"As pressure mounts on Mr Trump to end the government's partial shutdown, all eyes are on his next moves" WASHINGTON, January 24 -- Tensions are mounting between President Trump and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi after the president has been told he cannot make an annual political address while the government is in shutdown. President Trump, who intended to make the State of the Union address on 26 January, has been told by the leading Democrat that if he wants to make the speech, he will have to make it elsewhere. As pressure mounts on Mr Trump to end the government’s partial shutdown, all eyes are on his next moves — and what it means for the Republican president’s popularity. Trump’s intentions to make the annual address to Congress were thwarted by Ms Pelosi. The address, which is considered one of the most important events of the political calendar, was blocked by the Speaker of the House for one pertinent reason: the government is in shutdown. “I am writing to inform you that the House of Representatives will not consider a concurrent resolution authorising the President’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber until government has opened,” she wrote in a letter Wednesday afternoon. “Again, I look forward to welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when government has been opened.” Pelosi said that she arrived at the decision “because the government is closed.”
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BANGKOK, January 24 -- Thailand is to hold its long-awaited general election on 24 March, its first since a military coup almost five years ago.
The announcement, which came hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a royal decree formalising the election, marks a significant moment in the country’s return to democracy. The military junta, which overthrew the government of Yingluck Shinawatra in a bloodless coup in May 2014, has repeatedly the elections, initially claiming Thailand was “not ready”. The elections were expected to be held on 24 February, but the junta delayed again at the start of this year over concerns the poll would clash with the coronation of the king, which is scheduled for 4-6 May. But speaking on Wednesday afternoon, an election commission spokesperson said: “24 March will be the election day.” At the end of last year, the junta lifted the draconian restrictions on political campaigning and protests in place since 2014, preventing all political activity and gatherings of more than five people. As the election delays dragged on, a growing number of Thais took to the streets in pro-democracy protests over the last few weeks, demanding that the junta finally declare an official election date. The last legally recognised general election in Thailand was eight years ago, when Yingluck took office. After a period of political unrest, elections were held again in 2014 but were later declared invalid by the Thai constitutional court. Previous elections have been marked by protests that often descended into violence between pro-democracy and pro-military groups. Prayut Chan-o-cha, the prime minister and leader of the military government, called for an “environment of orderliness, civility and unity” during and after the next elections. How truly democratic the elections,will be is questionable. A new constitution drawn up and passed by the junta means the system is heavily skewed in favour of maintaining the power of the military over the Thai parliament. In an unprecedented move, the military has also formed its own political party to run in the election. While Pheu Thai, the political party of Yingluck and her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was prime minister between 2001-2006, remains the most popular party in Thailand, many are predicting that Prayut will be returned as prime minister owing to powerful military influence and fractures in Pheu Thai’s leadership. Yingluck and Thaksin live in exile and are banned from taking part in any political activity. Under the law, the election commission has to endorse winning members of parliament within 60 days of a vote, and parliament must convene within 15 days of the results. ROTTERDAM, January 24 -- A very large and deep trough dominates Mediterranean region, partly also central Europe, north Africa and the western Balkan peninsula. Very cold airmass maintains across the Alps and also spreads across the western Mediterranean and reaches north Africa (northeast Algeria and north Tunisia) as well. A very deep surface cyclone is located over the Tyrrhenian sea and results in strong southerly winds across south Italy and the Adriatic sea, bringing excessive rainfall/snowfall threat into the region. Warm weather across the southeast Europe continues. CARACAS, January 24 -- Venezuela's crisis quickly escalated Wednesday as an opposition leader backed by the Trump administration declared himself interim president in a direct challenge to embattled socialist Nicolas Maduro, who retaliated by breaking off