Afghan foreign minister meets ICC prosecutors to discuss war crimes investigation

The Afghan foreign minister and prosecutors from the International Criminal Court have met in The Hague to discuss the ICC's war crimes investigation in Afghanistan, both sides said in a joint statement on Sunday. The ICC is investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan since 2003 by all sides in the conflict, including by government forces, the Taliban, other armed groups, and U.S.-led forces. Shortly after the ICC announced its investigation in March 2020, the Afghan government said it is conducting its own probe into some of the same alleged crimes and asked the international court to defer its investigation.

Horrific: D.C. Sniper Boasts of Post-Shooting Sex ‘High’ With Accomplice in New Doc

fexpIn I, Sniper, Lee Boyd Malvo speaks at length about the 2002 reign of terror he and partner John Allen Muhammad carried out in the Washington, D.C., area, resulting in ten deaths. Yet despite using audio clips from his phone calls as narration, Vice's eight-part docuseries (premiering May 10) is most notable for putting its prime emphasis on the pair's innocent victims, and the countless friends, family members and loved ones left to cope with unthinkable tragedy.

Capitol rioters make questionable claims about police

Joshua Matthew Black said in a YouTube video that he was protecting the officer at the U.S. Capitol who had been pepper sprayed and fallen to the ground as the crowd rushed the building entrance on Jan. 6. “Let him out, he's done," Black claimed to have told rioters. At least a dozen of the 400 people charged so far in the Jan. 6 insurrection have made dubious claims about their encounters with officers at the Capitol.

Armenians rally in support of ex-president Kocharyan ahead of vote

Several thousand Armenians rallied in the capital Yerevan on Sunday to show their support for a new political alliance created by former president Robert Kocharyan ahead of an early election next month. The alliance, called Reviving Armenia, will run in early parliamentary elections set to take place on June 20. In a speech to thousands of supporters chanting "Armenia" and waving flags, Kocharyan pledged his alliance would help revive the economy and recover from ethnic Armenians' loss of swathes of territory in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region in a six-week conflict with Azerbaijan last year, local news outlets reported.

Man shot to death at Vancouver's airport in gang incident

A 28-year-old man was fatally shot Sunday at the Vancouver International Airport in what Canadian authorities said was a gang-related slaying. The man was shot near the departure terminal at the airport, which is in neighboring Richmond, British Columbia. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Frank Jang said the victim was known to police and the incident was related to a gang conflict the region has seen lately.

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  Man killed in Vancouver airport shooting

  Reuters Videos
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  Man fatally shot at Vancouver airport in gang-related violence

  The Press Association

Melinda Gates had been seeking a divorce from Bill since 2019 after his meetings with Jeffrey Epstein became public, the WSJ reports

Melinda Gates reportedly considered divorce for two years before officially filing for one. Melinda Gates has been meeting with divorce lawyers for years before deciding to split up from Bill Gates, the Wall Street Journal reported. The decision rocked the philanthropic and tech communities but was a long time coming, according to the Journal.

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  Melinda Gates has been trying to divorce Bill since 2019 after controversial Epstein report

  The Independent
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  Melinda Gates Reportedly Consulted Divorce Lawyers in 2019 Over Husband’s Jeffrey Epstein Relationship

  Complex

Sudan says Ethiopian peacekeepers deported to refugee camp

Sudanese authorities on Sunday deported around three dozen Ethiopian peacekeepers, working on the U.N. mission in Darfur, to a refugee camp, the state-run news agency reported. Al-Fateh Ibrahim Mohammed, head of the refugee agency in North Darfur province, said the troops are among 120 Ethiopian forces from the Tigrayan ethnic group, who have sought asylum in Sudan after their stay ended earlier this year, according to the SUNA news agency. He said the the troops, including 14 women, refused to return after being recalled by their home country, Ethiopia, for fear of being detained by the federal government in Addis Ababa.

