The Canadian attorney general has filed affidavits asserting that information identifying Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou's electronic devices was not shared with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during her December 2018 arrest in Vancouver, court documents showed ...
The Canadian attorney general has filed affidavits asserting that information identifying Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou's electronic devices was not shared with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during her December 2018 arrest in Vancouver, court documents showed ...
Singer-songwriter Wonho announced he was leaving the band after a debt rumour surfaced, while the group’s leader, Shownu, was said to have an affair with a married woman.
SEOUL: A South Korean fire department helicopter carrying seven people crashed into the sea off the disputed islets of Dokdo on late Thursday (Oct 31), a fire department official said on Friday. The South Korean coast guard and private boats are searching the area for survivors while the Defense ...
Representatives from the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 organisers are set for a third day of showdown talks on Friday as they look to resolve what has become a very public spat over the hosting of the marathon at next year's Games.
Representatives from the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 organisers are set for a third day of showdown talks on Friday as they look to resolve what has become a very public spat over the hosting of the marathon at next year's Games.
Representatives from the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 organisers are set for a third day of showdown talks on Friday as they look to resolve what has become a very public spat over the hosting of the marathon at next year's Games.
Representatives from the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 organisers are set for a third day of showdown talks on Friday as they look to resolve what has become a very public spat over the hosting of the marathon at next year's Games.
LOS ANGELES: Officials from a California school district were left red-faced after students who dialed a suicide prevention hotline listed on their ID badges instead stumbled on a sex line. "I was just kind of flabbergasted. I was very surprised," parent Janene Lavelle told the local ABC station ...
The group’s Dec 20 gig in LA will be its first since 2012. The reunion rumour grew significantly after Joe Jonas recently claimed seeing the band rehearsing.
LOS ANGELES: Officials from a California school district were left red-faced after students who dialed a suicide prevention hotline listed on their ID badges instead stumbled on a sex line. "I was just kind of flabbergasted. I was very surprised," parent Janene Lavelle told the local ABC station ...
CAMPBELL, California: For over 14 years at Apple Inc , Rubén Caballero had to include a cable with every iPhone design whose wireless engineering he oversaw, from the first prototypes in 2005 to iPhone 11 models on shelves now. Now, as chief wireless strategist for Silicon Valley startup Keyssa ...
CAMPBELL, California: For over 14 years at Apple Inc , Rubén Caballero had to include a cable with every iPhone design whose wireless engineering he oversaw, from the first prototypes in 2005 to iPhone 11 models on shelves now. Now, as chief wireless strategist for Silicon Valley startup Keyssa ...
LOS ANGELES: Officials from a California school district were left red-faced after students who dialed a suicide prevention hotline listed on their ID badges instead stumbled on a sex line. "I was just kind of flabbergasted. I was very surprised," parent Janene Lavelle told the local ABC station ...
With aid and training from the CIA, Afghan paramilitary forces have carried out a spree of war crimes and other “grave” abuses against civilians – including torture and executions – an investigation by Human Rights Watch found.
Interviewing eyewitnesses, US special operators, and personnel in the Afghan military, the NGO documented over a dozen cases of “serious abuses” by US-backed forces between late 2017 and 2019, including “extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances, indiscriminate airstrikes, attacks on medical facilities, and other violations of ... the laws of war.”
The bulk of the abuses occurred during nighttime “kill or capture” raids, which US military officials insist are an essential part of the counter-terror strategy in Afghanistan. Throughout the war, the raids have drawn wide criticism for their tendency to result in ‘collateral’ civilian deaths, and were even temporarily banned by former Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2013. Brought back only one year later, however, the raids have picked up in frequency ever since.
“Starting around 2017 we heard increasing reports about civilian casualties and possible violations of the laws of war in night raids” and other US-backed operations carried out by Afghan forces, Andrea Prasow, the acting Washington Director of HRW, told RT’s Ruptly.
Prisoners being executed, people killed with their hands tied behind their backs, children being shot in the head in the middle of night operations – there is really no question that conduct like this violates the laws of war.
Many of the raids are based on “faulty intelligence,” the HRW report claims, sometimes obtained from enemy fighters under torture or duress, or from local powerbrokers who target rivals with false accusations, using the might of the US military as their own private militia force. The Afghan government has not developed any “meaningful capacity” to investigate wrongful deaths or the mishandling of intelligence.
The CIA-trained “strike forces” – which include irregular troops outside the Afghan military’s formal chain of command – behave like “death squads,” one diplomat familiar with the operations told HRW, entering homes in the middle of the night and often shooting before asking questions.
In addition to home raids, the report also documented strikes on hospitals and other healthcare facilities, forbidden under international law. “We saw attacks on medical facilities, on people who were not necessarily fighters, or if there were fighters present, additional attacks on civilians,” Prasow said.
Responding to the report, the CIA was incredulous, deeming the allegations “likely false or exaggerated,” adding – with no hint of irony – that “we neither condone nor would knowingly participate in illegal activities.”
SYDNEY: Shares of Australia's biggest listed aged care providers fell on Friday after a government-backed inquiry strongly criticized care of the elderly and vulnerable, raising expectations of a far-reaching regulatory overhaul. The Royal Commission inquiry released a report after the market ...
SYDNEY: Shares of Australia's biggest listed aged care providers fell on Friday after a government-backed inquiry strongly criticized care of the elderly and vulnerable, raising expectations of a far-reaching regulatory overhaul. The Royal Commission inquiry released a report after the market ...
SYDNEY: Shares of Australia's biggest listed aged care providers fell on Friday after a government-backed inquiry strongly criticized care of the elderly and vulnerable, raising expectations of a far-reaching regulatory overhaul. The Royal Commission inquiry released a report after the market ...
A suspect in a high-profile murder of an elderly woman in the German eastern state of Thuringia may have created a false identity in order to live in Germany, police revealed as the man was brought to court.
A man that now stands accused of a brutal murder of his 87-year-old neighbor could have been deported from Germany long ago – had he not forged his entire story upon entry, the police disturbingly revealed.
Asked about any “inconsistencies” in the suspect’s profile during the hearing, the Criminal Superintendent of the city of Jena, Jens Thiel, said that the data extracted from the man’s smartphone suggests the background he provided to the German migration authorities might be completely false.
The suspect arrived to Germany back in 2011 and claimed to be an accompanied minor from Afghanistan. He also said his name was Auwel Nom Lakab. Now, the man is being identified as Mohammed A., and police say he may have lied about his date of birth too.