relations with the United States, his biggest trade partner. For the past two weeks, ever since Maduro took the oath for a second six-year term in the face of widespread international condemnation, the newly invigorated opposition had been preparing for nationwide demonstrations Wednesday coinciding with the anniversary marking the end of Venezuela's last military dictatorship in 1958. While Maduro has shown no signs of leaving, his main rival, National Assembly President Juan Guaido, upped the ante by declaring himself interim president before masses of anti-government demonstrators — the only way, he said, to rescue Venezuela from "dictatorship." Outside the capital, seven demonstrators were killed amid disturbances during protests that rocked several cities. In a seemingly coordinated action, the U.S. led a chorus of Western hemisphere nations, including Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, that immediately recognized Guaido, with President Donald Trump calling on Maduro to resign and promising to use the "full weight" of the U.S. economic and diplomatic power to push for the restoration of Venezuela's democracy. "The people of Venezuela have courageously spoken out against Maduro and his regime and demanded freedom and the rule of law," Trump said in a statement. The stunning move, which to some harkened back to dark episodes of heavy-handed U.S. interventions in Latin America during the Cold War, drew a strong rebuke from Maduro. He responded by swiftly cutting off diplomatic relations with the United States, the biggest importer of the OPEC nation's oil, giving American diplomats 72 hours to leave the country. "Before the people and nations of the world, and as constitutional president. .... I've decided to break diplomatic and political relations with the imperialist U.S. government," Maduro thundered while holding up a decree banning the diplomats before a crowd of red-shirted supporters gathered at the presidential palace. "Don't trust the gringos," he said, rattling off a long list of U.S.-backed military coups — Guatemala, Chile, Brazil — in decades past. "They don't have friends or loyalties. They only have interests, guts and the ambition to take Venezuela's oil, gas and gold." BEIJING, January 24 -- China has blocked Microsoft-owned search engine Bing, The company confirmed after receiving complaints from users throughout the country who took to social media beginning late Wednesday to express concerns. So, Bing becomes the latest service to be shut down by Chinese government behind its so-called Great Firewall of China, which blocks thousands of websites originating in the west including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Yahoo, and Google. The news came as a surprise because Microsoft's search engine actually followed China's strict rules on censoring search results. Online service WebSitePulse that tracks outages in China also confirmed that cn.bing.com—the web address for Bing in China since its launch in June 2009—was inaccessible in several parts of the country. After investigating reports from Chinese users, a Microsoft spokesperson has "confirmed that Bing is currently inaccessible in China" and that the company is "engaged to determine next steps." Microsoft's Bing becomes the second major search engine to ban from China, after Google search, which left the country, along with other Google websites in 2010, in order to avoid Chinese censorship. However, late last year it was revealed that Google had secretly been working on a censored version of its search engine to make a comeback in China, after an eight-year-long absence of the company from the country with the world's largest market of internet users. Although the apparent cause of the ban remains unknown, the ban comes a day after China's top search engine Baidu received complaints that it was promoting low-quality pieces from its news organization Baijiahao in its search engine, weighing down its shares. State-owned telecommunications operator China Unicom confirmed that Bing had been blocked in the country after a government order, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. If users attempt to access Bing in China, the browser displays in a "connection error." This is because the Chinese Great Firewall has now been configured to corrupt the connection and stop resolving the domain name associated with the banned IP address of Bing's China site. To access Bing in China, users can do a little about it, because to visit censored websites, users need to rely on VPN services, but the Chinese government has been cracking down on the use of VPN services in the country. This is not the first time China has blocked a Microsoft service. In November 2017, the country pulled Microsoft's Skype Internet phone call and messaging service from Apple and Android app stores after the company refused to comply with their local laws. BEIRUT, January 23 -- Kurdish-led fighters overran the last village held by the Islamic State group in Syria on Wednesday, confining its once vast cross-border “caliphate” to two small hamlets. It is the culmination of a broad offensive launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces last September with U.S.