PoliticsThe IndependentClinton and Pelosi suggest Trump may have been on phone with Putin during Capitol siege
Former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, have suggested that Donald Trump might have been in contact with Russian president Vladimir Putin on the day of the deadly riots at the US Capitol, and called for a “9/11-type commission” to investigate the events of 6 January. Speaker Pelosi was in conversation with Ms Clinton for the podcast 'You and Me Both' on Monday, when the former secretary of state said she would love to see Mr Trump's phone to see if he had been talking to Mr Putin on 6 January — the day of the riots. Ms Pelosi responded by saying “Putin wants to undermine democracy” of America and with Mr Trump “all roads lead to Putin”.
WorldAssociated PressAfter seeing floods, Indonesian leader visits quake zone
Relief workers worked to clear up rubble of collapsed buildings Tuesday on an Indonesian island where a deadly earthquake left thousands of people homeless. The 6.2 magnitude earthquake Friday that killed at least 84 people was one of multiple recent disasters in Indonesia. President Joko Widodo visited a flood-hit area on Borneo island on Monday and was scheduled to visit the quake-hit areas of West Sulawesi province Tuesday to reassure people the government's response is reaching those struggling after the quake.
WorldReutersQatar's foreign minister wants Gulf Arab nations to talk with Iran: Bloomberg
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told Bloomberg that Qatar has urged Gulf Arab nations to enter a dialogue with Iran and that it was the right time for Doha to broker negotiations. "This is also a desire that's shared by other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries," he told Bloomberg TV https://bloom.bg/369WLz9 in an interview. The Qatari foreign minister added that his government was supporting ongoing discussions between Iran and South Korea to secure the release of an oil tanker seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard this month.
EntertainmentArchitectural Digest19 Stylish Bar Cabinets to Elevate Your Space in 2021
Store your stemware and sauvignon blanc in style Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
CelebrityThe TelegraphPrince Andrew accuser leaves Twitter as she claims to be target of 'hatred and abuse'
Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre announced she was leaving Twitter on Monday, claiming she was being targeted with "hatred and abuse". Ms Giuffre, 37, a trafficked sex slave of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, alleges she was forced to have sex with the Duke three times, claims he strongly denies. “Too much hatred & abusive gaslighting,” Ms Giuffre tweeted on Monday.
U.S.The WeekFeds arrest Capitol rioter who allegedly broke into Pelosi's office, stole laptop, wanted to sell it to Russia
A woman who participated in the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol surrendered to authorities in Pennsylvania on Monday night, the Justice Department said. Riley Williams, 22, was charged with illegally entering the Capitol, violent entry, and disorderly conduct, but the FBI said it is also investigating a tip from the suspect's former "romantic partner" that Williams broke into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the siege, stole a laptop, and "intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service." The transfer of the laptop to Russian intelligence "fell through for unknown reasons," the former partner, identified only as Witness 1, told the FBI, "and Williams still has the computer device or destroyed it."
PoliticsAssociated PressThe Latest: Biden gives emotional farewell in Delaware
In an emotional farewell, President-elect Joe Biden promised that even as he departs for Washington, D.C., to be sworn in, “I'll always be a proud son of the state of Delaware.” Speaking Tuesday at an event at the National Guard headquarters in Delaware named for his late son, Beau, Biden's voice became thick with emotion as he told the crowd that “when I die, I've got Delaware written on my heart.” Biden gave farewell remarks to about 100 people, including numerous Delaware elected officials and members of Biden's family.
WorldReutersGermany regrets U.S. decision to sanction Russian vessel involved in Nord Stream 2
The United States has informed Germany that it plans to impose sanctions on a Russian pipe-laying ship involved in construction of the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, the German Economy Ministry said on Monday. "We're taking note of the announcement with regret," an Economy Ministry spokesman in Berlin said. German business daily Handelsblatt had earlier reported the U.S. sanctions would go into effect on Tuesday as part of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
WorldAssociated PressPanel: China, WHO should have acted quicker to stop pandemic
A panel of experts commissioned by the World Health Organization has criticized China and other countries for not moving to stem the initial outbreak of the coronavirus earlier and questioned whether the U.N. health agency should have labeled it a pandemic sooner. In a report issued to the media Monday, the panel led by former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said there were “lost opportunities" to adopt basic public health measures as early as possible. “What is clear to the panel is that public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China in January,” it said.
