Yahoo MoviesJordan Clarkson with a deep 3 vs the New Orleans Pelicans
Jordan Clarkson (Utah Jazz) with a deep 3 vs the New Orleans Pelicans, 01/19/2021
Jordan Clarkson (Utah Jazz) with a deep 3 vs the New Orleans Pelicans, 01/19/2021
HOUSTON — Right-hander Jake Odorizzi signed a two-year contract with the Houston Astros on Monday. An All-Star with Minnesota in 2019, Odorizzi was limited to four starts last season because of injuries. He was 0-1 with a 6.59 ERA for the Twins during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Odorizzi was selected to his first All-Star team in 2019 when he made 30 starts and went a career-best 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA. He had 178 strikeouts and allowed 139 hits that season for the Twins. He’ll join an Astros rotation that entered this year without ace Justin Verlander, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, and lost Framber Valdez indefinitely to a broken finger this spring. The 30-year-old Odorizzi spent the last three seasons with the Twins and has also pitched for Tampa Bay and Kansas City during his nine-year career. He is 62-56 with a 3.92 ERA in 195 appearances (192 starts). He’s won at least 10 games four times and has four seasons with at least 30 starts. Houston placed reliever Pedro Báez on the injured list to make roster room for Odorizzi. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
English website of the Tokushima International Consumer’s Forum 2020 opens
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of investors that purchased Workhorse Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WKHS) securities between July 7, 2020 and February 23, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors have until May 7, 2021 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Oil prices rose on Tuesday on expectations of a recovery in the global economy after U.S. Senate approval of a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill and on a likely drawdown in crude oil inventory in the United States. But a stronger dollar and receding fears of oil supply disruption from Saudi Arabia after an attack on its oil facilities capped price gains. Brent crude futures for May rose by 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $68.56 a barrel by 0125 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for April rose 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $65.24.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 8, 2021) - Relay Medical Corp. (CSE: RELA) (OTCQB: RYMDF) (FSE: EIY2) ("Relay" or the "Company") and Fio Corporation ("Fio") - together Fionet Rapid Response Group ("FRR") is pleased to announce the participation in the 'Seatrade Cruise Virtual' conference. FRR will provide a practical overview of the innovative COVID-19 Pandemic Management Platform, Fionet. The two-day Seatrade Cruise Virtual: Expedition Cruising conference, on March 8th and 9th, features a full ...
Daniel Andrews taken to hospital for X-rays after 'nasty fall'. Victorian premier is ‘fine and is getting some good care as a precaution’, James Merlino says
Twitter has filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claiming the Republican used his office to retaliate against it for banning the account of former President Donald Trump following the riot at the U.S. Capitol last year. Days after the deadly insurrection, Paxton announced an investigation into Twitter and four other major technology companies for what he called “the seemingly coordinated de-platforming of the President.” Twitter responded Monday with a federal lawsuit alleging Paxton is seeking to punish it for taking Trump's account offline — a decision the social media company says is protected free speech.
Peter Burling and Max Sirena will be fierce rivals over the next week or so as they compete for the "Auld Mug" but they are united in their admiration for the AC75 class of boat that will be used for the first time in the 36th America's Cup. Challenger yacht Luna Rossa had maxed out at 53.4 knots (99 kph), skipper Sirena said on Tuesday, and Team New Zealand's Te Rehutai is rumoured to be even faster. Despite that raw speed, TNZ helmsman Burling said, the handling was similar to the much lighter 49er two-handed dinghy in which he won Olympic gold for New Zealand with Blair Tuke in 2016.
The royals should be ashamed. And the queen should make a very public move to restore Archie to his rightful place.
