WorldAssociated PressHong Kong detains 47 activists on subversion charges
Hong Kong police on Sunday detained 47 pro-democracy activists on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion under the city's national security law, in the largest mass charge against the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's opposition camp since the law came into effect last June. The former lawmakers and democracy advocates had been previously arrested in a sweeping police operation in January but were released. They have been detained again and will appear in court on Monday, police said in a statement.
WorldBBCJamal Khashoggi: US says Saudi prince approved Khashoggi killing
A US intelligence report has found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the murder of exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The report released by the Biden administration says the prince approved a plan to either "capture or kill" Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia rejected the report, calling it "negative, false and unacceptable".
U.S.ReutersArrest warrant issued for suspect in murder of Yale student
Police investigating the fatal shooting of a Yale University student have officially named a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a murder suspect, intensifying a nationwide manhunt. The New Haven Police Department said in a Facebook post on Saturday that it had secured an arrest warrant charging Qinxuan Pan with murder, and that it would provide additional information on Monday. Pan remained at large, it said.
PoliticsThe WeekBen Sasse on Matt Gaetz: 'That guy is not an adult'
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) didn't exactly pull punches in an interview with Politico, going after congressional Republicans, Democrats, former President Donald Trump, and the Biden administration all in one go. Sasse, who is facing imminent censure from the Nebraska GOP for voting to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, stands by that vote and says he's not bothered by the action his home state's Republican Party is taking against him, though he did say he thinks it's not "healthy." At one point, when asked about Trump loyalist Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Sasse simply said "that guy is not an adult," and described Congress, generally, as "a bunch of yokels screaming."
U.S.Associated Press10 death row inmates in Oklahoma could get new trials
As many as 10 death row inmates in Oklahoma, more than one-fifth of the state's prisoners condemned to die, could escape execution because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerning criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country. The inmates have challenged their convictions in state court following the high court's ruling last year, dubbed the McGirt decision, that determined a large swath of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation. The decision means that Oklahoma prosecutors lack the authority to pursue criminal charges in cases in which the defendants, or the victims, are tribal citizens.
WorldThe TelegraphDollars flood Venezuela as Maduro abandons 'socialismo' in favour of Chinese system
Now, the hotel is open again as a symbol of an impending economic recovery and tourism boom in a country that has suffered the worst economic crisis in modern Latin American history. But the so-called Socialist president's touting of the luxurious, $300 per night hotel in a country where most live in poverty represents something else to others - an abandonment of a political project promising a socialist utopia in favor of an 'anything goes', capitalist kleptocracy. Since the dark days of mid-2019, when inflation hit 10 million per cent and Venezuela's weaved baskets out of useless Bolivar notes, the economy has shown signs of recovery.
WorldReutersIran condemns U.S. strikes in Syria, denies attacks in Iraq
Iran on Saturday condemned U.S. air strikes against Iran-backed militias in Syria, and denied responsibility for rocket attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq that prompted Friday's strikes. Washington said its strikes on positions of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah paramilitary group along the Iraq border were in response to the rocket attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq. Western officials and some Iraqi officials have blamed those attacks on Iran-backed groups.
U.S.Associated PressLA police probe fire, vandalism at Japanese Buddhist temple
Authorities are investigating a vandalism and fire at a Buddhist temple in the Little Tokyo section of downtown Los Angeles. Surveillance video caught a man jumping the security fences at the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple on Thursday night, smashing a 12-foot-high glass window with a rock, yanking a pair of metallic lanterns off their concrete bases and lighting two wooden lantern stands on fire, the temple's head priest told the Los Angeles Times. Your first feelings are those of disappointment and sadness to see what happened,” said the Rev.
- WorldAssociated Press
Gunmen kill Islamic cleric, his son, student in Pakistan
A trio of gunmen shot and killed a religious cleric, his teenage son and a student on the outskirts of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, police said, amid a rise in militant attacks. Police officer Shahzad Khan said the killing took place in the Bhara Kahu neighborhood when Mufti Ikramur Rehman was heading toward his car with his 13-year-old son and a seminary student late Saturday night. The cleric, his son and the student received multiple gunshot wounds and died at a hospital.
