Next round of Kansas pandemic unemployment benefits still weeks away

A special 11-week extension to pandemic unemployment insurance benefits built into December's federal stimulus act could still be weeks away from implementation in Kansas.

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    Russian President Vladimir Putin approved legislation on Wednesday beefing up fines for offences committed during street protests after thousands were detained at unsanctioned rallies in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The amended law also introduces fines of up to 20,000 roubles for protest organisers who violate funding regulations. Russian authorities have accused foreign countries of supporting the protests calling for Navalny's release.

  • Fortescue apologises for clearing land on Aboriginal sacred site

    Australia's Fortescue Metals Group has apologised to an Aboriginal group for clearing land on a heritage site while flouting a government condition for representatives of the community to be present when the damage took place. It is the week's second such incident, despite pressure on Australian iron ore miners to show they have improved practices to manage important sites after Rio Tinto destroyed two sacred rock shelters for a mine expansion last May. Fortescue had state government permission to clear the land in the Weelamurra Creek area registered as sacred to the Wintawari Guruma people, on condition that community elders were present to perform salvage and cultural rites, four documents reviewed by Reuters showed.

  • Northern Irish Brexit issue is two-way street, says EU's Sefcovic

    Britain must show it is fully using the avenues available under the Brexit divorce deal to minimise trade disruption in Northern Ireland before seeking concessions, a senior EU official said on Tuesday. Britain's exit from the EU's trading orbit in January has created trade barriers between Northern Ireland - which remains in the EU's single market for goods - and the rest of the United Kingdom. Maros Sefcovic, a vice president of the European Commission, said he hoped to learn of British efforts during an online meeting on Wednesday .

  • Israel, Bahrain leaders discuss Iran, possible vaccine plant

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain's Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa on Thursday discussed Iran and the possible involvement of the Gulf state in establishing a vaccine plant in Israel, the two countries said. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates formalised ties with Israel on Sept. 15 in part over shared concerns about Iran, in a deal forged by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, a move praised by Israel which has objected to the accord.

  • Derailed BNSF fuel train fire in Texas nearly extinguished

    BNSF, owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc and one of the largest railroad operators in North America, had said on Tuesday that 13 of the train's 110 carriages were derailed, with five of those carrying gasoline. "Local first responders and BNSF personnel are still on site, working to completely extinguish the flames," BNSF, one of the largest railroad operators in North America, said in a statement.

  • U.S. aims to return to U.N. rights body, shield Israel

    U.S. President Joseph Biden's new administration said on Wednesday it would continue its international re-engagement by seeking election to the U.N. Human Rights Council where it will press to eliminate a "disproportionate focus" on ally Israel. Under former President Donald Trump's more isolationist approach, Washington quit the council in 2018 but the Biden government has already returned as an observer. "I'm pleased to announce the United States will seek election to the Human Rights Council for the 2022-24 term," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the council by video.

  • Israel aims to resolve Iran disputes with Biden at adviser level

    Israel hopes to prevent personal tension between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden over their differences on the Iranian nuclear question by delegating talks on the topic to their senior staff, an Israeli official said. Netanyahu's foreign-policy fortunes have waned since Biden succeeded Republican president Donald Trump, who withdrew the United States from world powers' 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, deeming it too advantageous for Tehran - a view Israel shared. Biden, a Democrat, wants to rejoin the deal.

  • One Columbia touting COVID safety campaign to help end arts ‘intermission’

    The arts and culture community has been particularly hampered by the global pandemic, with scores of performances canceled or altered in the last year.

  • Philippines' Duterte says still undecided on future of U.S. troop deal

    Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he has not made a decision yet on the future of the two-decade-old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, leaving the fate of the pact hanging in the balance. Duterte has said the United States should pay more if it wants to maintain the VFA, which he unilaterally cancelled last year in an angry response to an ally being denied a U.S. visa. "I have not yet decided on what to do, to abrogate or renew," Duterte said in a late-night televised address on Wednesday.

