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‘Please, I can’t breathe’: US police officer filmed with knee on neck of motionless man who later died

A man has died after a Minneapolis police officer detained him by putting his knee on his neck, in an arrest captured on camera by a member of the public.The clip, filmed on Monday, showed a black man lying on the ground, motionless, and a white police officer, resting his knee on top of the man’s neck.

Tue, 26 May 2020 10:12:07 -0400

Airbus experts probe plane crash that killed 97 in Pakistan

Pakistan announced Tuesday that Airbus experts have opened a probe into last week’s plane crash that killed 97 people when an Airbus A320 went down in a crowded neighborhood near the airport in the port city of Karachi. Initial reports have said the Pakistan International Airlines jet crashed after an apparent engine failure. The Airbus experts and engineers are also to visit the crash site, according to Abdul Hafeez, a spokesman for PIA.

Tue, 26 May 2020 05:22:44 -0400

The white woman who called 911 after a black bird-watcher asked her to leash her dog has 'voluntarily surrendered' her pet to an animal rescue

The Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, Inc. shared on Facebook that the dog "is safe and in good health."

Tue, 26 May 2020 12:19:00 -0400

Coronavirus: Joe Biden emerges from quarantine on Memorial Day

The US Democratic presidential candidate makes his first public appearance in more than two months.

Tue, 26 May 2020 04:59:29 -0400

Beijing says it will unilaterally impose national laws in Hong Kong 'without delay' as thousands take to the streets in protest

Critics worry that the new laws could hurt Hong Kong's independence and the city's position as a financial center.

Mon, 25 May 2020 10:41:33 -0400

'I hit the trifecta': She was battling cancer. Then came coronavirus and the complications.

In the age of COVID-19, cancer hospitals like Memorial Sloan Kettering have been forced to reimagine how to care for patients like 27-year-old Eliza Paris.