-led coalition support in which they have reduced the jihadis’ last enclave on the north bank of the Euphrates valley near the Iraqi border to a tiny rump. The capture of the village of Baghouz leaves the few remaining diehard IS fighters holed up in scattered farmhouses among the irrigated fields and orchards on the north bank of the Euphrates River. “Search operations are continuing in Baghouz to find any IS fighters who are still hiding,” the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, said. “The SDF will now have to push on into the farmland around Baghouz.” The Observatory said late on Tuesday that around 4,900 people, mostly women and children but including 470 IS fighters, had fled the jihadis’ fast dwindling enclave in two days. Of those 3,500 surrendered to the advancing SDF on Tuesday alone. They were evacuated on dozens of trucks chartered by the SDF. The fall of Baghouz follows the SDF’s capture of the enclave’s sole town of Hajin and the villages of Al-Shaafa and Sousa in recent weeks. The new wave of departures means that nearly 27,000 people have left former IS areas since early December, including almost 1,800 jihadis who have surrendered, the Observatory said. The whereabouts of the ultra-elusive IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has made just one public appearance — in Iraq’s then IS-held second city Mosul in 2014 — are unknown. The U.S.-led coalition declined to be drawn on when it expected its SDF allies to overrun the final sliver of territory still under IS control. It stressed the operation’s bigger goal was to minimize the continuing threat the jihadis could pose from underground. “It is difficult to say how much longer, despite the progress,” coalition spokesman Colonel Sean Ryan said. “We try to stay away from timelines as it is more about degrading the enemy’s capabilities. “We are seeing a lot of enemy fighters fleeing. The Syrian forces are less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from the Iraqi border but still fighting against a resistance of diehard fighters.” The remaining jihadis are well within artillery range of Iraqi forces stationed along the border, who are determined to prevent fugitive IS fighters from slipping across. On Saturday, Iraqi shelling and airstrikes on IS positions in an around Baghouz killed at least 20 jihadis, according to the Observatory. The coalition has stepped up its own airstrikes against IS since the jihadis killed four Americans and 15 other people in a suicide bombing on a restaurant in the flash point northern town of Manbij on Jan. 16. The U.S. losses were the biggest since Washington deployed troops in Syria in 2014 in support of the SDF. Previously it had reported just two combat losses in separate incidents. The Manbij bombing rekindled controversy triggered by President Donald Trump last month with his surprise announcement of a full withdrawal from Syria. The U.S. president justified the order with the assertion that the jihadis had now been “largely defeated” in Syria, a claim that the attack threw into renewed question. It is a far cry from the jihadis’ peak in 2014, when they overran large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq, and IS proclaimed a “caliphate” in areas under their control. The gains have come at the cost of heavy losses for the mainly Kurdish fighters of the SDF and despite their sense of betrayal by their U.S. ally after Trump’s withdrawal announcement. Neighboring Turkey has threatened repeatedly to launch a cross-border operation to crush the Kurdish fighters of the SDF and the autonomous region they have set up in areas of northern and northeastern Syria under their control. Turkish troops had been held at bay by the intervention of U.S. troops who set up observation posts along the border and mounted joint patrols with Kurdish fighters. But with those troops gone, the Kurds fear they will be exposed to the full might of the Turkish military. BANGKOK, January 23 -- Thailand's Election Commission announced Wednesday the general election would be held on March 24. The announcement, which came hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a royal decree formalising the election, marks a significant moment in the country’s return to democracy. The military junta, which overthrew the government of Yingluck Shinawatra in a bloodless coup in May 2014, has repeatedly the elections, initially claiming Thailand was “not ready”. A royal decree for the general election was issued on Royal Gazette. The upcoming election will be the first since the 2014 coup which toppled the then-government led by Yingluck Shinawatra. The elections were expected to be held on 24 February, but the junta delayed again at the start of this year over concerns the poll would clash with the coronation of the king, which is scheduled for 4-6 May. But