World

Snap Inc.’s flagship platform has lost some lustre, at least according to one social-media influencer in the Kardashian-Jenner clan.

Shares of the Snapchat parent company sank 6.1 percent on Thursday, wiping out $1.3 billion in market value, on the heels of a tweet on Wednesday from Kylie Jenner, who said she doesn’t open the app anymore. Whether it’s the demands of her newfound motherhood, or the recent app redesign, the testament drew similar replies from her 24.5 million followers. Wall Street analysts too have begun to notice, citing recent user engagement trends noticed since the platform’s redesign.

Jenner’s tweet was followed late Thursday by one from Maybelline New York, asking its followers if it should stay on the Snapchat platform. The beauty-product brand owned by Paris-based L’Oreal SA said its “Snapchat views have dropped dramatically,” but it still wanted to connect with its followers.

Citigroup analyst Mark May downgraded the stock to sell from neutral earlier this week after seeing a “significant jump” in negative reviews of the app’s redesign. He expects the reviews could cause user engagement to fall, hurting financial results.

Meanwhile, as the app takes criticism, Chief Executive Evan Spiegel may become one of the highest paid executives in the U.S. After the company’s IPO last March, Spiegel got a $636.6 million stock grant that will be payable through 2020.

Source : Bloomberg

A court in Pakistan has given a 24-year-old man, Imran Ali, four death sentences for raping and murdering a six-year-old girl last month.

Zainab Ansari's body was found in a rubbish dump in the city of Kasur, south of Lahore, on 9 January. Her murder triggered outrage across the country, including riots against alleged police incompetence in which two protesters died.

The victim's father was in court to hear the verdict, amid heavy security. Zainab's killer has also been linked by police and the chief minister of Punjab province to the murders and assaults of other girls in the area.

Ali's alleged crimes stretch back at least a year and angry residents say authorities should have been quicker to identify him as the perpetrator.

Ali will be tried over the rest of the cases later, government prosecutor Ehtisham Qadir Shah told Reuters news agency. Dozens of witnesses testified against Ali in the trial, where forensic evidence including DNA and polygraph tests were also presented.His lawyer had withdrawn from the case after Ali confessed, reports say.

Ali was handed death sentences for kidnapping, rape, murder and an act of terrorism, a life sentence for sodomy and a large fine. He now has a 15-day window in which he may appeal against the verdict.

Source : BBC

Around 400 kilos of cocaine was siezed by Police from the Russian embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentine Minister for Security Patricia Bullrich announced.

Addressing a press conference, Bullrich said that the drugs were discovered in an annex of the Russian embassy and had a street value of around $50 million.

“A gang of narco-criminals was trying to use the diplomatic courier service of the Russian embassy to ship the drugs to Europe,” she said.

Caption:

Bullrich told reporters that Russian and Argentine police had decided to mount a sting operation after the Russian ambassador informed them of the drugs find in December 2016.

“The cocaine was replace by flour and monitoring devices were placed to monitor delivery” of the 16 bags of the drug, Bullrich said. She said the sting had resulted in the arrest of five suspects — two in Argentina and three in Russia.

The drug, of “very high purity,” was destined for Russia and probably also Germany, where the suspected mastermind lives. “We believe the German police will arrest this fugitive,” Bullrich said.

The minister said Russian security service agents “came to Argentina on three occasions to assist in the investigation” that took more than a year.

One of the two people arrested in Argentina is a naturalized Russian who was a member of the police force in Buenos Aires, said Bullrich.

Investigators believe the cocaine likely originated in Colombia or Peru.

(AFP)

A fire broke out at the most important shrine in Tibetan Buddhism - the Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa.

Footage posted online showed flames billowing from the roof and what appeared to be at least one gutted pagoda.

Chinese state media said the blaze started late on Saturday and was soon put out. No casualties were reported.

The extent of damage to the sprawling compound is unclear. State media said there was no damage to cultural relics.

Tibet, the remote and mainly-Buddhist territory known as the "roof of the world", is governed as an autonomous region of China.

