MANILA, Philippines – Rappler refuted the claim of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque that Omidyar Network's donation of Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) is an "admission" that it violated the Constitution.

"Rappler has maintained that the government-recognized Philippine Depositary Receipts it issued to Omidyar did not go against the constitutional requirement of Filipino ownership of media entities," said the news company in a statement.

Omidyar had said it decided to make the donation to help Rappler, given how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had zeroed in on a provision of the PDR it thought gives control of the company to foreigners.

Omidyar called the SEC decision "unwarranted" but felt the donation would help Rappler with its predicament. (READ: Leave Rappler unhindered, lawyer says after Omidyar donation)

Roque, on Thursday, March 1, claimed Omidyar's donation proves Rappler violated the constitutional provisions on foreign ownership of media companies.

"I think they acknolwedge that their PDR contravenes the Constitution and our existing laws.... That's an admission and we're happy they admitted because now we can say that even Rappler now admits they're not victims of censorship, they're not victims of infringement of press freedom," said Roque.

Rappler, however, maintains that the SEC ruling and the ban on Rappler coverage of Malacañang are attacks on press freedom.

Roque said he does not think the Omidyar donation will change the SEC ruling but that the Court of Appeals (CA) can consider it.

"If at all, it is the CA that can consider it but as far as I know, no change in circumstance could affect an issue already brought to court unless it will render it moot," said Roque.– Rappler.com 

GENEVA, Switzerland – The heavy snowfall lashing Europe forced Geneva airport to suspend all air traffic Thursday, March 1, while trains in Switzerland were also facing delays.

"Because of the prevailing weather conditions, Geneva Airport is currently closed to air traffic until further notice," the airport said on its website.

"We therefore advise passengers not to come to the airport for the time being," it said, recommending instead that "passengers check with their airline to see if their flight is still scheduled for departure."

The news came as fresh heavy snowfalls and icy blizzards lashed much of Europe Thursday as the region shivers in a deadly deep-freeze that has gripped countries from the far north to the Mediterranean south.

Switzerland has in recent days seen temperatures plunge to nearly -40 degrees Celsius at higher altitudes.

At Switzerland's other main airport, Zurich, air traffic did not appear to have been heavily impacted by the weather conditions, although there were some delays Thursday morning, Swiss public broadcaster RTS reported.

Ice meanwhile led to a number of accidents on Swiss motorways Thursday, while the country's famed rail system was impacted.

The Neuchatel train station was closed to traffic, while delays were expected on a number of lines across the country, RTS reported. – Rappler.com

PARKLAND, USA – President Donald Trump surprised lawmakers by embracing gun control measures that are tougher than usually supported by his party, as students returned to the site of America's latest horrific school shooting.

"We have to do something about it. We have to act," Trump said, voicing support for expanded background checks, more secure schools, curbs on the ability of the mentally ill to buy firearms and raising to 21 the age for buying certain guns.

"We can't wait and play games and nothing gets done," Trump said at a meeting with lawmakers from both parties.

At one point, he turned to a Republican senator and said: "You're afraid of the NRA," referring to the National Rifle Association, the premier and powerful US gun lobby.

"He surprised me," Democratic Senator Chris Murphy later told AFP. "He committed very forcefully and very clearly to comprehensive background checks, raising the age on purchase of assault weapons, and protective orders."

With tears, fears and defiance, students also made an emotional return on Wednesday, February 28, to their Florida high school where a former classmate went on a shooting rampage two weeks ago, killing 17 people.

Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland were greeted by heavy security and scores of well-wishers as they returned to classes.

Dozens of police officers lined the sidewalks saying "Good morning" to each child and retired officers passed out flowers. Former students, neighbors and their children held banners reading "We Love You," "You've Got This" and "We Are With You."

"It's all a little overwhelming," said one 17-year-old student named William, who shared a classroom with two of the young victims, Nicholas Dworet and Meadow Pollack.

"It was just sad to go back there and not have my friends who were in the class with me anymore."

Likewise, for Kimberly Miller, the first day back meant confronting the absence of her geography teacher, 35-year-old Scott Beigel.

Beigel was one of 3 staff killed, along with 14 teenagers, when former student Nikolas Cruz entered the school on Valentine's Day and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle.

"It's pretty upsetting," said the 14-year-old Miller. "But it was also refreshing to talk to everyone because people don't really understand how it feels, no matter how much they try to understand."

While there were few open displays of grief, many students looked somber, speaking in hushed tones with their eyes downcast.

Jonathan Abramchaev, 15, said it was "very emotional" to see his school again.

"Seeing all the flowers by the gate, that really hurt me," he told AFP. "Today we were just discussing and talking out our feelings."

'What happens when they go?'

Some said they felt reassured -- if a little unsettled -- by the heavy police presence.

"I'm not scared," said Stoneman Douglas junior Sean Cummings. "I feel like it's more protected than any other school at this point.

"But it's still weird to see everybody here and all these police officers," said the 16-year-old.

Others – like senior Carly Novell – said they were nervous to return.

"I'm really scared to go in," said Novell, who like many others wore a maroon T-shirt, the school colors.

Broward County school superintendent Robert Runcie said grief counselors were on hand for the day.

"We're going to provide as much support as we can," Runcie told CNN. "Students are excited. As a family, they're going to pull through it."