OAKLAND, Calif. — Derick Almena, the master tenant of a San Francisco Bay Area warehouse that caught fire during a music event, killing 36 people, was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison, although he is unlikely to spend more time in jail. Already on house arrest after being released from jail last year because of coronavirus concerns, Almena was ordered to serve the rest of his term under electronic monitoring, followed by three years of probation. “I know that no family member will find this in any way acceptable, and I accept that responsibility,” Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson said at the conclusion of an emotionally charged case that was first derailed by a hung jury, then the pandemic. Many of the relatives had urged Thompson to reject a plea deal Almena had struck with prosecutors to avoid a second trial, calling it too lenient. Almena, 50, pleaded guilty in January to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in exchange for a 12-year sentence. Because he received credit for time already spent behind bars while awaiting trial and for good behaviour, he will spend the next one and a half years at home with an ankle monitor. He was also ordered to pay restitution which will be determined by the court at a later date. “This lenient, slap-on-the-wrist sentence is vastly inappropriate for the crimes Derick Almena committed,” the family of fire victim Sarah Hoda said in a statement read to the court via teleconference. “Upholding the DA’s irresponsible plea recommendation would shortchange 36 victims and their families.” Thompson and prosecutors said they took into consideration the challenges of trying the case again, given the challenges of selecting jurors during a pandemic, calling witnesses to court due to travel bans, and the publicity the first trial received. Prosecutors said Almena was criminally negligent when he illegally converted the industrial warehouse in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighbourhood into a residence and event space for artists, dubbed the “Ghost Ship,” filling the building with flammable materials and extension cords. It had no smoke detectors or sprinklers. The Dec. 2, 2016, inferno broke out at the warehouse during an electronic music event, trapping victims on the illegally constructed second floor. Prosecutors said the victims got no warning and had little chance to escape down a narrow, ramshackle staircase. Family and friends of the victims packed Thompson's courtroom for months in 2019, becoming familiar faces to the judge, only to see a jury split on whether to convict Almena, who leased the building. At the same trial, the jury also found co-defendant Max Harris, who was the Ghost Ship’s “creative director” and rent collector, not guilty. Daisy Nguyen, The Associated Press
It's been nearly two weeks since 34-year-old Kimberly Squirrel was found frozen to death in Saskatoon after being released from the Pine Grove Correctional Centre near Prince Albert, about 160 kilometres northeast of the city. At a Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations conference Monday, the executive director of an advocacy group for women in the justice system called on the province and Saskatchewan communities to increase their mental health, addictions and housing resources in order to decrease the number of women in the province's correctional facilities. The conference was held in conjunction with International Women's Day. "Sadly the bulk of the women we're dealing with in this province are Indigenous women. Presently we are experiencing an influx of women into our provincial system," said Patti Tait, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society Saskatchewan branch. Squirrel's family says they had not been told she was being released from prison in January. Three days later, she was found dead. This tragedy sent shock waves through the province. "The sad testimony of that is that there was nothing that we as an agency could have done because we've been denied access to the institutions presently because of COVID," Tait said. The organization is currently only able to meet with women over the phone. "And when there's a shy, bashful Indigenous woman in the institution, she may not reach out to us. If we were there, if we were able to go into the institution, if we were able to meet the women on their units, we would be in a better position to establish meaningful relationships. Relationships that would mean that a woman who is being released from jail would call out to us," said Tait. Patti Tait, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society Saskatchewan branch, says that over 90 per cent of the women at the Pine Grove institution are First Nations and Indigenous women.(Radio-Canada) While Tait said there needs to be alternatives, she acknowledges she cannot blame Pine Grove for not letting them in, as the facility needs to prevent COVID-19 from coming in. There are currently 190 women incarcerated at Pine Grove, according to Tait. Of those 190, less than half are sentenced. "And that means that all the rest of the women who are being housed there are there on remand status. They have not been found guilty of a crime. They're awaiting court and the court dates are being delayed and delayed and delayed." As with many things, COVID-19 is cited as the reason for those delays. But Tait says helping these women needs to start in the community — before they are incarcerated. "If there were resources in the community for mental health issues, for housing for women, for addictions, many of the women who are presently on remand and sitting doing dead time effectively in Pine Grove would be housed in the community," said Tait. "We'd be able to take care of them in the community. It would be a safe and viable alternative to having them incarcerated, in some cases for well over a year. I can tell you that I've dealt with women who have been incarcerated for well over a year in Pine Grove institution awaiting trial and then found not guilty of the crimes that they were accused of and released into the community with a whole year or more of their lives lost." Tait says the province needs to put money into building up resources for Indigenous communities. She over 90 per cent of the women at the Pine Grove institution are First Nations and Indigenous women. She says that the COVID-19 restrictions not allowing people to see those who are incarcerated are traumatizing for the women. "The mental health issues are significant. They don't get to see their family. They don't get to visit with their children. They don't get released on work releases," Tait said. "But one of these days, soon that pandemic is going to be under control. And I would challenge all of us and all of our communities to get out there and to work to ensure that the resources available in our communities are a vast improvement over what we have today."
