bring in thousands of troops, fighter jets, warships and other military assets from U.S. bases around the world.

He was asked about the future of the military drills at the recent Hanoi summit, where he and Kim failed to agree on specific measures to reduce the North’s nuclear capabilities, nor to ease crippling economic sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.

“You know, the military exercises, I gave that up quite a while ago because it costs us $100 million every time we do it. We fly these massive bombers in from Guam, and when I first started a certain general said, ‘Oh, yes, sir, we fly them in from Guam. It’s right next door.’ Right next door is seven hours and then they come and drop bombs and go back,” Trump said.

U.S. military leadership is planning to replace the large-scale drills with a series of smaller exercises and training, and implementing technology based virtual exercises instead of deploying thousands of actual troops for the war games.

Brian Padden, Connie Kim of VOA’s Korean service and White House bureau chief Steve Herman contributed to this report.

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Farmers Sue to Stop Measure Giving Lake Erie Legal Rights 

An unusual ballot measure approved by voters in Ohio’s fourth-largest city to give legal rights to Lake Erie is being challenged by farmers in a federal lawsuit that was filed Wednesday. 

 

The lawsuit names the city of Toledo, where voters overwhelmingly approved the Lake Erie Bill of Rights during a special election Tuesday. The measure seeks to add new protections for Lake Erie by allowing people to file lawsuits on its behalf. 

 

The plaintiffs, members of a fifth-generation farm family in Wood County, call the measure an assault on the fundamental rights of farmers in the Lake Erie region. 

 

Toledo Law Director Dale Emch said the city is reviewing the lawsuit 

 

A coalition of environmental groups has given its support to the Bill of Rights because of concerns about how toxic algae blooms in the lake’s western basin have become a persistent threat to drinking water and the lake’s overall health. Much of the pollution feeding the algae is runoff from fertilizer that flows into the lake through tributaries. 

 

Farmers are concerned the measure opens the door for lawsuits that would force them to make costly changes to the way they farm. The lawsuit claims it violates farmers’ constitutional rights and is unenforceable because it is too vague. It also seeks to immediately stop the new law from being enforced.  

Legal experts have raised doubts about whether the law can survive a court challenge. 

 

Case Western Reserve University law professor Jonathan Adler told cleveland.com the law oversteps the city’s jurisdiction because Lake Erie extends far beyond Toledo. 

 

“The people of one city don’t get to declare how a given resource could be used or protected when that resource is shared with lots of other jurisdictions,” Adler said. 

 

Markie Miller, an organizer for Toledoans for Safe Water, told The Blade that her group is prepared for legal challenges. 

 

“We expect this effort to bring about discussions and challenges, but hopefully ones inspired by the desire to create positive and meaningful changes,” she said.  

 

Just 9 percent of Toledo’s eligible voters cast ballots Tuesday.  

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Farmers Sue to Stop Measure Giving Lake Erie Legal Rights 

An unusual ballot measure approved by voters in Ohio’s fourth-largest city to give legal rights to Lake Erie is being challenged by farmers in a federal lawsuit that was filed Wednesday. 

 

The lawsuit names the city of Toledo, where voters overwhelmingly approved the Lake Erie Bill of Rights during a special election Tuesday. The measure seeks to add new protections for Lake Erie by allowing people to file lawsuits on its behalf. 

 

The plaintiffs, members of a fifth-generation farm family in Wood County, call the measure an assault on the fundamental rights of farmers in the Lake Erie region. 

 

Toledo Law Director Dale Emch said the city is reviewing the lawsuit 

 

A coalition of environmental groups has given its support to the Bill of Rights because of concerns about how toxic algae blooms in the lake’s western basin have become a persistent threat to drinking water and the lake’s overall health. Much of the pollution feeding the algae is runoff from fertilizer that flows into the lake through tributaries. 

 

Farmers are concerned the measure opens the door for lawsuits that would force them to make costly changes to the way they farm. The lawsuit claims it violates farmers’ constitutional rights and is unenforceable because it is too vague. It also seeks to immediately stop the new law from being enforced.  

