Activists Force Alabama Police Department to Retract Facebook Post Which Blamed Murder Rate on Godlessness

Last week, a group of activists called for a police department to retract a Facebook post after it was deemed overly religious.

from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2Q7cyUd

Parents Ditching Boy Scouts for Faith-Based Alternative: 'They've Forgotten Who They Are'

Christian parents concerned over the recent moral downward spiral of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) are now shunning the organization in favor of a faith-based alternative...

from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2RrSJfm

Cyberattack hits U.S. newspaper distribution

The cyberattack appeared to originate outside the United States, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a source with knowledge of the situation. The attack led to distribution delays in the Saturday edition of The Times, Tribune, Sun and other newspapers that share a production platform in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported. Tribune Publishing, whose newspapers also include the New York Daily News and Orlando Sentinel, said it first detected the malware on Friday.

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Bangladesh opposition calls for fresh election as Sheikh Hasina wins amid violence and vote-rigging claims

Bangladesh's main opposition called for a fresh vote on Sunday as the country's prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and her ruling Awami League were declared the winners of an election tainted by violence and vote-rigging allegations. At least 17 people were said to have been killed in election day clashes, while reports flowed in of alleged vote manipulation and people being blocked from entering polling stations by ruling party supporters. As Mrs Hasina's alliance sailed past the 151 seats needed to form a government and headed for a landslide third consecutive term, the country's main opposition leader called for the "farcical" election to be declared void.  Kamal Hossain, head of the Jatiya Oikya Front (JOF), the largest opposition alliance, told a press conference in Dhaka that votes had been "rigged on a massive scale across the country".  He urged Bangladesh's election commission to dismiss the result and call "fresh elections under a non-partisan caretaker government as soon as possible".  Salahuddin Ahmed, a candidate for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the largest single party in the opposition alliance, was stabbed in Dhaka as the election unfolded Credit: Reuters Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed finished delivering the results of the voting early on Monday. Ahmed said the ruling Awami League-led alliance won 288 seats while the JOF, led by former president H.M.Ershad, had 20 seats. An opposition alliance led by Mr Hossain had only seven and others got three out of 300 seats. The poll followed a campaign that had been marred by violence and a crackdown on freedom of speech. Human Rights Watch and other international groups had decried repressive measures which they said had created a climate of fear. Some 600,000 security personnel had been deployed for the election, while authorities ordered the shutdown of high speed internet to prevent the spread of "rumours" that might spark unrest. Vehicles in Dhaka burn after an opposition rally which ended with police using tear gas and batons after the election was announced Credit: AFP On Sunday, polling agents alleged that they had stayed away out of fear. Others claimed they had been beaten up and forced out of voting centres. Rumana Mahmood, a JOF candidate in Sirajganj, 68 miles northwest of Dhaka, claimed that 90 percent of her supporters had been prevented from voting for her. "In most cases they were not allowed to enter the voting centres. Police and the ruling Awami League party cadres blocked them,” she alleged to the Telegraph, claiming that supporters of the ruling party had stuffed ballot boxes in favour of the government. Supporters of Bangladesh Awami League march along a street as they take part in a rally ahead of December 30 general election vote Credit:  MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP One 65-year-old woman in Ms Mahmood’s constituency claimed that the police had not allowed her to vote freely. "We were around 20 or 25 women from the same locality. The policemen at the gate of the centre said that he would allow us inside if we voted for the boat (symbol of the Awami League),” she said."In my locality there are hundreds of people who have not been allowed in any voting centre today."  Bangladesh has become increasingly authoritarian under Mrs Hasina’s rule, moving closer towards a de-facto one-party state while Begum Khaleda Zia, her arch-rival, and leader of the largest opposition party, the Bangladesh National Party, serves a lengthy prison sentence on corruption charges. 

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Does the U.S. Navy Have Another Carrier-Killer Missile to Worry About?

Here comes the YJ-12.

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Afghanistan to delay presidential election to July: election body

The announcement follows heavy criticism of October's chaotic parliamentary election, which saw problems ranging from roadside bomb attacks to malfunctioning biometric voter verification equipment, incomplete voter lists and huge delays at polling sites. The timing of the election has also been complicated by talks under way between U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and representatives of the Taliban aimed at launching a full peace process to end the war in Afghanistan. The election was originally scheduled for April 20 but Gula Jan Abdul Bade Sayad, chairman of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) said mounting problems had forced a delay.

