Man raped girlfriend’s 4-year-old son to death and his mum helped him escape from the cops

A Pennsylvania man is accused of raping and killing his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son, and his mum is accused of helping him escape. 20-year-old Keith Jordan had been asked by his girlfriend to take care of her son, Bentley Miller, on March 21, because she had to go to work.

After Mackenzie Peters left for work, Jordan called his mother, Kristen Harold, 43, that same morning, telling her that Bentley was in need of medical attention.

On getting to the Super 8 motel in Butler, Pennsylvania where her son was staying, she picked Bentley who was bleeding profusely and started driving him to his biological father’s house. When he became unresponsive, she pulled over and called 911 at around 9:30 a.m. Bentley later died at Butler Memorial Hospital where he was rushed to.

Police disclosed that Kristen hid her son in the attic of an abandoned home in Butler to avoid police detection. They were both arrested and are being held in Butler County Prison. Court documents show that Bentley died as a result of severe blood loss due to sodomy.

He also had a severe burn to his left hand, bruises on his head, pelvic region, and extremities. Police said Jordan was alone with the child when he was assaulted.

He was charged with criminal homicide, rape of a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child, and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse causing serious bodily injury. Bentley’s mother was at work at the time of the incident, and investigators do not suspect she had any involvement in his death. She was charged with child endangerment and hindering apprehension.

The boy’s mother, Mackenzie Peters, was at work when the assault took place, yet police said she may be charged in the future as well, though what charges are unclear. Lambing was already facing charges of burglary, criminal trespass, and conspiracy as well as terroristic threats and harassment, and had failed to show up for a court appointment the day before the boy’s murder.

He had been arrested for retail theft in 2013 and had a bench warrant out for required payments as restitution. There is a possibility that the prosecutor may seek the death penalty for Lambing.

The baby Mackenzie and Jordan have together has been placed in protective custody.

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Rivers Police recovers empty bullion van as robbers escape with millions of Naira

Ibrahim Idris, Inspector-General of Police (IGP)

The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the attack on a bullion van by some suspected armed robbers in Igwuruta, Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer DSP Omoni Nnamdi disclosed that the bullion van had been recovered but the robbers made away with millions of naira.

Nnamdi said the suspected armed robbers in a Toyota Highlander SUV shot at police officers escorting the bullion van and made away with undisclosed amount of money suspected to be in millions of Naira.

The police spokesman said the recovered bullion van is now in the custody of the police at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad headquarters.

Nnamdi also disclosed that a combined team of security personnel are now on the trail of the armed robbers in Ikwerre and adjourning local government areas.

Some witnesses of the incident said that the suspected armed robbers shot sporadically into the air before carting away the money.

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Aung San Suu Kyi pledges to quit if public judges her a failure

Myanmar leader admits democratic government has fallen short of first-year hopes

Aung San Suu Kyi admitted her administration had not made as much progress as hoped

The former pro-democracy campaigner admitted her administration had not made as much progress as hoped in grappling with the legacy of half a century of military rule. Her remarks in a televised speech echo wider fears that the Southeast Asian country is struggling to deal with a daunting range of social, economic and security problems. Her address also marks an inevitable comedown from the euphoria of a transition from junta rule that last year yielded the first civilian-dominated government since the 1960s. Ms Aung San Suu Kyi used the 25-minute speech on Thursday to defend her record as well as acknowledge people’s disappointment. The leader widely known as “the Lady” or “Mother Suu” said she and her government had done what they could, but that the year since they were sworn in was “not a long period”. “So, if you all think I am not good enough for our country and our people, if someone or some organisation can do better than us, we are ready to step down,” she added. Her offer to quit appears largely rhetorical, as she still has reserves of support from her long campaign — including 15 years of house arrest — against the repressive former junta. She has no challengers from within her National League for Democracy, while the main opposition party remains tainted by its links to the former dictatorship. Myanmar is among the poorest countries in Asia and the government has faced pressure as growth has slowed, the currency has slid and foreign direct investment has dipped. It is also confronted by a resurgence in decades-old internal conflicts involving ethnic regional militias, some near the border with China. A statement from Ms Aung San Suu Kyi’s office highlighted the conflict between the ambitions of a nationwide peace process she launched in August and its difficulties in bringing the country’s myriad armed groups to the table. The nation was “now seeing red rays of hope spraying forth with brilliant colours,” the announcement insisted, before warning: “At such a time of great importance, undesirable destructive elements and instigations intended to harm peace might emerge.” Ms Aung San Suu Kyi’s domestic critics have also raised concerns about her allegedly autocratic style and the continuation of some repressive military-era practices, including the arrests of people for defaming officials. She has been attacked overseas over her reluctance to take stronger action over reports of large-scale abuses of the Muslim Rohingya people by the military, which some state officials and media have dismissed as fabrications. The UN last week announced a probe into the claims of crimes including murder, rape and arson. The Myanmar leader’s allies at home and abroad have defended her approach and pointed out that the military still controls crucial security ministries and a quarter of seats in parliament, giving it a veto on constitutional change. Ms Aung San Suu Kyu is forced to rule as “state counsellor”, a bespoke title created for her a year ago to skirt a military-drafted constitutional rule that bars anyone whose children have foreign nationality from becoming president. The law — widely seen as aimed at Ms Aung San Suu Kyi — precludes her because her sons by her late British husband are UK citizens.

