WASHINGTON, Mar 19:  Prince Charles made an impassioned speech in Washington about the deteriorating state of the world’s oceans, striking a somber note on the first full day of his US tour with wife Camilla.
A vociferous environmental campaigner, the Prince of Wales told government, corporate and non-profit leaders at a hotel in the US capital yesterday: “One issue that we absolutely cannot ignore is that of the increasing quantity of plastic waste in the marine environment.
“I was horrified to learn that, according to recent research, we collectively allow as much as eight million tonnes of plastic to enter the oceans every year.”
The prince said he was “haunted by the tragic images of seabirds, particularly albatrosses, that have been found dead, washed up on beaches after mistaking a piece of plastic for a meal.”
Earlier, in lighter scenes, the royal couple mingled with gobsmacked young Americans as they hit some of Washington’s top tourist attractions.
Bright sunlight but chilly temperatures prevailed as they inspected the Lincoln Memorial and Martin Luther King monument.
Later they ventured out to Mount Vernon to look around George Washington’s patrician home, which commands a grand view over the lower Potomac.
Prince Charles, 66, also took time to inspect the National Archives’ copy of the Magna Carta, signed eight centuries ago this year by his predecessor, England’s King John.
They will drop in on President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office today, part of a whirlwind tour intended to promote the US-British partnership in such areas as climate change, opportunity for youth and responsibility in world affairs.
It is the 20th official visit to the United States for Charles, who is assuming more and more of the duties once undertaken by his elderly mother. (AGENCIES)
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LOS ANGELES, Mar 19: A gunman killed one person and wounded five others in a shooting spree in Arizona, sparking an hours-long manhunt by SWAT teams before he was caught, police said.
One of the injured was in critical condition after the shooting yesterday in Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, said local police spokesman Esteban Flores.
The shooter “surrendered after being tazed,” said Flores, who listed at least four locations where the gunman had opened fire, before fleeing in a carjacked vehicle and being tracked down to a nearby apartment complex.
“We believe he is responsible for each and every one of these shootings,” he told a briefing some five hours after the incident.
SWAT teams had scrambled across the city to look for the shooter, described as a white man in his 40s with a neck tattoo. Local schools and colleges were placed on lockdown while police searched for the gunman.
Local 12 News TV channel described the tattoos as including white supremacist symbols.
TV pictures showed the suspect being led out in a white full-body suit, designed to protect DNA and other forensic evidence for investigators who will provide evidence for prosecution.
The incident began when three people were shot at a motel. One male victim died while two women were hospitalised. Another male was shot at a nearby bistro, where a car was stolen.
A short time later police received reports of an attempted burglary nearby with a male victim shot, and another separate shooting at an apartment complex. A victim there was listed in critical condition, Flores said.
“We don’t know exactly what happened at the first shooting. We know there was some kind of argument,” he said, adding: “We believe that he knew the first victims.”
“The rest of them appeared to be carjackings or home invasions or some kinds of robberies,” he said. (AGENCIES)

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 19:  Pope Francis will address world leaders during the annual UN General Assembly session in September as part of his first US visit which coincides with the 70th anniversary of the world body.
During the visit on September 25 the Pope would address the General Assembly and would also have bilateral meetings with the Secretary-General and President of the General Assembly.
He would also participate in a town hall gathering with United Nations staff.
It is “important part of a historic year in which the United Nations marks its 70th anniversary and in which Member States will take major decisions about sustainable development, climate change and the future peace and well-being of humankind,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said as he welcomed the visit.
The UN said that the Secretary-General was confident the Pope’s visit will “inspire the international community to redouble its efforts to achieve human dignity for all through ensuring greater social justice, tolerance and understanding among all of the world’s peoples.”
The Pope is also expected to address a joint meeting of the Congress a day before he arrives in New York.
He is also expected to meet with President Barack Obama in Washington. (PTI)

