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The biggest Israeli-Palestinian escalation in months, which began on Monday with the longest-range Palestinian rocket attack to cause casualties in Israel for five years, appeared to have been curbed overnight by Egyptian mediation. Israel responded to Monday's rocket attack with a wave of strikes on targets belonging to the Hamas militant group that controls the Gaza strip. Seven Israelis were injured in the initial rocket attack and five Palestinians were wounded by the retaliatory Israeli strikes, although most of the targets hit appeared to have been evacuated in advance.

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Russia Monday the United States will not "stand idly by" as Moscow inserts military personnel into Venezuela to support the regime of President Nicolas Maduro. In a phone call with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Pompeo denounced the growing Russian military reinforcements as prolonging the political crisis in the South American country.

Despite media reports that Lori Loughlin's daughters have dropped out of USC following the national admissions scandal, the university confirmed both are still enrolled.

Trump knew he and Russia were aiming for the same goal. So he fawned over Putin, undercut US foreign policy and sold out his own intelligence agencies.

A wary calm returned to Gaza and southern Israel on Tuesday after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire brought an end to hours of intense fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas. Israeli jets struck targets throughout Gaza on Monday night, including the offices of the Islamist group’s leader, while Hamas and other Palestinian factions fired rockets at Israeli towns and cities.  No fatalities were reported on either side although several people were injured in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.  The escalation was sparked by Hamas firing a rocket that wounded several members of a British-Israeli family on Monday morning.  At around 10pm on Monday, Egyptian mediators managed to broker a ceasefire between the two sides, as they have done during several other flare-ups of violence in recent months.  The ceasefire took several hours to take hold and airstrikes and rocket fire continued in the early hours of Tuesday. Millions of civilians on both sides spent the night in fear as the fighting continued.  Palestinians sit with their belongings in a street outside their destroyed house after an Israeli missile targeted a nearby Hamas site, in Gaza City Credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem However, by mid-morning the situation was tense but calm. Palestinian children went to school in Gaza as usual but school was cancelled for Israeli children in several districts in the country’s south.  Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, cut short a trip to Washington to return to Israel to manage the situation. Mr Netanyahu, who is also Israel’s defence minister, was due to arrive in Israel in the afternoon and hold meetings with security chiefs.  “We have responded very, very forcefully,” Mr Netanyahu said before departing Washington.  “Hamas needs to know that we will not hesitate to go in and take all necessary steps – regardless of anything, any date, other than Israel’s security needs.” The Israeli leader is seeking re-election for a fifth term in office when Israelis go to the polls on April 9. He is under pressure from political opponents on both the Centre and the Right to strike forcefully against Hamas.  Hamas hailed Monday night’s violence as a victory for its cause. “Gaza and the resistance in Gaza are unbreakable. The will of Gaza will always defeat the occupation; Gaza will break the siege and live free and in dignity,” a spokesman said.  Hamas is under intense pressure within Gaza to raise living standards and deal with horrendous economic conditions in the strip, where unemployment is at around 50 per cent.  Anti-Hamas protesters took to the streets last week under the slogan “We Want To Live”. Hamas responded with a major crackdown and arrested dozens of people. Egypt and the UN have been trying to broker a long-term deal which would see Hamas promise to stop attacks on Israel in return for Israel lifting its crushing 12-year blockade on Gaza.  However, the negotiations have yielded few results and Hamas is believed to be trying to inject fresh urgency into the talks by firing rockets while at the same time avoiding a full-blown war.

HTC Vive used the occasion of its annual Vive Ecosystem Conference in Shenzhen on Monday to unveil a new workplace-focused VR headset -- the VIVE Focus Plus, which promises a slew of features for enterprise customers like enhanced optics and upgraded lenses in the head-mounted display. And all of it, in a package that costs $799 and will be available starting April 15 from Vive's website.Among the new headset's specs, HTC says it sports new 'fresnel' lenses that offer a sharper visual and create a more true-to-life effect for users. The headset also comes with newly added six-degrees-of-freedom controllers, paving the way for more comfortable extended VR sessions that enterprise customers who may use this for more than cursory experiences will no doubt appreciate.Additionally, in most markets the headset will include an enterprise license at no additional cost."With the unveiling of these enhancements for Vive Focus Plus, the VR industry is taking a big step forward with this new generation of full-fidelity standalone VR devices enabling total freedom of interaction and freedom of connection," said HTC's China president Alvin Wang Graylin, in a release about the device. "We're thrilled so many developers and partners are supporting this product with exciting experiences across a wide range of use cases, showcasing the incredible opportunity for VR/AR to enter all facets of our lives"https://twitter.com/htcvive/status/1110358205266157569The headset includes a 3K AMOLED display, and it's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor. Users will enjoy a 110-degree field of view, and the headset also comes with a 4,000 mAh battery.Among other features, users will have access to almost 250 Vive Wave applications at launch that run natively on the headset, and a "Viveport Infinity Wave" subscription program for the headset will include more than 70 premium VR application titles. The headset also has a multi-mode capability, which will let users access existing content across a range of devices. Thanks to this capability, the headset is compatible with everything from PCs and laptops to smartphones, game consoles, 2D video streaming devices, live 360 camera streaming and more.

