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- Stage set for impeachment after Pence dismisses House call to invoke 25th amendment
- Lisa Montgomery: US carries out first federal execution of a woman in nearly seven decades
- Coronavirus live news: US sees record 4,327 deaths reported in one day; Japan extends state of emergency
- Top scientists warn of 'ghastly future of mass extinction' and climate disruption
- 'Brazilian horror story': internet melts down over sculptor's peculiar waxworks
- 'Like torture’: Calais police accused of continued migrant rights abuses
- Estonian government collapses over corruption investigation
- German CDU on verge of electing divisive figure to replace Angela Merkel
- Italy's largest mafia trial in three decades to begin against 'Ndrangheta
- 'Untouchable' Bollywood poster provokes outrage over caste stereotypes
- 'Always for law and order': Chuck Norris denies being at Capitol attack after image goes viral
- Tokyo 2020 head says 'impossible' to delay Olympics as public opposition grows
- Australia's chief medical officer defends AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine amid efficacy concerns
- New Zealand jobs market bounces back close to pre-pandemic levels
- Ontario declares emergency as coronavirus surge swamps hospitals
- Master brewer: the woman excelling in Japan's male world of sake
- Why are ocean warming records being broken year after year?
- 'The music industry kills artists': Damso, Belgium's biggest rap star
- Wole Soyinka: 'One casualty of the Capitol riot will be Uganda's election'
- 'Weird is good': Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen on superhero sitcom WandaVision
- 'The humanity of black characters is often forgotten': behind Oscar-tipped One Night in Miami
- Duchess of York’s first novel to be published by Mills & Boon
- UK spent £2.4m to help Saudi Arabia comply with international law
- Trump impeachment: House to debate charge of 'incitement of insurrection' – live
- Brazilian waxwork figures go viral after old video report is unearthed on social media – video
- Philippines' Taal volcano, one year on – in pictures
- Two people drown and five rescued off Victoria's Mornington Peninsula
- PlayStation 5 launch gets more coverage 'than 10 humanitarian crises combined'
- Capitol invader's organic food request should be the least of our worries | Poppy Noor
- 'A dark week': Nancy Pelosi pushes to remove Trump – video
- 'Sedition and conspiracy': prosecutors cite wide-ranging crimes in Capitol attack – video
- Republican politician opens Oregon capitol door for far-right rioters – video
- Footage shows Florida manatee with word 'Trump' etched into back – video
- Dalai Lama says he ‘felt real hope’ after hearing Greta Thunberg speak on climate crisis - video
| Stage set for impeachment after Pence dismisses House call to invoke 25th amendment Posted: 12 Jan 2021 06:44 PM PST Vice-president's refusal paves the way for the House to move forward with impeachment The US House of Representatives has voted to formally call on the vice-president, Mike Pence, to invoke the 25th amendment and strip Donald Trump of his presidential authority after Trump incited a mob that led a deadly assault on the US Capitol last week. Continue reading... |
| Lisa Montgomery: US carries out first federal execution of a woman in nearly seven decades Posted: 12 Jan 2021 11:26 PM PST Lisa Montgomery pronounced dead on Wednesday morning after supreme court cleared path for her death A Kansas woman was executed early on Wednesday, the first time in nearly seven decades that the US government has put to death a female inmate. Lisa Montgomery, 52, was pronounced dead at 1.31am after receiving a lethal injection at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. She was the 11th prisoner to receive a lethal injection there since July when Donald Trump, an ardent supporter of capital punishment, resumed federal executions after a 17-year hiatus. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 13 Jan 2021 02:54 AM PST Johns Hopkins tracker shows shocking figure; restrictions to spread beyond Tokyo to include Osaka and Kyoto
Data on the highly contagious Covid-19 variant identified in England do not suggest that vaccines will be less effective against it, while data on the South African variant should be available within weeks, a top British vaccines expert said. "We have the most data on the UK variant. That doesn't suggest that it will be any less well protected against by the vaccine," Wei Shen Lim, chair of Covid-19 Immunisation on Britain's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said in remarks reported by Reuters.
