Briefsfromshittu

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

'One killed' in airport explosions - Belgian media

Belgian media reports say one person has died in the explosion and several have been injured.

Other, unconfirmed media reports, citing firefighters at the scene, say at least 11 people have been killed in the blasts and 25 injured.

Two Loud Explosions Heard At Brussels Airport

Two loud explosions have been heard at a Brussels airport which is being evacuated amid reports of several casualties.

According to reports the blasts centred on an American Airlines desk in a departure hall.

It comes as the Belgian capital is on high alert following the arrest of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam in the city last Friday.

Sky's Alex Rossi, at the scene, said: "I was in the duty free in Zaventem Airport and I heard two very, very loud explosions.

"I could feel the building move. There was also dust and smoke as well.

"I went towards where the explosion came from and there were people coming out looking very dazed and shocked.

"The thinking here is that it is some kind of terrorist attack although that hasn't been verified by any of the authorities here at the airport.

"Don't know how the explosion took place, the method if you like. But it certainly seems Brussels airport has been targeted in a terrorist attack.

"We are all being moved out of the airport now towards the emergency exit.

"There is a great deal of confusion here. Certainly there are a number of very upset, as you might imagine, very frightened people."

He added: "There are fears that there might be other attackers."

Belgian media is reporting several people have been injured, and that all trains to the airport have been suspended.

Brussels Zaventem airport rocked by two explosions

Two explosions have been reported at Zaventem airport in Brussels.

Images on social media from the scene showed smoke rising from one of the terminal buildings. The cause of the explosions is unknown.

Some reports from the scene speak of casualties but this has not been confirmed.

The blasts come four days after the capture in Brussels of Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the Paris attacks in November.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Cuba visit: Obama and Castro spar over human rights

Cuban President Raul Castro and US President Barack Obama sparred over human rights issues including the American prison at Guantanamo Bay and Cuba's political prisoners.

At a historic news conference, Mr Castro said if he was given a list of political prisoners, he would "release them tonight".

The White House has said it has given Cuba lists of dissidents in the past.

Mr Castro does not view the prisoners as dissidents, US officials said.

That disagreement is central to the conflict between US and Cuban officials.

More needs to be done to lift the US embargo on trade with Cuba, Mr Castro said, adding that the Guantanamo Bay detention camp must close.

Mr Obama, the first serving US president to visit Cuba since 1959, said the trade embargo would be fully lifted.

"Cuba's destiny will not be decided by the United States or any other nation... The future of Cuba will be decided by Cubans not by anybody else," Mr Obama said.

Mr Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were later welcomed at a state dinner, along with some members of US Congress and senior White House staff.

The Failde Youth Band entertained the guests, who dined on shrimp mousse, cream soup flavoured with rum, and traditional pork with rice and plantain chips. Waiters passed round Cuban cigars after dinner.

Earlier on Monday, Mr Castro defended Cuba's record on human rights and pointed to problems in the US.

"We defend human rights, in our view civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights are indivisible, inter-dependent and universal," Mr Castro said.

Mr Castro is not usually subject to any aggressive questioning from reporters and called the prisoners question "not polite", later ending the news conference by saying "I think this is enough".

"Actually we find it inconceivable that a government does not defend and ensure the right to healthcare, education, social security, food provision and development," he said.

Speaking to ABC News after the conference with Mr Castro, Mr Obama did not directly say he would be giving Mr Castro a list of political prisoners.

"We have given them a lists in the past and they have responded intermittently to our engagement," he said. "And this I think is an example of why it was my belief that this would be a more successful mechanism for us to advance the values that we care about than an embargo and silence and no communications."

Analysis: Tara McKelvey, BBC White House Reporter

President Obama and his aides hoped that the Cuban President, Raul Castro, would approach the news conference with an open mind.

The White House officials also hoped that Mr Castro would be receptive to new ideas and to new ways of doing things. Specifically, the US officials hoped that he'd take questions from reporters. Surprisingly enough, he did, marking a departure from his past.

