Tag Archives: yemen

International, U.S.

Terror Drones: May 7-13. Obama kills thousands more people than Bush Jr! German officials say some of those killed were German citizens! USAF spying on you right now!

May 12, 2012, Yemen media reporting that two U.S. drone strikes killed 16 people in Yemen.

The drone strikes are part of a Yemen military blitz underway now: “A force of about 20,000 men is taking part in this offensive, ordered by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to free the cities of Zinjibar and Jaar.”-unnamed Yemen military officer

Thousands of civilians are fleeing the government’s efforts to “free the cities”.

May 10, 2012, CNN reported that U.S. drone strikes killed eight people in Yemen.  An analyst said the U.S. has launched at least 15 drone strikes in Yemen this year, so far.

May 11, 2012, Mujahideen in Somalia say a U.S. drone strike left 38 people dead.

May 12, 2012, in Seattle, Washington, a group of university students from Pakistan won the Best Audience Award at the National Film Festival For Talented Youth (NFFTY).  Their 20 minute documentary (The Other Side) is about the ongoing U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan.  The student filmmakers were not able to attend the ceremony.

So far this year there have been at least 10 drone strikes, with at least 83 Pakistanis reported killed.

According to a May 11, 2012, report by Germany’s Deutsche Welle, peace prize winner U.S. President Barack Obama has killed more Pakistanis with drones in his first three and a half years in office, than former President George W. Bush did in all his last five years as president!

So far Obama has authorized the killing of 2,355 people in Pakistan, compared to Bush Jr’s measly 426!!!

According to Peter Rudolf, of the German Institute for International and Security Policy, German citizens have also been killed by U.S. drones.  He says German officials are looking the other way because of Germany’s support for the United States: “Certain information that would lead to the killing of a German citizen is not permitted to be shared [with public/news media] as part of the cooperation between intelligence agencies.” 

An unnamed German Interior Ministry official confirmed, in a round-a-bout way, that the U.S. was conducting extra-judicial murder and Germany had no problem with it: “Our constitutional order prohibits providing information regarding extra-judicial killing.”

May 8, 2012, the Federation of American Scientists posted on their website USAF documents that prove the U.S. Air force is spying on people who live within the United States.

As long as the imagery data they collect is considered “incidental” then they are violating no privacy laws, or civil liberties of U.S. citizens.  The data can be kept for 90 days, and shared with other agencies of the Department of Defense.

Also, USAF documents show that drones used for combat must not be operated by civil service workers, or contractors.

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Terror Drones: April 30 – May 6. Canada to use drones on its own people, new arms race. Drones on trial in U.S.

May 5, 2012, U.S. drone strike kills at least eight people in Pakistan.

May 2, 2012, U.S. drone strikes kill at least 15 people in Yemen.

From April 30 to May 6, the U.S./NATO increased airstrikes in Afghanistan.  They include the use of drones.  The result is an increasing number of civilians deaths.

May 3, 2012: U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, numb nuts Ryan Crocker, stated that the new military pact between Afghanistan and the United States could allow drone strikes to continue past 2014.

May 5, 2012: U.S. Mormon news source, Deseret News, supports the FAA issuing civilian licenses for drone operation.  Their article points out that many businesses would benefit, like photography, sports, real estate, etc.  Despite the fact that the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to issue civilian licenses, Utah State University has already been using a drone, taking pictures.

May 5, 2012: According to The Canadian Press, the Royal Canadian Air Force will expand the testing of drones to include operations by police: “We know we need to use them, and the Canadian Forces from a capability point of view are moving ahead to ensure there is domestic capability as part of its UAV program in the future.”-Lieutenant General Walter Semianiw

General Semianiw admitted the use of drones by Canadian police is to commit acts of violence: “You must remember that, in Canada, within the domestic construct, I do not have the right to be able to apply lethal force in Canada. That is the responsibility of the police.”

Canadian officials also implied that there is a drone arms race going on between the United States and Canada, by pointing out that the U.S. has military drones patrolling along the U.S.-Canadian border.

Canada has used Israeli made drones in Afghanistan.

