Louisville

Netanyahu's main rival in Israeli election voices agreement with him on Iran

Former general Benny Gantz, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strongest challenger in an election scheduled for April, voiced support on Sunday for the right-wing leader's tough policy toward Iran. "I am standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Prime Minister Netanyahu in the fight against Iran's aggression," Gantz, a former chief of Israel's armed forces and a centrist candidate, told the Munich Security Conference. Polls predict that Netanyahu's Likud party will win the April 9 election, taking about 30 of parliament’s 120 seats - enough to form a coalition of right-wing and religious factions similar to one he now heads.

Yemen sides agree deal on first pullback: UN

Yemen's government and Huthi rebels have agreed on the first phase of a pullback of forces from the key city of Hodeida, in a deal the United Nations described Sunday as important progress. The redeployment from Hodeida is a critical part of a ceasefire deal reached in December in Sweden that calls on the government and Huthis to move forces away from ports and parts of city. The fragile truce deal marks the first step toward ending a devastating war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

The Latest: Cardinal calls McCarrick punishment 'important'

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Latest on the defrocking of former U.S. cardinal Theodore McCarrick (all times local):

Shamima Begum is 'traumatised', says her lawyer as he likens Isil bride to a First World War soldier

The Isil bride who travelled to Syria to marry a terrorist is "traumatised", according to her lawyer, who likened his client to a World War One soldier.  Shamima Begum, 19, flew to the Middle East four years ago to join the terror group. There, she married a Dutch-born fighter with whom she had three children.  Her two eldest children have died, but she gave birth at a refugee camp in northeastern Syria on the weekend and now wants to return to Britain.  In an interview over the weekend, Begum said that people should be feeling sympathy for her, and her lawyer Tasnime Akunjee defended her attitude.  He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "I think it's difficult to take what she's saying in the current circumstances and try to draw from the lack of emotion that she has.  "She's a traumatised person. She finds herself in a camp and was clearly quite attached to her husband, it would seem, and suddenly he's not by her side." Lawyer Tasnime Akunjee Credit: Emrah Gurel/AP When confronted with the fact Begum does not seem traumatised and instead appeared to be composed, Mr Akunjee said: "You might've said the same thing about a World War One soldier in the middle of shellshock." Presenter Philip Madeley said this comparison was "a bit of a stretch", to which Mr Akumjee responded:  "It's a warzone. They're both warzones." The Begum's family lawyer, Mr Akunjee, said he understood some of the responses to her pleas for sympathy. He told BBC Breakfast: "The family have gone out of their way from day one to try to get her away from the Isil narrative and the context which she finds herself in. "She's been there for four years and we would be surprised if she hadn't been further damaged beyond the degree she had already been groomed into. "The family are concerned, as they have been for the last four years, not just to get her away, but, as of yesterday, to make sure that their grandchild - her child - is not influenced by that sort of thinking." Mr Akunjee said he anticipated that Begum would probably face criminal proceedings upon any return to the UK, but said it was the family's hope that she would be given professional help following her experience in Syria. Begum was one of three schoolgirls, along with Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, from Bethnal Green Academy who left the UK for Syria in February 2015. Ms Sultana was reported to have been killed in an air strike in 2016, while the other two are reported to still be alive. 'Show me some sympathy', says Isil bride after giving birth The British schoolgirl who ran away to join Isil has appealed for public sympathy following the birth of her son, as a row intensifies over whether she should be allowed to return to the UK. Shamima Begum, 19, went to Syria in 2015 and was discovered there in a refugee camp last week, heavily pregnant and insisting she wanted to go home. The birth of her child over the weekend prompted calls for the baby to be subject to care proceedings should Begum be able to return from Syria, as it emerged that the Family Division of the High Court had presided over cases involving at least 150 children deemed at risk of radicalisation in the last five years. In an interview with Sky News recorded at the Kurdish-controlled camp to which she fled from the last pocket of Isil-controlled territory, Begum said there was "no evidence" she had done anything wrong and she could not see "any reason" why her child should be taken from her when she had simply been living as a housewife. Speaking just hours after giving birth, her baby at her side, she said she had no regrets about fleeing the family home in Bethnal Green, east London, to support Isil, claiming the experience had made her "stronger, tougher". Shamima Begum's Dutch-born husband Yago Riedjik She said she could see a future for herself and her son, whom she has named Jarah after one of the two children she lost to malnutrition and disease in the last three months, "if the UK are willing to take me back and help me start a new life again and try and move on from everything that’s happened in the last four years". She added: "I wouldn’t have found someone like my husband [Yago Riedijk, 26, a Muslim convert from the Netherlands] in the UK. I had my kids, I had a good time there." Her other children, Jarah and Surayah, a daughter, died aged 18 months and nine months. Asked how she felt about the debate over whether she should be allowed to return home, Begum said: "I feel a lot of people should have sympathy for me, for everything I’ve been through. "I didn’t know what I was getting into when I left, I just was hoping that maybe for the sake of me and my child they let me come back.  "I can’t live in this camp forever. It’s not really possible." In the interview, Begum apologised for the first time to her family for running away, and said that though she knew it was "like a big slap in the face" for her to ask after she had previously rejected their calls for her to return, "I really need their help". Tim Loughton, deputy chairman of the home affairs select committee, said he thought it "extraordinary" that Begum was asking to come back while showing "not a scintilla of regret". The Conservative MP added: "My own feeling is in line with most others, that she has made her bed and should lie in it. But the law must prevail and we are probably going to have to let her back" "However, I think her child should be subjected to care proceedings due to the threat of radicalisation." He said a forthcoming report by the Henry Jackson Society disclosed that the Family Division of the High Court had presided over cases involving at least 150 children deemed at risk of radicalisation in the last five years. Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, said last week that he would "not hesitate" to prevent the return of anyone who supported terrorist organisations abroad. He reiterated his stance in a Sunday newspaper article, expressing compassion for any child born or brought into a conflict zone, but stating that the safety and security of children living in this country had to be the priority. Isil schoolgirls' journey into Syria Jeremy Wright, the Culture Secretary and former Attorney General, said Britain was "obliged" to take back British citizens.  However, he added: "That doesn’t mean that we can’t put in place the necessary security measures to monitor their activities. It doesn’t mean either that we can’t seek to hold them to account for their behaviour thus far.”  He said the nationality of Begum’s baby was a "difficult question", but the pair’s health was the most pressing matter. "In the end she will have to answer for her actions," he added. "So I think it is right that if she’s able to come back to the UK that she does so on the understanding that we can hold her to account for her behaviour thus far." Ms Begum said she was attracted to Isil by videos that she had seen online, which she said showed "how they’ll take care of you". She said she knew that the group carried out beheadings, but that she "was OK with it at first. I started becoming religious just before I left and from what I heard Islamically that is all allowed". "At first it was nice," she said of life in the so-called Islamic State. "It was how they showed it in the videos, you know, you come, make a family together, but then things got harder.  "We had to keep moving and moving and moving. The situation got fraught." Begum acknowledged that it would be "really hard" to be rehabilitated after everything she had been through.   "I’m still in that mentality of planes over my head, emergency backpacks, starving... it would be a big shock to go back to the UK and start again," she said. Isil bride Shamima Begum | Read more Writing in The Sunday Times, Mr Javid said that decisions about what to do with potential returnees had to be made on a case-by-case basis, based on the "facts of each case, the law and the threat to national security". He added: "I think about the children that could in future get caught up in dangerous groups if we don’t take a firm stance against those who support them… And that means sending a message to those who have backed terrorism: there will be consequences." His comments were described as "sick" by Ms Begum’s lawyer on Sunday. Mr Akunje told Radio 4’s The World This Weekend: "We are talking about a newborn baby who poses no risk or threat to anybody, [who is] not even cognitive, and yet he’s speaking about a child who’s a British citizen in terms of a security threat." Mr Akunje suggested that the birth of Begum’s child increased pressure on the British authorities to allow her to return home. He also revealed that Begum’s family has struggled to make direct contact with her and is now considering the possibility of getting out to Syria themselves. Her family has indicated that if she is jailed for supporting a terrorist group, they want to step in and raise her son themselves. Cressida Dick hits back at claims Met failed  The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has hit back at claims that officers failed to stop another runaway schoolgirl on the same flight as a 15-year-old arrested as she attempted to flee the UK to join Islamic State (IS). Cressida Dick said it was "incredibly complicated" and difficult to know about somebody's intentions, and claimed the schoolgirls - Sharmeena Begum and another unnamed passenger - were in fact on separate flights as the latter was pulled from the runway at Heathrow in December 2014 when she sought to get to Syria. The Times newspaper said the 15-year-old was arrested but not prosecuted, despite officers finding extremist material on her devices. Asked about the flight to Istanbul, on which both Sharmeena Begum and the unnamed 15-year-old were said to have been passengers en route to Syria, Ms Dick told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "I think it was actually a different flight and I think the question that's being asked is whether we were able to pass on sufficient information and understand well enough what these three girls were intending. "The truth of the matter is it's incredibly hard to know what somebody's intending. "The moment we informed the school about the girl who came off the flight, we did not know these girls were intending that, they were merely witnesses and we were talking to them as witnesses. These things are incredibly complicated. "We try to stop people from travelling when we knew they were travelling with ill-intent." Sign up for your essential, twice-daily briefing from The Telegraph with our free Front Page newsletter.