Crucially, Mohammed might have come from Pakistan, as his smartphone contains around 50 Pakistani numbers but none from Afghanistan – and this includes the contact designated as “mother.” This is also supported by additional evidence from interpreters who studied his messages.
The twist adds a whole new dimension to the already high-profile case, as Mohammed’s initial asylum request was rejected by the German authorities back in 2011 but he was still allowed to stay – precisely because it was believed that the undocumented migrant came from Afghanistan.
‘Those who come from the Middle East and Africa live in a society that we left almost a hundred years ago’ – ex-Scania CEOhttps://t.co/vBt8CqefH2
Afghanistan is deemed an ‘unsafe country’ in Germany and deportations there have been on hold for years. Pakistan, however, lacks such a designation.
Shocking brutality & greed
The victim, identified as Ursula P., was found wrapped in a bed sheet in a suitcase stored in a cellar in January 2019. According to police, the woman was brutally beaten and received a stab wound, only to be eventually strangled with a scarf.
Her neighbor, the allegedly 24-year-old migrant, was soon arrested on suspicion of murder as his DNA was found all over the victim’s body, as well as one of his fingernails. While the suspect has kept silent ever since his arrest, police believe he acted out of greed.
The investigators found photos of the woman’s identity card and a debit card on the suspect’s phone together with her account statement suggesting she had €10,000 ($ 11,149) in her bank account. The suspect unsuccessfully attempted to move €7,000 ($ 7,804) from the victim’s account to his own shortly after the murder.
The victim and the suspect knew each other. According to local media reports, the woman was so impressed by the migrant’s sad tales about his father having been allegedly beheaded and his mother being blind that she repeatedly supported him with significant sums of money. In total, she gave the suspect €10,000, according to the Focus Magazine report.
‘Apologize to Allah’
The man was somewhat unbalanced by his brutal act, as his WhatsApp chat partner was seen advising he apologize to Allah for what he had done and “ask Prophet Muhammad for help.”
However, other evidence suggests it was not just a spontaneous act of aggression. The browser search history on his smartphone indicates that he looked up “robber killers,”“death penalty in Germany” and “duration of detention,” and studied the history of a German serial killer known as “the Midday Murderer,” who killed seven people in the 1960s. Otherwise, he spent most of his time on the internet betting on sports, surfing porn sites and looking for prostitutes near his residential area.
The man, who had no education or professional qualifications and lived on social benefits ever since he came to Germany, was also known to police as a repeat offender. He was previously detained on at least five occasions and was accused of fraud, insulting and threatening people.
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A fire ripped through a historic Japanese castle on the southern island of Okinawa early on Thursday morning, spreading throughout the World Heritage site's complex, local authorities said.
Leaders from the United States and China encountered a new obstacle in their struggle to end a damaging trade war on Wednesday, when the summit where they were supposed to meet was cancelled because of violent protests.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said chip sales should pick up in 2020 as it reported a 56per cent fall in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday, reeling from memory price declines amid a prolonged industry downturn.
Leaders from the United States and China encountered a new obstacle in their struggle to end a damaging trade war on Wednesday, when the summit where they were supposed to meet was cancelled because of violent protests.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said chip sales should pick up in 2020 as it reported a 56per cent fall in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday, reeling from memory price declines amid a prolonged industry downturn.
A criminal gang notorious for its brutality is gaining a foothold in major Swedish cities, police have warned. The drug-traffickers and people-smugglers from Nigeria are known for using “black magic” to coerce people into crime.
The ‘Black Axe’ – a group described as nothing but a ‘death cult’ that kills, kidnaps, resolves internal conflicts with machete fights and uses voodoo as an instrument of blackmail – has firmly established itself in Sweden and is now coming to the city of Uppsala in the latest concerning development, local police have said.
“Unfortunately, we see signs of that,” Jale Poljarevius, a local police spokesman told the Swedish SVT broadcaster. So far, it is mostly about drug trafficking and prostitution – yet, the “black magic” footprint of the gang is already clearly visible.
“They are holding women hostage and are tricking them [into believing] through the use of voodoo that it will end up badly for them if they quit the job,” Poljarevius said. “Yet, it is also about selling cocaine and heroin.”
Now, the police fear that the group’s rise in the city would lead to a wave of gang violence, as it will have to fight for its place in the sun in an already extremely crowded criminal environment. “There is a lot of cocaine but not so many users so the market is quite saturated. It would lead to violence rather than cooperation,” the police spokesman said.
Network of evil
Uppsala appears to be just the latest battleground for the gang that has already entrenched itself in other major cities like Gothenburg, or Sweden’s capital of Stockholm. In early October, the Swedish media reported that 15 people linked to the dreaded mafia have been charged with “particularly serious drug offenses” in what was described as one of the Swedish Customs Administration’s “largest investigations ever.”
'#Sweden does not have an image problem. Sweden has a crime problem'
A 179-page lawsuit filed with the Gothenburg District Court says that “the organization is estimated to have sold drugs worth a total of 112 million Swedish Krona ($11.51 million) … amounting to approximately 42 kilograms of cocaine, 50 kilograms of heroin and 40 kilograms of heroin/cocaine mix,” Expressen newspaper reports.
Around the same time, the Swedish prosecutors admitted that the group has also long been active in Stockholm. “They have really heavily established themselves over the past five years,” a local police spokesman Lennart Karlsson, told the Ekot newspaper.
The gang lures migrants from West Africa with a promise of jobs only to drag them into criminal activities afterwards. According to police, they particularly use a Stockholm mosque frequented by the people of West African origin for recruitment purposes. “People … [are] told to come there and get contacts to get a job. The Black Axe members hang out outside and [recruit] them,” Karlsoon explains.
In their methods, the criminals heavily rely on juju – a Nigerian version of the voodoo magic – as they perform rituals and then convince their exploitation victims – mostly migrants – that the gang would “obliterate their souls” should they disobey orders or report its members to police. But they do not shy away from more “traditional” blackmail methods involving kidnappings and killings.
Volvo CEO laments Sweden’s high crime rate, says company might move its HQ abroad https://t.co/NTPAsZm7nU
In early September, a man of Nigerian origin was arrested in Stockholm’s Arlanda airport as he tried to smuggle 70 capsules of heroin and cocaine in his body. He told the investigators that he was forced to act as a drug courier by the Black Axe after they killed his father and threatened to also kill his mother in his native Nigeria.
“They threaten but we also know that they simply murder people. However, there is no indication that this happened in Sweden. Yet, it did happen in their home country [Nigeria] and in other countries where the network is established,” Prosecutor Karolina Lindekrantz told the Swedish media.
