PoliticsReuters170 U.S. lawmakers urge Biden administration to push Turkey on rights
One hundred seventy members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed a bipartisan letter sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging President Joe Biden's administration to address "troubling" human rights issues as it formulates policy for dealings with Turkey. The letter, dated Feb. 26 and made public on Monday, notes that NATO ally Turkey has long been an important U.S. partner but says the administration of President Tayyip Erdogan has strained the relationship.
PoliticsThe IndependentMyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has mic muted at CPAC for spouting vaccine and election conspiracies
MyPillow's outspoken Trump-supporting chief executive was censored during an interview at CPAC – an event branded “America Uncanceled” – after he launched into conspiracy theories linking the coronavirus vaccine with the devil. Mike Lindell was speaking on Sunday to Liz Willis, the host of conservative YouTube channel Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN), when he delivered a somewhat meandering set of conspiracy theories relating to the pandemic, the presidential election and Israel. “In Israel right now, from the prime minister on down, we don't know what happened, but obviously, he congratulated Biden, but after that, we got a little suspect,” Mr Lindell said during the segment that was edited out by RSBN on their YouTube channel.
WorldAssociated Press2 Americans wanted in Ghosn's escape in Japanese custody
An American father and son wanted by Japan for aiding former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn escape from the country in a box were handed over to Japanese custody Monday, ending their months-long battle to stay in the U.S. Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, failed to convince U.S. officials and courts to block their extradition to Japan, where they will be tried on charges that they smuggled Ghosn out of the country in 2019 while the former auto titan was awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges. The Massachusetts men, who have been locked up at a suburban Boston jail since their arrest in May, were handed over to Japanese officials early Monday, said one of their attorneys, Paul Kelly.
WorldReutersChina's electoral reform 'earthquake' set to upend Hong Kong politics
China's plan to dramatically reform Hong Kong's electoral system, expected to be unveiled in a parliamentary session in Beijing starting this week, will upend the territory's political scene, according to more than a dozen politicians from across the spectrum. The proposed reform will put further pressure on pro-democracy activists, who are already the subject of a crackdown on dissent, and has ruffled the feathers of some pro-Beijing loyalists, some of whom may find themselves swept aside by a new and ambitious crop of loyalists, the people said. The measures will be introduced at the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament, which starts on Friday, according to media reports.
PoliticsThe WeekTrump describes rally before deadly Capitol riot as a 'love fest'
Following his first post-presidency speech, former President Donald Trump described the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the deadly Capitol riot as "beautiful" a "love fest." Trump spoke with Fox News on Sunday after delivering a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, in which he continued to falsely claim he won the 2020 presidential election. In the Fox interview, Trump was asked if there's anything he would have in retrospect done differently prior to a crowd of his supporters storming the Capitol building on Jan. 6, but the former president instead spoke favorably about the rally he delivered remarks at before the deadly riot.
WorldReutersDon't bully Riyadh, Saudi columnists tell Biden administration
Saudi Arabia's sovereignty is a red line, Saudi columnists said on Sunday, ramping up rhetoric in defense of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after a U.S. intelligence report implicated him in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Prince Mohammed, de facto ruler of the U.S.-allied Gulf powerhouse, has denied any involvement in the 2018 murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The U.S. administration on Friday imposed sanctions on some of those involved, but spared the prince.
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Trump speaks at CPAC in first post-White House appearance
Former President Trump delivered his first post-White House address at CPAC on Sunday evening.
WorldAssociated PressGirl dies after being caned during 'exorcism' in Sri Lanka
Police in Sri Lanka said Monday they have arrested two people in connection with the death of a 9-year-old girl who was repeatedly beaten during a ritual they believed would drive away an evil spirit. The two suspects — the woman performing the exorcism and the girl's mother — appeared in court on Monday to hear charges over the girl's death, which occurred over the weekend in Delgoda, a small town about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of the capital, Colombo. According to police spokesperson Ajith Rohana, the mother believed her daughter had been possessed by a demon and took her to the home of the exorcist so a ritual could be performed to drive the spirit away.