The daily number of COVID-19 cases in the United Arab Emirates has crossed the 3,000 threshold for the first time as authorities in the Middle East's business and tourism hub urged people to accept vaccinations. The health ministry late on Tuesday reported 3,243 new daily infections and six deaths, Reuters said. That was the highest in the Gulf Arab region where daily cases in each of the other five states have fallen below 500. Continue reading... |
| Top scientists warn of 'ghastly future of mass extinction' and climate disruption Posted: 12 Jan 2021 09:01 PM PST Sobering new report says world is failing to grasp the extent of threats posed by biodiversity loss and the climate crisis The planet is facing a "ghastly future of mass extinction, declining health and climate-disruption upheavals" that threaten human survival because of ignorance and inaction, according to an international group of scientists, who warn people still haven't grasped the urgency of the biodiversity and climate crises. The 17 experts, including Prof Paul Ehrlich from Stanford University, author of The Population Bomb, and scientists from Mexico, Australia and the US, say the planet is in a much worse state than most people – even scientists – understood. Continue reading... |
| 'Brazilian horror story': internet melts down over sculptor's peculiar waxworks Posted: 12 Jan 2021 01:11 PM PST Images of Arlindo Armacollo's figures went viral after users unearthed video report about their exhibition in church The first household name Arlindo Armacollo smothered in beeswax was Mother Teresa. Then came Albert Einstein, Pope John Paul II and a string of global luminaries who the entrepreneur-turned-artist admired. "It might look simple, but to achieve this richness of detail was hard work," a local television reporter gushed during a 2015 visit to Armacollo's waxwork collection in southern Brazil. "The artist wanted to capture the character as well as the soul of each person." Continue reading... |
| 'Like torture’: Calais police accused of continued migrant rights abuses Posted: 12 Jan 2021 10:00 PM PST Relentless and escalating programme of refugee evictions amounts to a campaign of harassment, say activists Shortly before sunrise on 9 January, about 40 officers and officials gathered outside Calais police station as temperatures dipped to -3C (26.6F). Shortly after, in a well-drilled procedure, a nine-vehicle convoy started down the road towards the first of five forced evictions of makeshift refugee camps planned for that morning. When the convoy arrived at the camp, just a few miles from the city centre, masked police in black uniforms chased refugees away from their tents and belongings. Some of the other 150 refugees who had been sheltering at the camp had already packed and fled before authorities arrived. Soon the camp was empty; frost-covered sleeping bags and jackets were all that remained. Continue reading... |
| Estonian government collapses over corruption investigation Posted: 13 Jan 2021 02:47 AM PST Prime minister resigns after party named as suspect in inquiry into property project Estonia's prime minister has resigned after police and prosecutors launched an investigation into an alleged corruption scandal involving his left-leaning Centre party related to a property development. Jüri Ratas, the prime minister since 2016, handed his resignation letter to the president on Wednesday, local media reported, bringing down the centre-right coalition government he heads that also includes a far-right party. Continue reading... |
| German CDU on verge of electing divisive figure to replace Angela Merkel Posted: 12 Jan 2021 10:00 PM PST Millionaire lawyer Friedrich Merz is favourite to take centre-right into federal elections When Angela Merkel steps down as chancellor this September, she will leave behind a conservative party that has been a practically unchallenged political force in Germany for 16 years and currently leads political polls by a towering 15 percentage points. And yet the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) may thank her this Saturday by electing as its new leader one of her longest-standing political rivals, a man who represents a return to the pre-Merkel past not just in terms of ideological values but also style of leadership. Continue reading... |
| Italy's largest mafia trial in three decades to begin against 'Ndrangheta Posted: 12 Jan 2021 09:00 PM PST High-security 1,000-capacity courtroom has been built in Calabria, with cages to hold the defendants Italy's largest mafia trial in three decades will begin on Wednesday, with 900 witnesses testifying against more than 350 people, including politicians and officials charged with being members of the powerful 'Ndrangheta. A high-security 1,000-capacity courtroom with cages to hold the defendants has been built by Italian authorities in the Calabrian city of Lamezia Terme. Continue reading... |
