WorldAssociated PressEXPLAINER: Iran atomic sites targeted by diplomacy, sabotage
Iran's nuclear program has been targeted by diplomatic efforts and sabotage attacks over the last decade, with the latest incident striking its underground Natanz facility. The attack Sunday at Natanz comes as world powers try to negotiate a return by Iran and the U.S. to Tehran's atomic accord. The sabotage threatens to upend those negotiations and further heighten regional tensions across the Mideast.
WorldReutersRussian prison threatens to force feed hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny: allies
Staff at the Russian prison holding hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny are threatening to force feed him, his allies said on Monday, warning he had lost 15 kg since he arrived at the facility last month. Navalny, 44, a prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced a hunger strike at the end of March in protest at what he said was the refusal of prison authorities to treat him properly for acute back and leg pain. They say they have offered him proper treatment, but that he has refused it, insisting that he wants to be treated by a doctor of his choice from outside the facility, a request they have declined.
U.S.INSIDERA former Minneapolis police officer said Derek Chauvin violated protocol kneeling on George Floyd's neck, but he doesn't think the officer committed a crime
Insider spoke with an officer who recently left the Minneapolis Police Department. A former Minneapolis police officer told Insider that Derek Chauvin violated protocol while kneeling on George Floyd's neck for several minutes last year but that he didn't think the officer's actions led to Floyd's death.
PoliticsThe WeekBiden is reportedly vetting Cindy McCain for an ambassadorship in Rome
President Biden is preparing to nominate a slate of ambassadors, and among them will be Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and a key Biden backer in Arizona last year, Politico reports. McCain is being vetted as the U.S. envoy to the United Nations Food Programme in Rome, a "coveted ambassador post in Western Europe in what would be his administration's first Republican appointee to a Senate-confirmed position," Politico says.
WorldAssociated PressGreece pins hopes on mandatory home testing, opens schools
High schools have reopened in Greece to students in the final three grades with the mandatory use of test kits for COVID-19 being rolled out across the country to help with mass screening for infections, with an eye to further reopening the economy and tourism. Students from grades 10 to 12 were allowed to return to class Monday — most for the first time in five months — if they provided a negative test result using the kits being distributed at pharmacies. Some teachers chose to hold classes outdoors.
WorldReutersYemen's Houthis say they attacked Saudi Aramco facilities; no Saudi confirmation
DUBAI (Reuters) -Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Monday it had fired 17 drones and two ballistic missiles at targets in Saudi Arabia, including Saudi Aramco facilities in Jubail and Jeddah. Saudi Aramco, the state oil firm, said when contacted by Reuters that it would respond at the earliest opportunity. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Twitter the group's barrage included 10 Samad-3 drones fired at refineries in the Red Sea city of Jeddah and Jubail in the Eastern Province.
U.S.INSIDERA former Minneapolis police officer said he quit days before the Derek Chauvin trial because he thinks protesters will 'burn the city down' no matter the case's outcome
Insider spoke with a former Minneapolis police officer who quit days before Derek Chauvin's trial. Chauvin's trial over George Floyd's death began March 29, and witnesses have been testifying. A former Minneapolis police officer who quit the department days before the start of Derek Chauvin's trial said he did so fearing there would be riots in the city no matter the outcome.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden Republicans? Some in GOP open to president's agenda
When Trump was up for reelection last year, Copan appeared on roadside billboards across North Carolina, urging other Republicans to back Democratic rival Joe Biden. Nearly three months into the new administration, Copan considers himself a “Biden Republican,” relieved by the new president's calmer leadership style and coronavirus vaccine distribution efforts. Copan is the type of voter Biden is counting on as he pushes an agenda that's almost universally opposed by Republicans in Washington.
WorldReutersEU, Britain seek to bridge differences over Northern Ireland
Britain and the European Union are slowly working to overcome differences regarding trade flows between Northern Ireland and the British mainland after a month-long legal dispute and more than a week of rioting in the province. The EU is expecting a formal reply shortly from London to explain Britain's unilateral change to trading conditions that Brussels said breaches the Brexit divorce deal. A European Commission spokesman said the two sides were holding technical discussions and there could soon be a meeting of Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic and British negotiator David Frost.
