Sri Lanka bombers had clear links to ISIS, President says - CNN

President Maithripala Sirisena said the terror group had provided training to the perpetrators of last week's attacks, and that links between ISIS and extremists in Sri Lanka could be traced back 15 years.

But Sirisena rejected claims that he should resign in the face of the catastrophic intelligence failures in the runup to the attacks, which killed more than 250 people and injured at least 500. Instead, he blamed officials and ministers in his government for failing to act on warnings.

Secretary of Defense Hemesiri Fernando and the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara had been "careless, negligent and irresponsible in executing their duties" for "not thinking that an incident of this nature would actually occur," the President said. Fernando resigned last week.

Sirisena said he had "not been updated or notified with the information that they received about the possibility of such a severe attack on our soil."

The President admitted that he was abroad "for a personal holiday" when intelligence memos warning of a potential terrorist act were sent to Sri Lankan defense ministry and police chiefs.

Sirisena also hit back at criticism that a political rift with his Prime Minister had created a governmental void which paved the way for such terrorist attacks to take place. "When it comes to national security, there are no party differences, religious differences or racial differences between us as Sri Lankans," he said.

"At present, myself, the Prime Minister, the government, we are all working as one, to ensure that the country is safeguarded," he said.

This story has been updated to correct Hemesiri Fernando's title.

CNN's Sam Kiley, Bex Wright, Jo Shelley reported from Colombo and Hira Humayun reported from Atlanta

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2019-04-29 15:01:00Z
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Sri Lanka Bans Face Coverings After Easter Sunday Attacks - NPR

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Sri Lankan soldiers lower the national flag in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday. President Maithripala Sirisena banned face coverings under an emergency law that went into effect Monday. Manish Swarup/AP hide caption

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Manish Swarup/AP

Sri Lanka has banned its citizens from wearing face coverings under an emergency law, after terrorist attacks at prominent churches and upscale hotels left hundreds dead in the small island nation.

President Maithripala Sirisena said the ban was meant to ensure national security, helping authorities to identify people. He did not specifically mention the niqab and burka, types of facial coverings worn by Muslim women across the world, but critics say the new measure violates their rights.

Amid heightened safety concerns, a body of Islamic scholars in Sri Lanka advised last week that Muslim women "should not hinder the security forces in their efforts to maintain national security by wearing the face cover (Niqab)."

The government's face-covering ban took effect Monday, days after a violent raid that was linked to the investigation of the Easter Sunday bombings.

In the April 21 attack, a string of explosions occurred at three luxury hotels frequented by foreigners and three churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, as well as Negombo, to the north, and Batticaloa, to the east. At least 253 people were killed in the coordinated attacks. Another 15 people, including six children, died Friday in the country's Eastern province after soldiers raided a house in search of suspects, a military spokesman said.

Authorities blamed the bombings on National Thowfeek Jamaath, a Muslim militant group that previously vandalized Buddhist statues in the majority-Buddhist country. Sri Lanka was not seen as a hotbed for radical Islamist activity before the Easter attacks.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombings last week, triggering fears of further violence the terrorist group might inspire. Sri Lankan authorities have arrested dozens of suspects and are searching for more militants with suspected links to ISIS.

The terrorist attacks have exacerbated a rivalry between Sri Lanka's president and prime minister, who belong to different political parties. In 2018, the president ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe because of an alleged assassination attempt, before later reappointing him.

But on Sunday, the two leaders attended a mass together in a rare display of unity, while Catholic churches were closed for safety.

Both men denied receiving intelligence warnings in the days before the coordinated bombings, yet both have been blamed for the attacks.

"At one level, if we are to be charitable it was a degree of incompetence and complacency," Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, tells NPR's Michael Sullivan of the government's response to the warnings.

"At another level, which is more insidious, is a notion that, you know, perhaps there were people who did not want anyone to act upon it and wanted the catastrophe to take place," Saravanamuttu says, "because they have political or other benefits to be derived from it actually happening."

Sri Lanka is set to hold presidential elections late this year. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former defense minister and the brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has emerged as a vocal candidate. He pledged to bring peace and "dismantle the networks" of radical Muslim militants in the country.

Wickremesinghe, the prime minister, has promised to enact new legislation to combat terrorism, saying, "Sri Lanka does not have any laws to arrest individuals who join foreign terrorist organizations," according to the country's state news agency.