Over the years, the Black Axe has evolved into an international crime syndicate that challenges law and order across the world from Europe to Canada, where the group has held an iron grip on the local Nigerian community since after 2005, and runs large-scale smuggling operations as well as millions of dollars-worth money laundering and fraud schemes.
However, the gang’s taking root in Europe is relatively recent. Stemming from a nationalist student movement that turned into a ruthless organized group after the 1980 military coup in Nigeria, the group gained power through terror tactics in that and other nations – but did not gain a foothold in the EU until 2015.
Then, at the height of the refugee and migrant crisis, Black Axe members arrived to Sicily and engaged in a turf war with the notorious Cosa Nostra mafia – only to start collaborating with it soon afterwards. From there, the gang spread its influence in other European countries, including Austria and the Netherlands.
Now Swedish media describes it as a business-like, tech-savvy organization, excelling at modern technologies and keeping a low profile to stay largely below the police radar. “In my opinion, it is one of the world’s most effective crime syndicates,” Stockholm police spokesman Karlsoon has admitted. “So, unfortunately for us, they [will] probably have a pretty bright future.”
An inferno has erupted inside Japan’s Shuri Castle, completely leveling parts of the 600-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site as emergency responders struggle to contain the flames.
The castle, located in Okinawa’s provincial capital of Naha, went up in flames early Thursday morning. Its main hall and a nearby building have so far been destroyed, while another structure on the site continues to burn.
People in the area were evacuated, but no injuries have yet been reported. Dramatic photos on social media show the castle’s main hall entirely engulfed in flames as its roof began to cave, shortly before collapsing altogether.
By daybreak, the conflagration appears to have been largely contained, though smaller fires could still be seen smoldering in the wreckage.
News Update : Latest Ariel footage shows the devastation caused by the fire at Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa , Japan #首里城#Japanpic.twitter.com/W9GOwY2L8h
The Shuri compound is made up of five separate structures, the main hall – also known as the “Seiden” – being the largest and most elaborately decorated. The extent of the damage to the other structures is still unclear.
Though the exact date of its construction remains a mystery, the Shuri Castle has been in use since at least the 14th century, serving as the royal court and seat of government for the Ryukyu Kingdom for some 450 years. The complex was nearly destroyed during World War II after three days of intense shelling by a US warship, but was restored in the decades after the conflict.
WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department (DOJ) said on Wednesday (Oct 30) it has reached a settlement deal with financier Jho Low to recover almost US$1 billion that was misappropriated from Malaysian investment fund 1MDB. This represents the largest recovery to date under the department’s ...
SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook on Wednesday (Oct 30) reported that its quarterly profit grew along with its user base as it grapples with concerns ranging from political ads to cryptocurrency. The leading social network said its profit topped US$6 billion on revenue that climbed 28 per cent to US$17.4 ...
SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook on Wednesday (Oct 30) reported that its quarterly profit grew along with its user base as it grapples with concerns ranging from political ads to cryptocurrency. The leading social network said its profit topped US$6 billion on revenue that climbed 28 per cent to US$17.4 ...
WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department said on Wednesday (Oct 30) it has reached a settlement deal with financier Jho Low to recover almost US$1 billion that was misappropriated from Malaysian investment fund 1MDB. Low faced charges in the United States and Malaysia over his alleged central role in ...
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd reported a 56per cent fall in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday, reeling from chip price declines in the face of a prolonged industry downturn.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd reported a 56per cent fall in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday, reeling from chip price declines in the face of a prolonged industry downturn.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd reported a 56per cent fall in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday, reeling from chip price declines in the face of a prolonged industry downturn.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd reported a 56per cent fall in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday, reeling from chip price declines in the face of a prolonged industry downturn.
Cristiano Ronaldo controversially won and then converted a stoppage-time penalty, seconds after having a goal chalked off for offside, as Juventus finally broke down 10-man Genoa to win 2-1 and go back to the top of Serie A on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department is close to a deal with fugitive financier Jho Low to recover almost a billion dollars that was misappropriated from Malaysian investment fund 1MDB, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday (Oct 30), citing a source familiar with the matter. Low faces charges in the ...
Cristiano Ronaldo controversially won and then converted a stoppage-time penalty, seconds after having a goal chalked off for offside, as Juventus finally broke down 10-man Genoa to win 2-1 and go back to the top of Serie A on Wednesday.
British inventor James Dyson has dropped out of the race to produce electric cars in the face of stiff competition and after criticism of the Brexit-backing billionaire's decision to build the vehicle in Singapore.
BANGKOK: Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has fired four more officials, two palace announcements said on Tuesday (Oct 29), the latest shake up after the sacking of the king's royal consort last week. In one announcement, two palace officials, identified as bedroom guards, were fired for ...
WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday (Oct 29) officially recognising the "Armenian genocide," a symbolic but unprecedented move that angered Turkey amid already-heightened tensions with Washington. Cheers and applause erupted when the chamber voted 405 to 11 in ...
LONDON: Britain's pre-Christmas election on Dec 12 could reshuffle the deck in parliament after years of gridlock over the Brexit crisis. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives will be trying to finally get a ruling majority while smaller opposition parties will want Brexit either softened ...
LONDON: Britain's pre-Christmas election on Dec 12 could reshuffle the deck in parliament after years of gridlock over the Brexit crisis. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives will be trying to finally get a ruling majority while smaller opposition parties will want Brexit either softened ...
Ankara has accused Washington of “exploiting history” for political means after the US House overwhelmingly passed a set of bills acknowledging the 1915 Armenian genocide and calling for fresh sanctions against its NATO ally.
The House voted 405-11 on Tuesday for the measure commemorating the genocide, committed over a century ago by the Turkish Ottoman government, provoking a fierce rebuke from Turkey. This “shameful decision” is “null and void,” tweeted Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who called the move an apparent “revenge” for Turkey’s independent foreign policy.
Ruined big game
w/#OperationPeaceSpring. Those whose projects were frustrated turn to antiquated resolutions.Circles believing that they will take revenge this way are mistaken.This shameful decision of those exploiting history in politics is null&void for our Government&people.
Doubling down on their pressure, US lawmakers also voted 403-11 in favor of a measure calling on President Trump to slap sanctions on Turkey’s financial sector and halt arms sales. Ankara said such threats were not befitting of an ally, and would violate a deal struck with the US administration earlier this month.
“We urge the US Congress not to exploit bilateral issues for domestic political consumption and to act in line with the spirit of our Alliance and partnership,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said.