Here’s What’s Open and Closed on President’s Day 2019

Find out if banks, schools and the post office are open on President's day

Trump Wanted Russia in Memo Firing Comey, Former FBI Leader Says

McCabe said in a pre-recorded interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” broadcast on Sunday that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein didn’t want to include a reference to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election in the memo he wrote citing reasons why Comey should be fired, but that Trump insisted. Rosenstein “explained to the president that he did not need Russia in his memo.

Amazon pays zero federal taxes for second year in succession despite doubling profits, says new report

Amazon has paid zero federal taxes for the second year in succession, despite a doubling of its profits, according to a new report. Although the tech giant founded by Jeff Bezos saw its profits grow from $5.6bn (£4.3bn) in 2017 to $11.2bn (£8.7bn) in 2018, it will actually receive a tax rebate of $129m (£100m). “The company’s newest corporate filing reveals that, far from paying the statutory 21 per cent income tax rate on its US income in 2018, Amazon reported a federal income tax rebate of $129m,” said the report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), which describes itself as a “non-partisan, non-profit think tank”, based in Washington DC.

Hong Kong economy stalls amid trade dispute: finance chief

Hong Kong's economy stalled last year as the ongoing China-US trade dispute and retail woes dragged down local business, the city's financial chief said Sunday. Beijing and Washington have already imposed duties on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, roiling global financial markets and weighing heavily on manufacturing output in both countries. "The impact of China-US trade frictions on Hong Kong's exports has clearly emerged at the end of last year," said finance secretary Paul Chan.

Illinois factory gunman obtained firearm permit despite felony conviction

Gary Martin, 45, who carried his pistol to work on Friday apparently suspecting he faced dismissal from his job, opened fire after being told of his termination in a meeting at the Henry Pratt Company plant in Aurora, Illinois, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Chicago, police said. The dead included the plant manager, a human resources supervisor, a human resources intern and two other workers. A sixth employee and five police officers responding to the scene were wounded, and the gunman himself was slain about 90 minutes later in a gunfight with police who stormed the building.