Meanwhile, some top officials have been replaced since the bombings. Former Army Commander General S. H. Shantha Kottegoda was appointed as the new secretary to the Ministry of Defense on Monday, after the president requested former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando resign.

Some Sri Lankans say they're distrustful of their leaders' motivations. John Ison Fernando, an events planner who is a member of St. Anthony's Shrine, one of the bombed churches, tells NPR, "The prime minister wants to be the president in the next election. The current president wants to hold his position 'til next election."

He added, "In this panicked situation, still they are callous."

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2019-04-29 14:52:00Z
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Sri Lanka bans all face coverings for 'public protection' after bomb attacks - CNN

The move follows a series of bombings on Easter Sunday that killed more than 250 people and wounded at least 500 in Sri Lankan churches and hotels.

"(President Maithripala Sirisena) has made this decision to strengthen national security as well as to not inconvenience any demographic group so as to create a peaceful and harmonious society in Sri Lanka," said the presidential statement, which was released Sunday.

The ban took effect Monday, and applies to anything covering the face, which could include burqas, niqabs and helmets or masks.

"All sorts of face covers that hinders the identification of individuals in a way that threatens national security shall be banned with effect from 29 April 2019 as per Emergency Regulations," the statement said.

"The order specifies that the base criterion for identification is the ability to see the face of an individual clearly."

A burqa is a garment worn by some Muslim women that covers the entire body, with mesh over the eyes. The niqab is a full-face veil with an opening for the eyes.

At least one Sri Lankan hotel reportedly has banned facial coverings after the attacks.

The bombings investigation continues

Police think the National Tawheed Jamath, a local extremist group, may be behind the Easter bombings, but ISIS has claimed responsibility. A link between the attackers and the terror group has not been proven.

The country is still on high alert a week after the bomb attacks, with warnings that more violence could be imminent.

Police have carried out a number of raids in the eastern part of the country in their search for the attackers. On Friday night, 10 civilians, including six children, were killed along with six suspected terrorists after a shootout between police and alleged militants.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to clarify all face coverings have been banned in the country.

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2019-04-29 11:43:00Z
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Sri Lanka bans all face coverings for 'public protection' after bomb attacks - CNN

The move follows a series of bombings on Easter Sunday that killed more than 250 people and wounded at least 500 in Sri Lankan churches and hotels.

"(President Maithripala Sirisena) has made this decision to strengthen national security as well as to not inconvenience any demographic group so as to create a peaceful and harmonious society in Sri Lanka," said the presidential statement, which was released Sunday.

The ban took effect Monday, and applies to anything covering the face, which could include burqas, niqabs and helmets or masks.

"All sorts of face covers that hinders the identification of individuals in a way that threatens national security shall be banned with effect from 29 April 2019 as per Emergency Regulations," the statement said.

"The order specifies that the base criterion for identification is the ability to see the face of an individual clearly."

A burqa is a garment worn by some Muslim women that covers the entire body, with mesh over the eyes. The niqab is a full-face veil with an opening for the eyes.

At least one Sri Lankan hotel reportedly has banned facial coverings after the attacks.

The bombings investigation continues

Police think the National Tawheed Jamath, a local extremist group, may be behind the Easter bombings, but ISIS has claimed responsibility. A link between the attackers and the terror group has not been proven.

The country is still on high alert a week after the bomb attacks, with warnings that more violence could be imminent.

Police have carried out a number of raids in the eastern part of the country in their search for the attackers. On Friday night, 10 civilians, including six children, were killed along with six suspected terrorists after a shootout between police and alleged militants.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to clarify all face coverings have been banned in the country.

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2019-04-29 11:30:00Z
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Whale in harness found in Norway Arctic waters may have been trained by Russia military, Norwegian fisherman and scientists say - CBS News

Norwegian fishermen and scientists say a white whale wearing a strange harness that harassed boats in the Arctic recently may have been trained by Russia's military. Russia has acknowledged training sea mammals for special operations in the frigid Arctic, where the country has a major military base not far from the territory of key NATO member Norway.

According to Britain's The Guardian newspaper, Norwegian state broadcaster NRK reported the unusual behavior by the whale last week, and showed video of the beluga whale swimming alongside a fishing vessel and repeatedly nudging it.