Legal experts have raised doubts about whether the law can survive a court challenge. 

 

Case Western Reserve University law professor Jonathan Adler told cleveland.com the law oversteps the city’s jurisdiction because Lake Erie extends far beyond Toledo. 

 

“The people of one city don’t get to declare how a given resource could be used or protected when that resource is shared with lots of other jurisdictions,” Adler said. 

 

Markie Miller, an organizer for Toledoans for Safe Water, told The Blade that her group is prepared for legal challenges. 

 

“We expect this effort to bring about discussions and challenges, but hopefully ones inspired by the desire to create positive and meaningful changes,” she said.  

 

Just 9 percent of Toledo’s eligible voters cast ballots Tuesday.  

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Nigerian Army Denies IS Claim of Killing 10 Soldiers

Islamic State said Saturday that it had killed 10 Nigerian soldiers in an attack two days earlier in the country’s northeastern Borno state, but a Nigerian army 

spokesman said “no such incident was recorded.” 

In a statement issued through its news agency Amaq, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on a village it referred to as Tdmari, near Maiduguri town.

The Nigerian army spokesman insisted the “situation in the northeast has been calm for some time now. The Nigerian army is consolidating its efforts and successes are being achieved.” 

Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA), which split from Islamist group Boko Haram in 2016, has carried out a number of attacks in northeast Nigeria in the last few months. 

Borno is the state worst hit by Islamist insurgents, whose attacks on Nigerian military bases in the last few months made security a key issue in a just-concluded presidential election won by incumbent Muhammadu Buhari. 

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Nigerian Army Denies IS Claim of Killing 10 Soldiers

Islamic State said Saturday that it had killed 10 Nigerian soldiers in an attack two days earlier in the country’s northeastern Borno state, but a Nigerian army 

spokesman said “no such incident was recorded.” 

In a statement issued through its news agency Amaq, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on a village it referred to as Tdmari, near Maiduguri town.

The Nigerian army spokesman insisted the “situation in the northeast has been calm for some time now. The Nigerian army is consolidating its efforts and successes are being achieved.” 

Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA), which split from Islamist group Boko Haram in 2016, has carried out a number of attacks in northeast Nigeria in the last few months. 

Borno is the state worst hit by Islamist insurgents, whose attacks on Nigerian military bases in the last few months made security a key issue in a just-concluded presidential election won by incumbent Muhammadu Buhari. 

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Thousands Rally Against Montenegrin President

Thousands protested in Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, on Saturday, the fourth such rally in as many weeks, demanding that President Milo Djukanovic and his government resign over alleged corruption, cronyism and abuse of office. 

Throngs of people, rallied by civic activists, bloggers and journalists who say they are not affiliated with political parties, marched through the center of the city chanting “Milo, thief.” Opposition politicians have distanced themselves from the protests. 

Weekly political protests also continued in Serbia, Montenegro’s larger neighbor and fellow ex-Yugoslav republic.

Marija Backovic, a teacher from Podgorica, said she was protesting for a better Montenegro. “We are not the danger for this country … those that are destroying it for 30 years are the real danger,” she told the crowd on Saturday. 

The rallies started after Dusko Knezevic, a former ally of Djukanovic, accused him and his ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of corruption, cronyism, abuse of office and murky financial deals. 

Both Djukanovic and the DPS have denied the allegations and said the protests are legitimate unless they turn violent. 

Djukanovic has dominated national politics in the small Adriatic country, a NATO member and candidate for European Union membership, serving as prime minister or president for most of the period since independence in 1991. 

Montenegrin prosecutors accused Knezevic, a banker, of fraud and money laundering, but he fled to Britain. He has said he will produce more evidence about alleged murky dealings by Djukanovic and his allies. 

In December, Montenegro’s central bank placed the small Atlas Banka, headed by Knezevic, under temporary administration as its capital failed to meet minimum risk requirements. In January, Atlas Banka sought to increase its capital again after hiking it last October by 1.37 million euros ($1.56 million) to 32.03 million euros. 

In Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, meanwhile, thousands marched in protest at what they see as the increasingly autocratic rule of President Aleksandar Vucic.

The veteran leader and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) are accused by political opponents of stifling media freedoms, and opposition parties have demanded Vucic’s resignation and establishment of conditions for free and fair elections. 

Vucic and the SNS, which with coalition allies holds a comfortable majority of 160 deputies in the 250-seat parliament, reject those allegations. 

Both Montenegro and Serbia are seeking join the European Union but have been told they must root out organized crime, corruption and nepotism and reduce bureaucracy before they can become members of the bloc. 

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Thousands Rally Against Montenegrin President

Thousands protested in Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, on Saturday, the fourth such rally in as many weeks, demanding that President Milo Djukanovic and his government resign over alleged corruption, cronyism and abuse of office. 

Throngs of people, rallied by civic activists, bloggers and journalists who say they are not affiliated with political parties, marched through the center of the city chanting “Milo, thief.” Opposition politicians have distanced themselves from the protests. 

Weekly political protests also continued in Serbia, Montenegro’s larger neighbor and fellow ex-Yugoslav republic.

Marija Backovic, a teacher from Podgorica, said she was protesting for a better Montenegro. “We are not the danger for this country … those that are destroying it for 30 years are the real danger,” she told the crowd on Saturday. 

The rallies started after Dusko Knezevic, a former ally of Djukanovic, accused him and his ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of corruption, cronyism, abuse of office and murky financial deals. 

Both Djukanovic and the DPS have denied the allegations and said the protests are legitimate unless they turn violent. 

Djukanovic has dominated national politics in the small Adriatic country, a NATO member and candidate for European Union membership, serving as prime minister or president for most of the period since independence in 1991. 

Montenegrin prosecutors accused Knezevic, a banker, of fraud and money laundering, but he fled to Britain. He has said he will produce more evidence about alleged murky dealings by Djukanovic and his allies. 

In December, Montenegro’s central bank placed the small Atlas Banka, headed by Knezevic, under temporary administration as its capital failed to meet minimum risk requirements. In January, Atlas Banka sought to increase its capital again after hiking it last October by 1.37 million euros ($1.56 million) to 32.03 million euros. 

In Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, meanwhile, thousands marched in protest at what they see as the increasingly autocratic rule of President Aleksandar Vucic.

The veteran leader and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) are accused by political opponents of stifling media freedoms, and opposition parties have demanded Vucic’s resignation and establishment of conditions for free and fair elections. 

Vucic and the SNS, which with coalition allies holds a comfortable majority of 160 deputies in the 250-seat parliament, reject those allegations. 

Both Montenegro and Serbia are seeking join the European Union but have been told they must root out organized crime, corruption and nepotism and reduce bureaucracy before they can become members of the bloc. 

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Sudanese Opposition Party Leader Calls on Bashir to Step Down

Sudan’s main opposition party leader Sadiq al-Mahdi on Saturday called on President Omar al-Bashir to step down and sit with the opposition to agree on details of a transitional process to end the nation’s crisis, a statement from his party said. 

“You can achieve a safe exit for the country which will be appreciated by the Sudanese people and history and will transform the deep polarization into national unity and international isolation into international cooperation,” the 

statement said. 

The call came after a week of successive measures aimed at combating an unprecedented wave of protests threatening Bashir’s three-decade rule, including declaring a nationwide state of emergency and sacking the governors of Sudan’s 18 states and replacing them with military and security officials. 

The statement also called on Bashir to end the state of emergency, end torture and release all political prisoners. 

Protests in Sudan, initially over high bread prices, have taken place nearly every day since Dec. 19 and developed into the most sustained challenge that Bashir has faced. 

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Sudanese Opposition Party Leader Calls on Bashir to Step Down

Sudan’s main opposition party leader Sadiq al-Mahdi on Saturday called on President Omar al-Bashir to step down and sit with the opposition to agree on details of a transitional process to end the nation’s crisis, a statement from his party said. 