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Navy destroy illegal refinery with 1.59m litres of stolen diesel

Illegal diesel depot on fire

The Nigerian Navy on Friday 31/03/2017 said it had discovered and destroyed an illegal refinery with 1.59 million litres of illegally refined diesel during a mop-up operation in Port Harcourt.

Speaking at the destruction exercise, Commodore Williams Kayoda, the Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder, however, said no arrest was made during the raid.

Kayoda said the navy deployed troops to the site after it got intelligence report about the illegal refinery situated around Iwofe, Rumuolumeni area of Port Harcourt.

“Troops arriving at the site discovered 24 metallic tanks with each containing 60,000 litres of petroleum product suspected to be illegally refined diesel.

“Similarly, we discovered wooden boats with 150,000 litres of diesel believed to be stolen diesel.

“The petroleum product was evacuated to a safe location before troops destroyed the illegal refinery using a Swamp Buggy machine which completely crushed the metallic tanks.

“This new strategy is part of our efforts to end current air pollution in Port Harcourt while making it difficult for oil thieves to revive illegal refineries after it was destroyed,” he said.

The commander said the use of “Swamp Buggy” was part of tactics which involved complete crushing of metal tanks rather than setting both storage tanks and petroleum products ablaze.

The new strategy was adopted following reports that burning of illegal refineries was partly responsible for current air pollution in Port Harcourt.

The Swamp Buggy strategy adopted by the navy replaces a former approach which involved setting ablaze illegal refineries and illegal bunker sites with its petroleum products.

Kayoda said the navy was committed to protecting the environment and health of residents and assured that it would carry out its mandate in line with standard practice.

“The Nigerian Navy will sustain this strategy until we bring this menace to a stop because the economic prosperity of the nation cannot be compromised to criminal individuals and groups.

“Operation Rivers Sweep which was concluded in February and being consolidated with ongoing Operation White Valentine are part of efforts to stop illegal bunkering and oil theft,” he said.

Also speaking during destruction exercise, Prof. Roseline Konya, the Rivers Commissioner of Environment, said the Rivers Government had setup a task force which was mandated to discover and stop the source of the air pollution.

She said that Gov. Nyesom Wike had given the task force a matching order to locate the source of the air pollution which causes lung infection and cancer.

“We have seen that the military were in the past burning illegal refineries partly because they had no alternatives.

“We are glad to witness that they no longer burn illegal refineries; but destroy the sites by removing illegally refined petroleum products before they crush storage tanks with Swap Buggy machines.

“The Rivers government is pleading with individuals organisations such as the Army and Navy to assist us locate and eradicate the source of the soot,” she said.

Konya, who is chairperson of the task force, commended the navy on the new Swamp Buggy strategy.

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SENATE INTELLIGENCE INVESTIGATES TRUMP-RUSSIA INQUIRY

The Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday promised a thorough investigation into any direct links between Russia and Republican Donald Trump during his successful 2016 run for the White House.

Committee Chairman Richard Burr and Mark Warner, its top Democrat, pledged at a joint news conference that they would work together, in contrast with the partisan discord roiling a similar probe by the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee.