The Miami Hurricanes have made a late addition to their Class of 2021.
It was third time lucky for Erica Daniels. A member of Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, Daniels is this year’s recipient of the Young Aboriginal Entrepreneur Award, presented annually by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB). It was the third time she had put her name forward for the award, proving once again that persistence pays off. Daniels, (Cree/Ojibwe), has her own Winnipeg-based media company called Kejic Productions. Kejic is an Ojibwe word meaning The Sky. Daniels believes her company is aptly named as there is no limit to how far one can dream. Kejic Productions specializes in video production, photography and graphic design services. “I almost wasn’t going to apply,” she said of the award. But she did because she believed it was her last year of eligibility because she’s turning 30 this summer. Daniels later found out that the cut-off for the youth award is under 35. Daniels admitted she was disappointed at not having won the award previously. “It was discouraging for me,” she said. “But the message here is to never give up. I’ve gotten so many rejections. But that didn’t let it stop me from going on.” Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniels said her business has been booming in the past year. “People are wanting online content,” she said. Daniels will be presented with her CCAB award, which comes with a $10,000 prize, at a virtual ceremony scheduled for March 31. Daniels also recently received a $5,000 grant, funded by the New Relationship Trust, through its Young Entrepreneur Symposium. With the $15,000, she has been able to hire a pair of Indigenous women on a part-time basis to assist her with her business. Tara Carpenter, who is Métis, and Desiree Brightnose, a member of Chemawawin Cree Nation in Manitoba, have both been given production positions with the company. “It’s really important to me,” Daniels said of the fact she is now employing others. “That’s what I’ve been passionate about, giving opportunities to young Indigenous people and young Indigenous women specifically.” Daniels will also continue to utilize a pair of Indigenous sub-contractors with her business. “Now there’s a team of us,” she said. Tabatha Bull, CCAB’s president and CEO, believes Daniels is a worthy recipient of her award. “It is especially important that we elevate voices like that of Erica Daniels, to make sure Indigenous stories are told by Indigenous people,” Bull said. “Erica not only uses her gifts to share these important stories, but through her work she makes way for more young Indigenous professionals in the media industry and inspires other entrepreneurs to follow their dreams.” Daniels said CCAB officials were aware that she had also applied for their award the past two years. “Tabatha told me they had seen my submission every year and that they’ve been watching me,” Daniels said. “They’ve seen my business grow each year.” Daniels added that Bull told her she was impressed with the fact Kejic Productions is also helping out other young Indigenous people. “I think one of the things they loved about it was the opportunities I give to youth,” Daniels said. Daniels herself was looking for some direction when she was a teen. She had a life-changing moment when she was introduced to Just TV, a program for at-risk Winnipeg youth. “That’s where I began my journey and got the extensive skills I needed,” Daniels said. Through Just TV Daniels learned many of the nuances of the broadcast business, including camera work, editing and lighting. “I was given unlimited opportunities,” she said of the Just TV program, a venture which continues to this day and she often finds herself volunteering for when she can. “It changed my life in so many ways.” She went on to study in a pair of programs offered through the National Screen Institute, graduating from its IndigiDocs program and its New Indigenous Voices Program. Daniels also worked as an associate producer for the CBC before launching her business in 2017. Daniels is hoping others follow her footsteps and pursue their dreams. “Take advantage of every opportunity you can,” she said. “For young Indigenous people, there’s tons of opportunities for us.” Windspeaker.com By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com, Windspeaker.com
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 8, 2021) - The securities litigation law firm of The Gross Law Firm issues the following notice on behalf of shareholders of Nutanix, Inc..Shareholders who purchased shares of NTNX during the class period listed are encouraged to contact the firm regarding possible Lead Plaintiff appointment. Appointment as Lead Plaintiff is not required to partake in any recovery.CONTACT US HERE:https://securitiesclasslaw.com/securities/nutanix-inc/?id=13457&from=5CLASS PERIOD : March 1, 2018 to May 30, ...
