WorldBusiness InsiderA Russian journalist who covered protests in support of the release of Putin critic Alexei Navalny is facing the possibility of detention
Daria Komarova, a Russian journalist, faces the possibility of detention for covering "unsanctioned" protests, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Komarova covered the demonstrations while on assignment for an outlet funded by the US Congress. A Russian journalist is facing three trials and the possibility of fines or detention after covering protests in support of Alexei Navalny earlier this year.
WorldThe WeekCan the U.S. maintain leverage against the Taliban via Afghanistan's neighbors?
Annie Pforzheimer, a longtime diplomat who has extensive experience working in Afghanistan, is concerned about President Biden's plan to withdraw U.S. troops from the country without any conditions from the Taliban by or before Sept. 11, 2021. In a piece for Politico published Saturday, she shares her not uncommon view that the U.S. exit will allow the Taliban an opportunity to "increase their territorial control and dictatorial rule," depriving Afghanistan of much hope for a "normal future." Pforzheimer's ideas include remaining publicly committed to Afghan security forces, retaining old and imposing new sanctions on the Taliban until they're no longer a threat to Afghanistan's stability, and refusing to recognize a Taliban government if it "denies basic human rights to its citizens."
WorldReutersSudanese officials meet with U.S. envoy over stalled dam talks
Sudanese officials held talks with a new U.S. envoy to the Horn of Africa on Saturday aimed at resolving a dispute over Ethiopia's giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile. Talks between Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia over the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam fell apart in April, and an invitation by Sudan for a prime minister-level summit went unanswered. Ethiopia is pinning its hopes of economic development and power generation on the dam, which Egypt fears will imperil its water supply.
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Inside the Trump administration’s plan to kill Qassem Soleimani
On Jan. 3, 2020, the Trump administration carried out a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport that killed Gen. Qassam Soleimani, Iran's most powerful military commander. Soleimani was said to be planning imminent attacks against American diplomats and military personnel. Past administrations had considered making this bold move, but decided against killing Soleimani because of the risks of escalation.
U.S.INSIDERDerek Chauvin was indicted in the arrest of a 14-year-old whom prosecutors say he knelt on for 17 minutes and hit with a flashlight
Chauvin is accused of using his authority as an officer to deprive the teen of his rights. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A federal grand jury has indicted the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on a civil-rights charge in the 2017 arrest of a 14-year-old boy.
WorldAssociated PressEU, India try again to clinch trade deal, sidelining China
The European Union and India agreed Saturday to restart negotiations on a bilateral free trade deal, eight years after their first attempt failed and as both sides seek alternatives to China. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke via videoconference to EU leaders attending a summit in Portugal. The two sides announced what they called “a pivotal moment" in their relations by agreeing to resume talks they gave up on in 2013 and to collaborate on a wide range of other issues.
WorldReutersAfghan school blast toll rises to 58, families bury victims
The death toll from an explosion outside a school in Afghanistan's capital Kabul has risen to 58, Afghan officials said on Sunday, with doctors struggling to provide medical care to at least 150 injured. The community, a religious minority in Afghanistan, has been targeted in the past by Islamic State militants, a Sunni militant group. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday blamed the attack on Taliban insurgents but a spokesman for the Taliban denied involvement, saying the group condemns any attacks on Afghan civilians.
U.S.The Daily BeastHorrific: D.C. Sniper Boasts of Post-Shooting Sex With Accomplice in New Doc
In I, Sniper, Lee Boyd Malvo speaks at length about the 2002 reign of terror he and partner John Allen Muhammad carried out in the Washington, D.C., area, resulting in ten deaths. Yet despite using audio clips from his phone calls as narration, Vice's eight-part docuseries (premiering May 10) is most notable for putting its prime emphasis on the pair's innocent victims, and the countless friends, family members and loved ones left to cope with unthinkable tragedy.
U.S.INSIDERAn inmate in a California jail could face hate crime charges for punching Asian American employee: report
A Los Angeles County jail inmate could be charged with a hate crime for attacking an Asian employee. Video shows the inmate identified as Arnulfo Meza strike the woman multiple times. An inmate at a California jail who was seen on video attacking a 54-year-old Asian American worker could be charged with a hate crime, according to the Associated Press.
