On-duty police officer sexually assaulted by gas station manager, Georgia cops say

The manager of a Georgia gas station is accused of sexually assaulting a police officer who was on duty and in uniform. According to the Hogansville Police Department, Prilesh Navinchandra Thakkar “attempted to forcefully commit an indecent act on an on duty female police officer.” The officer was conducting a business check on May 11 at the Hop In service station along state Highway 54 when the 300-pound manager grabbed her and pulled her behind the counter, WAGA reported.

Israel, Hamas trade fire in Gaza as war rages on

Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes on what it said were militant targets in Gaza, leveling a six-story building, and militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Tuesday. Palestinians across the region observed a general strike as the war, now in its second week, showed no signs of abating. Heavy fighting broke out May 10 when Gaza's militant Hamas rulers fired long-range rockets toward Jerusalem in support of Palestinian protests there against Israel's heavy-handed policing of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, a flashpoint holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims, and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers.

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  EXPLAINER: Are Israel, Hamas committing war crimes in Gaza?

  Associated Press
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  Drone shows damage of Gaza rockets fired toward Israel

  Reuters Videos

Australian businessman trapped in India dies from Covid

An Australian man has died of Covid in Delhi, after getting infected around the time Australia banned citizens in India from returning home. Govind Kant, a Sydney businessman, died on Sunday, his company said. Mr Kant is believed to be the second Australian to have died in India amid a temporary travel ban imposed after a devastating second wave.

Lawyer: US approves release of oldest Guantanamo prisoner

A 73-year-old from Pakistan who is the oldest prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center was notified on Monday that he has been approved for release after more than 16 years in custody at the U.S. base in Cuba, his lawyer said. Saifullah Paracha, who has been held on suspicion of ties to al-Qaida but never charged with a crime, was cleared by the prisoner review board along with two other men, said Shelby Sullivan-Bennis, who represented him at his hearing in November. As is customary, the notification did not provide detailed reasoning for the decision and concluded only that Paracha is “not a continuing threat” to the U.S., Sullivan-Bennis said.

Trump, House Democrats near agreement on Deutsche Bank subpoenas

Former President Donald Trump and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Monday they are near an agreement to resolve disputes concerning congressional subpoenas of his financial records from Deutsche Bank AG. In a filing in federal court in Manhattan, lawyers for Trump and the Democrats said they believed they were "close to an agreement" in talks concerning the scope of the subpoenas and a process for resolving privacy concerns. They asked a judge for another 30 days to continue talks. Deutsche Bank, Trump's main bank, said in the same filing that both sides would invite it to raise any concerns "at an appropriate time."

John Oliver condemns Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip: 'One side is suffering much more'

During Sunday's episode of "Last Week Tonight," John Oliver addressed the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip and discouraged the tendency to take "both sides" when discussing Israelis and Palestinians because "one side is suffering much more." "If I may quote the riskiest thing you could possibly say on a first date, let's talk about Israel, because the biggest news of the week has obviously been this," Oliver began his late-night program, where he joined the ranks of other celebrities — including the Hadid sisters and actor Riz Ahmed — in supporting the Palestinians. Shortly before Sunday's installment of "Last Week Tonight" aired, Israeli airstrikes killed 10 family members in a refugee camp and, after giving occupants an hour's notice, destroyed the Jalaa building in Gaza, which housed media outlets the Associated Press and Al Jazeera, as well as apartment residents.

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  The Latest: Israeli jets stage heavy airstrikes in Gaza City

  Associated Press
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  Blinken hasn't seen any evidence on AP Gaza building strike

  Associated Press

Former jailer seeks clemency for one death row inmate

If Richard Moore is executed, he will have some say in how he goes — the electric chair or the firing squad. Moore is one of three prisoners on South Carolina's death row who have run out of appeals in the past six months and could be among the first to face the grim choice under a new state law. The state Supreme Court set and then stayed the prisoners' executions after the Corrections Department said it didn't have the drugs needed to carry out lethal injections.