Poland pulls out of Israel summit in row over WW2 role

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki branded the remarks "racist and unacceptable". The leaders of the other three 'Visegrad Group' nations - Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia - all still planned to attend the talks, Israel said, but Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said they would instead consist of bilateral discussions and that the summit would be rescheduled for later in 2019. The diplomatic spat between Poland and Israel has been escalating since Friday, when Israeli media reported remarks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday suggesting Polish complicity in the Holocaust.

Iran summons Pakistan envoy over suicide bombing

Iran's foreign ministry on Sunday summoned the Pakistani ambassador after Tehran accused Islamabad of harbouring a jihadist group behind a deadly suicide attack on security forces. "The Islamic Republic of Iran expects Pakistan's government and army to seriously confront ... the terrorist groups active on its border with Iran," the foreign ministry said in a statement. An Iranian official at the ministry called on Pakistan to quickly take the necessary steps for the identification and arrest of the attack's perpetrators.

Police: Aurora attacker used gun he shouldn't have owned

AURORA, Ill. (AP) — The man who opened fire and killed five co-workers including the plant manager, human resources manager and an intern working his first day at a suburban Chicago manufacturing warehouse, took a gun he wasn't supposed to have to a job he was about to lose.

Family: UK teen who joined Islamic State has baby in Syria

LONDON (AP) — The family of a British teenager who ran away to join the Islamic State group and now wants to return to the U.K. said Sunday she has given birth to a baby boy.

Average tax refunds fall for second straight week, creating political flashpoint

The average refund in the second week of the filing season was $1,949, down 8.7 percent from $2,135 a year earlier.

Vice President Pence Receives Awkward Silence in Munich After Offering 'Greetings' From President Trump

"I bring greetings from the 45th President," Pence said to resounding silence

U.K. Lawmakers Recommend Harsher Penalties for Tech Firms

Damian Collins, the policy maker who spearheaded the inquiry, called for Parliament to create new laws to help a proposed regulator oversee the industry, with fines for companies to be calculated based on their revenue. “Companies like Facebook exercise massive market power which enables them to make money by bullying the smaller technology companies and developers who rely on this platform to reach their customers,” Collins said in a statement Monday.

Potato rösti

This potato rösti is the perfect way to use up that last bit of cheese in the fridge.  SERVES Two INGREDIENTS 500g potatoes, ideally a nice waxy chip potato 1 small onion, finely sliced 1 garlic clove, crushed and chopped Pinch of dried chilli 50g butter 120g mixed grated cheese such as cheddar, gruyere or comté (a great opportunity to use up leftovers) Large pinch of fresh or dried sage METHOD Peel the potatoes and coarsely grate them into a bowl. Add the onion, garlic and chilli and season well. Tip onto a tea towel and squeeze them tightly to remove any excess liquid, then return to the bowl and mix in 25g of the butter, diced. Add 15g of the butter to a large non-stick and ovenproof frying pan (large enough to hold the potato mixture) and allow to melt. Press the potato mixture into the pan and cook over a medium heat until the underside starts to crisp – from around six to 10 minutes. When ready, flip the rosti onto a plate (cooked side up), melt the rest of the butter in the pan and slide the rosti into it to cook on the other side for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through. To finish, preheat the grill and sprinkle the rosti with the grated cheese and sage, along with a good grinding of black pepper. Place until the grill until the cheese melts and bubbles. Serve with a crisp green salad. RECIPES | Angela's budget-friendly dishes

Netanyahu hands Israel foreign minister role to right-wing rival

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday he was relinquishing the role of foreign minister and handing it to a right-wing rival from within his Likud party, Israel Katz. The move comes ahead of April 9 elections and follows court challenges arguing Netanyahu -- who is also health and defence minister -- has taken on too many governmental portfolios. A Likud spokesman said Netanyahu intended to appoint Katz as acting foreign minister without providing further details.

Sex abuse survivors say Vatican summit must deliver action

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Roman Catholics who were sexually abused by clergy are insisting that decisive actions to confront the decades-long problem of pedophile priests and church cover-ups must come out of an upcoming Vatican summit.

