PoliticsThe IndependentMarjorie Taylor Greene suspended from Twitter after telling Trump supporters to ‘mobilise’
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was suspended from Twitter for 12 hours after sending out a now-deleted tweet telling Trump supporters to "mobilize". ProPublica preserved the deleted tweet, which said: "I encourage all Americans, not just the 75 million people who voted for President Trump, to mobilize and make your voices heard in opposition to these attacks on our liberties." A Twitter spokesperson told NPR that Ms Greene "has been temporarily locked out for multiple violations of our civic integrity policy".
WorldReutersRussia says all Azeri captives returned under Karabakh deal
Armenia has returned all Azeri prisoners who were captured during last year's conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, but the process with Armenian prisoners has been held up, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. The six-week conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh was brought to a halt in November by a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement under which Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces were expected to exchange all captives. Armenia has said that many of its prisoners of war remain in Azerbaijan, a problem it has raised with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group.
WorldAssociated PressPakistan PM angry over reports TV anchor knew about strike
Pakistan's prime minister reacted angrily Monday to media reports of a text exchange between an Indian TV anchor and a former media industry executive that suggests a 2019 Indian airstrike inside Pakistan was designed to boost Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chances for reelection. Imran Khan took to Twitter to respond to Indian media reports of an exchange on the WhatsApp messaging service between popular Indian TV anchor Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta, the former head of a TV rating company.
U.S.The IndependentCare worker charged in Capitol riots investigated by FBI for trying to ‘steal Pelosi’s laptop and sell it to Russia’
A care worker charged in connection with the Capitol riots has been accused of attempting to steal House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop in order to sell it to Russia. Riley June Williams, 22, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was accused of stealing the laptop by a former partner, who identified her to the FBI after footage emerged of Ms Williams inside the Capitol building. The alleged former partner “stated that Williams intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service,” according to an affidavit.
WorldReutersIndependent pandemic review panel critical of China, WHO delays
An independent panel said on Monday that Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organization (WHO) for not declaring an international emergency until Jan. 30. The experts reviewing the global handling of the pandemic, led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, called for reforms to the Geneva-based United Nations agency.Their interim report was published hours after the WHO's top emergency expert, Mike Ryan, said that global deaths from COVID-19 were expected to top 100,000 per week "very soon". "What is clear to the Panel is that public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China in January," the report said, referring to the initial outbreak of the new disease in the central city of Wuhan, in Hubei province.
WorldAssociated PressMoon urges Biden to learn from Trump's N. Korea diplomacy
North Korea has a history of staging weapons tests and other provocations to test new U.S. presidents, and Kim vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program in recent political speeches that were seen as aimed at pressuring the incoming Biden administration. The South Korean leader has been desperate to keep alive a positive atmosphere for dialogue in the face of Kim's vows to further expand a nuclear and missile program that threatens Asian U.S. allies and the American homeland. And while Moon acknowledged that Biden is likely to try a different approach than Trump, he stressed that Biden could still learn from Trump's successes and failures in dealing with North Korea.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Biden to end Keystone XL pipeline early on
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden may end the Keystone XL pipeline project as one of his first acts in office, a source familiar with his thinking told Reuters it could happen as early as day one. Biden, who will be inaugurated on Wednesday, was vice president when Barack Obama rejected the $9 billion project in 2015. Then two years later, Donald Trump issued a presidential permit that allowed the line to move forward.
PoliticsReutersFactbox: Biden's Cabinet appointees get their day in Congress
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is set to take office on Wednesday with only a few of his top chosen deputies in place. The Democrat's Cabinet appointees are awaiting approval by the Senate, who are set to hold their first confirmation hearings on Tuesday. Biden's pick for Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, will meet with the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT).
U.S.Business InsiderThe man accused of breaking the window Ashli Babbitt tried to climb through when she was shot during the Capitol insurrection has been arrested
Chad Barrett Jones, 42, of Coxs Creek, Kentucky, was arrested in Louisville on Saturday, the FBI said in a news release. Jones is accused of breaking a window of the Capitol building moments before Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot during the insurrection earlier this month. He's facing multiple charges, including assault on a federal officer, destruction of government property, obstruction of justice, unlawful entry on restricted building or grounds, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
- WorldAssociated Press
Israeli jets hit Hamas targets in Gaza after rockets fired
Israeli military aircraft struck targets in the Gaza Strip early on Monday in response to two rockets fired from the Palestinian territory, the military said. In a statement, the military said fighter jets hit Hamas military targets, including sites for digging underground tunnels, some of which stretch into Israel. There were also no reports of damage or injury from the rockets launched.
WorldReutersChina to sanction U.S. officials for 'nasty behaviour' over Taiwan
U.S. officials who have engaged in "nasty behaviour" over Chinese-claimed Taiwan will face sanctions, China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday, after Washington lifted curbs on exchanges between U.S. and Taiwanese officials. Sino-U.S. ties have worsened as China has already condemned this month's easing, announced by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the waning days of President Donald Trump's presidency. Further adding to China's anger, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, spoke last week to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, after a planned trip to Taipei was called off.
PoliticsReutersValneva says UK rollout of COVID-19 vaccine could start in July-September: report
French drugmaker Valneva hopes its COVID-19 vaccine can start to be used in Britain between July and September, the company's chief executive was quoted as saying. Valneva has agreed to provide Britain with 60 million doses of its vaccine, compared with 100 million doses of the shot from AstraZeneca and Oxford University. "We are days away from starting the commercial manufacturing," Thomas Lingelbach told The Mail on Sunday newspaper.