“You can achieve a safe exit for the country which will be appreciated by the Sudanese people and history and will transform the deep polarization into national unity and international isolation into international cooperation,” the 

statement said. 

The call came after a week of successive measures aimed at combating an unprecedented wave of protests threatening Bashir’s three-decade rule, including declaring a nationwide state of emergency and sacking the governors of Sudan’s 18 states and replacing them with military and security officials. 

The statement also called on Bashir to end the state of emergency, end torture and release all political prisoners. 

Protests in Sudan, initially over high bread prices, have taken place nearly every day since Dec. 19 and developed into the most sustained challenge that Bashir has faced. 

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Spain: Illegal Immigration by Sea Dropped in February 

Spain’s government says that unauthorized immigration by sea has dropped in the last month, falling to 930 people arriving in February compared with over 4,000 in January. 

 

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said while on a visit on Saturday to Spain’s northern African enclave of Melilla that “the upward trend of recent months has been broken.” 

 

Spain became the leading entry point into Europe for illegal migrants last year, when it received over 57,000 people by sea compared with 21,000 in 2017. 

 

Opposition parties have criticized the Socialist-led government for being soft on illegal migration. After taking a more welcoming position on migrants compared with other European Union nations like Italy, Spain has recently tried to reduce arrivals. 

 

The issue is expected to be on the agenda in April’s general elections.  

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Major Challenges Loom Amid IS ‘Last Stand’ 

Heavy fighting continued throughout the first full day of the final assault on the Islamic State militant group’s last bit of land, according to Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman Mustafa Bali.   

 

Victory may be near, with the militants surrounded and all civilian “human shields” believed to be safe in camps beyond the fighting in Baghuz, soldiers say. But some local leaders warn that with this victory will come a new set of problems.    

“The battle will end temporarily,” said Sheikh Humaydi Daham al-Hadi, a prominent tribal and provincial leader within Syria’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region. “But the negative impact will continue for years.” 

 

The Internationally backed SDF pushed forward slowly Saturday, reclaiming parts of what is a tent city on the banks of the Euphrates River next to  Baghuz. While not illustrious in nature, the camp has ended up being the scene of IS’s last attempt to hold land in Syria or Iraq. Locals caution, though, that IS attacks in the region continue almost daily.  

About an hour’s drive away, in a small town called Tel Hamees, Suliman, 17, a junior military volunteer, recently returned from the front lines in Baghuz. Almost all the locals in his town fled ahead of the first militant group that overran Tel Hamees years ago, and returned only when the third group, IS, was forced out in 2017. 

 

Suliman also serves at one of the many checkpoints that dot the roads between cities and towns across the country. These checkpoints in parts of Syria’s northeast have become a constant target, where the archenemies of IS are out in the open, exposed in small numbers.  

“Sometimes they attack briefly and then disappear,” explained Suliman, as his young cousins played on the remnants of a bombed-out house, “just so we know they are there.” 

 

Historical problem 

 

In a camp a few hours away, about 400 families of foreign IS fighters are trying to make homes for themselves, with no knowledge of whether or when their countries or families will take them back.  Children run with kites on the muddy roads lined with tents covered in blue tarps to keep out the winter rain.  

Sabina, a 30-year-old Bosnian woman, says she has nothing to hide. Her husband joined IS because he was a witness to the ethnic cleansing campaign and genocide against Bosnian Muslims in the 1990s. She followed him to what was then becoming an Islamic “State” because it seemed like a good idea to ensure their safety and the safety of their future children. 

 

“I was young and crazy and said, ‘OK,’ ” she said Friday in the camp manager’s office.   

At the time, however, it seemed anything but crazy to her husband, who went on to become an IS fighter. Even today, she sees the Islamic State as collapsing and never to return, but because of its constant state of war — not its reputation as a brutal group that terrorized people in Iraq, Syria and around the world.  

 

“You know, the women who I know didn’t know anything about this,” she said. “I never saw this. And I was there a long time.”  