NASA posts image of ghostly blue objects, deep in the cosmos

When a star is born, a chaotic light show ensues.  NASA's long-lived Hubble Space Telescope captured vivid bright clumps moving through the cosmos at some 1,000 light years from Earth. The space agency called these objects clear "smoking gun" evidence of a newly formed star — as new stars blast colossal amounts of energy-rich matter into space, known as plasma.  Seen as the vivid blue, ephemeral clumps in the top center of the new image below, these are telltale signs of an energy-rich gas, or plasma, colliding with a huge collection of dust and gas in deep space. As NASA says, these blue masses are transient creations in the cosmos, as "they disappear into nothingness within a few tens of thousands of years." Bright lights inside a nebula. Image: ESA/Hubble/NASA/K. Stapelfeldt These blue clumps are traveling at 150,000 mph toward the upper left direction (from our view, anyhow). In total, there are five of these ghostly clumps, hurtling through space.  SEE ALSO: Opportunity rover's last picture is as grim as it is dark NASA doesn't identify the new star itself, called SVS 13, perhaps because it's obscured by thick clouds of cosmic matter. This collection of dust and gas is part of a distant nebula, which are often the remnants of exploded stars swirling through the infinity of space. WATCH: Ever wonder how the universe might end?

Potential privacy lapse found in Americans' 2010 census data

WASHINGTON (AP) — An internal team at the Census Bureau found that basic personal information collected from more than 100 million Americans during the 2010 head count could be reconstructed from obscured data, but with lots of mistakes, a top agency official disclosed Saturday.

Donald Trump's emergency declaration is an attack on democracy

Invoking a bogus emergency to build a wall Congress rejected will have long-term impacts on the rule of law.

India, Pakistan 'spy' row heads for UN top court amid tensions

India will on Monday renew its bid to persuade international judges to take an alleged spy off death row in Pakistan, in a controversial court case as fresh bloodshed in Kashmir sends tensions between the neighbours soaring. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, a former Indian navy officer, was arrested in the restive southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan in March 2016 on charges of espionage and sentenced to death by a military court. India insists Jadhav was not a spy and that he was kidnapped in Pakistan.

Chicago AccuWeather: 2-4 inches of snow on Sunday

Steady snow throughout the day Sunday with 2 to 4 inches expected across the Chicago area. Highs in 20s.

Merck, Pfizer drug combo extends kidney cancer survival: study

Nearly 90 percent of patients who received the combination therapy were still alive after 12 months compared with about 78 percent of patients who were alive after a year when treated with the older drug Sutent, data showed. Merck on Monday released interim data from the trial, saying the combination reduced the risk of death by 47 percent compared with Sutent. The findings add to an arsenal of positive clinical data for Keytruda, which is approved to treat several types of cancer, making it by far Merck's most important growth driver.

Bill De Blasio Slams Amazon’s ‘Abuse of Corporate Power’

“They couldn’t handle the heat in the kitchen,” de Blasio said. Separately, de Blasio said he had not ruled out a 2020 presidential run, but would take his message about corporations nationwide regardless of his decision. Amazon’s announcement has sparked a furious debate over whether local officials and activists should be blamed for losing New York an estimated 25,000 to 40,000 high-paying tech jobs, or whether the firm had reacted too rashly to public concerns.

Russia's RT fumes after Facebook blocks 'wildly popular' page

Facebook has blocked a popular page run by Russian state TV channel RT, the channel's editor said Monday, criticising the move as an attack on media rights. The project was wildly popular -- 2.5 billion views and four million subscribers on Facebook alone!" RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said on her Telegram social network account. "We didn't violate any Facebook rules," she said.

Israeli leader pledges funds for museum for Jewish WWII vets

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Sunday that his government would allocate the necessary funds to complete a long-promised museum honoring Jewish World War II veterans.

