Previous Russian spy is critically ill after exposure to strange substance

A man critically ill after being exposed to an unknown substance in Wiltshire is a Russian national convicted of spying for Britain

Sergei Skripal, who is 66, was granted refuge in the UK following a "spy swap" between the US and Russia in 2010.

He and a woman, 33, were found unconscious on a bench at Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury on Sunday afternoon.

The substance has not been identified.

He was convicted of passing the identities of Russian intelligence agents working undercover in Europe to the UK's Secret Intelligence Service, MI6.

He and the woman, who he knew, are both in intensive care unit

Italian Fiorontina Captain Astori death confirmed

Fiorontina 

captain Davide Astori has died aged 31

Astori was staying a hotel ahead of his game on Sunday away at Udinese when he passed away.

The defender won 14 caps for Italy

 

in a career which started at AC Milan before being sold to Cagliari

"Fiorentina are profoundly shaken and forced to announce that their captain Davide Astori has died," read the statement.

"For this terrible and delicate situation, and above all out of respect for his family, we appeal to the sensitivity of the media."

The match against Udinese has been postponed following the announcement of the player's death. It was later confirmed that all Serie A games were to be postponed out of respect for Astori.

Suicidal shooting outside the White House

A man is reported to have suicidal shot  outside the White House as per the US Secret Service say

agents were "responding to reports of a person who allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gun shot wound" outside the north fence

President Donald Trump is not at the White House

The Secret Service said that medical personnel were responding to a male victim. It said no one else has been reported injured in the latest incident.

Number of deaths resulted from bad weather in Europe

The deaths numbers from severe weather has risen across Europe, with at least 23  in Poland alone amid sub-zero temperatures .

Shelters have been opened as the plight of rough sleepers is a major concern. More than 60 people have died across the continent.

Meanwhile most transport and flights have been suspended in Ireland where thousands were left without power.

The unusually cold spell brought by a Siberian weather system was being felt as far south as the Mediterranean.

How will Europe respond to Trump New Tariffs and Trade War

Europe officials said they will respond "firmly" if US President Donald Trump presses ahead with his plan for steep global duties on metals

EU trade chiefs are considering slapping 25% tariffs on around $3.5bn (£2.5bn) of imports from the US as per many press reports

World Trade Organization Director General said: "A trade war is in no one's interests."

The rhetoric ramped up as Mr Trump tweeted that "trade wars are good". 

International condemnation has greeted the US president's Thursday announcement that he plans to impose a 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% on aluminium next week.

Many Cautions token after U.K Snow and Bad Weather conditions

 Cancellation of Flights and trains trips

 thousands of schools shut down 

As bad weather  conditions continue across the UK

Many Rail networks have told people not to travel on their routes

 Flood warnings remain in place in the south-west and north-east of England 

Further snow is expected on Friday and the Army has helped free standards motorists

Major incidents have been declared in many places, as blizzards brought roads to a standstill

 

The M62 near Manchester is closed "indefinitely" while the military helps police free standards motorists 

In addition to advising passengers not to travel SouthWestern Railway has announced that it will be shutting its services completely by 20:00 GMT on Friday. 

Prime Minister Theresa May has thanked everyone "going the extra mile".

Why did president Trump say Trade Wars are good ?

US President Donald Trump has said "trade wars are good", amid controversy over his decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.

He tweeted that the US was "losing billions of dollars on trade" and would find a trade war "easy to win".

On Thursday he said steel imports would face a 25% tariff and aluminium 10%.

Canada and the EU said they would bring forward their own countermeasures. Mexico, China and Brazil have also said they are considering retaliatory steps. 

Critics argue that the tariffs would fail to protect American jobs and would ultimately put up prices for consumers. 

The news sent shares in both Asia and Europe down on Friday.

Many people killed in drug rehabilitation center in Baku

A fire has killed 24 people at a drug rehabilitation centre in Azerbaijan's capital Baku

pictures showed flames leaping through barred windows of a single-storey wooden building

The fire in a ward for bedridden patients was initially caused by an electrical fault in the building, as per government statement 

Thirty-one people were rescued during the incident

Four people were taken to hospital, according to  APA.

The fire which broke out just before dawn, was fanned by the strong winds. It took around three hours for fire fighters to extinguish it

Public are invited for Prince Harry wedding Ceremony

1,000 of the public have been invited to the Windsor Castle for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding.

Attending public s will be able to watch the arrival and departure of the bride and groom only not the whole ceremony

All invitees will be about 2,640 people who will be given access to the grounds for the wedding on 19 May

Charity workers, school children, royal household members and Windsor residents are among those invited.

Ms Markle and Prince Harry wanted "members of the public to feel part of the celebrations too".

The full list of those invited to the grounds includes 1,200 members of the public from a broad range of ages and backgrounds, 200 people from charities, 610 Windsor Castle community members, 530 people from the royal households and the Crown Estate and 100 local school children.

Terrorism Attack on French embassy in Burkina Fasu

Gunshots , explosion have been heard near the army leadership center and the French embassy in the capital of Burkina Faso

reports about seeing armed men getting out of a car and opening fire

 

Pictures from the scene showed a cloud of black smoke  in the sky. 

It is not yet clear who is behind the apparent attack

 

"An attack is under way," the French ambassador stated

 

The US embassy in the city has advised people to seek shelter.