May 4, 2012: The Seattle Times opinion piece says that since so many people use the cameras in their cell phones to take pictures of just about anything, then police using drones to take pictures of you in your back yard does not constitute invasion of privacy.

May 3, 2012: It’s the opening stage of the first trial for a U.S. citizen arrested with the use of a drone.  The man arrested was tasered several times, but local police in North Dakota called in a Predator drone because they were concerned for their safety!

What happens at this trial could affect how drones are used by police against the citizens of the U.S.: “There is, furthermore, no existing case law that bars their use in investigating crimes.”-Douglas Manbeck, ND state prosecutor

 

 

International, Technology, U.S.

Terror Drones: April 23-29. Pakistan hit. Taliban claim capture of drone. U.S. cops chomping at the bit for their new drones. U.S. politicians taking food from hungry children to build more drones! CIA protected by law.

“The American planes hovering in the skies for quite some time fired at least three missiles at a house in Zafar town in Miran Shah bazaar that damaged the compound completely….They did not appear to be the local militants.”-unnamed local official

April 29, 2012, a U.S. assassination drone killed at least three people in Pakistan.

The attack took place in North Waziristan (within the Waziristan region), dozens of people were wounded.

Also on April 29, a U.S. drone crashed in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.  Mujahideen claim they shot it down and have recovered the wreckage.

“We want (police) to be able to use the aircraft sooner because there is a public interest.”-Ben Gielow, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International

According to a Boston Herald report, U.S. police are chomping at the bit for their FAA issued drone licenses.

“Rushing to push through applications to fly drones doesn’t seem like a good idea.”-Jennifer Lynch, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Many police departments say they have already bought small drones, claiming they are to be used to find missing people.  Until now rules did not allow them to legally use them.  Federal Aviation Administration will have new rules in place by May 14, allowing your local police to legally spy on you with drones.

What’s interesting is that some “law” enforcement agencies have already been caught operating drones.

“….instead of having a caucus to feed preschool children, they decided it was more important to have a Drone Caucus and that’s because all the manufacturers in their districts are funding them.” also “Eisenhower was so right, and he was so right when he said it steals money, it robs us of food for our children, of healthcare for our parents, he was so right. And it’s just worse and worse.”-Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK

Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, revealed that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection are operating Predator-B drones, from North Dakota and now into Washington state.  They claim to be watching the Canadian border for criminal activity.

Down Mexico way, some people are questioning the effectiveness of Predator drones used on that border.

According to stltoday.com: “…Homeland Security officials who have spent six years and more than $250 million building the nation’s largest fleet of domestic surveillance drones. The nine Predators that help police America’s borders have yet to be very useful in stopping contraband or illegal immigrants.”

Washington Post reported on April 25 that President Barack Obama has authorized the CIA to use drones to kill people, even if they can’t tell who it is they’re killing.  The new drone policy is called “signature” strikes.

On April 10, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s Stephen W. Preston, gave a speech which explained why the Obama administration is so gung ho on allowing the CIA, and not the military, to operate the assassination drones. Supposedly traditional “laws of war” do not apply to intelligence agencies.

According to Preston, the CIA answers only to U.S. laws, and those laws favor the CIA: “The courts have long recognized the state secrets privilege and have consistently upheld its proper invocation to protect intelligence sources and methods from disclosure. Moreover, federal judges have dismissed cases on justiciability or political question grounds, acknowledging that the courts are, at times, institutionally ill-equipped and constitutionally incapable of reviewing national security decisions committed to the President and the political branches.”

Speaking of Yemen, the Associated Press revealed that a Yemen Mujahideen claimed to have killed by CIA drone strike last year, is actually alive and well.

April 24, a top FBI official was in Yemen, just two days after a CIA drone strike killed what Yemen officials claim was a top militant “leader”.

Mohammed Al-Basha, Yemen’s embassy spokesman in Washington DC, revealed that the FBI is also involved with drone strikes in Yemen: “Mueller visits Yemen on an annual basis so this is not a special or secret occasion. President Hadi emphasised that he is strongly committed to combatting extremism and working with the U.S. to counter the mutual threat of terrorism.”