WorldAssociated PressPentagon chief declares 'ironclad' US commitment to Israel
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday declared an “enduring and ironclad” American commitment to Israel, reinforcing support at a tense time in Israeli politics and amid questions about the Biden administration's efforts to revive nuclear negotiations with Israel's archenemy, Iran. Austin's first talks in Israel since he became Pentagon chief in January come as the United States seeks to leverage Middle East diplomatic progress made by the Trump administration, which brokered a deal normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states. After meeting with Defense Minister Benny Gantz in Tel Aviv, Austin said he had reaffirmed “our commitment to Israel is enduring and ironclad."
WorldReutersAustralia abandons COVID-19 vaccination targets after new advice on AstraZeneca shots
Australia has abandoned a goal to vaccinate nearly all of its 26 million population by the end of 2021 following advice that people under the age of 50 take Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine rather than AstraZeneca's shot. Australia, which had banked on the AstraZeneca vaccine for the majority of its shots, had no plans to set any new targets for completing its vaccination programme, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon. "While we would like to see these doses completed before the end of the year, it is not possible to set such targets given the many uncertainties involved," Morrison said.
EntertainmentThe WeekSNL's 'Weekend Update' jokes it's nice to 'see women pay for an hour with Matt Gaetz,' hears out the Titanic's iceberg
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) may have only briefly figured in the cold open of this week's Saturday Night Live, but he was the lead story on "Weekend Update" again. "Matt Gaetz, who looks like all the dudes from American Pie combined, reportedly sent $900 on Venmo to an alleged sex trafficker, who then forwarded that same exact amount to three young women in payments labeled 'tuition' and 'school' — which, if true, would make him the only congressman actually helping with student loans," joked anchor Colin Jost. "But at least Gaetz is taking the allegations seriously," Jost added.
WorldAssociated PressHuge gatherings at India's Hindu festival as virus surges
The Kumbh Mela, which runs through April, comes during India's worst surge in new infections since the pandemic began, with a seven-day rolling average of more than 130,000 new cases per day. Hospitals are becoming overwhelmed with patients, and experts worry the worst is yet to come. Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party say the festival has been allowed at a time when infections are skyrocketing because the government isn't willing to anger Hindus, who are the party's biggest supporters.
- WorldAssociated Press
UN: 34 migrants drown off Djibouti after boat capsizes
Thirty-four migrants have died after their boat capsized off the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, the International Organization for Migrants said Monday. IOM regional director Mohammed Abdiker in Twitter posts said the migrants were being transported by smugglers. Fleeing poverty and other difficulties, they often seek to reach first Yemen, and then rich Persian Gulf nations.
- HealthReuters Videos
China considers mixing COVID-19 vaccines
China's top disease control official has said the country is formally considering mixing COVID-19 vaccines, as a way of further boosting vaccine efficacy. Available data shows Chinese vaccines lag behind others including Pfizer and Moderna in terms of efficacy, but require less stringent temperature controls during storage. Gao Fu, the director of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday said that the currently available vaccines (quote) "don't have very high rates of protection" Adding quote: "Inoculation using vaccines of different technical lines is being considered," Gao said that taking steps to "optimize" the vaccine process including changing the number of do...
U.S.The Telegraph‘Stay away’ warnings swept aside by mourners who would not be deterred from ‘duty’ to Prince Philip
Signs around Windsor called for restraint among the public grieving for Prince Philip, asking people to “not gather at royal residences”. Measures are expected to stay in place for the rest of the week, with mourners instead having to take a detour along the high street then on to the Long Walk. “We didn't expect the visitors' entrance to be closed off”, said Catherine Crampton, 61, who came from her home in Windsor to lay flowers with her daughter and two granddaughters.
U.S.The New York Times'Like the Tiger King Got Elected Tax Collector': Inside the Case That Ensnared Matt Gaetz
Long before the FBI began to scrutinize a tax collector in Florida named Joel Greenberg — and long before his trail led them to Rep. Matt Gaetz — he amassed an outlandish record in the mundane local public office he had turned into a personal fief of power. Records and interviews detailed a litany of accusations: Greenberg strutted into work with a pistol on his hip in a state that does not allow guns to be openly carried. He spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to create no-show jobs for a relative and some of his groomsmen.
