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RFA Tibetan Service reporters describe a Chinese crackdown on Ngaba Prefecture following recent self-immolations.
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Since China occupied Tibet more than six decades ago, Tibetans have been struggling for greater autonomy for the region.
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The unprecedented self-immolations in Tibet's capital Lhasa highlight Beijing's difficulty in getting a handle on the Tibetan situation.
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Canadian security forces have thwarted an al-Qaeda-backed terrorist plot to derail a New York City-bound passenger train as it crossed the Niagara River, just a few miles from Niagara Falls.
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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police yesterday arrested Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, of Montreal, and Raed Jaser, 35, of Toronto. Authorities allege the pair took orders and received guidance from al-Qaeda operatives in Iran.
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Officials reportedly watched the men for more than a year and say the plot never got past the planning stages. Canadian counter-terrorism investigators say the public was never in danger, the the men would have carried out the attack if they had not been stopped.
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Police were later seen raiding Jaser's house in northern Toronto, carrying away material which could be used as evidence in the suspects' prosecution.
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Neither of the men are Canadian citizens, but security officials would not reveal where they were from or why they were in the country.
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The alleged plot is not believed to have any link with last week's Boston Marathon bombings.
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The two men allegedly planned to derail an Amtrak or Canadian Via train as it crossed over the Whirpool Rapids Bridge from Canada into the United States, according to reports.
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The 115-year-old arch bridge spans the Niagara River 225 feet above the water.
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The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said the operations was conducted with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.
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A source told Reuters that the Amtrak Maple Leaf line, which runs from Toronto to New York City, was targeted. Canadian officials declined to confirm which trains were in the crosshairs.
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The men allegedly watched trains and rail yards across the greater Toronto area to prepare for their assault.
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'Today's arrests demonstrate that terrorism continues to be a real threat to Canada,' Public Safety Minister Vic Toews told reporters in Ottawa.
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Perhaps the biggest surprise to come out of the announcement is that the orders were given by al-Qaeda leaders in Iran.
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Iran, a Shi'a-majority country, is a strange ally for the fiercely Sunni Muslim terrorist group.
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CNN reported last month that the few surviving members of Osama bin Laden's inner circle currently reside in Iran.
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Some of bin Laden's family are said to be under house arrest in Tehran. Others - including top advisers - live in the ski resort city of Chalus on the Caspian Sea.
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Canadian authorities, though, were careful to make clear that this was not an instance of state-sponsored terrorism.
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'This is an example of the United States and Canada working together to protect our citizens,' said David Jacobson, the American ambassador to Canada.
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Another instance of American-Canadian co-operation that has made headlines of late was the joint effort to extract U.S. embassy workers from Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979.
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In that instance, six Americans hid out in the Canadian embassy in Tehran for 79 days.
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Another similarity between the international episodes is that the two terrorists arrested in Canada today were reportedly tied to al Qaeda operatives based in Iran.
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The arrests follow not only the Boston bombings but revelations that Canadians took part in an attack by militants on a gas plant in Algeria in January.
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It also recalls the arrests in 2006 of a group of more than a dozen Toronto-area men accused of planning to plant bombs at various Canadian targets. Eleven men were eventually convicted of taking part on the plot.
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By Superior Telegram on Feb 6, 2019 at 9:39 a.m.
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The Superior High School boys hockey team was blanked for the first time this season with a 6-0 loss to the Hermantown Hawks Tuesday, Feb. 5, at Wessman Arena.
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The Hawks, who scored twice in each period, improved to 16-3-1 overall and remained undefeated in the Lake Superior Conference at 4-0.
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The Spartans fall to 15-5 and 3-2.
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Justin Thomas, Aaron Pionk, Brady Baker, Matt Erickson, Joey Pierce and Blake Biondi scored for the Hawks, who are ranked No. 1 among small schools in Minnesota.
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Cole Manahan stopped 14 shots for Hermantown and Dayton Podvin had 39 saves for Superior, ranked No. 4 in Wisconsin.
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Up next for the Spartans is Wisconsin’s top-ranked Northland Pines (19-2) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7.
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Superior then wraps up the season with road games at Eau Claire Memorial at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, and at Duluth East at 5:15 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11.
