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.
WorldThe TelegraphBrussels gives tentative backing to EU coronavirus 'passports' to boost travel
It is unlikely that Britain would accept the certificates from EU citizens hoping to travel to the UK. Brussels said that using the vaccination certificates to allow greater travel and tourism in the EU was “premature” at this stage but left the door open for the plans to be picked up in the future. We feel that now this is the time for these vaccine certificates to be recognised across the European Union, and even beyond the European Union.
WorldAssociated PressKremlin foe Navalny jailed for 30 days; allies plan protests
A Russian judge on Monday ordered opposition leader Alexei Navalny jailed for 30 days, after the leading Kremlin critic returned to Russia from Germany where he was recovering from nerve agent poisoning that he blames on President Vladimir Putin's government. The ruling followed a hastily set up court hearing at a police precinct where Navalny was being held since his arrest at a Moscow airport on Sunday evening, which sparked sharp reactions both at home and around the world. A crowd of Navalny supporters outside the precinct shouted “Shame!” as the judge announced the ruling and Navalny's allies immediately called for protests.
PoliticsThe Independent‘It’s unfortunate’: Ashley Biden confirms first lady snubbed her mother on traditional White House handover
In her first ever TV interview, incoming first daughter Ashley Biden said it was “unfortunate” that first lady Melania Trump had not honoured “traditional protocol” and invited her mother to the White House. The daughter of President-elect Joe Biden and Dr Jill Biden confirmed that no invitation had been sent from the White House inviting the new first lady for tea and a tour of the executive mansion, with introductions to the residence staff. Ms Biden said that her mother had not heard at all from Ms Trump in what is one of the strangest handovers of power in US history.
WorldAssociated PressUK: 'Genocide' clause to China trade deals narrowly defeated
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson narrowly avoided a defeat in Parliament on Tuesday after lawmakers voted against a controversial proposal seeking to bar trade deals with any country deemed by the U.K. High Court to be committing genocide. The amendment to the government's post-Brexit trade bill was largely designed to force international action in addressing China's alleged human rights abuses against the Uighur minority in the far western Xinjiang region. Campaigners had said that if the proposal passed, Britain would become the first country in the world to allow genocide cases to be considered in domestic courts.
WorldReutersIndia urges frontline workers not to refuse vaccines as targets missed
India appealed to frontline workers on Tuesday not to refuse vaccines for COVID-19, after almost all states failed to meet targets in the first few days of what the government calls the world's biggest immunisation campaign. The country has so far vaccinated 631,417 frontline workers using two shots manufactured locally, one licensed from Oxford University and AstraZeneca and another developed at home by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research. The drive started on Saturday, with 30 million healthcare and other front-line workers first in the queue, followed by about 270 million people older than 50 or deemed at high-risk because of pre-existing medical conditions.
PoliticsThe IndependentPence posts four pictures in his Twitter farewell message – none of them including Trump
Mike Pence posted four pictures in his Twitter farewell message to the country – but none of them included Donald Trump. The vice president and Mr Trump have reportedly suffered a frayed relationship after Mr Pence refused to help him overturn his election loss to Joe Biden. The president had pressured Mr Pence to refuse to certify Mr Biden's win on the day his supporters violently stormed the Capitol Building.
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.
WorldAssociated PressAP Photos: Snow fills Kashmir resort with tourists again
Snow lies knee-deep in the pastoral town of Gulmarg, or “meadow of flowers,” on Indian-controlled Kashmir's high plateau. With its blanket of white, the idyllic hill station is seeing tourists again fill its hotels and ski, sledge and trek its Himalayan landscape. The heavy influx of tourists is a dramatic change for the tourism industry in disputed Kashmir, which faced the double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic and harsh curbs on civil rights India imposed in the region in August 2019.
PoliticsReutersU.S. Senate Republican leader McConnell says Trump 'provoked' Jan. 6 riot
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday accused President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, of provoking the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. The U.S. House of Representatives last Wednesday impeached Trump for a second time. The Senate has yet to schedule a trial to determine Trump's guilt or innocence.
EntertainmentArchitectural DigestThe Coolest New Automotive Technology at CES 2021
Mercedes-Benz's Hyperscreen, General Motors' Bright Drop, and Jeep's Electric Wrangler were among the unveils that turned heads Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsBBCKamala Harris: A beginner's guide to the vice-president
Kamala Harris will make history when she takes the oath of office on Wednesday, becoming the first woman and first black and South Asian American to serve as US vice-president. Here's what awaits Ms Harris in her new job. "The role of the vice-president was, frankly, to just be that heartbeat away from the president," said Barbara Perry, the director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Centre.
WorldAssociated PressThai court gives record 43-year sentence for insulting king
A court in Thailand on Tuesday sentenced a former civil servant to a record prison term of 43 years and six months for breaching the country's strict law on insulting or defaming the monarchy, lawyers said. The Bangkok Criminal Court found the woman guilty on 29 counts of violating the country's lese majeste law for posting audio clips to Facebook and YouTube with comments deemed critical of the monarchy, the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said. The sentence, which comes amid an ongoing protest movement that has seen unprecedented public criticism of the monarchy, was swiftly condemned by rights groups.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastFox News Launches ‘Purge’ to ‘Get Rid of Real Journalists,’ Insiders Say
Fox News on Tuesday fired the political editor who was tasked with defending the network's election night decisions that especially angered President Donald Trump and his allies. People familiar with the situation said the layoffs—a “blood bath,” as multiple Fox News insiders described it—were perpetrated by Porter Berry, the Sean Hannity crony now in charge of remaking Fox's digital properties in the image of its right-wing opinion programming. In addition to Stirewalt—the Fox News “nerd” who became the face of the network's election-night projection for Joe Biden to win Arizona, which angered much of the network's MAGA viewership and led to the rise of an even more obsequious, pro-Trump alternative in Newsmax—sources confirmed that long-time digital editors and reporters, some of whom had been with Fox for a decade or more, were among those laid off.