WorldReutersIran dismisses idea of talks with EU and U.S. to revive 2015 nuclear deal
Iran on Sunday ruled out holding an informal meeting with the United States and European powers to discuss ways to revive its 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, insisting that Washington must lift all its unilateral sanctions. "Considering the recent actions and statements by the United States and three European powers, Iran does not consider this the time to hold an informal meeting with these countries, which was proposed by the EU foreign policy chief," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said, according to Iranian media. Iranian officials had said Tehran was studying a proposal by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to hold an informal meeting with other parties to the nuclear pact and the United States, which reimposed sanctions on Iran after then-president Donald Trump quit the deal in 2018.
WorldAssociated PressUN warns of mass famine in Yemen ahead of donor conference
A U.N. humanitarian agency on Sunday warned that more than 16 million people in Yemen would go hungry this year, with already some half a million people in the war-torn country living in famine-like conditions. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said the risk of large-scale famine in the Arab world's poorest country “has never been more acute,” adding that the years-long conflict, economic decline, and institutional collapse created enormous humanitarian needs in all sectors. The stark warning comes a day before a pledging conference co-hosted by Sweden and Switzerland.
U.S.INSIDERMinneapolis approved funding to hire social media influencers to spread information about ex cop Derek Chauvin's trial
Minneapolis city council approved funding to hire social media influencers for Derek Chauvin's trial, WCCO-TV reported. The influencers will be paid to provide the local community with information about the trial. Chauvin was charged in Floyd's death, and his trial is set to begin on March 8.
- WorldAssociated Press
Russian helicopter crash-lands in northern Syria, casualties
A Russian military helicopter made an emergency landing for technical reasons in northeast Syria on Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry said. Syria's state media said there were casualties among the crew. Russia joined Syria's war in September 2015 and has since helped tip the balance of power in favor of President Bashar Assad's forces.
WorldReutersUp to six cases of Manaus variant of coronavirus detected in UK
Up to six cases of the variant of coronavirus first identified in the Brazilian city of Manaus have been detected in Britain for the first time, English health officials said on Sunday. Three cases were found in England and another three in Scotland. The risk to the wider community was considered low but as a precaution officials investigating the English cases were moving quickly to deploy testing and increasing the sequencing of positive coronavirus samples from the area, Public Health England said.
- WorldReuters Videos
Five die and over 170 injured in Iraq's protests
Among the fatalities, most died from bullet wounds, a hospital source said, adding that about 120 protesters were wounded. At least 57 members of the security forces were injured, according to another hospital source and a security source. The clashes continued on Friday evening after a week of violence that erupted on Sunday when security forces fired to disperse protesters, who were trying to storm the provincial government building using rocks and Molotov cocktails.
WorldAssociated PressSaudi Arabia says it intercepts missile attack over capital
Saudi Arabia said Saturday it intercepted a missile attack over its capital and bomb-laden drones targeting a southern province, the latest in a series of airborne assaults it has blamed on Yemen's rebel Houthis. The Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen's yearslong war announced the Iran-allied Houthis had launched a ballistic missile toward Riyadh and three booby-trapped drones toward the province of Jizan, with a fourth toward another southwestern city and other drones being monitored. No casualties or damage were initially reported.
WorldINSIDER317 schoolgirls have been abducted by 'bandits' in an attack on a boarding school in Nigeria
Over 300 schoolgirls have been kidnapped from a boarding school in Northern Nigeria. Gunmen attacked the school and a nearby military checkpoint, according to Associated Press. A joint rescue operation between the military and police is now said to be underway.
PoliticsAssociated PressSupreme Court could put new limits on voting rights lawsuits
Eight years after carving the heart out of a landmark voting rights law, the Supreme Court is looking at putting new limits on efforts to combat racial discrimination in voting. The justices are taking up a case about Arizona restrictions on ballot collection and another policy that penalizes voters who cast ballots in the wrong precinct. The high court's consideration comes as Republican officials in the state and around the country have proposed more than 150 measures, following last year's elections, to restrict voting access that civil rights groups say would disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic voters.
