Horrible' Photographs Of Suffering Moved Donald Trump To Action On Syria

When President Donald Trump began receiving his intelligence briefings in January, his team made a request: The president, they said, was a visual and auditory learner. Would the briefers please cut down on the number of words in the daily briefing book and instead use more graphics and pictures?

Similarly, after Trump entered office, his staff took President Barack Obama's Syria contingency plans and broke the intelligence down into more-digestible bites, complete with photos, according to current and former U.S. officials with knowledge of the request.

This week, it was the images - gruesome photos of a chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians - that moved Trump, pushing the president, who ran on an "America first" platform of nonintervention, to authorize the launch of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syrian targets Thursday night.

Senior administration officials and members of Congress who spoke with Trump said the president was especially struck by two images: young, listless children being splashed with water in a frantic attempt to cleanse them of the nerve agent; and an anguished father holding his twin babies, swathed in soft white fabric, poisoned to death.

As the carnage unfolded on cable news, which the president watches throughout the day and deep into the night, Trump turned to his senior staff, talking about how "horrible" and "awful" the footage out of Syria was, said one top adviser.

"What the world saw last night was the United States commander in chief, and also a father and grandfather," Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, said Friday. "The world recoiled in horror at babies writhing and struggling to live. And who could avert their gaze - and that includes our very tough, very resolute, very decisive president."

Horrific images were not the only reason military action made sense for Trump. Whatever his concern for the people of Syria - a country whose refugees would not be able to enter the United States for 120 days under Trump's latest travel ban proposal - he has been eager to show a clear victory more than two months into his tumultuous young presidency.

A strike against Syria could help him demonstrate independence from Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, whose alleged efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential race have proved a major distraction. And Trump wants to show that he is a tougher and stronger leader than Obama, who received scathing criticism when he drew a "red line" with Syria over its use of chemical weapons and then declined to act when President Bashar Assad bounded over it.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on Friday questioned Trump's "24-hour pivot on Syria policy," noting that until Assad's regime launched its chemical attack, Trump had not made Syria a priority. White House press secretary Sean Spicer had told reporters last week that the United States had to accept the "political reality" of Assad's grip on power.

"There is no strategy on Syria," Murphy said. "He clearly made this decision based off an emotional reaction to the images on TV, and it should worry everyone about the quixotic nature of this administration's foreign policy and their potential disdain for the warmaking authority of the United States Congress."

Throughout the week, Trump's public remarks placed a special emphasis on the youngest victims. "When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal - people were shocked to hear what gas it was," Trump said Wednesday afternoon in the Rose Garden, where he appeared at a news conference with King Abdullah II of Jordan. "That crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line - many, many lines."

On Thursday, when a subdued Trump addressed the nation, he spoke of "beautiful babies" cruelly murdered, declaring, "No child of God should ever suffer such horror."

About 54 hours after receiving news of the attacks in his daily briefing Tuesday morning, Trump - by then at his private Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping - gave the order to target Shayrat air base.

At 7:40 p.m. Thursday, as Trump and Xi were midway through a meal of pan-seared Dover sole with champagne sauce and dry-aged prime New York strip steak (a Trump favorite), a naval destroyer launched the first of nearly five dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles, lighting up the sky in eastern Syria.

White House aides and Trump deputies said that while the photos clearly affected Trump, he made his final decision after consulting with his advisers in a process they described as deliberative and thorough.

Over an intensive 2 1/2 days, the president's national security team convened several high-level meetings with representatives from the Pentagon, the State Department, intelligence agencies and the National Security Council.

"I don't think it was an emotional reaction at all," said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was involved in the discussions. "President Trump evaluated the facts, that the attacks occurred on his watch, and [as he] reflected upon prior responses or lack of responses, he came to the conclusion that we cannot yet again turn away, turn a blind eye from what's happened."

But the process was especially - and perhaps intentionally - quick, in contrast to the style of Obama, who prided himself on making decisions based on information, not emotions, a manner his critics derided as "dithering," as former vice president Richard Cheney put it early in Obama's first term.


Trump learned of the chemical attack Tuesday morning, asked for options on how to respond Wednesday and received them Thursday, the day he authorized the strike.

He asked the Defense Department to prepare potential responses after the Pentagon assessed that the Syrian military was responsible for Tuesday's chemical strike and for chemical attacks March 25 and March 30 against civilians near Hama air base, U.S. military officials said.

U.S. Central Command has had plans for striking the Syrian government for years and has significant assets in the region, enabling a quick response once a decision was made.

The National Security Council deliberated Wednesday night, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and other senior officials discussed the possibilities, senior military officials said. Ultimately, aides presented Trump with three options, but the president narrowed them to two and asked aides to flesh out more details.

Senior military and White House officials said Trump selected the "proportional" choice among the options available.