A 15-year-old named Alan said the shooting left him fearful – even with his school under close watch by police.

"What happens when they go? In a couple of days or weeks when it gets back to normal? It may happen again," he said.

'We have to act'

Since the shooting, Stoneman Douglas students have been lobbying politicians for stricter gun controls both in their home state of Florida and in Washington.

Republican lawmakers, with majorities in the US Congress and the Florida state legislature, have been cool on bringing in major reforms on the sales of firearms.

But Trump upped the pressure on lawmakers to get to work, hosting the bipartisan meeting at the White House where he raised eyebrows with his tough stance.

'Last father of a murdered kid'

Pressure is also growing on businesses.

On Wednesday, Dick's Sporting Goods, a large chain store, announced it would immediately stop selling assault-style rifles and would not sell guns to anyone under the age of 21.

Dick's CEO Edward Stack said Cruz had purchased a shotgun at one of his stores in November and although it wasn't the gun used in the shooting, the chain would no longer sell semi-automatic weapons.

"Our view was if the kids can be brave enough to organize like this, we can be brave enough to take them out of here," Stack said.

Andrew Pollack – the father of 18-year-old victim Meadow, accompanied by his therapy dog Sunny – said he was determined to be the "face of the last father of a murdered kid." 

"We need to make it that every kid in America, when he goes into a classroom, he knows he's safe," he said. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) declared a measles outbreak in a barangay in Taguig City on Thursday, March 1. 

How many are affected: Health Undersecretary Enrique Domingo told Rappler that the barangay, which he did not name, recorded 7 cases of kids getting measles in the past weeks.

"We have a response team to investigate and work to stop transmission of the disease," said Domingo. 

But he assured the public that the 7 children are "fine."

Why it is considered an outbreak: Seven cases may be few, but Domingo said they still declared an outbreak because the disease is supposed to be preventable through the measles vaccine.

"Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease and we should have zero cases. So even if we have just one to two cases, it is considered an outbreak and transmission must be controlled," explained Domingo. 

In late January, the DOH also declared a measles outbreak in Davao City with 122 cases. But Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the outbreak was contained by February.

Why it matters: Parents are now refusing to avail of government health programs, including free vaccination, for their children following the panic brought about by the controversial Dengvaxia dengue vaccine.

Dengvaxia was used in the now-suspended dengue immunization program, which was launched in 3 regions in April 2016. 

Less than two years later, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur announced Dengvaxia may lead a person to develop severe dengue if he or she had not been infected by the virus before vaccination. 

Duque already ordered health workers to "woo" parents to continue having their kids vaccinated for other diseases. 

Why parents are scared: Parents have begun reporting that some of the vaccinated children died after getting a shot of Dengvaxia.

This prompted the DOH to ask experts from the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) to study clinical records of the children to determine if Dengvaxia caused their deaths.

No clear evidence of that has been established yet. The UP-PGH experts, however, said 3 out of the 14 cases they studied so far died of dengue despite getting the vaccine.

The Public Attorney's Office (PAO) is also exhuming bodies and conducting forensic examinations of other vaccinated children. (READ: Congressman tells Acosta: 'Don’t be combative,' cooperate with DOH)

But their findings have been questioned by both public health experts and lawmakers, who said the hysteria being caused by PAO's probe is making parents lose confidence in DOH programs. – Rappler.com

President Rodrigo Duterte attends the Opening Ceremony of the National Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) Challenge at the Team Davao Inc. Pistol and Rifle Range in Davao City on March 1, 2018. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine labor officials announced on Thursday, March 1, that their counterparts from Kuwaiti will arrive in Manila next week to finalize the bilateral agreement to protect Filipino workers in the Gulf state.

In a press briefing on Thursday, Labor  Undersecretary Claro Arellano, head of the negotiating team, said that the Kuwaiti government has agreed that the bilateral meeting be held in Manila.

"The Kuwaiti delegates will arrive next week, most probably Wednesday (March 7). The signing will follow, depending when we can finalize the agreement – most probably the week after the bilateral meeting," Arellano said in a mix of English and Filipino.

What are the provisions? According to Arellano, the agreement will cover all household service workers (HSW) and skilled workers in Kuwait.

Among the salient features of the agreement are the following:

• Employers cannot confiscate the passports and other travel documents of Filipino workers
• Filipino workers must be allowed to use their phones
• Transfer of workers to another employer should be with the consent of the Filipino worker or with the go-signal of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office

Why it matters: The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration recorded a total of 196 deaths of Filipino workers in the Gulf country since 2016. This figure is on top of 6,000 cases of abuse, sexual harassment, and rape filed with the Philippine embassy in 2017.

Philippine labor deployment to Kuwait continued in the past, even if the latter was only "partially compliant" to Philippine labor regulations. The agreement on protection has been pending for two years. 

Labor Secretary Solvestre Bello III issued the total ban on deployment to Kuwait after Filipina domestic helper Joanna Demafelis' body was discovered in a freezer in an apartment in Kuwait. He said the ban helped fast-track the negotiations.

What happens after? Arellano said that after the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on the protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), guidelines will be drafted and will be out late March or April.

But this would not automatically lead to the lifting of the Philippine ban on deployment to Kuwait. Bello said that the death of Demafelis must be  resolved first.

