Italy’s ambassador to Democratic Republic of Congo was killed on Monday along with his bodyguard and a World Food Programme driver when their convoy was attacked in the east of the country, Italy and the United Nations said.The assailants stopped the convoy by firing warning shots, killed the Congolese driver and were leading the passengers into the forest when park rangers opened fire, the governor of North Kivu province, Carly Nzanzu Kasivita, told Reuters.
The Italian ambassador, Luca Attanasio, 43, was hit in the abdomen and died several hours later at the U.N. hospital in the regional capital Goma, Congo’s interior ministry said.
Italy said Attanasio’s bodyguard Vittorio Iacovacci, 30, also died in the attack. The driver was named by a security source and local rights activists as Mustapha Milambo.
-It was with great shock and immense sorrow that I learned of the death today of our Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and of a Carabinieri policeman- Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said in a statement.
-The circumstances of this brutal attack are still unclear and no effort will be spared to shed light on what happened.-There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Congo’s interior ministry blamed a Hutu militia called the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

It is one of dozens of armed groups operating in and around Virunga National Park, which lies along Congo’s borders with Rwanda and Uganda and is home to more than half the world’s mountain gorillas.

The FDLR, founded by members of the militia behind the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, kidnapped two British tourists in the same village in May 2018, leading the park to close to tourists for nine months. The couple were released after several days.
“I promise the Italian government that my country’s government will do everything to discover who is behind this awful murder,” Congo’s foreign minister Marie Ntumba Nzeza said.

The convoy was attacked at about 10:15 a.m. (0815 GMT) some 25 km (15 miles) north of Goma, a spokesman for the Virunga National Park told Reuters. Local civil society member Mambo Kawaya said it happened in the village of Rurimba.

The U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) said the delegation was on its way to visit a school feeding programme in Rutshuru. It said the road had previously been cleared for travel without security escorts.

Photos shared on social media showed Attanasio lying in the arms of a man in a park authority jeep and the broken window of a WFP vehicle. Reuters has not verified the images.

Italy’s foreign ministry website said Attanasio had been its head of mission in Congo’s capital Kinshasa since 2017 and was made ambassador in 2019. He was married and had three young daughters, according to his Facebook page.
-He was an enthusiastic young diplomat with a great sensitivity to social problems- said Mauro Garofolo at the Sant’Egidio charity based in Rome. -He closely followed our work such as our programme to help HIV/AIDS sufferers.-The driver, Milambo, leaves behind four children, said Jean-Mobert Senga, a Congolese rights activist.
-(He) joins thousands of Congolese who have lost their lives in this region, including on this road, and whose tragedies rarely make the headlines and comments from politicians in Kinshasa- he said on Twitter.

The circumstances of this brutal attack are still unclear and no effort will be spared to shed light on what happened

The Italian ambassador, Luca Attanasio, 43, was hit in the abdomen and died several hours later at the U.N. hospital in the regional capital Goma

Italy's envoy to Congo killed in attack on U.N. convoy

The Supreme Court cleared the way for a New York prosecutor to obtain former President Donald Trump's tax returns, dealing a massive loss to Trump who has fiercely fought to shield his financial papers from prosecutors.

The documents will be subject to grand jury secrecy rules that restrict their public release.
The ruling is a bitter loss for Trump, even if the tax records are shielded from public disclosure, after he consistently argued that the subpoena issued by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance was overbroad and issued in bad faith.It means that the grand jury investigation into alleged hush money payments and other issues will no longer be hampered by Trump's fight to keep the documents secret.
The ruling was issued without comment or noted dissent.
Vance celebrated the order, saying in a tweet, "The work continues."Trump's legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Although Trump's personal lawyers may continue to fight their appeal in the case, the fact that the documents will be released by Trump's long term accounting firm, Mazars, effectively ends the dispute.
Last July, the Supreme Court, voting 7-2, rejected the Trump's broad claims of immunity from a state criminal subpoena seeking his tax returns and said that as president he was not entitled to any kind of heightened standard unavailable to ordinary citizens. The justices sent the case back to the lower court so that the president could make more targeted objections regarding the scope of the subpoena.
In October, a federal appeals court said "there is nothing to suggest that these are anything but run-of-the-mill documents typically relevant to a grand jury investigation into possible financial or corporate misconduct."Trump's personal lawyers then took the case back to the Supreme Court, urging the justices to put the lower court ruling on hold while the justices considered whether to take up the appeal.
-The subpoena is geographically sprawling, temporally expansive, and topically unlimited --all attributes that raise suspicions of an unlawful fishing expedition- William Consovoy wrote. -Even if disclosure is confined to the grand jury and prosecutors," he said "once the documents are surrendered" confidentially "will be lost for all time."The subpoenas span documents from January 2011 to August 2019, including his tax returns, from Trump's long time accounting firm, Mazars. The documents relate to the Trump Organization's employment of Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen and hush money payment Cohen allegedly made to two woman who claimed to have had extramarital affairs with Trump.