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First period — 1. Justin Thomas (Sam High); 2. Aaron Pionk (Matt Erickson, Cole Antcliff), 9:10.
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Second period — 3. Brady Baker (Blake Biondi), 10:04; 4. Erickson (Pionk), 13:42.
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Third period — 5. Joey Pierce (Biondi), 8:00; 6. Biondi (Pierce), 10:49.
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Saves — Cole Manahan, H, 10-1-3—14; Dayton Podvin, SHS, 8-12-9—29.
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Honorable Mention: Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire Memorial, Hudson, Madison West, Green Bay Notre Dame.
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Honorable Mention: Bay Area, Cap City.
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"Resignations are not enough," said Ald. Ariel Reboyras on shake-ups in the Police Department. "We need actual policy changes."
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BELMONT CRAGIN — Northwest Side aldermen were torn between calling for "actual" change and urging "healing" to begin after Mayor Rahm Emanuel's speech on fallout from the Laquan McDonald case last week.
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"Work must be done to restore the public trust," said Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30th) in submitting a resolution immediately after the speech calling for hearings on Police Department reforms.
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"Resignations are not enough," Reboyras said. "Protest is not enough. We need actual policy changes."
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Pointing to the police dashcam video showing officer Jason Van Dyke shooting the 17-year-old McDonald 16 times in October 2014, Reboyras said, "It has not only spurred anger, and rightfully so, but has also driven protest and forced difficult discussion."
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Ald. Milly Santiago said, "Chicago has become a national disgrace."
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Yet Ald. Deb Mell (33rd) urged that the process calm the public rather than rile people up, saying, "It's an emotional time in our city, and I think we're gonna start the healing. Let's start the healing of our city."
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Mell admitted to being "really moved" by the mayor's speech, and granted that "there are two cities in Chicago," with the South and West sides being far more dangerous, a danger that needs to be addressed.
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Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) took much the same line, saying, "Much needs to be done to earn the trust that we deserve," but that it first required a "proper diagnosis," to be arrived at through City Council hearings set for this week and through the mayor's recently announced Task Force on Police Accountability.
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That wasn't the tack taken by an emotional Ald. Milly Santiago (31st), who said, "Chicago has become a national disgrace during the last two weeks," but added that at the same time it was nothing new in the city. She cast doubt on the ultimate effect of the mayor's task force, given earlier failures at reform.
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"We need to have a serious discussion about how the police serve and protect," Santiago said. "Are they serving and protecting the civilians, the residents of Chicago, or are they protecting themselves?
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"Yes, it's time to heal, as some council members have said," she added, "but it won't happen unless we are seriously committed to reform this whole city and the whole system."
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Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) agreed, pointing to the Safer Report on police reforms released a year ago and promptly forgotten. "If you don't implement what the task force recommends, then all we're going to do is waste time again," he said.
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Villegas held out hope for Tuesday's scheduled joint Public Safety and Human Relations Committee meeting, which is expected to address the whole issue of Police Department reforms and the Laquan McDonald case. He added that he wanted to hear not just from police and legal representatives, "but there are also some of the not-for-profits that deal with the impact of police brutality and have recommendations."
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Villegas granted it's a thorny subject, especially the so-called code of silence within the Department.
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"I understand the camaraderie," he said. "Believe me, as a Marine Corps veteran, I understand the relationships that are built there between your colleagues. But what's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong."
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Villegas said it's up to the Council now to join in setting things right. "If we can all get together and talk about solutions," he said, especially those that can be implemented, "I think we'll be successful."
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United Launch Alliance, a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, said the problem was narrowed to a ground system at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad. The countdown was paused to allow members of the Atlas 5 launch team to study a stuck fill-and-drain valve needed to fill the rocket’s first stage with liquid oxygen.
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Engineers investigated the problem before calling off Thursday’s launch attempt, which had a 40-minute window to blast off with the U.S. Air Force’s fourth Space Based Infrared System satellite heading for geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator.
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The company said another launch attempt was possible Friday, with another 40-minute window opening at 7:48 p.m. EST (0048 GMT), assuming the valve problem is resolved in time.