"Without that, I am not recommending the lifting of the ban," the labor chief said.

So far, the suspects in the death of Demafelis had been arrested.  (READ: Suspect in Joanna Demafelis murder arrested and Wife of suspect in Joanna Demafelis murder held, says Lebanon)

DOLE is also eyeing a ban on deployment to other Middle East countries with known cases of maltreatment and abuse of Filipino workers if they fail to assure the Philippine government that protection for these workers would be strengthened.  – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – A landmark agreement between the Philippines and the European Union (EU) entered into force on Thursday, March 1, to strengthen ties in "political, social, and economic matters, including human rights."

"I am happy to see the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) coming into force. The EU-Philippine relations are now firmly anchored on an ambitious and shared agreement," said Philippine Ambassador to the EU Franz Jessen.

The PCA is "a general framework to allow better collaboration between the EU and the Philippines," the EU Delegation to the Philippines said.

The PCA was signed in 2012 and ratified by the Philippine Senate on January 22 this year.

As the PCA enters into force, a top EU official is also visiting the Philippines for a series of meetings.

Stefano Manservisi, director-general for international cooperation at the EU Commission, met with Special Envoy to the EU Edgardo Angara and Foreign Undersecretary Enrique Manalo on Thursday morning. 

Jessen was among those who accompanied Manservisi on Thursday.

This comes as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte criticizes the EU for supposedly interfering in his anti-drug campaign. The Philippines earlier rejected at least P380 million (6.1 million euros) in aid from the EU, Jessen announced in January. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte said he would be willing to "go to war" to defend Benham (Philippine) Rise and that he would be first to take a boat to the continental shelf to guard it.

"Hindi ako papayag. And it will mean war. Nandoon na 'yung Marines, huwag kayo matakot. Kasama ako doon, sabay tayo sa barko," said Duterte on Thursday, March 1, during the National SWAT Challenge in Davao City. 

(I will not allow it. And it will mean war. The Marines are there, don't be scared. I'll join them, I'll ride on the boat with them.)

"We will never agree to an insult like that na just because ganito lang tayo (we are just at this level) – you start to fuck with the areas there. I'll go to war," said Duterte.

He even said he would be willing to die to defend Benham Rise.

"Do not mess with us because we would not allow it. If it's time to go to heaven, so be it. Huwag kayo matakot, mauna ako doon (Don't be scared. I'll be the first one there)," said the Philippine leader. (READ: Gov't admits China surveyed Benham Rise without permit)

But in the same speech, Duterte told his audience of police not to believe his remarks during the campaign period that he would take a jetski to defend islands in the West Philippine Sea from China.

"'Yung sabi ko mag jetski ako sa China, kalokohan 'yun (When I said I would take a jetski, that's nonsense)," said the President, eliciting chuckles from the audience. 

Clarification from Malacañang: On Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque sent reporters a message saying Duterte wanted to clarify that his remarks about war over Benham Rise are "not directed at China."

"China has always recognized that we have sovereign rights over the area," said Roque. (READ: Philippines rejects Chinese names for Benham Rise features)

Why it matters: Duterte claimed he's willing to go to war over Benham Rise but has repeatedly said in the past that he can't do the same over the West Philippine Sea. 

"I hope you understand that because I cannot afford to go to war. You know, I know that it would end up in a massacre," said Duterte back in November 2017. (READ: 5 ways Duterte can defend Scarborough without going to war)

China has shown interest in Benham Rise, a 13-million-hectare continental shelf said to be rich in mineral resources. China has also sought to claim the West Philippine Sea through its 9-dash line which was declared invalid by an international court in The Hague in 2016. 

Malacañang has insisted that China is not claiming Benham Rise. Duterte maintains it belongs to the Philippines even as maritime law experts say the country doesn't "own" the area but has sovereign rights over it. – Rappler.com

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Leading the Philippines in the midst of a drug crisis and rebellion is a tough act, said President Rodrigo Duterte, who blamed democracy as a factor upping the challenge.

“This is democracy and that is the reason why we are pretty hard up. It is not easy to run (a country) where a citizen has so many rights,” Duterte said on Thursday, March 1.

The President made this statement at a SWAT challenge ceremony in Davao City where he was guest of honor. He was speaking before elite forces of the Armed Forces and officials from the Philippine National Police.

Being a democratic state, he said, a citizen is given so many rights which are being taken advantage of by terrorists.

“That is the reason why the terrorist is determined. (So) for the same reason we will not hesitate and will we will not be afraid to kill,” he said.

Duterte’s qualms at the country being a democratic state came more than a week after a US intelligence report called Duterte a "regional threat" in Southeast Asia.

The report placed Duterte as among the likes of Cambodian leader Hun Sen whom they said represses democratic institutions in the country.

Duterte’s chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo reacted to the report days after, saying the President is not a threat to democracy, but rather a threat to criminals, drug lords and corrupt government officials.

This was followed by the President’s statement for the 32nd anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution which called on Filipinos to “enrich our democracy” by empowering the people and protecting their rights.

In his speech Thursday, he once again reiterated he would never take advantage of his position by attempting to extend his term as president.

The Philippine leader had long dismissed foreign statements calling out his violent approach to solving the drug problem and said he believes that the CIA wants him booted out of power. – Rappler.com

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte asked the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to reinvent detachments deployed in the government’s counter-insurgency drive, saying earlier strategies had not been efficient in fighting terrorists.

