Thousands of German teens join Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s climate fight
Thousands of German youths went on strike from school on March 29, joining Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg who has taken her protest against climate change to Berlin.
Armed with homemade posters bearing slogans like “It's getting hot in here” or “Our house is on fire” or “You're never too small to make a difference”, the teenagers packed into a park in central Berlin to sound the alarm about global warming.
From the park in front of the Economy Ministry, they were to march to Brandenburg Gate, where Ms. Thunberg is due to address the crowd.
Police said they have dispatched 300 officers to the protest which is expected to draw around 15,000 people.
“We're going to continue skipping classes every Friday because we can't keep going like that with the climate. We have to pull the emergency brakes,” vowed Franziska Wessel, one of the organisers of the protests in Berlin.
Since December 2018, teenagers across Germany inspired by the 16-year-old Ms. Thunberg's climate fight have been marching weekly instead of sitting in classes.
With the protests coming at a time when a government commission recommended that coal be phased out by 2038, the youths have seized on the theme to demand a halt to the polluting fuel by 2030.
The youth engagement has left politicians divided on how to react.
Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has urged students not to skip school saying that demonstrations are not less effective outside class hours.
But Chancellor Angela Merkel has welcomed their fight.
NaMo merchandise rath at BJP HQ
T-shirts, pens, badges and masks — embellished with Narendra Modi’s catchy messages — are on sale, wherever the Prime Minister goes, Namo Raths follow him. So, you have T-shirts being sold anywhere between Rs. 499 and Rs. 899, and other knick-knacks costing Rs. 150, going up to Rs. 500.
That’s for anyone who wants to see and hear Mr. Modi at his rallies. All of it was evident in Meerut on March 28 when he formally launched BJP’s Lok Sabha poll campaign. The party expects to raise people’s involvement by cashing in on the Prime Minister’s popularity.
BJP publicity material are kept for sale on a Namo Merchandise Rath at BJP headquarters in New Delhi on March 29, 2019.
Mr. Modi was scheduled to address the party rally in the Uttar Pradesh city at 11 a.m., but by then scores of people had already lined up before the NaMo Rath to buy whatever was on sale — all in Modi’s name.
— IANS
Maria Ressa, award-winning head of Philippine news site Rappler, re-arrested, let on bail
The head of a Philippine news website known for critical reports about President Rodrigo Duterte was freed on bail hours after she was re-arrested at a Manila airport on charges she had violated foreign ownership rules.
“You cannot harass and intimidate journalists to silence. We'll stand up and fight against it,” Maria Ressa, the award-winning head of news platform Rappler, told reporters after posting bail of 90,000 pesos ($1,707).
Rappler CEO and Executive Editor Maria Ressa is escorted by police after posting bail in Pasig Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, Philippines on March 29, 2019.
Lawsuits against news platform Rappler have drawn global concern about a free and open media in the democratic Southeast Asian country.
Rappler and its officials are now facing 11 cases, said Ms. Ressa, who posted bail for the seventh time.
Ms. Ressa was served an arrest warrant over a libel case live on television last month and spent a night in detention before she was released. She was arrested again on March 29 minutes after arriving from the United States.
“It is sad this is the kind of welcome our country gives to journalists,” said Ms. Ressa, who is due to be arraigned in a regional court on April 10.
State prosecutors filed the latest charges against her and other Rappler executives on March 27, while she was overseas. Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde said officers were enforcing a court order.
The Philippine constitution bans foreign ownership of media but Rappler has said foreigners who invested in its Philippine Depositary Receipts do not have any say in its operations.
Congress fields Urmila Matondkar from Mumbai North
The Congress fielded actor Urmila Matondkar from Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency two days after she joined the party.
Matondkar had joined the Congress after meeting Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday and had later said that she was "here to stay."
Bollywood actor Urmila Matondkar at her first election campaign from North Mumbai constituency for Lok Sabha Election 2019 on Friday.
"The Congress central election committee has approved the candidature of Urmila Matondkar as party candidate to contest the ensuing general elections from Mumbai North parliamentary constituency in Maharashtra," a party statement said.
Edappadi Palaniswami campaigns for PMK candidate
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK joint-coordinator, Edappadi K Palaniswami campaigns in support of PMK's Villupuram Lok Sabha candidate Vadivel Ravanan in Tindivanam on Friday.
On a separate campaign trail in Tindivanam in Villupuram district, AIADMK co-coordinator and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday addressed voters canvassing for PMK's Villupuram Parliamentary constituency candidate Vadivel Ravanan. Mr. Ravanan is pitted against DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance’s Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi candidate D. Ravikumar.
Earlier, rejecting the election manifesto of the DMK, Mr. Palaniswami questioned why the DMK had not implemented all the promises it made in its past election manifestos. He said the BJP rule should continue at the Centre to fulfil all poll promises.
Rare Sumatran tiger cubs make public debut at Sydney zoo
Three Sumatran Tiger cubs are released into the enclosure for display to the public for the first time at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on March 29, 2019. - The three Sumatran Tiger cubs were born in January 2019.
Three rare Sumatran tiger cubs ventured into public view for the first time Friday in what Sydney zookeepers called a “wonderful success” for the future of the critically endangered species.
Two female cubs -- Mawar, which means “rose” in Indonesian, and Tengah Malam (“midnight“) -- and their brother Pemanah (“archer“) were allowed outside their closed dens to explore the more natural outdoor tiger compound at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.
Eight killed as bus rams truck in U.P.’s Greater Noida
The accident took place on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida.
Eight persons died while over three dozen others injured after a bus rammed a stationary truck on Yamuna Expressway on Friday morning.
The officials said that the incident took place 29 km from zero point in Gautam Buddh Nagar district in Western Uttar Pradesh. The bus was on its way to Noida from Agra.
Mexico raises alert level at Popocatepetl volcano
A soldier keeps watch atop a military vehicle while checking an evacuation route after Mexican authorities raised the alert level for the Popocatepetl volcano (in the background) following an increase in its activity, in Santiago Xalizintla, in Puebla state, Mexico March 28, 2019.
Mexican authorities have raised the alert level for the Popocatepetl volcano to the highest level short of an emergency. The country's disaster prevention agency said Thursday a level three yellow alert has been issued, which is one notch below the red alert that triggers evacuation preparations.
The volcano now appears to be spewing hot rock, ash and gas directly from internal conduits. The 17,797-foot (5,426-meter) stratovolcano has been particularly active in recent months.
Venezuela's Guaido barred for 15 years
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognized as the country's rightful interim ruler, speaks to supporters in Caracas, Venezuela, March 28, 2019.
The Venezuelan government on Thursday said it has barred opposition leader Juan Guaido from holding public office for 15 years, though the National Assembly leader responded soon afterward that he would continue his campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro.
The announcement by state comptroller Elvis Amoroso, a close ally of Maduro, cited alleged irregularities in the financial records of Guaido and reflected a tightening of government pressure on an opposition movement backed by the United States and dozens of other countries.
“We’re going to continue in the streets,” Guaido said soon after Amoroso’s statements on state television.
(With inputs from agencies)