The documents will be subject to grand jury secrecy rules that restrict their public release

Trump's legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment

Supreme Court allows release of Trump tax returns to NY prosecutor

Land sliding claimed the lives of at least four Afghan gold miners who were working on extracting the precious metal illegally in the mountainous northern region of Afghanistan, officials reported on Monday.

The incident took place last night in the remote district of Raghistan, according to the police directorate in the northern province of Badakhshan.
Sanaullah Rouhani, a police spokesman told Anadolu Agency by phone that three injured gold miners and four bodies have been recovered from the improvised mining site after the accident.
Earlier this week, the provincial finance department said the government was not getting any revenue because people were engaged in illegal mining of precious and semi-precious stones and metals such as gold in Badakhshan.
These improvised mining sites in Badakhshan are prone to deadly accidents. At least 30 miners lost their lives in the Kohistan district of the province when a fragile tunnel inside a cave collapsed over them in 2019.
According to the US Geological Survey, Afghanistan has almost $1 trillion in untapped mineral reserves, enough to turn the poor nation's economy. But illicit mining, carried out with the connivance of senior politicians and insurgent groups, is stealing this amazing wealth from the region.​​​​​​​

Fragile mining sites in Badakhshan province to extract precious stones, metals prone to deadly accidents

The incident took place last night in the remote district of Raghistan

4 killed during illegal mining for gold in Afghanistan

Some 128 Boeing 777 aircraft using the same Pratt &amp; Whitney engine which failed on a flight out of Denver have now been grounded, a spokeswoman for the giant US planemaker confirmed on Monday.

-I have just had confirmation that all the 777s equipped with this engine have been grounded- she said in a text message to AFP.
As well as United Airlines, the PW4000 engine type was also used by Japan's ANA and JAL groups, plus South Korea's Asiana Airlines.
In a statement Sunday, the company had recommended that all the aircraft concerned should be grounded as US regulators investigated a United Airlines flight which was forced to return to Denver airport after one of its engines caught fire and broke up.
A video shot from inside the aircraft -- which had 231 passengers and 10 crew onboard -- showed the right engine ablaze and wobbling on the wing of the Boeing 777-200.
Its front cowling -- which landed in the front yard of a house, missing it by inches, was entirely missing as the aircraft returned to Denver airport.
There were no injuries on the plane or on the ground, authorities said.

As well as United Airlines, the PW4000 engine type was also used by Japan's ANA and JAL groups, plus South Korea's Asiana Airlines

United Airlines flight UA328, carrying 231 passengers and 10 crew on board, returns to Denver International Airport with its starboard engine on fire after it called a Mayday alert, over Denver, Colorado, U.S. February 20, 2021.

Boeing confirms all 777s with same PW engine grounded

A Swedish tech consultant has been charged with espionage for allegedly selling information about truckmakers Volvo and Scania to Russia that put Sweden's security at risk, prosecutors said on Monday.

