Digital Brief: Feb. 8, 2021 (PM)

Jessica Kartalija has the latest headlines.

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  • EU to extend COVID-19 vaccine export controls as AstraZeneca shipment blocked: sources

    The European Union is planning to extend its export authorisation scheme for COVID-19 vaccines to the end of June, two EU sources told Reuters on Thursday, as a shipment of AstraZeneca shots from the EU to Australia was blocked. Extending controls could reignite tensions with countries who rely on shots made in the EU. Under the scheme, companies must get an authorisation before exporting COVID-19 shots, and may have export requests denied if they do not respect their supply commitments with the EU.

  • Nearly 40 people killed in Myanmar's protests

    "Today was the bloodiest day since the coup happened on the 1st of February."Christine Schraner Burgener, The United Nation's special envoy for Myanmar, confirmed 38 people were killed in protests on Wednesday.It was the country's most violent day since demonstrations broke out against last month's military coup.Police and soldiers opened fire with live rounds in several towns and cities, witnesses said.Four children were among those killed, according to aid agency Save the Children and local media reported hundreds have been arrested.A 19-year-old woman, Kyal Sin, also known as 'Angel' was one of two shot in the second largest city Mandalay.Images showed her in the protests wearing a T-shirt that read 'Everything will be Ok.'One youth activist described in a message to Reuters that it was " horrific, it's a massacre."Wednesday's bloodletting more than doubled the death toll since protests began.A spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to requests for comment.In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was "appalled" by the increase in violence."We call on all countries to speak with one voice to condemn brutal violence by the Burmese military against its own people and to promote accountability for the military's actions that have led to the life loss of life of so many people in Burma."Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council is due on Friday to hold a closed session on Myanmar.

  • Myanmar's Christian refugees hold anti-coup protest in India

    About 300 refugees from a Christian minority community from Myanmar held a demonstration in India's capital on Wednesday against last month’s military takeover in their country and demanded the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other Myanmar leaders. The demonstration was held at Jantar Mantar, an area of New Delhi close to Parliament that is often used for protests.

  • Returning to Fukushima's nuclear zone

    Hisae Unuma's home withstood the earthquake 10 years ago which unleashed a tsunami that wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant and forced her and 160,000 others to flee their homes.She returned recently to check on her old house.Its roof is now close to complete collapse and a bamboo had penetrated through the former living room."I'm almost 70 years old, so I don't think it's possible for me to live here. There's no base for a life here. I can't go shopping and there's no hospital, so I can't imagine building a life here."Japan's government has turned Fukushima's recovery into a symbol of national revival ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games and is encouraging residents to return with financial aid as it decontaminates the land.But lingering worries about the nearby nuclear plant, lack of jobs and poor infrastructure is keeping many away."I want to say to the government: Please don't solve the problem with money. We should be treated like human beings, not animals. They feed us with money to shut us up. It shouldn't be like this. We want to live like human beings. That is what I really want to say."Unuma declined to claim her compensation, unwilling to be treated as a Fukushima refugee dependent on Tokyo Electric's handouts.She now lives as a vegetable farmer near the capital and insists on building a life with her own hands."There's nothing that lets me feel secure enough to continue making a living. But now since there are people who come to me to buy vegetables, that's the easiest way for me to make a living by delivering vegetables to them daily. That's a life with hope."

  • Palace to investigate after Meghan accused of bullying staff

    Buckingham Palace said Wednesday it was launching an investigation after a newspaper reported that a former aide had made a bullying allegation against the Duchess of Sussex. The Times of London reported allegations that the duchess drove out two personal assistants and left staff feeling “humiliated.” It said an official complaint was made by Jason Knauf, then the communications secretary to Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry.

  • ‘Always up for a fight’: Mike Pompeo refuses to rule out presidential run on Hannity

    ‘I’m always up for a good fight,’ says Trump ally

  • Authorities investigate whether human smuggling involved in Calif. crash

    Barely a mile from where an SUV packed with 25 people struck a tractor-trailer — killing 13 inside — a cemetery with unmarked bricks is a burial ground for migrants who died crossing the border from Mexico to remote California desert.

  • 16 Best Poufs, Ottomans, and Footstools for Your Every Need

    Footrest, coffee table, laptop stand, bar cart—these tiny but mighty multipurpose pieces get it all doneOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • Man found guilty of murder in Toronto van attack

    The man who plowed a rental van into dozens of people in Toronto, Canada in 2018 was found guilty of murder and attempted murder by a judge on Wednesday. Ten people were killed, and 16 wounded by the driver - 28-year-old Alek Minassian.Victims’ families – outside of court Wednesday - said they were relieved. ”Oh, well, it's like you're holding your breath for three years and you can finally breathe.” Nick D’Amico’s sister was killed in the attack - which Minassian had said was motived by a desire to punish society for his perceived status as an "incel" - otherwise known as an involuntary celibate. Minassian had pleaded ‘not criminally responsible.’His lawyers argued his autism spectrum disorder left him with no idea how horrific his actions were.But the judge dismissed that defense - and read a guilty verdict that was live-streamed on YouTube.Catherine Riddell was among those injured in the attack:"Oh, it was the best I could hope for. I think it was a fair decision. And he can spend the rest of his life in jail because he deserves it. I'm sorry he took lives and he didn't care. And you know what? You just have to be accountable for what you do. And he's going to have to be.”A sentencing hearing will be scheduled and - according to criminal lawyers following the case - Minassian is likely to get a life sentence.