| 'Untouchable' Bollywood poster provokes outrage over caste stereotypes Posted: 12 Jan 2021 10:30 PM PST Upper-caste actor playing Dalit politician Mayawati shown dishevelled and holding broom in publicity for new film A picture of a woman holding a broom. Anywhere else, the image might pass unnoticed. But in India the poster for the film Madam Chief Minister, loosely based on the life of politician Mayawati, who is a Dalit, has triggered uproar for perpetuating caste stereotypes. Bollywood actor Richa Chadha, who plays Mayawati, tweeted an image of the poster ahead of the film's release later this month. She is shown looking dishevelled and holding the kind of large broom used by municipal roadsweepers. The tagline of the poster reads: Untouchable, Unstoppable. Continue reading... |
| 'Always for law and order': Chuck Norris denies being at Capitol attack after image goes viral Posted: 12 Jan 2021 05:29 PM PST Martial artist and actor says there is 'no room for violence of any kind in our society' after lookalike image sparks speculation Chuck Norris, the Hollywood actor, martial arts legend and occasional meme, has publicly denied being at last week's Capitol riot after images circulated online showing a man with a remarkable resemblance. "It wasn't me and I wasn't there. There is no room for violence of any kind in our society. I am and always will be for Law and Order," tweeted the actor, taking a stance his law-enforcing character in Walker, Texas Ranger, might have been proud of. Continue reading... |
| Tokyo 2020 head says 'impossible' to delay Olympics as public opposition grows Posted: 12 Jan 2021 10:17 PM PST Japanese poll on Wednesday finds just 16% think Games should go ahead this year but Tokyo committee chief says preparations will continue The president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, Yoshiro Mori, has said preparations for the summer Olympics will continue, despite growing doubts that the Games can be held while the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage. Mori, a former Japanese prime minister, said postponing the Games a second time would be "absolutely impossible". Continue reading... |
| Australia's chief medical officer defends AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine amid efficacy concerns Posted: 12 Jan 2021 06:56 PM PST Australia has secured 54m doses of the vaccine some experts say is inferior to Pfizer's mRNA vaccine, which Australia has bought just 10m doses of Australia's chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, and infectious diseases experts have defended securing 54m doses of a Covid-19 vaccine made by Oxford University and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, amid concerns the vaccine will not be effective enough to achieve herd immunity. The president of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology, Prof Stephen Turner, told Nine media that Australia should halt the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout because it has "lower efficacy". Continue reading... |
| New Zealand jobs market bounces back close to pre-pandemic levels Posted: 12 Jan 2021 07:21 PM PST Country's biggest job advertising website reports 19% growth in jobs, after remarkable economic recovery in December Job vacancies are booming in New Zealand since the country contained an outbreak of the coronavirus with a hard lockdown in early 2020. The country's biggest job advertising site, Seek, has reported a 19% national growth in jobs advertised in the final quarter of 2020, and the number of job ads on the website has bounced back to nearly pre-pandemic levels. Continue reading... |
| Ontario declares emergency as coronavirus surge swamps hospitals Posted: 12 Jan 2021 11:58 AM PST Canada's most populous province on track to see tenfold increase in daily case count within weeks Ontario has declared an emergency after the latest modelling put Canada's most populous province on track to have more than 20,000 new Covid-19 cases a day by the middle of February – a nearly tenfold increase from the current count. Ontario, which is battling a coronavirus surge that has swamped its hospitals and triggered a province-wide lockdown, could also see roughly 1,500 more deaths in its long-term care homes through mid-February under a worst-case scenario, according to modeling from experts advising the government. Continue reading... |
| Master brewer: the woman excelling in Japan's male world of sake Posted: 12 Jan 2021 09:00 PM PST Miho Imada has won international acclaim as a tôji, or master brewer of the traditional Japanese tipple As a child, Miho Imada promised herself she would never perform "women's work" to support her family's sake brewery. She saw how her mother juggled looking after five children with cooking three meals a day for groups of visiting seasonal workers, and devoted what little time she had left to doing the accounts. "I never saw my mother sleep, and she never seemed to catch a cold," Imada said. "She was always working. I thought 'there's no way I'm going to do that.'" Continue reading... |