WorldAssociated PressUS Navy seizes arms shipment in Arabian Sea amid Yemen war
The U.S. Navy announced Sunday it seized an arms shipment hidden aboard a vessel in the Arabian Sea, the latest such interdiction by sailors amid the long-running war in Yemen. The guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey discovered the weapons aboard what the Navy described as a stateless dhow, a traditional Mideast sailing ship, in an operation that began Thursday in the northern reaches of the Arabian Sea. The weapons seized included Chinese-made, Kalashnikov-style assault rifles, sniper rifles, heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
WorldBusiness InsiderA pilot recruit was blindfolded and strapped to a target as fighter jets fired on him in a brutal hazing ritual, says legal complaint
A French pilot was tied to a target on a live firing range as part of a brutal hazing ritual. A French fighter pilot has filed a legal complaint after a brutal hazing ritual in which he alleges he was kidnapped, tied up, and left on a live firing range by his colleagues in the French air force. The incident, which happened in March 2019, was first reported by the French newspaper La Provence on Friday.
WorldReutersEthiopian Orthodox Church head says genocide is taking place in Tigray
The head of Ethiopia's Orthodox Church has said that atrocities amounting to genocide are being committed in Tigray, in his first comments on the conflict in the region that broke out in November and has killed thousands. Abune Mathias, who has been head of the church since 2013, did not say who was responsible for this. Dennis Wadley, who heads a U.S.-based church group called Bridge of Hope International, said Abune Mathias had asked him to post the video.
U.S.The Daily BeastHe Legally Changed His Name to a Bond Villain. Then He Plotted Dad’s Death, Cops Say.
Last summer, former Colorado Springs attorney Jean-Joseph Danger Le Chiffre found out he hadn't been included in his father's will and was apparently furious. Le Chiffre would kill his father, Gilbert Sandoval, and his 78-year-old mother would then claim she did it in self defense. Marcella, who was estranged from Gilbert, would then become her husband's beneficiary and pledged to split the fortune with her son.
PoliticsAssociated PressStefanik's political evolution mirrors story of today's GOP
There was a time, not long ago, when Elise Stefanik would not say Donald Trump's name. The pragmatic New York congresswoman was far more focused on welcoming a new generation of voters to what she hoped would be a more inclusive Republican Party. Today, Stefanik is one of Trump's fiercest defenders in the House of Representatives, where her loyalty to the former president — and the support he returned — has carried the 36-year-old to the brink of becoming one of the most powerful women in Congress.
U.S.Business InsiderIn a first, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan will posthumously pardon 34 victims of racial lynching who weren't given due process
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan posthumously pardoned 34 victims of racial lynching in the state, on Saturday, the Baltimore Sun reported. The victims were denied legal due process between 1854 and 1933. The pardons were partly due to a petition by students at Loch Raven Technical Academy that urged Hogan to pardon Howard Cooper, a 15-year-old Black boy who in 1885 was hanged outside the Towson jailhouse by a white mob, WJZ reported.
WorldThe TelegraphAlex Salmond hits out at Nicola Sturgeon as his political comeback looks set to fail
Alex Salmond has hit out at Nicola Sturgeon after his attempt at a political comeback looked set to end in a humiliating failure. The former First Minister said pro-independence voters had “missed an opportunity” by failing to back his new Alba Party, which he conceded would fail to win a single seat. Mr Salmond has repeatedly called for his former party to take more extreme positions in seeking to achieve the break-up of the UK, floating “alternative” routes to independence other than a legally-binding referendum and claiming a breakaway Scottish state should refuse to take on its share of UK debt.
U.S.BBCChinese dreams on Native American land: A tale of cannabis boom and bust
In the pandemic, hundreds of Chinese migrants who lost their jobs moved to a remote city on the Navajo Nation Indian reservation in New Mexico, to do what they thought was legal agricultural work. Instead, they and the local Native community found themselves pitted against one another in a bizarre cautionary tale about the boom in cannabis production in the US, and the impact on Asian migrant labourers. When Xia (not her real name) first heard about the job as a "flower cutter", she pictured roses.