"We were going to put out nets when we saw a whale swimming between the boats," NRK quoted fisherman Joar Hesten as saying. "It came over to us, and as it approached, we saw that it had some sort of harness on it."

No science project

The harness was removed from the animal by a team from the Norwegian Director of Fisheries. Jørgen Ree Wiig, from the agency, sent CBS News images and video of the whale and the harness, which has a logo on it reading, "Equipment of St. Petersburg." The canvas straps appeared slightly worn and there was visible rust on the metal screws holding the apparatus together.

"If this whale comes from Russia – and there is great reason to believe it – then it is not Russian scientists, but rather the navy that has done this," Martin Biuw of the Institute of Marine Research in Norway told NRK.

A Norwegian Director of Fisheries team member holds aloft a harness removed from a white whale encountered by Norwegian fishing boats off the country's Arctic coast. Jørgen Ree Wiig/Norwegian Director of Fisheries

"We know that in Russia they have had domestic whales in captivity and also that some of these have apparently been released," Audun Rikardsen, a professor of marine biology at the Arctic University of Norway, told NRK according to The Guardian. "Then they often seek out boats."

But Rikardsen said he'd spoken to Russian scientists and they denied any knowledge of the harnessed whale: "They tell me that most likely is the Russian navy in Murmansk."

Whales as weapons

Russia's military has a history of trying to weaponize whales and other sea mammals.

The Guardian said the Cold War-era Soviet Union had a program to train dolphins to help detect underwater weapons and alert their military trainers. That program ran until the 1990s.

Then in 2017, Russia's TV Zvezda, which is owned by the defense ministry in Moscow, aired a report on a Russian navy program to train beluga whales, seals and dolphins for similar purposes.

A beluga whale fitted with a harness swims alongside a Norwegian fishing boat in a photo provided by the Norwegian Director of Fisheries. Jørgen Ree Wiig/Norwegian Director of Fisheries

The Guardian said those recent efforts were carried out by a private research institute on behalf of the navy to see if beluga whales could, "guard entrances to naval bases" in the arctic and "assist deepwater divers and if necessary kill any strangers who enter their territory," according to the Russian TV report.

The newspaper says public Russian government records show the defense ministry spent about $25,000 purchasing five bottle-nosed dolphins in 2016 from a sealife center in Moscow.

Russia and NATO in the Arctic

Over the past three years, President Vladimir Putin has reopened three former Soviet military bases along its vast Arctic coastline as Russia and NATO accuse each other of increasingly bellicose actions along their shared border in the far northern reaches of Europe.

As CBS News chief national security correspondent David Martin reported for "60 Minutes" on Sunday, Russia has been conducting simulated attacks near Norwegian territory with nuclear-capable warplanes.

How NATO and the U.S. are preparing for any Russian aggression off the coast of Norway

That, Norwegian joint force commander Lt. Gen. Rune Jakobsen told Martin, is "not something you should do to your neighbor."

In response to Russia's mounting belligerence in the region -- and in the wake of Putin's unilateral annexation the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine -- NATO held its largest war games to date in Norway last fall.

As Martin reported, Norway shares a 120-mile border with Russia, and its long Arctic coastline includes the closest points on European soil to the base of Russia's northern fleet, with its naval bases, airfields and nuclear weapons storage sites. The fleet, based on the remote Kola Peninsula, represent Russia's single greatest concentration of military power, especially submarines.

Martin was given rare access to the Norwegian military planes and ships tasked with monitoring Russia's actions in the Arctic, including their navy's newest surveillance vessel which has been equipped with the latest U.S. technology to detect submarines.

If what the Norwegian fishermen found is evidence of a current program by Russia's military, the Norwegians and their NATO partners might need to start looking for much smaller weapons of war, too -- weapons with flippers.

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2019-04-29 11:12:00Z
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Spain's Socialists, short of majority, weigh partners for forming government - Reuters

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s ruling Socialists were considering possible partners for a new government for the politically polarized country on Monday after they won a national election but failed to secure a majority.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faces a choice between a complex alliance with fellow leftists Podemos or joining forces across the political divide with the center-right Ciudadanos.

The Socialists won 123 seats in Sunday’s election, up from 84 in the outgoing parliament as they saw off the challenge from the right, which was splintered by the rise of the far-right Vox.