  • Survey: Venezuelans in Florida open to ‘oil-for-food’ program — if it bypasses Maduro

    An Atlantic Council survey had 51 percent saying the U.S. government should eliminate sanctions on Venezuela’s oil if revenues were used on food and medicine.

  • ‘Textbook voter suppression’: How Trump’s stolen election lies are shaping the future of democracy

    Republicans in 43 states have introduced more than 250 bills restricting voting rights, underscoring urgency in Congress to pass sweeping elections legislation, Alex Woodward reports

  • Swiss to vote on banning face veils

    Provocative posters showing a woman wearing a face veil with the words stop extremism are being put up across Switzerland.The billboard is part of a campaign by the far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) to ban face coverings in public.And on Sunday, voters will decide in a binding national referendum.The proposal does not mention Islam directly, and also aims to stop violent street protesters and football hooligans wearing masks.Still, local politicians, media and campaigners have dubbed it the burqa ban.And compounds Switzerland's tense relationship with Islam after citizens voted to ban building any new minarets in 2009.Jean-Luc Addor is a member of parliament and part of the campaign."This (niqab wearing) is something that we find shocking. It is fundamentally in opposition with various values of our civilisation simply because, for us, free people show their faces in all circumstances outside."France banned wearing a full face veil in public in 2011 and Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, and Bulgaria have full or partial bans on wearing face coverings in public.The numbers in Switzerland are tiny. The University of Lucerne estimates no one in the country actually wears a burqa and only around 30 women wear the niqab.Swiss Muslims have said right-wing parties were using the vote to rally their supporters and demonize them.Ouissem Ben Mustapha-Bennour is a Muslim member of an anti-racist association."We women are fed up, and especially Muslim women. We are always being singled out as if we were submissive women, incapable to think or make our own choices. No, we made our choice, the niqab or the veil. Even if I don't wear the niqab, I also stand up for it, like I stand up for any other woman who chooses to wear or not to wear a garment. It's her choice. We are in Switzerland. We are in a secular country. All of our choices must be respected and not politicized." The government has recommended for voters to pick "no" in Sunday's referendum, but opinion polls suggest most Swiss will back the ban and it will become law.

  • 'This Is Not a Shelter.' Ceyenne Doroshow on Providing Free, Safe Space for LGBTQ People in Need

    "Letting us create what we know is going to save our community." Ceyenne Doroshow founded Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society, or G.L.I.T.S., in 2015 to help trans and sex-worker communities with issues like housing and health care. In response, Doroshow and her team at G.L.I.T.S. began fund­raising; they bailed LGBTQIA+ inmates out of COVID-ravaged jails and housed them in safe Airbnb rentals; secured rent money for the Black trans community; and ultimately bought a $2 million 12-unit residential building that would be a free safe place for Black trans folks to live.

  • Shrinking ice threatens Canada's seal pups

    These seals are running out of space to give birthLocation: Magdalen Islands, CanadaClimate change is shrinking ice coverleaving fewer safe places for harp seals to perchTourism tours to see newborn pups have been canceledpartly due to the thinning ice

  • GOP senator to force 600-page Covid bill to be read out loud before vote

    ‘Yes, it could take 10 hours but the American people deserve to know what’s in it,’ claims Ron Johnson

  • Creator of CPAC golden Trump statue admits it was made in China, after saying Mexico

    ‘Everything is made in China,’ said a business partner behind the six foot replica

  • Yemen’s rebels say latest US sanctions will prolong the war

    Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels Wednesday warned that the U.S. sanctions imposed the previous day on two of their military leaders would only prolong the conflict in the impoverished Arab country. President Joe Biden's administration on Tuesday slapped sanctions on two Houthi leaders, citing their alleged roles in cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and shipping vessels in the Red Sea. Rebel leaders Monsour al-Saadi and Ahmed al-Hamzi were responsible for attacks “impacting Yemeni civilians, bordering nations, and commercial vessels in international waters,” the departments of State and Treasury said.

  • Federal investigators are zeroing in on potential communications between lawmakers and Capitol mob in lead-up to the insurrection

    The report added that Democrats were pushing investigators to review footage to determine whether lawmakers toured organizers before the riot.

  • Fox Sports reportedly gave Skip Bayless a $32 million contract to keep him from going back to ESPN

    Skip Bayless is reportedly staying at Fox Sports for a reported $8 million per year after ESPN pursued him with offers in the same salary range.

  • Civil War: Trump attacks Republican strategist Rove, who fires back

    Former President Donald Trump intensified his war with the Republican establishment on Thursday by attacking Karl Rove, a longtime Republican strategist who criticized Trump's first speech since leaving office for being long on grievances but short on vision. "He’s a pompous fool with bad advice and always has an agenda," Trump complained in a statement issued by his office in Palm Beach, Florida. Rove, the architect of Republican George W. Bush's presidential victories in 2000 and 2004, wrote in an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Trump's speech last Sunday to the Conservative Political Action Conference was wanting.