Ties between the two NATO allies have suffered in recent weeks over their conflicting missions in Syria, where Washington maintains an illegal occupation of oil fields, and spent years embedded with Kurdish militias Ankara accuses of terrorism. A Turkish cross-border operation launched earlier this month to push Kurdish fighters away from the Syrian-Turkish borderline sparked intense protest from US lawmakers, who accused President Donald Trump of ‘betraying’ US allies.
The sanctions threat was “a disappointment to say the least,” Turkish lawmaker Ravza Kavakci told RT, adding that “instead of working together with Turkey,” Washington has chosen to support a Kurdish “terrorist group as their boots on the ground.”
WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday (Oct 29) officially recognising the "Armenian genocide," a symbolic but unprecedented move that angered Turkey amid already-heightened tensions with Washington. Cheers and applause erupted when the chamber voted 405 to 11 in ...
LONDON: Britain's pre-Christmas election on Dec 12 could reshuffle the deck in parliament after years of gridlock over the Brexit crisis. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives will be trying to finally get a ruling majority while smaller opposition parties will want Brexit either softened ...
WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday (Oct 29) officially recognising the "Armenian genocide," a symbolic but unprecedented move that angered Turkey amid already-heightened tensions with Washington. Cheers and applause erupted when the chamber voted 405 to 11 in ...
WASHINGTON: The family of a motorcyclist killed in a crash involving the wife of an American diplomat have announced they are planning to sue US President Donald Trump's administration over an alleged cover-up. Harry Dunn, 19, died on Aug 27 when his motorbike and a car driving on the wrong side ...
LOS ANGELES: Fire crews battled to contain two major blazes in California on Tuesday (Oct 29) as authorities warned of winds with dangerous gusts of up to 129kmh that could fan the flames and spark new infernos. The National Weather Service issued a 24-hour wind advisory beginning from noon ...
WASHINGTON: A decorated Iraq War veteran rocked the White House on Tuesday (Oct 29) with devastating testimony on Donald Trump's alleged extortion of Ukraine as Democrats laid out plans for the public phase of the impeachment inquiry threatening his presidency. The Democratic-led House is ...
Infamous commander of faux Russian bot armies New Knowledge has changed its name to Yonder, memory-holing its troubled reputation with a promise of a ‘more authentic internet’ just in time for the 2020 US presidential election.
New Knowledge, the bot-hunting and consulting firm founded by a State Department alumnus, has undergone a makeover. Billing itself as “the leading authentic internet company,” whatever that means, the newly-rechristened Yonder has neatly divested itself of New Knowledge’s baggage, just in time to bury Americans in horror stories of Russian bot activity for the 2020 election cycle.
The company is under investigation by the Federal Elections Commission for meddling in the 2017 Alabama Senate race with an elaborate false-flag operation involving the creation of an army of fake “Russian” bots. “Project Birmingham” helped hand the Senate seat to Doug Jones, the first Democrat to be elected from Alabama in over two decades. Even Jones backed the inquiry after the New York Times published an exposé on the campaign last year.
That didn’t stop New Knowledge from continuing to mercilessly milk the “Russian bot” fad, smearing Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard as the “Russian favorite” with a report that Gabbard’s enemies have embraced despite its authors being thoroughly discredited. The company’s founder Jonathon Morgan was also involved in the development of the Hamilton68 “Russian bot” dashboard, whose methodology remains proprietary even as its dubious utterances are treated as gospel truth by the media. But after being exposed as disinfo merchants by the Times, of all people, New Knowledge has struggled to be taken seriously in some circles.
None of this appears in the press release New Knowledge published on PRWeb last week to celebrate the company’s new identity, of course. “Yonder is on a mission to humanize the world's information and deliver on the promise of a more authentic internet,” declared the company whose founder was booted from Facebook for running bot armies. That mission, according to Yonder’s promotional materials, is “helping usher in an era where fake news, bots and other web wreckage isn’t so easily blended with real human insights and interactions.” The jokes write themselves.
The company’s core business of dressing up Cold War fears in slick information-age jargon hasn’t changed – Yonder’s website warns visitors that false information is “70 percent more likely to be shared on social media,” without explaining the context of the statistic (more likely than what or where?). It’s yet another irony for a company that has promised customers it will “add the necessary cultural context to online information.”
“We’re in a moment now where it’s a real reckoning for the tech industry… I think there’s a real lack of trust or loss of trust,” Morgan told Austin Inno. It’s hard to imagine how fearmongering about Russian bots dismantling American democracy is supposed to build trust. But as long as there are politicians who would rather blame a foreign country for their failures than engage in meaningful introspection, there will always be a market for companies like New Knowledge.
WASHINGTON: The family of a motorcyclist killed in a crash involving the wife of an American diplomat have announced they are planning to sue US President Donald Trump's administration over an alleged cover-up. Harry Dunn, 19, died on Aug 27 when his motorbike and a car driving on the wrong side ...
LOS ANGELES: Fire crews battled to contain two major blazes in California on Tuesday (Oct 29) as authorities warned of winds with dangerous gusts of up to 129kmh that could fan the flames and spark new infernos. The National Weather Service issued a 24-hour wind advisory beginning from noon ...
Park Chol-hee was working the holiday shift at Samsung Heavy Industries' Geoje shipyard on Labour Day, 2017, when a giant crane collided with another and crashed to ground, killing six people, including Park's younger brother.
WASHINGTON: The family of a motorcyclist killed in a crash involving the wife of an American diplomat have announced they are planning to sue US President Donald Trump's administration over an alleged cover-up. Harry Dunn, 19, died on Aug 27 when his motorbike and a car driving on the wrong side ...
LOS ANGELES: Fire crews battled to contain two major blazes in California on Tuesday (Oct 29) as authorities warned of winds with dangerous gusts of up to 129kmh that could fan the flames and spark new infernos. The National Weather Service issued a 24-hour wind advisory beginning from noon ...
Park Chol-hee was working the holiday shift at Samsung Heavy Industries' Geoje shipyard on Labour Day, 2017, when a giant crane collided with another and crashed to ground, killing six people, including Park's younger brother.
US congresswoman who resigned amid lurid revelations about her private life and the publication of nude photos without her consent on Monday (Oct 28) pledged to fight back so other women would not shy away from public office.
US congresswoman who resigned amid lurid revelations about her private life and the publication of nude photos without her consent on Monday (Oct 28) pledged to fight back so other women would not shy away from public office.
