U.S.Yahoo News'Skullduggery' political podcast: Prosecuting the police — March 31, 2021
The trial of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd is underway in Minneapolis, and it represents a moment of grave importance in the fight against police brutality and abuse of power. First, Brandt Williams, an MPR reporter who's on the scene of the trial, joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti to report on the trial's opening days and on the mood in the city. Then, former DOJ veteran Kristy Parker joins to talk about the difficulties inherent in prosecuting police officers, and how the Garland Justice Department can take steps in the future to hold officers accountable.
PoliticsYahoo NewsGeorgia lawmaker arrested for knocking on Gov. Kemp's door calls possible 8-year prison term 'unfounded'
Georgia state Rep. Park Cannon, who was arrested last week after attempting to gain access to the office where Gov. Brian Kemp was signing a controversial voting restriction bill into law, said Thursday that her actions were justified. “I felt as if time was moving in slow motion,” Cannon said, fighting back tears as she described the details of the incident. “My experience was painful, both physically and emotionally, but today I stand before you to say as horrible as that experience was ... I believe the governor signing into law the most comprehensive voter suppression bill in the country is a far more serious crime.”
WorldBBCEvidence suggests Ethiopian military carried out massacre in Tigray
An investigation by BBC Africa Eye has uncovered evidence that a massacre in northern Ethiopia was carried out by members of the Ethiopian military. In early March, a series of five video clips surfaced on social media showing armed, uniformed men leading a group of unarmed men to the edge of a cliff, shooting some at point blank range, and pushing dead bodies over the cliff. The BBC has confirmed that the massacre took place close to the town of Mahbere Dego in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, where the Ethiopian army is fighting the forces of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), previously the region's ruling party.
WorldReutersPope meets cardinal he fired, in apparent reconciliation
Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Thursday with Cardinal Angelo Becciu, according to the cardinal who was fired by the pontiff last September on accusations of embezzlement and nepotism. Becciu told Italian journalists that the Mass was said in the chapel of the cardinal's apartment in the Vatican. Father Angelo Sceppacerca, an aide to the cardinal, confirmed the meeting in a telephone call with Reuters.
WorldAssociated PressGood Friday and virus lockdown empty Manila’s streets
Filipinos marked Good Friday, one of the most solemn holidays in Asia's largest Roman Catholic nation, with deserted streets and churches following a strict lockdown to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. Major highways and roads were eerily quiet after religious gatherings were prohibited in metropolitan Manila and four outlying provinces. The Philippines has imposed some of the world's longest police- and military-enforced coronavirus quarantines and lockdowns, which caused the economy last year to contract by 9.5%, the worst economic setback since the Philippines began issuing such economic data just after World War II.
WorldAssociated PressMyanmar cuts wireless internet service amid coup protests
Myanmar's wireless broadband internet services were shut down on Friday by order of the military, local providers said, as protesters continued to defy the threat of lethal violence to oppose the junta's takeover. A directive from the Ministry of Transport and Communications on Thursday instructed that all wireless broadband data services be temporarily suspended until further notice,” according to a statement posted online by local provider Ooredoo. After weeks of overnight cutoffs of internet access, the military on Friday shut all links apart from those using fiber optic cable, whose speeds are drastically slower.
WorldBBCAustralia: Geologist beaten up by 'angriest octopus' on beach
In a video that has gone viral, the octopus can be seen in shallow waters lashing out at geologist Lance Karlson. The tentacles left stinging red welts on his skin, which Mr Karlson said only eased after he poured cola over them. The former lifeguard told Australian news outlet 7News that his preferred treatment for sea animal stings is vinegar, but he did not have any on him at the time.
WorldReutersTrain crash kills 48 in Taiwan's deadliest rail tragedy for decades
A Taiwan express train with almost 500 aboard derailed in a tunnel on Friday, killing at least 48 passengers and injuring 66 in the island's worst rail disaster in almost four decades. Images from the scene showed carriages in the tunnel ripped apart by the impact, with others crumpled, hindering rescuers in their efforts to reach passengers, although by mid-afternoon no one was still trapped. "People just fell all over each other, on top of one another," a woman who survived the crash told domestic television.