Burr was asked if the Senate panel wanted to determine if there was anything suggesting a direct link to Trump, and responded: "We know that our challenge is to answer that question for the American people."

Trump's young presidency has been clouded by allegations from U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia sought to help him win, while connections between his campaign personnel and Russia also are under scrutiny. Trump dismisses such assertions and Russia denies the allegations.

The Senate committee intends to begin interviewing as many as 20 people, including Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and one of his closest advisers, beginning as early as Monday.

Burr served as a security adviser to Trump's campaign but said he had not coordinated with him on the scope of the committee's investigation. He insisted he could remain objective.

Burr declined to go along with the White House's denial of collusion between the campaign and Russian hackers, who U.S. intelligence officials believe favored Trump in last year's campaign at the expense of Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton.

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Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R, (R-NC) and ranking Democrat Sen. Mark Warner, L, (D-VA) hold a committee hearing titled 'Disinformation: A Primer in Russian Active Measures and Influence Campaigns' at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

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"We would be crazy to try to draw conclusions from where we are in the investigation," Burr said. "Let us go a little deeper into this before you ask us to write the conclusions. That's clearly something we intend to do down the road."

Burr and Warner would not comment on the investigation in the House, where the chairman of the intelligence committee, Trump ally Devin Nunes, has been under fire over his handling of the matter.

Many Democrats, including Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence panel, called for Nunes to recuse himself from the investigation after he met last week with an unidentified source at the White House complex, accusing him of colluding with the White House.

Before telling his committee colleagues, Nunes met with House Speaker Paul Ryan, and then Trump, and told reporters the source provided him with evidence that information on Trump's transition team had been collected during legal surveillance of other targets.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have said the discord surrounding the House committee has made the Senate investigation more important than ever. "Clearly in the Senate, it appears that both Democrats and Republicans are acting like adults and taking this matter seriously," Democratic Representative Jim McGovern told Reuters.

'PAID INTERNET TROLLS'

Warner and Burr both stressed the importance of exposing the activity of Russian hackers, which Warner said included reports of "upwards of 1,000 paid Internet trolls" who spread false negative stories about Clinton.

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FRENCH SOCIALISTS STRUGGLING

Francois Hollande

 – Francois Hollande’s election as president in 2012 was supposed to herald a new dawn for French socialism after 17 years of right-wing rule, but by June his party could be struggling to survive. Weeks before the start of an election to pick France’s next president, the ruling bloc is in tatters. Socialist Party (PS) nominee Benoit Hamon is floundering after adopting a hard-left programme that alienated more moderate colleagues.

 Polls put Hamon in a humiliating fifth place, behind the independent leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon whose charisma and similarly radical programme have overshadowed Hamon’s message. Party grandees, meanwhile, are jumping ship to back independent centrist Emmanuel Macron, Hollande’s former economy minister who is now favourite to win the presidency. Macron is more palatable to party moderates who see Hamon’s policies as outdated and resent his refusal to defend the president’s legacy. “The future is very uncertain. The Socialist party must negotiate its transformation for its survival,” said Adelaide Zulfikarpasic of pollster BVA. The potential implosion of the Socialist party weakens France’s two-party system that has been in place for 30 years and has prevented the far right from increasing its power in presidential and legislative elections. Like in Britain, it also risks leaving the main left-wing party in opposition for years as it takes a radical turn, reinforcing an anti-European side on the left. If Macron were to fail, it would be unclear what would happen to the centre-left at a time when France’s traditional centre-right is increasingly radicalised and could also be in disarray should its candidate, Francois Fillon, also fail to reach the May 7 run-off. In 2002, outgoing Socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin was beaten to the presidential runoff by then far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. The party potentially faces an even bloodier defeat this time. Their disarray reflects the wider struggle of Europe’s left where leaders in Italy and Germany have fallen on their swords and the British Labour Party is riven by infighting. Some French Socialist lawmakers say in private that their aim now is to limit the damage in the presidential vote so as to build a foundation for the legislative elections in June. A vote above 10 percent for Hamon could help save seats, creating a platform for a say in a Macron parliamentary majority, but some kind of party split looks likely. “I think that after the elections, the Socialists will implode into the ‘reformed Socialists’ who could be part of a governing majority and the ‘status quo Socialists’,” a minister in the current government told Reuters. This split has its roots in Hollande’s five years in power, when he moved away from pro-worker election pledges to launch business-friendly reforms. Their failure to spur the economy emboldened rebels such as Hamon and further alienated voters. Stinging defeats in local elections followed, and party membership has almost halved since 2012. As a result, and despite having a majority in both parliamentary houses, Hollande became the first postwar French president not to seek re-election.