FBI director Robert Mueller vowed to crush the Yemen Mujahideen.

April 27, at least 22 people were killed by U.S. drone strikes in Somalia.

 

Technology

Terror Drones: April 16-22, Iran copies Stealth Drone shares info with Russia & China. Seattle & Ogden using drones. Illinois National Guard RQ-7B. CIA wants to kill everyone!

April 22, 2012, Iranian military officials announced they have successfully reverse engineered the RQ-170 Sentinel stealth UAV, captured from the United States in December last year.

Iranian officials gave several clues to prove they recovered data from the aircraft’s computers.

1: Drone parts had been transferred to California for technical work in October 2010. The drone was later transferred to Kandahar, Afghanistan in November 2010.

2: The drone had experienced some technical flaws in its Kandahar flight in November, but U.S. experts failed resolve the problems. The RQ-170 was then sent back to an airfield near Los Angeles in December 2010, for tests on its censors and parts. The drone had a number of test flights there.

3: The spy drone’s memory revealed that it had flown over Al-Qaeda Leader Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan two weeks before his death.

“Had we not accessed the plane’s soft wares and hard discs, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve these facts.”-Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Forces

Iranian officials also confirmed that Russia and China are requesting that Iran share the info recovered from the RQ-170 Sentinel.  Iranian officials said many countries were asking for details on the U.S. stealth drone, but Russian and China had are being most insistent.

To show you how stupid U.S. officials are, U.S. Senator (and warmonger) Joe Lieberman called the claims “Iranian bluster.”

Facts are that during the 1980s Iran reverse engineered every U.S. and British weapons system they had, including the F-14 Tomcat and its Phoenix missiles!

Of course the Soviets helped. The proof is the fact that by the end of the 1980s the Soviets had exact copies of U.S. air to air missiles, including the Phoenix, as well as the radar system used on the F-14!

Iran has been building their own “new builds” of F-5s (including a twin tail version), F-14s (one British intelligence source had counted the number of F-14s Iran now has and concluded that the amount could only be explained by Iran building their own Tomcats), as well as developing their own medium altitude anti-aircraft missile based on the U.S. Hawk system.

Iran’s own Main Battle Tank (MBT), the Zolfaqar-3, is the result of combining technologies from U.S. M60 tank, British Chieftain tank and the Soviet/Russian T-72.  In other words; the Iranians are more than capable of reverse engineering the RQ-170 Sentinel stealth UAV.

April 21, Illinois National Guard has been operating UAVs within the U.S.  The unit is called Shadow Platoon and operates RQ-7B drones.

April 19, reports out of Pakistan said the United States is considering allowing Pakistani military to jointly operate U.S. assassination drones.

On April 19, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has officially requested for permission to kill anyone in Yemen!

According to an unnamed U.S. source, the CIA wants expanded authority to kill, even when it does not know the identities of those who could be killed!  Apparently it is because U.S. assassination drone operators are having a hard time telling who’s the bad guy in Yemen!

U.S. Secretary of Defense, numb nuts Leon Panetta, flat out lied and said all the people killed by drones were planning on attacking the United States:  “Our target there represents those terrorists, or those al-Qaida terrorists that involve a threat to this country, and there are very specific targets. This is not broad based. We are not becoming part of any kind of civil war disputes in that country. We are very precise, and very targeted and will remain pursuant to those operations.”

An international legal expert countered by stating the drone strikes are a violation of international law:  “In other words, the CIA is seeking to escalate an already unlawful campaign of targeted killing at the very time Yemen needs support building the rule of law and ending violence and military conflict. The last time the CIA had this much freedom to kill was in Vietnam. It killed 25,000 people, and the U.S. lost the war!”-Mary Ellen O’Connell, American Society of International Law

April 18, U.S. drones killed five people in Yemen.

April 17, U.S. drones kill 31 people in Somalia.

April 16, three people killed by U.S. terror drone strike in Yemen.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved a license for the Seattle Police Department to operate UAVs.  The approval was signed by President Obama back in February.