| Why are ocean warming records being broken year after year? Posted: 13 Jan 2021 01:00 AM PST If you want to understand global heating, you have to measure and examine ocean warming trends As if 2020 could get any worse, the latest research showed that oceans hit their highest recorded temperatures, a record that keeps getting broken year after year. Why are the oceans so important? It is quite simple: almost all of the extra heat we gain because of greenhouse gases ultimately ends up in the oceans. In fact, the oceans absorb more than 90% of the excess heat. Consequently, if you want to understand global warming, you have to measure ocean warming. Continue reading... |
| 'The music industry kills artists': Damso, Belgium's biggest rap star Posted: 13 Jan 2021 02:30 AM PST With multi-platinum No 1 albums featuring tracks about suicide and the psychology of paedophiles, the Congolese-Belgian MC has carved his own lane with total determination 'The questions that I ask myself about death aren't about dying, they're about death in this life." Damso doesn't really do small talk. Engaging and magnetic even through a computer screen, the 28-year-old Congolese-Belgian rapper is sporting a flamboyant shirt and a considerable amount of jewellery as he ponders the nature of existence. "There are people who are alive, but live like they're dead," he says. "They don't strive to go further. But I know life is really short because I've seen people die just like that, in the street. So this question speaks to me: how can we be absent from our own lives?" This is Damso's first interview for an English-speaking audience, but we barely mention any of the achievements his team send over to illustrate how successful he is. When his fourth album, QALF, dropped in September 2020 without a whisper of promotion, it generated 14m streams in 24 hours, making him the most streamed artist in the world that day. "The music won," he says simply. Continue reading... |
| Wole Soyinka: 'One casualty of the Capitol riot will be Uganda's election' Posted: 12 Jan 2021 09:00 PM PST One of Africa's most prominent literary figures says the election will be crucial for the continent Global outrage at the storming of the US Capitol risks diverting attention from repression by Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, the Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka has said on the eve of Uganda's election. Soyinka, a Nobel laureate and one of Africa's most prominent literary figures, described Thursday's election as "crucial for the African continent", and called for the 76-year-old Museveni and other older African leaders to step aside for a younger generation. Continue reading... |
| 'Weird is good': Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen on superhero sitcom WandaVision Posted: 13 Jan 2021 12:00 AM PST She's a chaos magician. He's a density-changing synthezoid. Are Scarlet Witch and Vision really classic sitcom material? The stars of Marvel's foray into TV reveal how it all came about Marvel's 2020 should have gone much differently. Its Black Widow movie and The Eternals should both have been released last year, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings imminent. But the pandemic struck and now all three have been booted into the middle distance. And so it has now been 18 months since we last heard from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, when Avengers Endgame became the highest-grossing movie ever. And in that vacuum, the question of what happens next has only grown more intense. But the answer might not be what anybody expected. Marvel is about to break its silence with WandaVision – and it's a huge departure. Not only is it the first TV show produced by Marvel Studios, it is also presented in the form of a half-hour sitcom. It is no exaggeration to call WandaVision the weirdest thing Marvel has ever done. "Weird is good," says Marvel Studio president Kevin Feige from beneath his trademark baseball cap. "I like weird. After Endgame, after the completion of a 23-movie Infinity Saga, we were soul-searching about what was coming next. WandaVision being our first for Disney+ is perfect. It was always about pushing the boundaries of storytelling, doing something we could only do with the narrative structure of television." Continue reading... |