speaking on Wednesday afternoon, an election commission spokesperson said: “24 March will be the election day.” At the end of last year, the junta lifted the draconian restrictions on political campaigning and protests in place since 2014, preventing all political activity and gatherings of more than five people. As the election delays dragged on, a growing number of Thais took to the streets in pro-democracy protests over the last few weeks, demanding that the junta finally declare an official election date. "Thai stocks lead SE Asian peers on election announcement" BANGKOK, January 23 -- The SET index rises after a royal decree calling for the election was announced on Wednesday. The Stock Exchange of Thailand index climbed almost 1% after a royal decree for a general election was issued on Wednesday. The SET index added 15.61 points or 0.97% to end the day at 1,617.38, in trade of 67.87 billion baht. Stock heavyweights PTT Plc, Kasikornbank Plc, Airports of Thailand Plc and Siam Commercial Bank Plc were among the most active stocks. The index jumped soon after His Majesty the King issued the royal decree for the election, which took immediate effect, followed by the poll date of March 24 set by the Election Commission hours later. The Thai shares were also buoyed by financials and telecoms. Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand said the baht's strength is in line with regional currencies, as the dollar has weakened. The baht, Asia's best performing currency, has appreciated about 2.6% against the dollar this year, hovering around its highest in more than eight months hit last week. "Expectations of foreign inflows into Thai assets also weigh on the pair (USD-THB). This is in contrast to yesterday where foreign investors sold $39.1 million and $46.8 million in equities and debt," Maybank said in a note. Malaysian shares snapped three straight sessions of gains and closed 0.8% lower, weighed down by the material and financial sectors. The Malaysian market dropped ahead of a central bank meeting. Shares of Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd dropped 6.1%, while those of CIMB group Holdings Bhd fell 1.9%. Bank Negara Malaysia will likely keep its benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged at 3.25% at its policy review on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed, with the last move a year ago, when it raised the rate by 25 basis points. The consumer price index likely rose 0.4% in December from a year earlier, a Reuters poll showed, slightly faster than the previous month. Among other losers, Singapore dropped 0.7% after data showed inflation rose more than expected in December. The headline consumer price index rose 0.5% in December from a year earlier, higher than the 0.4% rise expected by economists in a Reuters poll and the 0.3% increase in November. Financials and industrials were among the top losers with DBS Group Holdings Ltd shedding 1.6% and Hutchison Port Holdings Trust dipping 2%. Philippine shares erased most of earlier losses to close slightly lower ahead of fourth-quarter GDP data. A Reuters poll of 12 economists predicts the gross domestic product for the December quarter to have expanded by 6.2% from a year earlier, marginally up from July-September's 6.1%, a three-year low. Financial and consumer discretionary stocks were among the top losers with Jollibee Foods Corp declining 2.5% and Bank of the Philippine Islands shedding 2.1%. Australian diplomatic officials released a statement early Thursday morning that said “Chinese authorities informed the Australian Embassy in Beijing that they have detained Mr Yang Hengjun”. “The Department is seeking to clarify the nature of this detention and to obtain consular access to him, in accordance with the bilateral consular agreement, as a matter of priority,” the statement said. On Wednesday afternoon, The Age reported that Mr Yang Hengjun had been detained by a squad of 10 security agents shortly after arriving at an airport in China. His arrest was confirmed by a source who witnessed the incident, confirming the worst fears of those close to him.The confirmation that Mr Yang, a democracy activist and former Chinese diplomat, was taken by secret police on Saturday comes after days of silence, with friends and family increasingly concerned for his safety. He left New York for the southern Chinese city Guangzhou on January 18 despite friends warning the Australian citizen it was too dangerous for him to travel to China. Friends abroad have not heard from him since.
