The founder of Craigslist says he will donate USD 15 million to Columbia University and the Poynter Institute for separate efforts promoting ethics in journalism.
The announcement on Wednesday establishes Craig Newmark in the forefront of philanthropists focused on journalism, a cause he's supported with some USD 85 million in the past few years.
Some in the industry see irony in that, since the online classified advertising site that made him rich took away a lucrative revenue source for many newspapers.
Columbia, with one of the leading graduate journalism programs in the country, will get USD 10 million to establish the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security.
The Florida-based Poynter think tank will get USD 5 million, its largest single donation ever, to offer additional journalism ethics training.
Newmark said he's been concerned since the 2016 election about attacks on the press and the trust of citizens in the institution.
Among his other gifts has been USD 20 .

Craigslist founder donates USD 15 million for journalism ethics

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A British woman has been sentenced to six months in prison on charges of slapping an immigration officer on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali after missing her flight due to an expired visa.
Video showing Auj-e Taqaddas purportedly cursing and hitting an officer at Bali's international airport went viral last year.
She was sentenced Wednesday and has decided to appeal.
The footage appears to show the 43-year-old throwing a lengthy tantrum after being asked to pay a fine of USD 4,000 for overstaying her visa and missing her flight.
She was charged with violent behaviour against a government official.
During the trial that began in December, Taqaddas, who pleaded not guilty, said the video had been edited.

Indonesia sentences Briton to 6 months for slapping official

Iran's state TV says gunmen have killed a policeman and wounded a police officer in a shootout in which a stray bullet hit a fuel tanker, causing it to explode.
It said Wednesday that the shootout erupted near a gas station in the western province of Lurestan. It says the explosion shattered the windows of a nearby building.
State TV says the wounded police lieutenant is in "satisfactory" condition after being transferred to a local hospital.
It says the assailants fled in a stolen car. It was unclear what sparked the shootout.  Heavily rural Lurestan has seen occasional tribal-related armed clashes.
Many people in the area keep private firearms.
In November, authorities confiscated some 150 guns from smugglers in the province.

Gunmen kill policeman, blow up fuel tanker in Iran

President Jair Bolsonaro is taking his anti-leftist ideological war to Brazil's classrooms and universities, causing angst among teachers and education officials who say the government wants to fight an enemy that doesn't exist.
Bolsonaro and top officials have announced plans to revise textbooks to excise references to feminism, homosexuality and violence against women, say the military will take over some public schools and frequently bash Paulo Freire, one of Brazil's most famous educators, whose ideas had worldwide influence.
"One of the goals to get Brazil out of the worst positions in international education rankings is to combat the Marxist rubbish that has spread in educational institutions," Bolsonaro tweeted on the eve of his inauguration.
While students may not yet find many differences as they return to school this month, changes are afoot.
"We are still waiting to see how, in practice, all this is going to turn out," said Nilton Brandao, president of one of Brazil's ...

Brazil education overhaul aims at ousting 'Marxist ideology'

Pope Francis has acknowledged receiving a request from embattled Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro to help relaunch talks to end the country's political crisis but ruled out any involvement unless opposition leader Juan Guaido requests it.
Francis on Tuesday acknowledged that he hadn't read Maduro's letter, which he said arrived at the Vatican via diplomatic pouch.
He added, "We'll see what can be done." But speaking to reporters en route home from the United Arab Emirates, he recalled that a previous Vatican diplomatic effort to facilitate talks between Maduro and the opposition "went up in smoke."
And he insisted on the basic diplomatic requirement that two sides to any conflict must jointly request external facilitation or mediation of negotiations.
"I'll have a look at the letter, I'll see what can be done. But the preliminary conditions are that both sides ask for it," he told reporters, without citing Guaido by name.
However, Venezuela's opposition, led by Guaido, has made it 

Pope tamps down Maduro's hopes for Vatican intervention

Pope Francis has praised the courage of a young girl who broke through police barricades in Abu Dhabi to hand-deliver a letter to him.
Francis was being driven around the city's sports stadium in his pope mobile before Mass when the child dashed from the crowd so quickly that police couldn't catch her.
"This child has a future!" Francis told reporters en route home Tuesday.
"I liked that. You have to have courage to do that."
He laughed and added: "Dare I say, 'Her poor husband ...'" The Mass at Zayed Sports City Stadium, named for the UAE's founding father, drew Catholics from 100 countries, reflecting a range of nationalities drawn to the Emirates and its promise of jobs, safety and tolerance.

