- WorldAssociated Press
Turkish police nab Iraqi IS suspect, rescue Yazidi girl
Turkish police have detained a suspected Iraqi Islamic State group militant and rescued a 7-year-old girl from Iraq's Yazidi religious minority he had allegedly been holding captive, the state-run news agency reported Wednesday. The man, identified by his initials S.O., was detained in an early morning raid in the capital Ankara, the Anadolu Agency reported. The suspect had once served as an officer in the Iraqi army, the agency said, adding that police and the country's intelligence agency had been monitoring his moves.
BusinessBBCHyundai to replace 82,000 electric-vehicle batteries over fire risk
Hyundai is to replace the electric batteries in nearly 82,000 of its electric vehicles worldwide because of a fire risk. Most of the affected vehicles are Kona cars built between 2018 and 2020, tens of thousands of which have been sold in the UK, vehicle-registration data suggests. The recall is expected to cost Hyundai about £640m ($900m).
WorldReutersTurkey's pro-Kurdish party MPs targeted in legal barrage
Turkey's parliament is set to consider legal bids to lift the immunity from prosecution of 21 pro-Kurdish MPs, applying more pressure on a political party targeted in a years-long crackdown and that now faces calls for its closure. The government accuses the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), parliament's third largest, of ties to Kurdish militants and stepped up its accusations after Turkish captives were killed in Iraq earlier this month. The HDP in response criticised President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP) for using a failed military rescue mission to target it politically and to sow ethnic division, and the European Union has expressed concern over the legal moves.
WorldThe TelegraphExclusive: Northern Ireland Protocol must be abolished, demands European Research Group
The Northern Ireland Protocol must be abolished rather than tweaked, the European Research Group will urge the Government on Thursday. The hardline Tory Brexiteers will publish a report, seen by The Telegraph, urging Boris Johnson to overhaul the problematic protocol rather than work with the EU to amend it. It comes amid a growing outcry over bureaucracy and checks, required under the protocol, hampering the inward flow of some goods to Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
WorldAssociated PressImran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists to visit Pakistan
Visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has proclaimed his Muslim-majority nation a choice destination for religious tourism by Sri Lankans, most of whom are Buddhists. In talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday, Khan highlighted Buddhist heritage sites in Pakistan and stressed the building of cultural ties, the Pakistan Embassy said in a statement. “Pakistan probably has one of the greatest Buddhist heritages in the world and we invite people from Sri Lanka to visit them,” Khan said a day earlier after meeting with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
PoliticsThe IndependentCPAC 2021: Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ about 2020 election fraud lives on
A quick scroll down the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) agenda presents a pretty clear picture of how the Republican party plans to navigate the post-Donald Trump era: by denying that that era has ended. Featuring a seven-part series on “Protecting Elections” from voter fraud and a seemingly limitless docket of speeches from and panel discussions with champions of the “stop the steal” movement — including a keynote address from the head honcho himself, Mr Trump — the annual conservative conference is primed to be a four-day spree of 2020 election denial. Mr Trump, who is slated to deliver his first major speech since leaving the White House at 3.40pm on Sunday, still has not admitted publicly that he lost fair and square last November.
HealthReutersIn boost for COVID-19 battle, Pfizer vaccine found 94% effective in real world
The first big real-world study of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to be independently reviewed shows the shot is highly effective at preventing COVID-19, in a potentially landmark moment for countries desperate to end lockdowns and reopen economies. Up until now, most data on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines has come under controlled conditions in clinical trials, leaving an element of uncertainty over how results would translate into the real world with its unpredictable variables. The research in Israel - two months into one of the world's fastest rollouts, providing a rich source of data - showed two doses of the Pfizer shot cut symptomatic COVID-19 cases by 94% across all age groups, and severe illnesses by nearly as much.