After arriving in Guangzhou on January 19, Mr Yang was prevented from boarding his connecting flight to Shanghai with his wife and her daughter. It is understood the agents swooped on the Australian citizen as he was awaiting processing in the foreigners' queue. The rapid arrest suggests that Mr Yang was on a list and authorities were prepared to strike should he set foot on Chinese soil. His wife, Yuan Rui Juan, was detained briefly but then permitted to go to Shanghai with her daughter. After leaving her child with family, it appears Ms Yuan proceeded to Beijing, where her husband may be detained. According to sources, she has now returned to Shanghai and has not been permitted to speak to Mr Yang. Mr Yang's detention comes amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Western governments, with fears his case might be connected to the detention of two Canadian men by Chinese secret police. KUBINKA, January 23 -- Russia is not violating any points of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Head of the Missile Troops and Artillery of Russia’s Ground Forces Lieutenant-General Mikhail Matveyevsky told this at a briefing on the 9M729 missile for military attaches. "Russia has observed and continues strictly observing the points of the Treaty and does not allow any violations," Matveyevsky said. The military official noted that the ongoing US campaign on accusing Russia of violating the INF Treaty is groundless. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed between the former Soviet Union and the United States on December 8, 1987 and entered into force on June 1, 1988. The INF Treaty covered deployed and non-deployed ground-based short-range missiles (from 500 to 1,000 kilometers) and intermediate-range missiles (from 1,000 to 5,500 kilometers). On January 15, Russia and the US held inter-agency consultations on the INF Treaty in Geneva. Washington again accused Moscow of breaching the arms control agreement. The US threatens to leave the treaty on February 2 unless Russia destroys its 9M729 missile, which allegedly violates the agreement. Russia told colleagues that during the Zapad-2017 drills on September 18, 2017 this missile was test-launched at the Kapustin Yar proving ground at its maximum range and it covered less than 480 km. SYDNEY, January 23 -- The Australian government is seeking information about the whereabouts of a prominent Chinese-Australian writer who has been out of contact after arriving in China over five days ago. Yang Hengjun, a dissident and former Chinese diplomat, was traveling with his wife and child. He flew from New York to the Chinese city of Guangzhou on January 18 and had originally planned to travel to Shanghai on January 19, but did not take the flight. His friends fear Yang has been detained by Chinese authorities. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs said it is seeking information on the whereabouts of Yang, ABC News reported. Yang, a former employee of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, later gained Australian citizenship and became a prominent writer and an outspoken online political commentator. Two friends of Yang, the U.S.-based publisher Shi Wei and Feng Chongyi, a professor at the University of Technology Sydney, told The Washington Post they lost contact with the writer after he landed in China early on Saturday. Yang's wife told friends that she was questioned in Guangzhou and that her husband had been detained by state security, according to Feng. Yang's absence on both Chinese social media and Twitter, where he has more than 130,000 followers, has also raised concerns. China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to queries, ABC reported. During a 2011 trip to China, Yang had been unreachable for several days. He later said the whole episode was a "misunderstanding". The detention comes a month after China detained two Canadians in what was seen as retaliation for Canada's arrest of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou at the behest of the United States. ROTTERDAM, January 23 -- Het komt niet vaak voor dat ik een Editorial aan een persoon wijd en het komt nog minder vaak voor dat ik voor een Editorial de Nederlandse taal gebruik. Maar na het optreden van Peter R. de Vries bij Jensen, gisterenavond, kan ik het niet laten om dit fenomeen eens nader te bekijken. Peter R., die R staat trouwens voor Rudolf, is Nederlands meest bekende misdaadverslaggever. Hoewel hij op zijn eigen website graag koketteert met de term tv-persoonlijkheid. Dat laatste is natuurlijk iets waar hij dagelijks aan werkt. In elke praatshow, liefst dagelijks, is hij wel te zien. Want Peter R. heeft niet alleen verstand van misdaad. Nee, Peter heeft verstand van alles. Alles wat aandacht trekt en alles wat geld oplevert. Ik bedoel daarmee dat het Peter R. is, die de aandacht trekt, niet dat het de aandacht van Peter R. krijgt. Een kleine nuance. Voor de duidelijkheid, Peter R. is geen jounalist qua opleiding. Hoewel hij zelf vindt dat hij dat wel is. Hij is begonnen, na het afronden van zijn middelbare school en militaire dienstplicht, als leerling-journalist bij de Telegraaf , de Haagse afdeling. Tot zover de feiten, waar Peter R. altijd zoveel waarde aan hecht. Goed beschouwd is Peter R. dus een "self-made man". Dat is bewonderenswaardig. Er gaat ook geen dag voorbij dat Peter R. zijn self-made in de media laat zien. Of het nu de Puttense moordzaak (bewondering voor zijn vasthoudendheid) is of Ronaldo die een boete krijgt opgelegd door