WorldMiami HeraldRaúl Castro is slated to step down from the Communist Party. Is Cuba in for a change?
For the first time in over five decades, a leader without the last name Castro is expected to take the helm of Cuba's ruling party as officials try to usher through a generational leadership change amid a crushing economic crisis. Raul Castro is expected to step down as the Communist Party's first secretary general, considered the most powerful political position on the island, during the organization's Eighth Congress, which is slated to begin Friday. The transition comes at Cuba's most trying moment in years.
U.S.INSIDERPolice declared an unlawful assembly in Huntington Beach after groups clashed at a 'White Lives Matter' rally
Last week, residents in Huntington Beach received flyers promoting a "White Lives Matter" rally. On Sunday, hundreds of counter-protesters arrived to confront the rally. Demonstrators clashed with each other and police, prompting an unlawful assembly to be declared.
WorldThe TelegraphGame of Thrones couple triumph in battle ... against conservation officials
Game of Thrones stars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie have won a battle to build a new moat wall at their home, despite Historic England saying it could lead to the loss of ancient remains and artefacts. The celebrity couple feared a garden would slide into the moat at their farmhouse in Suffolk after part of the existing 6ft wall collapsed. They said the collapse was putting structural pressure on a small footbridge across the moat and other parts of the wall were suffering “significant lean”.
PoliticsFort Worth Star-TelegramAs Democrats gain, some Republicans tout Trump ties in North Texas congressional race
And as candidates try to navigate the Congressional District 6, some Republicans are taking pains to link themselves to Trump as Democrats work to flip the seat. Most of them on the Republican side would love to have an endorsement,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. The district spans southeast Tarrant County, including most of Arlington and Mansfield, and all of Ellis and Navarro counties.
U.S.Miami HeraldGaetzgate is getting closer to Tallahassee and there are new odds on gambling reform
Both House and have now both approved bills that would siphon up $400 million in documentary-stamp taxes that had been previously been intended for affordable housing. billion balloon: As expected, the budget grew a whopping $2 billion last week when state economists concluded that consumer spending and corporate earnings, buoyed by federal stimulus funds, have left the state's budget far healthier than previous expectations. Will that mean legislators will increase spending on programs with a carefully executed vision of improving Florida's future?
U.S.INSIDERA federal judge was killed in a hit-and-run by a woman with the last name Snape who later yelled that she was Harry Potter, police say
Nastasia Snape, 23, ran down Sandra Feuerstein, 75, near Fort Lauderdale on Friday, police say. Snape crashed her car and told medics that she thought she was Harry Potter, according to reports. Snape is charged with with leaving the scene of a crash involving death and vehicular homicide.
WorldThe TelegraphPalace reveals Prince Philip redesigned Balmoral Castle's notorious heating system
Prince Philip devised a special heating system to protect the paintings at Balmoral Castle, it has emerged as the Royal family paid tribute to his conservation work on its estates. The Palace revealed on Sunday that the Duke of Edinburgh was behind an initiative to install a heating system that responded to humidity rather than the outside temperature to create a less damaging atmosphere for the castle's many antiques. The Duke's fervent passion for horticulture and agriculture also led him to re-landscape many the Queen's estates and even get behind the wheel of a bulldozer to realise his vision.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderCorporate America is still dangerously delusional about what the GOP has become
The GOP corporate America used to know and love is gone. What we have now is an angrier GOP willing to punish companies that disagree with it. Corporations need to hear this, and probably a few half-hearted Republicans do too - former House Speaker John Boehner's GOP isn't coming back.
“There’s no ‘both sides of the debate’ when it comes to active voter suppression.”
“Companies that do this ooze contempt for their own customers and employees who are not in the leftmost quarter of opinion.”
“The truth is that Fortune 500 companies were never taking moral stances from the goodness of their corporate hearts.”
“The truth is, the companies hold the cards…If companies stick to their guns, Georgia is likely to back down as well.”
“When a company folds to the unfounded outrage of a few misinformed nuts, they are forever at the mob’s beck-and-call.”