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T. G. I. F. Solitude

Russia Attempts to Build Peace

Russia has faced heavy criticism in the West over its military operation in Syria. 

The Russian air force has been accused of indiscriminate bombing. 

The human rights group Amnesty International says it has "compelling evidence" that Russian and Syrian government forces had "deliberately and systematically targeted hospitals and other medical facilities" in Aleppo in the north.

But during our trip to Syria this week, the Russian military has tried to convince us that it is playing a constructive role: that of peacemaker.

We were taken to two villages to see the Russian army handing out plastic bags with humanitarian aid: tinned fish and meat, dried peas and biscuits.

Printed on the packages were the Russian and Syrian flags and the words 'Russia is with you!" (though written in Russian, not Arabic).

In Maarzaf, near Hama, we saw a village elder signing a declaration of peace with a Russian army officer. 

The village pledged to support the process of reconciliation in Syria and bow to Syrian government control in return for security guarantees. 

A large tent had been erected for the occasion and many of the villagers were there to witness the event. Afterwards, the Russian army handed out Russian sweets and biscuits to local children.

It was in Maarzaf that we met Ahmed Mubarak: a pro-Moscow local sheikh who is working with the Russians to persuade villages across Hama province to sign similar pledges. 

The sheikh has his own private army: many of his heavily armed "soldiers" were in the village for the ceremony; some had taken up positions on rooftops, others - with guns slung over their shoulders - wandered through the crowd.

The Russian army had brought us to the village in an armoured vehicle and we had been advised to wear body armor here. 

Despite the peace agreement in this village, it did not feel as if peace was breaking out in Syria.

The Russians admit that towns and villages are not rushing to sign peace deals.

"Negotiations with villages are difficult," Lt-Col German Rudenko told us. He heads the Russian army's Reconciliation Group for Hama province.

"People are worried that by agreeing to co-operate with us, they will face pressure from terrorist groups."

The Russians have signed a similar peace declaration with the district of al-Tall, north of Damascus. But that does not mean all armed opponents of President Bashar-al Assad have laid down their weapons.

One resident in the town told me there were still "rebels" there, though she would not specify from which militant groups. 

"They are now thinking, they are not going against our army," she said. "Some of them are trying to settle down, some of them waiting. It's not very clear, but things are going in the right direction."

The United Nations says that the cessation of hostilities in Syria, negotiated by Russia and the United States, is holding. But only just. The UN describes it as "fragile" and warns "success is not guaranteed".

China Being China

The atmosphere in Beijing has changed noticeably in recent months; and many liberal-minded people here now fear that the government of Xi Jinping has made a sharp turn towards authoritarianism.

As nearly three thousand Communist Party delegates gather in the capital for the National People's Congress, this is clearly a critical time for China's economy. 

The rate of growth is down yet again, and although that by itself doesn't necessarily make the Chinese government unhappy, it does mean a greater possibility of a so-called hard landing for the economy, with worrying effects on people's jobs and their standard of living.

The American ratings agency Moody's has cut its outlook for China from "stable" to "negative".

"The real economy is suffering big time," says Liu Qian, the director of the Economist Intelligence Unit's China service. 

"If anything, I'd say that 2016 is the most critical year for the Chinese economy in the past decade or so."

If things turn out awkwardly here, there's always the possible danger of social unrest: the one thing any Chinese government dreads.

And so President Xi Jinping is pulling up the drawbridge.

Two weeks ago he made his new approach unmistakably clear. 

On a single day, he visited the main Communist Party newspaper, the state news agency, and state television.

In each place he told the staff they must be absolutely loyal to the Communist Party and follow its leadership in thought, politics and action.

At CCTV the staff welcomed him with a banner which read "Central Television's family name is The Party". And, not by coincidence, he told them: "The media run by the Party and the government… must have the Party as their family name." 

What he is demanding from the state broadcaster, the main newspaper, and the national news agency is nothing short of total loyalty to the Party line, and to his own leadership.

For some people here, that's uncomfortably reminiscent of 1970s Maoism. 

They talk nervously of a new Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong's hugely destructive campaign to destroy his enemies. 

A leading pro-government academic, Wang Yukai, who teaches at a top school for Party officials insists that this view is mistaken.

Booooom.....

Eyes of a Student

A student leader from a top university charged with "sedition" returned to his campus on Thursday, and made a fiery speech that has gone viral in India.

Kanhaiya Kumar (above) was arrested last month after a rally against the execution of a Kashmiri separatist convicted over the 2001 Indian parliament attack.

He was released from jail on Thursday after being granted bail.

Mr Kumar's views have been divisive in India with some calling him "anti-nationalist".

The authorities allege Mr Kumar and others shouted anti-India slogans at the 9 February rally that took place at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Two other students remain in custody.