| 'The humanity of black characters is often forgotten': behind Oscar-tipped One Night in Miami Posted: 12 Jan 2021 11:22 PM PST In an acclaimed new film, the story of a night between four major figures – Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali – is brought to life One thing is certain: vanilla ice cream was eaten. The rest? If only we knew. The year is 1964 and activist Malcolm X, singer-songwriter Sam Cooke and American football player Jim Brown gather in Miami, Florida, to cheer boxer Muhammad Ali – then Cassius Clay – to his first world heavyweight championship. No celebration is planned because he was not expected to win, so the four repair to Malcolm's hotel room in the segregated African American part of town. Continue reading... |
| Duchess of York’s first novel to be published by Mills & Boon Posted: 13 Jan 2021 02:13 AM PST Sarah Ferguson says historical tale Her Heart for a Compass is inspired by experiences in her own life The Duchess of York has landed a book deal with the romantic fiction publisher Mills & Boon, revealing that she "drew on many parallels from my life" for the historical tale. Sarah Ferguson's debut novel, Her Heart for a Compass, will be released in August and tells a fictional account of the life and love story of her great-great-aunt, Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott. Continue reading... |
| UK spent £2.4m to help Saudi Arabia comply with international law Posted: 12 Jan 2021 10:00 PM PST Over the last four years, the Gulf state has been accused of bombing and killing Yemeni civilians Britain spent £2.4m over the last four years to help Saudi Arabia's military comply with international humanitarian law – during which time the Gulf state has been accused of indiscriminately bombing and killing Yemeni civilians. The figures – obtained via parliamentary questions – are the first time the UK has detailed the amount spent via secretive funds to the kingdom, prompting a campaign group to say British taxpayers were backing the country's military. Continue reading... |
| Trump impeachment: House to debate charge of 'incitement of insurrection' – live Posted: 13 Jan 2021 02:48 AM PST Third-ranking GOP member in House, Liz Cheney, says she'll vote to impeach
The US supreme court has reinstated a requirement that women visit a hospital or clinic to obtain a drug used for medication-induced abortions, lifting an order by a lower court allowing the drug to be posted or delivered during the coronavirus pandemic. The justices granted a request by the Trump administration to lift a federal judge's July order that had suspended the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) rule requiring in-person visits. Related: US supreme court reinstates restrictions on abortion pill
Prominent lawyers who helped fuel Donald Trump's baseless charges of election fraud to try and thwart Joe Biden's win, are now facing potentially serious legal and financial problems of their own tied to their aggressive echoing of Trump's false election claims, say former Department of Justice lawyers and legal experts. They include a federal investigation into the Capitol attack by a pro-Trump mob, possible disbarment and a defamation lawsuit. Continue reading... |
| Brazilian waxwork figures go viral after old video report is unearthed on social media – video Posted: 12 Jan 2021 08:33 PM PST The human form has inspired artists for centuries for both its beauty and challenges. Now a Brazilian septuagenarian sculptor has won a surprise newfound notoriety for his celebrity waxworks. Six years after it was filmed, a local TV story on an exhibit by Arlindo Armacollo has gone viral for the distorted depictions and the gushing reporter's commentary. Armacollo's work is the latest in an increasingly long list of celebrity sculptures that have gained fame for not quite nailing the brief Continue reading... |
| Philippines' Taal volcano, one year on – in pictures Posted: 12 Jan 2021 11:00 PM PST When Taal volcano, a popular tourist site in Batangas, erupted a year ago 5,000 people fled the island. It's still considered dangerous. The government bans former residents from returning but some still live there in tents Continue reading... |
| Two people drown and five rescued off Victoria's Mornington Peninsula Posted: 13 Jan 2021 02:07 AM PST One woman drowned and five were rescued after a group of people were swept off rocks at Bushrangers Bay near Cape Schanck Two people are dead after separate drownings on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, while a child is fighting for life following another waterside emergency in Melbourne's outer south-east. In one incident, four people were swept off rocks at Bushrangers Bay near Cape Schanck, close to the southern-most point of the peninsula, about 3.30pm on Wednesday. Continue reading... |