The two men joked around during the question-and-answer period, and they worked out some of their differences. When one of Mr Castro's aides interrupted his boss during the conference, for example, Mr Obama looked annoyed. But he and Mr Castro moved on, talking about the future of Cuba.

In a similar way, Mr Obama and his aides hope they can overcome other issues, including difficult ones such as human rights, as they forge a new relationship between the two countries.

Mr Obama could not say exactly when the trade embargo would be lifted, but recognised it was necessary.

"The reason is what we did for 50 years did not serve our interests or the interests of the Cuban people," he said.

His administration has done what it can on lifting trade restrictions, he said, but further action will require Congress which is "not as productive in an election year".

He also said further easing of the trade embargo will depend on actions Cuba takes on human rights.

Six sticking points to better relations - Guantanamo Bay, human rights and media freedoms are among the unresolved issues

Cuba's DIY economy - A new generation of Cuban entrepreneurs are launching private businesses

Internet access still restricted in Cuba - Only about 5% of Cubans have web access at home

Mr Obama said it is not just Cuba that the US has "deep disagreements" about human rights with - it also has disagreements with China and Vietnam.

"I believe if I engage frankly, clearly, stating our beliefs but I can't force change on any country - it ultimately has to come from within - that is a more useful strategy," he said. "I have faith in people".

Reporters described the press conference as "tense" and "remarkable".

Karla Olivares, an independent journalist from Cuba, told the BBC's Tara McKelvey Mr Castro "talked more than usual" and the claim that Cuba does not have any political prisoners "complicated".

Before the speech, it was announced that Google was opening an online technology centre for free Internet access at much higher speeds than what is available on the island now.

Google hopes the centre will be part of a larger effort to improve Internet access in Cuba.

Chinese #A4waist 'fitness challenge' prompts backlash

Chinese internet users have posted photos online to show they are "paper thin", sparking debate around the world about standards of beauty.

The social media craze has seen women hold up a piece of A4 paper vertically, to cover their waists.

Chinese state newspaper People's Daily described it as a "fitness challenge".

But people in China and elsewhere have responded with their own photos, arguing that a 21cm (8.3 inch) waist is unhealthy and unrealistic.

The craze began on social networks such as Weibo and WeChat, with users such as actress Zhang Li posting photos, before going global on Twitter and Instagram.

Posting under the hashtags #A4waist and #A4waistchallenge, many internet users showed their disdain for the trend.

Others found creative ways to underline the unrealistic nature of the challenge.

Even the Chinese authorities joined in.

The Ministry of Public Security posted on its Weibo account that the distance between the mainland and the island of Taiwan, which the authorities view as part of China, was "just the size of a piece of A4 paper".

The A4 waist challenge is not the first unusual online beauty craze emphasising thinness to emerge from China.

Previous challenges have included showing off prominent collarbones by balancing rows of coins on them and the "belly button challenge".

FBI 'may be able to unlock San Bernardino iPhone'

The FBI says it may have found a way to unlock the San Bernardino attacker's iPhone without Apple's assistance.

A court hearing with Apple scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed at the request of the US Justice Department (DOJ), Apple has confirmed.

The DOJ had ordered Apple to help unlock the phone used by San Bernardino gunman Rizwan Farook.

But Apple has continued to fight the order, saying it would set a "dangerous precedent".

Rizwan Farook and his wife killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, last December before police fatally shot them.

Ever since this issue arose, security experts have been saying "surely the FBI can do this themselves?" Well, maybe now they can.

An "outside party" - you'd assume a security company, but we don't know for sure - has approached the FBI and said it could unlock the phone.

If they can do it, the court case is irrelevant. The FBI gets what they need. But if it doesn't work, we'll find ourselves back here to resume the trial.

Apple's legal team told reporters it wasn't treating it as a legal victory. The issue still looms large over the company. If the FBI has found a way, who's to say it'll always work? Apple will, as any software maker would, frantically try and fix the flaw. After all - if the FBI can do it, so can any other hacker privy to the same information.

If this method works, then what? With each new iteration of iOS, Apple could find itself back in court.

The technology industry, led by Apple, has called for the matter to be debated in Congress. This case may be on the brink of going away, but the debate is just starting.