Pope praises girl who zipped by security to give him letter

France's yellow vest protest movement joined ranks with a major union, a first for both, in a day of nationwide protests over taxes and buying power that brought tens of thousands into the streets.
Brief scuffles marked the mostly calm Paris demonstration on Tuesday.
Police fired several rounds of tear gas, clearing troublemakers from the Place de la Concorde, which borders the US Embassy.
Tear gas was also used in Lille and elsewhere.
However, tension was minimal compared with the weekly protests held since mid-November by the yellow vest movement to demand fiscal and social justice in a major challenge to President Emmanuel Macron.
As protesters marched, lawmakers in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, voted 387-92 to pass a bill aimed at preventing violence during protests, and helping authorities maintain order.
The bill would, for instance, authorize regional prefects to prevent people seen as a serious threat to public order from protesting, or force protesters 

France's yellow vest protesters join union march

British Prime Minister Theresa May told business leaders in Northern Ireland Tuesday that she is seeking changes to the Brexit withdrawal agreement but not the total removal of the backstop plan that is the most contentious part of the deal.
May said during a visit to Belfast that the British government retains its commitment to preventing the construction of a physical border between Ireland and Northern Ireland when Britain leaves the European Union.
The prime minister said she was in Belfast "to affirm my commitment to delivering a Brexit that ensures no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland  which is unshakable."
She also emphasized the government's commitment to the Good Friday agreement, largely credited with ending decades of violence known as "the Troubles" when it was signed in 1998.
Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, but no withdrawal agreement has been approved because Britain's Parliament has voted down
May's plan, in part because of ..

UK prime minister vows no return to hard border with Ireland

With Brexit less than eight weeks away, it's becoming clear that the British economy is stalling as firms struggle with the uncertainty over what will happen.
Hot on the heels of the news that carmaker Nissan is scrapping plans to build a new SUV in its plant in northeast England, a survey on Tuesday showed that the British economy as a whole is almost flat lining.
Financial information firm IHS Markit said Tuesday its "all-sector" purchasing managers' index, which incorporates gauges of manufacturing, construction and services activity, dipped to 50.3 points in January from 51.5 the previous month. Were it to fall below 50, it would be indicating a fall in output.
"The survey results indicate that companies have become increasingly risk averse and eager to reduce overheads in the face of weakened customer demand and rising political uncertainty," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.
Though the survey takes a snapshot of only one month, it provides a steer as 

British economy 'stalling' amid intensified Brexit worries

President Donald Trump plans to nominate David Malpass, a Trump administration critic of the World Bank, to lead the institution.
That's according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to comment publicly on personnel decisions.
Trump is expected to make an announcement later this week.
Malpass, the undersecretary for international affairs at the Treasury Department, has been a sharp critic of the World Bank, especially over its lending to China.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders declined to confirm that Malpass is the president's pick to lead the institution on Tuesday.
"When the president is ready to make that announcement, he certainly will," Sanders said. "I can tell you if he chooses David, it will be a great choice. Highly respected and a strong member of the team."
Malpass would succeed Jim Yong Kim, who announced in January that he is stepping down three years before his term was set to ...

AP source: Trump to tap critic of agency to lead World Bank

Investigators say a Maine man died when he returned to a burning house to get his dog.
Maine Public Safety Department spokesman Steve McCausland said the man escaped the fire with the rest of his family before going back inside Monday evening in the town of Orland. Firefighters found his body in the basement hours later after the fire was extinguished.
Two other adults and two children escaped the fire uninjured.
Officials say the home was completely destroyed. There was no immediate word on the identity of the victim or the fate of the pet.