CALGARY — Manitoba's Jason Gunnlaugson moved into sole possession of first place in Pool A at the Canadian men's curling championship on Monday after an 8-5 victory over Wild Card One's Mike McEwen. Gunnlaugson was the only unbeaten skip in the nine-team pool at 3-0. "It's a good start but it's a long, long week," Gunnlaugson said. Alberta's Brendan Bottcher defeated Wild Card Three's Wayne Middaugh 5-3 to hand the veteran skip his first loss of the preliminary round. Bottcher, who has reached the Tim Hortons Brier final in each of the last three years, earned a critical steal in the eighth end of the 5-3 win when Middaugh was light on his draw. "It's early in the week but these wins count as much as the ones on Thursday, Friday and Saturday," Bottcher said. "You need to win them while you can. "We played a really good game there and it was nice to cap it off and pull out the W." In other afternoon games, British Columbia's Steve Laycock dumped Yukon's Dustin Mikkelsen 9-2 and New Brunswick's James Grattan edged Northern Ontario's Brad Jacobs 7-6 in an extra end. Gunnlaugson, who was 5-6 in his Brier main draw debut last year, has already knocked off two expected contenders in McEwen and Bottcher. "It's hard to put into words how valuable it is to have a guy like Jay on your team," Manitoba lead Connor Njegovan. "Everything is so planned out and when he's hitting well, it's very hard to stop us." New Brunswick and Alberta were tied in second place at 3-1. Wild Card One and Northern Ontario were 2-2 while B.C. improved to 1-2. Middaugh is filling in at skip for Glenn Howard, who injured his ribs in a recent snowmobile crash. Howard is serving as the team fifth this week. The Northwest Territories (0-3) and Yukon (0-4) remained winless. Pool B teams were to square off in Monday's late draw at the WinSport Arena. Kevin Koe's first-place Wild Card Two (4-0) was to meet Nunavut's Peter Mackey (0-3) and Saskatchewan's Matt Dunstone was to face Canada's Brad Gushue in a battle of 2-1 rinks. Quebec's Michael Fournier (3-1), who was tied in second place with idle Ontario skip John Epping, was to play Nova Scotia's Scott McDonald (2-2). P.E.I.'s Eddie MacKenzie (0-3) was to take on Greg Smith of Newfoundland and Labrador (0-4) in the other game. The preliminary round continues through Thursday night at the Markin MacPhail Centre on the grounds of Canada Olympic Park. The top four teams in each pool will advance to the two-day championship round. The final is set for Sunday night. The winner will represent Canada at the world men's curling championship next month at the same venue. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2021. The Canadian Press
'What have they done?': What the papers say about fallout from the Meghan and Harry interviewPalace crisis is splashed across the front pages, with several papers asking what racism accusations will mean for the royal family UK newspaper front pages on 9 March, following Oprah’s explosive interview with Harry and Meghan Composite: Various
UNITE HERE Local 11 Announces Growing Support of Chateau Marmont Boycott as Stonewall Democratic Club and West Hollywood Elected Leaders Sign On
Tom Williams/GettyRep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) did not buy or sell any stocks in his first 13 months as a congressman. That changed in March 2020, when he made half a dozen buys as the largest economic relief package in history was written and debated.Five of those purchases came in the three days between March 25 and 27, as the Senate and House voted on the CARES Act and former President Trump signed it into law. Crenshaw, who supported the bill, did not initially disclose the transactions, in violation of the STOCK Act, a law that requires members of Congress to tell the public when they engage in securities trades. Months later he amended his records to reflect the purchases.The trades, which are listed only in a range of values, add up to a maximum of $120,000, and do not compare in size or volume to the kinds of headline-grabbing transactions executed ahead of the pandemic by Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. They only appeared in December, when Crenshaw amended his annual report, originally submitted in August.“You’re referencing financial disclosures that use a range to report stock purchases, and you’re choosing the upper end of the range to come up with that $120,000 figure,” Justin Discigil, Crenshaw’s communications director, told the Daily Beast in an email. “The real number is around $30,000 at most,” Discigil said, and “in no way were his purchases unethical or related to official business.”The timing, however, along with Crenshaw’s own trading history and connections to the industry, raises questions about why he made the purchases and failed, twice, to disclose them.