Prosecutors said "an outside party" had demonstrated a possible way of unlocking the iPhone without the need to seek Apple's help.

"Testing is required to determine whether it is a viable method that will not compromise data on Farook's iPhone," a court filing said.

"If the method is viable, it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple."

DOJ spokeswoman Melanie Newman said in a statement that the government was "cautiously optimistic" that the possible method to unlock the phone would work.

The government said it would update the court on 5 April.

Attorneys for Apple told reporters that the firm had no idea what method the FBI was exploring to try to unlock the phone.

They said they hoped that the government would share with Apple any vulnerabilities of the iPhone that might come to light.

The FBI says Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik were inspired by so-called Islamic State and that the encrypted iPhone may contain crucial evidence.

It wants to access the data but the device can only be unlocked by entering the correct passcode.

Guessing the code incorrectly too many times could permanently delete all data on the phone, so the FBI had asked Apple to develop a new version of its operating system that circumvents some of its security features.

Last month the DOJ obtained a court order directing Apple to create that software,

But Apple has fought back, stating that creating a compromised version of the operating system would have security implications for millions of iPhone users and would set a precedent.

The company has received support from other tech giants including, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, as it resisted a court order to unlock the iPhone.

US Election 2016: Donald Trump names foreign policy advisers

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has revealed the first members of his foreign policy team.

The advisers include academics and former military officers with expertise on the Middle East and energy issues.

Mr Trump told the Washington Post that he would name more advisers in the coming days.

Several of his advisers have served as experts for other Republican presidential candidates such as Mitt Romney and Ben Carson.

On Monday, Mr Trump named retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg, Carter Page, George Papadopoulos, Walid Phares and retired Gen Joseph Schmitz.

The team is led by Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama who has helped shape Mr Trump's policies, most notably on immigration.

Mr Trump has come under criticism in recent days over his policy credentials. When cable news network MSNBC asked him who was advising him on policy, Mr Trump named himself.

Analysis: Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America reporter

Donald Trump recently boasted he was his own top adviser on foreign policy matters, noting that he had a "good instinct for this stuff".

After more than a month of hints and promises, however, the Republican presidential front-runner has announced who else has his ear on international affairs.

The names are hardly a who's who in the Republican foreign policy firmament - which could be good or bad news depending on one's perspective.

Mr Trump's positions on trade deals and military intervention put him decidedly outside the Republican Party establishment, and this list of advisers will do little to change that perception.

If Republicans hoped they could bend Mr Trump to party orthodoxy, this may be their latest Trump-related miscalculation.

Unorthodox foreign policy goals

While some of his team are not well known in Republican academic circles, others are seen as controversial figures.

Gen Joseph Schmitz resigned from the military in 2005 amid accusations of misconduct. However, Mr Schmitz was never charged with wrongdoing.

Another adviser, Walid Phares, was criticised when he was named as part of Mr Romney's foreign policy team in 2011.

Muslim advocacy groups took issue with Mr Phares's close ties to right-wing Christian militia groups during the Lebanese civil war.

He is an outspoken critic of Sharia, or Islamic religious law, and has appeared on Fox News and other conservative media outlets as an expert on the Middle East.

More on the US presidential race

Jorge Ramos on Donald Trump's rise - Meet the Republican front-runner's nemesis

Who is funding the US election? - Money is a big issue in the 2016 US presidential race

Could Hillary Clinton face jail time? - The case of David Petraeus may signal how she will fare

George Papadopoulos recently served as an adviser to Mr Carson, who dropped out of the race in February. Mr Papadopoulos has worked as a consultant for energy companies in the Middle East.

Also on Monday, Mr Trump told the BBC's Gary O'Donoghue that he believes the UK may leave the European Union when a referendum is held in June.

"I think they may leave it based on everything," Mr Trump said. "I have a lot of investments in the UK, and I will tell you I think they may leave based on everything I'm hearing."

He also said the US should spend less money on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato).

"We are paying disproportionately," he told CNN. "It's too much and frankly it's a different world than it was when we originally conceived of the idea."