US congresswoman who resigned amid lurid revelations about her private life and the publication of nude photos without her consent on Monday (Oct 28) pledged to fight back so other women would not shy away from public office.
Democratic presidential contenders vowed on Monday (Oct 28) to switch gears sharply from Donald Trump's hawkish embrace of Israel, pledging they would press for a peace settlement that leads to a Palestinian state.
The US House of Representatives will hold its first formal vote on Thursday (Oct 31) on the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, a senior aide said, as Democrats forge ahead with a process that includes public hearings.
WASHINGTON: US officials said Monday (Oct 28) that the body of Islamic State group chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was buried at sea as fresh details surfaced about the US special forces operation that led to his death over the weekend. Syrian Kurds claimed to be a key source of the intelligence that ...
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he may declassify and release part of the video taken on Saturday of the raid in Syria in which Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed.
Roger Federer withdrew from the Paris Masters on Monday in order to "pace" himself for the next year, while Marin Cilic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached the second round.
Roger Federer withdrew from the Paris Masters on Monday in order to "pace" himself for the next year, while Marin Cilic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached the second round.
Roger Federer withdrew from the Paris Masters on Monday in order to "pace" himself for the next year, while Marin Cilic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached the second round.
Democratic presidential contenders vowed on Monday (Oct 28) to switch gears sharply from Donald Trump's hawkish embrace of Israel, pledging they would press for a peace settlement that leads to a Palestinian state.
The US House of Representatives will hold its first formal vote on Thursday (Oct 31) on the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, a senior aide said, as Democrats forge ahead with a process that includes public hearings.
Roger Federer withdrew from the Paris Masters on Monday in order to "pace" himself for the next year, while Marin Cilic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached the second round.
Democratic presidential contenders vowed on Monday (Oct 28) to switch gears sharply from Donald Trump's hawkish embrace of Israel, pledging they would press for a peace settlement that leads to a Palestinian state.
The US House of Representatives will hold its first formal vote on Thursday (Oct 31) on the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, a senior aide said, as Democrats forge ahead with a process that includes public hearings.
LONDON: For all their attacking flair, Liverpool showed again on Sunday (Oct 27) they have the ability to dig deep and grind out vital victories when things do not go to plan as they recovered from an early setback to beat Tottenham Hotspur. With their Premier League lead having been cut to three ...
Luis Muriel hit a hat-trick as Atalanta put their midweek Champions League humiliation behind them with a crushing 7-1 win over 10-man Udinese on Sunday that moved them to within three points of Serie A leaders Juventus.
Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappe both scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain demolished their old rivals Marseille 4-0 on Sunday in a game that further laid bare the gulf that exists between the sides and allowed the reigning champions to extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1.
McLaren escaped a penalty for the 'unsafe' release of Lando Norris's car from the pits during Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix because Formula One race stewards could not determine whether a wheel was actually loose.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) boss Steve Tew has poured cold water on the prospect of Warren Gatland coaching the All Blacks due to his commitment to the British and Irish Lions.
LONDON: For all their attacking flair, Liverpool showed again on Sunday (Oct 27) they have the ability to dig deep and grind out vital victories when things do not go to plan as they recovered from an early setback to beat Tottenham Hotspur. With their Premier League lead having been cut to three ...
Luis Muriel hit a hat-trick as Atalanta put their midweek Champions League humiliation behind them with a crushing 7-1 win over 10-man Udinese on Sunday that moved them to within three points of Serie A leaders Juventus.
Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappe both scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain demolished their old rivals Marseille 4-0 on Sunday in a game that further laid bare the gulf that exists between the sides and allowed the reigning champions to extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1.
McLaren escaped a penalty for the 'unsafe' release of Lando Norris's car from the pits during Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix because Formula One race stewards could not determine whether a wheel was actually loose.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) boss Steve Tew has poured cold water on the prospect of Warren Gatland coaching the All Blacks due to his commitment to the British and Irish Lions.
North Carolina's drum-beating, flag-waving NWSL fans became the first to watch their team claim a championship on their home turf on Sunday, as the city aimed to build on its reputation as a soccer hotbed.
LONDON: For all their attacking flair, Liverpool showed again on Sunday (Oct 27) they have the ability to dig deep and grind out vital victories when things do not go to plan as they recovered from an early setback to beat Tottenham Hotspur. With their Premier League lead having been cut to three ...
Luis Muriel hit a hat-trick as Atalanta put their midweek Champions League humiliation behind them with a crushing 7-1 win over 10-man Udinese on Sunday that moved them to within three points of Serie A leaders Juventus.
Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappe both scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain demolished their old rivals Marseille 4-0 on Sunday in a game that further laid bare the gulf that exists between the sides and allowed the reigning champions to extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1.
McLaren escaped a penalty for the 'unsafe' release of Lando Norris's car from the pits during Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix because Formula One race stewards could not determine whether a wheel was actually loose.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) boss Steve Tew has poured cold water on the prospect of Warren Gatland coaching the All Blacks due to his commitment to the British and Irish Lions.
North Carolina's drum-beating, flag-waving NWSL fans became the first to watch their team claim a championship on their home turf on Sunday, as the city aimed to build on its reputation as a soccer hotbed.
LONDON: For all their attacking flair, Liverpool showed again on Sunday (Oct 27) they have the ability to dig deep and grind out vital victories when things do not go to plan as they recovered from an early setback to beat Tottenham Hotspur. With their Premier League lead having been cut to three ...
Germany's far-right AfD hopes for more gains in the ex-communist east on Sunday when voters go to the polls in the state of Thuringia, even as the party comes under pressure in the wake of a deadly shooting at a synagogue.
North Carolina's drum-beating, flag-waving NWSL fans became the first to watch their team claim a championship on their home turf on Sunday, as the city aimed to build on its reputation as a soccer hotbed.
North Carolina's drum-beating, flag-waving NWSL fans became the first to watch their team claim a championship on their home turf on Sunday, as the city aimed to build on its reputation as a soccer hotbed.
Germany's far-right AfD hopes for more gains in the ex-communist east on Sunday when voters go to the polls in the state of Thuringia, even as the party comes under pressure in the wake of a deadly shooting at a synagogue.
Germany's far-right AfD hopes for more gains in the ex-communist east on Sunday when voters go to the polls in the state of Thuringia, even as the party comes under pressure in the wake of a deadly shooting at a synagogue.