Richard Fontaine, president of the Center for a New American Security, where Mattis was recently a member of the board, said the options probably included doing nothing and launching more comprehensive airstrikes involving bombers and jets.

"I suspect that they said if you are going to do something, they need to do it quickly," Fontaine said. "You need to not hand-wring about this for weeks."

Thursday, Trump held another meeting aboard Air Force One as he flew to Palm Beach, Fla. Some officials - including national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and senior adviser Stephen Bannon - joined him in the plane's wood-paneled conference room, with others piped in via secure videoconference from Washington as the presidential jet streaked southward.

Once on the ground in Florida, aides said, Trump gave Mattis the order to move forward. The defense secretary passed it along to Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Army Gen. Joseph Votel, chief of U.S. Central Command.

The missiles were launched about three hours later, at 3:40 a.m. local time, to minimize civilian casualties.

In the process, the president - who had championed an "America first" worldview rooted in the belief that U.S. foreign policy had become too interventionist - appeared to swing sharply in the other direction.

Thursday's strike also raised several uncomfortable, still-unanswered questions: Was Trump motivated to attack Syria in part because Obama never did? Was he driven by a need for a political victory, at home and abroad? And what is the administration's long-term strategy and goal in Syria?

It was unclear as well whether Trump fully considered the ramifications of his decision. Russia, whose president has supported Assad and whose troops operate inside Syria, reacted initially with pique, canceling a key air agreement designed to avoid military confrontations with U.S. forces in the skies, before later agreeing to restore the deal.

And even as the White House touted support for the decision in Congress and foreign capitals, administration officials acknowledged that the attack, which they described as commensurate with Assad's violation of "international norms," would not eliminate his ability to do it again.

Though Trump had often seemed to blame Obama for the situation in Syria, his remarks Thursday night from Mar-a-Lago were nonpartisan and intentionally so, a senior adviser said.

The president, this adviser added, was sending a message not only to Syria and Russia but also to China, whose president was in Palm Beach for their summit, and to North Korea that Trump and the United States will not "shirk or shrink" from conflict.

On Friday, Spicer, the press secretary, initially told reporters at Mar-a-Lago that he would offer an update on Syria in front of the news cameras. But just before he was to begin his briefing, he reversed himself: He wanted images of the president, both from the night before on Syria and the China summit Friday, to carry the day.

Read More

Ever Wonder What Donald Trump Doesn’t Tell You About His Kids

In 1990, Donald Trump said in an interview with Playboy that “statistically… children of successful people are generally very, very troubled…”

So, does that mean his own children ended up in the same fashion? Although they’ve kept their composure in the spotlight, there’s more going on ‘behind the scenes’ than you’d think. Obviously, no family is perfect. But with five kids, two divorces, and billions of dollars in expandable income, Donald Trump may keeping a few details secret about his precious children

Read More

Mob of 1,000 attacked Africans in Noida: FIR

For Precious Amalcima, a 24-year-old law student from Nigeria, and his younger brother Endurance Amarawa, 21, a visit to a mall in Nodia turned out to be a nightmare. As they were walking in the mall, a mob rushed towards them. Before they could react, the two brothers were thrashed and sustained serious injuries to their heads, limbs and hands.

The due became a target of racial violence when more than 1,000 people came out on the streets of Greater Noida, around 40 km from the heart of the Capital on Monday, and attacked anyone who looked African.

The police have arrested seven people and have launched a massive manhunt for others who were involved in the violence. “There were more than 1,000 people on a witch-hunt for Africans,” the First Information Report (FIR) into the incident says.

Racial tensions had been brewing in the area for the past four days over allegations by local residents that a teenage student was drugged to death by some Africans. Five people were detained by the police but later let off as there was no evidence against them.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi had promised a “fair and impartial” probe.

“I have spoken to Adityanathji about (the) attack on African students in Greater Noida.

He has assured that there will be a fair and impartial investigation into this unfortunate incident,” Sushma Swaraj tweeted.

Sushma Swaraj spoke to Yogi on Tuesday morning after an African student, Sadiq Bello, tweeted her to “act fast” as living in Noida, he said, was becoming a “life threatening issue” for Africans.

On Monday, several Africans staged a peaceful candle-light march in the memory of a local teenager, Manish Khari, who died last week in the NSG Society in Greater Noida due to suspected drug overdose. Sources said he suffered a cardiac arrest.

A mob attacked the Africans when they were staging the candle-light march, leaving several of them injured.

“I thought the mob would lynch us. We felt helpless. Instead of helping us, people stared at us as if we had done something wrong,” said Endurance Amarawa who, along with his brother, is in hospital.

“We rushed to one of the showrooms to be safe but the people refused to let us in and started pushing us out. The people caught hold of us and started attacking us with sticks, stools and trash cans,” he added.