The Jokhang monastery is more than 1,000 years old and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Reports say that Chinese authorities quickly tried to block footage and images of the fire appearing on social media.

Beijing maintains tight control of news reports from Tibet, where Buddhist sites have been a focal point for separatist unrest in the past.

The fire comes as Tibetans celebrate Losar, their traditional new year, which began on Friday.

Tibet has had a tumultuous history, during which it has spent some periods functioning as an independent entity and others ruled by powerful Chinese and Mongolian dynasties.

China sent in thousands of troops to enforce its claim on the region in 1950. Some areas became the Tibetan Autonomous Region and others were incorporated into neighbouring Chinese provinces.

China says Tibet has developed considerably under its rule.

But rights groups say China continues to violate human rights, accusing it of political and religious repression - something Beijing denies.

 Source : BBC

Pakistan’s supreme court has barred Nawaz Sharif from his position as president of the country’s ruling party, ordering the reversal of all decisions he has taken in the role, in a move that plunges the country’s politics into fresh uncertainty.

The former prime minister, who was sacked by the supreme court last year, had managed to retain power by driving through a law that allowed disqualified politicians to lead political parties.

Twice-deposed in coups during the 1990s, the 68-year-old has long claimed his most recent eviction as prime minister is the result of a shadowy, anti-democratic conspiracy concocted between the judiciary and – behind the scenes – the army.

“This is only going to add to the wave of support for the PML-N [Sharif’s party],” Daniyal Aziz, a cabinet minister, told the Guardian. “The public think the party is being victimised.”

It was not unexpected that the supreme court would debar Sharif as party head. The same five judges originally ordered his dismissal as prime minister on the grounds that, in failing to declare a foreign bank account, he fell short of the vague constitutional requirement that politicians be “honest” and “righteous”.

But the verdict goes further. In a five-page judgement, the chief justice, Saqib Nisar, ruled that all “orders passed, directions given and documents issued” by him as party chairman since then “have never been passed, issued or given.”

Most immediately, this nullifies all of the tickets given out by Mr Sharif to PML-N candidates for senate elections, on which his career partly hinges. If the party win enough seats to cobble together a majority in the 102-seat senate, Sharif would be able to remove the clause in the constitution which prevents his return as prime minister.

The Election Commission of Pakistan is expected to delay the vote planned for 3 March. This will give time for a new PML-N head to reappoint the party’s candidates.

The most likely replacement for Sharif as PML-N chief is his wife, Kalsoom, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer in London, analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi told the Guardian. “Through his wife,” Rizvi said, “Mr Sharif would still be able to control the party.”

Source : The Guardian

Sixty-six people have been killed in a passenger plane crash in Iran, airline company officials say. The Aseman Airlines plane, en route from Tehran to the south-western city of Yasuj, came down in the Zagros mountains. The Red Crescent deployed search and rescue teams to the site near the city of Semirom in Isfahan province.

Flight EP 3704 left Tehran at 08:00 local time (04:30 GMT) and disappeared from radar about an hour later. The aircraft crashed on Dena Mountain, 22km (14 miles) from Yasuj, news channel Irinn reported.

The plane was a French-made twin-engine turboprop ATR 72-500. Those on board were 60 passengers, two security guards, two flight attendants and the pilot and co-pilot.

"After searches in the area, unfortunately we were informed that the plane crashed. Unfortunately, all our dear ones lost their lives in this incident," airline spokesman Mohammad Tabatabai said.

A child was among the victims, emergency services head Pir Hossein Kulivand was quoted as saying. Bad weather had hampered rescue efforts. Emergency teams had to travel to the crash site by land rather than using a helicopter, Mr Kulivand said.

Source : BBC

Indian film star Kamal Haasan has launched his new political party in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Haasan, 62, made the announcement in the town of Madurai before crowds of his party supporters. The state has a history of actors-turned-politicians - three have even served as chief ministers.

In December, Rajnikanth, another Tamil movie star, told his fans that he would form a political party before the next state election due in 2021.