बुरे व्यवहार या गलत बर्ताव के कारण चर्चा में आएं, ऐसा कम ही होता है। हालांकि, एक बार ऐक्टर को इतना गुस्सा आ चुका है कि इसके लिए उन्हें एक दिन जेल में काटना पड़ा। यह बात उन्होंने हाल ही में एक इंटरव्यू में बताई। शाहरुख से इंटरव्यू के दौरान पूछा गया कि एक बार आप एक फिल्म में थे और डायरेक्टर अपनी पत्नी को एक सीन समझा रहे थे जो कि शायद कुछ इंटिमेट था। मैगजीन में छपा कि डायरेक्टर ने बोला कि क्यों नहीं आप दोनों रात, साथ में गुजारते हैं। इससे आप एक-दूसरे को जानेंगे और फिर कल हम फिल्म शूट करेंगे। यह आप और उस शख्स की पत्नी के लिए शर्मिंदगी भरा था?' जैसे ही यह कॉन्ट्रोवर्शल स्टोरी सामने आई, शाहरुख ने बताया, 'मैं इससे डिस्टर्ब हो गया था और मैं नया था। मैं उस वक्त हर खबर पर रिऐक्ट करता था। अच्छा हुआ उस समय सोशल मीडिया नहीं था। मुझे बहुत गुस्सा आया और मैंने एडिटर को कॉल करके पूछा कि क्या यह आपने लिखा है।' इसके बाद एडिटर ने कहा कि इसे बहुत गंभीरता से न लें, यह सिर्फ एक जोक था। जवाब में शाहरुख ने कहा कि उन्हें यह मजाक नहीं लगता है। वह एडिटर के ऑफिस पहुंच गए और बुरी तरह का व्यवहार किया। वह चीखने-चिल्लाने लगे और लोगों को मारने की धमकी देने लगे। इसके लिए उन्हें एक दिन की जेल भी हुई। सुपरस्टार ने बताया, 'मैं दिन की शूटिंग कर रहा था और पुलिसवाले आए। वे बैठे और कहा कि आपसे कुछ सवाल करना है।' ऐक्टर ने आगे कहा कि जब वह जेल पहुंचे तो उन्होंने वहां पुलिसवालों से कहा कि वे उन्हें जाने दें और वह ऐसा कभी नहीं करेंगे। यह काफी खराब था। हालांकि, शाहरुख शाम तक बेल पर बाहर आ गए।
from Entertainment News in Hindi, Latest Bollywood Movies News, मनोरंजन न्यूज़, बॉलीवुड मूवी न्यूज़ | Navbharat Times https://ift.tt/2opCKlm
SYDNEY: Australia's most notorious serial killer Ivan Milat, whose murder of seven young backpackers in the 1990s terrified the country, has died in hospital, officials said on Sunday (Oct 27). Milat was serving consecutive life sentences for the brutal killing spree took place near Sydney between ...
SYDNEY: Australia's most notorious serial killer Ivan Milat, whose murder of seven young backpackers in the 1990s terrified the country, has died in hospital, officials said on Sunday (Oct 27). Milat was serving consecutive life sentences for the brutal killing spree took place near Sydney between ...
SYDNEY: Australia's most notorious serial killer Ivan Milat, whose murder of seven young backpackers in the 1990s terrified the country, has died in hospital, officials said on Sunday (Oct 27). Milat was serving consecutive life sentences for the brutal killing spree took place near Sydney between ...
CARY, North Carolina: The sun shone brightly on defending champions North Carolina Courage and challengers Chicago Red Stars as they put in their final pre-championship training on Saturday, but a looming storm threatened to put a soggy end to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) season. With ...
An inspired Alexandra Trusova of Russia landed three quadruple jumps as the Russian teenager won Skate Canada' ladies programme in British Columbia on Saturday.
CARY, North Carolina: The sun shone brightly on defending champions North Carolina Courage and challengers Chicago Red Stars as they put in their final pre-championship training on Saturday, but a looming storm threatened to put a soggy end to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) season. With ...
CARY, North Carolina: The sun shone brightly on defending champions North Carolina Courage and challengers Chicago Red Stars as they put in their final pre-championship training on Saturday, but a looming storm threatened to put a soggy end to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) season. With ...
An inspired Alexandra Trusova of Russia landed three quadruple jumps as the Russian teenager won Skate Canada' ladies programme in British Columbia on Saturday.
CARY, North Carolina: Asked how North Carolina Courage plan to dismantle the upstart Chicago Red Stars in Sunday's U.S. National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) championship game, winger Crystal Dunn summed up a key part of their tactics in three words: "Stop Sam Kerr." Newly-crowned MVP Kerr looms ...
CARY, North Carolina: The sun shone brightly on defending champions North Carolina Courage and challengers Chicago Red Stars as they put in their final pre-championship training on Saturday, but a looming storm threatened to put a soggy end to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) season. With ...
An inspired Alexandra Trusova of Russia landed three quadruple jumps as the Russian teenager won Skate Canada' ladies programme in British Columbia on Saturday.
An inspired Alexandra Trusova of Russia landed three quadruple jumps as the Russian teenager won Skate Canada' ladies programme in British Columbia on Saturday.
The United States will suspend all scheduled flights to Cuba except to its capital Havana, authorities said Friday, as US President Donald Trump pushes to dismantle the rapprochement begun by his predecessor Barack Obama.
Liberals are foaming with rage over the inclusion of conservative outlet Breitbart in Facebook’s News tab. More alarming is the idea of letting journalists chosen by Facebook determine what is considered “news” to begin with.
Facebook has unveiled its long-awaited News feature, but the social media behemoth is keeping mum on the identities of the approximately 200 publishers who will be getting either “free money” or hefty referral traffic from the new tab. Early reports indicate the participants include the usual mainstream media suspects – the New York Times, Bloomberg, the Washington Post – but also Breitbart.
The conservative outlet’s inclusion has inflamed liberals already miffed by the revelation that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was meeting for off-the-record dinner dates with prominent conservatives, including Tucker Carlson of Fox News. For Zuckerberg to elevate Breitbart, once helmed by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, to the level of a trusted news source? Unthinkable!
Perhaps sensing the growing rage against the platform’s decision, a Facebook spokesperson tried to calm users down, telling Slate that “the number of publishers in the tab will grow over time – and it will be dynamic. If a publisher falls out of eligibility for posting misinformation, or clickbait or scraping content – for example, they will no longer appear in Facebook News.”
That opens a whole other can of worms, however. ABC, also reported to be a Facebook News partner, was recently slammed for claiming footage of a weapons demonstration in Kentucky was actually video of Turkey decimating the US’ Kurdish allies with airstrikes.
