At least 40 people died as overloaded ferry sinks in Tigris river, Iraq

At least 40 people died when an overloaded ferry sank in the Tigris river near Mosul in Iraq on Thursday, Reuters said, citing police and medical sources. Most of the casualties on the ferry were women and children, according to the head of Mosul’s Civil Defense Authority, Husam Khalil. The rescue team is still retrieving survivors and has rescued 12 people so far, Khalil added.

https://www.rt.com/newsline/454401-ferry-tigris-river-iraq/

US candidates joke about their drug-use while thousands face life-changing arrests over weed (VIDEO)

Ahead of the 2020 election cycle, politicians are pulling out all the stops to seem relatable to voters, including joking about smoking weed. However, not everyone is laughing.

The millions of kids who had to complete the government-funded Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program might be surprised to learn that even former presidents and presidential hopefuls apparently think drugs can help you “fit in” after all. Even conservative candidate Jeb Bush tried to score some cool-points by saying he “openly admits” to smoking weed, although he immediately lost them by adding “my mom’s not happy that I did.”

Nonetheless, with nearly 700,000 marijuana-related arrests recorded in 2017, some feel these politicians are clearly demonstrating a two-tiered system of justice. While the rich and powerful can openly brag about using illegal drugs, many Americans’ lives and careers are ruined forever after being arrested for marijuana use. Watch RT’s report.

https://www.rt.com/usa/454400-politicians-marijuana-jokes-weed-arrests/

Dems Lobby Aims to Attract $50Mln to Lure Core Supporters From Trump - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - American Bridge 21st Century, an influential Democratic political action committee, is launching a campaign to attract an additional $50 million from donors to lure core supporters of US President Donald Trump, blue collar individuals living in the Upper Midwest, away from him, the NBC News broadcaster reported on Thursday.

"We understand that we may not win these voters back entirely, but if we don't make inroads into these areas, we will win the popular vote, lose the Electoral College, and the Senate could be lost for a decade", American Bridge's memo to donors, obtained by the broadcaster, said.

The funding will be used for an advertising campaign focusing on the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and, possibly, Florida, in an attempt to persuade voters that Trump's policies have harmed their interest

https://sputniknews.com/us/201903211073429498-democrats-trump-supporters/

Russian Air Force launches largest attack of the year over Idlib

BEIRUT, LEBANON (8:00 A.M.) – The Russian Air Force launched their largest attack of the year over the Idlib Governorate last night.

Led by six Sukhoi jets, the Russian Air Force unleashed a barrage of airstrikes over Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham’s positions inside the Jisr Al-Shuhour District and Al-Ghaab Plain region of southwestern Idlib.

A military in nearby Hama told Al-Masdar News that these airstrikes targeted a number of areas under the control of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, including Jisr Al-Shughour city and its nearby Sugar Factory.

The source said the Russian airstrikes lasted for a short while and resulted in heavy damage to the jihadist group’s positions.

Some rebel activists have taken to social media to accuse Russia of targeting civilians during the attack, as locals in a number of areas reported several casualties

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/russian-air-force-launches-largest-attack-of-the-year-over-idlib/

More Than 130 European Businesses Tell the European Parliament: Reject the #CopyrightDirective

The EU’s Copyright Directive will be voted on in the week of March 25 (our sources suggest the vote will take place on March 27th, but that could change); the Directive has been controversial all along, but it took a turn for the catastrophic during the late stages of the negotiation, which yielded a final text that is alarming in its potential consequences for all internet activity in Europe and around the world.

More than 5,000,000 Europeans have signed a petition against Article 13 of the Directive, and there has been outcry from eminent technical experts, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on free expression, and many other quarters.

Now, a coalition of more than 130 EU businesses have entered the fray, led by file storage service NextCloud. Their letter to the European Parliament calls Article 13—which will lead to mass adoption of copyright filters for online services that will monitor and block user-submitted text, audio, video and images—a “dangerous experiment with the core foundation of the Internet’s ecosystem.” They also condemn Article 11, which will allow news publishers to decide who can quote and link to news stories and charge for the right to do so.

https://www.activistpost.com/2019/03/more-than-130-european-businesses-tell-the-european-parliament-reject-the-copyrightdirective.html