In a speech in Davao City on Thursday, March 1, he said instead of assigning detachments to be posted on highways, he would want them taken on a more mobile operation so they do not become easy targets.

“In a normal situation for a day maraming dumadaan so mahihilo ka and ang soldier niyan could only give so much attention to one car,” he said.

The President also made the same statement a day ago during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Christine Villas in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte.

Asked by reporters how would his administration deal with the New People’s Army (NPA) following the waves of surrenders for the past few months, he said remains unwilling to resume negotiations at this time.

He was also wary of reports that NPAs are now able to launch snipe attacks, with the alleged return of the rebels’ sparrow units.

The NPAs had attacked military detachments in several parts of the country. In Davao City, it made single-shot attacks at a Charlie Company Command Post of the 3rd Infantry Battalion in Baguio City in December last year.

Duterte also suggested that the AFP mount machine guns over a ridge, though he warned this could be dangerous if terrorist attack them with silencer guns.

“And it’s easily manufactured and in the Philippines, you can buy one,” he said.

The President maintained soldiers need to reinvent their doctrine on detachments, saying they will end up dying “if they just stand there.” – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the country's security forces not to "respond" to United Nations (UN) rapporteurs or experts who would investigate human rights abuses under his administration.

"Pagdating ng human rights [experts] o sino mang rapporteur diyan, ang order ko sa inyo, do not answer. Do not bother," he said on Thursday, March 1, during the National SWAT Challenge in Davao City.

(When the human rights [experts] or rapporteurs arrive, my order to you is, do not answer. Do not bother.)

"Why would we be answering? Bakit, sino sila? (Why, who are they?) And who are you to interfere in the way I would run my country?" he said.

The Philippine President said rapporteurs should consider that the country is "being swallowed by drugs."

Recently, Malacañang said it would want a different UN rapporteur to investigate allegations of human rights violations in Duterte's drug war, and not UN rapporteur Agnes Callamard.

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano had said that the Philippines won't accept Callamard because of her "bias and antagonistic stance towards the Philippine government." (READ: Duterte threatens to slap UN rapporteur if she probes drug war)

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has begun its preliminary examination of the Philippines' bloody drug war, one step closer to an actual case against Duterte. (READ: Duterte to Int'l Criminal Court: Drug war continues, case or no case)

Duterte previously told the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and Office of the Ombudsman that the police and military need not participate in any of their probes. 

"I will not allow my men to go there to be investigated," he said back in July 2017.– Rappler.com

NANTERRE, France – French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was charged on Thursday, March 1, for posting on Twitter gruesome images of purported atrocities by Islamic State jihadists, prosecutors said.

The move by a judge in Nanterre, just outside Paris, came after the National Assembly voted in November to strip the National Front chief of her parliamentary immunity over the 3 photos of ISIS violence posted in 2015. 

Le Pen, who lost to Emmanuel Macron in last year's presidential vote, is facing charges of circulating "violent messages that incite terrorism or pornography or seriously harm human dignity" and that can be viewed by a minor.

The crime is punishable by up to 3 years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($91,000).

The pictures were posted just a few weeks after the Paris terror attacks in November 2015 in which 130 people were killed.

One of the pictures showed the body of James Foley, an American journalist beheaded by the Sunni extremists. 

The others showed a man in an orange jumpsuit being driven over by a tank and a man being burned alive in a cage.

"Daesh is this!" Le Pen wrote in a caption, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS, in response to a TV journalist drawing a comparison between the extremists and the French far-right.

Le Pen later deleted the picture of Foley after a request from his family, saying she had been unaware of his identity.

"I am being charged for having condemned the horrors of Daesh," Le Pen told AFP.

"In other countries this would have earned me a medal."

Parliament had already lifted in September the immunity of another FN lawmaker, Gilbert Collard, over similar tweets containing IS images.

At the time Le Pen, a lawyer by training, denounced the move as a "lowly, purely political decision" which violated her freedom of expression. – Rappler.com

We humans have become so adept at describing the joys and sorrows of being alive that we mistake life in our terms, as being all of what life is. We imagine life as a grand staircase where we humans are on the topmost tier looking down on the rest of life forms, like an overly-dressed debutante, thinking that the ability to throw an existential party is the definitive mark of success.

We generally cast a downward look at other living organisms. We do this with animals, with whom we share an entire biological Kingdom with, and we feel even more justified in looking down at plants. We find plants inanimate, non-reactive, too simple, and therefore boring.

But look at what we know and have started to discover about plants so far and realize for yourself how poorly you perceive your human powers as the grandest of them all.

1. Plants are life’s first link to outer space, not astronauts. All of life on Earth can be traced to how plants are the ones who learned to capture light from the sun and turn it into food, for themselves and for others down the food chain, which includes animals like us. This also reminds me of when I interviewed a young man once and asked him to tell me what fascinates him the most. He replied, “photosynthesis.” And then he told me essentially how elegant this process is of turning light from outer space into food here on Earth! And what is more, very few people realize or appreciate that.

2. Plants’ trash – air – is a human essential. Humans need oxygen and plants breathe it out. In fact, in the cities where air pollution could be a very serious problem, plants can save your lives by enabling you to grow your own fresh air indoors with some of its very “ordinary” members.