Imran, a student of Noida International University, was looking for an auto-rickshaw near Pari chowk when he was attacked for no fault of his.

“I was coming from my sister’s house. All of a sudden, I heard racial remarks from a bunch of people heading towards me. They caught hold of me and started thrashing me,” he said.

This is not the first time Africans have become victims of racial attacks in the country. Last year, six Africans were thrashed in three separate incidents in Chhattarpur, in Delhi. A Congolese national was also beaten to death in the Capital.

There were incidents of racial violence in Bengaluru also where a Tanzanian student and her friends were attacked by a mob last year.

Fearing further violence against the African community, the government has stepped up security.

Around 200 additional police personnel have been deployed in all sectors of Greater Noida. Special instructions have been issued to secure residential societies with African population.

“We have already registered a case against 10 people out of which 7 have been arrested and three are still absconding. Another 300 unknown suspects have been figured out and we will be taking tough action against them,” said Sujata Singh, Superitendant of Police (Rural), Noida.

After the racial attacks on Monday, the African students living in Greater Noida say they face daily slurs and are living in fear over the last few days following the mysterious death of a local youth.

People accused Nigerians living in the building of drugging the boy. Police picked up five Nigerians and confiscated their passports, but released them because of lack of evidence.

More than 4,000 Africans stay in Greater Noida, many of them studying in private universities and colleges that have come up in the area over the past decade. But many of them say that they feel uncomfortable at the hostile attitude of locals, who see the Africans as the source of crime and drugs.

“We come to India to study in peace but we will not be bullied by any violence. The African students should unite against this blatant racism and we want government to take strong action against the mob,” said Jenal, a Nigerian

On Tuesday, District Magistrate NP Singh held a meeting with the members of resident welfare associations and representatives of Nigerian Students’ Association.

“They have come here to study, the rumours that are being spread need to stop. We should try to understand and value one another’s culture,” said Singh.

He also called the rumours of cannibalism that have spread as ridiculous.

He added “We met to clear out the confusions and for confidence building measures between foreign nationals, locals and administration. We have formed committees for coordination and sensitisation of local and formal communities. These communities will work towards cultural sensitisation and creating awareness of law of land.”

“There are a lot of Indians living in Africa peacefully. Nigeria alone has around two lakh Indians living there. We give them the best of treatment and hospitality. And when we come here, we expect the same,” said Association of African Students President Samuel Jack.

“If this continues, we might have to call a boycott of India,” he added.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar spoke to the Acting High Commissioner of Nigeria and assured him of the steps being taken by local authorities for the safety and security of Nigerian nationals.

“The government is committed to ensuring safety and security of all foreigners in India. People from Africa, including students and youth, remain our valued partners,” said the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.

Read More

Fan Moment' Led To Aadhaar Data Breach For MS Dhoni

NEW DELHI:  It was meant to be a "fan moment", but went all wrong with one tweet. The personal details of cricket icon MS Dhoni have been made public, accidentally, by the agency helping the Unique Identification Authority of India or UIDAI implement Aadhaar. In a series of tweets, the former India captain's wife Sakshi Dhoni took up the issue with Information and Technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who had tweeted the cricketer's

Read More

Budgam encounter: Three civilians and a militant killed

Three civilians were killed in security forces' action against protesters near an encounter site in Budgam district in Kashmir during an anti-militancy operation which ended with the killing of the lone militant. "One militant has been killed and a weapon has been recovered from the scene of the encounter," an army official said. The encounter has ended, a police official said adding that one para-trooper also sustained injuries.
Three civilians, all young men in their twenties — were killed while 18 others were injured in security forces' action against a large number of protesters who pelted stones on the law enforcing personnel allegedly in a vain bid to help the holed-up militant escape. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Durbugh area of Chadoora in the early hours on Tuesday following information about the presence of militants in the area, the police official said.

Meanwhile, DNA reported that 63 security personnel, including 43 from the CRPF and 20 from the state police, were injurd in stone-pelting by local mobs. One para-commando was injured in the 11-hour long operation too.

The mob, which was shouting pro-azadi and pro-militant slogans, pelted stones at the security forces to break the barricades. Security forces used smoke shells and pellet guns to disperse the mob. However, when that did not work, the forces opened fire.

The police official also said the search operation turned into a gunbattle after the militant opened firing on security forces. The slain civilians have been identified as Zahid Dar, Saqib Ahmad and Ishfaq Ahmad Wani. All of them had firearm injuries, the official said. Clashes between protesters and security forces were going on till reports last came in, he added. The trend of civilians assembling near encounter sites and engaging security forces in clashes emerged last year.

It has continued even after Army Chief Bipin Rawat warned the youth against interfering in anti-militancy operations and the state administration imposing Section 144 within three kilometre radius of the encounter site.