 

Beyond IS 

 

A peaceful future, according to al-Hadi, means breaking this cycle of violence with negotiations, education and reconstruction.  Mothers of slain militants need to be persuaded not to teach their children to follow in their fathers’ footsteps. Destroyed cities and towns need to be rebuilt. Bodies of victims in former IS territories need to be found, buried and mourned.  

“It’s good that they are winning the battles now,” Sheikh al-Hadi said, as the group grew ahead of lunchtime. “But if it all ends this way, the problem will continue.” 

 

And as the civil war’s eighth year nears an end, the future of the region is increasingly insecure. International conflicts are on the verge of playing out in northeastern Syria, and its semi-autonomous government does not have the size or the resources to secure every road and town. 

 

“Individual attacks are more dangerous than comprehensive attacks,” the sheikh warned. “At least when you are attacked by a group, you know who the enemy is.”

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Former Yazidi Captives of IS Reunite With Families in Iraq

A group of Yazidi women and children reunited with their families in Iraq Saturday after five years of captivity at the hands of the Islamic State group, hugging and kissing relatives in emotional scenes that underscored their years-long ordeal and that of their devastated community.

Elated families met their loved ones at a rural truck stop on the road between Sinjar and Dohuk, tossing candy in the air like confetti, the women ululating with joy.

The 18 returning children, aged 10 to 15, appeared weary and at times uneasy with the attention of the media and officials. One teenage boy collapsed in his aunt’s arms and broke down in tears. Few parents were there to receive their children — many are still missing in territory held by the Islamic State, or have been confirmed killed. Other parents have already sought asylum in Western nations, in the hopes their children will be able to follow them.

Still, the children could not hide their joy at being hugged and kissed once more by their relatives after the long and traumatic separation.

They included 11 boys that many fear were trained in military camps by IS, though they all denied it. Only days since escaping the extremist group, the children were struggling to come to terms with their ordeal.

“They treated us well,” said 13-year-old Milad Hussein Khalaf. He said the militants separated him from his family when they were abducted in 2014 and sent the then-8-year-old to be raised by an IS family.

About 3,000 Yazidis are still missing after IS militants stormed their communities in the Sinjar region in northwest Iraq in 2014, and enslaved, raped and killed thousands of worshippers of the esoteric faith. The extremist group considers the Kurdish-speaking religious minority to be heretics.

The group of 3 Yazidi women and 18 children who reunited with their families Saturday are among thousands of civilians who emerged in the last few days from the last speck of territory held by the Islamic State group in the village of Baghouz, in eastern Syria. They crossed into Iraq from Syria on Friday, and were picked up by their families on Saturday.

Khalaf said his IS family put him in a religious school and he’s learned to recite passages from the Quran which he studied every day. Khalaf’s older cousin, Siri Ali, used a video chat app on her phone so her sisters in Canada could see him arrive. She said Khalaf doesn’t know that his parents are still missing.

“Thank God, they have returned and they are among us. This child does not have a mother or a father. We are going to be his parents,” said Khalaf’s other cousin, Noura Ali.

“We thank all the sides that worked together to rescue them, and we hope that the rest of the missing people will return.”

Khalaf said there are still children in Baghuz, but he couldn’t know how many.

Also among the arrivals was Dilbar Ali Ravu, 10. He looked slightly stunned, but also couldn’t hide his joy. His uncle, Jihad Ravu, said Dilbar developed lesions on his face while he was being held in a cell in Tal Afar in the early days of his captivity, after he was abducted five years ago. He says Dilbar hasn’t had proper medical treatment since then.

Susan Fahmy, a coordinator for the NGO Khalsa Aid, said she is certain all the boys were sent to training and that they need years of rehabilitation.

She said some Yazidi boys have been caught communicating with IS a year after they returned. She also said women are being pressured to give up their children fathered by IS men, and was alarmed that one of the women arrived without her kids.

Hosni Murad, the brother of Yazidi activist Nadia Murad, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy on behalf of victims of wartime sexual violence, was there to welcome home his 10-year-old nephew, Khashman Samir.

