GERMANY – German authorities have resorted to issuing cartoon leaflets in public swimming pools in an attempt to stop gangs of migrants groping women. In the wake of the sex assaults in Cologne on New Year’s Eve and a wave of reported cases of sexual harassment in swimming baths, officials have now created a special cartoon guide on appropriate etiquette. The illustrations feature German captions with subtitles in English and Arabic and warn migrants not to wear underwear instead of swimming trunks, harass women, or push them in the water. Some 20,000 leaflets in seven languages have been issued across refugee facilities and public pools and a second edition is already in the pipeline. A spokesman for Munich public services said the leaflets contained bathing rules and ‘intercultural subjects’, developed in cooperation with the equality office, the anti-discrimination office and the Centre for Intercultural Cooperation of the City of Munich.(dailymail.co.uk)…[+]

LONDON – Veteran broadcaster Terry Wogan has died aged 77 from cancer, the British Broadcasting Corporation said Sunday.

One of the best-known entertainers in the UK and Ireland, Wogan was loved for his smooth voice on both radio and television. His radio show on BBC Radio 2 consistently achieved the UK’s biggest audience. Irish-born Wogan also presented a TV chat show, hosted the corporation’s coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest as well as the annual Children in Need charity event.

“Sir Terry Wogan died today after a short but brave battle with cancer. He passed away surrounded by his family,” said a family statement. “For decades, he gave great pleasure to radio listeners with his wit, warmth and inimitable humor. He was an extraordinary broadcaster but also incredibly good fun, and will be sorely missed.”

Former BBC Radio 2 colleague Jeremy Vine said on Twitter: “Truly one of the greatest we have ever seen. And treated his colleagues like friends.”(CNN/photo: independent.co.uk)…[+]

JAMAICA – A police corporal accused of soliciting $200,000 from a teacher to dispose of an alleged sexual offence case file has been acquitted of corruption charges in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court.

Detective Corporal Shawayne Whyte, who was assigned to the Area 4 Scenes of Crime Unit, was freed two weeks ago as the complainant testified that he was unable to say if the person with whom he spoke on the phone was, in fact, Whyte.

The prosecution conceded then that it didn’t have sufficient evidence to prove its case against Whyte, who was represented by attorneys Peter Champagnie and Kemar Robinson. Whyte — who was arrested and charged on October 16, 2014 — had been on trial for breaching the Corruption Prevention Act.(Jamaica Observer/photo: jamaicaobserver.com)…[+]

BRAZIL – If Brazilians are worried about the Zika virus, it clearly didn’t show during last weekend’s pre-Carnival celebrations.

The sun and heat brought thousands of people out into the streets of Brazil’s main cities. Carnival doesn’t officially start until Thursday, but it’s customary to start celebrations earlier. According to Brazilian state run news agency Agencia Brasil, as many as 300,000 revelers enjoyed the festivities in the center of Rio de Janeiro over the weekend.

Brazil is one of several South American countries where the Zika virus has spread in recent months. The World Health Organization is considering declaring a public health emergency, and is holding emergency meetings to discuss the mosquito-borne disease. However, Brazilians and tourists didn’t let the threat of the virus get in the way of their partying.

People sang and danced as they made their way through the city’s historic streets following ‘electric trios,’ or sound cars, where performers stand on top of big trucks flanked by massive sound systems. (CNN/photo: cnn.com)…[+]

Several state boards are have been named by the administration but it appears that the Parliamentary Opposition, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), will not be participating.

This past week, at least four boards were introduced to Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, but on none of them was there a representative of the opposition.  Questioned about it, Patterson said that the PPP had been written to, asking the party to submit names, but there were no responses.

The Minister insisted that Government remains committed to engaging the Opposition especially when it comes to conducting business of the country and when it has to do with wide participation from stakeholders.  The Boards introduced this week under that Ministry were the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Demerara Harbour Bridge and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. In recent weeks, Boards of Directors were also installed for the Sea Defence Board and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority. (KAIETEUR NEWS/photo: kaieteurnewsonline.com)…[+]

SYRIA – Three explosions killed 45 people Sunday in a suburb near the Syrian capital of Damascus, state media reported.

“Terrorists” detonated a car bomb at a bus terminal, followed shortly by two suicide bombings that targeted onlookers and medics at the scene of the initial attack, an Interior Ministry official told SANA, the Syria state news agency.

The blasts injured 40 others in Sayeda Zeynab, according to the news agency. The suburb is named after an important Shiite mosque. “The aim of this cowardly and desperate terrorist attack is to raise the morale of the defeated terrorist groups following the great victories that our brave army has accomplished in several areas,” Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi told SANA.

The attack happened while representatives from President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the main Syrian opposition are in Geneva, Switzerland, for talks aimed at ending the country’s civil war. (CNN/photo: middleeasteye.net)…[+]

ST CATHERINE, Jamaica – The police have reported that 99 people were taken into custody and a number of items seized during an operation on Port Henderson Road, known as ‘Back Road’, in Portmore, St Catherine saturday.

The police say the eight-hour long operation began about 2:00 am, and involved police personnel from the Area Five Headquarters, the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (CTOC), the St Catherine North Division, the St Catherine South Division, and the Mobile Reserve.

Fifty-nine females and 40 males were taken into police custody for processing. Their identities are being withheld at this time. Among the items seized were two firearms, ganja weighing approximately 2.5 pounds and three offensive weapons, while two business establishments were ordered closed due to violations of the Public Health Act.(Jamaica Observer/photo: jamaicaobserver.com)…[+]

ISRAEL – US and British intelligence agencies for years hacked into Israeli drones carrying out surveillance to prepare for a potential strike on Iran, Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reported on Friday. Citing documents leaked by rogue US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, Yediot said that the operation, codenamed “Anarchist”, began in 1998 at a British facility in the Troodos mountains of Cyprus and a US National Security Agency (NSA) site at Menwith Hill, in northern England. “From the documents it emerges that Israel operates a large fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles,” the paper wrote. “They collect intelligence in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and throughout the Middle East and were even used according to the editors (of the Snowden files) for gathering intelligence to plan the bombing of Iran.”(Tribune)…[+]

GERMANY – Forty percent of Germans want Chancellor Angela Merkel to resign over her refugee policy, a poll showed on Friday, in a sign of rising dissatisfaction with her welcoming stance towards people fleeing conflict and economic hardship in the Middle East and Africa. Merkel, who enjoyed record high popularity ratings early last year, has grown increasingly isolated in recent months as members of her conservative bloc have pressed her to take a tougher line on asylum seekers and European allies have dragged their feet on the issue. Responding to popular pressure, Merkel’s conservatives and their left-leaning Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners agreed on Thursday to tighten asylum rules, reaching a compromise on how to stem the influx of migrants.(CNBC)…[+]

BRAZIL – President Dilma Rousseff has called on the whole of Brazilian society to help combat the spread of the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects. Ms Rousseff said national mobilization was needed to eliminate the mosquitoes that spread the virus, and urged community groups and unions to help. Zika is thought to cause a form of infant brain damage, microcephaly. Three to four million people could be infected with Zika in the Americas this year, experts have warned. Ms Rousseff rejected comments made by her health minister earlier this week, who said Brazil was badly losing the fight against the virus. But Brazil is the country worst affected by the Zika outbreak, with 270 cases of microcephaly confirmed by the health ministry and 3,448 being investigated. (BBC)…[+]