WorldBBCMyanmar coup: Party official dies in custody after security raids
An official from Aung San Suu Kyi's party has died in custody in Myanmar after being arrested during raids by security forces in Yangon. On Sunday the body of U Khin Maung Latt was released to his family, who were reportedly told that he had died after fainting. The UN says more than 50 people have been killed since the military detained Ms Suu Kyi, Myanmar's democratically elected leader, on 1 February.
WorldReutersLooming China extradition deal worries Uighurs in Turkey
Joining hundreds of women in Istanbul to protest at China's treatment of Uighurs, Nursiman Abdurasit tearfully thinks of her jailed mother in Xinjiang and fears that Uighurs like her in Turkey may one day be sent back under an extradition deal. Beijing approved an extradition treaty between the two nations in December and with the deal awaiting ratification by Ankara's parliament, activists among some 40,000 Uighurs living in Turkey have stepped up efforts to highlight their plight. Abdurasit came to Turkey to study in 2015 and lost contact with her family four years ago.
WorldAssociated PressPhilippine police kill 9 in raids on suspected rebels
Philippine police backed by military forces killed nine people over the weekend in a series of raids against suspected communist insurgents, with authorities saying the suspects opened fire first. Others, however, said those killed were unarmed activists. Police said Monday that all of those killed were associated with “communist terrorist groups” and had shot at officers while being served search warrants.
PoliticsLA TimesBiden administration giving temporary protected status to thousands of Venezuelans in U.S.
The White House on Monday announced a temporary protected status decree that could allow tens of thousands of Venezuelans who fled their homeland to remain in the United States with legal standing. The program marks a significant shift in U.S. policy from the Trump administration, which denied Venezuelans protection even as President Trump tried to overthrow the leftist government in Caracas. Only on his last day in office did Trump issue an executive order deferring the removal of Venezuelans for 18 months, but not granting them temporary status and leaving them in limbo.
WorldReutersIndia seeks funds from Quad alliance to match China's vaccine push: source
India has urged the United States, Japan and Australia to invest in its vaccine production capacity, an Indian government source told Reuters, as the so-called Quad alliance tries to counter China's growing vaccine diplomacy. Beijing has committed to provide at least 463 million doses of its home-made COVID-19 vaccines through exports and donations across the world from Asia to Africa, Europe and Latin America, according to Reuters calculations. Two senior Indian officials said the Quad alliance, grouping the United States, Japan, Australia and India, was stepping up efforts to expand global vaccination to counter China's growing soft power.
PoliticsAssociated PressSunshine State dims for Dems amid election losses, cash woes
Democrats may delight in their brightening prospects in Arizona and Georgia, and may even harbor glimmers of hope in Texas, but their angst is growing in Florida, which has a reputation as a swing state but now favors Republicans and could be shifting further out of reach for Democrats. As the jockeying begins to take on Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in 2022, Democrats' disadvantage against Republicans is deeper than ever, as they try to develop a cohesive strategy and rebuild a statewide party deep in debt and disarray. Former President Donald Trump's brand of populism has helped power a GOP surge in Florida, where Trump defeated now-President Joe Biden by more than 3 percentage points last fall — more than doubling the lead he had against Hillary Clinton.
WorldReutersFrench billionaire politician killed in helicopter crash
French billionaire Olivier Dassault was killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash, a police source said, with President Emmanuel Macron paying tribute to the 69-year old conservative politician. Dassault was the eldest son of late French billionaire industrialist Serge Dassault, whose namesake Dassault Aviation, builds the Rafale war planes and owns Le Figaro newspaper. "Olivier Dassault loved France.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderSen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, says he will fight for Republicans to get a say in Biden's infrastructure bill and block it if they don't
Sen. Joe Manchin told Axios that he wanted bipartisan backing for Biden's infrastructure bill. Manchin, a Democrat, said he'd oppose a bill without tax hikes and GOP support being sought. Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat, said in an interview with Axios broadcast Sunday that he'd block President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill if it didn't attract Republican support.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestThe Best-Looking Dog Beds for Your Furry Best Friend
When it comes to buying furniture for your pet, please learn from my mistakes Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
ScienceReutersNASA-SpaceX launch of next International Space Station crew pushed to April 22
The next launch window for a NASA crew to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket has been pushed back by at least another two days, to no earlier than April 22, the space agency said. SpaceX, the private rocket company of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, had been scheduled to carry its second "operational" space station team into orbit for NASA in late March from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The schedule was adjusted again on the basis of available flight times to the space station, driven by orbital mechanics, that would keep the astronauts' need for sleep shifting to a minimum, NASA spokesman Dan Huot said on Monday.