The 47-year-old man, whose name was not disclosed, was arrested in dramatic fashion in February 2019 while dining at a restaurant in central Stockholm with a Russian diplomat suspected of being an intelligence officer.
The Russian diplomat was briefly detained but released on account of his diplomatic immunity.
The arrest led to a diplomatic row between Sweden and Russia, with Stockholm subsequently denying visas to two Russian envoys. Moscow responded by expelling two Swedish diplomats.
In a statement on Monday, prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said that at the time of his arrest, the Swedish consultant had just received 27,800 kronor ($3,355, 2,770 euros) for passing information to Moscow.
-As a consultant at his former workplaces, I allege that he has obtained material with the purpose of providing information to a foreign power, in this case Russia- he said.
-He has been well-paid for this information, and this shows the value the Russians place on the information provided- he added.
Ljungkvist told AFP the companies concerned were truckmakers Volvo and Scania, and the information regarded "manufacturing, such as source codes and construction of products in the automotive sector."
According to the indictment, the man illegally transferred material from his work computer to his private computer and thereafter to USB memory sticks.
In order to hide his activities from being logged by the IT system, he also photographed material from the screen of his work computer. 
-In the prosecutor's view, this case concerns a crime that places Sweden’s security at risk- the statement said, adding that -Sweden is the injured party in this case and not the companies.-The statement did not elaborate on why national security was at risk. However, both Scania and Volvo also have military contracts.
Ljungqvist said that disseminating company secrets which a person has access to in their position is not a crime in itself, but can amount to espionage.
The suspect risks a maximum of six years in prison if convicted.
In its latest annual report published in 2020, Sweden's intelligence agency said Russia, along with China, posed the biggest intelligence threat to the Scandinavian country.

The 47-year-old man, whose name was not disclosed, was arrested in dramatic fashion in February 2019 while dining at a restaurant in central Stockholm with a Russian diplomat suspected of being an intelligence officer

The 47-year-old man's name was not disclosed

Swede charged with spying for Russia

Air New Zealand will trial a digital travel pass to give airlines and border authorities access to passenger health information, including their Covid-19 vaccination status, the carrier said Monday.

The scheme, dubbed a "vaccination passport" by industry observers, is intended to streamline travel once borders reopen by allowing passengers to store their health credentials in one place.
-It's essentially like having a digital health certificate that can be easily and securely shared with airlines- said Air New Zealand chief digital officer Jennifer Sepull.
It relies on an app developed by the International Air Transport Association (AITA) and other airlines including Etihad and Emirates have already signed up for their own trials.
The industry body's senior vice-president Nick Careen said it was an important milestone in restarting international travel as global vaccine rollouts get underway.
-Governments can be confident that passengers who are 'OK to travel' are in full compliance of Covid-19 travel requirements- he said.
Careen said the app ensured privacy by giving users control of the health data they provided.
The Air New Zealand trial begins in April.

It relies on an app developed by the International Air Transport Association (AITA)

Travellers on Air New Zealand flights will be invited to use the app on flights in April

Air New Zealand to trial digital Covid 'vaccination passport'

The powerful interior minister of Libya's unity government survived an assassination attempt Sunday, an aide said, sparking fears of resurgent violence despite UN-led peace efforts.

Fathi Bashagha's convoy "was fired on from an armoured car while he was on the highway" near the capital Tripoli, seat of the Government of National Accord (GNA), a member of his inner circle said.
- His police escort returned fire. Two of the assailants were arrested," the source said. 
A third later died in hospital, a source close to the minister said.
An AFP journalist heard an intense exchange of gunfire around 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) on the coastal road near Janzur on the eastern edges of Tripoli, which was later closed for an hour by security forces.
An interior ministry official confirmed that Bashagha was not harmed.
In a statement, the ministry said Bashagha had been targeted in an "assassination attempt as he returned from his residence in Janzur".
It said the attackers had used an armoured Toyota truck armed with a machine gun.
Security forces responded and arrested the militants, but a guard was wounded in the attack, it added.
Bashagha, a heavyweight in Libyan politics and a champion of anti-corruption efforts, has stepped up efforts in recent months to absorb armed groups into state security forces, while trying to rein in those acting outside the state -- a campaign rejected by some groups.
The 58-year-old has served as interior minister for the GNA since 2018 and had been a favourite to lead a new interim government under UN-led peace efforts following an October ceasefire last year. 
The post finally went to businessman Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, a 61-year-old engineer, who has called for reconstruction, democracy and reunification in Libya.