WorldAssociated PressChina celebrates official end of extreme poverty, lauds Xi
The ruling Communist Party is celebrating the official end of extreme poverty in China with a propaganda campaign that praises President Xi Jinping's role, part of efforts to cement his image as a history-making leader who is reclaiming his country's rightful place as a global power. The propaganda apparatus has been linking national successes to Xi, including fighting the coronavirus, China's rise as a technology creator and December's successful lunar mission to bring back moon rocks. The party announced in November, with little fanfare, that China no longer had anyone in extreme poverty.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden news - live: Trump Jr deposed over inaugural funds as White House defends migrant camp after AOC attack
President Joe Biden has backed his Office of Management and Budget director nominee Neera Tanden after a vote confirming her appointment has been delayed. Ms Tanden - who previously worked for President Barack Obama - has faced criticism from Republicans over her previous comments on social media and statements about Mitch McConnell. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the administration didn't see it as a setback, and that they were continuing to fight for her nomination.
WorldReutersNorth Korea enslaving political prisoners to fund weapons programme: South Korea rights group
North Korea has been enslaving political prisoners, including children, in coal production to boost exports and earn foreign currency as part of a system directly linked to its nuclear and missile programmes, a South Korea-based human rights group said on Thursday. The Seoul-based Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) released a study analysing an intricate connection between North Korea's exploitation of its citizens, the production of goods for export, and its weapons programmes. The report, titled "Blood Coal Export from North Korea: Pyramid scheme of earnings maintaining structures of power," said Pyongyang had been operating a "pyramid fraud-like" scheme to force those held in prison camps to produce quotas of coal and other goods for export.
WorldAssociated PressPakistani, Indian militaries agree to stop firing in Kashmir
Rival neighbors Pakistan and India have pledged to stop firing weapons across the border in disputed Kashmir, promising to adhere to a 2003 accord that has been largely ignored, officials from both sides said on Thursday. This time the two militaries themselves are making vocal commitments, with senior generals reaching an understanding over a hotline on Wednesday, a joint statement said. “Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing” along the frontier which separates Kashmir between Pakistan and India, it said.
U.S.National ReviewFederal Judge Indefinitely Blocks Biden Administration’s 100-Day Deportation Moratorium
A federal judge on Tuesday indefinitely banned the Biden administration from enforcing a 100-day pause on deportations of most illegal immigrants in response to a lawsuit from Texas, which argued that the moratorium violated federal law and could saddle the state with additional costs. U.S. district judge Drew Tipton issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday, dealing a blow to President Biden's efforts to follow through on his campaign promise to pause most deportations. Tipton first ruled on January 26 that the pause violated federal law on administrative procedure and that the U.S. failed to show why a deportation pause was justified.
WorldAssociated PressAP PHOTOS: Migrants evade Libyan coast guard to reach Europe
The February storm is unforgiving, violently shaking the humanitarian rescuers' vessel as they try to revive a faulty engine and save African migrants drifting in the Mediterranean Sea after fleeing Libya on unseaworthy boats. Not only must they brave 70 kph (43 mph) winds and 4-meter (13-foot) waves, but also win the race against the Libyan coast guard, which has been trained and equipped by Europe to keep migrants away from its shores. In recent days, the Libyans had already thwarted eight rescue attempts by the Open Arms, a Spanish NGO vessel, harassing and threatening its crew in the international waters of the central Mediterranean where 160 people have died so far this year.
WorldAssociated PressRecent drone attack on Saudi royal palace launched from Iraq
Explosive-laden drones that targeted Saudi Arabia's royal palace in the kingdom's capital last month were launched from inside Iraq, a senior Iran-backed militia official in Baghdad and a U.S. official said. Speaking to The Associated Press this week, the militia official said three drones were launched from Iraqi-Saudi border areas by a relatively unknown Iran-backed faction in Iraq and crashed into the royal complex in Riyadh on Jan. 23, exacerbating regional tensions. Attacks on the Saudi capital have been sporadic amid the kingdom's yearslong war against neighboring Yemen's Houthi rebels.
