In a first step toward reversing a contentious Trump administration policy, President Joe Biden on Monday ordered his administration to review federal rules guiding colleges in their handling of campus sexual assaults. In an executive order, Biden directed the Education Department to examine rules that the Trump administration issued around Title IX, the federal law that forbids sex discrimination in education. Biden directed the agency to “consider suspending, revising or rescinding” any policies that fail to protect students.
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.
Now the measure, in all likelihood, will go to the Senate to die. Under the rules of the 100-member Senate, it takes 60 votes to end debate and move most bills to a vote. A filibuster used to mean a senator actually had to stand and speechify, refusing to give up the floor and thus keeping a bill from coming to a vote.
B-52 bombers flew over the Mideast on Sunday, the latest mission in the region aimed at warning Iran amid tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have sent at least 168 Rohingya refugees to a holding center, police said Sunday, in a process that they say is for the deportation of thousands of the refugees living in the region. The move began Saturday following a directive from the region's home department to identify Rohingya living in the southern city of Jammu, said Inspector-General Mukesh Singh. “All of them are illegally living here and we have begun identifying them,” Singh said.
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.
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.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited a naval base on Monday to thank sailors and marines for their dedication to protecting the island amid renewed threats from China, vowing not to allow the loss of “any single inch" of territory. In remarks during her visit to the 131st Flotilla in the northern port of Keelung, Tsai said the bravery of servicemembers “demonstrated the determination of Taiwan's national armed forces to defend the sovereignty of our country.” “We can't yield any single inch of our land,” Tsai said.
New Zealand's prime minister says the country is “not likely” to become a republic in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan's interview, as Commonwealth countries face calls for the removal of the Queen as Head of State. Jacinda Ardern was asked whether the unflattering picture of the British royal family painted by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had given her pause about New Zealand's constitutional ties to Britain. "I've said before that I've not sensed an appetite from New Zealanders for significant change in our constitutional arrangements, and I don't expect that's likely to change quickly," she said.
President Joe Biden marked the 56-year anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma, Alabama by signing an executive order to protect and strengthen nationwide voting access, while calling on states to expand voting rights for all eligible Americans. The order was described by the White House as an “initial step” towards securing voting rights just days after the passage of HR1, legislation focusing on expanding access to mail-in voting and making it easier for Americans to register to vote. The right to vote is sacred and fundamental — and H.R. 1 is urgently needed to protect that right, to safeguard the integrity of our elections, and to repair and strengthen our democracy.
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, a member of the Republican Senate leadership, said on Monday he will not run for office in 2022, making him the latest Republican lawmaker in Congress to opt for retirement. The 71-year-old Missouri Republican, who last year called on then-President Donald Trump to be more aggressive in preparing to acquire and deliver coronavirus vaccines, calmly announced his impending departure in a video on Twitter in which he thanked voters for enabling him to have a career in public service. "After 14 general election victories - three to county office, seven to the United States House of Representatives, and four statewide elections - I won't be a candidate for reelection to the United States Senate next year," Blunt said in the video.
Russia's boast in August that it was the first country to authorize a coronavirus vaccine led to skepticism at the time because of its insufficient testing. Six months later, as demand for the Sputnik V vaccine grows, experts are raising questions again — this time, over whether Moscow can keep up with all the orders from the countries that want it. Slovakia got 200,000 doses on March 1, even though the European Medicines Agency, the European Union's pharmaceutical regulator, only began reviewing its use on Thursday in an expedited process.
When it comes to buying furniture for your pet, please learn from my mistakes Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
An Italian prosecutor on Saturday asked for life sentences for two Americans facing murder charges in the July 2019 killing of a police officer in Rome. The Americans, Finnegan Lee Elder, 21, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 20, have been accused of stabbing the officer, Mario Cerciello Rega, after a botched drug sale. They were 19 and 18 at the time of the killing.
The former head of women police in a southern Afghanistan province was seriously wounded and her husband — also a police officer — was killed Sunday in an attack by unidentified gunmen, provincial officials said. Omer Zwak, spokesman for Helmand's provincial governor, said unidentified gunmen opened fire on the couple in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. The attack came amid a surge in violence in the war-weary country.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Monday China's planned changes to the electoral system, denounced by pro-democracy activists, could further delay a vote for the city's legislature, but she was still uncertain on the timing. China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), is expected to approve on Thursday a resolution that will reduce democratic representation in Hong Kong institutions and vet any candidates for "patriotism". The measures will tweak the size and composition of Hong Kong's legislature and the committee selecting the chief executive further in favour of pro-Beijing figures.
In others countries however, vaccine programmes are either yet to begin or are still at a very early stage. The reasons for this have been varied - ranging from an abundance of caution to high levels of vaccine scepticism. We looked at some of the countries in this situation and the different reasons behind it.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex unloaded on Prince Charles, The Duchess of Cambridge, and the tabloid press in their extraordinary tell-all with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan described how "everyone" welcomed her to the royal set-up initially, but singled out the Queen as making her particularly comfortable. Meghan said the Queen has "always been wonderful" to her and that she reminded the Duchess of her own grandmother.
Midway through its annual session, China's ceremonial parliament is focusing on boosting the economy, building self-reliance in technology and further squeezing room for political opposition in Hong Kong. The weeklong meeting of the National People's Congress, which rubber stamps policies approved by the Communist Party leadership, provides a window into government priorities. The target was lower than the 7% to 8% that forecasters expected and seen by some as signaling a shift from quantity to quality growth, including efforts to expand the green economy.
Former President Donald Trump was often accused of having a complete disregard for the truth. When Saddam Hussein invaded the oil-rich emirate of Kuwait in August 1990, President George HW Bush snarled: "This will not stand." The Kuwaiti government-in-exile promptly hired a US public relations firm, Hill & Knowlton, whose Washington DC office was run by Bush's former chief of staff.
A former State Department aide arrested over the Capitol riot has complained of his cell conditions. The former aide, Federico Klein, told a judge he felt "cockroaches crawling" all over him. Klein is believed to be the first Trump appointee arrested in connection to the Capitol riot.
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.
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.
Mississippi GOP Gov. Tate Reeves defended his decision to end the state's mask mandate. Reeves told CNN's Jake Tapper that it was never his "objective" to eradicate the virus. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, in an interview Sunday defended his decision to roll back the state's mask requirement even as public health officials warn such actions are premature.
GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert told Fox News that the Democrats are "obsessed with conspiracy theories." The congresswoman once said she hopes the QAnon conspiracy theory was real but denied being a follower. Freshman GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who has previously expressed support for QAnon, accused Democratic of being "obsessed with conspiracy theories."
“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.”