Libya has been riven by violence since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Two rival administrations, backed by an array of militias and foreign powers, have battled for control of the oil-rich country.
After pro-GNA forces last summer repelled a year-long offensive by eastern military chief Khalifa Haftar to seize the capital, a UN-backed ceasefire set the stage for talks aimed at reaching a political solution to a decade of conflict.
Dbeibah and a three-member presidency council, elected by UN-selected delegates at talks in Switzerland on February 5, are to lead the country towards elections set for December 24.
But while some have voiced hopes for meaningful peace talks, the apparent attempt on Bashagha's life was a stark reminder of Libya's precarious security situation and the sway of armed groups across the chaos-ridden country.
The US embassy in Tripoli voiced "outrage" at the attack, saying a member of Bashagha's team had been wounded.
Bashagha's "focus on ending the influence of rogue militias has our full support", said ambassador Richard Norland.
The shooting came just days after Libyans marked the 10-year anniversary of Kadhafi's overthrow.

Fathi Bashagha's convoy "was fired on from an armoured car while he was on the highway" near the capital Tripoli

Fathi Bashagha has been Libya's interior minister since 2018.

Libya's interior minister escapes assassination attempt

Five people were killed in the severe floods that submerged entire neighbourhoods in Indonesia's capital Jakarta, authorities said Sunday, as residents returned to clean their homes and salvage belongings.

The city was struck by torrential rains over the weekend, which flooded dozens of major roads and forced hundreds of people to rush to emergency shelters.
A 67-year-old man was found dead after he became trapped in his waterlogged house in the badly hit southern part of the capital on Saturday, Jakarta disaster mitigation agency head Sabdo Kurnianto told AFP.
He added that three boys died after being swept away by the floods, and one girl drowned.
Indonesia's meteorological agency warned that Greater Jakarta -- a region of around 30 million people that is regularly hit by floods in the rainy season -- can expect more heavy downpours next week.
-The river overflowed and brought a lot of mud... I have suffered great financial loss- said Ali Fatullah, a fruit seller in the town of Bekasi on the outskirts of Jakarta.
He said furniture and electronic devices were damaged by the water.
Kurnianto said some 1,700 people remained in shelters, though many residents had started returning to their homes.
Floodwaters had hit 200 neighbourhoods in the region, and 40 were still under at least one foot of water on Sunday.
Jakarta saw some of its deadliest floods in years in January last year after downpours that also triggered landslides.
At least 67 people in the capital and nearby cities were killed in that disaster.

The city was struck by torrential rains over the weekend

Floodwaters had hit 200 neighbourhoods in the region, and 40 were still under at least one foot of water on Sunday

Severe floods kill five in Indonesia's capital

The plane, a Beechcraft King Air 350i, was on its way to the city of Minna, 110 kilometres (68 miles) northwest of the capital, said air force spokesman Ibikunle Daramole in a statement.

The aircraft “crashed while returning to the Abuja Airport after reporting engine failure,” said Daramole. “First responders are at the scene. Sadly, all 7 personnel on board died in the crash.”
The chief of the air force has ordered an investigation into the accident, Daramole said.
In scrubland just outside the airport perimeter, dozens of military and airport officials picked through the charred remnants of the fuselage as fire engines and ambulances stood by.
The smell of burning chemicals lingered in the air but no fire or smoke were visible. Onlookers watched the rescue efforts from behind a cordon.
-As he (the plane’s pilot) was going down, he struggled to go back to the airport, at the end he just crashed- said Alaba Lawal, who said she witnessed the accident.
-I just saw the whole thing explode, fire and smoke together... When I got there I saw dead bodies on the ground.-The air force did not provide the identities of those killed in the crash.
The Beechcraft King Air 350i is a twin-propeller aircraft made by Textron Aviation, a unit of the U.S.-based Textron Inc conglomerate. The model was first released around 2009.

The aircraft crashed while returning to the Abuja Airport after reporting engine failure

Rescuers and people gather near the debris of a Nigerian air force plane, which according to the aviation minister crashed while approaching the Abuja airport runway, in Abuja, Nigeria February 21, 2021.