Since 2006, the FAA has issued as many as 750 UAV licenses, or permits, to 56 local governments through out the country. It took a lawsuit by the Electronic Frountier Foundation to force the FAA to reveal who is getting the permits.

Out of the 56, 22 are law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.  23 have law enforcement duties, such as universities who’s campus police are using the drones.

Here’s a short list of U.S. police departments licensed to operate UAVs: Arlington, Texas; North Little Rock, Arkansas; Queen Anne’s County, Maryland; FBI; Gadsden PD; Georgia Tech PD; Mesa County, Colorado; Miami-Dade, Florida; Montgomery County, Texas; Ogden, Utah; Polk County, Florida; Otter Tail County, Minnesota; Herington, Kansas.

 

 

 

International, U.S.

Terror Drones: April 9-15, Pakistani official says he will shoot down U.S. drones

April 15, 2012, Pakistani politician and activist, Imran Khan Niazi, said if he were Prime Minister he would shoot down any U.S. drone found over Pakistan.  Khan re-enforced his statement by saying that even if it were an “angel”, if it was wearing a military uniform he would shoot it down.

Khan blamed deteriorating conditions in Pakistan on the United States: “It is time we must separate ourselves from U.S. slavery and the war which has caused tremendous loss to us. Due to this war, we have not only faced terrorism but the menace of sectarianism is also on the rise…”

April 14, 2012, a U.S. drone strike killed seven people in the town of al-Zahar.  Yemeni officials said the people were anti-government Mujahideen.

April 12, 35 people were killed in Somalia, after two U.S. drone attacks.   Somali officials say the drone attacks were against two Mujahideen training bases, one near Mogadishu the other near Afgoye.

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: Saudi oil pipeline blown up in Yemen, again. Yemen in full blown Civil War

“…an armed group fired more than three rocket propelled grenades on the pipeline, setting it on fire for the second time in less than two weeks.”-unnamed witness

For the second time this month, an oil pipeline, belonging to Saudi Nimir Petroleum Company, was blown up in Yemen.  April 11, 2012, a pipeline carrying crude oil from Shabwa to the Bir Ali terminal on the Gulf of Aden was blown up.  It was last attacked on April 2.

This latest attack on the pipeline came one day after anti-government Mujahideen launched a full blown attack against a U.S. supported Yemen army base.  Officials, and local elders, say 60 soldiers were killed,  and 54 Mujahideen were killed.

The Yemen Mujahideen also blew up a natural gas pipeline on March 30.

 

 

 

 

International, Technology, U.S.

Terror Drones: April 2-8, U.S. to quadruple assassination drone attacks

The Washington Post reporting that the United States did indeed spy on Iran using UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles, aka drones).

The report says the National Security Agency has at least three years worth of drone surveillance data on Iran. The program is being run by the Central Intelligence Agency’s Iran Operations Division (aka Persia House).

April 7, Yemen military officials say a U.S. drone strike killed 24 anti-government Mujahideen in two locations.  They say some of those killed were foreign Arabs.

There are several anti-government groups in Yemen, two are called Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and Partisans of Sharia.

Reports this past week say that the continued use of drones in Yemen could draw the U.S. into a full blown civil war: ”The more the U.S. applies its current policy, the stronger Al Qaeda seems to get.”–Charles Schmitz, American Institute of Yemen Studies

“Drones are a weapon of terror in many ways, and the kind of hostility this is going to breed may not be worth the counter-terrorism gains.”-Barbara Bodine, former U.S. ambassador to Yemen

“Heavily armed American soldiers have begun appearing in large numbers at the Sheraton Hotel in the capital, Sana, a Yemeni official said.“-Los Angeles Times

Also on April 7, Israeli forces attacked Gaza Strip with drones. Israeli officials said they targeted two men on a motorcycle in the town of Rafah: “Aircraft thwarted a rocket launch in the southern Gaza Strip.”-IDF statement

Despite claiming to have “thwarted” a rocket launch by Palestinians, two rockets were launched at Israel the next morning, April 8.