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There is a 90 percent chance of favorable weather for Friday night’s launch window, with a slight concern for cumulus clouds that could pass over the launch pad.
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The $1.2 billion SBIRS GEO Flight 4 satellite aboard the Atlas 5 rocket will finish the initial deployment of the Air Force’s new-generation missile-warning network. When complete, the constellation that will include a minimum of four SBIRS craft stationed in geosynchronous orbit and at least two infrared payloads in egg-shaped orbits aboard top secret National Reconnaissance Office spy satellites, providing polar coverage.
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Built by Lockheed Martin, the SBIRS satellites carry sharp-eyed infrared sensors to detect heat plumes from rocket launches, feeding data to the military about the origin and trajectory of missiles that could be heading for U.S. territories, deployed troops, or allies.
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The infrared payloads are provided by Northrop Grumman.
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Three previous SBIRS satellites launched on Atlas 5 rockets in 2011, 2013 and 2017. The fourth will give the SBIRS fleet global coverage, replacing missile detection capabilities currently provided by older, previous-generation Defense Support Program satellites.
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Four “SBIRS HEO” piggyback sensor packages have launched on classified NRO spy satellites. Two are needed operational at any time.
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The Air Force has ordered two more SBIRS satellites for launch in 2021 and 2022 to improve coverage, and eventually replace the first two SBIRS geosynchronous spacecraft.
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“The succesful launch and operation of this fourth SBIRS GEO satellite will mark the completion of the SBIRS baseline constellation,” said Col. Dennis Bythewood, director of the remote sensing systems directorate at the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center. “SBIRS is intended to replace the legacy Defense Support Program satellites that have been providing missile warning for worldwide missile launches since 1970.
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“The SBIRS constellation delivers timely, reliable and accurate missile warning and surveillance information to the president, the secretary of defense, combatant commanders, the intelligence community and other key decision-makers across our nation,” Bythewood said in a pre-launch briefing with reporters.
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The Atlas 5 flight with SBIRS GEO Flight 4 will mark the first of the year for ULA’s workhorse rocket, and the 75th Atlas 5 launch overall since it debuted August 2002.
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The exhibit Iron and Ice: Snow Trains lets visitors hop aboard a rotary snowplow and a railcar that once ferried skiers to the Laurentians.
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Snow is both a pleasure and a chore, and two trains can attest to winter’s eternal contradiction.
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Visitors to Exporail in St-Constant on Montreal’s South Shore can now hop aboard a rotary snowplow and a commuter car that once ferried skiers to the Laurentians. Both are part of the museum’s exhibit Iron and Ice: Snow Trains.
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Looming large, the 15-foot-high rotary snowplow is black like the coal that once fuelled it, but its windows, doors and blades are a gleaming fire-truck red.
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At the front is CN 55369’s raison d’être: nine chunky blades fanning out in a circle in the middle of a huge square frame. Designed to wade through heavy snowdrifts, the rotary snowplow’s steam engine would spin the blades, displacing reams of snow of any quality and quantity.
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Last Saturday afternoon, my guide, McGill history student Matthew Gauthier, showed me a video of rotary snowplows spitting up a spout of white stuff in a chute downhill from the train. Without a plow of any kind, it was near impossible for trains to advance in heavy snow.
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Clocking in at 224,000 pounds, the rotary snowplow could not propel itself forward; one or two steam-powered locomotives would be lined up behind it to push it methodically down the track.
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Gauthier brought me inside the rotary’s dark cabin. The fireman would keep the engine humming in the back, while a team of three to five workers operated a myriad of levers and machinery at the front.
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Working conditions on trains in the winter were harsh. The cabin’s windows and vents would be kept open to temper the warmth inside, and snow and rain could freeze seats and machinery and leave workers drenched. Visibility outside was reduced. While companies would lament the costly but necessary work of clearing the tracks, rail workers would relish the pay and longer hours tied to a snowy day’s work.
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The rotary snowplow was developed by American brothers, but was invented by Toronto dentist J.W. Elliott in 1869. It was considered a more powerful solution than the gaping wedge plows, which just pushed snow to the side of the track. So the rotary went to use in especially snowy regions, like the Gaspé and the Rockies.