STABBED IN THE BACK “I respect Benoit Hamon’s logic, which has always existed on the Left – a utopian project – but it’s clear that implementing such a project does not correspond to reality and a capacity to act,” said Defence Minister Jean Yves-Le Drian, a Socialist party heavyweight, who last week backed Macron. Some 50 other Socialist lawmakers have turned to Macron’s newly-formed En Marche! (Onwards!) movement, defections that Hamon calls a “betrayal”. Meanwhile, former prime minister Manuel Valls, who lost to Hamon in the primaries and is seen as waiting in the wings to pick up the pieces after the presidential race, has been scathing about the former education minister. Hamon signed a motion of no-confidence against Valls’ government last year. “Those who join Emmanuel Macron, and are stabbing me in the back, are not those who gave me life … Those are the 2 million voters,” Hamon told France 2 television on Sunday, referring to the turnout for the January Socialist primaries. “Anyway I would never have governed with them.” Macron’s momentum ahead of the April-May vote will be key for how the Socialists shape up in the coming years. His movement says it bridges France’s left-right divide, and although the race remains tight and voters unsure, polls show that Macron should easily beat National Front leader Marine Le Pen – daughter of Jean-Marie – in the run-off. “If this central scenario materialises, there will be less reason for parties to stick together,” said Eurasia analyst Charles Lichfield. “This is especially likely on the left, as the PS is likely to do very badly. Expressing some proximity to Macron may be a way for 100-150 PS members of parliament to save their seats.” Even uniting the left into opposition will be hard, given that Melenchon offers a clean break from the tarnished Socialists. The one-time Trotskyist and former teacher who quit the party in 2008 has sucked away the hard left vote with calls to fight the rich and powerful, asking PS supporters: “In these conditions, without a project or electoral advantage, what is the point of a Socialist candidate?” (Additional reporting by Marine Pennetier and Emile Picy; Editing by Andrew Callus and Robin Pomeroy)

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POPE JOHN PAUL II's RELICS ON QUEZON CITY

 

The relics and personal belonging was used by Saint John Paul II in the ''Tour of Papal Relics'' Exhibit inside the Gateway Mall Cubao

THE faithful will get another chance to venerate the relics of Saint Pope John Paul II at Our Lady of Veritas Chapel in Quezon City.

Church-run Radio Veritas said the relics will be on display starting today until April 7.

“Devotees who wish to pray before his first class relic ‘Ex Sanguine’ (from the blood), may visit the Veritas Chapel in Quezon City from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” Radio Veritas said.

The visit of the relics comes in time for the commemoration of the death of Saint Pope John Paul II, who died April 2, 2005.

Pope John Paul II was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. 

In 1978, he became the first non-Italian leader of the worldwide Catholic Church in more than 400 years. 

He served as Pope for 27 years from 1978 to 2005, thereby making him the second longest-serving pope in modern history after Pope Pius IX.

Pope John Paul II is also the most widely traveled pope in history, after visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. 

He visited the Philippines twice, in February 1981, and in January 1995.

He died at the age of 84 at the Vatican on April 2, 2005.

He was beatified on May 1, 2011 in Saint Peter’s Square by Pope Benedict XVI, who was his immediate successor and was canonized on April 27, 2014, together with Pope John XXIII.

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CHINA PLANS TO STUDY BENHAM RISE

CHINA has pending requests to study Benham Rise, an undersea plateau east of Luzon believed to be rich in marine resources, acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said yesterday.

“I know a number have been denied and in fact two or three are under consideration. I mean, two or three requests,” Manalo told ANC News Channel a day after a DFA official told a Senate hearing the Philippines has twice rejected China’s requests, two of these made in 2015 and 2016.

