AP, Berlin
A group of European nations is urging Russia not to abandon a nuclear weapons treaty with the United States.
Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands are also calling for new arms control agreements to address the rising power of China and other nations.
The U.S. gave notice of its intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty a month ago, citing Russian violations.
US youths plan rally to protest climate inaction
Reuters, Washington
Hundreds of youngsters are planning to skip school to join a rally in Washington on Friday as part of what organizers are calling an international Youth Climate Strike to seek action on climate change.
Organizers expect some 2,500 students to join the event in front of the Capitol Building, where Congress sits, with similar rallies taking place in 46 states.
The demonstrations, which will call on politicians to take action to combat climate change, express support for measures including the Green New Deal, an ambitious Democratic environmental proposal that has become a lightning rod for Republican criticism.
France freezes assets of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief
Reuters, Paris
France has decided to freeze the assets of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, the French government said today.
A joint statement issued by the French interior ministry, finance ministry and foreign ministry added that France would discuss putting Masood Azhar on a European Union list of people involved in terrorism.
Pakistan is under pressure from global powers to act against groups carrying out attacks in India, including Jaish-e-Mohammed, which claimed responsibility for the February 14 attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama that killed 40 soldiers.
Colorado trooper killed in bomb cyclone
Reuters, Denver
A late-winter blizzard slammed U.S. Rocky Mountain and Plains states on Wednesday, unleashing a “bomb cyclone” of high winds and drifting snow that stranded motorists, canceled more than 1,300 airline flights and was blamed for the death of a Colorado state trooper.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis declared a state of emergency due to the storm and said he had activated the state National Guard to assist in search and rescue operations.
Cyclone batters Mozambique coastal city
AFP, Maputo
Tropical cyclone Idai battered Mozambique’s coastal city of Beira leaving its 530,000 residents cut off from the outside world on Friday after power cables were downed and communications severed.
“There is no communication with Beira. Houses and trees were destroyed and pylons downed,” an official at the National Institute of Disaster Management told AFP.
“There was no tsunami-type storm but Beira and Chinde (400 kilometres, 250 miles northeast of Beira on the coast) were badly hit.”