Science teacher in Florida practicing Sex with an adolescent

22-year-old Stephanie Peterson is accused of sending naked photographs to a 14-year-old teenager, having sex with him and buying drugs for him. According to the Daily Mirror, Peterson, a science teacher, began her relationship with an eighth-grader in November when she sent him her own pictures without clothes. Police in Florida, Florida, arrested the teacher on Wednesday and charged her with two counts, one of which was a "punitive assault" and the other was sending harmful material to a minor. During the investigation, the teenager said that his teacher started to go home and take her around 11pm and bring him back home at around 2 am. The student said Peterson was buying him a marijuana drug, asking him not to disclose any info to anybody

But with detoriation of the child and parents questions the child informed his parents who informed the police

The teacher is in prison now and with a penalty of 25 thousands penalty

Russia Key policies during 4th president term of Piutin

Mr Putin made the claims as he laid out his key policies for a fourth presidential term, ahead of an election he is expected to win in 17 days' time.

The weapons he boasted of included a cruise missile that he said could "reach anywhere in the world".

He said of the West: "They need to take account of a new reality and understand ... [this]... is not a bluff."

Giving his annual state of the nation speech, Mr Putin used video presentations to showcase the development of two new nuclear delivery systems that he said could evade detection. 

One video graphic appeared to show missiles raining down on the US state of Florida !!!!

One system Mr Putin described included a "low-flying, difficult-to-spot cruise missile... with a practically unlimited range and an unpredictable flight path, which can bypass lines of interception and is invincible in the face of all existing and future systems of both missile defence and air defence".

Another was a submarine-launched, long-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead

During the two-hour televised speech to a joint sitting of both houses of parliament, he said the weapons were a response to US development of its missile defence system

Trump New tariffs towards Aluminium and Steel imports to the U.S

President Donald Trump is to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports next week, hitting producers like Canada and China.

He said steel products face a 25% tariff, with 10% on aluminium goods.

The US imports four times more steel than it exports, and is reliant on steel from more than 100 nations.

Mr Trump tweeted that the US was suffering from "unfair trade". But the move has hit US markets, with the Dow Jones index closing down 1.7%.

The value of shares in American steel manufacturers jumped significantly after the announcement.

The news is likely to provoke an angry reaction from China, and analysts have expressed fears of the prospect of new trade wars.

Key US allies are also at risk of being hit with higher costs, but it is not clear if any countries will be excluded from the new measures.

Why now?

During his presidential campaign, Mr Trump said that foreign countries were "dumping vast amounts of steel all over the United States, which essentially is killing our steelworkers and steel companies".

And since taking office, Mr Trump said cheap imports from China were harming the viability of industry in the US, which is the world's biggest importer of steel.

New President of Catalonia Pro or anti Separation

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has said he is ending his bid to be reappointed as president of Spain's north-eastern region

He said he was stepping aside in favour of detained activist Jordi Sanchez.

Mr Puigdemont is in self-imposed exile in Belgium and has been told by Spain he faces arrest if he returns

This followed Catalonia's independence referendum last October

"I will not put myself forward as candidate to be appointed regional president 

Jordi Sanchez and several other Catalan pro-independence politicians have been imprisoned in connection with the poll

The central government in Madrid later sacked the Catalan regional government, imposed direct rule and called new elections, but pro-independence parties returned with a slim majority.

Scientists to realize 1st light emerged in the Universe

traces of the earliest light in the universe had been detected thought to emanate from the first stars formed after the Big Bang

The Big Bang happened since billions of years ago 

 Nature stated on February 28, said researchers found the "fingerprint" of the universe's first light as background radiation left on hydrogen

"This is the first time we've seen any signal from this early in the Universe, aside from the afterglow of the Big Bang," Judd Bowman, an astronomer at Arizona State University who is the leader for this work 

Following the Big Bang, physicists believe there was only darkness in the universe for about 180 million years, a period known by scientists as Cosmic "Dark Ages."

As the universe expanded, the soup of ionized plasma created by the Big Bang slowly began to cool and form neutral hydrogen atoms, say physicists. Eventually these were pulled together by gravity and ignited to form stars.

Teachers and Educators strike to continue on West Virginia schools

All West Virginia schools will remain closed Thursday as a continuity of a week-long strike over pay 

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice had reached a tentative pay deal with union leaders Tuesday that was designed to end the strike on Thursday

The agreement provides for a 5% pay raise the first year

However, the deal didn't include a fix to the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA).

The governor said the issue of funding insurance would be addressed by a task force created by the union deal, which is not the immediate fix educators wanted.

As a result, teachers and education personnel are demanding a fix to their health insurance as part of the new deal. 

Beautiful Words and Image of Barry Crimmins

RIP Barry Crimmins

Barry Crimmins was a compassionate, hilarious man who touched so many lives.   He gave so much of himself to help other people.  I hope his life inspires others to follow his example.  And he was hilarious.  We love you Barry

Hari Kondablou

Please watch @bcgoldthwait's documentary "Call Me Lucky" about Barry Crimmins. Barry passed away today & you should know why he was a special person & why we're all better off because he existed. RIP Barry.

This one hurts a lot. Barry Crimmins was a good man with a huge heart who sacrificed a great deal to make the world better. RIP Barry. It was an honor to meet you & I will cherish every kind word you said to me.

In loving memory of Barry Crimmins (1953-2018) A crusader, comic and a hero. When they asked "What are you?" Barry answered "I'm whatever threatens you." Words to live by.

RIP the great comedian and childrens' rights activist Barry Crimmins. Give a listen to his album on Spotify to hear righteous anger transformed into hilarious comedy.

So sad to hear about the passing of Barry Crimmins. One of the few close friends I was able to make in the last couple of years and an incredible inspiration. Love you so much, my G. Thank you for everything you've done. Pure hero. RIP