Slovak health ministry says Sputnik V doses tested in Hungary satisfactory

A Slovakia health ministry spokeswoman said on Sunday a Hungarian lab has confirmed that the first batch of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines sent to Slovakia were satisfactory and the government would discuss the next steps with Russia. The tests were carried out in Hungary after Russia had requested additional tests in an EU-certified laboratory, saying the Slovaks had not tested them in such a facility. The Slovak government is considering whether to use the Russian shots in the country of 5.5 million that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Long suspected of murder, she confessed but avoided prison

There was no shortage of tips about who killed Pamela Pitts, a rowdy but compassionate 19-year-old whose body was found burned beyond recognition in a pile of trash in 1988. In it, Harmon's father said she never told him what actually happened.

Myanmar junta brands ousted lawmakers 'terrorists'

Myanmar's junta has labeled a shadow government of lawmakers and politicians ousted in a February coup and a people's defense force that is being set up to confront security forces as terrorist groups. The government of national unity was established by elected legislators who were barred from taking their seats when the military seized power and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others. The junta has previously accused them of treason, and the announcement on state TV Saturday said they were being branded terrorists because of their participation in a civil disobedience movement — a popular revolt against the military takeover that has seen people taking to the streets daily des...

Spaniards party as COVID curfew ends but doubts remain

MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) -Exhilarated Spaniards chanting "freedom" danced in streets and partied on beaches as a COVID-19 curfew ended in most of the country, but others feared it was too soon to let go. In scenes akin to New Year's Eve celebrations, hundreds of mainly young people gathered in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square to applaud the clock striking midnight while in Barcelona revellers headed to the beach with drinks in hand. "Young people, like everyone else, have been very restricted," said shop worker Paula Garcia, 28, on the beach in Barcelona.

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  People in Madrid Celebrate Lifted COVID-19 Curfew

  Storyful
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  People Celebrate in Barcelona Streets as COVID-19 Curfew Lifted

  Storyful

Palestinians fear loss of family homes as evictions loom

When Samira Dajani's family moved into their first real home in 1956 after years as refugees, her father planted trees in the garden, naming them for each of his six children. Today, two towering pines named for Mousa and Daoud stand watch over the entrance to the garden where they all played as children. Pink bougainvillea climbs an iron archway on a path leading past almond, orange and lemon trees to their modest stone house.

China's 'social credit' system ranks citizens and punishes them with throttled internet speeds and flight bans if the Communist Party deems them untrustworthy

China has been rolling out a system that ranks its citizens based on their "social credit." The Chinese Communist Party has been constructing a moral ranking system for years that will monitor the behavior of its enormous population - and rank them all based on their "social credit." The "social credit system," first announced in 2014, is "an important component part of the Socialist market economy system and the social governance system" and aims to reinforce the idea that "keeping trust is glorious and breaking trust is disgraceful," according to a 2015 government document.

As cases grow, India's vaccination campaign falters

Since India opened vaccinations to all adults this month, hoping to tame a disastrous coronavirus surge sweeping across the country, the pace of administering the shots has dropped with states saying they only have limited stock to give out. Cases meanwhile are still rising at record pace in the world's second-most populous nation. Alongside a slowdown in vaccinations, states have gone to court over oxygen shortages as hospitals struggle to treat a running line of COVID-19 patients.

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  The Latest: France welcomes EU curb on AstraZeneca vaccine

  Associated Press
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  Vaccines and oxygen flown to India

  Reuters Videos

Stacey Abrams says she ‘absolutely’ plans to run for president

Many Democrats have already credited voting rights activist Stacey Abrams for helping the party get a landmark win in Georgia during the 2020 election, and now Ms Abrams has her sights on an even bigger victory than flipping a reliably red state: she says she “absolutely” wants to run for president one day. "Do I hold it as an ambition? Absolutely," she told CBS Sunday Morning, in an interview airing tomorrow.

