PoliticsBBCTrump lawyer Rudy Giuliani sued by Dominion voting machine firm
A firm which provided voting machinery in last year's US presidential election is filing a defamation suit against Donald Trump's lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, seeking $1.3bn (£950m) in damages. Dominion Voting Systems accuses Mr Giuliani of using Twitter and media appearances to promote a false narrative that the election was stolen. Mr Trump has refused to concede that Joe Biden won the 2020 election fairly.
U.S.Associated PressUS judge blocks release of Tennessee man in Capitol riot
A federal judge on Sunday blocked the release of a Tennessee man who authorities say carried flexible plastic handcuffs during the riot at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month. U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell for the District of Columbia set aside an order by a judge in Tennessee concerning the release of Eric Munchel of Nashville. After testimony at a detention hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Frensley for the Middle District of Tennessee determined Friday that Munchel wasn't a flight risk and didn't pose harm to the public.
PoliticsReutersU.S. Supreme Court spurns former New York lawmaker Silver's appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal by Sheldon Silver, the once-powerful New York State Assembly Speaker, of his conviction on corruption charges that resulted in a 6-1/2-year prison sentence. Silver, 76, began serving his sentence last August despite being in poor health. He had appealed the portions of his 2018 conviction that were upheld in January 2020 by the Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
PoliticsThe TelegraphRepublican split widens as Donald Trump intervenes in party elections in Arizona
The acrimonious split within Republican ranks widened over the weekend as Donald Trump made his foray back into politics, backing the re-election of a hard-line supporter as chair of the party in Arizona. Underlining Mr Trump's grip on the Republican grassroots, the Arizona party also voted to censure John McCain's widow, Cindy, former senator Jeff Flake and governor Doug Ducey, who refused to back the former president's claims of election fraud. Mr Trump's intervention came amid reports that he is considering setting up a “Patriot Party” which would spearhead primary challenges to his opponents in the 2022 mid-term elections.
WorldAssociated PressEU wants full recognition for UK envoy in post-Brexit spat
The European Union called Monday on the United Kingdom to grant the EU's first-ever ambassador to the country full diplomatic status after the government in London declined to accord him those rights, but gave no clear signal that it would take retaliatory action. In a post-Brexit spat, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government is refusing to grant full diplomatic status to Joao Vale de Almeida, the 27-nation EU's envoy to the U.K, which left the bloc last year. London says the EU is an organization, rather than a country.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTed Cruz's 'Pittsburgh over Paris' campaign shows us just how dumb the Biden years are going to be
In response to Biden re-entering the US into the Paris climate agreement, GOP Sen. Ted Cruz has launched a "Pittsburgh over Paris" campaign. Cruz says that Biden rejoining the Paris agreement will cost the citizens of Pittsburgh jobs, but the idea makes no sense and is just another bad faith attempt at scoring political points. This is the norm for Republicans, and a sign of what's to come.
WorldReutersEU states no longer recognise Guaido as Venezuela's interim president
Venezuela's Juan Guaido is a "privileged interlocutor" but no longer considered interim president, European Union states said in a statement on Monday, sticking by their decision to downgrade his status. The EU's 27 states had said on Jan. 6 they could no longer legally recognise Guaido as after he lost his position as head of parliament following legislative elections in Venezuela in December, despite the EU not recognising that vote. Following the disputed re-election of President Nicolas Maduro in 2018, Guaido, as head of parliament, became interim president.
PoliticsAssociated PressHouse sending Trump impeachment to Senate, GOP opposes trial
As the House prepares to bring the impeachment charge against Donald Trump to the Senate for trial, a growing number of Republican senators say they are opposed to the proceeding, dimming the chances that former president will be convicted on the charge that he incited a siege of the U.S. Capitol. House Democrats will carry the sole impeachment charge of “incitement of insurrection” across the Capitol Monday evening, a rare, ceremonial walk to the Senate by the prosecutors who will argue the case. They are hoping that strong Republican denunciations of Trump after the Jan. 6 riot will translate into a conviction and a separate vote to bar Trump from holding office again.