WorldAssociated PressMyanmar protesters defy curfew; media outlets ordered shut
DVB said it was not surprised by the cancellation and would continue broadcasting on satellite TV and online. We worry for the safety of our reporters and our staff, but in the current uprising, the whole country has become the citizens' journalists and there is no way for military authorities to shut the information flow," Executive Director Aye Chan Naing told The Associated Press. The government has detained dozens of journalists since the coup, including a Myanmar Now reporter and Thein Zaw of AP, both of whom have been charged under a public order law that carried a penalty of up to three years in prison.
U.S.USA TODAYFact check: Image of Jill Biden handing out food to asylum-seekers in 2019 is missing context
The claim: Image shows Jill Biden handing out food and gifts to asylum-seekers in Matamoros, Mexico; 'Has anybody seen her in Texas helping Americans yet? A viral meme shared by users across Facebook asserts that first lady Jill Biden traveled to Mexico to hand out food and gifts to asylum-seekers but did not provide assistance to those in Texas struggling in the aftermath of deadly winter storms. "Jill Biden handing out food and gifts to asylum-seekers in Matamoros, Mexico," reads a Feb. 26 post with over 300 shares.
WorldReutersChina says hopes U.S. will remove 'unreasonable' curbs on cooperation
China urged the United States on Sunday to remove "unreasonable" curbs on cooperation as soon as possible and work together on issues like climate change, while accusing Washington of bringing chaos in the name of spreading democracy. Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden singled out a "growing rivalry with China" as a key challenge facing the United States, with his top diplomat describing the country as "the biggest geopolitical test" of this century. Speaking at his annual news conference, the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, struck a tough line even as he outlined where the world's two biggest economies could work together.
U.S.Associated PressEmhoff, VP Harris' husband, goes from top lawyer to teacher
Vice President Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, is getting settled in a new job teaching law at Georgetown University amid a high-pressure moment in U.S. history. There is the pandemic and the vaccinations, the $1.9 trillion relief package and the open wounds of a political divide that led to the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. “I talk about how it's going, how I'm trying to reach the students, and how they're responding to me,” Emhoff told reporters on Monday.
WorldReutersPhilippine leader's order to kill rebels 'legal', spokesman says
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's order to kill armed rebels was legal, his spokesman said on Monday, as catholic leaders joined condemnation of the killings of nine activists in separate weekend raids against suspected insurgents. Human Rights groups are outraged over the deaths of what they said were legitimate activists under the guise of counter-insurgency operations, which came two days after Duterte told security forces they could kill rebels if they were holding a gun and to "ignore human rights". "The president's 'kill, kill, kill' order is legal because it was directed at armed rebels," his spokesman Harry Roque said in a briefing, adding the government would still investigate the incident.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Accountant faces pressure to turn on Trump in criminal probe
When lawyers asked Donald Trump more than a decade ago to identify who estimated values on some of his signature properties, he pointed to his longtime accountant, Allen Weisselberg.
WorldBusiness InsiderThe WHO said it still hasn't written off the 'extremely unlikely' theory that the coronavirus escaped from a Wuhan lab
A top WHO scientist said the theory that the coronavirus came from a lab is "extremely unlikely." The World Health Organization has still not ruled out the theory that the novel coronavirus had escaped from a Chinese laboratory. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, the lead scientist on the WHO's mission to Wuhan, said that a lab-accident theory is "definitely not off the table."
PoliticsAssociated PressIowa governor signs GOP-forced voting changes bill into law
We don't have to wait to have Democrats talking with their neighbors in rural and metropolitan areas in the state about how these harmful pieces of legislation are being forced through,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Ross Wilburn. The law shortens the early voting period to 20 days from the current 29, just three years after Republicans reduced the period from 40 days. It also requires most mail ballots to be received by Election Day, rather than counting votes postmarked by Election Day that arrive by noon on the Monday following the election.