Donald Trump’s team is sending letters to TV producers demanding they reconsider booking guests they perceive lied about Robert Mueller’s investigation. The memo was sent on Monday to a number of networks, including MSNBC, CNN and NBC, by Mr Trump’s 2020 campaign communications chief Tim Murtaugh, under the headline, “Credibility of Certain Guests”, according to a copy obtained by Axios. The document highlighted the conclusion reached by special counsel Mr Mueller that Mr Trump did not conspire with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election, and the decision by attorney general William Barr there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the president for obstruction of justice.

Lu Wei was found guilty of taking bribes on Tuesday by the Ningbo People’s Intermediate Court in the eastern province of Zhejiang, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The former Beijing propaganda official was named as China’s first national internet regulator in 2014 after the country established the Cyberspace Administration of China to manage a market that now has more than 800 million users.

Easter weekend is fast approaching with all the fondant-filled Creme Eggs, sticky hot cross buns and sugar-coated Mini Eggs our stretchiest waistbands can withstand.  Of course, the  Christian festival is far more than its associated confectionery. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ who, according to the New Testament, died on the cross on Good Friday and came back to life three days later. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Sunday, which also marks the end of Lent's 40-day period of fasting. From the origins of the Easter bunny to the celebrations' ever-changing dates, here is your essential guide to the holiday. Jump to it, bunny: Your complete guide to Easter decorations When is Easter 2019? This year, Good Friday falls on April 19, Easter Sunday on April 21 and Easter Monday on April 22 - three weeks later than they did last year.  While the holiday is a movable feast, it always falls somewhere between March 21 and April 25 every year. It is calculated as the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring. The full moon is known as the Paschal (Passover) Full Moon. Methods for calculating Easter are fiendishly complicated and a uniquely baffling synthesis of mathematics, astronomy and theology.  As Christians believe Jesus was crucified during the Jewish Passover festival, Easter is celebrated around the same time. Nonetheless, different Christian groups were already marking it on separate dates by the end of the 2nd Century. Q&A; | Maundy Thursday These date-led disagreements even set the course of history for the British Isles at the Synod of Whitby in 664AD when the preferred date of the Roman - rather than the Celtic - church became the standard. The decision is said to have catapulted Britain into the European sphere of influence. Though disputes over Easter's exact timing have been used as proxies for deeper power struggles for centuries, most now accept that it falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox - which the Church approximated as March 21. This year, Easter Sunday falls on April 21, the longest stretch following March 21's full moon – which falls on a Sunday. In 2016, the Archbishop of Canterbury suggested Easter should fall on the same Sunday every year and the Most Rev Justin Welby said Anglican leaders would join discussions with other church leaders to fix the date for the first time, theoretically putting an end to almost 2,000 years of controversy. The 10 best destinations for Easter sun What do eggs have to do with Easter? Eggs illustrate new life, just as Jesus began his new life on Easter Sunday after the miracle of his resurrection. When eggs are cracked open they are said to symbolise an empty tomb. Originally, eating eggs was forbidden in the week leading up to Easter (known as Holy Week). They were saved and decorated in the run-up to the celebration and given to children as gifts. Sometimes they were coloured red, in recognition of the blood sacrificed by Jesus when he was crucified. Green was also used to symbolise spring re-growth after the winter. The first chocolate eggs appeared in France and Germany during the 19th century. As chocolate-making techniques improved, the Easter egg as we know it was popularised. Where does the Easter Bunny fit in to all of this? Rabbits and hares have been associated with spring for hundreds of years. It is thought that the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring, Eostre – who many believe the Christian event is named after – had a hare as her companion, symbolising fertility and rebirth. It’s hardly surprising that rabbits and hares have become associated with fertility as they are both prolific breeders and regularly give birth to large litters in early spring. The legend of the Easter Bunny is thought to have originated among German Lutherans, where the ‘Easter Hare’ judged whether children had been good or bad in the run-up to Easter. Easter bunnies and eggs are symbols of spring and fertility.  Over time it has been incorporated into Christian celebrations, becoming especially popular in Britain during the 19th century. Many children believe that the Easter Bunny lays and hides baskets of coloured eggs, sweets and toys in their homes or around the garden the night before Easter Sunday – much like Father Christmas delivering gifts on Christmas Eve. This has given rise to the tradition of the Easter egg hunt which is still popular among children today. Why do we eat hot cross buns? A hot cross bun is a spiced, sweet bun marked with a cross on top. They are traditionally eaten on Good Friday as the cross represents the crucifixion of Jesus, while the spices are said to remind Christians of the spices put on his body. Hot cross buns appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1733 but they are believed to have existed long before. Enriched, sweetened bread dough dates back to the Romans. Long before Christianity, loaves and buns were baked with symbols on them, one of which was a cross. Small, spiced cakes were also baked to honour the Saxon goddess Eoestre and celebrate spring, but it was the Tudors who began to link the spiced currant buns we know today with feast days, celebrations and - eventually - Lent. Delicious recipes to cook this Easter Wild garlic and parsley soup Jose Pizarro's roast rack of lamb with braised peas and lemon-thyme salsa Hot cross bun panna cotta Paul Hollywood's Easter simnel cake How is Easter celebrated around the world? In many central and eastern European countries decorating eggs with beautiful patterns is especially popular. In Switzerland, Easter eggs are delivered by a cuckoo and, in some areas of Germany, a fox. The egg-giving tradition arrived in the United States in the 18th century via protestant German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area. Traditional Easter foods from around the world On Easter Monday, the President of the United States holds an annual Easter egg roll on the lawn of the White House for young children. In the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland it is a day of remembrance for the men and women who died in the Easter Rising which began on Easter Monday 1916.