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Rotary plows were expensive to operate, however, and most models now make their home in rail museums rather than on actual tracks. But Elliott’s technology would not be forgotten. Fifty-six years later, St-Léonard farmer Arthur Sicard modified the rotary snowplow’s turbine, turning it into the form of an endless screw: the world’s first snowblower.
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CN 55369 is one of just two plows of this kind found in Canada. Built in 1928, it served in Lac-St-Jean and Abitibi for just over three decades before retirement. It arrived at Exporail in 1966 (five years after the museum was founded) and was refurbished a few years ago, thanks to volunteers who reproduced some of its antiquated machinery.
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While on display throughout the year, the rotary snowplow and the passenger train a few rows over are open for onboard visitors only in the winter months.
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The latter is the elegant CPR 1554, which debuted 110 years ago as a first-class car. Eventually, it would ferry eager skiers from Montreal to Mont-Laurier for runs in the crisp winter air.
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The airy car features a green and ivory carpet, mahogany panelling, and minimal rails for overhead storage of ski gear. This model was also likely one of the first to use electricity to light the cabin, a safe and modern choice.
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The rows of green velvet seats, still comfortable today, are the main draw. They provided a small luxury: the back support could move from one end of a seat to the other, allowing riders to make their own seating configurations.
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The passenger car also allowed for a casual segregation of the genders. At one end, women and children had a tiny washroom tucked away next to a water fountain. Meanwhile, men who craved a cigarette before their destination could plop themselves on dark leather seats in a cosy smoking cabin, located at the opposite end. Cigarettes in hand, they would reach over to two tiny metal lighters, embedded in both sides of the door frame. In need of a shave as well? A wash basin was provided, down the hall from the men’s toilet.
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The train transported 40,000 passengers in 1935 alone. According to Exporail’s Maurice Binette, the train helped fuel the development of the Laurentians as a tourist destination. The idea of ferrying skiers in search of fresh snow would catch on, chugging across the border to ski destination Stowe, Vt., and later to winter destinations in Europe as well.
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The tour of each train takes 10 to 15 minutes. On your visit to Exporail, you can avail yourself of other attractions, like Of Steel and Paper: Tales From the CP Archives, which documents the early days of Canadian Pacific. It continues through May 27. And the Imax film Rocky Mountain Express screens daily in English at 1:30 p.m.
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Iron and Ice: Snow Trains continues through Feb. 25 at Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, 110 St-Pierre St. in St-Constant. The museum is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through May 20. Guided visits of the rotary snowplow are available at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.; guided visits of the passenger train are held at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. For more information, see exporail.org or call 450-632-2410.
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Shortly after their shocking announcement, South Korea’s hottest couple Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo finally reached out to their fans and released official statements about their October wedding.
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On July 5, Descendants of the Sun stars Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo took to their respective fan cafes and wrote personal, heartfelt letters to their fans addressing their highly-anticipated nuptials.
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In their lengthy letters, the power couple revealed their admiration for each other and their utmost gratitude to their followers who have always been rooting for them ever since their phenomenal journey on Descendants of the Sun.
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Song Hye Kyo, 35, explained in her letter how she and Song Joong Ki started out as mere colleagues who immediately “clicked” on the set of Descendants of the Sun. The actress, who had nothing but good words to say about her fiancé, shared that their hit drama series has brought them closer together.
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The Korean superstar also added that she was able to get to know him better and realized they have a lot of things in common. The two managed to maintain their relationship as they continued to keep in touch even after Descendants of the Sun ended.
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The actress also took the time to apologize to her fans for keeping their relationship a secret. She also humbly asked her fans’ understanding on this phase of her life.
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Meanwhile, Song Joong Ki’s letter hinted that he and Song Hye Kyo got engaged in January this year. The actor added that both of them have decided to tie the knot on the last day of October.
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The 31-year-old heartthrob also reminisced the “amazing experiences” on the set of Descendants of the Sun, which brought him to her soon-to-be wife.
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Song Joong Ki also apologized to his fans who were taken aback by the sudden news of their upcoming marriage, adding that he intended to share the good news earlier but opted to keep it private to avoid any issues, especially with a new movie coming up.
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Check out Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo’s letters translated into English below.
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