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Putin calls protests demanding Navalny's release illegal and dangerous
Police detained more than 3,700 people and used force to break up rallies across Russia on Saturday as tens of thousands of protesters ignored extreme cold and police warnings to demand Navalny be freed from jail where he is serving out a 30-day stint for alleged parole violations he denies. Putin, who avoids mentioning Navalny by name, told students on Monday that nobody should use illegal protest action to further their own political interests. "Everyone has the right to express their point of view within the framework provided by the law.
WorldThe TelegraphChinese fighter jets buzz Taiwan for second day as tensions rise days into Biden term
China ramped up its pressure on democratic Taiwan over the weekend, with an unusually large number of fighter jets approaching the island in a "test" for the new administration of US President Joe Biden. On Sunday, 12 Chinese fighter jets entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone, along with a reconnaissance aircraft and two anti-submarine aircraft, Taiwan's defence ministry said. A day earlier, China sent eight bomber planes capable of carrying nuclear weapons and four fighter jets to the same area to the southwest of the island, as well as one reconnaissance aircraft.
HealthReutersModerna says it believes vaccine will work against new variants
Moderna said on Monday it believes its COVID-19 vaccine protects against new variants found in Britain and South Africa, although it will test a new booster shot aimed at the South Africa variant after concluding that the antibody response could be diminished. The company said in a press release that it found no reduction in the antibody response against the variant found in Britain. Against the variant found in South Africa, it found a reduced response but still believed its two-dose regimen would provide protection.
PoliticsAssociated PressAP source: Lawmakers threatened ahead of impeachment trial
Federal law enforcement officials are examining a number of threats aimed at members of Congress as the second trial of former President Donald Trump nears, including ominous chatter about killing legislators or attacking them outside of the U.S. Capitol, a U.S. official told The Associated Press. The threats, and concerns that armed protesters could return to sack the Capitol anew, have prompted the U.S. Capitol Police and other federal law enforcement to insist thousands of National Guard troops remain in Washington as the Senate moves forward with plans for Trump's trial, the official said Sunday.
WorldBBCSikkim: Chinese and Indian troops 'in new border clash'
Chinese and Indian troops have reportedly clashed again in a disputed border area, with injuries on both sides, Indian media say. The incident took place in north Sikkim last Wednesday. India's army said there had been a "minor" incident that had been "resolved".
WorldReutersCanada's Trans Mountain pipeline sees fortunes shine after KXL's demise
The expansion of Canada's government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline assumes greater importance for the oil sector after the cancellation of rival Keystone XL reduced future options to carry crude, potential buyers say. Trans Mountain Corp, a government corporation, is spending C$12.6 billion ($9.9 billion) to nearly triple capacity to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd), a 14% increase from current total Canadian capacity. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government bought the 68-year-old pipeline in 2018 when previous owner Kinder Morgan faced legal hurdles to expand the 1,150-kilometre (715-mile) line running from Alberta to the British Columbia coast.
PoliticsAssociated PressWhy Biden's immigration plan may be risky for Democrats
In his race against Trump, Biden won the support of 63% of Latino voters compared with Trump's 35%, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide. But Trump narrowed the margin somewhat in some swing states such as Nevada and also got a bump from Latino men, 39% of whom backed him compared with 33% of Latino women. Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate since 1996 to carry Arizona, in part because of strong grassroots backing from Mexican American groups opposed to strict GOP immigration policies going back decades.
WorldBBCVietnam's party congress picks new communist leaders
Vietnam's political elite is gathering to choose the country's leadership for the next five years amid a largely successful battle against Covid-19 and a booming economy. Think of the tightly choreographed political theatre one sees at China's or North Korea's party congresses, and you get the idea. Vietnam is a lot like that, albeit slightly more low-key.
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'I feel divine' says Madrid care home resident after second COVID shot
Residents of a Madrid nursing home got their second shot of the coronavirus vaccine on Monday and some began planning their first trip outside in months. "I feel divine and delighted to be able to live a more normal life with everybody thanks to my defences," said Rosario Martin-Sanz, 99. She was the first resident of the Ballesol Parque Almansa home to get her second COVID shot a week ago, while others were being vaccinated on Monday.