Tue, 26 May 2020 08:40:00 -0400

Russia’s Pushing a Quack COVID Cure All Over Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria—U.S. President Donald Trump is not the only figure threatening the World Health Organization while endorsing dubious coronavirus treatments. In Africa, news outlets and social media posts notorious for spreading Russian-created disinformation and conspiracy theories are leveling all sorts of allegations against the WHO, ranging from incompetence to fraud.At the center of the attacks is what appears to be a coordinated campaign promoting an herbal concoction the Moscow-backed government of Madagascar claims will cure COVID-19. The attacks on the WHO intensified when the agency released a statement on May 4 warning Africans against using untested remedies for treatment of the coronavirus after the Malagasy government began to extoll—and export in large quantities—an untested herbal infusion sometimes bottled like soda that’s called Covid-Organics. The main component for the tonic is artemisia annua, known as sweet wormwood, which has been shown to have some therapeutic value against malaria (PDF).Russians Are Using African Troll Factories—and Encrypted Messaging—to Attack the U.S.The WHO announced its support for traditional medicines if they are “scientifically proven” to be effective, but warned pointedly that "the use of products to treat COVID-19, which have not been robustly investigated can put people in danger, giving a false sense of security and distracting them from hand washing and physical distancing which are cardinal in COVID-19 prevention."The herbal remedy’s biggest booster is Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina, a 45-year-old media entrepreneur elected in 2018 with help from Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose meddling, as detailed by the New York Times, was blatant even by Kremlin standards. (Rajoelina denies getting any assistance.)Covid-Organics has not gone through clinical trials. An aide to Rajoelina told the BBC the tonic was “tried out” on fewer than 20 people over three weeks before it was launched in April—a “test” that does not even begin to meet scientific or medical standards.Rajoelina’s response? He accused the West of condescending behavior toward traditional African therapy, telling French media that the product would have been globally accepted "if it was a European country that had actually discovered this remedy.""[Madagascar] has come up with this formula to save the world," said Rajoelina, who claims the herbal tonic cures COVID-19 patients within 10 days. "No country or organization will keep us from going forward."Rajoelina has gained lots of support in East Africa, especially in Tanzania (another country that has established deep ties with the Kremlin in recent years). Its controversial leader, President John Pombe Magufuli, has openly endorsed Covid-Organics and also insinuated recently that the WHO artificially inflated the number of COVID-19 cases in his country.All this parallels, however weirdly, the kinds of assertions and statements made by the U.S. president about miracle cures—ranging in his case from hydroxychloroquine to household bleach, thought not yet Covid-Organics—as well as the failings of a World Health Organization he says is under China’s thumb. And the similarities in the narrative are not entirely coincidental. Many of the African sites spreading these stories also are enthusiastic supporters of Trump. A number of Tanzanian newspapers have criticized the WHO for its refusal to approve Covid-Organics. A pro-government publication, Tanzania Perspective, particularly, reported that Rajoelina accused the WHO of offering him a $20 million bribe to poison the herbal tonic. A spokesperson for the Malagasy president later denied that wild claim, but not until it had gone viral on social media across the continent, including broadcasts on WhatsApp by such groups as One Africa, One Success (OAOS), a platform for African students studying in Russia that has been used to spread disinformation and conspiracy theories targeting the U.S. and defending Trump.Members of the OAOS have also claimed in their messages that Bill Gates has prevented the WHO from approving coronavirus therapies—including hydroxychloroquine—that supposedly have proven to be effective in Africa, a narrative that has been picked up by high-profile politicians in the continent and extended to Covid-Organics."Madagascar claims to have a herbal-based cure for Covid 19," tweeted Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Nigeria aviation minister and a die-hard Trump supporter. "Why is it that the @BillGates-controlled @WHO refuses to take Africans seriously even where some of these ‘cures’ have yielded appreciable positive results?"Back in Madagascar, numerous media outlets, some of which were used by Russia to publish fawning articles about Rajoelina to help him win the 2018 presidential election, have accused the WHO of ineffectiveness, claiming that the agency is being manipulated by certain high powers to undermine Madagascar's coronavirus treatment discovery."What you see mostly in the papers is that the WHO doesn't care about finding a coronavirus cure," Thierry Pam, a French freelance journalist living in Madagascar, told The Daily Beast. "No one says anything good about the WHO."One social media post that went viral across Africa in late April claimed that Putin actually ordered a million doses of Covid-Organics and called on Africans not to listen to the WHO. Agence France Presse (AFP) reported the story was totally bogus. There was never such an order, Madagascar’s authorities denied it, and, officially at least, Russia usually supports WHO efforts to address the pandemic. But disinformation campaigns often are at odds with officially stated policies because their objectives are different. The focus of Russia’s activities has been to drive a wedge between Africa and other international players, whether the U.S., European nations, or China. The Covid-Organics controversy is potentially just another tool to create resentment, as reflected in President Rajoelina’s assertions that his country’s “cure” for the pandemic is being ignored by the West because it is from Africa.Much of the news that people in Madagascar see or listen to is content created by media outlets set up by the operations of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Putin who was indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for allegedly financing the Internet Research Agency that worked to influence the U.S. 2016 presidential election.A leaked document viewed last year by The Guardian revealed that Russia “produced and distributed the island’s biggest newspaper, with 2 million copies a month.” The Russians also run a French-language news service, Afrique Panorama, based in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, according to The Guardian's report.Madagascar is one of Africa’s poorest nations, with about 80 percent of its 25 million people living on less than $2 per day, but it has managed to ship tens of thousands of doses of Covid-Organics to several countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania, Comoros, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Chad and Equatorial Guinea. Many of these reportedly have been sent for free, leading to suggestions that Madagascar may have gotten Russia's help to produce large amounts of the drug. Since his election, Rajoelina has promoted closer ties with Moscow. Most notably, he has strengthened his military cooperation and allowed a company owned by Prigozhin, which had acquired a major stake in a government-run firm that mines chromium under Rajoelina's predecessor, to keep control of the operation. This despite protests by workers complaining of canceled benefits and unpaid wages.Meanwhile, in a country where tests have been very limited, and some of those marred by controversy, hundreds of people are now known to be infected with the virus, and the numbers are rising rapidly. The first two confirmed COVID-19 deaths were reported just this week.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Mon, 25 May 2020 04:40:10 -0400

Brazil surpasses U.S. in daily coronavirus death toll

Brazil daily coronavirus deaths were higher than fatalities in the United States for the first time over the last 24 hours, according to the country's Health Ministry. Brazil registered 807 deaths over the last 24 hours, whereas 620 died in the United States. Brazil has the second worst outbreak in the world, with 374,898 cases, behind the U.S. with 1.637 million cases.

Mon, 25 May 2020 18:55:32 -0400

US urges probe into alleged ethics breach at African Development Bank

The US Department of the Treasury has called on the African Development Bank (AfDB) to carry out an independent probe into alleged ethics breaches by its president, Akinwumi Adesina. In a letter obtained by AFP on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed "deep reservations" about the outcome of an internal inquiry clearing Adesina, and urged the appointment of an independent outside investigator. The letter, dated May 22, was sent to the chair of the AfDB's board, Ivorian Planning and Development Minister Niale Kaba.