“Members of Congress should not be actively trading securities in the middle of a crisis. It shows that when the market crashes, that person is thinking about themselves and using the volatility to their own advantage,” said Ben Edwards, a securities law expert and professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Las Vegas Nevada. “We all have a limited amount of attention, and if you’ve got one eye on your stock portfolio, then you’re not giving that crisis or the American people the full attention they demand.”Crenshaw, elected in 2018, had never traded individual stocks in office until that crisis struck, according to public records. Then, when global markets crashed on March 12, Crenshaw bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Amazon. Two weeks later, while Congress voted on the CARES Act, Crenshaw bought stocks valued at the same price range in Southwest, Boeing, energy infrastructure manfacturer SPX, and Kinder Morgan, a Texas-based company specializing in pipeline construction. He also bought into an index fund tied to the performance of the S&P 500.While it’s unclear why Crenshaw did not initially disclose the transactions, they came as an increasing number of high-profile lawmakers were getting snared in an insider-trading scandal. Except for the Amazon purchase, all of Crenshaw’s transactions came a week after ProPublica reported that Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) had sold up to $1.72 million on the heels of private coronavirus briefings. On March 20, The Daily Beast reported that Loeffler and her husband had sold off seven figures worth of stock following her first confidential briefings on the pandemic. Scrutiny soon fell on trades executed by Sens. David Perdue (R-GA), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and John Hoeven (R-ND), spurring investigations by the Justice Department, the Senate Ethics Committee and the Securities and Exchange Commission. None of the lawmakers faced criminal charges. Perdue and Loeffler lost their re-election bids to Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock in runoff elections this January.In response to the scandal, the Campaign Legal Center analyzed all congressional stock trades made between Feb. 2 and April 8, finding that a dozen senators made a combined 127 transactions in the timeframe, and 37 House members made at least 1,358 transactions.Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw Dunks on Newly Elected QAnon Queen, Marjorie Taylor Greene Crenshaw’s name did not make it into those media reports, however, because he hadn’t disclosed his purchases. The STOCK Act, a 2012 law intended to deter federal elected officials from trading on inside knowledge, requires congress to post all transactions within 45 days. Not only did Crenshaw fail to disclose the transactions at the time, he didn’t include them in his annual disclosure, filed in August. And while that filing shows that Crenshaw holds the new assets, the form also requires members to list the transactions, including the dates, which Crenshaw left blank. They only appeared when the Lone Star Republican filed an amended annual report in December.Crenshaw’s spokesperson told The Daily Beast that the Harvard alum and former Navy SEAL had filed that amendment “to fix clerical issues in his report like making sure dates were correct.”At the time of the transactions, congress was scrambling to put together the CARES Act, a monumental emergency relief package that cost more than $2 trillion, and which Crenshaw supported. The Republican-led Senate approved the bill on March 25, the day Crenshaw bought stock in SPX and the S&P 500 fund. The package passed the House the next day, when Crenshaw scooped up Southwest and Kinder Morgan, and was signed into law by Trump on March 27, the day that Crenshaw acquired his stake Boeing.At the time, Crenshaw sat on the House committees for Budget and Homeland Security. Boeing in particular lobbied heavily, and successfully, for a piece of the CARES Act, asking at first for $60 billion and later hoping to receive a $17 billion slice that lawmakers set aside for “businesses critical to maintaining national security.” The nonpartisan Institute on Tax and Economic Policy said at the time that it was “generally understood that the bill’s authors want much, if not all, of this $17 billion to go to a single company: Boeing.” But in late April, the manufacturer passed on the deal, opting instead to raise $25 billion in private investment thanks to moves that the Federal Reserve made independently of the CARES Act. The day that Crenshaw bought Boeing, markets snapped their brief positive burst, and the company led the boards that day in losses. His investment has now grown more than 38%. Boeing’s employee PAC gave $3,000 to Crenshaw’s 2020 campaign.All of Crenshaw’s purchases have shown returns, with the biggest yields from Boeing, Amazon and Southwest Airlines. Amazon bounced up from about $1,820 a share on March 12 to $2,979 today, and Southwest Airlines rose from around $41 to a little over $60.