Man dies after going into burning house to save dog

Mexican officials say the death toll from a Jan. 18 fire at an illegally tapped pipeline has risen to 126 after more people died of their injuries.
Sixty-eight people died at the scene in the town of Tlahuelilpan in the central state of Hidalgo. The fire erupted after residents gathered to collect gasoline from a leaking tap in a field and a geyser of gasoline ignited.
A total of 81 people were taken to hospitals. In the two weeks since the blast, 58 of them have died and two recovered and were released.
The government of Hidalgo state said Tuesday that 21 injured people remain in hospitals.
The government has launched an offensive against fuel thieves who drill almost 15,000 illegal taps into government pipelines each year.

Mexico pipeline fire death toll rises to 126

The Taliban launched a pre-dawn attack on an army base in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing 26 members of the security forces, a provincial official said, the latest brazen assault by insurgents amid stepped-up efforts to resolve the country's protracted war.
The raid on the base in northern Kunduz province came as representatives of the Taliban were to hold meetings in Moscow with prominent Afghan figures, including former President Hamid Karzai, opposition leaders and tribal elders  but not Kabul government officials.
The insurgents have refused to negotiate with Ghani's government, calling it a US puppet. The Taliban have been staging near-daily attacks, inflicting heavy casualties on the embattled Afghan army and security forces. Both sides in the conflict say they want to strike hard militarily to bolster their position at the negotiating table.
In the Kunduz attack, the Taliban stormed the base, located on the outskirts of the provincial capital, Kunduz city, around 2 ...

Afghan official: Taliban hit army base, kill 26 troops

Burkina Faso's armed forces have killed 146 jihadists in three counterterror operations in the northwest near the border with Mali, the army's commander general said.
The army's response came after armed men attacked Kain village in Yatenga province early Monday, killing 14 people, Gen. Moise Minoungou said on national television Monday night. The army response, including air support, included fighting in Bahn in the north region and Bomboro in the Boucle du Mouhoun region.
The statement said there were light injuries and no deaths among security forces.
Islamic extremists in recent months have increased attacks in Burkina Faso's volatile Sahel region. A Canadian man was recently kidnapped and killed, and another Canadian and Italian are missing.
Gunmen in the past week killed at least 14 people in attacks on a marketplace and military base in the Sahel region. The base in Nassoumbou, in Soum province in the northeast, also was attacked in December 2016, with 12 military personnel ...

Burkina Faso forces kill 146 jihadists after village attack

Japan announced Tuesday it has canceled a port call in South Korea by its main warship during a multilateral naval exercise as relations between the two Asian neighbors fall to their lowest level in recent years.
The Defense Ministry said it will not send the helicopter carrier Izumo to Busan in southern South Korea in April.
The ministry said it plans to participate in the rest of the exercise and hopes that bilateral ties will improve.
The exercise also involves Southeast Asian nations and will be held in waters between South Korea and Singapore.
Japan and South Korea, both key allies of the United States and close economic partners, are locked in disputes involving alleged military provocations as well as wartime history.
Japan also canceled a warship dispatch to an international fleet review hosted by South Korea in October after Seoul asked Tokyo to remove the Japanese navy's "rising sun" flag that many South Koreans consider a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression.
Japan in ...

Japan cancels port call by warship in South Korea amid row

If the pooch melts your heart, swipe right.
Animal lovers in Lithuania have created a mobile application inspired by the popular dating app Tinder to match up dogs in local shelters with new owners.
Called GetPet, the app was launched last month and is getting hundreds of new users daily and already has made a few matches. It joins a growing market of apps for people looking to adopt a pet, including PawsLikeMe and BarkBuddy.
"It is like Tinder, but with dogs," said Vaidas Gecevicius, one of app's creators. "You can arrange a meeting with the dog  a date." GetPet features profiles of furry four-legged creatures looking up with soft, yearning eyes. Scrolling down reveals more information about the pup, and those interested can then swipe right.
But there are limits to the Tinder comparison. It's a one-sided situation and the dogs don't get to have a swiping experience. If you swipe left, another dog profile appears.
Gecevicius said the idea came to creators when they saw a stray dog on 