PoliticsUSA TODAY OpinionBiden hasn't held a news conference or been imitated on 'SNL' in his presidency. Why not?
No one saw this coming: Neither the real Joe Biden nor the fake Joe Biden has held a news conference since Inauguration Day. Over the past 100 years, no president has gone as long as Biden without conducting a formal session with White House reporters. The last time a Biden character appeared on "SNL" was back on Dec. 19, when Alex Moffat offered a tame impersonation of the president-elect.
WorldReutersRohingyas in India's Jammu fear deportation after police detain over 150
Indian police have detained more than 150 Rohingya refugees found living illegally in the northern region of Jammu and Kashmir and a process has begun to deport them back to Myanmar, two officials said on Sunday. Dozens of Rohingya are in a makeshift "holding centre" at Jammu's Hira Nagar jail after local authorities conducted biometric and other tests on hundreds of people to verify their identities. "The drive is part of an exercise to trace foreigners living in Jammu without valid documents," said one of the two officials, who declined to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media.
WorldReutersScience says it's safe, but some in France don't trust AstraZeneca vaccine
That is partly due to logistical bottlenecks, but also because some French people don't trust the AstraZeneca shot - despite multiple scientific studies that indicate it is safe and effective - according to interviews Reuters conducted with eight people involved in France's vaccine rollout. They said some of those offered the vaccine were worried about side-effects, sceptical it was effective against new variants of COVID-19, and confused by shifting evidence on how well it works for older people. The AstraZeneca vaccine had a bumpy genesis.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump, RNC clash over using his name in fundraising
The Republican National Committee is defending its right to use former President Donald Trump's name in fundraising appeals after he demanded they put an end to the practice. In a Monday letter to Trump attorney Alex Cannon, RNC chief counsel J. Justin Riemer said the committee “has every right to refer to public figures as it engages in core, First Amendment-protected political speech" and said "it will continue to do so in pursuit of these common goals. But he maintained that Trump had also “reaffirmed” to the chair of the RNC, Ronna McDaniel, over the weekend "that he approves of the RNC's current use of his name in fundraising and other materials, including for our upcoming donor retreat...
PoliticsThe IndependentCindy McCain calls GOP and Fox News fury over Dr Seuss ‘ridiculous’
Cindy McCain, the widow of Arizona Senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, called the reaction of Republicans and Fox News to some Dr Suess books being pulled from the shelves "ridiculous". Speaking to MSNBC, Ms McCain added that the Republican Party has to stop using "fear and anger and hate" to achieve their objectives. MSNBC anchor Stephanie Rule said that if you watched Fox News "any day last week," you weren't going to hear anything about domestic terrorism in the wake of the Capitol riot or anything about what's in President Biden's $1.9tn Covid-19 relief bill, adding that instead, you were "hearing about cancel culture and Dr Seuss, a narrative that doesn't make ...
PoliticsReutersU.S. Supreme Court dumps last of Trump's election appeals
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday disposed of the last of three cases brought to the justices by former President Donald Trump challenging his election loss, bringing a muted end to his futile quest in the courts to hold onto power. The court without comment rejected Trump's appeal challenging thousands of absentee ballots filed in Wisconsin, an election battleground that the Republican businessman-turned-politician lost to Democrat Joe Biden by more than 20,000 votes. Biden became president on Jan. 20.
WorldBusiness InsiderA new lab study shows troubling signs that Pfizer's and Moderna's COVID-19 shots could be far less effective against the variant first found in South Africa
Pfizer's and Moderna's shots were at least 10 times less effective against variant in a new study. Researchers tested the vaccines on a variant first found in South Africa, which is now in 20 states. A mutation on the variant called E484K appeared to be a "major contributor," the study authors said.
“Taking humans to Mars would require an investment astronomically out of kilter with the possible benefits.”
“Can a Mars settlement be a freer society than we enjoy on Earth? Maybe.”
“What we learn...may spark the next revolution that will make life in 2071 beyond anything we can imagine right now.”
“Our presence on Mars could jeopardize one of our main reasons for being there — the search for life.”
“The future of geologic investigation of other worlds lies with highly improved versions of our Mars rovers.”