WorldThe TelegraphYemeni model 'abducted from the street' by Houthi rebels after doing photoshoot without hijab
A Yemeni model who posed for photographs without wearing a hijab is facing prosecution by Houthi rebels who abducted her from the streets of Sanaa, the woman's lawyer has claimed. Entesar Al-Hammadi, 20, was arrested in the Yemeni capital in February with two friends as they travelled to a film set, according to Saudi media reports, which said the Houthis had accused her of violating Islamic dress codes. Khaled Mohammed Al-Kamal, Ms Hammadi's lawyer, told the news website Arab News that his client was “arrested without a warrant.”
WorldBBCChinese man kidnapped and killed in elaborate body-swap scheme
Before he died of cancer in 2017 a man from south-east China told his family he wanted a traditional burial, but in some regions these are banned. In September 2020 the man hired by the family - identified only by his surname Huang - was given a suspended death sentence over the murder. While the murder happened in 2017, the case only gained prominence last week after an article about the incident came to wider attention online in China.
WorldAssociated PressNATO to match US troop pullout from Afghanistan
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance has agreed to withdraw its roughly 7,000 non-American forces from Afghanistan to match U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to pull all American troops from the country starting on May 1. Stoltenberg said the full withdrawal would be completed “within a few months” but did not mention the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks set as a goal by Biden. There are between 7,000 and 7,500 non-U.S. NATO troops currently in Afghanistan.
WorldReutersEuropean powers warn Iran over 'dangerous' uranium enrichment move
PARIS (Reuters) -The European countries party to the Iran nuclear deal told Tehran on Wednesday its decision to enrich uranium at 60% purity, bringing the fissile material closer to bomb-grade, was contrary to efforts to revive the 2015 accord. But in an apparent signal to Iran's arch-adversary Israel, which Tehran blamed for an explosion at its key nuclear site on Sunday, European powers Germany, France and Britain added that they rejected "all escalatory measures by any actor". Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognise, has not formally commented on the incident at Iran's Natanz site, which appeared the latest twist in a long-running covert war.
U.S.The StateBody found in Mississippi River is missing LSU student Kori Gauthier, officials say
Kori Gauthier, a Louisiana State University freshman reported missing one week ago, was found dead. LSU officials confirmed Wednesday night that a body recently found in the Mississippi rRiver is Gauthier. “Since Kori was first reported missing, the LSU Police Department, Baton Rouge Police Department and other law enforcement agencies and volunteers have taken exhaustive measures to locate her and, in the process, to determine what led to her disappearance,” LSU Chief of Police Bart Thompson said in a statement.
U.S.TheGrioArmy sergeant pushes Black man, demands he leave neighborhood in viral video
A viral video of an army sergeant pushing a Black resident in South Carolina and demanding that he leaves the neighborhood has now resulted in criminal charges. Initially uploaded on Facebook on Monday, the three-minute clip has circulated various media channels before the aggressor was identified as Jonathan Pentland, a 42-year-old U.S. Army sergeant in Columbia, S.C. Pentland has since been charged with third-degree assault, Washington Post reports. In the video, Pentland pushes, threatens, and verbally assaults a black man and attempts to force him to leave the area.
PoliticsThe WeekMany GOP officials still privately hope prosecutors, some other outside force will make Trump go away
In 2015 and 2016, former President Donald Trump's Republican primary rivals and other GOP officials tried to dodge his withering personal insults "while hoping that external events and news media coverage would ultimately lead to his downfall," Maggie Haberman recalls at The New York Times. That strategy obviously failed. But many Republican leaders are once more hoping, mostly in private, that time or some heaven-sent deus ex machina makes Trump fade into retirement, despite his clear intention to retain control over the GOP.
U.S.The StatePopular NC teacher killed trying to rob Mexican drug cartel member, sheriff says
A popular Union County teacher described by family and friends as a devoted father, teacher and coach was fatally wounded in a shootout when he and his brother-in-law tried to rob members of a Mexican drug cartel, Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said Wednesday. Barney Dale Harris, 40, taught Spanish and was head coach of the boys' varsity basketball and track teams at Union Academy Charter School in Monroe, according to his family and the school. Alamance County is east of Greensboro along interstates 85 and 40 — 55 miles west of Raleigh and 115 miles from Charlotte.
U.S.Kansas City StarMysterious goat appears in Death Valley National Park. That’s bad news, rangers say
A tourist at Death Valley spotted something within the park that shouldn't be there: a mysterious goat. The visitor reported seeing a domestic goat in a canyon near Stovepipe Wells within the park. The goat could be bad for native bighorn sheep and the park's ecosystem, rangers said Wednesday on Facebook.
WorldBBCWhat's behind the China-Taiwan divide?
Whether it's a bluff or a genuine threat of invasion, the increase in Chinese military activity in Taiwan over the last few months has caused global concern. At the heart of the divide is that the Chinese government sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that will, eventually, be part of the country again. Many Taiwanese people disagree.
U.S.Business InsiderPelosi says she thinks Chauvin trial is 'disappointing': 'Maybe my disappointment springs from my expectation that these are our protectors'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reflected on the Chauvin trial Wednesday, calling it "so disappointing." Pelosi said she still respects law enforcement and stamped down calls to "defund the police." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she finds the trial of ex-Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin "so disappointing."