Nigerian air force passenger plane crash kills seven people

Russia would only consider releasing Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny if its leadership was hit with painful personal sanctions, a close ally said ahead of a meeting with European policymakers in Brussels on Sunday.European foreign ministers are expected to agree on Monday to impose sanctions on allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to the jailing of Navalny.
Navalny was arrested last month on his return from Germany following treatment for poisoning with what many Western countries say was a nerve agent. He was jailed on Feb. 2 for violating parole on what he and the Western countries said were trumped-up charges. He lost an appeal on Saturday.
Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s chief of staff, told Reuters on Saturday he believes Putin would only consider releasing him if hit by sanctions.
-Putin is a dictator, but he is quite rational. If the upsides of having Navalny in prison become less than the downsides, he will change his decision- said Volkov.
-If many of his closest allies become unhappy, this can be dangerous to Putin and this could lead him to decide to change his mind- Volkov added. -Or maybe not - but sanctions is the best thing that Europe can do now.-In Brussels on Sunday at the invitation of Lithuania, where he has been sheltering since 2019, Volkov said he will tell policymakers to use the “language of power” towards the Russian government, as he believes Putin sees bridge-building attempts by the West as a sign of weakness.
Asked to comment on Navalny’s political future after the court decision on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “It is absolutely none of our business.”
Navalny’s allies have published a list of 35 people they believe should be sanctioned.
His supporters are now gearing up to organise a “huge peaceful protest” in Russia this spring, Volkov said.
Navalny’s organization will then attempt to prevent Putin’s party from achieving a comfortable win at elections in September by campaigning for its rivals, said Volkov.

European foreign ministers are expected to agree on Monday to impose sanctions on allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is accused of slandering a Russian World War Two veteran, stands inside a defendant dock during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, Russia February 20, 2021, in this still image taken from video

Only 'language of power' and sanctions can free Navalny, ally says

Facebook on Sunday deleted the main page of the Myanmar military under it standards prohibiting the incitement of violence, the company said, a day after two protesters were killed when police opened fire at a demonstration against the Feb 1 coup.

-In line with our global policies, we’ve removed the Tatmadaw True News Information Team Page from Facebook for repeated violations of our Community Standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm- a Facebook representative said in a statement.
The Myanmar military is known as the Tatmadaw. Its True News page was no available on Sunday.
The military spokesman did not respond to a Reuters phone call seeking comment.
Two people were killed in Myanmar’s second city Mandalay on Saturday when police and soldiers fired at protesters demonstrating against the overthrow of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, emergency workers said, the bloodiest day in more than two weeks of demonstrations.
Facebook in recent years has engaged with civil rights activists and democratic political parties in Myanmar and pushed back against the military after coming under heavy international criticism for failing to contain online hate campaigns.
In 2018, it banned army chief Min Aung Hlaing - now the military ruler - and 19 other senior officers and organisations, and took down hundreds of pages and accounts run by military members for coordinated inauthentic behaviour.
Ahead of November elections, Facebook announced it had taken down a network of 70 fake accounts and pages operated by members of the military that had posted either positive content about the army or criticism of Suu Kyi and her party.

This happened  a day after two protesters were killed when police opened fire at a demonstration against the Feb 1 coup

Facebook: In line with our global policies, we’ve removed the Tatmadaw True News Information Team Page from Facebook for repeated violations of our Community Standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm

Facebook takes down main page of Myanmar military

US President Joe Biden's attorney general nominee pledged Saturday to depoliticize the Justice Department and to vigorously prosecute the Donald Trump supporters who attacked the US Capitol.

In testimony prepared for his confirmation hearing on Monday and Tuesday, federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland indicated he wants to remove the taint of political interference left on the department by Trump.
He said that if confirmed, he would reaffirm "policies that protect the independence of the department from partisan influence in law enforcement investigations (and) that strictly regulate communications with the White House."
He also promised to create clear guidelines for FBI investigations, amid allegations that the agency strayed deeply into politics in investigating Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 and then Trump in 2017-2018.
In an apparent reference to the Black Lives Matter movement, Garland also said that enforcing equal justice for people of color remains an incomplete and "urgent" task, 150 years after the Justice Department was founded following the Civil War. 
Minorities still face discrimination in housing, education and the jobs market, and suffer more than others the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, Garland said in his statement.
-The Civil Rights Act of 1957 created the Department's Civil Rights Division, with the mission 'to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society- Garland said.
"That mission remains urgent because we do not yet have equal justice."
Garland also said the country faces a serious threat of extremism, as exemplified by the deadly January 6 attack by Trump supporters on the US Capitol, which shut down the legislature as lawmakers met to certify Biden's election win.
The Justice Department has already charged some 230 people in that event and is investigating hundreds more, with the possibility of charging some with seditious conspiracy. 
-If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on January 6 -- a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government- Garland said.
Garland, 68, worked in the Justice Department before becoming a judge nearly 24 years ago.
Seen as a moderate liberal, in 2016 he was nominated by then Democratic president Barack Obama to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.
But Republicans determined to turn the high court to the right stalled the nomination, allowing Trump in 2017 to put forth a conservative nominee. 
Garland, who must be confirmed by the evenly split Senate, is expected this time to gain enough support from Republicans for his nomination to go through.