Japan's New F-3 Fighter: Why Not Just Buy More F-35s?

We have a look at what Tokyo is planning.

Donald Trump demands Britain puts jihadists on trial as Isil makes desperate last stand

Donald Trump has demanded Britain and its continental neighbours repatriate their captured Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters and put them on trial - or face the terrorists being set free to "permeate Europe." In a strongly-worded message tweeted late on Saturday night, the US president warned he would have little choice but to release approximately 800 "jihadists" currently held by American-backed Kurdish forces in Syria. He said now was the time for the ant-Isil coalition partners to "step up" and take over ownership of its rogue citizens who threaten the safety of Europe. Mr Trump's remarks came as the Sunday Telegraph exclusively revealed intense concern in Washington that "time is running out" to bring the terror group’s fighters to justice as coalition forces prepare to declare victory within days. "The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial," he wrote.  The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial. The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them........— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2019 "The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them.." "The U.S. does not want to watch as these ISIS fighters permeate Europe, which is where they are expected to go. We do so much, and spend so  much - Time for others to step up and do the job that they are so capable of doing. We are pulling back after 100% Caliphate victory!" Time is rapidly running out to establish a coherent strategy with Isil fighters now controlling a pocket of land just 700 metres square in eastern Syria. At its height, the terror group controlled an area the size of Britain.     In a final gesture of defiance, surviving Isil militants on Sunday laid down roadblocks around their final redoubt to prevent an estimated 1,000 civilians trapped with them from leaving.   Mr Trump predicted victory would come on Saturday, but commanders of the Syrian Democratic Forces commanders have slowed a push on the village of Baghouz with fears that civilians were being used as human shields.    SDF fighters man a checkpoint on the road leading to Bagouz, the last village under Isil control Credit:  Chris McGrath/Getty Images Europe On Saturday, the French army revealed a senior officer was facing punishment after publicly criticising coalition tactics.  Colonel Francois-Regis Legrier said an emphasis on minimizing risk to coalition personnel resulted in unnecessary civilian deaths and destruction of infrastructure that could feed resentment leading to another insurgency in future.  At least seven British Isil members, including two alleged members of the notorious ‘Beatles’ terror cell, are believed to have been captured and held in Syria. But an unknown number of others, including Shamima Begum, the 19-year-old child bride from Bethnal Green, are living in refugee camps and may also pose a threat to the UK.  According to a statement released by Miss Begum's family on Sunday, the teenager has just given birth to a baby boy. Mr Trump's comments put pressure on the British government to rethink its reluctance to commit to taking back the individuals. The village of Bagouz, Isil's ;ast enclave, is seen from an SDF hilltop position on February 14 Credit: Getty Images Europe/Chris McGrath Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary,  insisted last week he would “not hesitate” to prevent the return of anyone who supported terrorist organisations abroad. But yesterday SUN General Lord Richard Dannatt, the former head of the British Army, said the UK had an obligation to accept its citizens. “Usually I disagree with Donald Trump, but on this occasion I think he’s right. “If there are … a large number of foreign fighters in captivity in Syria who originate from countries like the UK, then they are our citizens and we have a responsibility to act responsibly towards them. That means they have got to come back to this country.” And Jeremy Wright, the Culture Secretary, echoed those views. Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show, he said: "It's clear, if you are dealing with a British citizen who  wants to return to this country and they're not a dual citizen - so their only citizenship is British citizenship - then we are obliged, at some stage at least, to take them back." ENDS

Iran takes aim at 'hateful' Pence comments

Iran's foreign minister on Sunday launched a blistering attack on US Vice President Mike Pence, saying his allegations that Tehran was plotting a "new Holocaust" were "hateful" and "ignorant". Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Munich Security Conference that Pence's demands for the EU to follow the US in abandoning the 2015 Iran nuclear deal amounted to asking Europe to undermine its own security.