WorldReutersTaiwan opposition chief in no rush for China meeting
The leader of Taiwan's main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) said on Tuesday he is in no rush to travel to China to meet President Xi Jinping, and that Beijing's proposals to get Taiwan to accept Communist rule had "no market" on the island. The KMT ruled China before retreating to Taiwan at the end of a civil war with the Communists in 1949. While ties across the Taiwan Strait have improved dramatically in the last three decades, Beijing continues to claim Taiwan as its own territory.
PoliticsLos Angeles Times OpinionLetters to the Editor: Trump's CPAC speech was just about the only thing that could make me thankful for Twitter
To the editor: Can we all acknowledge what a great gift Twitter has given those American people who still cherish and adhere to democratic principles? Former President Trump's 90-minute speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando this weekend was entirely predictable: perpetuating the Big Lie about the 2020 election; excoriating the 17 Republican lawmakers who voted with the Democrats to impeach him; bitterly criticizing and ridiculing President Biden's actions; demonizing Democrats in general; boasting about his "great" accomplishments while in office. If it were not for Twitter's ban on him we would be getting a daily dose of these juvenile, bitter and toxic tirades.
WorldAssociated PressPhilippine president fires ambassador seen assaulting staff
Duterte, whose six-year term ends next year, has been reading the names of government employees and officers implicated in graft and corruption in his TV appearances to highlight his campaign against abuses and irregularities. But Duterte, a former government prosecutor who has threatened drug suspects with death and is known for his expletives-laden outbursts, has faced criticisms for abusive behavior himself. In his televised remarks Monday night, Duterte lashed out at Vice President Leni Robredo for criticizing the government's handling of the coronavirus outbreak and vaccination campaign.
WorldReutersCanada vaccine committee advises against use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots for 65 years and above
Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization released new guidelines on Monday that advise against vaccinating people who are 65 years and older with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, citing lack of information about efficacy in that age group. The vaccine was authorized for people who are 18 and older by drug regulator Health Canada on Friday. Health Canada's decision noted that available clinical trial data was too limited to reliably estimate how well the vaccine worked in people 65 and older.
WorldAssociated PressChinese vaccines sweep much of the world, despite concerns
The plane laden with vaccines had just rolled to a stop at Santiago's airport in late January, and Chile's president, Sebastián Piñera, was beaming. The source of that hope: China – a country that Chile and dozens of other nations are depending on to help rescue them from the COVID-19 pandemic. China's vaccine diplomacy campaign has been a surprising success: It has pledged roughly half a billion doses of its vaccine to more than 45 countries, according to a country-by-country tally by The Associated Press.
PoliticsReutersTrump proposes new voting limits, rails against "monster" voting rights bill
Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday laid out a variety of election proposals, such as limiting absentee voting and days when Americans can vote, in his first public speech after his stinging Nov. 3 election loss. Democrats' nationwide push to register new voters, including Black voters and young people, and Trump's refusal to urge his Republican supporters to vote by absentee ballot are believed to have been factors in his 7 million vote loss to Joe Biden. At a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, Trump said Election Day should be only one day, not a number of days leading up to the actual voting day.
PoliticsArchitectural DigestHouse Call: Cue the Waterworks and Welcome to March
Zoë's newsletter comes to a web page near you, and the theme of the day is damp Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldAssociated Press300 activists rally in Bangladesh to denounce prison death
About 300 student activists rallied in Bangladesh's capital on Monday to denounce the death in prison of a writer and commentator who was arrested last year on charges of violating a sweeping digital security law that critics say chokes freedom of expression. The protesters marched through the Dhaka University campus and Dhaka's streets toward the country's Home Ministry to also demand the annulment of the digital security law and the release of seven student activists arrested during recent protests denouncing the death of 53-year-old Mushtaq Ahmed.
U.S.Business InsiderAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez shoots back at Ted Cruz, saying he treated storm-hit Texas as a 'layover' between trips to Cancun and CPAC
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hit back at Sen. Ted Cruz after he mocked her during his CPAC speech. Ocasio-Cortez again criticized Cruz for fleeing Texas during the recent electrical-grid collapse. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hit back at Sen. Ted Cruz after the Texas Republican mocked her in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, on Friday.