Mon, 25 May 2020 11:53:53 -0400

Daytona beachside shooting wounds at least 5 people

About 200 young people were observed in a helicopter video dancing, partying and gathering on the sidewalk in the middle of the street.

Mon, 25 May 2020 18:05:33 -0400

Second immigrant dies of COVID-19 while in ICE custody

Santiago Baten-Oxlag, of Guatemala, is the second known immigrant to die of coronavirus complications while detained by U.S. immigration authorities.

Mon, 25 May 2020 15:32:31 -0400

Hundreds take part in parade to mark first birthday of boy who lost both parents in El Paso shooting

A boy who lost both of his parents in a mass shooting at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart last year has celebrated his first birthday – and he did not celebrate it alone.Paul Gilbert Anchondo was only two months old when his parents were killed while protecting him from a mass shooter.

Mon, 25 May 2020 11:11:18 -0400

China denies using virus to grow presence in South China Sea

A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple territorial disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons. China’s foreign minister is dismissing claims that the country is exploiting the coronavirus outbreak to expand its footprint in the South China Sea, labeling such accusations as “sheer nonsense.” State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters at a news conference on Sunday that China was cooperating closely on anti-virus efforts with Southeast Asian countries, several of whom have overlapping territorial claims with China in the strategically vital waterway.

Sun, 24 May 2020 23:34:53 -0400

Baby gorilla injured at Seattle Zoo

A baby gorilla was badly injured at a Seattle zoo on Saturday when he was caught in a skirmish between his family group members, zookeepers said.

Mon, 25 May 2020 10:28:34 -0400

Trump's senior economic adviser referred to Americans returning to work as 'human capital stock'

States are slowly lifting lockdown measures put in place to curb the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed close to 100,000 people in the US.

Tue, 26 May 2020 01:41:23 -0400

Oklahoma woman missing since April following Facebook post that indicated she believed she had coronavirus

Talina Galloway, 53, of Wagoner, Oklahoma, was last heard from by her boss on March 27, 2020. Her last Facebook post was dated April 7. In the post, the posted stated she believed she had coronavirus but did not want to go to the hospital. Her purse and wallet were left at home. Her car was still in the driveway. She has a distinct tattoo of a sun symbol on her right wrist. The Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.

Mon, 25 May 2020 17:38:00 -0400

Coronavirus: US suspends travel from Brazil for foreigners

Brazil has recently become a new coronavirus hotspot with more than 300,000 known cases.

Mon, 25 May 2020 04:02:14 -0400

COVID-19 deaths in Sweden top 4,000: Public Health Agency

The death toll from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Sweden has topped 4,000, statistics published by the Public Health Agency showed on Monday. The data published on the agency's website showed that deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, had risen to 4,029 from 3,998 a day earlier while the number of confirmed cases amounted to 33,843 up from 33,459. Sweden has taken a soft-touch approach to fighting the virus, leaving most schools, shops and restaurants open and relying on voluntary measures focused on social distancing and good hygiene.

Mon, 25 May 2020 08:10:23 -0400

Virus traps poor foreign workers in deserted Maldives

Tens of thousands of impoverished foreign labourers have been left stranded and ostracised in one of the world's most densely packed cities as the tourist paradise of the Maldives battles coronavirus. Like Singapore, which recorded a large number of coronavirus cases among migrants living in tightly-packed dorms, the Maldives is heavily dependent on foreign labour. About half of the 150,000 people in the two square kilometres that make up the capital, Male, are workers from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka living in teeming alleys that are a haven for the virus.

Mon, 25 May 2020 23:34:47 -0400

Biden wants Amazon to 'start paying their taxes'

Amazon has become a popular political football to kick on several issues

Tue, 26 May 2020 10:41:29 -0400

50 billion years of animal evolution under threat from human activity, study says

Fifty billion years of evolutionary history is under threat from human activity, according to a new study which suggests some of the most threatened areas contain the most unique animals. Branches of the tree of life will be cut by the loss of animals such as the Mary River turtle, native to Queensland, Australia, recognisable by its punk-like algae ‘hair’, whose evolution stretches back 40 million years. The turtle, which breathes out of its genitals underwater and doesn’t reach sexual maturity for 25 years, is threatened by the pet trade. Other highly evolutionarily distinct species include the Aye-aye lemur, which are found only on the island of Madagascar, where in 1990 Gerald Durrell embarked on a rescue mission to save dwindling numbers of the long-finger and bushy-tailed primate from the effects of deforestation.