WorldReutersNorway's capital tightens lockdown to fight faster virus spread
Norway's capital Oslo will tighten lockdown measures to combat a sharp rise in coronavirus infections linked to a more contagious variant, the city's governing mayor said on Sunday. The variant, which was first identified in Britain, started spreading in Oslo in January and now accounts for 50-70% of infections, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) said on Saturday. On Friday, Oslo registered a daily record of 245 new coronavirus infections.
- NewsReuters Videos
Low tide leaves Venice canals almost empty
Traditional gondolas and boats could be seen almost beached in the canals as water levels reached a peak of -48 cm, creating an unusual landscape in the lagoon city. Venice, beloved around the world for its canals, historic architecture and art, has always lived in a fragile balance between low and high tides, that usually create variations of around 50 cm in sea levels. Flooding is a constant enemy of the art city built on a collection of small islands within a saltwater lagoon off the north-eastern coast of Italy, with every new incursion damaging its medieval and Renaissance palaces.
WorldAssociated PressPakistan expert: Religiosity aiding spike in militancy
Militant attacks are on the rise in Pakistan amid a growing religiosity that has brought greater intolerance, prompting one expert to voice concern the country could be overwhelmed by religious extremism. Pakistani authorities are embracing strengthening religious belief among the population to bring the country closer together. But it's doing just the opposite, creating intolerance and opening up space for a creeping resurgence in militancy, said Mohammad Amir Rana, executive director of the independent Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies.
WorldBBCThe mystery of India’s ‘lake of skeletons’
High in the Indian Himalayas, a remote lake nestled in a snowy valley is strewn with hundreds of human skeletons. Roopkund Lake is located 5,029 metres (16,500ft) above sea level at the bottom of a steep slope on Trisul, one of India's highest mountains, in the state of Uttarakhand. The remains are strewn around and beneath the ice at the "lake of skeletons", discovered by a patrolling British forest ranger in 1942.
WorldThe IndependentFar-right Proud Boys leader condemns Capitol rioters but says he 'won't cry' about politicians
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has condemned the rioters who besieged the US Capitol, but will not “cry” about lawmakers who came under attack on the day. Mr Tarrio, who was arrested two days before some members of the Proud Boys – and other Trump supporters – rioted at the US Capitol, told CNN that lawmakers did not need sympathy after the attack. The remarks come despite concerns among members of Congress that they were targets of those who broke into the complex on 6 January, citing baseless claims the 2020 election was “stolen”.
BusinessReutersWall Street Week Ahead: Investors weigh new stock leadership as broader market wobbles
A shakeup in stocks accelerated by the past week's surge in Treasury yields has investors weighing how far a recent leadership rotation in the U.S. equity market can run, and its implications for the broader S&P 500 index. Moves this week further spurred a shift that has seen months-long outperformance for energy, financial and other shares expected to benefit from an economic recovery, while a climb in Treasury yields weighed on the technology stocks that have led markets higher for years. The two-track market left the benchmark S&P 500 down for the week, and sparked questions about whether it could sustain gains going forward if the tech and growth stocks that account for the biggest weights in the index struggle.
U.S.Associated PressCalifornia to spend $28M to help arriving asylum-seekers
California is freeing up as much as $28 million to help immigrants arriving from Mexico and being released in the U.S. until their court dates, a sharp contrast from other border states that have emerged as foes of President Joe Biden's immigration policies. The funding, expected to last through June, comes as Biden unwinds former President Donald Trump's policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico until their court hearings. It will pay for hotel rooms for immigrants to quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic before going to their final destinations throughout the U.S. Money also will go to Jewish Family Service of San Diego to provide food, transportation and help with travel logistics.
“How about we skip ‘he won’t win’ cycle and not do 2016 all over again. Trump can absolutely win another presidential election.”
“With independents deserting him, there is simply no path for Trump to get back into the White House — except as a tourist.”
“They might as well cancel the 2024 primaries...because there is no way he can lose.”
“The next Republican presidential primary will be heavily shaped by Trump — whether or not he decides to run again.”
“Donald Trump will not be running for president again. He will, however, continue to tease the possibility of a 2024 run.”