  • UK's Prince Philip 'a lot better' but to stay in hospital for treatment for infection

    Britain's Prince Philip is getting a lot better, his youngest son said on Tuesday after Buckingham Palace said the 99-year-old husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth would remain in hospital for several more days to receive treatment for an infection. Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, walked into London's private King Edward VII Hospital last Tuesday evening after he was advised by his doctor to be admitted after he felt unwell, and has spent seven nights there. "He is comfortable and responding to treatment but is not expected to leave hospital for several days," Buckingham Palace said, adding he was receiving medical attention for an unspecified infection.

  • No breakthrough at UK-EU talks, says Northern Ireland's Foster

    There was no breakthrough at a "hugely disappointing" meeting between the European Commission and the British government on Wednesday over post-Brexit trade issues in Northern Ireland, the region's first minister, Arlene Foster, said on Wednesday. The British government is demanding concessions from the European Union to minimise disruption in trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom that have emerged since Britain left the bloc's trading orbit in January.

  • Dr. Pimple Popper removed a shoulder fat lump so large, she said it was like 'giving birth'

    Celebrity dermatologist Dr. Pimple Popper used her fingers to squeeze and loosen the "cute" and slimy lipoma on a woman's shoulder.

  • Amnesty International revokes Kremlin critic Navalny's 'prisoner of conscience' status

    Amnesty International no longer considers jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny a "prisoner of conscience" due to past comments he made that qualify as advocacy of hatred, the group said. Amnesty, however, still believes that Navalny should be freed from jail, that he has committed no crime and that he is being persecuted for his campaigning and outspoken criticism of President Vladimir Putin and his government, it said. He was arrested on his return to Russia last month and sentenced to jail for parole violations he called trumped up.

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Liz Cheney ‘a fool’ for criticising Trump

    Controversial congresswoman previously said the Republican party belong to former president

  • Canada's parliament passes motion saying China's treatment of Uighurs is genocide

    Canada's parliament passed a non-binding motion on Monday saying China's treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region constitutes genocide, putting pressure on Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to follow suit. Canada's House of Commons voted 266-0 for the motion brought by the opposition Conservative Party. Trudeau and his Cabinet abstained from the vote, although Liberal backbenchers widely backed it.

  • Mother of Ahmaud Arbery files $1m suit claiming police ‘cover up’ in son’s death

    The lawsuit alleges police and prosecutors tried to shield the alleged shooters from prosecution

  • The science on halting the gene that causes heart disease

    Lipoprotein(a) is a particle made by the liver, which consists of cholesterol, fats and proteins. About 1 in 5 people have high levels of Lp(a), because of a specific gene variation in their DNA.

  • Hong Kong crafting 'patriotic' oath for local councils, Beijing wants loyalists in charge

    Hong Kong's government will gazette a bill later this week that will require community level district councils to pledge an oath of allegiance to the Chinese-ruled city's mini-constitution, further stifling democratic opposition. Secretary for Mainland and Constitutional Affairs Eric Tsang said politicians deemed insincere would be blocked from office, releasing details of the bill a day after a senior official in China's cabinet said provisions should be made to ensure "patriots" were running Hong Kong. "The law will fulfill the constitutional responsibility of the government," Tsang said.

  • Licht: Buccaneers open to giving Brady a contract extension

    The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are open to giving Tom Brady a contract extension. General manager Jason Licht reiterated Wednesday that the Super Bowl champions would like to keep the 43-year-old quarterback in uniform for as long as Brady wants to play. Licht declined to characterize any conversations the team’s had about that prospect.

  • Biden, Trudeau pledge to counter China, climate change, in warm first 'meeting'

    U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought on Tuesday to turn the page on the Trump era, stressing the countries' deep ties and pledging to work together to counteract Chinese influence and address climate change. "The United States has no closer friend, no closer friend than Canada," Biden told Trudeau via an electronic video link with the Canadian leader and top aides. "That's why you were my first call as president (and) my first bilateral meeting," he said.