Tue, 26 May 2020 09:23:06 -0400

Obama administration economist predicts 'best jobs and growth numbers ever' ahead of the election

An Obama administration economist has reportedly left Democrats concerned about President Trump's re-election prospects with his prediction about the state of the economy leading up to November.Speaking to a group of Republican and Democratic officials in early April, Politico reports Jason Furman, who was chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Obama, surprisingly asserted that "we are about to see the best economic data we’ve seen in the history of this country."As the coronavirus pandemic takes a devastating toll on the U.S. economy, bringing the unemployment rate to the highest level seen since the Great Depression, Furman continues to predict a "partial rebound" on the horizon, comparing the situation to the economic aftermath following a natural disaster and telling Politico that "you could easily have one to two million jobs created a month in those four reports before November."He added, "And then toward the end of October, we will get GDP growth for the third quarter, at an annualized rate, and it could be double-digit positive economic growth. So these will be the best jobs and growth numbers ever." This assumes re-openings continue across the country and a second wave of coronavirus doesn't prompt major lockdowns. Although Politico notes that a "rebound won't mean that Trump has solved many underlying problems," Democrats are reportedly "spooked" by the idea that the president "could be poised to benefit from the dramatic numbers" ahead of the 2020 election, with one former Obama White House official pointing to Trump's positive polling on the economy and arguing, "This is the challenge for the Biden campaign. If they can't figure this out they should all just go home." Read the full report at Politico. More stories from theweek.com Trump shares disturbing meme of Biden's campaign in a coffin Trump keeps falsely accusing Joe Scarborough of murder, and it's long past weird We've all been saying Steve Buscemi's name wrong

Tue, 26 May 2020 11:01:42 -0400

Chinese media says Wuhan had live virus

The Chinese virology institute at the centre of US allegations it may have been the source of the COVID-19 pandemic has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new global contagion, its director has said.

Mon, 25 May 2020 10:21:44 -0400

Russia records its highest daily death toll from the coronavirus as its number of new cases appears to decline

Russia denies that it has manipulated coronavirus data and maintains that its mortality rate from the virus is among the lowest in the world.

Sun, 24 May 2020 22:31:22 -0400

Latam Airlines seeks bankruptcy protection as travel slumps

Latam Airlines, South America’s biggest carrier, sought U.S. bankruptcy protection Tuesday as it grapples with a sharp downturn in air travel sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing underscores the severity of the financial challenges facing the travel industry as a result of the lockdowns, quarantines and other measures taken by governments the world over to stem the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Passenger and cargo flights will continue to operate during the reorganization, and employees will still be paid, the Santiago, Chile-based airline said.

Tue, 26 May 2020 01:26:23 -0400

Coronavirus: Americans flock to beaches on Memorial Day weekend

People are seen flouting restrictions on what is known in the US as the unofficial start of summer.

Mon, 25 May 2020 10:48:11 -0400

Saudi Arabia to end curfew on June 21, except in Mecca

Saudi Arabia will begin easing restrictions on movement and travel this week, more than two months after stringent measures were introduced to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Restrictions will be lifted in three phases, culminating in the curfew completely ending - with the exception of the holy city of Mecca -- from June 21, the state news agency reported in a statement early on Tuesday. Free movement between regions and some retail and wholesale activities, including malls, will be allowed to resume.

Mon, 25 May 2020 22:41:56 -0400

Corruption prosecutions nearly double in China over last year

The number of prosecutions related to corruption in China nearly doubled last year, according to a report by Beijing's top prosecutor, as President Xi Jinping ramped up his crackdown on graft. According to the annual report from the Supreme People's Procuratorate submitted to the national parliament, 18,585 people were prosecuted for crimes related to corruption in 2019, a 90 percent year-on-year increase. Sixteen cases involved former provincial or ministerial-level Communist Party cadres, including former Yunnan party chief Qin Guangrong, who was accused of taking bribes.

Tue, 26 May 2020 03:36:29 -0400

States are reopening, but many require travelers to self-quarantine. Here's where

States are beginning to open back up, but some require or recommend visitors self-quarantine for two weeks.