Australia Blames a Foreign Government for the Cyberattack on Political Parties

A culprit was not named, but analysts suspect China, Russia or Iran

Germany's SPD climbs in polls after welfare rethink

Support for Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) has hit its highest level in almost six months, a poll showed on Sunday, a week after the center-left party outlined new welfare plans aimed at winning back working class voters. Ahead of European elections in May and four regional votes this year, the Emnid poll for the Bild am Sonntag newspaper put support for the SPD, which shares power with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, on 19 percent, up 2 points from a week ago.

Medical emergency triggers stampede at San Francisco theater

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Chaos broke out during a performance of the musical "Hamilton" at San Francisco's Orpheum theater Friday night after audience members mistook a medical emergency for a shooting.

Thousands of Venezuela volunteers begin preparing US aid entry

Thousands of volunteers in Venezuela will begin mobilizing on Sunday to bring American aid into their crisis-hit country despite a blockade by President Nicolas Maduro who claims the assistance could be cover for a US invasion. Once-wealthy Venezuela is gripped by a power struggle between socialist leader Maduro and Juan Guaido, the head of the National Assembly who proclaimed himself interim president last month and now has the backing of more than 50 countries.

Indian authorities detain 23 after deadly Kashmir attack

Indian forces have detained 23 men suspected of links to the Pakistan-based militant group that masterminded the bombing of an Indian security convoy that killed 44 paramilitary police, a top police official said on Sunday. The 23 men included members and sympathisers of Jaish-e-Mohammad, the militant group that claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack, the deadliest on Indian security forces in decades. The attack has fuelled tensions between India and Pakistan. India has demanded Pakistan close down Jaish-e-Mohammad and other Islamist militant groups that operate from its soil, while Islamabad has rejected suggestions it was linked to the attack. Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region at the heart of decades of hostility, is claimed in its entirety by India and Pakistan, but is ruled in part by both south Asian countries. Representatives of India's National Investigating Agency questioned the suspects about the bombing on Sunday, two security officials said. "They are trying to reach out to the top commanders of Jaish-e-Mohammad, including its Kashmir Chief," one of the sources said. Mohammed Umair, the commander of the group in Kashmir who is believed to have plotted the attack, is suspected to be hiding in the region where the attacks took place, the officials said. The officials say Mr Umair had "radicalized and motivated" the Kashmiri school dropout who rammed a car laden with explosives into the convoy on Thursday. Mr Umair is thought to have entered Indian Kashmir from Pakistan in September to head the Jaish in the region. Security forces suspect he is in hiding in southern Kashmir, according to the officials, who could not be named as a matter of policy. Indian officials say Mr Umair is a nephew of Jaish-e-Mohammad's chief, Masood Azhar, who is believed to be in Pakistan. Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, has promised a strong response to the attack and says he has given the military a free hand to tackle cross-border militancy.

Ready, Aim, Fire!: Watch This Deadly Russian T-90MS Tank Go To War

All to capture some important arms sales.

Victoria Beckham goes 'retro' at London Fashion Week show

Exaggerated collars, leopard print and a strong colour palette: British designer Victoria Beckham turned to "pinches of the '70s" as she showcased her latest collection Sunday at London Fashion Week. The former Spice Girl chose the rarified galleries of the Tate Britain museum, a neoclassical building home to some of the country's most treasured art, for only her second catwalk show in the British capital. "I have been thinking about what women want, about modern femininity," she told audiences in show notes describing her autumn/winter 2019 collection.

EU states mixed on Trump demand to take back IS fighters

BRUSSELS (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump's demand that European countries take back their citizens fighting in Syria received a mixed reaction Monday, as nations voiced concerns about how to bring home-grown Islamic State extremists to trial.

Zimbabwe opposition figure fined for claiming poll win

A Zimbabwe court Monday convicted leading opposition figure Tendai Biti of an election crime and fined him for announcing his own results for presidential polls last July, which he claimed he won. Biti, a respected former finance minister, proclaimed his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) the victor of the contested July 30 poll which sparked anti-government protests that were put down by soldiers. Magistrate Gloria Takundwa ordered Biti to pay $200 -- the price of a full tank of petrol -- or go to prison for a week.