WorldAssociated PressEyeing reelection bid, Macron looks to repair French economy
A year before the next presidential election, Macron is focusing on saving jobs and reviving the pandemic-battered French economy as his country inches out of its third partial lockdown. The centrist president's ability to meet the challenge will be significant for his political future and for France — which is among the world's worst-hit nations with the fourth-highest number of reported COVID-19 cases and the eighth-highest death toll at more than 106,000. While he has not officially declared his candidacy, Macron has made comments suggesting he intends to seek reelection.
ScienceBusiness InsiderFor the first time, you can hear the sound of NASA's Ingenuity helicopter flying on Mars
NASA's Perseverance rover recorded the hum of the Ingenuity helicopter flying on Mars. Ingenuity is about to fly to a new airfield to carry out more experimental flights. NASA's Perseverance rover, which carried Ingenuity to Mars, has recorded video of each of the helicopter's four flights thus far.
PoliticsThe IndependentStacey Abrams says she ‘absolutely’ plans to run for president
Many Democrats have already credited voting rights activist Stacey Abrams for helping the party get a landmark win in Georgia during the 2020 election, and now Ms Abrams has her sights on an even bigger victory than flipping a reliably red state: she says she “absolutely” wants to run for president one day. "Do I hold it as an ambition? Absolutely," she told CBS Sunday Morning, in an interview airing tomorrow.
WorldBBCIndia's Covid crisis delivers a blow to brand Modi
"Modi leads India out of a lockdown and into a Covid apocalypse," declared a recent headline in the UK Sunday Times. The Australian newspaper re-published the story with a scathing summary: "Arrogance, hyper-nationalism and bureaucratic incompetence have combined to create a crisis of epic proportions, critics say, as India's crowd-loving PM basks while citizens literally suffocate." It earned a rebuke from India, but there's no denying the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cherished image has taken a bad hit.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWhite House press secretary Jen Psaki says she advises Biden not to take spontaneous questions from reporters
Jen Psaki says she doesn't advise President Biden to take impromptu questions from reporters. "That is not something we recommend," she said during an interview with David Axelrod. Psaki said that she aims to keep Biden on message and free of "distractions."
BusinessThe IndependentDisney asks employees to fill out ‘privilege checklist’ as part of inclusion programme, leaked documents show
The Walt Disney Corporation has asked employees to complete a “privilege checklist” as part of a new diversity and inclusion programme to combat “systemic racism”, a report has claimed. According to leaked documents reported by City Journal, the checklist comes as part of a new anti-racism discussion guide called “Reimagine Tomorrow”. Christopher F Rufo, who leaked the documents on Twitter, said the programme includes training on “systemic racism,” “white privilege”, “white fragility”, “white saviours”, and “microaggressions”.
WorldAssociated PressAfter lull, cases spread in Vietnam's cities, provinces
After over a month with no local infections, Vietnam has recorded 176 confirmed coronavirus cases from several outbreaks that have spread to 19 provinces during the past 10 days, the Health Ministry said. The National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, which has been at the front line treating COVID-19 patients, has been sealed off after a doctor, two nurses and more than 20 patients tested positive earlier the week. Meanwhile, the city's K hospital, which is designated to treat cancer patients, also closed Friday after 11 cases of COVID-19 were found.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastArizona’s ‘Cyber Ninjas’ Usher in New Era of Insane Ballot Attacks
The purpose of this process it (sic) to collect information about the ballot paper, ballot ink and selection marks on the physical ballot during the hand recount process,” it reads, then explains that fraud can be detected by examining the folds made by voters on the ballot itself. Early absentee ballots are folded, while in-person ballots cast on election day aren't, they claim, concluding that if a ballot cast on Election Day is folded, bang boom, it must be a fraud. But in reality, creases on a ballot don't prove anything about their validity.
“Every college has a public health responsibility to require its students to be vaccinated.”
“While the vast majority of students will likely get the vaccine, schools should honor the decisions of the few who object.”
“A vaccinated campus could be the step toward normality that college leaders are seeking.”
“College students are mobile and spread COVID-19 with them whenever they travel.”
“There almost certainly are going to be legal challenges because the anti-vaccine movement is already preparing for them.”