Maria Lourdes Montero, director of the DFA’s Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office, said the requests were denied due to the exclusion of Filipino scientists in the proposed expeditions. She was not asked during the hearing if the request made last year was during the Aquino or Duterte administration.

Manalo said permission from the government is needed before China or other countries can conduct surveys or research in the area, and requirements should also be met.

“We have the sovereign rights, but we have requirements which I understand China did not fulfill,” he said on why Beijing’s requests in the past were denied.

Manalo did not say though when exactly the request in 2016 was made. DFA spokesman Charles Jose also did not reply when asked about the date.

China’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that Chinese vessels recently passed through the Benham Rise but said it was only in the exercise of the principle of “freedom of navigation.”

The controversy erupted after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana disclosed the presence of the Chinese vessel, saying that their prolonged stay in the area was not merely an “innocent passage.”

Both the DND and the DFA then said China did not get permission to conduct research in the area but Duterte said he was “advised ahead” of the passage of the Chinese vessel.

Manalo said Duterte’s statement about   what the Chinese vessel in the Benham Rise has been doing in the area may have been taken out of context, considering his earlier comments that ships from other countries are welcome to enter the country provided they seek permission from the government.

“Maybe the President was taken out of context. What he earlier said was if it was a friendly visit, you are welcome to come,” he said.

He noted China has said it recognizes the country’s sovereign rights to the Benham Rise, which is within the country’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf areas.

“We are satisfied with their explanation,” he added.

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CHINA'S ECONOMY GROWS TO 6.8%

HONG KONG - China’s economy, the world’s second largest, will likely expand 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2017, the official Xinhua agency quoted a government think tank as saying on Wednesday.

The expected pace is on par with the 6.8 percent growth logged in the fourth quarter, which was better than market expectations due to higher government spending and record bank lending. 

The National Academy of Economic Strategy attributed the first-quarter expansion to a strong rise in factory-gate prices, rebounding corporate profits and increasing imports, Xinhua said.

“The focus of macro-economic policies should be in supply-side structural reforms to boost potential output in the long run,” Wang Hongju, a researcher at the academy, was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

In the first half of the year, GDP will grow by 6.7 percent. Industrial production is likely to increase moderately in the second quarter, while investment sees slightly slower growth, according to the think tank.

It warned that the government should guard against risks in the property and financial sectors by properly managing monetary and land supply “floodgates”, Xinhua said.

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TRUMP LOOKS AT NORTH KOREA FOR COAL AMBITIONS

Both cheap and abundant, coal is perhaps the least sexy of commodities -- unless you live in a coal-producing state like Wyoming or West Virginia, where the industry is a big employer. From a global perspective, it would be practically impossible to live without coal, which generates about 40 percent of the world’s heat and power.

By now, the drawbacks to coal are well-known. Burning the fuel emits about twice the amount of carbon dioxide as natural gas and 28 percent more pollutants than heating oil. As the world’s biggest source of carbon emissions and a major contributor to global warming, many nations are reducing coal consumption. Growth in global consumption stalled in 2014 for the first time since the 1990s before falling 15 percent in 2015. Last year, U.S. production fell 18 percent from 2015 to the lowest level since 1978, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. 

The Stream Protection Rule designed during the Obama administration would phase out coal. The U.S. is in a better position than practically any nation to do so due to its vast reserves of crude oil and natural gas, and its increasingly more efficient renewable energy. In this transition, the government could provide funding for career training and jobs in alternative energy industries and their ancillary services, including a growing clean tech industry, for out-of-work coal miners seeking employment.

But now all of this has changed. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday reversing the Obama administration’s efforts to cut emissions as well as reversing a rule that the nation’s national security had to account for climate change. In February, the Senate followed the House in voting for a measure to reverse Obama’s regulatory legacy aimed at protecting streams from the effects of coal mining. Trump has vowed to withdraw from the Paris climate pact reached last year by almost 200 countries. If successful, U.S. coal-fired electricity use would increase by an estimated 61 percent, according to the EIA.

Trump attempts to legitimize the regulatory rollback by promoting “clean coal” innovations of which the industry claims could remove as much as 90 percent of the carbon associated with burning coal. But clean coal is not yet proven effective, and the process is expensive.