Tue, 26 May 2020 13:04:10 -0400

‘Fox & Friends’ Confronts Kayleigh McEnany With Chris Wallace Criticism

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace didn’t get the chance to confront White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany directly this weekend. So Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade did it for him. About halfway through her appearance on that show Tuesday morning, Kilmeade brought up a comment McEnany made during her Friday press conference. “Boy, it’s interesting to be in a room that desperately wants to seem to see these churches and houses of worship stay closed,” she told reporters, some of whom objected in the moment to that blatant condescension.As Kilmeade put it, “Some of the press got insulted,” before reading McEnany part of what Wallace said about her comments on his Sunday show. “Let me just say, Sam Donaldson and me in the Reagan White House, we were pretty tough on the White House press secretaries and we never had our religious beliefs questioned or were lectured on what we should ask,” Wallace said. Kilmeade left out the part where Wallace said that in his six years covering the White House he “never saw a White House press secretary act like that.”Kayleigh McEnany: Trump Supports Vote by Mail ‘For a Reason’—Just Not a Pandemic“Were you questioning the religious beliefs of the press?” Kilmeade asked her directly. “No, I never questioned the religious beliefs of the press,” she insisted, before adding, “Many of our journalists are great men and women of faith.” McEnany said her comments were merely trying to draw attention to the fact that “it was a bit peculiar” that she was asked so many questions about why the Trump administration was pushing to reopen churches across the country during a pandemic. “I’ve never been asked why a liquor store was essential,” she added. Of course, while Wallace likely would have thrown a few follow-up questions at McEnany’s nonsensical answer, the Fox & Friends hosts moved right along to the next topic. Seth Meyers Exposes New Trump Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s Breathtakingly Stupid Coronavirus TakeRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Tue, 26 May 2020 11:17:04 -0400

Why is Trump so restrained about the Biden sexual assault allegation?

The president rarely misses a chance to sling mud but he has been uncharacteristically quiet about Tara Reade’s claimSometimes Donald Trump portrays his election rival, Joe Biden, as a sleepy geriatric who should be in a care home because “he doesn’t know he’s alive”. At others, the president speaks of Biden as a wily manipulator who conspired with the deep state and China.But in this scattergun approach, the US president has been uncharacteristically reluctant to use what, in normal times, would seem standard political ammunition: an allegation of sexual assault.It took more than a month after Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer, alleged on a podcast that Biden sexually assaulted her in a Capitol Hill basement in 1993, for Trump to publicly address the matter.Even then, the US president’s comments on 30 April were unusually milquetoast. “I don’t know anything about it,” Trump said. “I don’t know exactly – I think he should respond. You know, it could be false accusations. I know all about false accusations. I’ve been falsely charged numerous times. And there is such a thing.”Then, speaking on Fox News’s Fox & Friends, usually a comfort zone, he again declined to go for Biden’s jugular. “Look, he’s got to fight that battle,” he said. “I’ve had battles, too, where I’ve had false accusations, many times. I’ve had many false accusations made, I can tell you that. Many. And maybe it is a false accusation. Frankly, I hope it is, for his sake.”The first and most obvious explanation for the president’s reticence is that he himself has been accused of assault and unwanted touching by a long list of women, some far more recently than Reade’s account. He also denies the allegations. On the other hand, Trump has never allowed perceived double standards to get in the way of his scorched earth tactics in the past.Monika McDermott, a political science professor at Fordham University in New York, said: “It’s surprising in a way because usually Trump doesn’t pull back on things even when they do seem hypocritical or ironic or choose your adjective. Yet he is in this particular instance. I don’t know if he’s waiting for something to happen or whether he’s waiting to see how it plays out before he does anything. He seems to be finding what seem to him more fruitful attack routes against Obama and other things and people than against Biden right now.”In 2016 Trump’s campaign was rocked by the release of an Access Hollywood tape in which he could heard bragging about using his fame to grab women’s private parts. Instead of quitting, he went on the offensive against his rival Hillary Clinton by highlighting sexual assault allegations against her husband, former president Bill Clinton, and even inviting those accusers to a press conference before a presidential debate.But this November will witness the first presidential election since the rise of the MeToo movement, which has encouraged women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault against prominent men in politics, show business and other industries.Biden has committed to picking a woman as his running mate and frequently cites his work as lead sponsor of the Violence Against Women Act. Both candidates are keenly aware that suburban women could be a pivotal demographic in the final vote.While Trump remains taciturn, Republicans have instead focused much of their response on Brett Kavanaugh, the supreme court justice whose nomination was nearly derailed by sexual misconduct allegations. The Trump campaign pointed to statements made by Democrats during the Kavanaugh episode to portray them as hypocritical.Erin Perrine, principal deputy communications director at the Trump campaign, said: “During Justice Kavanaugh’s hearings, Biden made clear that all women should be believed when they come forward with allegations of sexual assault. Biden’s own work during the Obama administration lowered standards for such accusations on college campuses as to effectively institute a presumption of guilt. In a dramatic shift, Biden now says ‘believe women’ doesn’t actually mean ‘believe women.’”Trump himself, however, has preferred to take aim at other targets, seeking to implicate Biden in a so-called “Obamagate” conspiracy that many seen as an attempt to deflect attention from the coronavirus pandemic – likely to prove a more significant issue in November.Amid Democratic alarm that the Reade allegation could dent Biden’s support among women, the former vice-president vehemently denied it in an interview on the MSNBC network on 1 May and repeated that position in a series of media appearances.The story has faded from prominence in recent days, especially after the PBS NewsHour interviewed 74 former Biden staffers, of whom 62 were women, and found none said that they had experienced sexual harassment, assault or misconduct by Biden, nor ever heard rumors or allegations to that effect.By pushing the case, Trump may have more to lose than to gain. Rich Galen, a former Republican strategist, said: “The case against Biden keeps getting thinner and thinner so I’m not sure that there’s much there. And all the people who’s accused Trump, it would be like listing the names of the people who died in Vietnam every night.”Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, added: “Trump, if nothing else, knows how to read his audience: ‘No, they’re not going to buy anything I sell on this point.’ There’s no need to even open that Pandora’s box because it’s a Pandora’s box for him, not Joe Biden. I think that’s why the president has largely decided not to engage at that level.“My sense is right now, despite what others in the campaign may want to do, there is no energy from the president himself to open up that door and go through it.”