U.S.USA TODAYNo apology owed for pepper-spraying Black and Latino Army officer in Virginia, police chief says
While he said he felt bad for how the events of a traffic-stop late last year unfolded, the police chief of the town where a Black and Latino military officer from Petersburg, Virginia, was accosted by two of his officers said Wednesday that he does not think the soldier is in need of an official apology. In response, Army Lt. Caron Nazario's legal team said Windsor Police Department Chief Rodney D. Riddle "continues a false narrative" of the case and blaming their client for initiating it. "I'm gonna own what we did," Riddle said about the stop during a news conference Wednesday in the Isle of Wight County, Virginia, community where Nazario was stopped last December while on his way home.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden speech: President announces all US troops will leave Afghanistan by September
Joe Biden announced that the final withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan would begin on 1 May and be completed before the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The US's Nato allies would also withdraw from the country, bringing an end to nearly two decades of war that killed more than 2,200 US troops, wounded 20,000, and cost as much as $1 trillion (£720bn). The announcement was made in the same room where George W Bush first announced the invasion of Afghanistan.
- NewsAssociated Press Videos
Video shows shooting in Ohio hospital
Police body camera footage shows a routine police pat-down of a man in a hospital emergency room erupting within minutes into a fatal police shooting after the man apparently fires a gun he had concealed in his possession. (April 15)
WorldBBCIndia coronavirus: Can its vaccine producers meet demand?
With India attempting to ramp up vaccinations as Covid infections rise, the authorities have said they will fast track emergency approval for foreign-made vaccines. The Russian-developed Sputnik V has been given approval, as India's main domestic vaccine maker struggles to meet demand at home and globally. Can India meet its domestic needs?
CelebrityNBC NewsWhat happened to Bernie Madoff's family? Where Ruth Madoff and the others are now
The death of Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff has dredged up memories of the destruction and pain left behind in the wake of perhaps the most infamous Wall Street scheme in recent history. Madoff, 82, died while serving a 150-year prison sentence stemming from fraud charges that involved cheating thousands of investors, including the filmmaker Steven Spielberg and the actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, out of billions in promised returns. In 2011, Ruth said during an interview with NBC's "TODAY" show that she did not miss her imprisoned husband, adding that "the villain of all this is behind bars."
PoliticsBusiness InsiderUS set to sanction a dozen Russian individuals, 24 entities for influencing the 2020 election, SolarWinds hack
The Biden administration is set to sanction Russian intelligence officials over attempts to influence the 2020 election. Russian officials and entities could also be sanctioned for misconduct, including the SolarWinds hack. The sanctions may be announced this week, just days after Biden and Putin last spoke on Tuesday.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden news – live: Blinken makes surprise Afghanistan trip as Ivanka Trump infuriates MAGA anti-vaxxers
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made a surprise trip to Afghanistan just after President Biden announced an end to the US military mission there, with all troops now due to leave by 11 September this year. US-Russia relations, meanwhile, will take another hammer blow on Thursday as President Biden gears up to announce fresh sanctions on Moscow over alleged election interference. Reports suggest ten Russian diplomats are to be sent packing from the US as Washington piles pressure on President Putin over election meddling and military aggression on the Ukraine border.
TechnologyBBCFacebook faces investigation over data breach
The Irish Data Protection Commission is to launch an investigation into a data leak in which the details of hundreds of millions of Facebook users were published online. It had previously been looking into claims from Facebook that the data was old, from a previously reported leak in 2019. But it now says that there could have been a breach of data laws.
U.S.INSIDERCharges against Daunte Wright before his death have sparked anger and disinformation - here are the documents that explain what happened
Daunte Wright was killed on Sunday while he had an outstanding arrest warrant, the police said. Insider reviewed legal documents that shed light on what happened. Daunte Wright's killing by a police officer not far from Minneapolis sparked renewed debates about racism and policing in the US.
WorldBBCWhy $30m didn't protect Nigerian pupils after Chibok
The kidnapping of hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls from Chibok seven years ago led to the launching of a multi-million dollar plan, backed by a former UK prime minister, to bolster security at schools - but it failed to stop abductions and protect children. The swirl of dust thrown up as a helicopter came down to land heralded a high-level visit to Chibok in March 2015. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's finance minister at the time and now head of the World Trade Organization, was received by a waiting crowd of community leaders and parents whose daughters had been kidnapped.
U.S.The StateMississippi dad suffers stroke after Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Here’s what happened.
A 43-year-old father of seven from Ocean Springs suffered a stroke hours after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Brad Malagarie was otherwise healthy before he suffered the stroke April 6 while at work. Malagarie had the most common form of stroke, an ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blood clot in an artery leading to the brain.
U.S.The IndependentDaunte Wright news - live: Protests ahead of Kim Potter’s first court hearing as Chauvin defence closes
Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter's first court hearing on second-degree manslaughter charges is scheduled for today, while the defence in the Derek Chauvin murder trial could wrap up its case. Ms Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter on Wednesday, stemming from the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Black Man Daunte Wright during a traffic stop on Sunday. In a statement announcing Ms Potter's charges on Wednesday, Imran Ali, Washington County assistant criminal division chief, said that her “action caused the unlawful killing of Mr Wright and she must be held accountable.”
ScienceBusiness InsiderNASA's InSight Mars lander is going into emergency hibernation. If it can't save its batteries, it could die.
NASA's InSight Mars lander will hibernate to save power, since its solar panels are covered in dust. InSight will shut down science instruments to keep its electronics warm through the Martian winter. But a dust storm could tip the scales and drain InSight's batteries, possibly killing it for good.
U.S.The IndependentHouse committee votes for the first time in favour of slavery reparations bill
A House committee, in a historic vote, passed a legislation for forming a panel to study reparations for slavery for Black Americans on Wednesday. It intends to establish a 13-person commission to study the lasting impacts of slavery and ongoing racial discrimination throughout the country's history, in order to send its recommendations on necessary remedies, including reparations to the descendants of enslaved people. The bill was passed after a long discussion over the issue last year during the Black Lives Matter protest and 2020 election campaign trail, as it garnered support from several other Democrats, including President Biden who made racial inequality his focus in his domestic agenda.
“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.”