| PlayStation 5 launch gets more coverage 'than 10 humanitarian crises combined' Posted: 12 Jan 2021 06:40 AM PST Charity says the media is failing countries by underreporting humanitarian emergencies, with women suffering most The launch of PlayStation 5 received 26 times more news attention than 10 humanitarian crises combined in 2020, according to a Care International report published today. The humanitarian crises, which included violence in Guatemala, hunger in Madagascar and natural disasters in Papua New Guinea, were largely swept aside by news of Covid-19, global Black Lives Matter protests and more clickbait-friendly events such as the Eurovision song contest and Kanye West's bid for the US presidency; the latter two each received 10 times more online news attention than the humanitarian crises in question, the report found. Continue reading...This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Capitol invader's organic food request should be the least of our worries | Poppy Noor Posted: 12 Jan 2021 01:56 PM PST Jacob Chansley, who wore furs and a horned hat, highlights America's alarming double standard Since the attack on Capitol Hill on Wednesday night, we can safely assume two things: in the US, white supremacy is treated with nowhere near the same force as peaceful protest. And as a result, white supremacists behave with complete entitlement. How else can we describe how teargas, batons and horses were used on peaceful protesters demanding justice for Black Lives this summer; and yet, when an angry white mob stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn a legitimate election, some managed to make it all the way to Nancy Pelosi's office unharmed and undeterred? Continue reading... |
| 'A dark week': Nancy Pelosi pushes to remove Trump – video Posted: 13 Jan 2021 12:28 AM PST Nancy Pelosi has accused Donald Trump of associating himself with sedition and treason in a strong statement calling for the removal of the president through impeachment after a failed call for enactment of the 25th amendment. The final vote on Tuesday night was 223 to 205, with only one Republican backing the non-binding resolution that asked Mike Pence, the vice-president, to declare Trump 'incapable' under the 25th amendment Continue reading... |
| 'Sedition and conspiracy': prosecutors cite wide-ranging crimes in Capitol attack – video Posted: 12 Jan 2021 01:39 PM PST The acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, Michael Sherwin, has indicated that many amid the hundreds of pro-Trump rioters who violently invaded the US Capitol last Wednesday are suspected of a range of crimes including felony murder, sedition and conspiracy. At a press conference in Washington, prosecutors said there are at least 160 federal criminal cases open and they are ready to track down individuals across the country and apprehend them wherever possible – potentially arresting hundreds if not thousands of people. 'The range of criminal conduct was unmatched,' Sherwin said. He warned rioters: 'You will be charged and you will be found' Continue reading... |
| Republican politician opens Oregon capitol door for far-right rioters – video Posted: 12 Jan 2021 11:38 AM PST Security footage shows the Republican state representative Mike Nearman leaving a door open and allowing far-right protesters into the Oregon capitol building during a special legislative session on 21 December. As politicians discussed coronavirus-related bills, about 50 protesters briefly breached the building. The capitol has been closed to the public as part of a pandemic safety measure. It is not immediately clear if Nearman will face consequences for his actions. He has not commented Continue reading... |
| Footage shows Florida manatee with word 'Trump' etched into back – video Posted: 12 Jan 2021 10:20 AM PST Federal wildlife officials in Florida are seeking information about attack on a manatee, which is said to have had the word 'Trump' carved into its back. The diver Hailey Warrington said she filmed the animal on Sunday during a manatee swim tour in shallow water in Homosassa Springs. Large, gray and docile, manatees are popular attractions in Florida, though their numbers are at risk due to habitat loss and the danger of boat strikes Continue reading... |
| Dalai Lama says he ‘felt real hope’ after hearing Greta Thunberg speak on climate crisis - video Posted: 12 Jan 2021 05:50 AM PST The Dalai Lama met climate activist Greta Thunberg virtually on Saturday. The Tibetan spiritual leader said: 'I heard this young girl from Sweden. I really felt: Oh, there is real hope from our younger generation who really thinking this environment and these things.' During their conversation, Thunberg said she had heard a call to action and urged people to educate themselves on climate issues. 'If I could have ask one thing of you, it would be to educate yourself, to try to learn as much as you possibly can. There's unlimited amount of information, and spread that knowledge, spread that awareness to others' she said Continue reading... |
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