Haasan said in October he wanted to enter politics. His new party is called Makkal Needhi Mayyam, which roughly translated means Centre for People's Justice, the Press Trust of India reported. He had said he would work towards becoming the state's chief minister so he can "right the wrongs of corruption and communalism" in the state.

Tamil Nadu has been politically unstable since the death last year of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram, also a former film star.

Source : BBC

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has suggested Filipinos avoid using condoms because they “aren’t pleasurable” in the latest of many wisecracks that have outraged rights advocates and social welfare groups.

Duterte told returning overseas workers, mostly women, to use “free” contraceptive pills and illustrated his point by putting a wrapped piece of candy to his mouth.

“Here, try eating it without unwrapping it,” he said.

“Eat it. That’s what a condom is like.”

Health advocates have for years pushed for use of condoms in the country of 100 million people to reduce unintended pregnancies, the spread of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.

They say despite attempts by the Catholic church to restrict access to condoms they have helped reduce the country’s high maternal mortality rate.

Duterte’s comments came only days after women’s and rights groups condemned the former provincial mayor for encouraging soldiers to shoot female rebels in their genitals.

“Tell the soldiers…there’s a new order from the mayor. We won’t kill you. We will just shoot your vagina,” he had told a group of former communist rebels.

“If there is no vagina, it would be useless,” he said, appearing to imply that women are useless without their genitals.

Carlos Conde, the representative for Human Rights Watch in the Philippines, said it is irresponsible for the president to downplay the importance of condoms at a time when the Philippines is experiencing the fastest growing epidemic of HIV in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Instead of criticising condoms as a pleasurable inhibitor Duterte should take meaningful action to protect the health of Filipinos by backing urgently needed policy changes to expand the accessibility and use of condoms in the Philippines,” Conde said.

Since taking office in 2016 Duterte has shrugged off outrageous comments, including telling a group of Indian and Filipino business leaders in New Delhi in January that he would like to attract visitors to the Philippines by offering “42 virgins”.

While campaigning for the presidency he joked about wanting to be first in line to rape a kidnapped Australian missionary because she was “beautiful".

He later apologised and said he did not intend to disrespect women.

In July 2017 he made rape jokes while talking about Miss Universe.

Earlier, he told soldiers battling Muslim fighters in the besieged southern city of Marawi they could rape up to three women a day without getting punished.

Often when challenged for making outrageous remarks Duterte has insisted he was just joking.

But his rule has been defined by violence, including a crackdown on drugs that has left more than 14,000 mostly poor Filipinos dead, the largest number of civilian deaths in Asia for decades.

Among his most colourful remarks was that fish in Manila Bay would grow fat from the bodies of drugs users and addicts.

All Singapore citizens aged 21 and above will get a one-off “SG Bonus” of up to S$300 each as the 2017 budget came in with a surplus of almost S$10 billion (US $7.6 billion), the city-state’s finance minister announced on Monday.

Finance minister Heng Swee Keat made the announcement during his budget speech in Parliament, describing the bonus as a “hongbao”, the Mandarin word for a monetary gift given on special occasions.

He said this “reflects the government’s long-standing commitment to share of the fruits of Singapore’s development with Singaporeans”, according to Channel News Asia.

The “SG Bonus” will cost the government S$700 million (US $533 million).

The bonus will be paid according to people’s assessable income. About 2.7 million people will get the payouts, which are due by the end of 2018.

Those with an income of S$28,000 or below will be eligible to receive S$300, those whose incomes ranging from S$28,001 to S$100,000 will receive S$200, and those with incomes in excess of S$100,000 will receive S$100.

Singapore’s revised budget for fiscal 2017 showed a surplus of S$9.61 billion, thanks to contributions from statutory boards and higher-than-expected stamp duty.

The surplus will also be used in other ways. Heng said S$5 billion will be set aside for the Rail Infrastructure Fund to save up for new railway lines that Singapore is building.

Another S$2 billion will be set aside for premium subsidies and other forms of support for Eldershield, an insurance scheme that helps senior citizens with severe disabilities to cope with the financial demands of their daily care.