3. Plants can communicate to its family. It is already known that plants communicate to others by releasing compounds in the air. When attacked by insects, for example, or when under stress, plants release compounds specific to that kind of stress. When received by the same species or relatives, those plants put up their own defense system against those threats. For example, a plant being threatened by aphids will give off signals through the air that have been seen to cause other plants to give off signals to attract insects that would eat aphids. The more alike the plants are, the more the signals are understood. It is like a language where if you belong to the same tribe, you are more versed in it. But even if you belong to another tribe, it is possible to get the drift of what is being said and you get to react even if not precisely.

4. Plants show “botanical social responsibility”. This is related to the third point above. When a plant gives off signals to warn their kind, other plants can listen in on the signals plants give off, even if they are not related to them. They may not get the entire message but experiments have shown that unrelated plants get the message and also mount a defense system.

5. Plants can make and hear sounds. This is probably next to the sound of silence but studies like this one have shown that some plants like corn are partial to 220 Hertz and that their roots also “hum” in. Chili and fennel make sounds that affect each other’s growth! Even munching noises by a caterpillar has been shown to make plants respond to match the threat.

6. Plants talk “above” as well as “below”. Plants can talk “air” but it can also whisper below ground using their buddies – fungi– that belong to another Kingdom of Life – but connect the roots of plants underground to form their own World Wide Web of plant network. They use this network to share nutrients and chemical signals. But some studies are showing that we can be messing up even their signals, and thus the health of the planet, by overwhelming them with pollution. This is like one kind of media drowning out all others and we are not in a better place for it.

7. Plants beat animals in size. The largest animal that has ever lived is not any of the dinosaurs but the blue whale. An adult blue whale can span 100 feet long and weigh up to 200 tons. The Giant sequoia tree, in comparison can reach up to 300 feet.

Once upon a time, plants and animals had a common ancestor, until around 1.5 billion years ago, when they divorced and took separate paths and went on their their own multi-path journeys. As with animals, plants have had journeys that you cannot even imagine in your wildest dreams.

Plants do talk and maybe, if we can decode their language and listen in, we will find a way to get out of this mess of a planet that we humans got all of life into. – Rappler.com

MOSCOW, Russia – President Vladimir Putin boasted Russia has developed a new generation of hypersonic missiles in his state of the nation address on Thursday, March 1, warning global powers they must now reckon with Moscow's military might.

The strongman, who is standing for a fourth Kremlin term in March, displayed a series of hi-tech video montages of weaponry maneuvering across mountains and oceans, even heading over the Atlantic.

The president quoted a speech he gave back in 2004 saying that Russia would develop a new generation of weaponry, a promise that he said has now been fulfilled.

"No one really wanted to talk to us basically. No one listened to us then. Listen to us now," Putin said, prompting a standing ovation from the audience of top officials including Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Putin showed tests of a new missile complex of a type that he said is not owned by any other country.

The hypersonic missile system can fly at 20 times the speed of sound and maneuver up and down, he said, 

"This makes it absolutely invincible for any forms of air and missile defence," he boasted, calling it an "ideal weapon".

Russia has also began experimental use of a new small air-launched missile system called Kinzhal, or Dagger, that flies at 10 times the speed of sound with an unpredictable trajectory towards its target, Putin said.

This allows it to "overcome all existing and, I think, prospective air and missile defense systems," Putin said.

In addition, Russia has developed unmanned underwater devices that move much faster than submarines and torpedoes and can carry nuclear warheads, Putin said, adding: "It's just fantastic!"

He also showed tests of a new cruise missile and an intercontinental ballistic missile complex called Sarmat and video footage of a laser weaponry system, before telling the audience: "That is enough for today." 

Russia has developed weaponry that is no longer simply continuing the Soviet legacy, after the military degenerated to a "woeful state" following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Putin said.

He praised a new generation of young scientists working on such weaponry, calling them "the heroes of our time".

He also announced a competition to come up with names for the new weapons. – Rappler.com

PARIS, France – Heavy snowfall and deadly blizzards lashed Europe on Thursday, March 1, forcing airports to cancel or delay flights around the continent, as a deep freeze gripped countries from the far north to the Mediterranean beaches in the south.

The snowstorms, unusual for much of Europe at this time of year, left roads blocked, thousands of drivers stranded and schools shut, with weather agencies predicting the biting cold would continue in parts of the region at least through Thursday evening.

The death toll Europe-wide continued to climb to more than 50, as another 3 people perished in Poland, taking the number of victims there to 21, most of them rough sleepers.

There have also been 6 deaths in the Czech Republic in recent days, 5 in Lithuania, 4 each in France and Slovakia, 3 in Spain, two each in Italy, Serbia, Romania and Slovenia, and one each in Britain and the Netherlands.

One of the Spanish victims was a 39-year-old homeless man who had been sleeping in an abandoned truck.

"Those most at risk of cold-related illness include elderly people, children, and people who have chronic diseases or physical or mental limitations," the World Health Organization said in a statement, adding that the poor, the homeless and migrants were often hardest hit.

The Siberian cold front – dubbed the "Beast from the East" in Britain, "Siberian bear" by the Dutch and the "snow cannon" by Swedes – on Thursday forced Geneva airport to close for several hours in the morning, with temperatures plunging in Switzerland to nearly minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 38 Fahrenheit) at higher altitudes. 