On Thursday, Mr Kumar returned to JNU and said in his speech that he wanted freedom "in" and not "from" India. 

Media reports said that close to 3,000 students turned up to hear him speak.

Mr Kumar took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government, saying that the backlash against him was to distract the people from its failings in other areas.

He vowed to continue the "fight" against the "oppressive" policies of the government, saying that the more students were suppressed, the more they would stand up.

The government has not yet commented on the speech, which has sparked a huge reaction online.

#KanhaiyaKumar was trending on Facebook India, Twitter India and Twitter global trends on Thursday night, as television channels beamed his speech live.

On Friday morning, the hashtag #Azaadi (freedom) was also trending in the country, though sentiments remained sharply divided.

Critics condemned the charges against the students as an assault on freedom of expression, but government ministers have refused to back down, vowing to punish what they describe as "anti-national elements".

The 9 February rally that prompted the arrests was to mark the third anniversary of the 2013 hanging of Mohammed Afzal Guru.

Guru was one of those convicted of plotting the 2001 parliament attack - charges he always denied. 

The attack, which left 14 people dead, was blamed on Pakistan-based militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.

Indian opposition parties see the affair as an attempt by the BJP to push its Hindu nationalist agenda, correspondents say.

There have also been counter protests by those who say JNU is a hotbed of "traitors" and should be "cleaned up".

Hump Day Art

Under 

the 

Luxuriously Intricate 

Ceilings 

of 

Iranian Mosques

Instagram photographer Mehrdad Rasoulifard documents the elaborate and beautiful interior designs of Iranian mosques. 

Ceilings adorned with centuries old interior artwork incorporating stars, circles, floral motifs and geometric shapes on a symmetrical blueprint create stunningly intricate architectural wonders. 

The proof of rich craftsmanship passed down through history is embedded into the structures of these mosques, the oldest photographed being 900 years old.

Scandal in Brazil

Brazil's ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (above) has vowed to fight allegations that he was involved in a huge bribery scheme run by oil giant Petrobras.

"I fear nothing," he said, after being interrogated on Friday over allegations that he received millions of dollars in illegal payments.

Lula, a left-wing icon, left office in 2011. 

His Workers' Party has been hit hard by the long-running scandal.

His brief detention led to clashes outside his home near Sao Paulo. 

After his interrogation Lula told reporters he was the victim of a "prejudice as a working-class man", adding: "I escaped death from hunger when I was five... I was the best president to govern this country, the poorest of this country re-elected me because they could eat now."

He also said there had been no need for police to detain him. 

"If they wanted to hear from me, they only had to call and I would have gone, because I owe nothing to anyone and fear nothing."

This was echoed by his successor, current President Dilma Rousseff, who said it had been "unnecessary" to take him into custody.

The Petrobras inquiry, known as Operation Car Wash, has led to criminal proceedings against dozens of business executives and Workers' Party figures accused of taking part in the multibillion-dollar corruption scheme.

The Workers' Party has held the Brazilian presidency since 2003, both under Lula and Ms Rousseff.

In the latest operations, police enforced 33 search and 11 detention warrants in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Bahia, officials said.

Lula, 70, is suspected of receiving about 30m reais ($8m; £5.6m) in speaking fees and donations to his charity, the Lula Institute. 

His home in Sao Bernardo do Campo was among the premises targeted, as was the headquarters of the institute in Sao Paulo. 

Prosecutor Carlos Fernando dos Santos Lima said: "Among the five largest donors to the Lula Institute, 60% of all the donations were paid by the five largest businessmen involved in the Car Wash scandal."

A police statement quoted by Reuters news agency said: "There is evidence that the crimes enriched him and financed electoral campaigns and the treasury of his political group."

However, no charges have been brought against Lula so far.

The institute said in a statement (in Portuguese) the "violence" against the former president was "arbitrary, illegal and unjustifiable", as he had been co-operating with the investigations.

The Workers' Party called the operation a "political spectacle".

Controlling Freedom of Speech

A Turkish court has put Zaman newspaper - a vocal critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - under state control.

Administrators have been appointed to run the newspaper. There is no explanation for the court's decision.

Zaman is closely linked to the Hizmet movement of influential US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally. 

Turkey describes Hizmet as a "terrorist organization" aiming to overthrow the government. Many of its supporters have been arrested.

Mr Erdogan's government has come under increasing international criticism over its treatment of journalists.

• Turkey ranks 149th amongst the 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index 2015
• Media organizations in Turkey say that more than 30 journalists are currently behind bars
• Most are of Kurdish origin
• The government argues journalism in Turkey is among the most free in the world

In a statement, Zaman said the country was going through its "darkest and gloomiest days in terms of freedom of the press". 

