CHRIS TOMLIN – HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD (HD version)
Hanoi: Chinese ship rams, sinks Vietnamese fishing boat
Discovery Reef is an elliptical ring of submerged rocks that run about 17 miles long from east to west and four miles north to south. It's part of the Paracel Islands, an archipelago of shoals, banks, islets and cays in the South China Sea that are occupied or controlled by Beijing but with rival territorial claims lodged by Vietnam and Taiwan. Nearby Discovery Reef is planet's largest known sinkhole, the "Dragon Hole." (Navy Times)
HANOI, Vietnam — A Vietnamese fishing boat capsized after being rammed by a Chinese vessel in the South China Sea’s contested Paracel Islands, a Vietnamese official said Friday. China said its boat came upon the fishing vessel after it started sinking and sought help for the crew.
The boat was fishing near Discovery Reef when the incident occurred Wednesday, said the Vietnamese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press. The Paracel archipelago is claimed by both Vietnam and China, which took control of the islands in 1974.
An online report by the newspaper Tuoi Tre said the five crewmen aboard the Vietnamese boat clung to the bow of their upturned vessel for two hours until they were rescued by another Vietnamese fishing boat.
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/03/08/hanoi-chinese-ship-rams-sinks-vietnamese-fishing-boat/
Trump still hopes for North Korea deal after ominous report
WASHINGTON — Satellite photos showing new activity at a North Korean rocket launch site raised fresh doubts Wednesday that Kim Jong Un will ever give up his drive for nuclear weapons, yet talks continue and President Donald Trump said he was still hoping for the agreement that eluded the leaders at last week’s summit.
The president said his relationship with the North Korean leader remains “good” even though Trump walked away from negotiations at their high-profile meeting in Vietnam. He said then that the North’s concessions on its nuclear program weren’t enough to warrant sanctions relief, and he said Wednesday he’d be unhappy if reports prove true that Kim is rebuilding a launch site after promising in Vietnam to extend his ban on nuclear and rocket tests.
"I would be very, very disappointed in Chairman Kim," Trump said when reporters asked him about reports of new work at the Sohae Satellite Launch Station, which is tucked into the hills northwest of Pyongyang. "I don't think I will be" disappointed, Trump said, "but we'll see what happens."
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/03/07/trump-still-hopes-for-north-korea-deal-after-ominous-report/
Venezuela grinds to a halt as blackout drags into a second day
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela shut schools and suspended the workday on Friday as the worst blackout in decades paralyzed most of the troubled nation for a second day, spurring outrage among citizens already suffering from hyperinflation and a crippling recession.
Power went out late on Thursday afternoon due to a problem at Venezuela's main hydroelectric plant, the government said, calling the event an act of "sabotage" by ideological adversaries.
"We will once again defeat this electrical sabotage. We are going to recover this important service for the population," Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said in comments broadcast over state television.
While blackouts are routine in many Venezuelan provinces, particularly along the western border with Colombia, nationwide power outages under the ruling Socialist Party have never extended for more than a day.
"This is a severe problem. It is not just any blackout," said Luis Martinez, a 53-year-old construction worker walking to work in eastern Caracas.
Reuters witnesses could only confirm that lights were on in the southern city of Puerto Ordaz. It was not immediately clear if the power shortages affected oil operations in the OPEC nation.
http://www.foreigndesknews.com/news/politics/venezuela-grinds-to-a/
Nearly quarter-million Venezuelans sought asylum in 2018, UNHCR says
GENEVA (Reuters) - More and more Venezuelans are seeking asylum abroad, with nearly a quarter of a million applications lodged in 2018 alone, double that of the previous year, the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday.
In all, 414,570 asylum claims have been filed by Venezuelan nationals abroad since 2014, UNHCR said. Nearly 60 percent, or 248,669, were filed during 2018, following 110,825 in 2017.
“As a result of the situation in Venezuela, the number of asylum applications by Venezuelan citizens worldwide has increased exponentially,” UNHCR said in a statement reporting national statistics.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-refugees-un/nearly-quarter-million-venezuelans-sought-asylum-in-2018-unhcr-says-idUSKCN1QP1S1?
US envoy dismisses military action in Venezuela during prank call
WASHINGTON — The U.S. envoy for Venezuela dismissed the possibility of American military action in the South American country in a recording made by two Russian pranksters and released Wednesday.
Special Representative Elliott Abrams said in the recording that the U.S. wouldn’t use force in Venezuela unless the government did something “completely crazy” like attack the American Embassy.
But Abrams, who apparently believed he was speaking with a Swiss official, said the U.S. seeks to “make the Venezuelan military nervous” by not publicly ruling out military action to oust President Nicolas Maduro.
"We think it is a mistake tactically to give them endless reassurances that there will never be American military action," he said. "But I can tell you this is not what we are doing. What we are doing is exactly what you see, financial pressure, economic pressure, diplomatic pressure."
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/03/07/us-envoy-dismisses-military-action-in-venezuela-during-prank-call/
Heather Wilson resigns as Secretary of U.S. Air Force
Wilson said she plans to accept a position as president of the University of Texas at El Paso and is expected to leave the Air Force in May.
March 8 (UPI) – Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Heather Wilson announced her resignation in a Twitter message on Friday.
In the brief tweet, Wilson wrote that she will accept the position of president of the University of Texas at El Paso.
The University of Texas System Board of Regents unanimously approved a decision on Friday to name Wilson the sole finalist for the position.
"Secretary Wilson is a unique candidate with her background of academic and government service," said Regent Steve Hicks at a meeting of the Board of Regents.
Wilson previously worked at the National Security Council and the U.S. Mission to NATO, as well as in the U.S. Congress from 1998 to 2009 as a representative from New Mexico. She was also president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology from 2013 to 2017 before President Donald Trump chose her to lead the Air Force.
https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/03/08/Heather-Wilson-resigns-as-Secretary-of-US-Air-Force/7461552065883/
House passes reform package to change elections, ethics rules
March 8 (UPI) – Election Day would become a federal holiday and presidential candidates would have to disclose a decade's worth of tax returns under a sweeping reform bill passed by the House Friday.
The For the People Act makes dramatic changes to a number of issues, including voting rights, campaign finance and ethics – all pillars of House Democrats in last year's midterm election.
The proposal seeks to "expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics and strengthen ethics rules for public servants and for other purposes."
"H.R. 1 restores the people's faith that government works for the public interest, the people's interests, not just the special interests," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/03/08/House-passes-reform-package-to-change-elections-ethics-rules/1251552063344/
New Mexico House passes bill to legalize marijuana
"If you want to dismantle drug cartels, don't build a wall, legalize cannabis," one lawmaker said.
March 8 (UPI) – New Mexico is on its way to becoming the 11th state to legalize marijuana for recreational use after House lawmakers narrowly passed a bill to allow pot sales.
The House passed the bill late Thursday 36-34, with no Republicans voting for it, and sent it to the state Senate.
Despite the party-line vote, Democratic Rep. Javier Martinez said the bill is bipartisan legislation produced by talks between Senate and House lawmakers. He called the vote a "watershed" moment for New Mexico, which had never before passed any kind of legalization bill for marijuana.
"This is truly a compromise bill," Martinez said.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/03/08/New-Mexico-House-passes-bill-to-legalize-marijuana/7951552059966/
I take it Trump is cleaning up/out his own backyard 1st kek