TUNIS, Mar 19:  Gunmen stormed Tunisia’s national museum, killing 17 tourists of various nationalities and two Tunisians in an attack that raised fears for the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
The brazen daylight assault yesterday sparked panic at the nearby parliament and the National Bardo Museum itself, a magnet for the tourists who contribute so much to the economy.
The gunmen, dressed in military uniforms, opened fire on the tourists as they got off a bus then chased them inside the museum, said Prime Minister Habib Essid.
Among the dead were five Japanese, four Italians, two Colombians and one each from Australia, France, Poland and Spain, Essid announced on television in what he said was a definitive toll.
The nationality of a 16th victim was not given, while the identity of the final fatality had not yet been established.
Police killed two gunmen and the authorities were still hunting for possible accomplices, said the prime minister.
A Tunisian bus driver and a policeman were also reported dead in the attack on the Bardo, famed for its collection of ancient artefacts.
President Beij Caid Essebsi, who visited some of the dozens being treated for wounds in a Tunis hospital, denounced the “horrible crime”.
“I want the Tunisian people to understand that we are in a war against terrorism and that these savage minorities do not frighten us,” he said.
“We will fight them without mercy to our last breath.”
The government announced 42 people were wounded, with Health Minister Said Aidi saying they included citizens of France, South Africa, Poland, Italy and Japan.
The attack appeared to be the worst on foreigners in Tunisia since an Al-Qaeda suicide bombing of a synagogue killed 14 Germans, two French and five Tunisians on the island of Djerba in 2002.
It sparked outrage, with hundreds of people gathering later in a major thoroughfare of the capital, singing the national anthem and shouting slogans against what they called terrorists.
It also drew strong condemnation from world leaders.
President Francois Hollande expressed French “solidarity” with Tunisia and US Secretary of State John Kerry denounced the “wanton violence”. (AGENCIES)

SINGAPORE, Mar 19:  Singapore police are looking into a hoax website report that falsely announced the death of country’s ailing former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
The website, which bore the logo of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), misled some foreign news organisations into mistakenly reporting Lee’s death last night.
The PMO said last night that it had lodged a police report about the website.
It added that no new information had been issued about Lee’s health since an update earlier in the day that said Lee ,91, was critically ill.
Police have confirmed that a report had been lodged and said they were looking into the matter.
“We take a very stern view against anyone who doctors a Government website to spread false information to deceive the public,” Assistant Commissioner (AC) of Police Melvin Yong told The Straits Times.
“We will spare no effort to bring them to task. We also advise the public not to spread falsehoods,” added AC Yong, who leads the police’s Public Affairs Department.
A number of foreign media outlets carried erroneous reports about Lee’s death but later withdrew the reports.
Lee’s worsening health was first announced on Tuesday, when the PMO said he had an infection and was being treated with antibiotics.
It said doctors were monitoring his condition.
Lee has been in hospital since February 5 with severe pneumonia.
On February 28, the PMO said his condition had improved slightly, and he remained on antibiotics.
He is on a ventilator in the intensive care unit of Singapore General Hospital.
Born in 1923, Lee co-founded the city state in 1965 when it declared its independence from Malaysia. (PTI)

DAMASAK (Nigeria), Mar 19:  Soldiers from Niger and Chad have retaken a Nigerian town from Boko Haram, another victory in a regional campaign to wrest back control of swaths of northeastern Nigeria from the Islamist militants.
Damasak, just a few miles (kilometeres) over the border from Nigeria, was regained over the weekend, Col Michel Ledru, a spokesman for Niger’s army, said yesterday.
In the heavy fighting to take back the town, 228 militants were killed and one soldier from Niger died, Ledru said.
An Associated Press photographer in the northeastern town said it was largely deserted yesterday, except for 2,000 troops from Niger and Chad and a handful of civilians. Four people, including an old man, came onto the street to wave at a convoy of troops as it passed.
But there were still signs of the town’s occupation by the militants. Walls were covered in their writings and the extremists’ black and white flag still flew above some buildings. A Volkswagen Golf and Toyota Land Cruisers, riddled with bullets, were abandoned in the streets.
Boko Haram has been fighting a six-year insurgency to create an Islamic state and has taken control of large parts of Nigeria’s northeast in the past year. It became notorious internationally after kidnapping more than 200 schoolgirls last April.
But in recent months, Nigeria has stepped up its campaign against the militants, and, with the help of a regional force that includes Niger and Chad, it has begun to retake a series of towns. (AGENCIES)

LAGOS, Mar 19:  Amnesty International today said two major oil companies operating in Nigeria, Shell and ENI, reported a combined 553 oil spills in 2014, a “seriously alarming” figure that qualifies as a “national emergency.”
The rights watchdog said that analysis of the latest figures released by both companies established that Anglo-Dutch Shell reported 204 spills last year, while the Italian major ENI admitted 349.
“These figures are seriously alarming. ENI has clearly lost control over its operations in the Niger Delta,” the southern, crude producing region, said Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty’s Global Issues Director.
“And despite all its promises, Shell has made no progress on tackling oil spills,” she added.
Amnesty said that, by contrast, only 10 spills were reported across all of Europe between 1971 and 2011.
“In any other country,” Nigeria’s spill figures “would be a national emergency,” Gaughran said. “In Nigeria it appears to be standard operating procedure for the oil industry.”
Amnesty also questioned the credibility of the figures provided by the companies concerning the total amount of oil spilled as a result of the 553 incidents.
The 30,000 barrels, or five million litres, reported is “highly likely to be a significant underestimate,” the group said, citing poor reporting of spills in the Niger Delta.
The delta has been devastated by oil-related pollution for decades, creating resentment among a local population which has also largely missed out on the benefits of Nigeria’s vast energy wealth because of corruption.
Shell has long insisted that most spills are the result of pipeline vandalism by local gangs which siphon off crude for sale on the black market.
Amnesty has however challenged such claims, repeatedly calling on Shell and foreign companies to invest in needed infrastructure repairs. (AGENCIES)