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  New law makes inmates choose electric chair or firing squad

  Associated Press
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  In South Carolina, death row inmates must now choose between the electric chair and a firing squad

  MarketWatch

'This is our land': Russia warns West against staking claims in Arctic

Russia has warned the West against staking claims in the Arctic ahead of an international meeting on the future of the region, where strategic competition has reached levels not seen since the end of the Cold War. Moscow has recently increased its military presence in the area while also seeking to exploit mineral resources and new shipping routes that have opened up as the ice melts. The US, several Nordic countries, and China have also made moves to protect their own interests in the High North.

Taiwan president says to scrutinise electricity management after outages

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen pledged on Tuesday to look into the tech powerhouse's electricity management after two major blackouts hit homes and businesses in less than a week, triggering criticism of the government's power policy. Taiwan, which hosts major chip makers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, imposed power cuts on Monday evening following a spike in demand amid a heatwave and drought and failure at a power plant, in the second such outage in a week. In a live broadcast online, Tsai offered her apology for the two outages and promised to reexamine the island's power management amid heated debate over the her electricity policy.

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  More forced power outages in Taiwan as demand spikes amid heatwave, drought

  Reuters
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  Covid: Taiwan orders toughest curbs amid infections spike

  BBC

UK readies for major reopening but new variant sparks worry

Travelers in England were packing their bags, bartenders were polishing their glasses and performers were warming up as Britain prepared Sunday for a major step out of lockdown — but with clouds of worry on the horizon. Excitement at the reopening of travel and hospitality vied with anxiety that a more contagious virus variant first found in India is spreading fast and could delay further plans to reopen. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Britons to “take this next step with a heavy dose of caution.”

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  England's reopening roadmap to face final easing decision on 14 June

  Yahoo Finance UK
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  Shadow of infectious Indian variant hangs over Monday’s relaxation of lockdown

  The Independent

Japan's economy slumps back into decline as COVID-19 hits spending

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter as a slow vaccine rollout and new COVID-19 infections hit spending on items such as dining out and clothes, raising concerns the country will lag others emerging from the pandemic. Capital expenditure also fell unexpectedly and export growth slowed sharply, a sign the world's third-largest economy is struggling for drivers to pull it out of the doldrums. The dismal reading and extended state of emergency curbs have heightened the risk Japan may shrink again in the current quarter and slide back to recession, defined as two straight quarters of recession, some analysts say.

Rudy Giuliani complains he’s being treated like drug cartel head amid reports Trump has abandoned him

Rudy Giuliani has complained he is being treated like the head of a drug cartel head amid reports that Donald Trump has abandoned him. Lawyers for Mr Giuliani have condemned prosecutors for the 28 April raid by FBI agents on his New York home and criticised them for gaining electronic access to his accounts. “Unfortunately for Giuliani, and even more unfortunately for the attorney-client privilege and executive deliberation privilege, and the public's perception that those privileges are real, the SDNY simply chose to treat a distinguished lawyer as if he was the head of a drug cartel or a terrorist, in order to create maximum prejudicial coverage of both Giuliani, and his most well-known client – the former President of the United States,” it stated.

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  Explainer: Will attorney-client privilege apply to Giuliani's communications?

  Reuters
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  Rudy Giuliani: I Am Being Treated Like ‘Head of Drug Cartel’

  The Daily Beast

Post-menopausal women report periods coming back after having Covid vaccine

Researchers are investigating the reports to see if the disruption to the menstrual cycle is caused by the jabs. No proof has yet been found linking the inoculations to the unusual reproductive symptoms, but a growing body of anecdotal evidence has led scientists to begin probing the reports. Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist at King's College London, said earlier this month that the symptom-tracker app ZOE was monitoring reports of period-related side-effects.

Ransomware hits AXA units in Asia, Irish healthcare

The Thai affiliate of Paris-based insurance company AXA said Tuesday it is investigating a ransomware attack by Russian-speaking cybercriminals that has affected operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Meanwhile, a cyberattack on a public health provider in New Zealand took down information systems across five hospitals, forcing staff to cancel some elective surgeries and creating all sorts of other problems. In Bangkok, Krungthai AXA said it has formed a team with AXA's Inter Partner Assistance to urgently investigate the problem.