PoliticsThe WeekDominion threatens to sue MyPillow CEO over baseless claims of voter fraud
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has received a letter from Dominion Voting Systems, warning him that litigation is "imminent" due to his false claims that the company's machines were rigged to change the outcome of the election. Lindell, an enthusiastic supporter of President Trump, has been spreading baseless claims of widespread voter fraud for months. Lindell did not say why, if he has such evidence, he has kept it to himself this entire time, holding onto it as judge after judge rejected lawsuits filed in an attempt to overturn the election in Trump's favor.
WorldAssociated PressPakistan PM angry over reports TV anchor knew about strike
Pakistan's prime minister reacted angrily Monday to media reports of a text exchange between an Indian TV anchor and a former media industry executive that suggests a 2019 Indian airstrike inside Pakistan was designed to boost Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chances for reelection. Imran Khan took to Twitter to respond to Indian media reports of an exchange on the WhatsApp messaging service between popular Indian TV anchor Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta, the former head of a TV rating company.
WorldReutersIndia urges frontline workers not to refuse vaccines as targets missed
India appealed to frontline workers on Tuesday not to refuse vaccines for COVID-19, after almost all states failed to meet targets in the first few days of what the government calls the world's biggest immunisation campaign. The country has so far vaccinated 631,417 frontline workers using two shots manufactured locally, one licensed from Oxford University and AstraZeneca and another developed at home by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research. The drive started on Saturday, with 30 million healthcare and other front-line workers first in the queue, followed by about 270 million people older than 50 or deemed at high-risk because of pre-existing medical conditions.
PoliticsThe WeekTrump's White House staff and alumni are reportedly using the same excuse to skip his big sendoff
Anthony Scaramucci was right: The White House appears to be having trouble rounding up a sizable crowd for President Trump's official send-off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday. "In what looks like a desperate attempt to build a crowd for the crowd-obsessed president, an email has been making the rounds to current and former White House officials inviting them, and as many as five plus-ones, to Trump's elaborate exit ceremony," Politico reported Tuesday morning. "Former White House officials and campaign staffers who would typically land plum jobs in corporate America after serving their time are now out in the cold," Politico says.
WorldAssociated PressAfghan officials: Taliban attacks, violence kills dozens
A wave of Taliban attacks and violence has killed dozens across Afghanistan, even as talks are underway between the government and the insurgents in Qatar, officials said Tuesday. A statement from the defense ministry said four army soldiers were killed late Monday night in Taliban attacks on checkpoints in Kunduz province. According to the ministry, 15 Taliban fighters were also killed and 12 were wounded.
WorldReutersEU kicks off debate on vaccine travel certificates
European Union countries kicked off a debate on Monday on whether people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine should have greater freedom to travel in the summer than those not immunized. Europe ministers from the 27 EU nations held a video conference to discuss greater coordination for the roll-out of vaccines, a topic to be picked up by EU leaders who will meet online on Thursday. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis floated the idea last week in a letter to the European Commission of an EU-wide vaccination certificate to help restore cross-border travel that has been crippled by the pandemic.
U.S.Business InsiderThe man accused of breaking the window Ashli Babbitt tried to climb through when she was shot during the Capitol insurrection has been arrested
Chad Barrett Jones, 42, of Coxs Creek, Kentucky, was arrested in Louisville on Saturday, the FBI said in a news release. Jones is accused of breaking a window of the Capitol building moments before Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot during the insurrection earlier this month. He's facing multiple charges, including assault on a federal officer, destruction of government property, obstruction of justice, unlawful entry on restricted building or grounds, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
WorldAssociated PressAP Photos: Snow fills Kashmir resort with tourists again
Snow lies knee-deep in the pastoral town of Gulmarg, or “meadow of flowers,” on Indian-controlled Kashmir's high plateau. With its blanket of white, the idyllic hill station is seeing tourists again fill its hotels and ski, sledge and trek its Himalayan landscape. The heavy influx of tourists is a dramatic change for the tourism industry in disputed Kashmir, which faced the double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic and harsh curbs on civil rights India imposed in the region in August 2019.