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Anti-India protests erupt in Kashmir after 4 rebels killed

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in disputed Kashmir on Saturday after a gunbattle between militants and government forces killed four rebels, police and residents said.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2rZZ7ff
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No-deal Brexit ferry contract sparks concerns

Seaborne Freight was founded less than two years ago and has never run a ferry service before.

from BBC News - Business https://bbc.in/2EWL0jw

China says it is 'ready to work with US'

China's latest statement suggests trade negotiations between the two countries are progressing.

from BBC News - Business https://bbc.in/2VlOjWb

Fishing: New EU rules could have 'grave' impact on UK industry

Fishers can no longer discard fish to avoid busting quota - but that could put boats off the water.

from BBC News - Business https://bbc.in/2ApOAyD

Susanna Dinnage changes mind on Premier League chief executive role

The Premier League says its prospective new chief executive, Susanna Dinnage, has told the organisation she will not be taking up the position.

from BBC News - Business https://bbc.in/2AmuO7f

Italy budget: Parliament passes budget after EU standoff

Italy's parliament approves a budget for 2019, amid complaints it was revised to placate the EU.

from BBC News - Business https://bbc.in/2Q9L0Ob

The hottest business stories of 2018

Kylie Jenner, imploding retail sales and an endless summer - the most-read business stories of 2018.

from BBC News - Business https://bbc.in/2RmkN3A

Bahrain's top court upholds sentence against activist Nabeel Rajab: lawyer

Bahrain's high court upheld a five-year jail sentence against activist Nabeel Rajab on Monday for criticizing Saudi Arabia’s air strikes in Yemen and accusing Bahrain’s prison authorities of torture, his lawyer said.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LGIVsj

Italy's Salvini sees no danger to government in coming months: Corriere

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Monday he did not see any danger to the government in the coming months as it turns its efforts to new reforms after closing the budget for next year.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2SsesRl

High rise building collapses in Russia, at least two dead: reports

Rescue services in the Russian city of Magnitogorsk scrambled to find survivors after a suspected gas blast in the early hours of Monday caused the partial collapse of a high rise apartment building, killing at least two people, news agencies reported.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LHqd3U

Congo opposition cries foul after presidential poll blighted by mishaps

The main opposition camps in Congo's presidential election on Sunday complained of widespread irregularities after a chaotic vote disrupted by long queues, broken voting machines and torrential rain.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LH8JVk

Ebola-hit Congolese town stages mock vote to protest at ban

Residents of an Ebola hotspot in eastern Congo staged a mock presidential election on Sunday to show the authorities a decision to postpone the vote there due to health fears was unfounded.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2GZSpR1

Bangladesh PM Hasina wins third straight term despite vote-rigging claims

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's alliance won Bangladesh's election with a thumping majority, the country's Election Commission said on Monday, giving her a third straight term following a vote that the opposition rejected as rigged.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2EXeduH

China to kick off year of sensitive anniversaries with major speech on Taiwan

China will kick off a year of sensitive anniversaries with a major speech on Wednesday by President Xi Jinping on Taiwan, China's most sensitive issue.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2EXIysU

North Korea's Kim sent message to Trump on nuclear talks: Chosun Ilbo

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent a "conciliatory message" to U.S. President Donald Trump amid stalled nuclear negotiations, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported on Monday.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2RrPlAM

Brazil moving its embassy to Jerusalem matter of 'when, not if': Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro told him that it was a matter of "when, not if" he moves his country's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2Q7V7mF

Graham more upbeat on Syria troop withdrawal after Trump meeting

A senior Republican U.S. senator said he emerged from a White House meeting with President Donald Trump on Sunday reassured that Trump is committed to defeating Islamic State even as he plans to withdraw American troops from Syria.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2EUsrLX

Brexit sends Britons seeking Irish passports up 22 percent in 2018

The number of British citizens applying for Irish passports rose by 22 percent in 2018, Ireland's foreign office said on Monday, more than doubling the total of annual applications since Britain voted to leave the European Union.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LETHPW

Merkel urges divided Germans to pull together in 2019

Acknowledging that her government disappointed many Germans in 2018, Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to pull the country together for 2019 with a call for solidarity and cooperation to overcome deep political divisions.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2GMgV7V