Samir’s four siblings and his parents were all killed by IS, said Murad. “They were all victims of Daesh,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for the group. “He’s the first and the last one to return from the family.”

Murad said he is certain his nephew, and all the boys, were given military training by IS, and he believes many young men are returning to the community harboring sympathies for the extremists. “Yes, in truth, we’re afraid they’ll do something. Their mindset is Daesh. I mean it’s been five years they’ve been training with them.”

Murad said another nephew of his, aged 16, spurned his pleas to come home, choosing to stay with IS until the end.

“He replied: `You are all infidels,’” Murad said, recalling the boy’s response. He hasn’t heard from him in months.

 

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UN: Nearly 2 in 3 Syrians in Need of Humanitarian Aid

The United Nations reports 11.7 million people or nearly two-thirds of Syria’s population is dependent on international humanitarian assistance for survival.  The U.N. has drawn up a so-called humanitarian response plan detailing the staggering needs in advance of an international pledging conference for Syria in Brussels March 12 to 14.

The U.N. has not yet come up with a dollar amount for its humanitarian plan for Syria.  But based on last year’s $3.36 billion-dollar appeal, the cost of caring for millions of destitute civilians in 2019 will not be cheap.

The Syrian government, with the aid of its Russian allies, has made large military and territorial gains.  Despite this, the U.N. says neither the war nor the humanitarian crisis affecting the civilian population is over.

The U.N. reports an estimated 6.2 million Syrians are internally displaced.  It says more than 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, suffering from chronic levels of deprivation.

Spokesman for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jens Laerke, says eight years of warfare has turned Syria into one of the biggest protection crises in the world.

“Despite an overall reduction of violence in some areas, people continue to be exposed to brutality every day.  Women, children, adolescent girls, older people, widows and female-headed households, and people with disabilities, face distinct protection risks and have specific needs,” he said.  

In addition, Laerke said people face the threat of explosive hazards as the country is littered with landmines and a variety of explosive ordnance.  He said more than 10 million people are estimated to be living in contaminated areas.

The U.N. response plan details the key survival needs including food, shelter, health care, water and sanitation.  It stresses the importance of education in a country where more than two million boys and girls are out of school.

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US-Backed Forces: Last Remnant of IS Caliphate to Fall Soon

Time is running out for fighters defending the last shred of the Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate in Syria.

About 15,000 U.S.-backed forces in Syria launched their final assault on the small IS enclave in the northeastern Syrian village of Baghuz late Friday, supported by U.S. and coalition warplanes and artillery.

By Saturday morning, despite heavy fighting, officials were confident the battle would not last much longer.

“We expect it to be over soon,” Syrian Democratic Force spokesman Mustafa Bali tweeted Saturday.

Street fighting

Earlier, Bali told VOA that SDF forces were fighting street-to-street against the IS fighters defending a patch of land covered by tents and broken buildings.

“Heavy weapons are being used,” Bali said. “Militants are still planting and using IEDs and bombs are exploding as the SDF forces are advancing.”

According to a spokesman with the Kurdish YPG militia, which has also been taking part in the battle against IS, at least four U.S.-backed troops had been injured.

SDF officials said many IS fighters had been killed but declined to give an estimate.

Both U.S. and SDF officials had been bracing for a difficult fight, warning those IS fighters who remained in Baghuz were among the most dedicated and hardened that the terror group had to offer. And as in past battles, officials expected IS to make heavy use of booby traps, improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers.

Sources close to SDF officials on the ground told VOA there was also grave concern that an unknown number of IS fighters were hiding below ground in a network that may extend for more than 2 kilometers.

Civilian estimates

SDF and coalition officials had estimated more than a week ago that Baghuz held about 300 IS fighters, as well as a few thousand civilians. But according to United Nations officials more than 13,000 civilians fled the enclave in the past week alone, many having hidden initially in the tunnels.