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China says it is ready to help Kenya with debt
But after months of lockdown measures, the East African country's revenues have been pummeled, its debts are falling due and it is grappling with gaping fiscal deficits. In a statement the embassy in Nairobi said China attaches "great importance" to debt suspension and alleviation in African countries, including Kenya. The embassy said China has signed debt service suspension agreements with 12 African countries and provided waivers of matured interest-free loans for 15 under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative.
WorldBBCMigrant caravan: Mexico presses US to reform immigration policies
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has urged the US to make major reforms to its immigration policy as thousands of migrants were blocked by police in neighbouring Guatemala. Mr Lopez Obrador said he was hopeful that President-elect Joe Biden would agree to work with Mexico and other countries on the issue. About 7,000 migrants, mostly from Honduras, have entered Guatemala.
PoliticsThe IndependentMarjorie Taylor Greene suspended from Twitter after telling Trump supporters to ‘mobilise’
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was suspended from Twitter for 12 hours after sending out a now-deleted tweet telling Trump supporters to "mobilize". ProPublica preserved the deleted tweet, which said: "I encourage all Americans, not just the 75 million people who voted for President Trump, to mobilize and make your voices heard in opposition to these attacks on our liberties." A Twitter spokesperson told NPR that Ms Greene "has been temporarily locked out for multiple violations of our civic integrity policy".
WorldReutersFrance's daily new COVID-19 infections at a more than six-week high
France's average daily new COVID-19 infections hit a six-and-a-half week high of 18,270 on Monday, while the number of people being treated in intensive care units for the disease rose above 2,800 for the first time in a month. The health ministry also said that the number of people to receive coronavirus vaccines since France launched a nationwide campaign on Dec. 26 had reached 479,873 as of Monday, up from 422,127 the previous day. Unlike Britain or Germany, France's government has so far stopped short of imposing a third national lockdown.
U.S.Business InsiderWhat we know about the laptop that was stolen from Nancy Pelosi's aide during the Capitol siege
Since the deadly siege on the US Capitol, lawmakers have reported various items stolen from their offices. A laptop that belonged to an aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was one of the items reported stolen. On Monday, the FBI arrested a 22-year-old woman accused of stealing the laptop and planning to sell it to Russia.
PoliticsAssociated PressMcConnell: Trump 'provoked' Capitol siege, mob 'fed lies'
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday explicitly placed blame on President Donald Trump for the deadly riot at the Capitol, saying the mob was “fed lies” and that the president and others “provoked” those intent on overturning Democrat Joe Biden's election. McConnell's remarks as he opened the Senate were his most severe and public rebuke of outgoing President Donald Trump. The Republican leader vowed a “safe and successful” inauguration of Biden on Wednesday at the Capitol, which is under extremely tight security.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderCuomo asks Pfizer to sell its COVID-19 vaccine directly to New York as the head of WHO warns of mounting inequities in vaccine distribution
On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on Pfizer to sell doses of its coronavirus vaccine directly to New York. The proposal would require Pfizer to bypass the federal government's Operation Warp Speed campaign to vaccinate hundreds of millions of Americans. "The distribution of any doses obtained directly from Pfizer will follow the rigorous guidance the State has established, while enabling us to fill the dosage gap created this week by the outgoing federal administration," Cuomo wrote in a letter to Pfizer.
U.S.The Daily BeastPentagon Nixed Request to Give COVID Vaccine to National Guard Before Inauguration
Senior Pentagon officials denied an early December request to vaccinate the National Guard troops tapped to secure Washington during the inauguration, according to two officials familiar with the matter. Despite the rebuff, inauguration event planners continued to press the issue, raising fears about the spread of the virus within the Capitol campus and among attendees, particularly if protesters at the event did not wear masks, officials said. One individual involved with the planning said senior officials at the Pentagon pushed back against the vaccination idea primarily because they were worried about muddling the department's prescribed vaccination playbook—that the process would divert doses away from those in the first wave of distribution.
“If you’re looking to win elections, it is probably best not to urge your supporters not to vote.”
“Warnock’s portrayal of himself as a dog lover, a means of overcoming white suspicions of Black men, smacked of pure genius.”
“Trump has done damage to the Republican brand among suburban voters that goes well beyond just races where he is on the ballot.”
“Once more, Democrats must profusely thank activist Stacey Abrams.”
“Overall, demographic trends show that the state’s electorate is becoming younger and more diverse each year.”