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China asked to remove vessels by Philippines in disputed South China Sea
The Philippine government said Wednesday that more than 250 Chinese vessels it believes are operated by militia have been spotted near six Manila-claimed islands and reefs in the disputed South China Sea and demanded that China immediately remove them.
WorldReutersPower play - India wields oil 'weapon' to cut dependence on Saudi
When India's government last month asked refiners to speed up diversification and reduce dependence on the Middle East - days after OPEC+ said it would maintain production cuts - it sent a message about its clout and foreshadowed changes to the world's energy maps. It was a move that had been in the works for years, fuelled by repeated comments from Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who in 2015 called oil purchases a "weapon" for his country. When the Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries and Major Producers (OPEC+) extended the production cuts into April, India unsheathed that weapon.
StyleArchitectural DigestThese Modern Dressers Prove That Style and Function Are One and the Same
From a midcentury-inspired chest of drawers to a glamorous mirrored dresser, these storage pieces will make you forget that you have a closet Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsAssociated PressPelosi: Remove Rep. Gaetz from committee if claims are true
Rep. Matt Gaetz, facing accusations of a sexual relationship with an underage girl, should at a minimum be removed from the House Judiciary Committee if the claims are true, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. Pelosi, D-Calif., also said the House Ethics Committee should consider the allegations against the Florida Republican. Gaetz, 38, who has been one of former President Donald Trump's closest allies since coming to Congress in 2017, said anew Thursday that the accusations are wrong.
WorldBBCMyanmar coup: Six-year-old shot 'as she ran into father's arms'
A six-year-old girl has been shot dead in Myanmar, becoming the youngest known victim in the crackdown following last month's military coup. Khin Myo Chit's family told the BBC she was killed by police while she ran towards her father, during a raid on their home in the city of Mandalay. Myanmar's military has been increasing its use of force as protests continue.
U.S.Associated PressCoin firm pays it forward after Georgia man paid in pennies
A global company has stepped in to solve quite a “coinundrum” for a Georgia man. When Bellevue, Washington-based Coinstar heard about his predicament, they decided that change was needed. “Coinstar has been in the coin business for 30 years and we process approximately 41 billion coins annually – so picking up 91,000 pennies was all in a day's work,” Coinstar CEO Jim Gaherity said in a statement.
WorldReutersAustralia probes if blood clot case linked to AstraZeneca vaccine
Australia is investigating whether a blood clotting case recorded on Friday is related to the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, a health official said, raising concern in a nation where most people are expected to receive the drugmaker's shot. A 44-year-old man was admitted to a Melbourne hospital with clotting days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, suffering serious thrombosis and a low count of platelets, or blood cells that stop bleeding. "Investigators have not at this time confirmed a causal link with the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine, but investigations are ongoing," the deputy chief medical officer, Michael Kidd, told a televised briefing.
WorldAssociated PressPakistan, India peace move silences deadly Kashmir frontier
But experts point to a climbdown by both from their earlier stance following a decision by India to strip Kashmir of its semi-autonomy and take direct control over the region in 2019, and its monthslong bitter border standoff with China. Paul Staniland, associate professor of political science at the University of Chicago, said the ongoing costs of clashes along the Line of Control, the economic effects of the pandemic, and other foreign policy challenges facing both countries might have combined to create incentives to pursue a cease-fire. Since 2003, the cease-fire has largely held despite regular skirmishes.
U.S.BBCUSS Johnston: Sub dives to deepest-known shipwreck
Explorers spent several hours surveying and filming the wreck over a series of dives. The 115m-long US Navy destroyer sank during the Battle off Samar in 1944 after a fierce battle with a large fleet of Japanese warships. Victor Vescovo, who led the expedition and piloted the sub, said: “The wreck is so deep so there's very little oxygen down there, and while there is a little bit of contamination from marine life, it's remarkably well intact except for the damage it took from the furious fight.