Scotland's Glasgow airport remains closed until at least 1500 GMT, and Edinburgh airport said several airlines have decided not to fly because "they do not have the critical mass of staff needed to run operations securely".

Snow also forced the cancellation of all flight operations at Dublin airport with services not expected to resume until Saturday at the earliest.

Several flights to Malaga in southern Spain were diverted because of strong winds.

Some people enjoyed the cold, with families taking children and pets out to play.

But many who took out their ice skates discovered the waters were not frozen enough.

A 74-year-old man who fell through the ice on a pond near Bruges remained in hospital in critical condition Thursday, a Belgian TV channel reported.

'Cemetery of trucks and cars'

The mercury also dropped below freezing across southern Europe.

Snowfall in northern Italy forced the cancellation of 50 percent of regional trains, while in the city of Naples, schools were shut.

In normally balmy southern France, beaches in Nice were blanketed in a thick layer of snow.

Near the city of Montpellier, around 2,000 drivers were stranded on a motorway, causing anger from those sitting behind the wheel for hours on end.

"The motorway looks like a cemetery of trucks and cars," tweeted Anthony Jammot, describing an "apocalyptic" 24 hours in his car with two young children and no information or help from local authorities.

In Paris, which awoke Thursday under a blanket of snow, authorities continued operating emergency shelters for the city's roughly 3,000 homeless. 

Demanding more efforts to keep people off the streets, around 30 local officials spent the night near the city's Gare d'Austerlitz train station as temperatures dipped below zero.

"We can't keep considering the homeless just another part of the scenery," Greens lawmaker Ali Id Elouali said.

In Germany, the national homeless association urged shelters to open during the day and not just at night.

"You can die of cold during the day too," its chief Werena Rosenke warned.

Authorities are also urging people to look out for elderly relatives and neighbours after a French woman in her nineties was found frozen to death outside her retirement home.

No spring amulets

Europe's cold snap comes as the Arctic experiences record-high temperatures, prompting scientists to ask if global warming may be playing a role in turning things upside down.

The unusually cold weather has also impacted local customs, as the first spring month began.

In Romania, people were marking the day without the amulets they traditionally exchange.

In the capital Bucharest, where it has been snowing since Monday with temperatures hovering around minus 10 degrees Celsius, sales of the "martisor" good luck charms have plummeted along with the temperature.

Florists have also suffered, as the amulet is often given with a bunch of flowers. 

"The 1st of March is the most important day of the year for us, where we sell the most flowers," florists' association president Adrian Dinca told AFP. – Rappler.com

TOMBRU, Bangladesh – Bangladesh on Thursday, March 1, asked Myanmar to immediately "pull back" security forces and heavy weapons from the border after the troop build-up near a camp housing thousands of stranded Rohingya stirred tension on the troubled frontier.

The foreign ministry "summoned" Myanmar's envoy and conveyed the country's "concerns" over the "military build-up" amid rising tensions following the influx of nearly 700,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

Bangladesh's acting foreign secretary "conveyed to the Myanmar ambassador in Dhaka that such military build-up will create confusion within Bangladesh and escalate tensions on the border," the ministry said.

"He told the ambassador to convey to the Myanmar authorities for the immediate pullback of Myanmar security forces along with military assets from the area," it said.

Dhaka said the troops were mobilized near a thin strip of land between the two countries where around 6,000 Rohingya have been living since fleeing Myanmar following a brutal military crackdown on the Muslim minority in late August.

They were among the first to flee Myanmar and set up shelters in no man's land in the weeks before Bangladesh agreed to let the Rohingya into the country.

In recent weeks they have come under pressure from Myanmar soldiers, who have stepped up patrols along the barbed-wire border fence just metres (yards) from the camp and broadcast messages using loudhailers ordering the Rohingya to leave.

Hundreds of Rohingya have since fled the camp and taken shelter in refugee settlements in Bangladesh's southeastern border district of Cox's Bazar.

The diplomatic protest came as Bangladesh border guards and Rohingya living on the no man's land said some 100 Myanmar soldiers arrived near the refugee camp Thursday in heavy military vehicles.

"They brought at least 14 ladders and intimidated us by trying to climb over the fences and come to our camp to evict us," Rohingya leader Mohammad Arif told the Agence France-Presse at the Tombru border.

Myanmar border police also increased their personnel tenfold near the frontier and installed heavy machine guns and mortars at bunkers they dug in recent weeks, a Bangladeshi border official told AFP.

The Bangladesh border guards had requested a meeting with their Myanmar counterparts to deescalate tensions, he said, but were told the officers were "away or busy elsewhere."

The build-up came despite Bangladesh and Myanmar having signed a deal to repatriate some 750,000 Rohingya to their homeland in Rakhine state. But the process was delayed at the last moment due to lack of preparations and protests by the refugees.

Myanmar views the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and has long denied them citizenship and basic rights.

Bangladesh's foreign secretary has "expressed the concern" that the troop build-up might "hamper repatriation process which both sides agreed to implement".

Dil Mohammad, another Rohingya leader, said Myanmar was making "absurd claims" that Rohingya militants were hiding in the border camp. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday, March 1, that he banned Rappler from Malacañang because of its supposed "twisted" reporting.