April 6, “An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in northern Afghanistan…”-ISAF statement

No further details were presented.  Some reports also said a NATO helicopter crashed in the same area, but it might be witnesses confusing the rotary wing drone for a manned helicopter.

There are conflicting reports about drone operations ending in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  Most reports say drone operations will end after 2014, but there is a report that says assassination drones (aka MQ 9 Reapers) will actually quadruple their terror activity until 2016!

The report says the Reapers will operate from Australia’s Cocos Islands: “But don’t expect the worldwide drone war now being waged in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen to wind down. To the contrary, an Air Force announcement posted online this week indicates the Pentagon anticipates more than quadrupling the size of the global drone war over the next four years.”-Salon, Air Force ramps up drone war

April 5, the U.S. puppet government of Somalia stated to the United Nations that they have given the U.S. permission to use drones against their own people.

“I’m not going to get into matters that relate to intelligence. I will say that the United States has been and remains extremely focused-as do all members of the international community-on combating the terrorist threat that Al Shabaab poses, as an active threat not only to Somali but to the people of the region and beyond, in particular, given its active affiliation with Al Qaeda.“-Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the UN

April 3, a U.S. drone crashed and exploded in Somalia.  The drone went down near the town of El-Bur, which is considered a stronghold of the anti-Western government Mujahidden group called al-Shabaab.  However, the residents of the town say al-Shabaab fighters left the town on March 24.

 

International, Technology, U.S.

Terror Drones: March 26 – April 1, U.S. killing their own

The United States continues to increase drone attacks in the Arabian Peninsula country of Yemen.

On March 30, 2012, at least five people were killed, and a natural gas pipeline was blown up after a U.S. drone strike near Shabwa.

Official U.S. statements say they targeted “suspected” al Qaeda militants, one missile hit a car, the other missile hit a building.  Witnesses say a another vehicle was struck, killing everyone inside.  It was an entire family.  U.S. officials have no comment.

There are also reports that a drone attack hit a natural gas pipeline. U.S. officials claim the “suspected” militants blew up the pipeline after the drone strike.

According to Australia’s Brisbane Times, the United States has dramatically increased the use of drones in Yemen.  In May 2011, Peaceprize winner, Barack Obama, ordered an increase of drone strikes.  The result was at least 26 drone strikes in Yemen (keep in mind that officially the U.S. wasn’t supposed to be involved in Yemen).  Now, since January 2012 there have been at least nine drone strikes, five just in the month of March 2012.

It’s not just the number of drone strikes, the number of people being killed in each drone strike is going up as well.  London’s City University, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, reports that as many as 516 people have been killed in Yemen, with as many as 105 confirmed as civilians (including five pregnant women and 22 children), not “suspected” militants.

Another issue is the fact that many parts of Yemen are without electrical power.  The main reason is that power plants are repeatedly targeted, by U.S. and anti-government Mujahideen.

The latest case involves families who lost loved ones due to U.S. drone strikes. They are now attacking power stations demanding compensation for the loss of their relatives: “Victims of U.S. drone strikes constituted that the majority of locals attacked the electricity supply because their demands for compensation after the attack were not addressed.”-Saeed Ali al-Yousifi, The Yemen Observer

On March 25, 2012, the power station in Marib Province was attacked and shut down by an angry mob.  The angry crowd included people who had been victims of past drone attacks, including the family of a young man who lost both legs in a May, 2010, U.S. drone attack.

On March 31, the United States attacked the northeastern African country of Somalia, with drones. A Somali official, Hussein Mohamed Uraag, says several missiles were fired into the western portion of the city of Mogadishu.  At least 18 people were killed.

In South Asia, despite demands from Pakistan’s parliament, to stop drone attacks, on March 30 the U.S. destroyed a house with a drone strike.  At least four people were killed.

The attack took place in North Waziristan, officials say the targeted people were from Uzbekistan.

On April 1, the Pakistani Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS), announced that they will tie the ending of U.S. drone attacks to continued support for U.S./NATO supply convoys through Pakistan.