As late as Thursday, some of those fleeing Baghuz civilians were saying hundreds more civilians were still in hiding. But SDF officials rejected those accounts.

“There aren’t any civilians left in Baghuz, so it’s a matter of time before we take a full control of it,” SDF spokeswoman Lilwa Abdullah told VOA late Friday, describing the initial fighting as intense.

“We will keep fighting until we break into their last defense line,” she added.

Trump says caliphate fallen

The final assault on Baghuz comes just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump told U.S. soldiers that the final shred of the IS caliphate had already fallen.

“We just took over, you know, you kept hearing it was 90 percent, 92 percent, the caliphate in Syria. Now it’s 100 percent,” he said while visiting with U.S. troops at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Thursday.

But commanders with the U.S.-backed forces have until now been skeptical of a quick fight.

The SDF’s commander-in-chief on Thursday predicted it could take a week to clear the remaining IS fighters from Baghuz.

Another official cautioned, “Victory doesn’t seem to be coming in next days.”

Despite having been reduced to a small patch of land, IS has held on by using civilians as human shields and by using the tunnels and caves to launch occasional counterattacks against SDF forces.

“It is a very difficult and complex situation,” coalition spokesman, Col. Sean Ryan, told VOA Tuesday. “The threat remains as long as Daesh (IS) fighters have not given up in Baghuz and have the will and weapons to fight.”

Sirwan Kajjo in Washington contributed to this report.

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Nigeria Official: More Than 50 Missing in Pipeline Blast, Stampede

A local official says more than 50 people are missing after a leaking oil pipeline exploded and caused a stampede in southern Nigeria.

The Nembe Chiefs Council spokesman, Chief Nengi James-Eriworio, told The Associated Press that the blast early Friday caused massive oil spillage in the Nembe kingdom in Bayelsa state.

The Nembe trunk line is operated by the Port Harcourt-based Aiteo Group and carries crude to the Bonny export terminal. The pipeline is jointly owned by Agip, Oando and Shell Petroleum Development Company.

Aiteo is yet to comment on the explosion. It is not immediately clear if the pipeline has been shut down.

The Niger Delta is highly polluted. Nigerian oil companies usually assert that the majority of oil spills are caused by sabotage, theft and illegal refining.

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Nigeria Official: More Than 50 Missing in Pipeline Blast, Stampede

A local official says more than 50 people are missing after a leaking oil pipeline exploded and caused a stampede in southern Nigeria.

The Nembe Chiefs Council spokesman, Chief Nengi James-Eriworio, told The Associated Press that the blast early Friday caused massive oil spillage in the Nembe kingdom in Bayelsa state.

The Nembe trunk line is operated by the Port Harcourt-based Aiteo Group and carries crude to the Bonny export terminal. The pipeline is jointly owned by Agip, Oando and Shell Petroleum Development Company.

Aiteo is yet to comment on the explosion. It is not immediately clear if the pipeline has been shut down.

The Niger Delta is highly polluted. Nigerian oil companies usually assert that the majority of oil spills are caused by sabotage, theft and illegal refining.

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Sudan’s President Hands Party Leadership to Deputy

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has stepped down from his position as chairman of the ruling party.

The National Congress Party made the announcement late Thursday, following weeks of protests against Bashir’s rule.

The president transferred his party leadership role to NCP deputy chairman Ahmed Harun, until the party’s next general convention.

A NCP party statement said a new president would be chosen at the next general convention.

A date for the convention, however, has not been set.

The NCP enjoys a sweeping majority in parliament. The party’s chief becomes its candidate for the presidential elections, according to the party’s charter.

Harun’s deputy chairmanship appointment happened in recent days.

Like Bashir, Harun is also wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Bashir recently declared a state of emergency for Sudan, following the wave of protests.

The president also recently established emergency courts to deal with any violations during the state of emergency.

On Thursday, the emergency courts in Khartoum sentenced eight protesters to prison, with sentences ranging from five years to six months.

The protests initially erupted over rising prices and shortages, but quickly transformed into a call for Bashir to step down from the presidency. 

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