de Spaanse wetgever wegens belastingontduiking, Peter R. weet er alles van en ergo hij heeft er ook een mening over. Die mening is niet altijd even objectief. Sterker, die mening wordt gevoed door zijn hang naar het linkse journaille. Iets wat van rechtse signatuur is, moet te vuur en te zwaard bestreden worden. Ook al gaat het hem niets aan. Dat is ook de rede waarom hij acte de presence gaf in de talkshow van Jensen. Een week geleden was daar iets gebeurd en dat zinde Peter R. totaal niet. Dat moest even recht gezet worden. Wat was er gebeurd? Geert Wilders was een week geleden aanwezig in de praatshow van Jensen en kreeg daarmee een podium om zijn politieke ideeën en meningen uit één te zetten. Tot zover is daar niets mis mee. Je kan het met Wilders wel of niet eens zijn, je hebt recht op een eigen mening. Wat Peter R. vooral stoorde is dat Jensen geen goeddoordachte vragen en scherpe analyses richting Wilders stuurde. Maar je bepaalt toch zelf wat je als praatshow host aan vragen stelt? Maar goed, dat wilde Peter R. toch wel even gaan rechzetten aan de hand van een aantal fragmenten uit die bewuste show. Fragment 1: Jensen zou Wilders gekust hebben bij de opkmst van Wilders in de show. Opzienbarend! Wat een observatie van Peter R. Zeker geleert bij zijn vrienden van de politie. Wat werkelijk gebeurde is dat Jensen Wilders een "welkom in de show" dicht bij het oor van Wilders influisterde. Dit van wegen het kabaal wat het aanwezige publiek maakte. Peter R. wilde hier een goedkoop puntje scoren maar dat puntje was dus voor Jensen. Fragment 2: Wilders vertelt over een incident met rotjes gooiende jongeren, al dan niet van Marrokaanse afkomst, en de politie die daar uiteindelijk niet tegen optrad. Punt van Wilders is dat de politie niet durft op te treden omdat er zo een klacht of een aangifte aan je broek hangt. Punt van Wilders wordt onderbouwd, via Jensen, via een EénVandaag onderzoek in 2017 onder 3500 agenten waarvan 80% aangeeft dat er mee geweld op straat is en de politie maar beperkte middelen heeft omdat te bestrijden. Je zou zeggen dat zijn feiten waar Peter R. toch blij van wordt. Maar nee, Peter R. wuift het hele onderzoek van tafel, want hij praat ook met agenten en die vertellen hem iets anders. Ook hier weet Peter het weer beter. Toch jammer als hem de feiten niet goed uitkomen, hij tot geen enkele opening of discussie in staat is. Het blijft bij vliegen afvangen en zelfs minachting uitspreken over het aanwezige publiek. Iets wat in medialand een doodzoende is. Via een ervaring van een Zwitserse vrouw in Oostenrijk met een Afghaanse vluchteling die een gebroken neus opliep omdat de vrouw in kwestie niet gediend was van sexueel getinte avances (hulde), wat door Peter R. werd weggezet als een incident en niet relevant omdat het in Oostenrijk plaatsvond, werden de heren het niet eens met elkaar. Ik ga hier niet de hele Peter R. tirade in prachtige volzinnen verder uitdiepen. Wat vooral stuitend is, is dat Peter R. het format van de praatshow van Jensen aanvalt. Jensen moest vooral dit en vooral niet dat doen. Het is het profileren van de hoeder van het Nederlandse volk tegen verwerpelijk personen zoals Geert Wilders. Met de wet in de ene hand en de feiten in andere probeert hij altijd het gelijk aan zijn kant te krijgen. Oh, niet goed: "Hij heeft het gelijk aan zijn kant" Het enige feit wat mij opvalt is dat Peter R. bijzonder mediageil is. Blij met zaak Holleeder en Nicky Verstappen kan hij zonder enige schroom in elke praatshow terecht, wat hem een aardig inkomen garandeert. Dat laatste heeft hij ook wel nodig, want met zijn PR SPORTMANAGEMENT BV en DE VRIES & KASEM ADVOCATEN gaat het niet echt goed. Zou dat wel het geval zijn, dan had Peter R. dat allang via de voor hem zo bekende kanalen uit en ter maat vertelt. MOSCOW, January 22 -- Russia’s media watchdog (Roskomnadzor) has unblocked 2.7 mln IP addresses belonging to Amazon, says a statement from the watchdog. "Roskomnadzor experts have figured out that the Telegram messaging service stopped using those subnets to ensure its functioning a long time ago," the statement reads. According to the RNS news agency, the Ariston company earlier reported that owners of Ariston water heaters and gas boilers were facing issues using the Ariston Net app for remote control purposes. The company said technical failures stemmed from the media watchdog’s move to block some IP addresses in April 2018. Telegram issue In December 2017, Telegram’s top managers filed a lawsuit with Russia’s Supreme Court asking that an order of the Federal Security Service (FSB), which demanded decryption keys for users’ messages, be declared void. On March 20, the Supreme Court turned the request down. On April 13, 2018, Moscow’s Tagansky District Court ruled to block access to Telegram in Russia over its failure to implement the FSB’s order. On April 16, the Russian media watchdog received the court’s ruling on restricting access to Telegram. On the same day, mobile operators began to take steps to block Telegram in compliance with