Meanwhile, separatists in Kashmir have called for a general strike on Wednesday against the killing of three civilians during protests near an encounter site in Budgam district and sought an impartial inquiry into the incident.

"There should be a complete strike tomorrow and peaceful protests after Friday prayers against the incident," chairmen of both factions of Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik said in a joint statement in Srinagar. Two youths were killed when security forces, engaged in an encounter with militants at Durbugh village of Chadoora, opened fire to chase away protesters attempting to break the cordon around a house where militants had taken shelter.

The separatists alleged that the Chadoora incident was the outcome of the Army Chief General Bipin Rawat's statement warning local youth against creating hurdles during anti-militancy operations early this year.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah had blamed the Centre and state government for the "alarming situation" and advocated talks with all stakeholders.

"By choosing to turn a blind eye towards the unprecedented level of alienation and perpetual uncertainty in Kashmir both the Central Government of Narendra Modi and the state government of Mehbooba Mufti have compounded the situation in the Valley and pushed the youth into a corner," Abdullah had said in a statement. He had said the political issue in Kashmir cannot be resolved through rhetoric, operational measures or development. "There is no alternative to talks. You have to talk to the people of Kashmir and the stakeholders of all shades of opinion with an honest intent to resolve the political issue," Abdullah said.

Read More

NextGen energy: German scientists testing world’s largest ‘artificial sun’ to make hydrogen fuel

New Delhi: German scientists are testing a new device what they call as the world's largest 'artificial sun' in an attempt to make hydrogen fuel, an emissions-free alternative fuel that can be produced from diverse domestic energy sources.
The device called Synlight, which they believe could pave the way toward creating hydrogen to use as a green fuel, is being developed at the German Aerospace Center in Juelich near Cologne, Germany.

The artificial light, which has been created from 149 powerful short-arc lamps, emits light about 10,000 times stronger than typical sunlight.According to the researchers, the aim of the experiment is to find novel ways of making solar fuels, including hydrogen, which is believed as an important renewable energy source in the future.

“The test aims to find new ways to create hydrogen to fuel vehicles such as cars and planes,” explained Bernhard Hoffschmidt, the director of the Center’s Institute for Solar Research.

“We’re essentially bringing the sun to the Earth, by re-creating its radiation in a lab,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview.

“We orientate all lamps to focus on one point, which can generate temperatures of over 3,000 degrees Celsius.”

Hoffschmidt said the operation produces water vapour that can be split into hydrogen and oxygen.

“The hydrogen created can then be used to power airplanes and cars (with) carbon-dioxide-free fuel,” he said.

Countries are under increasing pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and hope to use excess power generated by renewable sources such as wind or solar to create hydrogen from water through a process called electrolysis.

However, Synlight itself consumes a large amount of energy, Hoffschmidt added.

“In four hours the system uses about as much electricity as a four-person household in a year. Our goal is to eventually use actual sunlight to make hydrogen, rather than artificial light.”

He also acknowledged there was “a long way to go” before the method could be scaled up for commercial use, which he said would require billions of tonnes of hydrogen.

“I think commercial use will only really be possible when societies and governments realise that we cannot burn any more fossil fuels,” Hoffschmidt said.

He added, however, that global events like recent UN climate talks in Morocco in November provided welcome momentum in the fight against climate change, and were a sign that “things are starting to change”.

Experts are of the view that renewable energies will be the mainstay of global power supply in the future.

Read More

British teenager points out a major error in NASA data

A 17-year-old Brtish teenager pointed out a major error in a set of data that NASA collects from the International Space Station (ISS), the media reported.

A-level student Miles Soloman from Tapton School in Sheffield, was working on the TimPix project - which lets school students in the Britain access data recorded by radiation detectors.


The project, held during British astronaut Tim Peake's six-month stay on the ISS, helps the school children look for anomalies and patterns that might lead to further discoveries.

Soloman found that radiation sensors on the ISS were recording false data and then emailed scientists at NASA, which according him was "pretty cool", the BBC reported on Wednesday.

The correction was said to be "appreciated" by NASA, which invited him to help analyse the problem.

"It's pretty cool. You can tell your friends, I just emailed NASA and they're looking at the graphs that I've made," Soloman was quoted as saying to BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.

Soloman and his fellow students were given Timepix measurements in a giant pile of excel spreadsheets, where they analysed the radiation levels on the ISS.

"I went straight to the bottom of the list and I went for the lowest bits of energy there were," Soloman explained.

Soloman noticed that when nothing hit the detector, a negative reading was being recorded. But you cannot get negative energy. Thus, he contacted scientists at the US space agency. It turned out that Soloman had noticed something no-one else had, including the NASA experts.

According to NASA, it was aware of the error, but believed it was only happening once or twice a year.

However, Soloman had found it was actually happening multiple times a day.

Read More