Pakistani Army Chief General, Ashfraq Pervez Kayani, said NATO has so far not contacted the Pakistani military regarding renewed support for U.S./NATO/ISAF supply convoys.

Pakistani Senator, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, said NATO should not be allowed to transport weapons through Pakistan, and that all other supplies will be allowed only if the United States stops drone attacks.

Maulana Abdul Maalik Wazir, National Assembly of Pakistan, said all NATO supply routes should be shut down, no more negotiating!

Pakistani Senator, Mudassir Sehar Kamran, demanded the United States pay for past damages caused by U.S. drone strikes!

On March 29, it was reported that Australia will be arming it’s troops in the Central Asian country of Afghanistan, with more surveillance drones.

It’s called the Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS), and was first used by the U.S. in the Middle Eastern country of Iraq.  It is used for recon purposes.  It’s still used by U.S. forces.

April 6, 2012, will be the year anniversary of the first known case of U.S. forces killing two of their own with a Predator terror drone strike: “The two-man Predator crew responsible for this particular airstrike not only destroyed a young Navy corpsman’s life but also destroyed the lives of his entire family.”-Robert Rast, father of one of the victims

On April 6, 2011, a U.S. Navy corpsman, and a USMC Staff Sergeant, were killed in Afghanistan by a USAF Captain operating a Predator drone from his base in Nevada!

A 385 page report puts the blame on the U.S. Air Force for failing to communicate with U.S. Marines on the ground in Afghanistan: “Information was available to the Predator crew that potentially could have increased the commander’s understanding of the situation, but this information was not communicated to Marines on the ground who were directing the attack….In the final analysis the chain of events that led to Staff Sgt. Smith and (Hospitalman) Rast being targeted and ultimately killed by friendly fire was initiated by the on-scene ground force commander’s lack of overall situational awareness and the inability to accurately communicate his friendly force disposition with respect to the enemy.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Yemen & Bahrain

March 22, 2012, The Associated Press reported that U.S. Navy ships shelled the city of Zinjibar, in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan.  USN officials claim they were attacking “al-Qaeda” forces.  29 people were killed.

Reports say the USN shelling was done over a 24 hour period.  However, other Western media sources say the U.S. Navy is now denying they attacked the city of Zinjibar.

March 24, 2012, Chinese media reporting that Yemeni Mujahideen have taken control of the city of Azzan in Shabwa Province.  An unnamed city official says most of the Mujahideen are foreigners, but are supported by residents: “Some local residents are from the al Qaeda wing and accept the terrorists to enter their town without any resistance.”

The fighters are known as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The current government of Yemen is still controlled by the United States.  The new president was “elected” in an election that was held on such short notice that most Yemenis didn’t get to vote.

More people protesting the U.S. puppet government of Bahrain have been killed and raped by police, and Saudi Arabian forces.

The latest death was a woman in her fifties was killed by tear gas.  Also, a 16 year old boy was found lying in the streets, unconscious, with his hands tied behind his back and his pants pulled down.

Locals say Saudi forces left him there after they pulled out of the neighborhood.

“We have been receiving worrying reports of the disproportionate use of force by Bahraini security forces, including the excessive use of tear gas, the use of birdshot pellets and rubber bullets.”-Rupert Colville, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

On March 23, 2012, Police attacked the funeral procession for the woman who died from tear gas.  Teenagers responded to the police with a challenge:  “Come and fight hand to hand, you cowards, you animals!”

By the way, the tear gas used by the Saudi and Bahraini forces is made in the United States, by a company called Combined Systems.

At the end of 2011, Physicians for Human Rights tested some of the tear gas and found that it “…may be using unidentified chemical agents…”

Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. citizen killed in Yemen, anti-U.S. protests rage, foreign teachers being targeted

March 18, 2012, as protest against the U.S. puppet government of Yemen rage on, a U.S. citizen is assassinated.

Witnesses say two men on a motorcycle shot and killed the director of the Swedish Language Center, located in the city of Taez.  The director is a U.S. citizen.

This follows the kidnapping of a teacher from Switzerland on Friday, March 16.