If Trump really wants to revise coal production in the U.S., maybe he should look to North Korea. As tensions between that country and the world over its nuclear arsenal -- strong enough to threaten not only to its neighbors but the U.S. -- the time may be right for the U.S. to persuade other countries to stop buying coal from the so-called Hermit Kingdom.

North Korea borders China, South Korea and Russia by land and Japan by sea. North Korea’s exports increased at an annualized rate of 8.6 percent between 2010 and 2015, from $1.83 billion to $2.83 billion. Coal briquettes are by far North Korea’s top export, accounting for 34 percent to 40 percent in recent years, with almost all of it shipped to China. North Korea’s top import origins are China, India and Russia. Sanctions on North Korean coal exports and on its top import, refined petroleum, would wreak havoc on the nation’s economy. 

What all this means for global coal prices is that they should drop as U.S. production rises and global demand weakens. In the U.S. coal competes with cheap and bountiful shale gas. And even if China aggressively enforces sanctions, less North Korean coal is unlikely to generate a global shortage. China has clamped down on new coal projects and now has the world’s greatest installed wind and solar PV capacity. Furthermore, Pakistan could become the next big producer to replace North Korea, as it has begun to dig up one of the world’s largest deposits of low-grade coal.

Surely, some U.S. coal companies will see an initial boost to their balance sheets, but lower prices will eventually diminish enthusiasm on the equity side as well. There’s also the fact that almost all coal produced in the U.S. is used to generate electricity, but U.S. annual retail sales of electricity have remained stagnant for the last five years while the number of coal fired plants halved. It was not the Obama administration that eliminated coal mining jobs but rather market forces, which Trump cannot change by producing more of an undesired product.

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AFTER 2 MONTHS STRANDED AT SEA, MAN FINALLY COMES HOME

A young fisherman finally comes home to the Philippines by plane on Wednesday after being given up for dead at sea, fighting hunger, thirst, and despair for two long months on a tiny fishing boat that drifted to Papua New Guinea.

21 year old Rolando Omongos recounted his dreadful yet astonishing tale of survival. "I cried non-stop when I was rescued. I was too weak to stand up so they had to carry me," Rolando was rescued by a Japanese fishing vessel. He said he had to drink rain water to survive and moss growing at the hull of his 8 foot long boat. He frequently dives into the water to at least cool his body from the blazing heat of the sun.

Rolando wasn't really alone. As a matter of fact, he had his uncle with him. Although his uncle was on a second boat, Reniel Omongos, aged 31. Although his uncle died a month ago in sea, Rolando had to let his uncle's boat to sink because his corpse were starting to smell. Reniel died of hunger and thirst at sea. "God please take care of my uncle, I have to stay alive so that somebody would bring news to our kin." Rolando said in one of his prayers.

The men set off in their journey on December 21 with other fishermen aboard a purse sciner from General Santos, a southern Philippine port facing the Celebes Sea. The port lies 3,200 km from the PNG islands of New Britain, where the rescuers later dropped the survivor off.

A storm separated Rolando and his uncle from their mother boat on January 10, and their motor boats eventually ran out of fuel 5 days later. They later had to throw their boat engines overboard to avoid sinking and to be able to float higher.

"No fewer than 4 vessels would pass by us each day. I would wave at them but they would not stop for us" he said. The ships and fishing boats failed to see their tiny vessel 3-5 km away. "I never lost hope. I was still praying." he added.

When Rolando was found, he was already underweight. Weighing 20 kg from his original weight of 61 kg due to malnutrition. He vowed to never to step foot on a boat again and continue his studies.

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Trump declares war on party rebels

Last week Donald Trump said he was going to "come after" congressman Mark Meadows, the head of the House Freedom Caucus, if he didn't support the American Health Care Act. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer later said the president was joking. 

No one is laughing now.

The House Freedom Caucus, the collection of libertarian-leaning conservatives who helped sink the Trump-backed American Health Care Act last week, appears to be as much of a political enemy for the president as the Democratic Party.

"The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don't get on the team, & fast," Mr Trump tweeted on Thursday morning. "We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!"

The tweet was the latest, most pointed, shot at the Freedom Caucus since the healthcare bill collapsed last Friday. In his initial remarks that afternoon, after the bill was unceremoniously pulled from consideration in the midst of being debated in the House, Mr Trump placed the blame squarely on the Democrats.