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  Ransomware hits AXA units in Asia, hurts Ireland healthcare

  Associated Press
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  Axa division in Asia hit by ransomware cyber attack

  Reuters

NATO attempts to appease Serbian concerns over Croatian troops in Kosovo

NATO sought on Monday to assuage Serbian concerns over the deployment of Croatian troops to Kosovo, stressing they were bound by exactly the same rules as all other troops of the alliance's KFOR peacekeeping force in the Balkan country. "All troops provided by NATO allies and partner countries to our operation in Kosovo operate under ... a well established framework, which is set out by the UN resolution 1244," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after meeting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels.

Just 20 firms behind more than half of single-use plastic waste - study

The research - carried out by a consortium including the London School of Economics - looked at which companies are at the base of the plastic supply chain and make polymers, the building blocks of all plastics. It names 20 petrochemical companies which it says are the source of 55 per cent of the world's single-use plastic waste. The companies include ExxonMobil, Dow and Sinopec.

Man cuts own throat, dies after verdict in federal courtroom

Federal authorities say a man on trial in Fargo, North Dakota, slashed his own throat in the courtroom Monday and died. North Dakota U.S. Marshal Dallas Carlson said the incident happened after a jury returned a partial guilty verdict against the man, who had faced terrorizing-related charges. Carlson said the man had a sharp instrument that might have been made of plastic.

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  Convicted man kills himself in federal court after verdict, North Dakota officials say

  Idaho Statesman
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  Defendant kills himself in courtroom after guilty verdict

  The Independent

HK suspends operations at representative office in Taiwan as tensions rise

HONG KONG/TAIPEI (Reuters) -Hong Kong government's suspended on Tuesday operations at its representative office in Taiwan in a sign of escalating diplomatic tension between the global financial hub and the democratically ruled island that Beijing claims. Tension between Hong Kong's Beijing-backed government and Taiwan have risen since pro-democracy protests erupted in Hong Kong in 2019 and China responded by imposing a sweeping national security law in the city that prompted many activists to leave, some for Taiwan. A Hong Kong government representative did not provide an explanation for the decision to halt operations at the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office, adding only that the decision was not related to the recent rise in coronavirus cases in Taiwan.

Israel's 'shocking disregard' for Palestinian civilians may be a war crime, human rights group says

Israel has bombed residential homes in Gaza without warning, killing civilians, Amnesty International said. The human rights group documented four such attacks, which it said "may amount to war crimes." At least 200 Palestinians have died, per authorities in Gaza.

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  EXPLAINER: Are Israel, Hamas committing war crimes in Gaza?

  Associated Press
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  Israel, Hamas trade fire in Gaza as war rages on

  Associated Press

‘A grandpa sending money’: Security questions raised after reporters find Biden’s Venmo account

Venmo accounts for both Joe Biden and Dr Jill Biden were discovered within minutes — and deleted within hours — of reporters from Buzzfeed finding the US president on the payment app, on Friday. Although Mr Biden and Dr Biden's contacts on Venmo were not publicly viewable on the app, according to Buzzfeed, it raised issues of national security. Reporters were able to find the US president and first lady on the app after an account from a Biden adviser in The New York Times about Mr Biden sending money to his grandchildren on Venmo.

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  New York Times White House expose reveals Biden is fan of Orange Gatorade

  The Takeout
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  Venmo is blocking some payments mentioning Palestinian relief funds. The company says it's following the law.

  Business Insider

India coronavirus: Tracing a family’s journey to save a life

Anoop Saxena, 59, was one of hundreds of thousands Indians who fell sick with Covid at the end of April. What followed over the next few days was just one example of a family's desperate search for help, wherever they could find it. There are many thousands more across India, just like this.

The 'Real Housewife' under real scrutiny: and the hunt for the missing millions

Maybe American people like to watch some stupidly rich people get famous and get more money and get more recognition from the public, but it's not her money to begin with,” said former Girardi client Bias Ramadhan, an Indonesian man whose family Girardi cheated out of a $1.2-million settlement from their mother's death in an airplane crash, a federal judge has found. In the run-up to the premiere, new evidence has surfaced about Erika Girardi's role in her husband's financial affairs, and she is now expected to be a key figure in the sprawling legal battles over what remains of his fortune.