PoliticsNational ReviewNeera Tanden Committee Vote Postponed as Support for Confirmation Wanes
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) and Budget Committees were set to vote Wednesday on Neera Tanden's nomination to become director of the Office of Management and Budget, but announced last minute that the meetings would be postponed. The delay comes as Tanden's confirmation has been imperiled by Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a moderate Democrat who said he would use his critical vote to oppose the confirmation over her “overtly partisan statements.” Tanden, who is president of the Center for American Progress, deleted more than 1,000 insulting tweets about lawmakers ahead of her nomination.
- NewsYahoo News Video
Trump could face woman who accuses him of raping her in court
During a December visit to New York City, writer E. Jean Carroll says she went shopping with a fashion consultant to find the “best outfit” for one of the most important days of her life —when she'll sit face-to-face with the man she has accused of raping her decades ago, former President Donald Trump.
StyleArchitectural DigestThe Best Dishwasher Models, According to Interior Designers
The designer-approved dishwashers look good—and perform even better Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
HealthAssociated PressAmid COVID-19 pandemic, flu has disappeared in the US
February is usually the peak of flu season, with doctors' offices and hospitals packed with suffering patients. Flu has virtually disappeared from the U.S., with reports coming in at far lower levels than anything seen in decades. Experts say that measures put in place to fend off the coronavirus — mask wearing, social distancing and virtual schooling — were a big factor in preventing a “twindemic” of flu and COVID-19.
WorldAssociated PressSecretive Israeli nuclear facility undergoes major project
A secretive Israeli nuclear facility at the center of the nation's undeclared atomic weapons program is undergoing what appears to be its biggest construction project in decades, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show. A dig about the size of a soccer field and likely several stories deep now sits just meters (yards) from the aging reactor at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center near the city of Dimona. The facility is already home to decades-old underground laboratories that reprocess the reactor's spent rods to obtain weapons-grade plutonium for Israel's nuclear bomb program.
PoliticsThe IndependentMarjorie Taylor Greene’s race for reelection in 2022 will be a ‘bloodbath’
Marjorie Taylor Greene will encounter a “bloodbath” reelection contest against candidates from both parties, according to interviews with local political leaders' about 2022. David Boyle, a Democratic Party chairman, said the 2022 Republican primary for Georgia's 14th congressional district seat, which Ms Greene won in November, was going to be a “bloodbath”. "The middle-of-the-road traditional Republicans are tired of all of this craziness,” Mr Boyle told Insider of recent controversies.
WorldAssociated PressSaudi Arabia says crown prince had 'successful' surgery
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman underwent a “successful surgery” to remove his appendix Wednesday, the royal court said, and he left the hospital soon after the operation. The 35-year-old prince had surgery for appendicitis at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in the morning, according to the royal court. Late Wednesday, Saudi state-run media published footage of the crown prince, surrounded by an entourage clad in traditional checkered headdresses, striding out of the fluorescent-lit hospital and into a waiting black Mercedes.
U.S.Architectural Digest9 Products to Help You Become a Better Plant Parent
You can't buy a green thumb, but at least you can buy the right tools Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden's trade pick vows to work more closely with allies
President Joe Biden's pick to be the top U.S. trade envoy is promising to work with America's allies to combat China's aggressive trade policies, indicating a break from the Trump administration's go-it-alone approach. In a written testimony for her confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee, Katherine Tai, Biden's choice for U.S. trade representative, said she would “prioritize rebuilding our international alliances and partnerships, and re-engaging with international institutions'' to present Beijing with “a united front of U.S. allies. Fluent in Mandarin, Tai served several years as head of China enforcement at the trade representative's office.
U.S.Business InsiderA judge dismissed claims by a Capitol riot suspect that he shouldn't be held responsible because Trump put him up to it
Lawyers for a suspected Capitol rioter have argued that he was merely following Trump's orders. "The American head of state directed a specific action," said lawyers for William Chrestman. The judge rejected the logic, asking if that would excuse murder if Trump instructed it.
U.S.INSIDERThe Queen's distant cousin has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for sexually assaulting a woman at his castle
The Earl of Strathmore has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to sexual assault. Simon Bowes-Lyon is the Queen Mother's great-great nephew and Queen Elizabeth II's distant relative. A distant cousin of Queen Elizabeth II has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to sexual assault.
“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.”