It expressed "deep concern" at the latest court order - the culmination of pressure for more than two years on Turkey's "highest circulating newspaper, Zaman, and its sister publication Today's Zaman". 

It said the pressure had been through "accreditation bans, tax inspections, meddling with its advertisers and threats to its readers".

Editor-in-chief Sevgi Akarcesme told Reuters news agency this was "the practical end of media freedom in Turkey". 

"The media has always been under pressure, but it has never been so blatant," she said.

Dozens of supporters gathered outside the paper's Istanbul headquarters after the announcement of the court decision.

One held a placard saying, "We will fight for a free press."

Amnesty International's Andrew Gardner said: "By lashing out and seeking to rein in critical voices, President Erdogan's government is steamrolling over human rights.

"A free and independent media, together with the rule of law and independent judiciary, are the cornerstones of internationally guaranteed freedoms which are the right of everyone in Turkey," he said.

Fire in the hole!

It's Just The Olympics

Japan's Olympics minister says organizers have not worked out where to place the ceremonial cauldron in Tokyo's new flagship stadium.

The wooden interior of the new design means installing an internal cauldron could violate Japanese fire codes.

The stadium has been hit by delays and controversy over the cost of an earlier design by Zaha Hadid.

A cheaper design, by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, was chosen in December last year.
The new design will cost 149bn yen ($1.2bn; £825m) to build.

Ms Hadid's plan would have cost 252bn yen, making it the world's most expensive sports venue.

The International Olympic Committee deadline for completion is January 2020, ahead of the Games' start in July that year.

"It appears things were proceeding under the old plans without much discussion [of where to put the cauldron,]" Olympics Minister Toshiaki Endo said.

"The lighting of the flame is the main event of the Olympics. As for exactly how it will be done and where the cauldron will be, that will be discussed at a later date," he added.

He said that he hoped a solution to the problem would be found before April.  Mr Endo will head a panel set up to review the situation of the cauldron.

The International Olympic Committee stipulates that the cauldron should be placed so that it is easy to see for spectators.

Designers had considered placing the cauldron outside the stadium, but this was met with opposition from Japan's Olympics committee.

The Olympic flame is lit in Olympia, Greece, before traveling across the world in a torch relay.  The lighting of the Olympic cauldron by the final torchbearer marks the start of the Games.

If all goes according to plan, visitors to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will be awestruck before the sporting contests even begin. Attendees will be shuttled around the city by self-driving taxis. 

They’ll enter a newly built national stadium with the swipe of a pass, get verified by facial recognition software and be guided to their seats in one of 10 languages on a smartphone app. 

They may gaze up at the night sky from anywhere in Tokyo to see an artificial meteor shower show unfolding 50 miles above their heads.

Concerted efforts are under way to realize these and other innovations and emulate the enviable legacy of technological superiority and reputation rebuilding that emerged from the last Summer Games Japan hosted, in 1964. 

Olympic organizers, innovators, entrepreneurs and academics are working on ambitious projects that could enhance Japanese society and beyond long after the closing ceremony.

Court Divided Again

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared closely divided as it considered its first major abortion case in nearly a decade, with pivotal Justice Anthony Kennedy giving little indication how he would rule in a challenge to a Texas law imposing strict regulations on clinics and abortion doctors.

Kennedy, who often casts the deciding vote in close cases, at one point suggested sending the case back to a lower court for further evidence to be introduced on the law's impact, which could mean the case might not be resolved for years.

With the court one member short after the Feb. 13 death of Justice Antonin Scalia, the court could be split 4-4.

A 4-4 decision would let stand a lower-court ruling that affirmed the Texas law but no nationwide legal precedent would be set on whether other states can enact similar measures. 

If Kennedy, a conservative, sides with the four liberals, the court could strike the law down.

The court's four liberals, led by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, indicated hostility to the law. 

Justices on the court's conservative wing were more sympathetic to Texas, raising questions about whether the law had closed down as many clinics as abortion providers had said.

The state contends the law, passed in 2013 by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature and signed by a Republican governor, protects women's health. 

The abortion providers who have challenged it assert that it is aimed at shutting down their clinics.

Scalia's death means the court no longer has five conservatives who might support more restrictive abortion regulations nationwide.

Hundreds of activists on both sides of the issue gathered outside the courthouse on a chilly, blustery day.

The Supreme Court legalized abortion more than four decades ago with its landmark ruling in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case. 

But abortion remains a disputed issue in the United States, as it does in many countries, and some states have passed laws aiming to place a variety of restrictions on a woman's ability to terminate a pregnancy.

The Texas law requires abortion doctors to have "admitting privileges," a type of formal affiliation, at a hospital within 30 miles (48 km) of the clinic. 

Abortion providers say the provision already has forced clinics to close because such an affiliation is hard for clinic doctors to obtain.       Read more: 

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