An MSNBC story claiming US President Donald Trump received loans co-signed by Russian billionaires was wholly fake. That’s just the tip of an enormous iceberg of falsehood, wheeled out under the aegis of mainstream news on a daily basis. Is Facebook prepared to kick everyone off as soon as they lie?
The rage over Breitbart’s inclusion in Facebook News dodges the heart of the matter – that users should not be trusting a company whose founder has referred to users as “dumb f**ks” to select what news they are to consume.
Facebook’s last attempt to weed out “fake news” quickly came to resemble a full frontal assault on alternative media, and many sites saw their traffic drop dramatically when the site changed its algorithms to crowd news out of users’ feeds – especially voices outside the mainstream.
Leading teams wanted Formula One to delay a major revamp of the rules by a year until 2022 after introducing a cost cap in 2021 but see little chance of that happening now, bosses said on Friday.
WASHINGTON: US and Chinese officials are "close to finalising" some parts of a trade agreement after high-level telephone discussions on Friday (Oct 25), the US Trade Representative's (USTR) office said, adding that deputy-level talks would proceed "continuously". The USTR provided no details on ...
Microsoft has won the Pentagon's massive US$10 billion cloud computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, selecting the company over competitors including Amazon.com, which had been seen as the favourite.
Wells Fargo has laid off more than 200 bankers in its U.S. lending divisions in recent months, as the bank reacted to business trends and restructured some units, sources familiar with the matter said this week.
Critics of President Donald Trump and his lawyer unleashed a barrage of snark on social media after an NBC reporter revealed Rudy Giuliani pocket-dialed him twice, putting the former mayor at the rear end of countless jokes.
On the night of October 16, Giuliani unwittingly phoned NBC’s Rich Shapiro – known by term of art as a “butt dial” – leaving three minutes of a conversation with an unidentified associate as a voicemail. While much of the recording lacks context, and some sections are difficult to make out, Giuliani is clearly heard planning deals overseas, and at one point complains about a lack of funds.
As the two men discussed business dealings in Bahrain – where Giuliani advises the government as a security consultant – the president’s lawyer stressed the need to get in touch with a man identified only as “Robert,” stating “the problem is we need some money… We need a few hundred thousand.” It is not clear what, or whom, he was referring to, however.
Soon after the mysterious gaffe went public, dozens took to social media to lob wisecracks at Giuliani’s expense, regaling other netizens with their best butt jokes.
One commenter, following President Trump’s lead in doling out insulting nicknames to his critics, devised a new moniker for the attorney, christening him “Booty Giuliani.”
Logged onto Twitter to see the, um, Rudy Giuliani butt news, and I really can’t believe this timeline, in both senses of the word.
Some users took the story in a creative direction, with one dressing her dog as the butt-dialing lawyer for Halloween, sure to earn awards for most frightening costume.
The unfortunate call wasn’t the only time Giuliani’s posterior landed him in trouble. He phoned the same NBC reporter in another inadvertent call just 18 days earlier, leaving a voicemail in which he is heard dishing on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s dealings in Ukraine.
Leading teams wanted Formula One to delay a major revamp of the rules by a year until 2022 after introducing a cost cap in 2021 but see little chance of that happening now, bosses said on Friday.
Leading teams wanted Formula One to delay a major revamp of the rules by a year until 2022 after introducing a cost cap in 2021 but see little chance of that happening now, bosses said on Friday.
WASHINGTON: US and Chinese officials are "close to finalising" some parts of a trade agreement after high-level telephone discussions on Friday (Oct 25), the US Trade Representative's (USTR) office said, adding that deputy-level talks would proceed "continuously". The USTR provided no details on ...
Microsoft has won the Pentagon's massive US$10 billion cloud computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, selecting the company over competitors including Amazon.com, which had been seen as the favourite.
Wells Fargo has laid off more than 200 bankers in its U.S. lending divisions in recent months, as the bank reacted to business trends and restructured some units, sources familiar with the matter said this week.
Leading teams wanted Formula One to delay a major revamp of the rules by a year until 2022 after introducing a cost cap in 2021 but see little chance of that happening now, bosses said on Friday.
WASHINGTON: US and Chinese officials are "close to finalising" some parts of a trade agreement after high-level telephone discussions on Friday (Oct 25), the US Trade Representative's (USTR) office said, adding that deputy-level talks would proceed "continuously". The USTR provided no details on ...
SANTIAGO: Almost a million people took to the streets of Santiago for what was believed to be Chile's largest-ever march on Friday (Oct 25), demanding economic reforms and the resignation of President Sebastian Pinera following a week of deadly protests. Demonstrators carrying indigenous and ...
SANTIAGO: Almost a million people took to the streets of Santiago for what was believed to be Chile's largest-ever march on Friday (Oct 25), demanding economic reforms and the resignation of President Sebastian Pinera following a week of deadly protests. Demonstrators carrying indigenous and ...
Russian gun activist Maria Butina, who has spent over a year behind bars in the US on charges of being an unregistered Russian lobbyist, was essentially innocent but was caught up in anti-Russian witch hunts, her lawyer told RT.
Butina came to the US on a student visa in 2016 and was actively involved in pro-gun circles, namely the National Rifle Association (NRA) with a stated goal of expanding gun laws in Russia, which are quite restrictive. Yet, she was detained by the FBI in July 2018 on suspicion of conspiring to infiltrate the lobby group to promote Russian interests in the US.
The American media immediately snatched the opportunity to label her a spy and also reported that she allegedly traded sex for political favors. Both allegations later proved false. Now, her lawyer, Robert Driscoll, says she was in fact innocent but became a victim of anti-Russian hysteria and had to live in “totally inappropriate” conditions for some nine months.
“The government admitted in the end of the case that nothing she did independently was illegal. It was just a lack of registration that allowed them to prosecute the case,” Driscoll told RT, adding that the whole case is nothing but a “complete prosecutorial overreach.”
“At the end of the day, what is so sad about this case is that initial media reports based on the initial government allegations were just wrong. It was not a spy case; there were no charges of espionage. There were no classified documents involved. There was not even any lobbying done by Maria.”
The lawyer said that she could not even have been prosecuted under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) because she did not do any lobbying. Almost any foreigner in the US could be charged with a similar offense, Driscoll believes. “Anyone has done something in the US that could qualify under this statute.”
Yet, she had to endure inhumane conditions just because US officials were too scared of perceived ‘Russian spies.’ Her treatment right from the moment of her arrest was bordering “absurd,” the lawyer believes.