“It’s not hard to see that airlines would be among the hardest-hit stocks in a global pandemic that restricted air travel,” Edwards said. “So the short-term is that they’re going to get hammered, but in the long term, the sky is going to be busy again.” That calculation includes the likelihood that the federal government would pitch in to keep the industry aloft, and in mid-April the airlines got their $25 billion bailout.Edwards said that while the limited available information makes it impossible to know why Crenshaw and other officials make specific trades, new reforms introduced in response to the trading scandal would make such transactions impossible.“Some of the proposals for limiting stock purchases would really cut back on activity like this. For instance, Senator Warren’s plan would prohibit buying and selling individual stocks, and just allowing members to track markets through index funds,” he said. “Another proposal is to require lawmakers to disclose their trading plans in advance, which executives of publicly traded companies already do. That would reduce the likelihood or suspicion that they’re using private information or their own legislative powers to their advantage.”Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, told The Daily Beast in November that lawmakers in the public’s trust shouldn’t risk even the appearance of having a personal financial stake in their government work."It is nearly impossible to make decisions affecting an industry and then receive a personal financial benefit without appearing to have a conflict of interest," Payne said. "Even if officials rely on financial advisors to make trading decisions on their behalf, the perception of conflicts of interest remains, because the public does not know if there are winks and nods prompting the trades."Last week, Business Insider reported that Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), an advocate for transparency, had failed to disclose dozens of stock transactions over the course of 2020. Malinowski, who like Perdue — but unlike Crenshaw — claims that a third-party financial adviser independently executes his trades, said that his time in the barrell sharpened his appetite for reform.“This does reinforce my view that members of Congress should not be invested in the stock market or, if they are, they should not have any visibility into the stocks they own,” Malinowski later told NJ.com. “Inevitably, even if the decisions are made by an investment firm with no input from the member of Congress, there can be this perception of influence because what we do in Congress affects every aspect of the economy.”Crenshaw doesn’t own many individual stocks, currently. Beyond the trades in March, he only holds shares in Alphabet — Google’s parent company — and a small stake in Schlumberger, a global oilfield services provider primarily based in Europe, with a branch in Houston. The energy-dependent metropolis also hosts Kinder Morgan, but the offices of both companies are located just outside the lines of Crenshaw’s gerrymandered district.The trades intersect with Crenshaw’s government work, specifically in energy. The oil and gas industry contributed a total $453,247 to his 2020 re-election efforts, and was his largest industry patron in terms of PAC donations. And while this may not have posed a direct conflict of interest last year, that may no longer be the case: On Jan. 21, House Republican leadership took Crenshaw off of his Homeland Security and Budget committee assignments and moved him to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
YANGON, Myanmar — Demonstrators in Myanmar’s biggest city came out Monday night for their first mass protests in defiance of an 8 p.m. curfew, seeking to show support for an estimated 200 students trapped by security forces in a small area of one neighbourhood. The students and other civilians earlier took part in one of the many daily protests across the country against the military’s seizure of power last month that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The military government also placed a major curb on media coverage of the crisis. It announced that the licenses of five local media outlets — Mizzima, DVB, Khit Thit Media, Myanmar Now and 7Day News — have been cancelled. “These media companies are no longer allowed to broadcast or write or give information by using any kind of media platform or using any media technology,” it said on state broadcaster MRTV. All five had been offering extensive coverage of the protests, often with livestreaming video online. The offices of Myanmar Now were raided by the authorities Monday before the measure was announced. DVB said it was not surprised by the cancellation and would continue broadcasting on satellite TV and online. “We worry for the safety of our reporters and our staff, but in the current uprising, the whole country has become the citizens’ journalists and there is no way for military authorities to shut the information flow," Executive Director Aye Chan Naing told The Associated Press. The government has detained dozens of journalists since the coup, including a Myanmar Now reporter and Thein Zaw of AP, both of whom have been charged under a public order law that carried a penalty of up to three