PoliticsAssociated PressWatchdog probes if DOJ officials tried to overturn election
The Justice Department's inspector general is launching an investigation to examine whether any former or current department officials “engaged in an improper attempt” to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Inspector General Michael Horowitz said Monday that the investigation will investigate allegations concerning the conduct of former and current Justice Department officials but will not extend to other government officials. The investigation comes after The New York Times reported that a former assistant attorney general, Jeffrey Clark, had been discussing a plan with then-President Donald Trump to oust the acting attorney general, try to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential race and suggest falsely that there had been widespread election fraud.
WorldAssociated PressEU pressures AstraZeneca to deliver vaccines as promised
The European Union lashed out Monday at AstraZeneca, accusing the pharmaceutical company of failing to deliver the coronavirus vaccine doses that it promised to the bloc despite getting EU funding to ramp up vaccine production. The EU, already facing heavy criticism for a slow vaccine rollout around its 27 nations, also warned that within days it will demand approving any COVID-19 vaccines produced within the bloc for export. “The European Union will take any action required to protect its citizens and its rights," Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said.
WorldReutersBoycott 'wildcat' Scottish independence vote, says Scottish Conservative leader
Backers of the union of the United Kingdom's four nations should boycott any "wildcat" independence referendum for Scotland, the leader of the Scottish Conservative Party said on Monday, after the nation's first minister pressed ahead with plans for a vote. Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said on Sunday she was hoping a strong performance by her Scottish National Party (SNP) in an election in May would give her the mandate to hold a second referendum. To get a legal referendum, any such vote must be approved by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has ruled out doing so.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump spent his first weekend in office lying about crowd sizes. Biden used it to quietly enact major reforms
This could be seen on Wednesday when President Joe Biden was sworn in at noon during the inaugural ceremonies, then just hours later signed 17 executive orders focusing on the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and undoing his predecessor's legacy on issues like immigration and foreign relations. As work quietly continued behind the scenes, Mr Biden spent the weekend meeting with advisers in the Oval Office, receiving briefings and mapping out his first 100 days. It was quite the difference from Donald Trump's first weekend in office: sworn in on a Friday afternoon, the former president spent his first days as commander-in-chief lying about his Inauguration Day crowd sizes, attacking members of the media as being “among the most dishonest human beings on Earth” and, of course, posting his stream of consciousness to social media in the form of endless tweets.
WorldAssociated PressFourth Zimbabwean Cabinet member dies of COVID-19 in surge
Four Zimbabwean Cabinet ministers have died of COVID-19, three within the past two weeks, highlighting a resurgence of the disease that is sweeping through this southern African country. President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the coronavirus is reaping a “grim harvest” in the country. Then came the death of the transport minister.
WorldThe TelegraphAnti-curfew protesters clash with police, loot cities across the Netherlands
Protests against a curfew to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the Netherlands degenerated into clashes with police and looting in cities across the country on Sunday, authorities and reports said. Police used water cannon and dogs in Amsterdam, public television NOS reported, after hundreds gathered to protest the curfew which is set to last until February 10 and is the country's first since World War II. In the southern city of Eindhoven, police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of several hundred, regional television Omroep Brabant reported.
WorldAssociated PressChina tackles pandemic with mass construction once again
A sprawling quarantine center with more than 4,000 rooms is being thrown up in northern China in response to a COVID-19 outbreak in Shijiazhuang, a city of more than 10 million people in Hebei province. Satellite images from the European Space Agency show dramatic changes over 10 days in an area where there had been only flat land before construction started on Jan. 13. It's common practice for China to mobilize resources nationwide to tackle natural disasters and other crises.
PoliticsThe IndependentIvanka Trump stays silent on social media as Rubio warns she’ll have ‘tough’ fight if she goes for his seat
Over the weekend Republican senator for Florida Marco Rubio shrugged off rumours that Ms Trump could challenge him to a primary in the 2022 midterm elections. Ms Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, who was also an adviser to the 45th president, recently acquired a $30m (£22m) lot of land on Indian Creek Island in Miami. They are planning to build a new home for themselves there, indicating their intention to stay on in the Sunshine State, where Mr Trump himself now resides at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
“By encouraging this act of terror on our capital, Trump’s legacy is destroyed.”
“Both backers and critics of Trump agreed that he remade the federal judiciary — a change that will impact America for decades.”
“He was largely responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans who did not need to die.”
“I do know what the future should hold for this country. That is to say, a policy of Trumpism without Trump.”
“It will be decades before the consequences of his tenure are fully known.”