"We had no votes from the Democrats," the president lamented. "They weren't going to give us a single vote, so it's a very difficult thing to do."

He also said he had no hard feelings toward the Freedom Caucus, who he described as "friends of mine".

Congressman Mark Meadows and the rest of the House Freedom Caucus are feeling the heat from the president

Over the past week, however, his attitude has shifted.

On Sunday the president tweeted that the Freedom Caucus, along with several grass-roots conservative groups, had "saved" Obamacare and the women's health group Planned Parenthood, whose clinics provide abortion services.

The next day he wrote the Freedom Caucus "was able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory".

Now it appears the president is preparing for all-out war against the intransigent congressmen - and it's a fight they seem willing to join. Shortly after Mr Trump fired his Thursday morning broadside, Justin Amash, a prominent member of the Freedom Caucus, offered his reply.

"It didn't take long for the swamp to drain Donald Trump," he tweeted. "No shame, Mr President. Almost everyone succumbs to the DC Establishment."

The fissures appearing beneath Mr Trump's feet as he tries to lead the Republican Party are not new, of course. Speaker of the House John Boehner, who was the top Republican officeholder during much of Barack Obama's presidency, constantly grappled with rebellious House members right up until he was forced from the speakership in September 2015.

For the first two months of the Trump presidency, however, it seemed like Republicans - finally in control of all the levers of power in Washington - might be able to present a unified front in advancing an ambitious agenda that included healthcare and tax reform, sweeping cuts in discretionary government programmes, and boosts in military and infrastructure spending.

Last week's healthcare fiasco has cast all of that into doubt, with a president unmoored from his own party sending out a number of conflicting messages.

After lambasting Democrats last Friday, Mr Trump has made several overtures to the opposition party. On Monday he tweeted the Democrats will be ready to deal once "Obamacare folds".

Paul Ryan doesn't want Donald Trump working with Democrats on healthcare

Do not worry," he wrote, "we are in very good shape."

The following night he told a bipartisan gathering of senators on Tuesday night that both Democrats and Republicans want to fulfil promises to improve American healthcare.

"I know that we're all going to make a deal on healthcare," he said. "That's such an easy one."

This set off its own series of tremors in Washington politics. On Wednesday evening Speaker Ryan was asked what he thought of Mr Trump reaching out to Democrats on healthcare reform.

"I don't want that to happen," he said. "You know why? I want a patient-centred system. I don't want government running healthcare.

"The government shouldn't tell you what you must do with your life, with your healthcare. We should give people choices."

On Thursday morning Bob Corker, a Republican senator from Tennessee, gave the speaker a stinging rebuke.

"We have come a long way in our country when the speaker of one party urges a president NOT to work with the other party to solve a problem," he tweeted.

A case can be made for a presidential political strategy that attempts to play House Freedom Caucus hard-liners off against Democrats to bring either one group or the other into a governing majority in Congress.

If that's the case, however, Mr Trump's strategy of antagonising both groups, 140 characters at a time, seems an uncertain way of realising that goal.

Traditional partisan battle lines may at least temporarily re-emerge next week, when the Senate votes on seating Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

But the fractures in the Republican party will probably once again become apparent with upcoming political fights over the budget, taxes and - perhaps - healthcare once again.

Over the course of the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump voters time and time again said they were supporting their candidate because they wanted to disrupt the political order in Washington and get things done.

While the latter is still very much in doubt, the former is looking more and more like a mission accomplished.

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Exam applicants vandalise JAMB office

- The JAMB zonal office in Benue state has been vandalised by prospective exam candidates protesting their inability to register at the centers earmarked for the exercise - The candidates also took the protest to government house, expressing their disgust over the manner this year JAMB registration is been handled 

- Besides, the zonal controller JAMB, Samuel Moro, who acknowledged a lot of hitches in registration for the exam, advised prospective candidates to be patient.

The JAMB candidates are angry over their inability to register at the centers earmarked for the exercise.

The zonal office of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Benue state has been vandalised by hundreds of prospective exam candidates over the difficulty they are passing through to get registered for the exam.