“People need to understand that between July 15 last year when she was arrested and until she arrived at Tallahassee she essentially had not been outside. The jail in Alexandria, where she had been kept pre-trial, denied her even the time to go outside and be in the sun. Other than being driven to court she had not been outside for nine months.”
Her lawyer also revealed that Butina was denied “simple things we all take for granted, like fruits and vegetables in all one’s meals or being able to go outside or be able to go for a run in the morning.” The government has been taking too many unnecessary security precautions in her case, right up to her release on Friday, even though it was already clear by that moment that she was not a spy.
“When she was arrested she was put in custody for the first few months, most of which she spent in solitary confinement. I think that was completely uncalled-for and inappropriate for someone without a criminal record, who was charged with a non-violent offense.”
At the end of the day, all the hardships Maria Butina had to endure in the US, despite being virtually innocent, come down to the fact that Russia, and Russians too, for that matter, has been turned into a bogeyman in the US, Driscoll believes.
“Even keeping her pre-trial was absurd. Any notion she was fleeing the country was absurd. A lot of this was an overreaction because she was Russian.”
SANTIAGO: Almost a million people took to the streets of Santiago for what was believed to be Chile's largest-ever march on Friday (Oct 25), demanding economic reforms and the resignation of President Sebastian Pinera following a week of deadly protests. Demonstrators carrying indigenous and ...
Japan's Rika Kihira outdueled South Korean You Young to win the ladies short program as both teenagers landed triple axels at Skate Canada in Kelowna, British Columbia, on Friday.
Bolivian socialist leader Evo Morales invited the international community to audit the presidential election results, as opposition cried fraud and burned ballots, while Washington cast doubt on results.
Bolivia's election authority confirmed the final tally for the contentious vote on Friday, handing Morales his fourth presidential term. However, protests continued around the country. A 24-hour pause in the vote count earlier this week sparked allegations of tampering, which have brought tens of thousands of opposition activists into the streets to contest the outcome, at times clashing with police.
Morales avoided a second-round runoff with his rival Carlos Mesa by just a fraction of a point and denies the accusations of fraud. He said on Friday that international auditors would be free to inspect the final tally and the vote counting process.
“Let them come here, let them know how much they have earned [...] We never lie or hide,” he said, but added elsewhere that the world community had “the obligation to respect our Political Constitution of State, they have to respect the will of the Bolivian people.”
The remarks were directed at the Organization of American States (OAS) – based in Washington, DC – which previously expressed “deep concern” and “surprise” over the delayed vote tally. More recently, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro argued the election result should not be considered valid until an audit is complete.
In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and the United States (all OAS members) called for a second round of voting in the event a proper audit could not be carried out.
Mesa, a former president and Morales’s main challenger, said on Friday that he would lodge a formal complaint with the Supreme Election Tribunal over the result, which he condemned as a “massive fraud.” He has encouraged his supporters to reject the outcome as well.
Opposition protesters have barricaded roadways across six of Bolivia’s nine provinces, with clashes between rival demonstrators and police breaking out in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, where at least 25 were arrested on Friday. Thousands also gathered around a vote counting station in La Paz late on Thursday, for protests and street skirmishes. The president has slammed the demonstrations as an attempted coup.
Compared to its neighbors Chile and Ecuador – both currently gripped by protests over economic woes – as well as its ally Venezuela, Bolivia has seen relative success under its mixed socialist system, with its economy steadily growing at just under four percent annually in recent years. The government has also kept inflation relatively low, perhaps learning from Venezuela’s example, and made efforts to slash public debt.
A new US Army report envisions a bleak near future as a consequence of climate change, with power and water shortages, refugee flows – and also more opportunities for intervention and seizing natural resources in the Arctic.
Behind the dull title of “Implications of climate change for the US Army” lies a 52-page report by a team of scientists outlining apocalyptic scenarios: conflicts driven by hundreds of millions of people displaced by rising sea levels; collapse of the US power grid and transportation; and the inability of the Army itself to provide water for its troops, to name but a few.
Yet it also foresees a greater role the Army can play both mitigating the effects of these changes inside the US, and intervening in the resulting calamities overseas.
My latest @VICE story covers a US Army report commissioned by the highest-ranking US military official: warning that the US military itself might collapse under the strain of climate impacts. In two decades. https://t.co/JPdVlHxLT9
The report was commissioned in May by then-Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley, who has since been promoted to chair the JCS. Published by the Army War College’s Center for Climate Security back in August, it has attracted little attention until recently, when Nafeez Ahmed reported on its findings for Vice.
One of the more apocalyptic short-term scenarios featured in the report is the collapse of the US power grid within the next 20 years, leaving the country without refrigeration, water treatment, lights, heating, air conditioning, communications, public transportation, fuel distribution, or pretty much anything a technological civilization requires.
It’s not just distribution, but power generation that is at risk. Of the 99 nuclear reactors operating in the US and providing nearly 20 percent of the country’s power, 60 percent are located in regions that are “likely to suffer from one or more climate threats,” from sea level rise and severe storms to water shortages.
Arctic here we come
Not all is gloom and doom, however: as polar ice caps recede, the mineral wealth of the Arctic is up for grabs – if the US Army can seize control over it from those pesky Russians, anyway.
The US military must immediately begin expanding its capability to operate in the Arctic to defend economic interests and to partner with allies across the region.
Accusing Moscow of “militarizing” the Arctic, the report urges more money be spent on US military capabilities in the region, so that Washington can get access to the oil beneath the frozen sea.
The authors see climate-related disasters displacing hundreds of millions of people around the world – giving Bangladesh as one example vulnerable to rising sea levels, with the refugees then triggering conflict in the already unstable and nuclear-armed Indian Subcontinent.
Such crises may require US Army intervention, from disaster response by the Army Corps of Engineers to military operations. However, the report warns, if the water shortages get worse – as they are predicted to – the Army is “precipitously close to mission failure concerning hydration of the force in a contested arid environment.” Operations in places like Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan over the past 27 years will no longer be possible simply due to inability to secure enough water for the troops.
Between that and the rising awareness of climate issues resulting in “significant restrictions on military activities (in peacetime) that produce carbon emissions,” climate change may actually put an end to “endless wars” – not that the Army report actually dares suggest that as a possibility.
Japan's Rika Kihira outdueled South Korean You Young to win the ladies short program as both teenagers landed triple axels at Skate Canada in Kelowna, British Columbia, on Friday.
Baghdadi died whimpering, crying like a coward: US President Donald Trump