Mon, 25 May 2020 00:00:41 -0400

India detains pigeon on suspicion of spying for Pakistan

An intrepid Pakistani ‘spy’ pigeon is facing a life behind bars in India. The allegation was made after Geeta Devi, a resident of the Kathua district of Indian-administered Kashmir, reported a bird - painted pink and carrying a coded ring tagged to its foot - flew into her home on Sunday night. The Indian Border Security Force passed the pigeon on to the police, who launched an investigation and logged the animal as a ‘Pak Suspected Spy.’ Officials in Kathua said the bird had flown across the border and they would try to decipher the message. “The pigeon, suspected to have been trained in Pakistan for spying, has a ring with alphabets and numbers written on it,” a police source told the Times of India. “Though birds have no boundaries and many fly across international borders during migration, a coded ring tagged to the captured pigeon’s body is a cause for concern as migratory birds don’t have such rings.”

Tue, 26 May 2020 05:55:32 -0400

Netanyahu becomes the first Israeli prime minister to stand trial over corruption and fraud cases

Last year, Netanyahu was indicted on bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges as part of three separate corruption cases.

Mon, 25 May 2020 03:15:40 -0400

Egypt's doctors criticize government over virus 'negligence'

Egypt’s medical union on Monday blamed the government for increasing levels of coronavirus infections and deaths among healthcare professionals, its sharpest criticism yet of the country’s handling of the pandemic. Citing growing frustration over a lack of protective equipment, testing and hospital beds for front-line doctors, the union described the Egyptian health ministry’s negligence as “a crime of killing by irresponsibility.” The union reported that 19 doctors have died and 350 have contracted the virus, according to official figures, although testing of medical staff remains limited.

Mon, 25 May 2020 13:16:14 -0400

Nasa SpaceX launch: 10 questions about the mission

BBC News answers questions about the first orbital launch of astronauts from US soil in nine years.

Mon, 25 May 2020 20:23:29 -0400

U.N. Command finds both Koreas violated armistice agreement in DMZ shooting

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Tue, 26 May 2020 04:28:46 -0400

South Sudan: an unexplored Eden of biodiversity

The light plane banked sharply to circle back over the plains. "There's only a few hundred left in the world," said Albert Schenk, of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), surveying the landscape below. This is South Sudan: one of Africa's wildlife Edens, a global biodiversity hotspot wedged between the continent's tropical jungles and dry, desolate deserts.

Mon, 25 May 2020 21:22:34 -0400

Memorial Day weekend pool party in Ozarks draws national attention

Already, the pool party footage has picked up coverage from several media outlets, including TMZ, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and others.

Sun, 24 May 2020 14:41:22 -0400

Navajo Nation imposes 57-hour lockdown as virus death toll rises

Even essential businesses must remain closed as the entire tribe enters a strict lockdown for Memorial Day weekend.

Mon, 25 May 2020 14:52:09 -0400

Prominent black women from Atlanta potential contenders for Biden's VP

Stacey Abrams and Mayor Keisha Bottoms are Georgia's most influential African American women.