Merrick Garland indicated he wants to remove the taint of political interference left on the department by Trump

Federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland was nominated by US President Joe Biden to be attorney general

Biden's attorney general pick vows to prosecute Capitol attackers

A United Airlines flight suffered a fiery engine failure Saturday shortly after taking off from Denver on its way to Hawaii, dropping massive debris on a residential area before a safe emergency landing, officials said.

-Flight UA328 from Denver to Honolulu experienced an engine failure shortly after departure, returned safely to Denver and was met by emergency crews as a precaution- the airline said on Twitter.
There were no injuries on the plane or on the ground, authorities said.
The safe landing of the flight, which US media said had 231 passengers and 10 crew onboard, came despite the stricken engine, images of which were captured and posted on Twitter. 
A video shot from inside the plane showed the right engine ablaze and wobbling on the wing of the Boeing 777-200, its cover entirely missing as the aircraft flew over a barren landscape.
-I can honestly say I thought we were going to die at one point -- because we started dropping altitude right after the explosion- passenger David Delucia told The Denver Post.
-I grabbed my wife's hand and said, 'We're done.'-Delucia said his stepdaughter posted the online video, which was shot by another passenger.

In a recording of the distress call obtained from the website LiveATC, which broadcasts air traffic communications, the pilot requested emergency permission to turn back to Denver.

-Three-twenty-eight, uh, heavy. We've experienced engine failure, need to turn. Mayday, mayday- he said, without obvious panic in his voice.
-Mayday, aircraft, uh, just experienced engine failure- he said, after the tower asked him to repeat himself. -Need a turn immediately.-Meanwhile, residents in the Denver suburb of Broomfield found large pieces of the plane scattered around their community, including a giant circular piece of metal that landed in the yard of Kirby Klements.
-It was a little overwhelming- he told CNN.
-It landed square on top of my truck and fell off- he said, reporting that a separate large piece of debris had put a five-foot (1.5-meter) hole in a neighbor's roof. 
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was "aware of reports of debris in the vicinity of the airplane's flight path," adding that the agency and the National Transportation Safety Board would be investigating the incident.
-If you find debris PLEASE don't touch it or move it. The @NTSB wants all debris to remain in place for investigation- Bloomfield police tweeted.
It posted photos of debris scattered across a turf sports field at a park, include one piece of the plane with a warning message painted in red: "Stand clear of hazard areas while engine is running."
Heather Solar was running a practice at the park for her girls' soccer team when she said she heard an explosion, following by debris raining down.
-Honestly, what I thought it was at first... I thought we were being bombed- Solar told The Denver Post. -There was so much debris in the sky.-

There were no injuries on the plane or on the ground

Residents in the Denver suburb of Broomfield found large pieces of the plane scattered around their community

United flight suffers engine failure, scatters debris over US city

U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least March 21, the one-year anniversary of the restrictions to address COVID-19 transmission concerns, the U.S. government said Friday.

The new 30-day extension is the first announced under President Joe Biden and comes as the White House has been holding meetings about potentially tightening requirements for crossing at U.S. land borders in North America, officials said.
Canada has shown little interest in lifting the restrictions and recently imposed new COVID-19 testing requirements for some Canadians returning by land crossings.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair confirmed the extension of restrictions through March 21. “We will continue to base our decisions on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe from #COVID19,” Blair wrote on Twitter.
On Jan. 26, the U.S. government began requiring nearly all international air travelers to get negative COVID-19 test results within three days of travel, but has no similar requirements for land border crossings.
In an executive order issued last month, Biden directed U.S. officials to “immediately commence diplomatic outreach to the governments of Canada and Mexico regarding public health protocols for land ports of entry.”
It added U.S. agencies should submit a plan to Biden within 14 days “to implement appropriate public health measures at land ports of entry.”
-The plan should implement CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines, consistent with applicable law, and take into account the operational considerations relevant to the different populations who enter the United States by land- it said.
Biden also directed a similar review of sea travel and to “implement appropriate public health measures at sea ports.”

