Thursday, May 25, 2017

Six In The Morning Thursday May 25

UK police 'stop passing information to US' over leaks of key evidence

Officers investigating Manchester Arena bombing reportedly take decision as transatlantic row over leaks escalates

Police hunting the terror network behind the Manchester Arena bombing have stopped passing information to the US on the investigation as a major transatlantic row erupts over leaks of key evidence in the US, according to a report.
Downing Street was not behind any decision by Greater Manchester police to stop sharing information with US intelligence, a No 10 source said, stressing that it was important police were allowed to take independent decisions.
“This is an operational matter for police,” a No 10 spokesman said. The police and the Home Office refused to comment on the BBC report. The Guardian understands there is not a blanket ban on intelligence-sharing between the US and the UK.

Indonesian province introduces new police taskforce targeting LGBT citizens in latest crackdown

Homosexuality legal in majority of country but human rights advocates increasingly concerned by persecution and harassment of gay and transgender people

Police in Indonesia's most populous province plan to deploy a taskforce to investigate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activity, a move likely to fuel concerns of a widening crackdown on the community in the Muslim-majority country.
West Java police chief Anton Charliyan disclosed the plan on Tuesday as two gay men in the province of Aceh were publicly flogged, and days after police raided a gay club in Jakarta and distributed photos of suspects to the media.
With the exception of Aceh, homosexuality is legal in Indonesia. Activists say, however, that police targeting of consensual gay sex has shone a light on discrimination and harassment in the world's third-largest democracy.

25 May 2017 - 10H20

Chinese fans trash blackout as Google AI wins again


SHANGHAI (AFP) - 
Chinese netizens fumed Thursday over a government ban on live coverage of Google algorithm AlphaGo's battle with the world's top Go player, as the programme clinched their three-match series in the ancient board game.
The artificial intelligence (AI) programme won its second straight match against 19-year-old Chinese world number one Ke Jie, who will try to salvage some pride for humanity in the third and final game on Saturday.
This week's series in the eastern Chinese city of Wuzhen has been closely watched by futurists and Go fans curious over whether AlphaGo could beat the world's best, after making headlines last year by trouncing a South Korean grandmaster.

Violence heats up in Central African Republic

UN troops are spread too thin to contain the violence, and local forces are poorly trained and under-equipped to deal with the sectarian fighting that has been raging since 2013.

Zack Baddorf
Associated Press

No soldiers or police patrol this remote town in the far southeast of Central African Republic, where armed groups have attacked several times in the past few months. A company of United Nations peacekeepers here ventures no more than three miles from their base.
Local authorities’ requests for more help to secure the area have gone unanswered as Central African Republic’s deadly sectarian violence moves closer to the region along raw dirt roads. The town of 10,000 people feels increasingly unsafe, community leader Pierre Yakanza said.
The violence has killed hundreds in the past month and is spreading through parts of the country far from the capital, Bangui. The UN peacekeeping force of 12,000 troops is not enough to protect civilians.

Manchester United win Europa League on emotional night following Manchester Arena bombing


Updated 0836 GMT (1636 HKT) May 25, 2017


Manchester is a city in mourning and so the meaning of Manchester United's Europa League final against Ajax Wednesday changed significantly in the two days since the suicide bombing which killed 22 people and injured many more.
At the Friends Arena in Stockholm, a United fan held aloft a poster which read: "Come on United, do it for Manchester." And they did, beating their Dutch opponents 2-0.
Paul Pogba, the world's most expensive footballer and a man who, less than a fortnight ago, lost his father to a long-term illness, gave United the lead with a 25-yard deflected strike.

U.S. may review plan to relocate forces in Okinawa to Guam


Today  04:20 pm JST 

U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen Robert Neller said Wednesday the country is considering reviewing its plan to relocate U.S. Marines in Okinawa to Guam in light of recent developments in North Korea and environmental concerns in Guam.
His testimony at the Senate Appropriations Committee suggests the Japan-U.S. agreement to relocate about 4,000 of some 19,000 Marines in Okinawa to Guam and another 5,000 to Hawaii could be subject to change and be delayed.
While stating, "We are still on plan to have Marines go to Guam," Neller said, "the situation, strategically and operationally, as we've seen in the news recently, has changed."

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