With nearly all the votes counted, the Socialists together with the far-left Podemos were 11 seats short of a majority in the 350-seat parliament.

That could mean Sanchez having to rely on pro-independence Catalan parties or Basque nationalists to govern.

“A Socialist-led government with support from Podemos seems the most likely outcome,” rating agency DBRS said in a report.

“This political combination needs the parliamentary support from smaller parties.”

Podemos leader Pablo Iglesais said on Sunday his party would happily enter a coalition with the Socialists, but Sanchez has yet to comment.

Another possibility that Sanchez has not ruled out is an alliance with Ciudadanos. The two parties would have enough seats to govern without other partners - an alliance favored by many in the business and financial world.

However, a Socialist-Ciudadanos deal appeared unlikely on Monday.

Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera told supporters on Sunday night his party would lead the parliamentary opposition to Sanchez.

Ines Arrimadas, head of Ciudadanos in Catalonia, added on Monday: “Everyone who voted for Ciudadanos did so knowing that we would not ally with Sanchez.”

POLITICAL MINEFIELD

Either way, negotiations on forming a government could take weeks or even months.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) speaks to supporters while celebrating the result in Spain's general election in Madrid, Spain, April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Sergio Perez

Under Spanish electoral law, a new government requires an absolute majority in parliament to take office in a first round of voting.

To do that in combination with Podemos, the Socialists would require the support of at least one lawmaker from the Catalan separatist camp.

The region’s independence drive was the most divisive issue in an election dominated by a sometimes fraught debate over national identity. In cutting a deal with the separatists, Sanchez risks stepping into a political minefield.

In any second round of voting, Sanchez would need only a simple majority to get his government voted in, which the Socialists and Podemos could do with backing of all regional parties except the Catalans, plus one abstention.

The picture could still change when the election count is finalised in coming weeks.

Still, the left clearly won Spain’s third national election in four years as the mainstream conservative Popular Party (PP) lost votes to Vox, which benefited from anti-immigration sentiment and concerns over Catalan separatism.

Vox became the first far-right party in Spain to have a major representation in parliament since the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

The PP had its worst election since the early 1980s, winning just 66 seats - less that half of its total in the outgoing parliament.

Slideshow (3 Images)

The PP, together with Ciudadanos and Vox combined only won 147 seats.

Sanchez called the election after failing to win support in parliament early this year for his 2019 budget.

Ciudadanos got 57 seats on Sunday, Podemos 42 and Vox 24.

Spanish stocks lagged broader European markets early on Monday

Reporting By Paul Day, writing by Axel Bugge in Lisbon; editing by John Stonestreet and Angus MacSwan

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2019-04-29 09:13:00Z
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Suspected UAE spy 'kills himself in Turkish prison' - BBC News

One of two men detained two weeks ago by Turkey on suspicion of spying for the United Arab Emirates has killed himself in prison, prosecutors say.

The suspect, identified as Zaki Hasan, was found hanged in his cell in Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, on Sunday.

He allegedly confessed during interrogation that he and the other suspect had spied on Arab dissidents.

Turkish officials said they were also probing possible links to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi - a prominent US-based critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - was killed by Saudi agents when he visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October.

A UN special rapporteur has said he was "the victim of a brutal and premeditated killing, planned and perpetrated by officials of the state of Saudi Arabia", but the Saudi government has insisted it was a "rogue operation".

The UAE is Saudi Arabia's closest Arab ally, but there has been no evidence to suggest that it was involved in Khashoggi's death.

The two men detained in Turkey on 15 April were charged four days later with "political, military and international espionage" after they allegedly confessed to spying on exiled dissidents and students for the UAE.

At the time of their detention Turkish officials said that one of the two suspects had arrived in Turkey only a few days after the killing of Khashoggi. The other suspect had arrived later to assist his colleague, the officials added.

The men were subsequently identified by TRT Arabic, a subsidiary of Turkey's state broadcaster, as Palestinians. It said Mr Hasan was a 55-year-old retired senior Palestinian intelligence official.

The Istanbul prosecutor's office said in a statement that Mr Hasan was found hanging from a bathroom door in his cell by prison guards when they arrived to give him food on Sunday morning.

An investigation had been launched and a post mortem carried out, it added.

The UAE has so far not commented on Mr Hasan's death or his arrest.

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2019-04-29 11:03:04Z
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