Source : The Hindustan Times

Cyril Ramaphosa was elected president of South Africa by parliament Thursday, his elevation was guaranteed after Jacob Zuma resigned the presidency late Wednesday night.

Following the vote on the floor of the National Assembly, Ramaphosa accepted words of praise from supporters and overt electoral threats from opposition leaders — then stood at the same podium where, 22 years ago, he shepherded the ratification of South Africa's constitution.

Ramaphosa, 65, promised to "continue to improve the lives of our people," and said he would "work very hard to try to not disappoint the people of South Africa."

It was a clear indication he plans to take the country in a different direction than his predecessor. On Friday night Ramaphosa will deliver his first State of the Nation Address, which he said would outline his plans to fight corruption in the country.

Christchurch and two other districts on New Zealand's South Island have declared a state of emergency as former cyclone Gita hit the country.

Dozens of schools have been shut and roads closed on the South Island as the storm made landfall on Tuesday. New Zealand's national airline has cancelled all flights in and out of the capital, Wellington, on North Island.

Residents were told to expect floods and winds of up to 150km/h (90mph). The Grey District and Buller Districts on South Island have now also declared a state of emergency.

 Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that troops had been sent out to areas that were likely to be hardest hit by the storm. She added that the national Civil Defence office in Wellington was also on standby.

Gita last week left a trail of destruction in the Pacific island nations of Tonga and Fiji. Tonga, in particular, is reeling from the storm, which injured people and destroyed buildings including the parliament.

Source : BBC News

At least 17 people are dead after a 19-year-old man opened fire at a high school campus in Parkland, Florida, police have said.

The suspect has been named as Nikolas Cruz, 19, and is a former student at the school who had been expelled.

As the attack unfolded students were forced to hide as police swooped in on the building.

It is one of the deadliest school shootings since 26 people were killed at a Connecticut school in 2012.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters Cruz killed three people outside the school, before entering the building and killing another 12.

Two people later died after being taken to hospital.

"It's catastrophic. There really are no words," Sheriff Israel tweeted later.

Dr Evan Boyar of Broward Health told reporters late on Wednesday that 17 people total had been taken to area hospitals.

He added that Cruz was among those treated and was released into police custody. Three people remained in a critical condition and three others were in stable condition, he said.

The victims are still being identified. Sheriff Israel said a football coach was among the dead but no names have been released.

How the attack unfolded

On Wednesday, the local public school district tweeted that "students and staff heard what sounded like gunfire" just before the end of the day at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Witnesses said that the suspect pulled a fire alarm before the violence erupted.

Police and SWAT team members swarmed the campus and began clearing students from the school in Parkland, about an hour north of Miami, as parents and ambulances converged on the scene.

Cruz, who had been expelled for "disciplinary reasons", was taken into custody without incident in the nearby town of Coral Springs about an hour after he left the high school, according to police.

"We have already begun to dissect his websites and things on social media that he was on and some of the things... are very, very disturbing," Sheriff Israel said.

"Just a horrible day for us," said Robert Runcie, the superintendent of the county's school district.

'Worst nightmare'

Many students said they thought it was a drill after hearing the fire alarm go off shortly before the shooting.

Students told US media they hid under desks, in closets or barricaded doors as loud shots rang out.

One student, Bailey Vosberg, said: "I heard what sounded like fireworks and I looked at my friend and he asked me if I heard that."

"Immediately, I knew. I didn't say anything to him, I just hopped over the fence and I went straight to the road that our school is located on - and as I got there there was just Swat cars and police units, police vehicles just flying by, helicopters over the top of us."

Caesar Figueroa, a parent, told CBS News his daughter was hiding in a closet when she called him.

He told the news outlet earlier that he told her not to call him because he did not want the gunman to hear her voice.

"It's the worst nightmare not hearing from my daughter for 20 minutes, it was the longest 20 minutes of my life," Figeuroa said.

A teacher told WSVN that she hid in a closet with 19 students for 40 minutes - and that the school had undergone training for such a situation six weeks ago.