Saudi prince starts Asia tour with deals to invest $20 bn in Pakistan

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a raft of investment deals Sunday worth up to $20 billion for the cash-strapped South Asian country, as Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman launched his Asia tour seeking to emerge from the Khashoggi affair. Pakistan is facing a serious balance of payments crisis and hopes the deals -- seven separate agreements and Memorandums of Understanding -- will provide welcome relief to its teetering economy. The crown prince, widely known as "MBS", is staging the high-profile three-country visit five months after he came under intense pressure following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Irish backstop can't be changed for Brexit deal: Estonian president

There can be no changes to the Irish "backstop", an arrangement to avoid a hard border between European Union member Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland after Brexit, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid told Reuters. Many British lawmakers, especially in Prime Minister Theresa May's governing Conservative Party, fear the backstop will trap the UK in a permanent customs union with the EU after Brexit.

The Latest: Extremist attack in Nigeria kills 4 civilians

YOLA, Nigeria (AP) — The Latest on Nigeria's postponed presidential election (all times local):

Iran launches 'cruise missile capable' submarine

Iran on Sunday launched a new locally-made submarine capable of firing cruise missiles, state TV said, in the country's latest show of military might at a time of heightened tensions with the US. The launch ceremony, led by President Hassan Rouhani, took place in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. "Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully self-reliant on land, air and sea," Rouhani said.

UN envoy arrives in Yemen to discuss truce around port city

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths arrived on Sunday in the capital, Sanaa, to discuss the "complex situation" in and around the key port city of Hodeida, Yemeni security officials said.

Man in prison confesses to 90 murders ranging from Los Angeles to Florida, even provides drawings of victims

A 78-year-old man in a Texas prison for murder has confessed to 90 killings all over the country and even provided authorities with portraits of some of his victims, according to the FBI.

Colin Kaepernick settles collusion case with NFL

Colin Kaepernick and his former teammate, Eric Reid, have reached a settlement in their suit against the NFL. The players sued the league in 2017, alleging it colluded to keep the players out of league in response to their protests -- against police brutality and racial injustice -- during the pre-game National Anthem, which drew the ire of President Donald Trump. SEE ALSO: Colin Kaepernick's Pet Tortoise Is the NFL's Internet MVPDetails of the settlement were not disclosed. In fact, it seems like we're destined to know very little about the terms of the deal, unless they leak out at some point. The NFL issued a brief, three sentence joint statement on the matter.Kaepernick and Reid both shared the statement from their personal Twitter accounts.According to Vox, a settlement doesn't force the NFL to sign either player to a team (Reid currently plays for the Panthers) but NFL Player Association rules could get Kaepernick a "financial award amounting to roughly double what he would have made if he had stayed in the league."LeBron James, who has long been a vocal supporter of Kaepernick, said he hoped the former NFL-er had gotten "a hell of a lot of money" from the league.> Lakers' LeBron James on Colin Kaepernick: "I stand with Kaep. I kneel with Kaep. I'm happy to see the news that he won his suit. I hope it's a hell of a lot of money." pic.twitter.com/AmOLTGca8r> > -- Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 16, 2019"I kneel with Kaep. I feel what he was talking about, nobody wanted to listen to. Nobody ever wanted to really actually understand where he was coming from. Anybody that would sacrifice their livelihood for the better of all of us, I could respect that," James said. Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry also expressed his support, saying he had "so much respect" for Kaepernick and that his actions "will be even more memorable than anything he ever did on the field." Kevin Durant also expressed his support. "I think it's good for athletes to stand up for what they believe in," he said, according to the Houston Chronicle.  WATCH: This 10-year-old won a science fair by 'proving' Tom Brady is a cheater