Tue, 26 May 2020 11:53:50 -0400

Trumpsters Are Already Revolting Against COVID Contact Tracing

Donald Trump’s allies in conservative media have a new villain in the coronavirus fight: contact tracing, the rigorous efforts to track the virus’s spread that public health experts say is essential to safely restarting society. Fox News host Laura Ingraham devoted much of her show Thursday night to raising questions about contact tracing, the process where interviewers try to figure out who has been exposed to the virus by literally figuring out whom the infected had contact with. As a Fox News chyron warned that contact tracing should “concern all Americans,” Ingraham claimed that calls for more contact tracers were just an “excuse” to keep businesses closed, and compared being interviewed by a contact tracer to being groped by a Transportation Security Administration agent.“Instead of rummaging through your luggage, these contact tracers will be prying through the most intimate details of your life,” Ingraham said. A wide range of public health officials and experts have insisted that the country needs to vastly expand contact tracing, with one Johns Hopkins study calling for the hiring of at least 100,000 additional contact tracers. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said earlier this month that coronavirus deaths will “of course” increase without additional tracing and testing. Workplace contact tracing is included in the White House’s own reopening plan. But Ingraham isn’t alone on the right in sowing doubts about contact tracing. Conservative columnists Andy and John Schlafly—best known as the sons of late right-wing activist Phyllis Schlafly—co-authored a column at Townhall.com criticizing Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) for budgeting nearly $300 million for contact tracing. The Schlaflys laid out a dystopian vision of contact tracing, comparing it to a “dark episode in the history of the communist Soviet Union” and claiming that contact tracing could be used to separate children from infected parents. They even imagined contact tracing details being used to embarrass Republican candidates. “The real goal of the contact tracing is to use COVID-19 as a pretext to monitor the whereabouts of every American, perhaps through our smartphones, and take away our liberties,” the Schlaflys wrote. “Republican political candidates will be tracked and leaks of their private information to the media would be inevitable under this scheme, while Democrats such as Joe Biden are given a pass on their far greater misconduct.” Instead, the Schlaflys called for Abbott to flood the state with hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug that’s become a darling of Trump supporters as a potential coronavirus treatment—even as clinical studies suggest it has no effect on the virus and actually increases mortality.“The $295 million that Abbott is spending on contact tracing could have purchased HCQ treatments for half of the entire State of Texas, to reopen the state without the need for oppressive monitoring,” the Schlaflys wrote. Emerald Robinson, the White House correspondent for conservative Newsmax TV, which is run by a close Trump confidant, compared contact tracing to “mandatory vaccination” and 5G towers, which conspiracy theorists have claimed spread coronavirus. Pro-Trump activist Tom Fitton, the head of conservative activist group Judicial Watch, put contact tracing on a list of his coronavirus grievances, declaring: “I’m done with it.”Other concerns on the fringe right about contact tracing have been driven by outright hoaxes about H.R. 6666, legislation from Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) that would put $100 billion into coronavirus testing and contact tracing. The bill’s number alone puts it perilously close to the supposedly Satanic number “666,” right as conspiracy theorists have become convinced that any coronavirus vaccine would be the “Mark of the Beast.” Prominent conspiracy theory outlet InfoWars declared that the bill was the “Bill of the Beast,” while rumors spread on social media claiming that the bill would authorize contact tracers to abduct children.Privacy watchdogs have raised legitimate concerns about how contact tracing data could be used, especially when the data is collected through apps. On Monday, the ACLU called for additional safeguards to protect contact tracing data. A report on a North Dakota contact tracing app found several privacy flaws. But much of the fearmongering about contact tracing seems to be driven by ignorance of what it actually is. Failed Republican congressional candidate and QAnon conspiracy theorist DeAnna Lorraine Tesoriero, whose call to “FireFauci” Trump retweeted in April, has urged her fans to not get tested for COVID-19. She also appears to misunderstand contact tracing, claiming that contact tracers go through phone “contact” lists, rather than in-person contacts. “I don’t want people to get tested, because I don’t want to be in their phone, in their contact list, and if you guys are all following me on Twitter and following me on YouTube, then I’m probably going to be in your contact list,” Tesoriero told her fans in a video. “So I would prefer not to be there. They specifically said if they find one person, then they’re going to make sure they call all of that person’s contacts, whether they have 5,000 contacts or 5 contacts. And I really don’t feel like being called, I want to get off the grid of this system.”On her Thursday night show, Ingraham positioned herself as perhaps conservative media’s leading contact tracing skeptic. But her guests went even further than her, with Claremont Institute senior fellow John Eastman adopting what was meant to be a German or Russian accent to imitate a contact tracing interviewer. Ingraham guest Wesley J. Smith, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center on Human Exceptionalism, claimed that contact tracing meant that the “French revolution is attacking the American revolution.” Ingraham agreed, comparing contact tracers to radical French revolutionaries. “The Jacobins, they’re back,” she said.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Mon, 25 May 2020 04:38:52 -0400

The private jet version of the Boeing 787 can cost more than $200 million and fly over 18 hours. Take a look at some its most luxurious designs.