years in prison. The night's street protests began after police cordoned off part of Yangon’s Sanchaung neighbourhood and were believed to be conducting door-to-door searches for those who fled attacks by security forces to seek shelter in the homes of sympathetic strangers. News of their plight spread quickly on social media, and people poured into the streets in neighbourhoods all over the city to show solidarity and in hopes of drawing some of the pressure off the hunted protesters. On some streets, they constructed makeshift barricades with whatever was at hand. In the Insein district, they spread across road junctions, singing songs, chanting pro-democracy slogans and banging objects together. The diplomatic missions of the United States, Britain, Canada and the European Union all issued statements urging the security forces to allow the trapped people to return safely to their homes. Although all have been sharply critical of the Feb. 1 coup and police violence, it is unusual for such diplomatic statements to be issued in connection with a specific, ongoing incident. “There is heightened tension caused by security forces surrounding Kyun Taw Road in Sanchaung Township, Yangon. We call on those security forces to withdraw and allow people to go home safely,” said the U.S. Embassy's statement. By midnight Myanmar time, there had been no reports of clashes between police and protesters, although security forces chased crowds, harassed residents watching from windows, and fired stun grenades. They also were some reports of injuries from rubber bullets. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following developments in the Sanchaung district where “many of those trapped are women, who were peacefully marching in commemoration of International Women’s Day,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “He calls for maximum restraint and urges for the safe release of all without violence or arrests,” Dujarric said, and for respect of the rights to freedom of assembly and expression for peaceful demonstrators voicing “their hopes and desires for the future of their country." Guterres also called the occupation of a number of public hospitals in Myanmar by security forces “completely unacceptable,” the U.N. spokesman said. The nighttime hours have become increasingly dangerous in Myanmar. Police and army units routinely range through neighbourhoods, shooting randomly to intimidate residents and disrupt their sleep, and making targeted arrests. Security forces shot and killed two people in northern Myanmar during the day, local media reported. The Irrawaddy online newspaper said the victims were shot in the head during anti-coup protests in Myitkyina in Kachin State. Graphic video on social media showed protesters backing away from tear gas, responding with rocks and then fleeing after a fusillade of what seemed to be automatic gunfire. Demonstrators hurriedly carried away the injured, including one apparent fatality, a person with a severe head wound. A second body was seen later on a stretcher, his head covered with a cloth. Another shooting death took place in Pyapon, a city about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Yangon. To date, the government's violent crackdown has left more than 50 protesters dead. At least 18 people were fatally shot Feb. 28 and 38 on Wednesday, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office. Security forces also clamped down on anti-coup protesters elsewhere Monday, firing tear gas to break up a crowd of about 1,000 people demonstrating in Pyinmana, a satellite town of the capital, Naypyitaw. The protesters deployed fire extinguishers to create a smokescreen as they fled from authorities. Thousands of protesters who marched in Mandalay, the second-largest city, dispersed on their own amid fears that soldiers and police were planning to break up their demonstration with force. Meanwhile, an armed force from one of Myanmar’s ethnic groups was deployed to protect anti-coup marchers in the wake of a brutal crackdown by the junta. The unit from the Karen National Police Force arrived shortly after dawn to accompany about 2,000 protesters near Myitta in Tanintharyi Region in southeastern Myanmar. They carried an assortment of firearms including assault rifles as they marched ahead of the column down dusty rural roads. The Karen police force is under the control of the Karen National Union, one of many ethnic organizations that have been fighting for greater autonomy from the central government for decades. The KNU employs both political and, through its armed wing, military means to achieve its aims. Large-scale protests have occurred daily in many cities and towns since Myanmar’s military seized power, and security forces have responded with ever greater use of lethal force and mass arrests. On Sunday, police occupied hospitals and universities and reportedly arrested hundreds of people involved in protesting the military takeover. The Associated Press
Buckingham Palace facing crisis after racism claims made in interview