Duterte's rationale for the ban on Rappler was different from what he and his officials had repeatedly cited since the President ordered it on February 21 – the decision of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revoke the social news site’s registration, even though the ruling was not yet final and executory.

“Mahirap kasi ‘pag palabas ‘yan, kita mo ‘yung mga newspaper, mga Rappler. Iba itong speech ko ngayon. Bukas, iba ang presentation niyan. Kaya bawal ngayon sila,”  Duterte said during a SWAT event in Davao City on Thursday.

(It’s hard when it comes out in the newspapers, like Rappler. My speech now will be presented differently tomorrow. That’s why they’ve been banned.)

“That is my order. Do not talk to people who will produce lies out of your statements and who can twist it forever to the angle that they would like it to,” added Duterte.

He even insisted that he and other government officials would admit to anything as long as it were true. But he gave a caveat: they would deny something if “it is not the time to talk about it.”

“If we deny, it’s really because part of our duty is it is not the time to talk about it. ‘And as of this time, we just would like to investigate the whole case until it is–there is a conclusion.’ Just like that,” said Duterte.

Where there is a contradiction: Just that morning, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque told reporters that Malacañang did not ban Rappler for reasons outside of the SEC ruling. 

“We did not ban Rappler. It was the SEC that came up with the decision that they are foreign-owned. And therefore on that basis they declared the corporate existence of Rappler Incorporated as being null and void,” said Roque.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea had also said the order to stop Rappler reporters from covering Malacañang was also due to the SEC ruling alone.

"He (Duterte) was just following the decision of… the SEC," the senior Cabinet official said on February 20.

Duterte followed this line on February 22, when he spoke on the ban on Rappler for the first time and said his reason for giving the order was to enforce the SEC ruling.

"Because it is not a legitimate agency, according to SEC. So I am now invoking executive action based on the SEC ruling," the President said then.

Why it matters: Malacañang has fiercely denied that the ban on Rappler is an attack on press freedom, arguing that the order arose from the corporate regulation issue that is the SEC ruling. The President’s latest remarks show that his displeasure with Rappler’s reporting was the primary reason for the order. The SEC ruling provided a technicality to serve as basis for the ban.

Duterte, however, had yet to cite specific examples of when Rappler “twisted” his statement or “produced lies” out of his speeches. Rappler has a Corrections Page that cites stories that had been edited to correct mistakes.

Roque had said in previous press conferences and media interviews that Duterte was particularly angered by Rappler’s stories on the supposed intervention of Special Assistant to the President Bong Go in the Philippine Navy frigates deal. He said then that Duterte was "bwisit (infuriated)" with Rappler. – Rappler.com

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela postponed Thursday, March 1, its presidential election until May 20, as President Nicolas Maduro seeks a second 6-year term despite the oil-rich country's widespread economic woes.

The chairman of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, confirmed the new date, firming up an earlier statement from the electoral body saying the election had been pushed back from the previously scheduled date of April 22 to sometime in the second half of May.

"It is proposed that the elections for president be held simultaneously" with elections for regional legislatures, it said.

Maduro's main challenger, dissident former socialist Henri Falcon, appears to have won several concessions on conditions for the elections in talks with the government, according to the contents of the CNE statement.

Under the agreement, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres will be invited to send an observer mission to monitor "all phases of the process."

The government in Caracas also agreed to extend the deadline allowing Venezuelans abroad to register to vote and to ensure equal access to media and social networks during the campaign.

The presence of an international observer mission had been a key demand of the fractured opposition coalition, the Democratic Union Roundtable, or MUD, which announced it will boycott the election following the break-down in negotiations with the government.

Ordinary Venezuelans are struggling with hyperinflation that the International Monetary Fund projects will climb to 13,000% this year, along with chronic shortages of basic foods and medicine.

Maduro's leading opponents are barred from standing in the election, leading some to argue that the deeply unpopular leader is rigging the vote. The MUD has called the election a "fraudulent show."

- Skeptical analysts -

The MUD on Thursday called on Falcon, a 56-year-old retired military officer, to withdraw from the election, accusing him of legitimizing a poll lacking in any guarantees that it would be free and fair.

Analyst Felix Seijas said the deal contained elements designed "to send a democratic image abroad."

"Falcon gains a little more time to build his campaign," analyst Francine Jacome told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"He gains the perception that what the MUD did not achieve in (negotiations in) Santo Domingo, he got, which was to move the date, and some 'better electoral conditions.'"

Political scientist Luis Salamanca noted that the elections had already been pushed back from December to April.

"It's as if the elections were portable: 'Put them where I want and when I want, as long as it suits the government,'" he said.

Earlier this week, Falcon said private negotiations were taking place between the government and some opposition groups about the date and conditions for the elections.

Falcon has 24% voter support while Maduro has 18%, according to the private polling firm Instituto Venezolano de Analisis de Datos.

But that doesn't take into account the vast Socialist Party machinery and sway over state institutions that Maduro has, analysts say.

Candidates can register for the presidential poll through Thursday. – Rappler.com

BARCELONA, Spain – In self-exile in Belgium and wanted in Spain, Catalonia's deposed leader Carles Puigdemont abandoned his bid to return as regional president Thursday, March 1, in an attempt to unblock the region's political crisis.