PoliticsThe IndependentInauguration Day schedule: Full list of timings by hour
The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) has announced a flurry of events set to be broadcast on Inauguration Day that Americans can watch virtually after urging people to refrain from attending in person. Check out an hour by hour schedule of all the events that have been announced so far for Inauguration Day this Wednesday below and check back for updated timings. am ET (3pm GMT) Our White House: An Inaugural Celebration for Young Americans "Our White House" will mark the first-ever curated livestream for young Americans before and during the Inaugural Ceremonies, ending at 12.30pm.
U.S.Associated PressOklahoma judge orders 'Tiger King' zoo to turn over big cats
A federal judge in Oklahoma has ordered the new owners of an Oklahoma zoo featured in Netflix's “Tiger King” documentary to turn over all the lion and tiger cubs in their possession, along with the animals' mothers, to the federal government. U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III issued the order last week in the case against Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe and the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park based on claimed violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act. “The Lowes have showed a shocking disregard for both the health and welfare of their animals, as well as the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jonathan D. Brightbill of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
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Biden leads COVID-19 memorial service: 'To heal, we must remember'
On a day when U.S. deaths from COVID-19 topped 400,000, President-elect Joe Biden led a memorial service on the National Mall to remember the victims of the pandemic.
WorldBBCCoronavirus: Why South Africa has yet to roll out vaccines
South Africa has been seeking to source vaccines in three ways: via the World Health Organization-backed Covax scheme via arrangements made by the African Union through bilateral contracts with vaccine manufacturers Covax is a global initiative in which countries pool their resources to support the development of vaccines with a view to ensure that all countries receive a fair supply of effective vaccines. South Africa expects to acquire doses for around 10% of the population through Covax and has been told it will receive them from April through to June. The African Union established the African vaccine acquisition task team last year to source vaccine doses for the continent.
WorldAssociated PressIran kicks off ground forces drill on coast of Gulf of Oman
Iran's military kicked off a ground forces drill on Tuesday along the coast of the Gulf of Oman, state TV reported, the latest in a series of snap exercises that the country is holding amid escalating tensions over its nuclear program and Washington's pressure campaign against Tehran. According to the report, commando units and airborne infantry were participating in the annual exercise, along with fighter jets, helicopters and military transport aircraft. Iran's National Army chief Abdolrahim Mousavi was overseeing the drill.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastIncoming Dem Chairman to Trump Admin: Why Did You Slow Walk Ukrainian Disinfo Sanctions?
A top Senate Democrat wants answers from the Trump administration about what he calls a suspiciously-timed sanctioning of the man behind the bogus narrative that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 election, and a promoter of the debunked claims that President-elect Joe Biden acted corruptly to help his son's business in the country. On Jan. 11, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on Andrii Telizhenko for his involvement in a “Russia-linked foreign influence network” steered by Andriy Derkach, a Ukrainian politician who was deemed a Russian intelligence asset when Treasury sanctioned him in September 2020.
WorldAssociated PressIsrael pushes settlement construction as Trump leaves office
An Israeli watchdog group said Tuesday that the government approved nearly 2,600 new housing units in east Jerusalem and the West Bank settlements a day before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. Israeli authorities made a major last-minute push this week to advance settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, which the Palestinians seek as part of a future independent state, in the twilight hours of the Trump administration. The anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now said the majority of the new government tenders — published on Tuesday, President Donald Trump's last full day in office — are deep inside the West Bank.
CelebrityThe Independent‘Call me Momala’: Everyone in Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ family
Kamala Harris, accepting the nomination by Joe Biden to be his running mate, in August told the world a little about her family. The family that Harris, 55, and her husband Doug Emhoff, also 55, have made is being touted as a model modern American unit. Emhoff is Jewish; Harris has described his ex-wife as “a dear friend”.
SportsAssociated PressDillon lands Daytona 500 ride with rebuilding Gaunt Brothers
Ty Dillon landed a Daytona 500 ride with Gaunt Brothers Racing, a pairing of a driver and team both trying to rebuild in 2021. Dillon spent four seasons driving for Germain Racing but lost his ride when lack of sponsorship led the team to close. Gaunt Brothers last year ran its first full Cup season but struggled in part because COVID-19 protocols wiped out almost all practice, qualifying and testing.
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Biden to propose citizenship path for immigrants
President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on day one of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status, a massive reversal from the Trump administration's harsh immigration policies.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden immigration plan opposed by GOP, conservative groups
Republican lawmakers and conservative groups opposed President-elect Joe Biden's forthcoming immigration plan Tuesday as massive amnesty for people in the U.S. illegally, underscoring that the measure faces an uphill fight in a Congress that Democrats control just narrowly. In a further complication, several pro-immigration groups said they would press Biden to go even further and take steps such as immediate moratoriums on deportations, detentions and new arrests. Coupled with the discomfort an immigration push could cause for moderate Democrats, liberals' demands illustrated the pressures facing Biden as four years of President Donald Trump's restrictive and often harsh immigration policies come to an end.
“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.”