The new 30-day extension is the first announced under President Joe Biden

A U.S. Customs and Protection vehicle stands beside a sign reading that the border is closed to non-essential traffic at the Canada-United States border crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge, to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Lansdowne, Ontario, Canada September 28, 2020.

U.S. extends travel restrictions at land borders with Canada, Mexico through March 21

A Moscow court on Saturday rejected an appeal by Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny of his suspended sentence being replaced by prison time, but further trimmed his time behind bars.

Under the new ruling, Navalny will spend a total of two-and-a-half-years in prison – down from an initial three-and-a-half-year sentence, taking into account two months in house arrest plus a previous 10-month deduction.
The court announced that the sentence will start immediately, with Navalny set to be transported to a prison colony.
Navalny pled not guilty and demanded his immediate release. His lawyers, Vadim Kobzev and Olga Mikhaylova, said they would appeal the conviction.
In 2014, Navalny was convicted of fraud and embezzlement, but his sentence was suspended and replaced with six years probation. He was required to report to the police twice a month.
However, after he suffered poisoning last year due to an alleged nerve agent, his police station appearances went on hold as long as he was in Germany, getting treatment.
But as his treatment ended last September, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service faulted him for not reporting him to the police, and put on a wanted list.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) urged Russia on Wednesday to immediately release Navalny, saying the government could not provide “sufficient safeguards for his life and health."
However, Russia rejected the ECHR decision, calling it "interference in internal affairs."

Under court ruling, opposition figure set to be transported soon to prison colony Elena Teslova

Navalny pled not guilty and demanded his immediate release

Russia's Navalny loses appeal in Moscow court

An Azerbaijani civilian was killed after a mine planted by Armenian forces exploded in Upper Karabakh region.

In a statement, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office said the mine was exploded in the Talish village of Tartar district, which had been under Armenian occupation for three decades.
It was an anti-tank mine laid by Armenian soldiers during the occupation period, it added.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
New clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, and ended with a Russian-brokered truce six weeks later.
Baku liberated several strategic cities, and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages from the Armenian occupation during this time.
Before this, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory had been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.

Armenian forces laid anti-tank mine in Talish village, says Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office

It was an anti-tank mine laid by Armenian soldiers during the occupation period

Italy's envoy to Congo killed in attack on U.N. convoy

Supreme Court allows release of Trump tax returns to NY prosecutor

4 killed during illegal mining for gold in Afghanistan

Boeing confirms all 777s with same PW engine grounded

Swede charged with spying for Russia

Air New Zealand to trial digital Covid 'vaccination passport'

Libya's interior minister escapes assassination attempt

Severe floods kill five in Indonesia's capital

Nigerian air force passenger plane crash kills seven people

Only 'language of power' and sanctions can free Navalny, ally says

Facebook takes down main page of Myanmar military

Biden's attorney general pick vows to prosecute Capitol attackers

United flight suffers engine failure, scatters debris over US city

U.S. extends travel restrictions at land borders with Canada, Mexico through March 21

Russia's Navalny loses appeal in Moscow court

Azerbaijani civilian killed in Karabakh mine explosion

World

Italy's envoy to Congo killed in attack on U.N. convoy

Supreme Court allows release of Trump tax returns to NY prosecutor

4 killed during illegal mining for gold in Afghanistan

Boeing confirms all 777s with same PW engine grounded

Swede charged with spying for Russia

Air New Zealand to trial digital Covid 'vaccination passport'

Libya's interior minister escapes assassination attempt

Severe floods kill five in Indonesia's capital

Nigerian air force passenger plane crash kills seven people

Only 'language of power' and sanctions can free Navalny, ally says

Facebook takes down main page of Myanmar military

Biden's attorney general pick vows to prosecute Capitol attackers

United flight suffers engine failure, scatters debris over US city

U.S. extends travel restrictions at land borders with Canada, Mexico through March 21

Russia's Navalny loses appeal in Moscow court

Azerbaijani civilian killed in Karabakh mine explosion