"I will not put myself forward as candidate to be appointed regional president," Puigdemont announced solemnly from Belgium in a video posted on social media, standing in front of Catalan and EU flags.

The 55-year-old called for a new candidate to be chosen "as soon as possible" from Catalonia's separatist bloc, which won December elections in a region deeply divided over independence.

This could pave the way for Catalonia to get a fully-functioning government and regain its autonomy after Madrid took full control of the Spanish region over its October secession bid.

Madrid welcomed Puigdemont's move, with a Spanish government source, saying Catalonia needed "to have a regional president as soon as possible".

Jailed leader?

Vowing to continue drawing the global community's attention to Catalonia'a cause, as separatists accuse Madrid of repression in its crackdown, Puigdemont said his lawyers had taken the case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

He also put forward Jordi Sanchez, head of the ANC, a hugely influential pro-independence citizens' group, as his preferred choice to lead Catalonia forward.

This is likely to be difficult, however, as Sanchez has been in prison for more than 4 months as he is probed for sedition, one of 4 separatists in jail over their role in the independence drive.

Sanchez stands accused of encouraging a major protest in September as Spanish police raided the Catalan administration's economic offices in the run-up to a banned independence referendum on October 1.

Marred by police violence, Catalan authorities say turnout in the vote was around 43%, of which 90% backed independence, even if Madrid dismissed the referendum.

Weeks later, separatist lawmakers declared independence on October 27.

The Spanish government moved in immediately, stripping Catalonia of its prized autonomy, sacking its separatist government, dissolving its parliament and calling snap elections on December 21.

Puigdemont left for Belgium shortly after the independence declaration and was charged with rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.

But he still ran in the December polls from abroad, leading the separatist bloc to victory as they retained their absolute majority in parliament.

'Won't give up'

After the regional election Puigdemont remained the separatists' favored candidate to lead Catalonia again. He argued he could govern the region remotely, with the help of super-fast new technologies.

But Spain's Constitutional Court made his appointment conditional on his physical presence in the regional capital Barcelona, with permission from a judge.

Faced with these obstacles, the Catalan parliament's speaker – also a separatist – postponed a key assembly vote to reappoint Puigdemont as president in January.

Since then, separatist parties had been locked in tense talks as to how to go forward.

Suggestions had started to emerge that Puigdemont could be given a "symbolic" role in Belgium while another candidate would be picked to lead Catalonia from Barcelona.

On Thursday, Catalonia's majority separatist parliament approved a motion defending him as the "legitimate" candidate for the regional presidency – a move widely seen as a way to encourage him to step aside without losing face.

The motion also stated that the separatists were "favorable to the constitution of Catalonia as an independent state."

In his online video, Puigdemont said he was renouncing his bid to lead Catalonia again so that the region could get a new government and shake off direct rule from Madrid.

"We won't surrender, we won't give up," he said.

"I know that the path we have ahead is long and fraught with difficulties." – Rappler.com

UNITED NATIONS – The United States is asking the UN Security Council to set up a new inquiry of chemical weapons attacks in Syria following reports of suspected chlorine use in Eastern Ghouta, according to a draft resolution obtained by Agence France-Presse on Thursday, March 1.

The US push to establish the new panel comes 3 months after Russia killed off a previous UN-led investigation by vetoing the renewal of its mandate, arguing that the probe was flawed.

A draft resolution presented to the council on Wednesday, February 28 would establish the United Nations Independent Mechanism of Investigation (UNIMI) for a period of one year "to identify perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in" Syria.

A council diplomat said it was unlikely, however, that Russia would back the measure, which calls for investigators to operate in "an impartial, independent, and professional manner."

In January, Russia presented its own draft resolution setting up a new panel, but Western powers expressed reservations, saying Moscow's proposal would give the Syrian government an upper hand over any investigation of attacks on its territory.

It was unclear when the US or Russian draft resolutions on the Syrian chemical inquiry would come to a vote.

The Syrian government has denied using chemical weapons and Russia, its ally in the war, has questioned UN findings that it carried out sarin and chlorine attacks.

New reports of chlorine attacks

UN diplomats met Thursday to discuss the US-drafted measure, which comes days after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a child suffocated to death and 13 other people fell ill from a suspected chlorine attack.

A doctor who treated the patients following an air strike Sunday, February 25, on the village of Al-Shifuniyah in Eastern Ghouta said he believed it was "probably a chlorine gas attack."

Russia and the United States agreed in 2015 to set up the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) to identify those behind chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has identified dozens of incidents of chemical weapons use in Syria, but its mandate does not allow it to determine who carried out the attack.

After the OPCW said that sarin had been used in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun in April 2016, the JIM investigated and determined that Syrian government forces were responsible for the attack, that killed scores of people.

The panel also found that President Bashar al-Assad's forces used chlorine in at least 3 attacks on rebel-held villages in 2014 and 2015, and Islamic State group (IS) jihadists had used mustard gas in 2015.

The Observatory reported 21 cases of suffocation in Eastern Ghouta on 22 January. Residents and medical sources said they suspected a chlorine attack.

A similar attack targeted the outskirts of Douma on January 13.

The council is scheduled to hear a briefing from OPCW director-general Ahmet Uzumcu on March 20. – Rappler.com