HealthThe TelegraphNo more lockdowns – Britain will treat Covid like flu, says Chris Whitty
Lockdowns are unlikely to be needed again as Britain learns to treat coronavirus like flu, Prof Chris Whitty has said. The chief medical officer said that up to 25,000 people die in a bad flu year without anyone noticing and that accepting some Covid deaths would be the price of keeping schools and business open and allowing people to live a "whole life". Prof Whitty, speaking on a Royal School of Medicine webinar, said the Government would only be forced to "pull the alarm cord" if a dangerous variant arrived, against which people had no immunity and which sparked exponential growth.
HealthReutersUK regulator found total of 30 cases of blood clot events after AstraZeneca vaccine use
British regulators on Thursday said they have identified 30 cases of rare blood clot events after the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, 25 more than the agency previously reported. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said it had received no such reports of clotting events following use of the vaccine made by BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. The health officials said they still believe the benefits of the vaccine in the prevention of COVID-19 far outweigh any possible risk of blood clots.
PoliticsThe State‘No hand-wringing’: Biden embraces aggressive approach to thorny cultural issues
Mikie Sherrill is the type of congresswoman — a moderate Democrat from a battleground district — who in years past might have recoiled at President Joe Biden's recent call for gun control legislation. “The only place this isn't bipartisan is in Capitol Hill,” said Sherrill, a New Jersey Democrat, noting her own pledges on gun control that closely mirror the president's. “We see widespread support for this across the country.” In the dozen years since Democrats last took control of Washington, lawmakers like Sherrill have led a transformation in how their party handles once-sensitive cultural topics, pushing it to uniformly adopt more liberal positions on issues moderates once gingerly toe-tapped around.
WorldBBCThe 'daughter of Bengal' taking on India's PM
The woman in question is Mamata Banerjee, the firebrand leader of Trinamool Congress (TMC), a regional party that has been ruling the state for a decade. Now Mr Modi, a folksy orator, slips into thickly accented Bengali, much of the amusement of many in the crowd. He launches into a broadside against Ms Banerjee, who is better known in Bengal as "didi" or elder sister, a moniker invented by her supporters.
HealthReutersOverload: Poland struggles to cope as COVID deaths hit 2021 record
WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland sought to ease pressure on hospitals in one of its hardest hit regions on Wednesday as COVID-related deaths hit a 2021 record. As case numbers soar with the spread of a highly contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in Britain, Poland's health service has been driven to the brink, with some regions close to running out of ventilators. Health Ministry data showed that on Monday there was one ventilator available in Silesia, an industrial southern region with a population of some 4.5 million people.
WorldArchitectural DigestPlant Art Is the Logical Next Step in Our Flora Obsession
Lush landscapes, still lifes, and graphic prints are the jolt of color you need in a green jungle—and you can't kill them Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldReutersExclusive: Germany to propose Beirut port reconstruction with 'strings attached' - sources
Germany will next week present a multi-billion-dollar proposal to Lebanese authorities to rebuild the Port of Beirut as part of efforts to entice the country's politicians to form a government capable of warding off financial collapse, two sources said. A chemical explosion at the port last August killed 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed entire neighbourhoods in Lebanon's capital, plunging the country deeper into its worst political and economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. According to two diplomatic sources with knowledge of the plans, Germany and France are vying to lead reconstruction efforts.
WorldBBC'The grim reality of reporting in China that pushed me out’
Pressure and propaganda - the reality of reporting Xinjiang The disinformation tactics used by China China's ministry of foreign affairs has continued the attacks, using the podium at its daily press briefing on Thursday to criticise what it called the BBC's "fake news". It played a video clip from our recent interview with Volkswagen in China over its decision to operate a car plant in Xinjiang, suggesting that this "is the kind of report that triggers the anger of the Chinese people". It's an unlikely claim, of course, given that the vast majority of the Chinese people cannot see any of our reporting, which has long been blocked.
“D.C. residents do all the other things that all U.S. citizens do, but they don’t have anyone who votes in Congress who represents them.”
“The agitation for D.C. statehood is little more than a cynical play for partisan advantage.”
“If you care about racial justice, then you care about granting full voting rights to Black Americans.”
“Once residential Washington is no longer the nation's capital, there is no good reason it should be a separate state.”
“The Senate as a whole massively overrepresents white and rural areas.”