WorldReutersNew WTO chief calls for tripling of vaccine production
The new chief of the World Trade Organization (WTO) urged its member states on Monday to work with pharmaceutical companies to license more COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing in developing countries in order to triple global production. "People are dying in poor countries," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said on her first day in office. Her call comes as a group of developing countries led by South Africa and India seek to waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 drugs and vaccines, a move opposed by the United States, the European Union and other wealthy nations.
PoliticsAssociated PressGeorgia House passes GOP bill rolling back voting access
Republican lawmakers in Georgia muscled legislation through the state House on Monday that would roll back voting access, over the objection of Democrats and civil rights groups gathered at the Capitol to protest. The bill comes after record turnout led to Democratic wins in Georgia's presidential election and two U.S. Senate runoffs. House Bill 531 passed the lower legislative chamber by a vote of 97-72.
U.S.Associated PressFBI chief to face questions on extremism, Capitol riot
FBI Director Chris Wray is set to testify for the first time since the deadly Jan. 6 deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, with lawmakers likely to press him on whether the bureau adequately communicated with other law enforcement agencies about the potential for violence that day. Questions about the FBI's preparations for the riot, and investigations into it, are expected to dominate Wray's appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The violence at the Capitol made clear that a law enforcement agency that revolutionized itself after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to deal with international terrorism is now scrambling to address homegrown violence from white Americans.
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Iranian lawmakers visit restive southeast area after unrest
Iranian lawmakers on Monday visited an impoverished southeastern province that has been roiled by recent unrest, state-run media reported, the government's most visible step yet to address rising popular resentment in the region. Five members of parliament, including from the influential committee for national security and foreign policy, arrived in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan to investigate the turmoil, state-run IRNA news agency reported. Last week, border guards shot at fuel smugglers trying to cross into Iran from Pakistan, killing at least two and sparking protests across the city of Saravan.
WorldAssociated PressIsrael's high court says non-Orthodox converts are Jews
Israel's Supreme Court on Monday dealt a major blow to the country's powerful Orthodox establishment, ruling that people who convert to Judaism through the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel are also Jewish and entitled to become citizens. The landmark ruling, 15 years in the making, centered around the combustible question of who is Jewish and marked an important victory for the Reform and Conservative movements. These liberal streams of Judaism, which represent the vast majority of affiliated American Jews, have long been marginalized in Israel.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastCPAC Speaker Angela Stanton King Promotes QAnon From Stage
A speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory from the event's main stage on Sunday, shortly before Donald Trump was scheduled to appear at the conservative movement's premiere annual event. Former congressional candidate Angela Stanton King, who has frequently boosted the conspiracy theory on social media, called for an investigation into whether QAnon's bizarre claims about a cabal of cannibal-pedophiles controlling the world and a mysterious figure named Q giving hidden messages to Trump supporters are real. “Let's address it,” King said.
WorldAssociated PressReport: US wasted billions on cars, buildings in Afghanistan
The United States wasted billions of dollars in war-torn Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed, according to a report released Monday by a U.S. government watchdog. The agency said it reviewed $7.8 billion spent since 2008 on buildings and vehicles. Only $343.2 million worth of buildings and vehicles “were maintained in good condition,” said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, which oversees American taxpayer money spent on the protracted conflict.
PoliticsBusiness Insider23 progressive Democrats including AOC urge Biden to overrule top Senate official and keep a $15 minimum wage in the stimulus package
House progressives are urging Biden to overrule a Senate official and keep a $15 minimum wage in the stimulus plan. The effort is led by Rep. Ro Khanna, but signatories include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "If we don't overrule the Senate parliamentarian, we are condoning poverty wages for millions of Americans," Khanna said.
“How about we skip ‘he won’t win’ cycle and not do 2016 all over again. Trump can absolutely win another presidential election.”
“With independents deserting him, there is simply no path for Trump to get back into the White House — except as a tourist.”
“They might as well cancel the 2024 primaries...because there is no way he can lose.”
“The next Republican presidential primary will be heavily shaped by Trump — whether or not he decides to run again.”
“Donald Trump will not be running for president again. He will, however, continue to tease the possibility of a 2024 run.”