the court’s decision. At the same time, the watchdog started blocking access to numerous IP addresses belonging to Amazon and Google, which Telegram used to avoid restrictions. As a result, reports started coming about failures of third party websites that also used those hosting services. LOS ANGELES, January 22 -- Alfonso Cuaron's Roma, an ode to his childhood in 1970s Mexico City, and offbeat royal romp The Favourite on Tuesday topped the Oscar nominations with 10 each. Popular musical romance A Star Is Born and Dick Cheney biopic Vice finished with eight nominations each, while superhero blockbuster Black Panther finished with seven. So far, the awards season has been a bit surprising, with prizes sprayed among a variety of films. So Tuesday's announcement gives the race to the Academy Awards on Feb 24 a bit more clarity. The sweeping success of Roma is history-making for streaming giant Netflix, marking its first nomination for best picture, and also first in other top categories like best director and best actress. The black and white film snatched up nods for best supporting actress, best foreign film and a swirl of other nominations. But "The Favourite scored a bit of a surprise with its stellar haul. While nominations for its trio of stars -- Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz -- were a near-lock, its flight to the top of the list was not. Director Yorgos Lanthimos took a nod -- instead of Cooper. A Star Is Born, the latest iteration of the classic musical romance, scored in most big categories, with nominations for three of the four acting prizes -- Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga and their co-star Sam Elliott. Surprisingly, Cooper was denied a nod for his directing debut, despite earning nominations at the Golden Globes and from the Directors Guild. In all, there are eight films vying for best picture: "Roma," "The Favourite," "A Star Is Born," Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman," Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody," satirical Dick Cheney biopic "Vice," civil rights dramedy "Green Book" and "Black Panther." "Panther" also made a bit of history, as the first superhero flick ever nominated in the category. Green Book earned five Oscar nominations and moved up in the Academy Award conversation at the weekend when it won best film at the Producers Guild of America awards. Twenty times out of 29, the PGA award winner has gone on to take the best picture Oscar, including The Shape of Water last year. Controversy. Last year, the awards season was marked by the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and the birth of the #MeToo and Time's Up movements against sexual misconduct and harassment in the workplace. This year, multiple controversies are plaguing the Oscars -- none of them related to last year's bombshell. In August, the Academy -- under fire for being too elitist -- announced it would add a "best popular film" award. But many saw the new category as a booby prize for blockbusters like Black Panther that would keep them out of contention for top honors. The plan was scrapped a month later. Then actor-comedian Kevin Hart had perhaps the briefest tenure ever as Oscars host -- a few days. He withdrew after homophobic tweets he had written years ago sparked a crippling backlash on social media. By all accounts, with many stars reportedly unwilling to grasp the poisoned chalice, the Academy has opted to go forward without a host. Of course, on Oscars night, the focus will revert to the nominees, and the red carpet glamour. In the best actor category, Christian Bale looks to be the frontrunner for his uncanny portrayal of Cheney in Vice. But Rami Malek's Golden Globe win for his work as Freddie Mercury in Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody put him into the conversation. Viggo Mortensen ("Green Book") and Cooper ("Star") are also contenders, with Willem Dafoe ("At Eternity's Gate") rounding out the field as a dark horse. For best actress, Glenn Close's momentum is soaring after her twin Globe and Critics' Choice wins for The Wife, in which she plays a woman author whose marriage boils over when her writer husband wins the Nobel Prize. But Gaga and Olivia Colman, who plays Queen Anne in The Favourite, are expected to give her a fight, along with breakout Roma star Yalitza Aparicio and dark house Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?). In the supporting actor category, Elliott will go head-to-head with Green Book star Mahershala Ali, who took home a Golden Globe. For best supporting actress, Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) will battle with Stone and Weisz. Roma is the pre-emptive favorite for best foreign language film. It will compete with Capernaum (Lebanon), Cold War (Poland), Never Look Away (Germany) and Shoplifters (Japan). The nominations were announced on Tuesday in the pre-dawn hours in Hollywood by actors Tracee Ellis Ross and Kumail Nanjiani. |
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