- WorldAssociated Press
Pakistani raid kills Taliban suspected of slaying of troops
Pakistani security forces raided a hideout Monday in a former insurgent stronghold in the country's northwest and killed two Taliban fighters, including one suspected of involvement in an October attack that killed six soldiers, the military said. A third suspect was arrested in the raid in the South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Pakistani militants have in recent months stepped up attacks on troops in the former tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, citing concerns that insurgents are regrouping there.
PoliticsBBCMelania’s jacket and nine other defining images of Trump's presidency
After four years of President Donald Trump, the US is gearing up for a new leader on 20 January. Crowds are seen gathered at Mr Trump's inauguration ceremony on 20 January 2017. Days after the ceremony, the president accused the media of lying about attendance, claiming that TV footage and photos of the inauguration had made the crowds look smaller than they were.
WorldReutersJapan PM Suga: Will exhaust all means to protect pandemic-hit medical system
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Monday his government will take all possible measures to protect the country's medical system, as hospitals creak under the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic. Suga this month issued a state of emergency for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures in a bid to stem a resurgence of infections. "We are all ready to deploy the Self-Defence Forces' medical team if requested by governors."
WorldAssociated PressNicaragua congress adopts life sentences; opposition opposes
Nicaragua's congress gave final approval Monday to change the constitution to permit life imprisonment. Congress is dominated by President Daniel Ortega's Sandinista party, and opposition legislators voted against the measure or abstained. Opponents say life sentences could be used against the political opposition, like other recent measures passed by Ortega's party.
PoliticsBBCBiden inauguration rehearsal paused amid US Capitol lockdown
The Capitol complex in Washington DC was briefly locked down after a security alert, two days before Joe Biden is inaugurated as US president. It came amid preparations for a rehearsal for Mr Biden's inauguration. Five people died after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, which is home to the US Congress, on 6 January.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump ‘won’t pardon himself or family’, says Fox News
President Trump is not expected to issue pardons for himself or his family, according to Fox News White House correspondent John Roberts. White House aides and lawyers have reportedly urged the president not to try to pardon himself or to issue preemptive pardons for members of his family, fearing that it might lead to more Republican Senators to vote to convict Mr Trump in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial. No president has tried to pardon themselves while in office.
WorldAssociated PressWHO raises 'concerns' about Mideast vaccine inequity
The World Health Organization has raised "concerns" about the unequal distribution of coronavirus vaccines in Israel, which has given shots to more than 20% of its population, and the occupied territories, where Palestinians have yet to receive any, an official said Monday. Rights groups say Israel has the responsibility as an occupying power to provide vaccines to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel says it has no such obligation and that its own population — including Arab citizens — is the priority, but that at some point it might consider sharing its supplies.
CelebrityThe Daily BeastFarewell, Ivanka Trump? No, Ivanka Doesn’t Want to Say Farewell.
Ivanka Trump's time in the White House has been horrible for America. Watch: Where do Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner go from here? Call it classic rich kid brattiness or a more complicated kind of delusion, but for Ivanka the future is still bright, or it is in her determination to just carry on regardless.
PoliticsAssociated PressCensus Bureau director to resign amid criticism over data
Facing criticism that he was acceding to President Donald Trump's demand to produce citizenship information at the expense of data quality, U.S. Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham said Monday that he planned to resign with the change in presidential administrations. Dillingham said in a statement that he would resign on Wednesday, the day Trump leaves the White House and President-elect Joseph Biden takes office. Dillingham's term was supposed to be finished at the end of the year.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Police use water cannon on anti-lockdown protest
The protesters had gathered on a square in front of the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum art galleries, carrying signs reading "Freedom: stop this siege" and chanting "What do we want? Freedom!" None wore masks, which are not mandatory, and few respected social distancing rules.
BusinessBusiness InsiderThe pandemic devastated airlines in 2020 and forced many out of business - here's the most notable that didn't make it to 2021
All 11 major US airlines remained intact but smaller regional carriers were forced to close or merge due to the drop in travel demand. A surprise announcement in February that the promising Qatar Airways-backed Air Italy would be liquidated set the stage for a year of losses even before lockdowns grounded the world's airlines. In the US, all 11 major airlines remained intact but smaller regional carriers folded amid an unprecedented drop in passengers that remains low even into the new year.
U.S.The Daily BeastCapitol Rioter May Have Stolen Pelosi’s Laptop and Tried to Sell It to Russia, Says FBI
One of the Trumpist rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier this month may have stolen House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop and then tried to sell it to Russian intelligence, according to a criminal complaint. The extraordinary claim—which is now under investigation by the FBI—comes from an affidavit describing the criminal case against Pennsylvania woman Riley June Williams. According to the complaint, the footage shows Williams “directing crowds inside the U.S. Capitol Building up a staircase,” and she can be heard repeatedly yelling: “Upstairs, upstairs, upstairs.”
WorldBusiness InsiderA Princeton professor warned students not to take his class while in China amid the country's tightening grip on dissent
Rory Truex, an assistant professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, told students not to take his course on Chinese politics if they currently reside in China. Truex told the Daily Princetonian the course covers subjects the Chinese government may consider sensitive and could endanger students. American academics fear for their Chinese students in the wake of China's increasingly bold crackdown on political dissent at home and abroad.
“If you’re looking to win elections, it is probably best not to urge your supporters not to vote.”
“Warnock’s portrayal of himself as a dog lover, a means of overcoming white suspicions of Black men, smacked of pure genius.”
“Trump has done damage to the Republican brand among suburban voters that goes well beyond just races where he is on the ballot.”
“Once more, Democrats must profusely thank activist Stacey Abrams.”
“Overall, demographic trends show that the state’s electorate is becoming younger and more diverse each year.”