Chinese dreams on Native American land: A tale of cannabis boom and bust

In the pandemic, hundreds of Chinese migrants who lost their jobs moved to a remote city on the Navajo Nation Indian reservation in New Mexico, to do what they thought was legal agricultural work. Instead, they and the local Native community found themselves pitted against one another in a bizarre cautionary tale about the boom in cannabis production in the US, and the impact on Asian migrant labourers. When Xia (not her real name) first heard about the job as a "flower cutter", she pictured roses.

Trump presidency was ‘worst four years’ ever for GOP, Republican governor says

The Republican governor of Maryland described Donald Trump's presidency as “the worst four years” that his party has “ever” endured. Larry Hogan, a frequent Trump critic, told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that the GOP has now shaped itself into a “sort of a circular firing squad” against its members. “I think we've got to get back to winning elections again, and we have to be able to have a Republican Party that appeals to a broader group of people,” Mr Hogan said.

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  GOP Gov. Larry Hogan Slams His Party's Division Over 'Fealty To The Dear Leader'

  HuffPost
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  Larry Hogan: GOP turning into 'circular firing squad' over Trump loyalty

  NBC News

Some states plan big spending with Biden's aid, others wait

The $1.9 trillion pandemic relief law signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year contains $350 billion of flexible aid for state and local governments, plus billions of dollars more for specific programs such as housing assistance. Unlike earlier coronavirus aid, states have broad leeway to use the money to plug budget holes, invest in certain infrastructure or address the “negative economic impacts” of the pandemic. States are expected to receive an initial installment soon, with a second round coming a year later.

The travel industry is capitalizing on people coming to the US to get COVID-19 vaccines

Tourists are heading to the US for COVID-19 vaccine shots and airlines and travel companies are using the opportunity to market and expand services, the Wall Street Journal reported. While New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city could soon offer tourists coronavirus vaccines at mobile vaccination centers this summer as the city prepares to open up, tourists have been coming to the US, mainly from Mexico, and getting vaccinated. The Journal reported that tens of thousands of tourists from Mexico as well as other countries have already flown into US states like Texas and Florida to get a shot.

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  More pop-up sites open in NYC as eligibility expands to tourists

  WABC – NY
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  Nation finding new ways to push to get people vaccinated

  WABC – NY

A Maryland attorney purchased Princess Diana's old bike for $80,000 to display in his office as a symbol of 'white supremacy'

A Maryland lawyer purchased Princess Diana's old bicycle for $80,000, The Daily Mail reported. Barry Glazer stated that the bike represents "white supremacy" and "the racist system royalty is based on." The bike belonged to Princess Diana before she got engaged to Prince Charles.

Video captures moment NYPD officer saved toddler shot by stray bullet in Times Square

A New York police officer has been hailed as a hero after she was captured on video running from the scene of a shooting in Times Square on Saturday, clutching a toddler who had been hit by a stray bullet. Officer Alyssa Vogel raced to the ambulance with wounded four-year-old Skye Martinez as the girl's mother followed behind them, after a man fired wildly into a crowd of pedestrians targeting his brother in Times Square. Bullets rang out at around 5pm near West 44th Street and 7th Avenue when a man arguing with three other people fired bullets and injured three unintended targets, including two women and a toddler.

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  4-Year-Old Girl Among 3 Hit By Stray Bullets In NYC's Times Square

  HuffPost
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  2 Women and a Four-Year-Old Shot in Times Square

  Complex

Arizona’s ‘Cyber Ninjas’ Usher in New Era of Insane Ballot Attacks

The purpose of this process it (sic) to collect information about the ballot paper, ballot ink and selection marks on the physical ballot during the hand recount process,” it reads, then explains that fraud can be detected by examining the folds made by voters on the ballot itself. Early absentee ballots are folded, while in-person ballots cast on election day aren't, they claim, concluding that if a ballot cast on Election Day is folded, bang boom, it must be a fraud. But in reality, creases on a ballot don't prove anything about their validity.