TOKYO, Mar 19: US first lady Michelle Obama and her Japanese counterpart Akie Abe announced plans today to deepen cooperation in helping girls in developing nations finish their educations.
Michelle, who in her online travel journal described her trip as a “part of a journey that began decades ago, back when I was a little girl,” is visiting Japan and Cambodia, who are among Asia’s richest and poorest nations.
As a major aid donor, Japan plans to cooperate with the community-based “Let Girls Learn” initiative recently announced by President Barack Obama and his wife. Today it announced plans to devote 42 billion yen (USD 340 million) over three years to supporting girls’ empowerment and gender sensitive education.
Japan and the US also agreed to focus more development assistance on supporting girls’ education. The Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers will also cooperate with the Peace Corps, which is implementing the Let Girls Learn program.
The program, led by the Peace Corps and other aid organizations, is meant to help get the at least 62 million girls who are unable to attend school back into classes. It is being rolled out in 11 countries, initially, including Albania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Georgia, Ghana, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Togo and Uganda. Hundreds of new, grassroots projects meant to facilitate girls’ education are planned.
The first lady, trained as a lawyer, and Abe, daughter of a confectionary magnate, have made furthering the cause of children and women among their priorities. Abe is soft spoken but has openly disagreed with her husband, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on some issues, while actively backing his efforts to promote greater gender equality in government and business. Michelle and Abe met with Japanese university students. The US first lady will also pay a call on Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko and meet with the prime minister. Tomorrow she will visit the ancient capital, Kyoto, before traveling to Cambodia.
The “Let Girls Learn” program is global, but White House officials say it also reflects a US commitment to be more involved in the Asia-Pacific region.
Michelle will be the first sitting US first lady to visit Cambodia, whose government led by Prime Minister Hun Sen has been faulted for human rights violations. Child prostitution and human trafficking problems are further threats to young women’s well-being. (AGENCIES)

VANCOUVER (Canada), Mar 19:  Bill Gates has opened a mock Ebola field hospital at the prestigious TED Conference as part of a call to be battle-ready for a deadly global epidemic.
The Microsoft software mogul and philanthropist called for “germ games not war games” to train response forces and reveal holes in defenses.
“The Ebola epidemic was a wake-up call to get ready,” Gates said during an on-stage presentation at TED in Vancouver yesterday.
“There is no need to panic – we don’t need to horde cans and spaghetti in the basement – but we should get going.”
A room off a hallway was transformed into an Ebola station where TED attendees got a taste of meticulous and tedious precautions health care workers must use to prevent infection.
Playing the part of an Ebola-fighting doctor involved wriggling into oversized rubber boots and yellow bodysuits.
Rubber gloves were layered over hands, sealing tightly at sleeve cuffs. Heads and faces were covered with hoods, goggles and breathing masks.
Under it all went a new cooling vest developed by the Gates Foundation. The vest was lined with ice packs to offset stifling heat inside suits.
Luanne Freer, a doctor who worked with Ebola patients in Sierra Leone with nonprofit Partners in Health, recalled sweating so much into her face mask that “it was like waterboarding.”
Freer and other doctors who have spent time on the battle lines against deadly epidemics led attendees through simple exercises in a tented area where, in a real-life setting, people would have been fighting for their lives.
Vision was limited by suffocating headgear. Breathing was difficult through masks. One was under pressure to be vigilant about exposing skin, which could mean death.
Then came what was said to be the most perilous part of the process for health care workers, stepping out and removing a suit now certainly coated with the deadly and contagious virus.
Aid workers tend to be so emotionally stressed by the agony of patients and overheated from being sealed in suits that they want to strip down quickly, according to Freer.
In that haste, careless moves can turn doctors into patients.
“I was amazed how complicated it was,” Gates said of his time spent in the mock Ebola medical station.
“And, we didn’t have to worry about the heat and actually getting infected. It just makes my admiration for them all the greater.” (AGENCIES)