The evidence cited by seems rather tenuous. Here is what we know.

The election due on Sunday has boiled down to a three-horse race between President Petro Poroshenko, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a comedian who plays a fictional president in a popular TV series. Kiev-based Western diplomats said all three left doubt over how effectively they would pass reform, tackle corruption and keep aid flowing. "We certainly know what we get with Poroshenko," one diplomat said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller had two key questions before him: Did the Trump campaign collude with the Russian government during the 2016 election, and did President Donald Trump commit obstruction of justice? On the collusion question, Mueller provided an unambiguous "no." But on obstruction, he punted.

The British Airways flight from London City Airport was supposed to head to Duesseldorf, Germany, but ended up in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on the community of Parkland, Florida, focusing on suicide prevention programs after two survivors of a high school massacre there killed themselves (all times local):

Republicans including Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Kellyanne Conway and Donald Trump Jr. are calling for Rep. Adam Schiff's resignation.

While it was not immediately clear what was on offer across all publications, subscribing to the 300 titles would cost a whopping $8,000 per year, Apple executives said during a launch event at its Cupertino, California headquarters on Monday. "It's a good value," said Merrill Brown, a media consultant and founder of The News Project, which is building technology for news providers. Conde Nast - publisher of the New Yorker, Vogue and Wired magazines - will include the full load of stories from each print issue of its titles, plus other curated content on Apple News+.

Backed by Hollywood stars and original content, Tim Cook & Co. go all in on streaming. Will consumers subscribe to the new offerings?

The Russian planes and military personnel arrived outside the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Saturday, according to local media reports, two months after the Trump administration disavowed President Nicolas Maduro. Washington has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate president and demands that Maduro leave power, which Russia has described as a U.S.-backed coup against the socialist government. "The United States condemns Russia's deployment of military aircraft and personnel to Caracas, which is another contradiction of both Nicolas Maduro's and Russia's calls for non-intervention in Venezuela and is a reckless escalation of the situation," a State Department spokesman said.

SEATTLE/LONDON (Reuters) - A Boeing Co software fix for the grounded 737 MAX will prevent repeated operation of an anti-stall system at the centre of safety concerns and deactivate it altogether if two sensors disagree widely, two people familiar with pilot briefings said. The anti-stall system - known as MCAS, or Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System - has been pinpointed by investigators probing October's fatal Lion Air crash and faces new scrutiny in the wake of another fatal accident in Ethiopia. MCAS was designed to counter this but some experts say it overcompensated and the latest changes give some authority back to the pilot.