New app lets dog lovers swipe right for perfect pet match

Sri Lanka has dropped captain Dinesh Chandimal from the Test squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa.
The selectors have asked him to play domestic games to regain his form.
Sri Lanka Cricket said on Tuesday opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne is the stand-in captain of a 17-man squad for the two-test series starting on February 13.
Chandimal's omission follows scores of 5, 0, 15, and 4 in the two recent Test losses against Australia.
The squad includes three uncapped players -- batsman Oshada Fernando, seam bowler Mohmed Shiraz and left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya.
Allrounder Milinda Siriwardana has been recalled to the Test squad after nearly three years.
The Tests are in Durban from February 13 and in Port Elizabeth from February 21.

Sri Lanka drops captain Chandimal for South Africa Tests

Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso has reluctantly apologized for saying childless people are to blame for the country's rising social security costs and its aging and declining population.
"If it made some people feel uncomfortable, I apologize," Aso said Tuesday after drawing complaints over a comment he made during the weekend at a seminar in Fukuoka, his constituency in southwestern Japan.
The gaffe-prone Aso, a 78-year-old former prime minister, is among conservative lawmakers in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government who have at times blamed the elderly or childless for long-term demographic trends.
"There are lots of strange people who say the elderly people are to blame, but that is wrong. The problem is those who don't have children," he told the audience.
The comment was nearly the same as one he made in 2014 that also drew criticism.
According to the latest government statistics, the number of births in 2018 fell to 921,000, the lowest since Japan began recording such ...

Japan finance minister Aso sorry for criticizing childless Japan

Pope Francis ministered on Tuesday to the thriving Catholic community in the United Arab Emirates as he concluded his historic visit to the Arabian Peninsula with the first-ever papal Mass here and a call for his flock to remain meek in following God.
A day after making a broad appeal for Christian and Muslim leaders to work together to promote peace and reject war, Francis celebrated what some considered the largest show of public Christian worship on the peninsula, the birthplace of Islam.
For the Gulf Arab region where public displays of non-Islamic faith are restricted, the hymns of "Halleluja" booming out from speakers marked a milestone and evidence of the Emirates' much touted assertions of its tolerance for other faiths.
Cheers erupted inside and outside the Zayed Sports City Stadium as Francis arrived and looped through the crowd in his open-sided popemobile, as chants of "Viva il Papa" and "We love you!" echoed from the crowd, estimated to be around 135,000.
Organizers said .

Pope Francis celebrates historic Mass in Arabian Peninsula

Afghan officials say 21 people have been killed in the latest Taliban attacks in the country, including 11 policemen who were slain when the insurgents stormed a checkpoint in northern Baghlan province.
Safder Mohsini, head of the provincial council, says the checkpoint attack late on Monday night in Baghlan's district of Baghlani Markazi also wounded five local policemen. He says the Taliban made away with all the weapons and ammunition from the security post.
In northern Samangan province, the Taliban targeted a local pro-government militia, killing 10 people there, including a woman.
Sediq Azizi, spokesman for the provincial governor, says four people were also wounded in that attack on Monday morning in Samangan's Dara-I Suf district.
The Taliban have claimed both attacks. Insurgents carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan forces.

Afghan officials: Taliban kill 11 policemen, 10 others

President Donald Trump says he's nominating a Washington veteran with lobbying ties to US energy companies to lead the Interior Department.
David Bernhardt, currently Interior's acting head, would replace Ryan Zinke if the Senate approves his nomination. Zinke resigned in December amid ethics investigations.
Trump tweeted Monday that Bernhardt "has done a fantastic job from the day he arrived."
The Colorado native first served in the department under President George W Bush. He had been a deputy under Zinke.
Bernhardt also worked as a lobbyist and lawyer for several oil and gas companies and other interests that sometimes have regulatory matters before the department.
Republicans say Bernhardt's revolving-door experience makes him an informed regulator in matters before the agency. Democrats and environmental groups say he's vulnerable to conflicts of interest.

AP

AP

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