Tribune reports that the windows and other valuables in the office located along George Akume were destroyed by the angry applicants who also blocked the major road with born fires which disrupted traffic flow. The candidates were protesting their inability to register at the centers earmarked for the exercise. “The process is stressful. We wait for two or three days at the banks to get the pin and going to jamb is another frustration. Let cyber cafe do it for us,” prospective candidates who identified themselves as, Lucy and Jimmy told the Tribune. Some of the candidates also took the protest to government house, expressing their disgust over the manner this year JAMB registration is been handled.

Speaking to the aggrieved candidates, the state secretary to the state government (SSG) Prof Anthony Ijor SAN, urged the candidates to remain calm, assuring that all their grievances would be addressed. Besides, the zonal controller JAMB, Samuel Moro, advised prospective candidates to be patient assuring that everybody will get registered. He acknowledged a lot of hitches from the banks and partly from the candidates themselves. Moro however, expressed displeasure over the attitude of the candidates whom he alleged, destroyed their signboard, windows and other facilities. Meanwhile, News has reported that candidates sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) would from this year spend two hours instead of three hours to write the exam. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Registrar/Chief Executive Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, on Wednesday, March 29, stated this in Kaduna, during the opening ceremony of a strategic planning retreat on the monitoring, supervision and evaluation of 2017 UTME with the theme: “Inclusiveness and sensitisation of key external actors.” According to JAMB, a total of 240,000 candidates have so far registered for the examination which has been scheduled for May 20, barely one week after the commencement of the sale of forms which is expected to end on April 22.
 

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DUTERTE'S OXYGEN CONVERTER REVEALED

SLEEP AID. What appears to be an oxygen concentrator can be seen beside President Duterte's bed in Davao City. Photo from Manases Carpio

To help him sleep well despite his respiratory problems, President Rodrigo Duterte admitted that he uses a contraption to improve his "oxygenation."

He first spoke about this himself on Wednesday, March 29, during a long speech in Oriental Mindoro.

"What you see there is my oxygen converter. I need it to sleep well," he told the crowd.

(What they posted there – that's for my oxygen. Because when I sleep, my oxygenation is not good because of smoking.)

He was on the subject of his health condition, as he had just turned a year older the day before, Tuesday, March 28.

"I’m 72 yesterday. I cannot eat na gusto ko. Sabihin naman, cholesterol mataas (I cannot eat what I want. They will say again, my cholesterol is high)," he shared.

In photos shared by his family, which captured his grandchildren's visit to his Davao City home on his birthday, what appeared to be an oxygen concentrator could be seen beside his bed.

Duterte referred to the machine as an oxygen "converter" in another speech on Thursday, March 30, before his latest appointees in Malacañang.

He explained how he uses the gadget: "Ang circulation ko, 'pag natulog ako, nakasaksak ako (My circulation, when I sleep, I'm plugged into it)."

The President was apparently referring to an oxygen concentrator, a device that concentrates oxygen from a source, usually ambient area, to provide a steady supply of oxygen.

Its medical uses include treatment of those suffering from sleep apnea (pauses in breathing or shallow breathing during sleep), emphysema, or other respiratory ailments.

The President, who insists he has been transparent about his health condition, said he has been using the oxygen "converter" for a long time.

"Ako, gagamitin ko 'yun kasi ang brain ko raw suffers lack of oxygen. Matagal ko na ginamit 'yan. Wala akong tinago," he said.

(Me, I use it because my brain suffers from lack of oxygen. I've been using that for a long time. I never hid anything.)

Duterte has admitted to other illnesses related to his past smoking habit: Buerger's Disease, Barrett's Esophagus, and GERD. (READ: LIST: 'Migraine everyday' and Duterte's other ailments)

Buerger's Disease is a rare condition involving the constriction of blood vessels in the arms and legs, blocking blood flow.

Barrett's Esophagus is a complication of GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease. Smoking is a risk factor. In people with GERD, stomach contents flow backward into the esophagus which is not protected from the acid the stomach produces.

Duterte, who learned the ill effects of smoking the hard way, says this is why he is determined to implement stricter regulations on smoking.

"That is why in the coming months, we will be implementing the no smoking law in the Philippines. You can only smoke if you are in the open sea, at least 5 kilometers from the coastal shores," he said, half in jest, in Mindoro Oriental on Wednesday.

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