The BBJ 787 Dreamliner is like the hybrid of private jets costing over $200 million. The jet can fly over 18 hours with a bedroom and shower onboard.

Mon, 25 May 2020 08:43:00 -0400

Boris Johnson the 'people’s politician' risks squandering his common touch in standing by Dominic Cummings

Say what you like about Boris Johnson, he is not what you would call a “misfit” or a “weirdo”. Unlike his non-conformist chief adviser Dominic Cummings, who once touted for such ‘oddballs’ to join No 10, the Prime Minister is as conventional as any of the 20 Old Etonians who have ended up in Downing Street. A little eccentric, perhaps, with his love of the Iliad and aversion to Mason Pearson products, but as his old Balliol philosophy don Jonathan Barnes put it: “Definitely a good egg.” Indeed chief among the reasons the Oxford graduate turned Telegraph journalist proved so successful in his predictable pivot to politics was his inherent likeability. While you might not agree with Mr Johnson’s views on Brexit or even the burka, he has always been the kind of public figure people can imagine having a pint with. Unlike his predecessor, Theresa the Maybot, a large part of his appeal is that he is human. He has made so many mistakes in his personal life most people stopped counting long ago. As his hero Winston Churchill put it, his success has been his ability to go from failure to failure, without a loss of enthusiasm. He’s been fired, twice divorced, fathered illegitimate children, suspended from a zip wire, knifed by Michael Gove - the list is endless, yet still he was elected to the highest office in the land.

Mon, 25 May 2020 11:27:29 -0400

Canada tow-truck turf wars lead to nearly 200 charges

Rival companies resorted to murder and arson as they sought control of Toronto's towing market.

Tue, 26 May 2020 13:34:19 -0400

New Jersey used car dealer charged with price gouging New York City on N95 masks

A New Jersey used car dealer was criminally charged on Tuesday with exploiting the coronavirus pandemic by trying to defraud and price gouge New York City into buying N95 respirator masks he was not authorized to sell, in a roughly $45 million scheme. The U.S. Department of Justice said Ronald Romano, 58, sought quick riches in late March when his Performance Supply LLC tried to sell 7 million of the 3M-branded masks to New York City's Office of Citywide Procurement for about 500% above the typical list price. Prosecutors said the Manalapan, New Jersey, resident created a bogus letter falsely showing that 3M Co authorized the sale.

Tue, 26 May 2020 13:07:41 -0400

Six women prisoners murdered by inmates in Honduras

Six women were killed by alleged gang members at a women's prison near the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, the National Penitentiary Institute said on Sunday. The killers broke through gates and the roof of a building at the women's prison in Tamara, 10 kilometers to the north of Tegucigalpa, "to go to the gymnasium where six prisoners were staying and murdered them," said the INP. One prisoner had earlier caused a diversion by starting a fire in a dormitory where two inmates quarantined over the coronavirus pandemic were sleeping, in a building housing 1,300 prisoners.

Sun, 24 May 2020 17:12:06 -0400

New Zealand leader carries on with TV interview during quake

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern barely skipped a beat when an earthquake struck during a live television interview Monday morning. New Zealand sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is sometimes called the Shaky Isles for its frequent quakes. Ardern continued on with her interview, telling the host the shaking had stopped.

Sun, 24 May 2020 18:47:04 -0400

Trump tweets from the golf course as U.S. virus death toll nears 100,000

As the American death toll from the coronavirus approached 100,000 on Sunday, President Trump was on the golf course in Virginia.

Mon, 25 May 2020 11:39:57 -0400

Xi Jinping says China strengthening armed forces amid tensions with US over coronavirus

Beijing says it will improve its preparedness for military combat. In the background: heightened U.S. tensions.

Tue, 26 May 2020 14:32:27 -0400

Hospital angrily denies snake discovered in operating theatre, insisting there was only a monkey

A hospital in Trinidad and Tobago has admitted a monkey was discovered inside the building, but angrily denied a snake was with it too.The simian was reportedly spotted in Port-of-Spain General Hospital's operating theatre early on Friday by medical staff, who were preparing to resume elective surgeries following a three-month interruption due to coronavirus.

Mon, 25 May 2020 06:09:00 -0400

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